December 14th 2007:

The gentle din of foot-steps echoed throughout an isolated alley-way within the sequestered depths of New-York-City. Two luminous and intense eyes of azure origin peered up at the endless night-sky.

Naruto Uzumaki had a nonchalant expression painted across his face when he noticed a legion of monsters behind him. One of them hissed at him—the hiss was a high-pitched and sibilant sound.

The Uzumaki tilted his head at the sight of the Empousa: whose crimson-coloured eyes glinted a sadistic shimmer. Amusement flickered inside of his bright irises. "And who may you be?"

Naruto watched as the Empousa—who he had named Sydney—bared her serrated fangs in his direction. She growled and another hiss rumbled out from her lips. "My identity is not your business!"

He raised his hands up in surrender and remained silent. A Hell-Hound yipped before charging forward. Naruto raised an unimpressed eye-brow and laughed. "Does the doggy want to play?"

"Such insolence." Sydney shook her head—a malicious smile growing onto her grotesque features. "You are a fool for taunting us, mortal!"

Naruto let out an uninterested hum. The Hell-Hound blurred in front of him and aimed its sharp teeth at his neck. Within two seconds—the Uzumaki had already crumbled the beast into golden particles.

He stepped one foot forward and crossed the distance between him and Sydney—who stumbled backwards in unadulterated shock at how fast he was. Naruto flicked his foot into her abdomen.

"How dare you!" Sydney screeched—the sadistic intent inside of her vermillion gaze increased. "You shall suffer a fate worse than death!"

Naruto ignored the hideous Empousa and directed an unconcerned grin at the Cyclops behind him. It grunted out a ferocious roar. The Uzumaki smacked his elbow into the foul creature's solar-plexus.

He took off his sun-glasses and unveiled his sapphire-hued eyes to the army of monsters in the alley-way. Sydney was baffled at the luminosity of his gaze. Naruto grinned—pointing his finger forward.

"The moonlight." Naruto's bright grin transformed itself into a mischievous one. "It truly does highlight how weak all of you are."

Those words of absolute mockery drove Sydney into pure insanity. The Empousa bared her fangs at him for a second time. Saliva frothed from her mouth. "Kill him! I don't care how! Kill this boy!"

Insouciance was evident on his coarse features. Unperturbed by the pure ferocity within her voice—Naruto produced a Kunai from his sleeve and his body became nothing more than a meagre distortion.

An orange and crimson outline blurred through the alley-way. Fifteen of the Hell-Hounds barked as they disintegrated into golden particles. Naruto reappeared in front of Sydney—who was hissing.

The high-pitched noise filled the cold air of the alley-way. Naruto summoned two Shadow-Clones and gesticulated his chin at the last fifteen monsters. They nodded—stepping forward and vanishing.

Naruto crouched down until his sapphire-coloured irises met her vermillion-accentuated gaze. He gave her a casual grin—but a curious and aggressive glint boiled inside of the azure of his eyes.

The Uzumaki tapped his finger onto the temple of the Empousa and knocked her unconscious. Naruto glanced at his two Shadow-Clones—the two of them had destroyed the army of foul entities.

He dispelled his Shadow-Clones and crossed his arms. Who had ordered this Empousa and her army of monsters to attack him? Naruto clicked his fingers in realization. "It must have been Atlas!"

"Perhaps it was him." Kurama grunted in response—a languid yawn flittering out from the cavern of his mouth. "That would mean—…"

"He found out about my commission to eliminate him." Naruto groaned and slumped his shoulders. "This sucks! What should I do?"

"No clue."

Naruto grinned at the languid response from his partner. The sound of a hiss reached his tympanums. He flicked his gaze towards Sydney—who had woken herself up. "Who arranged this fight?"

"Why would I tell you?" A sardonic smirk of untainted mockery graced her monstrous features. "I shall remain loyal to my lord."

The Uzumaki clicked his teeth and rolled his eyes of a blue colour. His presence extended itself over to her. Sydney gasped when the outline of a ginormous fox filled her vision. Kurama growled.

