Co-Written by Engineer4Ever

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus.

Fils de l'Amour: The Lost Hero

Chapter 1: Mom's Wake Up Call


The sunlight peaked through the window of a rundown apartment in Konohagakure no Sato, where a sole teenage boy lay in bed. Well, 'in' is being a bit generous. The teen was sprawled across the bed while lying on his stomach, sheets falling partially on the floor along with a leg while a bit of drool came out of the corner of his mouth. His head was covered by short messy blond hair, spiking uncontrollably in several places, and on both of his cheeks were three thin marks, looking akin to whiskers.

The teen's arms suddenly wrapped around the pillow his head rested on and he smiled in his dreaming state. He giggled sleepily and addressed his dream in mumbles, speaking to the pillow softly. Whatever he was dreaming of was interrupted by the loud buzzing of his alarm clock, startling the blond from his sleep with jolt. Blearily, he looked around for the source of his current state of consciousness and found it. Raising a clenched fist, the sleeping teen then dropped it on the device, shattering it with ease.

"Who keeps buying those stupid things? And setting them for so early?" asked the blond with a growl. He closed his eyes in an effort to return to the realm of dreams. He deserved to sleep, damn it. Wasn't saving the world from a madman trying to become a god enough for that at least?

It had only been three months since the end of the Forth Shinobi World War, the cold war between the five great shinobi nations now over. The nations were separate but allied and peace was reigning supreme over the small continent known as the Elemental Nations. The chakra entities known as the Biju were mostly gone, hiding away from humanity to protect the world from another would be revival of their original form.

The Shinju, a primordial entity that was partially responsible for the emergence of the shinobi that dominated the continent. Its' defeat would go down in history as one of the hardest battles known to shinobi. And Naruto was right there on the frontlines. He still had the occasional nightmare about it coming back, about this peace just being a dream.

With another groan at being unable to go back to sleep, the blond pushed himself up and got off of the bed. Groggily, the blond stumbled from his bedroom to the small kitchen in only his boxers. He walked past an amused looking redheaded woman, her violet eyes twinkling as she watched him wave at her tiredly, exposing a small circle in the palm of his right hand.

"Morning mom," said the blond.

"Good morning, Naruto." The woman said with a small giggle. The blond, Naruto, nodded tiredly in acceptance of her and continued his trek to the kitchen. He opened his fridge when it hit him.

His mother, Kushina Uzumaki, had been dead since he was a baby.

So that meant one of two things: either he just said hello to the worst assassin on this side of the planet, or he was still dreaming. Finding the first option to be ludicrous, hell it was downright laughable, Naruto just decided to go with the dream and continued to pull out his morning serving of milk for his cereal.

"So which dream is this? You guys are alive again?" Naruto asked as he grabbed a bowl for his 'morning' breakfast.

"Your father is still very much dead," said Kushina informatively. She had a small smile on her face as she watched her son prepare his breakfast nonchalantly.

"Never had a dream with just you alive," said Naruto, with a thoughtful hum. He poured his milk into the dry cereal waiting in the bowl and then put the milk back into the fridge. He walked out of the kitchen to look at his mother still sitting on the couch patiently with a small smile on her face. "Never had a dream with just dad alive either for that matter. Am I hokage yet?"

"No," said Kushina, another giggle escaping her lips as her son pouted with a spoon in his mouth.

"Damn, seriously?" Naruto asked. He dropped his spoon back into his cereal into his bowl. "Lamest. Dream. Ever."

"It would be if this was a dream, Naruto," said Kushina with a small titter of laughter at his confused face.

"But...It has to be," said Naruto with a frown. He pointed at her with his spoon in hand. "I mean...you're supposed to be, you know..."

Kushina's smile dimmed a little at the reminder of that night sixteen years ago. Curse the frailty of mortal bodies, making her leave such a brilliant baby alone as her then husband died alongside her. Splitting a small portion of herself off into a mortal shell was no problem, considering her flexible and constantly growing domain, she was rather powerful and often overlooked.

"Yes, well, I may have died in that body, but I live on in my main form," said Kushina. Naruto arched a brow and set his bowl of cereal down.

"Main...form...Are you a chakra entity?" Naruto asked. "But you feel...like a civilian?"

"Finally became a bit more observant, haven't you?" Kushina said. A smile tugged at her lips. "In a way, I am a projection, a clone of sorts. I need you, your family needs you. I would've come sooner, but you were needed here."

"Y-yeah, whatever you want, Mom," said Naruto, a bit taken aback. "Where do I need to go?"

"I will take you as far as I can," said Kushina, standing with a smile on her face at his acceptance. "Then you must find Camp Half-Blood."

"H-Half-Blood?"

"It will become clear to you when you arrive, sweetheart," said Kushina taking a step towards him. He took a step back.

