Naruto was not having a good day. In fact, he was having an absolutely horrible day. It was quite possibly one of the worst days he had had since arriving in this dimension

"Sorry, Naruto. We weren't quick enough to stop the thing from landing on your shop." Nanabi's voice echoed through his mind as he stared at the crush remains of his shop. Splintered wood, fragmented glass and remnants of sugary treats were among some of the few things that he could spot in the wreckage.

"It's fine." The blond sighed out as he turned his back on the wrecked shop. The whole block was in a similar condition. The destruction of the street and the late hour of the day left the teen all alone to bask in the destruction of his livelihood.

"I can always rebuild. I just had a long day." He didn't get a reply at this and he was grateful for that. After the day he had just, he didn't really feel like talking. He just wanted to go home and rest.

And it was with these thoughts that Naruto began to walk.

The first face that greeted Naruto when he opened his door immediately alerted him that a simple night of rest wasn't as close as he wanted it to be. Going off the memories of his clone, he would be having a bit of a discussion with the dragon in front of him.

Naruto initially said nothing as he stepped into the living room of his home. He allowed the door to slowly swing close behind him before focusing his full attention on Ophis. The two entered into a sort of staring contest as neither said nothing while keeping eye contact with one another.

"You look tired." Ophis broke the silence with her statement. Naruto gave a short nod of his head before a yawn forced his mouth open. Ophis watched the male hold the yawn for several seconds before it ended with a low sigh.

"Yeah, I had a long day." In the back of his mind, Naruto was hoping that the dragon would be able to pick up on his hint. He really did not believe he had the energy nor patience to try and explain anything to her right now.

"I … understand." The blond's eyebrow nearly shot up off his face at her words. The excitement that filled him was so much that unconsciously reached down and swept the dragon up in a massive bear hug.

"Thank you so much!" Ophis' whole body tensed up at the sudden physical contact. The girl was beginning to blast the boy with a bit of her power, believing he had decided to turn on her in her weakened state. When she felt no pain or discomfort from the physical contact, she allowed her power to die down within her. Instead, she decided to … indulge herself in the sense of warmth and comfort that she felt from her proximity to her host.

Just as Ophis was beginning to really enjoy the embrace, it ended as Naruto placed her back on the ground. Despite her usual control over her facial features, the dragon's face clearly showed her disappointment at being put down. Unfortunately for her, Naruto had already moved past her and was halfway to his bedroom.

"Goodnight Kuroka. Night Ophis!" The blond shouted before scooping up Koneko in his arms who had been waiting by the doorway to the living room. Within a matter of seconds, the duo had disappeared into their now shared bedroom.

By the time the door closed behind the couple, Ophis had managed to regain her control over her emotions. She turned toward the only remaining person in the room.

Kuroka had been in the living room and had watched the whole interaction between Naruto and Ophis. She had gotten a rather clear view of the look on the dragon's face and could've swore she spotted a blush on her cheeks when Naruto put her down. She, of course, mentioned none of this as Ophis turned to face her.

"Are … they going to have sex?" Kuroka could only blink at the dragon's question. It was in that moment that she could've swore she sensed a tiny hint of jealously in Ophis' voice.

"No … I think they're just going to sleep." The older Nekoshou wisely decided to say no to the question, even if she did believe that the two teens would end up fooling around later during the night. Having an angry god under the same roof as her was not something she wanted to deal with tonight.

Ophis nodded at this before dropping her head. Kuroka watched the girl remain still for several long moments before lifting her head with a soft hum.

"I … will be in my room." That was all Ophis said before walking and disappearing down the home's hallway. Kuroka heard the opening and closing of a door several seconds later, leaving her as the sole person in the room.

"What the hell is wrong with this house?"

When Naruto woke up the next morning, he had gone through the mental routine of preparing himself for a long day of work. After his daily purification, he would have to spend the day clearing out the wreckage of his shop. He had already decided to use clones for the occasion. He wouldn't make his job harder for the sake of attempting to dissuade people from believing something they already clearly believed in.

