Okay, so im late. Really late. I know. But I was stuck with school and the like and was hit with a major block on how to continue with this before I read a fic and realized that if it's not that different from how it went down in canon, I don't really need to mention it. As you all know how it went down since I am assuming you read the books, I don't need to like repeat it all. So, that gave me what I needed to do this. Bless up. Any who, I want to get on with this book and move onto the juicier bits of it all and etc. I know you guys want to see all the great drama unfold and the pairings come into existence. Some may be how they were originally others may not, you just gotta wait and see.
*Everything that is skipped basically happened the same exact way as it did in the book. Don't ask how they all fit on Arion, they just did, rather uncomfortably and lets leave it at that.
Naruto told her everything that he could. He described Camp Jupiter. He told them all about Reyna being Praetor and how she got the position through her hard work and dedication. He told Hylla about the massive army marching south towards the camp, and he told her about the quest they were on. He told her about how they had to free Thanatos in Alaska to make sure the dead stayed that way.
As he was talking, out of the corner of his eye he noticed another group come into the room led by a taller, older Amazon, silver hair was an old person trait, who wore silk robes. As she came deeper into the room, the other Amazons made way for her, a show of respect that confused Naruto. Amazons didn't seem like the type to show respect to just anybody, so that raised the question as to who this woman was? And why were she and Hylla glaring daggers at each other.
"…and that's why we are here," he said. "We-Reyna needs your help." He took the ring off of his finger and put it into her hand, "Now more than ever."
Hylla stared at the ring that was now in her hand, and made a tight fist around it. "Reyna…that foolish girl-"
"Oh my!" the older woman interrupted. All heads that weren't already turned to her as she began to speak. "Not only are you talking to this…male as if he was your equal, but he is also Roman and needs our help?" She laughed prompting the other Amazons around her to join in as if it was the funniest thing in the world, and Naruto felt his dislike for this women increase.
"How many times did we do battle with the Romans in my day?" the lady asked as she began to walk around their group. "How many times have they killed our sisters in battle? When I was queen they wouldn't dare-"
"Otrera," Hylla interrupted, "do I need remind you that you are here as a guest? You are not queen anymore."
The old lady, Otrera, held up her hands in a gesture of surrender and mockingly bowed. "As you say my queen- at least until tonight. But I speak naught, but the truth, Queen Hylla," She sneered. "I've been brought back by the Earth Mother herself! I bring tidings of new war! Why should we Amazons follow Jupiter, that foolish ignorant king of Olympus, when we can follow a more righteous queen? When I take command-"
"If you take command," Hylla said cutting the lady short. "As of now, I am queen. My word is law and you will listen."
Otrera stopped her pacing around the group and stared Hylla right in the face. She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes in obvious signs of anger.
"I see." Otrera looked around at the group of assembled Amazons that stood very still at the moment. "Have we become so weak to listen to male demigods? Will you next allow them to tell you what to do? Allow this unruly son of Vulcan to once again act against one of our sister's? Perhaps, encourage him to do it?"
Hylla gave Otrera an icy stare. "Once I have all of the facts, then I will pass judgment. Not before. That is how I rule, by reason, not fear. I will talk with their female warrior first before I decided anything, as is my duty as Queen. As is the Amazon way. Or has your memory become muddled in your years of being in the Underworld?"
Hylla's response received a sneer, but the older woman did not try to argue.
Hylla turned to Kinzie, "Take the males to the holding cells."
Kinzie snapped of a sharp nod, and, with a few other Amazons, they restrained him, Percy, and Frank. They took them away and out of the room. The last thing Naruto heard was Hylla dismissing everyone else from the room.
They were quickly placed in cells, and had nothing else to do. So, they waited with baited breath. It was up to Hazel now.
It wasn't that long before Naruto saw Hazel being escorted back by Kinzie to the cages he, Percy, and Frank were being held in. By the looks of it, he guessed that whatever conversation she had had with Reyna's sister, didn't help them out that much. Suddenly, Hazel collapsed to her knees, seemingly in pain or, Naruto heard a tiny gasp escape Frank's mouth, and one of the guards that were guarding them stepped up to pick her up. Hazel went limp in the guards grasp, and the guard called over for her friend to help her.
Suddenly, just as the other guard made it over, jewelry exploded all over the catwalk like a tidal wave of silver bracelets. The glittering crazy amount of bracelets moved under Hazel's power and swept up the two guards and left them hanging by their ankles to the bottom of the catwalk screaming. The boys looked on in surprise as Hazel broke her restraints, made the last guard run away in fear, and got the key cards that unlocked their cages. She swiped the cards and the doors popped open.
Frank stared at her with a sense of astonishment, "By the gods. Hazel, that was amazing."
Percy nodded along with Frank. "Yea, I'll never wear jewelry again."
Naruto leaned over the ledge to look at the two Amazons suspended by their ankles and whistled in amazement. "When do you think they'll fall?"
Hazel shrugged her shoulders and tossed him Reyna's ring. "I have no idea and I don't think we should wait around to find out. Our weapons and stuff are at the end of the catwalk. We need to hurry because pretty soon-"
Loud alarms began blaring throughout the cavern.
They all locked eyes and as one began moving with Hazel in the lead. Quickly they got their stuff with Hazel having to drown groups of Amazons in waterfalls of gold and silver. When they got off of the catwalk and onto ground, it was like a jewelry god decided to throw up and trap every Amazon in necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.
They paused to take in the sight, because this was something you for sure didn't see every day, and it was Frank that summed it up.
"Hazel…You are freaking incredible," he breathed out as an Amazon wriggled with just her feet in the air in a pile next to them.
As one the group escaped, barely, their harsh Amazonian pursuers but only with the help of the lightning, probably faster than lightning, fast horse that took a liking to Hazel and Percy. From there on their journey continued.
