Disclaimer: I own anything within; this story is merely a way for me to alleviate boredom…
[Lord Pain: And so we return yet again.
Gnarl: Indeed master, soon the world will tremble in fear of your wake!
Jester: All hail! Lord of Castle Plun-Darr!
Giblet: Hail!
Jester: Rescuer of the Stealth Army!
Slash / Stench: Here here!
Jester: Scaliest of all Overlords! Ha ha ha!
Doc: Oh he really shouldn't have said that…
Lord-Pain: … Naruto's so going to kill him for that crack…]
Companions:
Zim: Inactive
Tak: Inactive
Tora: Inactive
Grunge: Inactive
Manasa: Inactive
Slythe: Inactive
Panthro: Inactive
Azula: Inactive
Horde Size: 0
Active Minions in Horde: 0
Other: 5 Primary Grays, 5 Primary Browns, 5 Primary Greens
NU: Dark Lord +
Chapter 12: Beast-Folk…
"Normal Speech"…
'Normal Thoughts'…
[Radio/Tower Heart In Use]…
"Jutsu In Use"…
"Demon Speech"…
'Demon Thoughts'…
"Inner Spirit Speech"…
(?)
A girl sits in a cell with her arms lifted up and crossed over her legs, her yellow eyes half closed, and a worn smock covering her form. Looking up at a sudden sound, the girl narrowed her eyes at seeing an elf with pitch-black skin and white hair approaching her cell. Stopping before the cell, the elf looked down at her with crimson eyes for a moment before slipping a plate with some bread on it into her cell. "Don't even see why we're keeping a little freak like you alive…" The Drow muttered to himself as he walked away, the girl watching him leave before a sly smile slipped across her lips. Slowly moving forward, she reached out and took the bread before quickly moving to the very back of her cell.
Looking at the bread inquisitively for a few moments, the girl narrowed her eyes before sneering in distaste. "This is barely fit for the birds…" She mumbled to herself with narrowed eyes before taking a bite out of it and ignoring all else as she silently chewed. Her eyes then started to zone out as she did, before she leaned back into the wall of the room with a thoughtful look on her face. Drumming her fingers into the stone flow she then nodded her head silently before looking up and spotting a barred window was just overhead.
Breaking off a piece of the bread, the girl then stood up on tiptoes then reached up and pulled herself up a bit more. Looking out with her eyes she then reached out of the bars in the window to hold the piece of bread out. Flying through the air above this place, a speck of black darts around before spotting a small patch of pale green. Letting out a caw, the spot of black dives down, an old crow landing on the pale-green wrist of the girl while pecking the bread and chewing it in its beak. Smirking devilishly, the girl brought her arm back into the cell slowly and then turned to lower herself back into a sitting position, lightly stroking the birds feathered head with her finger as she did so.
Reaching her hand up to brush some of the ivory white hair from her face and slip it behind her pointed ear, the girl cooed as the crow looked up at her. Leaning down she whispered into the bird's ear, then tilted her head to one side with a raised brow. "Can you do that for me pet?" She questioned in a surprisingly calm and collected tone of voice and the Crow silently nodded its head to her. "Good, then be off with you." She murmured while stroking its head and standing up, the girl lifted her hand up and the bird flew out of the cell and into the distance leaving her behind. As soon as it was gone, the girl sat back down and picked up the remainder of her bread with a frown.
(Castle Plun-Darr…)
Gnarl stood outside of the throne room of Castle Plun-Darr, a frown on his face as he silently stroked his goatee. They had all but immediately come to Castle Plun-Darr after Naruto's victory over Viathen. And now, for the first time in many years, they had a home, a master, and a kingdom again. 'Ahhh… it does my old black heart good just imagining the evil master will unleash someday.' Gnarl thought with a mental snicker, already picturing conquest after conquest and an entire nation bowing at his young Overlords feet. However, the old Minion-Master then frowned as he looked to the door that led to the throne room, where Naruto was currently locked inside. He had done so two days prior after beating Viathen, and hadn't come out since.
'But why has the master locked himself in there all alone?' The old minion master wondered to himself before frowning deeply and turning to look to a few guards at either side of the doorway to the throne-room. "If the master comes out I want to be alerted immediately." Gnarl ordered and the two browns snapped to attention and saluted the old Minion-Master as he turned and stalked off with a frown across his face. Looking around, Gnarl made his way towards the lower levels where The Servants Quarters was, Ayame and the human woman who were now Naruto's servants, as well as the original Lizard-folk servants of Viathen, having been moved down there for Gnarl to meet with.
'Have to know what I'm working with after all.' Gnarl mused to himself, though was pleased that alongside Castle Plun-Darr they now had The Duriam Smelter and Giblets armory. Admittedly, it was sheer luck that Viathen had the smelter, but as for the armory, they weren't sure how the oversized Lizard had found it, but it made Gnarl frown deeply in thought. 'Could The Betrayer have left them here? If he had something to do with that Mind-Flayer then it'd make sense.' Gnarl mused to himself while silently continuing his trip down into the depths of the enormous castle.
'But if that's the case, then just how many others are working with that blasted hero in the Underworld?' Gnarl mused to himself while slowing as he approached a long hall with several doors. The Servants Quarters being just above the Dungeon Level, which Gnarl supposed Viathen did in order to keep the Servants in line. After all, if you heard screams of torture every night, then it was very likely that you'd try your best not to end up as the poor sods who did end up down there. Shaking those stray, albeit very amusing, thoughts from his head, Gnarl walked to the door leading to the Servants Quarters and hummed upon entering it.
Among the servants were the six human women, Ayame the unofficial leader of them since she knew "The Overlord" on a first name basis. There was also another half-dozen female Lizard-Folk who worked around Castle Plun-Darr. And finally was the "Butler" of the servants, an aged Lizard-Man who was more than happy to continue his service under the new Chieftain, he'd also served the prior three Chieftains, and Gnarl made a mental note to have him watched. 'No one is that loyal…' The old Minion-Master thought to himself as he hobbled into the Servants Quarters and made his way over to the "Cook" of the castle, mostly Naruto, Ayame.
"Uh… yes?" Said girl asked while looking to the old Minion-Master and Gnarl grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.
"I need someone to talk to The Master, he's locked himself in The Throne Room, and since you've known him the longest, it's going to be you." Gnarl explained with a no nonsense tone and Ayame blinked before worriedly wondering what was wrong with the young blond Overlord. Admittedly, she was surprised to find he was an Overlord, but as far as she was concerned he was still the young blond blob of energy that used to run around pranking people he didn't like. Making their way up through the castle, Ayame mentally made a map so she wouldn't get lost in the future, being a servant meant she'd have to do things around the place, even if she only really needed to know where the kitchen in the place was.
As they approached the Throne Room, Gnarl released her wrist and walked over to the guards beside of the door. "Has there been any change?" He asked and both guards shook their heads, Gnarl grunting as soon as they did. "Wonderful, looks like we'll have to use one of the secret entrances already." Gnarl mused to himself while stroking his long Goatee and walked over to the side and waved Ayame over. Walking over to the aged Minion-Master unsurely, soon stopping as he pressed something and the wall slid away to reveal a passage. "Just go and find out what is wrong with The Master for us." The Minion-Master ordered while pushing the brunette into the passageway and then quickly closed the doorway behind her to give her no choice in the matter.
