Naruto - Warlord

AN:

Hello again. Took me a bit longer time to get this out than what i had expected it too. For once, i've got no points that i wish to bring up and nag about, but i am extremely grateful for your feedback thus far. Had some mentions regarding the progression, both story and characters, and people seem to be pleased with the way things are going, so that's good.

This 'arc', if you will, is quickly coming to a close. Without revealing too much, we are rapidly approaching the point in this story where chakra techniques and the hidden villages will make their appearance. To all of you who has been asking about Kyuubi, Konoha, and more, it's coming.

Enjoy!

Chapter 16

An impressive armor of iron laid before Naruto on the floor of his cell. The helmet was an iron crown with plates around the head, framed with sharp spikes. A mask which depicted an emotionless expression functioned as a visor to protect his face with a pair of holes for his eyes to look through. The visor had a t-cross as a breathing hole.

The rest of the armor came in several pieces. The shoulder pads were square in its design, but had a certain height to it so it would give some protection for his neck, which was otherwise bare. The breastplate was designed to fit his body, being wider at his breast with a narrower frame towards his hips. Some chain mail hung from its bottom sides, where it would hang over his thighs to provide some protection for his lower body as well. The protection for his arms and legs came in pieces like the rest of the set. Some simple plating to be fit around his upper-arm and forearm, with the same for his thighs and shins while leaving the joints unobstructed to allow him a wider range of movement. His feet were covered in leather boots, cloth and leather wrapped up together to keep them firmly secured. His hands were left bare, which was a worrying prospect since his fingers were exposed when handling the shaft of the halberd.

This was the armor he'd been given to represent his master on 'The Day of Silence'. And that day had finally come. The weeks of harsh training had passed him by faster than what he'd expected and he'd often found himself thinking of his friends and his people.

Shou and Ryu, his closest friends... Were they still alive and well? Had their assault upon the mines gone well? Had it failed? Were they on their way or were they delayed?

Would Naruto begin his assault with no help on the way?

Doubts had begun to plague his mind now, but before he could ponder further, a knock on the cell door was heard.

Turning towards it as it opened, Mari greeted him with a wary expression. They looked between one another awkwardly and Naruto realized they had never properly spoken to one another, even after En informed him of Mari agreeing to help them in their quest for freedom.

"...En told me you would give me something.", Mari eventually muttered. Taking a deep breath, Naruto walked closer to her and brought out the wooden tablet. Unlocking the dampeners, Mari frowned at him nervously, "Are you sure that is safe to do now?"

"No choice.", Naruto murmured and gave her the tablet. "We'll be under constant watch by the palace guard when we arrive inside. The dampeners are supposed to go under our armor anyway, so we're just going to have to hope they don't notice. Make sure you get that to the rest of us, alright?", Naruto pleaded, gesturing to the tablet in her hand.

"I know what's at stake.", Mari nodded.

"Tell the others to hide the bracelets under the beds."

"I will.", Mari nodded again. "The girls will dispose of them after you depart, to ensure we're not exposed prematurely."

"The girls above are also in on it?", Naruto frowned at her. The more who knew, the greater the chance of discovery.

"They are. Don't worry, I will keep them in line.", Mari smiled in an attempt to placate him. It didn't do much to settle his nerves.

"Alright.", Naruto breathed. "Get going and good luck."

"And to you." Mari bowed, quickly shutting the cell again. They still had a while before they would depart for the palace.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Naruto hid the bracelets beneath the bed and began to put on the armor.

When they finally reentered the streets of 'The Ivory Docks' and saw the sun again for the first time in a very long while, Naruto had thought he'd gone blind. He resorted to pulling down the visor over his face to shield his sensitive eyes for the first 10 minutes of the walk.

He and the rest of the men were herded into 2 lines that were flanked by a double amount of guards around them. While they were allowed to carry their own weapons now, it also meant a much higher level of readiness to respond if they tried something. The guards eyes were glued to them at any time as they walked.

With Isamu in the lead and Mari at his side, Naruto and the rest of the men were slowly escorted through the bustling city. A discreet glance at En and some of the other men who Naruto knew had worn chakra dampeners ensured him that Mari had completed her task; now, they merely had to pray to whatever gods that watched that they went unnoticed.

The city was brimming with activity, but the crowds gave them a wide berth as they moved through the streets with their escort of armed guards. Naruto and the other men were all armored and dressed for the occasion, Isamu obviously having spent a fortune on their armors so they wouldn't embarrass him in the 'Gauntlet' in front of the entire city. Naruto could see people pointing at them and talking with interest, unknowing of the impending invasion.

Some sadistic part of Naruto looked forward to seeing their horrified faces as their city burned to the ground around them, but Naruto admonished himself for it. No matter how vile their traditions were, Naruto refused to believe they could all be inherently evil; The life of a slave had affected his disposition and he had to remind himself of that.

