Disclaimer: What is reality, but a distortion of our own consciousness? If this is so, then in my reality I do own Naruto and World of Warcraft…yet my mind has created the personages of Masashi Kishimoto and Blizzard Software to hold up the appearance of reality…my brain hurts…
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
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"Very good, lad. Yeh're getting better. Yeh must be a natural at fallin' on yer arse all the time."
"Shut up."
Naruto was standing in front of a rather brutish looking dwarf, a little taller than himself, with a deep grey beard, one eye, and a large scar crossing the entire length of his gnarled, aged face. The dwarf was dressed in leather armor with an Ironforge tabard over it, and held a sword much like the one King Magni had given Naruto in his left hand, and an axe in his right. This dwarf's name was Berlyiro.
Naruto himself, decked in a new pair of black pants, and an orange wool short sleeve shirt, was clutching a rather shoddy looking short blade, gasping for breath. The boy had numerous cuts and bruises on his body, both from repeated failed assaults on the elder fighter.
Berlyiro grinned at Naruto's disrespect, obviously enjoying riling the blonde up. He had been training the boy for nearly three days, and though he had shown remarkable talent in picking up the basics, he was a bit too headstrong, making it difficult for Naruto to master the blade. He had said at the beginning of their second session:
"This is only goin' to get harder, lad. A Dwarven short blade is somethin' that nobody, not even a dwarf, can master in a coupla' days. It takes years of practice and trainin'. Yeh're a smart lad, and skilled to boot. But yeh need to realize that normally, a short blade is just a complement ta' another, usually heavier weapon, like an axe or hammer. It focuses on defense, not offence, and while yeh block with that blade, yeh attack with yer other weapon. For yeh, its different. Yeh're a human, and maybe one day yeh're gonna have human proportions," he had grinned at Naruto's peeved look, " so yeh're goin' to be usin' it to complement yeh're hand-to-hand abilities. That's the reason that some short blade users call the Dwarven short blade a 'shield sword.'"
After that the dwarf had proceeded to beat Naruto into the ground, watching in interest as the boy got up every time, and shrugged off the damage. It was impressive to say the least. He had been through numerous battles in his day, and they had toughened his body to what it was today. The boy was incredibly resilient, and could take enormous amounts of damage without passing out. It was one of the reasons Berlyiro enjoyed teaching him so much.
Shaking away his thoughts, he drew his axe up, charging at Naruto as he swung it downwards in a powerful slash. Naruto flung his own blade up at once, the axe striking it hard. Naruto immediately dodge to the side, flinging a kick at the elder dwarf. It hit home on the dwarf's chin, but the hardy creature barely flinched at the attack, and struck back with his own sword, followed by another axe chop. Both Naruto avoided, but a second, backhanded strike to the face sent the blonde flying backwards.
"Oof!" He landed a few feet away, before getting up, rubbing his cheek and wiping blood off his lip. Berlyiro grinned, and readied himself as the blonde got back into his stance, his face etched in determination.
For Naruto, training with Berlyiro was somewhat like training with Jiraiya. The dwarf taunted him every chance he got, knowing that it would make him fight harder. One part of his was grateful, knowing that if he wasn't motivated that he'd just goof off and back talk, but the larger part, which contained his pride and ego, cursed the retired weapons' master with every blow.
But he'd never give up.
That just wasn't his style.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto lunged forward, slashing at the dwarf's head. The dwarf blocked, and countered with his axe. Naruto didn't bother to retract his own blade to block, and instead grabbed the axe-blade just before it struck his side. With a cry, Naruto's foot snapped out, striking the dwarf in the chest. Knowing that it wouldn't have much of an effect, he brought his head back, and with all his might, rammed it into the dwarf's face.
Startled by both the unconventional attack, as well as the power behind it, Berlyiro stumbled back, allowing Naruto to gain the upper hand. The boy slashed the dwarf's chest, most of the damage being absorbed into the leather armor, but it broke through and struck the dwarf's thick skin. It didn't break through the skin however, because most of the power hand been lost, and because of the dwarf's unnaturally strong skin. Naruto, however, didn't stop there, and assailed the dwarf with a dozen punches to his chest and face with his left hand.
