Naruto shifted in place, somewhat uncertain as he stood in front of his massive audience.

And by massive, he meant the towering Bijuu inside his mindscape.

And they were…staring…intently.

"So…" Kurama started, "That right there…is your thread?"

Naruto nodded, though he wasn't sure why, the Bijuu were there just as he was.

Kurama stared for a few more long moments, before scoffing and turning away, "I doubt it."

Naruto blinked, and almost guffawed as all the other Bijuu nodded in assent.

"What! Why?" Naruto almost shouted, completely at a loss.

"Are you serious? You have defied fate so many times I doubt the concept. I find it highly unlikely that such a chain could possible tether your life to the future. It's almost laughable." Gyuki said with a smirk, to which Shukaku giggled.

"I must agree, it seems to ludicrous to believe." Kukuo added.

Naruto paused, before looking down at the chain in his hand. His face settled into a look of determination, before he looked over at Kurama.

"Furball, lend me a claw."

"WHAT! You idiot! You could DIE!" Kurama roared. Naruto stood in the blast, his hair blowing backwards as he remained unwavering.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID I WOULDN'T A MINUTE AGO!"

"ONLY A FOOL WOULD TAKE THAT RISK!"

"THAT'S WHY I ASKED YOU!"

"WHY YOU!?"

The rest of the Bijuu watched as the age old partners bickered and argued about who was the bigger idiot, completely ignoring the original topic. Kukuo sighed, before turning to Chōmei, who just shook her head in disbelief. Gyūki just stared in shock, while Shukaku was giggling…still.

Naruto suddenly stopped, surprising Kurama, and looked down at his chain.

"…if this is my chain…why give it to me? He could just as easily threaten to kill me as to coerce me…why surrender that?" Naruto muttered, his fist tightly around the chain.

Kurama frowned, and Isobu cleared his throat, gathering their attention.

"Its politics."

Blink.

"Think about it, what would happen if Naruto's soul turned up in the land of the dead…and not his own? Should the Shinigami find out, its immediate war. In a way, he is cutting ties with you, making sure that even if Naruto does die…the blame will not fall on him. The point being, at the next Council of the Dead, the Shinigami will question everyone…and will know if someone is lying. Hades can't take that risk. In that same way, the Shinigami can't pull us out, as that's crossing the boundary. It's a race against time."

Naruto looked down at the chain in his hands again, staring at its interconnecting locks.

"We must complete the prophecy…before the next summit?" Matatabi asked with a frown. That wasn't promising. Not only do the not know when the next conference was, but the prophecy wouldn't be complete until Percy turned sixteen…which was basically two years.

Naruto frowned, before a seal glyph appeared on his palm. It disappeared into a puff of smoke, before the blond placed his palm on his stomach.

Where his old seal flared to life.

A chain like marking slithered under his hand, before extending out and wrapping around the seal array, and then fading inside of it.

The mindscape shuddered for a long moment, before a large chain link appeared from the faded black ceiling, and stabbed into the floor.

The Bijuu stared at the newest addition to the sealing room. It was large, long, and connected the oblivion above to the floor below.

"It will be safe here, with you. As long as nobody possesses my body, nobody can even enter here…and then, well, they would have to make it past all of you!" Naruto said with a grin. Son Goku was grinning right back the idea of a battle in here sounded interesting.

"Hey Matatabi! You can finally see what's up there! You were always wondering!"

"Shut Up!"

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Naruto's eyes opened slowly, taking in the moon as he sat on a large rock in the forest. A smile played on his lips as the heard the faint rustlings in the back of his mind as the Bijuu roughhoused. He stood up slowly, stretching and letting out a few moans as his muscles twitched in temporary ecstasy.

His smile soon died though, as a frown settled in its place.

What to do.

The blond leapt of the rock, landing without a sound as he impacted the forest floor, and headed back to camp. He was racing against time, but he didn't know here his "competitor" was, nor did he know where the finish line was.

It was nearing 3:30 AM, the campers sound asleep. The celebrations of their safe return dying out about 2AM, with everyone exhausted. There had been games, pranks, storytelling, and a feast of the ages. Even the hunters stuck around for the food.

That has to mean something right?

