Disclaimer: Cue long, weird opening anime with a strange song with even stranger lyrics and a bunch of random scenes of the characters posing together, ending with the statement: I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR WORLD OF WARCRAFT!
Additional Statement: Drugs are bad. You'll see why.
Here's the next installment of the Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
Rend stood in front of Thrall's fallen body, his face having transformed into a look of pure disgust. His single eye glowed brightly in the dim light of the room, and his face was cast in both shadows, and the fiery light of his Kaenhira, the name for the Fire Style.
It worked by molding the chakra into an explosive form, which was then expelled through the hands, fingers, feet, even elbows and head, if the person was skilled enough. It could easily destroy anyone hit by it, no matter what type of armor they wore.
It was Rend's strongest attack. The power given to him by the demons of the Burning Legion, and his already incredible chakra reserves gave it enough power to destroy almost anyone that it struck. It could annihilate an orc completely in a single strike.
Thrall was strong, but he was stronger.
He towered over the fallen Warchief, casting his glowing red gaze upon the orc that he had called weakling. Perhaps the orc wasn't so weak, after all.
He said calmly, despite knowing that his words would not reach the orc. "You are strong, Thrall; therefore, I shall address you by your name. But you were leading our people down the path to destruction. Your nature, your kindness, would have led to the defeat, or worse, the weakening of our people. I cannot allow that. But I will honor you in death, for you have proved your strength to me. I will lead the Orcish race to victory Thrall, you can be sure of that."
Lifting his massive sword, he prepared to end Thrall's existence in this world. There was a grudging respect in his eye, for Thrall was no longer weak in it. He felt triumphant, and a little honored. He was the true Warchief, and always had been. This final act would prove to all that it was so.
But a voice stopped him.
"I see that we have arrived just in time."
Rend turned, slowly, to face a shadow that had appeared in the doorway of the throne room. It was huge, hulking, and held two gleaming axes in its hands. Two amber eyes glittered from beneath a wolf skin helmet, they were filled with a controlled fury, as if they held the very chaos of the world at bay. The look and eyes were mirrored in the mighty bear that stood beside the giant, growling menacingly.
"You…" said Rend, his eyes flashing.
"I'm afraid that I cannot allow that one to die. He is too important to this world, and he is a dear friend to me. Prepare yourself, Rend Blackhand, for I will unleash the fury of the wilds upon you."
With that, Rexxar, Champion of the Horde, fell into a battle stance, his axes raised, his eyes narrowed. His bear, Misha, let out a roar of such fury that Rend could feel the primal rage of it in his very soul.
He lowered his weapon, and his terrible grin returned.
"Then I shall lay the dog to rest beside his master. Don't think, Beastmaster, that you can hope to defeat the true Warchief!"
Kira was breathing heavily, and grunted as she got to her feet, wiping sweat from her brow. The healing chakra that was emanating from her hand had stemmed the bleeding on the nasty wound on her back, as well as lessened the pain that was shooting through every bone in her body at that very moment. She gazed not at her wounds, however, but steadily forwards, her eyes locked on the two monstrous beasts that were currently intent on tearing her best friend and handmaiden apart.
The dragons.
Or, more specifically, the dragonspawn; not true dragons, due to the fact that they were far more humanoid, and also (thankfully) far less powerful, but still possessing several of the dragon's most dangerous traits, as well as a few of their own. Her master had told her on many occasions that the origins of the dragonspawn were unclear. Some say that they were once elves, or humans or dwarves or trolls, and after spending many years in the company of dragons, the power of the dragons had rubbed off on them, transforming them, over the period of several thousands years, into what were known as dragonspawn today.
Others said that the dragonspawn were simply those who had been looked on favorably by a flight of dragons, and rewarded their loyalty and constant service by transforming them into the draconic humanoids, so that they could be of far more use to the dragons. No one knew whether either was true, because it was unknown if dragonspawn reproduced or not. No one had ever laid eyes upon a juvenile, nor had they spotted any sort of egg that might hatch into one. But there was also very little evidence of the second theory, as nobody had ever seen a creature being turned into a dragonspawn, or any evidence that they had once been an orc, troll, human, elf or otherwise.
That is, of course, until today.
After witnessing the five Blackrock orcs metamorphosing into the hulking, reptilian brutes, with a dark, scale-covered, humanoid upper torso, an elongated, draconic lower torso, with four legs, and a long tail with several spiky horns jutting out from the end. Similar horny protrusions had sprouted from the back, all the way up to the back of their heads. Their faces were purely that of a dragon's, with a long snout, small, beady red eyes, and a mouth filled with rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth.
As soon as their transformation had been complete, they had launched themselves into the attack once more. Now quite a bit faster, they had quickly crossed the distance between them, with three of them attacking Gen'rash, who they deemed more dangerous, and the other two heading for Kira and Kylia. Gen'rash had ducked down an alleyway, leading the three dragonspawn attacking him away, and Kira had seen neither hide nor hair of them since.
Of course, Kylia, being who she was, had stepped in front of Kira and drawing her daggers, had protected her with everything she had. Her daggers did very little damage, however, to the dragonspawns' hides, which were supposedly as strong as iron. Kira had done her best to weaken them so that Kylia would better be able to injure them.
Her Hex of Weakness, unfortunately, had had little effect, but that was to be expected. One of the traits that dragonspawn inherited from their masters was an increased resistance to damaging chakra of all types. Their scales, infused with their own chakra, repelled foreign chakra as well as steel would stone.
Only Kira's mental techniques were left, due to that little fact. Their minds were difficult, but not as difficult as their bodies, to assault, but first and foremost, she had to consider Kylia.
In order to keep Kylia from being torn apart by the dragonspawns' immense strength, she had needed to protect her using Power Word: Fortitude, which enhanced her stamina, and Power Word: Shield. With Kylia protected, one would think she would have the perfect opening to attack them with a Mind Blast or Mind Flay, stunning them sufficiently so that Kylia could slip in and kill them without worry of being ripped in half. Unfortunately, that was not the case, because after a few swipes at Kylia, and discovering that she was not going to be as easy a target, they abandoned her and rushed straight at Kira, claws and teeth glinting in the sunlight.
