Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson not that anyone gives a shit about the disclaimers to begin with. I'm back, I'm dirty, and I'm ready to kick some ass!
The Madness Begins
The chariot races were an astounding disappointment for the members of Camp Half-Blood. Nearly half of the camp was being treated for wounds at the Big House much to the displeasure of Tantalus who kept on remarking that the wounded needed to suck it up. Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth were quickly punished and sent to the kitchens as punishment for crimes no one had the balls or guts to question. They had just been attacked by a swarm of killer pigeons or Stymphalian birds if you wanted to be technical like Silena Beauregard. Naruto watched his friend or possible family member from afar in rapture. She was the most beautiful, free spirited, courageous, and just well… he wanted her. His cheeks burned a dark mahogany as her bubble-butt bounced towards the Aphrodite cabin with every step. If she was right, they were related and he was a son of Aphrodite the goddess of Love, passion, beauty, and pretty much anything to do with that stuff.
Naruto didn't know what to think anymore, since he arrived at Camp Half-Blood everything should have been going well but the writing was clear on the wall. He was now an outcast within his cabin from the legitimate children of Hermes. Every day the Kyuubi's hold over his body and mind grew stronger. His greatest fear from the day he found out his secret was slowly becoming a reality. Back in the Elemental Nations his seal worked wonders and now it was possibly eroding. It was a secret Naruto of all people didn't want to acknowledge. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the camp found out and he hated to admit it, but he was afraid.
Would his newfound home still accept him? None of the Konoha 11 knew his secret, but even Naruto was suspect to if that was true. The mysterious woman on the cruise ship to Alleppey knew his secret and both she and the Kyuubi belittled him of his ignorance on the whole matter. Luke, Kronos, Eos, the Kronia, and likely the gods of Olympus knew his burden too. The more time Naruto pondered these thoughts the less time he had left before the whole world knew who he really was. Yet there was a silver lining to this whole mess. Naruto still had his shinobi skills, his enemies still didn't know his true capabilities, he had faced enough monsters to draw a grasp on his weaknesses, the Companions were on his side, and even though he felt alone at the moment his mother was still out there.
Most of all if that fortuneteller was correct then he had to finally accept his destiny! Neji may have been right all along. Destiny is all!
The time for playing around was over. Naruto walked over to the edge of the now deserted chariot track and he then made his signature hand sign, "Taju kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Five puffs of smoke surrounded the original Naruto who was smirking at his clones. They were each dressed in similar bloodied Camp Half-Blood shirts, light blue jeans, and worn chukka boots. While none of them were armed, because of Naruto's loss of his bowie knife they were more than adequate for the job, "I want you two to go West past the stables and Half-Blood Forest and you two are to scan everything for six miles in that direction. You are both tasked with finding where that zombie camp is located and to figure out if Melinoe is truly behind this mess. I want a clear number of their manpower, how many monsters they have, and whatever weapons or tricks they'll bring to the table if a battle was to breakout. Now you two are to go south past Half-Blood hill and are to scan the area south of camp. Those Keres and zombies came from that general direction and fled south towards that fishing town. And you are tasked with scanning everything East of Camp Half-Blood. None of you are to dispel yourselves until you are sure you know everything!"
Naruto's five clones disappeared in quick blurs leaving their creator standing alone beside the chariot tracks surrounded by the remnants of the carnage from an hour ago. Once he received all the information he needed, he could then come up with a sound plan of action. For the first time in Naruto's life, he wished Shikamaru Nara, Konoha's laziest most underachieving shinobi was here by his side. The lazy chunin would have had a dozen plans and strategies already in place for this sort of thing. For all of Shikamaru's negative attributes, he was able to become a chunin on his first try not because of his prowess, but because he was a genius and had the brain of an Athena camper. Then again Camp Half-Blood had a soon to be member of the Companions on their side. He still had the Anabasis Alexandri in his possession and several other books from his mother on tactics and warfare he had yet to open. Not only did he have knowledge at his very fingertips. He also had an army of clones, numerous jutsu in his arsenal, and most of all he was very much alive.
Would it all be enough to bring glory and victory in the coming battle? Luckily, he soon would soon find out.
Naruto spent the remainder of the day training along Zephyros Creek, which ran through Half-Blood forest. While it wasn't advised for any camper to journey through the forest alone especially without adequate arms. Naruto was a rule breaker at heart, and he doubted the border patrol, or any other camper would care to stop him. After battling and defeating one thousand clones all by himself. He then focused his time on practicing with several water based jutsu all while several of his clones read and took notes on his mother's book titled Infantry Attacks and The Tank in Attack by Erwin Rommel. The book itself was split into two parts. The first part focused on the tactics of using shock troop while the other focused on using tanks/heavy calvary in modern warfare. It was written by one of the most brilliant commanding generals in Hitler's army before and during World War II.
While it may have seemed odd that his mother made the book part of his required reading list. A book by a man from what many people in this world would claim to be on a side of evil during the world war. Surprisingly, his mother left him a small written epitaph on the issue:
This book was written by a son of Athena after World War I. World War I was the most horrible, degrading, and humiliating conflict in human history for those who took part and especially for those who never saw a day of conflict. Few people ever look back at the senseless carnage that war produced in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Russian Empire. Rommel learned from the German Empire's victories and mistakes from that terrible conflict and wrote down ways for any general to achieve complete tactical domination over their enemies. George S. Patton read this book and was able to win numerous battles at the helm of the Allied Army. These books have been discarded through time and the very will of superstitious Westerners. You can learn more from your enemies than you can ever learn from your allies. Your allies will lie, they will try to tell you what you want to know, they will say what truly is right, yet at the end of the day who is right? Victory is only gained from doing the things you wish not to do. Hiroshima, the Tet Offensive, the Mongol Conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, and so many other events in war are romanticized. There are winners in wars, but only at the hands of everyone else suffering. My most beloved son read this book carefully and become who you truly were meant to be!
Naruto expelled his shadow clones that were training and instantly was bombarded with the knowledge of these texts. He knew perfectly well his mother was right. Although there was still much to learn for the numerous battles to come. Just knowing that he had an edge in these coming battles sparked hope for the blonde. A loud conch shell blasted from afar alerting the lone jinchuriki within Half-Blood forest of dinner. Naruto quickly exited the forest and made his way towards the Mess Hall.
Dinner was already being served by the time Naruto made it back to the Mess Hall. He had to evade several sickeningly loud noises from deep within the forest and instead of chakra thrusting from tree to tree like he would back in the Elemental Nations. Naruto thought it best to simply take the long way back following the bank of Zephyros Creek. There was no reason for him to pick another fight especially after that swarm of killer pigeons this morning. So, Naruto took an empty seat at the Hermes table completely exhausted ready to chow down whatever delicious… Stymphalian bird?
