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Thank you for all of your reviews, they are very exciting to get! I will try my best to make most of this coincide with the Warcraft universe, but I will no doubt be making a bunch of changes to it. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I think I might change the rating, just to be safe.
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Naruto was on his way to Jon's when he felt it.
The temperature of the air seemed to drop drastically. The sky seemed to darken slightly and the forest grew almost menacing. He stopped at the sudden change in atmosphere, and wondered what the hell was happening.
SOMETHING IS WRONG, BRAT.
Thank you captain obvious, but what is it?
I DO NOT KNOW, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD ASK THE HUMAN YOU ARE WORKING FOR.
Naruto nodded to himself, and hurried towards Jon's house. He noticed that people were leaving their houses, and all had worried looks on their faces. None of them spared him a second glance as he ran to the herbalist's house.
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When he reached the house, Jon was standing outside looking up at the sky with the same worried expression on his face as he had seen on the villagers.
"Hey, Jon! What's going on?" Naruto asked skidding to a stop as he reached the herbalist.
"It feels like…but it can't be…" he muttered, almost to himself.
"Feels like what? What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto demanded.
"I will explain later, I have to see something," Jon said, and walked past Naruto towards the largest house in the village, the house of the town elder. Naruto followed him swiftly, and the two soon reached the large house.
Instead of going inside, however, Jon moved around to the back of the house, Naruto following him, and what he saw shocked him.
Several yards behind the massive house, was a massive tree. But it was the most unique and beautiful tree he had ever seen. Its trunk was a dark blue color, and its leaves were a pure silver color, that shimmered in the light of the sky. Its branches were twisted and gnarled, however, and they seemed out of place on the rest of the tree. The tree was growing out of a strange pool, which glowed an unearthly blue. The silvery leaves of the tree littered the ground, and lay on the surface of pool as well. There was a crowd of people around the tree, all looking very grave. Naruto turned to Jon in wonder, and asked,
"What is that?" Jon turned to look at him, as if realizing for the first time Naruto was there, and answered him, his voice grave.
"That is what protects us." He said simply, watching the tree again. Naruto scowled at him, and so Jon elaborated.
"Many, many years ago, when this village was still new, a night elf druid arrived here. This was before the elves abandoned us for their own land, back when the Alliance was still whole." Naruto didn't know what he was talking about, but then again he didn't want Jon to know that he was from another world, so he nodded his head for Jon to continue.
"Our village gave shelter to this druid, feeding him and providing him a warm place to stay. He was grateful for it, so he gave us a parting gift. He used his power to create a pool in the heart of our village, and then placed within it a small drop of glowing liquid. As our ancestors watched, the glow quickly spread to the rest of the pool, and in the center he placed a small seed. The seed grew into a massive tree, the very one you see here. He told our ancestors that as long as the tree stood, and we continued to offer our hospitality, the tree would protect our village from any evil creatures that would seek to harm us. It was fortunate that he arrived, as well, because something evil appeared in our forest years later, something that we could not stop."
His face got a pained look on it, one Naruto knew well, it was the same look that accompanied the hateful glares back in Konoha, one of remembrance, of sorrow, one of loss. He shifted uneasily at the look, but the asked,
"What was it?" Jon broke out of his trance, and sighed.
"Some years after the druid had gifted us with the tree, a group of beings known as furbolg arrived in this forest. Furbolg are not native to Elwynn Forest; they are beings that make their home in the forests of Ashenvale and Teldrassil, the lands of the elves. They were said to be a once peaceful race, but the legendary Burning Legion corrupted them. A small faction of them made their way across the continent to Elwynn, and has been here ever since. At first, they didn't bother our village, but soon they began trying to attack us at every chance they got. The tree protected our village directly from attack, but people who wandered out of the range of the trees protection were seldom seen again." Once again, the hurt look crossed his face, and Naruto knew he had lost someone to the furbolg. Naruto then asked him,
"But why is everyone here then? If the tree protects you then why are you looking at like its going to die?" he had a bad feeling in his stomach as he said this, and he prayed that it was just indigestion. Jon sighed, and spoke,
"The feeling you got earlier was the power of the tree fading. It doesn't seem to be totally gone yet, but when it is, we are likely doomed." He turned once more to the tree, and spoke no more.