Though she was weakened terribly from the use of the Power Word: Shield on Kylia, Kira managed to create a flimsy shield, just strong enough to absorb their initial strikes. She was, however, flung away by the force of the attacks, crashing hard into a wall behind her. The impact sent bolts of pain across her back and body, driving the air from her lungs, and the cracked stone created a nasty wound on her back spilling blood onto the ground.
Having collapsed to the ground, she looked up to see that they hadn't pursued her. Kylia had rushed immediately to her defense, hurtling a pair of daggers at the dragonspawn. The daggers had done nothing, however, but divert their attention back to Kylia. Charging at her, their claws slashed at the glowing shield that had still surrounded Kylia, quickly ripping it apart, leaving her defenseless once more.
Slowly getting to her feet, Kira wondered if it were possible for them to win this fight. Humans, even pirates like Shanker, could not compare to the power of the Dragonflights. The dragonspawns' coloring, a deep black, led her to believe they were from the most fearsome of the flights.
The one that had destroyed Theramore.
The Black Dragonflight.
But she dimly noted that mixed into the black, there were wisps of other colors- red, blue, green, even brown. They were difficult to make out unless the sun was shining directly on them, casting a sort of perverted rainbow upon their scaly hides. It made her doubt that they were of the Black Dragonflight at all. From what she had heard from her master, they were blacker than the blackest night, voids that devoured all light, in every sense of the word.
Weaving her hands together in a complicated motion of seals, Kira couldn't stop to think any longer. Once again, Kylia was in danger, and she would be damned if she let the now one-eared girl suffer another wound such as that, or worse.
"MIND FLAY!" she cried, thrusting a tendril of chakra out into the air, rushing towards the two dragonspawn as she did. It stretched out, wavering and winding in the air, before splitting in two, and striking both beasts in their foreheads. They immediately halted their attack, letting out twin roars of pain as the effects of the attack struck them.
Kylia leapt away from them, landing just in front Kira as she stopped. She clutched two daggers in her hands, and had not yet gone for the ones buried in her skin.
"Mi– K-Kira. Please go. It would be better if you were not caught up in this…" the girl said, gazing stonily forwards, her head slightly bowed.
Kira snorted.
"No," she said. "I'm not going to leave you here. I thought we went over this?"
Kylia opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off when Kira hissed, "Here they come!"
The dragonspawns roared in triumph as they finally threw off the effects of Kira's Mind Flay, but strangely did not fling themselves at the girls as they had previously done.
Instead, they both began to suck in air, their chests swelling greatly. Wisps of smoke began to escape from a small crack in one of the creatures' mouths, while an acidic green mist began to trickle from the other's nose. Then, they simultaneously exhaled, one spewing a stream of white-hot fire, the other a cloudy stream of green smoke.
Kylia immediately dodged to the side, Kira following her quickly. Both breath attacks hit the spots that they had just been standing in, the fire melting it, while the green smoke simply dispersed into an opaque, quickly expanding cloud. The two dragonspawn wasted no time in returning to their pursuit of the two girls, with one preparing another breath attack, and the other simply raising its claws and gnashing its teeth as it ran towards them.
Neither girl stopped moving, as each prepared her own attacks. Kylia had gotten the small leather pouch given to her by the trolls out, and was applying the dark green powder within it to her largest dagger. Kira was weaving her hands into a series of seals, in a slow, obviously unpracticed way.
One of the dragonspawn then expelled from its mouth a great blast of freezing cold air aimed straight at Kira, while the other slashed at Kylia with its clawed front two legs and clawed hands. At the same time, however, Kylia had immediately stopped, and with a sudden burst of speed had driven her dagger solidly into the dragonspawn's stomach, sliding it up with such supreme dexterity that it went underneath the scales, and was driven straight into the soft skin beneath.
The dragonspawn roared in pain, twisting away from her, but almost immediately its movements became sluggish, the poison that Kylia had covered her knife in working quickly. The creature's joints seized up, its blood flow began to slow, and it began to sag and stumble, unable to support its own weight any longer. Finally it fell, twitching, to the ground, and lay still.
As that happened, Kira dodged away from the blast of ice, and thrust her hand out, having finished her hand seals. "Shadow Word: Fire!"
She cried out when a searing heat appeared in her hands, so hot it was as if her hands had been immersed in molten rock. From her hand there was a rush of heat as her chakra carried the infernal heat that had been in her palm just moments before towards the dragonspawn. There was a bang like a gunshot, and the dragonspawn was soon covered in flames, turning it into a blazing inferno, with the roars of its agony transcending the roars of the flames.
But the dragonspawn did not fall. Instead, it charged at Kira, its arms stretched wide so that it might grab her and take her with it in death. Kira avoided its death grip, feeling the heat of the infernal flames against her skin as she rushed by, leaping over the creature's tail as it swung at her.
She suddenly felt like she was in the clear. The dragonspawn's movements had begun to slow as the extra hot fire seeped through the tough scales and burnt away the flesh beneath. Having inhaled a tremendous amount of the searing hot air, there was no doubt that its insides were burnt as well. Finally, it too collapsed onto the street, its wails dying away as it stopped writhing and lay still.
Kira breathed a sigh of relief, wincing slightly when she felt the pain of her use of the Shadow Word come at her full force. She glanced at her hands, seeing charred, burnt flesh, which somehow hadn't managed to cover the black markings from her last venture into using the dreaded forbidden jutsu.
Kira then spared a glance at Kylia, and was relieved to see that she was okay. The dragonspawn she had been fighting lay on the ground, dead, a dagger in its stomach that Kira had to guess was covered in poison.
"What about Gen'rash?" Kira suddenly asked, looking around for the troll.
"I don't know," Kylia confessed, looking around as well. "But I think he can take care of himself, mis– Kira."
The wayward princess nodded, but still felt a little troubled. She pushed it to the back of her mind, however, and focused on what they had set out to do in the first place.
"We should go," she said. "Thrall is just down this road, and likely Naruto as well."
Kylia nodded, but as they finally resumed their original goal, there was a horrible screeching from behind, as well as a sickening ripping sound that immediately caused both girls to whirl around, hearts beating quickly.
'You've got to be kidding me!' Kira silently raged, as, to both her and Kylia's horror, the bodies of the dragonspawn began to move.
