Hey, thanks for all of the reviews :)

Sorry it's took so long to get this' out, I really didn't realise it had been so long.

Important! - I have gone back and fixed the last three chapter, there are no big changes, but I suggest you read just encase. I have done my best to fix as many mistakes as possible, so it should be easier to read now if nothing else.

I have changed his sage mode, at the time I had written it before I was a little behind the Naruto series, and didn't know about the different types. So if nothing else, you might want to go back and read the change.

Enjoy :)

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Disclaimer- I own nothing :(

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Chapter 4- The Cloven Counsel of Elders

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There are three things a demigod needed to know about how to fight a Cyclops. The first is the well know, and by far most obvious, fact that most have the mind-set of a four year old, so it is easy to outsmart them. The second was that they were able to copy people's voices to try and trick inattentive victims, luring them into a trap or making you hesitate at the killing blow. The third was something that not many actually realised, and even fewer thought to use to their advantage, the fact that they had terrible depth perception. It was for this reason, despite the fact Naruto was moving around the giant's feet while it yelled at him to hold still, that it was unable to actually grab him.

The Cyclops stood at about sixteen feet tall, with long black hair that fell to the middle of its back, and his face was covered in greasy spots. For some reason it was wearing what looked like a prom suite, only several sizes too small with a large pot belly sticking out and part of a rose bush stuffed into his front pocket.

Darting between its legs, causing a loud ripping sound to fill the air as its already straining pants gave up and split, the Cyclopes let out a surprised yell when it fell over trying to grab the blonde only to fall on his head. The reason for this was the fact that while he was trying to grab Naruto, Connor and Travis Stoll, two of the whiskered teen's new friends, had tied his shoelaces together.

Naruto had been introduced to the twin sons of Hermes by Beckendorf and they had, in the twins words 'hit it off', whatever that meant. Unlike a lot of the other campers who didn't bother to think passed killing a monster, they were actually willing to use their brains. They were smart in a way similar to him, if a little too playful for their own good, so it made it easier for them to get along.

Rushing forward now that the Cyclops was down, Beckendorf let out a yell as he slammed his hammer down on its head, causing it to burst into golden dust instantly.

In the few days that he had been at Camp Halfblood Naruto, Beckendorf and the Stoll's had built up a bit of a reputation, creating a little team in a sense. Despite strengthening the barrier Monsters were still able to get through, and it was getting weaker and weaker every day, letting more and more get in. So Naruto started to lead his new friends as a 'response team', moving to intercept any monsters that made it through before they could cause too much damage. Between Naruto's skills and speed, Beckendorf's strength and the twins cunning they made a strong and balanced team.

Watching as the twins patted the large teen on the shoulder as he returned the large hammer to his back, Naruto couldn't stop the small smile that crossed his lips at watching his friends, chuckling when Beckendorf started chasing the Stoll's after realizing that Travis had put a 'kick me' sign on his back. The Cyclops they had just killed was only the second to breach the barrier today, so it didn't take long to dispose of it.

It was an odd feeling, having friends, not to mention being round people his own gender, and that didn't shoot arrows at him if he 'got out of line'. After spending four years with the hunters it was a nice change, not that he wasn't grateful for all they had done for him.

He didn't miss the familiar sound of cloven hooves quickly running towards him, or the heavy panting that accompanied it. When he finally turned it was to the sight of one of the many Satyrs knelt on the ground in front of him, his eyes fixed on the blonde's feet.

"My Lord, I come with a message from The Cloven Council of Elders, they request a meeting with you at once."

Sending a confused look towards his three friends, who had stopped to look over at him when the Satyr had arrived, Naruto turned back to the still kneeling goat man and nodded.

"...ok"

Without another word the Satyr ran off, sending the odd glance back at the whiskered blond and leaving the four teens stood in front of pile of golden dust as it slowly blew away in the wind.

Scratching his head, Naruto looked to his friends and asked them what was on his mind.

"...what the hell is The Cloven Council of Elders?"

