AN: Props to Engineer for the help on this chapter, the glorious ch 20…and yet we're only halfway done. Gasp. I feel this one may be longer than the last...

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

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

XX

"So...that sucks," said Nico as he, Annabeth and Percy continued down their chosen path to Hephaestus' favored workshop at Mount St. Helens. They once again followed the quick and nimble little metal spider, much to Annabeth's dismay, but had hit a crossroads with a tunnel that looked like an entryway to a fairy tale. Grover and Tyson had split off, Grover smelling something that told him Pan was in the tunnel's direction and Tyson, wanting to prove Hephaestus wrong about trusting, went with him.

"Shut up, Nico." Annabeth had never been more distraught. She had let the two split off for the group while trying to stay true to her plan. Keeping her group together was the largest part of that plan. Without any heroics – that was hard to keep Percy from doing, she noted – she'd be among the few to bring back a fully intact group from a quest. Percy and Naruto were both on that list and, no offense to her friend or brother, they were both kind of idiots. If they could manage it, so could she...or so she thought.

"We're losing the spider, lets go," said Percy, trying to shake Annabeth from her depressing thoughts. They continued to run, Annabeth stumbling as her mind continued to race miles ahead of her, dashing to different strands of thoughts in the only way a child of Athena could. These were costing them time and Nico turned to look at her, catching sight of her unease.

"Hey are you all right?" Nico asked. "Annabeth!"

That certainly snapped her from her thoughts and she responded with the distracted "what?"

"You're distracted," said Nico. The spider seemed to have slowed down a bit, it was staying in sight for once, relieving the demigods greatly from their run.

"Sorry," said Annabeth. She was still a bit distracted. "Just-just thinking about the prophecy."

"What part of it?" Percy asked as they continued to follow the small spider. He had been focused on a part of the prophecy himself during his first quest, the part about his mother.

"The last line," said Annabeth, her face twisted into a frown as she continued to think about it.

And lose a love to a fate worse than death. Percy thought, a small unpleasant pain forming in his chest.

"That Luke guy, right?" Nico asked.

"And Naruto," said Annabeth, distracted. She slapped a hand over her mouth while the two dark-haired boys came to a dead stop in surprise. Stopping herself, Annabeth quickly turned to the two boys with pink cheeks. "I-I mean he's my brother, right? I'm just worried about him on his quest."

"...You have a crush on him, don't you?" Nico asked in child-like innocence that she forgot he had, since he was still eleven but acted so much older since his return from the Underworld.

Annabeth's cheeks turned a bit darker and Percy felt as though he had been sucker punched in the gut.

"No!" said Annabeth, her face burning as she denied it. "He's-he's my brother and I care about him, okay? Sibling love counts."

Nico thought she was just making up excuses, but shrugged it off. She had a point, he loved Bianca and was worried about her. Plus, he was eleven. What does he know about this stuff?

Percy, however, didn't know what to think except that he wasn't exactly a fan of Naruto at the moment. Annabeth had a crush on Luke and Naruto? It was like he had no chance. He sighed softly, Aphrodite did say his love life was going to be complicated –because she "liked" him – so maybe this was what she meant, not getting Annabeth to like him like he did her. Well, there was that old saying "there's other fish in the sea."

...Didn't mean it didn't cut deep, though.

"So, anyway," said Annabeth, eager to change the subject, "um, Nico. I don't want to say this but-"

"Whoa, hold your horses," said Nico to the older girl. "If you even think about telling me to leave I'm going to say one thing: Sphinx. Without me, you'd never have killed it."

"I wasn't going to ask you to leave," she said. Annabeth begrudgingly acknowledged that fact, though it irked her a bit. She shook it off as best she could and recomposed herself. "What I was going to say was that I want you to go ahead and get a peek at what the spider is going to deal with."

"Oh. Well, sure, yeah. Give me a few minutes," said Nico before he turned and walked into the shadows, melding with them and vanishing from view.