They did not get up, but their bodies began to twitch and writhe, and strange, unearthly screams began to emanate from their mouths. Finally, in a spray of blood and the sound of flesh and bone being ripped apart, the backs of the two dragonspawn split open, and a head emerged from each. The split then continued down the backs of their long bodies, and torsos, arms, legs and tails emerged, covered in the dark blood of the dragonspawn.
If the dragonspawn had been horrible to look upon, these were even worse. They were a soot color, and stood upright on two powerful legs. Their faces were as draconic as the previous incarnations', and had long, swishing tails sprouting from their lower backs.
But they were not perfectly proportioned. They looked deformed, or, in a sense, incomplete. One had a withered arm, so thin and bony that it looked like it might break off from the slightest amount of force, while the other had a grossly deformed face, with a single multicolored eye where it should be, the other facing upwards, mounted on a gross swelling of flesh that half the creature's face. They had no visible genitalia, and both had a slightly hunched, unbalanced posture.
But either way, Kira was stunned and horrified by their appearance. She had never seen such a creature, or heard of one for that matter, in her life.
'What are these things…?'
The creatures looked wildly around, their heads spasming oddly as they did. The one with the deformed face then looked straight at her, and let out one of its horrible screeches, alerting the other to look towards her as well.
She swallowed deeply, and upon meeting their terrible eyes, flecked with many colors, as they rushed at her and her best friend.
'We could really use some help…' she thought.
Naruto stared, mouth open, his eyes wider than he one could possibly imagine, at the toad that he had just summoned. It wore a red gi that was opened in the front, and had murky brown skin. He was large, about as big as the dragon Gyth, and clutched a pipe that was easily as tall as the toad itself. There was a dull, glazed look in its eyes, and had a strange, yet pleasant smell surrounding it.
It rolled one of its hazy eyes to look at Naruto, who stood atop its head.
"Nicccceeee ta meeetcha, man. Name's Gamatsutsu. What's yours, man?" the toad said, grinning lazily at Naruto.
The blonde didn't answer, his brain trying to process what, exactly, he had done wrong. Instead of summoning a battle-hardened toad, he had summoned a complete and utter stoner!
Gamatsutsu, not waiting for Naruto's answer, began to snicker.
"Oh, man…dude, hehehe, hehehe, you've got somethin' on your head…hehehe, looks like a dead animal…hehehe…dude, not even I'm that much of a party animal…hehehe."
Naruto blinked, patting the top of his head, and feeling nothing but hair. It then occurred to him what the toad was talking about.
"Oi! Shut up! My hair's cool!" the blonde bellowed, annoyed by the toad.
Gamatsutsu yawned lazily, taking a drag from his pipe, and exhaling the strange smoke with a relaxed sigh. "Yeah man…it is… Ohhh man…you got somethin' to eat? I gotta serious case of the munchies…"
A vein throbbed in Naruto's forehead. Where all the toads dysfunctional in some way? Gamakichi was annoying, Gamabunta was grouchy, and this guy was just stupid.
'Why the hell did Ero-sennin make a contract with these guys, anyways?' he wondered. Then, 'Why the hell did I, for that matter?'
Golbarn clapped a hand to his forehead, wondering just how this brat could be both so strong, and so stupid. Though he didn't understand what the toad was saying, the way it spoke the words, and the look on its face, and the smell that surrounded it suggested that the creature was not going to be much help.
The smell in particular, assured him of that. He had seen Orcish youths smoking stuff that smelled much the same in an alleyway once, all giggling and making fools of themselves. He knew why the blonde had not summoned the huge toad, due to the limited space they had, but to summon something that wouldn't be of any help at all…?
"Wooooaahhh! Dude! Whose that guy, he's lookin' a bit peeved, gotta a chill pill ta give him?" Gamatsutsu said, indicating Gyth, who was standing several yards away, sizing up the new threat.
The magenta colored dragon gave a low growl, but did not move. It appeared to be waiting for Naruto to make the first move.
'It isn't stupid…' he remembered, having seen the creature effortlessly defeat his army of clones earlier. It knew how to react to attacks, and could easily deliver a fatal counterattack if he wasn't careful.
"It's the bad guy," Naruto said, pointing for good measure. "We have to kill it."
Gamatsutsu took another puff on his pipe. "Ehhh? Kill him? Dude…that's harsh."
Another vein throbbed on Naruto's head. "Oi, don't tell me that, we have to defeat him, or else more people will die! I have'ta find Thrall, and we gotta end this war as soon as possible! To do that, we need to beat that thing!" he cried, his patience, which he never had much of anyways, wearing thin.
"Dude, chill. I'll help you out, I guess. The boss man put in a good word for ya, if you're that Naruto guy everyone's been talkin' about. Sigh…too bad I couldn't get any munchies before this, I hate fightin' on an empty stomach."
Crouching low, the toad took a final puff on his pipe and then sprang forwards, using his powerful legs to shoot across the distance between him and Gyth.
The dragon, letting out a thunderous roar, opened its mouth and spewed a sphere of molten rock at him. Gamatsutsu, however, slammed the pipe handle down, into the ground, pushing him out of the way of the projectile. It soared harmlessly past as he catapulted forwards again, reaching the dragon who had only just begun to beat its wings, preparing to dodge.
"Sorry dude, nothin' personal!" the toad cried, bringing the huge pipe to bear and delivering a swift and crushing blow to the dragon's head.
Gyth was knocked off balance by the blow, and was then smashed into the ground when the toad landed squarely on top of him. Gamatsutsu then pushed hard off the dragon, and flew high into the air, tucking his legs in as soon as he reached his zenith and began to fall back towards Gyth.
Gyth recovered swiftly, pushing itself to its feet and then beating its wings to leap out of the way seconds before Gamatsutsu crashed back to earth, causing the street to explode beneath and around him. The force of the landing traveled all the way through Gamatsutsu and up to Naruto, numbing the boy's legs and making him slightly unsteady.
The toad blew a puff of smoke out, and whistled. "Dude…that was hardcore."
Gyth gave deafening roar, launching himself at the toad and shinobi with renewed vigor. Gamatsutsu bounded out of the way, putting a fair amount distance between himself and the dragon. Breathing in deeply, he filled his mouth with smoke from his pipe, and then waited as Gyth charged at him, exhaling only seconds before the dragon reached him and his summoner.