"Alright, but can I...can I say goodbye?" he asked.

Kushina bit her lip, she didn't have a lot of time here before they noticed her absence from North America. An idea hit her. "The clone technique. Use your clones to say goodbye, you know the secret about them, don't you?"

"Yeah, I retain-You're a genius Mom!" said Naruto, making his mother smile back at him.

"I try," she said. "Hurry, we haven't much time."

Naruto nodded and stood straight up, holding his hands out in front of him. His index and middle fingers formed a cross in front of him. There was a flux of energy before the room became filled with duplicates as Naruto named his signature technique.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Technique)!"

"Alright guys, you know what to do," said Naruto to his clones, making each of them nod before they vanished in small explosions of chakra infused smoke, similar to their dismissals. The blond smiled proudly back at his mother. "Ready to go!"

"Good," said Kushina. She walked over to her son and put her hand on his shoulder. "This could get a bit bumpy."

"Why?"

"I'm not exactly supposed to be doing this, but it's necessary for what's to come," she said.

He tried to ask her more about it, but before he could the air folded around them and the smell of lavender filled his nose. Their bodies became translucent and slowly faded away. He didn't feel anything for a second, and then they reemerged, and he felt it. The burning, the pain in all of his body. Saying it hurt a lot was an understatement. It felt like he was re-growing skin that had been torn off one bit at a time. He heard himself cry out, felt his legs give and could feel gravity taking its hold on him. Naruto hit the ground unconscious, his body perfectly fine and intact, though his clothes had been changed to more appropriate jeans and a solid white t-shirt.

Kushina knelt down next to him, her form flickering lightly. She cupped Naruto's face with both of her hands, kissing him softly on the forehead to give him a bit of a helping hand in this new world, before pulling back. Her time was up, she succeeded in her goal and was being called back to be questioned by Zeus. She smiled sadly, rubbing her thumb along Naruto's cheek one last time before returning to Olympus to explain herself.

"Be strong, my little maelstrom," said Kushina before she disappeared once again, leaving Naruto unconscious on the cold dirt as a cool springtime breeze washed over him.


Waking up with a groan, Naruto blearily examined his surroundings before holding his head. His clones sure had to deal with a lot of different reactions, it was a good thing he sent three to Tsunade and Sakura, how the third clones managed to get through the rest of their chiding of him "just accepting someone pretending to be your mom" and "leaving to who knows where on a whim being irresponsible" he hadn't a clue. At least Kakashi and Iruka were more supportive, though they had their own suspicions. Hell, the person he was really worried about was his brother-in-arms/rival Sasuke. All that bastard did upon hearing Naruto's apologetic farewell was slam the door on his face.

The douche.

"...Man, why is everything always so complicated with him?" Naruto asked with a whine. His best friend was a pain in the ass to understand. It was like dealing with a girl sometimes. With a grunt, Naruto rolled to his upper back and kipped onto his feet like he hadn't just landed with what felt like the force of a freight train. The blond twisted his body to loosen his core muscles and then stretched out his arms above his head. "That was one hell of a Shunshin no Jutsu. Wonder if I can get Mom to teach me that?"

"Hey buddy!" a voice called out to him, making Naruto turn and look at the speaker. He was a decently short guy, around Naruto's height, wearing a strange hat that looked like a duck's bill attached to a bowl of some sort, his curly hair sticking out this way and that from underneath it. He had a small beard on his chin, an awesome orange shirt and had long pants – similar to the ones Naruto woke up in – as well as some covered sandals on his feet.

"Hi!" Naruto said, greeting the newcomer as he always does when not annoyed: energetically.

"You do know that you're not supposed to venture this far into Central Park without a weapon, right?" asked the bearded guy.

"...Sen-tral Park...?" Naruto asked. "Where's that?"

The bearded guy looked at Naruto like he was an alien. "Y-You do know what Central Park is, right?"

"I'm guessing a park of some kind," said Naruto, a blond eyebrow arching in confusion and amusement.

"...How old are you?" the guy asked.

"Uh...Seventeen?" said Naruto, as though it were obvious.

"S-Seventeen?" The guy looked horrified, which honestly looked hilarious on his face. "You do know why you shouldn't be out here alone, right?"

"...Should I?"

"Di immortales!" said the bearded guy. "What are you, new to this? How can you have never been attacked?"

"I've been attacked tons of times," said Naruto with a frown.

"Wh-what? Really? So you know about the camp, then?"

"...Camp?"

"...Why does this always happen to me?" the bearded guy said, moaning as he rubbed his face with both hands. Dropping his hands to the side, he sighed and then looked at Naruto with what could be called a serious glare. "Alright look, we don't normally get greens your age, but there's a camp for kids like you."