Thalia had become the camps liaison with the Hunt. One thing this trip showed was that the Hunt wasn't the only thing that could be called in for assistance. Thalia had taken her place at the head of the Artemis cabin, but made it clear that she wouldn't be around much. She would be a peace-keeper, but would spend the majority of her time with the hunt, as was her first obligation.

In other words, she was the chain connecting the camp, to the eternal maidens.

The look on her face was…definitely memorable.

Naruto broke through the forest line, staring at the Artemis cabin. It was a nice place, silver in color and almost angelic in the light. A small light was on in the back window, meaning that Thalia had finished moving in, and had probably passed out on the floor. Artemis had left with her hunters the moment the party was over. She had little desire to retire with Dionysus for the rest of the evening apparently…wonder what he did.

Well…whatever.

All was well.

He frowned again, except for him.

"Hey, on the plus side, you don't have to kiss ass." Chōmei pointed out mildly, and Kurama nodded with his eyes closed.

"Now we know that Hades is our door, and he isn't even an Olympian. The kid gloves can be burned for all we care; the matter with them is closed."

Naruto just sighed, 'Yeah, I guess there is always a silver lining.'

Naruto continued to stare at the cabin of the hunters, before Shukaku joined the message board.

"OOOOOoooh! You meant silver as in the cabin! I GET IT! HAHAHAAHHAHA!"

Facepalm.

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Ever seen a whole crowd of sleepwalking teenagers?

It's by far the most entertaining thing the blond had seen to date.

A whole crowd of them emerged from each cabin, walking out in a drowsy stupor, unable to even form a line. They just groaned in dreariness as they ambled forward, eyes squinted and mouths stretched in yawns.

It was like a zombie army.

Naruto was sitting on top the dining hall, watching all the campers mumble through. The sun was still barely on the rise, something he often saw as he rose just before the sun did. The golden rays seemed to gleam against the Golden Fleece, sending little flecks of healing light in all directions like the worlds most powerful disco ball. Pelues still snoozed under it, already a little bigger since Naruto left. His little interaction with Peleus when he first got back was very entertaining. Peleus not only smelled another dragon, but seemed to recognize it as an ancient, and incredibly powerful one. He was happy, even energetic at the idea that such a powerful being of his kind was out there. Dragons were terribly loyal to family, so to him, this new dragon was kin, and as such, he was happy to have such a terrifying force in his corner.

He couldn't even sleep he was so busy blowing hot air through his nose.

Naruto scratched his own nose in remembrance, catching sight of the hot air that escaped it in the cool morning air.

He had put a lot of thought into what he would do today. He knew that there was a race going on, and he would be dammed if he let himself loose.

Quite literally.

So, he decided to…

Read.

A small pile of books were stacked next to him, with a few clones behind him reading them as well. Since his battle on top he mountain with Atlas, he realized that he didn't even know much about the titans…just that they were bad.

That wasn't wise.

So, since last night, he and his clones had been reading any and all material Camp Half-Blood had on anything regarding the "mythological" world, of all religions and types of beasts.

Ero-Sennin once said something about knowledge…hmm...

"Know your enemy, know yourself, know your porn"

…or something, it probably wasn't important.

A voice clearing itself behind him, bringing Naruto's attention away from his book as he blinked in a small amount of surprise. He turned, his eyes just barely seeing over the ridge of his book as he recognized it as the camps shitty and lack-luster director, Mr G.

"Mr.G" Naruto said with a small measure of surprise, "What brings you up here? This is certainly new."

Dionysus rolled his neck slightly, obviously prepared for his own medicine, "it seems that your presence here has caused a stir within Olympus. Several of the Gods have taken note of your absence of living space within this camp…Nanamo, would you a house?"

Naruto blinked in shock…Mr. G…the fat loathe of a god…was asking him if he could build a house for him?

Damn, how many gods crawled up his ass before he started moving?

"I thank you for the offer," Naruto said formally, "But a home on Camp grounds isn't something that appeals to me at the present time. I will sort out my own arrangements."

Mr. G seemed thankful at this comment, and Naruto merely nodded to him. He knew the god was lazy, and frankly, he didn't trust the gods to build him a true home…so, might as well do it himself, and make it seem like he was doing someone else a favor.

Naruto returned to his book…but couldn't even find his place as the God of Wine still didn't leave.

