It is time for an update for Inferni. So here we go. We are coming after a short time skip so we will see a bit of growth from both our boys Naruto and Jason as they take the Legion by storm.
If you want to chat with me or others that read and write fanfiction you can join us on either the Triumvirate server hosted by myself, Kiege, and TheCham123 aka Madlad. Or the Goat server hosted by AizenTheGoat. The links for both can be found here→ /auc4PQjVtz and here→ /7x4YFstKcz respectively.
A couple responses to some review and we'll get started.
From Necros the Saiyan Knight: OP percy jackson, does this mean he is gonna have earthquake powers like whitebeard, cause poseidon is known as the earthshaker
Response: No, I mean Percy and Jason are already OP so that won't change. Naruto is going to be right up there with them.
Review: anything regarding pairings (kinda cheating but I had a lot of reviews focused on this subject)
Response: The pairings are set. A couple are, at least in my own opinion, a bit odd, but as for Naruto specifically it is Reyna and Annabeth only. I already bent myself a bit to have two rather than one. Though for the story I have planned it's a bit important. As for those that want to pair Jason and Annabeth or have Naruto hook up with Piper, that won't be happening in this fic. Just felt it was fair to let you know at the front of this story.
Last note: We are kind of speed running things to get to the meat of the series. I would have preferred stretching this chapter into two or possibly even three but a combination of my impatience and desire to get to the issues surrounding the rise of Kronos and Naruto's own rise in the Legion we are mostly overviewing the time prior to the Lightning Thief rather than in depth reading of it.
Now then let's get started.
Part One: Legionary
Arc One: For Rome
Chapter Two: Marked for Death
In the three months since the return of the Salt Lake City armory to New Rome's hands the members of the quest had gained a rather decent amount of favor with both New Rome and the rest of the Legion as the first to embark and return on a successful quest in years.
Naruto and Jason easily reaped the greatest amount of respect and honor from the event, almost as if they were the ones who had led the quest. Both were quite humble about it but the amount of attention they received did fill their egos to a degree.
Sadly soon enough the truth about their quest became clear. The weapons of the Salt Lake armory were cursed. An insidious curse that could have possibly been set by Legion on it's own equipment so that it might not be stolen. If that was the case it was currently biting them in the ass.
Already the other members of the quest outside of Naruto and Jason had fallen victim to it. They gradually became mute and listless. The light in their eyes seemed to wither down to a flickering candle light and they barely ate unless directly commanded to do so.
At times they briefly came out of their near catatonic state only for a few moments. Other times they flew into a mad rage and tried their best to attack others.
"When suffering was predicted, I would have preferred monsters or something we could actually do something against." Naruto growled as he skipped a stone across the little Tiber.
"I'm with you on that. Seeing Laura like that…why are we not affected?" Jason agreed and began to wonder about his and Naruto's apparent immunity.
"Seems obvious enough. Same reason we always get special treatment, we're children of the big three. If that wasn't enough, maybe being blessed by two more Olympians makes us even more invulnerable to this, curse or whatever." Naruto replied with a shrug.
The pair fell into silence thinking about Laura, David, and Teresa. The three of them had grown close to the two boys but Laura was practically their elder sister having been their commander for so long. They both felt immense guilt at the fact they were unaffected by the curse while the others seemed a step away from death.
"The healers say that they're losing too much weight. They want to put them under constant watch so they can be ordered to eat when necessary." Jason commented.
Naruto didn't say anything. What was there to say to that? It was a terrible thing and he only felt more useless at that information.
"Maybe we can get the job?" Jason suggested.
Naruto perked up at that. It might be nothing more than telling their comrades when to eat and keeping an eye on them but it would be better than nothing. Although deep down he did worry about being around Laura and seeing her like that. It just felt wrong.
"Let's go annoy someone until we get the post then." Naruto said only to stop when he saw several legionaries and one of the Praetors rushing toward the infirmary.
"What's going on?" Jason wondered aloud.
"How would I know?" Naruto bit back before waving for his cousin to follow him while he rushed after the Praetor and his entourage.
