The forest was too quiet.
Not the kind of quiet that meant peace. Not the kind of quiet where you could breathe easy and enjoy the sound of wind through the trees.
No, this was the wrong kind of quiet. The kind that made Thalia's skin prickle under her jacket and her fingers tighten around her spear until her knuckles ached.
As a demigod she didn't trust quiet.
They'd been forced off the highway an hour ago when monsters caught their scent, and Thalia had led Luke and the new kid Annabeth off the road and into the woods. The air here was heavy, thick with damp.
Mist clung to the branches, shrouding the pines like they were hiding something. It pressed in, muffling sound, and made every step crunch too loud against the carpet of needles.
Luke followed at her side, his sword out, shoulders tense. He was better at hiding nerves than Annabeth, but she saw the twitch in his jaw.
Annabeth herself trudged stubbornly behind, hammer clutched in both hands. She was only seven, too young for all of this, but her gray eyes darted everywhere like she was trying to memorize the whole forest.
"This doesn't feel right," Luke muttered, his voice low.
"It never does," Thalia said. Her voice was flat, but her grip on her spear tightened another notch.
A crow cawed in the distance. It made all of them flinch.
Then, through the mist, a soft orange glow flickered between the trunks. Thalia slowed, raising a hand for them to stop. The three of them crept forward until the trees opened into a clearing.
That's when they saw him.
A boy crouched by a fire. Long blond hair sticking out in every direction, face streaked with dirt, clothes torn like he'd been crawling through the woods for weeks. He hummed off-key while roasting meat on a stick, perfectly at ease like this was his backyard.
But it wasn't just him.
The company around him was worse. Birds perched above in the branches, their wings fluffed as they watched. Squirrels and rabbits sat close by the fire, unafraid.
And lounging beside him was a fox the size of a shepherd dog, fur a deep, unnatural crimson. Nine tails flicked lazily behind it, each movement precise and deliberate.
Thalia reacted on instinct. She shoved Annabeth behind her, spear leveled. "Kid or monster, I don't care which but move and you're toast!"
The boy looked up mid-bite, blinking at them with the bluest eyes Thalia had ever seen. Then he grinned, cheeks puffed out with food.
"…Yo."
The fox's ears twitched. Its eyes opened with glowing amber, sharp as blades. When it spoke, the voice was deep, rumbling, and far too human.
"Tch. Another pack of brats. As if one wasn't enough."
All three of them froze.
"…That fox just talked," Luke said flatly, though his voice wavered.
The fox turned its head slowly toward him. "Good observation, genius."
Annabeth's mouth dropped. "Is that… a monster?"
The fox bared its teeth in something like a smile, tails swishing. "Watch your tongue, child. I am a mighty beast."
Thalia felt her stomach drop. She forced herself not to show fear, though her knuckles went white on the spear. She'd fought monsters before, but nothing like this. This wasn't some hungry beast. This was… something else.
Before she could demand answers, a growl ripped through the clearing. Branches snapped, and a hellhound exploded out of the brush, eyes glowing, foam spraying from its jaws.
Thalia braced her spear, electricity crackling along the bronze. Luke stepped forward, jaw set, sword raised.
The blond boy just sighed. "Really?"
He stood without hesitation or fear and flicked his wrist.
The earth answered his call and the ground split, and massive spears of wood shot upward, faster than arrows. They skewered the hellhound mid-leap, snapping its spine before it could reach the fire.
The beast yelped once, then went still as the wood twisted, coiling around its body. The forest swallowed it whole like it had never been there.
Silence crashed down again. Even the fire seemed to hesitate before popping.
The boy brushed his hands on his pants, annoyed more than anything. "Stupid dog," he muttered. Then he looked at them, grin back on his face like nothing happened. "So… you guys hungry? I've got extra."
Thalia didn't lower her spear and Luke's grip on his sword whitened until the leather creaked.
