October 15th 2009:

The shadows of an abandoned village in the hinterlands of an unknown country were illuminated by two crimson eyes of aggression. Unadulterated rage flickered within the red voids of these eyes.

A single outline skulked out from the blood-covered hut of the isolated village, glancing at the corpses strewn across the ground of the area. Naruto Uzumaki bared his fanged teeth, infuriated beyond belief.

Masses of darkness around Naruto twisted and twirled. Two Hell-Hounds emerged from the shadows of the village. Unhinged malice and hunger filled the Hell-Hounds' vermillion gazes.

Giving one of the Hell-Hounds a ferocious and humourless grin, Naruto pulled out a rusted Kunai from his sleeve and struck his shoulder into the monstrous entity. The Hell-Hound was hurtled into a small hut.

Twirling his aged weapon and matching the intensity of the Hell-Hounds, Naruto propelled his Kunai straight into the second one's skull. Yipping in unconcealed pain, the Hell-Hound crumbled into dust.

"You damn mutts keep following me, huh?" Naruto snarled without a single shred of amusement. "Man, all of you really piss me off…"

Naruto disappeared in a burst of unmatched speed, appearing in front of the Hell-Hound thrown into the small hut of the village. Crimson irises glinted an ominous sheen beneath the influence of the starlight.

Dragging the Hell-Hound by the scruff of its fur through the soil of the area, Naruto bashed its head thirteen times into the ground. Another Kunai was stabbed into the monster's skull and it disintegrated.

A palpable annoyance was evident in the vermillion voids of Naruto's gaze as he returned to the blood-covered hut he had been inside of earlier. Grabbing his backpack, Naruto let loose an irritated sigh.

"Those pesky dogs won't stay down for long." Naruto grouched, an aggressive inflection to his somewhat low voice. "I hate this shit…"

Naruto adjusted the straps of his backpack, reaching the entrance of the blood-soaked village and leaving the deceased townsmen behind him. Leaping onto the tree-branches, Naruto vanished in a blur.

Hopping from tree-branch to tree-branch for the next two hours, Naruto found himself a decent spot beneath a solid canopy of trees. Gathering sticks and twigs into a pile, Naruto managed to create a fire.

Luxuriating in the weak warmth of the paltry flames in front of him, Naruto unzipped his backpack and rummaged through his belongings—a broken phone and a notebook.

A frustrated groan bubbled out from Naruto's mouth as he buried his whiskered face into his calloused hands in confusion and displeasure. Naruto slumped his shoulders, irritation bleeding into his lazy posture.

He had woken up four weeks ago in the middle of nowhere without any of his memories—except for his name: Naruto Uzumaki. Groaning for the second time in frustration, Naruto leaned his head backwards.

For the strangest of reasons, Naruto had some type of battle instinct ingrained into his body. When he had been ambushed by those Hell-Hounds for the first time, he was able to slaughter them.

Naruto listened to the crackling of the weak fire he had created, bathing in the sensation of warmth until his peaceful time of respite was interrupted by a polite cough. "What the hell do you want…?"

Vermillion eyes were flicked towards the direction of an anomalous individual. The man possessed silver irises. He wore a white fedora and an expensive tuxedo. Khonsu smiled. "Pleasure to see you too!"

Grunting in response, Naruto pondered about how he and Khonsu had met. It had been Naruto's first week travelling through this forest, fighting off monsters, eating berries to feed himself, and looking for settlements.

He had met the strange man in the tuxedo in one of the destroyed settlements the Hell-Hounds and Empousai had plundered. After Naruto had massacred those monsters, Khonsu made himself known.

From there on out, Khonsu would visit Naruto at the most random of times and would sometimes gift him more favourable food—such as burgers, Ramen, and sandwiches. Naruto scowled. "Answer me."

"You are such an irritable individual, aren't you?" Khonsu rolled his silver eyes, smiling even more in amusement. "How have you been?"

Naruto snorted. "I have no memories of who I am and I'm stuck in this forest. How the hell do you think I've been?"

