Special reviewing
"Welcome everyone! Demigods, hunters, morals and other sorted beings of the universe!" Apollo's voice boomed as he appeared in a flash of light in the middle of the stage. Taking a bow to the audience he turned towards the cameras.
"It has been an interesting time leading up to the winter solstice and I must say that I do hope that the members of the quest find Artemis. Otherwise I may find myself practicing my archery skills on some unfortunate individuals. But today isn't about me, no. Tonight we celebrate the tenth chapter of a wonderful story by a fiction writer named Curious Kitsune654. His From the Other Side that Miss Phoebe found has been full of twists and turns."
'I must be dreaming.' Phoebe coughed in embarrassment as a light appeared over her and gave the sea of faces a wave with pink on her cheeks. Apollo laughed before going on.
"Well to celebrate 10 chapters of this story we have a special guest. Presenting the one the only… Curious Kitsune654!"
"Wait… I thought I was only going to do reviews?! I didn't agree to this!"
"It's in the contract and implied." Apollo stuck out his tongue. "And I'm the god of the arts and I want everyone to know how great you are… or possibly get back at you if something happens to Artemis."
Curious Kitsune654 looked to one side and whistled a tune like a bird. 'Why did I agree to this at all? It's always the fine print that gets you.'
"Must be a dream as there is no way this is real. Did Mr. D curse me?" Phoebe said softly as Apollo chatted with the author of the book.
"Anyway folks, we have a collection of reviews to answer and I hope you both are ready. Behind me is our panel of judges, Chiron, D and Leto. They will be ranking your reviews responses and then the audience will choose who was the better reviewer. Ready?"
Curious Kitsune654 shrugged. "Sure."
"Ah…' Phoebe said lost.
"Good enough for me." Apollo snapped his fingers and a card appeared in his hands. "From Monster King: Awesome Awesome great work please keep them coming I am a big fan of from the other side and this story. You have the first response foxy."
"Ah well, thanks Monster King I do appreciate that you enjoy my work and I guess this one as well. I hope you keep following my work."
Apollo nodded his head. "And you Phoebe."
"The same I guess. All I did was pick out a story and start reading it." Phoebe answered plainly, mentally wondering why she couldn't think of a good response to her dream. "I do hope that Artemis's journey with Naruto continues to be interesting."
"We all do." Apollo said in a flirtatious tone that turned dark. He then whipped out another card.
"Habu2010: U should bring Kushina in cause those two gods making Naruto an idiot. Please continue. Oh Mr(D) umbass, haha! u can't do shit to me Amaterasu will burn your purple fat ass. I think Leto and Rhea need to spank all your ass being bad children."
Mr. D growled as his face changed color from that response.
"Lord Apollo, I thought we weren't going into larger matters such as the metaphysical. And if we were, wouldn't it break the ancient rule of gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation?" Phoebe stated before going on. "Besides how would a storybook character appear here?"
"I'm not a story book character and I'm here." Curious Kitsune654 stated before taking a sip of water to avoid seeing the glare the hunter sent. "Also Habu2010, please don't upset the god that can make you insane."
"Wise words from the monkey named Curious George." D grunted out.
"It's Curious Kitsune654, and I'm not a monkey."
"You're an ape aren't you. Now more on with questions sunspot before the mortal bores me."
"XXX777: Next up Giant Bowser. Prepare the freak outs…. Wait, Bowser? Not Godzilla? Ah man, I knew I should have not been paying attention to those models." Apollo bemoaned his bad luck. "Comments from the audience? How about the harpy with the pink fringe?"
"Ah well…" Said harpy stood up. "It does make sense with the Mario theme… Wasn't it what Curious Kitsune654 wanted?"
"Yes." Came the simple reply of the author.
"Wait, doesn't Bowser have flamethrower powers?" Phoebe said with wide eyes.
"No spoilers dear." Leto waved her finger at the Huntress. "I know how much you enjoyed the arcade in the 80s."
"Well now, that's news for the campers and mortals." Apollo said with a grin. "But let's see what BBW has shall we? Blizzard Blood Wolf77: this'll be funny to see how they react to Naruto facing Baby Bowser that's just a mindless monster after being experimented with the help of Kabuto. And it's not Leo and Stitch, it's Lilo and Stitch, the close title besides that is Leroy and Stitch, another experiment that was created after 626. Thoughts from the hunter or our guest?"
Phoebe raised her hand. "What's Lilo and Stitch? Is it like Leo and Stitch?"
"No idea." Grinning Apollo looked at the card. "Must be a multiverse difference. Anything else you want to add Foívi?"
"Ektós apó ton ilíthio Apóllona, I don't know how everyone will react. It's not like I've read the chapter."
"Hopefully they'll like it if the review responses are as good as the ones I got before the reading came out by Roman Trooper." Curious Kitsune654 said. "And was that Greek?"