Annabeth, however, stepped forward, eyes wide with childish fascination. "What's your name?"
The boy tilted his head, grin stretching. "Me? Naruto." He said it like the answer was obvious, like it was the only thing in the world he was sure of.
The fox yawned, long teeth glinting. "Kurama."
Annabeth blinked. "You… named your fox?"
Kurama growled, tails swishing. "He didn't name me, my father did."
Naruto chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Don't mind him. He's just cranky."
Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Cranky? That thing just talked."
Kurama's tails lashed, snapping like whips. "And you're remarkably loud for a child. Perhaps someone should shove that spear into your mouth."
"Hey!" Thalia snapped, stepping forward. "You wanna go, furball?!"
"Oh please." Kurama sneered, lips curling back. "I've eaten things scarier than you before breakfast."
Naruto slapped his knee and doubled over laughing, nearly dropping his food. "You guys, haha! You guys are killing me!"
Luke muttered, "This is crazy."
Annabeth's lips twitched like she was hiding a smile. "I think they're funny."
Thalia jabbed her spear toward both fox and boy. "I already hate them."
Naruto wiped tears from his eyes, still grinning like an idiot. "Aw, come on! But we just met!"
The fire crackled, the mist rolled back, and somehow, for the first time all day, the forest didn't feel so quiet anymore.
Thalia kept her spear leveled, refusing to be the first to blink. Luke's sword hovered at his side.
Annabeth shuffled closer to Thalia's leg, her hammer clutched to her chest, but her eyes never left the strange blond boy and his pet fox.
Naruto just kept grinning at them like this was the friendliest campfire in the world.
"Are you guys always this jumpy?" he asked, voice light.
"Only when we find random strangers in the woods," Luke shot back.
"Or when their pets talk," Thalia added coldly.
Kurama's tails swished lazily, his amber gaze flicking over them like they weren't worth the effort. "Pet? Watch your mouth, girl."
Annabeth tilted her head, her small voice breaking the tension. "Are you… with us? Or with them?"
Naruto blinked, then tilted his head too, mimicking her expression before breaking into another goofy grin. "With you, I guess? Unless you're planning on trying to eat me."
Annabeth's lips twitched, the hammer lowering a fraction.
Luke sighed, rubbing at his temple. "Gods, have I mentioned this is insane?"
"Not gods," Thalia corrected bitterly. "Monsters. Which means we don't camp out in the open."
Naruto perked up, clapping his hands together. "Oh, that's easy! You don't need to camp out here." He flashed a big grin. "I'll just make us a place to stay."
Luke frowned. "You'll what?"
"Trust me," Naruto said, already crouching down. "Sleeping on the ground sucks if you're not used to it. You'll like this better."
He pressed a hand to the ground. The earth rumbled, roots bursting upward. In seconds, wood wove into beams, walls, and a slanted roof. A door swung into place, leaves layering into shingles as if the forest itself had decided to grow them a cabin.
All three demigods froze, staring.
Naruto stood, grinning proudly. "There! Beds beat dirt any day, right?"
Annabeth's jaw nearly hit the ground. She bolted to the doorway, eyes wide. "It's.. It's a whole house!"
Luke muttered, "That's not normal."
Thalia scowled. "That's not possible."
Naruto smirked. "Oh, I'm not done yet." He pressed both palms flat to the earth. Around the cabin, a ring of trees surged upward, their crowns bending inward until they locked together in a thick, woven dome.
The gaps filled with interlaced branches, sealing the little camp in a living shield. Starlight glittered faintly through the gaps overhead.
"Now no monsters can bug us," Naruto said, dusting his hands off. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Even Thalia couldn't hide the flicker of awe in her eyes.
Annabeth whispered, "Are you… are you a son of Demeter?"
Naruto blinked. "Who?"
"Demeter," she said eagerly. "Goddess of the harvest, crops, and the nature seasons. She makes plants grow. You must be her kid."