The stream of smoke hit the dragon in the face, not only obscuring its vision, but its enhanced senses were easily overwhelmed by the smoke's powerful stench. Gyth roared, shaking its head and stumbling as it tried to clear its mind and vision.
Smirking in triumph, Gamatsutsu delivered a bone-shattering strike with his pipe to the dragon's head, followed by a second, and finally a third. By the last strike, Gyth was on the ground, its head firmly implanted in the stone of the street from the force of the blows.
It fell limp, and ceased to move.
Lifting his pipe up, Gamatsutsu let out a sigh of relief. "Oooohhhh dude, that was intense! I think I deserve a little break now, don't you? I gotta find my munchies, anyways."
As the toad fished about in its gi, in search of its "munchies", Naruto was staring down at it in slight surprise. He hadn't expected him to be so…effective.
Nor had he expected it to be so anticlimactic.
Golbarn seemed to share his feelings, and was staring in unconcealed shock at the toad, who suddenly lifted a bag of something (he couldn't read whatever was on the side) from its clothes, and had proceeded to dig into the bag of strange food, a look of pure bliss coming over his face.
"Ooooohhhhh man! That hits the spot, damn, Itamaegama makes the best chips in the world!" he moaned, savoring each bite of each chip he ate.
Naruto sweat dropped, shaking his head in disbelief at the strange toad.
Tsuwabuki had come up beside the giant toad, watching it in interest. 'What a strange creature; I don't think I've met a toad that was this size, or could talk.'
Naruto grinned at her. "Heh, you should see his boss."
Tsuwabuki nodded and might have said more, but her ears suddenly perked up, and she looked towards Gyth in alarm.
'Watch out!'
Naruto spun towards the dragon, and to his horror discovered that it was moving. Lifting its mighty head, the creature opened its mouth, and a golden glow began to emanate from it. He cried out to Gamatsutsu, who was still in the process of satisfying his craving for junk food, and the toad looked up just in time to see a beam of golden energy erupt from the dragon's mouth.
In a heartbeat, Tsuwabuki bounded away from the dragon, while the toad rocketed into the air using its powerful legs. However, in his frantic escape, Gamatsutsu had lost his grip on the chips that he had been eating, only just realizing it in mid-air. Looking down, he saw to his horror that his chips had been caught in the dragon's lightning breath, and as the beam of energy faded, only a few burnt tatters of the bag that had held his precious chips were left.
When he returned to earth, he was still in shock. He dimly heard Naruto shouting something at him, and saw the dragon that had done the deed turn towards him, its joints cracking as it did. His eyes, however, had not left the remains of his chips.
It is known that, in grief, people go through various stages. The first is typically shock. Gamatsutsu, upon seeing his munchies destroyed so swiftly, so callously, reacted instantly with this. The next reaction is denial.
'Nooo…man…this can't be happening…those were my last munchies…no way. I don't believe it…' he thought, despite the haziness generated by the hash he had been smoking not two minutes ago. To reinforce his belief that nothing had happened, he began to pat the pockets of his gi, searching for the bag that, in the back of his mind he knew was gone, but simply refused to believe it. Upon finding none, he sat still for a moment, staring blankly forwards at Gyth, who let out a throaty growl, spreading its wings in preparation to take flight.
The third reaction is typical for something in this, rather absurd, situation.
Anger.
"YOU BASTARD!" the toad thundered, rocketing forwards so quickly and so suddenly that Naruto very nearly fell off, only just managing to stick to the toads flesh using his chakra.
"THAT WAS MY LAST BAG, MAN! ITAMAEGAMA DOESN'T GIVE THOSE OUT FOR FREE YOU KNOW! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Before Gamatsutsu reached him, however, Gyth took to the air in a swirl of dust generated by his massive wings. Gamatsutsu sped beneath him, immediately turning as soon as he landed a few yards away.
Lightning fast, the toad whipped his pipe downwards, and carved out a large streak in the road, gathering a bundle of rock and dirt into the tip. Taking a deep breath, the toad blew deeply into the pipe, the burning hash in the tip suddenly burning white hot from the wind as well as a little chakra; it was hot enough to almost instantly melt the rock, and then with a flick of the massive pipe, the end, which was usually turned upwards, suddenly snapped down so that it formed long tube.
Sucking in deeply a second time, and aiming the long, cannon-like pipe at Gyth, Gamatsutsu roared, "GAMATSUTSU DANGAN! (Toad Pipe Bullet!)"
The molten projectile exploded from the pipe, shooting like a bullet towards the air-born dragon. It struck the creature solidly in the chest, exploding in a splash of molten rock and foul smelling hash. Gyth roared in fury, twisting and flailing about in mid-air, while Naruto, Golbarn and Gamatsutsu watched from below. Hissing in anger, it began to scrape the now hardening rock off, revealing the ruined, blackened scales beneath.
Gamatsutsu cursed. "Man…that was my last batch of hash, won't work much now."
Naruto stared in wonder at the toad, suddenly realizing how useful he would be.
"Hey, stoner-toad! Think you can get me up there, too?" he cried, grinning.
Gamatsutsu rolled his rapidly clearing eyes up to Naruto, blinking a few times, before catching on.
"Sure thing, little man!" he said, grinning. He then slammed the pipe into the ground beside him, and said excitedly, "Hop in!"
The tip of the pipe was, fortunately, wide enough for Naruto to climb into, though just barely. For once, he was a little glad that he was rather slight and short.
Though he'd never admit it, of course.
Squeezing up to his shoulders into the pipe, Naruto could go no more. His nose was almost on fire from the stink of whatever the toad was smoking, but he managed to gasp out, "Ready!"
Gamatsutsu nodded, and lifted the pipe up, "Hold on, little man!"
Before he could raise it, however, Gyth was upon them, his claws and jaws slashing furiously at the toad. Leaping back with enough force to damage the street beneath him, Gamatsutsu avoided the dragon's attacks, all the while doing his best to keep Naruto from falling out of the tube, or getting even more stuck.
The blonde was jostled to and fro by the toads movements, and combined with the stench, was feeling a little nauseous.
Roaring, Gyth shot upwards again, sucking in air as it did. It then stopped, high in the air so that it had a perfect view of the area, and looked down, ready to expel its infernal breath upon its enemies.
