Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Madan no Ou to Vanadis.
The silence between them was starting to become deafening. Naruto was at a loss for words from the declaration that the girl had made. Truthfully he had no idea what she was talking about but he had a vague idea on what a 'Prisoner of war' meant. There were only so many definitions you could come up with when you put those two words together. Clearing his throat Naruto spoke in a strong, yet regal, tone.
"What the hell are you talking about you crazy lady!" Like he said regal, yet smooth. "I may not know any of your fancy terms but I'm pretty sure when you put the words 'prisoner' and 'war' together then it just becomes a phrase that makes me want to be the exact opposite!"
Not that the two words themselves were any good by themselves but that was beside the point. He glared at the girl trying to understand what her end game was but he had to be honest with himself, he was at a big disadvantage.
Almost as if fate was mocking him Ellen's men returned with Bertrand in hand. The fact that he had Titta behind him made it tough, but doable in an escape scenario, now with Bertrand in their possession then that idea just went out the door.
"Bertrand!" Titta cried out.
"Old man, couldn't you have let the other guys capture you instead?"
Bertrand glared at him with while Naruto just held the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"You goddamn brat, that's not the reaction you should have in this scenario!"
Naruto just waved him off causing the man to thrash wildly. The soldiers holding him held on tightly but a look of unease formed on their face as they watched the interaction between the two.
"Still you make my job a lot tougher now." Naruto gripped the knife in his hand tightly and masked his face.
Bertrand nodded solemnly as his eyes landed on the Zhcted commander.
Ellen just grinned at the rapport the two had. She found it amusing to see the young man act so casually even at the face of such odds. A surge of emotions panged inside her chest once again as a gale of wind blew around them almost as if a manifestation of the swirling feelings she was experiencing.
"Oh did you think that you could have escaped if it was just you and the maid?"
"Of course I did." Naruto grinned back with confidence, to match her own.
"And how would you have done that?"
Naruto just smiled cockily and held his hands in a familiar hand seal. A soft pop emitted from his sides as a couple of clones formed wearing the same shit eating grin.
"Like this."
Ellen gave the copies a curious look. She wasn't familiar with a technique that allowed someone to make copies of them. It certainly would have provided enough of a distraction to allow him and the girl to escape but having the old man in their possession probably changed his mindset from escape to rescue.
"This is definitely love." Even though she muttered it under her breath Naruto was able to pick up on it causing him to turn red to the ears.
"W-what the hell are you saying in the middle of a fight!?"
"So what are you going to do now?" She completely ignored his question. "Even with your cloning technique I doubt that you could rescue this man and escape. That's not even counting the Brune army waiting outside of this town."
Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself. As flustered as he was he understood his position, even if he could save both Titta and Bertrand that doesn't help with defending the town itself. The two have showed that they were willing to put their life on the line to protect the place and he didn't think that their feelings were going to change anytime soon.
"I'll comply with your demands but I have a condition."
Ellen raised an eyebrow at his words and beckoned him to continue.
"I'll only agree if you protect Alsace—"
"I was going to do that anyways."
"And you leave once we're done with Thenardier."
A frown marred Ellen's pretty face. She had no problem defending Alsace since it was her mission to acquire the land intact but leaving would go against her orders. Had it been anyone else she probably wouldn't even be thinking about this.
"You have you first term but you're in no position to ask for the second."
Naruto just looked her in the eye and answered.
"I'm valuable enough to warrant a second condition."
There was a challenging look in his eye that made Ellen want to poke the bear. It was defiant and confident and it only made her want to see what else he had in store for them.
"Oh yeah? Then prove it!"
She only managed to catch the smirk on his face before a breeze blew by her. Standing behind her was Naruto with a knife pointed at her neck. It was pressed against her and she could feel the sharpness of the blade. Just one twitch of his hand and it would slice open her jugular.
"Is this enough proof for you?"
His breath caught her ear showing just how close he was to her. She grinned at the performance but didn't let the threat scare her.
"It was pretty good but I think this only proves that anything you can do I can do as well."
Naruto glanced down and found that Ellen was hold her sword and it was placed right at his side. He had to admit he never even saw her move.
"Which proves that you get someone of your standing in return."
Ellen couldn't help herself and started to giggle. Even with the knife so close to her she couldn't help but feel anything but fear.
"You're right so I'll humor you and abide by your terms."
Naruto blinked at her words not completely understanding what she just said."
"So just like that?"
Ellen just giggled once again at his stupefied reaction. It gave her just enough time to turn away from the knife aimed at her and get into his personal space. She had Arifar aimed at his neck before he could even gain his bearings.
"Yes, just like that."
Naruto audibly gulped as she pulled the sword away from him with a wide grin. He didn't know if the sudden feeling of dread came from the fact that he was inches away from death or the fact that he had pretty much just signed away his freedom to the most confusing girl he had ever met. Either ways he just knew granny Tsunade was not going to be happy with him.
Zion stumbled into base camp tripping over himself in his own haste. He clutched his hand in a mixture of anger and pain. It was still freely bleeding but the humiliation he suffered from that blond haired nobody was worst. Pain and humiliation were the only things in his mind. He would burn the whole place to the ground if that's what it took to crush that man.
He took the cup that was offered to him and downed its contents. The taste of bitter alcohol was wonderful in helping to numb the pain throbbing in his hand but that wasn't his concern at the moment. His crazed eyes overlooked the room filled with military leaders under his command.
"We destroy this backwater town. We do it fast and we do it now."
There was a mixture of apprehension by the war council as they stared at each other trying to see who would speak up. The whole objective of their march to Alsace wasn't to lay it to waste but to gain a foothold in the northern region of Brune. While the people themselves didn't help with man power the strategic geography around the prosperous town would go a long way in their lord's long term goal.
