Chapter 52
As soon as Eragon and Saphira walked off with the Varden contingent, Naruto, Arya, and Asura were almost immediately surrounded by the elven spellcasters who all had distraught expressions on their faces.
"Naruto-finiarel, Arya-svit-kona, are you and the dragon unharmed?" asked Blödhgarm as he glanced over the trio, looking for any signs of injury or mental damage.
Sighing in relief at finding none, Blödhgarm tilted his head downwards in a show of rare humility for an elf. It was a horrifying crime to murder a fellow elf, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally and only grew worse when the victim was the daughter of the current queen of the elves.
"On behalf of the others, I want to apologize for attacking you with one of the strongest spells we have. If anything had happened to you or your dragon, Queen Islanzadí and Oromis-elda would have had our heads. Although just how exactly did you negate our spell if I may ask?" Blödhgarm apologized before asking the question each of the elves had in their mind.
Seeing that they were unlikely to budge on this, Naruto weakly glared at Arya, "I guess I know where your insatiable curiosity comes from."
Arching an eyebrow, Arya tapped her chin as she pointed out, "Naruto, you do realize that most people would have questions that they want answered when they see their most powerful spell or ability get utterly negated with barely a move."
At his lover's remark, Naruto rolled his eyes as huffed out, unable to come up with a suitable comeback. Meanwhile, the surrounding elves just stared, almost unable to believe that their ice princess was actually joking around with the immortal human.
"As for your question," Naruto whirled back to face the others, snapping them out of their brief daze, "the short answer is that I absorbed it. As for how…that's my secret to tell." While not exactly what they wished to hear, Blödhgarm and the others accepted it; it wouldn't be the first time the specifics of a spell were hidden from others.
"Nevertheless, we're glad that none of you were harmed." Peeking over Naruto's shoulder, Blödhgarm performed the elven sign of greeting towards Asura, touching his lips and then twisting his right hand over his sternum…although the black dragon looked quite lost, having not been taught anything about elven greetings.
Seeing the dragon's confusion, Blödhgarm quickly realized the problem as he explained what he did, "Dragon, the motion I did earlier was the elvish way of greeting others. I am sorry for causing the confusion."
Puffing out a small cloud of smoke, Asura merely blinked in response as he waited for the weird furry blue elf to continue.
The leader of the elves quickly realized that the metal plated dragon was waiting for him and promptly asked, "What is your name dragon? And just who is your Rider?"
Looking over his shoulder, Naruto couldn't resist as he poked fun at Asura. "Well well well, it would seem your widdle roar wasn't enough. How about you try again, except put some effort into it?"
A very large tick mark developed as Asura glared daggers at the sometimes insufferable blonde. Although he deeply respected his Rider, both because of his past and sheer power, he quickly realized that despite being a century old and once being the Hokage, the blonde still acted childishly once in a while and loved to tease his friends and people close to him.
Intent on having his petty revenge, Asura acted quickly as he exhaled a small but concentrated stream air, causing Naruto to almost fall flat on his face if not for his instinctive use of chakra to stick to the ground. Now instead of his face full of mud, Naruto was instead put into an awkward position as his face was level with the knees of Blödhgarm.
Laughter exploded in Naruto's mind as the Juubi, who had long since retreated back into the seal to take a nap, rolled around in the mindscape, highly amused that a shinobi of his friend's caliber was actually almost blown off his feet by somebody barely two weeks old.
"Hey fuzzball, stop laughing! It wasn't even that funny and it's not like it's my fault that I let down most of my guard down around my friends!" this only made the ancient fox cackle harder as finally, Naruto gave up and settled for mentally pouting at the giant fox while tensing his leg muscles to lift himself off the ground.
He was soon greeted to the mirthful chuckling and humming of the elves as they watched the display with amused eyes. Snorting with pride, Asura hummed along before saying out loud, to the shock of those who didn't know him or the new Saphira.
"As you can see here, Naruto is my Rider and has named me Asura, named after the beings that according to a religion back across the sea were able to fight against the gods themselves. A most worthy name." said Asura in a prideful tone as the elves, for what seemed the tenth time in that many minutes, looked in astonishment at the blonde.