"Yes it was foxy. Now onto the next question of the list, but first a commercial from our sponsors."
…
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"Hey girls, are you looking for a chance to explore the world without the annoyances of males hitting on you? Do you want to flex that independent streak and not be concerned about having to fix into standards that put you down? Then join the hunters of Artemis. All it takes is to swear off boys for an eternity to gain the skills needed to be a successful heroine, hunter and immortal. Talk to the nearest hunter recruitment office today."
"Remember folks trust in Olympus mailing services. Once you pay the mail will be there with no delay. As the god of messages I, Hermes, approve this message."
…
"Those were… interesting." Apollo beamed at Curious Kitsune654's comment."
"Why thank you. Now, yukicrewger2 says the following, awww... I want to see Apollo's reaction to the fact his sister and her host have to fight... better save the reveal for the next chapter… as a side note yukicrewger2 my sister will be the reason Naruto wins as the boy isn't as awesome as Arty!"
'Or Apollo's just jealous of Naruto.' Phoebe and Curious Kitsune654 thought to themselves as Apollo went into a rant about how amazing Artemis was while Naruto was some no good poser.
"X: I know you've been asked why you said Leo and Stitch in the reviews but I was wondering was that a mistake or deliberate as it is repeated several times. If it was deliberate is it to make the world of PJ slightly different from ours to show that while some things are the same others are not? Loved your chapters and good luck with chapter 10." Apollo quickly spoke to avoid having the duo answer the last question.
"Well for me it's Lilo and Stitch so maybe? Or perhaps it's just Roman's way of having a bit of fun at the reader's expense."
"You know we just had something similar tp that Kitsune654." Phoebe muttered making the author's eyes roll.
"Yes but they are asking if it was a mistake or not. Considering it's mentioned multiple times it's safe to guess it was deliberate. Next question please."
"Guest: Zues is a lawyer?"
Phoebe snorted. "Hera is. Zues is her secretary."
"Really?"
"Nope. Next one please."
"Shenxie: Uffff se viene la épica pelea del Intento de Godzilla vs Naruto/Artemisa y posiblemente algo que sorprenderá y/o congelara a todos los que estén leyendo esto. Gracias por el Capitulo. That was the review in Spanish. Now…" Apollo grinned, "in a language dear to me, now in Greek-"
"English. Please in English for my sake."
Apollo frowned at Curious Kitsune654's request. "Fine. In English it says the following. Uffff is coming the epic fight of the Attempt of Godzilla vs Naruto / Artemis and possibly something that will surprise and / or freeze everyone who is reading this. Thanks for the Chapter."
"Your welcome Shenxie and I can't wait to see how they're going to react to chapter 11." Curious Kitsune654 answered with a straight face.
"Wait what's going to happen in chapter 11?" Phoebe asked with concern. Curious Kitsune654 only shrugged, making her upset. "Why won't you tell me?"
"And ruin the story? By the way, it's time to-"
"Wake up Phoebe!" Phoebe jolted awake as her sister hunter shook her. Seeing her awake, Kowalski took a step back. "Have a nice nap?"
"Nap?" Phoebe yawned as she sat up. Kowalski nodded her head.
"Yeah, you and everyone else fell asleep after Apollo read. Apparently he forgot about his bet with Hypnos where after Apolo reads a book for the next decade every time he says the end people go to sleep. He's upset he forgot about that."
"Or his voice just puts people to sleep." Phoebe grunted as she rubbed her head. Seeing the look Kowalski sent her she opened her mouth. "It's nothing, just a strange dream."
"Demigod dream about Lady Artemis?"
"No… I think it was a game show but it's faded like sand through the fingers. By the way, who's gonna read?"
-And Now, five minutes later-
"Looks like you get to read Chiron. Goodie."
"Can you sound any less interested D?" Apollo asked before slurping up his drink. He was leaning against a pillar looking out of place with his change of clothes looking like a Californian volleyball player in the middle of winter. Burping he looked up. "You need to chill out."
Chiron sighed as the two immortals began to argue to the point Leto muted them in a bubble. Silently thanking her he began the tenth chapter as the last of the campers sat down after their surprise nap.
"…Uhh…" Naruto groaned weakly before coughing out a mouthful of mud as he tried to push himself up, only to collapse as a massive amount of pain shot through both his arm and head alongside a heavy wave of nausea. "…wha …wha haffened?" He asked with a heavy slur.
"Godzilla happened. Probably should go see a doctor for a concussion Naruto." Michael Yew voiced the thoughts of his siblings.
"You almost got roasted alive and then knocked out." Artemis said in a calm tone,
"That too." Yew tapped his chin. "Mostly happens to the Ares campers."