But, when the teen arrived at the sight of his ruined shop, he encountered something much different. The scattered pieces of wood that had made up the frame of his shop was gone. The remains of his surplus inventory was nowhere to be seen. Even the powdered sugar that had dusted the ground not even twelve hours before wasn't there.

In their place stood something much more grand. A wooden base almost as tall as him sat where his shop once stood. The wood glowed a beautiful amber within the early morning light Supports shot up out from the base and stood nearly five stories high. The supports leaned heavily against the unfinished stone statue that jutted out of the platform.

"Oh no." The thought flashed through the boy's mind as he began to soak in the details of the statue. It was unfinished, assumingly because of the fact that it had been started only last night yet several visible details sent warning bells ringing off inside of his head.

The statue was obviously meant to be of a person. The pair of marble legs that made up nearly half of the statue's height made that clear to the blond. This part wasn't very worrying to the blond. No, it was the upper half of the statute that was making him question getting out of bed this morning.

From the neck upward, the statue remained one solid structure, uncompleted. Downward, however, an immense amount of precise work had been done. Whoever had worked on the statue had been no amateur. As his eyes scanned over its outstretched arms, Naruto was sure of it. The creator had managed to somehow managed to chisel the stone so it looked as if the statue was ripe with muscle. With each passing glance, the blond almost swore to himself that the thing was moving due to how fluid it all looked.

Attached to the outstretched arm was a completed hand and placed on top of that hand was the cause of the blond's distress. If it had been anything else, he could've written the similarities between himself and statue as mere coincidence. But, the fact that a tray filled with various treats, including his Uzumaki sweet rolls, made him face the grim reality of the situation.

They had built a statue of him.

"Why?" The blond questioned as he continued to stare at the structure. Out of all the possible things he had expected to wake up to this morning, a statue of himself had been nowhere close to his mind.

"The better question is how did they make it so quickly? We were just here last night?" Kurama's voice rang through the teen's mind and he couldn't help but agree with the fox. It should've been nearly physically impossible for a group of humans to make so much progress within a single night. The thought of it actually occurring was so outlandish that he was finding it hard to even begin to wrap his mind around it.

"Candy-Sama!" Naruto felt his heart drop in his chest as those words hung in the air. He reluctantly turned his head and saw a middle-aged man running his way.

"We are so sorry, Candy-Sama. We weren't able to finish your memorial in time for your arrival today." Despite how winded he seemed from him run, the man still decided to bow to the blond. Naruto inwardly cringed at the gesture while outwardly he moved to correct the man.

"Please don't bow to me. Its … weird." The blond said, hoping internally that his words would at least be able to deter the man from repeating the act. He still hadn't grown use to the levels of worship some people thought it was appropriate to show him and at this rate, he was beginning to think he would never grow use to it.

"Of course, Candy-Sama. I apologize." The man rose his head to speak then looked as if he was about to bow once more but managed to stop himself before he could go through the full motion. Naruto sighed to himself at the sight of this.

He had a feeling he would be dealing with a lot of this very soon.

"So…" The word came out slow as the blond raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. The silence that had settled between the two had quickly become awkward and he very much wanted to end it.

"What about my shop?" Naruto said while turning his head to look at the massive unfinished statue. While he knew the thing would eventually turn around and become a massive pain in the ass, he could at least appreciate the sentiment. Though, with its existence, there was a serious lack of space when it came to his shop.

"That we already have covered for you, Candy-Sama." By the way the man's face brightened up as he spoke, Naruto knew he was in for something special. Without any warning, the man turned on his heel and began to run in the opposite direction. The teen watched him go got several seconds, very much confused on what had just happened. It was only when the strange man had managed to run a full block length away from the boy that he decided to follow after him.

"Please don't let this be terrible."

"...It could be worse."

It definitely could be worse. In all honesty, if the blond was being truthful for himself, the situation he had found himself in wasn't bad at all. It was the exact opposite of that.

"We apologize on our inability to get you something that wasn't grander. With the suddenness of yesterday's events, we only had but so much time." Despite Naruto's request, the man found himself bowing in the presence of his 'god'. Usually, the teen would've attempted to reprimand him but he was currently busy staring at the building in front of him.

