I recently found out one of my favorite fanfic author favorited this story! Shout out Shawn129 for writing some of the greatest Naruto fics I've personally ever read. I love me some OPNaruto!
Leave me a PM. I don't read reviews anymore. Too many guests leaving dumb reviews.
Naruto looked at the building in front of him, a hint of amusement on his face.
Deciding to be a bit formal today, he wore a black three piece suit with a burnt orange shirt, and a black tie.
"DOA Recording Studios? Seems a little on the nose." He chuckled to himself. Ever since he came to this realm, he's felt more at ease. He smiles often now, but that can also be contributed to the fact that he's more sexually active.
Entering the building, he glanced around to all the loitering souls. He felt a bit of pity looking at some of these souls. A majority looked to be mere children, and a few didn't look to have even died in the current century.
He decided to approach one the kids. She looked maybe nine or ten, gaunt appearance, barefoot, and her clothes looked to way too big for her. What caught his eye was the familiar blonde hair and grey eyes.
He walked up slowly, not wanting to scare the obviously abused child. She saw his advance, and immediately tensed up, fear in her eyes.
Naruto has seen, done, and experienced a myriad of things in his life that hardened his heart. Seeing this now dead child in front of him hurt more than any torture he faced. Even in death, the poor girl can't relax.
"Hello, sweetie, my name's Naruto, what's yours?" He asked softly.
She looked at him warily for a moment before answering. "Andrea."
"That's a beautiful name. May I ask what the last thing you remember before you came here?"
"I-I just found some food to eat and made it to a corner in an alleyway. Before I could take a bite, I was attacked by an old man. His hands were around my neck, a-and I couldn't do anything but let darkness take me. Then I'm standing next to my body. The old guy took his pants off and was doing weird things to my body. Before I saw anything else, a man with pretty black wings and a tablet took me here." She glanced around the room before looking back at him.
"Why were you in the streets, sweetie?" Naruto asked, as calmly as he could.
"Monsters killed daddy, and there was nowhere else to go." Her eyes moistened.
"It's alright, sweetie. You're gonna be okay from now on." Naruto assured her. He made several clones to go talk with the other kids.
He thought it a bit strange that there were people here from the modern age, but he then surmised that they all either had Greek ancestry, or that they had Greek godly blood in their lineage.
He made his way to the one person he could sense that wasn't dead.
"My my my. An Ermenegildo Zegna single-breasted, modern-fit stretch virgin wool suit. Finally, a man who knows how to dress. I just might let you go on for free." The man said with enthusiasm. He had chocolate colored skin and bleached-blond hair, shaved military style. He wore tortoise shell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag that read "Charon".
Chuckling, Naruto replied. "Thank you, and I must say cream is definitely a great color you, but you don't need to give me a free ride. I'll pay for myself, as well as everyone else in here."
Naruto reached into his jacket, and pulled out a large bag that was practically bursting with drachmae.
"You hear that, you vagrants?! You're all getting out of here!" Charon yelled.
All the dead cheered.
All rushed the elevator, each group going down excitedly, finally being able to move on.
Naruto dispelled all of his clones, and frowned at the memories.
Not really feeling like waiting in line, Naruto shunshined directly to in front of Hades' palace.
There were two skeletal guards by the entrance. One was a greek soldier in full battle gear, while the other looked to be a modern soldier with a automatic rifle in his hands. As he approached, the large double doors opened, inviting him inwards, so without hesitation, he strode in.
As he walked, he observed the paintings and sculptures on display. He personally didn't have an in depth knowledge of art, but he could appreciate the time, effort, and emotion it takes to create art.
As he continued inward the beautiful home, he finally made it to to a comfy looking room. There was a bar on one side, the other had a currently lit fireplace with two cozy looking recliners facing the fire a safe distance away.
"Ah, grand nephew. Welcome to my humble abode. I'd introduce you to my wife, but since it's currently July, I still have to wait a couple months."
The one who spoke was a tall and lean pale man with black hair and eyes. He wore black slacks, a white dress shirt with the first couple buttons undone, and a loose tie. He was pouring some scotch in two glasses.
"I thank you for your hospitality, Hospitable One." Naruto thanked with a head tilt of acknowledgment.
Hades waves away the thanks then gestured to the seats by the fire.
As they sat down and took a sip of their drinks, Hades spoke. "So what brings you to me, the Pariah of Olympus?"
Naruto shrugged. "I just came to visit and have a talk. Maybe get a new drinking buddy."