"Shut it Yew."
though with no small amount of concern. "I'm channeling as much energy as I can into your injuries to bolster your regeneration, but it's going to take a while. Healing was never specialty."
Leto sighed. "You do well enough for your Hunters dear, even if it's your brother's domain."
"…thanths Arthy-nee… I'll ust lay here… and resth…" Naruto mumbled as his eyes started to droop shut, only to flutter back open as something grabbed his uninjured arm and flipped him over.
"Oh thank Kami, I finally found you. Naruto! Naruto, can you hear me?!" A familiar voice asked as a slender hand gently patted his cheek.
"Then-shan?" Naruto asked back as his blurry vision focused in on the bun-haired girl standing over him.
Snickering broke out at Naruto's mangling of Tenten's name.
"Yeah, that's right," Tenten said with a small sigh of relief, before grimacing as she took in her companion's condition. His arm was covered in various third and second-degree burns and an alarming amount of blood covered his head and the ground around it.
"O theoi." A nymph gasped as well as many others at the sight. Only the veteran campers and hunters could look but felt their inside churn.
Thankfully the burns didn't seem to be too much of an issue as a soft silver glow started to emanate from them before they began to gradually shrink.
"Score one for being the host of Artemis." Kowalski grunted out while holding her bow to be comforted by the familiar texture.
His head on the other hand, was much worse and the weapon specialist visibly recoiled after taking a closer look at the source. There was a visible dent on top of his head, with small bits of bone mixed around with the torn-up flesh. Like the burns, a small amount of Artemis's power, though much more concentrated than around the burns, was seeping into it, gradually repairing the damaged tissue and bone.
"Oh wow!" Nico exclaimed in excitement. "Look how it oozes!"
An Aphrodite girl shook her green face. "Please... no."
Shaking off her shock, Tenten reached down and picked Naruto up bridal style, making Naruto hiss out as the movement caused his head to throb and a bit of bile to rise in his throat. "Sorry Naruto."
"Ith fine Ten-shan," Naruto said as his head drooped against her chest, his slur a little bit better. "Let'sh get going, I thinth that thing was heashing for Omocha."
"The princess is in danger!" A Hermes child called out. "Quickly, as the protagonist I must ignore my life threatening injuries to save the pretty damsel in distress against a foe I am woefully unprepared for and many times my size that my teachers could defeat due to their experience with combat!"
Snickering and poor attempts at hiding a laugh through coughing broke out before Chiron went on with the story… even if he agreed with what was said.
"Yeah, it was." Tenten said while turning around and looking at the trial of destruction that had been left in the creature's wake. "Hold on." She told him before they both vanished in a blur of movement.
Thanks to Tenten and Artemis's attention focused solely on Naruto's injuries, and the blonde himself too concussed to think of much else, none of them noticed the broken case lying on the ground or the pieces of eggshell and glass that lead to where Naruto had been laying.
"... baby Godzilla as well?" Silena asked carefully.
"Better be." Mark dug at the dirt under his fingers. "Cause if it's something like a face hugger from aliens I'm out."
It took almost ten minutes of non-stop sprinting for the pair to reach the village, at which point Naruto had recovered enough to stand on his two feet.
'If Poseidon's children trend with healing via water and immortal food/drink is correct then Artemis must really like this boy.' Leto hummed to herself, ignoring the glares her son and D were sending her way in their muted state.
Dropping down at the edge of the woods, both were met with the sight of a giant bipedal turtle with vibrant yellow skin with glowing green veins branching out everywhere.
"... Oh come on! It's freaking Bowser!?" Apollo yelled out, breaking the bubble. He began to attempt to steal the book away from the trainer of heroes. "Give me that! I wanna trade with Artemis! I have the best score in Mario to prove I'm the Master at defeating him and I'm not letting her up me by killing him!"
"So… Godzilla no but Bowser?" Questioned Phoebe, a strange Deja Vu moment passing for a sec. 'Why do I feel I should have known about it sooner?'
Giant spikes easily as large as a human covered the back of its massive shell, and its beak-like mouth was chock full of razor sharp teeth that glinted menacingly. Flames and smoke billowed around it as it stomped through Omocha, multiple building shaving been crushed, shattered, or set aflame.
The Ares campers were all grins as bloodlust began to sharpen their senses. They wanted to fight that!
"OH COME THE FUCK ON! NOW THERE'S A CHAOS DAMNED BOWSER?!" Artemis yelled, making Naruto flinch as the sheer volume caused his still present headache to skyrocket.
"I KNOW ARTY! I WANT YOU TO STAY AWAY UNTIL I KILL IT FIRST!"
Mr. D shook his head. "Quiet down. I'm sure you can manage without facing an IRL bosmer."
"Bosmer are wood elves from elder scrolls. Bowser is a turtle."