How could they not? The very idea that a dragon would choose a foreigner, who although was admittedly extremely powerful, over the princess of the race that first bonded with them was in their minds quite ridiculous. But before any of them could question, they were transfixed by a ringed glare, courtesy of Asura as he contemptuously glowered at the twelve, already knowing what were their thoughts on his decision.
"I can see the question in your eyes, even if you don't ask. Who I choose to be my Rider is none of your business, elf. And considering that despite there being hundreds of elven Riders and their dragons during the fall of Doru Araeba, your kind, the supposedly most powerful race of all of Alagaesia, was not even able to take down one traitor and his merry band. What right do you have when you couldn't even save my race from near extinction?!" growled out Asura as he enjoyed watching the elves pale in both anger and shame.
On the side, Naruto and Arya kept quiet as they allowed the youngest dragon vent his sorrow and rage, having known how hurt he was even though he never showed it. Naruto gently patted Asura's nose as he mentally assured him that everything was alright as Arya leaned against the side of his broad neck, thus far the only elf he allowed to be so close to him.
Several awkward moments passed before Naruto clapped his hands, instantly disrupting the tense atmosphere. "Well, I think we all had enough of the greetings. How about we go to a more private place as you update us on how the war is going and the current plans to take Feinster?"
Grateful for the interruption, the elves quickly nodded as they ushered the trio to the large tent they were meditating in as they updated them of the situation, "Queen Islanzadí led our race and successfully captured Ceunon one week ago and have been marching on Gil'ead. Oromis-elda and Glaedr-elda were to meet with the queen and the army yesterday before razing the city that kept you imprisoned and tortured to the ground until only ashes remained. The attack is scheduled the day before our own battle. As for Feinster…"
xXx
While the two free Dragon Rider pairs and Arya arrived at the Varden, a tall dark figure stood on the ramparts, looking out onto the plains that surrounded the city as he waited for an imminent attack. When the clouds that obscured the moon dispersed, the details of the man stood out in stark relief to the silvery light that bathed the area.
Pitch black hair, black gloves and a heavy cape that covered a dark crimson armor lined with script in the ancient language, the man looked out with solid black whirlpools for eyes as he turned back, looking with well-hidden disdain for the similarly crimson-clad soldiers as they rushed to and fro, preparing for the worst assault of their lives.
"Vermin…all of them. Weak beings that can't help but kneel before a greater power than them. So easily manipulated and lied to. Still…they do have their uses," mused the man as a soldier, decked out with a golden helmet and inlays in his cape, ran up to him and hurriedly kneeled, taking off his helmet and not daring to look up from the ground.
"My King, the scouts have reported the presence of ten thousand elves on the move. They will be here within the week."
The soldier continued to kneel as the now revealed Galbatorix, King of the Alagaesia, traitor of the Dragon Rider Order, and slayer of Vrael – strongest of the Riders clasped his hands behind his back, turning as he inwardly sneered.
"Elves…so arrogant just because of their physical and magical gifts. Fools." Galbatorix scoffed as he ordered the general to continue preparing. Once the kneeling soldier left, the mad king pivoted back as he continued his inner rambling.
"With their power and knowledge, they could have helped the Dragon Rider Order conquer and unite the continent under one banner, bringing peace and eliminating those Urgal abominations." For a second, the air around him seemed to twist under his rage as he thought back to his first dragon, Jarnunvösk, before she was killed by a stray arrow to the heart. The fact that he didn't know at the time the correct words to save her drove Galbatorix deeper into his fury as his body trembled with repressed madness.
"If only I had known the words sooner. If only those thrice-damned fools shared their knowledge when I first started to learn the ancient language, none of this would have happened! Jarnunvösk would still be alive and the Urgal species would have become extinct!" With a breathing exercise, Galbatorix slowly calmed his rage as he tapped the floor beneath him.
The ground trembled as a muted black foot lined with claws as large as small houses gripped it. The 'rampart', or better known as Shruikan's nose, grew a pair of glowing orb the color of glaciers and the size of a man opened as it balefully looked up at the human that killed his Rider and forced a bond between them.
Although he was quite insane, he still remembered that instant in time when Galbatorix, along with his helper Morzan, thrust their blades through his chosen Rider's heart. But he could do nothing as his mental defenses were broken long ago and every thought and action of his were under his control.