Unlike his shop, this building stood at an impressive three stories high. Most of the structure looked to be made out of wood while stone supports around the exterior. The front door was made entirely out of glass and a single clear window display sat on either side of it. Taped over top of the door stood a large banner that had the words "Candy-Sama" written in red paint and surrounded by several Uzumaki swirls.

"Is this really mine?" Naruto asked, not quite believing the situation he had found himself in. Once again, his day was going nowhere like what he had expected it to go earlier in the morning. His long day of building had been instantly squashed by this new building.

"Of course! It was unanimous among city officials that you deserve the shop. The city wouldn't be the same without you and your business." In an odd sort of way, Naruto found his words to be some of the most endearing he had heard since his arrival in this universe. He had somehow managed to earn the affection of a whole city and, despite the over zealous worship that came along, it made him feel pleasant. It was almost as if he had became Hokage … just with candy.

"Wow … I honestly don't know what to say." He truly felt speechless. A part of him believed he was still dreaming.

"No need to say anything, Candy-Sama. After everything you've done for this city, this is the least we can do." The man said with a bright smile stretched across his face. The grin soon left his mouth when he glanced down at his watch.

"Oh, Candy-Sama!" Naruto's eye twitched at this. His title being synonymous for god wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"I have to prepare for work. I'm sorry but I must go. I hope everything is to your liken. I will see you later today for the grand opening." The man blurted out the words before turning and taking off. Naruto watched him go with no small amount of confusion and a single question playing against his brain.

"Grand opening?"

"I swear to Kami if you drop another plate, I will dispel every single one of you!" A chorus of 'yes sirs' followed Naruto's shout. He gave a strong nod of his head before turning his attention to the utter chaos that was now his shop.

"Coming through, boss!" A flash of gold zipped by the blond's vision. Naruto could only sigh as he watched the flash drove in and out of the crowd of rambling people before eventually being swallowed crowd. The blond could only hope he, and by extension, the plate of cookies he was carrying, had made it to their destination safely.

They all came at once. One second, he had been adding his own personal touches to the rather spartan interior. Within the next moment, customers came flooding in by the dozens. It was as if someone had flipped off a switch, releasing the barriers that had kept the candy lovers at bay.

"Boss, ten more orders of the Uzumaki swirl special!" One of his clones shouted over the noise of the shout. Naruto released a huff at this before turning toward the direction of the shout.

"I'm busy making cupcakes. Get off your ass and do it yourself!"

"We're busy serving people! We can't do it." Naruto rolled his eyes before forming his fingers in a cross shape. With a loud pop and several small clouds of smoke, three new clones appeared by the blond's side.

"Two of you start making buns. One of you go out and get the dishes." Naruto barked out. The clones saluted at his words before dispersing in various directions. The blond could only hope that they managed to complete their task while he returned his attention to the matter on hand.

"You seem busy." Naruto's eyes widened before he swiftly spun around. When his eyes drunk in the sight of his girlfriend, happiness flooded through him. He felt like a starving man who had just stumbled upon a buffet line. Without any thought, he reached down and trapped the girl in a massive hug before lifting her high off the ground.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Naruto spoke into his girlfriend's ear. Koneko couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the boy's odd behavior as she remained high into the air.

"You saw me this morning." Koneko said just as Naruto lowered her back onto the ground. The panic that had once been settled on the blond's face had been cleared away and replaced with his usual coat of happiness.

"Yeah, but you were sleeping and wouldn't even open your eyes to say goodbye." Koneko rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's words but still couldn't help the smile that popped up on her face. The morning had been rather pleasant for her considering she had gotten the chance to sleep in an extra hour. The fact that the first few hours of it had been spent cuddled next to the shinobi had definitely helped improve its quality.

"Candy-Sama." The sound of a customer's voice cut through the duo's conversation. They both turned and saw a nervous teenage girl standing at the counter.

"I … I just wanted to thank you. My boyfriend and I hit a rough patch in our relationship a few weeks ago and I … I brought him a batch of your cookies to make it up. Since then, everything has been better than ever. So … thank you!" The girl shouted the last sentence before bowing her head all the way down to waist level. Due to her bowed head, she missed the look that Naruto and Koneko shared. She raised her upper body just in time for the teen shop owner to return his focus onto the girl.