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After getting a quick explanation about who and what The Cloven Council of Elders were, Naruto asked a passing Nymph for dictions before heading off into the forest that was used for Capture the Flag games.

He couldn't help but admire the trees and flowers that were growing all around him, despite the fact the campers used it on a regular basis it was full of energy that he only felt while in the wild. It was actually because of that energy that he was such a quick healer. In the same sense that a child of Poseidon could be healed by water, Naruto was healed by being in his father's domain, which made a lot more sense now that he knew who his godly parent was.

In fact a lot of his abilities now made more sense, like how he was able to imitate animal sounds and movements, or how he always knew the best way to hunt and kill something as if it was wired into his brain. He had actually learned to climb trees by watching squirrels, and how to track from a pack of Dire Wolves he had met while he was wild. The fact was that most of the things he had learned before meeting The Hunt, Naruto had got them from watching animals, though he found that it didn't work as fell with humans. After being found by the hunt Artemis had helped him to 'refine' his skills into more practical uses.

For one thing, unlike when he had first met the goddess, Naruto was able to do more than just copy sounds now, developing his power in such a way that he only had to hear something once and was able to imitate it perfectly. He could even do it with human voices, though it took a little longer for him to get it, not unlike a Cyclopes.

But even now, after all these years of training, Naruto felt that there was still more for him to learn. He could feel it, deep inside himself, a power that he had yet to reach. Not to say he didn't try to, sometimes it felt so close the blonde thought he could literary grab hold of it with his bare hands, only for it to burst into smoke the moment he touched it. He had no idea what this unknown power was, or why it seemed to be so hard to attain it, but something told him that he would, one day.

Until then he would just have to make do with what he already had.

As he walked into the clearing the Nymph he had gotten directions from told him was where the Cloven Council of Elders met, Naruto took a moment to take it in. For the most part it was the same as any clearing, but the thing that made it stand out was the semicircle table made from interlocking roots on the opposite side to where he had entered.

Sat behind this table were seven Satyrs that looked so old the blonde teen wouldn't be surprised if half of them dropped dead any minute. They all had large, curling horns, long grey beards and wrinkles covering any skin that could be seen. They were also all very fat, something Naruto couldn't help but think as being carless on their parts. After all, Satyrs were technically prey, not predators, and prey should never be fat or it would be caught.

If nothing else they were living up to their name as 'The Cloven Council of Elders'. Naruto also knew the moment he saw the way several of the members were looking at him that he already hated the lot of them.

As he moved to stand before them, the Satyr in the middle of the table, who he presumed was the leader, stood up with a large smile on his face and his arms held wide as if in greeting.

"My Lord Naruto, it is an honour to finally meet you face to face. My name is Silenus, head of The Cloven Council of Elders, we have heard many great things about you from our younger brethren."

"…Why am I here?"

His smile faltering slightly at the emotionless response, though only for a moment before it was brought back in full, as he slowly sat back down in his seat.

"Of course, my apologies, I am sure you are a very busy person so I will make this quick. Where is your father?"

Raising an eyebrow at the question, Naruto wasn't sure if they were just that desperate or that stupid.

"…How the hell should I know?"

This was obviously not the answer they had been expecting.

"B-but you are the son of Pan! How can you not know?"

"The last and only time I saw, who I only just found out was my father, was eight years ago when he called me with hypnotic music into a forest in the middle of the night and put me to sleep. Then I woke up in a different forest with a cloak, knife, my bow and arrows and the set of pan-pipes around my neck."

The old Satyrs started muttering between themselves for a moment, until they seemed to come to some kind of agreement and turned back to address him, Silenus still having that too nice smile on his face.

"I see, then if I may be so bold, my we have those objects? They would go a long way in helping us to locate Lord Pan."

"...go fuck a goat."

Blinking, as if not sure he had heard right, the old leader of the council leaned forward slightly in his seat, eye locked on the blonde.

"Excuse me?"

