A/N: Sorry for this late update.


May 28th 2008:

A silent sector within the sequestered depths of Tokyo was deluged by the loud noise of a meagre groan. Naruto Uzumaki crossed his arms and leaned against the cold wall of an isolated alleyway.

There were a multitudinous number of unconscious Yo-Kai in front of him. Naruto raised a confused eye-brow down at an anomalous type of Raiju—this Raiju had endured his Rasenshuriken without damage.

Naruto let out a contemplative hum and stretched a calloused palm out at the unconscious Raiju. Bubbles of lava constructed themselves onto his hand before they morphed themselves into a small shuriken.

The Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken produced a low screech of sound. Naruto noticed how the gravelly noise woke the Raiju up. It climbed to its feet and clicked its fangs in his direction. Thunder brightened its fur.

He squinted his blue eyes at the monstrous creature and flicked his smaller version of the Lava-Style: Rasenshuriken downwards. The Raiju's mouth opened and it caterwauled in unadulterated agony.

Naruto watched the Yo-Kai dissipate into particles of sapphire colour. The Uzumaki slipped his unsmooth hands into his pockets as he tilted his head—confusion blemishing his whiskered features. "Kurama?"

"What?" Within the secluded pits of Naruto's head—a single vermillion eye opened itself up in annoyance. "Why must you bother me, brat?"

"Sorry!" Naruto yelled in response—mischief smeared his baritone. "Haven't you seen how durable this Raiju was?"

"Of course I've seen how tough these pathetic creatures have become." Kurama snorted. "Or maybe—you've become weaker."

Absolute frustration glistened inside of the blue of Naruto's luminous eyes. "I've become weak?! Remember the time when I beat you up?!"

"Oh, please." A gargantuan smirk of mockery graced Kurama's face. "I would destroy you in a re-match. Name the date, brat."

"Whatever." Naruto flourished a nonchalant hand and grunted. "I have more important duties than arguing about who's stronger."

"Hah!" An endless rumble of acerbic laughter escaped Kurama's mouth. "You must be terrified of me if you'd rather focus on work."

Naruto growled into his mind. "Terrified of you?! Out of all the tailed-beasts—you're the easiest one to beat! I can take you on!"

"Bring it on—you brat!"

"Sure—you overgrown fur-ball!"

(-)

May 29th 2008:

Naruto walked through an empty corridor until he reached the steel-constructed entrance of a little office. A knock on the door from his knuckles elicited a grunt of permission to fill the atmosphere.

The Uzumaki opened the door and was met by the sight of a stressed-out Sasuke: who possessed deep bags of exhaustion beneath his eyes and a cup of cold coffee in his left hand. "Naruto."

A somewhat entertained countenance beautified Naruto's visage. Naruto seated himself down on a wooden-chair, pulled out his phone, and snapped a picture of Sasuke. He grinned. "What's up—bastard?"

"I've discovered something interesting." Sasuke grunted—frustration evident within his unamused voice. "Delete that damn picture of me."

"No." Naruto leaned forward. A healthy amount of amusement inundated his tone. "I don't think I will delete this damn picture of you."

"You're such a nuisance sometimes." Sasuke shook his head. "I've discovered that Izanami has been enhancing the Yo-Kai in Japan."

"Does this include their durability?" Naruto asked his best friend. Pure annoyance glinted in his gaze. "I encountered this weird Raiju."

"What was weird about this Raiju?" Sasuke took a small sip of coffee from the rim of his mug. "Was its durability unnatural in your eyes?"

"It withstood a Rasenshuriken from me." Naruto grouched. "The Rasenshuriken destroys its target at a cellular level. Most Yo-Kai—!"

"Most Yo-Kai can't survive that type of damage." The Uchiha nodded. "This proves that Izanami has been enhancing the Yo-Kai somehow."

"What a bother." Naruto propped his fist beneath a whiskered cheek. "I'm still curious about those puppets who had magic and chakra."

"I looked into those anomalous puppets." Sasuke grunted in response. "Omoikane had created a few puppets—but they had no abilities."

"Omoikane?"

"The Shinto god of wisdom." Sasuke answered Naruto. A pale hand touched his chin. "We still have to construct a plan to defeat Izanami."

"True. True." Naruto's voice possessed a contemplative inflection. "Maybe we could invite her to your birthday party or something?"

"Invite her to my birthday party?" Sasuke had an unimpressed expression. "Sometimes I wonder if you truly are okay in the head."

"I'm more than okay in the head." Naruto crossed his legs on the wooden-chair. "Maybe we could invite Izanami to my birthday party?"

"You are such a moron." Sasuke chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "I heard you've been visiting your friends in America?"

