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A Shinobi Among Monsters by euphoric image
 Naruto & Percy Jackson and the Olympians Xover Rated: T, English, Adventure & Humor, Naruto U., Artemis, Apollo, Words: 208k+, Favs: 8k+, Follows: 9k+, Published: Mar 21, 2020 Updated: Jan 15 3,237Chapter 16: Love's Strike
"Apollo! Are you in there? Open up right now!" The shout was punctuated by several loud, forceful knocks on the door.
Under normal circumstances, Apollo would've answered the door. However, there were two things that prevented him from doing so. First, he was currently on the run, avoiding the Fates and their minions as best as he could. There was a chance that this was a trick, meant to lure him out of the safety of one of his vacation homes in Miami. Secondly, he was in the middle of something important. Namely, lounging on his couch and relaxing to his heart's content while catching up on the latest seasons of his favorite TV shows.
And so, Apollo ignored whoever it was and did his best to pretend he wasn't home.
A mistake, in retrospect.
His eyes widened as the doors were suddenly blasted off its hinges, shaking the foundations of the house itself. Fury entered his eyes a moment later. A god forcibly entering another god's domain was an insult of the highest degree. While this particular vacation house wasn't important, it was the principle that mattered. Whoever it was, they had gone too far.
Apollo stood up and whirled around to face the intruder, his golden bow materialized in his hands and eight arrows already nocked. "Who dares - " he bellowed, his voice reverberating with bass tones, before he cut off abruptly when he saw just who had entered the house. "Thalia?" he asked confusedly, lowering his bow.
"Oh hey," Thalia looked pleasantly surprised. "You're actually here. I thought this house was going to be empty."
"You damaged my property!" Apollo gasped in outrage.
Thalia looked at the broken door. "My bad," she shrugged. "Sorry."
Apollo opened his mouth to speak but then paused when he realized she'd actually apologized. "Oh. You're forgiven then, I guess." He waved his hand and the building repaired itself.
"So," he declared enthusiastically, flashing her a brilliant smile that, to his smug satisfaction, left her cheeks a little red. "What are you doing here? And why are you, uhh, breaking and entering in such a violent fashion?" he asked, eyeing the splintered remains of his door and catching the faint whiff of ozone that suggested that lightning had been involved.
"I've always wanted to blast a door in," Thalia smiled satisfiedly. "It felt as good as I had imagined it. And as for why I'm here..." Her expression grew serious. "We need your help."
Apollo tilted his head curiously. "With what?"
Thalia hesitated. "Well... Naruto's about to do something incredibly risky, stupid, and possibly suicidal."
"Then... don't let him do it?"
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Gee, why didn't we think of that?" she said sarcastically. "The thing is, if he doesn't do it, then a Hunter will be completely and utterly screwed."
"I don't follow," Apollo frowned.
"Aphrodite."
Apollo immediately connected the dots in his mind, his eyes narrowing. "She wouldn't," he growled.
"She did," Thalia nodded grimly.
Apollo let out several Greek curses. "This is bad. Do we have time?"
"Luckily, we do."
Apollo relaxed slightly. "Okay, good. Tell me everything." He sat back down, his golden bow dematerializing. Thalia nodded, taking a seat on a couch as well.
After a brief moment of silence, she spoke. "It all began when Naruto joined the Hunters."
"Ah," Apollo nodded in understanding. "Something went horribly wrong in their interactions, then. I don't blame him - the Hunters had never been the friendliest sort."
Thalia shook her head, a smile slowly forming on her lips. "Wrong. The Hunters actually got along with Naruto."
Apollo gaped at her. "What?! Are - are we talking about the same Hunters of Artemis here? You know, the 'don't like boys, glares at all guys, never returns my smiles' Hunters of Artemis?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, it is all an act."
"An act?"
Thalia's eyes widened when she realized what she just told him. "Oh crap - Nevermind. Forget what I just said."
Apollo didn't let her drop the subject. "You're telling me that for all these centuries, the Hunters of Artemis had been putting up an act?!"
Thalia hesitated. "Umm... kinda?"
"But why?"
Thalia shrugged. "They didn't want to interact with men, I guess, since the average god and demigod millennia ago were arrogant, flirtatious pricks. And that usually ended up in bloodshed and pandemonium. Case in point: Camp Half-Blood burning down. And so, the Hunters started a rumor that they hated all men."
"I see," Apollo said slowly, nodding his head. A grin began to spread across his face. "Well, that certainly explains why they never returned my smiles. It's not because they don't like me; rather, it's so they could maintain their reputations - "
"Err, Apollo?" Thalia cut in hesitantly. "They don't return your smiles because they think you're annoying."
Apollo's smile faltered. "Oh. Is that so."
"Yeah..."
Apollo coughed. "Moving on... So I take it that Naruto was pretty well received, then? You know, since he's my little sister's son, he saved my little sister, and he was raised by yours truly?"
Thalia nodded. "For the most part, yes. They did ask him three questions on the first night to judge his character."
"What were the questions?" Apollo asked, his curiosity rising up.
Thalia tilted her head, thinking back. "The first was, 'Are you ever going to peek on a girl while she's bathing?'"
"Ah," Apollo nodded sagely. "Making sure that Naruto isn't some lecherous pervert."
"Like yourself," Thalia noted.
"Like myself," Apollo agreed, shooting her a wink and a grin.
Thalia coughed, averting her eyes. "Ahem. Next, they asked him, 'Do you believe that women are inferior to men?'"
"Killing two birds with one stone," Apollo mused. "Not only are they checking to see if Naruto is going to look down on them for being female, but they're also making sure that he doesn't have a big head. He is, after all, a strong demigod, and it's a proven fact that there's a correlation between power and arrogance."
He gave an approving nod. "These two questions were decent tests of his character. What was the third question?"
Thalia opened her mouth but then hesitated. "On second thought, maybe I shouldn't say..."
"Aww, c'mon. Spill. What was the question?"
Thalia winced. "Umm... it was... 'What do you think about Apollo's poetry?'"
Apollo went still. "Oh." His voice was devoid of all emotions. "And what was Naruto's answer?"
"He said that he thought your poetry was really good?" Thalia tried.
"God of truth. I know when you're lying to me - though I do appreciate the sentiment."
Thalia winced again. "Fine. He said that your poetry was - well, bad. God-awful. But he did try to be nice about it..."
"And let me guess: they rejected and scorned Naruto because his terrible and objectively incorrect answer revealed his true disgusting nature?" Apollo asked tightly, his voice deceptively calm.
"Not... exactly. They, uhh... accepted him after that."
A heavy silence fell over them.
"For what it's worth, I like your poetry... kinda..." Thalia offered comfortingly.
