Naruto - Warlord

AN:

And here we are. Like i said during the last AN, i will have to take a short break after this. I might squeeze one chap out during the weekend, but dont count on it. I have begun with the next chapter, but work and stuff will make it difficult to promise when it will be out.

I am a bit anxious for what you guys will think about this chapter. This chapter, and the next will begin to reveal the new direction the story will be moving towards and it wouldnt surprise me if not everyone is happy with it. Even so, this is the direction i have decided since before i even started writing the prologue that i wanted to take, so this is what goes.

So far, i am so happy with all of the support you guys have showed for the story. It's what has motivated me to write them as quickly as i have during this week (over 30k words in 5 days, holy shit). Someone made their worry known that my potentially new job would hinder me in continuing the story, so here's my response to calm anyone with similar thoughts:

- I have no intentions of stopping to write despite what will hopefully be my new job. There may be some time between updates, as i wont have as much time as before, but i will still find time to write every now and then. Should i end up unable to continue the story for whatever reason, i will naturally give it away WHEN that time comes.

Enough yammering from me for now, ENJOY!

Chapter 6

Naruto bound the last strap of his backpack and rose. His back had gotten stiff from packing and the battle earlier during the day hadn't helped either.

As he stretched, Naruto sighed and looked about the wide and spacious bedroom that had once belonged to a nobleman. It had been earned through blood, but it had become a home to Naruto, even if he had never expected to experience any greater luxuries than what was provided to him as a commoner, living in a small shack at the outskirts of a small town.

And now, he would lose it all. All the comforts he'd grown used to over the last couple of months would be gone forever.

Naruto shouldn't complain. Not really. There were families here, like Hiroto's for example, who had lived here for far longer than he. Old families who had worked themselves to the bone to establish a familiar home and hearth, a place where they belonged in the world. They lost far more than Naruto, whose home was little more than a mausoleum.

Naruto shook his head, smirking at his own remorse; he was doing it again. That god awful brooding.

Picking up the backpack, he let it rest by the exit as he toured the palace for what would be the last time. The 'War Room' had been emptied, the map safely secured in Naruto's backpack. The decorations, the soft silk curtains and pillows and the many works of arts and weaponry which hung upon the walls however had no place in their journey.

It was within these walls that Naruto had become something so much more than what he had ever thought he'd be. He couldn't help but feel sentimental now that he was loosing it all.

Naruto snorted. He was being overly dramatic. He still had his life and position among his people. That was more than those who had died for them.

Casting a last, longing glance, across the halls of his home, he wondered when he'd grown so comfortable with the splendor of the palace and its comfortable silks and satin. Refusing to linger any longer, Naruto moved to pick up the backpack. No sense staying around fretting over things that couldn't be changed.

The evening sun greeted him as he left the palace, the doors banging shut behind him.

Pausing to glance at its position, Naruto frowned with worry. It was nearly time.

He jogged from his home, now abandoned, weaving past the many townsfolk all walking towards the same direction as he, backpacks and carts dragged by horses along with them. The mood was grim among the people, their children crying in confusion as their parents did their best to console them. They were too young to understand what was going on, but Naruto doubted they would be shown mercy if the Daimyo's men breached the walls.

Finally coming to the town square, his people milled about in waiting. It was a large gathering as the entire townsfolk waited. The wounded had been loaded to cart, supplies packed and farm animals herded. All that was left for them to do now, was wait.

Naruto glanced over the area and found his advisers near the middle, right next to Hiroto and his daughter Hina. Ryu was there as well, doing his best to console her as Hiroto pointedly ignored him. He sighed and quickly jogged over to them.

"My friends.", Naruto nodded in greetings, receiving one in return from everyone present. "How are we looking?"

"We're seeing an awful lot of movement in the forest now.", Shou frowned. "Wont be long now."

Naruto nodded at that, keeping his worries at bay as he looked to Jiro.

"Our people ready to move?"

"If they aren't, they will be when the arrows whistle through the air.", Jiro snorted derisively. His frustrations were felt by them all, as people were stubborn and proud to a fault. They could only do so much to hurry them along.

"Good.", Naruto muttered, taking a deep breath as he looked meaningfully at those present. "Listen up. The second the fight begins, you will all leave through the northern gate."

"What if they're there? What if they have already surrounded the settlement in the forest?", Ichiro questioned with worry, but Naruto shook his head.

"They cant. They have too few men, they will be spread far too thin to be useful if they do and they have no idea where the northern trenches are." Naruto smirked nastily at them. "I suspect they don't want to go looking for any more than what they already found of those pits." The group chuckled darkly at that, nodding at his words. "No, they will come from the direction they think is now the safest. Shou, did you get the oil spread out into the second line of trenches?"