"Oh—yeah!" Naruto grinned and hummed. "I'm planning on visiting Annabeth and Percy again. Is it alright if I take a break from work?"

"Of course." Sasuke took another sip from his mug of cold coffee. "Last year—you wouldn't have even dreamed of taking a break."

"I'd rather not talk about last year." The wide grin on Naruto's whiskered face waned for the briefest of seconds. "See you later."

(-)

June 2nd 2008:

The beautiful skies were illuminated by the familiar glow of an aureate outline. Naruto blurred through the heavens in a golden flash of light and stopped when he sensed the oceanic presence of his friend.

A putrid stench polluted the atmosphere around him. Naruto glanced downwards and discerned some type of school—this school was covered in a somewhat large mass of hot flames of crimson colour.

Naruto's ears were distracted by the loud echo of sirens in the distance. Humming to himself—Naruto floated down onto the concrete of the city and deactivated his golden cloak of unadulterated energy.

The Uzumaki noticed Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase in his line of sight. A nonchalant smile grew onto his whiskered features until he noticed a few individuals: who ran at Percy while gesticulating in his direction.

Naruto body-flickered towards his two friends and disregarded their alarmed voices from his unanticipated entrance. A loud click filled the warm air of the sector as Naruto manipulated the Mist and sighed.

The four individuals paused in their tracks and scratched their heads in absolute confusion before they walked back to the fire-covered school. Naruto tilted his head. "Why the hell is that school on fire?"

"Long story." Percy rubbed the back of his head in concealed embarrassment and chuckled. "I fought some vampire chicks."

"Huh." Naruto blinked to himself and slipped his calloused hands into his pockets. "Sounds fun. Did you at least beat those vampires?"

"Nope." Percy stuck out his tongue—unbothered. "Though—my mom's boyfriend definitely thinks I set schools on fire for fun now."

"Are we going to ignore how he snapped his fingers and erased their memories?" A baffled voice interrupted them. "What magic was that?"

"That magic." Annabeth rolled her grey-tinted eyes and crossed her arms. "Is called manipulation of the Mist. You can see through it."

"Nice." Rachel Elizabeth Dare murmured to herself in relief. "Does this mean that blondie's mind manipulation won't work on me, then?"

"Since you can see through the Mist—you have some resistance towards its influence." Annabeth grunted. "Naruto. Good to see you."

"Good to see you and Percy again." Naruto grinned and leaned forward. "My control won't last forever."

"True." Annabeth unfolded her arms and grabbed onto Percy's hand. "Come on—the three of us have to leave before more mortals come."

"Wait a second." Rachel cut Annabeth off and produced a marker from one of her pockets. "Percy—you still have to tell me what all of this is."

"And I'm telling you Percy has to leave." Annabeth clicked her teeth in annoyance. "You'd be better off forgetting about all of these events."

"At least let me give him my number."

"How about this!" Naruto yelled—ignoring how Rachel and Annabeth grabbed onto their ears. "Random lady—give Annabeth your number."

"What a smart idea." Annabeth gave Naruto a sardonic glance. She groaned when she felt the marker touch her skin. "Really?"

"Really." Rachel nodded once she had scribbled down her number onto Annabeth's arm. "You better call me! I want an explanation."

"Kurama…I'm craving some Ramen."

(-)

Prometheus was seated down on the cold concrete of a room within the isolated depths of Hecate's grandiose castle. A low hum of anticipation leaked out from his trachea. He opened his bright eyes.

Flecks of brown-coloured mana escaped his body. Prometheus manipulated the motes of magical-power into some type of energy-cloak. "This is the cloak Atlas uses against strong opponents."

The titan of forethought dispelled his cloak of endless mana and gandered in the direction of a concealed silhouette. Prometheus sighed. "Why must you hide yourself from our lord—Menoetius?"

Prometheus watched as the distorted outline unveiled itself. Menoetius was a humanoid individual: who possessed blue hair and azure eyes of absolute luminosity. Blue armour adorned his body.

"I have no intention of hiding from lord Kronos—brother." One of Menoetius' eyes glinted an ominous blue. "I have been training myself."

"Training—you say? How interesting." Prometheus mumbled. Amusement illuminated his tone. "What type of training, Menoetius?"

The titan of violent anger and rash action sensed Prometheus' mana stir beneath his body. A serrated spike sprouted itself out from the concrete underneath him—but Menoetius gave Prometheus a smile.

Some type of rune materialized itself onto Menoetius' feet and absorbed the spike of magical-energy. Menoetius turned his back to Prometheus—entertained. "Your magic is useless against my runes."

