Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto nor Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I am just a lowly writer with too much time in my hands.

Warning: This is a sequel story. Read the following first before you read this story.

Child of the Moon: The Lightning Thief

Child of the Moon: The Sea of Monsters

Child of the Moon: The Titan's Curse

Child of the Moon: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 6

CRACK

The massive boulder broke apart after one punch from the young kunoichi.

Kakashi's group entered the cave in formation.

The cave was dark and empty. Almost.

Left in the cave were Sasori and Deidara and the corpse of the Kazekage.

"Bastards!" Naruto yelled. "What are you doing desecrating his corpse like that! Get off!"

"Sheesh, Itachi was right," Deidara complained as he picked his ears. "He really was the loudmouthed one."

"Be careful, Deidara," Sasori warned his team mate. "Do not provoke him."

"Are you kidding?!" Deidara looked at the other incredulously. "If he gets reckless, we can get two for one."

As the two Akatsuki members were arguing, Naruto made his move. It was but a flicker.

"Shit," Deidara barely let out as he was given barely enough time to react to the sudden attack.

Naruto glared at the blonde Akatsuki with a murderous look, complete with slit pupils. "I said. Get off…"

As the dust was beginning to settle, Sasori's tail extended to stab Naruto. With ungodly reaction time, Naruto moved out of the way, making the attack miss by mere centimeters. In one swift motion, Naruto raised his foot as he dodged the attack and placed a solid kick on Sasori's massive body, sending him flying like his teammate before him.

"Akatsuki, my ass," Naruto spat.

He looked down to Gaara, a tear falling from his left eye.

"Gaara…I'm sorry…" Naruto mourned.

He gingerly picked up the Kazekage's body and brought him back to his team.

Just as he was placing his friend's corpse on the ground, a cackle came from deeper in the cave.

"Amazing," Deidara cackled as he nursed his aching jaw. "You make my blood boil from excitement. They were right about you. You do pose a challenge."

Suddenly, a bird with an odd-shaped head swooped down and knocked everyone on their butt. It glided in the air and picked up Deidara before flying out of the cave as he said, "Fine then. Show me a good time. Don't disappoint me now."

Looking back down on the ground, everyone was surprised as Gaara's corpse was no longer there!

Naruto growled. "Get back here!"

He rushed out of the cave immediately to pursue his opponent.

"Naruto! Wait!" Annabeth called out. She facepalmed as his friend was not using his head once again.

Kakashi sighed. "I guess once a hothead, always a hothead."

He looked to the three otherworlders. "Will you be okay here? No offense, but you won't be able to keep up with the chase."

He eyed Sasori, "To be honest, despite the training, fighting other shinobi is on a completely different level."

"I'll keep an eye on them, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura volunteered.

"Are you sure?" The jonin asked skeptically.

"I'll try my best, after all, Lady Tsunade beat her teachings into me," She answered confidently.

"Alright, I'm counting on you," Kakashi nodded. "I'm sure Naruto is too."

Kakashi soon followed out of the cave.

Sakura then faced the enemy. She slammed her fist into an open palm and cracked her knuckles, as Sasori slowly made his way into view.

"Think you can keep up?" Sakura asked.

Annabeth drew her dagger. "Don't look down on us."

Silena drew a sword. "Don't count us out just yet."

Bianca meekly stepped forward, not used to being outgoing like these three women, not unlike in her own time period on Earth. "I-I'm here too." She said as the shadows contorted around her.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, children, but this one is different," Chiyo explained as she readied herself to fight. What you are seeing now is just a puppet."

"What?!" Silena exclaimed. "Then where's the real body?"

"I guess we'll find out."

OUTSIDE

Deidara hovered a few meters from the ground as he was eyed by Naruto and Kakashi. He was giddy, itching to fight.

"Now, Nine-tails brat!" He taunted. "Come and–

He was suddenly thrown back to the ground by another powerful kick.

Naruto was in the air all of a sudden. He sliced the bird clean in half freeing Gaara from the enemy's clutches.

"Don't think you can get off that easily!"

