Pain, it had several meanings to him, a feeling, a strength, a measure, and an enemy both figuratively and literally. It was something from his past, and something promised in his future. How long had he been in this hell, this limbo he did not know nor did he cause. Minutes, days, weeks, years, they had all bled into each other, day and night, night and day; they all had no meaning in this prison of stone and steel.
All he knew was one thing, to relieve the pain he felt, to gain peace even for a time, all he had to do was fight and kill, he did not know who they were or even what they were, they ranged from all shapes, sizes and colors, greens, purples, blues, even some like his own, some with their flesh falling apart and some who looked like bulls, others with pointed ears, and more still who did not reach his knees.
The bodies knew no count at this point; his hands were dyed red to the bone by now. His ears filled with their screams and his eyes etched with their fear. He knew what he was once and what he was now by his own making; he had become what he had contained from his first days without even failing, for the true beast was still there silent and laughing. It had been his companion for as long as he could remember, even though he may not know his own name or the name of the one who resided within he knew the beast's memory was timeless, as long as someone remembered he could reclaim what he was. That was what he believed, that was what he hoped with all he was.
What was he, a hollow shell, or a container, perhaps both, not that he knew, the constants in his un-death were small, the beast, his heartbeat, his master, and the collar. The beast who refused to speak nothing yet laughed all the same, the heartbeat that kept him here, and the master which kept him here along with the collar. The collar was the source of his pain; it kept him in check and in chains, that is until his master called. His master, one of the smaller creatures he had seen with skin a sickly green different from his counter parts, he was an old and wizened member of his race from what he could tell, even being through his fair share of battle judging from the cane needed to support him when walking, however among his people he was called and revered by the insane and corrupted as high tinker. His name was Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg, when the high tinkercalled was the only times of peace even If they were his nightmare, for that was when he was called to kill, when he saw his reflection in their eyes and on the steel surfaces around him, his formerly blond hair dyed red from the blood that covered his body for as long as he could remember, his pointed ears oddly like some of his victims, his eyes, bright blue one second, and a crimson red the next, the broad scars like whiskers that ran along his face with one more over his eye from combat. It was only then that he remembered part of who he was as the collars control slipped; it was then that he realized how far he had fallen.
With nothing but his own hands and strength he destroyed all that came before him. For awhile he tried simply knocking them out at the start of it all, he was soon punished and made to watch as the High Tinker had fun turning the captives over to his side. He knew what he witnessed should disgust him, he knew he should stop it, he knew he could. But he didn't, it was then he realized they were there because of his mercy, it was his fault for them being as they were now, and it was too late when he realized he had stopped caring, then he was only disgusted with himself.
After that first few times he never left one creature before him alive.
And it was after every fight… no they couldn't even be called a fight, they were a massacre that he snapped, he would always try and kill his master for he knew it was only by his wish that he still lived, his wish that kept him in pain every waking second. After every slaughter he would attempt to tear his throat out, to rib his short stubby limbs from his body after tearing apart his little tin can he fought in. yet every time he came close the collar stopped him. The pain would knock him out, yet even then it wouldn't stop, they had found his healing abilities interesting, had toyed with him, experimented on him to find its limits, they failed to. Dragged back to where he was kept at the back of the Tinker's Court he would then be chained up to the ceilings and floors, suspended in the air where he was to stay until next called with the collar still giving him pain. It was at these times only where he heard the beast's laughter, mocking him as he saw it out the sides of his eyes and in the darkness of them when he blinked.
He knew he would die like this, he should have died long ago, he didn't even remember the last time he actually ate, and this was a very painful thought for him in particular.
He knew though he would have his chance, it mattered not if he had to wait a week, a year, or a one hundred years, he would escape, and when he did the High tinker would pay.
His rage would be sated.
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Oddly enough for once it was not the absence of the collar's pain or the laughter of the beast that woke him from his slumber. His sensitive nose picked up new scents even through the strong scents of copper and sulfur. No after waiting a moment he realized as his sharp hearing finally was processed over the clanking that extra piece of information, this was no ordinary time for him, making sure to keep his eyes closed and his breathing slow as if still asleep he listened.
"Pay attention kit, this is different from all the other times." A dark voice from the recesses of his mind spoke in an ancient tone.
"Who are you?" He queried, quickly overriding his shock.
"The better question is what. Now be quiet, your actions in the passage of time here may have gained you my respect boy but nothing else, don't ruin it." The voice said with a tone of finality.
"It's over Sicco, I'm ending this today!" a new high pitched voice said with conviction.
A maniacal laugh soon filled the Tinker Court as a grinding noise started. "Gelbin, how long has it been old friend? Six years almost hasn't it? How have you been outside my utopia?" His master said in a too calm and casual voice.
"You dare call this place a utopia, look at what your schemes have done, our home is an irradiated wasteland devoid of life beyond troggs, our people are dying or insane in this place while you sit here in the court of our greatest through treachery." Gelbin seethed as the warriors and sorcerers with him began gritting there teeth in rage.
Rage and madness mingled into Thermaplugg's voice as it shined through his eyes. "Treachery, I only reclaimed what was destined to be mine before you stole it from me! It was my destiny to be the first TRUE KING of the gnomes in centuries. All my life I had planned for that day, the day when I was to ascend to the throne. Yet at the last moment they chose you Gelbin, chose you because I was too ambitious!" he spat out viciously before visibly calming down. "Although I am rather surprised to see you here Gelbin, I assumed your old defense creation Techbot would be more then enough to hold you back. What was your old motto, ah yes "If it wasn't able to beat me then it isn't strong enough to defend this city."
A slight grin crossed Gelbin's face for a moment before he drew an odd looking pistol from his hip with one hand, while simultaneously drawing a short by human standards, sword with what looked like a spanner as a hilt. "Unlike you I haven't been idle these past years Sicco, I trained my body as well as my mind for this moment, nothing that was made back then will stop me, and neither will you." Taking a small step back Gelbin lowered the blade in his right hand till the point was almost touching the ground while leveling the pistols barrel with Sicco's head. "What I want to know is how? How did you know about the troggs, how did you know before anyone in the city how to release them and keep them contained?"
"Still the inquisitive mind eh Gelbin, well let's just say that since I couldn't heal my body I found other means to maintain my rule. This city has great plans coming for it, from both me and another. Let us just say my new partner is a rather ancient being with a fair amount of knowledge. It was all rather simple really; I just had to convince you to expand the storage areas as well as the waste disposal areas to a deeper level. As the workers dug deeper I switched them out with men and women more loyal to my cause, they then using information provided to me of the troggs whereabouts connected the waste reservoirs to the Troggs den, draining it in small amounts into their water supply, the end result was a tolerance build up to the chemicals. The rest you know quite well Gelbin, the troggs unexpectedly break loose during our excavation effort, I get you to release the chemical waste into the vents in hopes of destroying the troggs, you agree even after I tell you a few gnomes will die to save the entire race." He said with a grin.
"And then you betray me and our people, I evacuate as many of our remaining uninfected out of the city, you shoot me in the ribs, I shoot you in the knee because I thought there was still a chance for you. Is that what you were going to say?"
Sicco simply waved a hand dismissively in Gelbin's direction. "More or less, without the sentimental drivel that made you a weak ruler Gelbin. In the end you run off to your old allies in the alliance for safety within the dwarf city of Ironforge, all in hopes of taking this city back. However as your numbers dwindled day by day from all sides, my army here only grew larger. So to compensate you put a bounty on my head and started giving jobs to adventurers from the other races in hopes of exterminating me and the troggs from the city. Over the past six years I have survived though and you're probably wondering why." Sicco finished with a smirk from within the cockpit of his war bot.
