Naruto - Warlord
AN:
Hey again! Back with another chapter!
Yet again, it's another chapter i'm a bit nervous about releasing due to... obvious reasons, at least it will be after you've given it a read. This is quite a bit longer chapter compared to the last couple, so i ended up taking a bit more time to try and correct it.
HEADS UP!; The doc manager, for some reason, fucked up a lot more words than usual when i saved the file the first time around, before release. I hope i've managed to fix all the mistakes that was, but i have no guarantees that a letter here or there have either disappeared or been switched in between the saves; It's very annoying. And no, this aint an excuse for poor grammar or anything; I'm pretty sure i've been entirely forthcoming and welcoming in regards to comments about the grammar. There really is an issue in regards to fanfic's doc manager.
I do believe i managed to respond to all of the reviewers, apart from guest reviewers, this time? If not, as always, i do apologize.
A guest reviewer posed a question in regards to Sasuke's justifications for wanting to hunt Naruto down. While i do believe that the question was, of course, rhetorically intended, i think there's more people who wonder the same thing. There's been a lot of speculations in regards to his reasons, both in reviews and in PM's, and i'm very happy to say that nobody has managed to guess the real reason yet. As i really wish to make it a surprise for everyone, i think i can take this as a sign we're on the right track. In any case, i won't spoil anything.
One final topic i want to raise here, which is the way Naruto handled Ryu in their argument. Now, this was a bit of a controversial chapter for some, as some of you thought Naruto was blowing up unnecessarily while others felt he didnt react hard enough. Honestly, i can see both sides of the argument, as i've discussed with the reviewers on both sides of the opinion. I do wish to remind people though, that Naruto is set in a Japanese feudal/fantasy mix with elements of the modern world, though my story weighs more heavily on the feudal/fantasy aspects of it. People was murdered and tortured for less than they have in this story during these times, what's actually happening here is fairly mild compared to a lot of the stuff that they actually did to one another. From a historical perspective, human life has never really had much worth until modern days and it was treated as such.
As always, this AN's droned on for way too long, SORRY!
ENJOY!
Chapter 23
The Fire's army set camp at dusk, but Naruto and his rangers were already there and waiting at a safe distance. Teams had been placed to observe their guards routines and get a feel for their perimeter, while Naruto, Hisao and his captains along with the entirety of the Iron Guard waited for the teams to finish their grim task that Naruto had given them.
How well they handled the job Naruto had given them tonight would forever mark their unit, good or bad.
The army had laid camp in the middle of the forest, without any elevated position to keep watch from, though the river next to them would limit Naruto and his men's options of approach. The forest would provide more than adequate cover for what Naruto had in mind however.
Crouched upon a tree branch, Hisao mirrored his stance next to him. While Naruto was clad in his full steel armor, Hisao was dressed in the rangers iconic outfit of dark cloth and leather, a hood drawn over his head with a dark bandanna to cover the lower part of his face. They were rendered nearly invisible in the night and in the dark of the forest, only a glint of his eyes revealed whenever the light from the stars or the moon caught the right angle.
Glancing up at the night sky, pitch black and covered in varying amounts of clouds, Hisao took a quick look at the position of the moon before he muttered to Naruto.
"It's almost time."
How Hisao could tell the time during the night from the position of the moon, Naruto had no idea; It was not a skill he'd taught his rangers, that was for sure.
"We will wait as long as we need to.", Naruto responded without reprisal. "The teams know what to do and my clones will send their memories back to me. We will know when it's our time to shine."
At the same time, somewhere completely different, at the south-western edge of the enemy encampment, one of Naruto's clones crouched upon a tree branch next to the side of a small, recently made path through the grass. The lights from the large nearby camp, which snaked down along the river, could still be seen through the vegetation.
From his position, he heard the loud, raucous banter and jovial laughter from the samurai in the camp, but his eyes remained fixed on something much, much closer to his position; A pair of patrolling samurai, making their rounds around the camp. They had already mapped out their routines hours ago, without the enemies knowledge.
They were calm and comfortable, unknowing of the impending danger as they marched closer to Naruto's position. Closer and closer, the men followed the little path they'd made through constant patrolling during the evening, but Naruto remained calm and collected, merely observing the men on the approach.
As they finally entered a particularly dark area beneath a large tree, a pair of shadows emerged from behind the patrol. Naruto coolly observed the dark silhouettes soundlessly approach the men from behind.
Iron wire, procured from Shou earlier that day, was held in their hands. The wire was knotted into a hangman's noose and even if the wire was meant for construction, lacking the quality of the wires Naruto remembered from his time as a shinobi, it would be more than adequate for what he had in mind.
Quick as lightning and without a sliver of hesitation, the rangers wrapped the wires over the samurais heads and over their throats, brutally tightening the wires around their flesh before they could react or yell out.
The samurai only managed to wheeze for air as they clawed at their throats in a panic, but the rangers quickly hacked into their legs with their hatchets, sending the men to the ground with wounded limbs.