Khonsu widened his small smile of unadulterated humour into a sibylline grin. "I think you've been doing an excellent job at surviving!"

Summoning a silver cane and dispelling the weak fire Naruto had crafted, Khonsu created an orb of light to brighten the shadows of the woods. Naruto raised an eye-brow. "Tell me what you want, Khonsu."

"Very well." Khonsu sighed in feigned offence. "I have not been truthful about my identity in the three weeks we have known each other."

Prudence replaced Naruto's annoyance in the blink of an eye. Naruto established a good amount of distance between himself and Khonsu, fanged teeth glinting under the moonlight. "Who are you, then…?"

"I am Khonsu—the Egyptian god of the moon and time." Khonsu pointed a pristine finger at the moon in the sky. "That is who I am."

Naruto tilted his head at an unbothered angle. "Why the hell is a 'god' involving himself in my affairs?" He sneered. "What are you planning?"

"You don't believe my claim of godhood." Khonsu pressed a palm into his solar-plexus, feigning deep hurt. "My feelings are in pure disarray!"

"What a dramatic asshole." Naruto mused to himself, arms crossed in contemplation. "You do realize I only remember my damn name?"

"Indeed." Khonsu touched his chin, expanding the size of the silver sphere that radiated a soft light. "It's just so strange to me, you see."

The deity of the moon hummed, thoughts filling his mind. "From what I understand, you woke up in this forest without your memories."

"Applause for captain obvious." Naruto clapped his calloused palms together, unimpressed. "Yeah, I woke up here four weeks ago."

Kicking at the dirt around his feet, Naruto groused. "I woke up only knowing my stupid name. Then, these monsters started attacking me."

"The most irritating part is that every settlement I come across is covered in corpses!" Naruto growled. "This forest is endless, I swear!"

Silver irises shimmered in amusement. "I am an Egyptian deity, one who has the power to travel between dimensions of other pantheons."

"My name itself means traveller." Khonsu explained. "I've been debating on telling you this—but this forest is an artificial realm."

"Artificial realm..." Naruto lurched forward in realization. "You're telling me this forest ain't even a real realm?! But made by someone else?!"

"Indeed, my good friend." Khonsu replied. "This must be hard for you to believe. But I can see beyond the veil of time and creation…"

Khonsu's silver eyes glowed a sinister blue. "And the veil of time and creation is telling me that this realm was designed to trap you."

"Trap me?" Naruto had seated himself down on the ground, cross-legged. "Who the hell would want to trap me of all people?"

"I can't say, my good fellow." The deity murmured. "Maybe whoever trapped you in this artificial realm also stripped you of your memories."

Naruto propped his knuckles beneath his chin, sighing in annoyance. "What should I do now, then? Stay trapped in this stupid realm."

"Having to travel through a forest that has no end, except for the occasional settlement and battle monsters who want to devour me…"

"You don't have to worry about any of that anymore!" Khonsu chuckled and flourished his argent cane. "I have decided to help you out!"

"Why, though?" Naruto glared at the silver-haired man: who gave him a somewhat indulgent smile. "What do you gain from helping me?"

"Some entertainment from my years of traversing the realms!" Khonsu grinned, teeth shimmering from the light of his orb. "Isn't that enough?"

Lifting himself to his feet and glancing at the illuminated shadows of the forest, Naruto heard Khonsu snap his fingers at a discordant rhythm. A silver tapestry ignited in Naruto's vision before he grunted.

Khonsu slashed his silver cane in a diagonal motion across the air, opening a sapphire portal underneath Naruto's feet. Falling into this portal, Naruto saw Khonsu wave a pale hand in his direction.

(-)

Silver molecules of divine energy were created from the closed portal Khonsu had summoned seconds ago. Tapping his cane against the ground of the artificial realm, Khonsu flicked three fingers upwards.

A tear in the atmosphere was constructed in front of the Egyptian deity of the moon. Smiling in perpetual anticipation, Khonsu peered into the tear and watched Naruto land on his feet in the middle of a meadow.