His growl was a deep and gruff rumble. Sydney frothed at the mouth in obvious fear. She shook her head—but the outline of Kurama remained within her line of sight. The Empousa screamed.

"Luke Castellan! Luke Castellan!" She shrieked. "He found out about Hades hiring you somehow and ordered me to eliminate you!"

"Luke Castellan." Rough fingers brushed his chin. Naruto nodded to himself and grunted. "How did he find out about my existence?"

"I'm not sure!" Sydney slammed her head against the wall of the alley-way—terror brimmed in her voice. "Get rid of that fox!"

Naruto shrugged and Kurama retreated into his seal. The outline of the gargantuan Kitsune left her vision. Sydney let out a breath of relief until a Kunai embedded itself into her sternum. She crumbled.

The Uzumaki slipped his calloused hands into his pockets and body-flickered onto the roof-top of a secluded building. One of his hands were stretched forward as he gathered Senjutsu into his system.

Hades had told of him about the tale of a boy called Percy Jackson—who was the son of Poseidon and the child who had retrieved the master-bolt. He was also one of the people looking for Hades' kids.

Naruto extended his senses across the country and felt the presence of the ocean inside of someone. He grinned. Percy Jackson had to be the one in possession of such an oceanic presence. "Bingo!"

"How did Hades find out he would be looking for his children?"

The Uzumaki rummaged through his pockets and smoothened out the letter Hades had left in his pocket from their latest encounter. It read: 'Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Thalia Grace.'

Naruto performed a double-take on the last surname on the note. His aureate eye-brow lifted itself up. Jason had the same surname. He shrugged, pocketed the note, and leaped off of the roof-top.

(-)

Luke Castellan stood within the sector of a ginormous room. The palace of Hecate—the goddess of magic—was an ornate one. His blue-tinted gaze drifted towards the crystal-ball on top of a table.

Hecate snapped her fingers and the crystal-ball glistened a pink-hued light. The crystal-ball presented to them the image of Naruto Uzumaki destroying an army of thirty monsters. Hecate scowled.

"This blue-eyed boy..." Her lustrous voice echoed into the ear-drums of the demi-god—who arched a brow. "He is a threat…"

"How is he a threat?" Luke folded his arms. Annoyance coloured his unamused tone. "All he did was take out thirty monsters. Big deal."

The deity of magic lifted her pink-accentuated gaze up to Luke. Magical particles filled the warm air of the castle and touched his skin. Hecate scoffed. "Your sarcasm is not appreciated, boy…"

She clicked her fingers and summoned a screen—a screen created from her magical-energy. Another image of Naruto Uzumaki was visible and—this time—his body was covered by an aureate cloak.

Luke could feel the power Naruto held in this form from the screen. Hecate snapped her fingers for a third time and the magical-screen dissolved itself into pink-tinged particles. "He wasn't that powerful."

Hecate rolled her bright eyes and created a picture-book. Luke grabbed it out from the air. The demi-god opened it up and was taken aback when he saw the illustration of a Kyuubi on its pages.

"The boy himself is not a threat." Hecate smirked. "The creature sealed inside of him is a threat. That beast is the nine-tailed fox."

"Lord Kronos." The name of the titan lingered on the tip of her tongue. "He wants to use the fox to become even more powerful."

"Oh…" Realization glistened within his gaze. Luke nodded. "Lord Kronos wants to kill Naruto Uzumaki to steal this beast from him."

"Indeed." Hecate chuckled. "The Kyuubi is a creature from the Shinto pantheon. He is feared and revered by all for his incredible strength."

Hecate clapped her hands and a scroll materialized into Luke's hands. Luke unrolled the scroll and his eyes widened in intrigue. She smiled. "Our goal is to capture or kill Naruto Uzumaki and steal the Kyuubi."

"Luke Castellan. Heed my warning." The goddess' pink eyes shimmered—power exuding from her gaze alone. "You must be careful when facing Naruto Uzumaki. He is a complete aberration."

"Aberration?" Luke tilted his head. "How so?"