The rangers then proceeded to jump up into a branch above them, crossing over and letting their weight pull the bodies of the samurai up and into the air. As the rangers touched down, they quickly tied the wires around the tree to keep the samurai hanging from their necks, still alive and flailing from the branch.
While the samurai's armor rustled loudly as they struggled and fought futilely for their fading lives, the rangers quickly jumped up towards Naruto where they landed on a branch in front of him. The sounds from the Fire's camp masked the struggle of the patrol.
"Good.", Naruto nodded at them. "Rendezvous with your team and wait for the next phase. We're about to start."
The rangers nodded and disappeared into the forest in a burst of speed. Without wasting time, Naruto's clone raised his hand into the symbol for 'release', and disappeared quietly in a burst of smoke.
Memories from the dispelled clone flowed into him and Naruto gave a small smile towards Hisao.
"First team has been successful, now waiting for the next phase. The rest of the teams should follow quickly."
Hisao nodded, but remained silent. Pre-battle nerves was probably setting in for most of them now.
At his other side was Asuka who was as cool and collected as always, yet Naruto knew she was nervous even if she was good at hiding it. En was somewhere in the back with the rest of the Iron Guard.
Catching Asuka's gaze, Naruto gave her a quick smile, before looking away again. It was already bad enough that he was playing favorites, sleeping with one of his own sworn guard, so he kept their affections to a minimum when they weren't alone. He'd already compromised her integrity by successfully seducing her and it wouldn't do for them to be seen as too affectionate in public.
Another surge of memories suddenly filled him, new memories of his ranger's at the far west side of the encampment successfully ambushing and hanging up another patrol in the same manner as the others. Naruto hoped the rest would follow soon; Eventually, the enemy would know something was up when their patrols didn't return. When morning came, those who survived the night would leave to see their hanged patrols, which Naruto hoped would demoralize them before they continued their chase.
Over the next couple of minutes, memory after memory surged into him, revealing more patrols suffering the same fate as their comrades; Hanging by the neck until dead in the dark of the forest.
Finally, the last team had their clone dispelled, signalling for Naruto that the time had come.
"It's time.", Naruto muttered, receiving another silent nod from Hisao. Naruto let himself fall backwards, turning in the air on his way down before landing with a loud thud, his armor clattering heavily. Hisao landed next to him a moment later and before them was his Iron Guard along with a few rangers that was left. They were all crouched, ready and waiting for Naruto's word with En at their front. "It's time. Remember.", Naruto began, eyeing his soldiers meaningfully. "We'll go quiet as far as we can. When they call for the alarm, you know what to do, aye?"
"Osu.", they grunted out together as quietly as they could.
"Good.", Naruto smirked, turning with a nod to indicate that they should follow. "Let's wake them up."
Running silently through the forest, they quickly came upon the eastern edge of the enemies encampment. Some palisades were raised at their perimeter, but it would do nothing to stop them. They soared above the palisades and landed without a sound on the other side and were immediately greeted by the tent area of their vanguard unit.
Without stopping, Naruto ran towards the closest tent where a samurai yawned on his way out from the small, open tent that barely covered enough for a man to lie under. Bleary from his sleep, the man never saw Naruto's halberd cleave into his head, silencing the man forever as he fell to the ground.
The rangers as well as the rest of the Iron Guard followed his example and began to kill off the samurai as they slept. While Naruto and his current entourage were no more than about 50 men or so, they were quick with both their feet and hands. Countless were killed off in seconds without anyone noticing.
Finally, the men from one of the nearby campfires noticed that something was wrong. As they ran into the area to see Naruto and his men in the middle of a killing spree, his rangers immediately moved on them in a burst of speed in order to try and stop them from yelling out.
"Alarm! Ala-!", one of the samurai screamed out, just about to draw his sword when one of the rangers hatchets cleaved into his neck.
The damage was done.
With worried shouts and screams of surprise, activity spread like a ripple throughout the camp, more and more yelling bloody murder and screaming in alarm.
"En!", Naruto roared over a couple of tents to where En stood, near the rest of the Iron Guard.
"On it!", En grunted back, quickly sheathing his sword as he clasped his hands together in front of him. "Iron Guard! On me!"
"Osu!"
As the Iron Guard mirrored En, they all went through a couple of handsigns as quickly as they could. Together, they completed the series and inhaled deeply.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
From each and every single one of the Iron Guard, a stream of fire burst out from their mouths, aimed towards both the equipment, tents, and the still waking samurai before them.
The enemies screams erupted in a crescendo as their panic spiked, chaos truly setting in as their camp began to burn with increasing intensity.
Crossing his fingers together, Naruto too gathered up his chakra.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
The area was covered in smoke and an erupting battle cry from hundreds of Naruto's clones who immediately continued their assault. The samurai now died in droves, many of the more craven ones already fleeing out of the camp and into the woods.
In the middle of all of the chaos provided by Naruto and the Iron Guard, the few remaining rangers cut free the horses who immediately bolted in panic, spreading the mess as men were now run down by their own horses left and right.
