Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.
Fils de l'Amour: Mark of Athena
10: Seals, Kage and Romans
Reyna turned to the page and continued where Thalia left off, "Well, it seems we appear in this chapter." She said.
Piper rubbed her face, "And this was when we met mom."
"Oh! I cannot wait for my cameo." Aphrodite beamed and clapped her hands.
Naruto frowned as he stood beside the masthead, his arms crossed over his chest while the Argo II flew towards South Carolina. Apparently, there was some map left by the Romans that led to the Athena Parthenos, the statue that the Romans had stolen from Athens.
When Naruto learned of this, he asked Annabeth why Athena hadn't mentioned the map. Annabeth suggested that perhaps Athena didn't know of it, which made some sense. The goddess of wisdom wasn't about to chat it up with a Roman on the whereabouts of her statue. That would be far too big a blow to her pride.
"Yes, asking nicely for something can be a true endeavor for Athena," Poseidon nodded with false sympathy.
Athena's only response to this was low growl that was muffled by her sealed lips.
No, instead the plan was to reunite the camps by ending the feud with a Roman returning the statue to Camp Half-Blood. Of course, this would be flawless if the Romans weren't currently so bloodthirsty for the Argo II's passenger's blood. Oh, and let's not forget the bounty Naruto just got on his head, that'll make things difficult.
Leo grumbled irritably, "Okay, I get our job was nearly impossible, but damn! Re-thinking our odds and they were crummy!"
Jason smiled at him, "We still did it though."
"Dude, I died! Only with my quick wit did my magnificence live to see another sunrise."
"And we love you for it," Piper told him.
"Damn right you all do." Leo nodded sternly.
"I can't believe I say this, but I miss Akatsuki." Naruto groaned rubbed his face. Things were way more simpler when there was an evil terrorist group that just wanted to conquer the world.
"The simpler things," Percy said with a touch of melancholy. He remembered those days, where he only really had to worry about zits and getting a D in math.
Now it's just save the world this, and stop that madman that!
Where did his teenage years go?
If Naruto could go back to just fight Pein and be done with it, life would be swell.
Of course, life wasn't easy and Naruto wasn't one to complain, but the Olympians seemed to have all these problems that, when traced back, were their own faults either directly or indirectly.
"He's not wrong." Percy voiced, getting some nods from his fellow demigods.
"But guys!" Apollo smiled at them, "If we didn't make some, er, boo-boos in the past, what would you be doing now?"
"Living a regular life." Percy bluntly said.
"Not fearing spiders?" Annabeth suggested.
"Not turning into a tree." Thalia noted and looked at Jason.
"Bianca would be around." Nico brooded.
"I'm pretty okay where I am." Jason said, smiling at Piper, who smiled back.
"I'm good." The daughter of love said, kissing her boyfriend's cheek.
"Meh, I'm cool with it." Leo said, going with the flow.
Hazel frowned, "Not dying."
Frank rubbed the back of his neck, "That's a loaded question."
"I'm thankful for it," Reyna stated, "If not, I'd still be with Circe."
"…Well that's grand." Apollo forced a smile.
"I don't." Kurama snorted. "That exploding bastard was a pain in the ass, and we never even got to kill him."
"We got the Geezer String guy, though," Naruto said with a shrug.
Kurama gave a huff. "You got that 'immortal'. Nearly lost your arm though. Funny how that came full circle."
"Funny, yeah." Naruto looked at his bandaged false hand and sighed again. "Remember when it was just go to the camp, find Anna-baba's missing boyfriend and save the world from Tsuchi?"
"Everything is simple in hindsight. Speaking of complications, how are you going to get from the ship, get to wherever the Kage gathered, and back?" Kurama asked.
"I like the chummy thing they got going on," Piper smiled, "It's like two friends chatting…but your friend's inside you."
"That's what she said!" Ares cackled.
"Why would she say that?" Hazel asked with confusion.
Frank grimaced, he did not want to explain that one.
Naruto chuckled and scratched his whiskered cheek. "Uh, I was going to leave a clone and have a toad reverse summon me? But how would my clone know to summon me back?"
"Make a clone once whatever meeting is over?" Kurama suggested.
"Yeah, but that'd still require a toad to be summoned here, and you heard Bunta."
"Screw the warty bastard, what's he going to do, end the contract?"
"Yeah, Naruto's the toad poster boy now, right?" Nico asked.
Hermes agreed readily, "Yep! And you don't toss your best investment, that's just bad business."
"He might," Naruto said. It was rare, but possible. And Gamabunta was the chief overseer the Toad Contract, even if he didn't rule the mountain. He decided who did and didn't get to summon toads. Considering Naruto still hadn't shared a drink with him – he should really get around to doing that sooner or later – the fact that he still had access to summoning toads was most likely due to his Sennin status.
Kurama growled. "Then what do you propose? Learning your dick of a father's flashing thing?"
Ares whistled, "Now that is just incent. And for one of Owlhead's kids to do that? Shame on your name!"
Athena glowered, "He meant the teleporting technique you simpleton."
"I know what I said."
"Nah, that'd take too long, even with clones." Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. He snapped his fingers and his eyes twinkled. "I've got it! I'll use the summoning scroll!"
Naruto turned and jumped down, but not before turning back and grinning at the masthead. "Thanks for the company, Festus!"
The dragonhead let out a light click in return.
Leo smiled, "He's such a good conversationalist."
"I just never got how you could talk to him all this time." Piper frowned.
"For someone awesome like me, it was easy!" Leo waved off, grinning like a fool.
Annabeth smirked at him, "Or just crazy."
"Hey! Easy with the C-word. I prefer the word mad, thank you very much."
Annabeth mentally questioned why that sounded better.
Naruto dashed through the Argo to his room and grabbed one of the few scrolls he had set on his desk. Miu squawked when Naruto's flicked his wrist and unrolled the scroll to the length that would allow him to find the properly labeled seal. The eagle watched as Naruto ran his finger across the written ink. The blond Jinchuriki grinned once he found the line he was looking for and with a pulse of chakra unsealed a massivescroll that was easily as wide as his head and as long as his leg.
"You could club a baby seal with that thing!" Ares whistled and then hummed, "I wonder…"
"Don't even think about it," Not only Poseidon, but Artemis warned.
"What? Dite loves the fur!"
Aphrodite looked away nervously, "I have no idea what he's talking about."
"Bingo." Naruto grinned as he rolled the smaller scroll up and tossed it back to his desk. He set the large scroll on the ground and unrolled it to reveal a complex seal. Naruto hummed as he looked it over and pointed at a few of the characters written on the paper. "This could be...and this should change to accept any weight."
"If you get the team during this trip, you'll have to include their chakra cores as well." Kurama added as he studied the seal through his container's eyes. "Not to mention you'll have to consider how you'll activate the seal."
"Such an obscure art," Athena sighed, "I would love to learn the workings of it."
"Why not runes?" Hermes asked.
Athena frowned, "I suppose that will suffice." She said, sounding disappointed.
"Well, I could make a two-way summoning link so I don't have to actively try to hone in on separate chakra signatures," Naruto said aloud as he pondered over his new project. "So, two of the same seals, able to summon from either side..."
"One side, one summoning seal, the other a focus seal for yourself and any potential back up." Kurama corrected. "If the Kage think you're in too much danger, they might try to recover you. You are more valuable to them than the rest of these kids, Naruto."