However, somewhere deep within his mind, secluded from the dementia, in a corner was what was left of the hopeful dragon that was loyal to his chosen one. For a century, he watched as the traitor performed massacres and tragedies, whether they be by his hand or orders. And the worst part was that he too participated in the killings of his own kin. At that point, he shut himself off, escaped and reinforced the only bright corner left of his shadowed mind as he secluded himself from the world.
But should he be given the smallest…the tiniest opening, he would end himself and if possible devour the traitor and send him to the depths of hell if there was one.
For now, however, his body was used as a glorified platform as Galbatorix continued to survey the land, waiting for the elves to come so that he could personally crush them while taunting them of their failures as the light left their eyes. He wouldn't have left Urû'baen if it weren't for this mysterious stranger…Naruto that had showed such power before his connection to the puppet Rider broke off and the powerful ripple of energy that effortlessly broke through his countless wards, one even made up by a certain word.
After the destruction of the elves…
…Naruto was next.
xXx
Over a week has passed from when the group landed and joined the Varden. During that time, Naruto didn't hesitate to drill Arya to the ground in the use of the Kawarimi until she didn't need to use any seals at all.
…although the fact that she had gotten substantially slower with the use of 10x resistance seals to the point that every action felt like as if she were moving in quicksand may have been the main reason why she broke through the last boundary after being showered in (thankfully blunted) weaponry.
Asura had undergone a smaller transformation, but his total length reached an impressive 50 feet. While only a little greater than half of Saphira's size, it was still impressive considering that he was only three weeks old. Most other young dragons would only be the size of a large dog and don't even think of flying…they could barely run with their stubby legs.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the battle currently going on. Despite sieging Feinster for two days, the Varden – which totaled 80,000 men and the catapults they recovered after the Empire retreated after the Battle of the Burning Plains – were still unable to overcome the over 80 feet tall stone wall and mighty oak gates that despite being rammed over and over again, barely had a dent.
Through all of that, the men were peppered by arrows and stones as they attempted to breath the barrier in order to take the city. If only they had the smallest of openings, the 30,000 men army defending Feinster would have no chance.
However, despite everything thrown at it – arrows, boulders, and even magic – the warded walls and gate remained impervious.
Finally, Ajihad, who was now stained with the black of dirt and blood came to Naruto, still standing back at the camp, simply watching as men threw themselves against the city in hopes of somehow breaking it down with sheer force of will. At the same time, Eragon and Saphira landed next to Ajihad as Arya sprinted to catch up to the pair; all approaching the blonde immortal who was now joined by Asura.
Stopping in front of Naruto, Ajihad stood still as he simply looked at Naruto, as the screams of dying men and women rang out in the air. Eragon and Saphira similarly stopped, the two of them near spotless due to not being able to get into the thick of things without becoming pincushions.
Going the last few steps, Arya strode past the trio to stand next to Naruto, snaking her hand towards his as she locked them together. Taking a glance, the newest Dragon Rider took in the view of her battle uniform: plain black leather armor that covered her torso, back, and up to her knees, silvery elven blade that hung at the left of her hip, and a graceful bow and quiver empty of arrows that rested on her back.
Although she currently did not show any sign of emotion, Naruto could see that she was frustrated from the way her fingers were lightly tapping the emerald pommel which softly glowed, filled to the brim with Naruto's chakra.
As Ajihad flicked off some of the grime that stubbornly clung onto his face, Naruto took the opportunity to send some of his potent chakra through their hands, smiling when he saw his love stop tapping on her sword in favor of intertwining their fingers for a closer and firmer grip.
"Naruto, if I'm not interrupting, I have come to ask if you will be participating in the battle. I need to know if the Varden can expect your help in this. Or is two days of battle still not enough?" Hearing the hidden tension in the question, Naruto rubbed his chin with his free hand, remembering yesterday how he responded to the same question.
Flashback
After a full day's worth of sieging and getting absolutely nowhere, even with the help of the elves and Eragon, Ajihad grew worried.
Oh, he was not worried about whether the Varden would emerge victorious from this battle. He knew that with a nearly fully-trained Dragon Rider pair and over a dozen of highly experienced elven spellcasters that victory was only a matter of time.