Man after man was slaughtered by Naruto and his clones, carving through the camp like something out of a fever dream as the camp burned around them. The Iron Guard maintained their assault as Naruto and his clones provided the cover they needed to continue to set fire to everything in their sights.
In the chaos, Naruto yelled for the start of their next phase, quickly crossing his fingers again to summon even more clones as his people retreated. It was just in time as well, as a war cry came from deeper within the enemies camp.
With their katanas drawn, blurs of red and gold cut through the camp faster than the eye could see. Naruto stopped his movement in the rear of his clone army as memories from the front surged into him; The Royal Army had finally had enough and arrived to deal with the issue themselves.
But instead of becoming nervous, Naruto merely relaxed, anchoring his halberd in the ground and crossed his arms, a confident smirk growing under his helmet.
His rangers and Iron Guard had already evacuated under the cover of the clones. He had nothing to be afraid of now.
One after the other, his clones fell to the Royal Army's samurai as they cut through the camp. As they fought, they began to use Water Release techniques to quell the fires, but they were far spread throughout the camp. As the Royal Army fighters began to close in on Naruto's position, Naruto merely waited, patiently and confident in his situation.
As his last clone fell, some semblance of order began to fall over the camp as the foot soldiers scrambled to beat out the fires and make damage control. Seeing as Naruto was not putting up a fight, the Royal Army samurai circled him with their weapons drawn, remaining a steady distance away.
Naruto had to admit; they were an impressive sight. They wore armors of steel from head to toe, leg guards and forearm protectors painted gold, chest and leg plates in crimson red. Their helmets and masks were depictions of either dragons or demons of varying colors, matching the exotic engravings and paintings upon the rest of their gear.
Their swords shimmered in the night and in the light of the roaring fires around them. Naruto did not doubt for a single second that their weapons were of the highest quality available in all of Fire Country.
One of the samurai stepped forth before Naruto, his peers moving to the side to give him room. He wore a mask depicting a crying Oni with a banner of his back that carried the symbol of Fire Country; A blossoming tree beneath the burning sun.
The man was obviously their commanding officer and his green eyes shone with distaste as he glared Naruto down. By the wrinkles surrounding his eyes, Naruto assumed the man to be quite a bit older than himself.
They stared at one another for an intense minute as the officer's men remained in a battle ready position to attack Naruto, should he decide to move.
"You.", the officer eventually grunted, his voice empty of all emotional inflection. The sound made Naruto smirk under his helmet; The officer was angry. "Considering the clones we've just dispatched, I assume you're from Konoha?"
Upon his question, Naruto had to consciously stop himself from reacting outwardly, as he was about to blink with surprise. It shouldn't have surprised him that even the Shadow Clone Technique, safeguarded as an S-Ranked technique in a shinobi village, was known to the Royal Army. Even with the cat out of the bag, Naruto had no intentions of giving the man any answers regarding where he was from.
"Come now.", Naruto chuckled menacingly. "Do you really think I'd respond to such a question just because you asked?"
"You insolent swine-!", one of the samurai exclaimed, brandishing his katana menacingly as he took a step forward, but was halted and interrupted by the officer's hand, thrown out in harsh command to remain in his position.
"He is obviously a clone like the others we dispatched.", the officer drawled tersely. "There is no point in cutting him down prematurely."
"Bravo.", the Naruto clone drawled sarcastically, clapping his hands together as a mocking applause. "Seems like you've figured it all out."
"Why are you here then, aside from gloating?", the officer pressed. If he was annoyed by Naruto's mocking, he revealed nothing of it.
"Too see what you would do.", Naruto drawled back in response, cocking his head slowly and assuredly. "I wanted to properly meet with the man tasked with the extermination of my people."
"If you want a proper meeting, then come and face me in person.", he responded, grunting with the same utter lack of inflection that Naruto found a bit frustrating. He wanted to get a response out of the man, to get a sense of him.
"For now, I'm afraid this will have to do.", Naruto shrugged, his grin widening. "After all, having a proper meeting with you was hardly my main concern with tonight's festivities."
"Then what was?", the officer shot back. Naruto merely grinned back at the man, before a scream from way back in their camp erupted into the air.
"S-Sir!", one of the samurai murmured, looking off into the back with a horrified expression. "Our food supplies!"
The officer's head snapped back. A fire, way back in the distance where their food supplies were located could be seen roaring bright.
Glancing over his shoulder at the burning supply crates and carts, Naruto's clone sprinted into the forest along with the main force of the rangers, who had met up to sabotage the supplies after ridding the outer perimeter of guards. Glancing over at the captain next to him, Naruto nodded and made the 'release' symbol with his left hand.
"Meet up at the rendezvous with the others."
Receiving a nod of confirmation, the clone popped out of existence.
"Thank you, for acting exactly as I hoped you would.", Naruto continued to drawl, finally noticing a reaction from the officer as his hands clenched around his blade. "While you ran all the way over here to rescue your men, me and mine helped ourselves to your food supplies. If not for that, we wouldn't-"
The officer snarled and dashed towards Naruto's clone with blinding speed. The clone barely had the time to bark a laugh, opening his arms as if to greet the officer with a hug, even as his sword ran him through and dispelled him from existence.