BOOM!

The clay bird exploded in mid air.

Deidara cackled in glee thinking he got his enemy. "Don't tell me that's all you've got!"

An oddly shaped kunai landed on the stone wall behind him. For a moment, his blood froze.

"Think again," Naruto said coldly as cold metal was pressed on his neck.

"How did you–"

"Oh was your intel on me that outdated?" Naruto said mockingly,

"No matter," was all Deidara said. His body inflated like a balloon and exploded.

"There's no way he could have gotten away from that, right?"

Deidara hid in the bushes. His excitement now reduced to a feeling of self-preservation.

Naruto scanned the surroundings. He prepared to dash off again, but Kakashi stopped him this time.

"You remind me so much of Minato-sensei, but please, we stand a better chance of finishing him off together," Kakashi lectured. "So, please stop playing with your prey and let's finish this quickly."

Naruto nodded.

Tracking down the Akatsuki member was easy, being the son of the God who specializes in hunting after all. That part was child's play.

Now the plan begins. Naruto once again engaged in battle.

When I say battle, it was more of a chase. Deidara didn't even try to fight back. He was getting knocked around like a ragdoll by both shinobi. He was barely able to avoid the Raikiri only to be slammed by a Rasengan. He didn't stand a chance. He wasn't even able to gather chakra for a substitution.,

"STOP THAT!" Deidara screamed. His clothes were now rags, exposing an odd shaped tattoo on his left chest. "FINE! I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME!"

He undid the stitches in what seemed to be the tattoo's mouth and fed it all the clay he had left.

Deidara cackled like a mad man who has lost all his sanity. "I saved this jutsu to kill Itachi Uchiha, but I realize now, that will never happen. BEHOLD! MY ULTIMATE ART!"

After his spiel, he held out his arms as if showcasing his masterpiece.

Naruto and Kakashi waited. Giving him the benefit of the doubt.

But whatever he was trying to show them, did not happen.

Naruto smirked.

Seeing the smug look on the blonde's face, Deidara snapped. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

"Oh you know, a little trick from a book called, Sealing Jutsu for Dummies." Naruto smugly said. "Now then."

Naruto prepared a bunch of marked kunai, while one clone was sneakily creeping behind Deidara.

Punching him and sending him out in the open, Naruto and Kakashi both charged. Naruto punched him with a one-two combo.

Deidara tried to retaliate but his target suddenly disappeared only to reappear and kick him into the air.

Kakashi was already in the air, waiting to deliver another kick to send him to the ground.

In their original positions, Kakashi and Naruto appeared via the Flying Raijin to deliver a solid kick to send him back down to the ground.

Naruto hurled a bunch of Kunai while Kakashi breathed some fire onto the kunai creating a barrage of flaming kunai, which formed an explosion causing them to ricochet off in random directions.

Kakashi appeared above, with a lightning coated kunai in hand, and Naruto appeared right behind Deidara. Kakashi gave him a downward slash with the kunai, Naruto kicked him forward. Kakashi jumped over him and slashed him again.

Deidara roared with anger from the barrage. "Stop that!"

There was no answer.

Kakashi and Naruto stood on either side of him. Chakra swirled on the blonde's palm while lightning chakra screeched to life on the jonin's hand.

Enough was said

Both charged and unleashed their attacks.

In the end, Deidara dropped dead.

SASORI VS THE LADIES

"Damn," Annabeth tried to catch her breath.

All her life she had been training for every moment like this one, but none of her training could prepare her for anything like this one. It was all on a whole other level.

Once again her body moved on its own. The old woman, Lady Chiyo if she could recall correctly, controlled her body to perfection. Every movement made her dance through the iron sand elegantly. She was surprised. She was sure she would have died if this didn't happen.

It was intense.

She was sure Silena didn't fare any better.

But thanks to the ingenuity of these two kunoichi with them, they were able to break the Hiruko puppet.

"What brute strength," Annabeth commented in awe.

But the battle was not yet over.