"Right… Bowser is a fantastic race to play while Bosmer you kill by jumping. I get it now."
Apollo hunged his head in distress.
"Dynamic Entry!" Gai's voice screamed out as he suddenly shot into the air and struck the now dubbed Bowser's face with a flying kick, making it stumble back a few steps.
"Go Luigi!" Nico called out. The spandex guy certainly looked like Mario's brother. A more awesome one at that.
At the same time, Asuma zipped around the giant turtle's feet, slashing at every inch he could reach with his now glowing trench knives as he passed.
"... Not silver or bronze… chakra laced perhaps?" Beckendorf muttered as his smiting brain analyzed the weapons.
Sadly, neither of their attacks did much as the smoking Jonin's blades barely made a scratch in the Bowser's thick hide and it easily shrugged off Gai's kick.
"You have to kick and land on his head you fool! His head!"
Malcom facepalmed himself. "Mark, this isn't a video game."
Roaring in anger, it retaliated with a powerful swipe that the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha barely dodged, leaving the hopefully empty structure he had been standing on to get utterly obliterated.
Phoebe gulped. "So glad we're not facing that."
"Whoa!" "Gah!" Naruto and Tenten exclaimed as they were almost knocked down by the force of the attack causing the entire area to shake.
"And it's just as brutally strong, perfect." Artemis said with a grimace.
'Hey, since you seem to know so much about this thing, how about a way to beat it?' Naruto asked as he readied his bow and Tenten pulled out several kunai.
"Well, since there isn't a fire flower nearby or a bottomless cliff to trick it into, let me think." Artemis muttered sarcastically,
"Jump on the head sis!" Mark nodded at Apollo's sound advice while Malcolm banged his head against a pillar in disbelief.
"I'd suggest either aiming for the eyes or hitting it with something that makes a really big bang, preferably both if you can manage it."
"Tenten, you have any more explosive tags?" Naruto asked, his response coming in the form of a large stack of red and white papers with the kanji 'Explode' on them being handed to him. "Thanks."
Chiron was swift and made clear his view before any camper spoke up. "And no, the Ares and Athena campers are denied the manufacturing of their own."
Taking a couple of the deceptively dangerous papers, he drew a plain arrow and wrapped the tags around it while Tenten did the same to her knives. "You do know that these will probably only piss that thing off, right?"
"That's the idea." Naruto said while nocking the arrow and lining up his shot, though his normally steady hands were trembling slightly.
"Still better than our fart arrows Jules."
"Zip it Michaela. You went over the top with the amount of fart arrows in the last game."
The two hunters huffed at one another before looking at Phoebe who decided to ignore them in favor of the story. In her mind however she was attempting to figure out ways of incorporating explosive tags for their arrows to reduce drag yet increase detonation potential.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Tenten muttered with a sigh as she took aim as well.
-With Gai and Asuma-
"Kuso, we aren't even tickling it." Asuma swore as he skidded to a stop beside Gai, his breath coming in short ragged gasps and a bit of blood dripping from his side where a claw had grazed him earlier.
"This most unyouthful beast is powerful, that is for sure." Gai agreed, his usual boisterous and cheerful attitude replaced with one of complete seriousness. His body was covered in bruises and scratches while his normally tan skin was a deep red with veins bulging visibly and a greenish aura surrounded his body, a sign that he was using his signature technique the Eight Celestial Gates.
"Dam, that is one high pain tolerance. Too bad Ares is a whiner over a papercut… or a lucky cut by a certain demigod." Apollo noted, taking out a notepad and scribbling quickly notes of Guy's condition for study.
"But we must not let that stop us, we need to at least hold it off long enough for our youthful students to get the civilians clear."
Their original plan when the monster had shown up was for the two to keep it distracted while their students got the civilians to safety so that the Jonin could really let loose. This proved easier said than done however, as the giant turtle was soon to reveal that it had not only an extremely high durability but also an immense amount of strength to back it up and a startling amount of speed for a creature of its bulk.
"I'm open to suggestions." Asuma said, getting ready to move again when his ears picked up a soft but familiar whistling sound. 'Wait, isn't that…'
Before he could complete his thought, an arrow and several kunai flew into sight. Sailing through the air, they struck against the beasts' head and exploding, with the Kunai hitting the skin covering its ear canal and the arrow hitting just below the left eye.
"RAAHHH!" Roaring angrily, Bowser and the two Jonin whipped their heads towards the direction the projectiles came from to see Naruto and Tenten who were quickly booking it.
'Oh thank Kami they're alright.' The men thought with relief, having been worried sick about the missing duo (trio including Artemis) ever since they didn't return to town on the agreed upon time. That worry had only increased ten-fold after the monstrosity they were fighting arrived from the same zone they had been assigned to.
Their relief was only short lived however, as Bowser roared again before turning around fully and charging.