"Ouch?" Piper frowned.
"Actually, it is from a tactically basis." Reyna said, "Naruto is both their savior and a powerful asset. His value would naturally far surpass ours in the ninja's eyes."
Annabeth knitted her brow, "I agree with that. Though I don't like it."
The Praetor said, "It's the thinking of leaders sadly."
Naruto frowned. He wanted to say that Tsunade and Gaara wouldn't do that, but he knew they had to make the hard choices. "Yeah, you're right."
The blond scratched his head and unrolled the massive scroll further to a large blank portion. "Well, I guess I should get started then, huh?"
"Seems that way. I'll try to help where I can." Kurama offered.
"I know." Naruto grabbed a bottle of ink and a brush from his desk and settled in for a long night.
"Naruto, you should summon a clone." Kurama suggested. "In case you're reverse summoned in the midst of your project."
"Good point." Naruto crossed his fingers and created a Kage Bunshin. He pointed at the bed. "You rest and I'll dispel you if nothing happens."
"Gotcha boss!" The clone grinned and promptly settled into bed with a grin on his face. With a twitchy eye because of the cheek he received, Naruto went to work while his clone slowly fell asleep. He took solace in the fact that it would die for him to have some energy after he was done.
"Finally." Naruto stretched his arms above his head and flopped back to partially lay on his futon. He sighed happily and let his eyes shut as the early morning light started to peek through his window. "Ugh, that took forever."
"Long projects can get like that. You just ogtta have fun while doing them," Leo suggested.
"I know, right?" Annabeth agreed instantly, "Like this one time, I was working on a building design-"
"Annie, shush." Thalia told her, "No one cares right now."
"I care." Percy said.
"Suck up." His friends told him.
The savior of Olympus shrugged, he wasn't going to lie on that one.
Naruto grunted as his clone shifted and kneed him in the head. He sat up and glared at the happily dozing clone. "I'm going to enjoy dispelling you far more than I should."
"But we like Bob!" Apollo complained.
"Bob?" Percy asked.
"Well we can't just call him Naruto clone number 236199! He needs a name."
Percy rubbed his chin in interest, "I like it. Short and sweet."
Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico palmed their faces.
Naruto looked back at the two large scrolls – as Kurama had pointed out that having the anchor and the summoning seal in one place was pointless – and rubbed his chin. He picked the anchor scroll up and slung the strap over his shoulder. He should probably keep it on his person if he was reversed summoned. The other he rolled up and placed in the corner.
A loud snore nearly made Naruto spill his inkwell as he set it back on his desk. With bags under his eyes, Naruto glared at the clone while it happily snored away. He raised a shuriken in his hand and prepared to dispel the clone as violently as he could – memories of its death be damned!
"That's just gotta suck," Thalia blanched.
"Tell me about it." Hazel deadpanned.
"Oh, right…Sorry?"
"Forgiven."
However, before he could do just that, Naruto felt a familiar tug on his chakra before he vanished in a plume of smoke.
The clone rolled over peacefully, none the wiser of the original's vacancy or of the completed scroll tucked away in the corner.
"Welcome back, Naruto," Tsunade said with a wry smile as the baffled blond reappeared in the center of the Kage Summit chambers beside a slightly tired Fukasaku. The sage toad gave Naruto a nod before he returned to the mountain that he called home. Naruto, bleary though he were, correctly assumed that it was due to Shima still being affected by the salamander's poison that Fukasaku came and left without a word.
Naruto blinked and rubbed his face. "Ugh...Baachan, seriously, I was up all night working on a seal...can I get five minutes to sleep?"
"No rest for the wicked kiddo, I should know!" Hermes complained, gaining extra baggage under his eyes.
Apollo grinned, "Reap what you sow little man."
"As someone who has gone years without sleep, I can understand why you would want to take five minutes." Naruto turned and grinned at the one who spoke. Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage, hadn't changed much after the war; the massive gourd was set beside him, the Kage uniform with Sunagakure colors of white and green, and the Kage hat seated before him. What had changed were the rings around Gaara's eyes being smaller, possibly due to him freely being able to sleep without Shukaku going crazy, and his hair.
"You look ridiculous, Gaara," Naruto said with a tired smirk as he pointed at the combed hair that sported one of the youngest Kage to date.
"Boo!" Aphrodite jeered, "You looked better with the spiky hair!" Ugh, talk about a hair travesty!
Gaara's smile fell slightly as he turned and glared at his bodyguard, who huffed at Naruto's words. "I told you it looked bad, Temari."
"Naruto isn't one I would turn to for fashion advice, Kazekage-sama," Temari said blandly. She threw a thumb at the other bodyguard, who was darkly dressed and had bright purple face paint styled in a different design than what had been used in the war. "Between him and Kankuro, you needed the makeover."
"If it's any consolation, Kazekage-kun, I think you look lovely," the Mizukage said with a smile. Her white and blue robes accented her voluptuous form, and her hairstyle looked radiant as usual. For a second, Naruto wondered if Mei Terumi was a daughter of Aphrodite. He blanched slightly when her flirty smile turned his way. "You look rather charming, too, Naruto-san."
"I am not opposed to this one." Aphrodite smiled widely.
"Mom, she's like, twice his age!" Piper complained.
"Women are like fine wine dear, we become better with age. Why, just look at me!" the love goddess smiled brightly.
"Yes, you could ram a telephone pole down there," Artemis whispered mockingly.
Naruto smiled back weakly, that last thought really made her flirt uncomfortable for him. "Thanks, Mei-sama."
"Mizukage-sama should be addressed as Mizukage-sama, Naruto-sama," the short blue-haired bodyguard with modified glasses said softly.
"Is that natural?" Percy wondered aloud.
"Maybe. If not, you are not dying your hair." Annabeth warned, making Percy pout.
Chōjurō gasped when Naruto turned his eyes to him and bowed slightly. "Apologies, Naruto-sama. I didn't mean to offend you!"
"Uh, don't worry about it, Chōjurō," Naruto said uneasily. Naruto looked back at the amused Hokage and asked. "So, Baachan, about that nap?"
"No naps, boy!" Huffed the short Tsuchikage with a frown on his face.
"The garden gnome speaks!" Hermes screamed, "I knew this would happen someday! But NO! None of you believed me!"
"I think he's finally lost it." Apollo murmured to Dionysus, who hummed.
"Maybe, he's still got some sanity in him. Just give him a minute or two."
"Meh, if you say so."
"Little red hats!" Hermes cackled.
He levitated up from his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Onoki gave Naruto a stern glare. "You called this meeting, Uzumaki and I made the stupid trip to the Land of Iron once again. I'm not going to wait for you to explain the urgency because you were up making a seal for something..."
One of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards snickered and grinned at Naruto. She was about half a head shorter than Temari and wore the traditional Iwa attire. Her pink eyes glistened in amusement. "Don't mind gramps, he's just cranky because he missed his nap."
"Zeus gets like that." Hades snorted.
"I do not need naps!" Zeus rumbled.
Poseidon shrugged, "I take them all the time. On a nice beach too."
"Beware Poseidon, the beached whale." Hades broadcasted, getting a glare. But he didn't care, the lord of the underworld never got to take naps!
"Kurotsuchi!" Onoki glared at his dark-haired granddaughter.