"Aye.", Shou nodded. "Oil's poured and grass is strewn about."

"Good.", Naruto nodded, pausing to brace himself for his next words. He knew Shou would protest. "I need you to guide our people to the 'Vein'." Shou's eyes widened in shock. Before he could protest, Naruto held up his hand and continued. "Our people trust you, Shou. And i trust you to get them out of here safely if i fall."

"My Lord!", Shou nearly yelled. "I can fight! Anyone else here can lead our people to the 'Vein', you know i can-!"

"You can fight, Shou, that is true.", Naruto interrupted him with a strict voice of iron. They didn't have time for this. "But you cannot run, not with that limp of yours." Shou grimaced at this, clenching his teeth with frustration. His bravery was commendable, but Shou needed to see the greater picture. "Shou." Naruto stepped forward and laid a hand on Shou's shoulder, drawing his attention. "I trust you with the responsibility of getting out people to the 'Vein'. The thick forests should hide you as long as the Daimyo's men aren't guarding the pass. Wait for us there."

Looking into his eyes, Shou looked like he still wanted to argue against him, but eventually relented with a somber nod. Naruto nodded back in relief.

Making small talk as he relayed some last guiding words for his advisers, a man in the watchtower nearby yelled out.

"Company!"

The townsfolk cried out in fear, several beginning to cry now. They were understandably worried.

Looking at his advisers meaningfully and giving a last nod to Shou, Naruto looked to Ryu who stood with his new family. No words were spoken between them as Naruto turned to run for the wall, but they didn't need to. He hoped they would make it out, should the worst come to pass.

Naruto only needed to delay them enough for his people to reach the pass. Time was all they needed.

"'People's Guard'! On me!", Naruto roared out across the square, already moving towards the wall. The men and women who were members of the guard quickly said their goodbyes to their weeping families and ran with the rest towards the southeastern gate. Running up to the top of the ramps, above the gate, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the scene before him.

The samurai stood lined up along the edge of the forest. They now wore longbows, standing ready with arrows already nocked and waiting.

Naruto realized how bad that was. Their bows had much, much longer range than their own, which were primarily made for hunting and not long distance warfare like the Daimyo's longbows.

The rider sat upon his horse, glaring at the town from across the field. For a moment, their eyes locked and there were nothing else around them. The rider had probably long since realized the people of Kisara would never surrender.

Naruto glanced to the mountain side, where the sun had almost dipped below the mountain tops. As if in response to his thoughts, the thin line visible of the sun disappeared behind the ridge.

Gaze falling back to the rider, he saw the warrior had been watching to sun as well. Promise now fulfilled, the rider drew his sword.

At his command, men with torches ran out from the forest. Observing them with suspicion, Naruto widened his eyes upon seeing them light their arrows on fire.

"Fire arrows!", Naruto roared to those around him. "Shield up!"

"Shields up!", the people roared out down the line, ensuring the message came across to those far away from Naruto. Halberd in hand, Naruto crouched beneath his shield, peeking under it from above the top of the wall.

The samurai waved his sword and roared a command, pointing his sword towards their village. Like one, the trained archers raised their bows into the air and fired. The fire arrows soared through the night air like fireflies upon the wind, yet the sight wasn't anywhere as soothing.

Naruto grit his teeth as the arrows slammed into the wall and shields around him. An arrow with a metal tip suddenly burst through his shield, the dangerous tip right in front of his face. He did his best to ignore the fact that the wall and whichever buildings the archers hit would likely be set on fire very soon, since most of what they had were built from wood and thatch. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see his people quickly filing out of the northern gate quick as they could. He really hoped the samurai hadn't encircled their settlement.

Another arrow connected with his shield as the next volley rained over them, and Naruto was reminded by his grim predicament. Someone screamed nearby, probably hit through either a lack of discipline or just unlucky. Peeking through the gap between his shield and the wall, Naruto saw a unit of samurai, about 60 or so run straight for their walls.

Naruto narrowed his eyes upon the sight. They were armed with hooks and ropes, meaning they would attempt to scale their walls at any moment.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto eyed the 50 archers standing in a box formation at ground level beneath them.

"Stand ready!", Naruto roared at them, pointing his halberd in their direction. They got the message quickly, despite Naruto not having Shou to relay his orders and quickly readied themselves. Looking back towards the field, he saw the men near the trenches where their first riders had met their untimely ends. Naruto quickly gazed towards the nearby watchtower. "Yoshiro!"

