Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Lord of the Rings.
A Shinobi of Middle-Earth
Chapter 21: Last words
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Spirits/Ents talking"
"Spirits/Ents thinking"
(Location: Isengard)
Merry, Pippin, and Izuna were lying about on the ruined wall of Isengard. After having explained what was going on in the storeroom, Izuna was fairly certain that Treebeard wasn't offended. And as there wasn't really anything they could do, they opted to stay near or on the wall to keep an eye out for people while also watching the forest move in.
And so, they decided to enjoy themselves. "It's good. Definitely from the Shire," Merry declared as he smoked his pipe. "Longbottom leaf eh?"
Pippin agreed with him, feeling happy and content. "I feel like I'm back at the Green Dragon," he said.
While Izuna did not know what that meant, Merry did. "Green Dragon!" he repeated while also eating a piece of food.
"A mug of ale in my hand. Putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work," he finished, swinging his legs a little as they hung in the air.
Merry took a drink of ale, paused, and looked at his friend. "Only, you've never done a hard day's work."
Izuna looked at the two of them and then looked at Isengard itself. "What do you call all of this?" he asked the hobbits. A second of silence passed and the three of them started laughing about it all.
The sound of a horse neighing made their laughter go quiet, but the sight of Gandalf atop of Shadowfax as well as the Men of Rohan and their fellow friends made them laugh again in greeting, especially Pippin who raised his mug in salute to them. "Welcome, my lords to Isengard!" Merry said to them, standing up and wobbling a little.
As the riders brought their horses to a halt to look at the three of them, Sasuke took notice of his student and saw something was wrong. But before he could speak, Gimli did. "You young rascals," the dwarf shouted up at them. "A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting and, and smoking!"
"We are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts," Pippin explained to him while eating a sandwich. "The salted pork is particularly good."
"Salted pork…" Gimli repeated, liking the sound of that. He could enjoy a bit of salted pork right now.
Gandalf had something else to say about it. "Hobbits!" he declared quietly to himself with a small shake of his head.
"We're under orders from Treebeard who's taken over management of Isengard," Merry informed them all.
"Then take us to him," the White Wizard told the hobbit.
"Wait," Sasuke said, still looking at his student. "Izuna, we need to talk." He turned and rode his horse away from the group, back into the quietness of the forest. Izuna quickly hopped down from the ruined wall and followed his sensei into the forest. Once they were far enough away from the others, Sasuke got down from his horse and faced Izuna. "What happened?"
Izuna opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he felt that they weren't alone. "Who's there?" he demanded, turning his head to see a tall, orange-haired man standing by a tree in silence.
"Jūgo, give us some room," Sasuke said to the man, who turned around and walked away. He turned back to Izuna. "What happened?"
It just came out of the half-elf. "When I was in Fangorn, I think the Tainted found me. I wasn't sure if it was an apparition or not, but everything that you had taught me fled in that moment. I was…paralyzed with fear. I'm sorry." He hung his head in shame once he was done.
"Izuna," Sasuke spoke, making him raise his head again. "Everyone has known fear; to say otherwise would be a lie. The question is whether you let fear be a sword, or a cloak."
"I don't understand."
"A sword of fear will cut into you and make you hesitate. But a cloak will envelop you and sharpen your senses, making you fight harder, stronger, longer, all because you admit that you are afraid." He turned back to the horse. "Let's go back to the others."
Izuna found those words to be cryptic and confusing. He wanted to say something in protest, but his sensei was already leaving on the horse. So, he followed after him.
They rode their horses through the water that had flooded the place, with the hobbits riding behind the men and holding on. The only person who wasn't riding a horse was Izuna, as he was walking on the water with Aeglos in his hands. They were soon met by Treebeard. "Young master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come," the Ent greeted the Wizard. "Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there is a Wizard to manage here locked in his tower."
Aragorn looked up at the tower of Orthanc. "Show yourself," he quietly commanded Saruman.
Even though he said it quietly, Gandalf heard him. "Be careful," he warned everyone there. "Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous."