"...Okay, that's cool," said Percy with a bit of jealousy in his tone. "Wish I could teleport..."

"Yeah, but we've got to work with what we've got," said Annabeth. "C'mon, we should at least keep walking so that we don't fall too far behind Nico and the...machine."

Percy smiled lightly at the choice of her words, finding a bit of amusement in it. They continued to walk, Percy content with the silence and it just being the two of them. Well, content was a bit of a stretch. He was okay with it, but he also wanted to ask Annabeth if she really did have a crush on Naruto. It was one of those questions he wanted to know the answer to and yet didn't.

"Listen Percy, I...Thanks," said Annabeth, breaking the silence. "Thanks for sticking with me through all this, it means a lot."

"Hey, I told you earlier that it wasn't a problem," said Percy, relieved that she started the conversation. "We don't know what we're doing half the time and we turn out fine."

Annabeth smiled at him and he grinned back. Percy had already forgotten about the earlier conversation and Annabeth, well, she was thinking about how Percy was a good friend. She began to open her mouth to say something, but it was lost as Nico reappeared in front of them with a swirl of darkness.

"Hey, I found the forge!" Nico said while the two demigods jumped where they stood. He grinned at their glares. "What? Did I scare you?"

"No," said Percy, who was a bit miffed that the moment was ruined. That and his heart was racing about ten times faster than before.

"Can you lead us there?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure thing," said Nico with a nod. "Found a good shortcut."

"You certainly got used to that shadow travel fast," said Annabeth.

Nico grinned sheepishly. "Well, don't tell my dad but I had a little bit of help. Bianca was so good at swordplay that, y'know, I wanted to impress him too."

"That's understandable," said Annabeth with a nod. Percy just shrugged in agreement. He didn't know what it was like to be the younger sibling...not counting Naruto's teasing and/or training. The thought of the whiskered blond made Percy frown a bit, before shunting those feelings aside. Unfortunately, he'd have a bit of a problem with forgetting Annabeth's comment because of Nico's next question.

"So what do you think Naruto's doing right now?" he asked.

"Probably driving Thalia up the wall," said Annabeth with a smirk.

That thought did make Percy smile and he did wonder what was going on with his hot-tempered cousin.

"I'm going to kill him," said Thalia. She was now dressed in another set of clothes, dark and a bit form fitting, save for her leather jacket. Piper, likewise, had changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt of her own, both of them looking at the younger Grace as he explained how he 'lost' Naruto.

After they had a good laugh at Jason's expense, the girls asked the whiskered blond if they could have their clothes back, which he obliged to by unsealing their stuff. Thalia then shoved the two blonds out of the room before another word could be said. It was then that Naruto got bored. And when Naruto gets bored, well, he had to do something. So with a quick "be right back" to Jason, he was off.

And now Jason was left dealing with his annoyed sister, which said annoyed sister glared at him for announcing that fact.

"So he just walked off?" Thalia asked. "For thirty minutes?"

"Yeah I thought he had to use the bathroom," said Jason, as she and Piper looked to him for a reason why he was sitting alone in the hallway. He thought about what he said after his sister arched her brow. "Well, after ten minutes went past I figured that wasn't the case and he was just wandering. He'll be back and I figured why should I make you worry about me when I can sit and wait?"

"...You're so lucky you're my brother that I haven't seen in years or I'd pound you for letting him wander off," said Thalia in response to his well thought out explanation. Her boyfriend on the other hand. Gods it was like he was a child at times and a kitten at others, curious to explore the world and unable to sit still. Thalia groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. "When I find that idiot–"

"He didn't escape again did he?" asked the head of the ward, Shizune, as she walked back to the group. She looked haggard compared to the previous day, her hair a bit out of place. "Dammit. First injuries from the attack yesterday finish piling in and overflowing the ER, now I have to find Naruto in the hospital." Shizune sighed angrily. "It's like he's twelve all over again."

