AN: The answer is because it's cold enough to have snow, but no snow falls.

AN 2: Check out the link on my Profile to a badass picture of Naruto and Kyu, star team of Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian, courtesy of my buddy TenshinG.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril

VIII

As the three approached a bridge that would take them across the river to Camp Jupiter, Piper noticed a statue of a man with no arms. A giant cinderblock seemed to make up his lower half and was marked with the letters "TERMI NVS" carved into it. Both she and Thalia looked at it oddly, wondering the significance of it, while Naruto redirected himself to approached the statue.

"You are not welcome here, Greeks!" The statue said, springing to life with a baritone male voice. It's eyes focused on the blond and in a word filled with anger, it exclaimed, "You!"

"Yo!" the blond greeted cheerily, "Did you miss me, Terminus?"

"Miss you?" the statue, Terminus, scoffed, "You and your-your insanity? Your speech nearly split this Camp in two!"

"Speech?" Thalia asked her boyfriend curiously. Naruto shrugged.

"Something I said like five years back," the blond said before turning his attention back to the armless statue, "You're not still mad are you?"

"Not still mad? How could I be mad? You only nearly started a riot!" Terminus snarled, making both of the demigoddesses look at the blond in confusion. Naruto merely shrugged again.

"I just thought it was weird is all," the blond said, "All that misplaced anger. Why should they have to keep the rage going?"

"It is strength that drives them, not anger!" Terminus snapped, "The Romans are stronger! We are better!"

"Maybe, maybe not," Naruto debated, "But let me ask you this, God of Boundaries, if you were better than the Greeks, you would've noticed my tail before me, wouldn't you?"

"What?" Thalia asked, turning around and looking for any sort of person, "How long have you known?"

"Since we left the tunnel," Naruto said as he looked intently at Terminus, "I was hoping you'd stop them but you never even noticed did you?"

"Noticed what?" Terminus demanded. Naruto leaned into the statue's face, a frown crossing his own. Raising his right hand, Naruto built chakra into his hand and snapped his fingers next to the statue's head. Terminus' eyes widened and he sputtered before exclaiming, "Bu-But that's impossible! It's inconceivable!"

"It's Shinobi," retorted the blond before turning around and stepping in front of Thalia, "First sneaking up on the Goddess of the Hunt, now breaking through boundaries. What's next, challenging the King for his throne?"

His words were meant with silence, his brows furrowing, "Thought that would bring you out. Unless...No...No you're not really waiting for me to be alone are you?"

There was not another answer and Naruto allowed a smirk to cross his face, "Alright...that's clever. I'll give you that. So who's out there this time?"

Once more he was met with silence. Reaching into his pocket, Naruto pulled out the pendant his father had given him. He turned around and put the pendant in Thalia's hand, "Take this and get into the city. Find the Praetors. Tell them that Camp is under attack."

"You've led enemies to the Camp!" Terminus shouted in rage.

"Not intentionally!" Naruto retorted before turning his attention back to Thalia, "Take Piper and go. Get the Legion ready."

"I told you that I'm not leaving you behind," Thalia growled. Naruto grinned and cupped her left cheek in his hand.

"You're not leaving me behind," he said, "You're getting back up."

Thalia looked into his eyes before frowning, "You infuriate me sometimes, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yeah, but you love it," replied the blond with a wink. Patting her cheek he turned back to face the way they had came, cracking his neck and saying, "Terminus I'd sound the alarm if I were you."

"...An exile defending the Camp! Preposterous! Outrageous!" The statue raged before his mouth turned upward in a smirk, "And yet...Just crazy enough to work. If there's one thing I despise more than rule-breakers, it's losing this Camp to invaders!Ad arma!Hostibusinporta! (At arms! Enemy at the gate!)"

A siren broke out through the Camp beyond the wall, making Naruto grin, "You actually had an alarm installed?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Terminus explained before looking at the girls, "You two! Greeks! You have the blessing of Apollo, get beyond the wall!"

"Go!" Naruto said when Thalia and Piper turned to him. He rolled his shoulders and let a smile cross his face, "I've got to greet the people at the door."