"You've survived countless raids on the city from all the races of the world hoping to gain something from it. Either your immortal which is almost statistically impossible or you have some thing up your sleeve, fortunately I know what it is." Seeing the slight tinge of concern cross Sicco's face was all he needed to continue. "After all this time did you honestly think I wasn't watching what happened to my men? In other words you managed to finish your creation, an inter-temporal space rift generator matrix, a technological recreation of a warlocks summoning, a gate to the twisting nether."
"Quite the demon I found isn't he; looks almost like a human-elf cross breed but its abilities are above anything I could have ever dreamed of. Tell me were you as amazed as I was by his capacity for destruction, he almost seems docile at points yet others he's like a rabid beast. I say he is one of my favorite test subjects, heals almost immediately, I would even venture a guess he has some troll in him, haven't found anything he can't regenerate to one hundred percent. What's amazing though… is that everything we put his body through is eventually adapted to make it stronger. It's evolution incarnate." Sicco finished with a maniacal grin.
"Evolution incarnate am I, bah and all its good for is getting me trapped and tortured as a slave." He thought with disgust now listening more intently to the conversation. A slight grin appeared on his face at the next thought. "Well if they kill each other Ill end up free."
"If they kill each other you still have a collar."
"If they kill each other I at least have some peace to get rid of this collar."
"However enough chit-chatyou have wasted enough of my time, I already have enough trouble keeping that barbaric chieftain of the troggs in line and all the commotion has probably stirred him up. What are the chances you killed a trogg with a bright red headdress on his head, seems less intelligent then the majority, has a habit of bashing everything around him that moves into a wall?" Sicco said with a sigh.
"I didn't keep count on the way in, sorry Sicco."
"Ah well that's a true shame, now…" inside the of the glass incased cockpit of the war machine everybody could clearly see Sicco press a single large button to his right. And going by one of the rules that all gnomish inventors abide, a big red button is never good news.
The moment the button was pressed a noise was heard that resounded throughout the room. A moment later a giant of a man with a body tinged blood red came calmly walking in between the guardian faces. Against a force of seven gnomes and a dwarf, barring arms of steel, of magic, of shadow, and of light he strode in as a god of war. An emotionless face starred back at them as his eyes shifted quickly from deep blue to a crimson red and back again, and with a flex of his hands the already elongated and sharpened nails upon his hands extended and turned a deep black except for at the tips which remained a blood red.
With a maniacal grin Sicco continued as everybody tensed ready to spring into combat. "Why don't I deal with you Gelbin… while my pet deals with the rest of you."
"I will not ask forgiveness for my sins." He spoke slowly as his blood red eyes seemed to peer into their souls
That was the only warning the intruders had before Naruto sprung. In that instant all hell broke loose.
Before the gnomes even knew what happened he was inside their formation, his clawed hand sticking out the back of their priest. The once white robes slowly turning a cark red as the blood seeped down from the wound.
"For I know I am beyond redemption." He finished as he withdrew his hand from the priest letting its body fall to the ground.
"Warriors surround him; don't let him reach the spell casters!" Gelbin yelled back to his men as he blocked another of the robots claws with the broad of his blade.
Jumping back quickly while raising his gun, he fired a blast of what looked like pure lightning into the robots knee plate. For a moment the robot came to a grinding stop as the knee plate crumpled in on itself.
"Warlock, banish him." The ageing leader of the gnomes finished bitterly.
"You shouldn't turn your back on me so easily Gelbin." Sicco's maddened voice rang out before the damaged plate literally fired itself into Gelbin's back sending him flying into one of the steel pillars.
"It will be the end of you again." He laughed as his killing machine came back to life.
"MY LORD!" One of the mages yelled while gathering together a ball of flame in his hands.
The moment the machine had its back turned to him he threw it only for Naruto to seemingly phase right in front of it, catching it in the palm of his hand.
With a simple clenching of his fist the inferno exploded outward showering the area in magic flame.
"Your fight is with me not my master." He said while catching the overhead hammer strike aimed for his head from the paladin on his right.
Seeing the grin on the bearded face of the dwarf whose hammer he just caught brought a bad feeling to the fore.
"Judgment of the Crusader, may the light have mercy on your soul demon of the nether." The dwarf said in a sorrowful tone.
Before he had time to recognize what even happened an ethereal hammer seemed to materialize out of thin air and slam into his stomach, driving him to his knees.
"Joshua, move back and resurrect the priest, holy spells seem to have more effect on him then ours do!" Called a mage who had just covered Naruto in an inch thick layer of ice.
"Fine give me some time Snoggan, Gresnal how close is the warlock to finishing the banishing?" Joshua Called back while turning towards the downed priest.
A large cracking noise resounded through the room as an aura of pure malice roared to life.
"Not nearly close enough." A demonic sounding voice calmly stated from the warlocks position.
Snapping back around, all eyes turned to find Naruto standing behind the warlock. A fiery aura seemed to surround him now as he gripped the head of the warlock in one hand, letting its tiny body dangle in the air.
"I'm surprised you annoyed the brat enough to let me take over, with him you had at least a chance of a merciful death." A sickening grin overcame his once emotionless face, exposing his bloodied fangs.
With a single jerking motion the demonic Naruto had sunk its fangs into the back of the gnome warlock's neck and tore it apart letting the body partially hang from the remaining muscles in its neck. Spitting the bone and muscle fragments from his mouth he simply grinned.
The blood now dripping from his maw only made the terrifying levels of killing intent worse as it rolled off him in waves, paralyzing the occupants for a moment in fear.
"Light give me strength." A silent prayer to all in the room from Joshua who only clenched his hammers shaft tighter as he starred at Naruto.
Tossing the ruined body aside and into a wall he grinned at the crowd. "I'm feeling unusually kind right now as none of you seem to be backing down, I'll let you have one free shot on me, anywhere you want." With a simple hand gesture the fiery aura surrounding him dissipated.
"I'll even remove my cloak. Eyes, throat, heart, anywhere, just be sure to make it…" He was cut off abruptly as a lightning bolt seemed to erupt right over where its heart was, deafening the room. Dropping down to his knees not a sound coming from his throat but a gurgle.
From his position pinned to the wall by his adversaries robot claw Gelbin managed the shot that felled the beast. "It seems your demon isn't as immortal as you thought he was, eh Sicco." Gelbin said with a grin.
The response from his enemy though was to simply have the bladed hand of his machine pinning Gelbin to the wall close on the right side causing Gelbin to cry out in pain.
"You're awful noisy for someone about to have his arm torn off Gelbin, and a little too smug to think you had won. Did you really think I would keep around such a weak pet, he has simply reverted to that soft hearted form of mind you first met. Isn't that right PET." Sicco called out while pressing a button in his cockpit.
A moment later the formerly prone body of Naruto began to stand up, showing not a scratch on his body or even a residue from the wound. A startled cry soon tore from his throat as everyone saw the collar around his neck begin to glow.
Anyone who had fought in the last war knew the feel of that type of energy.
Demonic energy, the same as Eredar magic.
"Now stop playing with your food pet, you don't want me to increase the control level again do you?" Sicco asked in a mocking tone.
For a single moment a flash of pure rage overtook his features as a low growl escaped his throat at the mention of being called a pet. Dark blue eyes stared into the coal black of his master's, daring him to try something. Yet it stopped just as quickly as his face once contorted with rage went to a relatively uncaring stare aimed at all in the room.
