Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Kurama

He sat on the bed, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.

When he began to hear the constant drip of falling water, Damon opened his eyes and found himself standing in what looked like a sewer, surrounded by shallow water. Inside his own mind, he felt no pain or exhaustion, so he walked forward freely. The place was enormous and rather depressing.

Darkness stretched in every direction, broken only by the rippling water around him. After walking for a while, he finally found what he had been looking for:

a massive set of gates, like a cage built to imprison some colossal beast.

A grin spread across Damon’s face.

”Hey there, orange furball.”

The moment the words echoed through the chamber, a savage growl rose from inside the cage, making the water tremble.

A gigantic shadow rose behind the bars—a monstrous beast with nine tails. Only one color stood out clearly in the darkness: the crimson of its eyes, split by black vertical slits like a predator’s.

The instant the creature moved, Damon took a step back—and just in time. A massive orange paw shot through the bars, its black claws stopping mere millimeters from his face.

Damon gave a low whistle and raised both hands.

”Easy. I’m only here to—”

”WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” the beast roared. ”COMING HERE, STANDING IN FRONT OF ME, AND CALLING ME A FURBALL? IF IT WEREN’T FOR THIS SEAL, I’D KILL YOU—AND THAT PATHETIC VILLAGE OF YOURS TOO. THEY FORCE ME TO STAY INSIDE A WORTHLESS BRAT FOR NOTHING...!”

Drops of sweat formed on Damon’s neck.

”Kurama,” he said calmly, trying to settle the enormous fox down.

”AND NOW YOU DARE DISRESPECT THE STRONGEST OF THE BIJUU? IF IT WEREN’T FOR ME, YOU WOULD’VE DIED THE MOMENT THEY THREW YOU OUT OF THAT ORPHANAGE. YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A SACK OF MEAT—TOO USELESS TO DO ANYTHING ON YOUR OWN...!”

”Kurama,” Damon repeated, his eyebrow twitching.

”IF IT WEREN’T FOR THAT FILTHY FOURTH HOKAGE, I WOULDN’T BE STUCK IN HERE, FORCED TO SAVE A SNOT-NOSED IDIOT FROM GETTING HIMSELF KILLED BY HIS OWN KUNA—”

”KURAMAAA!” Damon shouted, finally losing patience.

That got the Nine-Tails’ attention.

The moment the fox heard his own name from Damon’s mouth, everything went still. The only sounds left were the steady drip of water and Damon’s quiet, irritated breathing.

Kurama stared at him.

”How do you know that name?” the fox asked at last, his voice lower now. ”Only my brothers should know my true name.”

”I know Hagoromo better than you do,” Damon replied, still annoyed from the nonstop insults, though he tried not to show it too much.

That only confused Kurama even more.

Not only did this boy know his true name, but he also knew the true name of the man Kurama considered his father. No human should know him as Hagoromo. Humans only knew him as the Rikudo Sennin.

And yet, the one standing before him looked no older than thirteen.

Kurama let out another low growl.

”Do you really think I’m going to believe that?”

Damon raised an eyebrow.

”Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki... and finally, Kurama.”

He placed a hand on his chin and tilted his head slightly.

”Did I say them all right? Yeah... I think I did.”

If Kurama had been shocked before, now he was on the edge of madness.

Not only did Damon know his name and Hagoromo’s real name, he knew the names of all the Bijuu as well—something that should have been impossible unless Hagoromo himself, or one of the others, had told him. But that had never happened. Through the seal, Kurama had seen and heard everything Damon had done throughout his life, and never once had anyone given him that information.

Kurama went silent, staring into nothing as thousands of possibilities crossed his mind.

How did this brat know all of that?

Who was he?

Damon noticed the fox’s stunned expression and laughed.

”Don’t overthink it. I was there when my father gave each of you your names.”

He had said it on purpose, just to see Kurama’s reaction.

For a moment, Damon could have sworn the fox’s orange fur had gone pale. Kurama even seemed to sway slightly, as though the sheer mental strain of everything he was hearing was about to make him collapse.

”W-who are you?” Kurama asked.

He no longer knew what to believe.

Damon placed both hands behind his neck and looked up at the ceiling.

”That’s more complicated than you think. Who am I? I could spend all day listing the names of my past lives, but in truth, you’d only recognize a couple of them.”

Now he had all of Kurama’s attention.

The fox was still skeptical, but there was enough proof now to make him listen. He didn’t sense deception in Damon’s words. More than that, Kurama had the strange feeling that the one standing before him was not truly a child at all.

”Ashura Otsutsuki. Hashirama Senju. Those two, I’m sure you know. The others... probably not.”