"He's returned to the main realm that connects all pantheons—earth." Khonsu pondered to himself, pleased. "I do wonder who this boy is."

Most people would expect Khonsu to have discovered some type of clue regarding Naruto Uzumaki's identity from the three weeks they had been 'friends.' However, Khonsu had found no records of this child.

"I searched everywhere I could to find out who this boy could be." Khonsu's smile was intrigued. "But he is an unregistered existence."

An unregistered existence was an existence unrecognised by the fabrics of fate, reality, and history. Khonsu had never encountered one until he had met this crimson-eyed boy in this artificial dimension.

Turning around and opening a portal for himself, Khonsu disappeared into it before he reappeared behind Naruto: who had been scrutinising the beautiful flowers within the enormous meadow. "Having fun?"

Dropping the flowers he had gathered into his hand, Naruto answered. "I'm more glad to know that I ain't trapped in some artificial realm."

"I still do wonder about the identity of the person who sealed you into that realm." Khonsu's voice was casual. "You're rather lucky, Naruto!"

"How the hell am I lucky?"

"If I hadn't encountered you in that artificial realm, then you would have remained trapped there for the rest of eternity!"

"Thanks." Naruto glanced at the grey clouds in the night-sky. "Since I'm your source of entertainment, I guess you'll be sticking around."

"You're smarter than you look!" Khonsu let loose a melodic laugh. "Egyptian deities cannot access this particular realm without a host."

Vermillion eyes glowed in unconcealed ferocity. "I don't have any intentions of lending somebody else my body. Don't even try it."

"Worry not, my blond companion!" Khonsu shook his head, humoured. "I have tied myself to your soul! So that I can remain in this realm!"

"I'd rather have whoever erased my memories tied to my soul than you." Naruto mumbled, sarcasm in his tone. "Alright, what now?"

"Don't you have any questions about earth?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not really. I did say I could only remember what my name is—but I do remember basic details about everything else."

"Good." Khonsu hid an entertained smile behind a hand. "I wasn't going to waste my time educating you about basic knowledge."

"You're such an asshole." Naruto retaliated, head canted at an annoyed position. "Though, I still find it hard to believe you're a god."

The deity of the moon and time released a breath of fake pain. "Once again, Naruto Uzumaki, you hurt my feelings by thinking that I lied!"

"You're also a damn riot sometimes, Khonsu." Naruto rummaged through his pockets. "I don't have any money on me right now…"

The sound of two fingers being clicked drifted into Naruto's ear-drums. Silence then flooded the cold atmosphere of the gigantic meadow. Realizing Khonsu had given him a new backpack, Naruto grinned.

"That bastard also disappeared on me…"

Seating himself down onto the grass and various flowers of the wondrous meadow, Naruto checked the items Khonsu had left him. A repaired phone, wads of money, and a silver coin rested in his lap.

Storing all of his new belongings into the backpack, Naruto strapped it onto his shoulders and searched for the entrance to the area. From the corner of his astute vision, Naruto noticed some kind of path.

Meandering onto the path and following the arrows in the meadow, Naruto found himself in front of a rusted gate connected to an aged chain-link fence. Pushing open the gate, Naruto heard it crack.

"How old is this gate?" Naruto was baffled by the cracks instilled into the rusted gate's material. "Why did Khonsu transport me here…?"

Naruto walked down the hill where the meadow had been and spotted an endless road that stretched off into the distance. Sighing in irritation, Naruto adjusted his backpack and disappeared in a blur.

(-)

Khonsu had teleported himself to the heart of New-York-City. Multiple cars drove across the streets. Mundane people loitered in countless areas. Couples strolled through the sidewalk, hand in hand.

Mortals were such avid sources of entertainment for the Egyptian deity throughout the innumerable millennium he had been alive. Khonsu had entered this section of Greek territory to conduct an investigation.

It was an inconsequential detail about his red-eyed friend—but Khonsu had caught sight of the obsidian sigil on Naruto's coarse hand. Hades' divine energy—albeit weakened—was in this sigil.