"THAT FUCKING HURT!" He cried out while placing a hand over his heart.
"That's payback for Gazlo demon!" Gresnal the warrior yelled at him in a rage.
A hollow barking laugh filled the room before he replied darkly as the once blue eyes turned red again. "You know, just for calling me that… you die first."
With a malicious grin on his face he appeared to phase out of sigh once again. Not a sound was heard not a breath until the scream tore through the silence.
He suddenly appeared behind Gresnal waving an arm in the air, it wasn't his own. A moment later Gresnal fell to the ground clutching the bloody stump that was once his arm.
"Ah dismemberment, now that brings back memories." He said with a content sigh. "So what would you prefer, I take a leg or your other arm next."
A rapid swing of the warriors axe to try and clear some room was quickly stopped at the elbow.
Adding a small amount of pressure to the back of the arm he forced the screaming gnome to the ground. "Oh so it's the arm you want gone next eh, well I would be happy to help."
With a jackal's grin on his face he slammed the warrior flat to the ground and placed one foot on its shoulder. With a quick twist and pull a loud cracking noise ushered forth as the bone splintered apart taking the arm with it.
Raising it up to his eyes he let out a sorrowful sigh. "Such a small arm, it wasn't a clean brake, it has all these little bone fragments sticking out of it." Looking down he saw that his victim was still actually conscious. "Well aren't you a tenacious bug," he said while discarding the arm.
Ducking down almost without care he managed to dodge right under a blade that would have decapitated him.
"Since your friends seem more willing to dance then you do right now, I'm going to go play with them now." He said while squatting down in to be on level with Gresnal.
Cracking his neck he made a single beckoning gesture to the room. "So shall we dance."
The other warrior who came swinging his sword a moment ago seemed hesitant at first. It was Joshua who made the first move, bathed in light his hammer slammed into the ground right where Naruto was once standing. Spider web like cracks spread out from the shattered steel that began to radiate a pure light.
"Consecration." Came the cry from the dwarf as his body glowed gold.
As the first strike was thrown by the paladin the others once too shocked to move seemed to regain their courage. The mages began gathering the power to for his spells while the second warrior changed his weapons from a sword and shield to a two handed broadsword.
"Ring formation, close combat outer circle, casters inner. All eyes open, we don't know where he'll come from or how he's disappearing.Stick to frost and arcane spells, fire seems to have no affect on him, Joshua be careful we don't know if the light actually harms him but still we have a clear shot, I want Drayne back up on his feet." The gnome Snoggan ordered. "All we can hope for now is that rogue can get a shot in before he's noticed." He thought bitterly.
From his perch at the ceiling of the room he crouched down increasing his foot hold by extending his claws into the ceiling as he watched it all unfold as his first victim the priest was seemingly brought back from the dead. How this actually happened he didn't know, nor was he all that keen to try the experience first hand.
Turning his head slightly he watched as his master slowly began to lose his fight with the true Gnome king. Sicco's machine had lost in the process of the battle its right, clawed arm entirely and its left leg motors were getting slow and sloppy giving Gelbin the upper hand.
Gelbin though seemed at second glance to be no better off, blood seeped through his jacket where the clawed hand had grabbed him and he was breathing heavily. Also somewhere along the lines of the fight he had lost his lightning gun.
Now using all the power he had left in his surprisingly strong body he fought on against his former friend with both hands wielding his sword. The room rang with the clash of metal on metal as the machine body was slowly torn apart by the seemingly indestructible blade; even now it was without even a single dent in the grayish blue metal.
The winner of that battle was obvious to him even if it wasn't to the occupants, the death of his master would mean little to him. "As long as he doesn't lose his nerve and make me fight I may be free."
"To what end, you don't know where you are, when you are, or even who you are."
"And you obviously know and have no intention of telling me."
"Of course, everything has a price though and you don't even know what my price is, let alone how to pay it. Just remember though, demons always honor their deals, find my price and I may make a deal with you."
"That's real helpful you know." Naruto growled inwardly.
"Just remember, the key to the past is always closer then we think."
"Your awfully civil for a demon."
"You impressed me over the years here with your brutality and level headedness, unlike how you were as a child I can have a decent conversation without you trying to demand power from me and overall being an eyesore."
"As much as talking to you for the first real time since I woke up amuses and interests me I have to get this done before the 'master' activates the collar again." He finished with a snarl.
Retracting the claws from his feet and hands that held him to the ceiling he dropped, spread eagle into the crowd below. Extending his black claws once again he slashed downward just as he landed, raking his claws down the backs of the two mages. His claws dug deeps wounds into them through their thick robes.
Their concentration flickered as the pain lanced unexpectedly through their bodies, causing the gathered power to rapidly escaped, blowing everyone back as the shockwaves tore through their bodies.
Using one of his clawed hands to slow his momentum to a stop he quickly searched for his next target. "Where is that priest, I cant have him or that dwarf bringing their comrades back from the dead… its disgraceful to make the dead fight for the living. Especially if I just have to keep killing them."
Locking onto the priests white robed form as it struggled to stand he shot forward like a bullet. In an amazing effort the priest managed to get its staff up in time to block the first overhead strike he unloaded onto it. However a moment later when a piercing scream tore through his head causing him to lose focus on his target long enough for it to say an unknown prayer.
As soon as the scream receded he felt the staff buried in his stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs and pushing him back. Regaining his bearings quickly he took notice of the almost invisible golden aura surrounding the priest.
"These ones are different from the others I've fought before this." He thought as he quickly phased from sight.
"They're the royal guard, or at least some of them are, of course they are stronger."
"Time for a change in tactics then."
Instead of simply reappearing behind them as he usually would, he maintained his illusion while moving at high speeds in a circle around the priest. All the while at every possible angle he battered away at what he dubbed the Aura of Protection. Each time he hit it he felt his strikes digging deeper and deeper into the shield.
Finally during a Sky heel drop he slammed through the barrier and directly onto the priests head. What he wasn't expecting was for his foot to pass right through the priest without any resistance and come crashing to the floor.
The once glowing gold body of the priest had changed to that of an inky black. The path where his foot travelled rippled like a lakes surface as it smoothed itself out. Pivoting on his planted foot he slashed through the priest's neck with his claws glowing a fiery red coming to a stop directly behind the priest.
A moment later the body fell in two.
"Fight shadow with light, and light with shadow, yet when in doubt raw power and a little control go a long way." The great beast laughed as the red glow subsided.
"There was resistance that time passing through, there wasn't before?" He silently mused.
"Demonic energy used correctly is a nullifier. Rather amusing when people get all high and mighty to watch their faces change as you tear them limb from limb after you destroy their best." The beast finished with a laugh.
"I take back what I said earlier, you're just a rather polite sadist."
"Nice compliment kid, oh and duck." The voice mentioned almost offhandedly.
"What? Instead of listening to the warning Naruto decided to turn his head to the side to check what the beast meant.
The effect was almost comical though as, as soon as he turned his head a golden glowing hammer smashed into his head with the speed of a bullet train.
After regaining his senses he found himself in a foot deep, body sized indent half way up the steel walls of the room. He also noticed the three places where his body had skipped across the ground from where his blood smears were.
It was an oddly comforting fact for some reason that his blood was red and not black or green.
"BLOODY HELL! Now this is what I remember, I haven't had to heal wounds like this in years. Damn kid don't even look surprised, I've now had to heal three fist sized holes in your chest, snapped necks, and you being turned into a pin cushion. I've kept you alive while being burned, buried, drowned, frozen in ice, oh ya and starved for about four years. You know he just caved your skull in there right? Go beat him, beat him until it stops being amusing." The voice echoed with a mirthful laugh.