A daughter of Athena shook her head. "Never let an enemy recover after a surprise attack."
"I thought it was have a plan of an attack." Asked a Hermes camper.
"Do you think that requires a plan other than kill?"
"Okay, we pissed it off. Now what?" Tenten asked nervously as the beast started bearing down on them.
"We keep it distracted until we find a way to beat it, Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hundreds of clones puffed into existence around the pair, each one giving a loud battle cry before they charged towards Bowser. Naruto moved to join them, only for his body to suddenly seize up, making him start to collapse until Tenten caught him.
Mr. D shook his head. "Too much stress on his body and after he pissed off a giant turtle. Nemesis must be playing with the boy."
"What do you think you're doing?" Artemis demanded as she used all of what little control she had to briefly stop Naruto from moving.
"I stand corrected."
'Helping stop the giant turtle from destroying everything.' Naruto thought with confusion as he tried to rest back control of his body, which was much harder than it normally was as his headache made it difficult to concentrate.
"By blindly charging at it in your state? You can barely walk straight right now, by Zeus it's a miracle you are walking at all. Not to mention your aim is almost completely shot." Artemis said, sweat dripping down her forehead as mini chains burst from the ground and restrained her, severing her control.
Apollo glowed for a moment before calming back down, sending a few nearby dryads to the lake to get cooled down from the sudden heat.
'I'm fine Arty-nee,' Naruto told her as he stood back up. 'Trust me, I won't do anything… too stupid.'
"That statement does not fill me with any confidence."
"Or us." Leto gripped the goblet she was holding tightly. 'Stay safe dear.'
Naruto didn't respond as he tuned back into the real world, and saw that already almost all of his clones had been destroyed already. Shrugging off the concerned look that Tenten was giving him, Naruto made more clones, but instead charging like their predecessors had the copies of the whiskered blonde readied their bows and fired as many arrows as possible at Bowser.
Most did nothing more than bounce or shatter harmlessly upon impact, but a few managed to dig into the softer patches of skin around the neck and joints while spools upon spools of ninja wire unraveled all over it. While nowhere near strong enough to stop Bowser, they did manage to trip it up some, thus slowing it down long enough for Naruto and Tenten to get the hell out of dodge.
Sprinting around it as it struggled with the metal cables, they made it about halfway around before being cut off by Asuma. "Naruto, Tenten, glad to see you two are okay…ish." The smoker said, trailing off a little when he got a closer look at their battered forms, mostly Naruto's still healing arm and blood/mud-stained head.
"You too Entotsu-Sensei," Naruto said with a quick joking salute. "Where's everyone else?"
"YOOOOOOOOUTH!" Gai screamed as he hit Bowser with a devastating uppercut that sent the off-balance turtle tumbling over with a heavy *Thud*, inadvertently crushing the remaining clones underneath it.
"AND HE'S DOWN FOLKS!" Apollo yelled happily waving a Go Guy flag with Nico next to him waving a foam finger with a number one on it.
"They're still in the village evacuating the civies, you two go help them while me and Gai deal with this thing." Asuma said.
"But Entotsu-Sensei, we can help with the Bowser." Naruto argued, earning himself a pair of weird looks from the man and Tenten for the name. "…Arty-Nee called it that."
"Ah yes, blame the goddess in the head method. That's for sure going to provide believable reasoning you're not suffering from a concussion." Mr. D drooled out.
"Look Naruto, now isn't the time for this. I am your leader and ordering you to help with the evac. Am I clear?" Asuma said sternly with a glare that made Naruto recoil before drooping his head in acceptance.
"Yes Sensei," He mumbled before sprinting off towards Omocha with Tenten.
Waiting until they were out of hearing range, Asuma sigh slightly with a frown. He didn't like acting harsh like that, but it was necessary as he didn't want any of his students to get hurt by trying to take on something that was clearly out of their league.
"Example number one in memory, Percy Jackson." Chiron grunted out. "... was that outloud?"
"GAH!" *Crash* Speaking of which, Asuma hopped out of the way as his fellow Jonin crashed into the spot he had been standing when Bowser managed to get a lucky hit on him.
"You alright Gai?"
"Yosh... for such an unyouthful creature… it certainly packs a most youthful punch."
"I'll take that as a yes."
-With Naruto and Tenten-
Arriving at the destroyed part of the village, Naruto once again spammed out several clones which began scouring the whole place for anyone. "I'll meet up with the others and keep looking with your clones, you check the castle and make sure Princess Momo is alright." Tenten said, getting a nod from the whiskered blonde before they split up.
'Smart girl,' Artemis thought, easily seeing Tenten's underlying reasoning. The castle was the farthest place from the fight and the naturally most fortified, meaning it would be the safest place to be at the moment.
