Naruto, Leviathan, and Aegeus and their entourage left for the City of Athens. The journey from Carnan to Athens takes several days on foot. But with heavy luggage and exhausted soldiers, it might take longer than that.

During the journey, Naruto had sent his clones to all cardinal directions within a 5 mile radius for reconnaissance. So security during the trip can be maintained.

Just in case, Naruto also left some of his clones in Carnan in anticipation of a sudden attack from Ares' troops. Since Carnan was located in a strategic area, he thought that the city was worth defending even if the damage was heavy.

Threats can come from anywhere, that's all proven by Naruto's experiences when he was still in his old world. Therefore Naruto did his best to strengthen his defenses during their journey.

The journey itself had gone smoothly so far, there had been no disturbance from the bandits or Ares' troops. Which made this trip quite comfortable for Aegeus and his soldiers.

Well, it's all thanks to the protection provided by Naruto's clone.

During the trip, Naruto's clones had several times fought monsters that would get in their way. Some of the monsters had strange shapes that Naruto said he wouldn't find in his old world.

There was a monster that was similar to a bird but had a human body, with white wings that replaced its hands, and legs that had sharp claws. There were also several human-like monsters, wearing Spartan armor but their bodies had turned blue, white eyes without pupils and blindly attacked what was in front of them. Naruto thought that the monster was a zombie that existed in this world.

But even so, those monsters were nothing in front of Naruto's clones, they could defeat those monsters easily.

That's why their journey went smoothly even though there were many monsters in their way.

They started their journey in the morning and rested in the afternoon for about 2 hours, then they continued their journey back until sunset. When night fell, they set up camp.

They also go hunting animals for food as well as to save their food supplies.

As it was the night of the second day since their departure, they decided to make camp in a large clearing to rest.

"At our current speed, we will reach the capital in 4 days," said Aegeus.

He, Naruto, Leviathan and several Aegeus soldiers were currently sitting around the bonfire. Several other soldiers were resting and some were on patrol.

"Is that considered fast?" asked Naruto.

"No, it's taking longer than usual. Usually it only takes 4 days of travel, 2 days if we use horses," answered Aegeus, shaking his head.

"And with our large numbers, it's a bit slow going," Leviathan added.

"I see," Naruto said nodding in understanding.

Naruto felt he had made the right decision by placing his clones at a distance as a precaution, he sensed that his clones had fought several enemy soldiers from Carnan's direction. If only he had not abandoned his clones, perhaps they would have been intercepted again by the enemy.

"Well then let's rest, we still have a long way to go," said Naruto while stretching his body.

"Yeah, I agree," said Aegeus nodding.

After that they all went to rest, there were also some among Aegeus soldiers who decided to stand guard. It wasn't really necessary since Naruto had summoned his clones, but he didn't stop them.

"You didn't sleep, Naruto?" Leviathan asked when she saw that Naruto wasn't ready to rest yet.

"In a moment, I still have a little more work to do," Naruto said as he walked to a quiet place.

"Well, don't take too long," said Leviathan. She didn't need to ask what Naruto was going to do because she already knew. It was something Naruto often did.

Naruto waved as he continued to walk looking for a quiet place, after some distance from the camp he stopped.

"Yosh, this place," Naruto muttered.

Naruto checked his surroundings and saw a fairly large boulder not far from where he was. Naruto jumped and landed on the rock, then he sat down and did meditation.

In the night wind, Naruto meditated without being disturbed by anything. Shortly thereafter a stream of orange colored chakra came out of Naruto's body, the flow of chakra purified the tainted hatred around him. After a few minutes, the chakra flow faded and Naruto came out of his meditation.

Naruto got up and stretched his body. He then took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Much better," Naruto said satisfied. He could feel the hatred surrounding him dissipate.

After a while, Naruto decided to take a break and returned to the camp.

He still has a long journey to go.

Naruto and the others' journey in the following days went smoothly. There were some minor hiccups like being attacked by wild beasts but those were easily taken care of by Aegeus' troops.