"Why do you have to find him?" Piper asked.

"The serum is done, but Tsunade and the other Kage want to talk to him one more time before he leaves," said Shizune.

Thalia's eyes narrowed. "About what?"

"I don't know, but it's very important," said Shizune, looking perturbed at the comment. The fact she wasn't clued in to the reason why was very concerning to her. With another groan, she entered the room Naruto was supposed to be in, hung her clipboard on the rail, and then walked back out to them. "Well, lets go find him. I highly doubt you'd like it if he was taken off without you."

"...You're all right, Shi-zune."

"Shi-zu-ne."

"Sorry."

"It's alright, Tha-lia."

"Tah-lia."

"My mistake."

Piper rolled her eyes and whispered to the confused Jason. "I don't think they like each other."

"Why?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

After giving him a look, Piper glanced up at the ceiling as they walked down the halls. "Boys."

"What?"

"Nothing, Jason. Nothing."

They were quiet after that, the tense mispronunciation of names behind them as they walked through the hallways of the hospital. They checked Naruto's original hiding spots within the hospital – apparently he wasn't a fan of vaccinations – starting with the kitchen, which was a bust, then the bathroom, and then looking up in the children's area where he would entertain kids aspiring to be ninja whose parents were sick or recovering.

"Isn't she lovely?"

The three demigods and medic stopped as they heard the soft, yet appealing voice singing in the distance. As they got closer to the maternity/infantry ward, the silvery low voice got clearer. They found the source of the voice in a room that Shizune told them was for a new mother who had been given a very serious arm wound during the attack.

"Isn't she won/der/ful? Isn't she precious? Less than a few months old."

Shizune held a finger to her lips, then gently gripped the door handle, turning it and opening the hospital room of the maternity/infant ward. The group of four found the blond they were looking for. Or rather, all three copies of him, each one dressed in their hospital scrubs and tank top.

"I never thought / through love you'd be / making one as lovely as she / but isn't she lovely, made from love?"

One sat on the windowsill, an acoustic guitar in hand and strumming the chords gently. Another was playing with rhythm sticks while sitting next to the clone on the guitar. The schoolteacher Iruka Umino, who sat on the left side of the pretty brunette mother's bed with his back to the clones, and the third Naruto flanked the bedridden mother, a pink bundle in his arms as he sang softly to it.

"Isn't she pretty?" Naruto sang, making good on the Stevie Wonder song. "Truly the angel's best. Boy, I'm so happy / we have been heaven-blessed. I can't believe / what the gods have done / through you they've given life to one / but isn't she lovely, made from love?"

Iruka's hand gently wrapped around the woman sitting in the bed, a bandage on her hand. They smiled at each other before looking back at the blond, ignoring the newcomers. The other Narutos started a chorus in the background.

"Isn't she lovely?" Naruto asked, looking over at the newcomers with a happy grin on his face. He looked back at the parents of the child he was holding with the same smile. "Life and love are the same / love is Reiko / the meaning of her name." He grinned at the mother. "Ayame it could have not been done / without you who conceived the one / that's so very lovely made from love."

The strumming clone finished with a final chord before Iruka and the mother, Ayame, clapped for him. Naruto stood and bowed lightly, careful to not move the bundle with his bow, before equally gently handing the bundle back, revealing the hidden face of a sleeping infant. Her eyes were closed and her face was a bit chubby, but all the same there was a light glow around her and the dark hair growing from her head.

Naruto signaled for his clones to cut the music, had them seal the instruments back up before tossing the scroll to him and dispelling themselves.

"That was amazing, Naruto," said Iruka with a wide grin. "Thank you."

"Not a problem, Iruka-sen– Iruka," said Naruto, correcting himself at the man's dry stare. "Sorry. Old habits, y'know?"