It locked eyes with the toad, who was grinning. Gamatsutsu then lifted his weapon/ leisure instrument up, and with as he blew into the pipe, bellowed, "Gamatsutsu Naruto Dangan!"
Naruto erupted from the end of the pipe, shooting straight towards the dragon. Immediately, he made a seal and cried, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
A swarm of clones appeared in mid air, all around him, and using the Air Grasping technique taught to him by Thrall, shot ahead of him, drawing their swords as they did. Gyth roared, expelling a stream of hellish flames into the air, but using the same technique the clones avoided it, shooting off to the side, and then forward again, plowing into their intended targets.
Its wings.
Their blades sliced into the leathery skin of the dragon's wings, ripping through and suddenly depriving the creature of quite possibly its most dangerous ability. They then grabbed onto the bony parts of the wings, using the force of their travel to pull the dragon onto its back, and then down towards the ground. With the cuts as well as the added weight, Gyth was unable to right itself or escape, and soon struck the ground in a colossal explosion of dust and rock, generating a massive crater beneath it.
The clones still pinning it down, and still stunned from the attack, Gyth was unable to protect itself as the original Naruto fell on top of it, driving a swirling ball of demonic chakra into the dragon's chest.
"Oodama Rasengan!" he cried.
The orb obliterated the weakened scales caused by Gamatsutsu's earlier attack, and carved straight through to the creature's vitals, ripping them to shreds in a cascade of blood. The ground beneath Gyth exploded outwards as the chakra traveled through the creature and into the earth; then, with a final gurgling cry, the dragon fell limp.
For a brief moment, all seemed silent. Even the sounds of war seemed to recede as Naruto stood, breathing hard. He painted quite a badass picture at that moment, something Gamatsutsu didn't hesitate in pointing out.
"Nice one, dude! That was totally sweet!" the toad cried, his earlier anger apparently forgotten. He hopped over, while Naruto dispelled his clones and jumped off the dead mount of Rend Blackhand. He grinned down at the blonde.
"Dude, all that stuff the boss man said about you…totally true. You're a cool dude in my book. Maybe when you get outta this, we can chill out together, knowwhutimsayin'?"
Naruto sweat dropped. "Hehe. No way." He said the last part firmly and without so much as a single blink.
Gamatsutsu laughed, "Alright, it's a date! Now, you gonna be usin' this?" he asked pointing to the dragon's body.
At this, Naruto blinked. "No…why?"
Gamatsutsu patted his stomach, "Dude, that bastard took my munchies…figure he can't taste too bad, maybe with a little barbecue sauce, ya know?"
The blonde sweat dropped again.
Tsuwabuki padded over, coming to a rest beside Naruto. 'Now do you wish I was a toad?'
Naruto shook his head, smiling a little, before he remembered what he had fought this creature in order to accomplish.
"Oi, Golbarn!" he called out to the orc, who had not moved from his spot in the middle of the battlefield, simply staring at the fallen dragon, even as Gamatsutsu began building up wood for a fire around its body. "Come on! We gotta get to Thrall's!"
Golbarn looked steadily at him. He then chuckled.
"Boy, you have no need for me, it would seem. I will go to where I am truly needed. But if Lord Thrall is not alive by the time this is all over, I assure you that whatever camaraderie we know share will cease to exist. Don't fail us, Naruto."
The blonde was taken a back a little by the force in the orc's voice, but knew that to the people of Orgrimmar, Thrall was everything.
He nodded.
"It's a promise!" he said, grinning his familiar vulpine grin.
Golbarn nodded, and without another second's hesitation, turned and ran back towards the Valley of Strength.
Naruto didn't stop to watch him go. With a cry of "Come on!" to Tsuwabuki, the blonde bid goodbye to Gamatsutsu and ran towards the Valley of Wisdom, where he could see Grommash Hold in the distance, oddly tranquil in the torrent of the war around it.
Kylia leapt immediately in front of Kira as the creatures moved, faster than before, but jerking erratically with every step. Unlike before, there was no pattern to their attacks. They seemed to have lost all sense and reason, and were now relying purely on instinct.
Kylia hurtled another of her daggers, and it pierced the dragon-beast with the withered arm in the chest, but the creature almost completely ignored it. Having no time to apply any poison, the girl had expected as much. With blazing speed she grabbed another pair, preparing to throw them, but the dragon-beasts were already on top of her.
The one with the deformed face crashed into her with absolutely no coordination or intent other than throwing her off balance. Quick as a whip, the other moved in and twisted around, swinging its long, thick tail into Kylia, launching her across the street; she skidded along the ground until she came to a stop by striking the opposite building. She didn't move after that.
They did not pursue her, and immediately turned towards Kira, the closest one in reach. The girl was hissing in agony with every seal she made, but was having an enormous amount of trouble molding her chakra into the form that she desire it to be.
She was unable to finish, as the withered arm dragon-beast suddenly grabbed her, throwing her down the street, so that she landed in a heap on the ground.
The deformed face dragon-beast followed quickly, delivering a bone-breaking kick to her ribs, and launching her even further in the direction of her original goal. She spat out blood as she landed for the second time, as an explosion of pain blossomed inside her body, leaving her bereft of breath and unable to move.
The dragon-beasts, still jerking slightly, went after her again, their mouths open with drool and blood flying out as they ran towards her, screeching all the way.
She tried to stand, but all of her limbs refused to obey, wanting to rest, to sleep. She felt like doing the same, and she began to drift away into unconsciousness, her mind and body begging her to give up.
She was so tired.
'You've gotta trust your people.'
Why was Naruto's voice coming to her like that? What was the point? She already knew that…her people were strong, and they'd get by without her. They were strong, and she was weak. So she was going to die because of that, and they would still be strong without h–…
No.
They wouldn't.
They needed her.
'The foundation of every great nation is in the strength of the leader, who gets their strength from the people, and vice versa. It is a two-way exchange, daughter; never forget that.'
How could she be so stupid?
Her people were strong, but unless she was there for them as well, they would fall.
She couldn't die here. She had her people to save, and she had a dream to fulfill. She felt sick that she had forgotten that, even for a second.
She wouldn't forget it again.
With renewed strength, she got slowly to her feet, staring steadily ahead at the quickly approaching monsters. She had no idea what she was going to do, but she wasn't going to die. Her hands began to weave seals, despite the intense pain she felt in them; each one was slow, methodical, and precise. She gathered her chakra into her hands again, preparing to shout the words that she had done once before, and preparing to commit that terrible act once more.
