Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.
Reading: Fils de l'Amour: Mark of Athena
12: Rikudo Sennin Mōdo
"Was that not the name of his "god" mode?" Hera asked after she read the chapter title.
Zeus frowned in displeasure. That sounded rather ominous.
"They've been gone for too long," Naruto grumbled as he rested with his back against the mast. Miu looked at him from where she had perched on his shoulder and he gently stroked her beak, but the irritation was visible in his actions.
They had made it to the Mare Nostrum, but now they had to get permission to enter from the 'doorman'.
"I believe he needs a bellhop uniform."
"Hera," Zeus warned his wife with a stern glare.
"For Halloween of course." Hera smiled breathlessly, though did she love the sound of her humorous save.
The staple of Greek heroes himself, Hercules. Percy, for some reason, had no desire to meet him (something about a bad memory about a friend) and Annabeth was far more interested in discussing things with the shinobi. Leo was determined to get his fellow 'hottie' to like him.
Piper deadpanned at Leo. "You are going to get dipped in lava."
"Meh, I can take the heat." Leo waved off her concern with a grin. "I'm too hot, even for lava."
Piper threw up her arms in defeat.
Jason leaned over to whisper in his girlfriend's ear. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll let him down gently."
"I'm pretty sure you mean dropkick him," Piper said dryly.
"Yep. That should get the cogs working up there."
Frank and Hazel were willing to go, but Annabeth thought that would be a bad idea, considering they were both Roman and Hercules was originally Greek.
In the end, the Seven decided that Jason, being a fellow son of Zeus/Jupiter, and Piper, a Charmspeaker, would be their best choice to go ask for permission.
That had been an hour ago.
Naruto was starting to get antsy.
"Relax, Mr. Nine. I'm sure they're fine!" Kirabi waved off Naruto's concern.
Naruto grit his teeth and stood up. "I got a bad feeling."
Without any set plan in mind, Naruto went to the edge of the Argo II and peered over it. A good two hundred or so fall...no biggie.
Frank rubbed his chin. "Do ninjas have insurance?"
"…Ninja insurance?" Jason asked. "What? For getting stabbed on the job?"
"Why not? I'd do it. ...Maybe we should get some while we're at it."
Reyna looked thoughtful. "Perhaps."
Hermes rubbed his hands together, he liked this idea. It sounded like a brilliant business venture.
"Naruto, what's your plan-oh." Kirabi's words died on his mouth as Naruto leapt over the edge. He snorted and rubbed his head. "Well, there he goes again. Mr. Nine is so reckless and brash, he's gonna be the cause of my sore ass."
Gyuki sighed in Kirabi's head. "B...You do know that was a double entendre, don't you?"
He got no response.
Naruto landed on the edge of the beach in a crouch. He stood up and looked around with a frown on his face. Jason and Piper weren't anywhere nearby, but they had been here, the ladder led to this beach and there were footsteps. He looked up at the massive pillars that sprouted from either side of the beach and rose to match the top of the Argo II's tallest mast.
"Well, I dunno. Is it compensation or...?" Kurama drawled.
Naruto snorted. "Probably."
"Very much." Percy nodded.
"Well, I didn't put that up," Poseidon said and he glanced at Zeus.
"Oh, so it has to be me? It's in your domain," Zeus said scathingly.
"It's a combination of compensation." Hades concluded with a smirk.
"Hades!" Both brothers glared at the Lord of the Underworld.
Naruto looked up as the Argo II slowly descended towards a clearing not too far from him. The landing gear popped out, an odd thing to see on a massive ship, and sank slightly into the ground as the ship settled.
"Naruto! What are you doing?" Annabeth called to him.
Naruto waved at her. "Just checking out the beach, Anna-baba! Don't worry about it!"
"We agreed to stay on the ship!"
"In hindsight, that was boring," Percy said with a frown. "I still don't want to be near that guy."
"I know." Annabeth agreed with him while she patted his arm
"I mean, I'd rather be Ares' new best friend than be near him."
Ares snorted. "You ain't got the balls for that job, Jackson."
"That would've been wise." Naruto tensed up as a massive source of anger appeared behind him. The blond turned and beheld a giant of a man, built like a powerhouse and dressed in a dark pair of swim trunks with sandals on his feet. He had dark brown hair and eyes a similar shade of grey that Annabeth and the rest of Cabin Six had. Only, the man's eyes lacked the same wise feel that his aunts and uncles seemed to have. A scraggily beard covered his powerful jaw, but beneath it, Naruto couldn't help but see resemblances to Jason.
"It's evil Jason!" Leo gasped.
"Why would he be evil me?" Jason asked, well, other than being a jackass.
"He's got a beard. All bad guys have beards!"
Zeus, Poseidon, and Hephaestus glared at him.
"Well, uh, all comic book bad guys?"
Piper leaned towards him. "Nice save, Hot Stuff."
"Shut up, Beauty Queen."