"Incredible." Prometheus murmured. Shock brightened his voice. "You've developed runes that can absorb energy without fail…"

"Indeed." Menoetius nodded. "Normal Absorption-Runes would have trouble absorbing so much energy without being destroyed."

"I altered the design of mine." Menoetius explained to his brother. "When I absorb energy—I expel that energy out into the atmosphere."

"Impressive idea." Prometheus complimented him. He hummed. "If runes absorb too much energy—then they destroy themselves."

"Mine are rather different." Menoetius glanced at Prometheus and asseverated. "I heard about your defeat at Naruto Uzumaki's hands."

"He is a monstrous child."

"I shall be the one to kill Naruto Uzumaki." Menoetius clenched a determined fist. "That child possesses a power no-one can have."

"My apologies—Menoetius." Prometheus interrupted his speech. "Hecate, Luke Castellan, and I already have a plan to defeat him."

Both of Menoetius' resolved irises glistened an ominous azure. "You have failed once—brother. Lord Kronos has assigned me to the task."

"That was the reason why I visited you." He grunted. "Lord Kronos wanted me to tell you that the capture of the Kyuubi is my task."

Prometheus shrugged. "If that is what our lord desires—then I shall listen to his orders and respect them. Don't underestimate him."

"Trust me." Menoetius clapped his calloused hands and erupted into a vortex of blue particles. "I have heard the rumours about his strength."

(-)

Naruto had activated his combination of Kyuubi-Chakra-Mode and Sage-Of-Six-Paths-Mode. The Uzumaki hovered forward and followed behind a yellow taxi. A small smile graced his features.

Once the yellow taxi had stopped close to the hill where Camp Half-Blood was constructed—Naruto deactivated his chakra-cloak and landed down onto the ground. He took in a deep breath of fresh air.

Naruto blurred forward and appeared behind Percy and Annabeth. He slipped his calloused hands into his pockets while tilting his head in curiosity. "Man—I wonder who the hell Sasuke's sources are…"

"So—Naruto." Percy broke the somewhat awkward silence between the three of them. "How is that exorcist job of yours treating you?"

Annabeth glanced at him and hummed. "I've been meaning to ask you a few questions about those Yo-Kai you had mentioned the last time you visited."

"To answer the first question—I'm still underpaid." Naruto grunted. "To answer the second one—I doubt I can answer all of your questions."

"That's unfortunate." Annabeth trailed off and sighed. "How about this question—how exactly do you exorcise the Yo-Kai in Japan?"

"That's simple!" A nonchalant grin beautified Naruto's whiskered face. "I either use a Rasengan, chakra arm, or a Rasenshuriken!"

"We haven't seen all of your techniques in action." Percy grouched. "I have no clue what a Rasenshuriken even is or how strong it is."

"It's a Rasengan and Shuriken combined." Naruto flourished a calloused hand. "It also destroys its targets at a cellular level."

"You do realize how useful a technique that destroys at the cellular level is?" Annabeth queried. "It has many possible applications."

"It's one of my favourite Jutsu!" Naruto smiled. "I developed a larger version of the Rasenshuriken a while ago—Massive-Rasenshuriken!"

"Nice names."

"Thanks!"

"I was being sarcastic."

"Hey!"

(-)

Naruto and Percy stood across from each other in the arena within the more public sector of Camp Half-Blood. The son of the seas adopted a somewhat sloppy stance while Naruto took on a simple stance.

Sapphire eyes of unadulterated luminosity watched Percy step forward and vanish in a meagre blur. Naruto turned around before he planted his elbow into the demi-god's abdomen. Percy coughed.

Naruto blurred at him. Percy raised his arms and blocked a powerful punch from the Uzumaki—feeling his entire body rattle in unconcealed pain. A roundhouse kick to the jaw snapped his head backwards.

Percy rubbed the lower sections of his face. Naruto gave him a mischievous smirk and smacked his elbow into his stomach for a second time. The child of the ocean sank down to one knee. "Ouch."

"Sorry. Sorry." Naruto slipped his calloused hands into his pockets and chuckled. "You do remember you were the one asked for training in Taijutsu?"

"Whatever." Percy grunted—veiled amounts of irritation evident within his voice. "Damn. Every hit from you reminds me of a truck."

Nonchalance twinkled in the sapphire depths of Naruto's beautiful gaze. "Your hits are much more powerful than a normal person's."

"Divine heritage—am I right?" A rather sardonic laugh escaped Percy's mouth. "Oh, yeah. Chiron told me Grover was on trial."

"Trial?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What? Did Mr. Woodboy commit some horrific crime? Come on—what did he do? Tell me."

"Something about a missing nature god." Percy shrugged and scratched his chin. "I can't really remember what the trial was about."