No…what he was worried was the amount of casualties that they already incurred on the first day alone, with no results. They still had several more siege battles, each one worse than this one at Feinster, and yet they were already stalled, losing hundreds of men despite their numerical and quality advantage. Any longer, and even recruitment would suffer; the potential recruits would only see an organization that threw lives away victorious.
…not great for advertisement.
And so, Ajihad made his way to the tent that housed the one person who could easily turn the tide of the battle with a single move.
"Naruto Uzumaki! May I speak to you for but a moment?" Ever since Eragon told him of what happened on Doru Araeba, his respect and fear of the blonde foreigner shot up. The strength the shinobi wielded was something to be admired, but at the same time should that same power be turned against them, he feared that there would be no one remotely capable of stopping him.
And so when Naruto didn't participate in the first day, he didn't ask for a reason. But now, after seeing the casualty reports after only a day, Ajihad felt he had no choice but to interrupt the immortal's peace.
Flipping the covers aside, Ajihad strode in front of the meditating blonde. At the disturbance, Naruto opened his eyes, revealing a pair of piercing electric blue eyes. Before Ajihad could begin, Naruto held up a hand, stalling whatever the black leader was about to say.
"I know why you are here. I have felt the deaths of hundreds of soldiers and the fact you are here instead of with them, it's clear that little to no progress has been made." If Ajihad was surprised, he didn't show it. He already knew of the mysterious man's sensing abilities and that he was once the military leader of a village filled with shinobi.
"So, you are here to ask me for help." Silence pervaded the enclosed space as Ajihad waited for Naruto's answer.
Naruto closed his eyes for several seconds as he thought back to the reason why he never used his full powers even when he had his chakra and resistance seals. Deciding to at least temporarily keep to his initial intention, Naruto shook his head in denial as Ajihad sighed.
"Ajihad, you know why I haven't joined the fight yet. The only reasons I fought was because it was the Varden that was being attacked and had almost zero chance of winning, and that this wasn't my fight. While I do agree that Galbatorix must be killed and his madness stopped, why should I slaughter innocent people who are just defending their home?"
Naruto was right, Ajihad realized. Unlike the soldiers and Urgals they fought, this time, at least from what his spies found, except for the Empire's spellcasters the rest were all men of Feinster. They did not fight for the mad king but instead for their Lady Lorana, the just ruler of Feinster.
As Ajihad struggled to find words to convince the man in front of him, Naruto sighed as he decided to give a little leeway. After all, this was the home of his friends and lover; although Kurama and he decided back when they kicked Fäolin's ass that they would no longer hide their power, those years of being Hokage wore down his brash, younger side…even if it was making a comeback.
"One more day. I will not participate for one more day and should the Varden still be in the same position as they were yesterday, I will do one thing that should bring a swift end to the battle. Now go, your men are waiting for you." With that, Naruto waved Ajihad away as the leader of the Varden took the hint, nodding as he left the tent towards the rest of his officers to plan for tomorrow's attack.
Flashback End
Shifting his gaze towards the besieged city, Naruto narrowed his gaze on the magically enhanced oak gates that still stood tall and almost untouched despite the punishment it took.
"Well Kurama, ready for the first use of my new power outside of training?" Naruto mentally questioned as the fox, who was taking one of his usual naps, woke up as an eager red eye looked out with his host's eyes.
Kurama had seen the simple and in his opinion, elegant way the target was destroyed when Naruto was training in it. It was a power the giant fox didn't think he would ever grow tired of seeing.
"Go ahead kit; you know that power of yours never ceases to amaze me. And to think that's only the time aspect." Naruto could imagine the giant toothy grin that his furball no doubt had. Shaking his head, Naruto switched his eyes to the Rinne-Sharingan, startling Ajihad but only eliciting looks of curiosity as Eragon, Saphira, and Arya looked on, wondering what new power their blonde was going to show.
Pumping chakra into his right eye, the mystical eye glowed as thin purple threads of chakra seemed to leak out as Naruto focused only on the door and nothing else. Finally, Naruto whispered out, "Jikan: Bunkai!"
The battle seemed to come to a halt as men, dwarves, Urgals, and elves alike watched in astonishment as the gate suddenly seemed to age, the vibrant brown of the oak swiftly turning to deathly black before the wood…simply withered away to ashes and as a few more seconds passed, those ashes soon faded to nothingness.