"For you or for him? And do I even want to remember how I got those injuries?" He asked in an amused tone.
"No, and for me of course, screw him. I'm bored in here to often, the only times I get off are when you get pissed off and I get to come out for some fun."
Surprisingly enough the knight in shining armor was still simply standing in plain view with a smirk on his face. As he pried himself out of the wall he contemplated just what his revenge would be, all the while mumbling about annoying, arrogant, big-white bearded, smug pricks.
"…Big white bearded…" He thought evilly as a grin spread across his face.
The very thought of what he was about to do made the beast explode with laughter.
Immediately after freeing himself from the wall and landing in a crouch on the floor he phased out of sight. Instead of moving as he usually would to the enemies back or side he simply waited crouched down, watching the dwarf search for him. He knew that nothing was infinite, all he had to do was wait out that shield, he assumed it was a shield at least and then he would move in for the kill… or humiliation depending on how the dwarf thought of it.
However what was bugging him while he waited was two things. One was that he couldn't see though he could definitely smell the other warrior that was still alive. The other thing is that during the entire fight he felt like he was being watched. He was constantly hearing extra footsteps, too quiet for any of the others in the room, worse yet is that he had taken tally of every scent in the room before the fight had began and he knew there should only be ten scents in the room. His own, his masters, and the eight invaders, there was no ninth smell.
However before he could ponder further his little glowing friend had burned out. And so in a flash he had moved forward, right in front of the dwarf in a crouch.
In the next moment he reappeared.
Grabbed the dwarf by the beard.
And swung him head first into the ground opposite him.
Repeatedly.
After the seventh or eighth time (but who was really counting) he had decided that the poor bastard was dead. So to make sure he was dead he spun around once to gain momentum, planted his foot, and threw him like a Frisbee into one of the golden face masks.
The beast quite enjoyed the sound he made when it hit the ground after falling off the face. It also enjoyed that somewhere along the line Naruto had managed to rip off a good two thirds of the beard.
"Happy now?" He asked while walking towards the corpse of the paladin.
"I would have preferred if you had punted the fly into the air and then hit him with his own hammer until he was nothing more then a bloody smear of bone and pus, but yes that worked." Giving the corpse a quick kick, he dropped the beard hairs over top of the body before looking around.
"Well either way I'm getting tired of this, I lost any interest in this battle awhile ago even if these guys were stronger then the rest. Now, where's that hammer?"
Eventually finding the handle sticking out of the golden face above him he started cursing.
"Things are never easy are they." He stated more then questioned. With his annoyance in mind he leapt into the air grasping a hold onto the hammer sticking out of the masks eye socket. Quickly impaling himself to the wall with the use of his clawed hands and feet he managed to rip the hammer out of the wall before landing on the ground.
For the first time taking a decent look at it he noticed a name carved into the handle. Verigan's Fist was the name; it was a simple design with a gold and silver head on a strong wooden shaft. The length of the weapon had to be a decent four feet.
"… really makes you wonder how he managed to bash my head in." he stated mentally in confusion.
"Indeed… perhaps he jumped." The voice supplied, just as puzzled.
"No it wouldn't work that way, he had hit me completely from the side, but he was what, less then four feet even, no matter how you look at it…"
"Leave it for another day?" The voice supplied in resignation.
"Leave it for another day." He agreed while hefting the mace up onto his shoulders with one hand. Slowly he began to search the large room for the last of his targets while avoiding the fight for the throne.
"Here mousy, mousy, mousy, I won't hurt you… much." He called out in annoyance.
He was annoyed because he had guessed from the armor and weapon style that the last one used that he would be a warrior. He was not expecting a game of cat and mouse from a warrior, less so was he not expecting to not even here movement besides that of the battle, even the footsteps had stopped.
Rounding the third statue he came face to face with the warrior.
Who did not move at all, he could see its eyes darting back and forward, he could see him looking right at him. And yet he did not move. Immediately making a quick once over for wounds and any new changes in scent he found his reason as a faint smell of blood came from the warrior. Hidden between his armor was a thin cut in the armpit, the place where the armor was weakest and also coming from there was another more putrid smell that brought a single thought to mind.
"Poison!"
"His realization came too late as a poison coated knife was jammed into the back of his neck.
Right through the collar.
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He remembered everything.
The faces of his parents as an infant.
The faces of his friends and enemies throughout his life.
The training he had gone through.
The people he had served, the people who he fought for. The people he eventually led if only for a short time.
He remembered the deaths of his mentors.
He remembered the deaths of millions caused by one man, Uchiha Madera.
He saw through his eyes the bodies of his friends brought on by his army. The army of the new Akatsuki. The people lied to wanting a new age free of shinobi, the men who wanted glory, freedom, or those who fought for money. The people who destroyed his home.
He remembered the death of his Best friend Gaara, he remembered arriving too late to stop the destruction of Suna.
He remembered hearing about the death of all the Jinchuuriki besides himself.
He listened to the cries of the dead and dying in the villages of Kusa and Kumo. He remembered watching the life leave the ideas of his lover Hinata.
He remembered the death of Sakura on the battlefield, the death of team seven, leaving only him.
The death of Tsunade protecting to protect Konoha.
His naming as Hokage at the age of eighteen. The pressure he felt not being ready for it.
The millions of days of experience gained from his clones, the training, the missions.
The paperwork.
The deaths of hundreds at his own hands under the name of the Musei Hakaisha (silent destroyer), master of seals, clones, the wind, and silent killing.
He remembered his village burning as Akatsuki returned to finish him, how he squared off with Pein for revenge.
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In the middle of a long dead crater in the center of the burning village they stood, seven in bodies all. Six with eyes of white and black rings, black piercings al along their bodies wearing black cloaks with red clouds.
The other was a bright blue eyed, blond haired youth wearing a black Chuunin vest and pants under a billowing cape of black with red flames dancing along the edges, the words Rokudaime Hokage in blood red Kanji going down the back. A horned headband with the kanji for oil atop his head, a large bright red scroll upon his back and sitting on his chest was a brightly glowing green crystal pendant.
"You're not going to run away again, not this time. You will pay for what you did Pein, and this time your partner won't be able to save you." Naruto growled as his pupils changed to show his channeling of nature chakra.
"I am the god who will restore order to this world. You are simply the last stepping stone to the peace this world wants." The god realm pain stated.
"The world does not need more pain!"
"The only way true peace will be obtained is when everyone has suffered the same pain, the same losses as everyone else. When no understands pain they can freely bring it, when they know it they will not fight, they will not kill. That is the will of god."
"No, that is the will of Madera's pawn."
"So the jailer seeks to challenge a god. Just as I told Hanzo, Kakashi, and
Jiraya, you cannot win before the power of a god."
Leveling a glare upon the six bodies he stomped onto the ground with Tsunadian force, splitting the earth open and bringing into the air pillars of rock formed by pure nature energy. Each of the six pains landed on a pillar in a circle around Naruto.
"Demon realm, the human like weapon Asura. Animal realm, the summoner of the six paths of pain and the beasts of judgment. Hungry Ghost realm, the nullifier and absorber. Hell realm, the soul stealing gen-jutsu wielder. Human realm, the mind reader and destroyer. Lastly God realm, the master of attraction and repulsion. I know your tricks Pein, and I can match you in them!" Naruto cried out while managing to summon eleven Kage Bunshin without even a hand sign or calling the name.