"Sounds fun—I guess?"

(-)

The endless constellations inside of the night-skies illuminated the entire planet. Naruto was seated down on the wooden-branch of an ancient oak-tree and appreciated the silence in the cold atmosphere.

A quiet cacophony of noise inundated his senses. Naruto gandered in the direction of a hidden individual and watched him unveil himself to his blue eyes. Quintus adjusted his tie. "The stars truly are bright."

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto raised an unbothered eye-brow and flicked his gaze downwards. "I don't remember meeting you."

"Ah." Quintus possessed a somewhat smooth baritone. He let out a polite cough and smiled. "My name is Quintus, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Who told you my name?" Naruto had a confused expression on his whiskered face. "This is my first time even seeing you at this camp."

"I'm one of the newer instructors and staff members at Camp Half-Blood." Quintus replied. "I heard about you from the rumours."

"Rumours?" Naruto slanted his head and widened his eyes. "Who the heck is out there telling random people rumours about me, huh?"

"These rumours come from your pantheon." Quintus sat down on the soil beneath his feet—cross-legged. "Rumours about the Divine-War."

"People are still talking about that damn war?" Naruto murmured. "Susanoo already brought up enough bad memories last time…"

"I wanted to meet you when these rumours reached my ears." Quintus interrupted Naruto's incessant mumbles. "You are an incredible being."

"I am?" Naruto snorted and revealed his abdomen to Quintus. The seal materialized itself. "I think you're more interested in Kurama."

"Ah—yes." Quintus suppressed a loud chortle and hummed. "The Kyuubi is rumoured to have an endless amount of power."

The latest instructor at Camp Half-Blood chuckled. "You've realized how valued the Kyuubi is across every pantheon—haven't you?"

"Kind of." Naruto bit into an apple—an apple he had unsealed from his scroll. "I haven't really given it that much thought. Kurama's my friend."

"Friendship is a valuable treasure—so is companionship." Quintus climbed to his feet and disappeared into the bushes. "Farewell…"

"What was that all about?"

"Be quiet—some people want to get some sleep."

(-)

June 3rd 2008:

Naruto produced a gentle yawn from the cavern of his mouth and planted himself down onto one of the seats of an occupied table. He raised his mug before it was filled by an inundation of coffee.

The Uzumaki took an over-exaggerated sip from the cold rim of the mug and gulped down all of his coffee in under three seconds. Another yawn escaped his lips. "I've got to start sleeping more…"

"Are you alright?" Percy had an amused smirk on his wry visage. "Your eye-bags have eye-bags. Did someone not get enough sleep?"

"Shut up." Naruto sipped more of his coffee from the rim of his mug. "I couldn't sleep much. I couldn't sleep for some reason last night."

"You sleep in the most random spaces." Percy shook his head—amazed. "Last time you visited—you slept on a window-sill."

"Hey—don't disrespect the window-sills." Naruto grunted in unconcealed amusement. "My back still hurts from sleeping there."

"Maybe you weren't lying about those major back issues of yours." Percy raised his cup of fresh water. "Do you really have back issues?"

Naruto smirked. "Perhaps."

The Uzumaki glanced at the end of the table and noticed Percy's half-brother—whose name was Tyson. Tyson shoved a sandwich into his mouth and wore a satisfied smile. Naruto sensed three presences.

Chiron and Grover Underwood approached the table. Annabeth had told him and Percy about what had transpired at Grover's trial. The trial was about Grover's claim about the time he had felt Pan's power.

Naruto zoned out of the conversation. Annabeth had sat herself down on the table and had begun to speak about the legend of the Labyrinth. He jolted when he felt a poke on his arm. "Naruto?"

"Huh? Sorry—I wasn't listening."

"I heard from Percy that you have impressive sensory abilities." Annabeth responded. "Could you sense the Labyrinth for us?"

"Sure." Naruto gave her an insouciant shrug. Orange pigmentations appeared on his whiskered face above his eyes. "What the hell?"

Naruto was bombarded by the presence of a perpetual barricade of mana—this barricade clashed against his enhanced senses. The Uzumaki stood up from his seat at the table. "A barrier blocked me."

"Interesting…" Annabeth tapped her chin in curiosity. "Luke and his allies have some type of method to become undetectable, hm?"

"This could be bad." Percy drank more of the fresh water in his cup. "I wonder if Luke recovered from the beat down Thalia and I gave him?"

"I watched that fight from my shackles." Annabeth grunted to herself—irritated. "Luke has the ability to utilize some kind of mana."

"He did open a portal against Zoe and opened a second one to escape." Percy tilted his head. "I'm guessing his magic is a threat?"