"Uhhh … no problem, I guess?" The words stumbled out of the blond's mouth. He wasn't entirely sure on what to say in this situation. His clipped response seemed to appease the girl as she flashed him a bright smile.

"Thank you, Candy-Sama. I humbly request an offering of a dozen cookies from you. Please fulfill my request." The girl clapped her hands in front of her while giving another slight bow of her head. Naruto decided to forego any type of verbal reply and simply handed her a piece of paper with a price on it. The girl happily dug into her pockets and proceeded to place a small stack of bills onto the counter. Before Naruto could even begin to count them, the girl skipped away, leaving the blond alone with an amused Koneko.

"Magical cookies?" Koneko asked with a playful tone to her voice. Naruto turned to face her and saw that the girl was making a horrible attempt at trying to hide a grin. It was quite obvious to the teen that she found the situation nothing but amusing.

"Must be why they taste so good."

"No!" Naruto shot back almost immediately. He had to quickly settle himself when he noticed that his reaction seemed to only draw more amusement out of the Nekoshou.

"My cookies are good because I made them. There's no magic involved. Only Uzumaki skill." The blond decided to punctuate his statement with a pose as he proudly raised both of his hands before his face. He held the pose for several seconds, only to receive one of Koneko's patented deadpan looks. At that sight, the blond's hands flopped down to his side while a large pout overcame his face.

"You never feed into my fun." Naruto whined out. Koneko rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's childish behavior before stepping forward and grabbing a hold of his hand. Almost instinctively, his hand melded into her own.

"Not true. Last night." Koneko softly cooed out so that only Naruto and herself could hear her words. She nearly laughed to herself when she felt his grip on her hand tighten. Even though his facial expression didn't change, she instantly knew through their held hands that her words had an effect on the boy.

It was too easy sometimes.

"You were a lot calmer this morning." Naruto mumbled out while attempting his best to keep his features muted.

"Tired from last night." The words came out her mouth with a swiftness that was unusual for her. Naruto looked down at her to send her a glare but found his efforts immediately brushed away at the sight of her coy smile. In the end, Naruto could only huff and roll his eyes, silently admitting defeat. Koneko picked up on his metaphorical white flag and released her grip on her hand while aiming a pointed yet amusing grin at her boyfriend. Naruto, struggling to scrape together the last bit of his pride, met her gaze with one of his own.

"Am I interrupting something?" The moment between the duo came to a quick end at the sound of a deep voice. It managed to reach the two over the noise of the restaurant. The couple reluctantly broke eye contact, mentally agreeing with one another to continue their stand-off later before turning to face the new arrival. Both were surprised to find Artemis stood at the counter, sending both of them a knowing look while clothed in her full combat garb.

"What are you doing here, Artemis?" Naruto asked the goddess. While she had made a bit of a habit in dropping into his shops on random occasions, he hadn't seen her for a while. With the whole drama with Hades, she had temporarily left his mind. Now, though, with her standing in front of him, it was very hard to ignore her presence and its possible implications.

"Oh." Before the goddess could answer, the blond spoke out again. His surprised expression melted into one of worry as he began to slowly inch closer to Koneko. "I'm guessing you heard about Hades."

When Artemis nodded, the blond felt his heart sank deep into his chest. Inwardly, he cursed himself for not considering the implications of his actions before he blasted the death god. If he was understanding the book Dionysus had gave him, he had just killed a god who had familial connections with some of the most powerful creatures in the universe. One of them, the man's niece, was now standing before him.

"Do not worry, Naruto," Artemis spoke out, interrupting the blond's panic. "I do not come for retribution or vengeance. I am not a courier for Nemesis." By the confused expression the boy was sending her, the goddess quickly deduced that she needed to elaborate further.

"Your defeat of Hades has sent waves through our pantheon. His death has left the underworld in a bit of Chaos." Naruto opened his mouth to apologize for the inconvenience but was immediately silenced by a single look from the woman.