Connor shook his head. "But isn't Peach's castle always breached by Boswer defeating the purpose of sending him there?"
"Oh yeah." Apollo hissed out before looking with concern.
She was getting Naruto somewhere safe under the guise of helping the princess. 'Definitely need to recruit her once I'm out of these chains.'
Kowalski tapped her chin. "... She would make for an interesting sister."
"She would." Agreed Jules.
'Sorry Naruto,' Tenten thought, feeling bad for tricking the boy, but even with how fast he was healing she was certain he was in no state to fight properly. Especially after that weird seizure he had a minute ago.
"So uncool." Travis glared at Tenten. To think she was being nice to Naruto.
Unaware of either of the two girls' thoughts, Naruto continued to make a beeline towards the castle by rooftop. It took him almost five minutes to get there, mostly because he ended up stumbling a few times due to the pain in his head and arm flaring.
The Apollo family winced at the mention of the damage and how long it has been. If this was camp or the real world Naruto would be in the ICU by now.
Leaping over the gates with ease, he zipped around the panicking guards and through the front door. He then ran down the main hall until he reached the throne room where a scared and concerned looking Momo sat on her throne surrounded by guards. "Momo-hime! What are you doing?! You should be getting out of here!"
"Trust me Naruto-san, I would like nothing more than to leave." Momo's voice shook slightly with nervousness and her hands gripped her thrones armrests so tightly her knuckles were white. "Unfortunately, my military advisor has other ideas." She said while giving the man standing next to her, an elderly fellow with greying brown hair, a handlebar mustache, a military tux, and a cane with a brown spotted mushroom handle, a dirty look.
"...Does he look like Otto von Bismarck? Or am I confused?" Greenshade asked as she stared at the image.
"He does, doesn't he." A satyr named Jack Oakland replied.
"With all due respect your highness, the castle is the safest possible place you can be." The man said with utmost certainly in his voice. "It has withstood hundreds of invasions in the past and it will withstand a hundred mor-what are you doing!?" He demanded when Naruto suddenly walked right up to Momo and scooped her up into a bridal carry.
"Getting Momo-hime too safety before it's too… late…" Naruto trailed off as the ground started shaking and a shadow started rising over the room. Slowly looking towards the giant stained-glass window, Naruto's eyes widened in shock before he tightened his grip on the princess and leapt straight over the guards towards the exit.
-Play Bowser theme (Whichever version you prefer)-
"With pleasure!" Snapping his fingers, Apollo summoned a CD player. "Is the original preferred or the remake Chiron?"
"No comment."
He wasn't a moment too soon, as not even a second later Bowser arm burst through the roof and tore out an entire section. Huge chunks of stone fell, killing or injuring many of the guards, with Momo turning completely pale as a particularly large piece squashed both her throne and military advisor.
"Aw, I wanted Mushroom Von Bismarck to live." Connor whined.
'What the fuck!? I thought Asuma-sensei and Super Bushy Brows were dealing with that thing.' Naruto yelled mentally as he hopped around several more times to avoid more falling debris.
"Yeah! Talk about a poor job and they're veterans!" Travis yelled.
"They're trying to, look." Artemis said while mentally nudging Naruto's eyes to the side where he could see Gai and Asuma attacking with everything they had, only to be blatantly ignored as Bowser kept attacking the castle.
'I don't get it, why is it so focused on the castle?' Naruto asked, stumbling back a bit as a chandelier crashed down in front of him.
"This could be an interesting premise for new Mario game…" Apollo quickly wrote down the idea.
"I don't know, I've only seen animals or monsters act like this when..." Artemis paused as Bowser sniffed the air and swiveled its head to look right at them. "…when they were chasing down their prey… Naruto. Move. Now!"
"Kuso!" Naruto swore as he barely managed to leap out of the way as a torrent of fire ripped through the space he had just been occupying.
"So…" Phoebe began. "Who else is glad they aren't the ones fighting a fire breath turtle?"
Nearly every hunter' and campers' hands went up.
"By Kami, Daimaō Kuppa. I thought he was just a myth." Momo muttered in shock, making Naruto glance at her briefly before focusing back on Bowser as he dodged a wild swing that took out another section of the castle.
'Arty-nee, what the hell is going on?'
"You're being hunted, that's what."
'I got that! I meant why!' Naruto thought while moving to an undamaged section of the castle for cover.
"It's a predator, a predator you pissed off a lot, why wouldn't it be hunting you?
"Or just an angry, upset giant turtle that is hungry for a main course hero with Princess dessert."
"That was morbid D."
"I try to be realistic."
Also, incoming on your rear."
As soon as he heard this, Naruto leapt to the top of a nearby staircase and spun around, only for his jaw to drop at what he saw. "Oh come on! It can spit fucking lava!" Sure enough, down below Bowser's head could be seen sticking through the wall with red hot molten rock spraying out of its mouth.