"Your tricks matter nothing before the power of a god Uzumaki."
"We shall see Pein when you lie dead at my feet." And with a single mental command the clones scattered to deal with a single body two-on-one.
The original though went directly for the God realm with a clone at his side. In mid air they all seemed to vanish entirely, no hand signs no jutsu called out.
This was the jutsu that made him truly feared throughout the elemental realms. Fumeizatsuki( obscure the moon), a jutsu that combines both wind and water in the air to manipulate refraction of the light around his body and anything in direct contact with him perfectly, making him completely invisible. This combined with his mastery of silent killing the likes the world hasn't seen since Momochi Zabuza gained him his bingo book nickname and his S class threat ranking.
He knew how to win, the information gathered over several years by some of the greatest Shinobi of the leaf would not be put to waste.
The six Peins simply stood their ground atop the pillars even with loss of their target as long as they shared each others vision an ambush was impossible.
The Demon realm Pein was the easiest to deal with, its body was mostly mechanical in nature, and as such brute force was all that was required.
The clones attacking this target landed directly below it on its pillar, making sure it would not get the time to switch to its long range modes the two clones shattered the pillar with one blow, throwing it off balance for a moment.
The Animal realm was a problem and an easy solution. The problem came with the beasts of judgment and its ability to summon the bodies. He could get this right or fuck up royally depending on his timing on his movement.
The clones attacking the animal realm were already acting, moving in a circle around the pillar while drawing twin scrolls from one of their pouches.
With a quick flick of their fingers along the latch the scrolls innate power was soon to be revealed. As they continued to wind their way around the pillar at high speed the scroll began to unravel and wrap around the pillar in a criss-cross pattern.
As the first clone set destroyed the pillar the second set moved up at high speeds while becoming visible, wrapping the animal realms feet in the ends of the scroll which began to glow a dull blue, just as the Pein noticed the scroll he was already in the middle of a summoning.
TheHungry Ghost realm was possibly one of the most dangerous of his six forms as any attack it can absorb, any chakra from the attack is then converted into its own stores which can be transmitted between the bodies. The problem was that it also absorbed the chakra from Tai-jutsu attacks reducing them to just the power of the body. Against someone like Gai or Lee this would be no problem as their power was only their body. It didn't help that this pain also could enhance its physical abilities to stupid levels.
So with reckless abandon the third team tackled it off the pillar as the other two teams acted.
The hell and human realms were a mystery in a sense as it looked like they almost were the same technique from a distance, both kill with a touch, both required direct contact. Therefore long range tactics were the best to be used.
To deal with this the clones attacking these two split up, one going for the base of the pillar to shatter it the other would move above the realms.
When the first clones destroyed their pillars the seconds were already in place with kunai in hand, diving down at the two realms. With a quick application of wind chakra around the blades, a veritable maelstrom seemed to form around the knives turning them into a miniature missile.
The God realm Pein would be the most difficult of all to deal with. His power to draw in or push away anything around him was deadly, not to mention he can do it in quick succession. The trick here would be finding out the gap between the power use and the range it has.
The two Narutos heading for him first landed on the pillar half way up. They split up one going for the front the other for the back of the target with a timed interval in place. The first one was to materialize directly behind the Pein and attempt to stab him in the back of the head.
It dodged with only a single movement of its head. The next moment a spinning elbow caught the clone in the head, dispersing it in a thick cloud of smoke. With its vision obscured it allowed the second Naruto to move from the front to attack, the moment the straight kick was about to connect it was blown away with the dust as the God realms power was released.
The clone disappeared with a grin on its face in another puff of smoke as it was hit with a solid wall of gravity.
The next moment though saw the clouds darken as winds begin to rage in a circle in the center of the six pillars. The original Naruto was upside down above the crater, almost seeming to hover in the wind looking completely at peace in the savage winds.
He smirked as his wind storm kicked up all the dust in the area around them, blocking all in view as if they were in a sandstorm.
He watched as his clones moved to engage the demon, animal, and hungry ghost realms in close combat while the others attacked the human and hell realms from long range using quick Fuuton and Suiton jutsu to their annoyance.
He watched as his gamble with animal realm paid off as the seals quickly spread from their binding up across all that they came in contact with.
This just happened to include the animal realm.
The scrolls were a single seal set he had created simply called Garandou. The original idea he had gotten going back over Jiraya's notes on sealing and summoning. Sealing is something that was different from person to person, everyone learned, experimented, and sometimes died because of their ways. Naruto's concept of it was based upon the Shishin, the four legendary symbols. Based on this he approached it with the five elements in mind, earth in the east, fire in the south, wind in the west, water in the north, void in the center, they all mix in certain ways and react in others depending upon the mix. Garandou is the only seal he ever created, could create based purely on the center power of the void.
A summoning was in a way nothing more then an incredibly complex seal, approximately five hundred and above depending upon the size and capacity of the summon involved. For the summon to work a medium of blood, something born of all of the four outer elements was used to draw the summon animal out along a balanced line of the void. The Garandou was in itself a seal drawn completely of the void to destroy the balance, without the balance the creature could not come through without more power from the elements, or blood, so much blood in fact that it would probably require the slaughter of a town to achieve. And even then the idea of summoning something like Gamabunta was out of the question entirely.
So getting to see the small look of surprise on the animal realms face when he couldn't summon that infernal dog of his as his clones engaged him in Tai-jutsu combat made him quite happy inside.
As easily as breathing he moved through a series of hand signs at a blazing speed. Stopping on the tori sign he began to spin like a top as he made his decent to the ground. Spinning faster and faster as the winds picked up pace around him, forming a small scale tornado with winds moving at a pace close to a hundred meters a second.
At the last second before he hit the righted himself while thrusting his arms out to his side blowing the entire tornado outwards. Stone and earth all were whipped away from him as easily as bodies he wanted to end. "Fuuton: Sanyuu Fuujin no jutsu! (Wind style: Coming of the wind god technique).
He had tweaked this technique specifically for this fight. The god realm's ability would prove an interruption if only for a moment with the high speed winds though it would only be stopped for a second, not cancelled out. However he knew that the god realm wouldn't even use his power, for one anything in this wind could kill him if he wasn't paying attention, even if he did stop the debris in the wind for a moment more would simply replace it, he couldn't see, and the clincher was their was no chakra involved in the wind. The jutsu simply started up the wind and made it pick up speed, the end result came about by him forcing it out with a small shockwave of chakra and widening the base of it. The Hungry Ghost realm would get little to nothing out of the attack as any chakra was too far spread out for it to actually absorb and it was too far from Naruto to catch him for it. His clones had all dispersed as soon as the wind hit, with them his analysis of the Peins abilities would begin so he could eliminate any that remained after his next move.
Palms still out stretched he began to spin once again, as he did so the winds that had been spreading out stopped like they hit a wall and began to spin following his movements yet again. Eventually he settled himself in a medium level horse stance all the while still circulating his arms, increasing wind speed and forming a dome of wind that held all within.
"Now you can't escape Pein! This wind will hold us here until one of us is dead!"
Guessing at what was going to happen the demon, human and hell realms rushed at him at high speeds. Demon, already in its asura form began to fire its missals from its arms in mid-flight as the boosters in its legs kicked it off the ground towards him faster then the rest.