"...I highly doubt that," said Naruto as he tensed a bit and got ready for a fight. This guy's anxiety was going off the charts. And then there was the feeling in the air; like that the natural chakra here was poisoned. Or like something very important was missing.

"Haven't you ever wondered who your parent was?" asked the bearded guy.

"I know who my parents are!" Naruto said hotly, his eyes narrowing and his pupils became small slits.

"You think you do," said the guy. "So who raised you, mom or dad?"

"For your information, neither of them did."

"...Oh...Oh! Oh man, buddy, look I-"

"Save it," said Naruto brushing past the guy with a frown on his face. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Wait, I-!"

"I said leave me alone," said Naruto as he walked away. He may have accepted that he had awesome parents, but that didn't mean he wanted to remember them not being there. Especially after how his father's reanimated corpse sacrificed himself to save the blond. It was like losing the Third all over again.

The guy with the beard and the strange hat followed him as he wandered through the woods. "Wait!"

"Stop following me!"

"I will if you just stop and wait! Let me finish what I was saying!"

"Reminding me of what I didn't have?"

"...Okay, usually with kids like you-"

"We're the same age!"

"If you would just listen-"

"Pass."

"This is important!"

"Don't care. I got something more important to do."

"But!"

"Look, unless you can tell me where my mom is-?"

"Yes!" Naruto stopped to look at the guy. "Well, maybe. You need to find your mom?"

"She brought me here to help the rest of my family," said Naruto with a firm nod. He promised to help his mom, and Naruto Uzumaki never went back on his word.

"Okay, well as I was saying earlier-wait, no this is related to your mom! I promise!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and stopped walking, turning to face the bearded guy. "Well?"

"Look, there's a camp for kids like you, who need to find their parents, so to speak. Just come with me and we can sort this all out with the head counselor's help."

Naruto looked at the guy, his blue eyes searching the guy's brown. Empathetically, he knew that the guy wasn't lying. Logically, he's given no reason to be lying. Still, he had to be careful. Naruto didn't know where he was and what the reason behind his "mother's" sudden arrival was, so he had to play it carefully. The war had made him realize that sometimes not all was what it seemed.

"Alright, you've got my attention," said Naruto.

"Awesome, I wonder if this is how Underwood felt when he met Percy Jackson," said the bearded guy with a smile on his face. He held his hand out. "Name's Billy. Billy G. Overtree."

"Weird name," said Naruto as he took the hand and shook it. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"And you say my name is weird?" Billy asked, taking his hand back. "So, you ready to do some hardcore walking?"

"...Walking?" Naruto asked, smiling in amusement.

"Yeah, unless you know how to drive?" Billy asked. He was a bit hopeful in that aspect.

"Uh, what like a cart?"

Billy's hopeful expression turned into one of horror once again. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Are you talking about one of those train things? You have those here?"

"Di immortales you're not joking!" Billy dragged a hand down his face. "Okay, Naruto, I guess it's a good thing you and me are going to have a long walk..."

Billy led Naruto out of Central Park, explaining the advancement of technology and summarizing the history of the United States as best he could. Naruto, as soon as he made it to West Fifty-Ninth St., gaped at the lights and sounds of the cars. Billy smirked at it. If the blond thought that was impressive, wait until he got to Times Square. They had to hurry, though. Billy could smell the monsters gathering. Whoever this kid's parent was, they were strong.

I just really hope it's not one of those three and that it is his mother, Billy thought. He watched as Naruto looked around, swiveling his head this way and that in childlike wonder. It was...interesting to see how this guy acted. One moment he was reminded of cabin six - the glare that was set on him was that damned Athena glare, he was sure of it – but something told him that wasn't the case. There was something about this guy that reminded him of Grover, too.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Naruto said as he and Billy walked down Seventh Street. He was in awe at how large this city was. Konoha had nothing on it. "And you're saying that this is one city of many states?"

"Yep."

"Wow..." Naruto whistled as he turned around while walking, his eyes on the towers that just continued to rise. He nearly walked right into the street, again, only to be saved by Billy, who pulled him back from the road just as a car raced by. "Thanks."

"No problem," said Billy, shaking his head in disbelief. This kid is too much. At one moment he looks like he's going to kill me, but at another he's carefree as can be. There's only one Olympian I know that matches that description, but he doesn't give off the 'dreamy' vibe and I haven't felt compelled to do anything he says yet.

"What's all that light up ahead?" Naruto asked, curious of the blinding light that stood out even among the bright headlights of the cars that drove past. Billy smirked, knowing what would come soon. His smirk fell as the horrid smell of underground hit his nose. His eyes were wide, his breathing sped up, and the young satyr kicked his shoes off so he could run better, revealing his hooves.

"We need to move, now!" Billy said, shoving the blond forward into traffic. "Don't get hit by a car and keep running!"