(Timeskip)*
Naruto knew they reached their destination by the giant glacier that laid before them. The air turned icy and Naruto felt a foreboding feeling come onto him.
"Be wary in this place, Naruto. This place feels void, like a blank spot on a usual canvas of color. It is true what they say that Gods hold no power here," Naruto heard echo through his head.
He squinted through the wind that billowed by his face and though, if the Gods don't hold power here, I can guess who does.
They started walking and trotting, Hazel was on her horse, toward the icy graveyard that looked like it used to be Roman camp that Naruto thought looked a little too similar to Camp Jupiter. Naruto felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the wind wail as they walked through the ghastly snow covered area. He clenched his fist and channeled some of his godly energy, heating up his body and the area around him.
All around there were no signs of life, natural or otherwise. The walls of the camp like area stood covered in a thick layer of frost and the icy ground crunched as they walked through the carpet of pure white snow that laid on the ground.
As they got closer and closer to the opened gates of the camp Naruto only saw the icy banners flap away in the wind. He could see straight down into the 'camp' and with his eyes, he could see a tall, dark-robed figure standing in chains.
Unprotected.
They all stopped at the gaping open gates.
Percy spoke up and said, "This has got to be a trap. No Giants no monsters as guards."
"Obviously," Frank responded, "but I don't think we have a choice."
Naruto nodded his head and banged his fists, covered with his gloves that were reinforced with armor so he could pack more of a punch, together and his tonfa came out in all their crimson and royal blue glory. He flicked them around and channeled chakra through them and with a glint of gold, their bladed edges came out as well. From beside him he saw Percy unsheathe his glittery bronze sword with a Greek inscription on it and hold it at the ready, and from behind him he heard Frank's bow thrum as he locked and loaded an arrow.
Arion neighed, and even Naruto could feel the unease in it, as Hazel urged him forward and led the way through the gates. The layout was so similar to Camp Jupiter. The barracks, baths, and armory were all an exact replica of camp, of his home, exceot much much bigger. It was like this one was built to house giants or something…
…oh yea.
They got within 10 feet of Thanatos's chained form. He had his head down, so his hood blackened his visage. Being this close to death was a feeling that Naruto couldn't describe but feel. He felt this heavy air all around him, and even in chains, Naruto could feel the deathly power emanating from Thanatos. He felt something from the chains as well. To be able to chain a god, they must have something to do with them, but what was the question.
The hooded Thanatos raised his head.
In a response, the whole camp stirred with life that was not there. The surrounding buildings burst open with Roman soldiers clattering out in old, dented armor, but they weren't human. They were pitch black, wispy boney figures that held old Pila and dented shields in their hands and had frost covered swords strapped to their waists. Ragged and frozen, the ancient dead Romans marched out on foot, but a pair of them burst out of the stables on a golden chariot pulled by ghostly black steeds that neighed unnaturally.
Arion stamped his feet in challenge and neighed back loudly at the horses.
Naruto grit his teeth and gripped his tonfa tight. They were surrounded.
Percy spun Anaklusmos in his hand, and felt the icy pull of the ocean in his gut as he readied for a fight. Around the glacier, the waters spurned to life at their master's emotions.
Frank gripped his bow tight and notched his arrow. "Yep, here's the trap."
The ghosts, Naruto felt a shiver crawl down his spine at the word, formed awkward ranks and encircled the crossroads cutting off any route of escape. If Naruto had to guess, he'd say that they numbered in the hundreds at least in total. That wasn't an entire legion, but it was more than a cohort. Hanging from aged poles hung the tattered lightning bolt banners of the Twelfth Legion, Fifth Cohort that came up here in the 1980s. Others carried a mishmash of other banners, some Naruto couldn't recognize but they looked just as old as or even older than the banner of the Twelfth Legion.
At least now they know for sure what happened to Michael Varus's expedition.
"Thanatos!" Hazel turned to the robed figure. "We're here to rescue you. If you control these shades, tell them—"Her voice faltered. The god's hood fell away and his robes dropped off as he spread his wings, leaving him in only a sleeveless black tunic belted at the waist. His skin was dark and glistening like it had never even had an encounter with the word flaw. His eyes were a honey gold that lacked the usual warmth eyes of those color contain. He was lean and muscular, with a regal face and black hair flowing down his shoulders. His wings glimmered in shades of blue, black, and purple.
The god's wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor. His feet were bare, shackled around the ankles and also chained.
"It's Cupid," Frank said."A really buff Cupid," Percy agreed and Naruto nodded."You compliment me," Thanatos said. His voice was as gorgeous as he was—deep and melodious. "I am frequently mistaken for the god of love. Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine. But I am Death. I assure you.
""We're—we're here to save you," Hazel managed. "Where's Alcyoneus?"
"Save me…?" Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "Do you understand what you are saying, Hazel Levesque? Do you understand what that will mean?"
Percy stepped forward. "We're wasting time."He swung his sword at the god's chains. Celestial bronze rang against the ice, but Riptide stuck to the chain like glue. Frost began creeping up the blade. Percy pulled frantically. Frank and Naruto ran to help. Together, they just managed to yank Riptide free before the frost reached their hands.
"That won't work," Thanatos said simply. "As for the giant, he is close. These shades are not mine. They are his." Thanatos's eyes scanned the ghost soldiers. They shifted uncomfortably, as if an arctic wind were rattling through their ranks.
"So how do we get you out?" Hazel turned his attention back to her
. "Daughter of Pluto, child of my master, you of all people should not wish me released."
"Don't you think I know that?" Hazel's eyes stung, but she was done being afraid. She'd been a scared little girl seventy years ago. She'd lost her mother because she acted too late. Now she was a soldier of Rome. She wasn't going to fail again. She wasn't going to let down her friends."Listen, Death." She drew her cavalry sword, and Arion reared in defiance. "I didn't come back from the Underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that I'm stupid for setting you free. If I die, I die. I'll fight this whole army if I have to. Just tell us how to break your chains."