Naruto scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "Uh… never heard of her. I mean, I talk to nature spirits sometimes. They pop up sometimes, say hi, call me 'master'" His face went red. "Which is super embarrassing, by the way but I don't know any Demeter."
Luke gave him a long look. "Wait. You seriously don't know about the gods? At all?"
Naruto blinked, tilting his head. "Gods? They're real?"
Thalia threw her hands up. "Unbelievable. Were you born under a rock?"
Kurama, stretched by the hearth, let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Don't bother, girl. This brat's thicker than oak. And you.." his amber eyes slid toward Thalia "you've got a mouth that could scare off monsters."
Thalia bristled instantly. "You wanna say that again, mutt?"
Kurama bared his teeth in a fox-smile. "Gladly. You're loud, bossy, and permanently irritating. Remind me why anyone keeps you around?"
Thalia's spear crackled with sparks. "Try me."
Naruto collapsed into laughter, clutching his stomach. "Pfft! Kurama! Stop bullying her! She's gonna fry you!"
"Let her try," Kurama said lazily, curling his tails.
Luke groaned, dragging a hand over his face. "I can't believe this is my life."
But Annabeth was too curious to care about the bickering. She sat cross-legged on the cabin floor, staring up at Naruto. "Listen. The Greek gods are real. They're alive. They're in America. And they have kids with mortals. Half-bloods. That's what we are. Demigods."
Naruto's eyes went wide. "Wait, wait, wait. So they're all walking around right now? Just having kids?"
Luke nodded grimly. "That's why monsters hunt us. They smell it in our blood."
Naruto sat back, whistling. "Huh. Y'know… I think the nature spirits might've told me some of this before. I probably wasn't paying attention."
"Spirits?" Annabeth leaned forward. "They talk to you?"
"All the time," Naruto admitted. "Animals too. Birds, foxes, deer. They never shut up." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "I didn't think it was weird."
The three demigods stared at him like he'd just dropped another bombshell.
Thalia recovered first, voice hard. "So what's your deal? Kids like us just don't wander alone. Not for long at least."
Naruto's grin softened, almost wistful. "Eh. Long story. Doesn't matter right now."
Luke didn't press, but the suspicion in his eyes sharpened.
It was Annabeth who broke the silence. "We've been running from monsters. We're trying to reach a safe place called Camp Half-Blood. It's where half-bloods like us can train and survive."
Naruto leaned forward, curiosity plain. "A camp? For people like you? That sounds awesome."
Annabeth smiled a little.
Kurama snorted from the hearth. "Hnh. Safe camp, brat? With your luck, you'll just drag monsters there with you."
Thalia glared at him. "Better than dragging around a talking furball."
Naruto burst out laughing again, his grin wide and carefree.
"Man, you guys are hilarious." He leaned forward suddenly, chin in his hand, curiosity lighting up his face. "So… what gods are your parents, anyway?"
The question dropped into the room like a stone.
Thalia stiffened, her jaw tightening. Luke's expression darkened. Even Annabeth's small smile faded.
Luke spoke first. "Hermes. God of travelers, messengers, thieves." He let out a short, bitter laugh. "The guy who's supposed to guide souls and never loses his way. Figures his own kid spends his life running."
Thalia's grip tightened on her spear. "Zeus," she said sharply. "King of the gods. Lord of the sky." Sparks licked the bronze as her eyes hardened. "Doesn't mean a damn thing when he left me alone to fight for myself."
Naruto blinked, wide-eyed. "Whoa…"
Annabeth hugged her knees, her small voice steady but soft. "…I don't know yet."
Naruto tilted his head. "You don't?"
She shook her head. "Not all of us are claimed right away. But I'll know someday." There was the faintest tremor in her words, quickly swallowed by determination.
The fire popped, shadows dancing across the wooden walls.
Naruto looked between them, his grin fading into something gentler. "Man. I thought gods were supposed to be amazing."