"I concur with the Tsuchikage," Ē said. Naruto looked at the muscled Raikage with bleary eyes as Ē set his only arm on the table. "Not to mention that Kirabi insisted on coming just to get back in touch with you."
"Octopops is here?" Naruto asked tiredly. He gasped as he was pulled into a tight one-armed hug by the shinobi in question.
"Hey, Mr. Nine, keep your eyes open! Ain't never gonna know when you gonna face an opponent. Be grateful that the only one in the shadows is this Jinchuriki, the loyal and awesome Killer Bee! Whee!" Kirabi cheered as he let Naruto go and held his fist out.
Apollo dabbed his teary eye, "He has such a way with words…"
Hermes skooched over to the left.
Naruto grinned back and pushed his fist against the container of the Hachibi, Gyūki. "Glad to see you, too, Octopops."
"Naruto. B." Eyes went to the last man in the room, the quiet and book-reading Rokudaime Hokage-to-be Kakashi. His eyes met Naruto's and the masked man arched a brow. "We'll discuss pleasantries later, but perhaps we should discuss the reason behind this meeting, as the Tsuchikage said."
Tsunade nodded. "Indeed. Well, brat?"
Naruto looked around the room and sighed. Looks like he wasn't going to get any sleep just yet. Naruto scratched his head. "Okay, so, you got my report I gave Octopops, right? Well...there may have been a complication."
Naruto thought that the Kage took the news of the bounty on his head and the revival of several deceased shinobi well. They didn't start shouting at him off the bat, and they didn't start to criticize him on how he handled Hanzō. However, once he got to the reason why he requested permission to remove his seal...things got a bit...hairy.
A gagging shouted fired off and a wet hairball landed next to Frank, "Ew!" he cried out.
"Now that's hairy." Ares wiggled his brows, holding up a raggity alley cat.
"Where did you even get that?" Hera said in disgust.
"Uh, we're in New York City. How many of these things do you think I punt for fun?"
Everyone just starred at the war god, "What?" he demanded.
Reyna just continued to read.
"Are you out of your mind!?" Tsunade roared as she stood from her seat and glared at the tired blond. "You want us to give you permission to fight against more gods?!"
"Kaguya was bad enough," Kakashi said with a nod of agreement.
"Technically, she was a daughter of Zeus, the king, and he's also, sort of...my great-grandfather. Can I please go take a nap? My head is killing me." Naruto groaned and he rubbed his head. He could barely keep his eyes open at the moment, which is weird, because he's done all-nighters before. It was almost as if something wanted him to fall asleep.
"No!" Onoki scowled at him. "If you unseal your gifts from the sage, then the Uchiha's abilities become available to him once again!"
"Wait, Sasuke has some super ninja boost too…besides his pink eye?" Nico asked.
"Looks that way, and if his attitude from Apollo Naruto-" Annabeth said, but Hermes interrupted her.
"Apoluto!"
"…Apoluto. But with Naruto stopping him in this one, he must have some reality warping type of power too."
"How does an eye infection grant so much OP-ness?" Percy asked, getting some looks, "What'd I say?"
"Mr. OP himself," Thalia murmured, and those that heard her agreed.
"It wouldn't be a problem if we had dealt with him as I said we should've," Ē said as he and Kakashi held a glare with one another.
"Sasuke has already been banished from his home and has been assisting the continent with bandit problems," Kakashi said sternly. "He is a good person."
"Yeah, good person." Kurotsuchi huffed softly. "And I'm going to jump the shark boy over there in his sleep."
Aphrodite giggled up a storm at that one.
Mei let out a laugh while Chōjurō flushed bright red.
"Kurotsuchi, keep your mouth shut!" Onoki hissed.
The girl frowned. "What'd I say?"
"Enough!" Gaara's voice was not loud, but firm. The Kage turned to the former second-in-command of the Shinobi Alliance as he steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "From what we know of Naruto and B's report, these gods rule the planet and control the elements of their domains. We also know that they have cut all ties with our island, which means they do not want to involve themselves with mortals. This ties in with what Naruto has reported. If the original entity that controlled the planet does reawaken, do any of you expect that it will allow us, who differ so greatly from the other men on the earth, to continue to exist?"
"Gaea is everyone's problem, even super powered ninjas." Leo nodded, "So we get more ninja backup? Where was our ninja backup?"
"We didn't need one." Percy told him.
"It would've been nice though, dude."
"Gaara's got a point," Naruto said. Even though he was tired, he could still follow the conversation. "Tsuchi or Gaea or whatever, she's nuts. Kaguya wanted to get rid of chakra, Gaea wants to get rid of everything and start again."
"But if the Uchiha-!" Onoki was cut off by Naruto's abrupt interruption.
"If Sasuke goes nuts again – which he won't! – then I'll take care of it like I did before." Naruto shrugged. "Problem solved."
"Because he's just that good at what he does." Aphrodite smirked.
"Beating people up?" Ares asked hopefully.
"Making the pretty ones listen to him."
"Mom!" Piper cried out as Aphrodite tittered in glee.
"Naruto, last time you took care of it, it cost you an arm. Literally," Ē said dryly.
Naruto just blinked tiredly. "And?"
"...Point taken." Ē sighed.
"Tis but a flesh wound!" Apollo said in an olden time accent.
"No it's not, it's your bloody arm!" Hermes said in a cockney accent.
"I've had worse." Apollo brushed off.
Tsunade shook her head. "Well, I guess this all makes sense. Minato was the son of the war and wisdom goddess...and he was always sort of cheeky.
"A hereditary trait." Hera sniffed, giving Annabeth a distateful look.
I chalked that up to Jiraiya's tutelage, though."
"Then how would you explain Naruto?" Kakashi asked, a glint in his eyes.
Tsunade looked at the Rokudaime dryly. "That was your fault. Jiraiya just made it worse."
Gaara gave Naruto an amused look. "You said your mother was Aphrodite? What was her domain again?"
"The goddess of lust, beauty, and love. She was also known as the Lady of Doves," Naruto said. He got a high-five from Kirabi for the one-liner rap. "She's an Olympian, one of the primary twelve on the counsel."
Onoki snorted. "The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero was a goddess of love? I call bullshit on that."
"Not a lie! Tell them Apollo!"
Apollo nodded, "It's the truth."
Aphrodite smiled blindingly at that.
"Same." Ē and Kakashi nodded in agreement. Kushina was a monster in battle or training. The three shuddered as memories overcame them. Those chains were evil.
"That's just Dite's bondage fetish." Ares waved off.
Piper looked ready to hurl at that one.
"Ares, no talking about that in public." The love goddess told him with a sweet smile.
"Er, right."
"Aha! See!? I knew I wasn't the only one that thought your mother was a bitch!" Kurama declared happily.
"I'm with the fox on this one," Artemis agreed.
Naruto rolled his eyes. Shut up, Kurama.
Kankuro arched a brow and rubbed his chin. "I dunno. As a guy who is comfortable with his sexuality, I can honestly say that Naruto is a pretty damn good looking guy."
"Uh, thank you?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
"Don't mention it," Kankuro said with a dismissive shrug. He nodded to Temari. "I only said it because she's been looking at the proposal ring she got last month a bit bitterly."
Aphrodite pumped her fist, "Yes! Bring the conflicted feelings baby!"
