Naruto - Warlord

AN:

Hello again folks. Another chapter out with the next to be put in progress in only a moment now. Wanted to bring up a couple of points before we begin though:

- Love interest: A lot of you have shown interest in what sort of love interest Naruto will have, if any, over the story. I am currently intending to introduce some sort of romance upon the story regarding our main character, but i find myself getting more and more ideas the more i write. Do you folks have any ideas yourselves? Please let me know your thoughts, do you want to see an OC as a love interest or one of the standard characters? Harem or no harem? Any ideas at all, let me know your thoughts. I think it would be interesting to hear what you people have to say since so many of you are interested in knowing ahead of time ;)

- Grammar: Someone commented that i should be careful with my usage of some words, as it seemed like i used them wrongly and i probably didnt know what they really meant. Seeing as English is not my first language and i am learning every day, i did a quick reread to see if i found something afoul, which i unfortunately didnt, apart from a few silly grammar mistakes. I know i use a lot of words for metaphors, where the words by themselves would be wrong but perhaps not in context of a metaphor. If i truly have used words wrongly, i would very much like it if you could give me some examples. This would make it much easier to fix for the future since i may not see these mistakes myself.

There's been a couple of other points i wanted to address as well, again, some more people unable to get over the fact that Naruto got cut in chapter 1, which he is apparently "too strong/fast for that to have hit him". I've already addressed this, so im not going to spend time on this again. I have a creeping assumption that most of the people claiming Naruto is too strong/fast for anything but a godlike shinobi to actually hit him are more fan of fanfiction's where naruto is a demigod from the moment he can walk, which is fine really, but i dont think people should expect this from every story out there.

I might eventually consider going back to rewrite the first chapters, because i can see that there are some things that are unclear, such as WHY Naruto isnt using his shinobi powers or his chakra. I see that this could have been explained better, and if i only introduced a couple of more lines, for example, where Naruto is reflecting upon this, then it would have been more buyable. I thought it would be good enough if this was something that was made clear in later chapters, such as chapter 3 and 4, but obviously it isnt.

Anyways, ENJOY!

Chapter 8

The former people of Kisara traveled for days on end, moving across hills, rivers and forests. Their first destination were a village they knew laid only a week's travel away from the 'Kisara Mountains', but they hadn't heard or seen anything from anyone from that village since during the 2 months of preparation for the Daimyo's men. They spent the time they traveled to forage food, living off the rich lands around them for as much as they could before the lands turned barren, which they would the closer they got to the desserts of the 'Land of Wind'. Naruto was careful to send scouts as far and often as he could without fear of them getting lost. They had horses and moved much faster than the rest of their migratory flock, so the scouts rarely had much trouble finding their way back.

As they traveled, Naruto had made a very grave decision regarding the Daimyo's swords that they had salvaged from his army, as well as that of their armors. The swords and armors wore the colors of the royal army of 'Earth' and only a fool trader would ever buy it since it was still technically the property of the royal army of 'Earth'. They couldn't use it or wear it, because the last thing Naruto wanted was to travel through lands of another Daimyo and be affiliated with with an opposing force. The katanas were also weapons of mastery, warriors spending years to master the blade and its usage, which would be a problem for his men to learn since they weren't just warriors; they were farmers, hunters and craftsmen aside from defending their people. They didn't have the time to master the katana for years to come. They needed something simpler and easier to use.

Spears and axes however. THAT, they did know how to use and his people were becoming startlingly good at their usage in combat. Those that had survived battle with the Daimyo's men were the best they had left and would be vital for their continued survival, but they needed better gear. It was with this in mind that Naruto made a radical decision to have them melt down all of the salvaged blades and armor in order to remake it into metal for their spears, hatchets and metal plating for their leather armors. They would do this whenever they camped, putting up makeshift forges with stone that burned hot with wood. Jiro had the tools necessary for it from when they escaped, but it was a slow process.

Naruto never stopped training his people, never stopping his lessons as he called on all of the knowledge he had, both from his own experiences and what he had learned from Nobu's journal. His spearmen and archers were getting better and better, learning how to use hatchets for close quarter as well. As they were slowly replacing all of their wood with metal, wooden spears, javelins and arrows getting metal tips and more hatchets for everyone, Naruto had them move on to more personalized trained, where his men would spar against one another. This meant that they needed training equipment, but that was easily crafted from the surrounding woods. They needed blunted edges, not metal for such training. He wanted them to learn, not kill each other after all.

Naruto had also been thinking of revealing a bit more of his past to his people, or at least his close and trusted advisers. They didn't have to worry about the Daimyo of 'Earth's' armies or Shinobi any longer, so Naruto had began to consider learning his people the use of chakra. He doubted many would show proficiency in it, but it would give them an edge whenever the next conflict would arrive.

