The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 13 - The Supernatural Wager Begins...!

"SAY WHAT?!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears or his eyes as he tries to process what he just heard. An Olympian God had chosen him as his Champion, but for what? "What do you mean by I'm your champion?" He said before dispelling his Rasengan but still kept his Hiraishin Kunai in hand.

Poseidon shook his head at the boy, "During my time, you mortals treated us with the utmost respect. You should watch your tone."

"S-Sorry, Lord Poseidon." Naruto said before he bowed to the God to repent his last action, "I'm just very surprised of all this. I mean I read books about Greek Mythology not too long ago, but I didn't give a second thought about your existence." Yes, he read books during his stay at Urahara's Shop since he refused to go to school and cried about barely graduating the Academy and the first book he read was Greek Mythology. Plus the Sage once told him of a metaphor, 'Knowledge is power.'

Poseidon chuckled at the boy with a grin, "I can understand that. Unfortunately we Gods faded into legends and myths as the centuries passed by. I assume you have questions and want an explanation." Naruto reluctantly nodded and Poseidon gestured to him, "What would you like to know?"

"Um… well I guess what is this place? And where am I exactly?"

"You are standing in the Hall of the Gods on Mount Olympus."

Naruto's eyes bulged out at the answer. "Mount Olympus? As in the mountain that houses the Olympians after the Great War against the Titans? That Mount Olympus in Greece?" A nod was his answer. "Oh boy."

"You can say that again." Kurama said as all of his attention is now focused in the conversation. A sweat-drop slid down the fox's head when the boy actually said "Oh boy" again. "I didn't mean it literally, you idiot!"

Ignoring his partner, Naruto put on his listening ears as the Olympian was about to speak. "You should feel quite honored, Naruto. There are very few mortals in history who were ever allowed to set foot on Olympus." Poseidon commented to the boy. The Sea God is actually surprised of how the boy is taking of his existence and the respect he shows after his initial reaction.

Naruto raised a brow and folded his arms. "Hold on a minute. I never mentioned my name to you at all. So how do you know it? Were you stalking me or something?" He sweat-dropped when the man whistled nonchalantly, "You were stalking me!?"

"I-I actually read your mind," muttered Poseidon lowly while looking away. But unfortunately it was not low enough.

"Say what now? Did you just say you read my mind?"

"Never mind that. Are there any other questions you have?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes but complied since this is an opportunity of a lifetime and he doesn't want to waste it. "Okay. Where are the other Olympians? Why does the Hall feel so empty and lifeless? Why did you choose me as your Champion? And where can I go to get a weapon forged like your Trident 'cause it's a thing of beauty."

Poseidon chuckled before answering the questions in a different order. "My Trident was forged by the Cyclops after Zeus freed them from Tartarus during the Great War, so your chances of getting a weapon forged from them are slim to none. And yes it is a thing of beauty. Secondly, I chose you as my Champion because I saw your skills as a warrior when you fought those pitiful creatures you call Hollows two weeks ago. As for the last two questions; my two brothers, Zeus and Hades, are still alive. My sister, Hestia, lives in New York and is happily married to a great man and has two children, erasing her status as one of the Maiden Goddesses." Naruto noticed a frown on the Olympian's face, "However… the rest of the Olympians had perished which is why the Hall feels empty and powerless."

"What?" asked Naruto genuine and shocked. "B-but how, Lord Poseidon? From what I read, you guys are really powerful!" He cant afford to be disrespectful since he can't feel the Olympian's power at all. So it's best to be on the good side instead to be on the bad side of a god.

Instead of answering right away, Poseidon lightly tapped the butt of his Trident on the ground, forming chairs of water to appear behind him and Naruto. He gestured the boy to take seat, which he complied and to his surprise Naruto didn't feel the water penetrate his clothing at all and is actually quite comfortable. "… Have you read about the God of the Bible?" The Sea God asked as he took his seat.

"Somewhat. I actually started reading the Bible just yesterday. It's very interesting and full of wisdom even though I have trouble understanding the meaning of the text at times. But I understand it."