Then, something huge landed in front of her, obscuring her view of the two dragon-beasts and breaking her concentration, as well as her footing. She toppled backwards, and landed painfully on her rump, her heart beating wildly. Looking up, she spotted a massive hairy back, a small, thin tail with a tuft of hair on the end, and a pair of massive hooves, all belonging to something she had only seen in pictures.
A tauren.
"Wow, you pinkskins are tough. The only other one that I know who could get up from that is that blonde idiot, Naruto."
Kira's mind screeched to a halt, and she stared dumbly at the tauren, her eyes wide.
"Y-you…" she stuttered, making the tauren laugh.
"Actually, it's Kaine! Kaine Bloodhoof, the number one strongest Shaman in Thunder Bluff! Just sit back, pinkskin, I'll help you out," he said, hefting the massive cylindrical weapon off his shoulder.
The two creatures had stopped their charge at the appearance of Kaine, but only for a second. They quickly returned to their attacking, but Kaine rushed to meet them, his body enhanced by the power of his Windfury totem, which he had planted earlier. Raising his massive wartotem, he brought it crashing down onto the stone street, smashing it apart and causing both dragon-beasts to stumble and flail about.
Kira, jostled by the powerful attack, watched the events unfold with wide eyes. This was Kaine Bloodhoof, the grandson of Cairn Bloodhoof, the chief of the tauren, the one that had helped Naruto defeat Cyrussian T. Venture and his monster?
She felt a slight swelling in her heart, and the despair that had filled it before vanished. If Kaine was here, than that meant there might be other tauren, too! They now stood a much better chance!
Under her enraptured eyes, Kaine rushed towards one of the dragon-beasts, the one with the withered arm. With a cry of triumph, he slammed his wartotem into the creature, creating a thunderous, gong-like sound as it blasted the dragon-beast away; it slammed with earth-shattering force into a building on the edge of the road, crashing through the wall with enough force to bring the roof down on top of it.
Kaine then whirled, just in time, to block a vicious attack from the deformed face dragon-beast's tail. Throwing the creature off, he kicked it hard in the chest, pulverizing the scales and likely the bones beneath.
The dragon-beast spat up blood, and gave a choking screech before it was silenced forever by Kaine's wartotem, which came down on top of it, annihilating it in an explosion of blood, bone, dust and rock.
Kira just gaped.
She felt almost jealous of the young tauren's power, he had just destroyed the creatures that she and Kylia had almost died trying to kill in a few seconds. Shaking off that feeling, she managed to get to her feet again, as Kaine walked towards her, grinning.
"Need some help?" he asked, grinning widely.
She shot him in a slightly irritated glance.
"No," she said, hotly.
She then gathered healing chakra into her hands, and began to repair the most pressing injuries on her chest. She then hurried past the tauren, rushing to Kylia's side in a heartbeat.
She was relieved to discover that she was okay, and began to at once to heal the girl's injuries. Kaine came up behind her, watching with slight interest.
After finishing her work on Kylia, Kira stood, and looked straight at Kaine.
"Thank you," she said, sincerely, and smiled a little.
Kaine returned the smile, and nodded.
Kira then said, "Did the other tauren come, as well?"
Kaine nodded, smirking. "My grandfather led a huge group of us as soon as we got the message. We used Kodos, and imagine our surprise when we met a huge group of trolls led by the Vol'jin guy outside!"
Kira was stunned. "But that's impossible…we just got back from their village, they shouldn't…"
Kaine winked. "Apparently, he's thought ahead, and had a bunch of Hearthstones created for just this purpose. My grandfather sent me off to find Thrall, while he and the others fought in the Valley of the Strength."
Nodding her head, Kira said, "I'm trying to find him as well… It can't hurt to try together, right?"
Kaine grinned, and nodded. "Guess it can't, just try to stay out of my way, okay? You don't seem to be in the best of states to do any more fighting."
Kira didn't argue, instead stepping away, she pointed at Kylia. "You'll have to carry her, then."
Kaine nodded, and lifted the girl up, slinging her over his shoulder. As they moved, Kira suddenly heard a sound from behind. Not taking any chances, she whipped around, and came face-to-face with Gen'rash.
The Skullsplitter was covered in cuts and wounds, as well as several burns and a lot of dark blood, but appeared to be fine, as they were quickly healing. He carried the three dragonspawns' heads in his hand, gripping them by the horns atop their heads.
Kaine recoiled slightly upon seeing the troll.
"He with you?" he asked, glancing at Kira, who looked relieved.
Kira nodded. "Yes. Are you ready, Gen'rash?"
The troll nodded, but didn't speak. He dropped the heads where he stood, and walked past her and Kaine, down the street.
Without another word, they followed.
Rexxar and Rend met in a clash of steel and sparks, with Rexxar's twin axes smashing hard against Rend's mighty sword. Though enhanced by the power of the Burning Legion, the fel orc Warchief was forced to give ground to the sheer power that Rexxar commanded. The half-orc half-ogre pushed Rend back, and flung him away a few steps, knocking the orc slightly off balance. He then slammed one of his axes hard into Rend's side, but it was deflected by the power of the true Warchief's Kongou.
Rend roared in a primal ecstasy, the excitement generated by the battle overcoming all his other senses. He swung his sword with impossible swiftness using the Kazaashi, but Rexxar was able to parry the reckless, wild strikes with his controlled, almost passive strength.
Meanwhile, Misha, the great bear that had accompanied Rexxar, had managed to drag Thrall out of range of the fight, propping him against the wall with a few nudges of her huge head. She then turned back to the battle, a low growl erupting from her throat. She had been waiting for a fight like this.
Rushing at Rend's back, the bear called out to Rexxar in a way that only he could understand. Throwing off a final strike from Rend, the Champion of the Horde focused the wild, immense chakra within him into a perfectly controlled slash that knocked Rend off balance. Using the chance, Misha rushed around to the front, and let out a bellow that shook the very foundations of the hold.
Normally, this wouldn't have had any effect save for perhaps causing slight irritation to Rend's ears, but when Rexxar was helping her control the chakra, it came out in a miniature sonic boom, driving Rend back and throwing off his equilibrium.