Berlyiro finally toppled, his apparent invulnerability defeated by Naruto's powerful attack.
Grinning, Naruto lowered his weapon, and fell onto the ground, breathing heavily. As he lay on his back, he could hear Berlyiro's laughter fill the room.
"Good lad! Good! What yeh lack in ability wit' the sword yeh make up with yer hand-to-hand attacks and strength! If we can get yeh usin' that blade to not only just defend, but to attack and defend at the same time, yeh can leave here ready to face what'ere horrors yeh'll meet out in the world." The dwarf hauled himself to his feet, grinning, before wiping the sweat off his face. Naruto wasn't surprised that Berlyiro had no apparent damage on his face or the small part of his torso that could be seen through the gash in his armor. In his opinion, the dwarf could have survived being buried under thousands of pounds of rock and would likely only get a couple of bruises.
Kira-chan wasn't kidding when she said these guys were "hardy."
OH? KIRA-CHAN NOW? WHAT HAPPENED TO GIRL WITH THE GARGANTUAN FOREHEAD?
Nothing! What's wrong with calling her that? I should be able to, doing all this for her! And Sakura-chan's forehead isn't gargantuan! It's…a nice size.
SHE IS TOO SKINNY, AND FAR TOO UNDERDEVELOPED FOR BEARING CHILDREN; THE KIRA GIRL IS BETTER, MORE DEVELOPED, AS YOU SAW.
Naruto flushed a bright red at the memory, but pushed it away from his thoughts. He couldn't afford to be distracted.
Berlyiro wondered what had caused the boy to blush so profusely, but didn't inquire, instead saying,
"Well, lad, that's all fer today. I'm famished, so I'm headin' home to the wife. Be back here tomorrow, same time, and we'll work on some new tactics." The dwarf turned and left the room, leaving Naruto alone.
As Naruto placed the borrowed sword back in its place in a cabinet in the corner of the room, he thought about the three days he had been in the amazing mountain city of Ironforge.
After their meeting, King Magni had let Naruto sleep for a few hours, before rousing him and introducing him to the ancient ex-soldier Berlyiro. In his youth, the dwarf had faithfully served the previous king, Magni's father, and had fought in many battles against both the Scourge and the Burning Legion. Now, at the rather astonishing age of 94, the old dwarf lived with his wife in a small house nearest Tinker Town in the Military Quarter, and trained younger soldiers in his spare time. He was, according to Magni, the finest weapons master that the kingdom had ever seen.
Naruto of course, found the old dwarf grumpy, and slightly sadistic in his training exercises.
At least he wasn't a pervert.
Or at least he hoped so.
After the first days training had completed, Naruto had spent some time looking around Ironforge, looking at various shops and familiarizing himself with the whole town. It was much different than Konoha, both in layout and atmosphere, but Naruto found it to his liking. The people were friendly, and treated Naruto with respect. Naruto loved it.
He had met Undrig on his way back to the inn, the dwarf having just gotten off duty. They had talked for a while, and then the soldier had taken Naruto on an official tour of the massive city.
They looked at all of the sections of the city, which took quite awhile, but in Naruto's opinion, was well worth it.
They visited the Mystic Quarter, where Naruto saw thousands of dwarves performing and learning remarkably strange jutsu, all of which made Naruto want to learn. Undrig had said that he could purchase a scroll or two of the most common techniques, but getting an apprenticeship to one of the stronger dwarves was the only way to learn the more powerful stuff
They then entered a smaller section known as the Forlorn Cavern, which Undrig explained where the slums of Ironforge, where the poor, unemployed and lazy lived, some drowning themselves in liquor at one of the many bars that littered the area, while others tried to bum change off wealthier dwarves who passed through on occasion. Naruto was briefly reminded of the wave country under the rule of Gatou, whose extortion had driven many people to the streets. Undrig explained that most people who lived in the Forlorn Cavern were either incapable of getting a job, or simply had no motivation in life. They had left quickly, Naruto feeling sick about the whole thing.