"Well then let's just have his head and be done with it," Gimli declared.
"No, we need him alive. We need him to talk."
"I can make him talk," Sasuke told him.
Before he could say anything in reply, Saruman appeared at the pinnacle of the tower. "You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King, and made peace afterwards," he said, his voice amplifying itself so that those at the base could hear him. "Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace you and I?"
That voice sounded very familiar to Théoden, who had heard it many times before when he had taken control of. "We shall have peace…" he began to say, looking up at the pinnacle. "We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace!" he promised.
The face that Saruman had on, one that supposedly spoke of wisdom and patience, morphed into an ugly expression. "Gibbets and crows? Dotard!" he cursed the King of Rohan before turning his attention to the other White Wizard. "What do you want Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess, the key of Orthanc? Or perhaps the keys of Barad-Dûr itself? Along with the crowns of the seven Kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!?" he demanded.
"That sounds like something out of a bad adventure book," Sasuke thought to himself. He would know. He used to love those books when he had been a kid.
Gandalf was not fazed by the words of his former friend. "Your treachery has already cost many lives," he replied. "Thousands more are now at risk. But you could save them Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel."
A pleased expression appeared on Saruman's face. "So you have come here for information. I have some for you," he declared, pulling the palantir out from his robes. "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the great eye has seen it!" He lowered the palantir and hid it in his robes again. "Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon."
Gandalf rode forward on Shadowfax, even as he kept talking. "You are all going to die! But you know this don't you, Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor." The traitor Istari looked down at Aragorn with nothing but contempt in his eyes. "This exile, crept from the shadows, will never be crowned King."
He looked at all the others there. "Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those who are closest to him. Those he professes to love!" Everyone at the base of the tower began to look unsure of what they knew. Saruman saw his advantage and pressed it. "Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom?" he asked Gandalf. "The path that you have set him on can only lead to death."
Hearing no answer, he turned to look down at Izuna. "And what kind words did your mother say to you, half-elf, before she was taken away from you? You've seen the darkness that is able to order such a thing and yet you join with these fools? I would think the elves would've parted some of their wisdom upon you. I can see that I was wrong."
Izuna wanted to reply, but he could feel the gaze of his sensei upon his back. So he said nothing. But Gimli had something to say. "I've heard enough! Shoot him!" he told Legolas. "Stick an arrow in his gob!"
The elf reached for an arrow but stopped when Gandalf said, "No!" He looked up at the pinnacle. "Come down Saruman and your life will be spared!"
"Save your pity and your mercy. I have no use for it!" Saruman shouted back, conjuring up a fireball at the end of his staff and shooting it at his former friend.
But as it flew down, Sasuke acted. He flashed through handseals and finished with a resounding clap. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" he shouted, breathing out a large fireball. The two fireballs clashed against one another, snuffing each other out in a mere instant.
Gandalf still sat on Shadowfax, having not moved a muscle in the moments that had followed. "Saruman…" he began. "Your staff is broken! I cast you out of the order of the Istari!" The staff in Saruman's hand burst asunder, scaring the hand easily enough that blood began to drip. He could only stare at the hand in shock and surprise before turning his gaze downward, his eyes still full of hate.
Théoden watched this all in silence. But he could not that silence when he saw another man come into sight atop the pinnacle of Orthanc. "Gríma!" he called out to Wormtongue. "You need not follow him! You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down."
Gríma faltered, unsure of what to do. He turned away, only to stop when Saruman spoke. "A man of Rohan?" the former Istari repeated. "What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs? The victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you, Théoden Horse Master," he told the Lord of the Mark. "You are a lesser son of greater sires!"
The king was silent, even though the insult stung. It was true that he was not the direct descendent of Eorl the Young. And he knew that the former White Wizard had lived when his ancestor had brought his people to what was now Rohan. But his focus was not on Saruman. "Gríma…come down!" he called out. "Be free of him!"
"Free? He will never be free!" Saruman declared.