Poseidon sighed lowly. "Long ago, there was a intense war between the Three Factions of the Bible; the Angels led by God, the Devils led by the Four Satans and the Fallen Angels led by Azazel. These factions are also the major powerhouses of the world since the mortals study and inherited the religion." He waited for Naruto to take in this new information before continuing, "The war grew intense that the Fallen Angels had enlisted the Titans to gain advantage in the upcoming battles. So counter this new strategy, the Angels came to us and enlisted our help."

"Hold on. If the Titans aligned with the Fallen Angels and you guys aligned with the Angels, how did the Devils make it through the war?"

"They enlisted the help of the Gigantes. They-"

"-The Gigantes? Who are they 'cause I never read about them," Naruto asked intrigued with his fingers on his chin as he pondered about it.

"They are Gaia's other children aside from the Titans and the Banes of us Olympians. No-"

"-Why's that?"

Poseidon let out a collective sigh with an agitated mark on his forehead. "If you stop interrupting me, I can tell you." He heard an indignant 'My bad' form the blonde. "The Gigantes were born with the purpose of taking us down. You could say they were the opposite of us; like Polybotes would turn water into acid, therefore he is my Bane."

"Whoa."

"Make no mistake; we were still powerful and won't go down so easily. Plus the Devils' leader was extremely powerful so he proved to be quite the adversary." Naruto could tell by the sad frown of the Olympian that this memory is hard to talk about, especially when it comes to family and close friends. "The battle was great with the Three Factions losing significant numbers of their kind and the same went for us; the Titans lost Oceanus, Hyperion, and several more of the Titans. The Gigantes are eradicated and out of all the Olympians; Hestia, my brothers and I survived the battle but it wasn't not over yet."

"Something else happened?" Naruto asked the God. Poseidon was about to explain further when he suddenly looked to his left and rose from his seat, prompting the confused yet cautious Shinobi to do the same. "Lord Poseidon?"

"They're coming."

"Who?"

Poseidon didn't answer when he realized something else as if he forgot something important. "Ah! I didn't give you your equipment. Here…" He snapped his fingers.

Naruto was about to speak when his right arm started glowing brightly, startling him a bit. He stared at his arm after the light dimmed down and found a golden armlet hugging his arm. It consisted of three parts; the first part is located at the upper shoulder, at the side of his head. The second part covers the biceps and the last one covers his lower arm.

"What is this? It's surprisingly light." The Shinobi said as he inspected the armlet while flexing his hand and entire arm as well. That's when he noticed a ram design on the bicep and lower arm parts.

"It is the Golden Fleece. It will help you on during your journey and victories."

Before Naruto could react in any way, two similar and burning lights appeared near him and Poseidon, silencing any words or thoughts in the Shinobi's mind.

-(Meanwhile)-Kenpachi vs Hidan-Soul Society-

"HAHAHAHA!" was the one word from the two crazed combatants of their respective worlds: Hidan of the Akatsuki and Kenpachi from the 11th Division.

Clashes of steel were heard from their battleground and shockwaves from their weapons shook the ground and buildings nearby as the two warriors don't let up on their attacks in hopes to overpower each other, but so far nothing happened since they seem to be on even terms.

After parrying a strike, the crazed Kenpachi slashed at the equally crazed Hidan who jumped back to dodge it. "Hahahaha… I love your battling spirit, kid. If only my other rivals have the same attitude and spirit as you do!" Of course he would act like this. Who wouldn't after meeting someone similar to your personality?

"Even you are my enemy, I too like your craving for fighting. We're like the two sides of the same coin!" Hidan said while swinging his scythe over his head by the rope, "However…" He released his Chakra to the maximum level as if to intimidate the tall man but that didn't work at all. "You will die and be sacrificed to Jashin! What are you anyway? And what's with the get up?" He gestured to the man's black clothing.

Kenpachi smirked as he released more Spirit Energy, increasing his Spiritual Pressure to match his opponent's level. "This is the uniform of the Shinigami and I am a Captain of one of the 13 Divisions." That smirk turned in a frown when Hidan started cackling at him… the 'are you serious or stupid' kind of cackling. "What's so funny?"