Nymphs dropped large juicy trays at the center of the Hermes table containing what looked like large country fried chicken. Except it wasn't chicken, in fact all the orange pepper flaked greasy skins still had bronze beaks poking out from the top of what Naruto assumed was the breasts. An odd almost artful way of showing that every camper was dining on their vanquished foes. What truly unsettled the blonde had to be the thought of eating dead monsters for a feast in honor of Clarisse's triumph. The blonde's gut lurched out a loud growl as he stared at the tray and he made up his mind.
Monsters loved feasting on demigods. So why not enjoy getting a little payback. Taking half a tray of soul fried Stymphalian death birds topped with creamy white gravy, a bowls worth of fried okra, and some triumphant Caesar salad. After Naruto threw some food in the fire and took a seat ready to dig in. He stopped in his tracks when he heard Connor say, "Naruto you look horrible and smell like a gym mat! Where were you?"
Glancing down at his clothes Naruto instinctively rubbed his neck and smiled a foxy grin. His shirt was still covered in splotches of dried blood, grime, sweat stains, and even rip marks from his shadow clone armies assault making the orange shirt look like battle worn rags. His jeans weren't in any better state and his hair must have looked more wild than usual. He was a total mess, so Naruto laughed awkwardly before saying, "Oh, uh, sorry about not getting clean guys. I've been busy training in the woods the whole day working on getting stronger and trying to get back into my old shinobi routine. Hahaha, I trained for so long that when I heard the dinner conch my stomach spoke louder than my brain."
"Hmm, well you're at least looking better than them Apollo kids. Lee Fletcher is still getting patched up at the big house with the other half of his siblings." Spoke Kyle LeRoux with an elfish smirk. Kyle was from Louisiana and like the Stoll brothers, Paul Martinez, Sarah Kelly, and many other claimed children of Hermes. He ended up inheriting his father's deviant features and mannerisms.
"The Stymphalian birds took half their cabin out?" Asked the blonde jinchuriki totally shocked by the news after-all their cabin took part in healing wounded campers. He also couldn't forget that they led singalongs at the campfire.
"Cause they waited to shoot them flyin rats their hands got all torn up. Lee Fletcher might still lead the sing along, but I don't see the point." Finished Kyle glumly.
Naruto realized that the whole dinner pavilion was nearly quiet, and the chatter was much lower in volume than usual. Even Mr. D seemed a little put off by the lack of energy. The red nosed, cherub looking god of wine, insanity, partying, and theatre didn't seem particularly upbeat for Clarisse's triumphant dinner. Naruto looked around his table and realized there were several missing faces and empty seats. Then again there were many wounded campers who were still recovering at the Big House. The blonde jinchuriki continued onto another plate of food until he noticed Tantalus's cold hungry eyes staring at him. Naruto stopped eating and stared back at the gray-haired activities director, but heard a voice calling him.
"So, what were you training on?" Asked Sarah Kelly with a slight blush from across the table. She couldn't stop thinking about the new kid and how he used magic to save the crowd of onlookers. Paul may have created a rift within the cabin, but that didn't mean she couldn't mend it.
"Hmm… well pretty much everything," Replied Naruto to the long brown haired daughter of Hermes while noticing her long glossy eyed stare, "I ah, well I mostly focused on tactics, learning new jutsu, and finding a way to get rid of those zombies."
"I'm surprised they haven't attacked us yet. If the Stymphalian birds could get through the barrier what's stopping a horde of undead warriors from going through it too." Spoke Paul Martinez who seemed to not want to look Naruto straight in the eyes.
"I have my suspicions and I think Thalia's Pine Tree is able to keep some monsters out of the camp better than others or maybe her tree works best at different times of day. It could explain why we aren't getting swarmed every night." Explained Naruto who was doing his best to ignore Sarah's blushing gaze, which was difficult because she was right across from him. Maybe she had hay fever?
"Hahahaha!"
"What are you laughing at?" While Conner and Travis changed the subject to something more lighthearted. Naruto waited patiently for the Kyuubi's response.
"Come on fox what's going on?" To no avail the fox remained silent.
"Interesting theory Naruto," Came an eerie voice from behind the blonde. The lone jinchuriki saw numerous horrified faces and quickly turned his head around expecting a monster. Instead it was someone far worse… Tantalus who went on, "Thalia's Pine isn't dead yet you blonde haired brat! You better stop spreading around false rumors or else you'll be sent to the kitchens with the other troublemakers! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"
The whole Pavilion became deathly quiet when Tantalus finished his diatribe. Even Mr. D looked slightly perplexed by the new activity director, but the wine god's attention quickly changed to his unfinished plate of country fried Stymphalian death bird. Naruto wanted to protest, but several unclaimed campers held him in his place. Tantalus smirked and said with a hungry voice, "That's what I thought punk!"
Not a single camper dared to utter a word for the remainder of dinner. Naruto quickly and furiously left the Pavilion hoping to get as far away from Tantalus as he could. The sapphire eyed fourteen-year-old made his way towards the Hermes cabin. All while Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson were still slaving away with kitchen duty. Although Clarisse hadn't yet received her golden laurel, she led a large group of campers from the Pavilion towards the steps of the Ares cabin as if she had it over her green bandana. There the militant sons and daughters of the god of war began throwing out hard candies, small daggers, and even led a loud chant.
"Bold-hearted Ares, bright-helmed son of thundering Zeus and noble Hera, well-honored god of war, any battle will you face, any foe will you fight, without fear and without hesitation. Ares, god of warriors, ally of those who risk their lives on the field, to you do soldiers offer their prayers. You know each one's name, O Ares, you know their lives, you know their worth. Great Ares, I pray to you, watch over Camp Half-Blood who heeded your call, who practices your art, whose name you know well, for they are one of your own who does you honor with each day they serve!" Screamed the Ares campers who quickly lit torches around their cabin. Clarisse began blushing from the spectacle… it truly was grandiose for a triumph. Instead of receiving a thunderous sea of cheers, praise, and acknowledgement from all the various cabins.
Clarisse mostly received lackluster claps mostly from the Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Demeter cabins. Feeling bad at the cold reception for the leader of the Border Patrol, the winner of the chariot race, and in a way someone who Naruto felt was deeply misunderstood. The blonde jinchuriki started clapping very loudly while yelling out, "Whooo! HOO! GO Clarisse I knew you could do it!"
The entire camp stared at the new kid in complete confusion. Why the hell was he cheering and showing support for the camp bully? Several nymphs, satyrs, and dryads stopped in their tracks on their way back to their homes just as confused as the crowd. The Greeks of old hated Ares! He was the lord of war, quarrels, and the most hateful of the gods. Even father Zeus showed disdain for the god after the Trojan War. The war god's children weren't any better and often messed up the toilets and showers on numerous occasions.
