The Wahammer elements are really thick this chapter. Lots of locations and names in Huaxia are either ripped straight out of cathay or real world warring states period china. Hope you guys enjoy this one.
So Disclimer: I own nothing from Naruto or Warhammer or GOT that appear in this fic. This is merely a fun passtime.
He awoke in a stupor. Atop a rocking fishing vessel with a fisherman and his daughter. They said something to him but he couldn't register before falling into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
The last sound he registered was the prisoner within him frantically calling out. "What's going on? What happened? Where are you? Where are we? Why can't I feel them anymore?" The fox cried.
If he'd been awake then, he would've realised the fox had been panicking.
The next couple of days passed in a blur. The fisherman and his daughter brought him to the local doctor or at least what qualified as a doctor. Honestly, he felt so weak here that he was barely aware at the time.
Everything had felt so wrong. The air, there was something intrinsically different about it that it felt alien to him. There was something missing from it.
He'd also struggled with communication. He couldn't understand their words. They too cannot understand him. But they showed him kindness, helped him when they didn't need to. Rescued him when they didn't have to.
It restored his faith in lord third's teachings.
He didn't know where he was and that stayed that way for days. Eventually, the communication problem was solved.
There was a scholar living in the village. A learned man who was returning from a major city for a vacation. By chance he happened upon the man who was practicing his essay at the time.
"Kanji" he realised. The startled scholar and he soon learned that he could read the local language. That was the starting point in him learning the to speak the language.
"I want to go home," he said time and again. "Which way to the capital?" He asked. "My friends are there to speak with the Daimyo," he learned to say.
The kind scholar offered to take him to the capital. Little did he know, through miscommunication, he'd thought he meant the capital of Qi.
The state of Qi was the nation he was in. It was ruled by a king named Zhao Jun. A skilled warrior with many victories against the rival states of Qin and Yan.
It was after arriving at the capital of Qi did he realise something was wrong. He was able to get ahold of a proper map there too. He wasn't anywhere near the land of fire. In fact, the land of fire wasn't even on the god damned map.
…
"Busy reminiscing?"
Naruto turned his head away from the sunset. The setting sun had painted the horizon of clouds in a beautiful shade of orange. A miraculous sight that never ceases to amaze the emperor no matter how many times he'd seen it.
Placing down his cup of wine, Naruto began addressing the man who'd come up to him. "Ye Fan you old dog, when did you arrive?" He said with a laugh.
Ye Fan was a giant of a man. He easily towered over the emperor at a staggering nine foot tall. His physique was ripped with muscle indicating a humongous amount of physical strength. His skin was also the colour of charcoal, black as the night.
But what really set him apart wasn't his height nor his muscles. It was his bull shaped head. The head of a buffalo to be exact, complete with a short beard and a nose ring. His horns curled upwards like a crown and his eyes flashed with fondness.
"Your majesty, your servant returns triumphant," Ye Fan the bull man cupped his massive fists and bowed in respect to his liege. Naruto chuckled
"Ye Fan, we are brothers on the battlefield, you don't need to be so polite with me ya know," the young emperor sighed playfully.
"Ah but your majesty, you aren't like us now. You're the son of heaven, the Emperor of Huaxia, a true person sage. It is only right I show you the proper respect," Ye Fan smiled.
Naruto knew he wouldn't win the old cow. Hence he relented and waved his hand. Atop the balcony he sat on, another chair materialised besides his overlooking the Celestial Palace and the sunset beyond.
"Say, what's up with the eastern palace?" Ye Fan asked as he sat down. "Looked like a pretty big frenzy."
"No idea and honestly, I don't care. I've already retired for the day," the emperor said taking a sip of his wine. He raised his hand and telepathically raised a pitcher to pour some for the beast man.
"So, how was it?" Naruto asked.
"As easy as pie old friend," Ye Fan said taking his own sip of wine. "The Jogos Nhai Kahn thought himself invincible, this old bull showed him otherwise. His head now join his brethren in lining the eastern bastion and his body fed to the dogs."