"Was there something else?"

Mr. G seemed…conflicted, before he snapped his fingers, and vines raced up from the ground, snaking up the side of the building, and he sat on them as they weaved themselves into a chair of leaves.

"Nanamo Ukizaki, what are your intentions as the Champion of the Wild?"

Naruto blinked, "The spirits are here…so…well, so am I. My duty, as I see it, is to protect them."

"And when you're gone?"

Naruto froze, before looking over his book, and the look froze the wine god.

That dammed red eye…the hell was it!?

"What are you suggesting…Are you threatening me Dionysus." he said lowly, his tone scratching the god's back uncomfortably as it froze his cold sweat.

"The Wild is an important domain, we can't leave it unmanned." Dionysus said strongly, but you could see his leopard print pants shiver at the look he was getting.

"If you must know, I was planning on giving it to a female goddess…I haven't really decided. Artemis would be a good fit as the Goddess of the Hunt, and is on good terms with them…but not all are female, and I fear discrimination. My latest pondering has me leaning towards Demeter. As a goddess of seasons, unbiased, and at least respectable to what I can see, she has the strongest position…but I have yet to decide…However…" Naruto's voice suddenly took on a demonic undertone.

"I don't plan on surrendering my position for as long as I am here. The Spirits of the Wild, of Nature, are under my protection, and there they will remain until I am no longer able."

Dionysus nodded, acknowledging his words with a nervous juggle of his double chin. Naruto's eyes bored into the god's own, and they stared. Eventually, Naruto sighed,

"However, you raise a good point. A successor will be needed, and soon depending on how time chooses to advance. Make no mistake, I will show preference to goddesses, such as Demeter, Artemis, or even Hestia. Should they deem fit, they me relocate the title to another, but in my eyes, the spirits have endured enough of the male gender for a few years…Don't you agree." Naruto said coldly, and the god shivered, remembering what landed him in this camp in the first place.

Chasing a Nature Spirit.

"Thank you for your Counsel Diabetes, feel free to return at any time." Naruto said calmly, returning to his book.

Dionysus didn't need to be told twice.

He vanished with a distinct pop.

Naruto was about to turn to his book, when a voice cut into his mind.

"Naruto, a moment?"

Naruto looked surprised; he was usually summoned by Kurama…but for Gyuki to summon him, that means something is wrong with his 8th gate.

That's not good.

In a moment, his clones placed his books in a small pile and dispelled, soon followed by the books themselves as they vanished with a puff of smoke as they were contained in a seal. Naruto scanned his environment for a moment, before closing his eyes. His security clones were in place, so any unwanted confrontations could be avoided.

"Gyuki! Hey!...where the hell did you go?" Naruto muttered.

He was in his mindscape, the 8th gate. It was a…basically…a lake. It was blocked by a huge dam, where Gyuki usually resided with his back against it.

What was beyond the dam…was his heart.

Or at least, his chakra core, where his heart proved to be its prison.

"OI! Where are you?!"

"Here."

Naruto turned and saw Gyuki, submerged in the lake, coming up from the depths of his reservoir.

"I found something…something unique. I believe that this is the reason for the Uzumaki longevity…and why only they could contain Kurama."

Naruto frowned, before jogging forward, "Show me."

Gyuki took his serious expression to heart, and dove down, Naruto in the grasp of one of his tails.

As they swam, Naruto got more and more curious.

'Gyuki, where are we? This isn't the 8th gate anymore…what's happened?"

Gyuki looked back at him…his expression schooled.

"Of the knowledge I have accumulated in Kumo, the average human has 8 gates. Gate of Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder, and the last, Death. Should the last gate be opened, they would die…at least that is that is the case for an average human being…"

Naruto was starting to get nervous. Gyuki was a pretty chill Bijuu, for him to be this serious…almost out of it; this had to be something either groundbreaking, or a calamity.

'What are you saying?'

Gyuki stopped swimming, and Naruto looking down in confusion, before staring down at the bottom.

There…was another gate.

"This…well, I guess you could say, it's your 9th gate. It's what prevents the chakra of the Nine Tails from corrupting you without direct exposure, from eating you from the inside out and dissolving you like the rest…Welcome, to what I would be honored name, as your Ninth Gate, the Gate of the Soul."