"Do not apologize. Us Greeks do not abhor Chaos. We all were born from it and eventually, we will return. We are just thankful that this is a temporary matter. My father plans on visiting this upcoming week and calming everything down. I am here for a different reason." Naruto raised an eyebrow at this before sparring a glance down at Koneko. At least, he attempted to do so because when he looked down, she was no longer by his side. A swift turn to his other side allowed him to locate the girl at the other end of the bar, now with a tray of cookies in hand. He wasn't quite sure how she acquired the treat but could guess she had managed to bribe one of his clones to get it.

"Naruto." The blond's attention was brought back onto Artemis as she called his name. "I humbly request that you meet with me and several associates." The goddess punctuated the request with a hesitant but full bow of her head.

Warning bells immediately went off in the boy's head at the gesture. Everything he had learned about Artemis from the books he had read and the woman herself had shown him that bowing to anyone was not something she'd do willingly. This whole entire situation screamed of trouble to him and after dealing with Hades' nonsense only a day prior, he was not in the mood to encounter more.

"Who and why do they want to meet with me?" Naruto asked. He was already planning to deny the request, considering its shady premise but he decided that at least listening to the woman was the least he could do.

"A group of beings who wish to revolutionize the world wish for your assistance in." Naruto groaned at the woman's words. After what had occurred yesterday, those were not the type of words he wanted to hear today. Those words carried an implication that he would eventually have to deal with.

"Artemis-"

"I know what you're going to say." The goddess cut the blond off. "You wish to avoid this all. To stay docile. I can understand the sentiment. Yet, change is not something you can run from. It would be best if you were part of it to help shape it."

"Well, what gives us the right to go around changing stuff?" Naruto decided to shoot back. It was obvious Artemis wasn't just going to let this drop without a fight and he wasn't in the mood to lay down and lose this one.

"We are divine. God, titan, primordial beings capable of feats that humans can only dream of. When it comes down to it, our influence is what makes this world runs. And right now, a large majority of us realize that change is needed." Artemis shot back her response without any hesitation. The words flowed out of her mouth with a level of eloquence and suffocation that the blond hadn't expected. He was caught off guard and Artemis joyfully took advantage of it.

"Change is coming, Naruto. I plead that you that you decide to take part in it. The town lake, 10 pm. I await your arrival." Artemis bowed her head at this. Naruto remained silent as she turned away from him. The crowd of people split like the red sea as the goddess retreated toward the door. He watched as she opened the doors to the new building before disappearing down the streets of Kuoh.

"You're going to go?" Naruto nearly leapt out of his skin at the sudden sound of his girlfriend's voice. He swiftly spun and saw that the girl was now, and probably for some time, standing behind him. A lone cookie sat in her grip while she looked at him with the expectant expression he had come to adore over the course of their relationship.

The blond sighed before slowly leaning down toward the girl. Koneko watched as his head grew closer and closer to her own. Inwardly, she was preparing herself for a comforting kiss from the blond. If what she heard from her bit of eavesdropping, he would be needing one to get through the rest of the day.

Instead of a kiss, Koneko received something severely less pleasant as Naruto's head swerved off its initial course and dived toward her hand. Before she could react, his teeth dug deep into the body of her cookie. A small part of her cried out at the beheading of her snack. The smug look that had settled onto her boyfriend's face after the horrible act nearly made her see red. She was about to leap up at him and show her just how little she appreciated his actions but was halted when Naruto held out his hand at her.

"What is this?" The girl questioned as she looked at his outstretched hand. Sitting upon its calloused surface was a sphere-shaped object. It looked rather harmless with its black surface and the golden sparkles littered on top of it but after watching the blond mercilessly destroy her cookie, she wasn't ready to trust him just yet.

"A new item I've been working on all morning. I want you to try it out." The innocent tone of Naruto's voice did little to disarm Koneko yet the girl couldn't resist the temptation of the treat in front of her. With caution, she reached up and snatched the sphere out of the blond's hand. She rolled it around in her hand, examining every inch of its circle. When her eyes discovered nothing amiss, she raised it up to her nose and gave it a few quick whiffs. Her cheeks nearly burst with redness at the scent of sweetness that greeted her sense of smell. But, other than that, nothing seemed wrong with the treat. She gave one last cautious look up at Naruto before tentatively biting into the shell of the treat.