Jason bit back a retort at Naruto's attitude and followed after him. They both had moments of being tested ever since the others had fallen ill.
The pair of them struggled to catch up to the much older soldiers ahead of them. Sons of the King of Heaven and King of the Underworld they might be but they were still young and had the unbearably short legs that came with that. They did catch up though and stopped nearby to hear just what was going on.
It was good that they did. It seemed the curse was worse than what they first realized.
"Doc, what the hell do you mean it's spreading?" The Praetor snarled loud enough that even Naruto and Jason around the corner could easily understand him.
"With all due respect to you Praetor, what do you think I mean? Look at him. Carl Drumillo, a First Cohort Legionary, has the same symptoms as Laura and the others." The Medic said as he pulled back the curtain to reveal an older dark haired boy.
Neither Naruto or Jason knew the members of the other Cohorts that well but they vaguely recognized him as one of the older members and one of the soldiers the first cohort's Centurion relied on the most. As the doctor had said he seemed to suffer from the same affliction that had taken Laura, David, and Teresa's faculties from them.
"Oh shit." The Praetor groaned.
"Yeah we have a real problem now. If this is spreading we need to lock down quickly before everyone ends up like this." The Medic said waving his hand in front of Carl's face and getting absolutely no response from the boy.
"We need to figure out the exact parameters of this curse. I want any children or legacy of Trivia we have to figure this out. I don't care if they have to come from New Rome instead of the Legion, I want a solution." The Praetor said as he turned to leave.
"Sir, what about-" The doctor began.
"Mickey do whatever needs to be done. If you have to seal everyone up in their barracks to stop this then do it. And find Naruto and Jason, they seemed immune when we thought the curse was from taking the gold from Salt Lake, but if it's something else they might know or they could be at risk as well." With that the Praetor stormed out of the infirmary intent on informing his partner on the situation and calling the Senate and Centurions to discuss their approach.
The Medic sighed before he saw the pair of blond heads peeking around the corner and sighed.
"Jason, Naruto. Come here boys." The two young boys slowly edged out of their poor hiding spot and presented themselves to the medic.
"You heard everything?" He asked, getting slow nods from both of them.
"Well, that saves me having to track you down. I'm afraid we are going to have to quarantine you until the children of Trivia can tell us how this curse passes on to others. I'm sorry boys. Come this way." The older teen began leading them.
Naruto and Jason exchanged a brief glance before slowly following after one of the few older members of the legion who had actively served longer than them. With both boys already at eight years in the legion only the most senior boys and girls had more bars of service branded onto their arm.
Mickey or rather Aaron McKay, had a total of fifteen bars on his arm and was a young addition, just not as young as the boys. He had joined when he was seven and had been looking for an opportunity to hopefully end his career. Sadly as the direct child of Apollo and a first generation legacy of Asclepius, Mickey was too good to let go and he couldn't stop himself from sticking around to care for the Legionaries that were more seriously injured or sick.
"Can we be quarantined with Laura and the others?" Naruto asked.
Mickey shot the boy a look before smiling sadly. "Sorry bud, no can do. I can keep you and Jason together but that's the best I can do."
The blond deflated but his cousin took the next question for him.
"What about Laura and the others? Someone has to stay with them and keep them healthy, right?" Jason asked.
"We'll take care of it boys. I'll do my best to keep an eye on them personally and assign a couple of my siblings to watch over them when I'm busy, okay?" Mickey asked, getting nods from the boys as he stopped at their new bedroom door.
"Okay you two this is you. I'm sure the Praetors will be here after a little while to question you about the quest again. So sit tight." Mickey ushered them in before closing the door up behind them and audibly locking it from the outside.
The two blonds scanned their new prison cell. A couple of basic bunks, like were typically found in the cohort barracks, along with the most basic of amenities. A little bathroom complete with shower and a small desk.
Neither were very pleased but they weren't fools either. They had at least an idea of how bad the situation was in regard to the spreading curse.
Mickey and the two newly quarantined boys seemed to have a very different meaning for the phrase 'a little while'. The Praetors didn't come to question the two of them till the sun was almost setting. Hours spent locked in what amounted to a bare bones bedroom was playing hell with the attention span of two young demigod boys by that point. The fact that they could answer the questions given to them at all was impressive, but sadly it didn't mean that their time in confinement came to an end.