”Are you Ashura’s reincarnation?” Kurama asked.

That was one of the few logical explanations he could come up with. He knew Ashura and Indra had reincarnated over and over again. But for one of those reincarnations to retain the memories of the others?

That had never happened before.

At least, not as far as Kurama knew.

”Not exactly.”

Kurama frowned. ”What does that mean?”

Damon exhaled slowly.

”It means Ashura is my reincarnation... but I’m not Ashura’s reincarnation.”

Kurama stared at him.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then the fox narrowed his eyes.

”That explained absolutely nothing.”

Damon snorted.

”Yeah, fair enough. Let’s start from the beginning. I was born long before Ashura—not in this body, but in my real body. That original body reincarnated as Ashura, and many others after him, for a purpose.”

Kurama was quiet for a moment.

”...Alright. I think I understand. More or less. So what purpose?”

”To achieve peace in this world.”

It sounded insane.

And yet, the more Damon spoke, the more pieces began to fit together. Kurama had known Ashura well, and he knew enough about Hashirama too. There was one thing that united them both....they had wanted peace.

And so did Damon.

Still, one part of that answer bothered him.

”In this world?” Kurama repeated, catching the wording immediately.

Damon nodded.

”There are other worlds beyond this one. Pantheons. I come from another pantheon—one I had to leave for certain reasons. There, I met Amaterasu, the queen of this pantheon, and she allowed me to come here on one condition: that I bring peace to this world.”

Even Damon knew how unbelievable that sounded, so he added something else.

”You already know about Kaguya Otsutsuki and the Juubi, right? I came to this pantheon the same day she did.”

At the mention of Kaguya, Kurama’s expression shifted.

Her name had faded into myth long ago. Very few still remembered it.

That made Damon’s words harder to dismiss.

Realizing he no longer needed to remain hostile, Kurama slowly lay down, resting his head on his paws while keeping his eyes fixed on Damon.

”Then... are you some kind of god from another world?”

”You could say that.” Damon gave a faint smile. ”We haven’t properly introduced ourselves. My actual name is Damon. I’m the Greek god of the sky, destruction, and creation.”

Kurama froze.

For a moment, he didn’t even blink.

It felt as though everything he had known since birth had just cracked apart.

Damon shrugged lightly.

”That said, you can call me Naruto or Damon. But let me make one thing clear—the Naruto you knew, the one who acted all wild and reckless, is dead. He didn’t survive his wounds.”

Kurama remained silent, still trying to process that.

”I reincarnated into him,” Damon continued. ”Partly because the Uzumaki are, in a way, descendants of my original self. And unfortunately... most of them are gone. That’s something I still blame myself for.”

Kurama’s eyes narrowed.

”What do you mean the Uzumaki are your descendants? If Ashura was one of your reincarnations, then the Senju should also be your descendants, shouldn’t they?”

Damon nodded.

”They are. You’re right. But the Uzumaki inherited traits that trace back even closer to my original body—like the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Those chains are something I created in my own pantheon.”

Kurama was silent for nearly a full minute.

Then, very slowly, he let out a short laugh.

”Alright... let’s say I believe you,” he said. ”So, basically, you’re a god from another realm who has been reincarnating for all this time in order to bring peace.” His grin widened. ”And you do realize you’ve failed miserably, right? Hahaha. I almost feel sorry for you.”

Damon sighed.

”I know. Believe me, I know. I’ve spent over a thousand years trying to achieve it.” He rubbed the back of his head. ”When Amaterasu first told me I had to bring peace, I thought it would be simple. Win a war, solve the problem, move on. If I could go back in time, I’d beat myself up for being that naive.”

Kurama laughed again, more openly this time.

”I find it ironic,” the fox said. ”You share the same goal as the old man. The father of your first reincarnation wanted the exact same thing.”

A small smile appeared on Damon’s face.

”Well, I’m always given a choice when it comes to who I reincarnate into. When I saw that Ashura and I shared the same goal, I chose him for a reason. I may have been naive, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew I’d need Hagoromo’s help—and I still do. He’s given me plenty of it. To this day, being born as one of his sons was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

”He still helps you?” Kurama asked, genuine surprise slipping into his voice.

”Mm-hm.” Damon shifted slightly, sitting more comfortably in the lotus position. ”The old man has gotten older, but he’s still strong enough to take care of himself.”

Kurama’s gaze softened.

”I’d like to see him again.”

”That would be nice,” Damon replied quietly.

He could still remember a much younger Kurama, unable to stop a few tears from falling when Hagoromo had said goodbye to all the Bijuu.