The entire area became deathly silent as if Naruto accidentally opened Pandora's box inside the Big House attic. The sapphire eyed genin smiled nervously from the nonresponsive crowd who looked at him like he pulled off the lamest school assembly skit in the history of Meriwether College Prep. A loud clap from far back in the crowd followed. Everyone turned to Silena Beauregard who happily led the Aphrodite cabin in a chorus of cheers, the unclaimed children within the Hermes cabin followed, and soon the light claps turned into cheers from at least half of those present.
Clarisse looked at the new kid gratefully, "Jimmy tell the rest of the cabin that Naruto Uzumaki is off limits."
"What do you mean? Weren't we going to give him the camp welcome tomorrow?" Whispered Jimmy into Clarisse's ear.
"He's off limits! Do I have to spell it out for you!" Shot back Clarisse who smiled and threw more packets of pop rocks, peppermint swirls, and jolly ranchers to the now dying crowd.
Her cabin looked at their usually strong willed, short-tempered, and very ego driven councilor in disgust. Tantalus didn't hold the new kid in warm regards anymore. Not that the activities director cared for the new kid to begin with, but hey it allowed them the opportunity to do whatever they wanted when they wanted. Bullying the new kids and causing mayhem was something Chiron always put his hoof down against. Yet with Tantalus in charge the gods surely were praising the Ares cabin. Not only that but Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and that cyclops called Tyson were being punished too! There was only just one more obstacle in their way for an Ares Supremacy over Camp Half-Blood and all the members of the cabin knew who needed to go.
Naruto left the celebration around the Ares cabin and made his way back towards cabin #11, which looked as dilapidated and rundown as ever. As Naruto made his way closer to the cabin a blast of memories hit him. The golden haired genin quickly fell to his knees behind the cabin and went into a meditative stance as the memories overtook him.
Clones 1 & 2 (Westward clones)
Clone 1 followed a distinctive trail leading south west past the many hills of Montauk, New York. The trail seemed to have been a worn from decades of hunters and campers following the many white-tailed deer in the area. Clone 1 was completely invisible and sent out large scale chakra pulses every two to three minutes. It mostly picked up bats, screws, cottontail rabbits, and various colored foxes. It kept following this trail and often took detours from the trail often scanning miles of farmland, forests, creeks, and spotting the occasional straggling zombie. It was getting warmer! Clone 1 made its way south west until it came upon what appeared to be huge fortified gun emplacements surrounding the western hills of Montauk and going around various forests, fields, and even beaches. Right in the middle of the entire area was a large-scale camp of thousands of zombies waiting idly by tents, playing card games on picnic tables, and some were even playing golf.
RVs, campers, and vacationing families didn't seem to find the large presence of monsters to be much of a worry. Clone 1 slowly made its way through the camp and spotted one humongous cage at the monster camp center, which contained maybe the largest scorpions the clone had ever witnessed. They were roughly two meters tall and about as big as horses. The clone watched six massive stingers jump sporadically around the cage causing hay to fly around the camp like a weird dust cloud.
A very tall pale man walked out of a tent. He had dark curly hair that went down to his shoulders, a large black beard, and mad brown eyes as if he escaped from a loony bin around Buffalo. Oddly enough there was smoke fizzing and crackling from his back. This man walked over to the scorpion pin and yelled, "Shut this racket down now!"
"Hush it ladies or I'll whip ya!" Croaked a fat slobbering zombie who whipped the scorpions in the cage. The large bugs quickly calmed down allowing the tall pale man and the fat zombie to walk to their respective tents. The other large beasts in the cage seemed far calmer than before. Around the cage itself were four grizzly bear sized, coal black furred, mastiff looking dogs with glowing red eyes.
"Hey sir, may my daughter pet your dog?" Spoke a tall black woman with puffy hair.
The zombie in charge of the camp looked at the woman and snapped its fingers at one of the dogs, "Sure thing miss. Behave Mauler!"
The woman awkwardly laughed at the man's oddly named dog as the giant hound began wagging its tail from the girl petting it. Naruto knew the mist was warping their minds, but the whole scenario impressed him with how well trained these monsters were. Clone 1 left the camp counting three thousand zombies in total, six giant scorpions, a dozen hell hounds, three hundred skeleton horses, and twelve empty chariots. It dispelled far away not long after.
Clone 2 went directly west as Naruto commanded it too only to come upon a large hill on some farmers property. The clone was shocked at how well organized this detachment of zombies were as they stood around the hill protecting a quickly put together fort with sandbags and barbwire acting as a makeshift fence. The clone was exactly three miles directly west of camp from what that Steph girl described as the massive camp. She must have been petrified in fear for her life because her counting was off.
So off in fact that Clone 2 literally scouted an entire mile around the camp for hours trying to find or see if he was missing something. Going into the camp Clone 2 counted 1,120 zombies, four hell hounds, six ballista's, and one flimsy cannon with celestial bronze cannon balls beside it. Yet the most impressive weapons were four massive siege weapons that were twenty feet tall with two A frames connected to a massive wooden arm. Naruto knew these contraptions were counterweight trebuchets that had enough power to cause 4-foot-deep impacts. Resting on top of these siege weapons were two Keres who sat perched waiting for whoever or whatever to greet them. Getting all the information needed clone 2 dispelled.
Clone 4 (South Eastern) and Clone 5 (Eastward)
Clone 4 went south East passed numerous forests, swampy wetlands, farmsteads, fields, neighborhoods, and even explored much of Eastern Montauk. It scanned everything in its path but found no signs of monsters or enemies. The sun was setting in the distance when the clone decided to dispel itself behind a clam chowder joint.
Clone 5 went East and spent the entire day searching the forests, the parks, the sparsely populated neighborhoods of Montauk, all while looking for any sign of a monster in Long Island Sound. About to give upthe clone decided to go north to the various beaches in the vain attempt of knowing it had scouted everything East of camp. Clone 5 was chakra thrusting its way along the beaches when it came upon a pebble beach roughly 1 mile east of camp. There were four massive old Hellenistic styled heavy ships partially anchored along the shore. The ships were completely out of place for Long Island Sound and against the backdrop of rich partiers zipping by in the distance on yachts.
Surrounding these ships was a large camp of roughly six hundred zombies who impatiently waited along the pebbled shore grumbling and cursing to one another. Several caves were behind the army and Clone 5 went to investigate. Sending out chakra pulses deep within the caverns, the only living being clone 5 found were large colonies of various bats and various snakes. Leaving the cave slightly on edge by its weird ecosystem the clone looked at the six-hundred-man zombie army.
"If I didn't discover this naval detachment the whole camp would have been outflanked on the day of battle. Too bad they didn't foresee the most badass, most unpredictable, and most sexy shinobi in the whole world finding out about this secret." Thought the clone right before it got ready to dispel.
"That's because you're the only shinobi in this pathetic world."