Never once shifting his feet as the missals came towards him, Naruto barely seemed to touch them all at high speeds, redirecting them away from him. In this raging storm he was in his element as he subtly commanded the wind and air around him forming small pockets of cushioned air in his hands. Yet as the demon realm reached him, tail snapping forward with the intention to skewer him, he once again simply seeming to touch the tail with both of his palms, diverting it away from his body, yet just as it finished passing by him the wind in his palms quickly pushed of with all the power of a gale. In a quick two step movement as gracefully as a falling leaf caught in a breeze around the demon realm, he had returned to the mirror of where he was once before. Yet as calm as the winds can be, they can also be a raging tempest, moving with the speed of the hurricane he formed before; he channeled Nature chakra into his body and swung out an arm into the back of the demon realm, shattering it on impact just as the hell and human closed within striking distance.
He quickly then rolled to the side before jumping away in an effort to gain distance from the two. He knew their touch was deadly and just because Konohamaru had managed to escape alive it had only been because of surprise and the need for information. He could not make the same mistake.
Worse yet is he knew he couldn't let Hell get any closer to the shattered remains of Demon. He had heard that just before his first battle with Pein Demon had been all but destroyed by Kakashi, Choji and Choza, yet when he first fought and destroyed it, it was good as new. It was only after the Konoha Cryptography and Intelligence teams managed to crack into Konan's mind did they find out though.
Frowning as he was forced to reveal this so early he flicked open several of the pouches along his vest. The things that came pouring out were not scrolls or kunai, but leaves, the very same leaf of their symbol. Immediately the leaves were caught on the winds swirling around this arena, there seemed to be no end to them, yet any one with a Byakugan or Sharingan would be able to tell they weren't normal leaves.
This was proven to the Hell realm quickly as he got too close to them as in a puff of smoke it was replaced with an annoyed Naruto with Rasengan in hand.
And then in face.
As soon as it made contact, he sent a quick needle of sharpened chakra straight through the wall of the shell keeping the swirling maelstrom in check. The needle was kind enough to stab the Hell realm in the eye as it came out; it gave him a nice warning before the orb broke through the hole, unleashing the torrent of power directly into its face, blasting it back into the walls of wind.
For a moment there the wind seemed to take on a red tinge before quickly disappearing with the body.
Just as quickly as he had first appeared near the hell realm he had disappeared in the swirl of leaves.
A lance of pain then flickered along the link they all shared coming from the Hungry Ghost realm, causing all eyes to turn towards it.
Right before it fell forward unable to move. As it fell towards the ground the multitude of Kunai sticking out of it along seven of the vital kill points became visible. In a matter of seconds it had its spine severed, One in the Jugular artery, one in the kidney, one in each lung, one in the Carotid artery, several in the liver, and one driven all the way through its heart with the tip showing on the front. Standing directly behind it was Naruto who was absentmindedly throwing a kunai up into the air and catching it again.
"What will you do Pein, this is my domain your in now, the god has moved to fight a demon, and it looks like your losing so far." He said in a mocking tone while ramming the last Kunai into the body's head, through the brain.
"It matters not; your capture is as always assured."
A short morbid laugh came from him at that. "Which is exactly why you will lose, Pein… or should I say Nagato?"
"The one you speak of is long…"
"Cut the bullshit, we've been in Konan's mind!" He yelled back.
Raw chakra erupted away from him in torrents as he released the full force of his rage, his power and his intent. The ground shuddered in his feet; dust and stone seemed to dissolve all around him as his aura smothered all. "TODAY IS YOUR END!" He yelled as his voice became demonically influenced, his eyes gaining slits showing the Kyuubi's minimal influence.
With barely a thought two clones were at his sides, standing with his arms out stretched they began the movements for the age old technique. The entirety of his aura seemed to be being channeled into the space between them, forming an orb. Soon the very raging winds around them seemed to be being siphoned into their hands. Eventually the power began to take the shape, in its center was a pure white orb about the size of a human head, as it continued to spin thousands of blade like rips began to form along its surface. As the blades expanded the raging winds around them came to a stop as all they were was channeled, yet even the former roar of the wind was nothing compared to sound coming from the orbs now.
Knowing that this would be decided now the human and animal realms fell to the ground as they stopped receiving chakra. Now the only one standing was the God realm, just as it had been years ago as it made this crater. Launching itself into the air high above the city it gathered the power it needed into one final attack.
As the technique reached completion Naruto launched himself into the air as his clones dispersed. Raising one Rasengan wielding arm above his head as he went, aimed directly at the god realm.
"SHINRA TENSEI!" He would end this now; the force of a god could not be stopped by a man or a demon. The force of gravity, multiplied a thousand times all forcing downwards. Air dust, moisture, all would become a virtual bullet moving with that force, the force that destroyed this land before.
Yet he kept coming, spiraling orb in hand overhead. It seemed to cut through all in front of it, stone shattered, water blown away, the very air seemed to part before the force it exerted. The force should have killed him yet he kept coming.
For Naruto the shockwave of power lasted only an instant as he broke through the wave, moving like an arrow locked onto his target. As he broke through the first of two Rasengans disappeared, its power following the wave downward to the ground, creating almost a boost of speed.
He saw it all in slow motion he couldn't dodge in mid air as he stared at that spiraling death. Yet the expected blow, the pain never came. A fist hand seemed to close around his neck yet he was without the power to do anything as his chakra forced its way inside his body. It seemed to probe his brain and the receivers until a small grim smile found its way across Naruto's face.
Leaning close to the God realms ear he whispered two words that shook him to the core as a grasping feeling ripped through his body. "Found you.
Looking to the side through his eyes he could see it now, trace its feel.
He could see the link through the receivers.
He could see his prey.
And he smiled.
From his position in the air he took a quick not out of Sasuke's book, performing the opening kick for his old Shishi Rendan, sending the God realm crashing down to the ground into his own crater.
As he entered free fall, he quickly summoned a clone that grabbed him by his Rasenganless arm. A quick spin in mid air gathered all the momentum they would need as the clone threw the original into the tree lines outside the village.
Landing with a rough crash onto the ground, he started running without breaking momentum at high speeds. He followed the thread at seeming as nothing more then a blur to any passers. All wildlife fled in fear as they felt his aura and heard the overbearing shredding noise as the orb cut through the air, gaining in size.
Eventually breaking away from the trees he followed the thread to a shrine of an unknown god. There, standing at the door way was a thin man, sweating heavily in a pure white robe, holding a monks staff in his hands. He was an exact match, the very same face given to him by the interrogators after they ripped open Konan's mind. Black hair in a pony tail yet with the bangs on the right side almost at eye level.
Yet the one last piece to prove it was him was the eyes he had, those eyes with water ripple pupil, the Rin'negan.
Within an instant the distance had closed. Rage danced in his eyes as he thrust the orb forward. The ground shook with its power as he screamed over the noise.
"Fuuton: Doki no Fukyuu Fuujin (Wrath of the immortal wind god)
Ground ripped apart in an instant, trees all around were blown away as the winds were released. The very air itself boomed outwards breaking the speed of sound blowing all away in the blast area. The area it covered was approximately five miles in all directions from the central point. Then once it hit that max radius.
It imploded.
Every ounce of debris, every molecule of air all converged on one central swirling mass that was now lodged inside Nagato's body. Everything in that wind became a weapon, a blade of grass had the power to cut through skin and bode, a pebble was as effective as a bullet, a tree… well it would hurt. Combined with the release of chakra, billions of needle like blades of wind all attacked him at once, piercing through his body, destroying him on a cellular level. The attack was reminiscent of the Rasenshuriken he had created two years ago, it build upon the concepts already laid by the attack, showering the enemy in an endless barrage of wind that attacked almost like a poison. An attack that would end any ninja's career, one way or another. It was built upon because of his increased wind control from both his affinity and his sealing mastery; it was his end game move, his trump card for any fight and still be able to stand. The trick came in fooling his opponents thought as even at his speed it was hard to get a ninja to stand still for any length of time, so he would always create it in one hand while the other held the incomplete Rasenshuriken. Most opponents' couldn't tell the difference in the attack without being either incredibly chakra sensitive or a wind master along his level.