Finally, after days of travel, the sights of the city of Athens could be seen from a distance.

"Here we are," said Aegeus to everyone.

Aegeus told his soldiers to rest for a while, then he walked to a small hill and stood on it. Naruto and Leviathan followed behind him.

"Look, it is the City of Athens," announced Aegeus.

Naruto walked forward and stopped beside Aegeus. He narrowed his eyes where Aegeus pointed and from there he could see the splendor of the city of Athens.

"Woah," Naruto said amazed to see the city.

The city of Athens was vast as far as Naruto could see, it was full of white stone houses, and right in the middle of the city was a tall hill. Above the hill Naruto could see a large and magnificent building that looked like a temple, Naruto thought that was where the Goddess Athena lived.

"The city is very large," Naruto said admiringly, "Almost as big as Konoha," he added to himself.

"Yes, this is the Capital of Athens, the place where the Goddess Athena lives. From what I hear, she has protected this city for a very long time," said Aegeus.

Leviathan came forward and stood beside Naruto, "Somehow looks gloomy," said Leviathan while narrowing her eyes.

Aegeus and Naruto understood what Leviathan meant, their expressions darkened when they saw the state of the city.

Both inside and outside the city, they could see hundreds of refugee tents that filled the city. That just goes to show how dire the situation is in the city.

"They are likely refugees who came from other areas," said Aegeus, looking sadly at the sight.

"Let's continue walking," said Naruto to Aegeus.

"Yes," said Aegeus nodding. He then informed his troops who were resting to continue their journey.

After that they continued walking for a few more hours, the town getting bigger as they got closer.

The trip went smoothly as long as they headed to the city, because some of the Athena soldiers were patrolling far outside the city to anticipate enemy attacks.

A number of soldiers had approached them for the inspection process, but after they saw Aegeus, they then gave permission to enter without inspection. There were even some Athenian soldiers who helped Aegeus' soldiers carry their luggage.

It shows Aegeus' strong influence among all the followers of Goddess Athena.

They arrived at the city not long after, outside the city gates they could see refugee camps set up. The large number of refugees who came from various areas ruled by the Goddess Athena made the city crowded and the refuge was expanded outside the city.

They could also see soldiers patrolling to look after the refugees. Soldiers sometimes also help refugees by helping with their food needs, there are also those who play with children to help relieve their sadness because of the war.

Naruto was happy to see the sight, even though they were in dire straits but Athena's retainers were still doing the best for their lives. The goddess Athena was very successful in becoming a role model for her followers.

While Naruto and the others were looking around, suddenly a voice calling caught their attention.

"Dear!"

Aegeus quickly turned to the source of the voice with widened eyes, it seemed he recognized the owner of the voice as there was a trace of longing written on his face.

Not far from where they were, a beautiful woman with brown hair was standing holding several piles of cloth. Aegeus recognized the woman well, because she was his own wife, Adaire.

"Adaire!"

Aegeus immediately ran and hugged his beloved wife, he hugged her very tightly to make sure that he was really hugging her.

Naruto remained where he was and looked at the touching sight with a smile. Seeing that scene made him think back to his little family, but those were now just memories and he would not forget those memories for the rest of his life.

"Thank Goodness, I thought I would lose you."

"I should be the one saying that, I was really worried about you."

They remained in each other's arms for a few moments, letting go of the longing of being apart for so many days. After that they broke the hug.

"Where are our children?" Asked Aegeus while looking around him, there was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"They are playing with the other children in the city," Adaire said softly after seeing her husband's concern.

"I see," said Aegeus with a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the situation had relaxed, Naruto and Leviathan walked closer to the married couple.

"So she's your wife, Aegeus?" asked Naruto after they got closer.

"Ah, Lord Naruto. That's right, she is my wife, Adaire. Adaire, those two are Lord Naruto and Lady Levi. The two of them are my life savers," said Aegeus introducing his wife to Naruto and Leviathan.

"Greetings, nice to meet you," Adaire said with a smile, then she was confused by Aegeus' words, "What do you mean life saver?"