Hades didn't show any outward reaction besides a slight upturn of his lips. Inwardly he was happy to have a new friend. He may act like he doesn't care about the fear and ostracism he faced, but it hurt him. He didn't choose to be the God of the Underworld, but he lost the draw.
His loneliness got so bad, that when Eros shot him with one of his arrows to fall in love with the first person he sees, he ended up kidnapping the goddess that later became his wife. He, being the eldest son of Kronos, was able to fight off Eros' arrow enough to treat her with kindness and respect, and hadn't laid a hand on her. Instead, they spoke with each other. Hades likes to believe he kept his loneliness from showing, but the compassionate being that was Persephone saw through his strong facade. She grew to love him as much as he loved her. She couldn't stay though, because her mother, Demeter, has locked herself in a temple and refused to let crops grow.
Seeing the influx of souls in his realm, Hades knew that Persephone needed to return, but before he could tell her, she had already taken a small bite of a pomegranate, not knowing of the consequences of eating in the Underworld. Thankfully, she only ate four seeds worth, so she was able to go back to the realm of the living, but she had to return back to the Underworld for four months.
Demeter refused to believe that Hades didn't trick her daughter into eating the seeds, so the myth says that he did.
He glanced at his guest who looked to be enjoying the warmth from the alcohol and the fire.
"So what should we talk about, dear grand nephew?"
-CH-
The gods, in order to properly fulfill their duties, needed to split themselves. With their different copies roaming around, it isn't so far fetched that those copies fell in love with different mortals at the same time, resulting in many of children being born, and of the same age.
It didn't take too long for them to notice that their kids started to disappear.
With a god who is famous for his constant infidelity, it isn't that unbelievable that Zeus would sire a plethora of demigod bastard children. With the prophecy regarding his, or his brother's, children, he knew that he had to hide any trace of them from the rest of the gods, but their disappearance had frightened him.
He knew his father was stirring. He would be foolish not to see the signs and warnings. He had avidly and continuously denied his return all this time because he was scared. He knew he wasn't all knowing and all powerful. Most of his godly power is used in keeping his physical form looking as imposing as it does. Did no one wonder why he, the baby of his siblings, has gray hair even though everyone else looked somewhat youthful?
If his father truly did return, then he would be way too weak to face him, let alone, defeat him. So he chose to ignore the signs. Out of sight, out of mind.
But back to the more pressing issue, the disappearance of his children. He smartly waited for the others to call an Emergency Council Meeting.
"Why have you called this meeting, Aphrodite?" Zeus boomed in his usual manner.
A distraught Aphrodite spoke up. "My babies are missing! I can't sense them anywhere!"
"What do you mean? Are you speaking of your demigods?" Athena inquired.
"Yes!" Aphrodite shouted. "The ones at Camp Halfblood are fine, but I had others. A lot others. Now they're gone and I don't know where they could be!"
The other gods took a moment to process this, then used their own connections to look for their own children, only to realize that they're in the same situation.
"Hades! He must know if any of our children died!" Apollo realized.
"Hestia! Use your hearth to contact Hades!" Zeus thundered. His bravado diminished completely as soon as Hestia gave him a look. Said look was reminiscent of their mother's, one that all mothers share.
"... please?" He stated meekly.
Hestia just huffed, and manipulated the flames until an image appeared.
"... and the malakas had the audacity to act like I'd be proud of him causing the death of 11 million jews. Adolf was by far one of my worst children. He didn't even die in battle! The coward killed himself!" As Hades ranted to Naruto's amusement, he failed to notice the image in the flames.
Everyone in the Council was slack jawed. This was the first time they've ever seen Hades rant while inebriated. He was usually stoic, and completely in control of his emotions, but this Hades was an emotional open book.
Zeus cleared his throat. "Hades?"
Hades stopped his rant then look at the flames. "Oh. It's baby brother."
Zeus scowled, lightning flickering across his beard while Poseidon chuckled. Before any arguments could break out, Hestia spoke. "Hello dear brother."
"Elder sister." Hades greeted with a smile.
'Why doesn't he smile more? He actually looks quite handsome.' Aphrodite thought to herself.
"I apologize for interrupting your time with our grand nephew, but I and the others in the Council wondered if there was an influx in demigod souls recently." Hestia inquired.
"No more than usual. Actually that's not true. There's a lot less coming through. Why?" Hades asked, now sober.
"My babies are missing!" Aphrodite wailed.