"Good for cleaning dishes." A harpy chirped out as the campers who had experiences with lava rubbed the parts that have been once scorched by the hot Earth.
Said head snapped to his position right after he spoke, forcing Naruto to jump out of the way as a stream of lava narrowly missed him and his screaming passenger.
"That's new.' Apollo muttered. While he would enjoy Naruto being roasted his sister was trapped inside the boy, making it difficult for him to cheer for Naruto's death.
"That's it, no more of this crap!" Finding another hiding spot, Naruto made a single shadow clone and handed Momo over to it. "Get her to safety, now!"
"Hai Boss!" The clone said before running towards the main entrance while the original prepared his bow.
"Aren't you worried that Bowser will try and attack them?"
'No, I think it can tell me apart from the clones, otherwise-
"It would still be attacking the clones that are running all over the village." Artemis finished, nodding her head at the logic since both she and Naruto could still feel the heavy pull on his chakra reserves signifying that his clones were still active. "So what now, nothing you've done has done anything more than pissing it off, hence why we're in this situation."
'...'
"You're going to wing it aren't you?"
"You know me too well, nee-chan." Naruto said while quickly nocking an explosive tag arrow.
"Are we agreed that Naruto and Percy should never meet say Aye."
"Aye!" Came a chorus of those who knew the son of the sea. As they did so said demigod shivered and wondered if he was coming down with something.
Popping out around the corner, he fired at Bowser's eye again while running to another section of the castle. Sadly, while the shot was on target, the massive turtle's head moved at the last second and the projectile exploded harmlessly against its beaked maw as it continued to spew lava at him.
Undeterred, Naruto continued to run, jump, hop, flip, and just about every other acrobatic maneuver you can think of that helped him avoid getting roasted, sliced, smashed, or melted. All the while, he continued to try and fail at hitting Bowser's eyes.
A few nymphs cheered him on. "Go Naruto!"
Meanwhile, outside the castle, Gai and Asuma were forced to back off as all the excess lava started flowing outwards, rapidly covering the grounds and preventing them from getting close. On the plus side, Naruto's clone had managed to get the princess to safety as he had managed to get a glimpse of it handing her to his sensei before dispelling. "Naruto, this isn't working."
"Why won't he just jump on him three times!?" Leto yelled as she threw her drink in excitement.
"Yeah, I noticed," Naruto grumbled while rolling behind a chunk of stone just as a massive column of fire filled the area. "That's why I'm going to try something really REALLY stupid."
"Of course you are."
"Do you have a better idea?" Naruto asked, his voice just a touch snarky but also a bit desperate. When he was met with silence though, he just sighed heavily while nocking his last arrow. "I didn't think so."
"Arty is the hunter but Athena has the brains." Apollo nodded his head to Mr. D comment even if it was slightly biased. Hunters need to be smart but sometimes fools were good hunters as well so the god of truth held his tongue. As did the hunters although glares were sent towards the humming god of wine.
Waiting for the flames to die down, Naruto took several deep breaths to steady his heartbeat before standing up and walking out from cover. When Bowser spotted him, he stopped and raised his bow.
"Naruto… please tell me you aren't trying to play chicken with a several ton lava spitting turtle."
The Ares campers began crackling with excitement making everyone scooch away.
Naruto didn't respond as he kept his focus firmly on Bowser as it opened its mouth wide to reveal the lava bubbling up in it's throat, before giving off a gurgling roar as it spat out the molten rock in a condensed stream. Despite this, the whiskered blonde didn't move an inch, watching as the lava streaked towards him at high speed.
"He's not gonna make it." Nico whispered.
"Naruto," Artemis said nervously as the lava got closer and Naruto still didn't move.
"I can't watch." Silena declared, covering her eyes yet peeked through the gaps of her fingers.
"Naruto!" Finally, when the scorching was mere feet away from him, Naruto reacted.
Jumping to the side at the last second, he bit down the urge to yelp as the lava missed him by a mere inch, the heat alone causing his exposed skin to start blistering. Ignoring this as best he could, he quickly realigned his shot and fired.
For a brief moment, time seemed to slow down as the arrow started to fly through the air, sailing towards its objective. Briefly blinded by the glare of its own attack, Bowser never saw the projectile coming until it was too late.
*Squelch* *BOOM*
"GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" A scream of rage and pain burst from Bowser's throat as it clutched the gaping hole that used to be its eye, it's red.
-Stop Music-
Everything was silent before cheering poured out of the arena for Naruto. Taking this as a mini break Chiron took a glass of water for himself as he waited for everyone to settle down for the rest of the chapter.
Naruto smirked at this for a moment before pausing as he heard a crackling sound. Confused, he looked down towards the source and froze when he saw his bow.