They next visited the Hall of Explorers, which despite the overwhelming amount of books and scrolls which it held, Naruto found quite interesting. There were many dwarves who spent hours cataloguing the books, and some who copied down information from older texts in order to keep the information intact. The Hall also held the headquarters to an organization known as the Explorer's League.
The Explorer's League was a group of dwarves whose love of adventure and discovering new things had led them to form a group that dedicated themselves to do just that, explore, go on adventures, and discover remnants of the past. Undrig had a friend in the League, Larnig, who told Naruto several enthralling tales about the world he had come to. Naruto heard about the Stranglethorn Vale, a massive jungle area to the far south of Ironforge which contained multitudes of fantastic beasts, mighty structures, and most of all, danger. Naruto's love of adventure made him giddy at hearing the stories, and he hoped that he would be able to visit someday.
The Hall was also full of skeletons that had either been excavated in far off places, or were relics from Dun Morogh. He saw a massive skeletal ram, which Undrig explained had once been the mount to a past king. He also saw massive creatures called dinosaurs, huge, dragon-like lizards that inhabited a small, primordial part of the other continent, Kalimdor, known as the Un'Goro Crater. It made Naruto wish he had the time to investigate this world.
Next, they had entered Tinker Town, which had to be Naruto's favorite. It was there he got his first glimpse of a gnome as well, and while at first he thought it was just an incredibly small dwarf, maybe a child, he soon noticed a difference. Not only had the gnome been a lot shorter, coming up to only about Naruto's waist, but also his head was rather large and round, and his body was slimmer and more childish looking, possessing none of the muscle or heaviness that a dwarf did.
"I thought all the gnomes had left…"Naruto said aloud as they passed the gnome, who looked weary beyond anyone he had ever seen. Undrig shook his head, looking down.
"Nah…some o' the Gnomes stayed, having always lived here. The majority left, having originally been part o' Gnomeregan, and even some o' the ones that lived here went, just to help out. The king tried to send a coupla' groups o' our own, but the Gnome King sent them back with firm orders not to interfere. It's got the King, and a bunch o' us really worried. I had a coupla' Gnome friends, an' they all left, havne't heard much o' them since."
Naruto frowned, but said nothing.
Tinker Town, despite being almost completely deserted, was amazing. They had machines to do even the simplest of tasks, like opening doors and even substitutions for walking. The few shops that still were open sold chemical mixtures and various machine parts that fascinated the blonde, and he had bombarded the owners with questions that they seemed all too happy to answer. The owner of the machine parts store, a gnome name Furnizzle, took great delight in Naruto's fascination, and answered every question just as excitedly as Naruto asked them. He had a high-pitched voice, squeaky and rather annoying, but Naruto didn't mind. Furnizzle had told Naruto all about why he had stayed, rather than fighting with his brethren.
"I could not abandon my business. My family has run it for generations. My brothers have both gone off to fight, leaving me, the youngest, to manage the store. I would dearly like to help, but I must stay here, to ensure that when my brothers return, they have somewhere to return to."
After several more minutes of chatting, Undrig dragged Naruto off to finish the tour.
They had then entered the Military Quarter, which Naruto had already seen, as it was where Berlyiro taught him. Undrig showed him the soldier's barracks, where he stayed, and several training grounds where rookie soldiers where taught daily.
The final place was the Great Forge, where King Magni's chamber resided. He had also already seen this, but Undrig took him to meet a few crafters that the dwarf knew and was friends with.
The sword smith Opreiner was deeply envious of Naruto for having been given the finest sword that Ironforge had ever created. He showed a multitude of different style swords to Naruto, who was surprised that dwarves could use blades that could be nearly twice as tall as them.
Then he thought of Zabuza and the shark freak, Kisame.
It was another weapons crafter name Reingrin, who forged smaller weapons like knives, daggers and throwing weapons that Naruto was most interested in, however. Undrig boasted that his friend was the best small weapons forger in the entire city, and Reingrin did nothing to deny it. So Naruto asked him if the dwarf could forge for him a set of kunai.