"…I said go fuck a goat, I will not give them to you."

One of the other Satyrs jumped to his feet, his face red and a hard glare fixed on Naruto as he pointed a fat finger in his direction.

"You dare go against The Cloven Council of Elders! We are the representation of Pan in his absence! If we ask you to give us something you should do it with a smile on your face you-!"

"Roooaaarrr!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the elderly Satyr was cut off by the hell hound roar that came from Naruto's mouth, freezing both him and the other elders on the spot as their instincts screamed at them, their eyes diluting in fear. It was just like Naruto had thought, they were Prey, and Prey would always fear a predator no matter how smart they were. Glaring at the group of Satyr, the one that had been yelling at him quickly sitting back down, Naruto beared his teeth in such a way to show of his sharp canines to further intimidate them.

"…If my farther wanted to be found…you would have found him long ago."

The fact that he didn't even raise his voice only seemed to add to his intimidation, sending shivers down their spines and making them hunch lowing in their seats, trying to hide behind the table that separated them from the angry teen before them. As if such a thing would even slow him down if he decided to slaughter them, and that would be exactly what it would be, a slaughter. To call killing such weak and pathetic creatures as these anything else would be an insult.

Taking a few deep breaths to help calm himself, Naruto ran a hand through his hair before tuning his back to the seven Satyrs, and started walking away.

"…Do not call for me again…Prey, the sight of you is sickening to me."

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Oddly enough, instead of avoiding him for what had happened with The Cloven Council of Elders, the other Satyrs seemed to respect him even more then before. Apparently he wasn't the only one that didn't like the fat idiots, but as they were the leaders of the Satyrs they could do nothing against them. He wasn't sure how they had found out so fast, though from what the twins had told him about nymphs loving gossip he had a good idea, but neither did he really care that much either as he slowly made his way over to the Big House.

Everyday since arriving at camp and accidentally freeing Thalia from her tree, Naruto made it a habit of stopping in to check on her at lest once a day. She was yet to wake, though the last time he saw her, her skin was a lot less pale and she had started to stirred lightly in her sleep. According to Will, these were signs that she was close to waking, though he was still unsure how much longer it would take.

The room the daughter of Zeus was being kept in was bare except for the single bed she was currently resting in and a small table next to it with Ambrosia waiting to be giving to the girl the moment she woke, and a chair set to one side. Though it did had a widow facing the majority of the camp, meaning he could see the other campers running around.

The moment he entered the room the blonde walked to the boy that was currently watching over Thalia, though he seemed half asleep after sitting in the same chair doing nothing for so long, and offered to take over for a while. After the boy gave him a grateful nod and left the room, Naruto pulled the chair so that he was right next to the bed and just sat in silence. His eyes closed as he listened for any change in her breathing or heartbeat, knowing that they would alert him if she was about to wake better than watching her, Naruto didn't move for almost an hour.

Then he heard it, a slight hitch in Thalia's breathing pattern, barely noticeable unless he had been listening for it, and her heartbeat picking up speed slightly. Opening his eyes, Naruto watched as slowly over the next few minutes the girl started to stir in her sleep, her eye flickering behind her eyelids and finally a small groan escaped her lips. Quickly grabbing a piece of Ambrosia from the table next to him, Naruto carefully placed it into her mouth, pleased to see her chewing it a moment later before swallowing it.

The affects were almost instantaneous as with a gasp, Thalia's entire body tensed and her eyes shot open. Naruto sat and watched in silence as the teenager stated to look around groggily, not seeming to take anything in for a moment, before her eyes cleared.

When her eyes finally landed on him, Naruto noticed the slight confusion on her face, as if she was trying to remember where she where she knew him from, before giving up and letting out a deep breath.

"…where am I?"

Her voice was weak and croaky after not being used for so long, something that Naruto could understand perfectly, and from the way she started to cough repeatedly after getting the words out he could only assume that her throat was dry as a bone.