"He best not," Hera warned sternly.
"I was not!" Temari denied heatedly. Gaara shook his head while the other Kage smirked in amusement. His siblings were so childish.
"Wait, whoa, time out." Naruto held his hands up in the universal signal for everything to stop. He looked at Temari with wide eyes. "You're engaged!? Does Shikamaru know!?"
"He was the one that proposed, Naruto." Gaara answered with a small smile.
Naruto blinked owlishly. "Oh." He dropped his fist into his open palm and a wide smile overcame his features. "I knew it! You were on a date when I came back from training with Jiraiya!"
The love goddess clapped, "That's my boy!" He knew the signs just like his momma.
Temari rolled her eyes. "Yes, Naruto, you caught us. We were on a date. All hail your skills of observation."
Naruto pouted at her like a kicked puppy. "There's no need to be so mean about it." He kicked the ground lightly. "Plus, I should've been told that first. I'm one of Shikamaru's oldest friends...I'll bet he told Kiba before me, didn't he?!"
"The scandal!"
"Aphrodite, do shush, we want to listen." Demeter told her, making the goddess puff up her cheeks.
"Enough of this foolishness!" Onoki snapped. The Kage turned to him as he kept a hard gaze on Naruto. "You wish to unseal the powers of the Rikudo, fine! But I suggest you only do so if you have to fight one of these 'gods'.
Zeus pursed his lips, "Ah, this one was the doubter, correct?"
"Yes father," Athena nodded.
There should be no reason for you to unseal these powers otherwise."
"And he'll need to be seen fighting one as well." Ē added with a nod. He turned to his other bodyguard, a white-haired man with equally dark skin dressed in loose dark attire. "Darui-!"
"No, bro, let me go!" Kirabi cut in pleadingly. "I can keep a tight eye on Naruto!"
"We do not have to keep the Jinchuriki hidden from the enemy this time around," Onoki said with a nod. "But I want eyes I can trust out there as well. Kurotsuchi?"
The pink-eyed girl hummed and shrugged. "Sure, but give me the hat when we're done, okay Gramps?"
"You're the last choice I have to be the fourth Tsuchikage!" Onoki retorted heatedly. The two started to argue over his withering health and the future of the village, which made the other Kage smirk in great amusement.
Mei turned to look at Tsunade. "This is a good idea. Send the young protectors of our villages to act as emissaries. I'll send Chōjurō out to defend Naruto-san and interact with the world. He has to find other members for the Seven Swordsmen anyway."
"Nice! Blue guy is coming." Percy grinned, he wouldn't mind joining these sword guys. He wondered if dying your hair was necessary.
Chōjurō sputtered for a moment. "But-but Mizukage-sama!"
"Chōjurō-kun, you don't want to upset your Mizukage do you?" Mei asked sweetly as she fluttered her lashes at him.
Aphrodite sighed, "I wish she were my daughter. She's a natural."
Chōjurō whimpered and hung his head as he walked around to stand beside Naruto and B. "No, Mizukage-sama."
"Good boy!" Mei said with a bright smile. She turned back to Naruto. "Kirigakure will hide you from your foes, Naruto-san."
"Sunagakure will poison your enemies," Kankuro said as he walked from behind Gaara to stand beside the blond. Gaara nodded at Kankuro's movement while his brother and friend shook hands.
"You have my sword!" Hermes said, raising his cellphone.
Hephaestus nodded, "And my axe!"
"And my bow!" Apollo exclaimed.
"For the fellowship of the ring!"
"Nerds." Ares blanched, ugh, he just had to be related to them.
"I guess that means that Iwagakure will have to defend the tree-hugger, then," Kurotsuchi said with a smirk as she hopped over her grandfather and walked to stand beside Kankuro.
Kirabi moved to kneel in front of Ē and intertwined his hands in a pleading fist. "Please, bro, let me go. I gotta be the one to watch out for my boy, Naruto!"
Ē looked at Darui, who shrugged and said coolly, "B-sama is the Hero of Kumo, Raikage-sama. I'm just your right hand. When it comes down to it, he's a better choice than I am. Sorry."
Ē turned to stare at Kirabi for another minute before he nodded. "Darui's right. B! Your mission is to defend and watch Naruto Uzumaki, genin-!"
"Jonin," Tsunade said with a smirk. She turned to the surprised blond and gave him a smile. "I'd say he's earned his promotion ten times over."
"Yay to a better paycheck!" Percy mock cheered.
Naruto beamed widely at the news. The chunin promotion was awesome, but the field promotion to Jonin? That was so much better. Kakashi's proud look made Naruto straighten even further in pride.
"Er, right," Ē said. "Defend and watch Jonin Naruto Uzumaki to ensure he is not killed by bounty hunters or abuse his powers gifted to him by the Rikudo."
Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, like I'm going to bend reality over something little. Like making instant ramen actually instant..." Naruto's eyes widened at his words and he clapped his hands to either side of his head. "How have I never thought of that before?!"
"...Yeah, sending people to watch him is a great idea," Kankuro said while Kurotsuchi groaned into her palm.
"The Savior of the World, everybody," she said.
B, however, pumped his fist. "Yo say ho!
Artemis pointed to Aphrodite, "Ho."
The love goddess squawked.
"What? The rapping ninja told me to do it." the huntress said with a sly smile.
Athena gave Apollo a look, "I told you rap was rotting the minds of the youth."
"It's not my fault! And Arte ain't that young despite what she believes!"
You know you can count on me, bro! Uzumaki's not gonna be beaten with me at his side! I'm the ultimate shinobi best suited to defend his hide!"
Tsunade nodded. "Right, then we are agreed. Naruto Uzumaki, you have the permission of the Five Villages to unseal your Rikudo powers if you face against a god, and you will lead this small squad to fend off any revived shinobi."
Naruto grinned tiredly as his adrenaline rush started to fade. "Sure thing, Baachan."
"Allied Squad, you're all dismissed!" Tsunade said. The five nodded and four of them turned to Naruto.
A moment passed before Naruto asked. "Why are you all staring at me?"
"You're the leader, say something," Jason whispered.
"He's just got performance anxiety." Apollo said.
"Not with your daughter he didn't." Ares grinned.
"…You did not just go there." The sun god glared.
"I did, ha!"
Kankuro and Kurotsuchi stared at him for a moment before they palmed their heads in sync. Kirabi chuckled and pulled out his notebook to write something down. It was Chōjurō who had the courage to speak up.
"Uh, forgive me, Naruto-sama, but we don't know where we're supposed to go." Chōjurō sweated slightly as Naruto stared at him blankly. "Er, didn't you say you were travelling with your half-sister and other demigods?"
"Oh…that's bad." Frank winced.
"And his clone's asleep!" Hazel worried, "And wasn't the scroll tucked away?"
Frank corrected himself, "Really bad."
"Or in Percy's words, really, really bad." Annabeth teased.
"One time!" the son of Poseidon frowned, "Just once I said that!"
"...Right, gotta get back to the Argo!" Naruto nodded as it all came rushing back to his sleep ridden mind. He pulled the massive scroll strapped over his shoulders around and set it on the ground. Naruto unrolled it to reveal a large seal that had a large kanji for Shinobi in the center of it. The demigod beamed and set his hands on his hips. "Awesome, now all we have to do is get summoned back to the ship!"