"Those horsemen are really getting daring lately," Naruto sighed. "They deny any offer of peace thrown at them and instead charge towards my lands with no hesitation. You'd think they'd learn after five years."
"The Jogos Nhai were morons long before you arrived. Their barbaric culture and unearned pride has always been their defining traits," Ye Fan scoffed. "I don't understand why you keep showing them mercy, they'll never take it."
Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Just maintaining the harmonious peace in Huaxia was taxing. Doing so outside was even more so. The most attempts he'd done for the Jogos Nhai was simply arranging peace talks yet they had always spat in his face.
"I just want all the fighting to end," Naruto sagged in his seat. In these rare moments of privacy, where no celestial dragon guard was present nor ministers. Among friends who knew him well, he could finally show his true feelings.
Ye Fan sighed and patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm sorry for bringing down the mood old friend. But there is simply no stopping the nature of living beings. It's not just human nature but an ingrained sense of conflict in all beings. Even the wisest of dragons to lowliest of men are susceptible to this."
"It shouldn't have to be," Naruto shook his head. He watched the closing day of the palace below. Though melancholic air may hang around his person, he truly treasured these years of peace.
But even Naruto cannot deny the violence it took to bring this about. He'd sent millions of men to their deaths to achieve his dream. And as much as he hate it, he'd condemn a million more to keep it.
The sight of hundreds of thousands of corpses still haunted him. Bodies piled atop bodies. Men, women, yokai, children. How many had been sacrificed to bring about peace?
'Heavens, what has happened to me,' Naruto pondered. He thought back to the old saying. You either die a hero or live to become a villain. He'd like to think he hasn't crossed the line yet.
"Your majesty," Ye Fan said observing Naruto's face. "Mingren, Huaxia simply cannot afford any more conquest right now."
"I know," Naruto admitted. Defend, defend, defend, defend, that was all Huaxia can do right now. Their facilities were still damaged and many cities still had scars from the last chaos invasion.
"By the by, where did you get this wine? It's good," Ye Fan suddenly asked.
"Hm? Oh its wine imported from Qin."
Ye Fan was slightly taken aback, "So Ying Zhen is good for something after all."
Naruto bursted out in laughter. He doubled down and wheezed in good humour. The Emperor of Huaxia looked on towards the city. The sun had finally set and a veil of darkness had begun cloaking the city. Though small lights of lamps and lanterns were still visible in the distance.
Then, an idea dawned on him.
"Say, Ye Fan."
"Hm?"
"What say you and I leave for a bit. Explore the city, the lunar festival is supposed to be in a few days."
"You really going to leave the palace? What would all the ministers and guards think?" Ye Fan exclaimed.
"They can put a sock in it for all I care. The court can exist without me and besides, its nightfall, people are already retiring for the night," Naruto waved him off.
"Should we inform the guards?" Ye Fan pointed his thumb back towards the door whence he came.
"Nah, what's the point of sneaking out with people know?" Naruto smirked.
…
Weijin, grand capital of a unified Huaxia. The majestic city which held down the eastern end of the Great Bastion. The site of ultimate victory against the forces of chaos and their dark masters.
Constructed on a slope, it was a city built for war with high walls and mounted canons. The core forces of the imperial army garrisoned here along with the nation's elite fighters. A fortress enchanted with magic of the highest caliber, Fengshui masters, and armed with weapons from the greatest of engineers.
A combinations of massive terracotta sentinels, golems resembling the common soldier, yet standing over a dozen metres in height. These giants lined the outer and inner wars as well as all over Weijin. A total of two hundred of them total placed in the city alone, a fifth of the total amount Huaxia possessed.
Yet it wasn't all militaristic. It was also a hub of culture and fulfilment. It was a young city, but one strategically planned from the start to be able to withstand and win a siege.
The Celestial Palace, also called the divine court of heaven, wasn't a structure built in the city itself. Rather, the court of the Emperor of Huaxia was a mobile flying fortress floating several kilometres above Weijin itself. A constant reminder of the power of their chosen ruler.