"Lord Zion, please reconsider. Alsace is much better intact than in ruins. Your father—"
"My father has given me full control of this army. My word is his word." Zion dared anyone else to speak out. He was the General of this army and his word is law. "Now we have an unknown force within the town walls. While they are a smaller contingency there is a man amongst them capable of fighting off the men I brought in with me."
The military leaders muttered amongst themselves. Zion had brought in about 200 men with him, leaving their army at a standing force of 1800. For a man capable of defeating almost 200 trained soldiers spoke strength akin to some of the most prominent powers in the continent.
"This could pose as a problem but not necessarily all that important in the grand scheme of the battle." One of the leaders said which was met with agreements from the others. They held the man power advantage and in open warfare one man wasn't going to pose as much of a challenge compared to fighting in an enclosed space. "Scouts have found troops circling around us and will be at our backs soon enough. We must focus on them before we deal with the smaller company. Their numbers are close to a thousand men but even then we have close to a 2 to 1 advantage."
Zion nodded along as an attendant worked on cleaning his wound. He saw the merit in dealing with the bigger power before settling things with those inside Alsace's walls. He understood the plan but he wasn't one for patience.
"We attack both fronts at the same time."
This time the warriors clamored in protest. While they were willing to follow the boy in his decision to destroy the town, as opposed to conquering it, but to go with a strategy that would thin them out was out of the question.
"This is my decision and it is final. We will only need but a fraction of our force to defeat the ones in Alsace while the majority of our men will handle our backs."
"But Lord Zion you said that there is a man in their forces capable of fighting 200 of our men, and win!"
Zion held his hands up as the leaders still protested. A victorious smirk formed on his lips as he spoke his intentions.
"It is true that their camp holds a beast but our own army has a pair of beasts ourselves."
Looks of comprehension appeared on the faces of the military leaders. They could see the logic in fighting a monster with a monster and it wouldn't even cost them much of their men. With that they could finish this battle quickly and preserve strength. Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the room as the military leaders backed the plan.
A smirk formed on Zion's lips as his men unanimously agreed to his plan. He will destroy that man with his power and feed him to the dragons. It will be simple and he will be the one to lead the charge in bringing down the town.
He waved off the attendant wrapping his hand in bandages and stood up. "I want our men ready at a moment notice. I need this to be done as soon as possible. When the men are ready we make our move."
Naruto fidgeted in his seat feeling awkward as he listened in on the strategy meeting the others were having. Along with Ellen was, one of her top ranking officer, Rurick. He was apparently one of the best shot in her army and one of her most loyal men. He had long dark hair and pretty boy looks that made him look smart and imposing but the truth was that looks didn't always reflect a person's true character.
"Our men have already showed that we are superior to Brune forces time and again. Even with the advantage they have in man power they don't stand a chance. The battle of Dinant only proves that. We don't need to over think this. We should just attack them head on and finish them off."
In short, he was a complete idiot. Even worst is that he holds Zhcted in such high view that he regards any other nation to be inferior. Or maybe he just held a really low opinion of Brune and her citizens.
"Are you even listening to what you're saying? Attacking a force with greater man power head on will only lead to death!" Bertrand said with a glare. "We have the mountains on our side and the forest at our back. What we should do is…"
Naruto just stared out into space completely drowning their words out. He was never one to handle all these complicated planning. He was more of a hit them hard and hit them fast type of guy. Then get the hell out of the way when they start spewing burning balls of flame at you. It's pretty much been his main strategy since the start of his ninja career…
He listened in on the discussion but the arguing just went in one ear and out the other. His gaze fell on the silver haired girl that commanded the force set up in Alsace. Even as they discussed battle plans there was a grin plastered on her face that never seemed to leave. It actually unnerved him at how cheerful she looked at all times but that feeling was only second to the curiosity he felt towards her.
Her words had surprised him when they had first met. Then again being confessed to during such a situation would unbalance anyone but the cincher had been the fact that she wanted to 'own' him. On one hand he was actually flattered, not that he could blame her for wanting a piece of Uzumaki Naruto, but at the same time no one owns him. Just as his name implies he was an untamable maelstrom. No one could just keep him for themselves. He was to be shared for everyone to enjoy, at least that's how he saw it.
His thoughts must have shown through his face because Ellen was looking at him with her head tilted as if asking him what was going through his mind. With as much maturity as he could muster he returned the look by politely pulling down his eyelid and sticking his tongue out at her. He still hadn't completely forgiven her for that 'Prisoner of war' thing just yet.
Not one to be outdone Ellen returned the gesture, with equal maturity, causing him to snort in an attempt to stifle a laugh. The gesture caused the other two occupants on the table to look his way with clear annoyance. He just gave them an innocent look which, in his opinion, they would have bought, had it not been for Ellen's giggling.
"Can you at least take this seriously brat?"
"As expected of some shady looking character, why are you even here?"
Naruto just glared at Ellen and gave her a look that said that this is all entirely your fault. The girl just returned the same innocent look he had given the others but the slight twitch on the corner of her mouth did little to hide her true colors.
"Hold on, don't get mad at me just because you can't agree on a plan! Besides I'm not the thinking type. Just tell me what to smash and I'll bring you back what remains."
"So you're the brutish type, again I repeat why are you here?"
For some reason the pitying look Rurick was giving him pissed him off.
"I apologize for his lack of a brain."
"Hey don't go apologizing for me! I have a brain you know."
Bertrand just patted him on the shoulder with a sorrowful look.
"Don't give me that look of pity!"
Naruto's eyebrow started to twitch in annoyance as the two ganged up on him. His hand started to reach for his utility pouch for something to stab them with but the smell of fresh made soft rolls teased his senses as Titta entered with a plate of food.