Thalia and Piper stared at the teen before turning towards the walled camp. The younger demigoddess' hand was taken by the older one's, pulling her along as they crossed the bridge. The gates opened as they approached, Thalia lifted the pendant given to her as a girl around Piper's age stepped out with a golden spear in her hand. Golden armor covered her torso arms and legs, a small purple cape sticking out between her shoulder and her neck.

"We're here because-!" Thalia began only for the girl to point her spear at her.

"Terminus has explained the situation to us, my fellow Preator is preparing his Cohort for battle as we speak. We just await Terminus' final word on the intruders now," the girl said before looking around expectantly, "So, where is he?"

"Where is who?" Piper asked in confusion, "And what's with the siren?"

"The Camp is preparing for battle," the girl replied with a frown, "Who are you, Greek?"

"Piper McLean," Piper replied, her brows furrowing as something inside her told her to be wary of this girl, "And do I look Greek to you?"

"You reek of it," the armored girl replied, lowering her spear slightly, and looked the demigoddesses up and down, "And your posture all but screams undisciplined."

"Yeah, this is nice and all but would you let her in already so I can go stop my boyfriend from getting himself killed?" Thalia asked impatiently. The Roman girl looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"...Yes, I suppose you're right," she said after a moment, "I am Reyna, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

"Thalia," the daughter of Zeus replied shortly, "Now that the introductions are out of the way, can we get a move on?"

Their conversation was interrupted as the ground shook. A statue next to them came to life, eyes narrowed in fury and his mouth set in a deep infuriated scowl, before Terminus' voice echoed around the camp.

"TRAITOR! LEGACY OF BACCHUS, DESCENDANT OF THE GIANTS, CHOJI AKAMICHI: YOU ARE HEREBY DEEMED TRAITOR AND ENEMY OF CAMP JUPITER!"

The three girls turned their attention towards the entry, looking up and up and up until they laid their eyes on a portly man standing almost one hundred feet tall, wearing red clothes and plated armor on his arms, chest and thighs. He had long spiky brown hair and what looked like red swirls tattooed on his cheeks. A red headband with a metal plate – much like the one on Naruto's belt – was wrapped around his head, a strange marking engraved on it. He opened his mouth and said something in his deep voice that made Thalia's eyes widen, "You've been gone long enough, Naruto. It's time to come home."

The second Thalia and Piper had fled over the bridge the shinobi had emerged from their hiding place. He faced against them and arched a brow, "This...seems like a strange combination. Never thought I'd see you three again. Maybe Kakashi and Yamato, but not you guys."

"It was a bit of a pain, tracking you down."

The blond demigod's gaze landed on the man with a tired look on his face, black hair pulled up into a ponytail that made his head look like a pineapple. He was dressed in the traditional attire for the Konohan Jonin, save for the sash around his waist. Naruto nodded at it.

"You became one of the twelve guardians? You really are following in his footsteps, aren't you, Shikamaru?"

"Tch, only because my mother wouldn't stop nagging and saying how much of an honor it is to be asked," Shikamaru replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. As he searched for a match, Naruto made a ram seal before he spoke.

"Hi no Nagare no Jutsu (Fiery Stream Technique)," he said as he inhaled slightly. Presenting his lips like he was going to whistle, a long stream of fire shot from his mouth, dissipating after it lit the edge of Shikamaru's cigarette. The two other shinobi remained tense while the large white dog growled in warning. Naruto rubbed at his throat as he cleared it, "Ugh, always tastes so nasty coming up."

"...So you can use fire techniques," Shikamaru mumbled, reaching up and removing his cigarette from his mouth.

"Not really a secret for a native of Fire country," Naruto replied, his eyes narrowing, "You speak English rather well. How long have you been studying it?"

Shikamaru nonchalantly took another drag before he answered, "Ever since Team Kakashi came back...Without you."

"Sucks when you suck, doesn't it?"

"Enough of this bullshit!" exclaimed the wild looking man wearing a fur-lined leather jacket. A headband with the insignia that adorned Shikamaru's held his own wild brown hair back, and his bright red fang-like markings seemed faded slightly. Next to him was a large white dog, nearing the size of a horse. The man snarled and clenched his hands, "We outnumber you four-to-one, dumbass! Just give it up already!"