Naruto and Ye Fan flew steadily beneath a cloaking spell. They stealthily appeared above the rooftops of a pagoda before descending again to a lower elevation.
"Merchant district," Ye Fan called out.
"Moron, it's the middle class living district," Naruto sighed.
"Hey give me a break, I don't come to here often," Ye Fan excused himself. "Besides, all you human buildings look the same to me."
"At least we know how to build."
The two bantered as they walked out of the residential district. Weijin's nightlife was especially vibrant around this time. People were preparing for the upcoming lunar festival after all and decorations were already being put in place.
Some people thought to enjoy things early and wonder the streets with all the lanterns and mooncakes.
Naruto smiled at the sight. It brought back memories of simpler times. A reminder of where he came from. This was why he liked to sneak away to Weijin. Not as the emperor above all men. But as a fellow human living among them.
'It still amazes me how fast and tall the people here can build,' Naruto thought as he wondered the streets with Ye Fan.
Huaxia was a beautiful land. Though he'd always remember the Elemental Nations fondly, Huaxia too had become his home. A magical land of natural beauty unmarred by industrial complexes of more urban parts of the Elemental Nations.
The lack of advanced technology had made him enjoy nature all the more. Even Konoha which was rather rural and possessed a myriad of foliage wouldn't compare to the vast lands of Huaxia.
Weijin too carried a naturally mystical feeling to it. Almost like walking into a painting rather than a real place. Fruits of his hard labour. No, fruits of everyone's labour.
The emperor and his friend trekked into the more bustling areas of town. It wouldn't compare to during the daytime, but it was just past sunset so many people were still out.
Ever since he'd installed the magical lamps that littered the streets. His ministers had called it a waste of finances but he'd insisted. Too bad he didn't know how engineering worked else he'd had placed in electrical lamps. The maintenance for magical lams were quite high.
The two crossed a bridge that spawned over a running river. The same one that crossed through Weijin from the mountains just north and the great wall that began from it.
"Huh, things are really ramping up here," Naruto idly said noticing a crowd gathering around a street. A crowd had gathered of considerable size.
"What's going on?" Ye Fan thought to ask.
"Dun know, why don't we ask," Naruto walked up to a civilian who stood at the edge. The emperor's current dressing was a regular set of robes rather than his normal imperial ones. As such he stood out a little less then usual.
"Hey there," Naruto called out. "What's the occasion?" He asked. The man he asked didn't look back content to stare in amazement at the crowd. He was tiptoeing trying to get a peek.
"It's the dowager empress. She's here personally," he said.
Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Dowager empress? Mom?" He pushed past the man who stumbled back.
"Hey what's the…ah," he grabbed Naruto's shoulder only to have his jaw drop as he recognised the face of the blonde. "A thousand apologies your majesty!" He exclaimed.
However, Naruto ignored the man and strolled forwards. As he did so, the crowd, having heard the proclamation, parted like the red sea. Their eyes wide in both fear and awe.
The same man earlier had began kowtowing and smacking his head on the pavement muttering apologies. Ye Fan had to physically hold the poor man back so he wouldn't hurt himself.
When Naruto got to the front, he was greeted with a sight of a woman entertaining a horde of young children. Dancing chains and puppets making a show for the kids. Kids from the ages of three to seven ahhed and oohed at the sight.
The woman doing so was one Naruto easily recognised. She was beautiful, much more so then a vast majority of people. With long crimson hair and round features. Kushina Uzumaki in the flesh.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto called out.
"Huh? Ah, Naruto," his mother cried out. She looked back with slight embarrassment as she looked to the ground like a kid in trouble who'd been discovered.
"Well, you see. It was kinda lonely in the palace so I. Well, I found these kids and started playing with them and then things kinda escalated," the empress dowager said with a small grin.
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be out here. But the stuffy old men were just so boring," Kushina wined with a pout.