As soon as the wall closed, Ayame let out a sigh and made her way forward, wondering why the old Minion-Master had trapped her. 'It's not like I wouldn't go on my own…' She mused to herself while seeing a tapestry ahead of herself and pushed it aside to find herself in the throne-room. 'I've got to wonder about why they have this here in the first place, I mean, wouldn't it be easy for someone to use it to assassinate their leader?' Ayame wondered to herself before looking around the throne-room, spotting Naruto sitting on the throne, his legs drawn up to his chest, arms crossed over them and his cloak covering his body. "Naruto?" Ayame questioned while walking forward and the blond turned to look at her for only a moment.
"Neechan… what are you doing here?" The blond asked quietly and the brunette frowned inwardly as she walked over to the hooded youth.
"Gnarl and the others wanted me to talk to you… but I have to admit I'm worried about you locking yourself in here for two whole days as well." Ayame explained and the blond seemed to sink further into himself while closing his glowing blue eyes.
"Neechan… I just… I just want to be alone for a bit." Naruto whispered quietly and Ayame frowned while walking over to him and placed a hand on his back. Looking to her, Naruto blinked as she sat on the arm of his throne and gave him a look of concern.
"Please Naruto-kun, tell me what's wrong?" She pleaded and the blond closed his eyes for a moment before pushing himself to his feet and walked a few steps forward.
"I… I had to kill Viathen… and I feel really bad about it. I feel like I'm starting to become some kind of monster." Naruto admits while looking to his clawed hands and Ayame tilted her head to one side.
"But haven't you had to kill before?" She asked and Naruto gave a slight smile to the older girl before letting out a sigh.
"A couple spiders, some ants, a pack of wolves, an overgrown lizard, and some gnomes… but that's it… I've never actually had to kill someone myself. With these bandits a while back, I just had my Minions take care of them and focused on fighting the wolves…" Naruto admitted while keeping his cloak closed and Ayame reached out and pulled the youth into a hug.
"Is that all? Naruto-kun…" She mumbled with a shake of her head and Naruto looked up at her with a raised brow. "Shinobi also kill Naruto, they do so because they have too, because with the death of one person, hundreds can be saved." Ayame started and Naruto blinked while looking to her. "Did people suffer because of Viathen? Did he bring pain to those around him?" The older girl asked and Naruto thought back to how the mammoth Lizard-Man had ripped a challenger in half, cut them all off from their allies among many smaller crimes and nodded his head. "Then you did what you had to, any Shinobi would do the same." Ayame told him and Naruto closed his eyes before pushing back and letting out a breath.
"There is… one other thing." Naruto admitted while reaching up to unclasp the skull shaped broach of his cloak and threw it to the side. Ayame's eyes widened upon seeing the mass of silver-white scales that had covered the boy's body, which combined with the sharp pair of barbs at his elbows, and three toed taloned feet only served to show his drastically inhuman qualities… "I also look the part of a monster as well…" Naruto finished while looking to his clawed hands for a moment before removing his mask and crown to show the silver-white-scales were now half-formed over the left side of his face, the whisker marks on his left cheek replaced by three silver ridges. Shaking her head, Ayame slowly stood up and walked over to the blond haired youth before placing her hands on his shoulders, his glowing blue eyes looking up to meet her doe-brown orbs.
"I'll admit, you look… odd… but I don't think a monster would feel bad about killing anyone, especially someone as nasty as this Viathen sounds." Ayame offered with a smile, Naruto blinking for a moment before smiling to the older girl gratefully and grabbing her into a hug.
"Thanks neechan…" He whispered and the older girl patted him on the head for a moment before lightly pushing him back.
"Good, now then, I think Gnarl wanted to see you about something." The girl noted and Naruto nodded his head, replacing his mask, crown, and cloak before making his way to the doors and unlocking them. As soon as he did, Gnarl hobbled in with a grumble under his breath, waving two Browns with a treasure chest into the room.
"What's with the chest?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow, Gnarl having it set down in front of him before crossing his arms.
"It's the treasure that the Goblins captured alongside the servant girls." Gnarl replied, Ayame frowning at the derogatory name while Naruto knelt down and opened the treasure chest and looked around.
"Just some gold… a dagger… hey… what's this thing?" Naruto wondered while pulling out a strange looking device with an almost S shaped symbol emblazoned on the front of it. Seeing it, Gnarl rushed over and plucked the object from Naruto's fingers before looking it over with a light hum. Clicking his tongue, the old Minion-Master's eyes then lit up and he suddenly snapped his fingers with a grin.
"Oh! This is an old Heroes Guild Seal from Albion!" He said with a nod of his head while Ayame looked lost and Naruto hummed lightly. Thinking back, Naruto vaguely remembered Gnarl mentioning Albion and The Archons, then looked back to Gnarl with a frown.
"So it's from my ancestral homeland then?" Naruto asked and Gnarl nodded his head with a wide grin on his face. "But, if that's the case, how'd it get here?" Naruto suddenly questioned of Gnarl and the old Minion-Master blinked before frowning deeply as he realized his master had a point.
"I… don't know. Though it seems that our enemy has his hands in everything that's happening recently." Gnarl replied while rubbing his chin, and then cleared his throat. "But regardless of the how, this is such a boon to our cause sire. A Heroes Guild Seal was an artifact that allowed the Archons it to travel across vast distances at will. I'll have this placed onto the Transport-Generator and we'll be able to send you over to Albion at any time we wish! And possibly other places as well." Gnarl declared and Naruto couldn't help but inwardly admit that he'd like to see his ancestor's homeland.
"So when should I leave?" The blond questioned of his Minion-Master and Gnarl hummed for a moment while slipping the Guild Seal into his robes.
"Not for a bit sire, for the moment, you have to meet with the ambassadors from the Ratonga, Gnoll, Froglok, and Lilmothiit Beast-Folk races." Gnarl replied and Naruto blinked before mentally grimacing as he didn't think this was going to be much fun… "But before we go and do that, we still need to get you into your new armor!" Gnarl then stated while hobbling over to one of the guards outside the door to the throne room and whispered to him. The Guard nodded his head and rushed off, Ayame walking over to Naruto with a frown.
"What's going on?" She asked and Naruto blinked for a moment before replying.
"He's bringing me some new armor to replace what was destroyed." The blond haired youth explained, Ayame making an Oh with her mouth before seeing a few more Minions walk into the throne-room with the pieces of armor / equipment with them. "Hey Doc, how're the Goblins doing?" Naruto asked upon seeing his physician and the said former Jester let out a breath.
"Better than they were Sire, Gnarl sent me the Medicine I needed to help them with the waypoint gates." Doc replied and Naruto absently nodded his head before blinking as Giblet rushed forward with a wide grin on under his mask.
"Mastah! We's bring you new armor!" Giblet stated which caused Ayame to giggle, Naruto and the minions looking at her strangely when she did. Blinking upon noticing their stares, the brunette then grinned nervously.
"What? He's cute…" She offered and Naruto couldn't help but raise a brow.
"I really don't think you can classify a Minion as "Cute" Neechan." Naruto noted while crossing his arms, Gnarl absently nodding his head in full agreement with his young Overlord. Huffing, the older girl then crossed her arms over her chest and gave the young blond an annoyed look.
"Not physically… I just mean the way he talks is kind of cute." She grumbled out and Naruto rolled his eyes before looking to Giblet, Doc, Gnarl, and the other Minions who where holding his armor.
"Whose the new green?" Naruto asked seeing a green with them and Gnarl grinned slightly before clearing his throat.