But even though he said those words, Gríma's fate was his own. "No," he said to his master.
The former White Wizard turned to him with fury in his eyes. "Get down, cur!" he ordered, slapping Wormtongue hard across the face, getting a shout of pain from him as he fell.
"Saruman!" called out Gandalf, getting his attention again. "You were deep in the enemy's counsel. Tell us what you know!"
"You withdraw your guard and I will tell you where your doom will be decided," he replied, paying no more attention to his servant. "I will not be held prisoner here!"
His lack of attention proved to be his downfall. Gríma, angry at everything that he had done for Saruman and everything that had been done to him by Saruman, finally had enough. Drawing out a knife he had hidden beneath his robes, he leapt and stabbed the traitor Istari in the back many times.
Everyone at the base of the tower was momentarily shocked by this action. They did not think that it would happen. Izuna saw Legolas nock an arrow from the corner of his eye. Seeing where the elf was aiming the arrow, he cried out, "No!" and swung Aeglos upwards, slicing the arrowhead off.
Gríma kept stabbing and stabbing Saruman, his anger making him raise his knife up and driving it down again and again. The Istari traitor tried to turn and fight him off but his strength was draining away from him. He could only grasp Gríma by his robe before stumbling off of the pinnacle of Orthanc. His grip was weak and Wormtongue broke free, but he fell as well.
"AHH!" he screamed as he fell through the air, his hands trying to find something to hold onto. For a moment, it looked like he would grab nothing. Then he managed to grab hold on one of the black spike protruding from the tower. "HELP ME, PLEASE!" he cried out. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
Izuna heard his plea and leapt for the side of the tower, racing up it side. As he ran, the body of Saruman finally landed on a spike on a waterwheel close to the tower. The sight of such a thing made the hobbits there wince and look away. Despite what Saruman had done to earn their anger and wrath, no one deserved to die like that.
"Hang on, I got you," Izuna said to Gríma when he reached him. He grabbed hold of the man and leapt down from the side of the tower back into the water below.
"Send word to all our allies and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free," Gandalf told Théoden. "The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike." The waterwheel began to turn, taking the body of Saruman down into the water.
"The filth of Saruman is washing away," Treebeard declared. "Trees will come back to live here. Young trees. Wild trees."
As he listened to the Ent, Pippin saw something glowing in the water. He hopped down from Aragorn's horse into the water. "Pippin!" shouted Aragorn as he went for the glowing area. His shouting attracted the attention of everyone, even more so when the hobbit reached down into the water and pulled out the palantir Saruman had on him.
"Bless my bark!" Treebeard swore when he saw it.
Pippin just stared at the stone with wonder in his eyes. "Peregrin Took," Gandalf said to him, surprising him as he turned around to see the Wizard sitting on Shadowfax beside him. "I'll take that, my lad! Quickly now!" he ordered.
A little reluctantly, he handed the palantir to the White Wizard, who took it and covered it with his robes. They shared a look between one another before Pippin turned away. "We have done all that we can here," Théoden declared. "Let's us go back to Edoras."
"What about him?" Éomer asked, staring intently at Gríma.
The Lord of the Mark turned to look at him too, making him cower and hide behind Izuna. Even though he had killed Saruman, he was still fearful of what might happen. Finally, Théoden looked at the half-elf. "His life is yours to command now," he declared. "Do with him as you see fit."
"As you say, Théoden King," Izuna replied, looking him straight in the eye.
They were riding back to Edoras and the air around was practically light-hearted. They were riding their horses at a gradual trot so that Izuna and Gríma (who had been told to "stay out of the way for now," by Izuna) could stay close. They were smiling, laughing, and even arguing. "I'm telling you for the last time, elf, he was already dead!" Gimli told Legolas.
"I care not how many times you say, Gimli, that Uruk was still twitching," the elf replied.
"Aye, because he had my axe in his head!" he shouted.
"The score is still tied."
"No, it's bloody not!"
"How long are they going to keep this up?" Théoden asked Aragorn.