"Uh...hi?" Naruto greeted warily. Despite himself, Naruto took a cautious step back. "You're...Heracles, right?"
"Hercules." The god returned with a snort. "Ditched that Greek name as soon as the Romans gave me the new one. I'd like to be as distant from Hera as I can." He looked over at the blonde girl that watched from the deck of the Argo II. "I see you know the feeling."
"Hey," Annabeth frowned. "What did I do?"
"Nah, Annaba-Er, Annabeth is just watching out for me." Naruto shrugged.
Hercules snorted and crossed his massive arms. "Seems more like she's nagging to me."
"You get used to it – Oof!" Percy winced and rubbed his arm after his glaring girlfriend punched it.
"You don't know her. What gives you the right to judge her?" Naruto asked. This god was already on his list of least favorite people.
"I'm a god, boy. The favored son of Zeus, reduced to a doorman, but I'm still a god."
"Favored demigod son." Apollo scoffed and interlaced his hands behind his head. "Everyone knows I'm the favorite."
"Say what?/Bullshit!" Hermes and Ares told him. Hephaestus didn't look like he cared at all. Dionysus was more interested in his drink.
Jason seemed a little offended, but tried not to show it.
"Uh, I drive the sun. You know, the sky? That shows über trust andfavor, right there. Your arguments are invalid." Apollo waved his hand at his brothers.
Hercules rumbled. He glared at the son of Aphrodite. "Why have you come? I already sent your two friends on a quest."
Naruto blinked. "A quest? To do what, exactly?"
"Fetch me something, not that it matters to you." Hercules turned and waved Naruto off. "Begone, son of Aphrodite. Wait for the two other demigods to return in the safety of your toy boat."
"...How'd you know I was a son of Aphrodite?" Naruto asked with a frown.
Hercules snorted. "I'm the patron of heroes, boy. You are a hero, yet you reek of cleanliness and your fingers lack any calluses."
"Oh snap!" Leo gasped and snapped his fingers. "No, he di-nt!"
"I told you it would come back to bite him." Athena gloated at Aphrodite, who huffed in return.
Naruto scowled at the reminder. "...Not by choice."
"I'm sure," Hercules said, disbelief laden in his tone. "Run off, wait for your sister and my brother to return. The success of this little fetch quest will mean little to me, but it was either they get me something or I fight someone." Hercules shrugged nonchalantly. "I've got a lot of pent of anger against my step-mother to deal with."
Naruto frowned. "Then let's go, big guy. You and me."
Hera looked at Jason. "What is the term for humiliation in combat Jason?"
"Owned, Lady Hera," Jason said after a moment of thought.
"Well, it seems The Brute shall get horrifically owned."
Apollo and Hermes snickered into their hands at Hera trying to sound hip.
"You're an insolent brat, aren't you?" Hercules asked with a scowl. "You want to face off against me? I am the strongestson of Zeus.
"Liar!" Apollo declared with a finger pointed at the screen. "Liar, lair, trunks on sun fire!"
His favorite son. He gave me immortality on my death. You believe you, a lowly half-blooded son of the goddess of love, can face off with me?"
"…Kick his fine ass for mommy, sweetie!" Aphrodite raged.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded confidently. He looked up at Hercules and crossed his arms over his chest. "And if you lose, you help us fight Gaea alongside Hera."
Hera paused after she read that line. She read the line again silently to herself and frowned. She was unsure of that.
Zeus, however, stroked his beard in thought. If he could get his wife to reconcile with his son...No, it would never work.
"...Do you enjoy the fantasy that is your mind?" Hercules asked.
Naruto scowled at him. "What's your deal? Why can't you push aside your anger for Hera to do what needs to be done?"
"Hera drove me mad and in my madness I killed my wife and children! I was forced to atone for my sins, to cleanse myself of them with Twelve Labors – should've been ten, but I got duped into two more..." Hercules grumbled. Damn loopholes, this was why he hated the laws. "Not only am I tormented by the memories of my mortal life, but now I am subservient to the one that had caused me so much pain. Would you not hold a grudge yourself against the one who did so much to hurt you?"
Ares cleared his throat. "That translates into; bitch, bitch, bitch."
His joke got a few snickers, but large scowls from his father, mother and aunts.
"...If things hadn't played out the way they had for me, maybe I could've been like you." Naruto frowned. He held his hand over the seal on his stomach. "I-."
"I care not for your problems, boy." Hercules interrupted rudely.
"Naruto's speech got cut off?" Piper was wide-eyed.
"Oh man, Herc done fucked up." Leo winced.
Hestia glared at boy. "Leo Valdez, you watch your mouth!"
"Er, sorry, but it's true, ya know?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, as I've already told you, I sent your two friends along to do a small quest to gain passage." He smirked. "And once I have that horn, I can hold it over that fool's head for all eternity. I'll send it to Hebe to hang in my temple."
Naruto frowned. Not only did the jerk cut him off from trying to build a connection, but he was also using his sister to bully someone.
Yeah, fuck this guy.