"Y-You're a Shinigami!?" Hidan laughed more until he calmed down, "That's a good one! I never heard anything as atrocious as that claim." He stopped swinging his scythe and pointed it at his larger opponent, "As much as I love to fight and the idea of dismembering you into pieces; I have to get back to finding Nine-Tails."

"The Nine-Tails?" Cue Kenpachi's interest piqued, "Is the guy strong?" First Ichigo, then that Naruto kid and now this Nine-Tails guy… where do the strong opponents keep coming from somewhere?

Hidan raised a brow at the question, "'guy'… I guess you could call him that. He is known as the most powerful of the nine Tailed Beasts in my world and we're looking for him… and his partner."

"Who's his partner?"

Hidan snorted, "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but his partner is that bastard blonde kid: Naruto Uzumaki." He then noticed the one-eyed man shiver in his place. "What-"

"HOW DARE HE?!" Kenpachi bellowed, his body covered with his leaking Spirit Energy. "HE KNOWS A VERY STRONG GUY AND HE KEPT HIM FROM ME! WHEN I SEE HIM, I'LL PUT HIM CLOSE TO DEATH AND FORCE HIM TO TELL ME WHERE THE NINE-TAILS IS!"

Hidan sweat-dropped at the similar crazed man. Even for him, that's a bit too much. "Um, should I point that the Nine-Tails is sealed inside Uzumaki as well." The sweat-drop became pronounced when the man destroyed the building next him in a tantrum fit. "I bet Kakuzu's opponent isn't anything like this guy."

-Byakuya vs Kakuzu-

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

A smoke cloud came to life and the ground shattered into rubbles from the clash of the two techniques. Two blurs went into the cloud and clashed once more, releasing a shockwave that disperse the cloud and revealing Byakuya clashing his blade against Kakuzu's black yet durable arms. Byakuya soon broke the clash and spun around to swing a strong horizontal swing at his opponent who blocked it, but was sent skidding backwards on his feet.

"Impressive… I've seen battle and combat before… but I haven't seen swordsman skills such as yours in a long time… not since I fought Hashirama Senju."

Byakuya commented back, "Thought it's been a few minutes, you possess incredible skills in combat. Not many receive compliments from me, you should feel honored, Kakuzu."

"That's funny. I never mention my name not once yet you know of it… you also said Uzumaki is an ally of the Gotei 13." He received a slight nod from the Captain, "I see… you wouldn't happen to know where he is, do you?"

"Whether or not I know of his location, you and the Shinju have an agenda involving him and I plus the Gotei 13 Captains will not allow you to bring harm to him and our home," Byakuya boldly declared as he increased more of his Spirit Energy.

Kakuzu sighed as he released his Chakra to the highest level, becoming serious now. "Very well. Once I'm done playing with you, I shall rip your heart from your body and add your unique powers to my arsenal.

With that being said, the warriors rushed at each other and clashed, unleashing a pillar of energy to the sky for all to see.

-Hall of the Gods-Mount Olympus-

This time he was unaffected by the slightly burning sensation due to his accelerated healing rate and was prepared for it. The light is a different story since he covered his eyes again.

"Hmmph, looks like you gave your Champion the Golden Fleece, Poseidon. I suspected you had it in your possession for a little while now."

After the light subsided, Naruto lowered his arms and was stunned by the two new arrivals. Two men were walking towards their location, giving the blonde time to observe them. One of them was fair-skinned, tall, muscular, and has black hair with electrically blue eyes. He sports a dark blue long-sleeved, tight shirt with matching pants and black shoes and in his hand is a two-foot-long shaft of dark blue crystallized lightning.

"He must be Zeus, God of the Sky and the King of Olympus." Naruto thought to himself as his gaze shifted over the weapon in the King God's hand, "And that must be the Master Bolt. Mythology says that its power is nearly unstoppable and only rivaled by Poseidon's Trident and Hades' weapon."

"*ACHOO*"

"Gesundeit. You okay 'cause I never heard you sneeze before. Got a cold?"

Kurama sniffed irritably, "No, I don't get colds or sick. It's coming from the lightning toy of his. Something about it is irritating me in a way I don't know."

Hearing that, Naruto sniffed the air a little and recoiled a little. "What is that? Ozone?"

"I don't know… You should punch that guy in the face."