Shooting forwards, Rexxar cut two long slashes across Rend's chest, causing dark blood to spurt onto the ground, and Rend to growl in pain. He then made a move to decapitate the true Warchief, but Rend was able to manage a feeble parry, which prompted Rexxar to bring up his other axe in a sweeping gesture, smashing it into Rend's throat.
Or rather, he would have, if Rend hadn't vanished using the Kazaashi.
The Blackrock Warchief gasped as he reappeared on the other side of the room, attempting to regain his balance. He had gotten careless.
"So the wild one isn't as weak as I thought…but know that I shall have the hide of both you and your bear by the time this battle is at an end."
Rexxar turned slowly, his amber eyes shining darkly beneath the wolf's helm. Misha walked up beside him, growling deeply.
"Then do it, rather than speaking of it, Blackhand. I have yet to see what truly makes you strong," he said.
Rend snarled in barely suppressed fury, before managing a brutal smile.
"Fine then," he said. "I'll show you."
The same crimson aura that he had generated in the last moments of his fight with Thrall returned, and the two wounds on his chest began to heal. His skin also changed slightly, becoming lighter, and taking on an almost orange color beneath the green. Shooting forwards, roaring in wild abandon, he slashed at Rexxar's throat, but was parried. However, he managed to push the half-orc back, and so he reached out and grabbed Rexxar by the throat, squeezing hard in an attempt to crush his windpipe.
Before he could manage it, however, Misha interrupted, biting down hard on his arm and clawing the orc across the face. Rend immediately retracted his hand, bashing the bear in the head, as well as freeing Rexxar.
Shooting forwards, the Champion of the Horde head-butted Rend, and then slammed the tip of his axe hard into the orc's chest, just to the right of his heart between the ribs, right atop the lungs, as he had no room to cut with it.
Rend spat up blood from the force of the attack, and doubled over, gasping in agony. Rexxar followed by punching the orc in the jaw, and then a kick with the force of the wild straight into his chest. Rend flew backwards, still immoveable from the pain, and landed in a heap a few yards away, near the wall of the hold.
As Rend struggled to stand, Rexxar spoke.
"You are as much a fool as Thrall believed, Blackhand. You have no right, as I have no right, to decide the fate of the Orcish people. You gave up your right to call yourself such a thing when you tainted your blood with the power of the demons. You can never be Warchief, for only a true orc can hold that title."
Rend's eye blazed, and his breathing increased. His single eye burned brightly with the flames of his anger, as he at once stood straight.
"Shut up, half-breed," he growled. "I am the essence of what an orc should truly be. No matter what power he gets, he does it simply to become stronger. Thrall is leading the people of this city down the path of the weakling, one where orcs do not fight to get stronger, but simply to protect what they already have! He is turning us into what we have hated since we arrived in this disgusting world: Humans!"
Rexxar's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
"It is only you who has no right to speak of it! A disgusting mix between those pigs, the ogres, and our noble race!" Rend thundered, throwing his blade away, and hunching over, the crimson aura flaring brightly.
"I assure you, half-breed, that upon your death, I shall entomb your body in iron, then fling it into the sea. They say that you have harnessed the power of the beasts, and the spirits of the wild, and that is what gives you such power and wisdom. I will not allow you to return to the wilds that you so cherish. Is it not fitting?"
Shooting forwards with his remarkable speed, Rend drew back his fast and smashed it so swiftly that Rexxar couldn't dodge into the half-orc's chest.
"Kaenhira!" he roared.
There was a flash and a bang, and Rexxar's leather chest place was obliterated in a flash of fire and force, and he was thrown backwards. He smashed into the wall behind the ruined throne, grunting in pain, but stayed conscious. Rend followed through, aiming another punch at the same spot.
Rexxar batted away Rend's approaching hand with his axe, and cut across the orc's chest flinging blood across his face. Rend staggered back, but recovered swiftly, and as Rexxar swung at him again, he punched the axe, blasting it from the Beastmaster's grip. He moved in again, and punched Rexxar again and again in the chest. The blasts of explosive chakra tore through and ruined the flesh of the half-orc's chest, but there was so much muscle that it didn't travel through to his organs.
Rend prepared a final punch, aimed at Rexxar's head, but once again completely forgot Misha, who swiftly interrupted the attack by grabbing his arm in her jaws, and biting down hard.
With a roar of fury, Rend spun and slammed his fist hard into Misha's upper chest beneath is arm. The explosion threw the spirit bear backwards, and she crumpled to the ground against the wall, unmoving.
Turning again to finish Rexxar off, he was suddenly seized with an intense, overpowering fear, which cut straight through the rage that he had been possessed by seconds ago. He stared wide-eyed into Rexxar's face, whose eyes churned with a terrible, wild power.
"All who harm those important to me will taste the fury of the wilds, Blackhand."
Rend stepped back as a huge surge of chakra exploded around Rexxar, and though he managed to rein his fear, it was meaningless, for even before he could react, Rexxar had slammed his axe, tip first once more, into the Blackrock orc's chest, impaling him with the force.
Rexxar then began moving, each step ripping away the stone floor beneath him, as he charged across the throne room, Rend gored upon his axe. He was like herd of enraged kodos, channeling the fury and power of the natural world.
Upon reaching the wall on the opposite side, Rexxar thrust his bleeding cargo into the wall. The incredibly thick wall exploded from the force, driving Rend through many feet of solid stone, and into the room next to the throne room, and was ejected from Rexxar's axe as he met open space, before crashing throne the wall of that room.
Through three more rooms he moved, finally skidding across the floor, and cracking the wall of that room, before he came to rest, and finally stopped moving in a spasm and a bloody cough.
Rexxar grunted, lowering his blood-soaked axe, and gave a deep, wheezing cough, as an incredible pain welled up in his chest from Rend's final attacks. But he did not fall, but remained a statue of power, still and silent despite the wear and tear upon his person.
He was like that when Naruto, Kira, Kaine and a still unconscious Kylia, Gen'rash and Tsuwabuki entered a few moments later.
They had met, to both their surprises, just outside Grommash Hold. Naruto had been shocked but happy to see Kaine, before Kira had told him he was an idiot and a bad friend for abandoning her as he had.
"Sorry Kira-chan…" he said, wincing a little from her slap. She wasn't at all as strong as Sakura, but it hurt, for some reason, just as much.