"If you free me, I will do my duty. But of course these shades will try to stop you."
"So if we let you go," Percy summed up, "we get mobbed by a bunch of black vapor dudes with gold swords. Fine. How do we break those chains?"
Thanatos smiled. "Only the fire of life can melt the chains of death.""Without the riddles, please?" Percy asked
.Frank drew a shaky breath. "It isn't a riddle."
"Frank, no," Hazel said weakly. "There's got to be another way."
Viscious aughter boomed across the glacier. A rumbling voice said: "My friends. I've waited so long!"
Standing at the gates of the camp was Alcyoneus. He was even larger than the giant Polybotes they'd seen in California. He had metallic golden skin, armor made from platinum links, and an iron staff the size of a totem pole. His rust-red dragon legs pounded against the ice as he entered the camp. Precious stones glinted in his red braided had never seen him fully formed, but she knew him better than she knew her own parents. She had made him. For months, she had raised gold and gems from the earth to create this monster. She knew the diamonds he used for a heart. She knew the oil that ran in his veins instead of blood. More than anything, she wanted to destroy giant approached, grinning at her with his solid silver teeth.
"Ah, Hazel Levesque," he said, "you cost me dearly! If not for you, I would have risen decades ago, and this world would already be Gaea's. But no matter!"He spread his hands, showing off the ranks of ghostly soldiers. "Welcome, Percy Jackson! Welcome, Frank Zhang! I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto, the new master of Death. And this is your new legion." The giant smiled, "And this one...my, my, I've been waiting to meet the famous Percy Jackson." The giant grinned.
His silver teeth made his mouth look like a car grille. "I've followed your progress, son of Neptune," said Alcyoneus. "Your fight with Kronos? Well done. Gaea hates you above all others…except perhaps for that upstart Jason Grace. I'm sorry I can't kill you right away, but my brother Polybotes wishes to keep you as a pet. He thinks it will be amusing when he destroys Neptune to have the god's favorite son on a leash. After that, of course, Gaea has plans for you."
"Yeah, flattering." Percy raised Riptide. "But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood."
The ghosts stirred. Some drew swords and lifted shields. Alcyoneus raised his hand, gesturing for them to wait.
"Greek, Roman, it doesn't matter," the giant said easily. "We will crush both camps underfoot. You see, the Titans didn't think big enough. They planned to destroy the gods in their new home of America. We giants know better! To kill a weed, you must pull up its roots. Even now, while my forces destroy your little Roman camp, my brother Porphyrionis preparing for the real battle in the ancient lands! We will destroy the gods at their source."
The ghosts pounded their swords against their shields. The sound echoed across the mountains.
"The source?" Frank asked. "You mean Greece?"
Alcyoneus chuckled. "No need to worry about that, son of Mars. You won't live long enough to see our ultimate victory. I will replace Pluto as lord of the Underworld. I already have Death in my custody. With Hazel Levesque in my service, I will have all the riches under the earth as well!"
Hazel gripped her spatha. "I don't do service."
"Oh, but you gave me life!" Alcyoneus said. "True, we hoped to awaken Gaea during World War II. That would've been glorious. But really, the world is in almost as bad a shape now. Soon, your civilization will be wiped out. The Doors of Death will stand open. Those who serve us will never perish. Alive or dead, you three will join my army."
"Oi, golden boy, I think you're forgetting about me," Naruto called out to the giant.
Alcyoneus looked at him before frowning. "Oh, son of Vulcan. I am not your enemy on this day no matter how much I would want you in my army. Oh no, I won't be crushing you to my immense displeasure."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked warily.
"He means you will be fighting me…", a feminine voice said from behind them.
The group wheeled around and saw the ghostly spirits split down the middle to reveal a woman.
Naruto almost dropped his tonfa in utter shock. He knew this woman. This red-haired woman who was smiling at him from behind her long red bangs. He barely noticed the handle of some sort of weapon behind her back, and that made him try and recompose himself.
"Wh-who are you?" He asked her shakily, cursing his stutter inwardly.
"She is supposed to dead," Kyuubi growled.
What do you mean? Naruto asked it.
"I mean, that you are staring at my previous host, who is supposed to be dead you dunce!" The Kyuubi growled. "You are staring at Kushina Uzumaki."
"My mom?" Naruto shuddered out.
The woman, Kushina, smiled as she heard that. "That's right. You're my Babyboy."
Suddenly her smile morphed into a frown and Naruto felt a spike of energy in the ground. A golden chain shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around his arm.
"It's a shame I'm going to have to kill you now," She said neutrally.
Before anyone could react, the woman made a pulling motion with her hand and the chain tightened and pulled Naruto into the air. Kushina threw her arm out backwards, and the thick chain links followed her motion perfectly. Naruto was whipped into air and shot backwards out of sight with a holler that slowly faded as he got further…and further…and further away.
Silence permeated the center as Kushina put a hand over her eyebrows and squinted into the direction she threw her son. She looked to Thanatos and cocked her eyebrow. "You think I threw him a little too hard?"
Death gave her flat look and didn't answer.
She smiled wide and nodded, "You're right. We Uzumaki's are made of sterner stuff so he'll be fine. Wouldn't want this to end too soon."
With that she made a few hand signs and disappeared in a tornado of leaves.
Naruto was flying in the air-no. Not flying.
More like floundering.
And yelling.
Oh yes, he was yelling at the top of his lungs.
He was yelling through the air as he uncontrollably zipped an unknown amount of distance. The scenery flashed past his eyes alluding to just how fast he was going, and oh was he zooming.
He didn't know how long he flew for, but he did know when his abrupt and certainly unplanned flight ended.
Painfully.
