A/N: Well… it's been a while

I don't really have any excuses that anyone would be interested in hearing. I went through a lot of shit in the last 3 months but I feel like I can get back to writing again, even if not with the same frequency as before.

The truth is, these chapters typically take me between one or two weeks to think up and one or two days to type up but I end up taking a break between each chapter because I need to take care of irl stuff and this time just happened to be a long break.

But thank God, my Beta SandaKagami is willing to put up with me.

And thanks to Curiosity44's server for some of the suggestions in this chapter. Check out their discord server, a good place to have fun!

In any case, I hope this chapter can satisfy y'all!

Without further Ado!


A peculiar series of sounds filled the battlefield.

From the air, a battle raged between the Sage and the Emperor. To the distant observer, it would look akin to a giant firework display - unheard of at this time. To the close observer, however?

They'd be lucky not to get vaporized from the barrage of shockwaves that ripped the land asunder.

Naruto's golden form shined as he flew around the launched rocks and energy attacks. He answered in kind, his hands blurring as he threw every elemental variation of the [Rasengan] at his distant foe. Unfortunately, while the Sage favored a strategy combining evasion with offensive maneuvers, the Jade Emperor seemed keen on staying in one place. Either blocking Naruto's attacks through an invisible barrier or veering them away from him.

The Sage did notice, however, that his enemy could not defend himself and attack at the same time. The Jade Emperor only ever threw his attacks in the brief instants between Naruto's own. When it comes to the latter, the blond could only really deal with the [Gravity] based ones. Meteors being brought from orbit weren't that unfamiliar to him or hard to cut up when one knew how to hit them.

The same couldn't be said about the red energy spheres. His body was already working overtime in healing the passive damage this… [Strong Force] was doing to him, if the light shedding of his hair and the nosebleed he was sporting were any indicators. Those orbs of cosmic energy were close in resemblance to something the Sage had seen whenever his gaze had gone up to the sky above, far beyond the veils every pantheon put up to draw those small constellations of theirs. It was the same signature he'd seen come out of distant star clusters, or more precisely, one that came as a result of the deaths of these astral bodies.

Add to this the nonsensical power to simply manipulate an attack's momentum? This made it nigh impossible to get close enough to the redheaded 'deity', let alone damage him. Speed and clones could only do so much when the enemy just couldn't be approached long enough for close combat.

So it all came down to a contest of stamina. One that Naruto would've normally been confident about winning, given his monstrous chakra reserves…

Had he not halved the latter to deal with the Jade Emperor's troublesome son.

CLANG

From the ground, the sound of flesh striking metal was heard.

Ardun was pushed back, skidding a small distance before stopping himself and shrugging off the blow. He ruffled his spiky white hair, adjusting the small crown that lay in it before his red eyes turned to his opponent. A tall muscular frame hidden partially under black ceremonial robes with golden accents, coupled with striking facial features. He, like many of his kind, cut an imposing yet strangely beautiful figure even as he advanced towards the Sage.

"Why?" the 'god' spoke, breaking the tense silence.

"Why what?" Naruto answered, golden eyes narrowed, and body set in the [Strong Fist] stance.

'His body is strange,' thought the blond. 'It looks, feels, and acts like flesh, but there's no mistake I'm hitting some type of metal here.'

"Why persist?" the much taller immortal clarified, "Your power is already lower than Lord Father's, even whole, and yet, you've decided to decrease your nonexistent chances of winning, and for what? A gaggle of Hua–Yi (1) who fled their duties?"

The brat was right in a way. Using something like the [Fission Technique] was a gamble, especially when faced with such strong opponents. But he couldn't afford to waste chakra on [Shadow Clones] and still needed to divide his attention between both 'gods'.

His opponent was close to him now, standing at almost two heads taller than the Sage and looking down on him with a curious yet distasteful glare.

Nonetheless, Naruto wouldn't be intimidated, "You call living like slaves a 'duty'?" was his answer.