Most normal deities would have never noticed this insignificant detail because of just how weakened the divine energy in the seal was. Whistling a merry tune, Khonsu tapped his cane on the concrete.

"I was sure I sensed Hades' presence in this part of the city." Khonsu cupped his chin, reaching the door to a secluded cafe. "Here he is!"

The ring on Khonsu's index finger shimmered a brilliant light, concealing his divine presence from the members of the Greek pantheon. Khonsu tipped his bowler-hat at the polite waiters.

Ignoring the other mortals in his immediate vicinity, Khonsu walked to the end of the cafe's wide room and gandered down at a black-eyed man: who was dressed in priceless tuxedo. "Hades!"

Using his divine energy to cast an illusion over the mortals in the sector, Khonsu withdrew a wooden-seat for himself and made himself comfortable on its leather-padded surface. "How long has it been?"

Taking a grandiose sip of his expensive tea, Hades grunted. "Three-hundred years, Khonsu. But what do you want from me?"

"Oh?" Leaning backwards in his wooden-seat, Khonsu lifted an immaculate eye-brow. "Can I not visit one of my oldest friends?"

"Friends?" Hades scoffed in blatant amusement, sipping more of his sweet and delectable tea. "You are the trickster of your pantheon."

"We have never been friends." Hades' obsidian eyes twinkled in irritation. "What do you seek from me, traveller of dimensions?"

"I guess the gig is up!" Khonsu raised his hand, summoning a framed photograph of a blond individual. "Tell me, do you know this child?"

Stealing the framed photograph from Khonsu, Hades scanned the whiskered face, yellow hair, fanged teeth, and red eyes of the boy. He scoffed, unperturbed. "I have never seen this boy once in my life."

Khonsu extended his unmatched senses out, ascertaining whether Hades' bored statement was true or not. To his hidden surprise, Hades was telling the truth. Hands clasped, Khonsu grinned.

"You came to me for something else other than if I know the boy in the picture, didn't you?" Hades sneered, annoyed. "What do you desire?"

The composed grin of unadulterated insanity and unknown intentions stayed on Khonsu's pristine face. Black motes of divine aura escaped Hades' body as his eyes glowed more bright. "Speak to me, Khonsu."

"You and I can both feel it, Hades." Khonsu's breath was amused. "The wheel of kismet has spun in a new direction, hasn't it?"

An enormous shadow of intensity materialized from behind Hades the more and more Khonsu spoke to him. The ruler of the Underworld listened, silent. "Hades, a great calamity has fallen upon us all…"

"Gaea is waking up from her slumber." Hades admitted, dispelling the shadows he had summoned earlier. "That's what you want me to say, isn't it?"

Scrunching his silver eyes up in impartiality, Khonsu replied. "I've also heard about the Prophecy-Of-The-Seven, what do you think about it?"

"My role in this world is to govern the dead." Hades scowled at the Egyptian god, unimpressed. "That prophecy does not concern me."

"I have only one more question to ask." The endless depth within Khonsu's silver irises became deeper. "Do you truly not know him?"

Grunting in condescension, Hades took another thorough look at the framed image of the blond-haired boy. Snapping his fingers, he disintegrated the photo into plumes of smoke. "I have never met him."

"What a curious situation I have found myself in." Khonsu whispered to himself, tone interested beyond belief. "Thank you for your time."

Flourishing his cane and dissolving the illusion he had cast onto the mortals in the cafe, Khonsu crumbled into blue particles. Hades sipped his tea, an eye-brow raised in bemusement.

"Why was Khonsu so interested in that boy from the picture?" Hades reconstructed the photo he had just destroyed. "Who is this child…?"

Transporting the framed picture into a random one of his pocket dimensions, Hades drank the last of his tea before he paid for his meal. This cafe was his favourite place to visit when he wanted tea.

Hades exited the cafe, walked into a crowd of normal people, and disintegrated in an invisible hurricane of obsidian particles. Entering the Underworld, the god of the dead stepped into his throne-room.