An old man peeked out of the watch tower with a stoic expression. Receiving a nod from Naruto, he rose slowly and pulled out an arrow. Yoshiro was a hunter and had been so all his life. He was a nobody, but still well respected for his skill with bow and arrow despite his old age.

Naruto watched as Yoshiro lit the arrow on fire and took aim.

An arrow splintered partially through his shield, but Naruto's eyes remained unflinching. He noted with an odd sense of detachment that several houses in the village had began to burn behind him and smoke were rising from the bottom of the wall in front of him. They didn't have much more time now.

Finally satisfied with his aim, Yoshiro let his burning arrow fly across the field. It hit a seemingly unremarkable spot in the middle of the charging samurai...

...But that was where another trench, smaller than the other one, had been dug and filled with grass soaked in oil. The oil lit up from the fire, the heat quickly spreading across the grass like wildfire. The samurai who had been unlucky to stand upon the grass were almost immediately cloaked in flame, boiled alive within their armors. The burning trench separated the field in two, half of the charging samurai stuck behind the flames. Smoke made it difficult for their longbow men to see and they quickly stopped firing in fear of shooting their own.

The men on the towns side of the fire however quickly got their act together and continued the charge towards the town. Naruto quickly seized the moment and stood upon the wall.

"Ready archers!", Naruto roared, giving the men only a second to prepare. The men on the wall scrambled to get their bows up, but those on ground level were already ready. "Nock!", Naruto roared after a moment and the men obeyed. "Draw! Loose!"

Their arrows whipped over Naruto's head as the men on the ground level shot above them. He was a bit nervous that the men and women who only 2 months ago barely knew how to stand in formation were firing so close to his position, but there was little he could do about it now.

The volley missed most of the targets as the samurai were spread out and the few which hit didn't do much damage. Naruto saw 1 fall to an arrow, but rose again quickly.

Ordering another volley, the first wave of enemies arrived at their wall, quickly throwing their hooks over the top of their wall to begin their climb.

"Fire at will!", Naruto roared at the men on ground level, before readying himself with his halberd. "Those on the wall, draw hatchets!"

"Osu!", the men roared in confirmation. Some of them shot their last arrows down in an attempt to get some of the samurai at a ground level, before drawing their hatchets. They set to work immediately on cutting the ropes of the hooks.

A samurai was about to climb to the top on the wall next to Naruto, but with a closed and chakra enhanced fist to his face, Naruto sent the man flying with a broken face to the ground again. The fall probably didn't kill him, but he wouldn't be getting back up again.

While they succeeded in cutting some of the ropes, the second a few samurai managed to scale the walls they were quickly distracted from stopping the rest climbing up after the first. The townsfolk had fought well in a shield wall, but upon the wall like they were now, the samurai showed their superior prowess as warriors with utter superiority.

Naruto ran towards a samurai a couple of meters away on the wall, running him down with the tip of his halberd. He quickly kicked the man off after fatally wounding him, slamming the axe of his weapon into another samurai's side who was about to climb over the wall. As another charged him, Naruto quickly blocked with his shield and bashed the warrior down from the wall in one swift movement.

Looking around, Naruto watched with a grimace as the samurai were completely demolishing his men at the ramps.

A warcry from the field pulled his attention as more of the enemy came running to climb the wall. Defeat was imminent if they stayed.

"Retreat!", Naruto roared, striking down another samurai with his halberd, cleaving the man down the shoulder. "Retreat for the northern gate!"

His people quickly picked up whatever they could, be it their own weapons or wounded comrades and booked it. The samurai gave chase, cutting down some in their attempts to make it down the wall.

Rage flowing through his veins, Naruto fought with wild abandon as his people ran passed him on their way out while he held the chasing samurai at bay. Eventually, all of his people who hadn't been captured or struck down had escaped and as he saw the enemy samurai move to open the southern gates, Naruto ran as fast as he could.

Kisara was left burning in his wake.

They quickly made their way throughout the forest and Naruto hoped to whatever gods that were listening that the enemy wouldn't wizen up and return for the 'Vein'. Hopefully, due to their escape through the northern gate, they thought they had escaped deeper into the valley instead of sneaking around them.

His men cried silently as they hobbled silently through the dark woods. Those who were wounded were carried by their friends, cloth stuffed between their teeth to stop them from making loud noises due to the pain. If they got spotted now...

Naruto didn't want to think on it. Looking over those that had fought with him, they were so few now compared to what they had been just a day before. It tore at his heart to see them like this, but he had to remain strong. If his own people saw him flounder, they would quickly crumple as a force.