"Thanks. That means a lot. Just... give me a moment. I need to recover from the betrayal." After a few seconds, Apollo was back to his old self, smiling. "I gotta say though, the whole act thing does make a lot more sense. I've always thought it was kinda hypocritical for the Hunters to scorn all men when they're the ones who dislike being judged for their gender."
"I know, right? You have idea how relieved I felt when I realized that the Hunters weren't just a bunch of man-haters. That had been one of my biggest worries when I joined," Thalia grinned. "In any event, in the two days before Christmas, somehow, someway, Naruto managed to become all buddy-buddy with the Hunters. Zoe had fully expected to play peacemaker, but no. She wasn't needed at all."
Apollo raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Really? What did Naruto do?"
"He talked to them."
Apollo waited expectantly for more. When nothing came, he blinked. "That's it?"
"That's it," Thalia confirmed. At his incredulous stare, she nodded. "Yup. That's the same reaction Zoe, Bianca, and I had."
"That's odd," Apollo mused. "And Artemis didn't even have to turn him into a girl?"
Thalia became deathly still. "Excuse me?" she asked carefully.
"I had fully expected Artemis to turn Naruto into a girl," Apollo shrugged. "She had done it to him plenty of times before, after all."
"Huh," Thalia said slowly. "I... see." Then she paused. "Hold on, Lady Artemis had turned Naruto into a girl before? But... why-?" her eyes widened in a look of horrified revelation. "Unless... his split personality - Kurama - is female?!"
Apollo blinked. "That's..." Now that he thought about it, that explanation did make sense, in a strange, twisted sort of way. It was wrong, but it was understandable how she would jump to that conclusion. In fact - considering what he knew of the prickly giant fox... He chuckled at the mental image of how disgruntled Kurama would probably look.
Thalia then fixed him with a harsh stare. "I don't know why you're laughing about it. The only reason Naruto even has a split personality is because living with you traumatized him so much, his mind cracked under the strain."
A twitch developed in Apollo's eye. "Ah. Yes. Of course," he said between gritted teeth. "You're right. My bad."
"Still though, I would've never thought. Kurama isn't exactly a female name..."
"Out of curiosity, how exactly did the Hunters react to Naruto?" Apollo asked, attempting to get them back on track.
Thalia shrugged. "Well, Charity accepted him right away. Jeanne too."
Apollo's gaze softened at her name. "Of course she did," he murmured. "It would've been strange for Jeanne not to."
"Jeanne's your daughter, right?" Thalia asked curiously.
The sun god nodded, a small, genuine smile spreading across his face. "She is."
Thalia furrowed her brows. "Correct me if I'm wrong - my history's rusty - but wasn't Jeanne d'Arc, like, a Saint? Of the Biblical God? How did that work out?"
Apollo shrugged. "My prophecy powers manifested within her in the form of a voice. She thought that the voice was God." He chuckled. "I was told that there was a rather hilarious misunderstanding after the Hunters rescued her and told her she was the daughter of a Greek deity."
"She... didn't know you were her father until after the Hunters rescued her?" Thalia repeated, an oddly strained quality to her voice.
Apollo tilted his head. "You're angry at me for never acknowledging and abandoning my daughter," he observed.
Thalia hesitated before a determined look passed over her face and she stared at him challengingly. "So what if I am?"
"Then I would ask you to not jump to conclusions so hastily," Apollo replied simply, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "After all... who do you think was the one who told the Hunters to save Jeanne? What, did you think they just happened to stumble upon her execution?"
Thalia's eyes widened.
"I heard her prayers, you know," Apollo gazed off into the distance. "I don't know how, but I did. She didn't have a single regret on the days leading up to her execution. She was prepared to die, and when she died, she would've died happily. But... well, I just couldn't accept that. Someone like her only appears once a thousand years - if that. I couldn't just let her die." He shrugged. "So I asked my little sister for a favor."
Thalia was silent for a moment. "Naruto was right," she finally said quietly. "You're a good dad, Apollo."
Apollo grinned, though his eyes were a bit sad. "I knew there was a reason why you were my favorite demigod."
"Aww, thank you," Thalia grinned. "A god's favorite demigod... I'll be sure to rub it into Percy's face the next time I see him. Anyways," she continued, "Lily, Psyche, and Belladonna were also pretty cool with Naruto. Diana too - although she did threaten Naruto with dismemberment, evisceration, and defenestration if he ever tried anything funny."
At Apollo's disturbed look, Thalia hurriedly reassured, "Don't worry, she does it to every new member that joins. Bianca and I went through the same treatment. Hades," she chuckled, "she actually threatened me more than Naruto."
"I can't imagine why," Apollo said dryly. "It's not as if you've insulted the Hunters numerous times before. Loudly."
Thalia laughed. "I won't deny that I once possessed a minor dislike for the Hunters."
"And now?"
Thalia grew contemplative. "Not gonna lie, I'm still not too big on the idea," she admitted. "I only joined to avoid the prophecy. But..." she shrugged. "I'm stuck in this situation, so might as well make the most of it, you know? Besides, now that I've actually gotten the chance to know them better, the Hunters aren't all that bad."
She smiled sadly, glancing away. "Who knows?" she whispered to herself, so quietly Apollo almost didn't hear. "They might even be a good family."
Even Apollo didn't dare crack a joke at that.
The moment passed quickly, Thalia returning to her normal self and smiling brightly. "And besides, the food is absolutely delicious. Katarina is a godlike cook. I swear, it's as if she..."
Apollo watched her with an indecipherable expression.
Most demigods believed their "ADHD" (it wasn't actually ADHD; it just resembled the symptoms and so everyone referred to it as ADHD) was an inherited trait from their godly parent that allowed them to perform better in battle. That was only part of it, however. The other part was something darker, something that only a few demigods would ever realize in their lifetimes.
The true value of ADHD lay in its ability to prevent the minds of demigods from lingering too long on dark thoughts that only bring pain and suffering. Demigods weren't broken, PTSD-afflicted, psychologically unstable individuals not because of an extraordinary strength of mind but rather because their short attention spans don't allow them to focus long enough on damaging, harmful thoughts. Demigods were literally wired to avoid the problem.
It was an ingenious defense mechanism to prevent heroes from becoming broken shells of themselves.
However, avoiding the problem doesn't make it heal or go away. It just continues to slowly fester and grow until it finally reaches critical mass and all the repressed negative emotions explode. Chiron referred to it as the "mental boom".
And, from the looks of it, Thalia was well on her way to a mental boom of herself.