His anger was doused at the sight, and smell, of the bread that Naruto was quickly associating as Titta's specialty. He quickly grabbed a couple, one for each hand, as soon as she put the plate on the table. She glowed with pride as he happily munched on the warm rolls.
"So food is a good way to distract him." Ellen mumbled under her breath, Titta who was near her heard and gave the girl a mistrusting look. Even though they agreed to work together doesn't mean that she trusted the silver haired girl just yet.
"Naruto, what's your favorite food?"
"What, oh um my favorite food's ramen."
Naruto answered absently while Ellen had a thoughtful look on her face and filed the piece of information into the back of her head.
"I personally prefer meat as opposed to noodles and broth."
Naruto paused mid-bite and gave the girl a wide eyed look. Did she really just say what he thinks she just said?
"Please tell me you're joking?"
The wild eyed look he was giving her unnerved Ellen a little bit but she nodded to confirm her words nonetheless. Naruto put down the rolls in his hands and lowered his head causing his hair to cover his eyes. He said nothing causing an awkwardness to hang in the air as the others looked at each other in an attempt to figure out what could have offended the blond.
"U-Um, Naruto-san are you oka—"
"HOW COULD YOU!?"
Titta physically jumped due to his voice while Ellen just tilted her head in a confused manner. It was actually pretty impressive that the girl didn't show any surprise, even with his loud shouting directed at her.
"How could you even compare ramen with any other type of food? Ramen is the food of the gods, how could you spout such nonsense!?"
"I like ramen but they don't fill me up like meat."
Naruto gaped at the response and actually had to restrain himself from going on a tangent.
"Plus they're not very healthy for you."
"You've done it now lady!" He couldn't restrain himself anymore. "When we are done here I'm going to show you the wonder that is ramen. There's definitely something wrong with your taste buds is you could say such blasphemy about ramen."
Ellen gave him an amused smile that did little to calm him down.
"You sure do get defensive when it comes to food."
"Of course I do! And it's not just any food, its ramen!"
"Yes, yes ramen. But you better hold your end of the bargain and show me just how good ramen is later!"
There was a mischievous look in her eye but Naruto was too heated to see it.
"I said I would, didn't I! Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his word dattebayo!"
Naruto quickly covered his mouth as an awkward silence filled the room. Ellen mouthed his verbal tick silently with an entertained look on her face causing his face to heat up. Damn he thought he had managed to cure himself of that.
"W-Whatever, weren't we talking about how we're going to deal with that bastard?"
It was a feeble attempt at changing the topic but the others played along, much to his relief. The others once again returned to their original discussion with Titta hanging around like she wanted to say something.
"Is there something wrong Titta?"
Titta drew back as if startled.
"Um what makes you say that?"
"I dunno," he said shrugging. "You just have a look on your face like you have something on your mind."
"D-Do I really? I'm sorry."
"Ah no it's okay you don't have anything to be sorry for. I was just making sure you were okay." He quickly corrected himself hoping he didn't say something insensitive. She didn't seem like the kind of girl that was quick to anger but he had built up a slight fear of the other gender when they had that look on their face.
"Can I ask you a question Naruto-san?"
"Y-Yeah, go ahead."
"Why did you give yourself up? From what Eleanora-san was saying you could have easily gotten away and saved yourself." The look on her face was scrunched up in conflicted manner like she couldn't wrap her head around the idea.
"Well I couldn't have left my friends behind." He paused and crossed his arms. "Actually a friend and Bertrand."
"You consider us friends?" She looked surprised almost as if she hadn't expected that answer.
"Yeah you patched me up when you didn't even know anything about me. Plus you fed me those awesome rolls of yours, which pretty much sealed the deal for you."
"…So we're friends because I can cook?"
"What, no that's not what I meant!" He frantically waved his arms to deny it. "It's that too, but mostly because you were kind enough to help me out when you didn't have to. If you were willing to do that for some random stranger then you're the kind of person I would want as a friend."
Titta smiled slightly allowing Naruto to breathe out in relief. He didn't want to test just how lenient Titta's patience was. He had enough women willing to clobber him for lesser comments than what he had just blurted out.
"That doesn't really answer the question for me though."
Naruto closed his eyes in concentration to try and find a way to convey his words in a manner the girl could understand.
"I don't think you really need to think too much on it. It's simple really, the reason I like you is similar to how I view my friends. If there's something I can do for them, then I would." Naruto just grinned with squinted eyes and placed the palm of his hand on top of her head as he drew his face closer to catch her eye. "That means staying behind even if I could have saved myself because I'd rather face impossible odds, together with my friends, than run knowing I could have done something."
"We'll when you put it like that." Titta felt her blood slowly rise up to her face as Naruto spoke. She looked down in a demure manner but the hint of a smile could be seen from the way the corner of her mouth curved. Naruto chuckled awkwardly and scratched his cheek feeling like he had just said something really embarrassing for some reason.
"You should go die."
"I really hate kids these days."
Rurick and Bertrand said in dull tones causing both Naruto and Titta to jump in surprise.
"We have important things to discuss brat. Can't your attention span last long enough to at least make it seem like you're paying attention."
"I hate you so much."
"Shut up old man! I told you I don't do things like these." He bit back completely ignoring Rurick's envious glare. "Do we really have to discuss this? From what I can see we have three options."
"Oh, and what are these three options?"
"Well I guess the first option we have would be to go straight at them, like this idiot said, and hope that we have the bigger stick." Rurick squawked in anger at the comment but was mostly ignored. "I like our odds with this one but only if Eleanora can keep up with me, but at the same time we could take heavy losses with this plan."