As the memories returned to Naruto, he couldn't help but smirk. He knew he was dancing on the edge of being arrogant right now, but the night had gone much better than what he'd ever imagined. They hadn't lost a single man, while the enemies army had lost hundreds as well as the majority of their food supplies.
As Naruto, the rangers and his Iron Guard finally arrived at the rendezvous, a small clearing a short distance from a minor lake where they would wait for the rest, Naruto couldn't help but laugh out loud, breathing hard like his men while he gave them a boisterous grin.
"Needless to say, the chumps from the Royal Army's a tad pissed right now."
The men laughed at this, shaking their heads and clapped one another on their backs while they seated themselves, sweating and breathing hard after the combat and the exertions they had just gone through. Naruto would have to push them harder on chakra practices if this was the limit of his Iron Guard, but he supposed he should have been happy with them thus far.
The men bantered for a couple of minutes until the remaining rangers finally appeared in the clearing. Greeting each other like family, Naruto quickly pushed them to continue on; They were still way too close to the enemy lines for his comfort and they needed to meet up with Shou's reinforcements.
"Come on!", Naruto waved at his men to follow as he dashed into the treetops. "Sooner we make it home, the sooner we can rest!"
His men gave no protestations to that.
Having run for hours without rest, daylight had began to creep up above the horizon.
The men were breathing hard now and Naruto too was starting to feel the strain. It didn't help that his armor was a bit heavier than what his army traditionally carried either.
"Warlord!", a voice from the rear called out.
Landing upon a branch, Naruto flipped expertly in the air and unto the ground, leaning onto his halberd to give his sore muscles some relief. The others caught up to him a couple of seconds later, some collapsing on the ground with exhaustion.
"What is it ranger?", Naruto huffed, cursing his helmet for blocking the sweat he was unable to wipe off from his face.
"Alarm from the rearguard.", the ranger huffed, desperately gasping for air. As they ran, the rangers routinely rotated a rearguard who scouted behind them, ensuring they were not being followed.
Naruto had a bad feeling about it and so he nodded, giving himself and the men some much needed rest while they waited for the rearguard.
The team on rearguard duty arrived after a minute, collapsing next to their brethren while the team leader ran up to Naruto, fear apparent in his eyes beneath his cowl.
"Warlord! We're being followed!"
Fuck. That could only mean one thing.
'...Fucking Royal Army...', the Kyuubi growled withing his mind. 'They are a persistent bunch, I'll give them that.'
'I agree.', Naruto thought back at the creature. 'We're going to have to work together if it comes down to us or them.'
'I've already promised my compliance in the matter.', the Kyuubi snarled as if insulted by his words. 'Do your part and I shall do mine.'
Grateful to have to Kyuubi on his side, for now, he put his focus back on the reporting ranger.
"How many?"
"No clue.", the man bowed his head apologetically. "Forest's too thick to make them out. They are about 5 minutes behind us."
Fuck.
"Damnit, they're fast.", Hisao cursed from his position, kneeling next to a couple of his men that was looking worse for wear. "They must have traveled much, much faster than us, considering the early lead we had. How are they tracking us?"
"They probably have a sensor, and what did you fucking expect? They're Royal Army, not some common fucking foot soldiers.", En groused from where he leaned up against a tree, providing unhelpful and snide comments as he often did when the situation needed otherwise.
Thinking quickly while he ignored their frustrations, Naruto took a couple of seconds to himself to gather his thoughts.
"Hisao.", Naruto eventually called out, grasping his officer's attention. "You and your rangers are more lightly equipped than me and my Iron Guard. Run on ahead and get Shou. We'll try to hold them off for as long as we can."
Hisao's eyes widened in surprise, his entire expression turning to one of complete disagreement.
"Warlord, I-"
"That is an order, Hisao!", Naruto barked out, stressed and pressed for time. He quickly walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a severe expression. "They will be on us any minute now, but I can delay them further with my clones. We're counting on you and Shou now to get us out of this."
Sucking in a sharp breath of air, Hisao nodded gravely.
The rangers seemed uncomfortable with the thought of leaving them behind, which warmed Naruto's heart, but they did not have the time for heartfelt goodbyes.
Waving for his men to start running, the rangers muttered their shameful apologies as they passed the Iron Guard, grasping arms in hurried goodbyes, potentially for the last time as they began to run.
"Stay alive until we return.", Hisao muttered, his expression hardening with resolution. "Don't you dare fucking die."
"Go.", Naruto admonished, but couldn't help but chuckle. Hisao finally relented and disappeared into the forest after the others, leaving him alone with his Iron Guard who looked at him with grim and resigned expressions. Despite the severity of the reality they found themselves in, they looked to Naruto dutifully for their next order.
Glancing quickly at Asuka to see how she was doing, her expression mirrored the rest. Before he could let his worries rear it's head, he looked back at En who gazed at him with an expectant expression.