Naruto sighed. It was a truly strange sight. A man calling a woman nearing his own age mother. Yet they were mother and son of flesh and blood. Though this situation along with his father's was still very awkward.
"So that was why the eastern palace was in an uproar a few hours ago," Naruto deadpanned. "We still don't understand the full mechanics of your resurrection. Matters relating to chaos are very serious, I know it's hard but."
"I understand," Kushina relented. "It's just, Minato gets to go out and all."
"He volunteered to be garrisoned at the dragon gate, vastly different circumstances," Naruto deadpanned. His shoulders shagged and his smile faded.
The emperor didn't really know how to feel. He still didn't even after a year. He'd long accepted them as being dead yet for them to suddenly appear in his life again at a time where he'd long reached adulthood. Heaven's sake he was a father himself.
"Empress dowager," Ye Fan greeted stepping out from the side.
"Oh, please don't call me that. You are?"
"We've never met," Ye Fan said.
"Oh thank god, so many names," Kushina wiped the sweat off her forehead, cheeks flushed.
"I know, the army of clerks can be tough to remember," Ye Fan smiled. "It's why I don't bother."
It wasn't that Kushina was dumb or anything. It was just that the palace alone had ministers, clerks, guards, and servants numbering into the tens of thousands. And this was a lowball estimate.
Konoha's ninja population didn't even reach ten percent that last she remembered. Though that was still early post third war so things probably changed a lot in that time.
"Come on, let's go back to the pa…" Naruto began saying but suddenly stopped. His head tilted to the side as the fingers of his left hand reached for the back of his ear.
Kushina blinked her eyes in confusion. "Is this some sort of that magic thing or?"
"Year, someone's contacting his majesty," Ye Fan said crossing his arm. Looking at the crowd of unsure people he called out, "Alright, show's over. You guys haven't done anything wrong. Go home and take a rest."
As the crowd dispersed, he and Kushina turned back to Naruto expectantly.
The emperor met their gaze and sighed. "I hate it when this happens," he said holding his forehead. "Peace is never easy is it?"
…
Like the silent shadow, Taran Zhu, master of the Shadow Pan snuck into the city lord's mansion. Technically, he was on a vacation doubling as an escort mission. It was the only real way to trap him in one given how many he's denied.
But for the Shadow Pan warrior, breaks did not exist. His paranoia had also paid off as his suspicions were confirmed upon examining the mansion.
Utilising spells from water trigram, a thin veil of light enveloped the demon hunter. His position was invisible to the naked eye and only advanced magics can detect him.
As a talented and experienced warrior who'd seen countless battles, Taran Zhu was a Fengshui expert, someone who'd mastered all eight trigrams of magic. Such a task was simple to him.
"Let's see," he rummaged through the office area without a sound. His eyes flashed in other spells that saw through walls and sealed chambers. His nose wrinkled as he detected distinct odours.
It smelled of a smouldering ember. Like a fire that had long gone out mixed with the displeasure distinct from the corrupted lands of the shadowlands.
The Shadow Pan continued to detect such magics from deeper into the mansion. Most of it was hidden underneath barriers but not things that were strong enough to keep him out.
"Foreign magics," he concluded. "The foul taint of the shadows," he spat. He was highly tempted to assassinate the city lord right here, right now. But more evidence was needed, this could easily be planted. What's more, the source of the magic also needed to be investigated.
Placing a pair of fingers on his ear, he messaged his emperor.
…
Natsuo Uzumaki. Enthusiastically strapped the quiver onto his back. The thirteen year old then began tying the harness together so that structural integrity can be maintained.
"You ready my prince?" Liu Han asked from outside the room.
"Yeah, just a bit," Natsuo called back. He quickly headed out and opened the door. "Let's go," he said.
A bit under a week had passed since the trial of the thief and the city lord had come back with another apology. This time, Natsuo accepted when the city lord also invited him to go out hunting with him and the local noble clans.