"An extreme threat." Annabeth nodded. "The only reason Luke hasn't opened a portal in the camp is because the camp's barrier stops him."

"I can't wait for a rematch." Percy clicked his teeth in annoyance. "This time—I've been training my hand-to-hand combat skills to defeat him."

"I'm still frustrated about being kidnapped." Annabeth leaned her head back and grunted for a second time. "I've got to return to my table."

"Sure." Percy bit into his sandwich and chewed on the bread in his mouth. "Hey—Naruto? How long are you planning to stay this time?"

"Few weeks—maybe." Naruto sipped his coffee for the umpteenth time. "Sasuke told me I should be going on more vacations."

"Brat…How much coffee are you going to drink?"

(-)

Naruto walked through an isolated path in the perpetual forest of Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth and Percy had left for Quintus' special game—a game that involved monsters. Fire illuminated his vision.

The Uzumaki squinted his luminous eyes in the direction of the vermillion flames and was met by the unanticipated sight of a divine individual. Hephaestus—the god of fire—twirled a large hammer.

"Are you a deity?" Naruto possessed a somewhat confused voice. "Sorry—this is my third time meeting a deity from this pantheon."

"It's quite alright." Hephaestus nodded—there was a gruff inflection in his baritone. "Naruto Uzumaki—I've heard you take commissions."

"I do take commissions." Naruto confirmed—stretching his arms. "Sasuke's the one who handles that part of the business, though."

"I have come to commission you for an important task." Hephaestus' hammer scratched his beard. "The retrieval of one of my children."

"This is an unexpected commission." Naruto blinked. "Isn't it the Satyr's job to retrieve demi-gods and bring them to Camp Half-Blood?"

"It usually is their job." Hephaestus twirled his hammer for the fourth time since their discussion had begun. "This is a special assignment."

"Sure. I'll accept the commission—free of charge!" Naruto grinned. "I was bored waiting for Annabeth and Percy to finish Quintus' game."

"You have my thanks." Hephaestus snapped his fingers and manifested an envelope onto Naruto's palm. "Open that envelope."

Naruto arched a perplexed brow—but noticed how Hephaestus had disappeared in a vortex of insubstantial flames. The Uzumaki stopped when Kurama's snort filled his head. "You are such a bleeding heart."

Humming to himself, Naruto opened the letter on his calloused palm before he was consumed by a hurricane of intangible heat. He stumbled forward—pressing his hand against the wall of an alleyway.

A presence of incredible warmth tickled his senses. Naruto body-flickered forward and materialized himself beneath some type of bridge. There was a single boy underneath that same bridge.

(-)

Leo Valdez suppressed the urge to shudder at the touch of the cold winds from the atmosphere around him. He was seated down on a wooden-stool he had stolen from one of his older foster-homes.

He stretched an unsmooth hand forward and grabbed onto a blanket from the concrete below his feet. For the briefest of seconds—he contemplated on utilizing his pyrokinetic abilities to warm his body.

The idea was snuffed out by pure prudence. Leo staggered out of his wooden-stool when he heard the sound of obvious foot-steps. He gripped his screw-driver and tossed it in the foot-steps' direction.

Leo opened his brown eyes of absolute vigilance and gaped at the outline of a blonde individual—this individual had somehow caught his screwdriver without a single trace of sweat on his forehead. "Um…"

"Impressive skill." Naruto grinned and twirled the tool in his calloused hand. "The letter in the envelope said your name was Leo Valdez."

"Are you some kind of assassin?" Leo had a cheeky smile on his laidback features. "Am I one of your targets or something?"

"I'm more Shinobi than assassin." Naruto flicked the screw-driver down into the concrete. "Your dad wanted me to retrieve you."

"Sorry—Mr. Blonde-Shinobi." Leo shook his head. "I've never met my dad once. Maybe you mistook my good looks for another Leo Valdez's."

"Oh, right!" Naruto shouted at himself in realisation. "Most demi-gods have to be given proof about the supernatural and the divine!"

Naruto smirked when he heard the familiar growl of an unhinged Hell-Hound stream into his ear-drums. Leo blinked at the sight of the monster and scratched his eyes. "Am I having a hallucination?"

A Rasengan materialized itself onto Naruto's calloused palm. The Hell-Hound gritted its teeth at Leo and lunged forward until it was disintegrated by the touch of a sphere of azure-coloured energy.

"You want to hear me out now?"

(-)

June 4th 2008:

Naruto sank himself down into one of the bleachers of the arena inside of Camp Half-Blood. Leo was seated next to him. An enormous grin of amazement was plastered on his face of mind disbelief.