Naruto frowned, staring at Jon in confusion.
"You sound like you have already lost." Naruto said, irritated. Jon looked at him, and said calmly,
"We have. We have no militia, and it would take the soldiers of Stormwind many days to arrive here, and we would be dead by then. We will likely have to leave." Naruto stared at the man, as if he had grown a second head.
"You're just giving up?" Naruto asked. Naruto generally didn't hate many things, and the things that he did hate usually involved snakes, arrogant geniuses and lousy ramen. But one thing he hated with a passion was people giving up. He had hated the fact that Inari and his fellow townspeople had given up and just accepted Gatou's tyranny. He had hated the fact that Shikamaru had given up to Temari in the finals of the Chuunin exam. It made him grate his teeth in anger that people could just accept their fate, and note fight for themselves.
Jon heard him and said heatedly,
"What would you have us do? We are farmers and gatherers, we have no weapons and none of us has any experience in fighting. How could we possibly fight these monsters?" Naruto gave him a cold glare that he flinched slightly at.
"So what if you aren't fighters? You said it yourself they weren't very smart, and you could fight them with your brains! You just automatically think you'll fail, but you haven't even tried!" Shouted Naruto, gathering the attention of several others in the crowd. Jon glared angrily at Naruto and bellowed,
"Those monsters killed my wife! They butchered her like a piece of livestock! They would do the same to us! WE CAN'T FIGHT THEM!" Naruto crossed his arms, staring at the man with disgust.
"Coward, you just want to save your own skins."
Apparently, the others who had overheard the argument took offence to that, and began shouting at the boy.
"You're crazy, brat!"
"We would be massacred! You can't expect us to try and fight those monsters!"
"We have families! How can you expect us to fight and die when we have to think about them?"
"We must leave!"
Naruto grew increasingly angry at these remarks, and shouted,
"SHUT UP! You plan to uproot your families' lives and go on a journey that you probably wouldn't survive anyway? You're cowards! People like you disgust me!" The boy turned, and stomped off, not wanting to deal with the responses.
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DO YOU SEE WHY I HATE YOUR KIND, BRAT? THEY ARE DISGUSTINGLY WEAK AND DESERVE TO DIE.
Shut up, fox. Naruto hissed mentally. He was sitting on the outskirts of the village, staring into the blackness of the forest. It was twilight, and he could see that people were already starting to pack there things down in the village. He scowled at the thought,
Cowards.
DO NOT BE ANGRY WITH THEM, CHILD, THEY CANNOT BE BLAMED FOR THEIR FEARS. Naruto jolted as the unfamiliar voice rang inside his head, and he looked around in confusion.
"Who is it? Who's there?" he asked, drawing a kunai for good measure.
A FRIEND, CHILD. I AM SPEAKING TO YOU INSIDE YOUR HEAD, NOT UNLIKE THE FOX SPIRIT DOES. Naruto blinked, and frowned.
"You know the Kyuubi?" he said aloud.
NO, I CAN, HOWEVER, DETECT HIS PRESENCE WITHIN YOU, AS COULD MOST OF THE FOREST. Naruto nodded, and then asked,
"Who are you?"
GO TO THE TREE AND YOU SHALL KNOW. Naruto didn't have to ask what tree it was.
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When he arrived at the tree, it was deserted. The crowd had dispersed, likely to go pack. He stood in front of the great tree and then called out in his mind this time.
You there?
YES
So what are you? And why are you talking to me?
I AM THE TREE, CHILD. I AM THE PROTECTOR OF THIS VILLAGE AND FOREST. I HAVE A REQUEST FOR YOU, NARUTO UZUMAKI.
What is it?
I ASK YOU TO TRAVEL TO THE FURBOLG'S CAMP, AND RETRIEVE SOMETHING FOR ME.
Retrieve what?
A GEM. AN EMERALD OF THE BRIGHTEST GREEN THAT CAN HELP BREAK THE CURSE THAT WAS BEEN PLACED ON ME.