"Why?" Naruto asked as he easily kept pace with the satyr. A horn blared, making Naruto look to the left and see a car coming at him and Billy. The driver looked irate that someone dared to run across the street when he had an obvious red light. His irate look turned to shock when the crazy blond that chose to run across the street grabbed the other teen and cleared the rest of the fifty-five feet in one jump.

"Th-Thanks," said Billy, a bit shocked from the sudden jump. Naruto grabbed him by the back of his shirt and helped him back to his feet as they continued to run towards the brightly lit portion of the city. Naruto spared a glance behind him and saw a large cloud of shadow, several red lights coming from it. His eyebrows narrowed in thought before returning his attention ahead of him.

"So, we running from the giant black cloud?" he asked his new friend.

"It's a cloud!? It's never a cloud! Di immortales, why is it a cloud!?"

"I take it that's not normal, then?" Naruto asked as they ran. All he got were more concerned whimpers from the satyr. They broke into the small square of blindingly bright lights, which made Naruto pause from culture shock and awe. Noise was all he heard and the lights were so distracting, he barely heard Billy telling him to hurry up. He did hear Billy cry out his name in warning as the cloud engulfed the blond foreigner.

Billy fell to his knees as he heard the snarls and the tearing. The kid didn't even make it to camp, poor guy. And this was his first one too. Hopefully it got easier like Grover said it would. Guess not everyone can be like Grover Underwood, getting the son of Poseidon to camp alive with ease. Still, there was a small part of Billy G. Overtree that hoped the new guy would make it.

There was sudden yelping and Billy had to drop to the ground to avoid being hit by a flying giant black mastiff, a Hellhound. Billy looked back at the cloud with wide eyes, seeing it grow up and the yelps increasing.

"I said...GET OFF!" Naruto said, standing abruptly with one of the Hellhounds held above his head. The other Hellhounds were forced to tumble back as he stood, quickly recovering and snarling at the blond. Naruto glared back at the few in front of him. "Don't forget your friend!" The Hellhound in his hands learned to fly before being reunited with two members of its pack, and taking out a streetlight with the distance they got.

A Hellhound tried to take Naruto by surprise, leaping at him from behind. Naruto turned and punched it square in the nose, stopping it midair and making it fly back. When another tried the same tactic, he spun on the ball of his foot and brought his heel across the side of the monster dog's face, sending it flying. Seeing that these simple attacks were doing nothing, the Hellhounds rushed him once again.

Billy watched as the blond punched, kicked, and in one instance bit, the Hellhounds like they were as light as a feather and their teeth were made of clouds. This was insane, what he was seeing. What he heard next kicked his adrenaline into overdrive. Sirens, mortals had invented them to alert, and alert they did. The Hellhounds' assault continued as the white and blue vehicles of the New York Police Department swarmed Times Square. The sounds of a helicopter were heard and a light was shined down on the fight between what Billy knew were Hellhounds and Naruto Uzumaki. A few more helicopters joined the scene and a couple of the mega screens in Times Square changed to the news, showing the fight as it happened.

There was another yelp that got Billy's attention and he dove to the side to avoid being flattened by the flying Hellhound. The Hellhound in question dissolved as soon as it's back hit the ground, revealing that Naruto had given enough internal damage – possibly a collapsed lung or something of the sort – to kill it. The news cameras zoomed in when a blue light appeared in the center of the mound of 'lions' that the cameras saw.

"RASENRENGAN!" Naruto's voice cried out as the Hellhounds were sent flying from the pile they were in, dissolving into gold dust that scattered in the wind. Naruto drove what appeared to be a blue ball right into the face of the last Hellhound, grinding it into golden dust and leaving him alone with two blue spheres glowing in his hands.


High above the Empire State Building, the Olympians watched through Hephaestus' massive televise-screen, a holographic image that duplicated the effects of a television, acting like a sort of one-way Iris Messaging. One Olympian in particular smiled proudly at the image of the blond with a glowing ball of energy eviscerating the Hellhounds sent after him.

"Damn," said a man with light blond hair, dressed like a work-first businessman with the Bluetooth device in his ear. He lowered the stylish, yet professional sunglasses down his nose as he watched the fight before him. Hermes was impressed with what he saw, and said what many were thinking.

"Whose child is this?" asked the Queen of Olympus. She was intrigued, but the boy was strong like another certain oaf and he only became that way after ingesting something that was not rightfully his.

"Yes, whose is it?" The green-eyed man wearing the Tony Bahama shirt and sandals asked, smirking at the well dressed blue-eyed man that sat next to the queen.

"Not mine," said Zeus with a frown. He was certain that he'd only had interactions with Ms. Grace.