"Is that even a question? Of course Eleanora-sama can keep up with a brute like you! The real question is whether or not you can keep up. She holds more power than you could ever imagine."
Naruto just gave the man an annoyed look.
"That's not what I meant. I'm not questioning how powerful she is, and I doubt that. I have a pretty good imagination."
"Then what did you mean Naruto?"
Naruto hesitated for a moment thinking she might take it the wrong way but the smile on her face assured him that she didn't think that he meant anything by it.
"What I mean is that as powerful as you are, I don't think you could keep fighting for more than a few hours, nonstop, in the front lines. I know for a fact that I can do that and still have enough energy to run laps around this town. Can you say the same?"
Ellen thought it over before shaking her head in denial.
"Exactly, we're out numbered enough as it is so you'd have to expect a drawn out fight if we were to attack head on. This puts us at an even more disadvantage because you need manpower to keep a long campaign going."
"Those are fair points but you said three options. What are the other two?"
"The second option would be to hole ourselves up in here and wait for them to make the first move."
"That's not a good option. This town isn't made to fight off a siege and that would leave the rest of my troops outside of Alsace to be slaughtered."
Naruto nodded with a contemplating expression.
"Well then we go with the third option and give them what they want. They want Alsace, so we give them Alsace."
There was a stunned silence before both Alsace residents spoke up in outcry. Naruto held his hand up in peace to try and calm them down so he could explain himself.
"I guess it's my fault for not explaining properly. I don't mean just give them the town. What I mean is that we draw them within the town walls by letting them think we're retreating and then close the door on then. The only other way out is through the Eastern walls where you guys entered from. We can have our troops exit through there and then close the doors leaving the trailing army stuck inside."
"I see so you want to divide and conquer," Ellen said giving him a surprised look. "We can also rig the town with traps, which will make the job even easier."
"Exactly! It'll even things up for us outside even more and with limited casualties."
"This could work." Bertrand muttered stroking his burly beard. "If we do this then we would need to have any able hand to work on setting up traps."
Naruto just grinned and formed a familiar hand sign. A single clone appeared in a soft pop matching his grin.
"Don't worry about that we have it covered."
Ellen blinked before she started to giggle. "I thought you said you were the direct type?"
"I am," Naruto replied tilting his head. "It's just easier to hit them when they don't expect it."
"That's called planning you dolt!"
"Is it?" Naruto said with a shrug causing Rurick to growl. "I just thought it was common sense. If you want real planning then you should see the kind of stunts my friend Shikimaru pulls out of his ass. Now those are real strategies."
"I can't tell if you're just an idiot or a moron."
"Those mean the same thing!"
"Oh, do they?" Rurick asked with mock surprise. "Well then I guess we have our answer."
"It takes an idiot to call another person one."
Naruto drew his face closer shaking a fist at him as the Zhcted soldier did the same.
"Are you calling me an idiot!?"
"Of course I am! Or are you just too stupid to know when you're being insulted."
Things would have escalated if it wasn't for Bertrand hitting both of them over the top of their heads. He gave each of them a glare as Titta and Ellen giggled at the squabble.
"Enough, we have a lot of things to do. You two idiots can decide on who the bigger idiot is later, but right now we have work to do."
The two glared at each other one final time before relenting.
"Fine but I'm only doing this because it'd be a waste of time to try and convince an idiot that they're an idiot."
"What did you say you crazy blond!?"
Bertrand just sighed in despair. Why did he have to deal with this?
"Oh," Ellen exclaimed as if just remembering something. "We're going to have to send a messenger to Limlisha."
Naruto broke away from his argument with Rurick and tilted his head at the girl.
"Who's that?"
"She's my second in command and my closest friend," an impish smile formed on her lips. "She's also really fun to tease."
"Ehh, is that so?"
"Mhmm, with Thenardier's men so close by I don't think it'd be safe to send out a raven. The best solution would be to send one of our men to relay our plans to her."
"Eleanora-sama, please allow me to carry out this message!" Rurick said bowing his head.
"We need someone fast enough to get the message across but be able to slip by undetected."
The dark haired knight hung his head as his commander all but ignored his offer. She just eyed Naruto with a suggesting look that implicated that she obviously already had someone in mind.
"…Um, I guess I could do it."
"Great!" Ellen beamed causing a shiver to run down Naruto's back. Why did it feel like he was just being led around by this woman? "I'll write out a message for you to give to her so it'll just take a moment."
Ellen pulled out a piece of parchment along with a quill and ink. Where she had it hidden no one knew. The girl quickly jotted down the plans that they had discussed and signed the bottom. Placing the folded up note on his palms Naruto suddenly realized something.
"So how am I supposed to know what this Limlisha person looks like?"
"Oh you'll know it's her when you see her." The devilish look on the girls face didn't help with the sudden sense of trepidation he was feeling. It definitely didn't help when she held her hands away from her chest in a cupping motion. "She's hard to miss."
It was actually pretty simple getting around the force stationed outside of Alsace. While the men were camped out on the open plane, the area around it was mountainous and full of woodland. Even with scouts on the lookout around the area it wasn't at a level that he couldn't easily bypass. After all if he was able to sneak around in a ninja village then going around an army with the help of natural covering didn't make it much of a challenge.
He easily made it past Thenarier's men and made it across to where Eleanora's troops were stationed. They were maybe a couple of clicks away from where the Brune soldiers were located. There were no fires or anything that would give away their position but he had managed to track them down easily enough. After all even if they were hard to see due to the tree's hiding them it wasn't like it was that hard to find a group of almost a thousand men.
He was perched up on a tree branch that was high enough that normal eyesight wouldn't be able to tell that he was there. He surveyed the men and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were already armed and ready at a moment's notice. They weren't in any formal formation, just lounging around, but their equipment was always at an arm's length away and grouped in a way that suggested that they were within their cell.