"This is Hiss Sire, your tailor, he's the one who worked with Giblet to make your new armor for you." Gnarl replied and Naruto slowly nodded his head, the said green giving a slight bow to his young Overlord. The Minion's then grinned and jumped onto him, quickly slipping his new armor on. First was a new pair of segmented steel claws over his fingers attached to a pair of light glove, then came a pair of fingerless black leather gloves with steel at the back of his fists and over his forearms, Giblet snapping his Bracelets with The Overlord Gems on over his wrists.
Clenching his fist, Naruto watched the gems glow brightly while Giblet took off his old-waist-cincher and slipped on a new one with a red loincloth, chain-male half-skirt, and harness over his shoulders that had a series of plates down his spine. Slipping on a new belt around his waist and fitting his faerie satchel on with it at the back, two more pouches beside of it, and a single pouch at either of the hanging straps from its sides. Pulling on a pair of black leather heel/toeless shin/instep-guards with two white bands over them, and metal caps over each of his talons / toes. Moving on, Hiss pulled a bandoleer on over Naruto's left shoulder with a leather pauldron attached, several pouches along the front back of the bandoleer.
Stepping back from their master, the minions gave an Ooh as Naruto looked himself over for a moment, Gnarl stepping forward and offering the blond a new mask. Looking over the mask for a moment, Naruto slipped the non-descript mask on over his face before buckling it at the back of his head. Stretching his arms up over his head, the blond then pulled his hood forward to shadow his features, his glowing eyes seeming even brighter than they normally were. "Ahh yes, most excellent sire, I dare say you look better than ever!" Gnarl declared with a grin while Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and shot him a look.
"Yeah… now about those ambassadors you wanted me to meet." Naruto reminded the old Minion-Master and Gnarl chuckled for a moment before nodding his head and waddling over to the door, Naruto silently walking over to his throne and sitting back with his eyes closed.
"Nervous?" Ayame asked while still sitting on the armrest of the throne and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.
"Not really. I hate to admit it, but I'm sort of getting used to this ruling over other people thing." Naruto admitted and saw a slight smile cross Ayame's face as she leaned over to whisper into one of his ears. Though he idly admitted his ears were probably large enough that she could whisper from a distance and he'd still hear her.
"Can you imagine the looks on peoples faces back in Konoha if they could see you right now and hear you admit that?" Ayame asked the young blond and he snickered to himself for a moment before grinning at her from beneath his mask.
"I imagine it'd be a blend between disbelief and shock." Naruto replied and Ayame nodded her head in agreement, before both looked to the door as Gnarl walked back into the throne room with a host of Beast-Men following him.
The first of the beast-men was a trio of vaguely dog-like beings that were at least seven feet tall with lean builds and gray-brown fur with black spots and black on their hands and feet, a tan underside, muzzled face with triangular ears, bright yellow eyes, digitigrade legs that ended in paws, sharp black claws on their fingers and toes, and black fur in a straight line down their backs. One of them was female and walked in front with short spiky black hair and a low hanging spiky Ponytail, the next was male with a wily look to him, and last was a stupid looking one with pieces of his ears missing, giggling to himself stupidly. They wore furs and hides from beasts as clothing / armor, the female wearing what looked like a lions pelt with a black mane as well as a scar over its left eye, and slightly thicker spiked / studded leather armor along with the hide-armor.
Next came a series of strange and rather short frog like creatures with the green reptilian hide to match, a few having paint or markings for added color, bright yellow eyes with - shaped pupils, a frog shaped head, flippers for feet, and no hair at all. They each wore what looked like simple leather with wooden armor, trinkets made from rusted over brass, bone and wooden trinkets, and other such dull metals littering their clothes. After the frogs was a short Rat-man with a smaller female at his side, both had the same digitigrade legs, muzzled faces with sharp rat like teeth and beady eyes, rat like ears and furless tails, and claws on their hands and feet, while the rat man was brown with a pale underside and long black mustache, his eyes were bright red and he was somewhat on the hefty side, while the female was pale yellow with blond hair and simple black eyes.
The male of the Rats was dressed in a combination of dark armor and red robes, a pair of daggers slipped into the loop of his sash, a helmet like crown over his head, and leather bracers and shin-guards with no shoes or boots or even sandals over his feet. The Female had soot over some of her form and was dressed in a vest over a tight blue tunic with a loincloth, a pair of goggles perched on her head and leather wraps around her forearms and shins. After them was a short thin and young looking Lizard-man with a scarlet colored reptilian hide with a white underside, brown ridges on its head, blue eyes, and black markings over its entire body. He was wearing a pair of goggles, brown leather bracers over his forearms, an old brown loincloth, leather bands around his feet, and a tough looking faded blue cloth wrapped over his torso.
Finally, and most annoying to Naruto, was two fox-men, or rather Fox-Women of average human height. Both had fox-like muzzled faces, fur over their bodies, slightly long ears, thin almost slanted eyes, digitigrade legs ending in paws, clawed hands, and fluffy tails. The taller of the two was a black color, with long spiky red hair with a blue sphere acting as a band near its base, red markings over her face one at either side of her lips and two more to mimic small thin eyebrows, bright red eyes, red claws on her hands and feet, it wore a black fluffy fur around its neck with leather bands coming from under it under her arms and around to attach to the other side, a simple fur loincloth / pair of shorts, with bracers over her forearms and shin-guards.
The second one was clearly the younger of the two and appeared around Naruto's height with bright yellow in color and seems to partly stand on end at her shoulders to form three noticeable spikes, with white hands / feet that are almost like paws, white tips to her tail and ears, and a white underside, her own claws being black rather than red, her eyes were violet in color, and she had "hair" pulled up into a spiky ponytail with a black band her hair also having white tips to it like her tail and ears, with purple markings under her eyes shaped like bent lines, and also forming into small thin eyebrows like the first one had, and on each of her thighs are two more markings shaped like two tomoes.
She also wears the strange fluffy fur cover over her chest and neck only its white with black bands crossing under her arms twice and making an X at her back, she also wears a purple loincloth with a pair of black tomoe on it, black straps hanging from it over her thighs while a black belt is under it with a few strange tubes on its sides, three pouches at the back of her waist, her feet are partially covered by black leather bands attached to metal plates forming Instep-guards, and her arms are covered by purple bicep length gloves that have a yin-yang mark on them, a gold ring attached to both gloves holding them to her middle fingers.
"Master, allow me to introduce our guests…" Gnarl started while walking over to the Hyena like Beast-Men. "This is Shenzi, Leader of the Gnolls, and her two brothers, Banzai and Ed." Gnarl started and Shenzi rolled her eyes while looking at the Minion-Master with an amused smirk on her face.
"Thanks for the introduction, Grey-Guy, but whose the kid?" She asked and one of the foxes palmed her face before glaring over at the Gnoll with a frown.
"He's the Overlord fool…" She told the Hyena-woman who blinked before gaping openly, Banzai and Ed snorting before snickering into their hands.
"Wha… hold up, this pip-squeak is supposed to be the New-Overlord?" Shenzi demanded and got nods from the others, causing her to blink then shake her head. "Wow, did they scrape the bottom of the barrel or what?" She wondered aloud and Gnarl growled at the Gnoll leader angrily before shaking his head with a grunt and turning back to face Naruto.
"Gnolls are known as a nomadic race that travel from place to place, often staying close to mountains and gorges where they won't be encountered. They are often found in "Clans" with all of the Gnolls highly valuing Family and blood-ties, however often fight one another for dominance. They are also scavengers, brigands, and slavers thus are very good at their work in those fields, though they detest physical work and force it on their slaves instead… and since they are "Hyena-Men", they are also well known to have notoriously bad jokes." Gnarl explained while motioning to the "Hyena-Folk" or Gnolls, Ed giggling like a maniac while Shenzi smirked towards Naruto.