A giggle came from the beautiful woman seated next to the creator of their screen. Her eyes flickered to purple and her hair to red for a brief moment that had a woman with raven colored hair narrowing her gaze. The raven-haired woman looked from the smiling Aphrodite to the screen and back several times before her grey eyes widened in realization.

"You...I don't know how...But you were the loudmouthed tomato!" Athena said, glaring at the smirking goddess of love.

"Guilty," said Aphrodite, practically singing the word. She leaned back on her throne with a smile as the other Olympians looked at her. "What can I say, love works in mysterious ways."

"I will find out what you did, Aphrodite," said Athena, scowling. She returned her gaze to the blond on the screen. "And I will make sure you do not corrupt another."

"You can try, Hooty," said Aphrodite, smirking as Athena's scowl deepened. "He's already been in contact with his mother."

"Aphrodite," said Zeus in displeasure at the openly disobedient comment. "You know the law."

"I never raised him," said Aphrodite with a pretty frown. "I merely brought him from his father's home-"

"Where he should have remained to follow in his father's footsteps!" Athena said with a scowl.

"Like those old crones would've let him try," said Aphrodite with a scowl. "They're more biased than Romans. A lot more volatile, too."

"Sounds like my kind of people," said Ares with a grin. He withered under the glare his girlfriend sent his way.

"After all the hell Naruto went through to unite the countries, I would never let you uproot it, Ares," said Aphrodite, scowling at the god of war. "It's partially your fault that he had to bother with it to begin with!"

"...Oh you're talking about mom's island!" Apollo said, snapping his fingers when he caught on. He looked at the image that was paused. "I never would've guessed. Looks like an east coast kid!"

"He got all those handsome qualities from his father," said Aphrodite, sighing in bliss at the memory that made Ares scowl. Surprisingly, Athena joined her blood lusting brother in scowling at the goddess of love's words.

"We were told not to intervene with the lands of the moving continent, Aphrodite," said Athena. Zeus nodded as he recalled making that decree.

"Yet you still had Minato anyway," said Aphrodite with a smirk. "And I didn't intervene. I simply...spread the love with absentminded control, much like Apollo does with the sun or Artemis the moon."

The twins nodded in agreement with that, using their godly energy to keep track of the island they were originally born on. It was probably why that land was so potent with strange energy that mimicked their own coursing through their veins. Of course, the titan that enlarged it to the size of a small continent was sleeping and wouldn't reveal the reasons behind why she had.

"Still, you disobeyed that decree when you brought the boy here," said Zeus, looking at the blond as he looked around at the mortal authorities. "While I'm sure the mortals could handle him, I believe a final test is in order."

"Is that really necessary?" Poseidon asked his brother.

"Uncle P, you can't play favorites because he's named after stuff that happens in your domain," said Apollo, getting strange looks. "What? Naruto Uzumaki. It's Japanese, I know this stuff."

While Poseidon brooded at being called out on why he was so intrigued in the boy, Zeus looked back at the blond. Naruto was looking around with wide eyes at the flashing lights and the screens with his face on it from different angles. Underneath him was the headline "Superheroes Exist? Teen Destroys Lions in Times Square." Zeus scratched his beard in thought before nodding.

"The boy will be tested." Zeus said, confirming his decision while Aphrodite scowled and Athena frowned. "Send in a Hydra."

"Message sent," said Hermes, finishing the request to Hades for a monster. He looked at his father. "You sure he should be doing this in Times Square?"

"The mortals will forget by tomorrow," said Zeus. "Hecate and Hypnos will ensure that."


"Hey Billy?" Naruto asked his friend as the NYPD trained weapons on him.

"Y-Yeah?" said the stunned satyr. He'd never seen anything like that, even during the war, no demigod had survived a swarm.

"What are they doing?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the cops setting up a perimeter.

"Uh, well, kids like you aren't, uh...aren't exactly normal," said Billy, who was rapidly trying to think of reasons why this was happening. Man if it was his fault the mortals rediscovered the Olympians, he was so going to get it.

"But what are they doing? With their hands?" Naruto asked, seeing all the small objects in the uniformed men's hands. He guessed this was the city's military considering all of the similar uniforms. The blue clothes didn't look very protective though, and those hats were ridiculous! He bet his whole supply of kunai could finish these guys off.

"Put your hands above your head or we will shoot!" said one of the policemen.

"Uh, like this?" Naruto asked, raising his hands up. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with the city's military, but he wasn't exactly eager to fight them either.

"Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head!" said the policeman. Well, now he was just being silly. Naruto had already surrendered, hadn't he?

"Naruto, just do what he says," said Billy, doing exactly as the policeman ordered. Naruto gave his new friend a confused look before complying, getting down on his knees and interlacing his hands behind his head. Police started to move forward, their weapons still trained on the blond kneeing in front of them, but then the ground suddenly moved between them and the blond.