Slowly getting to his feet, the blonde teen left the room without a word, before returning a moment later with a large glass of water. The way the girl was eyeing the clear liquid in his hand told him he had made the right choice. He retook his seat next to the bed and held the glass to her lips, slowly letting a small trickle fall into her mouth before taking it away again.

He got a grateful nod from the girl in return, but before he could even put the glass down she started speaking.

"This is the camp right? Where are Luke and Annabeth? Did they make it? Are they alright?"

He didn't say anything as he waited for her to get all of her questions out, not bothered in the least by the fact she seemed to not recognise him, it had been over four years after all and he was older then the last time she had seen him. When she had finally stopped asking questions, and taken another drink from the glass when he offered it to her, Naruto let out a small sigh, realising that he was going to be the one to have to explain everything to her.

XXX

Two hours later, after explaining everything he knew to the daughter of Zeus, the two teens just sat in silence.

Naruto was a little surprised that she had taken the knowledge that she had been a tree for the last four years so well, but apparently Thalia had been slightly aware of surroundings, if only enough to understand what had happened to her. She had also been glad to hear that her friends had apparently made it to camp safely. The black haired teen didn't even seem to care that she was now sixteen years old.

Unfortunately the news of Luke's betrayal didn't go down so well. The fact that Naruto had about as much tact as a tree in delicate situations making it even harder. Though it wasn't his fault, he might not be feral anymore but the fact was that until recently the only people he had to talk to were a group of girl, some of who were from different eras, and all of which were blunt as a spoon when it came to talking to him about something.

After she had finally calmed down the blonde then explained a few things about the camp, including the failing barrier and the quest for something called the 'Golden Fleece' to fix it.

When all was said and done, they ended up sitting in silence for several minutes, Thalia needing time to process everything she had just been told, and Naruto just staring out of the window with a blank face. It was after she had calmed down that the Daughter of Zeus finally took the time to looks at the boy in the room with her properly.

Wild spiky blonde hair, piecing blue eyes with slit pupils, three birthmarks on each cheek that looked a lot like whiskers and finally a lean, well-built body that seemed the perfect combination of speed and power. Everything about him, from the wildness of his appearance, to the weapons he was carrying, screamed dangerous. Thalia could have sworn she had met him somewhere before, but for the life of her, couldn't put her finger on it.

After another few minutes of silence, the dark haired girl finally let out a sigh and coughed to get his attention.

"So who are you anyway? You look familiar, but I can't remember where I might have met you before. Are you a son of Hermes or something?"

Turning back to face her, Naruto let out a small sigh and crossed his arms over his chest.

"…My name is Naruto, Son of Pan, and we have met before."

Raising an eyebrow when he said his father's name, putting the information in the back of her mind for the time being, Thalia waited for a moment to see if he would elaborate on the whole 'met before' part. When it seemed he wasn't going to continue, she decided to try and push for more information.

"So we have met before…?"

"You and your two friends came stumbling into my clearing several years back, a pack of Hell Hounds on your tail…"

The moment the words left his lips he saw the realisation spread across Thalia's face, before it was replaced with shock.

"You're alive?"

"…Yes"

When the tears started to fall, Naruto was worried he had said something wrong, after all the only girls he had any experience with were the Hunters, and they only cried when in pain. But before he could ask what was wrong, he was blindsided when Thalia burst from the bed and through her arms around him, an impressive feat considering she was still supposed to be too weak to actually walk for several days.

"We thought you were dead, when you ran off towards those monster we thought you were dead."

Having never been hugged by a crying girl before, or any girl for that matter, Naruto was at a complete loss for what to do in this situation. So in the end decided that staying perfectly still would be the best, not that she seemed to actually notice.

After a several minutes of her crying on his shoulder, the blonde teen picked her up and put her back in the bed, her strength having left her the moment she made it over to him.

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, a weak, but genuine smile on her face, Thalia looked at Naruto as if he had come back from the dead, which for her was technically true.

"So what happened to you, and how did you end up here?"