Naruto wasn't a fool. The Great Chinese Migration happened for a reason, and while the blond was willing to extend a hand in peace to the Taoists, he never had any illusions of the deplorable way they ruled and how it drove so many humans and humanoids to take refuge in his city. He'd made his position clear and for a while, became hopeful Okhwang would see the error of their ways, especially when the latter had proposed an alliance but…

"Does a cow not exist to provide nourishment? Does a human not exist to serve their betters? Does a God not exist to rule?"

He was such a fool…

"Brat…" Naruto grinned up at the Prince of Natak, "You and your ilk are the furthest things from deities" that answer earned him a thunderous fist to the cheek, followed by another that destroyed the ground behind him, followed by anot-

BOOM

The Sage's fist struck the god's stomach with such force, that the resulting shockwave tore apart the distant clouds above them. Ardun leaned forward from the strike, his face contorting into shock before he slammed both feet to the ground and righted himself.

He looked back at the blond and smirked, "my body's made of Barbadium, the hardest substance in Heav-" he was cut off by another powerful jab to the abdomen, almost heaving him off the ground and forcing the air out of him.

"Barbadium…. No idea what that is, but it's pretty hard" commented the blond as he felt his finger joints dislocate from the hit.

A hard blow to the back was his answer, making him poof out in smoke, leaving a slab of rock in his place. Ardun blinked before a pair of legs landed on his shoulders, a stab at his throat from a wind-enhanced knife did no damage, but prompted him to throw the man off with a blast of electricity.

No sooner did Naruto land, did he strike forward with a punch, only for the white-haired 'deity' to meet his fist with his own. The resulting clash tore the land asunder, even as both fighters remained in place. Ardun disengaged and charged a tremendous amount of lightning into his fist, preparing for another punch!

"SHĀ! (2)" Screamed the 'god', hurling his fist forward.

Naruto, in response, took one foot back and used the greater range his leg provided him to strike Ardun's chin, stopping him in his tracks.

'Semi-physical beings or not, they still got a brain to jostle' the Sage thought simply, adjusting his stance, then with a poof of smoke, pulling out a more appropriate weapon, which he rammed into the frozen 'god's side, much to the latter's shock.

'Not sure Samehada'll be able to pierce his flesh, but at least it'll shave off (hehe) some of his magic… energy… whatever' the blond pondered as he readied the shark-skinned sword for another hit in the same place.

RUMBLE

"Hmm?" the blond's golden eyes momentarily looked up at the forming storm clouds.

"I AM… THE DEITY OF FIGHT!" Proclaimed the white-haired Prince, his hand raised to the sky.

"Guh!" Naruto hurriedly raised Samehada to block a sword of pure lightning held in Ardun's hand.

"GUAAAA!" The sentient sword cried out in pain as, impossibly enough, his opponent's attack cut through its body, and the land beneath their feet. The ground split open for miles behind them, while the sword screeched as the electrified blade pierced its scales.

'Was the attack too tough for Samehada to absorb?' The Sage resealed the sword immediately, not willing to risk its destruction here, before answering the attack with a powerful blade of wind.

He's been favoring close combat this entire time due to the 'god's durability. The [Rasenshuriken] and its variants hadn't yielded many results, same with any long-range techniques and yet…

'Maybe I wasn't being creative enough' he thought. He had a nigh-infinite pool of domains to choose from and yet he's been going back to his old tricks! An old dog he may be, but he was still the same unpredictable knucklehead he's always been.

Plus, now that the survivors were evacuated and Zetsu was (thankfully) rescued by his aunts? Well…

"[Speed]!" He slammed one foot into the ground.

"[Strength]!" He slammed the opposite foot, taking a typical horse stance, with the orange tattoos now overtaking his entire body more visibly.

'Aaaannnndd that's how you do a…' He leaned down and dug his hands into the ground, grabbing a firm hold of it.

"TABLE FLIP!" He yelled with a grin as he lifted the rubble, and subsequently the entirety of the land bridge before him, the ruined city included.

Ardun was dragged up with the wave of the earth until he felt himself fly near his father and the Sage's other half.

"What in the world?" he muttered, then focused and balanced himself in mid-air, halting his ascent. He looked around for a moment, tuning out the sounds of his father and the fool's other half's bombardment.

"~Bahahahahaha~" his opponent's voice echoed through the sky.