Eleanora wasn't joking when she said that finding her second in command wouldn't be that hard. Out of the hundreds of men in the army there were only a few women. Most of them looked to be archers if the bows near them were any indication but there was a sole woman that was an exception.
She wore light blue armor that had a similar style to the one Rurick was wearing yet it had a sort of feminine style to it. Her long blonde hair was done in a side pony tail keeping it away from her eyes.
His eye started to twitch irritably as he finally got Eleanora's hidden innuendo. What was it about these women that he's met in his life having such big breasts? He really should have seen it coming. Having already gained the affection of the biggest bust in all of the Elemental Nation, and probably the world in his opinion, as a mother figure should have sent warning bells in his head about the type of women that he would come in contact with.
Sighing to himself, Naruto shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts in his mind and readied himself for his entrance. Bending his knees he launched himself from where he was stationed and propelled himself through the air courtesy of a chakra powered leap.
"YAHOOOO!"
In total hindsight surprising a bunch of men and women armed and ready for battle by dropping out of the sky probably wasn't one of the best ideas to pop into his head. Scratch that he didn't even really think about it, his body pretty much acted without his mind's permission. Crap, Ero-sennin might be right. He really should think things through before he moved.
As Naruto screamed out his arrival most of the men and women that had heard him were quick to ready their weapons. The archers were quick with their bow; they quickly notched up an arrow and shot at him without even thinking. Well at least he wasn't the only one.
"Ah don't shoot! Don't shoot me!" He had to twist and turn in midair to keep from becoming an arrow pincushion. A few had come pretty close to hitting him but he was nimble enough that the closest one to hitting him only managed to slice off a thin piece of hair. He silently prayed for the loss of hair and hoped it didn't mess up his fine mane of locks.
"Don't shoot I come in pea—" was about as far as he got before he was met with another flurry of arrows. "Let someone finish before you start shooting damn it!"
The blonde haired commander of the army narrowed her eyes into slits and raised her hand to keep the archers at bay. She unsheathed her sword and rushed him before he could even explain himself.
"How do I always get myself into these situations?"
He swayed back at an angle allowing the sword to swish right past him. The girl didn't let up though and followed up the strike with a kick. Unable to dodge the attack he braced himself with a guard. A loud crack was heard as the kick met his arms.
Limlisha's eye's widened as her kick was not only blocked by the mysterious assailant but he was also able to grab a hold of her.
"Okay, now that I have your attention will you at least listen to what I have to say before you try to chop my head off."
Limlisha swiped at him with her sword which made him drop her leg. She quickly made room between them and eyed her opponent warily.
"Stop doing that! I told you I come in peace."
Her eyes narrowed in distrust. "You never said that."
"That's because you didn't give me a chance!" Naruto dropped his arms in exasperation. "Look I'm going to reach into my pocket really slow and I'm going to take out a letter that will explain everything. Do you think you can let me do that before trying to kill me?"
Lim paused and considered her options before nodding her head in accordance. The young man slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of parchment.
"Set it on the ground and slowly walk away."
The man just sighed in exaggeration but did as she said. She slowly walked towards the note and picked it up. She sent him one last glare before reading the contents of the note.
Naruto folded him arms impatiently as he waited for the blonde haired commander to finish reading the note from Eleanora. He was a little annoyed with the way he was greeted but then again the blame was mostly his fault. He settled for a sixty forty split on the blame which, in his opinion, still allowed him the right to be a little bit peeved.
"So you're working with Eleanora-sama." The girl finally said. She folded up the note and stuffed it between her cleavage. Naruto's eyes widened at the casual act as his gazed lingered a second longer than necessary at where the note had disappeared to.
"…Huh, um yeah, more like forced to but that's a polite way of saying it I guess."
Limlisha nodded and turned towards her men.
"Stand down he is a messenger from Eleanora-sama." He couldn't help but sweat drop at the sight of almost a thousand men armed and ready for battle. Maybe it really wasn't the best idea to surprise an army about to enter combat...
"Anyways my name is Uzumaki Naruto."
The girl just walked away but a few steps in she turned and glanced at him almost like a motion to follow her. He quickly caught up and fell into step with her.
"I am Limlisha, Eleanora-sama's second in command."
"Right, she told me about you." Naruto scratched his head and hesitated. "…She told me to give you a message but I'm not sure if I should even repeat it."
"If it is more important than the plans of attack written in the note that Eleanora-sama wrote then you should tell me posthaste."
"Well I mean I don't think it's important or even really relevant but she was really insistent that I tell you in person."
She stopped walking and turned around sharply to face him. "Tell me her message."
Naruto sweated at the closeness of her face. The glare she was giving him didn't help and only made him curse the fact that every girl he's met was at least aggressive to some degree.
"F-Fine, she said that when I meet you that you'll most likely be stiff and stressed. So she told me to tell you to relax or else they will grow bigger than they already are."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief when the girl finally moved her face away from him. He only had a split second to feel the relief before a sword was placed right by his neck. Sweat formed on his face as he quickly raised his hands in surrender.
"I told you I didn't think it was important. It was all her words okay!"
While he wasn't completely sure what exactly Eleanora's words were referring to, the red that peppered Limlisha's face told him that it was probably something he shouldn't have spoken about. He quietly cursed the silver haired woman in his mind for her subtle tricky nature.
It took a few seconds but Limlisha slowly lowered her sword. The glare, and the blush, remained but instead of making her look intimidating it only made her look more adorable.
Almost as if reading his mind the girl's hand twitched as if to raise her sword once again.
"Sorry, sorry!" He quickly apologized. "I'm just here to give out the messages. I'll be out of your way as soon as possible."