Hecate produced another scroll from thin-air and opened it up. Illustrated onto the scroll was a picture of a blonde-child—the stars and the heavens themselves held within his hands. "What is this?"

"Some fancy drawing?"

"Wrong." Hecate clicked her teeth—irritated. "His birth flipped the power-balance of the Shinto pantheon itself. He is an absolute anomaly."

"Impressive." Luke whistled to himself. The demi-god hummed. "How did you find out he would be interfering in our schemes?"

The goddess of magic gave him a shrewd smirk. Particles of magic flickered across her pale palm until she forged herself a parchment. A vermillion-coloured sigil glowed on the paper. "I have my sources."

"It's a shame." Luke grunted—frustration bleeding into his rough baritone. "He killed thirty of our monsters, including the Empousa."

"Not to worry." Hecate flourished her smooth hand and summoned a legion of twenty Empousa—who all hissed. "I can create more."

"We mustn't be concerned by Naruto Uzumaki's presence." The goddess of magic reminded the demi-god. She smiled. "Our top priority is resurrecting lord Kronos and ensuring his victory."

"Indeed…"

(-)

Naruto channelled an average amount of chakra into the bottom of his feet and stuck himself onto another building. The raucous beeps of the vehicles inside of the city deluged both of his tympanums.

He flipped forward and fell down into an isolated lane. Cold air tickled his flesh as he landed onto the ground. Naruto grabbed his sealing-scroll from his pocket and unsealed a bottle of water.

Naruto flicked the lid off of the top and gulped all of the water in the bottle down his throat in ten seconds. Wiping his wrist against his lip—the Uzumaki slipped his hands into his pockets and vanished.

The Uzumaki body-flickered ten miles forward and settled himself onto the balcony of an abandoned hotel. His fingers touched the glacial metal of the railing before he gazed down at the city.

Bright lights flickered within his vision. Multitudinous sounds filled his ear-drums. A little smile graced his visage. Naruto left the railing in a flash of multiple colours and blurred across the large city.

Sage-Mode allowed him to stretch his sensory limits to an unnatural level. Naruto could feel the oceanic presence of Percy Jackson and the electrical presence of Thalia Grace. Jason had a similar presence.

Naruto entered a forest—sprinting through an inundation of thick branches and green-tinted leaves. Chakra rippled into his hand as he grabbed onto a vine and swung himself forward into the woods.

The Uzumaki reached a secluded sector—where he could see the outline of a ginormous school. Naruto body-flickered onto the roof-top of the phrontistery and blurred towards another forest.

A wide grin grew onto his whiskered features. Naruto watched Percy Jackson engage in a duel against some type of Manticore. He tilted his head and summoned a Massive-Rasengan onto his palm.

"Massive-Rasengan for the win!" Exhilaration danced inside of the blue of his iridescent irises. "Haven't used one of these in a while."

Naruto slammed his gargantuan orb of blue chakra down onto the body of the monster. The smoke cleared up and unveiled the Manticore to him—whose scales were beginning to crack.

The Uzumaki directed his azure gaze to Percy Jackson and raised his thumb. "It's a pleasure to meetcha. My name's Naruto Uzumaki."

"The pleasure's all mine." Percy blinked his emerald-hued eyes in absolute confusion: as if he was in a drunken daze. "I'm Percy."

Naruto laughed and his senses picked up on a multitude of presences. A languid hum buzzed inside of his mouth. He tapped his chin before flipping forward and disappearing in an array of orange.

The Uzumaki reappeared on the roof-top of the school. Hades had wanted him to remain surreptitious in his mission and for him to keep his existence somewhat hidden. "I have a plan!"

"Would you care to tell me?"

"Simple!" Naruto grinned—sitting down cross-legged on the roof-top. "I wait for them to leave for Camp Half-Blood and follow them!"

"How exactly would that keep your existence hidden?" Kurama grunted—unimpressed. "They would notice you following them."

"True. True." Naruto nodded in response. "Hm…Guess I have to suppress my chakra when I'm following them to Camp Half-Blood."