"!" A flash of light caught Ardun's eye.

"HUǑLUN (3)" The 'god' screamed out, as a flaming wheel of all things heeded his call, following his mental command and going through the surrounding rubble, turning rocks as large as building to dust instantly.

He followed his weapon closely, before feeling an invisible force strike him in the chest.

"Kuh! Huh?" His white hair now dirty and frazzled, he looked around in confusion, only for a second and third strike to land on the back of his head and face respectively.

"Hah? Where are you? Fight me with some honor! King of Vermin!" he screamed, looking through the rubble around him.

"~Bahahaha! What's the matter, tough guy? Never been swept off your feet before?~" the Sage annoyingly asked, still hidden somewhere.

"Cease your pleasantries and fight me as a warrior!"

"~Ah well, ya see, I don't get too many occasions to show off a bit, especially this particular ability~"

The same glow from before appeared below the 'god', and before he could react, a thunderous uppercut slammed into his chin, throwing Ardun back.

'Kakashi-sensei and Obito, eat yer hearts out! This domain would've been the apex of your arsenal' thought Naruto with a feral grin.

"[Space]!" He named the domain, before jumping into another tear in the air.

~~ Battle of Gyaran no Honkyochi, part five ~~


Connecticut, 29th of September, 2000

The ground erupted into a deep crater as a gigantic thunderbolt struck it. Following the attack, a smaller bolt struck the ground next to the hole. The light dissipated to reveal the imposing figure of Zeus, the King of Olympus.

Although the god elected to go for a smaller form than the one he took on the mountain, he stood nonetheless at an impressive height of six feet six inches, putting him at exactly an inch taller than his elder brother.

The god was not dressed in his usual dark blue pinstripe suit but went for a more practical route with his old toga. An outfit that both made him recognizable to anyone and allowed more freedom for movement.

His glowing stormy blue eyes narrowed as he scanned the area before they landed on a dark blob at the edge of the smoking crater.

"Hades…" the King spat out the name like a curse, "to what do I owe the displeasure?"

The blob of solid darkness reabsorbed itself into a large black shield in the Death god's hand.

"You never change, do you Zeus? Still as rash as ever," Hades glared back at the King who chortled at the jab.

"HA! Do you think I didn't see the mess you've stirred up here? I will not have you or yours causing trouble in my land!" the King's eyes sparked ominously.

His gaze was met with the death god's own, "The Earth is my domain Zeus, go choke on your clouds" Hades spat derisively.

Zeus narrowed his eyes as his weapon appeared in his hand.

"My domain overlooks all brother, remember your place in the pecking order" he spoke, face set in a fierce scowl.

The older brother looked back at the King, visage just as grim. He then scoffed and cracked his neck, "That's rich coming from the reason people clap for a landing plane."

"How. Dare. You?" That quip obviously angered the toga-wearing deity, as he flashed forward towards his brother, until both gods stood face to face, weapons drawn up to the other threateningly.

The stalemate remained for a few minutes, with the only sounds heard in the clearing being the sparking of the Master Bolt and the eerie howls coming from the Death god's cloak.

"You've got some balls to crawl out of your hole, but I don't think you're foolish enough for another war, not after the last one…" the younger brother whispered through gritted teeth.

"And many thanks for the millions of souls dear brother of mine, they've made a fine addition to my forces…" Hades' answer was smooth and delivered with a cold look. The god then looked ahead over his brother's shoulder to look at the destruction left in their wake, "but as much as I'd like to continue prodding that fragile ego of yours, I'll ask that you stay your hand on this matter"

The King snarled but composed himself with a deep breath, before asking calmly "Oh? And why would I do that? After all the damage you and your accomplice have caused?" his tone was accusatory and hid none of the suspicions he harbored.

"You might not realize this, Zeus, but fighting someone generally means I'm not affiliated with them." The exasperation could be felt in the Death god's voice.

"Then who was that man? The one that called on my own son's domain? I'd think you of all people would have an ax to grind here" the King accused, making his point clear.

Hades opened his mouth to reply, but just as the words formed in his mouth, he paused. His eyes widened as an unfamiliar yet dreadful feeling permeated throughout his body.