Shrinking his throne into a much more suitable size for the form he had taken, Hades waved his hand and a parchment appeared in his pale hand. Grabbing an ink-tipped feather, Hades returned to work.

(-)

Naruto had been successful in buying a bus ticket. Nestled into the back of the vehicle, he glanced at the constellations in the night-sky from the glass of the bus' unopened window. He released a low yawn.

"Getting tired, are we?" Khonsu had somehow teleported himself into the seat next to Naruto on the bus. "I advise that you stay awake."

Burying himself deeper into the fabric of his seat, Naruto snorted. "I don't plan on sleeping until I've decided on what I'm going to do."

"Good idea, my red-eyed friend." Khonsu's silver cane dissolved into nothing. "Have you thought of anywhere at all that you want to visit?"

Hands folded behind his head, Naruto grinned in mischief. "Nah, I have no clue about where I want to visit. I can't remember shit."

An hour had passed since the start of the trip on the bus and Naruto had fallen asleep, gentle snores escaping his mouth. Meanwhile—Khonsu was experiencing an intense bout of contemplation.

Despite Hades' weakened divine power being imbued into the scuffed sigil on Naruto's palm, Hades himself hadn't even recognized Naruto. Khonsu tapped his finger on his knee, grin enlarging itself in delight.

Glancing at Naruto for the briefest of moments, Khonsu folded his arms. The Egyptian deity of the moon and time twisted the ring on his index finger, chuckling. "When did I last feel such exhilaration?"

"I have travelled countless realms across the centuries I have lived." Khonsu monologued. "Never have I encountered such a strange boy."

Khonsu rose from his seat on the bus once three hours had passed. Cane summoned into his right hand, he poked Naruto's right cheek to wake him up from his peaceful sleep. Red eyes were wrenched open.

Scratching his eyes to remove the gunk gathered into them, Naruto clicked his fanged teeth before he let out a loud yawn of exhaustion. Khonsu watched him in silence, noticing most passengers had left.

Naruto and Khonsu stepped off of the bus and were met by the sight of the hinterlands of America. Grass stretched as long as the eye could see. Numerous mountain peaks were visible in the distance.

Blinking in sheer confusion at the lack of buildings around him, Naruto groaned in pure irritation at the realization he had bought the wrong ticket. Khonsu was amused, however, and chuckled. "How funny…"

"I either bought the wrong ticket or got on the wrong bus." Naruto grew annoyed. "Where the hell are we?"

Constructing a phone out of nothing, Khonsu checked the area the two of them had ended up in. Interest shimmered in Khonsu's silver abysses of intensity. "It looks to me that we are in a type of countryside."

"Fun." An inflection of blatant sarcasm was evident in Naruto's tone. "How the hell is being in the countryside going to help me out?"

"No clue!" Even more amusement flickered within the argent pits of Khonsu's gaze. "But they do say connecting to nature is useful!"

"I don't think 'connecting to nature' is going to be that useful for me." Naruto grouched, voice unimpressed. "I guess we can explore."

The two of them discovered a town fifteen miles from where the bus had dropped them off. Meandering into a tavern, Naruto had the bartender give him the most popular drink that was on the menu.

Crafting himself a credit card of perpetual money, Khonsu tucked it into his pocket and ordered a glass of sour beer. Raising the cup of alcohol to his lips, Khonsu took a long drawn-out sip of satisfaction.

An illusion was set over the mortals of the tavern to ensure that Khonsu and Naruto would be left alone by them. Gulping down his non-alcoholic beverage, Naruto sighed. "Khonsu, be honest."

"Why did you help me leave that artificial realm I was sealed into?" Naruto had a suspicious expression on his facial features. "Why?"

"Besides to alleviate my boredom?" Khonsu shook the beer within his cup. "I was curious about who you were and why you were sealed."

"Let me tell you about the different powers that govern this world." Khonsu announced. "Each section of earth belongs to a pantheon."