"Don't change too much, Naruto," said Ayame, a sweet smile on her face. She reached out and patted him on the knee. "Can't have my dad's favorite customer becoming a stranger."

Naruto laughed guiltily at that one. "Yeah, don't want that."

"Are we interrupting?" Shizune asked.

Iruka looked over at the group with a bit of surprise. "Oh, sorry. No, by all means come in, come in."

Not that it mattered since they were practically in the room already. Thalia, Jason and Piper went to Naruto's side of the bed, where Piper failed to resist the urge to coo at the two month old baby sleeping in Ayame's arms. Thalia only did it because she had managed to build up resistance to all things cute. Unless they had whiskers, like a kitten. It was a bit of a weak spot for her. Not that anyone really knew it except Naruto. She made him swear on the Styx to keep his mouth shut when she played with Ranger when the large cat was a kitten.

"I wasn't aware you spoke English, Ayame-san," said Shizune to the mother, who smiled at her sheepish husband.

"Well someone was having problems with it and I was a better student than he ever was, even if it was a civilian school," said Ayame. She smiled down at Reiko. "I think I'm going to have the first bilingual baby in the village, aren't I Reiko-chan? (My little angelic gift from the heavens)."

"Helps that English feels right coming off of the tongue," said Naruto with a grin. He stood and gestured to his group. "Iruka-sen-er, Iruka already knows them, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to introduce you to my group." He gestured Ayame as she cradled her baby. "Guys, this is Ayame Umino, my favorite waitress." Ayame lightly swatted at him while the kids snickered along with a chuckling Iruka. "This is Piper, a daughter of a guy who, um, works for my dad."

"Hi!" Piper smiled and moved closer to get a look at the baby. She cooed at the sleeping Reiko. She could see where Reiko got some of her father, particularly the nose and skin tone, and some of her mother, particularly Ayame's face.

"Nice to meet you Piper," said Ayame with a smile.

Naruto continued, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder. "My friend Jason, he helped me fit in after I had an accident in one of the states and I helped loosen him up a bit."

Jason rolled his eyes and nodded with a small smile. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," said Ayame with a smile.

"And last but certainly not least, my girlfriend Thalia," said Naruto as he stood behind Thalia and rested his arms over her shoulders in a loose hug while his chin rested on her head. He was too happy at the moment to sense Thalia's annoyance that was directed at him. Thankfully, she had managed to push it aside for later to smile at the relatively new mother.

"Hello," said Thalia curtly but kindly.

Ayame's eyes narrowed just a margin. "So you're Thalia, hm?"

"Yes...?" Thalia said, taken aback by the sudden change in the mother's voice.

Ayame looked her up and down, scrutinizing her with a frown on her face before shrugging. "I guess you'll have to do as a godmother."

"As a what now?" Thalia asked.

"Godmother," said Ayame with a smile. "Naruto-kun was so kind as to accept his position as Reiko-chan's godfather."

The three looked at the sheepishly smiling Naruto. "What?"

"Godfather. You?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto said. He may not have had the best godfather/teacher in the world but that didn't mean he'd be as bad. Hell, he already gave Reiko a blessing from Helios to be open minded and long sighted.

"Nothing, just, hard to believe," said Jason. "You're only twenty."

"Twenty-three," said Naruto with a small frown.

"In October," said Iruka.

"How is it we managed to have the same months as the rest of the world?" Naruto asked him.

"Traders most likely," said Iruka with a smile. "We grew greatly from outside trade."

"Don't change the subject, Whiskers," said Thalia with a bit of a frown as she slipped out of Naruto's arms. "You're going to be a godfather. We live millions of miles away!"

"Yeah, but I can be here in an instant if need be," said Naruto with a grin. "I told you I don't need rescuing, Thalia-chan."

"You need restraint and someone to keep you chained down a bit to the ground," said Ayame with a light laugh. She smiled at Thalia. "You seem to do that very well. You know if you lost the gruff look, you'd be very pretty, Thalia."