His back smashed against the harsh cold ground once, flipping him over, then twice, then three times, and then a fourth, before gravity decided to be merciful and allowed him to skid to a harsh stop with his face in the snow.
He groaned in pain and the feeling of nausea in his stomach, but nevertheless pushed himself up onto his feet. He staggered up, hands on his knees as he got his barings, and looked around only to be shocked once more.
She had threw him clean into the forests! He couldn't even see where he came from!
Damn, he thought and winced as he stretched out his back and felt the sharp pain shoot up from it. He clenched his fists, relieved to see that his tonfa had come back to him so quickly because he knows for sure that he dropped them when she whipped him into the air. His eyes quickly glanced around and saw that he was randomly all alone/ He took this slight moment of reprieve to think about what he had just found out.
Apparently that woman was his mother. He didn't want to believe it, but…she fit the bill from what his dad told him and showed him in the brief times they sat down and talked about it. The Kyuubi all but confirmed it as well. Now, the question is how she is here and how she is alive?
And why does she want to kill him?
He scowled as the answer came to him and he connected the dots instantly. The Doors of Death are open and in Gaea's control, so she brought his mother back from the dead and has her now under her control. This is all of Gaea's fault. She was the reason the first time he gets to see his own mother in the flesh is when she is trying to kill him!
That made him angry.
His attention was grabbed, and the anger he felt dissipated as the whirlwind of leaves died down and his mother appeared before him with the exact same smile he saw whenever he looked at his self in the mirror.
She stood there and his heart thumped painfully in his chest once before he remembered what she did.
She put a hand on her hip, "So, you didn't die from that. Good. I'd be severely disappointed in you sochi." Kushina took her hand off of her hip and reached for the weapon she had strapped to her back, and Naruto quickly bumped his fits together and reached for the godly energy inside of him. In a flash, he held his bladed tonfa and his skin took a reddish tint to it.
At the reveal of his weapons, Kushina took pause. She tilted her head in a curious manner, and before Naruto could even blink, she was in front of his face taking a closer look at them.
Shocked, he quickly jumped back and put a good amount of distance between him and his killer-yet-not-so-killer mother.
Kushina straightened up and had a bright smile on her face. "Oh, my precious son is taking after his father and me more and more." She sighed dreamily and clasped her hands to her chest. "You made one of your tonfa in memory of my home village. I would've preferred you take up the sword like your awesome mom, but, oh well," She scowled and crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, at least you don't use a hammer like your father uses when he was in his godly form."
Naruto was safe to say unnerved at her laidback behavior. Wasn't she supposed to be trying to kill him?
"Idiot! You just jinx-," The Kyuubi started.
"Ah, what am I doing," She smacked herself on the forehead as punishment for her being carried away. "I just haven't seen you in so long Naruto, but where were we?" In one smooth movement she unsheathed her sword, a gleaming silver katana with a blue hilt and black grip, and held it at the ready in front of her.
Naruto held his tonfa up as steam rose from his skin and the snow around him started to melt at the heat that was introduced.
Kushina smirked at her son, "Show me what you can do, Naruto."
Naruto, thinking rapidly, decided to test the waters so to speak and try out something new that he had been working on. His dad being also attuned to fire, Naruto believed that he could coax that out and learn to use it as he willed.
Turns out he was right.
Like it was in slow motion, he cocked his right fist back and breathed in deep through his nose. The muscles in his arm bulged and he felt the godly energy run its way through his arm like molten lava. When it was all gathered in his fist…
…he fired.
Now, being as he had yet to master such a heavy application of his powers outside of just augmenting his own physical prowess, Naruto made a bit of mistake. He meant to create just around a basketball sized blast.
What came out of his fist was a not a basketball, but more like a wrecking ball. A fireball raced from his fist towards Kushina like a speeding bullet, and Naruto couldn't help but feel the twinge of worry that struck him.
That twinge was swiftly destroyed as his mother took a step forward, put the sword at her hip and slashed upwards through the fireball he fired at her. The katana split the righteous flames apart where the two halves sputtered to ember and sizzled on the cold ground.
A stray thought ran through his head after seeing that. She must be where he got his awesome from.
He shook it off and deciding to not do that again as he felt the drain it put on his reserves. With his tonfa up and at the ready, he charged.
His powerful legs propelled him forward in an instant, and he twirled his tonfa into an overhead strike. The powerful blow was stopped with ease, but Naruto wasn't done there. He dropped down, dodging the retaliation swing at his head, rose with a precise uppercut. His uppercut was dodged as Kushina leaned back. He followed up with a swift jab with his left hand that was blocked with her katana. Naruto had to quickly bring his right tonfa up to block the sudden overhead strike from Kushina, and found him self on the back foot as she peppered his overhead guard with lightning quick slashes.
Thinking quickly, Naruto sidestepped one of the overheads, leaving her over extended and off balance. Naruto took ruthless advanage of it. No matter of if she was her mother or not, it was drilled into him by Reyna, very painfully mind you, that against the enemy you always take the advantage when you can, and you take it with no mercy.
She demonstrated this by using the blunt end of her spear to hit him in the balls...several times... sometimes he felt as if she didn't have a nice bone in her body...nice to know he knew better.
Naruto shot his knee up into her gut, and The strike connected with the force of a cannnball. It knocked the air straight out of her like letitng the air go out of a ballon. He felt and saw her body fold acutely over his knee, and he felt a bit of stasfaction at the clean hit. He let his knee drop, and drew back his fists into each like, kind of like when you hold the handle of a sword or axe handle. He pulled back and rocketed them down to her exposed back...
...yet his hands didn't move.
He yanked with both of his arms, but only heard metallic jingling. Naruto looked up and cursed. His hands were bound together by those damn chains once more. The chains shot into the air with Naruto unwillingly following behind. They whipped up and down like when those people in the gym do those rope exercises, and they rocketed back down into the ground cratering Naruto into the icy earth.