"Hey Thalia," Apollo interrupted her retelling of all the different dishes Katarina had served. "If you ever need to talk..." he hesitated. "While gods don't typically Iris Message demigods, I'll make an exception." He snapped his fingers and a golden drachma materialized in Thalia's palm, his meaning clear.
Thalia's expression immediately became guarded.
"I mean, you don't have to talk to me," Apollo hastily added. "But at least talk to someone. You can go to my little sister. Or the daughter of Athena. Or even Naruto, if you're desperate. But... well, it's not good to bottle up and avoid your feelings. Trust me - as the god of healing, I would know."
She regarded him for a long moment before nodding. "Thanks," she muttered grudgingly.
"You're welcome. Now do you mind stopping making me hungry with your tales about Katarina's cooking?"
Thalia smiled sheepishly. "Oh right, my bad. Moving on... Ally was also friendly with Naruto." A strange look passed over her face. "She was friendly with all of us. Unfortunately."
Apollo blinked. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? What's wrong with her being friendly?"
The daughter of Zeus shivered slightly. "Because her friendliness involved her regaling us with all the... punishments she's going to inflict on Atlas."
"That's not so bad."
A hollow chuckle escaped her lips. "You're right. It's worse. You have no idea the things Ally said," she whispered. "The things she proposed. I almost feel bad for Atlas."
Apollo looked curious. "What did she - "
"You don't want to know."
"Oh come on. You already made me all curious. Might as well tell me."
"Apollo." Thalia stared him dead in the eyes, conveying just how serious she was. "You don't want to know."
Apollo narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? Try me."
Thalia stared at him briefly before shrugging. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."
Apollo crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. "I am Phoebus Apollo, the god of the sun, the slayer of the mighty Python, and the ultimate Smash Bros champion. I'm not some squeamish weakling who gets scared by a little gore - "
XxX
" - oh my gods oh my gods oh my gods," Apollo hugged his arms around his legs, huddled up in a tight ball on the leather couch. "What were the pikes for?!" he asked, horrified.
"I don't know! Ally didn't say, and I didn't want to ask!"
"I once thought it would be cool to have super-regenerative abilities," Apollo's eyes were unfocused. "No longer. Not when it can be so easily used against me. How... how in Tartarus's name does Ally even come up with these?!"
"She's creative?"
"It's as if she took one look at what our father did to Prometheus, decided that it was too amateurish, and improved it," Apollo muttered. "Oh dear gods... all this time, I thought she was a sweet and innocent little girl..." He shook his head. "I am never looking at her in the same way again."
"Trust me, I feel the same way," Thalia muttered. "Now, the two Hunters that were really against Naruto were Phoebe and Katarina."
"The daughter of Ares and the daughter of Hecate," he recalled.
"Yup. In all honesty, none of us expected Naruto to convince those two."
"But he did."
"But he did," Thalia nodded. "Unlike Phoebe, Katarina didn't care about Naruto's gender. Rather, she cared about the fact that he was a 'hero'. After all, nearly every Greek hero's life was a tragedy. Happy endings for heroes in Greek myths were rarer than Zeus staying faithful to his wife."
Apollo snickered. "Nice one."
"She believes that every hero will invariably become corrupted and fall," she continued. "In the end, they will stop being heroesand instead become walking time bombs that, when exploded, will only cause pain and tragedy to the people around them. After all, 'the nature of a hero does not change'." Thalia shook her head. "I swear, she has cynicism down to an art form."
"Perseus had a happy ending," Apollo pointed out.
Thalia shrugged. "He was one of the only exceptions. And, seeing that Naruto had already made an enemy of Aphrodite and he has a split personality, she highly doubted he'd be an exception. It's not that she dislikes him - rather, she has no wishes to interact with him because she believes he will only cause pain to her sisters in the end when he finally falls."
"Hmm. Naruto objected, I take it?"
Thalia smiled. "Of course." Her smile turned vicious. "He turned her argument against her."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Gladly. For you see, all the Greek heroes fought for themselves. Heracles fought because he had to finish his Twelve Labors. Theseus fought to claim his birthright - and because he was bored. Jason fought so he could reclaim his rightful throne. And that is why they fell. They fought for themselves, and so in the end, they fell by themselves, all alone."
Apollo nodded slowly. "A fair point. But so what?"
Thalia grinned. "Naruto doesn't fight for himself. He doesn't care about fame or glory or money or pride. He just fights to protect his friends and family. And so, his precious people will be the pillars that support him, the ones to save and rescue him if he ever begins the descent to disaster."
Her eyes flickered. "He mentioned me by name. I admit, it was rather heartwarming to hear he had so much faith in me..."
She shook her head disbelievingly. "I swear though, his charisma was insane. When he spoke, we somehow all believed him. The determination in his gaze, the resolute look in his eyes, his sheer will... His speech was enough to convince Katarina to muster up enough faith to believe that he wasn't completely irredeemable."
"Huh," Apollo leaned back, looking impressed. "What about Phoebe?"
"Ah. That was a bit harder." Thalia scowled. "Phoebe distrusted and scorned Naruto for no reason other than he was a boy. The other Hunters had put on an act, but she was the real deal. And - well, how are you supposed to argue against that? Especially since Phoebe already knew she was being a hypocrite. She's thousands of years old - she's self-aware enough to know the flaws of her 'argument.' She just doesn't care, because apparently scorning an entire gender will improve her quality of life, or something equally stupid like that."
She narrowed her eyes. "It's all total bullshit. I don't care how tragic of a backstory she had, that's no excuse to act like such an asshole."
"For sure," Apollo agreed. "I know that the other Hunters have tried addressing this in the past, but to no avail. Which begs the question: exactly what did Naruto say to her?"
"Well, at first he tried talking to her. You know, reasoning it out and all that. Needless to say, it didn't work, and all Naruto received was attempted stabbings, slicing, piercing, and even burning."
Apollo whistled. "Someone's rather violent."
Thalia chuckled. "Yeah, well, to be fair, she is a child of Ares. Violence is their answer to everything. That, and hot sauce. You should hear about Percy's first Capture the Flag game," she said, her eyes filling with mirth. "Clarisse and the other Ares campers went full Spartan on him. First, they ignored the no maiming rule and maimed Percy, though he healed himself with water afterwards - a bullshit ability, might I add. Then, during dinner, they spiked his food with hot sauce that quite literally left his mouth smoking."
Apollo laughed. "Ah, right. Good ol' Ares. Have I ever told you about the time when he got so pissed at me, he deadass launched a surface-to-air missile at my sun chariot?"
Thalia laughed as well. "Like father, like daughter, I suppose - as much as Phoebe denies it. Anyways, even Naruto got frustrated after the twenty-eighth arrow shot. So instead of dodging, he counterattacked."
