Disclaimer: "Great Scott!"

"What is it Johnson?"

"I don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft!"

dramatically removes glasses "My god…"

Linkizzle and Rurizzle left a few minutes after they had revealed the story of their King to the blonde. Naruto didn't move from his spot on the ground for a few minutes, staring quietly at the ground and dwelling on what the two gnomes had told him.

He was betrayed…just like me.

This had awoken a plethora of different emotions in the blonde, the most prominent of which was anger. He was angry because Mekkatorque, a genius, someone that was not only older and wiser than Naruto, but had been spoken so highly of by several important and powerful people, had made a mistake that not even Naruto could have made. The stupid gnome had had the gall to call him a child, when the bastard was making an even more childish mistake.

He was throwing away his friends, and the lives of his people, just to get revenge against the bastard who had made his life miserable.

The bastard was like him and Sasuke rolled into one person, only much shorter.

He got up and left the tent, shoving his hands into his pockets to shield them from the frigid air. A slight peppering of snow had begun, and the air was filled with tiny flakes of frozen water, drizzling downwards onto the camp, unimpeded by a breeze of any kind. The blonde trudged across the camp, avoiding gnomes as he went, his mind still trying to comprehend how someone so smart could make such a pathetic mistake.

He knew he would have to act quickly, because Mekkatorque was quickly becoming another Sasuke, someone who would throw away the lives of his friends and people just to get revenge on the one who had wronged him.

He was, in actuality, repeating the very same mistake that Sasuke had made. He was ready to give up anything in order to avenge himself against the person who had wronged him.

And, in doing so, was becoming that person himself.

Are all geniuses this stupid? He thought fiercely, gritting his teeth as he walked.

Did they honestly believe that they could do everything themselves?

Mekkatorque, from what Linkizzle had described, had been a good person. He had been someone that always had looked on the bright side of life, someone who took pride in his achievements, and did his best to improve himself in order to help both his friends and his people. He had been exactly like Naruto in personality, albeit smarter and wiser.

So how had he fallen this far?

Naruto himself had been furious at the Uchiha prodigy for leaving the village, for leaving his team, but most of all for making Sakura sad. He had fought with all his strength to try and bring the Sharingan wielder back, and he had failed.

But had he turned his back on his friends?

Had he become exactly what Sasuke was, an angst-filled, ice cube bishounen?

No.

He had accepted that fact that he had friends, people who were willing to help him in his quest to return Sasuke to the village, and had begun to focus all his time into getting stronger, strong enough to help Sasuke out of the darkness. But he was just a dead-last, attention-seeking, loudmouthed brat, not an intelligent, powerful, and just king, who had years more experience than the blonde.

So how, if this was all true, had Mekkatorque become what he was today?

The blonde had no idea, and the more he dwelled on it, the more he realized that he would have to step up his efforts. He had come here to get the Gnome King's alliance against the Scourge, he had made a promise to both Kira and Magni that he would return Mekkatorque to his old self, and that he would help the Gnomes get back their kingdom.

But how?

Furnizzle's brothers and Furnizzle himself had told Naruto that essentially, Gnomeregan was impenetrable. According to Linkizzle, Mekkatorque had already tried several attempts in entering the most direct way, through the front entrance. However, apparently, Thermaplugg had not only installed a new security system in the upper levels, but had changed the configuration codes (whatever those were) that allowed a person to get into the city. This had led to numerous Gnomes being slaughtered, and a full retreat, with no progress made.

They had later tried explosives near an unguarded wall, but that had ended in disaster when they had punched a hole in the exhaust system, dousing the blasting team in toxic waste and killing many. The hole had been repaired in almost a day's time by Thermaplugg's forces on the inside. They had abandoned that idea.

It seemed to Naruto that no matter how much they tried, the new ruler of Gnomeregan would almost always be able to counter a tactic that Mekkatorque had designed. He was constantly evolving his strategies, and at the same time making Gnomeregan more and more impervious to harm.

How do you break into something like that?

Naruto had long walked out of the camp, and was making his way across the snowfield in front of a monstrous mountain, equally as large as the one that housed Ironforge. A massive door had been set in the front of it, and even though the snow obscured his vision somewhat, he could see two large metal tubes that resembled rifles mounted on the either side of the door, with two large beams of unnatural red light shooting from just above the tips. They swept along the ground in front of the door, as if looking for something, but did nothing else. Naruto guessed they were the new security system that Linkizzle and Rurizzle had mentioned.