So that's why you can't protect the village anymore? Some curse?
INDEED. THE LEADER OF THE FURBOLG TRIBE IS KNOWN AS FEROCITAS THE DREAM EATER. HE WAS ONCE A POWERFUL MYSTIC WHO PLAGUED THE ELVES IN TELDRASSIL, BUT HE FLED HERE. HE IS IN POSSESSION OF A POWER THAT IS NOT HIS OWN, THAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY AN EVIL FORCE. THAT IS HOW HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO CURSE ME, POISONING THE FOREST'S SPIRIT WITH THIS EVIL POWER. HE MUST BE DESTROYED. THE EMERALD HE POSSESSES ONCE BELONGED TO A POWERFUL DRUID, AND IT MAY BE ABLE TO BREAK THE CURSE. I IMPLORE YOU TO HELP ME.
Naruto didn't need to be asked to help, as he had already considered it. He grinned and said,
"Implore no more, ' cause Uzumaki Naruto is on the job!"
THANK YOU, CHILD. IN RETURN, I CAN GIVE YOU INFORMATION ON WHY YOU ARE HERE, AND PERHAPS HOW TO GET HOME TO YOUR WORLD. Naruto grinned wider, and nodded his head.
"Right then! Let's go!"
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Naruto jumped quickly from tree to tree for about a half and hour after leaving the village, the tree having given him the location of the furbolg's camp. On the way, he was thinking about what he should do. On one hand, he could charge in like he usually would, and fight tooth and nail for the emerald, but Ero-sennin had told him that tactics like that would usually get him killed. On the other hand, stealth was certainly not Naruto's strong point.
I WOULD SAY THAT EITHER WOULD GET YOU KILLED BRAT.
Where have you been? You were silent the whole time I was talking with the tree.
UNLIKE YOURSELF BRAT, I HAVE MANNERS, AND WHEN ANOTHER DENIZEN OF THE FOREST IS SPEAKING, IT IS IMPOLITE TO INTERRUPT. Naruto scoffed,
Jeez, a demon with manners? I'm beginning to think that anything's possible in this world.
SHUT UP AND GET READY, YOU ARE NEARING THE BEASTS' CAMP.
Naruto sniffed the air, and the smell of blood, fur and feces met his nostrils, causing him to gag slightly. He stopped jumping just short of a clearing. He crouched low, and peered into the camp from the branches of the tree.
What he saw was something he wouldn't forget.
The camp of furbolg was relatively large, and Naruto felt a slight pang of guilt for yelling at Jon, as they did have a reason for being afraid. It was a series of tents made from what appeared to be leather, with markings painted on the side. They were all spread around a large, yet crude house made of uneven, broken logs and dried grass.
It wasn't this that bothered Naruto so much; it was the creatures that populated the area that did.
They were, to put it bluntly, the most disgusting creatures he had seen. They went hand in hand with Orochimaru in the level of disgust that was generated when he saw them. They were big, about six or seven feet tall, with white fur surrounding their whole bodies. They had huge, bear-like faces and claws, and were all clad in dirty brown loincloths. Some carried crudely made axes; others poorly made staves or clubs. Each seemed to have a snarl on their face at all times, and talked in low, guttural growls as they picked apart the carcasses of deer, squirrels or other forest denizens. They ate the meat raw; devouring it in large, messy gulps, blood staining their white fur. Naruto got sick just watching them eat.
THEY ARE LUCKY, ABLE TO EAT WHENEVER THEY WANT. Kyuubi groused.
Stop complaining, baby.
I LOATHE YOU.
Naruto said nothing more, and continued to watch the disgusting creatures; before he tried to re-conjure his battle plans within his mind. All thoughts of a direct assault were banished when he saw a furbolg push over a tree with ease and scoop up some bugs that had made their home beneath said tree. Unfortunately, he had no camouflage techniques in his arsenal, and wondered what he should do.
WHATEVER IT IS, DO IT QUICK, IF THEY CATCH YOUR SENT, YOU ARE DONE FOR.