At first puzzled by the request, Naruto quickly explained what it looked like, as he had done with the weapon smith in Stormwind, and Reingrin immediately knew what he was talking about. Apparently they were called rochshan here, which was Dwarvish for "triangle knife."
Reingrin had grinned and told Naruto that he would forge the finest set of kunai Naruto had ever had, even throwing in a set of shuriken (groonshan or "star knife") because of what Naruto did. They left with instructions to return in a few days, to give the dwarf time to created them.
When the tour had finished, Naruto returned to the inn, falling asleep almost instantly.
That had been two days ago.
Now, as Naruto left the training room and entered the streets of the Military Quarter, he was hungry.
It had nearly crushed his heart when he found out ramen was only something humans ate.
In his opinion, it was a cruel thing to do, having such a great city.
Completely devoid of ramen.
The pain for losing his beloved ramen had lessened to a dull ache, and he found an adequate replacement in the form of Dwarven Bear Tongue Soup. It was rather like miso soup, only with chunks of bear tongue, which was quite strange tasting, but Naruto enjoyed it nonetheless.
He guessed it had something to do with the Kyuubi.
When Naruto had eaten, he made a trip down to the Great Forge, seeking out Reingrin's house. He entered it, and was immediately greeted by the dwarf, who was grinning broadly.
"Ah, lad. Yeh're here. I've got yer order righ' here. Come 'ave a look!" Naruto followed the excited looking dwarf over to a wooden table at the far end of the shack, where an incredibly fine set of kunai lay on a piece of brown cloth. Naruto picked one up, and was surprised by their lightness. He moved it around a little, and then flicked it at the far wall. It struck and imbedded itself in the wood, nice and deep, and Naruto was impressed. They were even better than his previous ones. He picked up a shuriken as well, performing same task. It too was incredible, and Naruto couldn't have been more pleased.
"They're great, Reingrin-shuju! Thanks a lot!" he said happily. Reingrin nodded.
"Aye lad, me finest ever! Hope yeh enjoy them." Naruto paid the dwarf with his dwindling amount of money, and gathered up the weapons, setting them his weapon's pouch. Naruto was glad that Ero-Sennin had shown him how to store things in scrolls, because after jamming as many kunai as he could into his already seal-expanded pouch, he still had several left over.
Naruto returned to the inn after, and as he walked, he couldn't help but wonder how Kira was doing back in Stormwind.
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"Daughter, how did you enjoy your day off? I can't imagine that training with that old fool could be any fun, eh? Tell me about it."
King Anduin Wrynn sat across from her daughter, who was watching him, an unreadable look on her face. He was tall and imposing, with soft, wavy golden hair, and small blue eyes. He was heavyset, but not fat, and had a short, trim beard. He wore robes of royal blue, with the Stormwind crest on the front.
This was their normal routine at dinner. Knowing full well that she would not lie to him, he could ask her anything about the ancient priest's dealings.
Oddly enough, however, she hadn't been to visit him in sometime.
At least to his knowledge.
Kira had to stop herself from biting her lip in nervousness, a sure sign that would alert her father that she wasn't entirely truthful in her explanations. She hated lying to her father more than almost anything in the world, and couldn't believe that Benedictus had asked her to do this.
In truth, she had not taken the day off, but had been with Benedictus, studying ancient scrolls and developing her magic reserves. But she couldn't, as much as she wanted to, tell her father that.
"It was fine father. Kylia and I read in the garden and paid a visit to the servants' quarters, since I wanted to help Kylia clean her room, much to her displeasure, I think." Her father let out a great, booming laugh, his wavy locks falling slightly out of place as he did. He finished, and returned, sipping his wine,
"I can't imagine she would be pleased. Some say that there is a method to madness, and even you dislike it when certain things are moved out of your perfect chaos, I imagine."
Kira smiled a little back, letting her guard down a bit. Her father was a great man, full of humor and wisdom. That was one of the reasons she loved him so much, and hated lying or disobeying him.
But she couldn't allow that to get in the way of her mission. She needed to convince him that it would be in the best interests of the populace to form an alliance with the other races once more.
She took a deep breath, and then asked as innocently as possible,
"Father…have you heard from Magni recently? I miss him so…He used to bring me toys that he himself had built, when I was little. Can't you speak with him again? It has been so long since I've seen him."