Naruto had to hold back his laughter at the harmonious sound of Koneko's moan. As soon as her teeth sunk into the treat, her eyes closed in silent acceptance of the deliciousness she held in her head. She involuntarily clutched it to her chest as her mouth was bombed with the array of flavors contained in the delicacy.

He knew then that he had a hit on his hands.

"What is this?" Koneko spoke breathlessly as she opened her eyes. The Nekoshou looked to be in shock as she stared expectantly up at Naruto. Her mind had been metaphorically blown by the snack and she needed to learn more to piece it back together.

"I think I'm going to call it a 'Sweet-Seeking Ball'. A milk chocolate shell that protects a brownie shell that surrounds a ball of cheesecake that has a tiny bit of vanilla custard in the middle. They're a pain to make but…" Naruto trailed off when he finally took notice that he had lost the girl's attention in favor of the desert.

Unperturbed by her decision, the blond slyly slid her a plate filled with the balls before picking her up and setting her down on one of his stools. When she failed to respond to that, Naruto knew he had officially distracted the girl and could go back to making sure his shop didn't burn down.

"Dad, if you would just let me do the talk-"

"Nonsense, boy! I survived getting my body chopped into a million pieces and I can survive a conversation."

He watched the bickering duo enter into the shop. Any severity that their argument may have contained was instantly thrown out of the window by the blond at a single glance at their appearance. Their attire was fine, it consisting of rather lux looking black suits. They stood at respectful heights, at least from what Naruto could assume. No, what really threw the blond for a loop was certain personal features.

The older one, at least Naruto assumed he was the oldest due to the way he addressed his 'son', looked to be wrapped from neck to toe in wrap. The pristine, white bindings did a good job in covering nearly every inch of skin of the man. The only thing that wasn't covered was the man's head. His rich, green skin was an oddity that blended rather well with his glowing green eyes.

From the neck down, Naruto noted that the other gentleman looked completely normal. He looked like a normal, athletic and tan man in his suit. The weirdness came when he looked from the neck. That was when he was able to take notice that the man's head came in the form of a jackal.

"Call me old, won't you? I get no respect nowadays. After all the things I did for you." If Naruto had more experience in judging the expressions of a jackal, he would've noticed that the younger male looked exasperated as he talked. Instead, the blond could only oddly stare on as jackal's snout pulled back towards his face while its eyes came to a close. The mummified man took no notice of the expression as he went about hobbling toward the counter.

Naruto, for what felt like the thousandth time in the last hour, felt thankful that the trickle of customers had come to a slow. It allowed him to rest a little while also not worrying that too many people saw the strange display. The sight of the hobbling mummy in a suit was pretty comical but the strange curses that left his mouth every few seconds probably wouldn't have been seen in such a positive light.

"You're that new god everyone's been talking about?" The man finally arrived at the blond's counter and gladly plopped himself into one of the seats. His younger companion sighed out at his question before silently taking a seat next to him. Naruto could've honestly just sat and stared at the outrageous duo for a good thirty minutes but stopped himself from doing so to answer their question.

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't a god?" The pointed looks he received from both men made it perfectly clear what they thought of his question. Before he could refute their looks, the younger one slammed a binder down onto the counter's surface. Where he got the object, Naruto did not know, but the man jackal-headed man seemed pretty familiar with it as he began to flip through its pages.

"Ability to purify natural energy. Managed to defeat and subjugated the Infinite Dragon God. Defeated the former leaders of the Fallen Angel faction. Killed a seraph level angel. Faded Hades, the most powerful death god." That comment earned a disgruntled grumble from the older man at which the jackal guy rolled his eyes before continuing.

"You even managed to break into the deepest recesses of Heaven and escape captivity." This comment earned a snicker from the mummified man. The other two males turned and saw the man was barely holding himself back from bursting into laughter as he leaned heavily against the counter.

"That was the best one. That Michael up there thought his afterlife was so special! Now, look at him. Can't even stop a single god from poppin' up. Not so special now, ain't it!" The old man spat out. Naruto could only blink at the man's odd statement while his associate sighed.