He also saw large holes in the ground littering the field, all covered with metal grates. The holes were constantly spewing a noxious green smoke, which smelled so bad that Naruto had to gag and distance himself as far as possible from them. Against the white haze that was descending from the sky, the poisonous green clouds stood out even more, mixing in with the blank white of the sky, making the area right above them darken as the clouds absorbed the toxic chemicals that were present in the smoke. Naruto shuddered slightly.

How did those troggs survive being doused in the stuff that makes that? They should've died!

THEY ARE NOT WEAK HUMANS, SUCH AS YOU.

Bite me, fox.

GLADLY.

Naruto was about to retort, when a thought struck him.

No way…it couldn't be that easy.

The small, dwindling spark of hope that he had been fostering in his chest, the feeling that he always relied on in the direst of situations, burned bright.

Linkizzle had never said anything about it, right?

But surely they must of tried it…at least once?

Ockham's Razor.

Naruto grinned.

He had a plan.

Mekkatorque was interrupted from his work when a loud banging echoed in his ears, causing him to nearly drop the beaker he was holding. He glared at the gnome who was standing by the door, who was looking perplexed, and a bit frightened. He was about to inform the gnome on the importance of being quiet in a delicate environment such as this, when a familiar voice filled his ears.

"Oi! You stupid old gnome! Get out here and talk to me!" Mekkatorque gritted his teeth, stiffening as Naruto's loud voice filled his ears.

These walls are supposed to be soundproof… He thought, irritated. He glared at the other gnome, his eyes showing his anger, which prompted the gnome to exit, likely to find the source and shut it up.

The shouting stopped for a few seconds, then a loud clang, followed by more of the blonde's shouting caused Mekkatorque to lose his last straw.

Hopping off the chair, he crossed the room as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him, throwing open the door and making his way through the now nearly empty tinkering room to the door which led outside.

The sight that greeted him was both surprising and infuriating.

The annoying blonde stood, surrounded by several unconscious gnomes, and even more conscious ones, all holding weapons at the ready. The blonde human had a fierce, almost vulpine grin on his face, and had his arms crossed across his chest. He stood straight, and when he sighted Mekkatorque, his grin widened.

"So the shrimpy bastard finally shows up! I gotta' bone to pick with you!" Mekkatorque looked at the prostrate gnomes littering the ground all around the blonde, and ground out from behind clenched teeth,

"What are you still doing here? I though I made it clear that you were not needed, nor wanted. If you do not leave in the next few minutes I will-"

"Bite me, shorty." The gnomes surrounding them gasped in shock, and Mekkatorque's ire rose a few notches. Grey eyes behind green goggles flashed with anger, and Mekkatorque very nearly drew his sword.

Naruto, smirking at the reaction, continued.

"I'm not leaving. I can't leave. I'm going to stay here until I can pound it into your thick, overly large head that you need help, whether you like it or not. I made a promise, to not one, but two people that I would get your help for this plan, and I never break promises, okay? 'Sides, I have an idea, and considering that you guys are supposedly the smartest creatures in this world, and the fact that you haven't yet thought of it must mean that that title is kinda…well…wrong."

Other gnomes were looking angry with this, but most just stayed quiet, watching their king closely. A mixture of emotions crossed Mekkatorque's face, finally settling on annoyance.

"You really are a child. That plan won't work, no matter how hard you try; it will fail in the end. It is a child's dream, or the dream of a fool. Now leave, child, you are not wanted, and your presence is a nuisance and tries what little patience I have."

The boy, surprisingly, didn't get angry. Instead he simply shook his head, still grinning and said.

"Sorry, not gonna happen. I'm giving you help whether you like it or not." Mekkatorque's annoyance vanished, and that void was immediately filled with anger.

"WHAT CAN YOU DO? You are a child, you have no experience in the ways of war, and you have no business in this affair! This is my fight! Not yours! Not Magni's! Not Princess Kira's or King Anduin's, but mine! Leave this place and DO NOT RETURN!"

Naruto's smile evaporated so quickly it was as if the blonde had never worn it, and his face had always been as stone cold as it was at that moment.

He clenched his fists, and spoke in a deadly soft whisper that everyone present could hear.

"Your fight…? Then where do you get off…. throwing away the lives of your people…huh?"