Anduin's face suddenly became stone. He took a deep breath, and said in a frosty voice.
"You know perfectly well that Magni and I aren't on the best terms, and I refuse to speak with him, he is far too arrogant and conceited. Let him and his people fight by themselves, they do not possess our power, and he will regret not submitting to my authority."
Kira swallowed, a little frightened by her father's reaction. She knew they were on bad terms, but this seemed to be beyond anything she had imagined. She ventured forth once again, this time more cautiously.
"But father…this isn't right…shouldn't we be uniting? With all this distrust, the Scourge will no doubt crush us. Shouldn't we-"
"Kira, daughter, do you not have faith in our power? We are the mighty nation of Stormwind. The Lich King and his army will never defeat us. We are the champions of the Light, and Darkness will always fall to Light." He looked at her sharply, signifying that the conversation was over.
Kira drooped.
This was going to be much harder than she thought.
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The next day, Kira and Kylia were walking away from the kitchens, both carrying various pastries. Though they had grown up, Kira had never lost the mischievousness of youth, and still liked to pilfer things from the kitchen. She generally did it before she went to the chapel, so that she had energy to get through the exhausting sessions.
This time however, she had done it because she was bored. Benedictus was out in the Cathedral that day, and wouldn't be able to meet with her. That left her with too much free time. So she decided to amuse herself by stealing some food from the kitchen, before she and Kylia headed to lunch. That way, not only would they not have to sit through her father trying to amuse the local nobles, but Kira would be able to practice some new techniques, or jutsu as Naruto had called them.
She had found her thoughts drifting to the semi-perverted blonde often these days. She hoped that he was okay, and that he had been able to make it to Ironforge in one piece. Something told her that he had, so she tried her best not to worry.
It felt odd, she found, to worry about someone whom she hardly even new. The first few days after her meeting she had been slightly nervous. Had she trusted the right person? Would he succeed? It was Benedictus who told her to stop worrying, and focus on doing her part of the job.
She hadn't been surprised that the old archbishop had discovered Naruto's existence. The man seemed to know everything, and after all, hadn't he predicted Naruto's coming anyways? He didn't seem bothered that Naruto was a complete stranger to her, even if she had learned most of his past.
However, he used the blonde as ammo every chance he got against the princess.
"He'll make a fine husband, I think. You need someone who can not only relate in your energy, but keep you from becoming a horrible snake like every other woman."
She was quite embarrassed by the whole thing, and even more so when he discovered that Naruto had already seen her partially naked.
She intended, quite seriously, to follow through with her "crushed fire-ant carapace" plan. Kylia was already searching the markets for some of the powder. As soon as she found it…
Wham!
Kira blinked, and suddenly realized that she hadn't thought that. She looked over and saw that Kylia had crashed into someone. She froze, immediately recognizing the figure, and quickly pulled the smaller girl off it, saying hurriedly,
"Lady Prestor! I'm so sorry! Kylia's really clumsy, so she often-" She was cut off by the woman's laugh.
"Do not worry yourself about it, little princess. Accidents happen."
The woman whom Kira was speaking to was one Kira respected above almost all others. Lady Katrana Prestor, of the ancient house of Prestor was a noblewoman who frequented the castle. She was one of her father's many advisors, and a member of the Council of Stormwind, which helped balance the power of the king. She was, in Kira's opinion, one of the most beautiful women in the world. She had jet-black hair, purple eyes, fair skin and an incredible figure, with a prominent chest, and trim waist, that had most men drooling at the sight of her. It made Kira envious and awesome; envious that she wasn't a beautiful, and awed that someone could be that beautiful.
Dusting her purplish robes, she smiled a little at Kylia's light-speed stammering of apologies, before raising her hand to stop the girl.
"Think nothing more of it, child. Now, little princess, your father wishes to see you. I believe that he wants you to meet someone." Kira blinked, a little confused.
"Do you know who?" Lady Prestor shook her head.