A moment of silence passed.
"Naruto..." Tsunade took in a breath of air to calm herself down. "Is there a toad on the ship?"
"Huh? No, Baachan. Boss Toad said I can't summon the toads outside of the continent anymore, remember?" Naruto asked. He just explained this a second ago, didn't he? How'd she forget so soon?
Tsunade reached over and grabbed Kakashi by his flak jacket. "Get me a bottle of Sake. No, ten bottles."
"Make it twenty."
"No," Zeus told Dionysus, making the wine god click his tongue in annoyance.
"Spoilsport."
"I can take back those fifty years you know."
"No!" Dionysus cried out, "I'll be good."
Zeus gave a pleased nod, "See that you do."
"I'll take some sake, too," Onoki said with a grin.
"The old geezer can't drink it! It's bad for his liver and he's not allowed to die before he gives me the hat!" Kurotsuchi interjected.
Kakashi slipped out of Tsunade's grasp and walked over to Naruto. He set his hands on his student's shoulders and stared into Naruto's eyes calmly. "Naruto. Is there a chakra user other than yourself on the Argo II?"
Naruto blinked as he pondered the words. His eyes widened in fear as he made the connection that no, no there was not a chakra user. He'd just stranded himself and his team back on the hidden continent!
Before he could panic audibly, salvation came in the form of a certain nine-tailed fox known as Kurama.
"Idiot! Don't panic, summon a clone, dispel it and then wait for your other clone to get the memories." Kurama barked.
"Thank the internal reminder!" Leo wiped his brow, "That was close."
"Meh, clichéd," Apollo shrugged, but grinned, "Still funny though, hehe."
Kurama, I could kiss you right now. Naruto thought as he calmed down.
"Burn the furry!" Ares cried out, waving his pitchfork, "Burn him!"
He was doused with water.
"You chilled out now?" Poseidon asked.
Ares just spat out some water, his sunglasses steaming.
"You're despicable."
"Ew, don't. I don't want Uchiha germs on me."
I meant kick. I could kick you right now. Naruto thought with a twitch in his eye. He forced an awkward laugh and rubbed his neck. "Oh, wait, yeah! Sorry, I'm just tired, Kakashi-sensei. Of course there's another chakra user on the Argo II! You know me, I've always got a plan!"
Athena nodded, "Indeed he does."
"He just needed a reminder of his plan." Annabeth giggled.
"...I reiterate," Kurotsuchi began lowly. "He's the Savior of the World."
"For good reason," Kankuro said firmly. He crossed his arms and grinned lightly. "Besides, the kid's kind of funny."
Kurotsuchi gave him an odd look. "Says the one that wears makeup."
"Oh, ha-ha, like I've never heard that one before," Kankuro said dryly. "It's war paint, I've worn it since I was young. Make any joke you've got, I'll bet I've gotten more tail than you have any sausages."
"Honestly, such crude remarks." Hestia frowned.
"I like make-boy's style." Ares chuckled.
Artemis rolled her eyes, "You would, pig."
"Get a new one Antler-head!"
"Are you trying to get in a dick measuring contest with me?" Kurotsuchi asked in bewilderment.
"Why, are you admitting to having one?"
Kirabi snickered. "Burn."
"I love their flirting," Aphrodite tittered.
"How is that flirting?" Athena questioned.
"It's like how you and Poseidon never get along, but deep down."
Poseidon coughed into his fist, "Never."
"Same." Athena commented with a wrinkle of her nose.
The love goddess pouted, she knew there were sparks between them! Just look at their children!
"Shut it, Jinchuriki!" Kurotsuchi glared at the Kumo nin with a scowl.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto made a clone appear and promptly dispelled it. He turned to the squabbling trio and then looked at the groaning Kiri shinobi. "Um, did I miss something?"
"No, Naruto-sama," Chōjurō said with a sigh. He readjusted his bandaged sword and moved to stand beside him. "So this is a summoning seal?"
Naruto beamed. "Yeah, I made it myself last night. This is actually just a receiving seal that will send whatever is atop it to the location of the other seal. Once my clone gets the memories, we should leave at any second."
"Interesting." Chōjurō mumbled. "Think you could reproduce it?"
"Probably." Naruto shrugged. "Why?"
"It might make for good trade between our villages," Chōjurō said.
"Teleportation would increase trade flow," Hermes murmured with interest.
"In the future Hermes," the smith god told him.
"Aw, not that whole world of tomorrow thing!" Hermes whined.
He rubbed his chin and ignored the interested gazes of the Kage as he continued. "Now, you said that the toads didn't understand the language of the demigods?"
"No, they use something called English mostly," Naruto said. He rubbed the back of his head. "I got lucky and got the language implanted in my head...I guess you guys are going to have to learn it."
"Maybe not," Chōjurō said. He looked at the Mizukage, who nodded, and then looked back at Naruto. "You've obviously got the skills in Fuinjutsu that Jiraiya, the Yondaime Hokage and the Uzumaki clan were known for, so perhaps you could perfect a seal that we've been working on in Kirigakure no Sato. A sort of translation seal."
Athena pursed her lips, now translators? That was just astounding! All they had were computer programs.
Naruto rubbed his cheek. "Can you fill me in on it when I get some sleep?"
"Sure, but until then you're going to have to act as our translator." Chōjurō shrugged. He turned to the other three and frowned. "Excuse me." The squabbling trio looked at him. "We're waiting to be summoned, so perhaps you should move to stand with us be – "
Whatever he was going to say was lost as Chōjurō and Naruto suddenly vanished in a large explosion of smoke. Kakashi chuckled and shook his head.
"There's Naruto for you. If you have to do it, do it with way too much chakra so it's nice and flashy," he said as he pulled his book out and leaned against the wall.
Kurotsuchi, Kankuro and Kirabi exchanged looks before they scrambled to stand on the scroll and wait for their turn.
" – fore we're taken away...from...Oh," Chōjurō said with a blink of his eyes as he suddenly appeared next to Naruto in a grassy field with a large group of teenagers his age wielding various weapons. He looked over them and counted about fifty in total. "Well, this doesn't seem good."
"The first Cohort, yes, not good." Reyna agreed, but looked worried at the same time.
"Oh, joy." Naruto grumbled as he caught sight of who stood across from him. "The Romans caught up to us."
"Naruto!"
"Not now, Imouto!" Naruto called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the now frozen fleet of teenagers that stared at him warily.
"Aw, isn't that cute?" Ares asked, "They want to flee in terror. Yes they do, yes they do."
"Please stop that," Frank asked, it creepy as hell.
"I make no promises."
Apollo shook head, "Said fact, I know."
Kurama snickered. "I think they remember you."
Good. Naruto gained serious look in his exhausted eyes as his clone dispelled and he received the memories of it. Apparently, the clone secretly followed the girls to their meeting spot with the – shudder – ghost lady.
Artemis chuckled, "Frightful of his own mother, fitting."
"Ugh, you can be such a child Artemis, learn to act your age." Aphrodite humphed.
When it received the other clone's memories, the first clone had to rush back to the Argo II to get the scroll and by the time it came back, the Romans were there.
"Chōjurō, think you can stall some of them while I summon the rest?" Naruto asked the Kirigakure shinobi.
Chōjurō's surprise left his face and his gaze turned cold.