Clone 3 (Southward)
Clone 3 went directly south in the direction of the fleeing army, all on the command of its master. Passing through a thick forest, walking by a large swamp, and through a large farmstead. The clone came upon a large road leading into Montauk with a sign in front of it which read:
Welcome to Montauk
Population: 3,851
The Last Resort
A fitting name thought the clone. Montauk was at the very tip of Long Island Sound and was filled with parks, forests, fishing wharfs, golf courses, restaurants, and hundreds of various hotels and bed and breakfasts. About to continue its journey through the town, clone 3 felt its gut clench and jumped behind a tree along the road. Clone 3 quickly made the hand signs for the Meisaigakure no jutsu and instantly became invisible.
Four heavily armored camouflaged trucks with machine guns continued driving past the sign. Accompanied by two large heavy transport trucks that must have contained roughly two dozen people each. Clone 3 followed these vehicles and sent out chakra pulses across the town realizing quickly that there were mortal soldiers outside of nearly every hotel. Many of the townsfolk of Montauk seemed annoyed by the training exercises they assumed these soldiers were in the middle of. Several oyster bars were filled with these military types and clone 3 had to duck for cover when a bloodied man ran out of an oyster bar from a charging USAF soldier who yelled, "Get the fuck out of here you stupid piece of shit!"
"Hey Frank calm down! It's over the guy didn't mean it, he's going away!" Spoke one of his buddies who was holding the angry man back.
The bloodied local Montauk man quickly got up and fled away from the scene. Clone 3 saw the transport vehicles traveling down a road and quickly chakra thrusted its way onto the rooftops. It quickly followed the fast-moving vehicles until it came upon what looked like a massive resort hotel called the Marram. It was massive and luxurious with roughly 100 rooms overlooking the New England coast. There were also many zombies roaming around the entire resort town and from several chakra pulses roughly 200 hundred of them. The USAF soldiers and several detachments of men in black and red armor made their way into the hotel much to the glee of several cheering zombies. The guests at the hotel gawked and watched the scene unfold with much uncertainty all of them likely thinking their vacations were ruined.
A large man with light brown hair, a very thin beard, and a Churchill cigar puffed smoke out of one of the trucks with the machine guns. He was dressed in military camo pants, a black shirt, and a light brown leather jacket. He heaved his way to the front of the hotel holding up a badge while showing it to one of the hotel attendants who ran outside of the hotel, "We are part of 32nd Marine Expeditionary Forces on a training exercise across Montauk! I want rooms for my men on the double and don't worry I'll be paying the bills and if they be acting up contact me A-S-A-P!"
The hotel attendant looked completely confused at the mysterious man's proclamation and said, "Will do ah…"
"Just call me Hank, Hank Hughes no need ta go by rank." Spoke Hank Hughes while snuffing out his cigar over a cigarette receptacle. The men under his command rushed into the hotel with their bags, weapons, and several men turned the vehicles on in order to park the dangerous vehicles.
"The Hank Hughes! Head of the HBA corporation and talk host of the Hank Hughes Show! Can I have your autograph sir, my dad's been a longtime listener and he'd jump out of his chair knowing you're staying at the Marram." Spoke the hotel attendant who held out a sheet of paper. Several guests quickly made their way over to the captain of Kronos' army causing the man to laugh and smile.
"Sure thing. Here you go. And you, and you, ah ta Johnny C is that right… hahaha! That'll have ta be it folks got a meeting to attend."
Clone 3 followed Mr. Hughes into a large meeting room trying its best to make little noise. Clone 3 saw only a frightening woman who was wearing a golden dress and a golden shawl. The left side of her body was black and hardened like a mummy, while her right side was pale and chalky as if she were drained of all her blood. Her eyes are empty black voids and she said in an eerie voice, "Finally reinforcements! Glad Luke smartened up and sent me Kronos' Captain, now we can take the camp by force."
"Great Goddess Melinoe it's always a pleasure, but you are deeply mistaken. I'm not here ta battle the children of the gods." Spoke Hank Hughes causing the goddess to growl, "Actually, I was sent here on a special assignment by lord Kronus himself to capture Naruto Uzumaki who'd make a fine warrior and weapon for the final push against Olympus."
"WHAT! Is Luke mad? Now is the time to attack, the Keres are on our side. Their borders are weak, and they have maybe less than two hundred demigods there as we speak. If you were to even count the camps satyrs, nymphs, and even Dionysus we'd still outnumber them. Luke must know that if we were to attack now, we would crush them!" Hissed Melinoe with spit flying across the room even onto clone 3's face.
"Crush is the key word here and while you have a point that now's the time to take the camp. I'm afraid we still lack the forces to hold the camp. The question my dear goddess isn't if we can take the camp or even hold it. We both need to decide on when this war will begin." Reasoned Mr. Hughes whose knuckle rested below his chin.
"I've brought an entire legion of zombies to Long Island straight from Father Hades domain and have mustered a sizeable army of monsters. Once the borders fall and we hold the Olympians children hostage… You know now is the time to strike. The Olympians continue to bicker in the clouds, their forces are scattered, and the retched Companions have forsaken their oath. Join me Mr. Hughes, ignore Luke's orders and bring the Kronia's might upon the number one threat to our cause." Begged Melinoe her features changed from a sickly two sided being to a woman with light green skin and golden hair.
"If I led our armed forces o' dark one. The camp would fall within the hour, but Thalia's tree is still alive and their borders impenetrable by most mortals. However, I would gladly take the camp while fighting by your side, but I've brought less than five hundred US soldiers and while they are loyal ta only me and Kronus alone. Memnon only sent me two dozen Kronian troops to be under my belt. If Luke is right, within a week we'll have awoken Lord Kronus in the flesh and the camp shall fall under our control once again. Until then my men are here ta keep things under control." Finished Hank Hughes who turned around to leave the room.
"What if Luke fails in getting that stupid cloth. Heroes, monsters, mortals, and gods have searched for it for millennia. Do you really think our leader will just acquire it within a week?"
"No, not one-bit Melinoe so just sit tight. If Luke fails, I'll support you in your conquest of the camp, but we must follow orders until then or else you'll be the only god against the Olympians. So, give him a week to win or lose. Don't throw yourself on the block for treason so soon." Finished Hank before leaving the room. The Captain of Kronos' army walked into the lobby where clone 3 saw five campers from the Hermes cabin all surrounded by a dozen soldiers in camo.
"We found these five waving a white flag a mile outta town sir. What do you want us to do with them?" Spoke a tall soldier his hands brushing up against his holstered pistol.
Hotel guests gave the group of soldiers and demigods a wide berth of room. Hank waved his hands for the group to follow him outside the hotel. Clone 3 eyed the group of five demigods as they moved past a massive swimming pool. Oddly enough he recognized one of the demigods from the Hermes cabin who was the same age as him. It was none other than Alabaster Torrington who was also an unclaimed demigod. He was one of the first people to come to Naruto's defense when Paul Martinez led a protest the previous night on who should rightfully represent the Hermes cabin in the chariot race. One of the five was that nice Hispanic girl and the other three were various faces of unclaimed children who kept to themselves. Hank Hughes led the large party to a large cliff overlooking the great white sand beaches of Long Island.