"Seems like yet again we're up against unfavorable odds, eh?", Naruto chuckled, forming the symbol for his clone technique. En merely snorted back at Naruto in exasperation.
"What else is new?"
Some shared laughter passed between them all, before Naruto silenced them with a look.
"For now, we will keep running for as long as we can.", Naruto began. "I will delay them for as long as I can with the clones, but there's a limit to how many I can create before I begin to slow."
Seeing their compliant nods, Naruto began to push chakra into the technique.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
As his clones remained in waiting, Naruto and the rest continued to run for their lives.
Time passed and Naruto eventually lost count of how long they had been running. He was sure it had been for a couple of hours at least, but he'd resummoned more clones to halt the Royal Army's advance 7 times already. Any more and he was going to put himself at risk for an eventual confrontation when they managed to catch up to them.
"Warlord!", En yelled from somewhere behind him. Glancing over his shoulder to see his Iron Guard beginning to lag behind, their eyes and faces red and sweaty from exertion. "We can't keep going like this!"
Gritting his teeth with frustration, he knew En was right; his Iron Guard would have to conserve their energy now to properly defend themselves. Summoning one last batch of clones to hold the Royal Army off, Naruto yelled back at En.
"Just a little longer! There's a good spot to defend ourselves just ahead!"
If he remembered the map correctly, there was a large, open field not too far from their position. It would serve as a last stand and an easy location for Shou to find them at, whenever they finally came to the rescue.
After another 5 minutes, they finally arrived at the field.
The field was an enchanting place. It was flat and open, the surrounding forest making a circle around the open, wide area. The ground there was covered in grass and daylilies that swayed gently in the breeze, beneath the wide, blue and open sky.
They stopped at the middle, his men collapsing face first into the dirt when they finally did so.
"At the very least, it's a good spot to fucking die.", En rasped, his lungs dragging ragged gasps of breath while he leaned on his knees. Sweat and drool flowed from his face as he had obviously been feeling his age over the last couple of hours, despite his otherwise fit form.
"We're not going to fucking die.", Naruto snarled, remained upright as he refused to let his men see how tired and nervous he was. Chances were, many of them wouldn't make it back to their people that night. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
En looked up with a cross expression, about to make a remark when Naruto gave him a pointed glare, daring him to open his mouth. En thought the better of it and nodded with a surprisingly demure expression.
They spent a couple of minutes getting the air back in their lungs, drinking whatever they had left of their waterskins. Naruto allowed himself a short moment with Asuka where he stroked her chin quickly, giving the girl a reassuring smile that was returned with her usual splendor.
Eventually, Naruto received the memories of his last remaining clone.
"Make ready!", Naruto roared for his Iron Guard. As his helmet had been removed in their break, Naruto put it back on with a sense of determination as his men formed up around him with Naruto and En in the front.
After a few more minutes, the Royal Army finally appeared at the other end of the clearing.
One after the other, they landed inside the clearing as they burst out from the forest. They looked nothing like the romanticized impression that Naruto had first received, with their bright colors and golden armors. They were dirty now, several of them sporting bulks, cuts and bruises from Naruto's clones and many of them instantly fell to their knees to regain their breaths when they entered the clearing.
It was obvious that Naruto had an effect on them with his clones, but he just hoped it would be enough.
Eventually, the last man had appeared from the forest and their officer who Naruto recognized from the night before ordered them forward. Obediently, they formed up and made their way, slowly, towards Naruto's formation in an orderly fashion.
Naruto was happy to see that they were about as many as themselves. Only a few of the Royal Army members had apparently been able to keep the pace with them, which bode well in their favor.
Their weapons drawn and in a battle ready position, Naruto and his men waited for them to approach, Naruto's eyes fastened on the officer who seemed to share his interest as they both glared at one another.
As they came about 30 feet away from Naruto, the officer threw a hand up, signaling a halt of which was immediately obeyed.
A tense stare between each force began, weapons drawn and battle ready as they glared fiercely.
One side, honored samurai of the Fire Daimyo, the other, villagers hardened through desperation and battle. Naruto found the situation to be a bit poetical considering what they both represented, but he brushed the thought away before it could linger.
"...I'll give you this, you and your men are annoyingly persistent...", Naruto muttered, grinding his teeth at the other commander.
"...I'll say the same about you and yours...", the officers glared back, his cool demeanor from yesterday all but gone. "And now, we meet properly. Shall we get the formalities out of the way?"
"You first then?", Naruto offered with a drawl.
"Naturally.", the officer spat. "My name is 'Kugimiya Yoshitomo', Commander of the 4'th Royal Regiment, temporary Commander of the 6'th."
"Naruto.", Naruto began, intentionally withholding his last name as he'd always done since leaving Konoha. "Warlord of our wandering horde."
"'Warlord', hm?", Kugimiya said, with a sneer on his face. "What a crude title."
"It is what it is.", Naruto shot back, not particularly keen on making small talk with his enemy. "I do not expect the Daimyo's dogs to understand, so lets not waste our time throwing insults at one another like children, yes?"