"You should be," she said stiffly. "It was only because of Gen'rash and Kylia, and Kaine too, that I'm alive. Next time you run off like that, think of who you're leaving behind, okay?"
The blonde nodded, feeling almost as downcast as when Sakura had turned down one of his requests for a date.
Then, Kira sniffed him, frowning. "What's that smell?"
Naruto flushed a little, scratching his head. "I'll tell you later," he said.
They then hurried up the steps into the hold, shocked at the display of destruction as they entered the hold. It was there that they saw Rexxar, standing, covered in serious looking wounds, at the entrance of a ruined throne room.
He turned in surprise at their arrival. "Ah, it is you, child," he said, looking at Naruto.
Naruto blinked in recognition of the giant half-orc and said loudly, "Ah! It's you, that guy who beat me when I first got here! Reszar or something!" Then he said, "You owe me a rematch, asshole!"
Kaine smacked him in the head, "That's Rexxar, you idiot! The Champion of the Horde, you know? He'll kick your ass!" Then he switched gears, saying urgently to Rexxar, "But what are you doing here, Rexxar, sir?"
Rexxar gave a soft smile, turning and looking at the fallen Thrall, who still lay against the wall, unconscious. Naruto's eyes widened, and he rushed, along with the rest of the group, into the room and to Thrall's body.
"Doing my duty, young Bloodhoof, to the Warchief," he said, limping over, every step more painful than the last.
Kira laid her hand against Thrall's wounded chest, pressing healing chakra into it. Naruto then stood, and looked hard at Rexxar.
"Where's the guy that did this?" he asked, coldly.
Rexxar's eyes shifted to the giant hole in the wall, and he said, "You passed the room where his body lies, dead. One who taints himself, willingly, with the power of the demons is not meant to exist on this earth."
Naruto felt a glimmer of fear run through him, but Rexxar gave him a reassuring smile, as if he knew what Naruto was thinking about.
"I've done as much healing as I can," said Kira, drawing their attention. She finally retracted her hand as the wound healed. "But he should really rest for now. I don't think he's going to get up."
"Then let him rest, child," said Rexxar. "This war is over, Blackhand has lost, and so he can now rest easy."
Kira began to smile, but stopped halfway, her eyes suddenly going wide. Naruto noticed the reaction and spun, far too used to that sort of reaction by this time. The others looked as well, and had similar reactions upon seeing the specter of death that had appeared in the hole in the wall created by Rend's body.
"WaR…? ThIs…wAr…WiLL…NeVer…EnD…aS…Long…As…I…LIVE!"
Rend's body began to change, his skin darkening, his muscles swelling, his single eye blazing. His body grew, scales began to appear over his skin, his hands became claws; sharp, bony spines eruped from his back and shoulders, and a long tail sprouted from his back, similar bony protrusions ripping through the newly formed flesh around it.
'He's changing…just like them!' Kira thought, eyes filled with terror.
Rend Blackhand then let out an animalistic roar, which struck fear even into the fearless forms of Rexxar, Naruto and Kaine.
Then, he attacked.
High upon Blackrock Spire, in the ruined, dark throne room that he had occupied before, a man, his face cast in shadow save for two smoldering orange eyes, gave a soft laugh.
"I Wonder If He Has Noticed It Yet? I Am Curious What He Will Become, With The Power That I Have Given Him?"
Done.
Now, some apologies are in order.
I am sorry that the chapter is so late, but I do have a reason. Last week, I had vacation, and was visiting relatives in Georgia and Florida, so I was unable to get the chapter out as I had hoped to.
Sorry!
Since you guys are really cool about it, I won't beg and moan like I usually do…you guys are cool with it…right?
If you're not…I AM VERY SORRY! I WILL TRY NOT TO DO IT AGAIN!
That's said.
No review answers today, because I'm feeling a little spiteful. You guys need to review more!
Will it help it if I capitalize it?
REVIEW MORE!
Kay!
By the way, Gamatsutsu means: Toad Pipe, or Pipe Toad, if you want. Itamaegama means Chef Toad. I figure than since all of the toads have names befitting their characters, these should as well.
Next week, The Climax of the Battle against Rend Blackhand, and the revelation of who the dark man is, as well as the strange dragon-beasts!
General Grievous
Spellbook:
Kaenhira (Fire Palm): The essence of the Fire Style, he enhances a person's attacks with explosive chakra, making it almost lethal to be hit by. The downside is that it does cause damage to the user, as the explosion is happening at such a short distance.
Power Word: Fortitude: Enhances stamina.
Shadow Word: Fire: As a shadow word, it does both damage to the user as well as the opponent. It burns the hands of the user, but creates a super hot fire that is almost impossible to put out by normal means. Usually those struck by it don't survive.
Gamatsutsu Dangan: The toad Gamatsutsu expels whatever he gathers into his pipe, and superheats, shooting it out as a powerful projectile. Has been modified to include people, and without the burning part.
Bestial Roar: Creates a miniature sonic boom, and can only be used by spirit counterparts.
Bestiary:
Gyth (Rend's Mount)(Dragonkin)(Boss): A Chromatic dragon that thusly has the ability to use all of the breath attacks of the Dragonflights: Fire (Red), Magma (Black), Poison (Green), Ice (Blue) and Lightning (Bronze). Though it cannot speak like most dragons, it is incredibly intelligent nonetheless, and extremely powerful. It can fly very fast, and possesses very sharp claws and teeth, as well as the breath attacks, and difficult to pierce scale armor.
Chromatic Dragonspawn (Humanoid)(Dragonkin)(Elite): Creatures who existence was somewhat of a mystery until now, they are humanoids that have adopted several powers that full grown dragons possess, and serve them without question. It appears now that they are created by some strange procedure, though by who or what is still unclear. They possess all the breath attacks of the Dragonflights, as well as swift speed and ample hand-to-hand skills.
? (Humanoid)(Dragonkin)(Elite): Called dragon-beasts by Kira, these creatures, deformed and entirely insane, a birthed apparently, fully grown, from the bodies of the dragonspawn. They resemble more humanoid dragons, with only two legs rather than for, but don't seem to possess any breath attacks, or any fighting ability other than instinct. They are dangerous nonetheless, with erratic, unpredictable movements and extremely sharp claws.