It was as he considered this, that they finally came upon the horrid sight of the first village.

Corpses littered the streets of the small village. Most houses were burnt, the farms despoiled and ruined. As Naruto approached with his guardsmen warily surrounding him, they muttered and cursed upon the sight.

"Who the hell would do something like this?", Shou whispered with a grimace, looking around at the surrounding corpses. They were just village folk, no harm or threat to anyone.

Not opting to answer immediately, Naruto broke formation, much to the protest of his guards, and crouched over one of the nearby corpses. While there were no more cinders from the ruins around them, Naruto could tell by the corpses that the wounds and festering flesh were fresh, at most only a couple of days old.

Naruto looked at their wounds with narrowed eyes; the cuts were narrow, thin and precise. These weren't the weapon choices or skill of bandits and brigands.

"...These people have been killed by a Daimyo's army.", Naruto called out to the people around him and they gasped in surprise. "Either the Earth's or Wind's, i cannot tell, but chances are that the Earth and Wind is at war with one another and raid their villages closest to their borders. Least risk for the most profit, so to speak."

"Despicable.", Shou snarled and Naruto nodded.

"Aye.", Naruto muttered grimly and stood. "Shou. Get our people close and set up camp at the outskirts of the village. I want all fighting men to go two by two and search for survivors. Be careful."

His orders were quickly followed by his men, but Naruto was already moving towards the village. While he demanded his own guard to go two by two, Naruto walked alone. He needed some peace with his thoughts and now was a good a time as any.

Walking through the village, his heart went out to the people who had once lived here. The fate of his own people would have been the same as theirs, if not for Naruto's intervention. He saw a mother, laying in the streets as she clutched a bundle of empty cloth in her arms that was obviously used to carry babies within. Naruto didn't want to think about what had happened to the child.

Naruto's head twitched, the sound of wood groaning from one of the ruins next to him. Looking over, Naruto noticed the building that was fairly undamaged and had a locked door. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto walked towards it slowly and listened.

Naruto had always found his hearing being much better than most, probably due to his tenant, but as he closed his eyes and listened he couldn't hear anything at all. Even so, he knew what he had heard; the sound of old wood straining under someone's feet.

Slamming his shoulder into the old wooden door, the frame splintered easily and gave way as Naruto dashed in with a ready blade.

Nothing.

From corner to corner in the dusty ruin, he saw nothing apart from a couple of tables, chairs and shelves.

Closing his eyes and straining his ears, Naruto barely managed to pick up the sound of rapid breathing...

...From below.

Frowning, Naruto opened his eyes and looked around. Setting his eyes upon a fairly non-descriptive carpet, he moved to remove it. Sure enough, beneath it was a hatch. With baited breath, Naruto grasped and opened, nearly freezing in shock as he heard the multitudes of gasping voices, fearfully pleading for their life immediately as he opened the hole.

Stepping down the ladder, Naruto could only seat himself upon it in shock, his breath leaving his body upon the sight.

Malnourished and scared beyond belief, an entire crowd of families hid within the basement, trembling upon the sight of Naruto and his halberd. They were dirty, many covered in blood from what had probably happened not long ago.

Naruto ignored their pleading as anger towards the Daimyo's of all lands welled up inside of him.

Eventually, it had taken some unarmed men and women from their own people to calm the scared families as they refused to listen or move from their huddles positions. The sight of Naruto or any armed men or women in general frightened them beyond belief, but they eventually calmed enough to get their story out of them.

True to Naruto's deduction, it had been the 'Wind's' colors upon the army that had raided their village and killed everyone they could find. The villagers calmed easily enough when they heard who they were and how similar of a story they had as themselves. They had always been a peaceful village, never harming anyone and still suffered for a war that wasn't their own.

Naruto boiled with anger for the Daimyo's, but pushed it down inside to stew for another time. Clothed, fed and washed, the remaining families agreed to come with them. Their homes were ruined, their storage's emptied. There was nothing left for them there.

Naruto and his flock, now a little bit bigger than before, salvaged what they could and agreed to rest for a day before moving on.

Naruto, on the other hand, was considering something else entirely.

"...My Lord...", Shou muttered with gritted teeth, his expression one of great opposition. "I must protest this."

They had raised a tent of fur and leather in the middle of their camp. It was Naruto's, by all rights, but it wasn't where he slept. They used it as a tent for the advisers and pseudo leaders of their flock to meet and counsel Naruto.

It was obvious, however, that his men fiercely disagreed with his current choice of action.