"Good idea." Kurama yawned. "Camp Half-Blood is where these prophecies are given to demi-gods. Hades did tell us that whoever is given a prophecy this time would lead us to wherever Atlas is."

"Yep!"

(-)

Atlas was seated on the top of an expensive throne. An aureate goblet of wine was in his right hand and a parchment was in his left hand. Annoyance decorated his face. He rumbled out a low growl.

The parchment was from Luke Castellan. It was filled by details about the nine-tailed fox Kronos desired to steal from Naruto Uzumaki. Atlas felt a shred of irritation from the last segment of the letter.

'Be careful of Naruto Uzumaki.'

The titan of endurance crushed the goblet of whine into golden fragments and grunted. Luke was growing more and more audacious by the day. He dared warn him about a future adversary?

Atlas shook his head and smirked—elation rushing through his veins. He had been holding the sky for decades and was itching for a battle to the metaphorical death against a powerful foe. He clapped.

A Dracaena slithered towards him, stuck out its tongue, and hissed. It held a photograph in its reptilian hands. Atlas snatched the photo from the creature and lifted an eye-brow. "So this is the boy…"

Two luminous eyes of an intense blue stared at him. The boy possessed a care-free and mischievous countenance. Atlas hummed. He wanted to change his care-free expression into a pained one.

Atlas flicked his fist through the sternum of the Dracaena. It crumbled into golden particles. The titan adjusted the tie hooked over his neck and grinned. "Naruto Uzumaki—vessel of the Kyuubi."

"I'm waiting for you to challenge me…"

(-)

Unadulterated rage was burning within the depths of his head. Percy clenched both of his fists and gritted his teeth. A disgruntled shimmer glistened in the green of his aggrieved gaze. He sighed.

Annabeth had been kidnapped by Dr. Thorn—the Manticore who was posing as a teacher in the school Nico had been a student of. Percy still remembered the blonde boy he had encountered.

The thought of the blonde individual—Naruto Uzumaki—lingered in his mind. Percy was positive the poison he had gotten from Dr. Thorn was going to kill him until Naruto had interfered in their battle.

His massive orb of blue energy had weakened Dr. Thorn enough for him to be disintegrated by a few arrows. Percy wondered who exactly Naruto was—and why had he disappeared?

Another sigh escaped his lips. Percy tucked his chin between his knees as he stared out at the body of water in front of him. His ears perked up at the sound of a bright and nonchalant laugh. "Huh?"

He snapped his green-hued gaze towards the source of the noise and his eyes widened in pure shock. Naruto Uzumaki stood in the distance—an insouciant grin beautifying his cheerful features.

The Uzumaki raised his hand up—flourishing it and returning it to his pockets. Percy stood up to his feet, uncapped Riptide, and brandished his blade in the direction of the stranger. "You again?"

Naruto blurred forward and appeared behind Percy—who adjusted his stance until he was facing him. The demi-god gritted his teeth. "I'm not in the mood for your games. What do you want from me?"

"Simple." Naruto shrank his grin into a casual smile. "I have to speak to the director of your camp. I have some business for him…"

Percy capped Riptide into its pen-form and nodded. Naruto arched a brow when he noticed the boy's emerald gaze lingering on him. The son of the seas began walking and mumbled. "Who exactly are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." He responded—feeling the warm air of the camp touch his exposed patches of skin. "An exorcist for vengeful spirits."

Naruto followed Percy to the Big-House. Chiron was on the porch of the building while Mr. D had already left to sleep. The Centaur noticed Percy and Naruto—bemused. "Percy. Who is your friend?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Percy shrugged—ignoring the expression of surprise on Chiron's ancient face. "He wanted to speak to you."

"Of course." Chiron let out a gentle cough. "Please get to your cabin, Percy. Maybe some rest shall help you calm down your nerves."

The son of the seas grunted and left for his cabin. Chiron smoothened out the blanket on his lap before he sighed. "I wasn't expecting the trouble-maker of the Shinto to visit me at my abode."

Naruto raised up his tattooed palm. "Official business."