"DON'T MOVE!" An officer ordered, keeping his gun trained on Naruto.

"It's not me!" Naruto said back, watching as the ground cracked and shifted. An unfortunate officer standing too close to the cracking was sent flying as the concrete covered ground shattered and a large scaled head shot up from under the ground. It looked like a diamond and shortly afterward, four more heads that looked exactly the same sprouted close beside it.

"Fall back!" "Get the people out of the way!" "Run!" were the cries of the policemen as whatever they saw scared them enough to retreat.

"B-But it was dead!" Billy said, falling to his butt and scooting back in fear of what stood before him. Settling on a massive lizard-like body was the Hydra, five heads focused on the unclaimed demigod that knelt before it. Billy's eyes widened when he recognized the target. "Naruto, run!"

Naruto didn't need to be told to move, because he rolled out of the way as soon as one head dove at him with its mouth open wide. Avoiding being bitten by razor sharp teeth was at the top of Naruto's to-do list at the moment. He dodged again, this time avoiding another head, before deciding to make some distractions. He crossed his fingers in front of him and focused the chakra.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto said, making eight clones appear next to him. They rushed at the monster while Naruto went to help the now bulging eyed Billy up from his seat.

"What-how-but-you-I?" Billy failed to find words, stumbling over himself as Naruto got him to his fe-hooves.

"Explain later. What is it and how do I kill it?" Naruto asked, pulling Billy with him when a clone was dispelled due to a ball of acid sent from one of the Hydra's mouths. Well, that just replaced the razor-like teeth at the top of Naruto's to-do list.

"H-Hydra," said Billy, pulling himself together. "Every head you cut off, two replace it. Sharp claws and teeth, acid spit and reported to have fire breath."

"Good, thanks. So how do I kill it if I can't cut the heads off?" Naruto asked.

"Uh..."

"...Well?!"

"I'm working on it, alright, I'm working on it!" Billy said. "Geez, I'm not a member of cabin six, cut me some slack!"

"What am I supposed to do until then?" Naruto asked. Billy shrugged haplessly before pulling the blond with him out of the way of another shot of acid.

"Avoid dying?" Billy said as they both got up from the ground.

"So improvising," said Naruto. He nodded with a grin. "I'm good at that!"

"Boss!" A clone shouted, making Naruto turn to look at it. Making eye contact with the clone that signaled him, it dispelled and Naruto got its idea, now technically his idea, and he beamed.

"You said don't cut off the head, right?" Naruto asked.

"Unless you can cauterize the neck before it regrows two more heads," said Billy, remembering that tidbit from the legends. "That's how Heracles killed it."

"Who-a-cles?"

"Explain later, duck!" The two dropped as a stream of fire was shot from one of the now six heads – apparently, the clone that had dispelled used a Rasengan on one head – and Naruto winced as another clone was forcibly dispelled. Those tails were something to watch for, too.

"So close range is no go for me," said Naruto. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, signaling two of his clones, before waving them over. When they managed to break away and join him he pointed at the Coca-Cola sign not too far away. "Go gather Natural Chakra, we're going to Shuriken that thing!"

"Alright!" "You're the boss, Boss." The clones leapt over the police barricade, running for the building they were told to go to at top speed and then, much to the onlookers' surprise, up the side of said building. Naruto watched them go, creating more clones to buy him some time. Now with the knowledge of his plan, the clones knew just to keep the Hydra's attention instead of trying to kill it. He waited and stalled for a good fifteen minutes, before sending another clone up to the two meditating ones.

When both were dispelled, Naruto's eyes dilated, becoming toad-like and golden as he felt the area's nature chakra fill him, an orange pigment appearing over his eyelids. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. With his permanent chakra battery sleeping off the after-effects of the war, Naruto would have to make due with his minor Sage Mode. Glaring at the Hydra with his fist clenched, the blond was sure it would be.

His hand was lifted above him and another Rasengan started to form, but a clone was created beside him, holding both hands up at the small blue ball of energy. The Rasengan changed, becoming larger and more like a throwing star, a shuriken. Naruto's clones dispelled at once, confirming his thoughts on the civilians moved far enough back to not be killed by the coming attack.

The clones gone had the Hydra shifting all six heads on him, making Naruto grin at it. All six of the Hydra's heads roared at him challengingly, and he felt its anger. Not at him specifically, but what he was. A word floated between Naruto's empathic link with the Hydra: Godling. Hm, well that was something to ask Billy about. For now, Naruto reared his hand back and then launched the attack forward.

"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto said as he threw the ball of energy at the Hydra.


Olympus watched the attack connect and their eyes widened as the intensity of it eradicated the Hydra's body. Not even golden dust remained, or the trophy fang that was expected of it. Zeus in particular was in awe, having felt all the thousands upon thousands of winds descending on the monster, and felt them shift just appropriately to stay within the dome it created.