Instead Mickey delivered several books about New Rome's laws, history, and other textbook style items to read. As if things couldn't get any worse. The two of them turned it into a game like most things they disliked doing, such as chores around the barracks. Soon they were quizzing one another on obscure New Roman laws.
Loser had half as many pushups and situps to do. Both were physically geared kids so it didn't matter much but it was something to keep them occupied. That and harassing the various children and legacies of Apollo whenever they brought food to them. Not just to make them have a hard time of course, both Naruto and Jason were far too serious for that. No, they were more focused on finding out the situation with the legion and Laura and their other comrades from the quest. Sadly they got nothing from the healers.
That is except one detail. The curse had spread again. More Ethan to a single other person this time. Twelve more not including Laura, David, Teresa, and Carl. That was almost overnight.
By the second day the total number of cases had slowed considerably but still it had climbed to fifteen plus the original four.
A breakthrough finally came through on the third day. By now the total number of cases was twenty three. They knew why some caught it and some didn't. Unsurprisingly the curse was overall relatively weak in strength and with the blood of Jupiter and Pluto as well as the blessing of Ceres and Juno they seemed to simply overwhelm its magic naturally.
Others that were immune to it had turned out to be direct children of Apollo and Trivia. That being said, the curse didn't spread like a real disease. Rather it passed to those that had kept the imperial gold taken from the Salt Lake outpost. The gold itself was tainted as suspected but the initial cleansing performed by the children of Trivia had only managed to dampen the effect from cursing the whole legion. Any who had taken the items for themselves felt its full effects in short order.
With this knowledge Naruto and Jason were released from quarantine. They were even allowed to visit Laura and the others. The boys both regretted doing so when they did. The others each looked like some sort of husk of the former Legionary they had been.
They were dying. Slowly, and painfully as the children of Trivia had soon found that their comrades were still present, effectively trapped within their own bodies and only able to be brought back to the surface of their minds temporarily.
The cursed weapons and other items had been sealed up until something could be figured out for it. Everyone seemed on edge, fearing that something else had been missed and that they would all soon end up simply withering away.
New Rome caught wind of what was going on and soon near riots had broken out. The populace was enraged and demanding a part in the government so that such important and deadly situations weren't kept from them.
Fistfights between civilians and Legionaries when they tried to storm the Senate building and demand a report of the situation had been the last straw and some had found themselves in jail while the Praetors and Senate argued over what to do.
Naruto felt utterly useless and had all but locked himself inside his father's temple and prayed nonstop to the King of the Underworld for some sort of help.
A week after being released from quarantine, Naruto got an answer. One that was loud and clear for the entire legion.
The cursed items seemed to melt through the floor of the room they had been locked in and in a dark flash replicas made of Stygian Iron replaced the Imperial Gold. An entire armory's worth of the dark black metal was unheard of in the living world and now the Legion had one of its very own.
Furthermore new uniforms and armor appeared fitted precisely and even named for the afflicted Legionaries. These uniforms though were blackened and possessed the mark of Pluto on the side plates of every helmet. Clearly marking them as a gift from Lord Pluto.
For Naruto himself he felt his father reach into his dreams directly for the first time in his life. It was short and rather forceful in comparison to the dreams he had heard some other Legionaries mention their sire sending with them in the past.
Where they often received fanciful dreams with a lot of possible meanings, Naruto's were incredibly straight forward.
He saw himself leading a force of black clad Legionaries, among them Laura, Teresa, and David all looking even more deathly and husk-like than before. They marched on old Roman outposts and forts across the United States west of the Mississippi and slew monsters in the dozens.
One by one they reclaimed the items in these places and sent them back to New Rome, but they never returned. Instead they fought on even as they fell, one after another either from the attack of a monster or the curse that already held sway over them.
Each time one died though Naruto grasped their arm as a cromade and suddenly he was holding onto their spirit. He then led them to the shadows and walked through with them before depositing them at the steps of his Father's own palace in the underworld.
