Nagato didn't know why he was here.

The women in front of him had been squabbling when he showed up, but had quieted down and seemed rather disgusted and horrified after they noticed him.

Well, emaciation and enormous chakra rods tended to have that sort of effect.

He raised an eyebrow at the women. They were all fairly attractive, and one of them even appeared to be, if not a samurai or shinobi, at least somewhat well-versed in the art of war, but they were also all dressed in clothing that, for the most part, no shinobi would be caught dead in.

"May I help you?"

The eldest of the women steeled herself and strode forward, a golden apple in her hand. What a waste of gold. That was, what, three or four pounds of gold, at least? Maybe even up to six? That could buy a year's worth of grain for nearly two hundred people, just raw, and sculpted as it was, even more.

"This apple was sent to us with a message of 'to the fairest.'" The woman stated. "We need an outside party to tell us who deserves it."

Nagato's frown deepened. "What will you do with the apple once you have chosen?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Once you have chosen who is to deserve the apple, what will be done with it?" Nagato clarified.

"Keep it, of course." The woman sniffed, tossing her head. The other two, by all appearances, agreed with her.

Anger began to curdle within Nagato. "You choose to keep it for your own purposes, rather than use it help those in need of it more than you?"

The youngest of the women sneered. "What care we for the lives of mortals? So long as they worship us, we have no need to—"

"Worship you?" Nagato spoke softly, his eyes widening enough that, even from their distance, the women could see the pattern of the Rinnegan, unnatural as it seemed to them. "You claim yourselves to be divinity?"

"We were born goddesses, man." The warrior stared at him impassively, less visibly angered than the other two. "We do not simply claim. We are."

"I see." Nagato began to gather his chakra, the rods in his back growing warm as he summoned his Paths. "I'm afraid I will have to disagree with that."

o.o.o.o.o

"Get him out of there, now!" Jashin grabbed for the controller. "We do not need to have him get into a battle with three of the Greek goddesses. There'll be chaos!"

"I know!" Kami snarled at him, already doing her utmost to pluck Nagato back out of the world in question. "If there's a single man still living that could go toe to toe with those three and come out on top—"

"It's him." Jashin relaxed as Nagato's form fuzzed. "Though I'm sure a few of the others might manage it. The Uchiha, Uzumaki Naruto, a few of the Kage…"

"But Nagato would do best." Kami muttered. "Who next?"

o.o.o.o.o

A/N: So far we've had:

Actually chose: Shino (Athena)

Chose a fourth option: Naruto (himself)

Got into an unrelated existential economic/theological/moral debate and started a fight: Nagato