"I'm afraid not, little princess. But it must be someone important. You'd best hurry off." Kira nodded, stuffing the remainder of her pilfered food into her shirt, and pulling Kylia away (who was still stammering apologies).
Lady Prestor watched them leave, the beginnings of a smirk on her face.
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When Kira and Kylia appeared in the dining hall, minutes later, it was surprisingly empty. Kira blinked at the barrenness of the room, and saw her father standing patiently near the end of the table, smiling at her.
"Hello, daughter. I am glad you are here."
Kira looked around, frowning.
"Where is everyone father? I thought today you had a meeting with the Council…" He chuckled, beckoning her over while speaking,
"I've postponed it. I have a very special guest whom I want you to meet." He gestured behind him, stepping aside a little to reveal the figure behind him.
Behind him, a woman of the most unnatural beauty stood, smiling at her. Her hair was an unnaturally pale blonde, and her skin was as fair as Prestor's. She was wearing probably the most revealing outfit that Kira had ever seen. It consisted of a red tabard with the neck cut away, revealing an enormous amount of cleavage, leather shoulder-pads and a leather jerkin underneath, just barely covering her nether regions. She wore long, scarlet boots, and was leaning on a finely crafted staff with a red jewel in the middle of a cross-shaped figurehead.
Kira gaped.
She actually has the gall to wear something like that in public?
Her father smiled, and said,
"Kira, I would like you to meet High Inquisitor Andria Whitemane, of the Scarlet Crusade."
Kira froze, her eyes widening in recognition.
The Scarlet Crusade.
Benedictus had told her that the Scarlet Crusade was a ruthless faction to the north, in Lordaeron, who absolutely hated the Scourge, all undead in fact. That in itself wasn't such a bad thing, but it was their actions that disgusted and terrified most. They were fiercely prejudiced not only against undead, but against all non-human races. They were said to kill anyone who didn't where their tabard.
And the leader of their Monastery in Tirisfal Glades, far to the North in the heart of Forsaken territory, was standing mere feet from her father.
Her father continued, not noticing Kira's reaction.
"I took what you said yesterday to heart, and I have accepted her help, of which she has been offering for sometime, and our factions will be allies from this day forward."
Kira felt sick, unable to believe her father had took her advice in that way. The Scarlet Crusaders were brutal monsters, who butchered thousands of innocent people. Stormwind had even fought against them in the past decade.
What possessed her father to do this?
A sinking feeling appeared in the bottom of her stomach, and she knew that nothing good could come of this.
She was broken from her thoughts when Whitemane spoke, her voice was sweet, and carried a melodious lilt, with a tinge of something sinister within.
"It is nice to meet you, Princess. I hope that you and I can get to know each other a little better, and iron out the past feuds that our factions have had. After all, we're all human, are we not?"
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Another chapter done. I'm glad I got it out before Sunday, since that day I'm hella busy.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and though I know there isn't any action, the next few will more than make up for it, (did I say that last chapter?).
A few things to address/say:
Triumph of Evil- Thanks for the correction. I actually went on Thottbott, and apparently there is an item called "Ornate Adamantium Breastplate" So that's actually where I took the adamantium from. Are adamantine and adamantium that same thing?
No 1 You Know- Well, he will be slightly stronger, but only because of his unconventionality. He won't be stronger than the assassin lords that inhabit Ravenholdt Manor, that's for sure. As for the King of Stormwind, I actually had no idea that he existed. That'll make for a good arc, to be sure. As for Naruto getting shaman and druid abilities, you'll have to wait to find out. I agree with you on Paladins, though…I hate them with a vengeance.
Zemaru- I hope this chapter explained that. I shamelessly ripped off the idea of the Dwarven short blade from Rurouni Kenshin, you know, Aoshi's combination of Kenpo and kodachi. That's how he'll be using it, for the most part. I don't know if I'll include the blademaster abilities tho, since Naruto already has cloning, and he's wicked fast as it is.
Well, hope that clears everything up.
General Grievous
Next, Naruto finishes his week of training, and begins the trek to Gnomeregan, where he meets someone very much like himself…
Armory-
Naruto:
New weapons:
20 Ironforge kunai
30 Ironforge shuriken