He clicked his mouth shut, stepped back, and turned his back to his brother without a word.

"...and just where do you think you're going?" Zeus was obviously not done with Hades, and took a step forward, his weapon glowing.

"It's useless to talk with a brick wall. If you want answers look in the house, I have other matters to attend to," the elder brother's answer was curt.

Zeus narrowed his eyes fiercely, "Hades don't you dare-"

His words fell on deaf ears, as the Lord of the Underworld vanished.


Brazil, Amazon Forest, same time

A swirl of fire appeared atop a small hill, overlooking a portion of the 'lungs of the Earth'. From the fire a fully healed Zetsu and a calmer Hestia appeared, the latter taking her adult form and towering over the older immortal.

Considering who they were likely to meet now, she felt the need to come looking a bit more proper. That, and she didn't really need a foreign immortal like Quetzalcoatl to make any comments right now.

Speaking of, where were they?

RUMBLE

The distant boom of thunder, accompanied by several tremors in the ground, answered her question.

"Aaaaand there's Quatzi… always one to make a scene, that girl" spoke her companion, pointing a few clicks to the left.

'Hmm?' the eldest Olympian followed the finger and found the source of the noise.

Well then…

It wasn't every day one saw a skyscraper-tall goliath wrestling an even longer rainbow-feathered serpent. The two being tumbled around and shook the earth with their movement. The serpent, or 'Quatzi' as Zetsu has called her, was attempting to choke out the green-haired giant while the latter grabbed the goddess' long body and scratched away at her scales with razor-sharp claws. If one were to take away their size, the two wouldn't look too different from a pair of children roughhousing or fighting over a toy.

She wouldn't lie though, the sight of 'Little Zetsu', or a clone of him in this case, being about half the size of Typhon was very perplexing.

"There you are!" Aaaaand he just turned in their direction.

"Shit! he sensed us!" Hestia didn't bother scolding the other immortal for his potty mouth, considering the giant had pushed the serpent off of him and took off in their direction.

"Original! Ya ain't taking me back! I'm taking YOU!" the… other Zetsu screamed, the earth rumbling with each step he took.

The brunette lit up her hand in Greek fire, preparing to defend her companion. Her flames had shown to be extremely effective on the Uzumaki before, although she didn't know if the same could be said for a super-sized version of greenette.

She didn't have to, however, as the short immortal in question put his hand in front of her, stopping her. Looking at him questionably, she was met with the Uzumaki's hard stare.

"Zetsu?" she questioned.

"Me'n Quatzi'll handle this fool, go find Pan," he ordered. "Last time I was able to sense him, his energy levels were ridiculously low" the shorter immortal then pointed to the right, "he should be somewhere in that direction, dunno where Quatzi put him, and I don't think she'll be answering any questions right now" he finished, pointing at his sister, who had ditched her earlier form and focused on flying around the clone and shooting lightning and flames at him.

"Why are you running?~ Why are you running?~ tienes miedo? Kahahahaha!" Hestia could make out the other goddess's distant taunts and laughter as the giant swatted at her like a fly.

She looked between Zetsu and the approaching monster, deliberating in her head-

"GO!" Zetsu screamed at her.

She balked at the tone, but relented, "I… okay! Be careful!" She turned away to teleport only for the greenette's hand to once again stop her.

"Wait!" she turned in surprise, only to see a bizarre fruit in Zetsu's hand, "take this… we'll signal you if and when to use it" the Uzumaki explained hurriedly.

Confused about the gesture, she hurriedly nodded, taking it, and disappearing in another swirl of fire.

No sooner did Zetsu shift his gaze back to his clone, did he jump away from the latter's foot.

'This is gonna be tough' he thought, being pushed by the impact.

As he flew back, his body glowed, green tattoos covering it in a manner similar to his father.

'This vacation fucking blows'


Connecticut, Castellan residence, same time

Naruto whistled at the sight before him. Rhea, who had stopped her spell, approached him from the side and let out an "oh" in wonder.

Naruto's right hand tenderly cupped the cheek of May Castellan's soul, now free of the Oracle of Delphi, and returned to a light blue tint. His left hand gripped a struggling green soul that clawed at his arm in desperation.