"I would be lying if I said I was not impressed, controlling three measly young girls while keeping yourself alive," A voice came from the piece of cloth from Hiruko's robe that was unmistakably human.

"So you noticed, even when I was suppressing it as much as possible," Chiyo answered.

"But of course, I learned all the tricks of the trade from you," The voice in the black cloak admitted.

"Yes," Chiyo smiled as if remembering a bitter memory. "Now, I am sorry but things would have to end."

"I agree," The voice agreed as a hand came out of the cloth to remove the cover. "I do have to commend you though. No one has ever survived the Hiruko puppet before. Congratulations, you will be the first and last to see me in this form."

The Akatsuki member removed the cloth covering his face. And upon seeing his form, Lady Chiyo looked like she had seen a ghost.

"I-it can't be,"

"What's wrong, Lady Chiyo?" Annabeth asked, seeing the distress on the old woman's face.

She wasn't given the time to answer as Sasori produced a scroll from his sleeve and unfurled it with one swift motion. There were three horizontal lines etched onto the paper, the Kanji for three.

WIth a puff of smoke, Sasori took a stance.

The appearance of Sasori's summoning made her eyes bug out of their sockets once more. "S-Sandaime-Kazekage?!"

"The Third Kazekage?" Sakura asked.

Chiyo didn't answer. Instead, she confronted Sasori, "My grandson. How far have you fallen? First, you betray the village. Then you attack the Kazekage, not once, but three times?!"

"I have no words for you," Sasori twitched his fingers, causing blades to pop out of the Third Kazekage's hands. "Well then…Shall we continue? I'm dying to acquire your special ability girl…"

Bianca shuddered. She had displayed her ability extensively in this battle. Now the enemy had her sights on her.

The Kazekage puppet surged forward. The ladies scattered.

The pursuit was relentless. It continued to chase after Bianca, its blades ready to impale her. It almost succeeded too, but with quick thinking, Chiyo managed to block the attack with the Hiruko puppet's tail.

Chiyo was about to let out a sigh of relief, but Sasori yelled, "Not yet!"

Countless arms were suddenly summoned continuing the pursuit. Chiyo masterfully maneuvered the daughter of Hades out of harm's way despite however many of the wooden puppet arms were after her.

Out from the corner, an arrow whizzed its way past Sasori's head which would have hit true if not for his reaction time.

"These pests are getting annoying," Sasori said aloud. He twitched a finger and one of the arms cracked open and expelled copious amounts of sickly gas covering the entire field.

"Oh no," Sakura feared for the worst. Not caring about herself in the process she jumped into the clouds of poisonous gas and threw Bianca out.

That's a stupid move on her, she had to admit, but right now she had no choice. It would be on her if anything were to happen to some civilians who had insisted on coming to this mission. Worse, she couldn't bear to face Naruto again if anything were to these girls who he clearly cared about.

With steeled resolve, she brought out a paper bomb from her pouch and detonated it right in front of her, the shockwave clearing the cloud of poison and throwing her back to safety.

She let out the breath she was holding.

Annabeth walked up to her, "I have to hand it to you. That was a pPretty ballsy move for you to clear a poisonous cloud with an explosion." She commended.

"I hate you, you know that?" Sakura said as she coughed. "Naruto was missing for three years but he comes back, it's like he cares more about you than me!"

"He told me everything, and Lady Chiyo all but confirmed it," Annabeth answered. "I wouldn't blame it if he isn't fond of his old home."

"I understand that!" Sakura cried out. "It just frustrates me!"

As the two were arguing, Sasori got irritated for being ignored like that. He opened another hatch on the multitude of arms that went after Sakura.

The pink-haired kunoichi prepared for the worst.

"NO!" Annabeth held a hand up in a futile attempt to save her fellow woman.

Unexpectedly, a pair of shadows moved past her, blocking the kunai.

"You would think men would stop to listen when a woman is talking," Chiyo scolded her grandson.

Sakura opened her eyes to see a new pair of puppets standing protectively in front of her.

"Ah, them," Sasori said with a stoic expression, seeing the pair of puppets.