After many a tense 30 minutes or so, they finally made it to the 'Vein', that against all odds and luck was free of enemy forces. Naruto assumed the general and his forces first scoured the town for any survivors before taking to the forests in order to look for them. Kisara could be seen burning in the distance, the glow lighting up the night. Torches were spreading out into the forests around the town, which meant that the army had began looking for them so they had to keep moving.

A scout waved them over from the beginning of the mountain pass, barely visible through the dark.

Naruto sighed in relief upon seeing some of his people there, at the beginning of the pass. Shou and the rest had obviously made it.

As his group who had fought made their way into the pass where trees and grass no longer grew at the root of the tall mountains around them, they were embraced in tearful reunion by many who came running to help them.

Looking over the many faces around the area, Naruto saw his advisers come jogging towards him. He sighed in relief upon seeing Ryu, his friend currently running up towards him.

They embraced briefly and Naruto was grateful for the familiarity of his friends around him. He needed it now more than ever, as their home burned behind them.

"Shou.", Naruto turned towards his functioning second in command. He perked up in attention, despite how tired he looked. They all were. "How did it go?"

"No issues my Lord. We're all here.", Shou began, looking over the group that had arrived with Naruto from the fighting. "...There are so few of you left."

Naruto nodded with a pained expression. They had lost almost half of those that had stayed. He didn't even want to see the reactions of the families around them, looking for their young that had fallen behind in the now burning village of Kisara.

"About 80 left, of the 140 that had stayed.", Naruto murmured, letting his voice sink in over the group. "And many of those are wounded. We have maybe 40 fighting men left."

"60, if we count those you sent with me.", Shou muttered and Naruto nodded. Some of those with Shou could still fight, if needed.

Exchanging some small talk for a minute, the moment passed and Naruto realized their need to get moving. It would only be a matter of time before the enemy general realized his mistake and sent people to secure the pass. Chances were, they were already on their way there.

As they got people moving again, their carts and bags pushed forward with what little they had left, Naruto saw a cart filled with whatever oil that had been left from the village...

...The oil gave him an idea as he gazed down the valley, anger filling his eyes upon seeing their burning home. The Daimyo's men had come and murdered their people and burnt their homes. He would repay the favor.

"Shou.", Naruto said as Shou passed, pushing his sister on her way down the 'Vein'. He quickly sent her off before giving Naruto his full attention. "Do you reckon we could hold the pass long enough?"

Shou frowned with worry, glancing down towards the valley.

"Long enough for what, my Lord?", Shou muttered with confusion. "We cannot hope to win in this position."

"We don't need to win.", Naruto growled pointing towards the cart loaded with several jars of oil. "We just need to hold the pass long enough for the fire to burn the Daimyo's men to ash."

Shou gazed between the jars and Naruto a couple of times before realization dawned on him. A dark grimace filled his features before he finally nodded and silently ordered all fighting men to his position.

The months prior had been hot and dry without a single rainfall. While their village burned in the middle of the valley, the field around it would ensure the rest of the valley didn't catch fire, at least not immediately, but if they helped the fire along with oil at the edge of the pass where the forest was thick with bushes, grass and trees...

If the Daimyo's men wanted to burn down their home, Naruto would burn the entire valley down around them.

Their fighting force quickly assembled, their advisers quickly led the rest of their people down 'The Quiet Vein' and towards safety. The jars of oil had been taken and Naruto tasked several runners with the job of spreading the oil around in the nearby forest. He refused to light torches before they had to, in case the enemy saw.

As they waited for their runners to return, their unit had already spread out into a formation to cover the passage. They had to retreat a bit into the pass, since a forest fire would burn them alive even at a long distance. The had about 40 of their people with spears in front to form a wall, with the 20 left armed with bows behind them. The narrow ridges at their flanks were impossible to climb due to the gravel, so Naruto figured this was the best place they could defend.

After a couple of minutes, his runners returned without the jars and Naruto ordered their men to light the torches. The new runners now armed with torches ran with the fear of their lives on the line as they moved to light the areas where the oil had been deposited. Naruto was too far into the pass to properly see into the valley, as the valley dipped down in the terrain where the 'Vein' ended, but Naruto quickly saw the orange glow grow with intensity from the forest before his runners came running back as quick as they could.

Naruto sighed and prepared himself, his runners rearming themselves and joining their formation. The general and his men would understand what was going on any moment now and make their way towards the pass. Hopefully, the terrain was dry enough for the fire to spread too quick for the general to make his escape.