Kushina hunched over and coughed a few times as she got her breath back from the heavy blow she took to her stomach. To be honest, she wasn't expecting him to have that much strength at his age. I mean, yes she was told she was abnormally strong and her husband was no slouch either, but jeez. She straightened up and rubbed her stomach a bit, feeling her upgraded healing factor kick in, and looked to the crater she put her son in.
She walked over to the lip of the Naruto sized crater and looked in to see her son get to his fit looking a little roughed up, but still roaring to go.
She smiled at him, "Oh, looks to me you are ready for some more," she beconed him closer with her katana," Come to your dear mother and get your shit kicked into a crater once more sochi."
Naruto scowled up at the red haired lady, and gritted his teeth. He had to do something about those chains, but damnit if they didn't seem impossible to get around.
He charged her, jumping from the crater he created, tonfa at the ready, and charged his limbs with chakra. Their weapons connected, but Naruto's monstrous strength took Kushina off guard, blowing away her block with ease. Naruto saw this and feinted up, when in actuality he was aiming for her legs. She saw through it though, and didn't even flinch at the blow he faked to her head, and jumped over his leg sweep.
Kushina propelled herself off of the balls of her feet, and spun putting more strength behind her slash. Naruto blocked it, their weapons clinking off of each other, but Kushina wasn't done. She followed up with a diagonal slash from the other end that Naruto dodged by stepping backwards out of the way. Naruto hopped back into her guard before she could complete the motion of bringing the sword back down, but his gamble backfired.
Lightning quick like a bite from a cobra, Kushina slashed upwards with her katana, slicing a shallow cut into Naruto's chest.
He staggered back, holding his now bleeding chest, and winced in pain.
Kushina held her sword up horizontal near her head, tip pointed at Naruto. "You are probably not used to fighting more eastern styled weaponry due to your upbringing. The katana is a speacial weapon that, in the right hands, is virtually unstoppable," she said to him as she slowly stepped to the side, assesing the damage she dealt.
Naruto winced a little, and glowered at her. He pulled back the hand he held over his wound, and was shocked to see the still glistening red of his own blood. Why hadn't his healing factor kicked in yet.
"It's cause of her blade, " The Kyuubi growled in Naruto's head. "That blade of hers is the damndest thing. Any wound it inflicts cannot close up, no matter how hard the person tries. I've seen it in action, and I have seen the damage it can do. I suggest you do not get opened up by it again because even I cannot help you."
"Ah," Kushina said taking Naruto out of his thoughts. "You must be talking to the Kyuubi about my precious darling here," she indicated to her sword. "This combination of your father and my own sealing techiniques are the reason I earned the moniker Uzu no Aka Shi, or the Red Whirpool of Death. Whatever I cut with this sword was guaranteed dead because their wounds would never close as long as I was conscious. Sometimes I even was able to kill people after the battle was over," she smiled smugly. "I might of not had a flee on sight order like your father, but I earned my S ranking all the same."
Naruto cursed. That had to be cheating in some category. C'mon! That kind of weapon is stupid. He shook his head. He needed to focus. She said as long as she was conscous. So, all he had to do was defeat her and he wouldn't bleed out to death.
Operation, kick my mother's ass is a go!
It was time to play to his strengths. Literally.
He felt the well of power inside of him, his godly reserves of power that he had access to. He felt the warm blood beneath his skin suddenly get ten times hotter. Like if his blood was water and it was boiling, that would be it right now. But instead of pain, he felt comforted. He felt powerful.
The first time he used this power to the extent he was going to, Jason was able to match him blow for blow until they both fell unconscious in the ruins of a wrecked training field. When he woke up in a full body cast and grunted/asked why he felt like he just went ten rounds with Hannibal and lost all of them, the medics said he pushed himself to the brink. He overexerted his powers and his body had not ben acclimated to those levels before. They said the reason he was in a full body cast was because he burned off a good portion of his skin and hair and internally he had burns on his organs, don't ask how that's possible but it happened, and he was in a state of malnourishment because he burned off thousands of calories. Too many calories. They put him a strict, never to go that far with his powers again, promise under threat of telling Reyna what really happened.
Gods bless Jason and his ability to actually hold up under Reyna's terrifying glare after she was told they were in the hospital. Honestly, Naruto physcally couldn't talk but Jason could, and he kept quiet. Saying that they were trying a unison techinque that backfired badly. What a bro, right? Didn't stop her from giving them the worst dressing down they have ever or will ever experience in their lives.
He felt the familiar feel of his skin start to sizzle, but knew that it wasn't coming off this time. He saw the steam start to rise form his arms as the cold air around him met the heat from his body. The muscles under his skin tightned yet stayed loose and became akin to steel and his hair began to point towards the sky and glow red like magma. He breathed out, blistering hot air being released, and widened his stance.
Kushina stopped smiling and readied herself. It would seem her son has decided to kick things up a knotch.
Well, she wasn't one to be outdone by her own son at that.
From the ground behind him, a chain flew out, but it was shattered with a simple backhanded strike from Naruto who didn't even turn his head to look at it.
Kushina raised an eybrow at that. Seemed like his senses have increased as we-
Her thoughts did not get farther than that because pain, pure pain blossomed in her stomach, and she saw the dark edge up in her vision. She was given no reprieve as air and spittle was drilled out of her with a blow that felt like it could level a mountain. She folded over the fist, stunned, and unable to respind to what came next.
Naruto, fist withdrew his fist, and grabbed the back of Kushina's head, and held it there as he shot a knee into her chin. The knee connected with a crack, as Kushina's once folded form straightend out unwillingly and flew a few feet off of the ground. Naruto gripped her arm and tugged her along with him into a spin. He spun and then released her like a slingshot into the surrounding trees.
CRASH! CRACK!