Naruto blinked, and realized the Kyuubi was right, so he took his thinking up a level, and suddenly had an idea. Ero-sennin has told him the element of surprise was the best thing for a ninja to have, and that using it properly led to confusion on the enemy's part. Naruto would do just that, confuse them.
Forming a seal, Naruto whispered, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu," creating ten clones, and then sent them to form a circle around the clearing. When they had all arrived in their proper places, he dug into his weapons pouch and pulled out an explosive note. Attaching it to a kunai, he aimed and hurtled it into the camp, aiming directly for the large cabin. As soon as he heard the distinct thunk in the wood, he readied his clones for action.
BOOM!
The explosion lit the camp with a bright, orange light; it blew apart the cabin, and sent several furbolg sprawling. Just as he suspected, the whole camp went into a frenzy, letting out roars of anger and bloodlust. Whilst they were still flailing around in confusion, Naruto took the initiative. His clones leapt from their positions, and hurtled shuriken into the mass of furry bodies. Several went down, and the rest charged forward to beat the clones into submission. Naruto, of course, wasn't about to let them, so he guided the clones back into the forest, the furbolg hot on their trails. He didn't know the range of his kage bunshins, so he would just have them flee until they disappeared.
The camp was relatively empty now, with only about six furbolg crouching around the smoldering ruins of the cabin, howling. Naruto moved from his position and jumped into the camp, alerting the furbolg to his presence. They didn't move, however, and for a second Naruto wondered why, that question was soon answered.
Out from the burning ruins of the cabin, a shadowy figure came. Naruto quickly identified its lumbering posture and large size as a furbolg, but realized quickly it was larger than any of the others. Naruto watched in horror as it stepped from the fire, almost completely untouched by the flames. The furbolg was large, with pitch-black fur and in its hands it clutched a large staff. A green stone hung around its neck.
Naruto knew at once that this was Ferocitas the Dream Eater.
The monstrous furbolg stomped forward, growling lowly. The six smaller furbolg moved with it, and they made their way towards Naruto. He tensed, his hands near his weapon pouch and his eyes trained on Ferocitas. The giant furbolg stopped a few yards from Naruto, and it seemed to grin. Then, to Naruto's astonishment, it spoke in a low, growling voice.
"YoU ArE a TrIcKy LitTle HuMAn. YoU ShAlL Be the FiRsT OnE I EaT. HaHAHaHAhAHa!"
"Jeez, not even I speak that bad." Naruto muttered, before grinning at the creature and shouting, "sorry, I don't taste very good, my kunai here, however, might be more to your liking! Enjoy fur breath!" He quickly drew a kunai and hurtled it at Ferocitas. It imbedded itself in its right shoulder, and the furbolg leader cried out in agony. It ripped the kunai out and pointed a claw at Naruto, roaring,
"KiLl HiM! BrINg mE HiS HeAd!" The other furbolg roared, and charged the boy, bearing their teeth and brandishing their crude weapons. Naruto jumped back and formed a seal, shouting "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He created five clones and rushed forward with them, drawing a kunai and launching himself at the nearest furbolg. He slashed the kunai across the monster's ribcage, eliciting a howl from creature. He avoided a swing from the creature's axe and jumped over the beast, imbedding his kunai in the top of the furbolg's spinal cord and then dragging it downwards. Hot blood exploded from the wound, and the furbolg died instantly. His clones weren't fairing as well, as two had already been destroyed. There were still 4 furbolg plus Ferocitas left, and Naruto didn't want to take his time, lest the camp return en masse.
Wanting to end it quickly, Naruto began a rush of seals, and shouted, "Katon: Housenka (Mythical Fire Flower) no Jutsu!" Five, basketball-sized fireballs erupted from his mouth and sped towards the remaining furbolg. Two of them found targets, the other three missing. The two furbolg that had been struck flailed around in agony as the flames consumed them, but eventually they stopped moving. The remaining furbolg charged at Naruto, hoping to gang up on him. Naruto, however, didn't let them. He performed another set of seals, and then shouted, "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu (Inner Decapitation) no Jutsu!" Two of the three remaining clones suddenly dove underground, and seconds later they had pulled both furbolg into the ground, leaving only their heads visible. Naruto and the remaining clone moved forward and decapitated the furbolg, blood shot like a geyser from the stumps of the creatures' heads. The two that had buried themselves using the Shinjuu Zanshu erupted from the ground on both of Naruto's sides, both grinning like foxes.