"The villagers here said they went west.", Naruto continued, ignoring Shou's outburst. His other advisers looked at him warily, surely wondering if he had lost his mind altogether. "It's not marked on any maps, but there's a village here." Naruto pointed to the corresponding location on the map that was spread out between them on the ground. The location was not far from their own. "A few days travel. For all we know, the Daimyo's army may already be here."

"And according to the townsfolk, the army's almost a 200 man strong!", Shou yelled out as he burst to his feet. The other men present flinched, looking between Shou and Naruto warily, yet not daring to speak. "We cannot hope to win this! We have too few fighting men!"

"That village has over 300 innocent people Shou.", Naruto looked to his adviser with a cold expression, his anger towards the Daimyo and his men boiling right beneath the surface of his skin. "We have fought these odds before."

"Before, we had the advantage of preparation!", Shou yelled back in frustration and Naruto could see that Shou wanted him to see his point. "You were the one to teach me about this, you must see reason! We had trenches and walls, here we have nothing! If we go into open battle in the field like this against the Daimyo's men, we will die for nothing!"

Naruto sighed. He understood his friend, he really did.

"This is what I've decided.", Naruto muttered with a sense of finality behind his cold exterior. "This is what we will do."

Everyone waited with baited breath as Shou glared with incredulity at Naruto. Finally, he shook his head.

"No."

Everyone nearly gasped, but held their breath. Naruto frowned at his loyal friend.

"No?", Naruto questioned.

"I will not follow you there. Nor will i command anyone of our men to do so.", Shou grimaced at him. He looked conflicted, but determined of his decision. "I have agreed with everything and followed you blindly thus far as you've done nothing but good for our people. But if you ask our people to follow you to their deaths, then i will not follow and i will not encourage anyone to do so either.

Silence filled the tent.

Naruto knew Shou was right, but he couldn't help the sense of betrayal from his friend's actions. Shifting his cold glare from Shou to look at the rest who were present, he saw the relief upon their faces.

A part of him wanted to call them cowards, but he knew that would be unreasonable.

"I see.", Naruto muttered with the same coldness to his tone as before. "And the rest of you, you share his decision?" Silence was his answer, but it spoke volumes by itself. Naruto scoffed and shook his head slowly. "I cowered for years without saying anything, as Nobu and his family treated us like less than dirt.", Naruto growled, feeling almost disgusted by the advisers in the room. "If you wish to do so now, i want no part of it."

Standing up, Naruto moved to grab his halberd. The men flinched away, as if expecting him to use it on them. Shou still trusted him enough apparently to know he wouldn't hurt them.

"Where are you going, my Lord?", Shou frowned sadly, a tinge of worry at his actions. Naruto considered ignoring him as he took his halberd and moved towards the exit.

"If you do not follow, then i am NOT your 'Lord'.", Naruto grunted in reference to the conversation and moved the flaps away from his tent as he left. "I will kill them myself, if i have to."

His advisers gasped at his words, but Naruto didn't care anymore. He had stood idle for years as the Daimyo's men from 'Earth' abused and mistreated the people around, forcing himself to believe it wasn't his fight nor his responsibility. He wouldn't go back to doing so, he just couldn't.

Shou followed him out to protest, but Naruto quickly pushed chakra to his legs and jumped across the entire camp to the edge of the forest, not caring if his use of chakra was seen or not. He was too angry to care.

It was almost night, but his eyes saw clearly where to land his feet and as his feet barely touched the ground, Naruto leapt yet again into the trees of the forest and quickly disappeared into the woods.

Naruto ran across the treetops for the entire night until morning. He had already memorized the map from before and knew where the village nearest them would be.

He had stopped to consider the tracks he'd found at several points in the forest throughout the night. They were that of horses and boots and Naruto knew he was going in the right direction; the Daimyo's army was near.

He'd missed using chakra in the way he did, as he traveled by his lonesome through the trees. It was a quicker way to travel than what he had grown used to, seeing as he had for many years posed as a civilian, traveling by cart and caravans and enjoying the company it provided. While he had still used chakra to enhance his muscles during work or battle, he had refrained from traveling like most shinobi would, fearful of discovery by any shinobi nearby.

He had missed the blatant use of chakra, if he was being honest with himself. He'd forced himself to believe it would be for the best to forget such things, but had he really been right to do so?

The heavy halberd and leather armor now embedded with iron plating made his weight a bit difficult to navigate through the trees with, his weight throwing him off as he jumped, but he managed to adjust eventually.

Finally, as the morning sun broke the horizon, Naruto came to a stop at the top of the trees, a distance away from the village he had been seeking.

Naruto grimaced, his heart hardening with hatred from his crouched position in the top of the tree. He was too late, the Daimyo's army from 'Wind' already in the middle of sacking the village.