Apollo blinked. "Oh damn. Three seconds?"
"Eight, actually. I think he wanted to spare Phoebe's pride a little bit." Thalia snickered. "Although given that she was defeated by a kid she's literally thousands of years older than in just eight seconds, I'll say that her pride was thoroughly shattered, regardless of the extra five seconds."
Apollo inclined his head. "What did he do afterwards?"
Thalia shrugged. "Well, after he punched her in the face, he tried talking to her again. And miraculously, it worked this time."
The sun god stared at her incredulously. "It worked? What did he even say?!"
"We couldn't hear, and he wouldn't tell me," Thalia admitted. "But whatever he said, it must've been effective, because after their fight, Phoebe became cool with him overnight."
"What the Hades?!"
"My thoughts exactly."
"But - but how?!" Apollo exclaimed in disbelief. Thalia shrugged wordlessly. He shook his head, amazed. "I swear, it's as if the kid learned black magic or something while I wasn't looking."
Thalia nodded. "Right, well, fast forward to Christmas Day when every Hunter - myself included - attempted to beat the ever-living shit out of Naruto."
Apollo blinked. "Not what I expected, I admit."
Thalia laughed. "Well, to be fair, Naruto did ask for it..."
XxX
"Nice try!" Naruto said encouragingly, offering Phoebe his hand. She ignored it, climbing to her feet and leaving Naruto's hand awkwardly dangling in the air.
"Again," she demanded with a determined glint in her eyes.
Naruto frowned, lowering his hand. "We've already been sparring for the past hour - "
"Sparring?" Phoebe interrupted with a derisive laugh. "No. Sparring is what they're doing." She gestured at the other Hunters in the clearing, who had stopped their training to watch the show. "What we're doing is reenacting a one-sided massacre."
"That's a little harsh, don't you think?"
"Ten seconds," Phoebe hissed. "That's the longest I've lasted against you before I became intimately acquainted with the ground. Ten seconds."
Naruto scratched his head. "You've improved?" he offered.
"Again."
Naruto sighed as Phoebe charged him again, a celestial bronze sword in her hand.
After being soundly defeated by Hecate and Pan - and having to be rescued by Nico - the Hunters had upped their training intensity by several hundred degrees. Which was why even on Christmas, they were busy sparring in the forest. Naruto joined because he was bored, and Phoebe quickly selected him as her partner, eager to test her skills once more - and perhaps maim him a little.
Naruto ducked underneath a sword swing, blocked a stab with a Rasengan, before three clones popped into existence around Phoebe and brought down their blunted training kunai.
To her credit, Phoebe managed to dispel all three clones before they could take her out. However, that gave Naruto enough time to step into her guard and slam a chakra-enhanced fist into her gut.
"NOT AGAIN-!"
She was blown backwards onto the ground from the force of his punch.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Look, maybe you should spar someone else. I don't think this is really fair."
Phoebe gave an angry grunt as she picked herself up off the ground.
"He has a point," Zoe commented off to the side. "Naruto would have to go up against at least five Hunters at once to make it a fair fight."
"Five Hunters?" Thalia spoke up, wiping some sweat off her forehead before smirking. "Please. Don't overestimate yourselves. It would take at least nine Hunters to even the field."
Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Oh? Are you perhaps suggesting that we're not as strong as we think?"
"Why yes," Thalia answered with a grin. "Yes, I am."
Zoe tilted her head. "Perhaps we should take this to an impartial judge, then. Naruto, what do you say?"
"Hmm?"
"How many Hunters do you think it'll take for this to become a fair fight?" Zoe asked him. "Assuming, of course, that you won't be allowed to use your Sage Mode or golden cloak."
They were training, after all, not trying to die.
Naruto shrugged. "All of you, I guess."
The clearing grew silent.
Zoe cleared her throat. "Without your Sage Mode or golden cloak," she emphasized.
"Yeah, I heard you. My answer is still the same."
"You're saying that you're confident that you can take on all twelve of us at once?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yup," Naruto nodded, not a trace of arrogance in his tone.
There was a stillness in the clearing.
"Just to be absolutely clear, is Naruto inviting us to attempt to eviscerate him in the most horrible way possible?" Ally asked hopefully.
"That's not what I-..." Naruto paused. "Actually, technically, I suppose I did..."
"Then shall we test that theory?" Zoe said quietly. The Hunters all slowly reached for their weapons, looking mildly offended that he thought he could fight all of them at once.
Naruto, for his part, just grinned. "Sure, why not."
Perhaps it was his nonchalant tone as he agreed. Perhaps it was his casual posture as he regarded them. Perhaps it was how he tilted his head, as if he was listening to someone, before chuckling under his breath. Whatever it was, every Hunter - even Thalia - unanimously agreed right then and there that Naruto needed to fall.
Without any warning, the clearing exploded into motion.
Phoebe was the first to reach Naruto, lunging forward and slicing down with her sword.
Naruto jumped backwards - right into the path of eight arrows that shot forth from Zoe's bow. Eight arrows that were all deflected by the silver kunai he wielded. Katarina dashed in with double daggers and they exchanged a flurry of blows. Naruto frowned as he was unable to penetrate her defenses even though he was faster and stronger.
Katarina suddenly smirked and leaped back, tossing her twin daggers at Naruto who blocked them with his kunai.
His eyes widened as a figure suddenly blurred in front of him, bringing down a celestial bronze sword. Lily, the daughter of Demeter. Her gaze remained calm and regal, as though she was going on a stroll through the park instead of attempting to bisect him.
Her blows were fast and powerful, and her technique was flawless. Naruto didn't need to be an expert in kenjutsu to see that. However, as fast as she was, Naruto was faster. He also had the advantage of his godlike intuition - they were in the forest - and so he could literally see her attacks coming before they even formed.
"Naruto, catch!" Diana called.
Naruto's eyes flickered over momentarily to see Diana throwing a blue jewel at him. He frowned in confusion. Judging by its trajectory, it wouldn't hit him. She missed?
Lily didn't even seem to notice; she just continued her relentless assault. Well, if Lily was confident enough to remain in the vicinity, then it probably wasn't anything too bad -
Then the world exploded in light.
Even as his eyes burned, he couldn't help but be impressed. Lily had known what was going to happen, but she didn't show any outward signs or reactions, thus causing him to think that the jewel would be harmless. Then, at the last possible moment, she slammed her eyes shut, something that took perfect timing, leaving him no time to react. It had been a mind game, one that he lost.
Except for one fact they hadn't taken into account.
In the forest, Naruto didn't need his eyes to see.
The air quickly became filled with projectiles as Naruto threw kunai after kunai that deflected and redirected the arrows shot his way.