It was a good offer and one that allowed him to stretch his legs. Hence the son of Naruto accepted and brought along a retinue of his celestial dragon guards and bodyguard as protection.
Riding out on horses, Natsuo, Liu Han, and a host of celestial dragon guard numbering twenty rode out after breakfast.
They rode out of the city for a few kilometres outside the gates. Their destination was a large swath of foliage that spanned from this corner of Chu all the way into the lands of Qin. Many referred to it as the beast woods due to its higher than average population of animals.
It didn't take long for the prince to catch up with the others of the hunt who'd arrived earlier than him.
"Your highness," these men greeted kowtowing to the boy.
"At ease, I'm here for the same thing you all are," Natsuo said with a smile. "Am I the last one here?"
"No, that would be me your highness," Natsuo turned around towards the new voice.
Riding on a horse, a middle aged man with a long beard and moustache in a classic oriental style sat there dressed in azure blue robes.
"City Lord Ye," Natsuo greeted.
"Your highness," Lord Ye said getting off his horse and bowing. He was a scholarly looking man without any large muscles. But one shouldn't underestimate him. Lord Ye was one of Zhang Jiao's foremost mages and used to participate in battles all the time.
Reportedly, he'd even clashed against the emperor more than a few times. It was a miracle he was even still alive after so long.
"So Lord Ye, what's our target," Natsuo eagerly said. As fun as exploring the country side had been, he hadn't had much of a chance to get some action. Bandits were smart enough to avoid celestial dragon guard and supernatural monsters avoided retinues of so much strength.
"Recent rumours had it that a giant boar had appeared in the edges of the forrest," Lord Ye said. "Normally we'd send men to drive it back into the deeper parts but it may also be an entertaining experience for your highness."
"Boar? How big are we talking?" Natsuo asked.
"Big, witnesses say at least the height of five men and can swallow men whole in a single bite," Lord Ye said.
"Five men?" Liu Han chimed in curiously. "Something that size is usually living up in the Bone Mountains. It's rare to see something like that so far east."
"Probably just men exaggerating," Lord Ye said. "Besides, the prince is a master of the eight trigrams, it shouldn't be anything too difficult."
Natsuo bashfully scratched the back of his head. Calling him a master of the eight trigrams was a little too much. Sure he could use a few but master? That's a little too far out of his league.
"I understand your concern," Lord Ye told Liu Han and the dragon guards. "But this area isn't known for dangerous beasts, you'd have to go a little further south towards the Shadowlands for that."
"It'll be fun Liu Han," Natsuo insisted.
"By your will," the warrior relented and nodded.
The party hunting this boar consisted of several dozen men. Members from important clans within Nan Chen including the city lord and the imperial prince. But compared to the former two, these noble clans might as well be peasants.
The party set off into the forest with haste. They were all given a map and told of locations where they shouldn't cross. Places that also had markers on them to signify danger zones.
Overall, Lord Ye had made a lot of preparations. Liu Han informed Natsuo that the man has probably been preparing for the better part of the last couple of days.
The trackers accompanying them soon managed to trace the creature's movements.
"Hey Liu Han, you think Lord Ye will eat the boar?" Natsuo asked attempting to make some chatter.
"Most likely, it'll be a waste not to," he said.
"Hm, well I…". Natsuo began saying but trackers interrupted them. They came running back to their position in the forest
"Footsteps were found. The beast is close," they said. The hunters immediately stopped their chatter and concentrated.
Natsuo grabbed his bow and arrow and readied them. The weight of the bow felt awkward in the hands of the prince. He had trained with a bow before but only a few times and years ago. In fact, the only reason he brought it was to fit in aesthetically with everyone else.
In most cases, when his mother took him on hunts, he'd use his claws and teeth to win the fight. If his father took him, he'd practise his magic and martial arts or Taijutsu as his dad called it.
Seeing the prince awkwardly fiddling with the bow and arrow, Liu Han sighed. He didn't mind the assignment, he was pretty much an uncle to the kid. But the brat can be a bit aggravating at times.