"As. You. Wish.", Kugimiya said, hissing each word as he tensed up in preparation to move.
Doing the same, the two forces made ready to attack, but neither willing to make the first move.
Intending to take the initiative, Naruto snapped his hands together.
"Multiple Shadow Clone-!", Naruto began, but was interrupted by Kugimiya's dash, covering the ground between them in less than a second.
Channeling the Iron First into his left hand, Naruto was able to lift his hand to stop Kugimiya's lunging stab with his own hand, grasping unto the blade with a gloved grip.
As this happened, the two forces slammed into each other with ferocity, the field erupting in battle as the opponents locked blades with one another. Strength enhanced with chakra immediately sent them careening out in different directions, tearing the field apart almost immediately.
Not willing to let go of Kugimiya's weapon, Naruto dragged Kugimiya into him and delivered a headbutt to the man's protected head. He grunted with surprise, but adjusted quickly, forcing his sword to such an angle that Naruto lost power over his grip, immediately loosing it as he did so.
A cleave of his halberd sent the man sliding back to evade him, which left Naruto with enough room to do what he had originally intended to do.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hundreds of more clones appeared in the clearing, immediately throwing themselves into the battle in order to aid his Iron Guard. One of his men had already fallen, but so had one of theirs. His clones should provide the aid necessary to turn the tables.
As another samurai charged him from the side, Naruto twirled the halberd above his head faster than the man could react, before cleaving into the man's stomach and mortally wounding him. He immediately ran for Kugimiya after removing the annoyance.
Cutting diagonally for Kugimiya's shoulder, Naruto missed as the man swayed away, but Naruto proceeded to launch himself into the man afterwards, slamming his shoulder into his chest. Snapping his left hand out, Naruto quickly formed a rasengan and shoved it towards Kugimiya's chest.
"Rasenga-!"
Kugimiya's blade came up between them, tip pointed down as he raised the blade reversely. Naruto continued to push on, his Iron Fist already up to protect his body.
...Then the stinging pain struck him, as his skin was cut open from his left hip and all the way up to his right shoulder.
"Ngh!", Naruto spat, clenching his teeth together as the pain struck him, his Rasengan dissolving in his hand due to a lack of concentration. He absentmindedly made a note that Kugimiya's blade had cut right through both his armor and his Iron Fist, but as Kugimiya's blade descended back down again, Naruto had to move.
Managing to raise his halberd to deflect, he brought his leg up between them and pushed Kugimiya away with a chakra enhanced kick.
'Kyuubi-!'
'Already on it, brat.', the Kyuubi rumbled even before he could voice his request for assistance.
Naruto sighed with some relief as the wound began to knit together and he hoped he hadn't lost too much blood in the encounter.
Observing Kugimiya's blade for a second, he noticed a bluish hue that ran along the edge, revealing to Naruto Kugimiya's ability to cut through his Iron Fist; It was the same technique that En had used against Goro, only that Kugimiya obviously had a blade that was made with chakra reactive metals. Due to his bloodline, En had made due with dressing the blade in his own blood, using it as a medium to channel.
Deciding it was time to up his game, Naruto charged the Kyuubi's chakra further into his body. He raised his right foot just as Kugimiya dashed towards him, before slamming it down between them.
The ground exploded beneath Naruto's foot, sending a pillar of debris into the air between them as a 40 feet area around them was covered in dust.
Kugimiya reacted quickly, dashing back a short distance, before clasping his hands together in a quick series of handsigns.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Ripping his mask out of the way, an enormous amount of wind burst out of his mouth, blasting all of the dust and debris away. As the dust quickly cleared, Naruto was revealed standing, his halberd anchored to the ground to help him stay in his spot.
Cutting one of Naruto's lunging clones in two, Kugimiya dashed towards Naruto who was still reeling after the wind technique. Naruto stabbed out with his halberd to try and stop Kugimiya's approach, but his halberd was expertly deflected up and into the air, leaving his torso and neck exposed to Kugimiya's blade.
"It's over!", Kugimiya hissed hatefully, twirling his blade as he cut diagonally from Naruto's left shoulder and all the way down to his right hip, before turning the blade to cut back in reverse across his throat. The maneuver took less than a second as Kugimiya finally managed to mortally wound Naruto...
...But then the clone popped out of existence.
"Wha-!", Kugimiya exclaimed, his eyes going wide.
Suddenly, the ground next to him exploded as Naruto burst out from the earth, crouched and spinning in the air just a few feet away.
One of Naruto's feet snapped out, catching the man in his face with a devastating kick that dazed Kugimiya. His body spun away from Naruto by the force alone, leaving his back exposed to Naruto's halberd that came crashing into it a second later.
His armor was pulverized by Naruto, but it saved his life and sent him tumbling across the field, tearing up the earth as he went.
Coming to a stop, Kugimiya rolled into a crouched position, his armor smashed to scraps and barely hanging off his back as Naruto's clones converged on him. Flourishing his katana into a reverse hold, Kugimiya closed his eyes and breathed deep, momentarily looking as if Naruto's clones was not seconds away from running him down in his position.