Naruto grinned a little at the sounds of trees coming to the ground. That meant he threw her hard enough to break through them. Several of them at that. He saw the birds fly into the sky, frightened at the unexpected dismantling of their homes via flying body. He knew that wouldn't be enough to put her down. If she was as tough as he was quickly realizing, putting her through some trees would only annoy her.
He heard rustling and then a whistle and looked up to see a giant tree flying straight towards him like a thrown spear. Acting quickly, he jumped back, giving himself enough distance and letting the tree crash into the ground. He couldn't breath a sigh of relief yet, as he heard the whistling again, and looked up. His jaw almost dropped at what he saw. Several massive trees were flying towards him, all threw the same way as the last one. There were enough trees in the air to cover all of what he stood on. He had to get to her if he wanted them to stop.
Thinking quickly, he jumped to the side, dodging the first tree. He was forced to swiftly jump up and onto the second tree that came his way. He grit his teeth, and ran along the trunk of the airborne tree, hopping onto the next one he found. With unreal agiilty and strength, Naruto ran along the next trunk and then the next into the air. He flipped forward in the air, jumping above a few more trees, hair whipping in the wind, and landed on another one. Thinking quickly, Naruto got an idea. He stomped down on the end of the giant tree he was on, causing it to tilt up. With a quick application of chakra, he ran to the backside of it and punched it. His fist split the thick trunk in half, leaving splinters to fly into the air. He grabbed the half without all the tree on it, and jumped forward once more but now with a tree trunk in his hands. Slowly the trees stopped coming, and Naruto saw Kushina, chains waving threateningly around her like her pet snakes or metal tentacles waving around her dangerously. The tree in locked into a few of her chains promised pain. Naruto lowered his shoulder, letting gravity take hold and he started to spin down towards her. Getting closer to the ground, he picked up speed, coming down like a comet. He spun, and released the massive tree down at her like a missile. He tilted his body forward and put his arms to the side, becoming almost like a dart, and felt his speed increase even more.
In response, Kushina threw the tree she had at his, destroying the both of them in a show of splinters which Naruto rocketed through. Naruto let his body flip upwards. and he pulled back both of his fists. Kushina saw this, and shot up her chains into a shield on top of her just in time.
He came down like the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.
BOOM!
The surrounding area exploded. A bright blast of white encompassed the two of them and blew outwards as they collided. The surviving trees were blown backwards, some even uprooted and blown through the air as these two heavyweights clashed. Naruto grit his teeth as he pushed forward with all his weight and strength, and felt the chains giving way slowly. All he needed was a little bit more...
"I gotta say Naruto," He heard Kushina start from behind her shield of chains, "you are...disappointing."
"Hu-!"He tried to say, but a chain wrapped around his neck from behind, and pulled him away. The chain slammed him face first into the ground, and then onto his back with savage force that shot the air straight out if his body. The chain did not loosed or relent, and stayed around his neck, tightening as it lifted him into the air. He gasped for breath, flashed his tonfa back and tried to grab the chain around his neck. Chains shot out from the shield she put up and wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, restraining him tightly.
She stepped forward, glanced around at the destruction they wrought, before turning her attention back to him. She started talking as she walked closer to him.
"You. Are. Disappointing Naruto," She told him with a slight frown on her face. Naruto didn't know why, but that sentence made his heart drop into his stomach. "I don't know why your father decided to raise you in this soft world. He took you away from your birthright and now look at you. You are weak. You think you are strong?" She laughed as she got close to his face and looked him in his eyes. Naruto breathed heavily through his nose like a caged animal as he glared at her.
With naught but a thought on her part, Kushina had her chains bring forward her son's arms. She grabbed them and reached for the tonfa she knew were disguised on his hands. Naruto saw her intentions and began to struggle anew, but the chains tightened painfully around his neck and limbs once more.
Kushina took the fingerless gloves into her hands and tossed them into the air a few times in a careless manner that made Naruto feel even more angry.
"Look at these," she said as she held them up in her hands. Her hands started to glow golden. The light got brighter and brighter, and Naruto was helpless to stop what happened next.
BOOM!
His weapons, his pride and joy, that had seen him through a multitude of battles and destroyed hundreds of monsters into dust. The first gift he had gotten from his father were gone.
Kushina shook the leftover debris from her hand and blew on the smoke that rose from her palms. "One thing I learned about the weapons on this side of the world is that they are pretty easy to break," She told him, stepping onto the smoking bits left of his weapons. "Your father gave you those, didn't he?" She asked with a strange look on her face. "I bet he did. Hmm, I wonder what was going through his head when he made you those. They weren't bad, but," she looked down and then back up to him, "you can see what happened to them. You think that those made you strong? You think that because you know how to use chakra that you are strong?! You think because you have godly blood running through your veins that you are strong?! You think because you have the Kyuubi inside of you, that you are strong?!" Suddenly the chains loosened and dropped him to the ground unceremoniously.
Naruto landed on his face choking and breathing haggardly as he tried to get his breath back.
Kushina looked down at her son impassively. "Get up."
Naruto coughed and tried to rise, tried to draw on anything, but to his horror he came up empty.
"Right now, you probably tried to grab for your chakra or your godly energy, but my chains are special. They are an Uzumaki Kekkai Genkai or trait particular to only Uzumaki's. They restrain and drain most anything be it people, Gods, or even Bijuu," She revealed to him. She crouched down on her haunches and said once more, "Get up."
Kushina looked down at her struggling son and buried the maternal instinct to help him ruthlessly. She knew he needed to learn this. Her Queen knew he needed this lesson as well. If he was to succeed she was going to have to get rough with him no matter how much it hurt her heart to see him like this. She hardened her heart and fell back onto her shinobi training.
She pointed her katana at his head and intoned once more, "Get. Up."
He still didn't rise.
"Get. Up."
He struggled on shaky arms, but didn't rise to his feet.