"How the Hades is he still able to deflect our arrows with pinpoint accuracy?!" Zoe yelled in frustration as Naruto's kunai blurred. "I thought your jewel was supposed to temporarily rob all sight!"
"It was!" Diana shouted back. "The magic should've rendered him completely blind!"
"Man, you guys are really bad at this," Thalia grinned. "My turn."
Naruto barely had enough time to lower into a defensive stance before a fucking bolt of lightning pierced down from the sky, slamming down onto where he stood. For good measure, every Hunter rained down a veritable rain of silver arrows into the cloud of smoke and dust.
After a few seconds, Zoe yelled, "Hold fire!"
They watched with bated breaths as the dust slowly cleared up to reveal...
A blackened, charred, cracked log impaled by arrows?
What?
A suffocating aura suddenly filled the air, causing every Hunter to tense up.
Naruto appeared in a burst of speed, kneeling in front of the log. "Thank you," he whispered, bowing his head in respect. "Your sacrifice will be remembered."
Then he rose and turned to them, fury in his eyes. "This shall not be forgotten."
"What's the big deal?" Phoebe frowned. "It's just a log - "
"Phoebe!" Psyche exclaimed, looking aghast. "Just a log? Trees are the foundation of life itself! And now, due to our actions, an innocent log has to suffer for it."
"Exactly!" Naruto shot a look of respect at the hemlock nymph. As a nature spirit, she understood the gravity of what just occurred. "I'm glad at least one of you understands the full importance of the Holy Log. I presume you'll be writing an apology letter later?"
"The moment this battle is over," Psyche confirmed.
"Good. I'll be joining you." He turned his furious gaze upon the others. "And as for the rest of you..."
He raised his hands and formed a familiar cross-shaped seal.
"There will be a retribution," he vowed.
Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
XxX
"Let me guess," Apollo said sympathetically. "Three seconds?"
"More or less," Thalia grumbled.
"Don't feel too bad," Apollo reassured her. "After all, he was trained by the best. Me."
"I admit, it was rather terrifying to see a literal tsunami of clones charge at us," Thalia muttered. "We were outnumbered a hundred to one. He completely overwhelmed us with superior numbers and speed. It wasn't that he was better, technique-wise. He just... brute forced it, in a sense. It took him just three seconds to defeat all of us."
Apollo shrugged. "Despite what all the wise old martial artists say, overwhelming power can and will defeat superior skill. It doesn't matter how good your technique is if your opponent is just faster. Oh, and the army of clones probably helped."
"Yeah," Thalia sighed. "In any case, after the fight was over, it was already close to dinner, so we decided to stop training and refresh ourselves before heading to the Christmas dinner. Artemis had returned from whatever meeting she had to go to. The meal was amazing - Katarina had pulled out all the stops - and afterwards, we just chilled and relaxed around a campfire."
Apollo nodded. Greek entities celebrated Christmas as a holiday rather than anything religious. They used it as an excuse to just party and generally have a good time.
Thalia's expression darkened. "Then Aphrodite showed up, and everything went to shit."
XxX
"What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded, discreetly entering Sage Mode. It was his default reaction now whenever he encountered a god. The edges around his eyes turned silver as his pupils morphed into their customary horizontal dash. His eye color was already silver, so no change there. He did lament the loss of his orange pupils though. Orange was awesome.
"Naruto. Artemis. Hunters." Aphrodite greeted them with a smile. "Such a hostile reception. Aren't you going to offer me some refreshments?"
"Sure," Phoebe spoke up, glaring at the goddess of love. "How does some liquid fire from the River Phlegethon sound?"
"Oh my," Aphrodite raised a hand to her lips in mock shock. "How rude. Artemis, dear, please keep your pets on a leash."
Artemis ignored her. "What are you doing here?" she repeated Naruto's words. Even though her voice was calm, her silver eyes were slightly narrowed.
"It's Christmas!" Aphrodite answered brightly. "I come bearing gifts."
"Gifts? How generous of you," Katarina tilted her head, her grey eyes boring into Aphrodite's. "May I see mine?"
Aphrodite stared at her for a moment before she laughed. "Fine, fine. Guilty. I admit, I didn't bring anything for you all. I do apologize for that. I only came to give gifts to the two of you."
Artemis sighed and held her hand out, palm up. "Just hand it over and leave. I really am not in the mood to deal with you right now. And I swear, if your gift is a massive clump of dove droppings, then I will make you regret it."
Aphrodite's lips curled in amusement. "Who said anything about giving a gift to you? The world doesn't revolve around you, Artemis, although Apollo certainly thinks it does." Her eyes glinted. "I'm here to give a gift to your dear son... and your beloved lieutenant."
Artemis furrowed her brows in confusion for half a second before her eyes widened in comprehension. "No..."
The goddess of love laughed. "You cannot possibly tell me that you didn't see this coming." She snapped her fingers and two arrows materialized in the air. "You Hunters always seem to take pride in being - well, hunters. However, tonight..." she smiled dangerously. "I shall be the one hunting you."
With another snap of her fingers, the arrows streaked forward.
Obviously, they didn't hit.
Naruto reacted immediately, his eyes narrowed as he threw two silver kunai to deflect the arrows. Around him, the Hunters also shot their own arrows to intercept Aphrodite's attack.
The arrows and kunai clattered to the ground a moment later. All of them.
"An assassination attempt?" Naruto asked, glaring at Aphrodite as a Rasengan whirled to life in his hand.
"More like an attempt to create some beautiful irony," Aphrodite sighed. "A pity that it didn't work." She shrugged. "Oh well. We'll have to do this the boring way then."
Artemis blurred, snapping her bow up and releasing several deadly projectiles. Silver arrows moving faster than the speed of sound shot towards Aphrodite, who simply smiled and waved her hand before disappearing in a flash of pink light before the arrows could hit.
Instantly, Naruto felt a wave of divine power wash over him. The same divine power he had felt back when Aphrodite removed his Henge.
Next to him, Zoe let out a soft gasp, letting Naruto know that she had been affected as well.
"Zoe!" Naruto was beside her in a flash. "Are you alright - " he paused when Zoe flinched away from him. "Zoe?" he asked in confusion.
Naruto. We... may have a problem. Kurama's voice was strained.
Naruto frowned. What do you mean?
There was a slight pause before Kurama responded.
Brace yourself.
Foreign emotions suddenly flooded Naruto. He grunted as his mind was temporarily overwhelmed before Kurama assisted him in containing and shoving the emotions into a deep, dark corner of his life, the same place where his darker self had once resided. The emotions were still there, but they were muted, not as inflamed.
Did the same thing happen to Zoe?