As he awoke he heard a simple order from a deep rumbling voice that seemed to hold the slightest bit of warmth for him.
"Command them, Lead them, Guide them."
That was all. He then awoke and found he had been sleeping within his father's temple, having fallen asleep while praying to him for help.
It was bittersweet, having the knowledge and support his father wanted to give him. There was no way to really save his comrades. The curse was irreversible. It was designed as such, but that didn't mean there was nothing he could do for them at all.
He could give them a death they could be proud of, and when the end came he could personally escort them to his father's own halls.
He needed to speak with the Praetors.
With the miracles that Pluto had already performed within Camp Jupiter over the night, it wasn't hard to convince not only the Praetors but all of the Senate as well that what Naruto had seen was clearly a message from the gods. Or more precisely from Pluto.
Still they weren't exactly fond of the idea of sending Naruto out with only the cursed Legionaries. At least until Pluto made his will very clear by sending none other than Proserpina, his wife to make it clear.
And make it clear she did. With her husband and mother getting along in regards to something for the first time since she had been taken as Pluto's wife, she had a very special place in her heart for the boy that made that possible. Naruto had her backing and that meant suddenly that he had the backing of at least three major deities that the New Romans were less than interested in insulting by disregarding their wishes.
Therefore no one was bold enough to argue with the Queen of the Underworld. So it was that Naruto, only eleven years old, was placed in command of twenty three other Legionaries all clearly marked as his father's from then on, and marched to the hidden entrance to their little valley.
Mourners said goodbye to their beloved family, even if the soldiers they cried for stood stoically and empty. Naruto and Jason saw each other off though both refused to even utter the word goodbye.
That was it. A rapid, refitting of the cursed legionaries and shipping them out as quickly as possible to hopefully quell the disgruntlement in New Rome. Although, with new protests mounting in size by the day over the imprisonment of several New Roman citizens after the recent riots, that seemed a slim chance. Especially as they had yet to even be told that several teens led by an eleven year old had just embarked on a literal suicide mission.
Naruto soon found that his time spent with the marked legionaries blended together. Between raids on old outposts and forts anywhere between days and weeks could pass. At times he even felt like he had somehow received the curse as well as he fell into a pattern and his mind simply ran on autopilot.
They had done just as his father had desired. Steadily and meticulously they made their way to each of the abandoned constructs of the legion. They culled any monsters they came across and sent weapons, armor, and other artifacts back home in mass quantities.
Naruto was stunned by the effectiveness of his comrades. They could barely even feed themselves, but in battle they were menacing. Stoic and silent they did exactly as ordered to the letter, and Naruto had found that by giving relatively broad orders to them they performed even better in a fight.
It was proof that the Legionaries inside were still there. They recalled their training and experiences but had none of the natural hesitance of a normal living person any longer. That made them incredibly effective at what they were doing, but not perfect.
One by one the Legionaries lost their lives. Naruto was heartbroken when the first occurred, not because they were killed but because it was Laura and she wasn't killed by a monster. Rather, while the group was sleeping, her physical body finally gave out.
It took a moment but soon Naruto recalled what he needed to do. He clasped onto Laura's arm and held tightly as if he was about to lift her to her feet. Instead he gasped when her body suddenly moved and her hand grasped a hold of his forearm just as he had with her.
Just like the vision he stood and her corpse's hand fell away as the shimmering form of Laura was pulled free of her mortal form. Unlike her body she was as Naruto recalled. Strong and healthy, smiling too as she greeted him with a warm grin.
He led her along after him as he stepped into shadow, his first time truly traveling in such a method and found himself at the almost literal doorstep to his father's palace in the underworld.
Lord Pluto was not there to greet them. Instead a collection of spirits. Long dead Legionaries and even a small collection of Laura's own ancestors were present. They welcomed her kindly and even cheerfully.
Saying goodbye was easier than Naruto had expected as well. He came to the conclusion that perhaps either death affected him less due to his parentage or more than likely he had been waiting for this moment since Laura had taken I'll and was happy she was free of her mortal prison.