"GET UP! I SAID GET UP!" She finally yelled at him.
"I CAN'T!"
.
.
.
Kushina clenched her jaw in anger at his reply. Her Queen was right. Her son was soft. She buried her emotions once more and made a decision.
She stabbed her Katana straight down. Right into his hand, impaling it there.
"AAHH!" He screamed in pain.
She let go of her katana, letting it stay there stuck in son's hand as it bled out onto the ground.
She sat for a minute letting the katana stay there in his hand before yanking it out and stabbing it into the ground next to his hand.
"What do you mean, you can't get up, Naruto?" She asked him.
He looked at her with despair in his eyes. They were full of weakness. Like he had accepted his defeat and replied, "I have nothing left. I'm out of chakra, out of godly energy, and I can't access the Kyuubi. I have nothing left."
Kushina reached towards his face and softly gripped his chin, raising his head up.
Then smacked him.
Hard.
His head was forced to the side from the smack to his cheek.
Kushina scowled at her son. "That shouldn't matter. Why do you fight, Naruto?" She asked him as he brought his head back to stare at her.
Naruto thought about it for a minute before answering her. "I fight for my camp."
"Oh, you fight for your camp, huh? You call this fight? Your precious camp is in danger of being destroyed. It will be raised to the ground. Nothing will be left of it! Every single person in that camp of yours will die or be enslaved by Gaea and her monsters or worst! And you are here on your knees, ready to give up!" She yelled at him. It was time to drive her point home. "If you fought for them, you wouldn't give up! If that camp was so precious to you, you wouldn't give up! Even if you have nothing left in you, you wouldn't give up if it was that important to you! Do you just not care?!"
"I care! I care about my camp! About my home! I-"
"Then get up! You don't have people in your home that you care about?!"
"I do!"
(Insert that really intense Naruto main theme music. You guys know which one!)
"Who do you fight for then?! You would rather them die at the hands of Giants and monsters?! GET UP OR THEY WILL DIE!"
Naruto grit his teeth, as he realized. He realized that there were people counting on him. Hazel, Frank, and Percy who were on this quest with him. His friends back at Camp Jupiter. The Cohort that he grew up in. The other Cohorts that were all preparing for war. How was he going to find Jason if he died here!? How would Reyna react if he died here?! She was counting on him to come back to her! To help her! He wasn't going to let them all die! No! No, he wasn't going to give up here! He had people that were relying on him! He had a home to protect! He had friends to protect!
He put his hands heavily against the ground, and started to push himself up.
Kushina looked at him, struggling to rise with a reignited fire in his eyes and stepped back. "Who are you?!" She asked him.
There was a fire ignited in his belly. His arms shook with exertion and fatigue and his legs felt like jelly, but he kept rising up.
"I am Naruto," he got up to his knees.
"Uzumaki," He put his hands on his knees, popping one out and slowly rising up.
"Son of the Roman God Vulcan and the Uzu no Aka Shi Kushina Uzumaki," He got both his feet under him shakily, but his shoulders still sagged with his head down.
"AND I'M DONE GIVING UP DATTEBAYO!" His head rose and he glared right at his mother. He was done giving up. He wasn't going to anymore! He had people that were relying on him! Reyna was counting on him. Jason was counting on him! They trusted him to make it back in one piece, and damnit that was what he was going to do! He had a home to protect, and it didn't matter if he was up against Mother Nature herself. He wasn't going to let them down!
Kushina smiled at her son standing one his feet, tall and unbowed. Unbroken. This was the backbone she wanted to see. This was the strength she meant. When you had nothing left to give, but were still able to get up because you knew you had people counting on you. You had a home to protect. It was how her family taught it. It was how she lived it. And now? It was time for her son to live it as well.
She nodded approvingly at him, noting how his legs still shook and his arms were limp, but his eyes told a different story. They were strong. They were filled with an undying fire. They told the story of a man ready to fight! Ready to never give up! Ready to give all he had and more! Her senses stretched outwards, feeling the results of the battles that took place farther away. She smiled. Her son had strong friends indeed.
"Good, Naruto," she said. She walked up to him, and he tensed up. Kushina felt her heart break a little, but pushed through it. She reached for him, but his still fatigued body couldn't move out of the way in time.
He closed his eyes ready for the pain or anything.
He wasn't ready for the hug he received.
He felt the warmth of her body. It was different from any other heat he was used to. It was...comforting.
Is this what a mom feels like? He couldn't help but wonder.
Her arms tightened around him, and despite the fight he was just in with her, he couldn't stop what he was feeling. He couldn't stop his arms that wrapped themselves around her in response.
"Oh my Babyboy," Kushina whispered in his ear. He felt something dampen his shoulder, and was shocked as he realized what was happening.
She was crying.
"Oh my precious son, I am so sorry," she apologized to him. She pulled back and stared him in the eyes, and Naruto could see the tears falling down her face. "I am so sorry I wasn't there to raise like a mother should. I am sorry I wasn't there for your first words or when you took your first steps or even when you had your first birthday. I am sorry you didn't have a normal life. I know your father tried his best and is trying his best, and I am sorry that we both couldn't be there the days you needed us. I guess it worked out for the better," She smiled sadly as she looked him up and down. "Look at you. My boy is handsome and he even has my hair! We Uzumaki's pride ourselves on our hair color so wear it proudly," She brought him back into the hug, and Naruto felt her take a shaky breath against him. "I love you. My little fishcake. I love you, and don't you ever forget that. You are my son, and no one can take that away from me or you. I know I've missed a lot of birthdays, all of them actually, but I hope you can forgive me. I hope you can forgive me for what I had to do to you today, but it was for your own good."
"What do you mean?" he asked her as she pulled back from the hug once more.