People screamed and ran to hide as the army chased them down, killing and burning their way across the village. Cowards, the lot of them.

Observing closely, Naruto narrowed his eyes at a couple of riders calmly observing the village at a distance. They were not too far away from his position, their backs turned to him with guardsmen securing the area around them. Naruto would bet his money that they were the officers for their army. As he observed further, Naruto opened his mouth in shock, seeing the cages filled with people upon the army's carts.

Naruto had been in the 'Land of Wind' before and heard the rumors of the country's tendencies within slavery. He'd hoped they weren't true, but here was the proof right in front of him.

His eyes homed in on the general of the army, adorned in his golden, obnoxious armor. Seeing the man laugh at something one of his officer said to him as the village burned in front of him made something very nearly snap within Naruto.

No more waiting.

Cool as death itself, Naruto wore an expression as grim as the grave and jumped down from his position upon the tree. He immediately charged upon their minor encampment, their sentries unable to see him through the tall grass beneath the hill they stood upon until he was right upon them.

Bursting out of the grass, Naruto speared the first sentry upon his halberd, flinging him to the side like a piece of meat after fatally wounding him. The men around camp heard the noise and quickly yelled out in alarm as they spotted Naruto, now fully within their camp.

They charged him bravely enough, but Naruto didn't hold anything back. Rearing the halberd about, Naruto nearly cleaved the first samurai upon him in two by the middle, sending the corpse flying away in a splay of blood, killing another as he swiped the halberd back in a reverse strike before he could close the distance. He hadn't brought a shield with him, but Naruto didn't feel like he needed it right now. He didn't have any of his own next to him he needed to protect after all.

Spinning about, Naruto cut down another before pointing the speared tip of the halberd towards one of the officers who attempted to ride him down with his horse. Naruto sidestepped the charge of the horse, thrusting the spear into the rider's chest and impaled him off his horse.

One by one, the men fell to Naruto's halberd and eventually the general realized his men wouldn't be able to finish him off. Drawing his sword, the general charged to help the few men he had left, but Naruto was more than ready for this.

Stabbing the Halberd into the ground in front of him, Naruto used the staff to heave himself into the air towards the oncoming general. Snapping out with a kick, Naruto struck the general in his face and sent the man flying off his horse and onto the ground where he hit with a bang that could have killed someone more frail.

Concussed and dazed from the hit, the general laid in his position as the few men he had left charged to defend him. They fell easily enough for Naruto's halberd and after a minute, the last soldier fell.

Making sure no one else was close, Naruto ignored the fearful villagers who eyed what had happened from their locked caged and moved upon the dazed general. Seeing the man helpless in front of him made Naruto's blood boil, the general still concussed and dazed from his strike.

"...Not so much fun when people fight back, is it?", Naruto hissed and glared down at the prone man. The general obviously realized he was an enemy despite his dazed state and began a newfound struggle to rise.

As he came to his knees, Naruto stopped him by reaching around his head and grabbed on tightly. Fueling his muscles with chakra, Naruto grunted and wrung the man's head. It had the intended effect of killing the man, his neck snapping like a twig beneath Naruto's applied force, but Naruto wasn't done yet. With the sickening sound of flesh and bone ripping apart, Naruto pulled the entire head of the man's body and blood poured out everywhere.

The action sickened Naruto, but his anger was pushing its way through his reasoning. His anger was boiling, churning beneath the shallow waters of his sanity. He would bring fear into the hearts of the monsters raiding the village.

Leaving the villagers in their cages, as it was the safest place they could be, Naruto ran for the village with the generals head in tow. Nearing the outskirts, Naruto cut down the few samurai he could get his hands on before lifting the head in his hand into the air with a roar.

"Samurai of the 'Wind'!", Naruto roared as loud as he could, his voice reverberating throughout the burning village. The samurai who were running around, sacking and despoiling, quickly stopped whatever they were doing and turned towards the sound of Naruto's voice. Their eyes widened upon seeing the familiar sight of their general in Naruto's hand. "I claimed your coward general's life! Avenge him, or prove yourself cowards as well!"

The samurai looked understandably wary, no doubt wondering if they were under attack or not. Seeing only 1 man, the samurai eventually got their wits together and charged, cries of war filling the air and demanding they avenge their fallen commander.

Smiling grimly with a fierce expression, Naruto grasped onto the handle of his halberd with both hands. He would kill each and everyone of these 200 men and he would do it alone if he had to.

For the safety of the people, he would kill them all!

And thus we're done. I am probably going to start writing the next chapter sometime today, but we'll see. Until next time!

MiNdZeRo here, signing out.