Mekkatorque froze.

Every gnome present stopped.

Even the falling snow seemed to recede, as if shocked by Naruto's statement.

Mekkatorque was at a loss for words, his mind grinding to a stop at the blonde's words. He tried in vain to come up with something to say, but couldn't. His brain seemed to have shut off its control of his mouth, which was hanging limply open, and for the life of him, he couldn't find a word, a syllable, even a letter to say.

Naruto continued, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"You have the gall to say this is only your fight? You think that even after all the help your people have given you, that his is still just your fight? You think that after all the worrying and help that Magni-shuju has been offering to send, after all you two have been through, that this is only your fight? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? You have NO RIGHT to say that it is just your fight, when your people have been dying for you, trying not only to get back their homes, but to help you get back your honor, help you get back to the kind ruler that you were before! If you are a true leader, you shouldn't be calling this your fight, but theirs! They lost their homes, loved ones, their whole lives. This isn't your fight, IT'S THEIRS!"

At this final word, which echoed across the silent valley, Naruto finished, breathing heavily, his one blue eyes no slightly crimson as a testament to the anger that coursed through his body.

Mekkatorque stood silently, the boy's words piercing his through the haze of images and feelings that had become his mind after years of tirelessly working to avenge himself and to retake the city. That entire time, he had never thought anything else but that this was his fight, his war, and his goal. The blonde's words stirred the spirit of the old Mekkatorque, salvaging it from the deepest recesses of his mind, and the Gnome king realized that he had been wrong.

Just like that.

He was wrong.

It wasn't his fight, it wasn't his war, and it wasn't his goal.

It was theirs.

It was his peoples.

And then, all at once, the emotions that he had long held in check, the anger, the sadness, the guilt, burst forth from him like raging waters shattering the dam that held them back. He crumpled to the ground, eyes wide, and several of gnomes quickly came forward to help him.

He choked back a sob, his eyes gleaming with tears begging to be shed.

What have I done?

In his efforts to make Thermaplugg pay, and to gain back what was his, he had made his people suffer. He had thrown away their lives in the foolhardy attempts to gain access to the city, and had never given it a second thought.

He was a monster.

He was no better than Thermaplugg.

Naruto's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Are you that weak, old man?" Mekkatorque looked up, and met the gaze of the blonde shinobi. Ice blue eyes bored into his own, as their owner spoke once more.

"Get up. You're a king, a protector. You're not supposed to be weak in front of your people. Get up. You're strong. I know you are, 'cause neither Kira-chan nor Magni-shuju would put their trust in a weak guy."

Mekkatorque stared at the boy for a second, before he did just as the boy had ordered him to.

He got up.

He took off his goggles, wiping away the tears unshed within, before replacing them.

He spoke.

"What is your idea…child?" Naruto grinned, looking over his shoulder back at the mountain that housed Gnomeregan.

"It's easy. The walls can't be penetrated right? So why not take a page outta the troggs' book. Why not go underneath, and attack from below?"

"This is the original schematic for the digging machines, called the DiGMaster 300x, that we used to tunnel into the Troggs' domain. It is one of the few that were taken during the flight from the city. I must admit, that I didn't even think to look in this pile, as it contains things that I thought would merely be useful in the city itself, once it was retaken."

Mekkatorque, Naruto, and several other gnomish scientists were all huddled about a worktable, pouring over a large scroll, which contained a well-drawn depiction of a digging machine that resembled something like a Dwarvish tank, only with a large drill on the front, and no cannon. The drawing had many arrows pointing to certain parts, labeling them in a curly script that must have been Gnomish. It also had several other views of the machine, even ones without certain parts shown, to show what was on the inside. It still didn't make much sense to Naruto, but he nodded as Mekkatorque spoke. The gnome was looking determined, no longer hiding behind the emotionless mask that he had when Naruto had first met him. Looks like his little speech had worked.

"As for your plan. I believe it can work. There are no security systems, or at least there shouldn't be in the lower levels as the troggs no doubt still occupy it."

"How do you know?" Naruto asked.

"We can hear them, from the grates which filter out the toxic gas, they're bloody loud, if you ask me." Responded a scientist to Naruto's immediate right, whose name he didn't know.

"Correct. It seems that Sicco has yet to clear them completely from the city, which means that he is fighting a constant battle as we are. He will likely have no way of knowing what is going on down there, which means it's the perfect way to enter. But there are some problems, of course.