"Look," The jackal continued, bringing Naruto's attention back onto him. "Call yourself whatever you want. Some people want to call themselves gods, some titans, some primordials and some divine beings. We're not here for that." The man opened his mouth to continue speaking but was rudely cut off.

"You're making my job a pain in the ass, boy." The mummified man grunted out. "You're making everyone's life a bit harder, ain't you?" The confused look on the blond's face clearly showed just how lost he was. The jackal-headed man was about to speak again but was silenced by a scathing glare from the mummy. Seeing that he wasn't going to get another word in, the man roughly closed his binder and settled in.

"If you ain't figure it out, boy, I'm Osiris. Original death god, I was here before any of these new, scythe-wielding bastards showed up. I'm from the generation where we used to flail our enemies!" At this point in the conversation, Naruto was too lost to really understand what the hell the man was saying but he was also too perturbed to ask any questions.

"I also govern the re-birth. Not just for certain humans but for gods too! They fight, they die and they came back. Back then, it was a pain in the ass to go through but I made the system as streamlined as possible! It was efficient! It was the assembly line of death. You die, you serve your time and you come back to claim your domain back from whatever greedy bastard who decided to sink his paws into it." Osiris paused to send the younger male a glare.

"Dad, I was just ho-"

"Don't give me any lip, boy! I ain't as merciful as I used to be." That shut the jackal right up. Osiris huffed victoriously before looking back toward Naruto.

"As I was saying, it was a simple process up until yesterday. I ain't expect Hades to die but when I felt it, I expected to deal with his whining for a few months while he reformed. Instead, I get absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Not even a drop of his essence."

"So…?" Naruto questioned, not entirely sure where the man was attempting to go with his words.

"So? You took it! You killed a god, boy! A death god, at that. Hades still had a good bit of clout left too so that ain't a simple task." The man descended into a series of mumbles as he broke eye contact with Naruto. The blond, seeing his chance to actually get some answers, immediately looked over to the jackal-headed man who looked absolutely ecstatic to be able to speak.

"What my dad is trying to say is that Hades isn't coming back. He's dead dead. And with his official death, his domain is left up in the air. I'm guessing he left some type of scythe when he died?" Naruto nodded hesitantly at the question.

"Good. As long as you have that thing, consider yourself the new Hades. Welcome to the death club!" The man's excited tone contrasted greatly with the horrified look on Naruto's face.

"You can't be serious, right?" When his question was greeted with a nod, the blond nearly fell to the floor. This was the exact OPPOSITE of what he wanted. Somehow, someway, he had found himself deeper in the utter chaos of godhood. First the statute and now the stupid scythe! What was next?

"Anyway, that's all we wanted to say. Be on the lookout for some minor gods looking to get an easy upgrade. I wouldn't want to be you in a couple of days." With each word out of the god's mouth, Naruto felt his heart sank lower and lower.

"The name is Anubis, by the way. If you ever need any help, feel free to give us a ring. Just break this and you'll message will get through. I have a feeling you'll be needing this soon." The man placed a tiny tombstone on the counter as he barked out a laugh. Naruto slowly pocketed the thing before while he watched Anubis attempted to coax his father to stand.

"Dad, it's time to go."

"It ain't time till I say so!"

"Dad-"

"Shut your trap, boy. I'm getting up." The man grumbled as he began to rise from the stool. He looked to be struggling briefly, prompting Anubis to step forward in an attempt to help. His act of kindness was quickly shot down when Osiris manifested a golden crook in his hand and used the weapon to slap away Anubis' hands.

"The only help I need is from Isis. I'm still convinced she's hiding my…." Osiris' voice trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling at this point that had Naruto straining his ears. He didn't have to strain for long as the god suddenly cut himself off. He proceeded to slam the butt of his crook down onto the floor while staring directly at Naruto.