"Look we don't know who you guys are uh, Mr…." Began Alabaster whose green eyes flashed in worry from the heavily armed marines.
"Just call me Hank, boy. The fact you five decided ta lay down your arms and peacefully surrender makes me have hope for the future of humanity." All five demigods gasped from Hank Hughes who smiled warmly to them, "Who are your godly parents?"
"We, we, we don't know sir. Alabaster convinced us to leave because we know you'll win, and Thalia's tree won't last much longer. Pl-please show us mercy we are unclaimed and didn't know the military was involved!" Said the Hispanic girl with tears welling down her eyes.
"There's no shame in fear little girl. Only shame in letting fear rule you. I don't want you five demigods to fear us, we are here ta liberate you from the tyranny of the gods. What have they done for you? What have they done for humanity? While they meddle in humanities affairs and send monsters after you, they spend their time laughing at the pain and suffering of us mortals down below, while indulging on ambrosia high up in the heavens! Kronos wants to change all of that! He needs good loyal warriors at his side when the day of reckoning occurs. Will the five of you answer the call?" Asked Hank Hughes who looked down at each of them warmly, all while the setting sun slowly sank into the sea behind him.
All five of them answered yes. Before long Alabaster began spilling the beans about the number of campers, the poor defenses, and he even talked about Mr. D and Tantalus bringing the camp down. Clone 3 frowned and snarled as it looked the traitors in their eyes. How could they throw and abandon their friends and family to the growing army outside the camps borders? How would they be able to sleep knowing full well the people they once called a family would die? Disgusting…
"Simpson, I want you to drive these five amazing, splendid, and strong demigods ta New York City immediately! Luke's departing the state around 22:00 and these five should meet their leader!" Spoke Hank to a fellow soldier who quickly escorted the five traitors away.
Clone 3 walked far away from the group of enemies and ended up dispelling soon after.
Back to Naruto (7:30 PM)
Naruto came out of his meditative trance furious. The hot and icy chakra of the Kyuubi oozed out of his gut into the rest of his being. He wanted to smash something! He wanted to break into the armory grab a shield and spear and kill every single zombie in his sight. Hell, if he could drink the blood of those traitors and taste their flesh that would be even better. Right before he could do that, he had to get up from the nice soft warm… grass? The crimson eyed genin was taken out of these hedonistic thoughts upon realizing that his head was cradled on someone's lap.
Naruto rolled onto his belly and pushed himself up. The Kyuubi's chakra quickly dissipated allowing blue to meet brown. In front of him was none other than Sarah Kelly who quickly embraced him in a tight hug, her eyes shining with both worry and want. The whisker marked teen didn't know what to say or do. Sarah's long brown mane came down to her buttocks and her developing breasts were rubbing against his chest. She was dressed in the typical orange Camp Half-Blood shirt while wearing truly short cut jean shorts that went just below her butt.
"Ah, Sarah did you notice me uh, mngh," Ushered out the blonde only to get pecked on the lips by the incredibly beautiful daughter of Hermes. Her light peck deepened and soon both teens were pressing their lips against one another naturally.
Naruto's eyes were still open as Sarah pushed him against the back of Cabin 11. However, his sapphire orbs soon closed as their kiss continued. Taking the initiative, the golden-haired boy rubbed his right hand down her back until it rested on her butt the way Ero-sensei once instructed, as the proper way to kiss a girl. All while his left hand reached up against her neck bringing her closer to him. Her lips quickly opened, and his tongue shot into her mouth. Both teens moaned as their tongues wrestled for dominance, not that it was much of a fight. The daughter of Hermes wasn't close to being on par with Eos as he sucked her tongue and slurped the bottom of her tongue. He soon left her mouth and sucked her bottom lip causing the girl to stare at him in rapture.
Was Sarah Kelly beautiful? Yes. Did he love her? No, but he was a man and could barely think with her warm body so close to him. Her nails were digging into his back. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to break her heart…
"Na-Naruto that was amazing, ahh!" Screamed Sarah in ecstasy as the blonde kissed her once again. The daughter of Hermes fell into his arms and both teens continued dueling with their tongues.
Naruto was rubbing Sarah's slightly tanned cheek with his rough left hand. They had been at this game for a while. Saliva was pooling from their mouths and the sapphire eyed boy deepened his kiss, allowing his tongue to brush gently against hers for one final assault. Leaving her oral cavity for some air, both teens began gasping. The sun had already set below the horizon, and the stars shined above, it made the blonde demigod wonder just how long they had been making out behind cabin 11. Why did she come onto him now?
"Huh, huh, Sarah…" The daughter of Hermes stared deeply into warm and hopeful sapphire orbs, "What was all of that about?"
Sarah Kelly blushed a dark shade of red almost as crimson as the Kyuubi's eyes as she said, "Naruto our cabin is divided, and I don't know how much longer it will be before it breaks apart. Last night you had the choice to ride with Conner, but you threw down the chance for fame because you care about all of us. I had a dream last night that you'd save the camp. I don't know why father, the fates, or whoever sent me that dream, I just know that you'll be great. You'll bring honor to our cabin, the camp, and even the gods them-."
"Sarah! That was a dream! I haven't done anything great and…" Naruto's head turned away from the girl for several seconds only to see a cloudy face flowing with tears, "I'm sorry. I'm not perfect in anyway. I have demons within me that grow stronger every day. Everything I've done, I've done for fame, for fortune, and for one day being remembered as someone who wasn't a bastard or an idiot. Now I'm in another world, an amazing world, yet that dream of yours is far from a reality."
"Naruto there are rumors going around camp that you are a son of Aphrodite. You are strong, exotic, charming, nice, caring to everybody, and a leader. I want to help you achieve your dreams. Do you think Silena Beauregard cares about you?" Accused Sarah Kelly with a frown causing Naruto to look at her speculatively.
"What are you talking about?"
"You look at her like every boy at camp looks at her. What makes her so special? Am I not beautiful enough? She is going to only use you like every other daughter of Aphrodite uses men to get what they want!"
Naruto growled and grabbed the daughter of Hermes by the shoulder and looked her in the eyes, "You are a stunning woman and I really like you a lot Sarah. You've always stood by my side in this cabin and I don't want to throw you to the side like a used rag. Don't think I'm the fool who transformed into Tantalus for fun. I'm the real fucking deal! Silena saved my life from the Colchis bull and I owe her a life debt and my loyalty. Look… Maybe you are right."
"Huh," Sarah investigated Naruto's sapphire orbs dreamily as his hands radiated warmth into her shoulders. He was the one he in her dreams after all and she was by his side fighting with him against the camps enemies, "I'm right?"