Naruto sweat-dropped while visibly nervous, "I'm not going to punch the God of the Sky 'cause you tell me to! With other megalomaniacs, I'll do it with no problem. But against a God… I'm not really optimistic about it."

Letting out a snort, Kurama teased the boy, "And you call yourself my Jinchuriki."

"Whatever."

Naruto then turned his gaze to the other guy who was standing a little far from Zeus. He was a tall, imposing and muscular man with albino white skin, shoulder-length black hair, and intense black eyes that was the eyes of a madman. He wears a high-collar and pitch-black robe that is closed off with a sash that reached the floor that fitted his demeanor as a madman. Attached to the sash is a set of spiked chains with two hooks at the end of each that glow pale purple.

"And that guy must be Hades." Naruto thought to him-self before Poseidon spoke again.

"Hades… Zeus… It's been a while." Zeus nodded while Hades scoffed at him, but he ignored it. That's when he looked behind his brothers and became a little confused. "Where are your Champions?" asked Poseidon.

Both Hades and Zeus chuckled at their brother's question. "Anxious, brother?" teased Zeus before he snapped his fingers with his older brother doing the same.

Two figures appeared behind through different methods; one appeared in a flash of lightning and the other materialized from the ground like a zombie. One man was tall and powerful looking with gray hair and a vertical scar on his chin. He wears a long brown overcoat on top of a suit with a ring on his right index finger and on his left arm is an armlet similar to the Golden Fleece, but has the design of the Thunder God himself.

"Oh." Naruto glanced over to a intrigued Poseidon, "I didn't expect you to give your Champion the Gauntlet, Zeus. You really want your Champion to win this."

"Win what exactly/Win what exactly?" Both Kurama and Naruto commented together.

"Well, well, well… I finally found you… Naruto…"

The blonde Shinobi gazed at the other Champion who was wearing a long coat with a hood covering his face. But for some reason, he knows him and Naruto feels a bit nostalgic… the bad kind.

"Should I know you?" asked the Jinchuriki. The Gods and Zeus' Champion listened at the conversation between the two Mortals.

The hooded man chuckled before he grabbed his hood, "I'm a little disappointed you don't recognize me. Here, allow me remind you." The man pulled his hood down to reveal a scaly face with snake-like pupils, pale skin, white hair and lastly a familiar set of glasses.

"Kabuto…" Naruto said dangerously calm with narrowed eyes. He certainly didn't expect this at all. From he recalled, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother, broke free from the Reanimation Jutsu that was cast by Kabuto and went after him during the Fourth Shinobi World War. "What are you doing here?"

Kabuto chuckled at the question, unnerved by the blonde's stare. "I will only tell you if you can beat me during the Wager." Again with the Wager!

Naruto silently growled until he noticed the glare from Zeus' Champion. "What's his problem? Never mind that. I'll have to watch my back and keep an eye on these two." He thought before facing the Sea God. "Lord Poseidon… You didn't exactly tell me what the Wager actually is?"

"SILENCE!"

Naruto recoiled from Zeus' demand and stayed silent when the Thunder God spoke, "Now listen up Mortals. You have been chosen to participate in the Wager of the Gods. You will face danger at every corner and lastly…" A smirk etched on his face, "Each other." He received smug smirks from his and Hades' Champion but a confused look from the blonde mortal. "Best of luck to you mortals."

Before Naruto could get a word in, lightning flashed down on him and the other Champions and disappeared from the Gods' presence.

The three brothers stayed in comfortable silence in each other's company. It's been a while since any of them had talked to each other so they're taking the time to draw in the moment. Until Zeus broke it, "Have the spectators been notified?" Poseidon and Hades nodded with grins, their eyes glowing and projecting lights from them. Zeus's eyes did the same, "Good. We don't want them to think we'd leave this world without leaving someone else take charge in our places."

-Unknown Location-

"Ohhh" Naruto wheezed out as he stumbled away from the scorch mark while clutching his stomach. "Remind me to beat the crap out of that pervy bastard, Kurama. Now I want to punch the living days out of him."

Kurama chuckled at the boy as he watched the teen puke whatever he ate out of his stomach. "Take a look at your surroundings."