When Naruto had returned to Camp Half-Blood alongside Leo—Percy had notified him about the events that had transpired. Annabeth and him had found the Labyrinth while hiding from some monsters.

Chiron had summoned most of the members of Camp Half-Blood for some type of War-Council. Naruto tuned out the entire discussion. Leo twirled his screw-driver and let out a somewhat loud hum of elation.

Naruto started to listen at the mention of Luke Castellan's name. He was the one who had helped Prometheus in their battle a few months ago. Annabeth implied that Luke planned to assault the camp.

The Uzumaki propped his chin onto his knuckles and listened more to their discussion. It had been decided Annabeth would take on a quest to explore the Labyrinth and uncover all of its endless secrets.

Naruto watched Annabeth walk out of the arena to be given her prophecy by the Oracle. A fast pulse of chakra alerted him to Percy's oceanic presence. Percy had left the sector inside of the arena.

"Yo—Naruto." Leo leaned his head back and increased the pitch of his hum. "Is this place going to be targeted by an enemy or something?"

"You'd have to ask Chiron." Naruto's response was a nonchalant one. "I'm a temporary resident. My home is somewhere in Japan."

"Japan—huh?" Leo mumbled to himself in curiosity. "I wonder if I can get more screw-drivers in this place. Most of mine are broken."

"I'm sure there are plenty of screw-drivers." Naruto chuckled and tilted his head. "Kurama—are you still sleeping? You lazy fur-ball…"

"Shut the hell up—brat." Kurama opened his crimson eyes and grunted. "I have no intention of talking to you instead of sleeping."

Naruto perked up as Annabeth and Percy returned from the Big-House. Annabeth told them all about the prophecy and picked Tyson, Grover, and Percy to be the members of her quest group.

"How about Naruto?" Percy suggested to Annabeth: who stroked her chin in contemplation. "If he can unblock whatever's stopping—."

"No, Percy." Chiron interrupted him and shook his head. "Annabeth cannot take any more members for her quest. Four is risky enough."

"Okay…"

(-)

June 5th 2008:

Naruto hopped down from the wooden-branch of an oak-tree and landed next to Percy: who was startled by his unexpected entrance. A laugh bubbled out from the depths of Naruto's mouth. He grinned.

The Uzumaki glanced at all of the campers: who had covered themselves in armour and were in possession of countless weapons. Leo had met his half-siblings and was helping them construct tools.

If their predictions were correct—then Luke and his comrades would be invading Camp Half-Blood through the entrance to the Labyrinth. Camp Half-Blood had started to set up their defenses for the battle.

"I kind of wish you could come." Percy told Naruto. He scratched his head. "Even Annabeth wanted to bring you along for this quest."

"Oh—I'm coming." Naruto flourished a casual hand and chuckled. "I'm from another pantheon—my presence is ignored by the fates."

"I forgot to take that into account." Chiron sauntered over to them and smiled. "I appreciate your help, troublemaker of the Shinto pantheon."

A somewhat small grin graced Naruto's whiskered features. "Whenever it comes to helping my friends—I'm all in."

Naruto overheard the details about Luke and Quintus that Percy had told Chiron. Annabeth walked towards them—a curious expression on her face. "Percy…Why is Naruto—."

"I apologize for not permitting him to join you." Chiron intertwined his hands. "The fates ignore Naruto since he is from a different pantheon."

"Of course!" Realization illuminated Annabeth's gaze. "Since he is from another pantheon—Naruto's fate is in his pantheon's hands."

"Fate—huh?" Naruto pondered to himself and hummed. "Yep! My presence won't be taken into account at all. So I can come along!"

The Uzumaki watched as Grover, Tyson, Annabeth, and Percy stepped through the entrance to the Labyrinth. Orange pigmentations beautified his whiskered face before he stepped into the maze.

His senses felt the weak traces of nature-energy within the cold atmosphere of the endless maze. Naruto hummed when he realized the magical-barrier that blocked his senses had been enhanced.

He could still use his enhanced sensory-capabilities in Sage-Mode—but on a weakened level. Naruto felt the Labyrinth restructure itself. The five of them had been taken to another room.

Annabeth had turned on her flash-light. It illuminated the entire room for them. Naruto stepped forward, cracked his neck, squinted his blue eyes, grinned, clenched his fists, and slammed a punch into the wall.

The walls around them trembled and crumbled into shards of stone. Tyson grinned and picked up one of the stones. "Percy! Percy! Percy! This stone is pretty! Can I keep it? It looks really shiny!"

"Sure—Tyson." Percy smiled and nodded. "Have all the stones you want. Hey, Annabeth. Is it a good idea to be destroying these walls?"