Another step through the shadows and he found himself returning to his unit. With their next mission, they returned Laura's body as well as two more Legionaries that had fallen since she had.
Gradually they were worn down in numbers until only Naruto and two others remained. Some of his unit had found their peace by sacrificing themselves for him as he was the only 'living' member of the force. The same would occur with the last two.
A boy from the fourth Cohort and a girl from the second. Both had leapt in front of him to receive the deadly poisoned arrows loosed by a pair of particularly hostile centaurs.
The poison acted quickly, though not quickly enough for the pair of horse hybrids. And with their death Naruto recovered a small outpost in New Mexico. Little of value was present but several old records dating as far back as before the outpost was constructed in 1840.
After delivering his comrades to his father's realm, for the first time in over half a year, Naruto turned to make his way home.
Sadly as the saying goes, there is no rest for the wicked and Naruto found himself dreaming vividly once more, too clearly to be anything else other than a message from his father.
The dream was less blunt and visual focused compared to the last. Instead Naruto found himself facing shadows in the rough image of a man. It had no discernable features though the shadows looked slightly darker approximate where a mouth and eyes would have been on a human being.
Instinctively Naruto felt the cool though caring feeling weigh on him as the shadow turned its 'eyes' toward him. A tiniest segment of his father's power made itself known and Naruto felt as if he had been praised without a single word being spoken. That didn't stop Pluto from further expressing his pride and the well wishes of Naruto's fallen brothers and sisters.
"You have done perfectly in your task with regards to the cursed Legionaries. However the work of a member of the legion only stops in death and unlike your comrades, you are still very much alive my son and you will be for a long time to come I believe." Pluto's voice was soft, not as deep as the one that had spoken in Naruto's last dream but far more friendly than that had been.
"Thank you father." Naruto said with a small grin though he eyed the shadows thoughtfully. "I'm sorry for sounding cynical but I highly doubt you contacted me like this just to give me a pat on the back, or to say Merry Christmas."
Pluto hummed before a soft chuckle fell from the 'lips' of its mouth. "No, you're correct. I haven't come just for that, son. Though I feel a need to comment that your personality reminds me very much of your mother's. In fact outside of looks you are much more like her than myself."
Naruto tensed at that but of unexpected information. He even felt awkward at the comparison of his mother, being as he had no recollection of her and could not go and meet her in the underworld as his duty only allowed him brief visits to deliver his fallen comrades.
"Forgive me, I shouldn't have said that so out of the blue. Besides we have much to discuss and the longer we are here discussing it the more likely that it is that my brothers will notice something." Pluto said as his shadows drew in closely to Naruto.
"Even here, like in my dreams?" Naruto asked.
"There is no place that is completely free of the influence of the gods, my son. We have our fingers in every facet of life in death even if it is only by the tiniest bit. Yes, even dreams are not completely free of the intrusion or notice of myself and the other gods." He explained.
Naruto simply nodded and kept silent to await his father's explanation for his contact.
"You are very special to me, my boy. I struggle to show that perhaps but you are the first child I have had in the better part of a century and you are already far more gifted than most of those that I have spawned. I need you to know these things, so that you know that I do not place this burden upon you lightly." Pluto went on to say.
With those words Naruto began to grow nervous. Never was Pluto described as all that emotional of a figure and even when Naruto had felt the comforting sensation in his time dreaming of his father or whenever he stepped into his father's temple, but this was different. So openly praised and adored, it made his cheeks darken ever so slightly and he couldn't help himself but to look away and cough to clear his throat to fight back the tickle that had suddenly appeared within.
"I'm not trying to simply praise you. I'm telling you this because I shouldn't be telling you about what I am going to tell you. Something that you cannot repeat once you leave here. At least not for a great amount of time" the god of the dead continued.
"What do you know of the Greeks?" Pluto asked, getting a surprised look from his son at the question.
"I suppose what anyone from back home knows. They were our predecessors and our enemies, right?" Naruto asked.
"So much more than that, Naruto. But you will learn more of that in time. Right now I must tell you of the Greeks today." Pluto explained.
"Like, Europe, Greece?" Naruto asked, a little bit confused.