Ero-sennin had witnessed Naruto's expertise with the Kage Bunshin no jutsu and had decided to take the technique another step further. Combined with the chakra control techniques he had learned, Naruto was able to subtly direct his already molded chakra into his clones, and as a result, have them launch the intended technique. He could even have two clones launch the same technique, though the power would be noticeably less, it didn't matter for something like Shinjuu Zanshu, which relied on the user's strength, and didn't matter how much chakra was put into it.
He silently thanked Ero-sennin for teaching him that, and then turned to stare at Ferocitas, who had remained motionless for the whole fight. The large furbolg grinned, and growled,
"YoU are InTerEsTing, HuMan, BuT I WiLl KiLL you AnYWays!" Ferocitas then swung its staff and moved its hand in a strange fashion, before forming what was unmistakably a hand seal, a strange one, but a hand seal nonetheless. The creature then bellowed, "FelRot ViNeS!" There was a brief rumbling sound, and suddenly huge vines erupted from the ground, entangling Naruto and his clones. The boy quickly disabled the clones before the vines could close anymore around them, and leapt out of the way. Ferocitas scowled, and then swung its staff at Naruto, who was still in mid-air. The staff connected with his side, and Naruto was flung back from the force of the strike.
Damn, this bastard hits as hard as Oba-chan!
Naruto lifted himself to his feet, and rubbed his side. The monstrous furbolg advanced on him, forming another, yet different series of seals, and growled, "FelRot WiTheR!" A poisonous green mist shot from Ferocitas' hand and straight at Naruto, who leapt out of the way. Thinking he was out of danger, he shot forward, only to have a searing pain explode into his back. He gasped, and stumbled. He moved his hand to wear the pain was emanating and felt a sticky wetness, when he drew his hand back in front of his face, he saw that it was blood.
IT IS A CORROSIVE POISON; BRAT THAT LIKELY SEEKS OUT THE NEAREST SOURCE OF CHAKRA. I WILL GET RID OF IT, DESTROY THIS FOOL.
Thanks…I guess.
The pain dulled and eventually disappeared, and Naruto stood up once more, shocking Ferocitas.
"HoW? My FelRot WiTheR ShOulD be EatIng YouR FlEsh now! YoU ShOuLd not Be StAndinG!" Naruto grinned, and stuck out a hand, smirking as he said,
"But I am, furry bastard, now lets see how you handle this." A blue sphere of light began to form in Naruto's right hand, a churning ball of chakra that was called the Rasengan. Thanks to the chakra control training, Naruto could now form it in one hand, rather than two. When he had fully formed it, he rushed forward, shouting,
"Take this! Rasengan!" He slammed the glowing sphere of chakra into Ferocitas, who had clumsily attempted to block with its staff. The sphere blasted through the staff, and smashed into the furbolg leader's chest. It buried itself in, ripping away flesh and bone and cartilage like they were nothing. The Rasengan then blasted Ferocitas away from Naruto, sending it flying into the ruins of its cabin, where it lay, unmoving. Naruto lowered his hand, breathing heavily.
He moved into the cabin ruins and towards Ferocitas' body. Naruto was shocked he saw the creature was still alive, albeit barely. Ferocitas looked at Naruto, its eyes glazing over, and it spoke in low gurgle.
"YoU WiLl NoT SaVE the SpIRit, BoY, IT IS AlReaDy GoNe. HiS CurSe is ImpOsSible to BreAk, AHaHAhAhAHAhaH!" Ferocitas died quickly after that. Naruto scowled, and walked over to the body, ripping the emerald off the leather cord that bound it to the creature's neck. He grinned, reveling in the fact that he had done what the tree had asked, then sniffed the air, and realized that he had to get back, unless he wanted to be ripped apart by the returning furbolg.
Turning away from the ruins, he jumped away from the camp, heading for the village.