"Ah, about that…"

Aegeus was quite nervous now, he had promised to return safely to his wife before she left for refuge. But the fact is that he would have died if Naruto and Leviathan had not come to save him. Explaining this would surely make Adaire worry, something that Aegeus didn't like because he didn't like seeing his wife cry. But even so, he couldn't lie to Adaire.

In the end Aegeus explained what happened to his wife. Starting from the beginning of the war, then they were pushed where their survival was at stake, then came the enemy attack and Aegeus who ordered all of his men to leave him until he almost died, and finally the arrival of Naruto and Leviathan who saved him and all of his remaining soldier.

Adaire was silent as Aegeus spoke, but her expression was tense and she looked like she was holding back tears. After Aegeus finished speaking, Adaire sighed and her lips trembled.

"Oh dear. What have you been through…" Adaire said in a trembling voice, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

Aegeus immediately pulled Adaire into his arms when he saw his wife crying, this was what he disliked the most. Making his wife cry was the thing he least wanted to do.

"Don't worry, I'm here. Lord Naruto and Lady Levi have saved my life," Aegeus said to calm his wife, after a while Adaire felt calm and Aegeus let go of his hug.

Adaire bowed deeply to Naruto and Levi, "Lord Naruto, Lady Levi, thank you very much for saving my husband. I don't know how to repay your kindness."

"No need to thank me, we just happened to pass by there. We saw your husband was desperate, so we decided to help," said Naruto.

"Even so, I still want to thank you," Adaire said. Seeing that, Naruto nodded with a smile.

"Your husband is a brave man, Adaire," said Leviathan as she stepped forward, "He stayed behind and allowed his men to escape, while he single-handedly held off the enemy without fear of losing his life. I respect people like that."

"He's always been like that, Lady Levi," said Adaire with a bitter smile, "always putting others before himself and working hard to make them happy. But that's what I love about him."

Aegeus smiled hearing his wife's words, he then pulled Adaire into his arms once again, "I'm very lucky to have you."

The pair hugged for a while, Naruto let them have some private time and decided to be quiet. Meanwhile, Leviathan looked at the couple wistfully.

"Love, huh…"

Leviathan pondered while thinking about those words. For her, love is alien to her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have love. She loved her father, she loved her brothers and sisters, and she loved her only daughter, but love for the opposite sex? It was something she had never experienced.

Leviathan has never had a relationship with a man before, though she already has a daughter named Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan. But Tsufaame was not the result of her relationship with a man, Tsufaame was born from Lilith's creation magic using the blood and flesh of Leviathan. Though born of magic, Leviathan loves her daughter, she planning to pick up Tsufaame after she finishes redeeming herself from her sins.

Back to the topic, the bottom line is Leviathan has never had a relationship with a man.

But somehow lately her thoughts are flying towards romance and love. Something she had never thought of before.

Leviathan then turned to Naruto, every time she thought about love, her thoughts were always on her traveling companion, the man she had always been with for the past year.

Naruto turned to Leviathan after feeling the woman's gaze "What's wrong?" he asked.

Leviathan shook her head and turned her attention, "Nothing."

She decided that her internal conflicts could be taken care of in the future.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in confusion, he could feel a surge of emotion coming from within the Leviathan, but it was too hazy that he couldn't make out what emotion it was. But Naruto didn't pry her any further, if Leviathan decided to stay silent, then he would respect her decision.

After a while, the group felt someone approaching them. They turned and saw a woman approaching them, the woman was wearing a flowing clean white cloth that covered her entire body except for her arms, letting her pure white arms be shown to people.

"She was one of Lady Athena's emissaries when she wanted to send a message," Aegeus whispered to Naruto, Naruto nodded while watching the emissary approach them.

The emissary approached and stopped in front of them, "Lady Athena wants the presence of the three of you."

The three of them looked at each other in confusion, but nodded in agreement anyway.

It seemed their meeting with Athena was much quicker than expected.