Hera happily repeated that line a few times, much to Zeus' ire.
Uzumaki Naruto's friends and family were not tools to be used.
Especially if he had any say in it.
"Well, you better start caring once I beat you into the ground," Naruto said with a frown.
Hercules let his head roll back and a booming laugh escaped his mouth. "You are lively, boy. I'll give you that much. Tell you what. I'll indulge you, and if you stay conscious after one of my punches, I'll even go off and whisk those other two demigods back, and give you safe passage through the Pillars."
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes as he felt Kurama take in Natural Energy. He wasn't stupid enough to leave his body completely defenseless after all. When the toad-like irises appeared, Hercules stared at them for a moment before he snorted.
"Interesting contacts, but they will do you little good." Hercules brought his fist back and grinned savagely. "Nice meeting you, boy."
The blow sent Naruto flying back a good couple dozen or so meters. Hercules had held back, finding that there was no need to actually kill the lad. Hebe and he were already distant enough, he didn't want Aphrodite meddling with that.
Aphrodite scoffed and crossed her arms. "As if his ill-long distance relationship matters to me. There was no more drama in it, so I stopped caring."
Naruto groaned and pulled himself out of the trench his body made. His eyes looked up and met with Hercules' shocked ones. A grin spread across Naruto's face. "I'm conscious..."
"Wait for it," Apollo said with a frown.
"...So it would seem. Alright boy, best me in a fight and I'll help you." Hercules smirked.
"You said I had to be conscious!" Naruto frowned.
"I never swore on the Styx. Why would I have to keep any other promise?" Hercules asked nonchalantly.
"Called it," the sun god said. "Like that ass would follow any agreement if he wasn't forced to."
"Like father, like son." Poseidon mused.
Zeus grunted, even while he agreed his son didn't have to, he did make a small condition. Plus, the backup would have been nice. It would've been just like old times.
He cracked his knuckles. "I'll be fair though. I swear on the Styx that if you manage to knock me out, you will have free entry into the homelands for the rest of your life."
The sky boomed and Naruto exhaled with a small frown on his face. "Fine-"
Naruto doubled over the massive fist that buried itself into his stomach. He was lifted off the ground slightly and a barrage of punches assaulted him, which kept him suspended in the air. Hercules grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and drove his head into Naruto's, the blow strong enough to send Naruto ten feet away.
Ares bit the inside of his cheek, he wanted to applaud that series of strikes. But it was the Jerk, so he shouldn't. How annoying. Still...
"Kick him in the nards, Blondie!"
Naruto pushed himself to his knees and shook his head to clear the fog that had been brought on by the head butt. That was just brutal, if not for his headband, Naruto was sure his skull would be mush. Naruto stumbled to his feet and barely managed to catch the right cross that would've knocked him out if it had connected. He still had to use the momentum to jump back, lest his arms suffer for it.
Hercules smirked cruelly at him.
Looks like some evil version of Jason, Naruto noted.
"Called it," Leo smirked.
Jason frowned. No he wasn't!
He rose up and charged at the god with a fist brought back. Hercules took the punch to the face without a flinch, and Naruto's toad-like eyes widened in mild shock.
"Oh...shit."
Hercules' grin widened and he grabbed Naruto by the jaw. He lifted the mortal up over his head effortlessly. "I'm gonna plant me a dumbass tree!"
Hades turned to Demeter. "Is that an actual thing?"
Demeter glared at him, "Of course not!"
"Oh." Hades frowned. If it was and it bore fruit, it would certainly explain a lot about his sister.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as he was drilled into the dirt headfirst, a massive crater formed by his impact. That, unsurprisingly, hurt a lot more than when Sasuke drilled him into the ground back when they were twelve. A rough kick to the chest made Naruto skid inland through at least eight meters of stone before the son of Aphrodite flopped to his back, his head popped out of the ground it had been drilled into as a consequence.
Hercules stalked up to him with a smirk on his face. "This has been fun, but I said I was gonna plant a dumbass tree. Can't leave the seed uncovered."
"I wonder what type of fertilizer he's using?" Ares rubbed his chin, he had to remember that line though. It was a keeper.
Naruto could do little more than groan as he tried to get his bearings. He felt the ground protest as a chunk of rock the size of the Argo II was pulled up.
"…So yeah, I totally forgot that being the god of strength was his thing." Leo admitted. He frowned. "Wouldn't that, like, collapse the beach?"
"The slab was from inland." Poseidon told the boy.
Shadow eclipsed Naruto's face and he closed his eyes as the enormous boulder was raised above Hercules' head.
"Goodbye, Mortal. I'll give my condolences to Aphrodite when she next visits."
"I don't visit him at all!" Aphrodite griped when Ares gave her a look. She glared back at him. "Oh, don't you start."
Hercules smirked before he slammed the chunk of earth onto his mortal foe and buried him alive. Well, buried him would be a more accurate term. He turned towards the ship that dare land on his island and began to walk towards it. "Any other brave heroes wish to test their mettle against me?"