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When Naruto emerged from the forest, he was tired and especially hungry. His whole body ached, but he wouldn't stop until he had delivered the emerald to the tree. He rushed through the village, passing several people, who gave him odd and surprised looks. He ran behind the elder's house, and found that Jon and several other people, including the elder himself, were watching the tree. Naruto walked wearily up to it, and the people present looked at him in surprise. He was covered in bruises and scratches, and blood as well. Jon moved forward, saying,
"Naruto? What happened to you?" The boy didn't spare him a glance as he walked in front of the tree. He held the emerald up and spoke, loudly and clearly.
"I brought the emerald!" There was silence for a second, and the tree spoke, not just to Naruto, but also to everyone.
THANK YOU, CHILD. I AM…WEAK, AND YOU HAVE BROUGHT IT…JUST IN TIME. I HAVE…LITTLE…TIME LEFT, AND SO I WILL TELL YOU…WHAT I HAVE PROMISED. GO TO THE GREAT CITY…STORMWIND…AND SPEAK WITH THE PRINCESS. SHE WILL…HELP YOU. WEAR THE PENDANT YOU RECEIVED, AND SHE…WILL SPEAK…WITH YOU. THANK YOU…FOR YOUR HELP. WHEN I HAVE…DIED…PLACE THE EMERALD WITHIN THE POOL…GOODBYE, YOUNG HERO.
Naruto gasped when the tree gave a great shudder. Its leaves suddenly began to drop off, and its dark blue bark turned black. When it was leafless and dead, Naruto walked forward, placing the emerald in the pool, and stepping back. There was a bright glow, and Naruto watched as the tree began to sink within into the pool, until it was gone. Then, in a bright flash of green light, the emerald rose to the surface of the water. It began to disintegrate, and Naruto saw that something was inside it. When the last of the green had disappeared, a small object was all that remained. From behind Naruto, the elder moved to the edge of the pool, and gasped.
"A seed…" he whispered.
And so it was.
The tree would rise once more.
Naruto could already feel the protective barrier rise up once more.
A great cheer erupted from the group around the pool, and Jon moved forward, standing at Naruto's side, slack-jawed. Naruto grinned up at him.
"If a kid like me could do this, then what makes you think you couldn't?" Jon blinked at Naruto, and smiled down at him.
"Thank you, Naruto."
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The following day, the villagers had gathered outside near the entrance of the village, smiling and waving to the boy who had saved them. Naruto stood in front of the village elder, wearing a satchel, loaded with food and supplies. The old man smiled down at him and said,
"We cannot repay you for what you have done. You have shown us that we cannot rely on the protection of the tree forever, and must learn to fight for ourselves. You have also saved our village. Thank you." Naruto grinned at the man, and said cheerfully,
"Don't worry about it." Naruto turned to Jon, who handed him two bottles. "What's this?" Naruto asked.
"Two healing potions, they could be useful for the trip." Naruto smiled and took the bottles, tucking him into the satchel. Jon then said,
"If you're ever in town kid, come by my house, and I'll get you another job." Naruto grinned and saluted him. He turned to go, but suddenly remembered something.
"Ah! The old lady!" He dug rummaged around in his pocket, pulling out a leather bag (he sighed, as he still missed Gama-chan), and pulled out two silver, before rushing into the crowd. He found the old woman easily by her scent, and handed the money to her, grinning as he said, "Told ya' I'd pay you back! I don't go back on my word." He turned and rushed back to the front of the crowd, stopped, waved one final time, before walking through the gates, following the road all the way into the forest.
When he was out of sight, the old lady from the inn walked forward, smiling, and stopped next to Jon.
"What a strange lad, eh?" Jon smiled, keeping his eyes focused on the road and forest.
"You bet he is, but I think we'll be hearing more about him." The old woman chuckled.
"Of course we will, he's Naruto Uzumaki."
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So, how'd you like it?
This little chapter was mainly meant to introduce the world and set up the journey Naruto's going to be going on.
Please give me any feedback, especially about the battle scenes, since there is going to be a lot more of that coming up.
Next: Naruto journeys towards Stormwind, and we meet the Princess!