"Hush now," Naruto lowered May's soul back into her body. He then shifted his other hand around the green soul, but before it could fly away, he proceeded to clap both hands with the Oracle between them. The green soul found itself shrunken to a size that could fit between the Sage's palms before it felt itself freeze in place.

Rhea raised an eyebrow in surprise as Naruto opened his hands to show the result of his work. Of all the things to emerge, she didn't expect to see a… green poker chip? One with a frozen face inscribed into it? Why did this feel slightly familiar?

The Titaness could've sworn she'd seen something similar in one of those eastern comic books she'd taken to reading at Little Apollo's behest. Jarjar or something… She only remembered it because of the number of jokes that spawned out of the series… and because Aphrodite's been planning a few fashion lines based on that.

Go figure…

"Hey Rhea," She looked over to him and found him grinning at her, "does this count as me chipping in to help the family?"

The blackette held a dainty hand to her mouth as she giggled, "Huhuhuhuhu~! Delphi-netly!"

Naruto chuckled back before he paused suddenly and snapped his head to the door, getting the Titaness' attention.

"Naruto dear, is there something wrong?" her question prompted a bead of sweat to form on the man's head.

"Err… promise you won't be mad?"

Rhea stared at him, her smile progressively shifting into a frown.

"... What did you do now?" he could make out an undertone of exasperation in her voice, one that unknowingly mimicked her eldest son's. Couple that with the same glare she reserved for her kids and Naruto had buckled like a child with his hand in the cookie jar.

"I… well… I technically didn't do anything…" he mumbled, looking down at his crocs to avoid the taller lady's gaze.

"Your clone, who by definition is a copy of you? Your clone that's been dragging my little Moon Pie around on a wild goose chase? That clone? Hmmmmm~?"

With every question, Naruto slumped further, until Rhea was pretty sure he'd fold in half. It was a funny sight, even if that man was a bit of a drama queen, like her youngest baby.

'Heh still got it' She allowed herself an almost imperceptible smug smirk before the disappointment washed over her face again.

"Well?" the Titaness prodded, leaning down with her hands on her hips.

The Sage childishly pouted, and let himself fall to the side, rolling his body around the ground in a circle, mumbling all the while.

Rhea rolled her eyes even if she found the scene kind of cute, in a dorky way.

"Oh for Goodness' sake, how old are you?" she asked with a small giggle.

The Sage stopped his movement, sat up with his legs crossed, then grinned up at Rhea. "I'm still in my young-too-young twelve thousands!" Naruto answered cheekily, looking up to his fellow parent, and locking eyes with her.

Gold met Emerald as both immortals had a brief staring contest.

When the taller of the two wiggled her brows, the man puffed his cheeks, stifling a laugh of his own.

BOOOM

The moment was interrupted by the entire house shaking, the same way it did earlier with Hades.

"... Is that what you wanted to tell me? Hold on," the Titaness spread out her own senses, "Is that my little Sparky?"

"Snrk"

"Oh don't you give me that Mr. Whiskers! You've got cute names for your kids too!" she turned on the man, with a pout, only to receive a shrug.

"I mean sure!" He said, smirking up at her, "But at least I give'em some cool nicknames too. Can't ruin their street cred and all"

Not Zetsu though, kid woulda murdered him in his sleep if he ever tried sticking a nickname on him… not that his aunts haven't already. God knows Matatabi or Kokuo might be the reason for the line of toys modeled after his son… or Shukaku with that 'Adventures of ZeeZee the Grumpy' show that he directed a few decades ago.

Kids in Oraeguk seemed to like them so whatever.

"Mr. Whiskers? You there?" his companion's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Huh?" the Sage blinked before the house shook once more.

BOOOOOOOM

"Ah right!" he answered, getting back on track. He got up and stretched his back, before looking at Rhea and giving her a foxy grin.

"Welp! Let's get this over with!"


Outside the house, same time

Zeus… had a lot of questions.

Pushing aside his brother's abrupt departure (which he was still annoyed by), the sheer extraordinary nature of what he had witnessed in the last few minutes had thrown him for a loop.