Kurama gave a low chuckle, tails flicking. "Amazing? Try negligent. Your mighty Olympians sire children they don't bother to raise. Pathetic." His amber eyes slid to Thalia, teeth flashing. "Explains the temper."
Thalia's spear snapped with electricity, the air thickening with ozone. "Say that again, mutt."
"Of course," Kurama drawled, baring his teeth in a grin. "You're a real credit to your father."
Naruto jumped up, waving his hands quickly. "Whoa, hey, hey! Sorry sorry! He's just… like that." He shot the fox a glare before grinning sheepishly back at the others. "Don't take him too seriously. He likes pushing buttons."
"Damn right I do," Kurama muttered, curling his tails tighter.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, trying to dispel the charge in the air with a laugh. "Look, you guys have been running for who knows how long. You're tired, right? Why don't we just… call it a night? No monsters are getting through my dome, promise."
Luke gave him a long, measured look, but finally sighed, lowering his sword. "Some rest wouldn't hurt."
Thalia didn't drop her spear, but the sparks fizzled out. "Fine. But I'm keeping first watch."
Annabeth had already climbed onto the nearest bunk, gray eyes drooping despite herself. "This is the safest I've felt in weeks," she murmured.
Naruto grinned, softer this time. "Good. Then sleep. I'll keep things steady."
Even as the tension still clung in the air, one by one they settled with Luke against the wall, Thalia perched stiffly by the fire, Annabeth curled up on the wooden bed.
And for the first time, they let themselves believe they might wake up safe.
Morning bled through the leaves, pale and gold, spilling in thin stripes across the cabin floor. Dust motes drifted in the shafts of light, slow and lazy, like they weren't in a hurry to fall.
The air smelled different than it had in weeks; not of mildew, wet dirt, or monster musk but cedar, pine sap, and something clean. It smelled like safety.
Annabeth stirred first. She blinked blearily, rubbing sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand.
For a second, she looked confused like she'd half-way expected to wake up under a highway overpass again or on the damp ground.
Her gaze darted around the cabin, and she pushed herself up onto her elbows. The walls were too perfect, the beams too smooth.
She slipped out of bed and pressed a palm to the nearest wall, fingers splayed wide like she needed proof it was real. The surface was warm under her touch, almost alive.
She traced a line in the wood grain, lips moving without sound, eyes narrowing in disbelief. No nails. No seams. The joints carried weight without buckling. By rights it should've sagged and collapsed overnight. Yet it stood like it had always belonged there.
Her whisper escaped before she could stop it. "This shouldn't even be standing."
The door creaked on its own. Cold air slid in, sharp enough to raise goosebumps on her arms.
Annabeth padded over, battered sneakers whispering on the smooth floorboards. She nudged the door open wider.
Outside, Naruto crouched in the grass, surrounded by life. Sparrows fluttered down onto his arms and shoulders, wings beating softly as they fought for crumbs from his palm. A squirrel scurried up one leg and perched on his head like it had claimed him. A rabbit shoved its way into his lap, chewing with the calm arrogance of something that knew it was safe.
Naruto grinned, scratching behind ears, humming off-key, like this was just another morning.
Kurama lay stretched out a few feet away, tails fanned like blood-red banners. His amber eyes didn't blink, locked on the tree line. If Naruto was sunshine, the fox was the shadow just past it.
"You're spoiling them," Kurama rumbled. His voice carried the weight of something ancient, even when he sounded bored.
"So what? They're hungry," Naruto said, flicking another crumb to a sparrow that hadn't fit on his arm. His grin widened when it snatched the piece mid-air. "Besides, it's nice, y'know? Waking up like this."
Annabeth stepped outside, hugging herself against the morning chill. Her hair stuck out in tangled waves, her shirt too big for her tiny frame. She pointed back at the cabin with a little frown.
"This cabin," she said. "How'd you do it? There are no joints. No braces. It just doesn't make sense from an architectural standpoint..."