"You know, its kind of funny really, not only is he a kid, but the new Overlord is also almost as small as a Ratonga." Shenzi noted aloud while rubbing at her chin for a moment and Banzai snorted for a bit before grinning towards his sister. Naruto however twitched at the crack at his height and growled low in his throat, the "Small Jokes" people kept throwing at him were really trying on his patience.
"Nah, ol' Rataro still has him beat in size… well… at least when it comes to his girth!" Banzai replied causing all three to suddenly bust out laughing as the rotund Rat-Man glared at the three for the obvious crack at his weight. 'Great, Duela will love these three…' Naruto thought to himself as he thought that was a pretty bad-joke, and Duela seemed crazy enough that she liked any kind of jokes.
"What was that you giggling maniacs?" "Rataro" as the Gnolls had named him demanded of them furiously, pulling his daggers from his sides as he did, seeing this Shenzi just started snickering even as she shrugged her shoulders.
"C'mon don't get your whiskers all twisted up, we was just having a little fun at your expense." Shenzi said in a slight placating way and Rataro frowned while lowering his arms, only to glare when he saw a wide grin cross her muzzled face. "Course when it comes to "little" not many can beat a Ratonga!" Shenzi added as more of an afterthought, all three laughing at the bad joke with Ed actually falling on his back from laughter.
"I'll kill you!" The Rat-Man snarled out while trying to lunge at the Gnolls, one of the frogmen holding him back. "Release me Reptilian! These cackling fools need to learn respect!" Rataro snarled out and Shenzi grinned while Banzai snorted and gave him a rather amused look.
"Oh yeah well bring it on!" Shenzi stated with her arms crossed and Banzai nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, we'll take you on anytime you want, tiny! We'll even let you have first swing, maybe even second, and then third, cause there's no way you could reach high enough on us to actually hit anything important!" Banzai declared and Ed started laughing harder, Rataro snarling as the blond "Rat-woman" started shaking her head. Shenzi then placed a hand on her brother's shoulder and walked forward, pulling some sharp metal claws on over her fists and towering over the significantly smaller Rataro…
"Banzai's right, you can take us on all you want… just don't go and cry to the Overlord when you or your people end up as Gnoll-Chow." Shenzi offered darkly while grinning wide enough to show her sharp teeth to the Ratonga male, said male stiffening for a moment before slipping his daggers back into his belt. Blinking at the action, Naruto leaned over to Gnarl with a frown on his face.
"What was that all about?" Naruto asked his Minion-Master and Gnarl grimaced with his skin having taken on an almost unnoticeable green tint.
"Gnolls are known for practicing Carrion Eating…" Gnarl replied with a shiver of disgust and Naruto raised a brow while looking at his Minion-Master curiously. "They eat fresh corpses, and some are even known to raid graveyards for them." Gnarl replied with a shiver and Naruto almost lurched, the Gnolls merely grinning in what he could only assume was pride. 'Kami-Sama that's gross… and I really hope that Sylvanas-Hime isn't considered a "Fresh" corpse then…' Naruto thought to himself, though he inwardly admitted he'd probably gut the Gnolls himself if they even tried to eat Sylvanas. Feeling bad about killing or not, no one was going to hurt something precious to him.
"Yes well next are the Bullywugs or Frogloks. Their leader here is known as Bio Bog-Water, as well as his two advisors." Gnarl stated while motioning to a Frogman who had black-ish green hide with bright red orange markings.
"Greetings Overlord, forgive Shenzi if she has insulted you, she is somewhat… how you say… over enthusiastic." Bio offered with a slight bow towards the youth, Shenzi suddenly scoffing at the remark and giving him a look.
"Reptilian kiss-up." She noted snidely and Bio croaked while narrowing his yellow eyes onto her.
"At least I'm not fool enough to insult the current leader of The Lizard-men, not to mention the ally of The Naga, The Orcs, and The Goblins!" Bio reminded and Shenzi blinked before rubbing at her jaw for a moment and shrugged her shoulders.
"What do I care if I insulted him? My clan have been doing just fine on their own for years, why would we need his help?" Shenzi countered while walking back to her siblings and Banzai blinked before scratching his head and looking to his sister.
"Hey wait… didn't we need help cause with all the humans running around and no wars to produce corpses we're losing places we can go for food?" Banzai noted aloud and Shenzi glared at her brother before swatting him over the head. 'Well that explains why they're here… and I'm guessing Shenzi is too proud to admit that they need help.' Naruto inwardly noted to himself while Gnarl grunted and looked back to his Overlord.
"Anyways… Frogloks, as they are more commonly called rather than Bullywugs, are excellent Hunters and Fishers, they are a somewhat primitive race as they care little for ornaments or decoration and prefer reminders of the ancient swampy-marshlands that they once called home. They are also known for attacking other races for food, mostly any close to swamps but will occasionally work with other races when they have fallen on hard times. Unfortunately they are drawn to Beer, ale, or any other kind of alcohol even though it is highly toxic to them, putting them in comas or even killing them outright." Gnarl explained and Naruto nodded his head, though besides their appearance, wondered why they were called a Dark-Race.
"I take it your people have recently hit such a hard-time then?" Naruto asked while looking to Bio and he grimaced before nodding his head.
"The humans near our marshland homes have been waging a long bloody war on one another for decades, many of our homes and our hunting grounds are being lost. We come seeking aide from the Underworld as it has always been a safe-haven for all Dark Races. When we learned of a new Overlord, we knew we could turn to you for aide in our time of plight." Bio replied while literally croaking slightly at the end, Naruto slowly nodding his head before looking to Gnarl with a frown.
"Do we have room for them down here?" Naruto asked and Gnarl clicked his tongue for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"Perhaps… but we'd have to get Grubby and the Troglodytes to dig out a new area for them here in the Underswamps." Gnarl replied and Naruto nodded his head before looking back to the Froglok-Leader.
"Is that acceptable?" Naruto asked and Bio nodded his head, adequately pleased with the new bargain he'd made with the young blond. With that out of the way, Gnarl then cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention once more, the blond looking to him with a raised brow.
"Now that that's out of the way, allow me to introduce you to Lord Rataro son of Ratilla and ruler of the Ratonga who dwell here in The Underworld. As well as his niece, Gadget Hackwrench." Gnarl continued while motioning to the beady-eyed creatures, Rataro nodding his head only once before walking forward with a slight bow at the waist.
"As representative of my people, I am pleased to see a new leader has taken the throne from that fool Viathen. I do not come seeking anything, I only wish that the old alliances between Lizard-Folk and Ratonga may be restored to their former glory." Rataro stated simply before turning back to stand beside of his niece, arms crossed over his chest. Said Niece tilted her head to one side while looking up at him curiously, being even smaller than Naruto or Rataro…
"Was all that really necessary Uncle?" Gadget questioned of him curiously while Rataro scoffed and gave her a somewhat scathing look.
"I'm merely trying to restore our old relations with the Lizard-Folk, they were our allies for centuries before Viathen came along." Rataro replied and Gadget merely inclined her head before watching as Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment, then let out a slight breath.
"I think we'll work fine together… I just have one question Rataro." Naruto replied and the leader of The Ratonga raised a brow while looking to the blond.
"And what is that?" He asked cautiously and then saw Naruto shoot an annoyed look Shenzi's way.