"Pass," said Thalia dryly. Naruto grinned at her.

"I dunno, I think Ayame may be on to something," said Naruto with a smirk.

"Really?" Thalia crossed her arms and gave a challenging look to her boyfriend.

"I also think you're pretty the way you are," said Naruto, leaning into her face with his hands behind his back. "So either way, I win."

"Smooth," said Piper with a giggle while Jason chuckled a bit. Naruto grinned at the younger kids.

"Don't encourage him, Piper," said Thalia with a roll of her eyes. Piper nodded and Naruto pouted, standing back upright as he did. He turned to the snickering Shizune, whom he almost forgot to address in the room.

"So, what's the word on the cure?" Naruto asked. His question got the woman to pay attention and stop giggling. She recomposed herself and smiled at him sadly, knowing that as soon as she told him he would be gone.

"It's done," said Shizune. "Tsunade-sama finished the cure. A complicated combination of the Nara deer antler, some Hyuuga herbs and a couple of medical chakra techniques that she developed for her own personal use."

"Anything else she used?" Naruto asked as his demeanor changed. "Could we replicate the cure if need be?"

"We've already given a sample to the village and our allies' pharmaceutical branches," said Shizune. "It's a simple chemical realignment in the post developmental process, so yes it may be possible to do that."

"Thank the gods," said Naruto with a sigh, earning an intrigued look from Ayame from his words. Iruka rubbed her hand to get her attention and silently told her that he would explain it in a more appropriate manner. Naruto, however, just stepped towards the woman with a gleam in his eye. "So where is it?"

"Tsunade-sama will relinquish it to you upon your arrival at the Hokage Mansion," said Shizune. "She and the other five kage want you there asap."

"I just can't win with these people," said Naruto with a groan. He rubbed his forehead before returning to the bedridden mother's side. "Sorry I couldn't stay longer to catch up, Ayame."

Ayame waved him off with a small smile on her face. "You have to go off and save another country. Go, but promise me you'll come visit more than your godfather did."

"Well, I'll do what I can," said Naruto with a grin as he leaned in to give her a hug. Iruka stood up and walked over to stand in front of Naruto.

"I wasn't sure initially if I gave you the best option to resign," said Iruka. "When you came to me for advice, I wasn't sure what I should say. I wanted you to stay in Konoha, but I learned a long time ago that I couldn't protect you forever. You're my friend, my brother, and one of my favorite students." Iruka held his hand out to the blond, which Naruto quickly took with his own. "You're my comrade, and I'll always stand beside you."

"Thanks, Iruka," said Naruto before he pulled the older man into a hug. "(Thank you for everything)."

Iruka hugged him back for a second longer before they separated with smiles on their faces. Naruto turned and nodded to Shizune, who smiled lightly before leading him out of the room. Piper and Jason followed him, but Thalia was held back by Iruka lightly grabbing her shoulder before she could follow suit.

"Keep him from doing anything too stupid," said Iruka with the look of a concerned father/brother in his eye. "I know how he is and how hard it can be, but try."

"It's all I can do," said Thalia in return with a smirk. "Even if it's a pain."

Iruka chuckled and Ayame giggled at her comment, Reiko making a soft sound as she woke up distracted Thalia for a moment. She looked at the small family with a smile as Iruka went back to his wife's side to coo at his daughter. It was good to know that not everyone from her boyfriend's homeland was insane. She left the three members of the Umino family and quickly caught up to her group.

"...so he asked her to marry him," said Naruto, finishing up a story as she caught up to them.

"Wow, you really need to look into working at Hallmark," said Piper. "You brought two people together without even being here. Like an agent of fate or something."

"Please, that was just chance," said Naruto, a bitter look crossing his face at the comment.

"What happened?" Thalia asked her brother quietly.

"Naruto was just telling us how Iruka and Ayame got together," said Jason with an arched brow. "Weren't you listening?"