Naruto tilted his head, as if the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Then he laughed, scratching at his cheek. "Oh, that? Just kinda happened. I thought about a house and the trees pitched in to help. Guess they figured out how we needed it."
Annabeth circled him, brows drawn tight, her curiosity cutting through her exhaustion. "That's not possible. You didn't measure or plan anything!"
Naruto shrugged, unfazed. "I'm not much of a planner."
"Or he's lying," Thalia's voice snapped from the doorway.
They turned. Thalia leaned on the frame, one hand tight on her spear. Her dark hair stuck in wild tangles, and her eyes were still heavy from lack of sleep, but her suspicion burned sharp as ever.
Kurama cracked an eye and bared his teeth in something like a grin. "Relax, girl. If he wanted you dead, you'd already be mulch."
Thalia's knuckles whitened on her spear shaft. "Do you want to go, furball?"
"I'd get bad indigestion from eating you," Kurama said lazily, shutting his eye again. "Not worth it."
Naruto jumped in fast, both hands waving like he could fan away the sparks. "Hey, hey! Breakfast first. Death threats later, okay?"
The tension didn't fade, but Thalia didn't step closer either.
Annabeth tugged on Naruto's sleeve, eyes still shining with thought. "You could build bridges. Towers. A whole city even."
Naruto tilted his head. "Why would I build a city? That sounds like a lot of work."
Annabeth stopped, frowned, then almost smiled despite herself. "That's not how people usually answer."
"Guess I'm not the usual person." Naruto shrugged, crumbs scattering off his lap.
Behind them, Luke finished buckling his sword belt. He leaned against the wall, watching the exchange with his usual mix of weariness and calculation. "She's already attached to him," he muttered under his breath to Thalia.
"Hopefully she doesn't get comfortable," Thalia replied, but she didn't look away from Naruto. Not once.
Annabeth suddenly squared her shoulders and looked up at Naruto, voice blurting out before she could lose her courage. "You should come with us. To Camp Half-Blood."
Naruto blinked, caught off guard. "You want me to come to Camp Half-Blood?"
"It's where we're going," Annabeth said quickly. "It's safe there. Safer than anywhere else in the world. You don't have to stay out here alone. Please. Come with us."
Thalia's head snapped toward her. "Absolutely not. He's too dangerous and mysterious. He could be an agent of Hades for all we know."
Naruto tilted his head, frowning faintly. "An agent of who now?"
Before Thalia could bite back again, Luke stepped forward, voice steady and sharp. "It's not about comfort, Thalia. It's about survival. He just wiped out an entire wave of monsters in seconds. That's the kind of strength we need on our side. If he's beside us, that's better than him wandering around as a wildcard."
Thalia's grip on her spear tightened, lightning crawling faint along the bronze. She looked from Luke to Naruto to Annabeth, torn between distrust and the reality pressing in on them. Finally, she exhaled hard through her nose, lowering her weapon an inch. "Fine. But this doesn't mean I trust him."
Annabeth beamed up at Naruto, tugging on his sleeve again. "See? You can come!"
Naruto scratched the back of his head, grin returning. "Guess I don't have much of a choice now, huh? Alright. Let's see what this camp of yours is all about."
Kurama chuckled, tails swaying lazily. "Relax, girl. The only danger this fool poses is to himself."
Naruto froze mid-grin, turned his head slowly toward Kurama. "...Wait. That's an insult, isn't it?"
Kurama yawned, unbothered.
Naruto puffed his cheeks out and sulked, kicking at a stray pinecone. "Tch. Stupid fox."
Annabeth giggled, Luke shook his head, and even Thalia's mouth twitched with not quite a smile, but close enough.
By noon the cabin had melted back into the forest, swallowed by moss and bark until it looked like it had never existed. One moment a home, the next just trees.
They walked in single file under the pines, boots crunching on needles, breath fogging faint in the cool air.