He began walking away calmly as the attack finally finished and the body started to free fall. In reality it couldn't even be called a body anymore, the attack had left him as nothing more then splattered mass of blood and organs barely held together by mere chance.
In retrospect he should have been paying more attention to what was going on around him. He thought the fight was over; the intelligence bureau had managed to find that Pein was the only one in the area from the main Akatsuki, even if their minor forces at Konoha's doorstep tried anything now it would only result in disaster for them. Yet he had forgotten one thing that he should have remembered from his past.
Akatsuki always travel in pairs.
And so when the familiar blade of a Chokuto came out the front of his body right through his heart he was completely caught off guard.
The addition of having a good couple a thousand volts of electricity didn't help at all.
"So it seems your predictions came true once again, sensei." Came the smooth voice of his childhood friend.
"Of course, did you ever doubt me?" Came the calm voice of the man possibly considered the strongest alive.
Immediately recognizing that voice, recognizing what one foolish move could do to him right now, Naruto closes his eyes.
"Hmm stubborn aren't you, it would be so much easier for you to give in now wouldn't it. Sasuke, open his eyes." He said, standing directly in front of him now.
Suddenly the blade twisted sending a new shock of pain through his body. When he still refused to open his eyes, the blade was slowly dragged upwards through his body, eventually coming to a stop in his lung.
"I admire your spirit however my patience is not eternal."
"Fuck you." He growled out before coughing out a large amount of blood.
Slowly he attempted to raise his hand; each second seemed like agony as his nerves roared on fire. After what seemed like an hour of struggling against the pain he managed to grasp hold of the blade, stopping it from moving any farther.
Drawing up the entirety of his chakra remaining he slowly began to convert it into wind natured. Quickly noticing the small smile that managed its way onto his face Madera shouted a warning to Sasuke telling him to let go of the sword. The warning came a moment too late as the pure wind chakra in the shape of a blade forced its way out of Naruto's body, nullifying the lightning as it went. Following the lightning back to its source the blade coming out of his back shot outwards, taking Sasuke's hand with it. Madera had gotten out of the way and had moved to Sasuke's side instantly to inspect the damage.
Finally free of the sword and its chakra Naruto fell forwards as darkness clouded his vision. Catching himself on his hands and knees he began to vomit up blood, clearing the dead cells from his body as the Kyuubi's chakra began to move. As he began to lose consciousness he felt a pulling sensation coming from the seal, almost as if he was being drawn into a hole the size of a pin. The feeling continued to grow stronger, until it felt as if his body was being ripped apart from the inside, forcing himself to open his eyes if only for a moment he realized he was no longer in the forests.
For a moment he screamed as the image was burned into his mind. It was like staring into liquid fire, a realm of darkness and chaos with no order to keep it balanced. It was a gapping hole in the universe that flashed by ever changing collapsing in on itself and being remade again. He saw beings of all shapes and sizes, creatures of shadow and of night, beasts that preyed on the life force of others, sucking them dry to the point of being shriveled husks. Foul humanoid looking creatures that used powers that raised the dead, cast creatures into oblivion, power over plagues, over suffering and death. Creatures of fire and rock, mindless behemoths with only the instinct to kill.
And at the center of this all, he saw it.
A titanic being of black armor that seemed to draw in the light, it was as if it was the abyss itself. A face of corrupted perfection, once possibly the most beautiful thing he would ever lay eyes upon, ruined by demonic horns reaching behind its head. Its mane and beard were the same demonic green flames that wrapped around its body. In its hands was a great sword, its pommel was a green orb the size of 'its' fist, the hilt split upwards around the blade like the jaws of a beetle, a pattern of green and black moving up it. The blade itself was a black the same as the armor drawing in all light, yet what terrified him the most of all was the feel it gave him, the blade seemed to radiate evil, no evil wasn't even a word to describe the feeling of being around it, being near the Kyuubi for all his life made him know what evil was, this, THING, made even the beast look like a fly in comparison, this thing just was death, it was the end of everything in an existence, that was the only way to describe it, the end.
Yet no mater how hard he tried to run away, he could not move, he felt as if he was drowning, being buried alive and suffocating all at once. The over bearing pressure kept him firmly rooted there. He couldn't scream any more, he could already feel the inside of his throat ripped to pieces by it earlier, he knew if he did now though he would die. Simply existing there for any length of time, he felt as if centuries past by in those few moments, all he could do was watch as the horrors unfolded before his eyes. He saw this MONSTER laying waste to everything in its path, nothing could stop it, worlds burned in his passing, others simply ceased to exist, and ever once did it even acknowledge his presence around it. Yet in all this time he found his eyes drifting to one spot in particular, a single scratch along its armor on its leg, no matter how long he watched he knew it would not go away.
That thought gave him a minute hope.
And with that he passed out.
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It had taken an instant, his entire life before his imprisonment had flashed before his eyes. He felt his rage stirring, he felt the collar slipping loose from his neck, he felt no pain, yet no joy. The rogue was still behind him, the warrior still in front, neither dared to make a sound.
And then it dropped, falling from his neck was the collar, as it hit the ground it seemed as if all sound was nothing but a whisper compared to the noise it made.
The knife slowly was forced out of his neck as his power came to the surface. His rage was palpable, it permeated the air as it had years ago, everyone in the room felt the chilling effect of it, none dared even breathing. The Musei Hakaisha was reborn, and as before he was out for blood.
"So you remember now don't you brat."
Swinging his arm to the left he seemed to bat the rogue away as if he was nothing. Skipping across the ground it eventually came to a stop when its skull broke open on the wall. Walking slowly forward now towards the warrior, he secured his grip on Verigan's Fist. With one mighty swing of the hammer he shattered every bone in the little warrior's body without even a moment's remorse.
"Aye. NOW, lets go show our former master just how stupid a move enslaving us was!"
He saw them still fighting, Sicco was now on the defensive as his machine had taken too much damage from both Gelbin's indestructible sword and the lightning gun. The moment he laid eyes upon the putrid green form of his former master the rage he tried to keep bottled up exploded forth.
Letting loose a chilling roar he rushed forward towards Sicco and his machine. The roar was all that was needed to alert the two to what had happened as both heads turned just to catch a glimpse of the hammer that was thrown like a torpedo with enough force to go straight through the machine body of Sicco's creation. Naruto was not far behind, before the hammer had even made a foot past the metal body he had his fist buried itself up to the shoulder in electrical machinery, reaching its way to the cockpit. Electricity danced along his nerves sending searing pain through his entire body.
"THIS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE PAIN YOU PUT ME THROUGH!" Came the monstrous combined voices of both beings inside the body, acting as one.
Gelbin could do nothing but stare in fear as he watched his enemy literally be ripped through the body of his creation out of the cockpit.
Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg knew only true fear as he faced the wrath of the beast he sought to contain. He felt his very soul in pain as the hand closed around his body and began to rip it out of the cockpit. When he came out though, face to face with the monster he shackled for so long he could only stare into those eyes. For they were not what they once were, neither the calming blue or the raging red. They were a solid deep purple, lacking even a pupil, they seemed to glow with ethereal power as he felt his entire world closing around him.