"All our demigods who aren't at Camp Halfblood seem to have disappeared. Seeing as Naruto doesn't seem surprised by this news, then that must mean you have an idea of where they could be." Athena deduced.
"Hm? Oh! Of course I do." Naruto said plainly.
"Where are my babies?!" Aphrodite shouted.
"Safe."
"You cannot just take a demigod for whatever purpose suits you. I demand you tell us where you have our children!" Zeus bellowed.
Naruto chuckled a mirthless chuckle. "Funny. Now that you no longer have them, you care. I've had these kids safe for several months now, why are you just now noticing?"
"There is no place safer than Camp Halfblood. They need to receive proper training to survive!" Zeus barked.
Naruto said nothing for a moment, then spoke softly. "On a whim, I decided to take the scenic route to visit my grand uncle. Would you like to know what the first thing I saw when I walked in the building?"
"What did you see?" Hestia asked.
"Children. I saw children. Nearly all of them demigods, and all faced a violent death. Some by monsters. Some by their parent. A disheartening majority was done by suicide. Children committing suicide. Clearly enough isn't being done."
"You could've brought them to Camp. Why take them yourself instead of getting them to safety?" Ares growled.
Naruto merely scoffed. "You mean the Camp that only has enough space for about a hundred kids? There over 400 Greek deities, and the only safe haven you have for children of said deities can only hold a quarter of that number? No. I've built my own safe haven similar to the one in California."
The gods all briefly flickered into their Roman aspects when he mentioned California.
"Where is this safe haven? I'd like to visit my kids." Apollo asked. Like his father, he was a massive man-whore, but he cared for all of his kids.
"I built it on the coast of Delaware."
"The Uzu Academy for the Gifted! That's the place isn't it?" Apollo confirmed.
"Yes. How did you know?" Naruto asked.
"I saw it being built, then one day it just disappeared. I didn't think anything of it. I assume this is the security you were talking about."
Naruto nodded. "Yes. Part of the security is a passive illusion to make someone not in the know forget about it. I'm not giving any details about it, but if you'd like to visit your children, you're more than welcome to."
Before anyone could confirm they'd be visiting, Zeus interrupted. "Ancient Law prevents us from raising our children-"
"And you wouldn't be raising them, just visiting. Instead of making it easier for great grandfather to recruit jaded demigods, why not visit your kids to let them know you at least acknowledge their existence?" Naruto deadpanned. "Anyways, grand uncle, it was nice meeting you, and I'd like to return so we can drink and talk some more."
"Of course, Naruto. Return whenever you'd like. This was nice." Hades shook Naruto's hand and he left.
Hades flicked his hand, and the flame was dispersed. He got up off the chair and left to continue his duties, glad he made a friend.
The gods with demigods badgered Apollo until he led them to the Academy. Zeus decided to wait until a later date to make Apollo lead him to the Academy, not wanting to advertise the fact he has more demigods.
-CH-
"I got 20 kids ready for transport as long as you have the payment ready." The smooth voice announced, to his guest.
The man's name was Marc Moreau, and he was a son of Aphrodite. He accidentally ran into what he later learned was a satyr. Using his charmspeak, he interrogated the satyr, then killed him.
Imagine his surprise when the thing turned into a flower upon death.
Moreau, now having his mind widened to all the possibilities of his power, naturally decided to lead a life of crime. He didn't need the attention, so he remained under the radar, and sold children to several shady people and organizations for a hefty price.
"Of course I have it ready, Moreau. What do you think of me?" The buyer said. They were both backed up by their guards in a building in Virginia.
"Reginald Crane. Wanted in thirteen countries dead or alive." A voice said, then a thunk was heard, and the buyer fell forward with a kunai lodged in the back of his head.
Moreau bolted towards the exit with some of his men. The remaining drew their guns and were looking everywhere.
With a shocking amount of accuracy, the guns were all knocked out of their hands except for one.
As if stepping out of the shadows, an ANBU agent appeared and grabbed the remaining pistol, gripping the man's hand.
"No guns." The Hawk masked agent said before one with a Tigress mask appeared from behind him and landed a heavy haymaker knocking the man out, causing the others to attack.
A woman with a knife swing came for Tigress who ducked while punching her in the stomach, before she kicked the woman's knee causing her to fall. An uppercut broke the woman's nose while sending her crashing into another guard.
A man armed with two batons ran up and swung at Hawk who raised a hand and parried the blow while simultaneously punching the man in his throat causing the man to gag and stumble back. A roundhouse kick finished him off.