Chiron discerned the sigil of Hades on the hand of the Uzumaki and pressed a finger to his temple in fatigue. Another sigh filtered out from his mouth. "What has lord Hades hired you for, Uzumaki?"

"To eliminate Atlas." Naruto crossed his arms. "Or subdue him."

"Why are you at this camp?" Chiron lowered his finger from his temple and down into his lap. "There's no reason for you to be-…"

Comprehension flickered across his face. His antique gaze drifted down to the ground as a despaired breath rolled out from his lips. "Don't tell me there shall be another prophecy soon…"

"There's going to be another prophecy soon." Naruto had an unbothered and peaceful expression. "Sounds fun, huh?"

"A prophecy ends in death on most occasions." Chiron glanced at Naruto in hidden distaste—intertwining his hands and humming. "I assume you plan to stay at camp until the prophecy is given out?"

"Bingo!"

(-)

Luke was seated on a luxurious chair—a chair created from a number of expensive and beautiful materials. On the table in front of him was a collection of delicious and edible meals. He licked his lips.

The demi-god gazed at the individual who sat across from him. Prometheus—the titan of forethought—stabbed his fork into the middle of a stake before guiding it into the depths of his mouth.

Prometheus lifted a polite eye-brow when he noticed Luke was staring in his direction. Sipping a glass of wintry water, he smiled. "Is there something on my face, young Castellan? Perhaps some food?"

"No." Luke shook his head and grunted. "Why exactly are you eating on my table? I'm sure you have subordinates to cook you meals."

"I'm of divine-blood, young Castellan." Prometheus chuckled. "There is no feasible reason for me to eat food. I merely do it sometimes."

Luke ignored Prometheus and drank his cup of wine. Curiosity filled his voice. "Have you been told by Hecate about the nine-tailed fox?"

"Indeed." Prometheus nodded. "I don't care much about that fox."

"Lord Kronos wants us to steal the fox from Naruto Uzumaki." Luke replied—taking another greedy sip of his wine. "It's such a pain."

"The fox does hold incredible power." Prometheus reminded him. The titan stabbed his fork into a second stake. "It's worth the effort."

"Maybe…" Luke hesitated for the briefest of minutes and sighed. He snapped his fingers—summoning two of his monstrous subordinates: who waited for his orders. "Clean up the dinner table."

Prometheus pushed his chair backwards and stood up to his feet. A low hum of amusement developed itself inside of his windpipe at the sight of the monsters obeying a mortal of all entities. "How funny…"

Divine-energy erupted from Prometheus' form and he crumbled into brown-coloured particles. Luke adjusted the collar of his outfit—walking through the ginormous doors of the dining-room.

The demi-god stepped into his bed-room and clicked his fingers. Luke glanced back and watched as the doors behind him closed. A smirk graced his handsome visage. "My skills in magic are reputable…"

He seated himself down on his office-chair and stared at his desk. Strewn across it were all of the documents, dossiers, and scrolls Hecate had about the Kyuubi. Luke tapped his chin.

The nine-tailed fox interested him to inhuman extents. He still felt the power Naruto Uzumaki was exuding in the magical-video from when he utilized the abilities of the Kitsune. It was impressive.

Luke straightened his body as he heard an amused chuckle. Hecate teleported herself into his bed-room and inspected the documents scattered across his desk. "You are a bit obsessed, aren't you?"

"Not really." Luke shook and canted his head. "I'm deducing if stealing the Kyuubi from Naruto Uzumaki is worth the effort."

"In my opinion, it's not worth the effort." The goddess of magic touched her cheek. "Hm…This is the desire of our lord…"

"Indeed it is…"

(-)

December 15th 2007:

Naruto woke up on the top of a soft mattress. Sunlight streamed through the unopened window of the guest-room in the Big-House. A languid yawn filtrated out from the pits of his mouth.

He flicked his hand through his face and removed the gunk gathered inside of his eyes. Naruto directed his gaze towards the door of the room when he heard the sound of foot-steps in the outside corridor.