Canines were bared by the man's large dog before it spoke, "Come with us, or we will make you, Namikaze!"

"...That's new," Naruto muttered with a frown before he leaned towards Akamaru and asked, "Since when can you speak?"

"I've always been able to talk, Namikaze, you've just never heard me until now!" barked the giant white dog.

"Hm, guess you weren't trying hard enough," the blond mused. He turned his gaze to the feral man and smirked, "Itching for a rematch...Kibble Breath?"

"I'll pound you so hard into the dirt your ancestors will feel it, Naruto!" the man snarled, before pointing at the blond, "If you don't come with us peacefully, we've been ordered to bring you in by force!"

"Wow, that's never been said to me before, Kiba," Naruto sarcastically replied, "I mean, if Kakashi no Sharingan couldn't take me in, what makes you think you can?"

"Kakashi wasn't going all out!" Kiba snapped back, flexing his clawed hands and growling, "I don't have that handicap."

"A rabid dog on a leash," Naruto muttered with narrowed eyes before he turned his gaze to the quiet one, "Et tu, Choji?"

"Orders are orders, Naruto," shrugged the large man. As soon as he spoke, Terminus shifted his gaze to him, making the three shinobi and dog blink in surprise.

"Tu! Uva puerum! Quis enim es tu? (You! Grape boy! Who are you?)" asked the head as he stared intently at the man.

Choji faltered in his words before he replied to the statue, "Akamichi Choji, Jonin of Konohagakure no Sato. How...How did you do that, Naruto?"

"What did it just say?" Kiba asked while Akamaru whimpered as an instinctual fight or flight instinct was activated.

"I think it was another language," Shikamaru mumbled as his eyes narrowed in thought. His gaze went to the surprised look on his onetime friend's face.

Naruto stared at Choji before he broke into a fox-like grin, "Wow...So there are more..."

"How did you do that, Naruto?!" Choji demanded, "How did you make it talk?"

"Oh I didn't do anything," the blond replied as he grinned, "Didn't your mother call you a grape when you were a kid?"

"How do you know that?"

"You were young and angry, you didn't always seem red, no...You seemed a deeper shade sometimes..." mused the blond with a grin on his face as his hand cupped his chin, "Purple almost..."

"Yeah, so? It's a condition that comes from my father's line," Choji said with a frown, "So what?"

"Oh...They never knew," Naruto said with his eyes widening, "All this time and he's never even thought about it."

"He's got us in an genjutsu!" Shikamaru interjected, breaking Naruto's train of thought. The three shinobi put their hands in the ram seal and exclaimed at the same time, "Kai (Release)!"

There was an audible static in noise before the alarm became noticeable, Kiba and Akamaru covering their ears crying out in pain as the sudden noise overwhelmed their senses. Choji and Shikamaru scowled, the thinner man's hands forming the rat seal. His shadow extended before stopping halfway, Naruto's eyebrow's rising in surprise.

"Ooh...Shouldn't have done that," Naruto said as he crossed his arms. Looking down at the ground, Naruto sucked in air between his teeth, "Oh, yeah...The Nara clan is officially on his shit list...And so am I...I probably should've told him about you."

"What did you do?" Shikamaru asked, forming the ram seal and trying again only for the same result to occur. This time, however, the shadow was shorter in length.

"I'd stop if I were you," Naruto warned, "He's not big on sharing his domain...it's big enough as it is."

Shikamaru lowered his hands and took another drag on his cigarette in thought, "Someone...Someone else is controlling the shadows here, right?"

Naruto smiled secretively, "Oh yeah."

"So you've successfully taken me and Kiba out of the situation until I think of something and he adjusts to the sound," Replied the jonin with a frown. He turned to his friend and said, "Choji. Do it."

"You have one last chance, Naruto. Come with us willingly," Choji said with frown.

Naruto scoffed and subtly reached behind him into his pocket, pulling out his book of seals, while he replied, "You'll have to force me."

"Fine!" the large man snapped before his hands blurred through seals, "Cho Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique)!"

Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru all leapt away and out of sight as Choji started to grow. First by a foot, then two and then jumping up to twenty feet high. Yet, he still continued to grow! Finally, Naruto stumbled backwards as the super-sized one hundred foot tall Choji took a step forward, his book of seals flying out of his hand and landing near Terminus. The blond fell to his back with a grunt, glaring at the sky as he thought, Someone is out to get me...And I have a good idea who she is.

"Giant!" Terminus exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah he is..." Naruto said, as he got up, "Fantastic, he's managed to master his clan's signature technique. And on top of that he's a legacy of Bacchus."

"How do you know?" Terminus demanded.

"I'm very good at what I do!" Naruto snapped before looking back up at Choji and mumbling, "I'm gonna need help, Helios...Helios?"

While Naruto tried to contact his past life, Terminus scowled as he glared up at Choji before he linked up with the rest of his statues scattered throughout the Camp and exclaimed furiously:

"TRAITOR! LEGACY OF BACCHUS, DESCENDANT OF THE GIANTS, CHOJI AKAMICHI: YOU ARE HEREBY DEEMED TRAITOR AND ENEMY OF CAMP JUPITER!"

Ignoring the statue, Choji frowned, "You've been gone long enough, Naruto. It's time to come home."

Naruto grinned widely at that proclamation and looked at the giant shinobi, "Hey guess what, Choji! You are officially the fattest thing on the planet!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" the giant bellowed, his face scrunching up in anger and turning a dark shade of red.

"YOU! ARE! FAT!" Naruto shouted. Choji's eyes turned red and his hand lifted up.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Naruto!" The giant exclaimed with a purpling face.

"GOOD! GET ANGRY AND FIGHT ME LIKE THE FAT, STUPID IDIOT YOU ARE!" Naruto exclaimed as he burst into golden flames, "NOW, LET'S LIGHT IT UP!"

Choji's foot lifted up and Naruto braced himself. As the giant foot came down, the golden demigod's hands went up. Terminus' eyes widened and he faltered before murmuring out, "That...That's impossible."

The descending sandaled foot of the giant shinobi rushed downwards, encasing Naruto and the statue of Terminus in shadow. The glowing teen's hands pressed against the sole of the giant's foot, creating a shockwave that caused nearby trees to fall. Naruto grunted as he was slowly brought to his knees. Fighting a Titan was one thing, holding the weight of a giant was a whole different ballgame. Clenching his jaw, the Heir of Helios fell to one knee, fighting against the weight of his onetime friend. He closed his eyes as he held up the foot.

Did I miss something? A grin crossed the face of the reincarnated God when Helios' voice popped up, Just took a brief nap. Zeus' girl does a fantastic job of telling stories, you know. Where's that spirit animal of yours?

"He's got another job at the moment. Man, it's great to hear your voice," Naruto said in exertion as he dropped to a crouch, "Ready to go all out?"

Do you love Ramen? Let's kick some giant ass! The former God of the Sun said in excitement.

Naruto's golden eyes narrowed, the blue sun-like pupils shining radiantly along with the markings across his body as he released a roar and pushed up. Choji grunted and wobbled on his feet as Naruto slowly stood.

From where they were hiding, Shikamaru and Kiba were in awe while Akamaru had covered his head and began whimpering.

"That shouldn't be happening," Kiba whispered in worry, "That's impossible. Not even Tsunade-sama can hold off a Akamichi at full height!"

"Kakashi's reports weren't wrong," Shikamaru murmured, "I think...we might have bitten off more than we can chew."

"You think?!" Kiba hissed before looking back at the golden figure that was toppling the giant.

"Fifth Cohort!" Terminus' bust within the barracks of the Fifth Cohort, a good number of soldiers of all shapes and sizes stood at attention before a young man wearing the same armor as Reyna stepped forward, "The Exiled One has returned...And he is using the power of the Gods! He faces a Giant! Wait! It's toppled! He's tossed the Giant with his bare hands!"

The ground shook and the Cohort started to murmur before the golden armored Roman spoke, "Who is he? This Exiled One...Give us his name!"

"You of all know him best, Praetor," the Roman God said to the teen, "You tried to defend him from your father's wrath."