"Are you as sick of all the small jokes as I am?" Naruto asked the Ratonga and Rataro blinked for only a moment before letting out an annoyed grunt.
"You have no idea…" Rataro replied and Naruto mentally snorted before leaning into his open palm while looking to the Ratonga leader.
"I've already been made fun of by at least one of every larger race down here even though I'm only twelve… and it's really starting to wear on my nerves." Naruto retorted with a flat tone of voice and Rataro raised a brow in confusion.
"Why? If your only twelve you're going to grow taller eventually." Rataro noted aloud and Naruto nodded his head with a slight smile on his face.
"I know right!" The blond declared and Gnarl cleared his throat, Naruto blinking before rubbing the back of his head. "You need something Gnarl?" The blond Overlord in Training questioned of his Minion-Master and the said Grey nodded his head before clearing his throat.
"Aye sire. The Ratonga are by no means a hearty or strong race, instead they are fast and agile, not to mention fairly intelligent. These attributes have made them excellent mages, engineers, and scouts, thus why they often dress in light armor or clothing allowing them to better blend in with their environment. Not only that but they are also old allies to the Lizard-Folk and the Naga by Proxy, as such they live in the many small tunnels here in The Underworld that criss-cross between the Naga, The Drow, The Duergar, and The Lizard-Folk." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth, Naruto silently nodding his head though wondering what a Duergar was since Gnarl had never mentioned them before.
"And last we come to Lady Zorua and her daughter Rika of The Lilmothiit sire." Gnarl finished and "Zorua" the dark-grey fox-woman gave a curt bow, while her daughter "Rika" merely harrumphed while crossing her arms over her chest.
"It is our pleasure to meet you sire." Zorua offered while standing up, having a voice that sort of reminded Naruto of a red-eyed woman he'd seen walking around Konoha with The Sandaime's son Asuma. Ayame frowned as she looked to the two, her brow twitching slightly in annoyance. While she didn't hate foxes because of Kyuubi, she wasn't exactly a fan of them, and these two just gave off a weird feeling she didn't like.
"Somehow, I am just betting your race are the ones that everyone up top think are Kitsune." Naruto noted while drumming his fingers on his throne then looked to Gnarl as he chuckled lightly to himself.
"Correct Sire! But I feel that I should mention that the Lilmothiit are originally from the Black-Marsh area of Tamriel. Though they left those lands a long time ago, and are believed to be extinct there now. Now then, the Lilmothiit are exceptional in certain fields sire, they are all quick and agile, have rather amazing abilities with Illusions, and are naturally formidable in Hand to Hand combat. However, they are more or less useless with swords or blades, preferring knuckle weapons and staves. Thus the Lilmothiit are perfectly suited to being Illusionist Mages as well as Brawler Monks." Gnarl explained to Naruto and the blond slowly nodded his head in understanding.
"Indeed milord, in fact my Rika is a Monk." Zorua noted while motioning over to the said fox-girl who merely muttered something under her breath. The Fox-Woman then looked to her daughter and a slim frown crossed her face. "Rika, don't be so rude, greet The Overlord." Zorua urged her daughter and yet Rika scoffed while her tail started to swing behind her in an agitated manner.
"I'll be rude if I want too, I didn't even want to come here in the first place…" Rika muttered angrily and her mother twitched while narrowing her crimson eyes onto her yellow furred daughter.
"Rika, I brought you because not only are you my daughter, but one of the strongest fighters in our clan. It's an honor to meet the Overlord." Zorua stated and Rika scoffed before looking to Naruto and rolled her eyes before looking back to her mother.
"I'm with the Gnolls, he's a bit too tiny to be lording over anyone." Rika stated simply, Ed suddenly falling on his back laughing while Shenzi snickered and Banzai held his ribs from laughter. Gaping for a moment, Zorua growled low in her throat while glaring at her daughter, Rika likewise glaring back at her. However just then the red Lizard-man that Naruto noticed earlier grinned nervously and quickly moved between the mother and daughter before one of them attacked the other.
"W-wait miss Zorua, you know how Rika gets some times, she's just being… well… Rika." He said to the older of the two Lilmothiit before quickly turning to face Rika with a worried look on his face. "And please calm down Rika, you know that your mother means well…" The red lizard offered in a slightly nasally voice, then turned to Naruto and bowed his head a few times. "Sorry milord, Rika is sort of bad at meeting new people, she still sometimes gets aggravated with me." The Lizard noted with a nervous chuckle and the said Fox-Girl narrowed her eyes on the Troglodyte Lizard-Man.
"Shut up, Goggle-Head." She stated mockingly, Naruto frowning deeply as he used to wear goggles as well. He then idly wondered where he'd put his own goggles, as they had telescopic lenses that let him see some distance away and were originally a gift from Sylvanas since he didn't have the natural eyesight of an Elf. Shaking his head of that question, the blond then looked at the young Troglodyte with a slight frown.
"Alright, but… um… who are you?" Naruto asked the Troglodyte and he blinked before clearing his throat for a moment.
"Oh me?" The red Lizard-man / boy asked while pointing to himself and Naruto nodded his head silently. "Oh well, I'm Takato milord, Takato Guil of the Guil clan, it's an honor to meet you." Takato replied with another bow of his head and Naruto looked over to Gnarl with a raised brow.
"Guil clan?" The blond asked curiously and Gnarl shrugged his shoulders.
"I honestly have no idea what he's talking about, sire. I only know the basics of the races, not every little detail." Gnarl replied and Naruto let out a grunt before looking back to Takato for some kind of explanation.
"Oh, my clan are the best diggers in the entire Underworld, in honor of this we were given a clan name unlike the other Troglodytes." Takato explained and Naruto hummed lightly for a moment before looking over to Gnarl.
"Don't we have a Digger minion?" He asked the old Minion-Master and Gnarl slowly nodded his head.
"Aye sire, his name is Grubby, he's a bit annoying but a good miner none the less." Gnarl replied and Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment before looking back to Takato and leaned forward.
"Would you or your family mind heading down and helping dig out an area for the Froglok's to live?" Naruto questioned of the crimson Lizardman and he shook his head, smiling slightly while Naruto then looked down to Gnarl. The old minion-Master grinned slightly before letting out a sharp whistle, Giblet running into the room and saluting, only to smack his mask to hard and be thrown onto his back, Ayame giggling to herself as he did while the Gnolls outright laughed.
"Giblet!" Gnarl stated, getting the Gnolls into yet another bout of laughter from his name, while the said brown stood back up and looked attentively to the old Minion-master. "Take this Troglodyte to find his family and then have them report to Grubby to expand the Underworld, we need more room down here." Gnarl ordered and Giblet nodded his head while running over to Takato, grabbed his wrist and then pulled him off after him. With that out of the way, Naruto nodded his head slightly before looking back to Rika and her mother Zorua
"Now, would it be too much to ask you why you're here?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow and Zorua cleared her throat before walking forward.
"My people are nomadic and can live most anywhere milord, however we prefer to live near forests, swamps, and marshes more than any other terrain. We also once lived in a place known to our kind and the Frogloks as the Marsh of Chelimber before the humans started waging war on one another caused us to move on. We drifted from place to place, as nomads are easily able to adapt to this sire, however… hunting has grown scarce and human settlements are very abundant, leaving us with little way to survive on our own." Zorua explained and Naruto leaned back in his throne and lightly tapped his cheek with one of his clawed fingers, Ayame looking greatly confused.