They were eventually brought to the palace where thousands of people were trying to enter all at once, many with their own slave fighters too. The palace gate where they let people inside were guarded by at least a hundred guards who checked the attendants lists, only letting in those who were invited.

Isamu conversed quickly with the guard who looked them over and checked his list, ushering them through the gate and into the Royal Gardens. The entire field around the palace was an exotic garden and took them nearly a minute to walk through before they reached the main entrance, an enormous open gate where people and servants milled about in excitement. Barely into the main entrance, they were quickly pointed towards the basement floor where the fighters would enter the 'Gauntlet'.

Naruto was already in awe at the foyer as the ceiling rose above them for what looked like more than a hundred feet, statues of gold and crimson curtains of silk draping the halls, but Isamu took his attention.

"Remember.", Isamu stared at them with a hard expression as they were lined up next to the large staircase that would lead them down into the competitors area. "This is not going to be a one-to-one battle. It's going to be a melee between teams. Even I have no idea what sort of environment they have created for you in the arena, so be prepared for anything. En!"

Hearing his master's bark, En stepped forward and bowed.

"Yes, Master!"

"I trust you to know the way around and make sure you find yourself at the proper gate when our match begins. I must go and find my seat."

"I will do so, Master!"

Bowing deeply, they allowed Isamu and Mari to deeper into the palace and out of sight, yet Naruto caught the nervous glance Mari threw at them from over her shoulder. They were all nervous as it was.

The guards continued to escort them into the basements bellow, which looked much like the dungeons back at Isamu's estate; bricked and dimly lit. Only difference was the size of the rooms and the corridors.

Moving into the basement floor, the corridor stretched on for what seemed like forever, slowly curving around the center of the structure where Naruto guessed the arena would be. Several wooden gates connected inwards with different teams waiting their appointed hour.

After a minute of walking, Naruto let his curiosity get the better of him, sidling up next to En.

"Why is it called 'The Day of Silence'?"

Hearing Naruto's question, En threw him a surprised glance from under his helmet, which had a mask that looked like a grinning Oni. The rest of his armor were simple in its design like the rest of them, ironclad, with his weapon of choice strapped across his back; a large nodachi.

"I am surprised you don't know.", En rasped at him, rubbing his goatee beneath the mask. "It's a bit of a long story..."

Before Naruto could ask him to elaborate, they finally found their gate. En managed to worm out some information of a grumpy guard who informed them that they were the 6'th team and would have to wait for a little while. They were given some silk bands of red that they were told to wrap around their upper bodies to signify what team they were fighting for. The enemy team would be blue.

The men seated themselves on the ground next to the gate, getting some final rest before the fight.

"So?", Naruto pressed as he sat down next to En. "What's the story?"

"Well...", En murmured thoughtfully, giving Naruto the impression that it was a story En hadn't told very often. "Do you know how our lands tradition regarding slavery first began?" Seeing Naruto shake his head negatively, En closed his eyes. "Well, to understand where 'The Day of Silence' comes from, you need to understand our history when it comes to our slavery. It began a long time ago, since before the time of chakra if scholars are to be believed."

"Before the 'Sage'?", Naruto questioned, referring to the 'Sage of the Six Paths' who were widely regarded as the 'father' of chakra.

"Aye, before the 'Sage'. At this point in time, today's slavery didn't exist. We called it 'Servitude'." En glanced at Naruto to gauge his reaction. "Those who ended up with nothing or had nothing could give themselves to another in servitude, swearing themselves to serve for as long as they were wanted or needed. This was seen as something honorable to do."

"So those who were orphaned or homeless could offer themselves to serve another family?", Naruto frowned at En. "Were they well taken care off?"

"Yes.", En confirmed. "There were laws in place to protect them from abuse. Misusing someone in 'servitude' was one of the vilest crimes one could commit and was punished accordingly. Likewise, misusing the trust and respect one was given in 'servitude' was punished just as harshly."

"So, this was your society's way of handling the poor and the downtrodden?", Naruto arched a brow at him, but En shook his head.

"Not just the poor and the downtrodden. If there was an invading army, the people offered themselves in 'servitude' to serve as the people's protection. When there was a blight and the people were starving, they offered themselves in service to help feed their people, working the farms of wealthier families or whatever they had to do to feed their loved ones. 'Servitude' was not a luxury like slavery, it was a mere necessity for society and not restricted to the commonfolk only." En gave a small shrug. "At some point, this eventually evolved to become the slavery we now have today. Nobody really knows when exactly, it just gradually changed over the course of many, many decades. Granted, I am likely remembering most of this wrong and it's an overly simplified tale compared to the actual course of history."

Naruto was thoughtful for a moment after En's words, but quickly realized his original question was still unanswered.

"And 'The Day of Silence'?"