Naruto glanced at Zoe in concern, his eyes scanning her form. He noted the sweat beading her brow, her long dark hair that flowed like a waterfall down her back, her smooth, flawless skin, the gentle swell of her breasts and her long legs that -
Wait.
Umm... Naruto? The fuck? Now isn't the time to start checking her out.
I know that! Naruto snapped even as he tore his admittedly lecherous gaze away from her. I'm a bit more confused as to why I'm checking her out -
He paused as something clicked in his mind. "Oh," he said aloud, suddenly feeling extremely stupid.
Ever since Aphrodite had met with him and promised to transform his life into a tragedy, he had been expecting - well, a normal tragedy. Death, pain, destruction, torture, all the typical stuff that Naruto was prepared for and could easily fight against.
He had forgotten one crucial factor, however. Aphrodite was the goddess of love. Attacking someone directly wasn't her style. She of all people would know that emotional pain was infinitely worse than physical pain. In all the myths, Aphrodite had never fought head-on. Instead, she manipulated emotions to tear people apart.
And what better tragedy was there than to force the son of Artemis to fall in love with the lieutenant of the Hunters?
Artemis, the goddess that Aphrodite hated the most, would be forced to banish Zoe from the Hunters of Artemis. The rules were absolute. No falling in love. By banishing Zoe, Artemis would lose her most trusted Hunter - no. Artemis would lose a friend, a sister.
Zoe Nightshade, a Hunter responsible for convincing numerous maidens to join the Hunt and thus being directly responsible for essentially spitting on Aphrodite's domain, would be forced to leave her family.
Naruto, the child of Artemis and someone that Aphrodite personally despised, would have to watch as his family was fractured, all because of him. Aphrodite had likely been watching him for quite some time. She would know the best way to hurt him was to attack the people he cared about - and it was all his fault.
With a single move, Aphrodite successfully dealt irreparable damage to three of her most hated enemies.
A part of Naruto was grudgingly impressed. The rest of him was just pissed beyond belief.
"Naruto..." Zoe began hesitantly, still refusing to look him in the eyes. "Do you - " she cut off, unable to say the words.
"Yeah," Naruto answered, not looking at her either. His hands clenched into fists as he struggled to maintain his composure.
"I don't get it," Bianca frowned. "What just happened? Are you two alright? I thought we blocked Aphrodite's arrows."
"Her arrows? Yes. Her divine power, on the other hand?" Zoe sounded pained. "It's impossible to block or dodge. She just had to literally wave her hand and we would fall under its effect."
"Zoe," Artemis stepped up. Zoe's entire body tensed. "I - " the goddess's voice faltered. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Tell me how you feel right now."
There was a long moment of silence.
"Affection. Desire. Devotion." Zoe paused, self-loathing passing over her face. "Love." she whispered, looking down.
Artemis's expression was indecipherable as she turned to Naruto. "And you, Naruto?"
Naruto hesitated. "I... yeah," he admitted. "Same as her. I've managed to mute the emotions, but they're still there."
"I see," Artemis nodded. Her head tilted up as she stared at the moon in the sky, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Around them, the Hunters had the same emotion on their faces.
Sorrow.
Can you neutralize the foreign emotions?
No. This isn't some genjutsu. Regardless of their origins, these feelings you have are somehow real.
Right. This wasn't some love potion. Aphrodite had absolute control over her domain. That meant that if she caused someone to fall in love, it wouldn't be a "fake" love - rather, it would be genuine love. Semantically, it would be considered false love, but in reality, there was no difference between the love that formed naturally and the love that was created by Aphrodite.
In fact, the love that formed naturally was the love created by Aphrodite. Or Eros. One of the love gods.
However, there was one thing Naruto didn't quite understand.
"How am I affected?" Naruto asked Artemis. "I thought that since you were the goddess of maidenhood, you were immune to Aphrodite's love magic. Shouldn't it be the same for me?"
"The absolute immunity I possess is completely unique," Artemis murmured, still gazing up at the moon. "You also have an immunity, but to a lesser degree. You mentioned that the emotions you feel are muted; you are aware they aren't real, so to speak. You still feel the emotions, but they're not necessarily affecting your mind. That's the immunity at work. For any other person, intense, passionate emotions would completely overwhelm their mind, requiring the highest level of will and self-control to suppress."
Naruto's eyes flickered over to Zoe. A pang of worry shot through him.
If he concentrated, he could definitely feel a fervent love directed towards Zoe. Affection, desire, lust, the whole trifecta. However, that was only if he concentrated. Left alone, it was just passively there, not compelling him to do anything.
However, he couldn't imagine what it was like for Zoe, who had no such defenses. She was currently bearing the full brunt of Aphrodite's spell. Her mind and body were betraying her. It must be utter agony.
It took him a moment to realize that a heavy silence had descended over the Hunters. An almost palpable sense of gloom and despair hung over the campfire, and the tension was thick enough to cut with a kunai.
"Milady," Jeanne began hesitantly, breaking the silence. "I beg you to reconsider." Bianca and Thalia both frowned in confusion, unaware of what she was talking about since Artemis hadn't said anything yet.
"Please," Lily stepped forward. Her expression was impassive, but through the cracks Naruto saw fear and sadness. "It would be a neither fair nor honorable end to her thousands of years of service."
"Lady Artemis, you would only be giving Aphrodite what she wants," Katarina's entire posture was tense. "I realize that there is precedence, but these are entirely different circumstances, and it would be - forgive me - unduly foolish to do the same thing."
"What are you guys talking about?" Thalia asked with a bewildered expression.
"The rules are clear," Artemis said softly, finally looking away from the moon and gazing at Zoe, whose eyes were downcast. "A Hunter is not allowed to fall in love. And if they do..." Zoe's form trembled imperceptibly even before Artemis delivered her next damning words.
"They must leave the Hunt."
There was a brief silence as Thalia absorbed her words before her eyes widened in shock. "What?!" she exclaimed in outrage. "So Aphrodite strolls in here, literally attacks Zoe and Naruto in front of us all... and you're still going to force them to leave? It's blatantly obvious that it's her fault!"
"I know, but I have to. The rules are clear," Artemis repeated. "The natural order must be upheld." Her eyes flashed. "Trust me, I do not like this decision any more than you do. But..." She set her gaze. "I have to," she whispered.
"I must object," Diana spoke up. "The act of falling in love itself isn't strictly forbidden," she stated, her eyes narrowed. And yet, there was no mistaking the desperate note in her voice. "You yourself should know that, milady. It is only when we act on those feelings that we must be banished. Zoe hasn't done anything yet, and I have full confidence that she has the willpower to never do anything. She has feelings for Naruto, yet, but as long as she doesn't act on them, she shouldn't be banished." She paused. "The same goes for Naruto, I guess."