Naruto paused, narrowing his eyes as he observed what Kugimiya was doing. As his clones circled him about 20 feet away, they finally lunged for Kugimiya with halberds raised.
It was at that moment that Kugimiya opened his eyes with a determined expression, his blade lighting up in a bluish hue as a churning wind gathered around it. Turning about in his spot, Kugimiya spun into a cut that seemingly missed all of the clones, only for the wind around his blade to lengthen along with the direction of the swipe, cutting all of Naruto's attacking clones in two.
It had been apparent since the first minute of their battle, but his recent show merely cemented what Naruto had already concluded about the man already; While En had showed himself to be primarily geared towards fire, Kugimiya's chakra nature was obviously wind. It was the only explanation that would make sense considering his expert use of the specific element.
'You ready to turn this up?', Naruto questioned the Kyuubi in his mind as he calmed his breath from the recent combat. Observing Kugimiya as he rose from his position with a hateful glare towards Naruto, revealed the man to have suffered some damage from Naruto's attack as he staggered and struggled for a moment, before finally resuming a fighting stance. 'His wind cut right through both my armor and the Iron Fist earlier. We're going to have to work together to stay ahead of him.'
'Yes.', the Kyuubi grunted in reply. 'Be careful though; If you use too much of my chakra, it will harm you in the long run and you will lose control.'
'Careful there partner.', Naruto chuckled inwardly as a surge of the Kyuubi's chakra filled him. His blood felt as if it was beginning to burn, maddening whispers of rage and violence filling his ears and his head, but he easily managed to stay in control. It got easier and easier the more he trained with it. 'It almost sounds like you're worried about me.'
'As if.', the Kyuubi snorted back. 'Any other day I would have cherished the occasion of you getting your ass kicked. Remember, if you die, I will eventually reform, but weakened. Last thing I want is for the Uchiha to get his hands on me.'
'I got you, I got you.'
Taking a deep breath, Naruto pushed his legs out into a wide stance, malevolent chakra bursting out of his body in waves that tore the ground around him apart. The grass and the flowers around crumbled to ash without burning.
Leaning forward, Naruto kicked off and disappeared from his spot, running towards Kugimiya with a force that ripped the ground apart where he ran.
Not out of the battle yet, Kugimiya cut down vertically towards Naruto, sending an air blade ripping towards him as he ran. Rolling to the side to avoid the cut or get parted by the center from head to groin, Naruto immediately jumped into the air to leap over a horizontal air blade the followed the first.
"Water Release: Great Water Bullet!"
Naruto cursed himself as Kugimiya spat a water bullet towards him; Having put himself in an air born position, there was little he could do to evade.
Luckily for him, a clone jumped him from the side, pushing him out of the way just as the water bullet punched through the clone less than a second after and dispelled it.
"...Thank you me...", Naruto grunted, allowing himself a small joke in the middle of the battle. Landing near Kugimiya, another air blade was already sent his way, but Naruto easily ducked it. Kicking a boulder about his own size into the air, Naruto sent it flying towards Kugimiya to disturb his channeling.
Cutting the boulder in two to defend himself, Kugimiya's eyes widened as Naruto came through right after the stone had been deflected. He narrowly managed to sidestep Naruto's halberd which crashed into the ground next to him.
Twirling the halberd back and above his head, Naruto charged after the Royal Army commander, flourishing the halberd as fast as if it had been a normal staff. The weight rendered Kugimiya without the ability to block, forcing the man to stay on his toes to deflect and dodge. Faster and faster Naruto spun and flourished the halberd, tearing the ground around him apart from the force that followed his weapon, Kugimiya barely able to avoid death one second at a time.
As they danced around each other for about a minute, the butt of Naruto's halberd struck up and into Kugimiya's chin, snapping his head back with a spray of blood as the nose broke from the impact.
Striking downward again with his halberd, Kugimiya was barely able to deflect the axe to the side with a desperate yell, driving his blade tip first into Naruto shoulder within the same movement.
The blade cut like butter through his armor, penetrating straight through and out his shoulder blade. As the white-hot searing pain washed through his body, Naruto was rendered momentarily paralyzed as Kugimiya ripped the blade out in a downward stroke, worsening the wound and doubling the pain by tenfold.
Raising his blade with a roar, Kugimiya made ready to decapitate Naruto in his spot. Fighting through the moment of paralyzation, the Kyuubi already working overtime to heal his wound, Naruto's remaining working arm clenched around the halberd and moved to block.
"Naruto!", a shriek yelled out, breaking both Naruto's and Kugimiya's focus for just a moment. Snapping his head to the side and towards the yell just as Kugimiya's blade descended, a body crashed into Naruto's body, shoving him out of the way from Kugimiya's blow.
Instinctively, Naruto held onto the body as they slid away from Kugimiya, finally coming to a stop a good distance away. Noticing the familiar mop of hair on his chest, Naruto frowned angrily at Asuka who had obviously moved to save him.