Clones were one thing, a purple barrier was another. That purple barrier being impenetrable through teleportation and even more blasphemously, able to take two, yes two, hits, not one, of his Master Bolt was perplexing him. It wasn't like he held back that much either, he'd concentrated his power to minimize the radius of the explosion while maintaining its destructive charge.

And after all that, that them-damned barrier stood yet still… mocking him…

He wouldn't lie, his rage was simmering a tad.

But there was also something else bubbling, deep within him. A hint of something he honestly hadn't felt since the Gigantomachy…

Excitement.

For a potentially good fight that is, even if he knew it wasn't a wise move to seek conflicts with potentially strong beings like that.

Mighty he might be, but a Fool he was not.

But in any case, he'll need to get to the bottom of this, so, with a sigh, he reared back his bolt once more, and just as he prepared to launch it once again, a voice echoed from inside the house.

"You four! Let him in!"

A familiar voice.

"Mother?" He found himself speaking unconsciously. For who else could it be but his dear loving parent?

The four duplicates posted outside nodded at the request paused, then nodded again before disappearing in a cloud of smoke each. Following that, the door to the house opened up with a flourish, letting the Titaness pass through.

"Sparkyyyy~!" Rhea heels clicked as she speed walked toward her son, arms open in anticipation of a hug. One that was quickly and gladly given by a now smiling Zeus, traces of his earlier anger and frustration having all but vanished.

"Oh I missed you baby~" the mother's melodious voice only served to lull her son to calm down further. "How's Hera been? Have you been giving my little Peachick trouble? I hope not!" Rhea lightly pinched the god's bearded cheek while mockingly glaring at him.

"Fortunately for me, no" Zeus chuckled good naturally, deciding to just enjoy the banter. His mother was among the only people, other than his wife, sisters, and daughters (and some of his sons on rare occasions), that he'd ever jest like so with.

"I've been trying to stay on her good side for the last few years after… you know…" he said, mumbling the last part with a hint of guilt.

Rhea nodded in response, no doubt remembering the tongue lashing she had given him following his latest demigod children's conception. She shook her head and disengaged from her embrace, looking down at her son.

"I know but, as much as it pains me to cut this short, you must have some questions" her statement reminded Zeus of his objective as he nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed. "What's happening here? And what does Hades have to do with it?" the god asked, his tone more professional.

He saw his mother pause as if mentally balancing her words, before she grabbed his shoulder lightly.

"Look, son, before anything, let me just reassure you that there's no harm being done" she placated him, and some relief did fill him with her words.

"But what, or who, I want to show you, might not be someone you'd normally be willing to be civil with but I need you to understand, there's no trouble to be had here, alright dear?" Rhea's explanation threw that earlier relief right out of the window and replaced it with alarm bells ringing throughout the god's head, as his mind worked overtime to decipher whatever mystery his parent was hiding behind that door.

A lifetime of consuming theatrical entertainment, as well as his experience with some of his relatives in the past reared their heads, offering an unlikely result that Zeus honestly refused to believe.

Because if what he was thinking right now was the truth, he might as well blow up the entire state to ensure it does not come to pass.

It couldn't be… it just couldn't!

But dammit it made sense! That unknown's abilities! Hades' presence! Say what you want about his brother, but he would've done the same in this situation! As would Poseidon!

What was at stake here was immeasurably precious after all…

But he needed to make sure.

"Mother… please…" the King's tone was begging, his eyes wide and disbelieving, "please tell me you're not getting remarried"

Rhea blinked owlishly, opening and closing her mouth to formulate the words, her cheeks lightly dusting a golden color before she bit her lips.

Some air escaped through her nose…

"Pffffffff huhuhuHWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" And then his mother, the calm, composed and very image of poise, Rhea, exploded into laughter.

She wasn't alone, though…

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zeus, even while holding his hysterical mother, was able to make out the second set of laughter from within the house.

As if to prove whatever theories he had right, a man slid out from behind the door, face red and seemingly losing his grip on it and rolling down the driveway as he cackled listlessly at whatever joke Zeus might have said.

The god narrowed his eyes at the stranger, his eyes picking up every detail they could about him while his mind went into overdrive cross-referencing the latter with any memories he had, anything to help identify this individual.