Athena's emissary left shortly after she conveyed Athena's message to Naruto and the others.

They didn't need to ask how Athena knew they had arrived. Everyone has their own way, let alone a Goddess.

Since there was still some time before the meeting, Aegeus decided to take care of his troops first. He directed his troops to set up camp outside the city walls which were still empty and allowed them to rest after their long journey.

It took a long time to sort things out and before realizing the sun was about to set, Aegeus proposed to meet Athena after sunset, to which Naruto and Leviathan agreed.

The three of them then parted ways with Naruto and Leviathan leaving to explore the city and Aegeus spending time with his family.

After parting ways with Aegeus, the two of them walked in the middle of the city while enjoying its beauty. They visited markets, entertainment venues, and many other things presented by the City of Athens.

Leviathan making the best of the opportunity that presented itself, she bought some ingredients and equipment that she needed because recently their food supplies were limited. Leviathan didn't want to eat Naruto's instant ramen anymore, she was tired of eating it.

They don't need to worry about financial problems, Leviathan's huge finances are stored in her pocket dimension. Her title as Satan is not just a display, therefore they can spend money on whatever they need.

After finishing their business at the market, the couple then visited an entertainment establishment. They visited an open-air theater that was having an event, the two of them then looked for an empty seat and then enjoyed the event.

After the event was over, they continued their journey to explore the vast City of Athens.

During their exploration, they could see one thing in common wherever they visited, namely the many soldiers who were patrolling here and there. It proved how dire the situation had become during this war.

Before long, the sun had completely set and was replaced by a full moon that illuminated the world. Which meant it was time for a meeting with Athena.

Naruto and Leviathan decided to return to where Aegeus and his family were. The Aegeus family happened to get a refuge in the city, in the inn district to the west of Athens.

Naruto and Leviathan arrived at Aegeus and his family's place after walking for about 15 minutes, it was a simple house provided by Athena for Aegeus and his family.

Naruto knocked on the door after arriving in front of Aegeus' house.

"Yes?"

Adaire's voice came from inside.

"It's me," said Naruto, after which the door opened to reveal a smiling Adaire.

"Please come in," said Adaire.

Naruto and Leviathan entered the house and arrived at the living room, they then sat down on simple wooden chairs. Adaire asked them to wait a while as Aegeus was out to take care of his war-damaged armor.

The two of them didn't wait too long because Aegeus came 10 minutes later.

"I apologize for keeping you two waiting," Aegeus said apologetically after he arrived.

"No problem, we also just came," said Naruto waving his hand.

"How is your armor?" Leviathan asked.

Aegeus' expression immediately became sad and he sighed before replying, "It's badly damaged and will take days to repair, I guess I should replace it with a new one. My sword has also been broken."

"I see," said Leviathan nodding.

Too bad she couldn't help since she didn't have any other armor besides her own. She didn't need any other armor because her own armor already had very strong resistance, only someone stronger than her could scratch it.

The same case also happened to Naruto. He wasn't a fan of armor so he never collected anything related to it. Also, he was a shinobi so he didn't need armor because it would hinder him from carrying out the mission, especially if it was an infiltration mission where wearing armor would be unsuitable since armor was noisy.

For swords, Naruto only has one, namely Sasuke's Kusanagi sword. But since it was the only legacy from his brother, Naruto couldn't give up the weapon, after all, it seemed that the Katana was no match for Aegeus.

Because of that problem, the two of them had nothing to help Aegeus this time.

"Okay, how about we leave now?" suggested Aegeus, trying to take his mind off his grief.

"Sure," said Naruto, Leviathan nodded in response.

Aegeus then told Adaire that they were leaving and then Adaire walked them to the door of the house.

"Then we'll go first. And sorry, I might miss dinner," said Aegeus as he kissed his wife's forehead,

"I understand. Be careful on the way," said Adaire, waving.

After that the three of them walked towards the center of the city, a hill that had a large temple on top, the Temple of the Goddess Athena.

Thanks for reading!

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Next Update: The Orange Flash