"Pantheons are a collection of deities. There is the Greek pantheon, the Norse pantheon, the Egyptian pantheon, and the Shinto pantheon."

Khonsu lifted an intrigued eye-brow as Naruto's red eyes widened a little in brief recognition at the mention of the Shinto pantheon. This recognition was then snuffed out and erased in the blink of an eye.

It was an inconsequential detail. To Khonsu, it was at least a sign of where this unregistered existence had originated from. However, Khonsu felt the veil of time and creation warn him of something.

From the veil of time and creation, Khonsu saw a crimson miasma of unnatural energy touch the fabric of reality and the threads of history. Khonsu was shocked. "Impossible! How have I just noticed this?!"

The crimson miasma of unnatural energy vanished and Khonsu felt a foreign sensation touch his mind as his memories of what had happened were distorted—not altered or erased—but distorted.

For the shortest of moments, the words—'D̷̡̺̭͉̜͎͉̲̂̏̌́̓͂́̒͂̈́̌͘͝o̷͈̹͇͓͍̮̼̕͜ ̶̨̜̗̻̬̦͒͛ņ̶̢̣͎̖̞͖̙̞̘͈̤͙̔̓͝o̶̡͈̳̳͇̬̺̱͋̏͐̓̉́́̓̈́́̏̅͘͘t̴̢̻̪̳̦̰̬̗̼͍̮̼̗̖͙̐̆̑̏̀ ̶̡̱͍̱̫͚̜̌̔͐̋̎͛͌͒ͅp̷̡͉̬̬̼̞͍̗͇̗͔͛͐̇͆͠e̷̡̡̙͔̝̝͆͂e̴͇͕͕̽̿̾̃̓͊r̸̛̺̼̬̓̓̽́̎̿̀̽̆́̚ ̶̣̣̦̳̱̲͔͈̜̞̫̾͗̒͌͜į̸̨̨̢̰̙͓̬̤̱̗̟̣̤̋̚ņ̶̛̺͔̘̻͖̪̯̦̦̺̋͂̏́̾̌̏̃̚̕t̷͕̹̱̦̬͇͔̼̺̥̜͓͎͛̃̅͛͜ö̴̳̤͚͚̯͕́̆̏̍̍͊͆̿̎̈́̚͘ͅ ̸͔͇̳͋͆̊͒̀͆̊̊͛̓̿̐̀̕͜t̴̰̭̮̬͇͕̀h̵̭͂ȩ̴̩͇̲̈́̊̅̈́̄̕ ̵̪̤͙̲͚͇͙̲̦̯̲͓̑̉͊̌̍̃̚͜e̶̡͍͍͚̳͎͓̗͍͇̺̯̰̩̅̌̄͊́̆͜ř̵̡͕̺̫̲ͅą̴̢̤̼̩͇̖̩̖̠̦̜̳͑s̸͕̀̓̍͝ͅe̶̖͎͗͆͂̐̚d̸̟̣͖͙̩̯̓͋̒͆̌̌͋͊̈̔̑̽̕͘͝ͅ ̴̡̞̥́̉́o̷̡̧̦̘͙̱̙͙͋̀͊̈́̓̍n̴͓̠͇͖̟̲̈́̈̔͆̽̋̃̕͝͠e̷̡̙̳̰̲̖̠̼̝̜͈͒͗́͜'̶̰̥̱̹̏͜s̷͕̜̲͙̤̝͖̼͔̘̓͗̽̔͠ͅ ̶̥̘͍͚̤͙̩͌̿̊̅̉͛̏̈́͒́̇̈́͌ş̴̨͖̞͂̏͑̅̅̄̾̋̏̀̋͐̌͘̚o̷̫̥̭̹̪͉̖͚̫̫͕̤̓̿̈̿͌̈́̕͜͠ͅͅų̵̣̖̟͕̬͎̦̠̤͙̓̏́̄̂l̵̬̮̥̘̜̬̪͔͇͖̯̤̜̹̀͆̑̇̈́́̔͗̈́͠͠'.̷̰̯̩̖̖̣̽̈̏̀̑̑̀͌̓̃̚͜͝.̴̢̥̳͇̙̦̘̭̖̰̯͍̺̦͌̈̃͗͐͑̈́͘͘͝ͅ.̸̛̛͔̖̲͕̗̥̰̣͇͔̱͖͚̩́̐̆̔͑̐͂̆́͗͝͝—echoed within Khonsu's thoughts.