"Yes," Chiyo said solemnly. "The first puppets you ever created…"

"Your father and mother…"

PERCY

Percy didn't like to be back the Underworld

Too many bad memories of their first mission together, though the others were just as traumatizing.

For the sake of his family and friends.

Mrs. O'Leary emerged in Central Park just north of the Pond. Just as before, she looked pretty tired. Though, she limped over to a pile of rocks like she was going to mark her territory.

"She smells the way home," Nico quelled Percy's worries.

"Through the rocks?" Percy frowned. "Is this one of the doors of Orpheus? How do we get it open?"

"Well, according to the stories, he used his music to charm the earth and open a path to the Underworld." Nico recalled.

Percy knew the story. His mother used to tell him Greek Stories after all.

"There's just one problem though," Percy scratched the back of his head. "Neither of us have any musical talent. Unless you miraculously gained one while you were gone."

Nico glared at him briefly.

But that didn't change the fact that they were stuck.

Unless…

Percy concentrated really hard. He reached deep into the Empathy Link that was set up not so long ago. He sure hoped Naruto wasn't fighting at this moment, because he was sure to get stirred up as well.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked when his companion suddenly went silent.

"I'm trying to contact Grover," Percy said, breaking his concentration for a bit.

"How? Did you gain telepathic powers while I was away?" Nico returned the dig Percy had for him earlier.

Percy shot him a small glare as well. "Well, no, but he put Naruto and I in an empathy link three years ago, even before we met you and Bianca."

"What's that?" Nico asked.

Percy clicked his tongue, "I don't know how to answer that. Please just let me concentrate."

He concentrated even harder. This time it was paying off. An image was finally forming. It was that of a giant elm tree deep in the woods, well off the main path. Gnarled roots laced the ground, making a kind of bed. Lying in it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed was a satyr.

Percy wasn't sure about the image though. The satyr was covered in twigs and leaves that he couldn't make out the details. It seemed that a long time had passed that the roots seemed to be shaping themselves around him.

WAKE UP! Percy urged his friend.

The satyr stirred, groaning from his slumber.

FOOD! PANCAKES! Percy added sweetening the deal.

Then his eyes shot open, and he fell down on his rump.

"What happened?" Nico rushed over worriedly.

Percy shook himself out of the mental fuzziness that trying to contact Grover brought. "H-he's on the way."

A minute later, the tree next to them shivered. Grover fell out of the branches right on his head.

"Grover!" Percy yelled.

WOOF! Mrs. O'leary barked thinking that it was time to play fetch with the satyr specifically.

"Blah-haa-haa!" Grover bleated.

"You okay, man?"

"Oh, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. His horns had grown so much they poked an inch above his curly hair. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."

Percy looked him over. Over the last summer, he stopped trying to pass off as human. He let go of the rasta cap and the fake feet. He didn't even wear pants anymore! Nevertheless, he was glad to see his best friend.

"Good to see you again, G-man," Percy greeted his old buddy with a hug. "You remember Nico, right?"

"How could I not?" Grovere bleated. "That was probably the most dangerous Keeper mission I have ever had."

After the pleasantries were done, Grover asked to get up to speed. "What's going on? Why did you need me so suddenly? And where's Naruto?"

"Naruto's back in the Elemental Nations trying to tame his beasts," Percy explained. "While I got a super dangerous mission of my own. More importantly, where did you go these past 2 months?"

Grover's smile faded. "TWO MONTHS?! That's impossible. It's June. I just lay down to take a nap and…"

The color drained from the satyr's face. "I was walking in the woods by Harlem Meer when the earth shook, like something powerful was near."

"You can sense that stuff now?" Nico inquired.

"Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. Like how Naruto describes it when he's in the Wild. it's like his eyes and ears open up. Anyway, I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day, he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved."

"Like a mirage?" Nico asked.

"Yes," Grover said. "And whenever he passed humans—"

"The humans would pass out," Nico said. "Curl up and go to sleep."