The Uzumaki blurred forward and opened the door. Percy immediately paused in bafflement. Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Oh, Percy. Did you have a good sleep last night?"

"I guess." Percy glanced at the trap-door—the entrance to the attic. "I wanted to ask you this. What are you…?"

Naruto grinned. "I'm an exorcist of sorts."

"Okay…" Percy nodded. "What does an exorcist do?"

"Take care of evil and vengeful spirits." Naruto answered and flourished a calloused hand. "And to keep Japan free of evil Yo-Kai."

Percy ignored Naruto and began to climb up the steps to the attic. His eyes widened a little as Naruto morphed into an orange distortion and blurred into the attic. The demi-god blinked in awe.

"How are you so fast?!"

"Simple speed!" Naruto yelled and laughed. "You should see Sasuke! Whenever he gets real in a fight, lightning covers up his body!"

Percy had zero clue about the identity of this 'Sasuke' individual and clicked his fingers. "Oh! I also wanted to ask why you're at camp."

The Uzumaki unveiled his obsidian-coloured tattoo to Percy and slipped his sun-glasses onto his face. "I'm on business for Hades."

"Hades?!" Percy blanched. "What type of business?"

"Private!" Naruto shouted—a chuckle rolling off of the tip of his tongue. "My turn to ask a question. Why are you checking the attic?"

Percy entered the attic and leaned himself against one of its wooden-pillars. Crossing his arms—he contemplated on his response. "My friend, Annabeth, was kidnapped by a Manticore."

"The one I used a Massive-Rasengan on?" Naruto slanted his head. "I definitely weakened him enough to be killed or subdued at least!"

"You did." Percy unfolded his arms and sighed. "But Dr. Thorn was durable enough to keep us busy enough to kidnap Annabeth…"

"I can feel an under-lying affection in his emotions whenever he speaks about this Annabeth person…"

"He's got a crush on her, then."

"Why are you in the attic?" The Uzumaki kept his head tilted—a glint of curiosity and confusion flickering in his gaze. "There's—…"

"I want to ask the Oracle about for some clues to find her." Percy interrupted him and pointed at the Oracle—it had a lifeless presence and a miserable expression. "It has the power to give prophecies."

Naruto nodded and stepped towards the Oracle. Nature-energy entered his system until two orange patches grew over his eyes. He extended his senses out to feel the presence of the lifeless entity.

The Uzumaki detected two emotions—fear and despair. There was also some type of residual presence lingering in the aura of the creature. Naruto could feel shards of Hades' divine-power.

Naruto stretched his sensory-capabilities to their absolute limits. Interest shimmered in the blue of his eyes for a second. Hades had imparted some kind of curse onto the Oracle—a curse of death.

He dispelled all of the Senjutsu chakra within his system. Naruto seated himself down on a wooden-chair while Percy started to speak to the Oracle—but he was given no response. "Kurama?"

"Hm?"

The Uzumaki stared out of the window in the attic and scanned the grey-tinted clouds strewn across the bright skies. He propped his palm beneath his chin. "I wonder how long this is going to take."

"Maybe months." Kurama grunted. "Maybe a few weeks."

A frustrated groan rumbled within his trachea. Naruto sighed and gandered towards Percy—who was kicking his foot into the wooden-pillar of the attic in irritation. "Hey, Percy! Is something wrong?"

"There is!" Percy kicked the wooden-pillar of the attic for a fourth time. "The Oracle didn't give me a clue on how to rescue Annabeth!"

Naruto crossed the distance between him and Percy in an interval of a second. His shoulder leaned itself against the wooden-wall as he raised an eye-brow. "It wasn't your fault she was kidnapped, was it?"

"N—No!"

"You have to focus on rescuing your friend." Naruto smiled. "You have to stay calm and collected for yourself and your friend."

"Thanks, Naruto…" Percy inhaled and exhaled. "I have to stay calm."

"How about a little spar to keep you calm?"

(-)

Percy stepped backwards when the end of a Kunai touched his neck. The demi-god swung Riptide forward and aimed his blade at the ear of Naruto Uzumaki—who back-flipped from him to create distance.