While most of the weapon looked fine, the bottom of the lower limb was blacked and shattered, having been scorched from the lava as it passed then snapping from the stress of firing.
Apollo, his children and the hunters all winced at the sight. That bow was now useless and beyond repairable.
Gently grasping the small segment still dangling from the string, he felt his heart ache as the charred wood crumbled apart between his fingers. Staring at the ashen remains in his hand, tears quickly to build up in his eyes and threatened to fall.
"Naruto… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," Artemis murmured softly, not knowing what else to say.
"Poor Naruto." A figure by the fire quietly said in pity for the boy.
"…Don't be," Naruto said as his hand closed into a fist, the remains of his bow groaned as his grip on them tightened. "It wasn't your fault."
-Play: Animal I've Become by Three Days Grace-
"It's his." He said while glared at Bowser as 'he' howled in agony. "And he is going to pay for it."
Within the seal, Artemis was trying to think of a way to console her host when she blinked as she felt a sudden invigorating and draining sensation. Looking at herself, she was shocked to see her whole body glowing a bright silver as a lot more of her power than normal was being drawn away. Looking behind herself, she saw that her bindings were also glowing, only this time a dark red signifying the power of the kyuubi as it was being forced into her.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Naruto started to gain a soft silver glow around his form, not that he noticed as he was blinded by his anger.
"... Dammit it Arty did you make him your champion?!" Apollo yelled out as he sat down after turning off his music device.
"Champion?" Nico asked, confused.
Apollo glanced at the new camper. "A champion is a mortal we gods bless to have powers other mortals do not. The Oracle is one such champion of mine. The last one of Artemis was back in ancient Greece, a Prince before becoming her temple caretaker."
"Ooooh." Nico looked back at the screen. "Cool."
"Naruto, I know you're upset, but you need to calm down and… you're not listening to me." Artemis said with a sigh as her host charged at the giant turtle.
Moving at speeds much faster than he normally does, it only took the whiskered teen a few seconds to reach the beast legs. He then used his chakra to stick to Bowser's leg, quickly scaling his way up the thrashing turtle side and up to its head.
Too focused on the searing pain of having its eye socket blown apart, Bowser didn't even notice its unwanted passenger until they were literally staring eye to eye. "If you think that hurt, then you're going to hate this!" With rage filled silver eyes, Naruto raised up his broken bow like a spear and promptly stabbed it as deep as he could into the until recently uninjured eye.
"FATALITY!" A daughter of Ares yelled out like in a game.
"GRAAAAAAAHHH!"
Bowser stumbled back several steps howling in pure agony while blindly swiping at its face, managing to scratch both itself and Naruto's back several times before it tripped over a large chunk of the castle it had torn off.
As it fell, Naruto summoned the Dancing Lunar Blades and proceeded to hack, slash, and stab everything in reach all the way down.
"COMBO! TRIPLE COMBO! IMPOSSIBLE!' Yew yelled out, following the daughter of Ares' example.
"AAAAAG-*Squelch*-garagrule." Coincidently, the place Bowser fell was directly over a church which had a large metal sun statue on top that pierced right through the back of the monster's head and erupted out of its mouth and forehead in a shower of greenish red blood.
-End Music-
Bowser's once mighty roars were reduced to a pathetic gurgling as it thrashed around in a desperate attempt to get back up, to no avail. As each second passed, its struggling got weaker and weaker until eventually it fell still entirely.
After a whole minute of not moving, Naruto slowly stood up and dispelled his daggers before reaching down and pulling out the remains of his weapon with a sharp tug, his breath coming in long ragged puffs. Limping over to the edge of the beast's head, he sloppily hopped down and ended up fall flat on his scratched up back.
"…ow…"
"Wow is right." Phoebe said in awe.
"Congratulations, you just took down a giant mutated monster turtle basically single-handedly. How do you feel?" Artemis asked sarcastically, though with a strong hint of concern mixed in.
"Peachy," Naruto said tiredly as he stayed sprawled out across the ground.
"Good, then you can deal with the thing that just slithered onto your chest."
"Say what now?" Naruto mumbled as he lifted his head up…
….and promptly had his jaw fall straight back down as he saw, "Am I hallucinating or is there a chibi snake lady on my chest?"
Everyone blinked. "Huh!?"
And I'm cutting it off here. This chapter is nearly 8 thousand words long with everything put together wow. Thank you Curious Kitsune654 for your joining of this special chapter, hope it made you grin wherever your at. This chapter is not only special because of Curious Kitsune654 inclusion, but today is my birthday! Im so happy I got this done for today =).
Anyway favorite, like and review this chapter for more content... Perhaps a happy birthday message? Also please send my fellow author Curious Kitsune654 a thanks for his hard work and agreeing to join for the tenth chapter.
Bye!