"Not really," said Thalia. She wanted to let the topic die, but her curiosity got the best of her. "How'd it happen?"

"Apparently Naruto and Iruka would usually get ramen where Ayame worked and when he went 'missing' Iruka would go there for days in hopes that the blond would show up. He and Ayame started to talk, connect and well, I guess that's how it all got started," said Jason with a shrug. He wasn't paying attention to details much, but it was an interesting story nonetheless.

"Piper's onto something with him working at Hallmark," said Thalia with a smirk. "He's corny enough for it."

"I heard that, Thalia-chan!"

"You were supposed to, Whiskers."

Naruto pouted as he turned around to look at his girlfriend, walking backwards through the hallway. "Why are you so mean to me, Thalia-chan?"

"Tough love, Naruto. It's tough love," said Thalia with a small smirk at him. Jason chuckled and Piper giggled at the wounded look Naruto gave her. Shizune also giggled as she watched them over her shoulder. She was going to miss Naruto, his antics always brightened the village's day, even if it was a prank.

As they walked through the hospital Shizune recalled the first time she and Naruto spoke one on one. Trying to convince Naruto to stop going for her master's 'cursed' necklace in the bet they made where Naruto had to preform the initial form of the Rasengan – which took his father three years to design and master and their master Jiraiya no Gama three months to get down – in one week or Tsunade would take all of his money and leave him for broke. Naruto beat the odds put against him, having declared that he would break the curse of death that surrounded the necklace Tsunade had given to him, and did the impossible. He managed to preform the initial form of the Rasengan after only one week to learn it. An A-Rank technique, at age twelve. He had to be some sort of genius.

"A genius of hard work always surpasses inherited genius," said Tsunade once when they were discussing her former team, known as the Legendary Three. "Orochimaru could never beat Jiraiya as he is now alone. That's why it always comes down to the summons coming out. Escape to fight another day, yes, but truly win against the idiot? Not a chance. Jiraiya's a monster. I don't know if I could've beaten him in strength alone." Tsunade took a drink of her sake. "May the idiot rest in peace and I hope he's giving Orochimaru a hard time down there."

Shizune looked at the chuckling Naruto, who had made a comment to the now blushing Jason about finding his own girlfriend soon. Thalia apparently wasn't taking that well from the glare she gave her boyfriend. He was certainly like Jiraiya, and Sakura had taken after Tsunade well. She sighed as unfortunately that meant Sasuke was taking the same path Orochimaru had taken, a dark path. And as they are like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Naruto and Sasuke had a rivalry that destroyed lives and left craters in the planet.

She could only hope that where Naruto goes, Sasuke doesn't follow, because if they continued the cycle that Orochimaru and Jiraiya were apart of, these new lands, the Americas, wouldn't stand a chance. She remembered the first time Naruto returned from their clash at the Valley of the end, battered and broken, a freshly healed lung had ribs penetrating it, he had a cracked skull from a fifty plus drive headfirst into the dirt, his left arm completely shattered and useless, and bruising all over his body. And that was when they were twelve. Who knows the damage if they both went all out in a populated area.

Not only that, but the war would go with them as well, since it pretty much was down to that. You were either with the Uchiha or against them, and if you were against them, all bets were off. You would be targeted, your world would be rocked and no one was innocent in Sasuke's eyes. He was ruthless, deranged and powerful enough to be labeled an S-Rank problem at age 16 for killing Orochimaru.

"Hey, Shizune, you all right? You're zoning out," said Naruto, snapping the woman from her thoughts. They were already approaching the Hokage Mansion. She must have been thinking about this longer than she thought.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you Naruto," said Shizune with a small smile.

Naruto grinned back at her, she was among the few that he would miss a lot. If Iruka was his older brother, Shizune was his older sister. Kakashi was the crazy uncle and Tsunade was the worrying grandmother. He was just glad no one babied him, he got enough of that from his mother. Talk about embarrassing. Had to be the maternal instincts she unfortunately passed away with. Well, at least now he can just shift her attention onto Nico and Bianca for some of that maternal loving.