"You idiot! I I had everything under control, I was-!" As his eyes trailed over Asuka's back, his words got stuck in his throat, as Kugimiya's blade had nearly bisected his lover across her middle. A large gash had parted her armor and her skin and the open wound was quickly letting loose a steady amount of blood.
Asuka herself just laid there on his chest, limp like a puppet without strings. Her hair was matted across her face by sweat, hiding her face from his sight.
"...No, no, no, no, don't you do this to me right now darling...!", Naruto muttered as he quickly shuffled their position around, gently cradling Asuka to the ground as he exposed her back to him. Desperately, he ripped the cloth off her arms and wrapped them tightly around her wound, but Naruto knew enough about the injury mechanics to know that Asuka was in a bad spot right now. "Don't die on me darling, and that's a fucking order. Stay alive.", Naruto talked almost frantically, dragging ragged gasps that had nothing to do with the physical exertions he'd just gone through.
He was barely aware of the pain that surged through his shoulder as he moved his left arm, the Kyuubi having succeeded in healing the worst of the damage already. Seeing his lover in such a state however made Naruto feel almost claustrophobic as the air seemed to refuse to enter his lungs.
He was quickly beginning to loose control of the Kyuubi's chakra. His vision was narrowing at the corners, filled with red as whispers of violence filled his head again.
Kugimiya was strangely silent as he crouched tiredly from his earlier position, a demure expression in his eyes as he looked at Naruto who was desperately trying to save Asuka's life.
"I assume the girl meant something to you?", Kugimiya questioned with a shake of his head. "She served you admirably, giving her life for yours." Having managed to wrap Asuka's torso up as well as he could, Naruto made sure she laid comfortably in her position on the ground, before he stood with a roll of his shoulder, testing his still healing limb. "This can all end, whenever you wish for it. Surrender and lay down your arms, and we can-"
Naruto's lips drew back in a snarl as he snapped around and lunged across the field towards Kugimiya. Kugimiya's last word was still upon his lips when Naruto's hand clasped around his masked face, slamming the man into the ground with enough force to break the ground apart beneath him.
Coherent thoughts had left Naruto completely, his halberd discarded next to Asuka, as Naruto seated himself on Kugimiya's chest.
Again and again, Naruto slammed Kugimiya into the ground, pausing only to smash his fists into the man's face as he deformed the helmet and his mask around Kugimiya's head. Conscience seemed to have fled Kugimiya as his blade had been dropped, his arms limp at the side of his body which shook from each brutal hit Naruto delivered.
"Commander!"
Driven by bestial instincts, Naruto's head twitched towards the approaching sound; boots rapidly running through the grass towards him. A dozen of Kugimiya's men ran straight for him in order to save their commander.
Sending his arm out, a big tendril of the Kyuubi's chakra escaped Naruto and shot outward, grasping one of the men to pulverize him to the ground instantly. The others dashed to the side and reacted quickly against Naruto's new attack.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Collectively, the men sent the same wind technique at Naruto which blasted him across the field with the force of a concentrated storm. He eventually slid to a stop, crouched on all fours like an animal with a snarl upon his expression.
'Get a hold of yourself!', the Kyuubi roared in his mind, pushing through Naruto's rage addled mind. 'If you keep going like this, you're going to loose control!'
Shuddering, Naruto was barely able to reign himself in after a couple of seconds, managing to tether himself to reality for a moment longer. Taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, Naruto was able to force the malevolent chakra back down and into the confines of his seal. Meanwhile, Kugimiya was heaved onto one of the samurais back, quickly fleeing the field while the others charged towards Naruto.
Outnumbered and without his halberd, Naruto tensed with a grim expression.
'We might have to-'
"All units! Fire!", a familiar voice suddenly roared out in the far distance, pulling the attention of the fighters from both the Iron Guard, Royal Army as well as Naruto's remaining clones.
"Osu!"
A wall of arrows burst out from the forest to their east, washing over the area with pinpoint precision. Panic immediately rose in Naruto, but as the arrows narrowly passed by himself as well as his clones and Iron Guard, Naruto realized that their reinforcements had finally arrived.
Shou was there!
The first volley took down almost half of the remaining Royal Army fighters, wounding many of them while a few had managed to evade the volley.
"All units, full assault!"
"Osu!"
Spearmen then charged down the field and out of the treelines, covering the distance very quickly.
The Royal Army fighters quickly made a decision and pulled whatever wounded they could get their hands on out of there in a full retreat. Naruto's clones moved to intercept, stopping a few of them as they were cut down by either arrows or spears, but many of them was able to get away.
As the Royal Army disappeared into the woods, his men roared victoriously while the Iron Guard collapsed, exhausted beyond belief. Many of them were wounded, a few dead.
Shaking his head, Naruto was reminded of his dying lover with a rising sense of trepidation. He ran over an picked her up as their forces surrounded the area.
"Medics! We need medical assistance! Right now!"
And finished. It's way late now and i've got work tomorrow, so if you have any questions then please be assured that i will get back to you after i've finished work.
MiNdZeRo here, signing out.