Annabeth trotted beside Naruto, hammer bumping against her thigh, questions spilling faster than she could think.
"So the trees really just obey you? Could you make a bridge across a canyon? What about a tower? How do you even know it'll hold weight?"
Naruto scratched his cheek, grin tugging crooked. "I'm connected to nature. To all of it. I ask them to do something, and they answer my call."
"And they just… listen?" she repeated
"Of course," Naruto said matter-of-factly. He glanced at a birch they were passing, tapped the bark with his palm. "But I try to ask nicely. Makes them happier to help."
Annabeth stared, gray eyes huge. She mouthed something, calculations, equations, blueprints only she could see before snapping, "That's not normal. At all."
Naruto shrugged. "I've been told I'm not normal often."
"Understatement of the year," Thalia muttered from the front.
Kurama padded behind them, tails whispering against the dirt, voice curling low and smug. "At least the brat's honest about being unnatural. You, girl, should try it sometime."
Thalia stopped just long enough to glare over her shoulder, sparks already crawling her spear.
"Keep talking, mutt. See what happens."
Kurama bared his teeth in a grin. "Ooo, scary. Hades' lapdogs want you dead, not me. If you fry someone, it'll just be the ones keeping you alive."
"Enough," Luke snapped from the rear. His hand rested on his sword hilt, knuckles tight. "Both of you. Save the fight for what's coming."
As if on cue, the forest fell silent.
No bird calls. No squirrel chatter. Not even the breeze. The air grew thick and sour, like sulfur biting in their throats.
Luke's eyes flicked over the trees. "Something's wrong."
Thalia lifted her spear, jaw set. "Monsters."
The brush ahead rattled. A hiss like a hundred snakes sliding together filled the clearing.
Then bronze flashed.
Dracaenae slithered into view, dozens of them. From the waist up they were women in dented breastplates, hair braided tight; from the waist down, serpents, scales shimmering green and black. Bronze swords gleamed in their hands. Their tongues flicked the air, tasting. Their eyes locked, every single one, on Thalia.
The frontmost raised her sword. "Daughter of Zeus," she hissed, voice a rasp of scales on stone. "Our master awaits. Your blood belongs to Hades."
Annabeth sucked in a sharp breath. "They're here for.."
"We know," Thalia cut her off, voice like steel. Her grip tightened on her spear until sparks crackled down the bronze tip. "If Hades wants me he can come and get me himself."
The dracaenae hissed as one, and the pack surged forward.
"Annabeth, stay back!" Luke barked, already drawing his sword forward.
She obeyed, retreating a step but lifting her hammer, jaw tight with stubborn courage.
Thalia met the first wave head-on. Her spear thrust forward, lightning snapping down its shaft, exploding the monster into dust. She spun on her heel, parried two blades at once, electricity arcing across her arms and down into the ground.
Luke slipped past her right flank, his sword a blur of clean, efficient cuts. He fought like he'd been doing it all his life, there was no wasted motion, no flourish, just pure killing.
Annabeth swung wildly when one lunged too close, her hammer crunching against its jaw with a crack that sent the dracaena reeling. She hit it again, teeth gritted, until it dissolved.
But for every one that fell, more slid out of the treeline. A tide of scales and bronze, circling tighter.
"There's just too many," Luke muttered. His blade flicked left, carving through another, but sweat already shone on his temple.
Thalia bared her teeth in a snarl, lightning sparking across her knuckles. "Let them come!"
Naruto sighed. "Guess it's my turn."
He slammed his palm to the earth.
The ground shuddered like something alive waking up. Roots ripped upward in a tangled surge, thick as ship ropes, snaring ankles, coiling torsos. Dracaenae shrieked as the forest itself attacked, scales grinding against bark that refused to break.
Branches bent overhead, knitting together into a living cage that slammed down around the monsters, trapping a dozen at once.