"Right.", En chuckled. "At one point, when it was still considered an honorable thing to offer oneself into service, the largest invasion force 'Wind' has ever faced in history neared the borders. In order to protect their homes and their families, almost every man and woman of age across the land offered themselves to 'servitude'. 'The Day of Silence' was originally the day when all of these people marched out of their homes and off to war, leaving every city and village in all of Wind in silence from near complete abandonment."

Naruto blinked in surprise at the background story of the event they were currently attending. Naruto couldn't even begin to imagine the sense of duty and honor the people must have had to dedicate themselves to something like that.

There was no denying however, that somewhere along the line, their traditions had evolved in a horrible direction. While he admired the history of the land, the present was a cesspool of depravity of which he'd prefer did not exist.

Naruto and En continued to talk while some of the men slumbered. Eventually, their rest came to an end as a guard, an officer by the look of his distinctions, came up to them and informed them that they were the next to enter.

En barked for them to wake and take their positions at the gate.

Naruto breathed deeply now, feeling his pulse quicken.

This was it. A whole month of suffering just for this moment.

"...I really hope your friends on the outside do their fucking job...", En rasped nervously with a whisper, wary of the guards who would leave them as they entered the arena. It made Naruto chuckle.

"...Just continue as we would have until we see some sign that the invasion has began..."

"...Right...", En scoffed. "...Gotta just stay alive until then, huh...?"

Any response Naruto had planned was quelled as the gate began to open with a loud groan.

Tightening the hold over his halberd, Naruto slid the visor mask over his face. Upon En's command for them to march forward, they strode onward, each and everyone of the 43 slaves that Naruto had trained with for a month.

The sight that greeted them was something Naruto could never have been prepared for.

The dome of the arena stretched far above them for what looked like several hundred feet, painted in a golden hue. The stands towered up against the sides, filled with thousands upon thousands of people who roared in excitement upon their entrance. Some separate stands hung from the ceilings. These stands stood on round, hanging platforms above the arena which made Naruto question how safe it was and how in the bloody world they even managed to get up on it.

The arena in itself was several hundred feet wide, a deep pit splitting the arena in two halves. Several bridges connected the two halves with the arena sculpted to look like a town with simple wooden walls and random structures. A tower stood on each part of the arena, connected by a rickety hanging bridge.

As they arrived at the middle bridge, the opposing team on the opposite side, the crowd hushed. Looking towards the side, a throne stood on the stands on a part separated from the rest of the people. Naruto could see a few individuals located around it when 1 man, which was most likely 'Goro', rose from the throne. It was too far away for Naruto to make out any features on the man.

"Begin!", a voice thundered across the arena, the crowd erupting in bloodlust. Almost immediately, the opposing team began to move towards the bridge between them, eager to get things started.

En threw Naruto a worried glance.

"The hell do we do now?"

His comrades looked to Naruto as they all knew the plan; fight for their lives until the siege began.

"Do what we have to do for now. I'll keep an eye out on the crowd, see if i can see any sorts of hints that the siege has begun." En nodded in confirmation as Naruto saw the opposing group suddenly split up, spreading out into the battlefield. They would have to do the same unless they wanted to get flanked. "Those of you who know how to use chakra, stick to the front and protect the rest. Spread out!"

Naruto immediately ran for a separate bridge a bit further down the arena. As he progressed into the battlefield, Naruto quickly saw the corpses of the previous contenders lying around unattended in the field.

Butchered for these people's pleasure.

Tightening his grip on his weapon, Naruto continued his steady jog towards the second bridge. As he finally came upon it, he looked down the edge of the wooden construct and grimaced: a spike pit waited for anyone who lost their footing. Naruto could see some who had been unfortunate to fall, more who was killed during the previous matches.

Crossing the 7 feet wide structure, an opposing fighter emerged from one of the many structures. As he spotted Naruto, the man held onto his sword and dashed past a wall.

Chasing after him, Naruto was nearly decapitated as the man had merely turned a corner and waited for him.

Naruto stumbled back to his knee in surprise as he swayed back from where the sword had almost nicked his neck. Chakra surging into his arms for the first time in a long while, Naruto drove the tip of his halberd into the man's leg. Debilitated from the pain, his opponent could do nothing as Naruto quickly rose, pulling the halberd out of his wound before he stabbed his entire halberd through his opponent's gut.

Backhanding the slave off his weapon, Naruto sent a prayer for the young man who had been unfortunate to face him and ignored the crowd's cheer; they would get theirs soon enough.

Gazing over his shoulder at the sound of combat, back across the bridge of which he'd come, 2 of his comrades who Naruto knew didn't have any chakra had engaged an equal amount of enemies. Even at a mere glance, Naruto could tell that one of his comrades were having trouble with his opponent.