"Come on, tag team the Jerk!" Ares whooped since Blondie failed like the dumbass tree he was.
"I'm with Ares on this one." Apollo agreed with a glint in his eye.
"Same."
Percy frowned. "Dad!"
"What? When it works, it works, Percy." Poseidon shrugged.
The shinobi glared at him, but didn't move unlike the demigods who tensed and prepared to fight. Hercules smirked.
"I thought not," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "So, now that that's settled, now we wait for the other heroes to return and-"
The sound of rock cracking made Hercules turn. His eyes went wide in disbelief. "Impossible."
"Do the impossible, see the invisible." Leo rapped.
"Row, row, fight the power!" Apollo chorused with multiple voices.
"Touch the untouchable, break the un-"
"Leo, shush." Hazel told him.
Leo stared at her in disbelief. "How could you just stop me in the middle of the best verse!?"
Hazel frowned at him. "That 'song' was getting kind of annoying."
Leo had nothing to say to that. Apollo, however...
"Blasphemy!"
The ground where his mortal opponent was recently buried slowly started to rise. Hercules could only watch as the boy he defeated without a problem dug himself from his grave. Or rather, lifted the grave off of himself.
"...That is so messed up..." Frank mumbled from where he stood next to Kirabi. Hazel nodded from where she stood next to him.
The Kumo shinobi smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "Never place a bet against the container of Nine. You'll lose your money every time."
"Savior of the World, Wrecker of Your Shit...they sound about the same, right?" Kankuro asked Kurotsuchi, who swallowed visibly and nodded.
"Wrecker of your shit, huh?" Percy hummed, his eyes colored with intrigue.
"Percy Jackson, you watch that mouth before I wash it out," Hestia said with a frown before she glared at her younger brother.
Poseidon tried to look as innocent as possible.
"Iwa really needs to revisit a treaty with Konoha." Kurotsuchi muttered.
"So does Kiri...but Mizukage-sama cannot know about this." Chōjurō mumbled. "She'll never leave Naruto-sama alone if she finds out."
"Desperate, much?" Kankuro asked.
As Chōjurō watched Naruto get to his feet with the massive boulder held over his head, he slowly nodded. "You have no idea."
"Cougar, rawr." Aphrodite purred playfully and clawed the air. Piper frowned at her.
"That's not funny mom."
"Oh dear, it always is. I'm called one all the time." The love goddess winked.
"You're more like cradle robber now." Artemis huffed. She looked at the rest of her cradle robbing family and sighed. They all were.
"What...How...Why?" Hercules stared at the rising blond as he effortlessly held the boulder above his head with one hand. The minor god hadn't seen such a feat since...since he was a demigod. Naruto dropped the boulder to the side, undisturbed by the loud noise made from the action, and Hercules stared with wide eyes at the blond. "I have so many questions!"
"As do I." Hermes cleared his throat before he opened a notepad and adjusted his glasses. "Ah, yes. Question number one: Why is there air?"
"To blow up balls with, duh." Apollo answered.
"Alright. Number two: If Train A is moving at eighty-seven miles per hour from San Francisco to Los Angles–?"
"Twenty-seven minutes and three point two seconds," Apollo said.
Hermes looked at him with a frown. "How did you...?"
"Prophet god."
"You had your chance." Naruto frowned as he stalked forward and tore the remains of his back-up hoodie off, revealing his slightly torn camp T-shirt. Stupid rocks, ripping his gifts...at least he had one more. He was going to hold off on wearing that, though. He did not want his last jacket to get ruined. Naruto walked calmly towards the minor god with a frown on his face.
"That wasn't too bad for a warm up. Now I know I'm not strong enough to face you in Sennin Mōdo," Naruto said, as he pointed at his toad like eyes. A golden flame spread from his stomach to encase his body and within a second Naruto stood in his Nine-tailed chakra mode. "This is my next level of strength. More of a chakra boost than a physical one, so it won't really do me much good against you."
"So he'll go a level higher." Reyna confirmed, eager to see what this God Mode could do
"Tch, just get on with it, Naruto." Kurama's voice echoed as the fox's head formed in a flame that sprouted from Naruto's shoulder. He glared at the god. "I want to see this crybaby beg."
Hercules glared back at the demonic image. "So, the Heroes have turned to ally with monsters now?"
"Look at Mister High and Mighty." Percy scoffed and crossed his arms. "I'm with the Fox, make him cry."
"I ...agree with Jackson." Ares nodded, but had a bitter look on his face. "Ugh, my mouth feels dirty saying that."
He manifested a brew of Olympian-class beer to wash it down.
Dionysus frowned jealously at him and fiddled with his diet coke can.
That had the entire group of shinobi and demigods bristle. Kirabi's frown was most prominent of them all. He stepped forward with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Naruto." His voice was calm and carried far over the island. Naruto looked at his friend and fellow Jinchuriki as Kirabi held his thumb down. "Show this clown what you can do, know that Kumo stands behind you."