"I understand what Naruto intended to do." Annabeth answered. "By destroying the walls—there's more space for all of us to walk."

Grover trembled. "I'd rather walk out of this place. Do you think it's too late for me to go back to camp and help them set up the defenses?"

Naruto listened to their conversation and opened his mouth to intervene—until the wall behind him opened and dragged him in. All he heard were the alarmed cries from his friends as he was taken.

(-)

Naruto was dragged through a narrow tunnel and was propelled downwards through some kind of hole beneath him. Sage-Mode had been deactivated by a foreign source of energy. He groaned.

The Uzumaki blinked his sapphire eyes open and scanned the sector around him. Candles illuminated the ginormous room. Naruto felt the warmth inside of the atmosphere tickle his exposed patches of skin.

There was a brown-coloured throne at the end of the gargantuan room. Naruto suppressed another frustrated growl when he noticed Prometheus: who had an amused expression. "Leave me alone!"

"I cannot leave you alone until you have relinquished the Kyuubi." Prometheus tapped the arm-rest of his throne. "My lord desires it."

"I thought you wanted to become Kurama's newest Jinchuuriki?" Naruto smirked. "Or were you lying to me about all of that?"

"I still desire to seal the Kyuubi into myself." Prometheus chuckled. "Naruto Uzumaki—you have forgotten something important…"

"What have I forgotten?" Naruto grunted when the sigil on his palm started to pulse. "Crap. They can summon me through the sigil."

"I take it that you've realized?" Prometheus asked him. The titan smiled. "We can summon you to us whenever we desire…"

"I've also called for you to test out a prototype version of this rune." Prometheus' eyes glistened an ominous brown. "Suppression-Rune."

The atmosphere around Prometheus and Naruto crackled for the briefest of seconds. A mana-constructed pen materialized itself onto Naruto's right palm and scribbled a rune down into the middle of it.

Naruto raised a perplexed eye-brow and flexed his chakra—until he sensed his lack of chakra-reserves. An aggressive growl rolled off of the end of his tongue. "What the hell did you write on my hand?!"

"Judging by that reaction—I guess the prototype version of the Energy-Suppression-Rune had succeeded in its purpose."

Prometheus disappeared within a vicious hurricane of mana and manifested his physical body behind Naruto: who gritted his teeth. Naruto bashed the back of his head right into Prometheus' nose.

Naruto stretched his hand forward and scanned the anomalous rune illustrated onto his skin. The Suppression-Rune faltered for four seconds—disintegrating into flecks of mana. Naruto's chakra returned.

The titan of forethought regenerated his broken nose and watched the rune and all of its effects fade into nothing. He clicked his tongue. Naruto turned around. Sapphire eyes rippled into crimson depths.

A clawed hand reached for Prometheus' face and buried him into the concrete beneath them. The Labyrinth itself trembled. Naruto let out an enraged yell and constructed a Rasengan onto his calloused palm.

Prometheus flipped backwards to create a fair amount of distance between himself and an aggravated Naruto. The Uzumaki gritted his teeth even more and materialized above Prometheus: who smiled.

"I shall fight you another time—Naruto Uzumaki." Prometheus let out a gentle chuckle. "My lord has ordered someone else to take the fox."

Naruto drilled his Rasengan downwards—but Prometheus had escaped through one of Hecate's pink-coloured portals. He dispelled his sphere of chakra and converted the crimson in his eyes to blue.

The Uzumaki summoned a Shadow-Clone: who summoned a Massive-Rasengan and directed it down into the concrete. Naruto grinned before he fell through the enormous hole in the ground.

Chakra channelled itself into the bottom of his feet. Naruto stuck onto one of the walls of the perpetual maze. The memories of his Shadow-Clone filled his head. He slipped his hands into his pockets.

"This is going to take a long time, huh?"

(-)

June 27th 2008:

Naruto stumbled out of the umpteenth tunnel inside of the Labyrinth and clicked his teeth in unveiled annoyance. His perception of time had been altered since that was one of the Labyrinth's features.

The magical-barricade that had blocked his sensory-capabilities had become much more powerful over time for some unexplainable reason. Naruto slumped his shoulders as he saw another dead-end.

He had wanted to use Kurama's chakra to destroy whatever sector of the Labyrinth he was in—but his most trusted partner forbade him from using his chakra for such a menial task. "Kurama—please!"

"I don't need my chakra to be used for such a simple task." Kurama's grunt of annoyance filled Naruto's mind. "Use Sage-Mode if you want."

"This damn maze restructures itself faster than I can destroy it." Naruto groaned and grabbed his head. "Let me use K-C-M, please!"