"Probably until they find themselves in another battle," the Ranger answered in a serious tone of voice.
Izuna could tell that Aragorn was joking and he laughed quietly. His eyes turned to his sensei and his friend. Curious, he walked closer to listen in. "Are you sure that we will not need Suigetsu and his team?" Jūgo asked.
"His mission is done," Sasuke answered. "If he wanted to go back home, that is his choice. I am surprised that you stayed."
"My place is by your side, Sasuke. That hasn't changed in the years that you were gone."
The raven-haired shinobi fell silent as he rode and Izuna thought that was the end of the conversation. But then his sensei spoke again. "Has it changed much?"
"I can't say. I've tried not to go to places where I might cause damage. Sometimes people will find me and share news with me."
"I see." He looked back and saw his student watching them. "Izuna, what have I said about listening in on other people's conversations?"
"To not get caught," Izuna answered promptly. He didn't receive any praise or acknowledgements and he had expected none.
But his speaking had gotten Jūgo interested. "I had never thought you would take a student," he said to Sasuke after looking the half-elf over. "Why did you?"
"He's Madara's son," Sasuke answered shortly.
Those words made him look back at Izuna again, this time looking at him more carefully. "…I don't see it," he finally said.
"That's because his mother was an elf."
"Oh." He turned his head to look up at the sky. As he looked at it all, the blue sky and the white clouds, he saw a dark speck that seemed to be getting larger.
He wasn't the only one. The other riders began to see it as well. "What is that?" Éomer asked as they brought their horses to a slow stop.
As if to answer him, a screech-like roar filled the air and the speck suddenly landed before them. But while they did not recognize the creature, the Men, Wizard, Elf, and Dwarf knew who it was riding on its back. "Nazgûl!" shouted Aragorn. They all drew weapons but at the same time, backed away from it.
The only person who hadn't moved was Izuna, who was staring wide-eyed in fear of the Ringwraith. He knew that it was the Tainted and it had come for him. It held his gaze and it took a triumphant step towards him. He was caught between wanting to meet it and wanting to run from it. "I don't know what to do," he thought to himself. Then, as if to answer him, the words of his sensei came back to him.
"Everyone has known fear; to say otherwise would be a lie. The question is whether you let fear be a sword, or a cloak. A sword of fear will cut into you and make you hesitate. But a cloak will envelop you and sharpen your senses, making you fight harder, stronger, longer, all because you admit that you are afraid."
Those words put steel in his spine and his stomach but he was still afraid. With slightly trembling hands, he unsealed Aeglos and pointed its tip at the Ringwraith. "I know why you are here. You have haunted me for most of my life. But you shall not have me, not today, not tomorrow, and not any day." he declared, stepping forward to the creature. The riders all looked at him with surprise in their eyes (with the exception of one raven-haired shinobi).
The Nazgûl hissed in amusement. An armored glove reached up and pulled the cloak it wore off, letting it fall to the ground (darkening it in the process). What everyone saw shocked them. Beneath the cloak was a heavily armored human who seemed to tower over them all. In its armored hands was a long black spear. On its head was a helmet so horrible that they could not bear to look at it, all they could see was how black and twisted it was. Even the horses backed away from this nightmare, whinnying in fear.
But Izuna did not back away. He was afraid but he would not let be a sword. When the Tainted raised its black spear and swung it down at him, he swung Aeglos to meet it. The sparks flew as the two blades met in a clash of metal and came apart.
It soon became apparent that there was a gap in skills between the two of them. Izuna, despite his training, had only had Aeglos for a month, maybe less, whereas the Tainted had been most likely been wielding a spear for an Age. The half-elf had to activate his Sharingan just to keep up, only to see every detail of the armored Nazgûl in excruciating detail. He wanted to look away, but he forced himself to look at everything.
"I will not run. I am afraid but I will not run," he told himself again and again as he swung the glaive of his grandfather. Every time the black spear was thrust at him, he forced himself not to flinch or step back. Whenever he lunged, he made himself keep his eyes on the Tainted, looking at it.