"Dibs on fighting him first!" Ares said, his fiery eyes burning with bloodlust. Hermes and Apollo burst into laughter at his exclamation, making him scowl. "What?"

"You-You did see what he did to the Hydra, right?" Apollo asked with a smirk as his laughter died down. Apollo raised his hand palm up and made an explosion gesture. "Boom, gone! You want to fight a kid that can do that?! Ha!"

"He finished it." This was all Athena could manage to say, her eyes narrowed as she watched Hephaestus replay the attack. She smirked at her scowling brother. "Considering you lost to Percy Jackson when he was twelve and untrained, I believe you wouldn't last a second against Naruto Uzumaki."

"Screw you, Owl Pellets," said Ares with a scowl.

Aphrodite just smirked quietly, watching as the god and goddess of war bickered over who would win. Naruto would beat Ares hands down, according to Olympian law Ares would have to fight 'fair'. Had Ares been allowed to use all of his god powers, then perhaps he'd win, but against a hero, he was limited. Ares' arrogance would be his downfall.

"Aphrodite." Zeus' voice made all of the gods stop talking and look at their King as he addressed the demigod's mother. "Your son used my domain."

"My son created those winds," said Aphrodite, smirking at Zeus' scowl. "He didn't manipulate your domain, he made his own."

"That is impossible!" Demeter said, frowning.

"Not so," said Athena. "The people from the moving continent have done similar for centuries, it is expected of a child born there to be able to create their own element from their life force. They create the element within and expel it outwards with their techniques."

"The fact remains that he used my domain outside of the moving continent," said Zeus, giving Aphrodite a pointed glare.

"He is the grandson of Ouranos," said Aphrodite with a pretty smile, making Zeus' scowl deepen.

"...I will let this altercation slide," said Zeus. He held a finger up. "But know this, if he so much as tries to manipulate the sky, I will end him."

"Now, Zeus," said Poseidon, gaining his brother's attention. "Considering the latest...developments, I think it would be in your best interest to let the boy be. After all, the people from the drifting continent live on my domain as much as under yours. You've known they can do this, you're just jealous the boy did it in a way you can't comprehend."

"I am no-"

"And," said Poseidon, cutting his brother off. "That he isn't your offspring. Had this been Thalia Grace, for example, you would've shrugged it off."

Zeus scowled at Poseidon for bringing that up. Great, now he looked biased. And as the god of justice, he wasn't allowed to be biased. Well, dammit, that's just not fair.

"Fine...I won't kill him," said Zeus with a scowl. "Happy?"

"It's improvement," said Poseidon with a chuckle.

"Can I kill him?" Ares asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not!" Aphrodite said before the king could retort. She glared at her 'boyfriend' with heat in her now oddly purple eyes. "Touch my son Ares and there will be hell to pay!"

"...Well, that's no fun," said Ares with a scowl. His scowl fell at Athena's added glare. His sister then shifted her gaze to the demigod's mother.

"You should've left him on the continent," said Athena with a frown. Aphrodite returned it with her own frown.

"Considering that the camp has only fought against monsters and rogue campers, I figured it would be best if we had someone who could help them deal with what was coming," said Aphrodite. Apollo blinked, recognizing what she meant by that. Of course, his twin beat him to the punch.

"Why would one of your children know how to deal with that?" Artemis asked with a frown.

"Well, he has a monster inside of him," said Aphrodite, glancing at the king. "A beast he can control and use to his advantage." She glared at Athena. "One that I had under control, except your son decided in all of his brilliance to deal with in his own way!"

"Minato was doing what he felt was right," said Athena with a scowl.

"Um, Minato? Who's Minato?" Hermes asked.

"Minato was a child of mine, who lost his father shortly after his birth," said Athena with a frown. "He was raised on the drifting continent and eventually became the leader of one of the small military villages."

"Really? Boring job that had to have been," said Ares with a snort.

"You say that, but you don't know Minato like I did," said Aphrodite, interjecting and making Athena scowl once more. She looked at the screen and waved her hand, making two images pull up: a picture of Naruto as he was today and a similar looking blond with a narrower face and piercing blue analytical eyes. "Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Fire Shadow, a title used for the village hidden in the leaves for their dictator, was the kindest, smartest and strongest for ten years after his promotion to jonin, or expert shinobi."

"...You're saying that pansy was a ninja?" Ares asked, once more getting a glare from Athena for the comment.

"Minato wasn't a 'pansy'," said Athena, having taken notes of her son's life and given it to her daughter after the Second Titanomachy to keep them in the loop and to reward her cabin for such great performances and loyalty during it. "Minato, during the continent's third war, had eviscerated a squad of over one hundred enemies in less than five seconds."