Bursting into a dash, Naruto moved to intercept before his teammate could get himself mortally wounded. His boots stomped across the bridge in a run and the enemy didn't see Naruto slam into him from the side, piercing into him with the halberd. Naruto used the force of his run to lift the man off the ground, before he speared the man to the dirt in a brutal fashion, the crowd roaring with approval on his showing. Naruto received an appreciative nod from his comrade of which he'd saved as the other one finished off his own opponent.

"You two!", Naruto barked, gesturing for them to follow him back across the bridge towards the enemy's side. "On me!" Without argument, the men jogged after Naruto.

Crossing the bridge again, they made their way through a few structures before they almost ran into a group larger than their own. The opponent group had 5 members against their 3.

Quickly moving to take the offensive, Naruto twirled the halberd above his head as he approached the closest enemy, who read Naruto's attack as a downward strike. Quickly adjusting his grip to swipe horizontally, Naruto cleaved the man across his chest, mortally wounding him when he attempted to sidestep. One of his comrades who used a 'naginata' charged upon him, forcing Naruto to go on the defensive as there was a limited amount of chakra he could use before it would raise suspicion. Aided by one of his teammates, the enemy paired up against Naruto while Naruto's teammates each squared off against their own opponent.

Blocking a swipe from the side as the naginata user attacked, Naruto sucked in a sharp breath of surprise as he momentarily let go of the handle with his left hand to avoid loosing his fingers when the opponent scraped his blade down the halberd's shaft. Shifting his feet to rotate his upper body, he managed to avoid a masterfully adjusted stab from the naginata user. Doing so, Naruto kept his opponent between himself and his teammate, managing to avoid getting flanked. Using the hand he'd let go of the halberd, he gripped around the shaft right below the blade of the overextended naginata, pulling its user towards himself.

Mirroring his own previous movement, the naginata user managed to avoid a stab to his own chest, but Naruto immediately kicked forward with a stomp which struck the man in his gut. Enhancing his strength with some chakra had the man flying into the wooden wall of a nearby structure, the wood splintering upon contact with the man's back before he fell to the ground. The slave remained unmoving, leaving Naruto to focus on the one remaining.

His remaining opponent in the current encounter used a katana, like so many others. Unleashing his attacks with a wild flurry, it became blatantly obvious that the slave's training with the sword was lacking. What he lacked in expertise however, he made up for with instinct which made it apparent how the slave had survived for so long.

Cleaving through the air with his halberd, Naruto had to lift his front leg and jump backward to avoid a cut to his shin as the other slave rolled beneath his strike in a lunging cut. Raising the halberd above his head along with his dash backwards, Naruto slammed his weapon down on his opponent's position. He had to raise his left arm and protect his neck from a cut with the armor of his forearm when his enemy simply sidestepped and immediately went back on the offensive.

This went on for a little while, both contestants dancing around one another. While the katana user managed to connect some strikes with his armor, the blade didn't have any weight to cut through and didn't affect Naruto any.

Tiring of their fruitless squabble, Naruto dashed into his opponent's comfort zone and held eye contact. Sufficiently distracted by the close range of his opponent, the other slave didn't manage to see Naruto's foot stomp down on his own. Enhanced with chakra, Naruto's foot crushed the other into the sand. Before the man could react much from the pain, Naruto slammed his head forward into his face and sent him to the ground.

Seeing his opponent out cold, Naruto immediately moved to help his comrades, quickly disposing those who remained.

For one of Naruto's comrades however, the damage had been done.

"F-Fuck!", one of Naruto's comrades cursed, clutching his thigh which bled profusely. Swearing loudly, Naruto anchored his halberd into the ground and moved to one of the corpses nearby. He ripped loose some of the clothing from one of the bodies which didn't need it anymore, swiping up a discarded katana sheath while he was at it.

"Lie down.", Naruto grunted, his tone leaving no room for argument and his bleeding teammate immediately obeyed. Prying away his teammate's hands upon his bleeding limb, Naruto quickly tied the cloth around his thigh as high up as he could, tying the discarded katana sheath into the cloth as well much to his 2 teammates confusion. Making sure the cloth was tight enough, Naruto began to turn the sheath forcefully within its confines, forcing the cloth to tighten around the man's limb in a makeshift tourniquet. "Don't!", Naruto snarled as the man groaned in pain when the tourniquet became tight, his hands fumbling to release the tension. "You're going to bleed to death if you let this go!" Gritting his teeth and with tears in his eyes, Naruto's teammate nodded and refrained from touching the tourniquet again. Making sure the tourniquet was properly fastened as well as stopping the bleeding, Naruto sighed and rose to a standing position again.

"That ain't gonna get better.", their last present teammate muttered worriedly, looking at his friend's wound.

"I know.", Naruto nodded and picked up his halberd. "But we've got healers in the army that's invading soon. He just needs to hold on until then." Receiving a nod of understanding from them both, Naruto pointed at the one still capable of fight. "You, stay here and protect him. Do NOT let him touch the tourniquet i made around his leg, no matter how much he starts to complain. It's going to get progressively more painful as the minutes progress, but it doesn't fucking matter. If that opens up, he dies, get it?"