"No. I mean the children of the Greek version of the Olympian Gods." Pluto said.
Naruto was confused but only briefly before his eyes began to widen. The red zone. The eastern United States. Just like Greece was east of Rome, so too were the New Romans west of the New Greeks.
"The Graeci still live on." Naruto murmured quietly.
"Yes, and that is why you cannot say anything about what else I am going to tell you. Only that you were sent on a quest by me personally at the end of your last task." Pluto explained.
"I don't understand all that well father but I promise to keep my trap shut." Naruto replied.
"Even from that sky-spawned cousin of yours." Pluto said with sharp authority coming into his tone.
"Even from Jason." Naruto nodded.
"Even from Ceres." Pluto said, getting a wide eyed look from his son in return.
The feeling rather than actual sight of a harsh glance from the shadows caused Naruto to nod once again.
"Even from Grandmother." Naruto replied.
The shadow seems to roll its eyes at the term he used for Ceres but ignored it for the large part.
"Good, then I can begin explaining things a bit more about some issues that have suddenly risen over the last few days, including the theft of the Helm of Darkness." Pluto said getting a gasp from Naruto though his father didn't stop speaking.
"As well as the need to check on your siblings." Pluto said, getting the expected stammer from Pluto at that revelation.
Ceres rarely came to the Underworld, though Pluto had begrudgingly made it available for her to some in at any time that she desired. He wouldn't refuse Proserpina and her mother from seeing one another for half the year truly.
Today though she was not here to visit her beloved daughter. Instead she was here to visit Pluto himself. After all they had a lot to discuss when she felt how long he had visited with Naruto in his dreams.
With Jupiter, or rather Zeus having just had his symbol of power stolen in the last few days and blaming Neptune, or again, rather Poseidon, things had become incredibly chaotic in Olympus.
That Pluto remained both emotionally and physically distant from that chaos had Ceres more worried than if he had plunged himself into the argument. If only just to take advantage of the situation to snipe insults and rude comments at his two younger brothers.
"Ceres?" The dark man asked as he realized she had come into his domain.
"Pluto." She said serenely though it had the same type of energy as a coiled snake ready to bite.
"Well you haven't started throwing out threats and cursing my name yet, so I'm guessing this isn't about my wife. So what do you want?" He asked bluntly.
Ceres but back her retort at his words. She didn't come here to fight. He just made it too easy to want to fight with him. Especially with his word choice in calling her daughter his wife so proudly.
"Curiosity is what brings me here brother. Curiosity over why exactly it was you spent so long talking to Naruto in his dreams recently and now rather than returning to New Rome and Camp Jupiter he is instead heading east into the Legion's red zone." Ceres said hotly.
Pluto was silent before sighing loudly and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Mind your own business, Ceres. He is my son. Not yours." Pluto answered stiffly.
"Now you listen here-" Ceres began.
"No! You listen, little sister. You are in my domain and making demands of me. Get out before I throw you out." The King of the Dead commanded with a smooth but deep tone.
Ceres' eyes blazed in fury but the goddess had to acknowledge that she had no real power here in the land of the dead.
"Perhaps I should go and speak to our siblings and nieces and nephews." She threatened.
Unfortunately Pluto called her bluff. "You would condemn Naruto to death, sister. If you did so it would be very unpleasant for the many children you have on both coasts. Now leave."
Ceres glared but she did as she was told and flashed out of the domain of her eldest sibling.
Pluto simply pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance before turning back to the work he had been focused on.
A thought did dwell on his son as he performed the task assigned to him. He hoped things went smoothly, but he was confident his son could be flexible if need be.
That is a wrap. Like I said, kinda glossed on the things surrounding the time spent with the cursed Legionaries. Not really much conversation occuring there though and really Naruto only knew Laura from the cursed troops personally.
Still Naruto has now already performed a major spiritual service for the legion and led troops into battle to gain rewards and artifacts for New Rome. It's good for the resume.
Our next chapter is going to be a bit more in depth and have more character interactions as Naruto spies on the Greeks as best as he can and the events of the Lightning Thief kick off.
Anyway
Till Next Time