"We are to begin the operation as soon as the Brune's attack. From the way their men are moving I'm assuming we have an hour at most until the battle begins. You won't make it back in time to be of any help on that side." While she didn't particularly like this Naruto person she would have to relent that if he had caught her Lord's attention then he should be of some use. "It will be better for you to assist on this side."
"Oh don't worry about me making it back in time. I can be there in a few minutes if I wanted to."
The cocky smirk on his face didn't really make her believe his words. "And how are you going to do that?"
"Well you know I have my ways."
Lim propped an eyebrow and gestured to him to prove her wrong.
The smirk never left his face as he took a couple of steps back. "You know I think Eleanora was right. You really are cute when you're flustered, Lim."
In a swirl of leaves the young man disappeared from view as her face once again lit up in red. It took her a few moments to register that he had just completely disappeared leaving her angry and embarrassed. It didn't help that she couldn't vent on the source of her emotions. She didn't know what she was going to do but that Naruto was going to get it.
Zion divided his forces into three forces. Even with the man advantage fighting a two prong battle would thin out their ranks and weaken their position. In order to successfully fight off both sides he had elected to keep a central force between two sides of the fronts.
This middle force consisted of mostly bowmen and spear wielders. Consisting of 500 of what was left of his men. They would be the support for both fronts capable of switching between either side. Typically being sandwiched between two forces in an open plane would make the task of winning impossible but having enough men to equal, or exceed, both fronts and still have a support until made the battle much more winnable.
A mixed force of 1000 cavalry and infantry would front the greater force from their rear while another mixture of soldier will be tasked with defeating the much smaller squad stationed in Alsace.
Zion himself would lead the small force fighting in the Alsace front, despite protest from the council. He was riding on the winged dragon while his small force of 300 men was lined up front. While he rode the winged dragon the bronze colored Earth dragon was in the center of his force as his men gave it a wide berth in fear of being its next victim.
It wasn't like he was blind to the mistrust and doubt that many of the military leaders in the campaign had for him. He would be a fool to believe for a second that they held any loyalty for him. They were only following orders because of the loyalty that had for his father.
He could see it in their faces; they all believed him to be in over his head. This would be his first military campaign leading his own troops and the first step in showing his father that he is fit to be his heir. Alsace is but a small stepping stone to what his future will be.
He had every reason to believe that anything that those people could throw at his army they could repel. With the power of dragons with him, how could they lose?
Once Naruto made it back to Alsace he was quickly put to work on setting up traps within the town. With the help of some Kage Bushin (Shadow Clones) they were able to make some decent traps that would no doubt make it easier for them to weed out the bigger force. They received help from some of the villagers that had returned but it was mostly just material help as the abled warriors of Alsace were very few. With the time provided they were able to come up with a decent strategy and have it all be set up. Now all that was left to do was the battle itself.
"Do I really have to ride this thing?"
There were a lot of amused looks from everyone while Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. The horse he was sitting on neighed in anger causing the ninja to quickly try and calm it down in fear of being bucked off.
"Woah, calm down horsey. There's no need to get temperamental now. I don't like this as much as you do." Naruto stroked the horse's neck with a nervous look on his face but horse continued to whine in anger. "Ehehe right, right. Sorry for calling you an it, so will you please calm down now? Please?"
While Naruto continued to try and appease the horse Ellen looked on in amusement. There has yet to be a dull moment since she had met Naruto. Even the simplest things, like riding a horse, turned interesting with him around. It was like he was a magnet for surprises and trouble.
"You're making the horse nervous because you're nervous Naruto."
Naruto's eyes shifted to her and gave her a pleading look.
"B-But Eleanora this thing is more likely to kick me off and trample me." The horse whined again and seemed to glare at him. "Right, right sorry I mean he's likely to kick me off a—"
This time the horse really did try to buck him and would have succeeded if he wasn't holding on for dear life. Naruto gave her a knowing look that said see I told you it was going to do that.
"Naruto I think you're the one at fault here. Horses are very prideful creatures and I think she took offence to being called a male."
Naruto blinked at her response and twisted his body from atop the horse to confirm its gender. He gave a humming noise and nodded his head.
"I see, I see. I guess it is my fault— gah! Wait, why did you give me a female horse! Why can't I get a stallion like yours?" This time the horse nearly succeeded in kicking him off and whined in approval when his head knocked against her broad neck.
"Ah! Did you see that? It actually tried to kill me! This horse is trying to kill me!"
"Naruto you were the one that said not to get you a big horse." She said trying to hide her giggling, which she did a very poor job of. "And besides this girl right here is more than capable of riding just as well as any horse in our rank."
The horse seemed to swell in pride but Naruto just gave her a dry look trying to ignore the creature's boasting. Can horses even boast?
"I'm pretty sure I told you not to get me a horse at all. Do you hear the emphasis I put in the word 'not' when I say that?"
"Oh? Did you? I don't seem to recall this ever happening."
"Yes I did! It happened just ten minutes ago! You even nodded and said 'I see well if that is your preference' confirming that you heard what I said." He did a poor job imitating her voice but the girl just seemed to find the whole rant funny. "I can't go around doing awesome ninja things if I'm stuck on this thing. Come on Eleanora I'm more valuable on foot, I don't need a horse."
"I can see your point." She said holding her chin in a thinking pose. He actually thought she looked kind of cute that way when she was thinking hard on something. "I'll let you off the hook if you do something for me."
For some reason he didn't find that wicked smile on her lips as cute though. He suppressed the urge to shudder like he had just uncovered a different side to this mysterious girl.
"Ah well I mean if it's something I can do then I guess, okay?"
"Don't worry it's nothing big I just want you to stop calling me Eleanora."