The man swallowed nervously, but nodded. Happy with his consent, Naruto jogged along, intending to finish the fight as soon as possible.

Coming upon the one of the 2 towers in the arena that connected by a hanging bridge, his eyes were drawn to the sound of combat from above. Seeing some of his comrades in battle against the enemy on the bridge above him, Naruto decided to flank them and aid his nearest teammates. Sprinting up the tower as fast as he could, Naruto ignored the burn in his muscles as he came upon the enemy team in the tower, their backs facing him as they fought his team in their front.

Making his way across the hanging bridge had some consequences however, as the bridge began to shift with his weight. One of the rearmost slaves glanced over his shoulder, his face going ashen upon seeing them flanked.

Upon his warning yell, 3 of the slaves broke off from their group in order to stop Naruto, but as the hanging bridge was barely wide enough for just 1 to cross, their numbers counted for nothing and Naruto had the superior reach thanks to his halberd.

Coming upon the first slave, who was pushed forward by his less eager friends, Naruto quickly speared him upon the tip of his halberd. Yanking his weapon back and letting the man fall, Naruto moved the halberd into a twirl above his head, cleaving towards the next man horizontally. The man managed to duck, if only barely, but didn't see the reverse blow as he stood back up.

Cleaving into his head, the man was sent tumbling over the railing and Naruto quickly converged on the last in his path. The slave panicked and turned to run back to his friends, which was a mistake both himself and his team would pay for.

It took them only half a minute to kill off those that remained.

"Thanks for the help, Naruto.", one of his teammates grinned, clasping his arm with Naruto in salutations. Naruto merely nodded back while he got his breathing under control.

"Lost anyone yet?", he questioned, relief flooding him when he received a shake of the head.

"None, only some cuts and bruises. Nothing major."

They quickly made their way to the ground again and was about to split up, when Naruto finally turned his head towards the nobleman's area of the stands where 'Goro' sat on his throne. Guards who had filled the arena stands seemed to be leaving.

The crowd was hushed and murmured in confusion, the natural order and proceedings disturbed by the moving activity of their security.

His pulse began hammering in his chest, wondering if this was it. Was the invasion finally underway?

Moving closer towards the area where 'Goro' remained on his throne, Naruto could see 'Goro' standing next to an officer, screaming orders while the guards next to him scrambled to get moving. The other noblemen around him looked scared and confused.

Naruto grinned sinisterly. It could only mean one thing.

It was FINALLY time!

Taking a deep breath, Naruto pushed chakra into his lungs and throat in order to enforce them.

"Slaves!", Naruto roared and an almost instant hush fell over the entire arena. The guards stopped moving and Naruto could see every single head in the entire arena turn to him and his booming voice. "Everyone! Hear me!", Naruto continued. He needed them all to listen. "As of this very moment, an army is invading the city with the intentions of crushing those who hold you enslaved! Take this bid for freedom and fight for your lives! Fight! Fight until we're all free!" Raising his hands in front of his chest, Naruto gave himself a second of preparation, before he formed a hand sign he had not assumed in many, many years. A surge of nostalgia filled him as chakra burst into his arms and he couldn't help but grin beneath his mask. "'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique'!"

A storm of chakra was sucked out of his body, enveloping the entire field of the arena, covering it in sudden smoke which blanketed even the stands.

The crowd screamed in fear and confusion, but remained seated for the moment as the smoke slowly disappeared...

...And in the arena, was Naruto, along with several hundred 'Shadow Clones'.

Rearing his halberd into the air with a battle cry, his action was mirrored by every single clone. The resounding warcry deafened the crowd's screaming as the arena became a blur of activity.

The crowd swarmed without control and slaves could already be seen fighting for their lives among the locals.

His clones lunged for the stands, using their chakra to leap onto the stands where they quickly began to dispatch the guards while pacifying the locals, with painful force if necessary.

Naruto himself however had a completely different task at hand. Narrowing his eyes at Goro, Naruto broke into a sprint, pushing chakra into his legs as he did so. After a couple of feet, Naruto leapt unto a structure which he used to lunge forward towards his target. Soaring through the air towards Goro, Naruto reared his halberd above his head as he intended to cleave 'Goro' in two at the middle.

Seeing Goro, with a strange calmness about him, begin to do several handsigns had Naruto widen his eyes in shock.

"Oh, fu-"

"'Wind Release: High Pressure'!"

A small wisp of air emerged around Goro, which was the only warning Naruto got. The wisp burst into a blinding force of wind, which immediately ripped the structure around Goro to pieces. Those who had been around Goro quickly panicked and ran for their lives as everything fell apart around them.