"Uh, I think the dweeb looking guy isn't that big of a dweeb." Leo pointed out, getting a snort from Percy.
"Duh, he's blue."
"…A color does not rate manliness status Percy." The son of fire told him.
"Shows what you know."
He reached over his shoulder to the double handled sword that was strapped to his back and pulled the bandaged weapon from its holster.
"I will do as you command, Naruto-sama," Chōjurō said with a nod. He gripped both handles of his sword and rushed forward. When he was a good distance away, Chōjurō swung and let out a cry. "Hiramekarei Kaihō (Twinsword Unleashing)!"
The bandage sword exploded with blue chakra and formed a massive hammer that knocked eight of the fifty Roman demigods into the air with one swing.
"See Leo?" Percy said smugly, "One swing and they go flying like bowling pins."
The Romans coughed, getting his attention.
Percy looked a bit nervous, "Uh, what I mean is…ninjas are broken?"
"We'll go with that." Jason frowned.
Naruto moved back off the scroll and built chakra into his hand. The blond lifted his hand up and slammed it down onto the scroll. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Shinobi!"
A cloud obscured his vision before the three other members of his newly made Allied Squad appeared before him. Kankuro, seeing the danger, reached for one of the scrolls on his back while Kirabi reached for Samehada's handle.
"Kill them! Kill them all!" Naruto glared at the blond in the back, Octavian.
Kurama snorted. "What a little shit."
"Yep." Resounded all the demigods.
Apollo just hung his head.
"I don't know what he said, but he needs to shut up," Kankuro said with a scowl. He pointed at the ordering blond situated behind the legionnaires and a barely visible string of chakra shot out from his fingertip. It wrapped around Octavian's raised fist and Kankuro smirked. He twitched his finger and Octavian suddenly punched himself in the face hard enough to knock him flat on his back.
"…He's my hero." Leo claimed with an excited smile, "Do it again!"
Kurotsuchi laughed as she pulled out a kunai and prepared a hand seal. "Nice one, puppet boy. Do it again."
"What she said!"
"No, he's down. Octopops, you're on retrieval." Naruto rolled up the other scroll and pulled it over his shoulders. He pointed behind him to the three demigoddesses. "Take them back to the ship."
"Aw, man, c'mon Mr. Nine. It's fighting time!" Kirabi complained.
"Let the rapping ninja fight dammit!" Apollo demanded, slamming his fists on his armrests.
"He can fight later." Artemis rolled her eyes.
Naruto frowned at him. "We're not fighting now, we need to go."
Kirabi sighed and rubbed his head. "Alright, kid you're the boss. Next time though, I want to get in a toss!"
The Kumo shinobi ran towards the three demigoddess and quickly picked two of them up under his arms, one had brown hair and the other had skin like he did. An octopus tentacle sprouted from his back and wrapped around the last, a blonde girl that looked a little like Naruto.
"What?!" Annabeth paled in horror.
"So, Annabeth, I hear you like-"
"Finish that McLean and your life will turn into hell itself." The daughter of wisdom threatened.
"Well, with Percy as your boyfriend…" Piper giggled off.
"I don't get why she's getting weirded out." Percy whispered to Jason, who shrugged in return.
"Don't you two go online?" Leo asked them.
"Demigods." The two powerhouses told him.
"A magazine?"
He got nothing from them.
Leo just shook his head, "You two are disappointments. At least Frank knows what I'm talking about, since he can change into one after all."
"I would never do that!" Frank turned bright red.
"Do what?" Hazel asked with confusion.
"Nothing." Frank told her, "Absolutely nothing."
Kirabi figured she wouldn't mind the biju tail if she was related to him. By the struggles and yells she made, Kirabi realized he had been mistaken. Oh well, sucks for her.
"Kankuro, Kurotsuchi, can you put some obstacles between us and them?" Naruto asked as he looked back at the other two shinobi. Kankuro pulled his scroll open and channeled chakra into it, which pulled out a large puppet of a redheaded man while Kurotsuchi smirked at Naruto.
"Sure thing, Uzumaki," Kurotsuchi said. She looked at Kankuro. "Think your toy can keep up with my lava?"
Kankuro smirked back at her as he used his chakra strings to make his puppet come to life. "Sasori was a member of Akatsuki, remember?"
"Whoever deals with the most wins?"
"We're not killing!" Naruto ordered sternly.
"At least we won't have casualties, just bruised pride." Reyna sighed.
He looked out to the swordsman. "Chōjurō, fall back!" The swordsman knocked another seven demigods back before he ran back towards the group. He looked like he had hardly broken a sweat. Naruto looked at the other two and nodded. "Do it!"
"Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu (Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique)!"
"You put the lime in the coconut and you shake it all up! You put the lime-" Apollo sang happily.
"Not that kind of lime," Hades rolled his eyes, nimrod.
Apollo pouted, "I know that! Just trying to have some fun, Us!"
Zeus scoffed, "haven't you heard? Hades is the fun police."
"I thought that was your job?" the lord of the underworld shot back scathingly, earning himself a glare.
Kurotsuchi blew out a smog from her mouth that quickly encased the first line of Roman demigods. The quicklime hardened and locked the demigods in place from the neck down. It turned their impenetrable lines against them, the first line of Romans were now a part of a large wall that kept the others behind them.
Reyna rubbed her temples, "Really?" she asked, "That's…new. I will admit that." Breathing through her nose, she said, "Well, looks like we'll have to train around that." That was unfavorable flaw in their formation.
"Heh, child's play." Kankuro smirked. He shifted his fingers and the puppet Sasori lifted its hands. Two streams of fire shot out from the tubes in the palms and ignited the grass around the Romans, keeping the formation trapped behind the wall Kurotsuchi made. "Stone can be broken, but it's fire that they have to watch out for."
"Look at that, your toy made a fire," Kurotsuchi said condescendingly. "Can you do the same?"
"It's a waste of chakra," Kankuro said with a scowl.
Kurotsuchi smirked at him. "Aw, does someone have a small chakra core?"
"That's just a damn rumor!"
"Oh, I so ship them," Aphrodite squealed.
Ares chuckled, wiping a tear from his fiery eye, "Ah, good old compensation jokes."
"Don't you get that all the time?" Hermes asked.
Ares snarled in his direction for that one, "Says the minute man himself."
"That's a rumor!"
"Someone sounds sensitive!"
"Hey, stop flirting and let's go!" Chōjurō barked as he followed Naruto back towards the Argo II. Kurotsuchi and Kankuro glowered at the swordsman as they burst into a run after their squad leader. They were not flirting!
The love goddess tittered, "Yes you were!"
Naruto landed on the deck and immediately felt bad that he hadn't sent a clone with Kirabi. The Seven and Hedge were surrounding the Kumo nin with weapons at the ready, Annabeth appeared to be the most displeased with him for some reason if her glare was anything to go by. Kirabi didn't look that intimidated, as he calmly wrote in his rap note book and mumbled lyrics to himself.
"If there is a god, make him stop!"
Naruto snickered at the Hachibi's dramatic plea.
"You can never stop the rhyme time~" Apollo grinned.
"We wish we could," Artemis said with a suffering sigh.
Honestly, Kirabi's rapping wasn't that bad. Naruto's amusement earned the attention of the Seven and Annabeth rounded on him.