"Yes Sarah, I need you. I can't mend the rift in cabin 11 alone. I'll need a good, strong, beautiful, and loyal woman to help me along the way. I'm not a child of Hermes, you are! No matter what happens I'll die defending you and this cabin. I swear on the stick to always defend cabin 11, Camp Half-Blood, and to keep you safe!" Proclaimed the golden-haired boy with a foxy grin.
"Hahahaha! I think you meant the river Styx!"
"Oh right, I swear upon the river Styx that I Naruto Uzumaki will defend cabin 11, Camp Half-Blood, and to keep you safe!" As soon as Naruto finished the oath a booming blast of thunder groaned far out in the distance.
Sarah blushed and spent much time blabbing about her dream and how they'd one day bring back cabin 11's honor. They both went inside the cabin in order to get ready for the campfire in twenty minutes. Naruto changed into a pair of khaki shorts and a brand-new Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. He switched his typically Chuka boots for a pair of leather Olukai flip flops his mother gave him back in his Manhattan apartment. Too bad that blew up and he likely got pinned with the unexpected crime. The golden haired fourteen-year-old slipped out of cabin 11 before Sarah could pounce on him again. Although she blabbed to him about her dream, Naruto only wondered how a simple dream could make her fall in love with him out of the blue. Was this what Sasuke had to deal with back at the academy?
"I was wrong about you brat. You're more kitsune than I thought. Bwhahahaha!"
"What are you talking about fox? Is this about Sarah?"
"Wow you're getting sharper by the day soon you'll be able to solve 2+2. Unlike that disgusting Uchiha you possess a gift far more subtle and deadly than the Sharingan. I've seen hundreds of genjutsu users who were able to control the minds of mortals, but the spell you cast on that girl is something even a kitsune and those with the smoothest of tongues would drool over."
"I wasn't trying to manipulate her or anything. I was only trying to do the right thing and if cabin 11 is going to stay strong I'll need her help in the future. The last thing I want to do is break her heart. I can't risk her getting all moody on me in the middle of battle that's like shinobi code whatever!"
"Don't act smart gaki! You don't even know any of those stupid codes or rules!"
"What makes you say that?" Thought the jinchuriki sharply as he made his way over towards the campfire.
"Because you failed the genin exam three times because you were lazy and stupid! I'm surprised you even became a shinobi!"
"Yet here I am, alive, well, a genin, a lady's man, and the most powerful demigod at this camp."
"Some would call that luck, but I call that hubris! Your pride will be the catalyst to your downfall gaki! You want to save this camp and survive this war… give me control or else my threat still stands!"
"Oh, your terrifying threat of what? Me needing your power! This is coming from the fox whose been pumping its chakra into me every chance it can get! I may have been stupid, but so was Napoleon. He was bullied, belittled due to his Corsican origins, and had trouble learning French. He started out as a nobody and ended up becoming an Emperor! So, don't act like you're the decider of my destiny."
"Oh really! Why was Naruto Uzumaki given the Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-tailed demon fox)? Why is the Kronia after you? Kronos or the other mortals, hmm, is it because you're special? No, it's because of me! As much as I love learning about emperors or whatever French is… I'm going to sleep. You're boring when I can't get my rocks off." Growled the Kyuubi before disappearing from Naruto's mind.
The golden haired genin's face became pale as he made his way to the very front row seats that were around the campfire. Realization of what the Kyuubi said made the blonde gag and cough towards the six-foot-tall enchanted wall of flames. Maybe Ero-sensei wasn't as much of a perverted old man as he thought he was. Afterall it wasn't like his sensei ever watched or got off on him being with a girl. Then again, he couldn't recall ever kissing a woman in front of his sensei. Wait why was he debating between Ero-sensei or Kyuubi on who was the bigger pervert?
"Ero-sensei all the way." Spoke Camp Half-Blood's only jinchuriki to himself.
"Who's Ero-sensei?" Spoke none other than Silena Beauregard who nuzzled her way to Naruto's side in the front row.
"Hahaha, oh he was my perverted sensei back in my world." Replied Naruto, who quickly was reminded of that time his sensei helped him on board that horrible cruise ship.
"My, my, all the more reason why you we might be related." Mused the pink eyed demigod with a joyful yet oddly too seductive of a smirk.
"Are you admitting you're a pervert Ms. Beauregard?" Joked Naruto wanting to fight fire with fire.
"Very much so and I only admit that to those who I hold dear within my heart." Finished Silena who held his left hand in her palms, and she wasn't planning on letting his hand go even when she noticed an extremely uncomfortable frown coming from one of the Hermes girl's. Odd, very odd indeed.
Right before any drama could unfold for the ever so grateful whisker marked boy, Apollo's cabin started leading the sing-along. They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack or the obvious threat outside the camps borders. Everybody was seated in their usual stone step seats along the amphitheater, campers were halfheartedly singing and watching the campfire blaze while the Apollo campers strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.
After being at camp for almost a week, he knew the standard camp numbers almost by heart: "Down by the Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land," "The Streets of Athens." The bonfire was enchanted, so that the louder you sand, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. Several nights ago, the bonfire rose almost as high as thirteen feet (4-4.5 meters), and it was a magnificent orange. Tonight, the fire was barely even five feet high, almost cold, and the flames were a sickly greenish gray just like the color of lint.
Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. He shot Naruto a curious, yet amused smirk. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.
When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"
He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames. Dying in a loud pop!
Tantalus turned back towards the campers, smiling coldly, "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."
Naruto grit his teeth at the camp activity director, who seemed purposely oblivious to the growing threats surrounding the camp. Before the gray-haired man could go on his usual diatribe, Percy Jackson stood up from his seat and looked the cursed activity director in his hungry eyes.
"Sir," Said Percy his sea green eyes shining with determination.
Tantalus's eye twitched, "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"
Many of the Ares campers snickered, but Percy didn't care about being embarrassed into silence. Annabeth Chase stood up from her seat as support.
"We have an idea to save the camp." Said Percy, causing the whole amphitheater to go silent. Everybody stared at the two campers fully invested in what they had to say, and the campfire flared bright yellow.
"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots-"
"The Golden Fleece," Spoke Percy, "We know where it is."
The flames burned orange and rose several feet. Before Tantalus could stop the son of Poseidon, Percy blurted out about his dream involving Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her.
"The Fleece can save the camp," She concluded, causing Silena to raise an eyebrow, "I'm certain of it."
"Nonsense," Said Tantalus, "We don't need saving."
"Oh yes we do!" Yelled Naruto who got up from his stone seat causing Silena to lose her grip, "Today I was able to scout all of Montauk. I discovered that the Goddess Melinoe is the one behind the zombie army and the Keres. There are roughly five thousand zombies surrounding the camps borders and about five hundred US soldiers in the town waiting to go to war! That isn't the full bulk of their army! If we want even the slimmest chance of surviving the summer, we need to get that Fleece!"