"So you thought you could contain me, you thought that you could chain me to your will, MAKE ME YOUR SLAVE! You have no idea what you were dealing with mortal, you are NOTHING, and for the price of your sins your death is assured." The combined voice growled before slamming his frail body into a wall, pinning him there.
"However you still owe me answers wretch."
Fear was etched onto Sicco's face as he tried everything he could to pry his eyes from that gaze. "Anything, ANYTHING! Please spare me!" Came the maddened cry.
"Who was the demon who implanted his power into the collar, WHO WAS IT THAT DARED TO STAND UP AGAINST ME?"
"Kil'jaden, it was Kil'jaden my lord! He made me a deal, promised me power, the throne of Gnomeregan, he promised me I would be king and have the power to subjugate all in my way!" Sicco cried out almost hysterical now.
"So it was a demon named Kil'jaden, obviously a relatively powerful one at that. How did you bring me here?! Answer me worm." The twin entities mused.
"Part of our deal, using some of his power along with my machinery I was able to tear a portal into the Twisting Nether for a few moments where I was able to bring find you and bring you here! Then the collar was placed on you, it was meant to destroy the previous memories from before the collar was put on, turning you into a drone for me to control! Please master I'm sorry!"
"Twisting Nether, could he possibly mean?"
"I'm guessing so, our knowledge of this world seems to be sub-standard at best right now."
"Last question little worm." He said as smoothly as that voice would allow. "I came with a crystal necklace around my neck, WHERE IS IT?" He roared.
Noticing the look that promised pain if he answered wrong Sicco quickly blurted it out in fear. "The troggs! The troggs have it! When you first came through I experimented with it for a few weeks, it was like nothing I had ever seen before! When I couldn't find any use for it I gave it to the trogg chieftain to bargain with!" Right before his eyes he watched as his former slaves eyes continued to grow darker and darker as it processed what it heard.
"VERY. STUPID. MOVE."
"PLEASE, don't do it! Spare me, SPARE ME!" Sicco begged.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to kill you now…" He said as his eyes began to return to the bright blue they once were, still without a pupil.
"THANK YOU, YOU WONT EVER HEAR FROM OR SEE ME AGAIN MASTER!" Sicco said, visibly starting to relax as he thought his life was no longer in danger.
"NO, death is to quick for you." He said with a grin, showing his fangs, as his eyes shifted to a blood red in an instant. "Instead I'll simply let you suffer, Magen: Sesshoku no Naikaen (Demonic illusion: Feeding of the Dead Flame)."
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For Sicco, it seemed as if the world around him bled to black, he felt nothing, no ground to support him, almost as if he was floating in air.
And then he felt it, looking down he found himself now bound to an X shaped post, and directly below him was what at best resembled one of the ancient dragons of legend.
Yet it was nothing but bones, nothing, no skin or muscle to hold it together, all that was alive in it was a pair of yellow glowing eyes. It reached up suddenly, craning its neck to look at him, he could hear the creaking of its bones as it moved, feel its cold breath upon him even without lungs to breath.
And then it snapped forward moving at a speed he could hardly comprehend, tearing skin and muscles from his left leg first, it even seemed to grin as a flap of his skin hung from its maw on one of its skeletal teeth.
He tried screaming but the moment his mouth opened the beast tore his wind pipe out of his throat, yet he continued to live.
And it continued taking chunks from him, fingers and toes, limbs and organs all were ripped from his body, it continued until the remains of his body were nothing but tattered scraps.
It was then that the true horror began as blood dripped from the dragon's maw; it let out a hollow, soulless laugh that chilled him to the core. For a moment he passed out from the pain, when he came to he was once again feeling nothing at all.
Looking down, seeing that his body was once again whole he breathed out a sight of relief, and then he heard it that laugh once again as the skeletal dragon materialized before him, yet this time it came with two skeletal heads.
It continued to laugh as it tore into him with the same fury as it had before, it was then he realized that it would not stop.
All he could do was screamed.
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The moment the name of his technique reached his ears he had already dropped the body. It would take a good few minutes before he would start screaming in reality so he had plenty of time to leave before he got a headache.
"And you say I'm sadistic, putting an already relatively insane mind into a gen-jutsu that will repeat till it's broken, getting progressively stronger the longer its rooted in the mind."
"He deserved no less, besides you would have just ripped him apart once, that's far to quick for the damage of god knows how many years as slaves."
"And what about the witness? I'd kill him as he's still a possible threat."
"Yes and that's your opinion for everything, you wonder why I ignored you for a good two years before this mess, its because that's all your suggestions were, all the time." Naruto responded sarcastically.
"Bah, and if you had done as I'd said we wouldn't be in this mess right now would we." The fox retorted with a growl.
"If I remember correctly that was you who managed to get us stuck in… whatever the hell realm that was, that Twisting Nether as he called it." He returned with an internal shudder.
"It was a place for demons brat, not humans, even one such as you. And I beg to differ on that part, I only brought us there in the first place because we got stabbed by someone I told you REPATEDLY to kill, but NO you had to go and be mister moral. Lookie brat if you had killed him any of the other times I told you to we could have gotten around this entire situation."
"We'd still have Madera to deal with, and you and me both know I would only have a chance of winning against him with your help which you couldn't give me without turning into a mindless little slave again now could it." He retorted in a mocking voice like he was chastising a four year old.
"Bah, see what I care, ignore my help if you will but just remember brat." He could feel the damn thing grinning behind its bars right now. "You should probably put some pants on, you may have been without them for a few years but that's still no excuse."
The fox knew he had hit home the moment the blush of embarrassment came over his hosts face. "Damn fox, go back to growing your opposable thumbs and leave me the hell alone." Even he was ashamed at that comeback; honestly he had been without company for too long. Scrapping together what was left of his dignity after that conversation he cut off the link and turned to face Gelbin.
"I would advise staying in this room for the remainders of your stay true king it would be most beneficial for your health. Tell your men that are in the halls to stay the hell out of my way and we'll not have any problems. If they cross me though I'll simply assume you're an enemy and come back to finish you." He said in a serious tone before becoming all irritated. "NOW, I need to find that necklace and a pair of damn pants." Were the last words he said before turning and calmly walking away.
Junk swinging all the way.
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And here it is, the first chapter of my third story, Will of the King. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did at bits. As I'm guessing several questions need to be answered before I get any rest later I figured ill try now.
First of all, time wise, Naruto coming out of Gnomeregan now is roughly twenty two to twenty three, basically he was eighteen when he was caught and had been held in their under a collar for a good four years. Now for the time frame in the Warcraft world, basically I'm looking at essentially two years after the start of World of Warcraft, basically Outland is open as is Northrend. Maybe ill send him to one of those two when I get the chance but at the moment I'm currently undecided.
Now power level, ok with all the advantages Naruto has for serious training it isn't even really fair to try and calculate this. First of all he has Kage Bunshin, a technique that has the user learn everything the clone learned in its life time. Second of all you have sage chakra now which can result in a massive physical boost as well as a boost in all nin-jutsu AND Gen-jutsu. Thirdly you have the Kyuubi no Yoko, a demon FOX, if you go by legends then you know that fox's are natural illusionists. Combine all this together you have a super physically and mentally strong Naruto, add in kage Bunshin's learning effect and think over a time of two years serious training using them and for just wind training he had like what only one hundred, I'm talking in the thousands of clones daily though, he may not be at Madera's level of pure ownage but he was close with the fox.
Any other questions you have simply toss em in a review and ill get back to you about it when I can.
Until next time.
Stephen Wolfgang.