"We must help him!" Gimli declared from where he sat on Legolas' horse, reaching for his axe and trying to get off the horse.
"No," Sasuke told him. "Let him fight his demons."
"Lad, he's fighting a Nazgûl!"
"Let him fight, Gimli. He needs this."
Izuna could hear his sensei and the dwarf talk but it sounded so faint to him at that moment, like it was at the end of a tunnel and he was at the other end. But he did not look back. He kept his focus on the Tainted, trying to keep up and protect himself from the black spear.
He fought on, trying to keep himself from getting himself killed. But then he noticed something. As he held the spear of the Tainted in a lock, his eyes traveled down to its right hand. Even though it was armored, there was a ring of silver with a black gem sitting on the ring finger. He knew of the origins of the Ringwraiths and he knew right away what that ring was.
An idea came to him in that moment, something that bloomed instantly and made him change his tactics. Spinning Aeglos upwards, he feinted and swung it low at the glove. The Tainted must've realized what he was trying to do, for it brought the spear it wielded down to block Aeglos.
In that moment, the momentum of the fight changed. Since the start, the Tainted had been the one who was leading the fight, pushing Izuna back. Now it was Izuna who was pushing the Nazgûl back. He was the one who was attacking rather than defending and he attacked ferociously. His idea and his admittance to being afraid spurred him on, forcing the Tainted back and back.
Suddenly, the creature that the Nazgûl had ridden had raised its at him and opened it mouth, revealing many sharp teeth. It roared at him and tried to lunge forward to bite him. But just as quickly as it had stirred, it died just as quickly. Legolas saw the creature move and shot an arrow into its heart.
As the creature fell to the ground, Izuna faced the Tainted. "Were you trying to run?" he asked as he shoved the creature back with Aeglos. He realized that he had unconsciously answered his own question. The Tainted was infamous for making brave men turn away run from it. It fed on fear. But now, it was facing someone who stood before him in defiance, something that had never happened to it before.
"It's getting weaker," Izuna thought as he pushed the Ringwraith back. He could see it in how the spear moving slower and how the force behind it was becoming weaker. He got more aggressive, his anger at the Tainted coming from his defiance and fueling his momentum. He struck again and again, piercing the black armor the Tainted wore. Finally, he broke the spear in half and with a shout, sliced the right hand of the Tainted.
The effect happened instantly. The Nazgûl stumbled back with a scream that pierced the air, clutching the stump of its hand. Darkness suddenly engulfed it, making the others turn their gaze away. But when they looked again, they saw that the darkness was gone and so was the armored Nazgûl who had made afraid. In its place was a pale man who was even more pathetic then Wormtongue.
Izuna looked down at the miserable excuse for a man and placed the tip of Aeglos beneath his chin. "Look at me," he ordered what used to be the Tainted. The creature could only look at his maimed hand and did not do as he was told. "LOOK AT ME!" Izuna roared again.
This time he did and there was fear in his eyes. "You are going to tell me something, something that you owe me." The half-elf looked down at him. "Where is my mother?"
The fear faded away from the Tainted's eyes and he began to laugh a weak raspy laugh. "Minas Morgul," he whispered, yet it sounded like his voice carried over the entire plain. He laughed again and as he looked at the shocked and horrified expressions on those there who knew what that meant, he laughed more.
His laughter became stronger and more crazed, making it sound like he was mocking them. Izuna lifted up his weapon and with a scream of pain and rage, beheaded the Nazgûl with one swing.
The body fell to the ground and seemed to vanish, along with the severed hand. But all the eyes there were focused on the half-elf who had defeated and killed one of the Nine Ringwraiths of Sauron, even as tears started to flow down his face.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
Yes, Gríma lived but he's not going to be a major part. He's just something for the ending I thought would be decent.
If you thought that the fight against the Tainted was a little weak, that's not the end of it. There's more to come out of it.
I'll see you all next chapter!