Annabeth froze, eyes wide.
Naruto straightened, dusted off his hands, and grinned. "Well that wasn't too hard, right?"
The lead dracaenae shrieked, lunging through the roots, sword flashing toward Thalia in rage.
Thalia spun, spear intercepting the strike. Sparks spat where bronze met bronze, the force rattling her arms. She shoved back, lightning crawling up her enemy's weapon, frying her until she burst into golden dust.
Another slipped in behind, blade raised for Thalia's spine.
Naruto's voice snapped sharp. "Watch out!"
The earth obeyed as a sinkhole yawned open beneath the monster's body, swallowing it mid-leap. Its scream cut off as it vanished into the soil, dusting inside the earth.
Kurama's laugh rolled through the clearing, low and savage. "Effortless. You should make them beg next, brat."
"Not funny," Thalia snapped, driving her spear into another chest. "This isn't a game!"
"It is," Kurama countered, tails flicking. "And the prize is your corpse."
Luke shoved a monster off his blade, sweat dripping from his jaw. "Less talk. More killing."
The dracaenae pressed harder, the ring closing tight. Their leader hissed above the chaos, voice cutting like a blade. "She is promised to the Lord of the Dead! Kill her! Rip her apart!"
The pack surged in unison.
Thalia roared, lightning bursting from her spear in a white-hot arc, frying three at once. Her chest heaved, breath harsh, but she didn't falter.
Naruto pressed both hands to the soil. Wooden spears erupted in a perfect circle around Thalia, stabbing outward, cutting down every monster that dared step toward her.
He glanced at her and winked. "Relax. I've got your back."
Thalia blinked, startled for a heartbeat, then snarled and spun, stabbing her spear clean through another.
Annabeth fought at her side, every swing desperate but determined. She wasn't strong enough, not yet, but she refused to back down. Her hammer caught one dracaena in the ribs, sent it sprawling into a waiting root that skewered it through the chest.
Luke's sword carved a bloody rhythm, precise even when surrounded. His knuckles were white, his eyes sharp, his movements ruthless. "Keep formation! Don't let them split us!"
But the dracaenae didn't stop. For every one that fell, another slithered forward, hissing, blades raised. Their eyes glowed with one intent, Thalia.
Naruto's grin faded. His palms pressed deeper into the soil.
The earth roared.
The ground cracked wide, roots bursting forth in a spiraling wave, sweeping through the monsters like a living tide. Trunks bent into clubs, branches whipped down like whips, vines tightened around throats and dragged them screaming into the dirt.
The clearing shook with it, pine needles raining down like sparks from a fire.
When the last dracaena shrieked and dissolved into dust, silence crashed heavy.
The smell of sulfur clung to the air, mixing with pine sap and ozone. The forest still seemed to hum, restless under Naruto's iron grip.
He stood, exhaling, and grinned towards Annabeth like the danger didn't affect him one bit. "See? Nothing to worry about."
Thalia wiped blood and monster dust from her cheek, chest still heaving, sparks crawling faint over her skin. She glared at him but there was something like respect buried under the anger.
Luke lowered his sword, blade dripping with golden ichor. His eyes flicked to Thalia, then Naruto, suspicion tight in his jaw.
Kurama stretched, yawned, tails fanning wide. "How pathetic," he said, voice dripping with disdain. "Dozens of them, and still too weak to finish the job and capture a little girl. Hades must be furious."
Thalia snapped her head toward him, sparks spitting. "Say that again."
Kurama grinned, teeth sharp. "You're alive for now. Don't thank me too much."
Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, trying to diffuse the weight of it. "Man, you guys are intense like an old married couple."
Thalia's glare cut to him, but she didn't argue.
Luke wiped his blade clean on the grass. "We move. Before more come."
The others nodded, shoulders heavy with exhaustion but spines still straight. The forest remained too quiet, the air still humming with threat.
But for now, they had survived and they had to keep moving.