The wind slammed into Naruto who had barely managed to cross his arms in front of his face in order to protect himself. It knocked the breath straight out of him and sent him flying across the arena.

His body plowed into one of the towers and the entire structure crumbled down on top of him, burying Naruto beneath the rubble. Stone by stone, it all fell on top of him, battering his body without mercy.

Groaning in pain, Naruto dug his way through the rubble, finally emerging after a long while. He blinked to clear his vision which was still swimming from hitting his head.

"...That fucking hurt...", Naruto snarled, admonishing himself for his stupidity as one of his ribs felt like they had been broken. He had mistakenly assumed Goro to be some pampered and defenseless noble. Obviously, that was not the case.

Managing to rise to his feet, Naruto noted that his armor was miraculously undamaged along with his halberd, not counting the unavoidable dents and scrapes. The arena was now in a state of total pandemonium, slaves, guards and Naruto's clones all fighting for their lives. Naruto's teammates were nowhere to be seen, but he figured them to be out there fighting like everybody else.

Before he could reflect further, Goro himself slammed into the ground a short distance away from himself. Lowering himself into a battle ready stance, Naruto finally took a moment to observe his target.

Goro Mitsue was a man in his late forties, his receding hairline leaving the top of his head bald while the remaining graying black hair he had was kept in a neat ponytail behind his head. His face was hard and weathered, if unblemished, with a thick beard covering his current expression which was set in a snarl. There was not a single ounce of warmth in his brown eyes.

He wore a loose and traditional robe of silk in red, which did nothing to hide the frame of his well-built body beneath it. While he wasn't as tall as Naruto he still came pretty close and it was obviously he took care of his body.

Naruto wondered what his background was. Royal Army? Shinobi?

He could only speculate.

"Slave.", Goro drawled venomously, his tone eerily reminding Naruto of Sasuke. It brought an unpleasant wave of memories. "How is it that you find yourself without proper restraints?"

Spitting out some blood that had clotted together in his mouth, Naruto chuckled and straightened his back.

"That's an obvious question, is it not?", Naruto admonished the man, enjoying the angry frown that appeared on Goro's features.

"I assume you are part of the invasion?", Goro questioned. Humoring his enemy, if only to buy himself the time to catch his breath again, Naruto nodded. "So you infiltrated the ranks of the slaves in order to...what, exactly?"

"Had to get inside of the palace somehow, right?", Naruto shrugged.

"But to what end?", Goro drawled dangerously, scowling down at Naruto. "I doubt you've enjoyed our hospitality directed at our slaves merely for the chance of seeing the palace. Are you a shinobi?"

"Nah.", Naruto shook his head. Come what may, Naruto would honor his deal with Gaara and keep him unimplicated. "I'm just a soldier doing what I'm supposed to."

"Admirable.", Goro allowed grudgingly. "If I wasn't so utterly furious with your insolence, I would have offered you a job."

"Flattered.", Naruto tilted his head.

"I am sure.", he drawled in response. "Before I kill you and the rest of your army, I will have your name."

Naruto weighed his option of whether or not he should give his name. Thinking it couldn't do harm to show some common courtesy, he bowed lightly without removing his wary gaze, tensed and ready to move if he needed to.

"Naruto."

"Just... Naruto...?" Goro pursed his lips, rolling his name across his tongue.

"Just Naruto."

"Very well.", he acquitted. Clenching his fists, Goro sunk into a martial art stance, his fists towards Naruto. "I am Goro Mitsue, former Councilor of the 'Daimyo of Wind', ruler of 'The Ivory Docks'. I was once known as 'The Iron Fist'. Let me educate you as to why I was so aptly named before you die."

The man reeked of arrogance, but Naruto refused to let it anger him. Tensing his muscles in preparation for the coming battle, Naruto let the sounds of mayhem and panic from all around him fade away as he focused on what was before him.

'The Iron Fist'? He'd put his title to the test.

Without any more need to restrain himself from the use of chakra, Naruto unleashed his power and let it surge, charging his body with unnatural strength. Dashing forward with a speed not belonging to someone weighed down with such heavy armor, Naruto was upon Goro in a second.

Bringing the halberd down on top of Goro's head with a roar, Naruto's eyes widened in shock when Goro blocked his blade by crossing his arms, blocking his strike's path overhead. Using one hand to shove the halberd away, Goro let the other fist ram into Naruto's gut with thundering force.

The force went straight through his armor, driving the air from Naruto's lungs who quickly stumbled to regain his footing. Goro spun into a backfist directed towards Naruto's ribs, but he narrowly managed to block the strike with the shaft of his halberd. The blow was still powerful enough to send him reeling back, sliding along the dirt until a wooden wall in the arena stopped his movement.

"Tch!", Naruto spat, flexing his hands as his palms stung from where the shaft had dug into his skin.

'The Iron Fist' indeed.