The Praetor's eyes widened and he abruptly turned before ordering, "Clear the way!"

The Cohort made a wide path, allowing the Praetor to clench his fists at his side. Wind built up in the barrack before the Praetor shot out at the speed of a bullet. His helmet was left behind, allowing the handsome face of a young man to be seen by the world had it been watching.

Thalia, Piper and Reyna were running back towards the battlefield when something shot by them. Reyna furrowed her brow, murmuring to herself in confusion, "What's gotten you all worked up, Jason?"

"What did you just say?" Thalia asked, looking at the dark haired girl.

"My fellow Praetor, Jason Grace," Reyna said, making Thalia's eyes widen as she stared at the girl, "Son of Jupiter."

Choji reared his hand back and brought it down, only for Naruto to catch it with ease. The golden boy adjusted his grip on the giant's pinky and pushed the hand down into the ground. Jumping up onto the hand, Naruto ran forward, jumping once again as the other hand tried to clap down on him. He climbed up the arm and onto the giant's shoulder, pulling his left fist back and driving it into the right cheek of his old childhood friend. Choji's head snapped to the side with a thunderous boom and his body followed.

Naruto landed on the ground next to his old friend's body, looking at Choji's dazed face almost apologetically. Of all the people who he didn't want to fight, Choji was among the top of the list. Innocent, sweet, powerful Choji with only one weakness that he exploited: his anger. Choji's rage was legendary, hell the man's family's rage was almost as legendary as his grandfather's.

His thoughts were broken by a whistling sound. Turning to face the new arrival, Naruto raise a hand to shield his face from the debris that shot up when a person landed in an earth splitting skid. Lowering his hand, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the dust before he grinned widely when he could see through it.

"Well...Look who's decided to Grace me with his presence," joked the golden teen.

Stepping out of the dust stood a teen just a few inches shy of his height, broad shouldered and dressed in golden armor with a purple cape falling from his shoulders. His face was handsome and his features very similar to Naruto's own. Golden blond hair covered his head and electric blue eyes twinkled slightly in the light. It was a face that Naruto could never forget, not even if he tried.

It was the face of his girlfriend's 'deceased' little brother, Jason Grace.

"I've never heard that one before," Jason said before smiling widely, "You've certainly...gotten shinier since we last met."

"D'you like it?" inquired the teen as he struck a pose, "I've been thinking of getting a dimmer installed. You know, for those days when it's not too dark."

"It suits you," Jason replied with a smirk, getting a fox-like grin from the older teen as he relaxed. He then looked at the large form groaning behind the glowing teen, "So...Tossing Giants becoming a regular thing for you?"

"Well...Not all the time," Naruto said, leaning back against the giant stomach of his old friend, "Just today."

Jason hummed at his words, still looking at the giant before he looked at the glowing teen. The power he radiated, it had his senses screaming at him to avoid conflict with the man before him. It was like facing a God...suicide unless you were immortal, but even then...there was no guarantee you'd survive.

"Move!" cried the glowing teen as he shoved the younger blond out of the way from a descending hand. Choji grunted as he missed his opportunity at squishing the smaller warriors, rolling to his other side and getting back to his feet.

Naruto and Jason rolled out of their evasive maneuver, Jason's face becoming stern and serious while Naruto whistled as he stood, "Wow! That's impressive. Even Atlas needed a millisecond to recover from my left hook."

"You've fought Atlas?" Jason asked as he pulled out a gold coin and flipped it into the air, catching it as it descended. A golden spear appeared in his hand and Jason narrowed his eyes at the giant that was trying to relocate them.

"Diana was in trouble, I was on a quest, I'll tell you about it later," he replied, "Listen, this guy isn't the same as normal giants. I need your help on this, because we're not trying to kill him."

"Not kill him? He's a friggin giant!" Jason hissed.

Naruto's gaze snapped to him and Jason reluctantly cowed, "Yes. Not kill him. He's going to be a message."

"Message to who?" asked the son of Jupiter. Naruto didn't reply, prompting Jason to take a deep breath before looking at the Giant. The younger blond looked to the golden teen, "What do we do if were not going to kill it?"

