A Simple Teenage Shop Owner

34

"No."

"Naruto, you haven't even sat down and listened."

"I said no. There is nothing you can say that can change my mind."

"I told you this wasn't going to go well." Artemis turned toward her uncle. In the background, Naruto could be seen marching away from the group of giants.

"Let me talk to him." The earthshaker spoke before striding over toward the boy. His massive form had him within the blond's range in a few short steps.

"Hello, Naruto. It is pleasure to meet you. I am Poseidon. To the Greeks, I am the god of the sea." The god greeted in the most cheerful voice he could muster. With his height advantage, he could clearly see the disgruntled look on his face. If he wanted his plans to work out, he needed the boy to be amicable, not disgruntled.

When Naruto continued to walk, Poseidon knew that getting the boy to be happy wasn't going to be an easy task. Drastic measures would have to be taken if this went on for too long.

This time, when Poseidon's foot came slamming down only a few feet in front of him, Naruto didn't hold the sage's chakra back. He allowed the golden, euphoric energy to flow from out of him, covering him in his cloak in an instant. Poseidon raised an eyebrow at the sudden transformation while Naruto settled into a defensive stance.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." The god spoke out. Naruto said nothing in response while keeping his eyes locked onto the giant. Behind him, the beginnings of his truth-seeking orbs were taking shape as he prepared to strike.

"Let me conform to something more fitting for this conversation." The Greek god said out loud before closing his eyes. Naruto tensed up when he felt a physical weight settle upon his shoulders. Whatever the god was doing was making him emit a large amount of energy that saturated the air around him. The blond could feel the ground begin to shake underneath him as the energy grew more abundant.

As the energy output seemed to reach its apex, Poseidon began to morph. It was a subtle change at first, it almost managing to escape Naruto's sharp eyes, yet as it carried on, its effects became much more noticeable. The giant began to shrink. The transformation wasn't instant nor was it slow. Gradually, every aspect of its being grew smaller until he stood at a height that put him only a few inches taller than Naruto. The blond was grateful that the man's clothes had followed his lead in the shrinking process and provided the god with the same amount of modesty he had started with. After the day he had, the last thing he wanted to see was a naked Poseidon.

"I haven't been this small in years." The man chuckled out while giving his limbs a much needed stretch. Compacting the full might of his power to such a small form was a bit of a struggle for him. Naruto remained in his crouch positioned, his eyes still focused on the god. At any moment, he was prepared to send one of the truth-seeking balls blasting forward at the man and wipe away any sign of his existence.

...He had had a bad day.

"I hope we can have a conversation now. I'm not the best talker so Im not sure I can convince you but let me at least explain some things."

"No." Naruto stated while standing back up to his full height. He made to move forward but stopped when Poseidon placed himself in his pathway. Deciding that he didn't want to immediately confront the man, Naruto ignored the blatant blocking attempt and stepped to his right. His brow furrowed when the earthshaker moved in the way to block his path once again.

"Get out of my way." Naruto grunted out at the man. His patience had run out and if the god knew better, he would do the smart thing and move out of the way.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Poseidon wasn't exactly known for his intelligence or his mind reading. The sea god stood firm in his spot, returning Naruto's glare with a gaze that he thought was calming but, in actuality, only served to piss the boy off even further.