"As does Kirigakure," Chōjurō said with a scowl. He adjusted his glasses and frowned at the minor god. "Show him why shinobi are feared."
"Bury him in the dirt." Kurotsuchi nodded.
Apollo shook his head. "We already saw that. Maybe some DBZ-like flying battle!"
"My son losing in the air?" Zeus scoffed. He ignored the pointed scowl Aphrodite sent his way.
"Hey, it could happen." Apollo grinned wildly at his dad, which made the sky god frown.
Kankuro grinned and leaned over the railing of the Argo II. "Kick his ass, Kid!"
Naruto grinned back at them and held his right hand out. In the middle of his palm where a black circle covered his seal, Kurama's chakra receded to reveal the small sun-like seal. "Hercules, this is the Yang seal of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Rikudo Sennin and the God of Shinobi."
Hercules scowled at him. "I don't recognize any "god" of yours, boy.
"And a slap to other religions and pantheons. Wow." Thalia shook her head, at least she had one good brother. Her mortal one, not the godly ones. Never the godly ones.
Do whatever makes you feel better. Once you're finished, I'll crush you in my bare hands and then rip that hunk of bronze and wood in half."
"You should've just helped us. Nice meeting you, Baka." Kurama cackled as his chakra receded into Naruto.
The blond shinobi said nothing while he bit into his index and middle fingers on his left hand. Naruto then brought his hands together into the Ram seal. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
"Ninshū is the original gift of Hagoromo, before it was corrupted into Ninjutsu. Created to unite the shinobi world and the rest of humanity." Kurama muttered. He snarled in Naruto's head. "Show this 'god' what the Sage was capable of!"
Gladly. Naruto opened his eyes and glared at the amused Hercules. "Fuin: Kai."
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then...it was as if the Universe stopped and focused on one thing.
"What?" Zeus cracked, a massive frown on his face.
Hades leaned towards Poseidon, a hand over the side of his mouth. "I think he just realized that he's not the center of the universe."
"I agree." Poseidon whispered back. "To the bunkers?"
"I'll get the rations."
Naruto felt the implosion of the Universe's energy. He failed to witness the giant dome of white light that expanded from him to cover the entire island. The demigods were forced to shield their eyes along with the shinobi while Kirabi had to squint behind his sunglasses. The force of the explosion made tidal waves expand out from the island and rocked the Argo where it was parked.
The graphic comic turned into a video once more and Hera looked up from the book.
Elsewhere, a wandering young man stopped and grabbed at his eye with his sole hand. Uchiha Sasuke dropped to a knee as the familiar power of the Rikudo's Yin chakra filled him. His shar-rinnengan eye turned from purple to blood red and he felt the Yang chakra grow. Recomposed, Sasuke rose to his feet and turned towards the origin of the Yang chakra. His eyes narrowed.
What are you doing, Naruto?
"About to kick some godly butt is what he's gonna do." Percy grinned. "Come on awesome Ninja Dude, kick his as-butt for Zoë!"
Artemis smiled lightly while Thalia whistled in agreement.
Hercules was torn between being infuriated and in awe. This power...it was not meant to be wielded by a child, a demigod. It was a god's power that radiated off of the boy, that much was sure. No matter, Hercules would crush him all the same. Even Ares, the Olympian god of war, was no match for his limited demigod strength. This boy, a son of Aphrodite, would fall easily.
Aphrodite's radiant smile became viciously cruel. "Oh, break his deluded mind of that, sweetie. Break it right in half."
Jason looked at Piper. "You're mom's scaring me."
"Kick his butt, Naruto!" Piper cheered before she turned to Jason. "What did you say?"
"Er, go Naruto?" Jason suddenly hoped Piper didn't have the same kind of streak in her.
Hercules's thoughts then shifted to wonder how the hell the world turned upside down so fast and why his jaw hurt so much. He landed on the ground flat on his face, ten meters from where he once stood. He rose and glared at his opponent's allies as the strangely dressed woman laughed and pointed at him.
"Uzumaki slapped your shit!" Kurotsuchi managed to get out between her laughs while Kankuro snickered beside her.
"Heph, record this!" Ares demanded.
"Now." Hera eagerly said, a wide smile on her face. The smith god shrugged, he was going to do that anyway, before he pressed a button on a remote that appeared next to him
"And as our hero radiated his golden light upon the fool meathead, he got pwned. Amen." Apollo bowed his head, grinning like it was Christmas already.
Zeus grunted and watched with distaste written on his features. This wasn't going to go away anytime soon, he could feel it.
Hercules snarled and glared at the mortal that struck him.
Naruto glared back with orange eyes, the pupils a solid cross rather than the toad-fox slit combo when he was in Kurama and Sennin Mōdo. His hair was a glistening gold, and blew from an unseen wind. His camp shirt and jeans had been replaced by a solid black body suit, a singular golden ring that hovered over his navel. His sandals shone just as brightly as his hair, and a golden jacket forged from chakra alone covered his torso. There were also nine pitch-black spheres that hovered in a circle behind his back.
Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. Yes, the glowing hair, shoes and jacket were fabulous and his orange eyes were delightful, but there was a huge problem with this form for her.
"A onesie? Surely, he could have done better than that." The goddess mumbled with a frown.
"Maybe he doesn't have control over it, Mom." Piper suggested.
"I hope so...wait, then its not his clothing?" Aphrodite hummed and slowly smiled.
"…He really is a Super Saiyan." Percy breathed out in awe.
Annabeth breathed in deeply and rubbed her head. "Percy... just-just stop."
"But he's all gold!"
"Percy!"
"But-!"
"He does look rather... gallant in this form." Athena observed critically. She approved of the image. It truly made her lineage appear that much more impressive.
The only thing that hadn't changed, oddly enough, was the boy's skin tone.
"You can't live with the pain of losing loved ones, I get that." The boy's voice travelled to him. Hercules glared indignantly at him and got to his feet to charge once again.
Naruto watched the god prepare a strike as though it happened in slow motion and easily intercepted the punch with his own hand. Unlike last time, the shinobi didn't get forced back. Hercules grit his teeth and his arm strained as he tried to force the boy back.
"Put some elbow grease into it!" Ares chortled.
"My best friend lost his entire family to his brother, who dutifully put a stop to his own family's revolt," Naruto said firmly. He tightened his grip around Hercules' fist and effortlessly shoved the minor god's hand to the side. Hercules could hardly follow the next blow to the face that knocked him off the ground and sent him back several feet.
"Well...I'm impressed." Poseidon mused.
Zeus huffed in anger and disapproval. Hercules was the god of strength, this boy should not be able to best him.
"Right now, my problem with you is that you choose, like my friend, to hang onto it as a reason, an excuse, to be a dick." Naruto lowered his hand and slowly walked forward. "I also have to thank you, because you're the first one to give me a real reason to test myself."
He didn't stop in his stride forward, and stopped another attack made by the Patron of Heroes. A backspin kick delivered to the stomach made Hercules tumble backwards and only stopped once he was a good thirty feet away. Naruto lowered his leg and continued his stride.
"This is a little scary." Hazel admitted with a weary smile.
"I think this is awesome." Thalia said while grinning, she wondered what this power could really do.
"Ever since my mother brought me to Camp Half-Blood, I've had to hold back considerably. I feel like I've entered a world made of cardboard. I have to take care not to break something – or worse, break someone." Naruto grimaced at the thought.
"Yep. Naruto's Superman." Leo nodded before he looked at Jason. "Sorry dude, but he's got it all in spades."
"He can't fly." Jason pointed out. Leo hummed and nodded in agreement.
"Tch, he's a Super Saiyan. Of course he can fly." Percy argued.
"I can't allow myself to ever lose control or someone woulddie."
Hercules got to his feet and grabbed a fallen tree from the edge of the beach. He chucked it as hard as he could at the shinobi. Naruto held up his left hand and the black spheres moved to merge together and form a large circular disk. The tree made contact with the disk...and disintegrated immediately.
No light show.
No magic words.
Just 'touch'...and the tree was gone.
"Did he just death hand something?" Thalia asked with a stunned look as others looked slack jawed.
"...Well, I am looking for interns and Apollo's spawn was so useful..."
"No!" Aphrodite and Athena snapped quickly as they glared at Hades.
Hercules stared at the black disk as it separated back into spheres and went to hover behind Naruto's back again.
"But you can take it, can't ya, big guy?" Naruto asked, not disturbed or broken from his train of thought at all. He continued to stalk towards the god as his hands clenched into fists. "What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose. Let me show you – and everyone watching." Naruto glanced up at the sky for a brief moment before his gaze met with the minor god's once more. "Just how powerful, I reallyam."
Hercules sneered at him. "I've bested Ares, the God of War! Held my own against Apollo and Poseidon simultaneously! You, a mere mortal son of Aphrodite, are no threat to m-!"
"Well, there's his father's deluded mentality." Hera commented casually.
"What?" Zeus asked her while he pretended to be hard of hearing.
"Oh, nothing dear. Nothing at all."
Zeus scowled at Hera while she smirked and watched the fight he so greatly disliked.
As he shot through the brush towards the lake of Achelous, Hercules had to wonder just when the boy closed the distance between them.
That, and the pain he felt in his left cheek was enormous.
"Boo." Hercules looked ahead of him and found a golden sandal rapidly approaching his face. Grey eyes barely managed to close before the foot impacted and shattered his immortal nose as well as send the god of bravery and heroism back to the beach. Hercules made a trench ten miles off the beach before his momentum stopped.
Hercules fled the water before one of his least favored uncles tried to keep him submerged.
Poseidon nodded. "I would just for the hell of it. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm watching this."
"Oh please. We all are, even if our heads aren't on right at that moment." Apollo chuckled.