"Fine…"

Naruto produced a breath of relief from the cavern of his mouth and covered himself in a powerful cloak of chakra. He materialized multiple chakra-arms from his shoulder-blades. "Planetary-Rasengan."

Multiple variations of his Planetary-Rasengan drove themselves into the walls of the Labyrinth. The Uzumaki rushed forward in an aureate distortion of luminosity and felt the Labyrinth restructure itself.

The Uzumaki rolled out of one of the entrances to the Labyrinth and flew through the air until he crashed into the soil. Alarmed murmurs inundated his ear-drums. Naruto dispelled K-C-M and groaned.

"Naruto?!"

"You disappeared even longer than Percy!"

Naruto grabbed onto the back of his head and scratched it in brief confusion. Clarity flooded his mind as he recognized the confused face of Annabeth and the concerned one of Percy. He sighed.

"I ran into some trouble and got lost…"

(-)

Naruto had been briefed by Percy about everything that had transpired since his disappearance. They had met Nico Di Angelo again at some type of ranch and Hephaestus at his workshop.

Percy told him that they had also met Briares—a Hekatonkheires. The son of the seas had triggered a volcano to erupt and had stayed on an island until he was able to return to camp.

"I missed out on a lot since I vanished—huh?" Naruto was sat down on some type of wooden-chair. "It was the maze's fault, not mine!"

"No-body blames you—Naruto." Chiron assured him and coughed. "I wasn't expecting for Percy to interrupt his own funeral, though."

"Trust me." Percy possessed a dry voice. "Neither was I. But—Annabeth! I'm pretty sure we're gonna need Rachel for this."

"That red-haired lady?" Naruto interrupted Percy and tilted his head. "Does she have some useful ability to help navigate that damn maze?"

"She does." Percy nodded and turned to face Annabeth: who had a reluctant countenance. "Annabeth—you have her number. Call her!"

"This quest was assigned to me by the Oracle." Annabeth responded and folded her arms. "I don't want nor need that Rachel's help."

"Is this because she's a mortal?" Percy pressed on. "Come on, Annabeth. Give her a call. You'd still be the leader of the quest."

"Fine." Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I'll call her. This better be worth it. Or else we'd have wasted more time."

Naruto grabbed onto his phone and reread the messages he had transmitted to Sasuke when he was trapped in the Labyrinth. Sasuke had extended his vacation time to three months. He smiled

(-)

Naruto, Annabeth, and Percy had stopped for a short visit to notify Sally Jackson that Percy was still alive. They even ate some of her blue-cookies. The Uzumaki stretched his arms and yawned.

The three of them had entered Times-Square—where Annabeth and Rachel had decided to meet. Naruto sensed Rachel's presence and was somewhat confused. She had covered her body in golden paint.

"Are you sure you got the right person?" Naruto whispered to Annabeth: who had a complicated expression. "Is this a prank?"

Percy tapped Naruto on the shoulder and pointed down at a sign—this sign asked for donations from the people within the area. Naruto rummaged through his pockets and produced ten yen from them.

"I don't think that currency will work in this country." Annabeth snorted. "How have you been paying for everything when you visit us?"

"I use a credit card funded by my friend's family." Naruto shrugged. "He puts money into the credit card every two weeks for me."

"That's nice of him."

Naruto glanced behind himself in confusion as some random individual—who was covered in silver paint—stopped next to Rachel and adopted the pose of a stern teacher. The Uzumaki tilted his head.

Rachel jumped off of the tarp and placed herself between an indifferent Percy and an irritated Annabeth: who clicked her teeth. Naruto detected bouts of envy and annoyance from her emotions.

The four of them travelled over to some kind of small cafe. Naruto ordered himself some chocolate-cake while the others ordered coffee and two fruit smoothies. Naruto devoured his chocolate cake.

"So—Annabeth." Rachel stirred the spoon inside of her cup of coffee. "You promise to explain about this mythological world if I help you?"

"I promise to answer all the questions you have." Annabeth lifted her chin at Rachel in curiosity. "Why? Are you not up for the challenge?"

"Come on—Annabeth." Percy sipped his fruit smoothie. "Rachel. You don't have to help if you don't want to, but we'd appreciate your help."

"Excuse me." Naruto asked the waiter. "Is it possible for me to have some of this chocolate cake be put into a box to eat for later?"

"I'll help." Rachel nodded once. "I've been bored since Summer started. Maybe this will liven everything up for me…?"

"Alright." Annabeth held her curt tone and stood up from her chair. "Percy, Naruto. We're returning to the Labyrinth ASAP."

"Okay!" Naruto responded. "I'm kind of exhausted."

There was a tired expression on his face.


A/N: Thanks for reading.