"Naruto, who are these guys?!" She demanded. Annabeth pointed a finger at Kirabi and continued before Naruto could answer her. "And why did he have a tentacle coming out of his back that wrapped around me!?"
Leo, having heard the reason why Annabeth ordered the others to surround the tall muscled black guy, burst into laughter. "Oh man, feeling violated, Annabeth-chan?"
Annabeth locked her furious grey eyes on Leo.
"Other me, other me!" the Latino squeaked in fear.
"…Be thankful it is."
"Shut it, Valdez!" Annabeth snapped with red cheeks.
Percy lowered his sword slightly and scratched his head. "I don't get it."
"Right?" Percy agreed with his other.
"Right there with you, dude," Jason said with a shrug. He looked at the other shinobi and then back at Naruto. "So...These guys are your backup?"
"Something like that, yeah." Naruto nodded. He walked up to Kirabi and the two fist bumped. "Yo, Octopops, have any trouble?"
"Hell no." Kirabi replied calmly as he looked at his notebook. "These kids don't even meet me on my scale, Naruto."
"…I don't like him." Percy frowned, "Blue guy's cool, but that? So not cool."
"I thought it was way past cool." Apollo grinned.
"Nice!" Thalia snickered at the reference.
Naruto hid a wince and for the moment, he was glad that the others couldn't understand Kirabi. That wouldn't have helped with relations. He looked at Annabeth apologetically. "He says he was sorry, but he acted before he thought. And I did tell him to carry you guys back to the Argo."
Annabeth huffed and glared at the Kumo shinobi. "Fine, but no more tentacles near me."
Leo laughed again and put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "No pet squids for you, dude."
Percy blinked and frowned. "Why would I want a pet squid?"
"...Wow, man, really? That's kind of sad," Leo said.
"Sadly little baby seal Jackson." Leo nodded solemnly.
"Leo, shh." Piper told him with a snorting giggle.
"What?"
"You don't use a computer? Like, at all?"
"Technology and demigods don't go well."
"...But there's magazines..."
"For what?"
"Wow, we just had this conversation, weird how in-sync we are." Leo chuckled over the topic.
Leo just stared at Percy for a minute. He walked away, stunned. "Man, and I thought Jason was kind of dim at times..."
"I heard that, Leo!"
"Just checking, bro!" Leo called. He gave Naruto a salute. "Later blondie, if you need me I'll be flying the ship away from the Romans."
Naruto nodded and looked back at the other six demigods. He scratched his head. "So...did we get the map?"
"Got it," Frank said with a nod. He looked beyond Naruto at the other three shinobi. "Um, who are your friends?"
"The awkwardness is amazing." Kurama mumbled.
Shut up, I'm tired. Naruto thought back before he looked at Kankuro, Kurotsuchi and Chōjurō. He waved them over and looked back at Frank before he grinned at Kirabi. "Well, this guy is one of my best friends and the Jinchuriki for the Hachibi, Gyūki. He floats like a butterfly, but stings like a Mighty Killer Bee!"
Kirabi grinned and held his fist out to Frank.
"They do that in Canada too, right?" Percy asked Frank, who glowered.
"Yes. We do. We're not aliens Percy."
"I don't know, you and your metric system…"
"Hey, that's on you Americans!"
Frank looked at it for a moment before he hesitantly pushed his fist against the larger man's. Kirabi's grin shrank subtly and he withdrew his fist.
"Sad life for you, man. I know the pain of losin' fam." Kirabi nodded solemnly. He gave Frank a thumbs up and grinned wide again. "Though you're not as awesome as me, I'm certain one day you'll give a sting like Kirabi!"
"…How does he know that?" Frank worried.
"I think Jinchuriki have some kind of Empath ability." Annabeth theorized.
"Still, it's kind of unsettling." The son of Mars frowned.
"Uh, right, nice to meet you too," Frank said nervously. He looked at Naruto, who had already turned to the blue haired boy with a strange two handled weapon on his back.
"This is Chōjurō, of Kirigakure no Sato," Naruto said with a smile as he patted the blue haired swordsman on the shoulder. "He's also the first member of the next generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."
Chōjurō bowed slightly. "A pleasure to meet all of you, even if you speak strangely."
"...Is his hair naturally blue?" Percy asked.
Annabeth palmed her face.
Thalia patted her shoulder, "Just hope you get a boy, Annie."
"Not helping, Thalia." The blonde growled.
The Hunter smirked, "I know."
Naruto looked at him and blinked. "Yeah?"
"He's my favorite."
Annabeth groaned into her hand. "Percy..."
"What? That's awesome!" Percy defended himself.
Chōjurō looked at Naruto. "What did he say?"
"He likes the way you look," Naruto said simply.
Chōjurō flushed lightly and sputtered. "But I, I mean, I don't, tell him I'm straight!"
Ares burst into laughter, "Way to go Jackson!"
Percy turned a dark shade of red, "That's not what I meant! Naruto!" he cried in outrage.
"So, what do you think of the Blue Man group Percy?"
"Not funny, Nico." The son of Poseidon glared at the grinning Italian boy.
"I beg to differ."
Naruto blinked. "Uh...okay?" Naruto turned to Percy. "Chōjurō wants you to know that he's straight."
"...Why?" Percy asked, to which Naruto shrugged. Annabeth gave Chōjurō a glare that made the swordsman shrink back.
"She...can't spit lava, can she?" Chōjurō asked.
Kurotsuchi glared at him. "And what's wrong with spitting lava?!"
"Uh, nothing! Nothing!" Chōjurō laughed nervously and waved his hands in front of him as he backed away. "Mizukage-sama can just get very irritable and the look the blonde has is a lot like hers before she threatens Ao with melting his...parts."
"…I think I'm beginning to like this woman," Artemis smiled, much to Aphrodite's horror.
"No! I saw her first!" the love goddess whined like a child.
"She's a fictional character."
"Mine!"
"Kid's got a brain," Kankuro said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. He looked at the group of kids that were staring at him and he scowled. "What? Something on my face?"
"Makeup."
"Piss off, Rock Humper!" Kankuro shot back.
Naruto groaned and rubbed his eye. He was too tired for this crap. "Kankuro, please..."
"Alright, alright." Kankuro lamented, but not before giving the amused Kurotsuchi one last glare. He looked back at the demigods and pointed at thumb at himself. "Kankuro. Sunagakure no Sato."
"He's Gaara's brother," Piper said as the name clicked in her head. "The puppet user."
"He's the Master of Strings!" Thalia broke out into song.
Apollo bobbed his head in rhyme, "Metal!"
"Thalia," Artemis frowned, "What have I told you about breaking out into random songs. You know it reminds me of Apollo when he's annoying. Like always."
"But it's such a good song," Thalia pouted.
"Right!" Naruto grinned. He snickered at the recent appearance of Gaara and looked at Kankuro. "Is Gaara really combing his hair now?"
"At Temari's urging," Kankuro said with a chuckle. "She says it'll make him look more respectable, but...he kind of looks like a dweeb."
"Yeah he does." Naruto agreed. He looked at Kurotsuchi. "You want to introduce yourself?"
"What made Chōjurō and the Hachibi container so special?" Kurotsuchi asked with a quirked brow.
Naruto frowned at her. "Don't call Kirabi that."
"We don't like labels here." Piper huffed.