Shaking his head at the sudden migraine he had gotten, Khonsu used his divine power to heal whatever damage had been inflicted onto his mind. Next to him, Naruto finished his drink and paid the tab.

Calloused hands slipped into his pockets, Naruto walked through the asphalted path of the small town. Many of the townsfolk glanced at Khonsu, eyes blank and empty. Khonsu smiled at some of the people.

Khonsu clenched his hand around the pommel of his cane. These mortals were not what they appeared to be. Also sensing the strange atmosphere from the town, Naruto paused in his tracks.

Deciding to ignore the suspicion he felt from the townsfolk for the time being, Naruto ventured off into the South section of the area. Khonsu followed him from behind, silver eyes glancing around the area.

Planting a hand down on Naruto's shoulder and stopping him, Khonsu flicked his silver cane forward. A burst of divine energy hurtled the townsfolk backwards. Naruto looked at the deity. "What was that for?"

"You and I both sensed the suspicious sensation that these mortals give off." Khonsu twirled his cane. "This town has been infected…"

Naruto pried Khonsu's hand off of his shoulder. "What the hell do you mean by infected? What, have they been plagued by a disease?"

"I told you about how different pantheons govern different sections of the world earlier." Khonsu replied. "This town is under Greek territory."

"What I mean by 'infected' is that this town—if my deduction is correct—has been taken over by monsters from the Greek pantheon."

Muscles tensed in annoyance, Naruto scanned his immediate vicinity and stretched his senses out to scope out the whereabouts of the monsters Khonsu claimed this town had been overrun by.

Khonsu was much more unbothered by the idea of these mortals being mind-controlled and hypnotised by a bunch of monsters. Wrapping both of his hands onto his cane, Khonsu chuckled.

"It's about time I truly witnessed this boy in action." Khonsu's smile was amicable enough. "Let's see if he is worthy of my attention…"

The well-maintained houses around Naruto and Khonsu exploded into splinters of somewhat rotted wood. Despite having his memories erased, Naruto retained his natural propensity for battle and violence.

An Empousa—who Naruto had decided to name Sydney—released a hiss of endless aggression at the crimson-eyed child. Lips twisted into an insane smile, Sydney declared. "Oh! Two clear-sighted mortals!"

Sydney sauntered towards Khonsu in a baleful gait, tapping one of her clawed hands onto his neck. Smiling without a sign of concern, Khonsu pointed his cane in a distinct direction. "Watch out for him."

A vermillion-eyed distortion of unnatural speed slammed the heel of his foot straight into Sydney's face and hurtled her backwards. Head tilted at an inhuman angle, Sydney screeched in rage and pain.

"How dare you even touch me, you rancid mortal!" The Empousa lunged forward, blood-lust in her demented gaze. "You shall pay!"

Khonsu teleported himself onto the top of an undamaged house, observing as Sydney directed a multitude of mana-constructed bullets at Naruto's chest. "She must have used magic to hypnotise the town."

Batting the mana-constructed bullets downwards, Naruto glanced at the scorch marks on his hand. A crimson bubble of energy healed his burned flesh. Khonsu, noticing this, whistled. "A healing-factor, huh?"

Sydney was propelled downwards by a roundhouse kick being pressed into her unguarded solar-plexus. Rising to her feet, she gasped when a calloused hand smacked her into the ground again.

"Naruto must have been a formidable martial-artist before his memories were lost." Khonsu observed some more. "He is skilled."