"Eh?"

The Jinchuriki looked up and found him-self surrounded by thick and tall trees with small sunshine rays breaking through the branches and tree leafs. The energy of nature itself flowing through him and it feels good considering his current situation. "Where am I exactly?"

"You better get a move on if you want to win, Naruto."

"HUH/HUH?!" Naruto looked around for the origin of the God's voice, but couldn't find any sign of him, "Where are you!? And how are you talking to me right now?! You haven't even told me what the Wager is!" barked the boy. Kurama also agreed and is not liking this at all.

"Start heading North and I'll tell you on the way. Fox, why don't you tell him?" Naruto's eyes widen as did Kurama's when the Olympian talked about the latter. How did Poseidon know about the Tailed Beast? "Relax, you two. I haven't told anyone of your friend's existence… yet. I really suggest you do what I told you to do, Naruto."

Naruto reluctantly complied and jumped to a tree branch near him before heading to the intended direction among tree branches. How is he going to get out of this? It's clear Poseidon knows about Kurama, but he didn't sense any negative emotions or feelings from the God so he must be on their side. Can Gods mask their negative emotions?

After jumping off another branch, Naruto spoke through the link. "All right, Lord Poseidon. How do you know about Kurama? And what is this Wager Zeus talked about?"

"You better explain yourself, Sea God, and no straying from the subject." Kurama pointed in as he stayed alert in case the immortal being tries anything to him or his partner. "I don't care if you are a God. My partner and I will beat the crap out of you if you're not straight with us."

"I knew about the fox since I sensed it while you battled those Hollows. I admit I was a bit surprised when I felt its powerful energy coming from you, but I knew you were strong as well."

"Okay… So what is the Wager? Is it a contest, battle tournament or a race?"

"All three. The Wager of Gods was originally between us Olympians. Twelve of us choose one mortal, whether it be a regular mortal or a Demi-god, to represent us. It begins when the Champions are battle-ready and are told to retrieve an object at a certain location and to bring that object back to the God he or she represent by any means necessary."

"So the Wager is a race between Naruto and your brothers' Champions and while on their way to the object's location, chances are that he will fight them."

"Among other things in his way."

Kurama narrowed his eyes at the vague reply, but decided to let it go… for now. "What is the prize and where is it located?" Naruto listened in as well as he sees a clearing out of the forest ahead of him and sped up his current pace.

"The prize is extremely rare and it is the last of its kind. It is located in the city located in the West."

"Where/Where?"

"…Los Angeles."

Naruto face-faulted in the middle of a jump and slammed onto the incoming tree before sliding down to the ground. "Los Angeles!? Are you kidding me!? That's in the United States! How the hell am I supposed get from Greece to there!? It'll take days, weeks even!" He complained while rubbing his bruised nose as he walked the rest of the way towards the clearing. "And I don't have money."

"Naruto… you do know you can run very fast and use a technique to render yourself invisible," Kurama interjected with an annoyed mark on its head, "Plus you can use seal the Fleece into one of your scrolls when you're not in battle." Naruto stopped in his tracks before a sheepish look appeared on his face, causing the fox to sigh to himself. "Why me?"

"He's not very bright sometimes, is he?"

"That's an understatement."

"Oi!" exclaimed Naruto with a tick mark.

"*Chuckle* Now, now. Regarding the Fleece, you won't have to worry about that since it's imbued with a spell that conceals itself and gives the appearance of another object to those who see it."

"Huh?"

Kurama sighed as he dumbed it down. "Basically he means this; if someone sees the Fleece, they will see a cast or something instead. You get it?" A nod from the grinning Shinobi confirmed it. "Good. Now let's win this Wager and you know how much I hate to lose."

The grin grew bigger as Naruto slammed his right hand into his left palm, "Right! Let's win this for us and Lord Poseidon." The said God chuckled at his Champion's optimism.

"I wish you two luck." With that, Poseidon ended the link with an unfortunate side effect; a jolt of pain within the two partners' minds. That doesn't happen when Naruto and Kurama do it, so why him?