Naruto had a wide grin on his whiskered face and produced another Kunai from his sleeve before blurring forward. Percy gritted his teeth in concentration—using the end of Riptide to block off the Kunai.

The Uzumaki twirled his Kunai and directed it towards Percy's temple. Percy smirked and smacked the weapon down into the ground. Naruto shook his head and disappeared in a distortion.

Percy raised his hands up in surrender as Naruto held a third Kunai against his neck. The demi-god capped Riptide into its pen-form and grunted. "Why the hell do you have so many knives in your sleeves?"

"They're not knives!" Naruto had a gleeful smile on his visage. "These weapons are called Kunai. Most Shinobi use them in spars or fights!"

The son of the seas glanced towards the small crowd gathered outside of the arena to view their little spar. Every camper was confused about the identity of the blonde-haired and blue-eyed boy.

Naruto adjusted his sun-glasses and gandered at the audience who were watching their harmless battle. He had failed to heed Hades' orders of keeping himself and his existence surreptitious and hidden.

Percy noticed one of the members of the audience approach him. Thalia arched a brow when Naruto lifted a hand up. She crossed her arms and glared at Percy—who shrugged. "Who's the blonde?"

"He's an exorcist." Percy answered while slipping Riptide into his pockets. He rotated his wrists—Naruto was an unpredictable foe. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. Someone who has a lot of knives."

"Kunai!"

Thalia flicked her sapphire-accentuated eyes towards him. Naruto stared at them and realized how similar they were to the eyes of Jason Grace. They had to be related somehow. "Nice to meet you."

"The name's Thalia Grace." She rolled her blue eyes and grunted. "Never seen you at camp. Are you one of the new demi-gods?"

"Nope." Naruto presented his calloused palm to Thalia and the crowd outside of the arena. "I was hired by Hades for a mission."

"Hades." Her eyes widened in curiosity. "What kind of business?"

"Private business!" Naruto lifted a finger up to his lips—a cheeky smile decorating his features. "Sorry. I can't blab about my task."

"Oh." Sarcasm filled her voice as Thalia snorted. "A secret spy."

Naruto ignored her sardonic words and flicked a few heaps of snow off of his shoulder. Within an interval of a second—Naruto had collected all of the Kunai he had left on the ground in a blur.

The Uzumaki brought out one of his sealing-scrolls and sealed his Kunai into it. Humming to himself—Naruto channelled some of his chakra into his arms and legs. "Wonder what Sasuke's up to."

"I couldn't care less about the Uchiha." Kurama growled. "All of them deserve to burn in the deepest levels of Hell. Every single Uchiha!"

Naruto laughed and stuck his feet onto the trunk of a tree without using either of his hands. Another chuckle teetered out from his mouth. "Your vendetta against the Uchiha clan is hilarious!"

"N-Naruto…" Percy watched him in unmuted awe. "How are you-…?"

"How the hell are you climbing up that tree?"

The Uzumaki blinked and realized he had unconsciously transmitted his chakra into his arms and legs. Laughing and grinning—he flipped forward and settled down on the concrete. "It's a special skill!"

"Special skill?" Percy grouched to himself—disbelief evident in his tone. "Could you teach me this special skill of yours, please?"

Naruto pondered for a minute and extended his senses towards the inner-energy system of the demi-god. Percy possessed no chakra-points or a chakra-pathway system. "Sorry. I can't teach you this."

"Huh…" Percy nodded and shrugged. "That's fine."

An apologetic smile graced his features. Naruto grunted when he felt a shard of energy touch his skin. His gaze flickered towards the tattoo painted on his right palm. "Kurama. What's going on?"

"The tattoo is checking your whereabouts. Hades is ensuring you're on task." The Kyuubi grunted in response. "Nothing to worry about."

Naruto grinned. "Okay…"

The Uzumaki vanished in a distortion of crimson and orange. He unveiled himself and entered the guest-room. Naruto planted himself onto a chair and yawned. His mission was starting soon.


A/N: Thanks for reading.