Tigress slid across the floor as a man tried to bash her face in. She kicked up and flipped off the wall to land behind him as she kneed him in the back sending him into the wall. She then grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall before wrapping her arms around the man's head and with a jerk snapped his neck.
Both left the room in no particular hurry. When they turned a corner into a hallway, a gun pointed directly at Hawk's face.
He grunted when Hawk grabbed the gun and moved it aside, and Tigress punched him unconscious.
They both ducked behind the corner as three men arrived and opened fire at them. Tigress threw a smoke pellet that engulfed the entire hall.
"Stay together." One ordered his two comrades as they all formed a single file line and advanced.
Three thuds later, Hawk and Tigress walked away from three unconscious bodies. They looked at the elevator and saw that it was climbing near the roof.
They both looked at each other, then at the window to their left, then back at each other. With a nod, they both climbed out the window, fired their rope launchers towards the roof and flew upwards. (A/N: The rope launchers from Assassins Creed: Syndicate)
When they made it to the roof, they saw a helicopter ready to depart, while Moreau just came out the elevator leisurely with two of his guards.
Moreau sat down and leaned back in relaxation as he had easily escaped the assassin that was after him. They weren't the first that came after him, and he doubted they'll be the last. As he opened his eyes, feeling the helicopter making a suitable distance from the building, he found a pistol aimed right between his eyes. It was one of those masked weirdos he saw on the news. Glancing towards the pilot's seat he saw another of those masked people there, flying the helicopter.
"Marc Moreau, Son of Aphrodite. You are under arrest for kidnapping, trafficking, child trafficking, drug trafficking, and misuse of your powers." The one pointing the gun said.
Still calm, he knew he could get out of this situation. "Now, now. I'm su-" He was interrupted by a gun shot right next to his head. He flinched back harshly. His charmspeak bever failed him before.
"Hey, dumbass?" Moreau heard the pilot speak. "You're being arrested for misusing your powers. Maybe you shouldn't use it right now."
Now Moreau was scared.
-CH-
Ares, Apollo, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Dionysus, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hestia were all truly impressed with the Uzu Academy. After exploring all the buildings, pavilions, training areas, and rest areas, they were reminded of ancient times. Times where they weren't reduced to mere myths.
That was only the outside, though. The indoors were much more modern in its appliances and furniture.
The demigods were all given a dorm room to live in. As soon as they walk in, their door changes to the color their godly prefers and their symbol takes up most of the door. Seeing this, the demigods started trading rooms so that they could be near their siblings.
When Naruto initially designed the rooms, he didn't want the demigods to feel pressured into staying with their siblings, but seeing how they gravitated to each other without his input, he redesigned the dorms so that they could be expanded instead of constantly adding floors. Now the dorms are separated by sections with the walls colored by their godly parents colors.
Athena naturally gravitated towards the library. It was massive, and filled with almost every subject. That's where she found some of her kids. They all looked to be between the ages of 15 and 16. All had her hair color and eyes, even the two who were obviously of mixed heritage.
They were apparently working on a project for one of their classes.
"No! I'm telling you, World War 1 started in 1914! 1912 is when the Titanic sank!" One of them whisper yelling. They were in a library, so they knew to keep their voices low.
"Ah, fine! Let's just google it!" Another replied, clearly exasperated.
"Actually, she's right. World War 1 began in 1914, right after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated." Athena made herself known.
All conversations stopped as they all looked at her. Athena was aware that her storm grey, calculating eyes could be quite disconcerting, but seeing five pairs of those eyes directed at her made her a bit uneasy.
One of them got up, and made his way towards her. His height stopped at her nose.
"Mater?" He whispered tentatively. She nodded and pulled him into a hug, and he didn't hesitate to reciprocate. His siblings were quick to follow suit. Seeing as she couldn't hug all of them by herself, she split her essence to make more of herself so that each of her kids could get a hug.
She was usually cold and calculating, but the warmth she felt at just hugging her kids gave her a smile she hasn't had in a long time. Her father's ridiculous law that prevented the gods from raising their children forced her to keep a distance. She always wanted to show her kids affection, and thanks to her nephew, she could.
All around Uzu, this scene was practically replayed by the other gods with their own children, even their legacies.
When the day ended and their kids were making their way to bed, the gods reconvened at a large clearing where Naruto stood with his eyes closed, and hands in his pockets.
"You've built something truly beautiful here. The demigods are getting a proper education as well as proper training. I've yet to see any faults here." Athena complimented.