Artemis smirked. "For once, we agree, Apollo."
"Once? Ouch."
He snapped his nose back into place and spat ichor to the side.
That fucking hurt.
"I will have beg Aphrodite for forgiveness, but she will have to deal with the obliteration of one of her children!" Hercules roared as the golden haired shinobi reappeared in front of him.
"Beg for what?" The love goddess sniffed, the handsome god was going to lose this one. Perhaps it will pop his swollen head.
Hercules began to glow, and even from the distance he heard one of the other demigods warn the mortals to not look.
"Such a cowardly cheater." Athena frowned as Zeus frowned at her. "Do not deny it. Only Ares would pull out such a tactic if he was losing like that."
"Hey! I only did it when I was leaving!" Ares argued with a sneer. Even he wasn't that much of a baby. Or a sore loser…really!
Smart child, unlike the fool boy that dare embarrass him like this.
He was a son of Zeus, dammit!
He was the strongest!
"How strong are you now boy!?" Hercules, now in his godly form, asked. The smirk on his face died down as the boy faced him with his headband over his eyes.
"Okay that's just clever." Annabeth complimented her alternate self's nephew with a smirk. "And with his ninja senses, it's probably like he isn't even blinded."
"Like a super-!"
"Percy, shut up. I mean it."
The black spheres thinned as duplicates of the boy appeared beside him out of thin air. Nine exactly, enough to match the amount of spheres that floated behind the boy. The spheres had turned into a single staff that the original held in his hand.
"Hercules, after meeting you, I now know one thing." Naruto, the original, said. His covered eyes somehow managed to meet his immortal ones. "I'm officially going to be the strongest Hokage."
"...What in Hades are you-?" A sharp throbbing pain shot through Hercules' jaw as the boy managed to strike him hard enough with the staff to knock him into the air. A glance down and Hercules' eyes widened in horror as his mandible had gone the same way as the tree.
"What's the matter Jerk? Ninja got your tongue?" Ares bellowed with laughter while he held his gut.
"He's going to have trouble smart mouthing us now," Hermes snickered.
"And sucking up to Pop." Apollo laughed.
Zeus scowled. "No mortal should be capable of this."
"Oh, wonderful idea! Let's make him immortal!" Aphrodite squealed. "Think of all the beautiful grandbabies I could have!"
"Mom!"
"No one likes a party pooper, Piper."
He didn't even feel the healing yet.
"Ri."
Wha?
Three more of the clones struck him with their feet in the center of his godly sternum and on either side of his ribs. Hercules felt the blows heal, but knew it was the least of his problems. He rose into his father's domain, and for just a moment, he thought that he'd be safe.
"But he was wrong." Percy grinned as Zeus glared at the boy. He would protect his children. It just depended on the situation they were in.
"Ku."
So much for that. Hercules was sent back towards the island by a rough double-handed downward blow.
"Do."
Hercules was sent to the left by a dropkick. He was starting to get annoyed. How the Hell could they hit him hard enough to break the sound barrier while he was in his godly form!? Let alone while they had their eyes covered!
"Because he's a ninja," Frank said.
Dionysus snorted. "No duh, Fred."
"Senjutsu."
"A remarkable skill this Senjutsu," Athena said thoughtfully.
A voice said near him. Hercules opened his eyes to face the covered eyes of the demigod. Hercules gaped as he realized the blond was flying at the same speed he was.
Percy grinned at Jason. "See? Super Saiyan."
"Shut up, Percy." Jason frowned.
"Yep, he's the ninja Superman." Leo nodded with final confirmation as he crossed his arms.
The Naruto clone tapped the side of his head. "We can sense where you are and what you're thinking. It's easy, really. Oh, by the way." He spun and a golden sandal kicked Hercules in the gut.
"U!"
Hercules was sent down towards the ocean, the burn of re-entry on his back. His descent was halted by a sharp elbow check to the god's spine.
"ZU!"
Hercules found himself rising back to the clouds. And more importantly, his jaw had finally healed back. Realizing he needed some assistance in this fight, Hercules decided to do the one thing he knew how to do best.
"Whine for father?" Artemis deadpanned.
"No thank you, Artemis." Zeus muttered, partially distracted by the sight. He was very displeased with this turn out.
"Fath-!"
Apollo frowned at his twin. "Hey, foresight is my shtick! Keep with your berries!"
"Oh no you don't!" A duplicate cried as it appeared above him.
"And denied!" Leo laughed. "That what the dick gets for messing with my ride!"
Two hands latched onto his freshly healed mouth and Hercules felt himself get spun in the air fast enough to make a cyclone before he was thrown away from the clouds. The faint boom made him realize he was going faster than five times the speed of sound.
"MA!"
A direct downward kick sent Hercules plummeting towards the beach he once relaxed on. Hercules wondered if this was something Hera had planned.
"Oh I wish I did." Hera grinned widely.
"I do as well."
"Agreed."