Blond hair, tan skin, a built frame, some peculiar whisker-like tattoos (or were they scars?) on his cheeks, and a strangely familiar tattoo pattern that overtook the man's body.

Then, he sensed his power and his mind immediately went blank. A single memory was recalled. An old meeting, one of the few he'd had with his Norse and Egyptian counterparts over one thing or another, where a particularly dangerous subject has been brought up.

"When it comes to the East, I propose a coalition," Odin had said, even as Ra scoffed at the notion. "While the main pantheons might seem content within their borders now, there does exist a gallery of unnaturally strong and unaffiliated individuals which we ought to be wary of" the wizened Norse King explained before the god had summoned some paintings depicting the people in question.

A horned figure, reminiscent to Abrahamic depictions of the so-called 'Devil', spreading misery around them. Mara, Buddhist/Hindu Demon Lord of Desires, known as the Evil One.

A fox-like creature, depicted with tails the size of mountains, causing natural disasters with but a flick of those appendages. The Nine-tailed Fox Demon, described as a veritable force of nature comparable to a Primordial.

And finally…

A humanoid figure, drawn as a laughing man with orange tattoos, clashing with a three-eyed deity that Zeus had recognized as the Jade Emperor. The King of Savages, and the one who'd dared oppose the Heavenly Bureaucracy.

The one who'd destroyed the Taoist Underworld.

'Is this why Hades was here?'

His following actions were born out of reflex. With a sweeping hand, he pushed his mother aside, snapping her out of her laughter.

"Zeus? Wait, WAIT!" The Titaness screamed, balancing herself and seeing his Master Bolt charge up to full power.

"Bahah… hah… ha?" The man noticed the weapon's glow, pausing in his laughter.

"DIE!" the King let loose his attack.

The bolt flew, vibrating the air as it went and Zeus saw the man mouth a single word in response.

He sat up on his side and brought out a hand in a chopping motion.

"[Space]!" He screamed as a tear in the air formed before the man, the supercharged attack getting absorbed into it.

'What?' thought the King as another bolt formed in his hand, ready to attack again, only to drop it as he felt an intense pain in his ear.

His mother had reached him first and expressed her frustration with him appropriately by almost twisting his ear off.

"Hold your damn horses Boyo!" The man got up from the ground and yelled at him.

"Zeus! Oh us, could you listen to me just once before acting rashly?" Rhea added her two cents, with one hand holding her hip, while the other gripped her son's ear hard enough to turn it purple.

He let out some air from his nostrils, unwilling to let the pain show on his face

"I acted within my right!" He defended himself, "are you out of your mind mother? You brought one of the most dangerous beings on the planet to my dooaahh!"

Said mother twisted his ear even more.

"Ooooh! Beautiful technique Rhea! Never seen someone do it this well! Have ya thought about patenting it? I know a guy!" The man, monster, or whatever he was seemed to enjoy the King's pain as he began laughing.

Zeus felt a small bit of betrayal when his only parent, the one he'd always cherished, laughed alongside the man.

"Uhuhuhuhu~ Oh you! We'll talk about this later. For now, let's solve this issue. Without senseless destruction" she added the last part with an additional twist making the god bite his lip.

"But mother!" He protested.

"No buts! The only butt I want to see is yours on a chair young man!" She gestured once again to the house, pulling him along as the blond man laughed again.

Zeus gritted his teeth, but agreed solemnly "... Okay"

He glared murderously at who he knew was the 'Gallant Sage of the East' as he passed his cackling form.

'Whatever Hades had to deal with, I hope it's more trouble than this' he griped.


Earlier,

When Naru-Two saw he'd be facing the local death god, and one of the 'Big Three' at that, he knew he'd be outmatched.

This was why he was acting up like a fool: Stall for a maximum of time by making the 'god' underestimate him. That… and because it was funny.

What can he say? People rarely took him seriously as a kid because of his antics and he'd long since learned to weaponize that annoying characteristic of his. Plus, he needed a story hilarious enough to finally get that stick-in-the-mud Shinigami to crack a smile. That one was the type to enjoy watching paint dry.