"Thank you, but that's not all you need to see." Naruto said as he looked at a seemingly random place in the sky.
A small dot appeared in the place he was looking. It progressively grew bigger as well as louder. As it came closer, everyone was able to recognize that it was a helicopter.
Suddenly, the ground behind Naruto opened up, and a wide hole was seen. The helicopter carefully descended down the hole.
"Would you all like to go down the rabbit hole?" Naruto asked before he flipped into the hole and went down.
The gods all flashed to the bottom of the hole and were surprised at what they saw. It was a bright place with hundreds of different men and women, all wore the same uniform, but their masks were different species. The area was a flurry of activities as the different people worked on different tasks.
The current floor they were in had several people sparring and testing different weapons. The walls had all kinds of different weapons mounted, from blades to guns. Ares was practically drooling at all the different weapons.
The floor above had several large monitors displaying different men and women with their crimes listed, while some agents were paying rapt attention to another explaining something to them.
The floor above that looked to be an office space with different cubicles that had an agent in each.
"Welcome to the Headquarters of ANBU Securities." The gods turned to the voice, and were mildly surprised at who spoke.
Instead of the whiskered blonde that wore an expensive suit, the man before them wore a similar uniform as the other agents around but his was all black, and he wore a black turtleneck as well as a deep blue haori to top it all. His hair was long and a vibrant red tied in a ponytail, and his face was devoid of whiskers and narrower, but his eyes were the same.
"Naruto?" Demeter asked, confused.
"Yes, it's me. This persona is what I use when I'm running this organization. The hair is what my mother's looked like when I was born, and the face is my father's."
By now, the helicopter had finished it's descend. The two agents dragged out a cuffed Moreau and was leading him to the holding cells with all the other children of the gods that has done illegal things.
"Who was that, and where are they taking him?" Hermes asked.
"That's what I wanted you to see." Naruto responded as he led the group towards the cells.
The gods were baffled at the large amount of filled cells. The demigods didn't notice them due to the fact that the wall separating them were two way mirrors.
"Who exactly are these people? They must obviously be criminals, but why bring them near the children?" Hephaestus asked.
"These are your children." Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"What?!" All the gods shouted.
"Yup. These people are locked up in this special place because, no other prison could hold them. It took three children of Aphrodite charmspeaking their way out of a prison cell that made me come up with this place. Funnily enough, my agents just brought in is another one your brats, Aphrodite. Yours seem to cause the most trouble." Naruto chuckled.
The other gods snickered while Aphrodite pouted. "My kids are not that bad." She insisted.
Naruto stopped. He turned to look her eyes, making her shiver slightly. "That man charmed children away from their families, then sold them. Another charmed random rich people into writing wills that leaves her the sole inheritor, then made them kill themselves. Another-"
"Okay, okay! I get it!" Aphrodite interrupted. She glared at Ares who was laughing the hardest. "It's not like your kids are better!"
"Ha! Yeah, they're rough around the edges, but they aren't criminals." Ares defended.
"One of your kids used his, or rather your, aura to piss people off enough to attack him so he could beat them to death and say that he was defending himself."
Ares deflated. "That sounds like something they'd do."
"Can you tell us about ours?" Hermes asked tentatively. He wanted to know, but he also didn't.
"As the god of thieves, you would know that stuff aren't the only things that can be stolen. Quite a few of your kids stole lives, while others continuously stole from people who don't deserve it." He turned to Hephaestus. "Your kids are pyromaniacs. I won't discuss their kill count. Some of them killed accidentally, though. They're only here as punishment for not taking into account that fire can kill more than just monsters."
He turned his attention to Apollo. "Some of your kids started cults. Using plagues to kill off men and make women sick, the only cure being their "divine essence" and making the women birth their children. A lot of your legacies at the Academy are products of such horrible practices."
"Okay! Okay. I think we've heard enough for now. I really don't want to know what my children have done." Demeter interjected.
Naruto chuckled lightly. "These are only holding cells. My plan was to transfer them into Olympian cells and have you all sentence them for their crimes."
"Seems like a fair plan. It is our children, so it falls under us to discipline them." Poseidon stroked his beard.
Naruto was just glad to be rid of them. The large amount of negative emotions grouped together just felt vile to him. 'I wonder if I should make prisons for demigods of other pantheons. I'd have to speak to the rulers of each if I were to that.'
He led the gods towards the interrogation rooms so that they could watch the son of Aphrodite be questioned.