"I - " Artemis shut her eyes in pain. "I can't."
"Why?" Diana demanded, even more desperation in her tone.
"Because if Naruto and I stay," Zoe said quietly, "Aphrodite won't stop."
Diana froze.
"Sure, there might be a slight period of peace as long as Naruto and I don't act on our feelings for each other. Pretended that everything was normal between us." Zoe sighed before continuing. "But how long would that last before Aphrodite increased her efforts? How long before the goddess of love forced us to do something that couldn't ever be undone? She could increase the intensity of our emotions until either our minds break under the strain or we act on our feelings against our wills."
"Even worse," Zoe hesitated before forging on. "What if Aphrodite decides to increase the number of victims? Force even more Hunters to fall in love?" She shook her head resolutely. "I refuse to let that happen. If I must leave the Hunt to protect you all... so be it."
Diana bit her lip but nodded, a resigned look passing over her face. The rest of the Hunters wore similar expressions. To limit the damage and prevent further disaster, both Naruto and Zoe must leave the Hunt.
"Thank you, Zoe, for understanding," Artemis bowed her head. "You were a fine lieutenant. The best. I - " her voice choked as Zoe squeezed her eyes shut. "I release you from your duties and - "
"Whoa whoa whoa," Naruto cut in. "Hold the Sage up. What the Hades are you guys doing?"
Zoe and Artemis looked at Naruto.
"There's no other choice, Naruto." Zoe gave a weak smile. "I have to do this."
"Nope."
"If I don't leave the Hunt, then Aphrodite won't be satisfied and she'll make things worse," Zoe tried again.
"Nope."
"Naruto, please. Don't make this harder than it already is. This is my decision. I'll leave the Hunt - "
"Abso-fucking-lutely not." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "The Hunt is your family. Artemis and the Hunters - they're your family. And you're just going to leave them, just like that? You're just going to roll over and give up without even a fight?"
"You think I want to do this?" Zoe snapped, heat entering her tone. "Because I don't, I really don't. But we don't have another option."
Naruto grinned triumphantly. "Wrong. We do." At Zoe's frown, he turned to Artemis. "You remember what Athena said, right? About Eros? We can seek him for help."
Artemis shook her head. "We can't. I recognized the arrows Aphrodite brought out. They were Eros's arrows. He's already on her side, and I doubt we would be able to convince him to betray her."
Naruto's grin fell. "Oh." He bit his lip. "Okay, fine. How about Zeus? Can't we ask him for help? I mean, Aphrodite has got to be breaking some rules here. Can't he force her to break the spell?"
"Normally, yes," Artemis nodded. "The Hunters of Artemis originated from my father's oath on the River Styx. As such, he is both honor bound and bound by the River Styx to maintain and enforce the sanctity of the Hunters," she explained. "It's for this reason that Aphrodite didn't cause Zoe to fall in love earlier, or cause all of my Hunters to fall in love. She's forbidden to by Zeus."
"But she was still able to cause some of your Hunters to fall in love," Thalia pointed out.
Artemis sighed. "Correct. At first, Zeus couldn't order a blanket immunity on all the Hunters. Aphrodite managed to persuade the Council that her rights as the goddess of love were being infringed upon. She appealed to the Council's paranoia - after all, if Zeus could ban her from using her powers, then couldn't he do the same to them? - and somehow, the Council was convinced. Athena tried to argue, stating that the Hunters were a singularly unique case, but the other gods wouldn't listen to reason. And so, Aphrodite was free to cause any of my Hunters to fall in love whenever she felt like it."
"That's dumb," Naruto declared, scowling. "That's actually dumb."
Artemis inclined her head. "Indeed. After millennia of losing my Hunters because they were being led astray, I decided that enough was enough." Her silver eyes narrowed. "I negotiated with the Council and managed to come to an agreement. An Ancient Law was passed stating that it was forbidden to interfere with the feelings of the Hunters of Artemis. I would never lose any more of my family, ever again."
"How did you convince them?" Thalia asked.
"I reduced the size of the Hunters." Artemis gestured at the Hunters around her. "Millennia ago, there were nearly a hundred members. Now there are only thirteen. Haven't you ever wondered why?" she asked rhetorically. "In return for ordering a blanket ban, the Council imposed a maximum limit of seventeen members."
Naruto brightened. "That's good, then. We can use that. Aphrodite just broke the Ancient Law, so Zeus can force her to - "
"He can't." Frustration flickered within Artemis's eyes. "Typically, in normal circumstances he could. However, Aphrodite planned this well. She chose the perfect timing to enact her plan."
"What do you mean?"
"The Titans," Artemis said simply. "Olympus already has too many traitors. Zeus can't risk antagonizing Aphrodite. It's a delicate situation right now, and Aphrodite knows this. Father can't do a single thing lest he risk driving her towards the Titans - and Aphrodite joining the Titans would be disastrous."
Naruto stared at her. "Seriously?!"
Artemis nodded grimly.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed. "Isn't there anyone that can persuade Aphrodite?"
Artemis shook her head. "No."
"How about blackmail?" Katarina suggested. "Do you have any sort of leverage?"
Another shake. "If I did, I would've used it by now."
"So Aphrodite just wins?!" Naruto demanded angrily. "She just strolls in here, forces me and Zoe to fall in love, and there's nothing we can do about it? She gets off scott-free while Zoe loses her family?"
Artemis didn't respond.
"I appreciate you trying, Naruto," Zoe said quietly. "But it's futile. Aphrodite wouldn't act unless she was absolutely certain her plan would work. She has all her bases covered."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm not giving up - "
"This isn't a game!" Zoe suddenly snapped, whirling on him. "If I don't leave the Hunters, then it will only exacerbate the problem. Aphrodite would continue her attacks, and I refuse to let any of my sisters get hurt by this."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort but then paused. "But this is a game."
Zoe frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Hear me out," Naruto said, his mind racing. "To Aphrodite, this is nothing but a game designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain to me, you, and Artemis. However, her victory is already assured, so all there is left for her to do is to enjoy the show."
Zoe still looked lost, so Naruto hurriedly elaborated.
"See, right now we're operating on the assumption that if Zoe doesn't leave the Hunters of Artemis immediately, then Aphrodite might strike the very next day. But that's wrong. It's much more likely that Aphrodite would give us time to try to figure out a way to counteract her plan. After all, it would be a lot more entertaining for her to watch us slowly lose all hope as we realize that fighting back is pointless."
"What's your point?" Artemis inquired.