"…That's it?"
"That's it." She said with a bright smile on her face. He was actually thinking that she was going to make him do something more. What exactly more entails was pretty much in the air.
"Huh, well I mean I guess I can do that but then what should I call you?"
"Ellen, my friends call me Ellen."
"Ellen," Naruto chuckled actually liking the sound of her name coming out of his mouth. "I like it, it's a lot easier to say than Eleanora and it sounds less girly. It suits you."
"…Do you think I'm feminine enough?"
The sad expression on her face caught him off guard. He had a tendency to speak before he thinks and the look on her face was so uncharacteristic of her that it actually made him feel pretty bad.
"No I think you're the right amount. I just think that Ellen suits you more because when I think of the name Eleanora I think of some fancy-shmancy aristocrat or someone like that. It suits you more because I think there's more to you than just a pretty face." He turned his head away after saying the last part so she wouldn't see the faint blush forming on his cheeks. He felt bad for making her look that way but he had said some pretty embarrassing stuff to make up for it.
"Good I like the name Ellen too, and I agree I think it suits me much more than Eleanora."
The sudden change in mood caused him to falter once again. Did she just?
"Did you just...?"
"Now come on! We have a battle to attend to!" She kicked her steed into gear leading the charge. "Let's go men! For Zhcted!"
Cries of 'For Zhcted' echoed as the thunderous sounds of horses galloping filled his senses. He blinked unable to comprehend what just happened. The horse he was riding on whined as soldiers passed him by with wide smirks on their faces having caught glimpses of their conversation.
"I think she was just messing with me…" He mumbled to himself. He would have pondered it more but a slap to his back caused the thought to leave him.
"Let's go brat, we don't have time to daydream. We have ourselves a battle to win."
Naruto nodded at Bertrand's words and hopped off the horse. He handed the reigns over to the old man, who accepted it not quite understanding the actions behind it.
"Here you go. I know they say that two heads are better than one, I'm not sure it applies to horses though, but I don't need her. Oh look at that now you have two. Well she's all your!"
Naruto ran off on foot chasing after the cavalry with cries of 'wait for me' while Bertrand looked at the extra horse with a pissed off look.
"It definitely doesn't apply in this scenario Naruto!"
Naruto just cackled madly as he dashed away from the old man. He quickly caught up with Ellen at the front lines and soon encountered the opposing group.
"Ha, take this!"
He made quick work of the first group of soldiers that he encountered and vaulted over them with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. He continued his path, carving out a trail of incapacitated bodies that were quickly taken care of by the Zhcted soldiers.
There were fear in the eyes of Thenardier's men but they didn't hesitate when confronting him. They feared his strength but they weren't afraid to fight him because even though he had defeated everyone that came his way he had yet to kill a single person. It actually baffled many of the men on the field. They didn't know what to think of the mercy he was showing.
Ellen fought just as fiercely beside him, though she didn't show the same compassion for those she fought. She cut through their ranks like a knife through butter. She was as fierce and as graceful as the wind. She weaved through the soldiers with quick steps and weaved in to finish off the men Naruto downed without missing a single beat.
Even without knowing each other's full strength the two worked well enough that they were able to hold the opposing army to a stalemate. But even with their combined contribution they were still outnumbered by a pretty good amount. The two sides fought without giving an inch but eventually the advantage in man power for Thenardier's army started to come into effect and their force started to get pushed back.
"Hey Ellen," Naruto called out as he slipped around to his right to avoid a sword that would have likely eviscerated him. "When do you think we should start to fall back?"
Naruto felt the cracking of bone against his fist as his knuckles connected with the face of one of Thenardier's men. The battle had been a whole blur of blood and steel. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. The only battle he could think of on the same scale as this had been when the combined forces of Oto and Suna had invaded Konoha during the Chunin Exam. Even then he hadn't really been a big part of the main battle. He was too busy kicking Shukaku's crazy ass to really get a sense of what a large scale battle was like.
A bloodied man thrusted his spear at the girl in an attempt to put her down but Ellen managed to contort her body and return with a strike of her own, quickly killing the soldier. She gave him a glace before returning her attention back to the battle.
"It shouldn't be long now." While they had taken on some casualties she was proud of the way her men had fought. They had managed to fight the bigger force to a standstill for quite some time allowing the opposing army to fatigue. Eventually she gave the signal for the men to start falling back.
The plan was to have parts of her troops retreat to make it look like they were fleeing the battle. While the left and right side would retreat the main spear head of the group would continue to press. As most of the opposing army's men gives chase to the retreating forces, Ellen and Naruto's group would continue to push on until the retreating army made its way back. The chaser's would be left boxed within the walls of Alsace to contending with the traps they laid out. It should keep the force occupied long enough for them to make work of the army before them.
As her men started to fall back she was glad to see that a majority of the Brune soldiers followed suit with mocking looks on their faces.
"Ha, all you Zhcted men flee when things get rough!"
"Cowards all of them!"
Insults were thrown as Thenardier's men rushed to catch up with her men. Her troops were disciplined and didn't give rise to the insults. They did their jobs drawing away the force knowing they would get the last laugh.
"What I tell you. Am I a genius or am I a genius."
With the majority of both forces trickling into Alsace, Ellen and Naruto were given a little bit of time behind the front lines to catch their breath. Even though she was breathing hard from the few hours of fighting the self-proclaimed genius didn't even look the least bit winded.
"Yes of course you're very special." She replied back with a giggle, "maybe not in a genius sort of way but special none the less."
Naruto pouted at her words and would have continued the banter with her but a loud roar quickly put a stop to his words. His eyes shifted to the source causing them to go wide once he got a look at the creature.
"What the hell is that thing?"