"Silence." Zeus ordered his wife and brothers sternly.
Perhaps it was a dream, or another bout of madness sent to bother him in return for annoying her precious champion.
"KI!"
About an inch away from the ground, Hercules felt that he was no longer alone. He turned his head around and immediately regretted doing so. The original Naruto had appeared above him in a burst of speed with his staff drawn over his shoulder.
A half-second before the minor god struck the ground, Naruto drove his staff into the back of Hercules' head. Hercules felt the back of his skull cave in and he was out like a light after that finishing blow. He would be haunted in his dreams by the last two words the son of Aphrodite shouted upon the collision of his strange staff on the god's head.
"NARUTO RENDAN (SIX PATHS NARUTO UZUMAKI BARRAGE)!"
"And what a barrage it was." Hermes whistled in praise at the speeds Naruto performed. They were nearly as fast as he was.
The screen changed back into its graphic images and Hera picked up the book once more.
"It was a shame about the beach," Kankuro said with an amused smirk. The beach that Hercules previously claimed as his own was now at least five leagues under the sea with the god in question.
Poseidon huffed. "Wonderful, now I have a visitor."
"Think of it this way, at least now you can feed something to your sharks," Hades said with a smirk.
"No, he's laced with far too much ego."
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Naruto, who was still in Rikudo Sennin Mōdo. "So...This is what the Rikudo Sennin looked like, eh?"
Naruto looked at him and then at his hands. "Eh, the Old Sage was more wrinkly and had a big fat red eye in the center of his forehead." Naruto punched the air a few times, which unintentionally rocked the boat. "I don't have that. Sasuke has the eyes."
"...He's a Super Saiyan."
"Called it!" The son of Poseidon grinned.
Annabeth palmed her face. "Ugh. This is not going to go away anytime soon."
"Gods-Percy!" Annabeth rounded on the son of Poseidon. "Naruto is not a Super Saiyan."
Percy pointed at Naruto. "Glowing blonde hair, check. Flight, check. Beat down a god. Check. And to top it all off, he has a freakin' Power Pole!" Percy crossed his arms and nodded firmly. "Naruto is a Super Saiyan."
"…That's incredibly comparing." Hermes hummed in thought. "Naruto can even change into a giant form too."
"Super-!"
"Percy!" Annabeth warned her beau with a stern glare.
"Actually, these are the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Balls),"
"Ooh." Apollo rubbed his chin. "Truth seeking balls. Now there's an idea."
"No." Zeus told his harshly with a thunderous glower on his face. The boy was far too powerful for his liking.
Naruto said as he held his hand out and one of the black orbs floated into it. He grinned as it shifted shapes to change into various weapons he had seen at camp. "They destroy any chakra laced attacks or items and, well, physical attacks without chakra don't end well for them either." He sighed. "Poor tree."
"...Damn, dude, you are like the definition of 'hax'." Leo muttered.
"He's a walking Game Shark." Leo agreed with his other.
Naruto tilted his head, his hair still in motion. "What's 'hax'?"
Leo's explanation was held off as Piper and Jason returned through the brush with a horn in the charmspeaker's hand. Jason stared in mild shock at the glowing blond while Piper openly gaped. Piper's mouth snapped shut as she looked around the area.
"Hey, Imouto!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, as if he hadn't just put the smack down on the most famous Greek demigod. He pointed at the horn in her hand. "What's that?"
"The cornucopia. Naruto, what did you do?" Piper asked with narrowed kaleidoscopic eyes, as she took in the surroundings and her brother's new appearance.
Piper groaned and looked at Annabeth. "Is this what you always feel?"
"You have no idea." The blonde sighed.
Percy looked confused and turned to Jason. "What are they talking about?"
"You got me," Jason said with a shrug.
After all the stuff Achelous put her through. She was tired and hungry, and frankly, she really didn't want to know why the beach was missing.
"Um..." Naruto hesitated for a moment before he started to float up. "I'm gonna go scout ahead and see if there's any other islands with jerks planted on the beaches! Later, Imouto!"
Piper watched in disbelief as Naruto shot off with a golden after-image while Jason blinked.
"...Did he just fly away?" Jason asked as a pout formed on his face. That was his thing.
Jason crossed his arms, a frown on his face. Flying was his thing. Being Piper's Superman was his thing...Oh, great, now he's worried Naruto will go after Piper. Wonderful.
"Yes. Yes he did." Piper groaned and climbed onto the Argo II. "Come on, Jason. We'll get details from Annabeth and the others. Let's go to Rome."
"Be sure to get a souvenir!" Leo held up a plate. He shrugged when the other demigods looked at him. "What? We were trapped in an antique shop. It was shiny!"
Hera smiled as she closed the book. She was radiant with glee as she looked at her disgruntled husband. "I believe I know what story I favor thus far."
Zeus scowled at her. "Yes, yes, gloat and praise Aphrodite's son for defeating my own. Who shall read next?"
Apollo held up his hand eagerly. "Dibs!"