"Here, let me," Liu Han bent down and adjusted Natsuo's grip. "When you draw, remember to relax and watch your footing," he said.
"Thanks Liu Han," Natsuo said running forwards to join the rest of the hunters.
He bolted to the front while the celestial dragon guards trailed after him in silence. They were the most stone faced people ever. Super serious, super dutiful, and super boring. What's more, the lesser nobles were too scared to talk to the kid.
"Lord Ye, I want first at him," Natsuo enthusiastically said.
"Of course your highness," Lord Ye smiled. "We'll be right behind you."
'Maybe he's not so bad after all,' Natsuo thought. He snuck through the bushes quietly using his ears to pick up sounds. His bow was drawn and ready.
Using his ears, Natsuo picked up traces of a set of legs stealthily moving on the grass and leaf infested lands. The foliage rustled as the creature approached their location. 'It's coming for us?' He pondered.
He trotted forwards and peeked through the bushes ahead of him. His eyes narrowed when he saw a thick leathery skin green in colour.
Natsuo wrinkled his nose when a foul smell hit his nostrils. Then a wet splat hit his blonde and silver head. He looked up and saw the creature in its full height.
'That's not a boar,' the prince quickly dodged to the right, skilfully avoiding a giant bite where his previous position was at. He aimed his arrow at the creature's head and released.
But with a loud clang, the arrow bounced off of the creature's head making the sound of metal against metal.
"My prince, get out of there," Liu Han's cry made Natsuo jump back as the creature bite at him again.
Now further away, Natsuo got a better look at the beast. It was big, even more so then what Lord Ye had described. It was skinny but tall and was in the shape of a dog. There were small black hairs running all over its body.
Its face was crooked, resembling a caricature of a human's face mixed with a dogs. Its head was humorously bigger in proportion with its body containing large sets of yellow teeth.
It had no eyes visible on its face, just massive nostrils. Instead, it possessed one eye each on its shoulders. The same shoulders that connected to human like front paws armed with nails.
"It's a Taotie," Liu Han cried racing forwards, his halberd ready. The Taotie caught off guard, flinched backwards as Liu Han's halberd cut into its face.
The Taotie screamed and ran in another direction kicking up a wave of leaves. It smashed into a tree, easily knocking it over and picked it up and swung.
A celestial dragon guard jumped in the way and halted the tree with his bare hands. Another guard ran up the tree and stabbed the Taotie through the face into the top portion of its jaw.
The Taotie screeched. Its mouth unleashed a cloud of poisonous gas that forced the celestial dragon guards to jump back and defend.
A nobleman nearby wasn't so lucky however. He bought a whiff of the smoke and his face instantly changed. He toppled over over gasping for breath, a look of horror on his face as he died.
The Taotie trotted over and with a single bite, ate the man's corpse.
"Every back, Taotie's are mystical creatures and highly dangerous," Lord Ye commanded. His palms lit up in fire as he made to blast the beast. His attacks shot through into the Taotie who merely shrugged the hit off.
Liu Han frowned. He twirled his halberd around ready to finish the creature. The celestial dragon guards had also prepared to do the same.
"No, let me take care of it," Natsuo insisted. He dropped the bow and arrow set beside his feet and stepped forwards stretching. Liu Han gave him an annoyed look before shrugging.
"Careful," he said.
Natsuo smirked. "Hey ugly," he cried catching the Taotie's attention. As soon as the creature turned, the prince had already ran up to it. His following uppercut knocked the beast onto its back, crashing it through several trees.
"Are you insane? You're just letting the prince do so?" A nobleman cried towards Liu Han and the dragon guards. These elite warriors merely nodded.
"The prince doesn't need our protection, not in this case," Liu Han said much to the nobleman's shock and confusion.
Natsuo sidestepped the taotie's paw. He kicked the creature's side and grabbed the lower part of its jaw as it made to bite him. He then lifted and tossed the creature onto the ground before pummelling its chin with a punch of his own.