Gazing at Goro's fists, who remained at his previous position while patiently waiting for Naruto to make his move, Naruto was unable to observe any anomalies with Goro's body.

Was it a Jutsu? Bloodline ability? Some obscure chakra technique much like the 'Rasengan'?

Naruto had no idea how he did it, but he had struck him with his halberd as hard as he could. No skin without the aid of chakra should have been able to stop it.

Tiring of Naruto's observation, Goro dashed onto the offensive, sprinting for Naruto with a burst of speed. Jumping to the side to avoid Goro's fist, the wall was punctured by Goro's seemingly unprotected fist who quickly resumed his assault.

Strike for strike, Naruto either dodged or blocked, but was never able to go on the offensive. Each strike which he blocked had him grit his teeth, his hands stinging painfully from the force.

Spinning into a reverse swipe, Naruto tried to swipe Goro's legs from under him, but he merely lowered his stance and blocked it with the back of his hand. Before he could recover, Goro delivered a double handle strike to Naruto's gut. Heaving over his arm from the force, Naruto felt as if he was about to hurl and loose all content in his stomach. Before he could do so however, Goro delivered a devastating hammer strike to the back of Naruto's head.

Naruto's face hit the dirt, his eyes swimming with debilitation. Recognizing the immediate danger he was in, he managed to roll to the side just in time for one of Goro's fists to puncture the ground where his head had been less than a second earlier.

Naruto rose to his feet quickly, but stumbled as his balance was shot to hell. His head was still ringing and the entire world seemed to be shifting violently.

He was getting nowhere with this; Goro outclassed him.

"Shadow Clone Technique!", Naruto exclaimed with a hastily formed handsign, eager to buy himself some time to regain his bearings. The clones which formed immediately threw themselves on Goro.

With an expression as cool as ice, Goro began to dismantle the clones one by one as they attacked. While the clones used a replica of Naruto's halberd, they were unable to find an opening in Goro's defense. The clones couldn't even block as Goro's strength was too much for them, dispelling even when reacting as they should.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto moved to attack along with his remaining clones.

Seconds passed this way, with Naruto and his clones doing their best to breach Goro's defenses without giving the man any breaks. Seconds turned to minutes and Naruto eventually had to summon even more clones, but to no avail.

Sweat had began to pour from Naruto now, gritting his teeth as he blocked a backhanded strike that sent him sliding back yet again. Without even looking at him, Goro continued his defense against the remaining clones who swarmed him.

"Fuck!", Naruto snarled with frustration as he came to a stop. Stopping himself from fruitlessly attacking yet again, Naruto calmed himself and tried to figure out a way to get past whatever the hell Goro was doing.

He was obviously a close-quarter expert, but that was not what worried Naruto. He just needed some way to damage Goro, seeing as he obviously wouldn't be able to outlast him.

A thought sprung into his mind, his breath stopping for a moment as he considered the idea.

He could try and use the Kyuubi's chakra. He had done so during the chuunin exams of his childhood when he battled against Neji, as well as in his last battle against Sasuke in the 'Valley of the End'. Using it would come with some risk of loosing himself to the bloodlust that followed, but what else could he do? Try as he might, Naruto didn't see a whole lot of options before him. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to use the 'Rasengan', since it could potentially paint a target on his back in the future.

Resigning himself to use the Kyuubi's power, Naruto damned himself and swore he would amp up his training if he ever got out of this alive.

Never again was he going to be so pathetically outmatched!

Closing his eyes, Naruto reached deep within himself and began to pull on the seal with his chakra. Slowly, but surely, his skin and his muscles became warmer and warmer, his sense of touch and smell heightening by the second.

Feeling his blood as if it was boiling inside of him, Naruto opened his eyes and locked his enhanced gaze on Goro. Keeping a tight lid on his rage, Naruto stormed forward.

Twirling the halberd above his head, Naruto swung the blade horizontally for Goro. As sure as the rising sun, Goro moved to block just as before...

...But was swiped straight of his feet and sent tumbling into a nearby structure. The wooden walls collapsed on top of Goro, burying him in a cloud of dust and debris.

Wiping the shock from his face, Naruto smirked and gave himself a pat on the back. He could still do this. His clones mirrored his emotion and cheered loudly.

Stepping closer to where Goro had been buried, Naruto held his halberd trained and ready. He didn't believe for a second that Goro was down for good just yet.

A large explosion of wind and chakra suddenly burst from where Goro had been, sending debris and logs flying in every direction. Naruto managed to stick himself onto the ground with his chakra and narrowly deflected some of the incoming debris with his halberd. Hearing a roar from above, Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Goro in the air, throwing an entire log straight towards him.

Twirling his halberd furiously, Naruto managed to swipe the log from its trajectory before it could hit him, but it left him open to Goro who came flying at him a second after the thrown log.