A pair of massive beasts entered the field as the bronze colored one was up front attack their troops while the other one stayed back. There was someone riding the beast with wings laughing loudly as the monstrosity took down the soldiers brave enough to battle it.
"To think that they even believed they stood a chance. How laughable." Zion sneered from up top his dragon. The Earth dragon was easily decimating the remaining men on the Zhcted side and he didn't even have to intervene. "This was easier than I though."
Zion surveyed the field and felt that his victory was all but certain. Most of the opposing troops had fled like the cowards they were while the stragglers were being taken care of by his dragon. It would only be a matter of time until they won this farce of a war.
His eyes quickly caught sight of blond hair the same shade as the one that had injured his hand. He was easy to spot with his bright hair. A satisfied smirk formed on his lips. Looks like the fool managed to survive the conflict but his dragon will be his end.
Naruto stood wide eyed as he stared at the giant beast in front of him. While it wasn't as big as a summon boss it was easily the size of some of the larger summon animals. It stood on all fours and had a body of a reptile. Its massive legs were strong enough to crush humans in armor reducing those close enough to splatter in gore.
"Oh so they managed to tame a dragon."
Naruto blinked perplexed at the amused tone that Ellen was speaking in. It was almost like she found the whole idea of the beast as nothing more than a minor hindrance.
"That's a dragon?"
"Yes," she said with a nod of her head. "You've never seen one before?"
He shook his head no. "I've ridden a fifty five foot tall toad before, if that helps."
Ellen shook her head in amusement. "And you're surprised at something like a dragon. You're a very interesting person Naruto."
"Hey, toads I've seen before but dragons. Aren't they supposed to be in like…fairy tales?"
"They're very much real," she replied finding the conversation entertaining. "So I'll show you something special."
Naruto was quickly on guard. For some reason whenever Ellen surprised him with something it usually ended in a way that left him as a bundle of emotions.
"Fine but it better be something good."
"Oh it'll be something good."
She walked towards the bronze plated dragon in a calm manner. With the way the dragon had killed those that came near it the soldiers gave it a wide berth in fear of ending in splatters. Ellen ignored the danger and walked closer to it until it was only a few yards away.
The dragon roared in anger as she got closer. It stamped its feet on the ground causing minor tremors to rock the field. Ellen just smiled and raised her sword up in the air. A gust of wind started to blow as a stream of energy started to swirl around her sword. The dragon roared once again as the armor on his head closed up as if sensing the buildup of energy the tiny girl was generating.
Naruto could sense the power that Ellen was cultivating but he couldn't tell just what exactly the energy was. It didn't feel like chakra but it was just as powerful.
The wind was chaotic but it was being sucked into the sword causing it to swirl on its tip creating a spiraling ball of wind to form. It was beautiful, and it was breath taking. He had to agree with the girl and admit that what she was showing him truly was special.
"Mow down, air and all. Ley Adimos! (Cleave the Wind)"
The swirling wind on the tip of the sword rushed forward and engulfed the plate covered dragon. The wind thrashed it and easily picked the heavy beast into the air. The armor covering it did little to stop the torrent of gale from slicing the dragon up. Sharp and powerful, the attack sliced the beast in half leaving those that had never witnessed the move in awe.
Ellen lowered her sword and turned. She flashed him a bright smile as he looked on in amazement at the destruction she left behind. A large trench was created from where the wind blew through as the two halves of the dragon coated the ground with blood.
"I might have over done it a little."
Naruto blinked at her words before a grin formed on his lips. "Maybe a little but what was that?"
"That was my Veda (Dragonic arts) I don't usually use it but with a beast like that dragon it's the perfect technique."
"Well you definitely showed me something good," he walked past her with his eyes staring straight into the rider on top of the other dragon. "Now it's my turn to show you something just as good."
Zion trembled as he watched the Earth dragon was split in half by some woman. He could still feel the torrent of wind that came from that sword. Once again fear shot up within him as the blond talked amicably with that monster.
"W-We're retreating!"
The squad leaders around him gave him a look of surprise as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"But Zion-sama we're so close. Just a little bit more and this battle is ours."
"Are you all blind? That monster just split a dragon in half!" Zion was practically livid as he grabbed the reigns of the winged dragon he was riding on. "It doesn't matter. Do what you want. I can't let another dragon die here."
He pulled on the leash causing the massive beast to roar. It spread its wings and flew in the air leaving the rest of his troops stunned.
Naruto watched with a frown on his face as his target flew to the sky. Even with a chakra powered leap he wouldn't be able to catch up. A gust of wind started to swirl around him enveloping his form. There was a whisper in his mind that urged him to just leap. He frowned at the mysterious voice but shrugging his shoulders and gathered chakra to his legs. It wasn't exactly the first time that he listened to a voice in his head.
Ellen's gaze was drawn towards Arifar, her sword, as it began to pulse with energy. "Are you giving him your strength?" She asked in a low whisper.
He held out his hand and started to gather chakra into his palm. It was as if the air itself condensed into a tight little sphere and formed the orb. It looked beautiful like the chaotic wind itself tamed without losing it's ferocity.
Naruto uncoiled and propelled himself in the air. He could feel the wind rushing past him, hindering his velocity. He could feel the air dragging him down but all of a sudden the wind started to change course. It started to swirl around him as if it had a mind of its own. He could no longer feel the drag of the air current as he inched closer and closer to his target. It was like the wind itself was alive and was propelling him forward.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
He made contact with the dragon engulfing it in a torrent of wind. Little cuts started appearing on the beast and its rider as it shredded both with ease. He didn't even hear the scream from his enemy as they were torn apart by the wild wind-blades. He was free falling in the air but for some reason he just knew that he would be alright. The voice in his head said so.