Once again, the group of demigods followed a shinobi up the many steps to Tsunade's office where, once again, they were greeted by the rest of the Kage. They were flanked this time by two guards each, as though they were worried about being attacked in an allied state. With a small wave to his group that told them to stay close to the door, Naruto walked forward and stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So where is the cure?" he asked, almost demanding. The sooner he got the cure the sooner he could get back to Bianca and the camp to check on his family. He got the strangest feeling that something bad had happened as soon as he left his new goddaughter and her parents. Naruto couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure that it had something to do with Percy.

"What happened against Sasuke Uchiha?" Tsunade asked in return.

"Kicked his ass, blinded him and his stupid eye infection," said Naruto.

"You didn't kill him," said Ē with a scowl. He turned to one of his bodyguards – though the demigods wondered why he needed them since he was large enough to be able to challenge Ares to an arm wrestle – and said, "have the village put on alert and sent out the hunters to the Valley of the End. I want this over with by the end of the week."

"Hai, Raikage-sama," said the man with pale blond hair and a feminine face.

"No, I didn't kill him," said Naruto with a frown. He could hear Kyu ranting at him from here.

It's a good thing you didn't, said the up until now unusually quiet Helios. That's what makes you better than him. Keep that in mind.

Now you make me sound like Batman or something, Naruto thought in return. He looked at Gaara when the Kazekage made a sound. "Something you want to add, Gaara?"

"Do you need assistance?" the Kazekage asked. "With your new problem, I mean? I'm willing to send squads with you if you need."

Naruto blinked, he hadn't seen that coming. Then again, this was Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage who had been born to the Yondaime and raised to hate others and love only himself. His polar opposite when they were younger. Heck they were still somewhat opposites now: Naruto had wanted to be Hokage, but Gaara achieved the status of Kazekage at age 15 while Naruto was still a genin; Gaara led an entire village and Naruto defended one; and now he was on a council of a near continental wide alliance while Naruto resigned from his post. Just goes to show that life loves to throw those curves at you.

Naruto shook his head to keep from thinking about that. He smiled at his friend thankfully and at the two bodyguards, Gaara's older siblings Kankuro the poisonous puppeteer who used 'war paint' and Temari, the high ranking ambassador to Konoha. "Thank you for the offer, Gaara, but I'll have to decline. The battle we face is one that the Elemental Nations are not ready for."

"Just know that Suna stands with you, Naruto," said Gaara with an understanding nod.

"Konoha stands with you as well, brat," said Tsunade with a crooked grin. She pulled out a vial and tossed it to the blond, who caught it with ease. He looked at the vial in his hand while Tsunade continued to speak. "We have two more things to ask you and then you are 'free'" she used the term loosely as Naruto pocketed the cure with a small smile "to leave."

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Naruto asked.

"Where is the Kyubi no Kitsune?" Onoki, the Tsuchikage, asked. "I refuse to believe that you have it hidden somewhere."

Naruto shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't know."

"What?" The Kages were all on their feet, save Gaara, simultaneously demanding explanations.

"Sasuke destroyed my link with it," said Naruto, pointing at his wrist that usually held the gem he had to hold his sword and shield. He dropped his hands and let one slip into his scrubs (the clothes were comfortable and he was fresh as could be thanks to the hospital) pocket, fingering the small flashlight that Eclipse disguised itself as. Calmly, the whiskered blond continued. "Without it, I haven't a clue where the Kyubi could be. I do know that he's most likely out of reach of Madara and without me they'll probably never find it since I only have hunches."

"Then tell us where it is so we can use it," said Onoki.

"And risk them getting all nine of the Biju? You're a stubborn old fool, Onoki-dono," said Mei with a frown on her pretty face. She glanced slyly at the blond teenager. "Besides, I'm sure Naruto-kun can keep it safe."