"Marsh of Chelimber? Where's that?" She asked while looking from Zorua to Gnarl and the old Minion-Master stroked his Goatee before replying.
"To you it would be known as Mizu-no-Kuni, the so-called Land of Water. Back before the age of Shinobi it was known as The Marsh of Chelimber, where our Lords ancestor Eldrith lived within her Onyx-Tower for a time." Gnarl explained and Ayame suddenly blinked in surprise before looking to Naruto.
"Wow, I never would've guessed that one of your ancestors was actually from Mizu-no-Kuni Naruto-kun." She admitted while staring at him and Naruto shrugged his shoulders before leaning into his fist.
"It's news to me too Ayame-neechan, all I knew about Eldrith before was that she was the one who started the original Dark Alliance." Naruto replied truthfully, Ayame slightly surprised to know it was a female Overlord who had started such a thing… then smirked as a sudden thought came to mind, the brunette looking over to Gnarl as he sat beside the throne.
"Hey, did any of the male Overlords ever try working with others before Naruto-kun?" She asked the aging Minion-Master curiously and Gnarl grunted for a moment before rubbing his face.
"Unfortunately no… they always ended up attacking with just we Minions, leaving themselves sadly under armed against larger forces whenever the Light Races banded together against us." Gnarl admitted with a wave of one claw, and then raised a brow as Ayame giggled into her hand. She then sat up proudly while brushing some of her hair back over her shoulder, Gnarl and Naruto not liking the look on her face.
"It somehow figures that only a woman would try and work with others." Ayame noted, Shenzi and Zurua snickering into their hands though also nodding in agreement with the brunette. As they did, both Rataro and Bio narrowed their eyes onto the girl, and Naruto palmed his face for a moment before giving her a flat look.
"Neechan, do I really need to remind you that I'm a boy? Or that I'm also making a Dark Aliance just like my ancestor? Or that I didn't know that she even existed until after I started doing so?" Naruto asked flatly and Ayame blinked for a moment before grinning nervously and patting his shoulder.
"No of course not, but she did think it up first, Naruto-kun." Ayame replied and Naruto shook his head with a frown before looking back to Zorua.
"Fucking technicalities… how do I beat someone who's been dead for centuries?" Naruto muttered under his breath before clearing his throat. "I take it that you wish for either trade between your people and mine, or for a place to stay here too?" Naruto questioned with a wave of one hand and the Fox-Woman silently nodded her head.
"The former sire, my people prefer the open air to these tunnels and are perfectly fine with the forests above." Zorua replied before taking a step forward and bowing only slightly to the young Overlord. "However, as hunting is slim I as representative of my people humbly request you allow the Lilmothiit to trade with the other Dark-Races under your rule." Zorua explained and Naruto tilted his head to one side while leaning back in his throne, idly rubbing his chin. He already decided he'd help them, but he didn't want to sound too charitable, he had the feeling that some of the Dark-Races would take advantage of him if he did.
"Impressive runt, you're already learning how it is you need to rule. And I really want to be one of those Lilmothiit when I get my own body. I won't have to change my looks too much to be one of them." The Kyuubi's voice noted in his mind and Naruto mentally blinked while outward closing his eyes.
'Kyuubi, what the hell do you want?' The blond haired Overlord in training questioned angrily and the creature let out a dark chuckle before replying.
"Just checking on my oh so gracious Overlord, and I'm wondering why you haven't spoken to The Gnarled One about reforming me a body yet…" The Kyuubi replied with a low growl at the end and Naruto mentally grunted.
'Maybe because I have the distinct feeling it'd take an ass-load of magic to do that and I don't have any magic users who could help me with that besides that kid…' Naruto responded with a mental frown, The Kyuubi merely grumbling to itself as it soon fell silent and Naruto let out a slight breath. "Alright Zorua, I'll accept that, besides I think the Dark-Races need to learn a little coexistence if this Dark-Alliance is ever going to work." Naruto replied and Zorua smiled graciously while giving a curt bow and then straightening up before the young Overlord.
"Thank you milord, I cannot truly express how much this means to my people." Zorua told the blond truthfully before then looking to Rika, whom merely scowled deeply before huffing and looking to the side. "In fact…" Zorua noted with a frown, annoyed with her Daughter's rudeness, before looking over to the young Overlord. "Why don't you take care of her for me. Since she's saw fit to be nothing but rude to you it'd be a fitting punishment." Zorua mused to herself thoughtfully, Rika shooting an incredulous look at her matched by Naruto.
"You can't be serious!" Rika declared while looking at her mother who silently crossed her arms over her chest with a flat look.
"And why is that? You've been rude and insulting to the Overlord, to me, and to everyone else you've met ever since you won that stupid little tournament a while back. Winning one tournament does not make you queen of the world!" Zorua noted while ticking off her fingers and Rika growled lowly, only to yelp in pain as Zorua pulled one of her ears upwards with her other paw / hand on her hip. "Now listen here young lady, I've put up with your sass for long enough. It's time you learned a little respect and if I have to literally take away your freedom to do it then so be it." Zorua decided with a nod of her head and then seemed to tap at her chin for a moment while Naruto gaped disbelievingly.
"Wait, why is she doing this to her own daughter?" Ayame quickly asked Gnarl and the old grey turned to her with a blink and then snickered to himself.
"Think about it girl, little Rika has been rude to The Overlord, the same person who is graciously allowing her people to trade with his own… how do you think that would go if our master was just a wee bit more evil?" Gnarl retorted and saw the wince that Ayame gave while looking back over to where Zorua was standing with Rika.
"So she's going to enslave her daughter to Naruto, just for being rude to him?" Ayame questioned and Gnarl shrugged his shoulders.
"I've seen Drow kill their own young for being born deformed, this is nothing." Gnarl replied and Ayame gasped in horror while Zorua turned to look at Naruto, who was still gaping at what was happening.
"Milord, since my daughter has saw fit to not only insult you, but to also be a complete and utter ass to everyone she's ever met… I'd like to arrange a marriage between the two of you." Zorua noted and Rika gaped before glaring at her mother.
"You can't do that!" She shouted only to yelp and grab her mother's wrists as she painfully wrenched her ear upwards. As she did, Rataro's niece Gadget winced while watching the two for a moment then looked to her uncle.
"Is marrying the Overlord really that much of a punishment?" She questioned of him and he rolled his eyes for a moment before patting her on the head.
"Rika is a prideful creature unlike you Gadget, she sees this as loosing her freedom of choice and so it is a punishment to her. To others it would be a gift, but her own blind arrogance prevents her from seeing it as such." Rataro explained and Gadget slowly nodded her head in understanding before turning back to the spectacle, the Gnolls watching with amused grins on their faces.
"First of all, I'm your mother, second of all, I'm leader of the clan, third of all… I just did!" Zorua retorted while glaring at the yellow furred Lilmothiit girl, Naruto shaking his head when she said that and palming his face.
"Wait now hold on just a minute! I'm already engaged to Manasa, how can you engage me to her as well?" Naruto demanded of the woman while leaning forward in his seat and Zorua turned with an arched brow.
"I don't see any problem with that? The Lizard-Folk ruler before Viathen had six mates, so two isn't so bad." Zorua noted while Naruto gaped and tried to come up with a retort, only for Gnarl to quickly move forward. He knew his young master wasn't exactly ready to appreciate how good he had it, but that didn't mean that Gnarl didn't believe that he'd thank him in the future!