"This ain't nature, boy. Death ain't all about sunshine, flowers and butterflies. Its impartial, it's cruel, it's sweet, it's painful and it's relieving. You better learn how to get some control over it or you'll have a rough time, boy." Naruto found himself shivering at the atmosphere created by the man's words. Despite his ridiculous appeared, a mummy dressed in a black suit, Osiris' words carried enough weight in wisdom that Naruto couldn't help but listen. And, because he listened, he found himself absolutely mortified at his future.

"By the way, make and deliver this order by the end of next week and you'll be rewarded greatly. My wife is a dessert addict." Osiris slid a piece of papyrus across the counter. Naruto picked it up and briefly noted that the address listed was in Egypt before looking up and noting that the two gods were nowhere in sight.

"First thing tomorrow, I'm adding the seals."

"Thats a lot of progress for twelve hours."

As much as he hated it, Naruto found himself agreeing with his partner as he looked at HIS statute. The idea of a monument to praise him was still a very odd and foreign thing to him.

"I guess the Hokage monument would've been the same thing." He mused to himself. The monument would've been bigger too. Though, the Hokage monument wouldn't have had a detailed rendition of his full body. A lot of progress on his head had been made while he was working. He could now spot his trademark whiskers. There was no denying now that this statute had been made for him.

"Still want to destroy it?"

"Maybe." The blond thought back as his feet carried him away. The statue represented everything he didn't want to happen. Destroying would, at this point, be somewhat symbolic for him.

"But you won't."

"Yup." The blond sighed out while internally cursing his stupid bleeding heart. It would not allow him to trample over the hard work of people who just wanted to show their appreciation to him. No matter how annoying it was.

"You have no one to blame but yourself, you know that?"

"Yup." Both the beast and his container chuckled at this. Despite how inconvenienced he may have acted, the blond knew that at the heart of the situation, his 'misfortune' was so ridiculous that it could be considered funny.

"I'm glad that you seem to be in a joyful mood tonight." Naruto was sucked out of his inner conversation by the sound of Artemis' voice. A quick look around showed that he had somehow managed to walk his way to the town's local park.

"I had a weird day." Naruto said while focusing his attention onto the goddess.

"Be prepared for many more after this." Naruto shook his head at her words.

"I never said I would join." It was Artemis' turn to shake her head.

"Lets just say I have a feeling." The woman's smirk, for some odd reason, gave the blond a very bad feeling. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Artemis nodded her head before clapping her hands. A moment later, a bright light flashed through the clearing, forcing Naruto to close his eyes.

"Candy god!" A loud, booming voice made Naruto power through the light and open his eyes. The blond nearly summoned the sage's chakra instantly at the sight that greeted him.

Giants, massive people who stood nearly four times his height, stood before him. Both men and women, adorned in a variety of clothes including everything from fine robes to full out battle armor. Their presence made them glow and Naruto knew instantly that he was standing in the presence of gods.

"Candy-Sama." The same voice spoke out once more. Naruto managed to quickly match the voice to a bearded giant who was wielding a golden trident.

"We are pleased to finally meet you." The giant spoke before doing something that nearly shocked the blond out of his skin. He bowed. A full down on one knee and bent head bow. Slowly, the people behind him followed his actions. Even Artemis bowed, leaving Naruto as the only standing person within the park.

"We welcome your leadership." The group spoke out as one. Their voice combined in a harmonious shout that filled the area and carried for miles.

"...What?"

AN: Well, there's another chapter. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Review or PM me with any questions, concerns, comments, suggestions, etc. Sorry for the late hour of the update. In the middle of editing, I felt ill and decided to lay down for what I thought would be a short rest. It did not turn out to be anything near short. Still not fully recovered so editing isn't 100%. I'll go back and re-edit so if you see any mistakes, please point them out.

I also apologize for the long break between the update. I was doing some thinking and I've finally come to a conclusion on how I want this story to end. While I do enjoy writing it, it will eventually have to end and I feel that the ending I have in mind will satisfy a lot of people who have enjoyed the story up to this point. Do not worry, the ending is nowhere close at this point. I would be lucky to get to it by the end of this year. Just know that I have an ending in mind and the plot, which at this point is so far from the canon that I don't even know what to call it anymore, is being steered into a certain direction. Thanks for reading guys and I hope you all have a good day/night.