"I knew he was trouble the moment I saw him, so I followed him into this grove. When I was about to summon the Dryads to help capture him, he turned. I shivered then and there. His face kept shifting. When I asked what he was doing, he said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, 'You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.' And that's the last thing I remember."

Nico exhaled, looking for a way to break it to him slowly. "Grover…You met the God, Morpheus, You're lucky you ever woke up."

Grover groaned. "He put me to sleep for TWO MONTHS!"

"Couldn't the nymphs wake you?" Percy asked.

"They don't have a sense of time, two months for a tree is nothing," The goat man explained.

"As much as I want to find out what Morpheus is up to, we have an invasion to prepare for," Percy said.

"He's working for Kronos; we know that much," Nico said, "But I agree with Percy, we have to get the plan moving. Grover, if you will."

"What plan? Why me?" Grover looked at the son of Hades confused,

Percy explained the plan.

Grover did not like it one bit.

"You're not serious!" he exclaimed "That's dangerous! Plus, the underworld, again…." Grover shuddered remembering his almost one way trip to Tartarus

"So is opening a seal to a demon fox," Percy countered. "Look Naruto surely is doing his best to give us a shot at winning this war. I need to do my part. You don't need to come. We just need you to open the gate."

Grover took out his reed pipes. "I guess I could try. But are you sure you want me to do this?"

Percy nodded. "It would mean a lot. For old times' sake?"

He whimpered. "As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot. But okay, here goes nothing."

He put his pipes to his lips and played a shrill, lively tune. The boulders trembled. A few more stanzas, and they cracked open, revealing a triangular crevice."

The Son of Poseidon peered inside. Steps led down into the darkness. The air smelled of mildew and death. It brought back bad memories of their trip through the Labyrinth last year, but this tunnel felt even more dangerous. It led straight to the land of Hades, and that was almost always a one-way trip.

"Uh, thanks…I guess…" Percy thanked his longtime best friend.

"I know it goes without saying, but be careful down there," The satyr warned his friend. "Hey, is Kronos really going to invade?"

"I wish I could tell you better, but yeah, he will,"

Normally, this was the part where Grover would get anxious and chew on his reed pipes or some tin cans. Yet, he straightened up and brushed off his T-shirt. He looked braver and more mature now, way better than the fat old Leneus. "I'm gonna rouse the nature spirits. We need all the help we can get. Maybe we can find Morpheus and–"

"Tell Juniper you're alive."

Color drained from Grover's face. Probably even more than when finding out about the minor god causing mischief somewhere in New York.

"She's going to kill me," He said, and ran off.

Before he could get far, he ran back and gave Percy a great big hug. "Come back alive. I'll be praying for yours and Naruto's success."

Once he was gone, Percy roused Mrs. O'leary from her nap.

Smelling the way home, Mrs. O'leary shot up to her feet and bounded for the crevice. It was a pretty tight fit in there but she managed to get through.

The two boys eyed each other.

"You ready?" Nico asked.

Percy looked up at the sky, wondering if this was the last time he would see the stars again. He nodded and they both plunged into the darkness.

The stairs seemed to go on forever– narrow, steep, and slippery. This was not a problem for Mrs. O'leary as she bounded down the steps with ease. Nico lagged behind, which Percy found weird. Was that doubt he could see on his face? Could it be that he doubted the plan that he proposed to Percy. Or was he worried that Percy would not be able to

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine…" Nico answered. "Just keep moving."

Despite the heavy air around them, they continued on their way. The two demigods emerged at the base of a cliff, on a plain of black volcanic sand. To their right, the River Styx gushed from the rocks and roared off in a cascade of rapids. To their left, far away in the gloom, fires burned on the ramparts of Erebos, the great black walls of Hades's kingdom.

Despite the somber mood of the surroundings, Mrs. O'leary was happy. She was happy. She picked up a random human leg and romped back to the group to drop it at their feet.

"Um, maybe later, girl." Percy stared at the dark waters, trying to get up my nerve. "So, Nico . . .

how do we do this?"

"We have to go inside the gates first," he said.

With that headed the direction of the gates leaving a bewildered Percy