"I believe that would be fine milady Zorua, the master needs someone to help in his "Hand to Hand" combat training as well anyways." Gnarl noted with a slight bow to the older of the two Lilmothiit, Naruto and Ayame both shooting the aging Minion-Master with an annoyed glare when he did. Naruto was because he was getting sick of Gnarl making every decision like this for him. And Ayame because she didn't like that Naruto was already betrothed, and now he had two fiancés… "In any case, the master has work to do, so if you would all please adjourn to the provided rooms you may spend as much time here as you wish." Gnarl offered with a slight bow and Zorua nodded before all but dragging Rika out of the room.
The Gnolls soon followed them, while Rataro and Bio gave a slight bow to Naruto before following them out leaving Naruto with his Minion-Master and Ayame. As soon as they were gone, Naruto lunged at Gnarl and lifted him up by his cloak, his eyes steaming a furious blood red. "Gnarl, what the hell do you think you're doing? I thought I told you to stop making decisions like this for me.!" Naruto growled at the old minion-master and Gnarl gulped before grinning towards the youth nervously.
"C-Calm down sire, I assure you I had a very good reason for doing what I did!" Gnarl stated while holding onto Naruto's wrists and the blond let out a low growl in his throat while glaring into his single eye.
"Oh really? Humor me then, what exactly could be so important that I'd need yet another fiancé?" The blond haired Overlord In Training demanded angrily of the old Minion-Master and Gnarl took a calming breath before steeling his nerves.
"Master… how many Abyss Dragons do you think are left?" Gnarl questioned and Naruto blinked while raising a brow as he looked at the Gray-Minion in confusion. "Only one is left in all the lands, nay, the entire world! That is you sire, you are all that remains of the Abyss Dragons!" Gnarl explained and Naruto blinked for a moment before releasing Gnarl, the Minion-Master hitting the floor with a grunt while Naruto looked to his clawed hands for a moment.
"I'm… the last?" He questioned while his voice returned to normal and Gnarl let out a quick breath before nodding his head.
"Indeed sire, so for every mistress you have, more Abyss Dragons will also be born. Admittedly none of them will be pure breeds but it's better than the alternative of the entire species dying out." Gnarl explained to the blond haired youth while pulling on his collar for a moment, Naruto letting out a breath as he lowered his arms into his cloak and looked to the minion-master with a frown.
"Fine… now you mentioned something about going to Albion?" Naruto questioned and Gnarl quickly nodded his head while pushing himself back up to his feet.
"Aye, follow me sire and we'll get you off on your next adventure." Gnarl offered while quickly hobbling off into Castle Plun-Darr, Naruto following him slowly while Ayame quickly moved to his side. Placing a hand onto the blond's shoulder, she watched him look to her and smiled unsurely.
"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" She questioned softly and Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before chuckling lightly in his throat.
"You ever wonder what it'd be like to be the only human alive?" He asked and Ayame shook her head, Naruto opening his eyes and smiling softly. "Well, trust me, it's not a good feeling…" The blond stated as he then followed after Gnarl with a more hurried pace, Ayame watching him for a moment before quickly following behind him…
(Konoha…)
She silently leapt from roof to roof before slowly approaching the edge of the building adjacent to an old apartment building. Crouching down for only a moment, she then leapt out and flew through the air, landing against the side of the building where she quickly wrapped her arms around the railing. Slipping over it and into a crouch on the ground, the woman then slunk through the shadows, her glowing red eyes causing a cat to hiss before leaping away into the night. Raising a brow for only a moment, the woman then approached a familiar apartment, before stilling and walking to the side. Looking at the side of the building her eyes bolted wide open upon seeing a massive hole had been torn out of the side of the apartment.
'What happened here?' She wondered briefly before climbing over to the hole and slipping inside of the apartment. Narrowing her eyes, she knelt down and frowned when she felt a dark taint of exceptional strength. 'But it's faint, it must've been weeks ago that it was left here.' She noted to herself before crouching down and searching for the most minuet of clues to what happened to her son. She felt a mental flinch at calling the boy as being hers, she hadn't given birth to him after all, and he wasn't even of the same species as her, not to mention she was technically dead…
'But I was the one who cared for him, nurtured him, taught him how to survive, to fight and live… I raised him… I've earned the right to think of him as my own.' She thought to herself before stopping at a silver splotch on the carpet of the apartment and frowned deeply. 'This looks familiar…' She noted before lowering her head and sniffing her eyes widening as she all but vaulted back her face twisted into a look of disgust. 'It's unicorn blood! By the creators that's… who could ever be desperate enough to use that method of gaining immortality?' She mentally demanded before standing up and walking over to the broken wall with a deep scowl on her face.
'Unicorn Blood, the sheer insanity of doing that is unbelievable… I haven't even heard of any fool using that method in several centuries… hell, Unicorns are all but extinct in Azeroth! Where would someone even find one!' She inwardly demanded, as in many lands the once majestic creature was becoming more and more rare. However now that she thought about it, she hadn't really searched the "Elemental Nations" all that greatly, having stuck to Hi-No-Kuni and her son on her visits. However, shaking her head she returned to her search and scowled when she saw the edges of the wall.
'A fire-ball spell projected someone at extreme velocity and the sheer force of the blow managed to cause whoever was unlucky enough to be hit to be sent flying out of the building here, and through the roof of that one over there…' She thought with a slight wince, and then frowned as she remembered no one used the simple Fireball spell in the Elemental Nations. They had a Fireball Jutsu and Pheonix Flower Jutsu that made larger fireballs or multiple fireballs, but not one for something a simple hand-sized fireball or even a flamethrower style attack. It was actually quite amusing, Chakra was indeed powerful, however that power made its uses for actual stealth quite limited.
'A simple small fireball could set a fire and no one would notice until it's too late, those enormous ones cause too much damage or alert the person nearby. Although I have to admit that when it comes to Wind, these people beat us by a long ways with their ability to extend their swords reach with it.' She noted to herself while taking a few steps back and then lunged forward, jumping over to the next building and landing in a low crouch, her cloak closing around her body as she stood up. Looking around, she instantly noticed a trail of blood and frowned while lowering down to one knee. Frowning deeply for a moment, she noted that the blood had faded greatly, and was only half washed away, meaning it had stained the very wood it was on.
'But that is to my great fortune in this case.' She thought to herself while lowering a hand and then swiping it along the blood before sniffing it. The dried caked blood no longer carried much of a scent, leaving it's origins as a mystery, though she had a sneaking suspicion she knew whom it came from. Following what remained of the trail, she slowly exited the room and then drummed her fingers on a wall when she saw that it ended only a short distance from the room. Looking down, she noted several foot shaped and yet very deep indentions in the wood and scowled deeply.
'The sheer weight of whoever was the pursuer here is astounding, he must've been dressed head to tow in armor…' She thought and a brief memory of a familiar armor clad being flashed in her mind, causing her to clench her fists before exhaling a breath. 'No… he's gone now.' She reminded herself while making her way to follow the deep indentions, vaguely noticing gouges in the wood from what could only be spikes, which she added to her mental picture and twitched once more, the size of the attacker also increased to behemoth level proportions, a juggernaut dressed in heavy spiked armor had attacked her son…
'But why? And where is he?' She wondered to herself while stopping at the door of the building with a frown on her face. Clearly time had worn away the rest of the trail, which meant it'd be very hard to find him… "S-Sasuke-S-san, we sh-shouldn't be out th-this late." She heard and pressed her back into a wall while slipping into the shadows and watched a young Hyuuga girl walk behind a familiar Uchiha boy. 'The girl is the one who follows my son like a lost puppy, the boy is the arrogant brat who needs to get a good trouncing…' She thought to herself before listening to the two and wondered what they were doing out so late.