"He's lucky his body still remembers how to fight." Khonsu lowered his gaze, glancing at another building. "More monsters are have come…"

Striking his palm against Sydney's jaw, Naruto pushed her into a pile of rotten wood from the houses that had been destroyed earlier on. A look from Naruto had Khonsu rolling his eyes in amusement. "Here."

A Kunai was summoned into Naruto's hand. Stabbing the Empousa through the skull, Naruto scattered her physical form into a hurricane of golden ashes. He scoffed. "I guess the town is free from her—."

Stopping himself mid-sentence, Naruto lashed his arm out and buried his knuckles into the snout of the monstrous hound that had dashed at him. The Hell-Hound's crimson gaze was unhinged. "More mutts…"

Naruto had encountered an endless amount of Hell-Hounds in the artificial realm he had been trapped in. No matter how many times he destroyed those monsters back in that realm, they would return.

It was as though someone had created a realm to seal Naruto into and had left those monsters in that dimension to hunt him down and kill him. Naruto smirked, spotting more and more monsters in the town.

"That Empousa must have tamed these mutts." Nonchalance was plastered onto Naruto's whiskered features. "I'll slaughter them…"

Khonsu remained rooted on the top of the undamaged house and watched Naruto massacre the monsters in the town without a visible sign of difficulty. Naruto eliminated the last Hell-Hound, grunting.

"Such raw strength and inhuman speed." Khonsu smiled. "Who are you, Naruto Uzumaki? Who turned you into an unregistered existence?"

Descending to the ground of the town, Khonsu shouldered his cane before he approached Naruto: who flexed his fingers. Khonsu tapped his cane onto Naruto's shoulder. "What do you want now, Khonsu?"

Khonsu lowered his cane, humoured. "Nothing much, my good fellow. Let me give you a performance of my own abilities, how about it?"

Tapping his cane three times onto the surface beneath him and Naruto, Khonsu manipulated time to repair the destroyed houses. Accessing his divine power, he removed the Empousa's mind-control over the people of the town.

Khonsu also took a deeper look into Naruto's body. Humming in concealed curiosity, Khonsu detected a mixture of spiritual and physical energy inside of Naruto. Intrigue danced in Khonsu's gaze.

"This energy is much too familiar for me." Khonsu knocked his cane twice on Naruto's shoulder. "That mystical energy he has is chakra…"

"A Shinobi from the Elemental-Nations—a dimension under the territory of the Shinto pantheon." Khonsu grinned. "How fascinating."

Having solved the first piece of the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki, Khonsu waited for Naruto's attention to be transferred to him. Gandering at Khonsu, the Uzumaki rolled his shoulders. "What's up?"

"I think I've decided on our next course of action." Khonsu grinned, teeth twinkling under the light of the stars. "I shall be training you."

Naruto raised his eye-brow while Khonsu suppressed the urge to chuckle. "Don't worry, my aggressive friend. I am a good teacher."

"No." Naruto lifted a hand, head slanted at a confused angle. "Why do I have to train all of a sudden? I think I'm strong enough…"

"You misunderstand me." Khonsu flicked a gander towards Naruto, amused. "You are strong, yes, but you can become much stronger."

"Perhaps." The ring on Khonsu's middle finger was tapped. "You could even become the strongest if you mastered your abilities to the limit."

Naruto and Khonsu had left the town as they talked. The deity of the moon and time let loose a low-pitched hum. "Do not forget that I can see the veil of time and creation, I can see your potential in strength."

"I can also see how strong you have been at specific points of time because of what my domain entails. And I saw something incredible."

"Naruto Uzumaki." Khonsu murmured, eyes peering off into the distance. "At some point in time, you were a monster of unnatural strength."

Khonsu disregarded the shock that lingered in Naruto's gaze. "At some point in time, you had the strength to topple empires…"

"That is one of the reasons I am helping you." Khonsu elaborated. "Your future is blocked off from me. I want to witness where you shall end up on this hellish road called life."

Naruto smirked. "Fine by me…"

He clenched his fists.

This was the start of Naruto Uzumaki's tumultuous journey…

A/N: Thanks for reading.