An earth shattering strike hit him dead on in his face. The metal mask he wore was molded by the fist which had struck it, before it was sent flying off Naruto's head along with its user.

Tumbling across the field and through a wall, Naruto was unconscious for a second after the hit. The relenting disorientation made him realize too late that his body had stopped rolling. Goro was already standing above him with a murderous expression.

Dazed and confused, Naruto could only watch as Goro raised one of his hands to deliver a killing blow.

"Fire Release: Seething Blast!"

A flicker of ember emerged between them and both Naruto and Goro quickly closed their eyes in shock and panic, turning away from what they knew would follow. An explosion of unrivaled scale washed over Naruto, singing his skin and sending him tumbling yet again.

Cursing whatever deity obviously had it in for him, Naruto anchored his halberd in the ground as he rolled, stopping his forced movement. Falling to one knee as his body ached painfully, Naruto could feel the burn marks across his face pulse irritably along with his heartbeat. He quickly began to channel the Kyuubi's chakra to heal some of the damage.

A good distance away from him, a disgruntled Goro rose to his feet from where he had fallen. The ruler grimaced, his clothes torn and burned with his upper body fully exposed, painful burns littering his skin. He was much worse off than Naruto, which Naruto supposed he had to count as a blessing.

To their side stood the familiar figure of En, one of his hands stretched towards them as it burned, the other clutching the handle of the nodachi.

"...The fuck are you doing, you moron!", Naruto roared in aggravation, realizing that it had been En who had released the 'Fire Technique'. "Are you trying to kill me!?"

Throwing Naruto a condescending glare, En closed his burning hand, putting the fire out without any remaining damage to himself.

"I saved your life. Get to your fucking feet.", En rasped without sympathy.

Naruto managed to do so, albeit on unsteady legs as his burns slowly healed. At the very least, En had hurt Goro worse than himself.

"...You...", Goro hissed from his hunched position, his gaze burning through En with hatred of which Naruto had not seen before. "...Not even a thousand death's would be enough to punish you for this...!"

"You think too much of yourself. You aren't worth dying over at all.", En smirked at Goro with disgust clearly written across his face. "10 years I've suffered as a slave. I will carve every lash I've ever endured into your body and sear your eyes from out of your FUCKING skull!" Flourishing the blade into a horizontal position before himself, En dragged the palm of his hand across the length of the blade and cut his hand open. Dressing the edge with his own blood, Naruto was shocked to see the blood bursting into flames, igniting the blade with fire. With anger that bordered on the edge of insanity, En glared Goro down with a pointed, burning sword. "For every brother I've lost to this wretched city, I SWEAR I will see you dead at the end of this day, even if it costs me my own life!"

En burst into a mad dash straight towards the wounded Goro who readied himself as quickly as he could. Naruto could only watch as En began to effectively, yet with sadistic languish, dispatch of Goro. Goro put up a good fight, he truly did, but his burns was ruining the man's focus. En's sword easily seemed to pierce Goro's invisible defense and cut by cut, strike by strike, Goro was slowly being cut to pieces.

Shaking his head, Naruto pulled himself together and charged at Goro as well, intent on aiding En.

Whenever Goro would try to attack, En simply weaved around him and delivered a cut that was instantly and painfully cauterized, further debilitating the ruler. Naruto would run interference and disturb him, stabbing at the ruler from his flanks. This went on for several seconds, the tyrant becoming slower and slower from the pain that wracked his body.

Finally releasing a scream of pain, anger and frustration, Goro lunged in desperation for En who merely ducked under his attack, swiping his nodachi across Goro's thighs. Cutting deep into the muscles and tissue, Goro fell to the ground in an instant with a guttural scream of anguish. Blood seemed to be pouring out of every inch of his body now. It was a gruesome sight as the man had put up a long fight.

Breathing hard, Naruto paused and remained at his position. While Naruto hated Goro and everything he stood for, he'd only suffered the city for a month. En was more deserving of the act of claiming his life.

With deliberate slowness, En reached down for Goro's hair, dragging the ruler back up into a kneeling position. Yanking the man's head back, En glared down into his eyes.

"For you.", he rasped hatefully.

Flicking the nodachi in his hand into a reverse grip, En raised the burning blade and drove it down and into Goro's mouth.

Naruto flinched at the brutality, but refused to look away from the spectacle. The sound that escaped the dying Goro was horrific, the gurgle sure to stick with him in his memories for a long time as blood oozed out of the man's mouth around the intruding blade.

As En pulled the blade from out of Goro's body, the fire on the blade was extinguished. He let the corpse drop, slowly sheathing his blade while the remains began to burn from the inside out. En's gaze remained on the ground with unseeing eyes.

Naruto threw the now burning body a last glance before he began to move. He still had a job to do.

Goro Mitsue, the ruler of 'The Ivory Docks', was dead.

And done. Let me know what you think!

MiNdZeRo here, signing out.