"If we're gonna find out why someone would want to kill Naruto then we have to search the place he died for clues." Sasuke stated simply, arms crossed over his chest while the timid Hyuuga started to poke her index fingers together. However at hearing this, the woman who was listening in felt her eyes widen before her crimson eyes suddenly burned a furious red. 'So I was right… but why would someone attack my son? Did they find out about my attachment to him?' The Dark Lady wondered to herself before deciding that this deserved more investigation, so followed the Hyuuga and Uchiha heirs as they crossed the village.
Sasuke and Hinata walked into the remains of the building where Naruto had "Died" in Konoha's eyes. Making his way forward, Sasuke jumped into where the basement had once been before turning to give Hinata a look. "C'mon, we don't have all night to look around here." He reminded her simply and she nodded her head before sliding down behind him, the Uchiha shaking his head with a frown. Behind the two, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner landed with a light plop, and then actually shivered when she felt an all-consuming presence of Darkness swarm around her.
'This… this presence is nothing like the one in Naruto's home, it's… stronger… older…' She noted to herself while silently watching the two heirs as they continued to search around the basement. "Hinata, use your Byakugan and see if you can see anything unusual around here." Sasuke stated while looking around and the girl silently nodded her head before activating her kekkei-genkai. However she then widened her eyes and gasped upon seeing a mass of pitch black energy had stained the area, it permeated from everything and left little around them visible…
"Th-There's some k-kind of b-black energy h-here… it's m-masking everything." Hinata noted and Sasuke raised a brow for a moment before scowling visibly as he looked all around, yet saw nothing.
"Is it Chakra?" Sasuke questioned and Hinata shook her head with a visible shudder as she looked all around.
"N-No… it's different somehow… and its t-tainted… f-foul… evil." The young Hyuuga responded with another shudder while Sasuke frowned deeply as that didn't help him with why Naruto was killed. In fact, that just raised even more questions about why someone would want to kill the blond haired youth. Shaking his head of those thoughts, Sasuke gave an annoyed look to the Hyuuga girl while walking over to her.
"Focus, look for something unusual besides that energy…" Sasuke ordered sharply and the Hyuuga heiress slowly nodded her head before looking around once more. Walking wherever the energy blocked her sight she soon stopped and widened her eyes in shock.
"Th-There's a tunnel h-here!" She stated and Sasuke quickly moved over to her and looked around for a moment before giving her a look. "Th-The energy m-must've m-masked it from th-the other Hyuuga in the AnBu." Hinata noted in explanation and Sasuke grunted before kneeling down and placing his hand down.
"Here?" He asked and Hinata moved her foot to show him where she saw the tunnel, Sasuke digging his hand into the dirt and smirking when it gave way. "Good thing it hasn't rained in a while." He mumbled to himself before digging out the entrance to the tunnel, and then looked back to the Hyuuga girl. "How far down does this thing go?" The dark haired youth questioned and Hinata shook her head with a frown.
"T-Too far to see." She replied and Sasuke clicked his tongue for a moment before rubbing his chin.
"Can you tell who used it?" Sasuke asked her and she looked into the tunnel and widened her eyes seeing a bloody trail going down its length.
"B-Blood!" She said in shock and Sasuke palmed his face for a moment and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Naruto lost a lot of blood… but the guy who attacked him, they supposedly found a metal glove in the ruins… so maybe…" Sasuke mumbled under his breath for a moment before looking up to Hinata with a slight smirk. "So maybe Naruto didn't die that night." Sasuke finished and saw Hinata's eyes go wide while he looked down into the tunnel below with a calculative look in his eyes. "And there's only one way I know to find out if he is or not." Sasuke noted while sliding his legs into the tunnel and Hinata quickly stopped the young Uchiha.
"B-But we don't kn-know how far d-down it is, or if th-there's a w-way out or…" Hinata tried to tell the Uchiha only for him to brush her hand off of himself and give her a stern glare.
"I don't care, if the Dobe really is alive, he might be in trouble from whoever was chasing him in the first place." Sasuke reminded the girl and she took a step back while poking her fingers together once more. 'And this time, I won't let someone else die when I can change it.' Sasuke thought to himself while turning and looking back into the darkness of the tunnel.
"W-Why do you c-care so much?" Hinata questioned and Sasuke scoffed before looking at her with a slight frown.
"I don't really care about the Dobe, but I'm not about to just let him die." Sasuke replied before pushing himself down into the tunnel and slid a fair ways down, Hinata kneeling down and watching him fall even out of her sight. Looking down into the tunnel nervously for a moment, the young Hyuuga then let out a breath and followed the young Uchiha into the Depths of Darkness. As soon as both were gone, Sylvanas slid down into the basement behind them and walked over to the tunnel. 'I knew you wouldn't die so easily…' She thought to herself before slipping into the tunnel, grunting as it was a bit of a tight fit for her, even with her slim frame.
Gripping the sides of the tunnel, Sylvanas then clawed it out a bit causing it to grow unstable as she then flung herself down into it's length. Clawing out the sides on her way down, she closed the only exit into the tunnel as it collapsed behind her, leaving her, the young Hyuuga, and the Uchiha as the only people alive or otherwise aware of it's existence… which was exactly as she wanted it to stay.
(Albion…)
An old woman stood atop a hill, her eyes were pure milky white with blindness, and yet an amused smile crossed her lips at a flash in the distant horizons. "He finds you when you're sleeping…" She whispered while looking out towards Bowerstone lake and then folded her hands together. "And when the daylight fades…" She continued to say as she walked through a small settlement of gypsies with a smirk. "He watches while you're running…" She continued to say in an odd verse, the strange little smile still touching at the edges of her lips. "And while you're trying to hide…" She continued to say as a gate was lowered and she walked out passed it silently.
"He hears you when you're praying… and when you scream in fear…" She continued once more before stopping at the edge of a bridge and placing a ringed hand onto a guardrail. "He knows when you're dreaming… and strikes when the lights grow dim…" The woman whispered while reaching up to her hood and then drew it back, her features changing as a mass of shifting shadows covered them. Revealed is a woman with pale skin, her face remarkably young considering what it looked like a moment before, her eyes covered by bloodied bandages and a faded red tattoo at her brow, her hair is long and red with a single black streak at her forehead, her lips left uncolored suddenly quirked into an amused smile as she looked out into the distance.
"He finds you when you're sleeping, and when the daylight fades… He knows you can't escape him, and waits for you to fail…" The woman continued saying ominously while pulling her hood back up, her features returning to that of an old blind woman as she did. Turning on her heel the old woman made her way down the hill, her shadow seeming to twist and morph. "And you know his name…" She started to say before smiling ever so slightly as she turned to make her way towards where the light had been. "It's Jack of Blades…" She finished while making her way towards where the young Overlord was undoubtedly waiting for her…
TBC…
AN: Here's a pic of what Naruto looks like / wears in this story, The Design is loosely based on the designs for The Dragon Born (Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Trailers), Flemeth (Dragon Age 2), Jack of Blades (Fable), "Bandit Queen" Theresa (Fable 1), Mumm-Ra (ThunderCats), Sylvanas Windrunner (World of Warcraft), Souron (Of course)(The Lord of The Rings), The Overlord of Nordberg (Overlord 2), and to those who have wondered if he'll ever become a Dragon well… just remove the spaces. http : /26lordpain . deviantart . com/gallery/?offset=24#/d4hawi7