Naruto cringed as he clutched his aching head. "OW! You'd think he would give us a warning or something before he did that." A growl of agreement came from the fox. After the pain subsided, Naruto finally made it out of the woods and found a vast land of grass and crops before him. "Okay… now to find out where I am exactly…"

"Is that a sign up ahead?"

"Where?" Naruto put his hand over his eyes as if to sharpen his vision. Kurama told him to turn a bit to his left. "Oh, I see it. Looks to be about 200 yards from here… not bad for a jog I would say." He was about to take off when the snap of a twig rang off from the forest. "What was that?"

Before he spoke the last word, a loud and thundering roar shook the very ground itself and the trees of their leafs. Listening to trees falling to the ground, Naruto quickly jumped out of the way as a large golden blur charged out of the forests as it knocked down countless trees in its wake. He managed to get a look after he landed and was totally surprised when he saw the creature. It was a large like the size of a pick-up truck with golden glittering fur, silver razor-sharp claws on all of its four legs and razor-sharp fangs with the color of stainless steel.

"A lion?" Naruto asked confused as he stared at the growling yet abnormally large lion, "Am I in Africa maybe?"

"I don't think there are lions with golden fur and silver claws in Africa, Naruto. But it looks strangely familiar for some reason. I can't quite put my finger into it." Kurama replied as he pondered on the fact of where he saw the creature before. It was right there at the tip of his tongue and it won't come out. Gah! He hates that.

"Don't you mean 'claw'?" Naruto teased the fox, replied with an annoyed growl from the latter.

The lion roared at the boy, signaling its charge and prompting Naruto to slip into his Frog Kata stance. The Shinobi waited at the last moment before he swiftly sidestepped the creature's pounce when it landed next to him and slammed a familiar blue sphere against its exposed right side. "Rasengan!"

Naruto let go of his signature as he expected the lion to be sent flying back into the forest, only to be surprised that it didn't go as planned.

The lion was pushed back by five yards instead of the usual 15 yards and its side where the Rasengan made contact had no spiral mark of any kind, not even a scratch. This is one tough and durable lion right here. It roared in anger before it charged at its prey once more, this time leaving huge paw marks and dust cloud behind its spot.

Naruto was caught off guard by the lion's surprising speed as it pounced at him again with his front limbs stretched and claws shining like they're ready to stab into his flesh. He quickly drew Tenkaichi and sidestepped the lion's attack once more and counter-attacked with a Wind-enhanced double-handed horizontal slash at its exposed left side.

Instead of the tearing of flesh and a cry of pain, he heard grinding? "What the…?" Naruto trailed off as he leaned backwards, dodging a surprise attack from the tail. He leapt backwards away from the lion, putting some distance between him and the surprising durable opponent. "What is up with this lion? The Rasengan didn't have any effect and my sword couldn't pierce it even with my Wind Chakra added to it."

This is bad. If the creature can withstand a direct hit from a powerful technique like the Rasengan, could it also withstand the more powerful techniques in his Ninjutsu arsenal?

"Impenetrable fur. Immense speed and strength and the size of a pick-up truck…" Kurama muttered to him-self as he tries to find the words that describe this creature. Where did he find that description? From an article? The Internet? A book? Hold on a minute! The Greek Mythology book his Jinchuriki read before this whole thing… something about a giant lion and the legendary hero Hercules… Oh boy. "Naruto! This lion is not a normal one at all. It is a legendary creature from Greek Mythology that gave Hercules a tough time. This is the Nemean Lion!"

"The Nemean Lion?!" A roar came from said creature as if it knew of its intimidating name. "You got to be kidding me! The first creature I end up facing is one of the strongest and terrifying creatures in Greek Mythology…" Naruto said to him-self before a confident smirk tugged his lips, "This is going to be exciting. Come one, you walking bag of fur! You better make this exciting for me."

The lion roared like it understood what Naruto said and charged at him. Naruto sheathed his sword before meeting the lion's charge with his hands cupped together. When both beings came into 10 feet within each other, a bluish-white Rasengan with four small white blade-like protrusions burst to life between Naruto's hands.

A smirk appeared on the Shinobi's face as he thrust the technique onto the face of the surprised lion. "Wind Style: Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he was enveloped in a bright light that covered the lion as well.