Murmurs and gasps filled the amphitheater after Naruto's declaration. Everybody stared at Tantalus coldly until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. Tantalus then growled and added to his point, "Besides… the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You hooligans wouldn't even know where to look."
"Yes, I would," Said Percy who quickly shot his Meriwether friend a thankful smile.
Annabeth leaned towards Percy and whispered something. Everyone waited for the son of Poseidon to elaborate, until they heard him say, "30, 31, 75, 12."
"Ooo-kay," Said Tantalus sarcastically, "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
"They're sailing coordinates," Hollered Percy who noticed the fire growing higher, "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies with Naruto."
Annabeth looked impressed by her friends quick thinking as she said, "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"
"Wait just a minute," Said Tantalus failing miserably at his attempt at damage control.
But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"
The flames rose higher and grew hotter.
"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.
"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"
"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger, "You brats want me to assign a quest?"
"YES!"
"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying. I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!"
Naruto's gut clenched and he fell back against his seat with thoughts racing around his mind. This was what he needed. Maybe if he took part in this quest, his mother would acknowledge him. Not only that but he swore an oath not long ago to protect the camp. Percy was the most likely candidate for this quest and sapphire blue met with sea green. Both boys smirked. There was no way in hell his best friend from Meriwether wouldn't bring him along, because who else within camp had cool shinobi powers. Either they would succeed, or Kronos would prevail. Those were Camp Half-Blood's options.
"The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest… Clarisse!" Announced Tantalus with glee oozing with every word.
The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. She was wearing camo green pants, an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, a light green vest, and her usual camo green bandana. Her golden laurel stood atop her short light brown hair like a jacked warrior princess from Germania. She swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride as she said, "I accept the quest!"
"Wait!" Shouted Percy, "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."
"Sit down!" Yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"
"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" Shouted another.
Clarisse glared at Percy then said, "I accept the quest! I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"
The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers quickly joined in. Surprisingly, many within the Hermes cabin took to the side of Athena along with the Apollo cabin. Silena got up and roused the Aphrodite campers to take the side of Ares. The Hephaestus cabin quickly followed suit along with the Demeter, Dionysus, and even a small group of unclaimed campers within the Hermes cabin took the ever-growing side of Clarisse. Naruto was about to slip out of the amphitheater from all the shouting and arguing and the seemingly random barrages of thrown marshmallows. Right before a full-fledged s'more war could begin, Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!"
Everyone was stunned from his gnarly tone.
"Sit down!" He ordered. "And I will tell you a ghost story."
Tantalus was radiating the most sickening and evil aura that Naruto had experienced here at camp. It was almost as frightening as the time he fought Gaara outside Konoha. No one dared to utter a word, and everyone got back into their seats like their lives depended on it.
"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved by the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and Naruto was almost positive the activity director was talking about himself.
"This king," spoke the gray-haired man, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe-just one little doggie bag, mind you-the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. CHIILDREN-just-like-YOU!"
He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, particularly Percy, Annabeth, and even Naruto who he held his finger on for several more seconds. Maybe drinking that Barq's special stock root beer from 1967 really got to him.
"Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"
No one dared to answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face.
"Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so… are there any more complaints before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"
Silence.
Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."
She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir-"
"Go!" he snarled.
Clarisse bowed awkwardly and hurried off towards the Big House.
"What about you, Percy Jackson? No comments from our dishwasher?" Tantalus taunted, then he turned to his eyes onto the Naruto, "How about you Naruto Uzumaki? Want to show us another stupid magic trick?"
Silena covered Naruto's mouth keeping him from speaking out. No son of Aphrodite should ever suffer with dishwasher duty.
"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone-no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries… well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."
With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off towards their cabins in the dark.
Training Trip Day 65
"You will never sink this boat! Bahahaha!" Screamed the captain of the cruise ship as massive waves slammed into the sides of the vessel, "Come on! You call this a storm! Bahahaha! You will never sink this boat!"
Lightening crashed from the heavens all around the lonesome cruise ship in streams of purple and blue. Sailors were scrambling around the deck trying to cut ropes and adjust sails. Jiraiya holding a large brown bag tried his best to cross the slippery floor all the way to the main deck.
"Captain's gone mad." Whimpered a sailor, who then saw the toad sage and quickly opened the main deck doors.
Jiraiya completely drenched, carefully made his way down winding halls and numerous hammock bunks where the cheapest passengers slept. He went below another deck and opened the door to his cabin where his star pupil was resting. Ever since the Typhoon struck their cruise ship several days back, Naruto had become ill. His student was as pale as the flakes of winter. Sweat drenched every part of his body and the puke bucket that was by his bed was nearly full. All from days of constantly having an upset stomach. The toad sage was perplexed, he had read his pupils medical files from the Sandaime. He knew perfectly well that Naruto had never once fallen ill in the boy's entire life.
That very medical file was half a dictionary thick with sickening accounts of beatings, torture sessions from caretakers, assassination attempts, stabbings, and a whole slew of disgusting things that surely scarred the boy psychologically in many ways. Whenever they both were about to go to sleep, he would occasionally hear his student talk to himself. There were times when Naruto hoarded food and he often scolded the boy who seemed indifferent. Hell, whenever the blonde-haired brat saw an 'all you can eat' sign the boy would beg for them to go there. Naruto loved wearing his bright orange jumpsuit and often joked whenever they encountered highwaymen mugging people to come at him. The boy was odd, full of mysteries, and often did things that made absolutely no sense for someone who was a shinobi.
For any other Sannin Naruto Uzumaki would have been their last choice, but Jiraiya knew the boy possessed skills that only he could pass down to Minato's only living son.
"AGH!" Watery yellow and pink bile slurped from Naruto's lips into the puke bucket.
He was only wearing a pair of briefs that were already drenched in his sweat. He was wrapped around several layers of fur blankets and he would deliriously walk out of the bed feeling too hot. Before jumping back into bed feeling too cold. The Kyuubi always kept him on his feet, yet this very storm and the constant rocking of the boat finally got to him. Ero-sensei threw down a large brown bag and took out booze?
"J-Ji-Jirach!" Naruto coughed and willfully sat up from his bed glaring daggers at his sensei, "Jiraiya-sensei I told you to get me some medicine!"
"Calm down Gaki…" Jiraiya saw his student fall against his bed like a sack of potatoes. He was still glaring at him, but that was a start, "We're on a boat in the middle of a massive storm. Most of the medicine is only being given out to sick sailors or rich passengers. So, us plebs have to make do with some good old-fashioned ethanol and hot water."
"Tsk, aren't you like super wealthy from all those smut books?"
"They are works of art Gaki! And that's beside the point. I spoke to the captain who's gone a little bonkers and he said we should be out of this storm hopefully by tomorrow. I think you pissed off some sort of Leviathan or something. Doesn't your furball prevent this stuff from happening?" Asked Jiraiya curiously seeing his student turn to look him in his eyes.