"It's been a while since we've fought together, Jay," Naruto said as he turned to the younger demigod, "Remember our Wombo Combo?"

"How do you forget something that stupidly named?" Jason asked his fellow blond. Naruto whacked his two fingers against the teen's head.

"Blasphemy! It was genius then and genius now!" Naruto admonished, looking at the standing giant shinobi, "On my mark."

"How is this not going to kill him?" Jason asked.

"It won't, so just shut up and wait for my signal!" Naruto said before vanishing in a flash of light. He reappeared on Choji's shoulder, whistling sharply to get the massive shinobi's attention.

"Found you!" Choji said as he started to reach for the blond.

"Ah, ah, ah! Can't touch me!" Naruto said, raising his left hand, "Solar Flare!"

Choji cried out in pain as Naruto's hand brightened to a blinding light, his eyes getting the full brunt of it. As Choji flailed around in blindness, Naruto vanished once more, teleporting to Jason's side.

"Give me some wind, Thunder Boy!" Naruto ordered as he raised his hands in front him and started to whip his hands through several hand seals. Jason pointed his spear up, gathering dark clouds overhead. The wind gathered around his spear until it looked like a small tornado.

"Naruto!" Choji roared, rubbing at his eyes, "You have to come home, Naruto!"

"Not today," Naruto replied as he built chakra in his lungs and converted it with his natural affinity. Rearing his head back as he inhaled, Naruto cried out, "Now Jason! Katon: Gōenkyū (Fire Release: Great Blaze Ball)!"

Jason swung his spear just as Naruto's head flew forward, firing a giant ball of fire, the wind added speed and size to the attack until it was about ten feet in diameter. The technique hit the giant shinobi, sending him flying over the city-like Camp Jupiter. Choji screamed as he flew, his armor burning away and his body slowly but forcibly shrinking as his chakra tried to defend the host. The impact, almost a mile away near the Fields of Mars, made a large dome of fire.

Naruto waited until the dome faded, and then he turned around, narrowing his eyes at the shadow user that was glaring at him. Jason spun around and brandished his spear, getting ready to attack but was stayed by Naruto's extended hand. The golden teen crossed his arms over his chest before he spoke, "Now what? I've just roasted your best friend, you can't access your clan's techniques and right now both Akamaru and Kiba are shaking in fear as their instincts tell them to run. You want to know why?"

The son of Konoha's Jonin Commander's cheek twitched, but he remained silent. Naruto grinned as he answered, "I'm just that awesome."

"...Why won't you come home?" Shikamaru gritted out, "First Sasuke, now you. Why? WHY?!"

Naruto said nothing, merely powering down before stepping forward, his eyes narrowed. His hands gripped Shikamaru's jonin flak jacket and lifted the man up. Blue orbs with small suns looked into two coal colored eyes before Naruto bared his clenched teeth and said, "I. Am. Nothing. Like. Sasuke."

"Then come home." Shikamaru grunted back. The blond continued to glare at him, before pulling him down and whispering in his ear. Naruto whispered something to him that made Shikamaru's eyes widen before lifting him back up.

Naruto then said, "Now tell me what you really want to know."

The strategist and team leader swallowed before asking what was on his mind, "...Why can't I outsmart you?"

"You can," Naruto replied with a smirk before nodding behind him, "You just can't outmaneuver them."

Shikamaru looked over his oddly younger friend's head to see a bunch of teens of all ages standing behind the blond wearing golden armor, each of them pointing various sharp weapons in their direction. Naruto spoke again, earning Shikamaru's attention, "You see, for all your brains, for all your foresight, you just can't outsmart a battalion of Romans. Wanna know why?"

Not giving the teen a chance to answer, Naruto continued, "They've got the best damn army on the planet."

AN: Whoa, that was fun to write! I highly suggest playing I Am The Doctor while reading the interaction between Naruto and Shikamaru. Again, check out my profile to get a link to an awesome pic drawn by my pal, TenshinG. What happens next? Will Thalia flip out on Naruto? Will the shinobi be sent home like last time? Will I survive my second day of spring semester?

In order to find out, there's only one thing left to do!

REVIEW!