But in any case, Naru-Two already knew the result of this fight. There was no way in Hell he could overpower a 'chief god level' opponent as he was. Even reinforced clones carried but a fraction of the original's full power. In his case, that fraction amounted to a measly five percent, with strengthened durability that'd allow him to receive a dozen good hits before popping, as opposed to the usual one.

That was also why he'd brought out Samehada, the sword had long ago become a helpful tool in fights against immortals. The sentient weapon had grown used to the various frequencies of energy that dominated the universe but found the immortals' own brand of "magic" as they called it, to be a delicacy.

In a sense, every Domain produced a certain energy frequency, almost indistinguishable from others because of the sheer number of those sources. Chakra was just one of the many names that energy possessed and existed as several frequencies on the spectrum, from his regular chakra, to Nature or Sage chakra, to his siblings' Demonic chakra.

Eh… He didn't know how else to summarize it. It had taken him several centuries to even understand the basics of this stuff.

But anyway…

The minute he'd been told the Original had all but finished, Naru-Two decided to get a bit more serious. Both to coax his opponent to do the same, and hopefully to carry the fight away from the house.

This would naturally make him extremely visible to this pantheon's deities, but at this point, they were already in the endgame. He accounted for some other gods to show up to assist Hades, of course…

He just didn't expect the King to simply blast him with no questions asked.

Luckily, he still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. So within the milliseconds before getting hit by the bolt, he established a connection with the domain he desired and uttered its name.

"[Space]" he said as the world warped around him just as the attack engulfed him.

Unknown location

'Phew! Close call!' thought Naru-Two, his face puffed out and visibly holding his breath, even as a few of his hairs were singed.

He was floating in a void, one that would look familiar yet puzzling to any avid observer of the cosmos. A multitude of stars peppered the black background, each impossibly far away. This was, after all, the space beyond the veils, the 'true' outer space that humans had been seeking to explore and conquer lately. It was also the space that separated the Earth from the outer layer of the Universe, beyond which lied the One Above All's realm.

'Now wheeeeere is this place?' The clone scanned the space around him, floating some ways off of what could be identified as 'Earth', and, looking at several odd 'planets' around him.

Those were other realms, ones that existed in the form of pocket dimensions within the one Universe that englobed everything. Each realm appeared as a sort of astral body, even if it would be more apt to call it a bubble floating in nothing.

Deities and some creatures linked to those realms could access them instantly. As for him or the boss? They needed to physically look for their target before establishing a link there.

But nevertheless… enough exposition!

He needed to find the closest realm that radiated the same energy signature as the [Death] domain.

He 'swam' forward, passing by what looked like stone remains of small moons, some with large holes in them, while others were simple crescents or completely shattered.

'Those things are still here' he pondered, shifting to a backstroke as he passed by the bizarre sight.

He turned around and extended his senses once more, feeling out the energy pathways that linked each realm to another.

'Now if I were the Greek 'afterlife' wheeeeere would I- Ah found ya!' he grinned mischievously as he caught sight of the realm in question, as a wicked plan of action formed in his head.

He proceeded to breaststroke his way to a golden and grey 'planet', its layer making it impossible to view anything inside. It didn't take long to reach it and land on the hard outer layer of the realm. Using his control over [Space], he plunged both hands into the layer in question, and pushed them aside, creating a tear in the realm.

'Banzaiiiii!' As he jumped through the closing hole, he reflected on what he'd just done, and what he intended to do next.

Would the Boss get angry at him? Hmmm…

Nahhh! He'll just have a little fun…

Just a little!

Ain't like this was his first rodeo!

"Bahahahaha!" the cackle echoed through the Underworld and sent shivers down its inhabitants' spines.


A/N : Things are getting intense! Either I'm gonna have to write three separate fights, or two fights and an episode of .

(1) Hua–Yí: Distinction of "Yí" used in the last chapter which asserts Chinese superiority, but implies that outsiders could become "Hua" by adopting Chinese values and customs.

(2) Shā: Chinese word for "Kill".

(3) Huǒlún: Chinese for" Wheel of Fire", referring to Ardun's "Inferno Wheel" from god of highschool.