For a moment, silence settled between them.

Then Damon spoke again.

”Anyway... I truly believe I can succeed this time. I’ve been setting the stage for several reincarnations now. All I’m asking for is your support. I know a lot has happened to you, and I accept part of the blame for that. But I promise you this—at the end of it, things will work out.” His expression hardened slightly. ”And if they don’t... then you can consider this my last chance.”

Kurama closed his eyes halfway.

”Hmph. And who’s to say you won’t just use me as a weapon?” he asked. ”According to you, you’re older than I am. But I’m old enough to know better than to trust someone based on words alone—especially when he looks thirteen.”

Damon chuckled softly.

”Heh. Yeah, I figured it wouldn’t be that easy. That’s fine. You’ve got a point. I’m willing to earn it.”

Then he clapped his hands once to get Kurama’s attention.

”I can’t free you,” Damon said, ”but I can give you more freedom. I’ll let you reshape my mental space however you want, so you can get rid of this sewer.”

Kurama opened one eye.

”I don’t know how I tolerated the sound of those damned water drops for so long either,” Damon added with a grimace. ”I’ll also give you more access to my body. You’ll be able to see and hear everything, sense what’s around me, and talk to me without me having to come in here every time. That’s all I can do for now.”

Kurama was quiet for a moment.

Then he closed his eyes again. It wasn’t acceptance.

Not fully.

But it was something.

Damon smiled faintly.

For now, that was enough.

His figure slowly began to fade from the mental space.

When Damon opened his eyes again, a small smile was still on his face. Even if it had only been a small step, he had managed to get closer to Kurama—someone who would be very important to his future plans.

To the rest of the world, however, he was still Naruto Uzumaki.

Then he noticed a familiar face just inches away from his own.

”AAAAAHHH!” Damon shouted.

He jerked backward on instinct, forgot he was sitting on a hospital bed, and fell straight off it. His back slammed against the cold floor, reopening his wound just enough to send a sharp burst of pain through his body.

A loud laugh filled the room.

”Sorry, kid,” Jiraiya said between laughs. ”I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Damon hissed and pushed himself back up, one hand going to his aching back. The moment he saw Jiraiya laughing, he pointed an accusing finger at him.

”You damn old man! Why the hell were you so close to my face?” he snapped. ”And don’t even start—I like girls.”

Jiraiya looked personally offended.

He opened his mouth to shout back, but then noticed the blond coughing hard enough to make it sound like he was about to spit out a lung. His expression shifted at once, and he stepped forward.

”Hey, kid, are you—”

A sharp yaapp echoed through the room.

As soon as Jiraiya got close enough, Damon landed a clean blow straight into the man’s jewels. Jiraiya dropped to his knees, both hands clutching himself, forehead nearly touching the ground.

Damon climbed back onto the bed and smiled sweetly.

”Now we’re even.”

Jiraiya trembled on the floor in complete silence.

Damon sat there, looking down at him.

”So,” he said, ”what brings you here, Ero-sennin?”

Very slowly, Jiraiya rose to his feet, still shaking from the pain, and glared at the blond with very little friendliness.

”You really weren’t kidding,” he muttered.

Damon’s grin only widened.

”That’ll teach you not to get that close to me like that.”

A low grumble escaped Jiraiya.

”Disrespectful brat,” he muttered under his breath.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he straightened proudly and struck an absurd pose.

”I have survived the wrath of countless women, Tsunade Senju herself included! Did you really think a mere brat could bring down the great Toad Sage? The great Sannin Jiraiya!”

Several drops of sweat appeared on Damon’s forehead.

The room fell completely silent.

Damon stared.

Jiraiya kept posing.

The awkwardness grew so thick it could have been cut with a kunai.

Finally, Jiraiya coughed into his fist and dropped the act.

”W-well. I can see you’re already feeling better. That makes things easier.”

Damon raised an eyebrow.

”What do you mean?”

”We’re leaving on a three-year training journey,” Jiraiya said. ”You need to become stronger, especially now that the S-rank criminal group known as Akatsuki has started making moves.”

Damon’s expression sharpened.

”They’re after the Bijuu. Wouldn’t that put me in even more danger if I leave the village?”

Jiraiya gave a small smile, though it vanished almost instantly.

”I see you’re finally using your brain, Naruto,” he said. ”That said, there’s nothing to worry about while you’re with me.”

Damon snorted.

”I guess you’re right, old man. So when do we start?”

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I hope this answered some of your questions, and if it made you more confused, that’s good as well hahaha.

Anyway, drop some stones. Support is appreciated.

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