She smiled sadly at him. "Gaea is not to be taken lightly Naruto. Her armies are strong, nigh unstoppable, but my Queen has enacted a plan that can save the world. And you are a part of it. You know that Percy boy is a key in this plan, and so is your friend Jason. And before you get all out of whack, know he is safe, but he has his own mission. Don't worry. You will be meeting him sooner than you expect," She winked.
A chain snaked out from her back and wrapped itself around the handle of her katana which was stuck in the ground. It yanked it out and brought it back to Kushina's waiting hand. Kushina took one last long look at her beloved weapon before handing it to her son.
"Here, take it," She said.
Naruto went wide eyed and gaped at his mom. He numbly took the sword he knew meant a lot to her, but couldn't help but asking, "Why?"
"Because I did break your original weapons," She rubbed the back of her head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry for that by the way, but also, think of it as a late birthday gift. Or early. Whichever, I am giving it you now. It is keyed to anyone of Uzumaki blood, so all you need to do is drop some blood on its blade and channel some chakra into it, and it will be yours from then on and your wounds should start to close. After that it cannot harm you. No one other than a person of Uzumaki blood or someone else keyed into it can use its blade. If someone who is not of our blood or keyed in tries to use it, well, lets just say that they are in for a nasty shock. Carve out your place in history with it like your ol' mom did, and protect those you care for with it as well. Don't worry about trying to kill monsters with it, it can do that just as well as any blade made of imperial gold dattebane."
Kushina stepped back from her son and kissed him once on his forehead. She stepped away from him, and smiled widely at him. A smile that Naruto reciprocated. Smiling so wide that his eyes closed.
Then a chain wrapped around his body.
He opened his eyes in shock and gave Kushina a look of betrayal.
She waved his look off, "Pfft, don't give me that look. How else are you going to get to your friends fast enough?"
He stared at her incredulously. "I could just walk or run!"
"Nah. We are in Canada right now, and I am pretty sure you can't run all the way back to your friend ," She dismissed. "This is way faster and more fun, right?"
"No! How are we ev-,"
"I'm hearing nothing but 'Yes' come from your mouth, so that's what I am going with."
"Wait! No! WHAAAAaaaa..."
Kushina squinted as her son flew further and further away from her. "I hope I didn't throw him too hard. You think I threw him too hard?" She asked to seemingly nobody.
From beside her, a golden flash appeared beside her. When the light died down, it revealed the Queen of the Gods herself.
Kushina looked at her and shook her head. "Nah, he's proven he's made of stern stuff."
Hera looked at her new Second, and shook her head in amusement. She had gotten used to some of her mannerisms at this point. Hera, though, had a question on her mind. "So, do you think he is ready, Kushina?"
Kushina turned to her Queen and gave a so-so motion with her hand. "Honestly, I don't know. When I clashed with him I felt his strength of will and his determination, and now it is even greater. He has all the tools to become a force of nature, but the wildcard is of course the Kyuubi."
Hera nodded along with that. "I agree. If the Kyuubi should be let loose then it is bad for all of us. Are you sure you know nothing that can help with that?"
Kushina shook her head. "I am sure, Lady Hera. I did encounter the host of the Eight-Tails who was able to use its power effectively and without any adverse side effects, but I don't know how he did it."
Hera nodded. Kushina was right, of course. They could do nothing, but hope that Naruto isn't forced to release the Kyuubi's power and be overtaken by it.
"Let us go, Kushina. It is time to return before anyone notices we have left. I don't want to be given another lecture from my husband, " she said as a golden glow came over them both. In a flash they were both gone from the surrounding forests leaving nothing behind as an indicator that they were there.
.
.
.
.
.
She sat staring out at her village. The village she had become the leader of after her sensei perished at the hands of her former teammate.
"Are you sure that's where he is?" She asked the tall man standing in front of her desk.
The tall man nodded, his long white hair shaking along with his head. "I am sure, hime. The Old Man took detailed notes about what he knew, and I have conversed with the toads as well. He is there, and we need to bring him back if we want to have any sort of hope," he told her.
The blonde-haired woman frowned, but didn't say anything.
The tall man took a step forward and leaned on her desk. "C'mon, hime. I am THE spymaster. If anyone can get in and out of there with him, it's me. You know that. Just give the go ahead, and I'll be back with him in a few months. I'll send a toad every few weeks with what I see and notice about this new land."
The blonde-haired woman, still staring out at her village, took a moment to respond. Finally she said, "Fine. The mission is a go," she missed the fist pump of success committed by the tall man as she had her back to him. "But," she started breaking the man out of his victory dance, "You will take a team with you. I don't care who, but you will take a three man cell with you just to be safe."
She spun her chair around and stared up at the tall man with her piercing amber eyes. She said, "We know nothing about him or these so called Gods, and I would rather us not get into conflict with them. You get in, you get him, and then you get out. We will explain things to him after, and I'm pretty sure once he hears what's going on he won't refuse to help us. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission remember?"
The man nodded seriously already thinking of the people he was going to bring along with him. "You think Hiashi will let me take his oldest with me? You know she has the strongest pair of eyes and is the best with the Gentle Fist after her dismantling of her cousin at the exams. You are one miracle maker by the way. I still don't know how you got her out of her shell to do something like that to her cousin."
She shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a matter motivation. It was tough, but I did it. And he better if he knows what's good for him. I know he is grooming her to be the next clan head, but there won't be any clan if this mission doesn't succeed."
The man nodded his head at that as well. "I'll bring my team here once I collected them, so you give them a rundown before we go," he told her.
She nodded and dismissed him with her hand. "Good. Now, get out of my office," she said.
The man smiled at her before turning, opening the door, and leaving. His wooden sandals clacking the whole way down.
The woman turned back to the wide open window showing the village she now commanded, her village. She didn't know the outcome would be or even if the mission would succeed, but it was a risk she had to take. There were forces brewing in the shadows, and, if that old toad was right, they needed Naruto.
They needed him now more than ever.