"Speak for yourself dear," Aphrodite said while flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Don't sweat it, Naruto. I can handle the names, you know." Kirabi shrugged indifferently. He was a known Jinchuriki after all, getting picked on and ostracized was what happened to them.
Naruto gave him a small nod and then looked at the demigods as he pointed at Kurotsuchi. "And finally is the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi. She's one of the strongest kunoichi outside of Konoha."
Kurotsuchi frowned. "Hey, what are you telling them? I'm no fan of Konoha, tree hugger!"
"Language barriers are funny like that," Hermes laughed, he had pulled a few good pranks with numerous languages.
"Lay off him," Kankuro said with a light shove. "The guy's practically dead on his feet."
"Why is he so revered again?" Kurotsuchi asked with a frown.
"Uh, ended the Fourth War on his birthday?
"I did that." Percy pointed out childishly.
Stopped the Uchiha from toppling the Shinobi system? Mastered the power of the Kyubi?" Kankuro listed dryly. He arched a brow. "Need I say more?"
"...Tch, no." Kurotsuchi rolled her pink eyes. "Fanboy."
"Someone can't handle the truth." Kankuro mumbled.
Apollo fanned out his arms, "Spread the word my brother!"
Naruto, who could hear and understand their argument, rubbed his face. "Ugh...guys..."
"I'll handle it, Naruto-sama," Chōjurō said softly. He turned to the other two with a stern look on his face. "We've been chosen by our Kage to-"
"Oh, god and he's a devotee!"
"All spread the Church of Naruto," Hermes said in a prayer, "Amen!"
"Amen!" the demigods jokingly agreed.
Kurotsuchi groaned loudly as she cut the swordsman off. She rubbed her head. "I better get the Kage hat for this..."
"Talk about a boring ass job," Kankuro said with a snort.
Annabeth watched the three shinobi fall into an argument and she looked at Naruto with a frown on her face. She probably blamed him a bit for not telling Kirabi to not use Hachibi's tail to carry her. Naruto could deal with that. "What are they talking about?"
"Nothing important, Anna-oba...Look, guys, this is great and all, but can I finish introducing everyone later? I'm exhausted." Naruto groaned. He felt like he could fall asleep any minute.
"He's going to fall flat on his face, isn't he?" Jason asked.
"Oh yeah," Leo nodded.
Jason's face grew serious, "Called it."
"Now hold on a second! How do we know we can trust them?" Hedge asked with a firm grip on his club. He pointed it at Kirabi. "Let's test them, dibs on the big guy!"
"I love him," Ares said, "but he's biting off more than he can do. And man do satyr have iron guts."
"No, Coach," Jason said with an amused smile. "They're with Naruto, we can trust them."
"Bah, he still hasn't proven that he's not a spy," Hedge grumbled. He and Naruto exchanged glares.
"Love you too, Fuzzybritches." Naruto scowled at the satyr.
"Where are they gonna stay, though?" Piper asked. "There's no more rooms open."
"They can bunk with me," Naruto said nonchalantly.
"All in one place!? I don't think so!" Hedge pointed his club at the blond shinobi. "Listen here-urk!"
"No!" Leo cried out, "No coaches neck! They Ninja'd him!" He grabbed Piper, shaking her by her shoulders, "Ninja'd him!"
"Leo, calm down! I don't think they'd kill him…much."
"Aha! They would!"
Jason just ushered for Reyna to continue.
With that action, the other four moved. Kirabi suddenly held the club firmly in his hand, nearly crushing it in his grip. Kurotsuchi had a kunai to his throat while Kankuro had bound the satyr's goat-like legs with his chakra strings. Chōjurō had moved Naruto back and held his massive two-handled sword up defensively.
"See Leo? Coach is fine." Piper said soothingly.
"Oh, phew." Leo wiped his brow, "For a second there I thought we'd be moping goat parts."
"...Okay, I think I know why they're here," Annabeth said lowly. She looked around the other four shinobi. "These guys are the backup you talked about getting yesterday, aren't they?"
"Didn't I say that?" Naruto asked back. He gave another innocent blink and poked Chōjurō's shoulder. "Ne, you guys can relax. That's just how Fuzzybritches acts."
"...Hai, Naruto-sama," Chōjurō said as he and the other three relaxed slightly.
Hedge rubbed his neck and inspected his club and hooves once he was let go. "Okay...so they're here to protect him."
"...Why does Naruto need bodyguards?" Percy asked. "Isn't he, like, Super Saiyan Ninja?"
"He's got a point," Percy nodded in agreement. Such a smart guy!
"They're watching him so he doesn't abuse his…God Mode." Annabeth whispered the last two words to Percy.
But the gods still heard her, much to their ire.
Annabeth groaned into her hand again. "Percy, do we have to talk about this again? Naruto isn't an alien."
"But he did the Super Saiyan thing! And made giant toads!" Percy argued.
"Naruto is not an alien!" Piper retorted firmly with a glare directed at the Hero of Olympus. She even put her hands on her hips, the universal sign of displeasure, anger or offense.
"Run Percy, run!" Jason cried out.
Piper raised a brow, "Something to say, Jason?"
Jason shook his head so fast, it was a surprise that he didn't snap his neck.
Thalia groaned, her brother was whipped. She didn't know if she should be happy or sad over this.
"I dunno...it could explain a lot," Frank said softly.
Hazel looked at him. "Do you believe in aliens?"
"Well, there was that thing in Roswell back in...right, sorry," Frank said when he remembered who he was talking to. He rubbed his arm. "I'll explain it later."
"Okay, this is nice and all, but I can't stay awake anymore." Naruto grumbled. He was starting to get cranky without sleep, and a cranky Naruto was not a fun Naruto.
Aphrodite nodded, "I know sweetie, I need my eight hours of beauty sleep too."
"More like you need to hibernate for that." Artemis scoffed under her breath.
"Just slip away from everyone while they argue. I do it all the time when you're arguing with someone. What are they going to do, shame you?" Kurama asked with a snort.
Naruto thought about giving an angry retort before he realized Kurama was right. What were they going to do if he just decided to fall asleep while they bickered? Kick him off the Argo? Yeah, right. Annabeth and Piper wouldn't let that happen, and the shinobi (and kunoichi) would easily stop it. He was safe with his friends, so being attacked wasn't a problem.
Sleep. Dream. Sleep. Dream.
That sounds like a great idea, Kurama.
"What, slip away from everyone? I was kidding. You remember how they reacted to your aunt and her mate's vanishing act. Naruto?" Kurama's words were unheard by Naruto as he listened to the soft voice's mantra.
Sleep. Dream. Sleep. Dream.
"We are inside your mind." Apollo said in a creepy voice, his eyes dilating, "MIND FREAK!" he crowed.
I just want to sleep...Naruto's eyes rolled into his head and he faintly heard his name used by one of the other people on the deck. He fell to the side as darkness overcame him.
The last thing he heard was the not-real/real voice he heard before Gaea made Jason and Percy fight each other. It said five words that made Naruto uneasy and yet calm all at once.
Learn from your dream, Naruto.
"Seriously, who is that?" Piper frowned, "It's creepy."
"I have a feeling," Aphrodite tittered.
"Who?"
"Not telling!"
Reyna closed the book and turned to the gods, "Who wishes to read?" she asked as politely as possible.
"Me!" Aphrodite cheered, talking the book.