Minutes passed as the forest ahead of them began to burn with growing intensity and the fires could eventually be seen rising above the edge of the road where the terrain dipped down towards the bottom of the valley. The fires continued to rise until Naruto and his men could begin to feel the heat wafting over their area, despite being as far away from the forest as they were.

Screams of panic from the valley could be heard, the sound of horses galloping approaching.

"Ready spears.", Naruto growled. He'd been waiting for the fuckers to arrive.

"Ready spears!", Shou roared from his position right next to Naruto.

"Osu.", his men confirmed loudly, their spears snapping forward as they stood hunched together, shoulder to shoulder.

"Ryu!", Naruto snapped a glance over his shoulder at his friend who stood by their archers. "If anyone makes it through our line, you cut them to pieces! Not a single one of the Daimyo's men will leave here alive!"

Ryu nodded grimly and Naruto returned his attention to the front again. The sounds of their panicked enemy was closer now, the horses galloping getting nearer and nearer.

"Still your beating hearts, people.", Naruto snarled viciously, hatred in his gaze as he looked towards the enemy's direction. "They came to our homes and burned it to the ground and murdered our people. Now we return the favor. Send these fuckers to the afterlife, screaming as they first entered this life!"

"Osu!"

His words may have been unnecessary considering these people had lost their own homes to the Daimyo's men as well, but his words couldn't hurt. Should they fall, the army would give chase to the villagers and that was not acceptable.

The first riders of the enemy came running into the pass, looking ragged from the heat they had survived from the forest fire. Their horses had obviously suffered and ran nearly uncontrolled towards their line. Naruto quickly figured there was between 30-40 riders coming straight for them, but they were spread out in a broken and wide group. They wouldn't have a chance against their own formation.

As they quickly gained ground towards their line, Naruto noted some men without horses come running from the burning forest as well, but they were few. Whatever wounded they had were probably left behind to burn alive in the forest fire.

"Archers, fire at will.", Naruto muttered with narrowed eyes and Shou nodded.

"Archers! Fire at will!"

The archers quickly set to work, sending the last of what they had for arrows into the air for the enemy. Like before, only a few managed to pierce either rider or horse, but every little bit would help.

The first riders were upon their spearwall now, some of the riders having calmed enough to try and stop their panicking horses. Those who didn't manage to calm themselves or their horses ran straight for their spears.

A horse ran right into the spears of the men next to him with such force that the rider and horse fell over the men that had stopped them. The horse died almost immediately on impact while the rider slammed into the ground behind them where Ryu's line quickly hacked him to pieces before he could recover. The men who had been run over by the horse were left stunned and battered, but recovered quickly enough to reform the spearwall.

One by one, the enemies horses ran into their lines and fell. After a short while, half of them were dead while the rest had managed to stop a short distance away between them and the forest fire.

Narrowing his eyes at the samurai who watched them with fear in their eyes as they were now outnumbered, having lost half of whatever they had left either to them or the forest fire, Naruto glanced over at Shou.

"Shou!"

"Yes, my Lord?", Shou nodded, barely tilting his chin in response while his eyes rested with focus on the enemy.

"They are looking mighty cold, wouldn't you say so?"

"They do indeed, my Lord.", Shou smirked darkly from his position, an expression shared with Naruto.

"Thinking we should warm them up."

"Think we should indeed, my Lord.", Shou nodded again and the men around them seemed to be catching on with viscous smirks growing as well. "Guests should always be the ones to be seated closest to the fire. Hospitality at its finest."

"Right you are, Shou!", Naruto barked, glancing at his men around him. They were glancing back now, with expectant looks of vindication. "Men! Show the Daimyo's men where they can rest!"

"Osu!"

Normally, Naruto wouldn't ever have cared much for the cruelty he now provoked in his own men. But these people had come to their lands and burned their homes for the crime of rising against a lord who treated them like slaves. He couldn't help the raw sense of satisfaction he felt as their spearwall pushed forward towards the broken enemy unit.

The forest fire was now in full rage behind the enemy, and as the fearful samurai were pushed further and further towards the fire, the heat became more and more unbearable until even Naruto and his men found it severely uncomfortable.

The enemy in their panic were stuck between being burned alive or forced to brave their spears and eventually threw themselves on the offence. Naruto's men were unrelenting however, and one by one, the Daimyo's men fell.

The day had been long and bloody, but as the last man of the Daimyo fell under the moonlit night, they roared in victory as the flames licked away at their valley.

No matter the victory they had won, their home had been lost in the end.

And there it is. If you're starting to get a creeping suspicion on the direction the story will take now, the next chapter will reveal the road before our characters.

Hope you guys liked it and take care until next time.

MiNdZeRo here, signing out.