"Beat my record by one second," said a pouting Aphrodite and getting odd looks from her. She blinked and her eyes shifted back from purple. "Sorry, still assimilating Kushina Uzumaki back in."

"Assimilating...YOU SPLIT YOURSELF TO WALK AMONGST MORTALS!" Athena said with a look of rage. "That was forbidden even before the Silver Age began!"

"It was forbidden for minor gods and other deities," said Aphrodite with a scowl. "Not for Olympians. I'm surprised none of you have ever tried it. It's quite refreshing."

"Aside from that new idea," said Hermes, snapping the Olympians from the thought of walking amongst mortals. "How did Minato move so fast?"

"He was inspired by a legacy of Zeus," said Athena, waving her hand and bringing up the image of the 'legacy', a white haired man with red markings and a serious look on his face. "Tobirama Senju. A master of what they call Fuinjutsu, he developed a space-time technique that allowed him to teleport. Minato made a jutsu based off of that, the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

"Named it after grandpa, did he?" Apollo asked in amusement. He looked at Zeus. "Flying Thunder God."

"Smart boy," said Zeus with a small smirk.

"It allowed him to teleport," said Athena, glaring at the archery god for interrupting her. "Granted, he needed to use a special kunai to do so, unlike his predecessor."

"Hah, so your brat wasn't as good as you say," said Ares.

"Better than you at times," said Aphrodite, making the god gape while the room laughed at him. The purple color in her eyes faded and Aphrodite flushed. "I...Um..."

"Wow!" Apollo said, laughing at the look on his brother's face. "Well now that we know about Minato, tell us about the kid."

And so Aphrodite did, ecstatic to get onto a different subject. She told them of his growth from a troublemaking youth – "he was so cute growing up, wearing his bright orange jumpsuit!" – to a hero of the people. At age thirteen he had liberated several villages and countries from tyrants alongside his team. At fourteen, he lost his virginity and was a little shy about doing so.

Athena scolded Aphrodite for watching that but she claimed she couldn't help it, Kushina's attached soul got a look at all of Naruto's dirty little secrets. Aphrodite then continued, after scaring Ares into silence while threatening his jewels if he kept laughing about Naruto's loss of virginity, telling them that at fifteen he was learning to manipulate nature to become stronger, mastering his summons after his and Minato's sensei died. Athena gave a frown at this, conflicted over the death of the man that helped train her star child of the previous generation. Hermes however...

"Wait, wait, wait, back up," said Hermes, holding his hand up with eyes narrowed. "He...He took in Nature?"

"Became part of it," said Aphrodite. She looked to her husband and gestured to the television. "Can you move it back to the fight with the Hydra?" Hephaestus rolled his eyes and rewound the images until it came to the fight in question. "At the end, just before the Rasenshuriken. There!" She pointed at the screen. "Can you zoom in on his face?"

"Child's play," said Hephaestus. He waved his hand and blinked at what he saw. "A glitch?"

"Sage mode," said Aphrodite. Her eyes were purple as she looked at her 'husband'. "Thank you, Hephaestus." The gods looked at her oddly and Hephaestus was stuck in a state of shock. Aphrodite didn't notice, pointing at her son's eyes. "His eyes become like a toad's, a side effect of learning through them how to manipulate nature. It enhances his strength and speed, making him as strong as Heracles."

"Hopefully not as pigheaded," said Hera with a huff.

"Not even," said Aphrodite with a titter. "It also makes him extremely empathic."

"Really?" Artemis asked, intrigued. Empathy was a rare trait, even among Aphrodite's children.

"He's particularly connected to negative emotions," said Aphrodite with a sigh. "My poor baby...such a happy boy shouldn't have to worry about these things."

"Aphrodite...focus, please?" asked Demeter.

"Well aside from the mastery of sage mode and the war he was the primary reason the fourth war in the moving continent was won," said Aphrodite. Athena smirked when Aphrodite looked at her. "He seems to take after his father in that aspect."

"War heroes runs in the family," said Apollo, stroking his chin. "Great story...Anything else?"

"The beast, for instance," said Zeus, insistently.

Aphrodite sighed as all eyes went to her, this could take a while.


While the Lady of Doves divulged her son's darkest secrets and Naruto recuperated with Billy, a strong entity stirred within the crusts of the planet. A small tremor went through Times Square. It was as though something was searching for the source of power that was recently shown. Partially out of concern and partially out of curiosity.

Gaia was interested in whatever happened in Times Square, very interested.


AN: Okay, so this is the reason that my updates have slowed. It's not going to be frequently updated and the next SHDG II chapter will be out soon, but I'm coming up on the end of summer and I'm getting ready to go back to college. I'm going to be a bit busy, getting back into the swing of things.

There will be more updates of this after SHDG II is done. But if you liked it, y'all know what to do!

REVIEW!