The Taotie landed with a thud, struggling to handle Natsuo enormous physical strength. A testament to the bloodline belonging to both his parents.
The Taotie roared not in rage, but in hunger. Even in its disadvantaged position, it made to bite Natsuo. It chewed through everything from rocks to wood to even spells Lord Ye had thrown at him.
The Taotie flipped onto its feet as Natsuo blasted it with a bolt of concentrated lighting burning at the surface of its skin. Then the prince decked it across the face sending it flying into an elevation of rocks.
"Man, nothing can hurt this thing," Natsuo grumbled. His blue eyes began glowing in an amethyst colour. "Guess I'll have to hit harder."
The Taotie was quickly back onto its feet. It roared in hunger and charged at the prince who stood still.
"Hey, shouldn't you guys give him your weapons? His highness' attacks aren't doing anything," a person watching said in panic.
"Taoties are known to be supernaturally tough. Our weapons are enchanted to penetrate creatures like that easily. But we've decided sworn not to interfere," Liu Han said. "Besides, does it look like he's struggling?"
Natsuo smirked as he ran at the Taotie. The two's charge was broken when the Taotie opened its wide maw to bite only for Natsuo to slide along the floor. The fact that it was covered in leaves made it all the more easier.
His skin segmented themselves and his limbs elongated. He sprouted two antler like horns from his forehead and twin catfish whiskers sprouted from his lip. His teeth sharpened and his nails became claws.
Rising up from below the Taotie, the dragonic form of Natsuo dug his claws into the creature's back drawing blood for the first time. The Taotie screeched in pain while the dragon roared in triumph.
Natsuo lifted the beast into the air and hurled it into the ground. He then dived into the creature. His own claws slashing apart the taotie's underbelly, carving out a bloody scene.
Natsuo's serpentine body then wrapped itself around the Taotie. His physical strength was more than capable of restraining the hungry demon. Natsuo's front limbs pulled at the Taotie's head and twisted it in an unnatural direction.
Struggling, the Taotie was unable to move as the life drained out of it. With a loud crack, Natuso forced the creature's neck to snap, killing it.
The Taotie fell to the ground with a thud. Its head faced the back of its body as the dragon untangled itself.
"The rumours are true," a nobleman whispered. "The imperial clan are dragons."
Standing triumphant, Natsuo's dragon form smiled. His whiskers danced in the wind as the ten metres long dragon did a little dance.
…
Later that day, during the dead silence of the night. Lord Ye kicked his chair into the wall.
"Damn it, that wasn't supposed to happen," he screeched.
"You were hasty," a lecturing voice snorted. "Did you really think a single Taotie could get past the celestial dragon guards and the God of War?"
"GRRR, they weren't supposed to be there. The prince was supposed to be a naive fool who gets eaten by the Taotie," Lord Ye said.
"You've tangled with the emperor in the past, you really think the prince will be weak?" The same voice laughed.
"Don't call him that, he's nothing more than a pretender, a foreigner. The line of Azure Emperors are the true rulers of Huaxia," Lord Ye Yelled back.
"Hmph, you wasted precious recourses luring in that Taotie. Wasted our time and recourses for your own petty grievances and put our order in jeopardy. Cease you rashness at once or we will pull our support," the voice said before disappearing.
Lord Ye was left to rage on his own.
Kay so first things first the magic in Huaxia is based on the eight trigrams and five elements, philosophical teachings from china that categorises our universes. There are two major branches of magic in Huaxia though both descend from the same source. These are the Wuxing or five elements and Bagua or eight trigrams. The five elements school is favoured by the astromancers while the eight trigrams are favoured by every other magic user.
They're each further split into different disciplines based on one of the elements or trigrams. Mastering all discipline in any school makes you a Fengshui master. Naruto at this point in time is a Fengshui master and more.
Oh and Kushina and Minato are alive because warp fuckery. There's more to the story than that but they've been back for about a year before chapter 2 starts and are still adjusting.
Comment what you like and any questions you have.