"Mei-dono, please," said Tsunade with a sigh.

"The boy's so young to have such important information," said one of Mei's bodyguards, an old man with one eye. "Back in my day we only trusted old and experienced shinobi with important details like that."

"Ao?"

"Yes, Mizukage-sama?"

"Shut up before I melt your balls off," said Mei sweetly as an aura of death waved off of her.

"Y-Yes, Mizukage-sama."

Naruto took a small step away from the Mizukage. That was one threat he was not going to risk happening to him. Resistant to fire or not, he was not willing to test how resistant he was or risk his package deal either. It seemed every man in the room had the same idea as the male shinobi, no matter their rank, moved slightly away from her. Even Jason took a step back to sanctuary behind Thalia and Piper.

"Anyway," said Tsunade, watching all of this with an amused smile on her face. She returned her gaze to Naruto. "We've decided that you're far too reliable a resource to let go from one village and have decided to offer you a once in a lifetime opportunity." She cleared her throat and all of the Kage seemed to straighten up like the previous antics hadn't occurred. "Naruto Uzumaki, former Genin of Konohagakure no Sato of Hi no Kuni. The Allied Shinobi Forces are offering you the position of being the first ever sennin in our alliance."

Naruto felt his jaw pop open in shock. "W-What?"

"With this position of Sennin, we grant unlimited travel access in and out of the Five Great Villages and other Allied Shinobi Forces domains. We also grant you right to leave for unannounced and unrestricted periods of time provided that you write a debriefing upon your return to one of the Five Great Villages."

"W-Wait a second-"

"Considering your capability to take charge and lead a group as well as we have observed," said Tsunade, ignoring Naruto's words as he gaped at her. Behind her Kakashi gave his student a big thumbs up. "We've also come to agree that this position is an equal Jonin status in every village apart of the Allied Shinobi Forces and will allow you, if you so chose, to take and lead squads of the forces into battle."

Tsunade turned to Kakashi and nodded. The jonin nodded in return and stepped forward towards the teenager with a horned headband similar to his deceased godfather's with the kanji for shinobi carved into it in his left hand and a white Konohan jonin flak jacket with the Uzumaki spiral engraved on the back in his right. Naruto looked at the offered items and then around the room, waiting for the twist. This was all too good to be true: A way to come and go as he pleased with no questions asked and stopping the shinobi from trying to catch him.

"Well, Naruto?" Tsunade said, making him look right at her. "Do you accept the status as the first Sennin of the Allied Shinobi Forces?"

"...Will I be forced to fight in the war?" Naruto asked, looking at the Godaime Hokage. She shook her head.

"We've already held a vote over who was your superior and decided that a vote was the only fair way to decide your inclusion. You resigned for Konoha's previous hassling and concern over you declining this offer solidified leaving your inclusion of our war to you," said Tsunade. "You have no master, but you represent all of us."

"If, and this is a big if," said Naruto. "If my war is over before yours, I will return to help you. Not because of my duty, or because it is my war, but because it is the right thing to do." With a heavy breath, Naruto looked back at the items offered to him and chuckled. "Now I feel a bit underdressed."

"Oh you're fine," said Mei with a smile. With a nervous laugh to the Mizukage's comment, Naruto looked back at Tsunade.

"I accept."

Behind him Thalia had a frown on her face. She didn't like this place and didn't want Naruto to have something to really tie him down here. Reiko was a different story because if something happened to her parents he could always come and get her somehow. She merely crossed her arms with her brows furrowing as Naruto took the offered gear from his old teacher while the Kages nodded in approval.

Thalia could tell this was going to make things a lot more difficult later on.

AN: And so it is finished! Yeah, bit of a cop out to have him have some ties to the shinobi world, but it is his home and he is the Child of Prophecy. Some things have got to happen.

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