"My point?" Naruto grinned. "My point is that we have time. Aphrodite probably won't make her next move until she becomes bored with watching us try to come up with a plan. And until then, we have time to come up with a plan."
Artemis's eyes widened in comprehension. "You're right," she breathed. "We'll probably have a few weeks before Aphrodite makes her next move. She wouldn't want to rush this; instead, she would want to savor every moment. And in those few weeks, we can try to come up with something."
"But what if you're wrong?" Zoe protested. "There's still a risk that Aphrodite would decide to just accelerate her plan and target the other Hunters."
There was a long moment of silence as they considered it.
"I'm willing to accept the risk," Jeanne spoke up quietly.
"As am I," Diana agreed.
"Same."
"I'm down."
"Sure."
"I'm also willing."
"Let's do it."
"For sure."
"I'm with you."
"So am I."
"Count me in."
Zoe watched with wide eyes, stunned, as the Hunters of Artemis unanimously accepted the risk without any hesitation whatsoever. "You guys..." she whispered. Then she broke out into a heartfelt smile. "Thank you so much," she said sincerely. The Hunters only smiled back.
"Very well. We're in agreement, then," Artemis declared, determination flickering to life within her silver eyes as she found her second wind. "We have several weeks to create a plan to stop Aphrodite. I'll call in every favor I have - and ask for some if need be. If Aphrodite believes that she can fracture the Hunters of Artemis, then she's utterly delusional."
Her gaze swept across their determined expressions. She must've sensed their collective unshakeable will, because approval and pride entered her eyes. "I refuse to lose another Hunter. Not again. As your goddess, I swear it." The goddess of the Hunt smiled dangerously. "Let's do this."
XxX
Apollo was silent for a moment when Thalia finished her retelling of the tale.
"Christmas was about two weeks ago," he mused. "Has Aphrodite done anything yet?"
"Nope," Thalia answered.
"Hmm... That's one small blessing, I suppose."
Thalia nodded silently.
Apollo gave a heavy sigh. "Alright, let's get to the point. Tell me, Thalia, what plan did Naruto come up with?" he asked her, already dreading the answer. "I get the feeling that I'm not going to like it."
Thalia winced. "Ah. Well..."
She told him the plan.
He was right.
He didn't like it.
XxX
"This is insanity!" Apollo shouted, slashing his hand across his chest.
"Technically, you're correct," Naruto agreed before grinning. "However, it's so insane, it loops back around to being brilliant."
Apollo stared at him incredulously. "You're planning on attacking Aphrodite and forcing her to remove the spell?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Naruto nodded.
"What the Tartarus?! I was gone for less than two weeks! That isn't nearly enough time for you to descend into madness." Apollo whirled to Artemis. "Sis! Tell him that this is stupid."
Artemis nodded. "Indeed. Naruto, you're being exceedingly foolish right now."
"Thank you!"
"I cannot believe you're deciding to give Aphrodite a chance to surrender," Artemis continued. "Instead, you should focus on taking her down quick and hard. Don't give her a chance to counterattack. You know what will happen if the fight drags out too long." Naruto inclined his head, seeing the wisdom in her words.
"Gods damn it!" Apollo threw up his hands. "Have you both lost it?! Naruto, how in Zeus's name did you manage to infect Artemis with your idiocy? Holy Hades, is it contagious?!"
"Apollo," Artemis sighed. "Relax. As surprised as I am to say it, this actually has a good chance of working."
"How?! You're going to risk Zeus finding out that Naruto is immune to death?" Apollo demanded, a wild look in his eyes. "You already know how the Council feels about the natural balance between life and death. Or have you forgotten what happened to my son Asclepius?"
Artemis tilted her head. "Of course I remember. However, Zeus won't find out."
"How can you guarantee that?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I perfected the seal."
Apollo opened his mouth but then paused. "Oh. Really?"
"Really."
"How did you do it?" he asked curiously.
"A lot of sleepless nights, copious amounts of arguing, some natural brilliance, a surprisingly genius Bijuu, and enough caffeine to make my heart explode." Sure enough, there were dark circles under Naruto's eyes, and his fingers seemed to be outright spasming.
"I see," Apollo said slowly. "And I presume you'll tell the other gods that you're not actually a mortal, and thus the divine form wouldn't work on you?"
"Yup," Naruto replied.
"Hmm... have you accounted for the fact that she might teleport away?"
"I already set up an anti-teleportation field," Artemis answered. "With some help, of course. I called in a lot of favors."
Apollo tilted his head. "Okay... but even if you do manage to beat her, how are you planning on convincing her to remove the spell?"
"We already have a plan for that," Naruto smirked.
Apollo stared at them disbelievingly for a long moment. "You're out of your minds."
"I'm desperate," Artemis corrected. "I'm not willing to lose another one of my Hunters because of her." Her eyes flashed with pain and sadness. "Never again."
"I won't let my precious people get hurt because of me," Naruto said stubbornly before narrowing his eyes. "Besides, I have... personal issues with people manipulating the emotions of others and fundamentally controlling their fates."
"Brother," Artemis's gaze softened. "You know Zoe. Are you really willing to let Aphrodite screw over her life?" Her eyes hardened. "Because I'm not." Naruto nodded in agreement.
Apollo met their gazes, staring at them with narrowed blue eyes. Two sets of identical silver eyes filled with unflinching determination stared back at him, not backing down. A brief battle of wills occurred.
Finally, Apollo sighed. "Fine. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm in."
Artemis and Naruto both smiled.
"Thank you, Apollo," Artemis beamed at him, something Apollo had only experienced a few times before.
Despite himself, Apollo grinned. "Anything for you, little sis. So what do you need me to do?"
"First things first, I need you to set up a meeting between me and Aphrodite at this address. Tell her we want to discuss the terms of my surrender, or something. Make it clear that we're both so distraught, we can't even speak to her, so you stepped in as the middleman," Naruto said. "After that, I need you to distract Zeus while I beat the absolute shit out of Aphrodite..."
Finally, Aphrodite strikes. Unfortunately for her, Naruto is about to strike back tenfold.
Naruto's "immunity to absolute control" only applies to his soul and chakra, since they aren't a part of the world. However, his body itself is composed of divine energy, and as such spells and whatnot would still work on him. This is the reason why Apollo's rhyming curse worked on him - it affected his body, which is bound by the rules of this world. Similarly, Aphrodite's spell would work - but since his Artemis side has immunity to Aphrodite's powers (direct counter of domains), Naruto isn't all that affected by her powers. He is affected, but not that much. Think of it like this. If Aphrodite's spell has a power of 100, Naruto is only feeling 5 units due to the immunity.
This will not be NarutoxZoe.
Thank you all for reading, and please review :)
euphoric
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