"I don't know! My furball should do a lot of things… But the only thing's he's ever done for me is bring me bad luck. I feel like I'm dying Jiraiya-sensei. I don't want to die! I still haven't saved Sasuke from Orochimaru, I still haven't helped the Ichiraku's or even proved Konoha wrong. I'm going to die here a nobody, in some stupid cruise ship, in the middle of nowhere." Naruto's sapphire eyes which usually radiated warmth and optimism, instead radiated nothing but hopelessness.
"You're just sick! There's nothing to worry about Naruto, okay! Everybody gets sick and I guess even jinchuriki's fall ill too from time to time. You're going to get better. I swear this illness will pass by just like this Typhoon. You'll look back and think how crazy you were to think an illness would take down the Orange Terror of Konoha, all while married to that Sakura bimbo. And I'll be by your side, laughing about our adventures. How many shinobi have gone on special missions handed down to me by the council to find our next Hokage? How many Konohans do you know that can claim to have sailed through the Undra Strait past the bays of Umi no Kuni (Land of Sea), across the South Ocean, and all the way west toward the marble city of Alleppey? How many Konoha shinobi have partied in Emerald Bay with the craziest pirate spy employed by Hi no Kuni? Only you and I so far!"
"Jiraiya-sensei you never told me Indio was a Pirate." Said Naruto with a weak foxy grin.
Jiraiya poured hot water on a dry white rag and placed it on his student's head before thinking about something, "You were with me when he said… look Naruto you're extremely sick. Calling me Jiraiya-sensei and hell I haven't heard you shout at somebody in a good while about you becoming Hokage."
A blast of lightening slammed and boomed next to the vessel causing both men to become quiet for a minute.
Naruto's sapphire eyes once again grew weak and the thirteen-year-old boy softly said, "After the Chunin Exam's I wasn't promoted."
"Don't take defeat to heart Naruto. Few genin make it to the third round on their first try. Not only that but you were a rookie, the newbiest of the noobs. Let's not forget that you still defeated that Neji brat who was a rookie of the year and a prodigy within his clan. I won a ton of money on that fight alone and all thanks to you I was able to afford that stone tablet." Reasoned the wise sage to his student, but Naruto looked him in the eyes more gravely than before.
"I know all that! I wasn't promoted because I was stupid enough to fight Neji toe to toe in a Taijutsu battle. I only won because of the Kyuubi's power. If I didn't have the stupid fox, I probably would have gotten creamed. I'm not even the greatest fighter in Konoha, yet I still saved Konoha. I saved Sasuke from being killed by Gaara. Hell, I even saved Sakura-chan too, and the first person she thanked after the Konoha Crush was Sasuke. Gaara released Shukaku and I still defeated him! Life isn't fair I know that much! I was beaten every other day coming home from the academy! I can't even count the number of times I was mugged and stabbed! You'd be shocked the number of times I came home to find out that my apartment was broken into because the demon's property was fair game!" Naruto coughed and yacked for half a minute before falling against his bed, "I saved Konoha. No one thanked me, not a single soul… I know the Hokage died during the battle and the village spent almost a week mourning the dead. I could live without being promoted, yet it still hurts. All I've ever wanted was for people to accept me for who I am not some stupid demon. What more does the demon have to do to prove everyone wrong?"
"Naruto…" His star pupil looked him in the eyes guilt stricken, "You're not a demon. You know that and I'm thankful every day for picking you as an apprentice than some stupid Hyuga or Uchiha. One day everyone within Konoha will bow down to Naruto Uzumaki. They should and will feel guilty for their lack of appreciation. I'm thankful for the fact that you saved Konoha when you had all the reason in the world to let Gaara smash it to the ground. Boss toad told me after the battle that he was proud of the way you handled yourself. He also told me you were amazing."
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have blown up." Said Naruto even more guilt stricken than before.
"Over the years I've come across many shinobi some great and others not so great. Nearly all of them either perished in battle. The unlucky ones who survived ended up coming home to just wallow their sorrows down the bottom of a bottle or to smoke away in an opium den. The few that didn't fall into addictions simply talked. There's nothing wrong with complaining, talking, or even telling the gods that sent us this typhoon to go fuck themselves. Keeping it all bottled up though is the worst thing you can do." Finished Jiraiya who quickly opened a bottle of rum and began chugging the liquid down.
Naruto fell against his pillow and said quietly, "Thank you Ero-sensei."
Listen to: Hallon- by Christian Bjoerklund :on youtube
(for awesome end of chapter music)
Follow, Favorite, and Review It helps me update faster! And keep reading!
This concludes chapter 8. I'm glad to be back and its nice knowing that despite Covid bringing peoples hopes, dreams, and expectations down. We are all still alive trying to make the most of everything and were going to continue living.
Concerning this chapter and concerning OC's. I don't like OC's, but many of the character written in this chapter are cannon in the Percy Jackson universe like Alabaster Torrington, Melinoe, various other campers. All except for Sarah Kelly and Hank Hughes who I've put in here to add details about the Hermes cabin and to make Luke's army more powerful. This story will still solely be a NarutoxSilena story and they will both be paired off although that doesn't mean some women like Sarah, Eos, or whoever won't try to tempt Naruto or use him. Read some Greek mythology literally Odysseus bangs Circe for a year in the Odyssey, yet he is still married to Penelope. Naruto isn't in a relationship with Silena atm, but when he does, he'll likely stay loyal and true to her and vice versa. Most of these characters will be tied to the first great battle in this story and I always found it weird how Luke never once thought that taking Camp Half-Blood during the Sea of Monsters wouldn't have been the most strategically sound thing to do. It's maybe the biggest blunder Kronos's army failed at in the entire book series. Why? Because if I was a general, I would have started the war early in book 2 rather than books 3 and 4. Luke would have taken Camp Half-Blood and he would have had an amazing bargaining chip against the Olympians, however there are many flaws with this plan too (This authors notes pretty long as it is).
Anyways thanks for the many warm reviews, follows, favorites, and loyal readers. Have a great day and keep kicking ass!
SilentCarnages- Ojalá lo sigas actualizando (I hope you keep updating)
Answer- ¡Gracias por leer! Me alegra saber que personas de todo el mundo disfrutan leyendo mis historias. (Thanks for reading! I'm happy to know people from around the world enjoy reading my stories.)
Speaking about stories I published a new story in May called Into the Depths of Insanity. It's a neo-noir Naruto fanfiction story heavily based on the show Babylon Berlin. It's pretty much the successor story to A Fox's Love. I've only received less than 900 views for this story yet have a descent number of follows, favorites, and reviews. I may update this story in the future if support for it turns around, but until then I'll likely focus on this story and maybe a Fallout story. Anyways Like I said have a good day :)