Silence reigned over the battlefield as everyone looked at the new open space where the proud gates once stood. However, it didn't last long as screams rent the air. The magicians who were supplying the chakra for the wards on the gate screamed out in pain and shock as the chakra needed to maintain the wards burned its way out of them to no avail.
The men of Feinster looked in horror as their group of spellcasters also faded into nothing, just like the gate that kept the Varden out. With a roar, the invading – or liberating to them – army rushed to the gates, pouring through as they engaged the still stunned defending troops, cutting a swath through the forces before the defenders recollected their senses.
Off in the distance, Naruto closed his eyes as he switched back to his original cerulean blue before opening them, only to witness blood and gore flying as the soldiers butchered each other through what he thought was barbaric fighting: nothing like the clean and efficient methods of the shinobi.
"Thank you Naruto. You saved the Varden hundreds if not thousands of unneeded casualties with as you said, one move. The city should fall within the next few hours as their main defense and many of their spellcasters have already fallen."
Naruto glanced back at Ajihad who had just finished giving his thanks and was about to leave before reaching out to grab the black leader's shoulder.
"Ajihad, if you are truly thankful, then do something for me." Seeing Ajihad raise an eyebrow before nodding, Naruto pressed on. "Before killing them, try your best to get them to surrender. You do not want to start your campaign only to be known as a butcher of innocent men only defending their homes. Sometimes, mercy can be a more powerful weapon than any blade when wielded in the right way."
Having said his piece, Naruto took his hand away as the leader of the Varden digested his words before finding that he too agreed with the blonde. There was no need for further bloodshed and like he said, no one wanted to be known as a butcher.
It would be bad for recruitment.
As Ajihad walked away, Eragon and Saphira nodded towards their friend before flying towards the city, now free of thousands of arrows and rocks, intent on ending the still continuing fight with the least amount of violence as possible.
Only Arya remained behind as she stood by her love, looking out over the city and the smoke that started to rise as a result of secondary defenses. Turning to the man beside her, Arya asked in a lilting voice.
"Love, will you be joining the battle?" She already knew of his opinions, but just in case he changed his mind, Arya asked again.
"I'm sorry Arya, but this is one fight I will not join. From what I sensed, the emotions of the defenders are genuine; they are not soldiers of Galbatorix's army, just men defending their home. However, be careful when you get to the top. I feel a large amount of negative emotions gathering…just like when Durza was killed."
The elf's eyes widened in horror when she heard what Naruto said. If what he said was true, then a new Shade was being born even as they spoke; there was no time to waste.
That thought left her mind the moment she felt the hand she held suddenly stiffen. Before she could ask, Naruto gained a grim expression before he suddenly released his hold on her hand and jumped onto Asura's back.
"Naruto, what's wrong?"
Turning away from Arya, Naruto patted his partner's spiked head who by now was tense in alarm. "Prepare for your first battle Asura." Widening his glowing eyes at the simple statement, Asura braced his legs for takeoff as Naruto made eye contact with his companion.
"Oromis and Glaedr have just thrown my Hiraishin kunai. Be careful Arya-hime, but at the same time remember that even if it is a Shade, know that you are ready for this fight."
Arya nodded as she tightly gripped the hilt of her sword, knowing that despite her improvements, somebody that was able to force Oromis to ask for help was beyond her and that she would only get in the way. "I won't ask you to promise to stay safe as I know you won't be able to keep it. Just come back in one piece without a sword sticking through you, alright?"
Naruto just rolled his eyes at the mention of what he did before to save Eragon as he leaned down to softly kiss her forehead. Then with a wave, Naruto let out a cocky smile, "See you around, princess," as Asura pushed off the ground and into the sky with a large boom before the two disappeared with a yellow flash.
Staring at the spot where they vanished, Arya shook her head as she pushed her concerns to the back of her mind, knowing that her blonde would be fine. "For now, let's get to the top of the tower as fast I can. Despite his training, Eragon is still not ready to deal with a newly born Shade, especially after fighting through thousands of men."
And so, with a small amount of chakra reinforcing her legs, Arya cracked the ground as she took off in a dead sprint, whizzing past the Varden troops and into the city.
Notes:
Jikan: Bunkai – Time: Disintegration