Retaking his seat, Naruto ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.

"After I left you I ran straight at the group of Cyclopes that had caught you're sent. It wasn't that hard to kill them, and technically the ground killed two of them when they hit it at the bottom of the cliff. For a while after that I just stuck to my clearing and dealt with the odd monster that wondered into the forest, until Lady Artemis and her Hunters found me."

He didn't miss the slight narrowing of her eyes at the mention of the Hunters, or the way she gripped the bed sheet in her fists.

But before he could ask her what was wrong, the door burst open and Beckendorf rushed in, his hammer in hand and a hard look on his face. The large teen didn't even notice Thalia, his eyes firmly fixed on the blonde.

"Six Hellhounds just broke through the barrier on the south side of camp, Corner and Travis went ahead to get as many of the younger campers out as they could."

Without a word Naruto shot to his feet and rushed out of the door, Beckendorf right on his heels, both leaving a confused and worried Thalia who could do nothing but watch as the door swung closed behind them.

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Hellhounds were one of the more common monsters in the world, most only getting to the size of a horse, though there were exceptions, and were one of the easier monsters demi-gods had to deal with. However, when you get more than two forming a pack and attacking together, things got a lot more complicated. Add in the fact that the one Naruto instantly recognised as the Alpha of the pack was the size of an elephant, and the four demi-god were worried.

The moment Naruto and the others were within sniffing distance, all six Hellhounds turned in their direction, the Alpha slightly in front of the others with its eyes locked on the blonde son of Pan. It was a look Naruto had seen before, both from Hellhounds and normal animals back when he was living feral in the forest.

Resting a hand on Beckendorf's shoulder and giving a small shake of the head when his friend turned to look at him, Naruto stepped forward and removed his bow and quiver, placing them on the ground.

"Naruto, what in Tartars are you doing?"

Ignoring his friends, Naruto took another step forward and pulled out his knife, never taking his eyes off of the giant Hellhound in front of him.

By this point most of the Campers had arrived, watching from a distance as Naruto approached the group of Hellhound with nothing but his knife in hand, wondering if the blonde had finally lost his mind. The only ones that actually new what he was doing were the Satyr's and Nymphs, who could only stare in fascination as the son of Pan seemed to be in a battle for dominance with a giant Hellhound.

At some unspoken signal, both Naruto and the Alpha started running at each other, both their respective pack, in this case Beckendorf and the twins being his, watching from behind as the two closed the distance.

Naruto watched as the Alpha tensed its body and jumped, aiming to pounce on him, and reacted by sliding under it. The moment he was on the other side of the Alpha the blonde teen quickly jumped to his feet and slashed its right back hip, leaving a deep cut and forcing a startled cry from the oversized dog. However before he could get another hit in, the Alpha turned around and batted the knife out of his hand with its front paw, forcing him to back away in order to avoid the other swipe aimed at his chest.

They started to circle each other, eyes locked as they tried to get a feel for the other, both snarling with their teeth bared.

Deciding to make the first move, Naruto crouched low to the ground, before jumping into the air right as the Alpha pounced. Doing a flip, Naruto landed on the Hellhounds back, and without hesitating laced his hands together and slammed them into the back of its head. Unlike when he had done this to the Nemean Lion, this time it did more than simply daze the monster, forcing it to lose its balance monetarily and fall to the side.

Jumping off just before it hit the ground, Naruto quickly slammed both his hands onto its neck, his teeth bared. The moment the Alpha regained its bearings, it started to struggle and tried to get up.

RRROOOAAARRR!

Only to freeze when Naruto gave a perfect imitation of a Hellhounds roar, and a moment later it let out a small whimper. The moment the sound reached the other Hellhounds ears, they let out whimpers of their own, before turning on their tails and running away, the barrier shimmering as they passed through it.

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Just to clear this up now so I don't get people asking about it in reviews, Naruto did not use 'Panic' on The Cloven Council of Elders. He simply used a normal Hell Hound roar.