"First, we need to build the DiGMaster 300x. This shouldn't take more than a few days, as we have plenty of help, and many extra parts in storage. Then, we would have to select a place to dig, and calculate how far down we should dig, and where it would lead. Sicco has likely changed much in the upper parts, but the lower, trogg inhabited part will not have changed, which means we can use the maps for Gnomeregan in order to help us. Next, we must find a way that will allow us to enter the radioactive area. We have several materials that protect us from harm against radiation, but we need to create suits in order to protect ourselves. This will also take a few days. Finally, we must plan out how we are going to retake the city without killing all of my warriors."

He looked around at the group of gnomes and one human, his eyes questioning each one for an idea.

Finally one spoke, a small, green-haired gnome to a few spaces to Naruto's left.

"That is a difficult problem, my liege. The troggs have superior numbers, and their brutality is legendary."

Another nodded, saying.

"I agree, it would seem that in order for this to work, we would first have to retake control of the city, and deal with the troggs after."

Yet another shook her head, calmly gazing back at the two males.

"That's not possible. The sheer number of troggs that one would have to go through would be immense. We would likely lose more than half of our force, and then we would have to deal with the betrayers within, the ones that Thermaplugg kept around in because they could endure the disfiguring effects of the radiation. It would be impossible."

Naruto spoke up at this point, saying confidently,

"You shouldn't count your chickens, gnome-san. There are plenty of ways to get up to the upper levels, and who says we have fight our way up there? While that's usually my preferred way, we could probably, with a small force, get up there and face this Thermaplugg bastard by himself. The rest I guess could find a way to take out all of the troggs in one sitting."

The other gnomes looked thoughtful for a second, while Mekkatorque spoke up.

"Yet another good idea. In order to gain control of the upper levels, we would need to gain control of the Central Control Room, which has essentially access to the up and running parts of the city. The betrayers, as you called them, Frizelda, I don't believe are loyal to Thermaplugg. I believe, for the most part, that they remain with him because he can help them prolong their lives. He will not completely cure them, simply treat them in order to keep them around long enough for them to do his dirty work. We could possibly avoid them; even gain their help if my theories are correct.

"As for your ideas of destroying the troggs in one sitting, that may prove to be far more difficult. We could close off the entrance to their underground lair with explosives, but we do not have enough to completely destroy the lower parts of Gnomeregan. We don't even have enough raw materials to make enough, which means we must find another way to do it…"

A gnome with white hair, and a single monocle spoke up in the back, sounding excited.

"My liege, we do have…that thing…if we spent the next few days focusing all of our research on it, then we may be able to perfect it in order to use against the troggs…" Mekkatorque's eyes widened as well, and the gnome thought for a few seconds, before responding quickly.

"That…may work. It is nearly complete, so if we all worked on it, we may be able to finish it…"

Naruto frowned, looking between the two gnomes, slightly confused. He wasn't the only one; several of the other gnomes were frowning as well, looking to their king for clarification. Mekkatorque saw the looks and said.

"Myself and several others have been working on a special item which we have designed specifically using the data we have collected on troggs. It is a poison, air-born, that reacts specifically to trogg DNA and attacks its unique biochemistry, swiftly killing it. If anyone other than a trogg inhales this than it will not react with them, and they will be unharmed. We have done some tests, but we haven't yet perfected it. We are close, so if we take the time to focus on it completely in the next few days, while the DiGMaster 300x is being built and the suits are being created, then we might have a chance.

"Well then, here is what we will do. I want a portion of you," he pointed to the black-haired gnome who had first spoken and two others next to him, "to lead the construction of the DiGMaster 300x, taking as many skilled workers as possible. Another," he pointed to the girl gnome and another male next to her, "I want you to head the creation of the suits that will keep us alive in their. Make extra, perhaps two or three dozen. And finally, I want you," He pointed to the white-haired gnome across from him, "to help me in developing the trogg exterminator."

Naruto frowned.

"What about me?"

Mekkatorque looked at Naruto, appraising him slightly, then said.

"You will wait." Naruto stared at him, stunned.

"What! I said I was gonna help so-" Mekkatorque cut him off with a glare and said calmly.

"I am not saying that you are not useful, but you possess nothing of the technical knowledge that is needed to help out in these endeavors. You will wait for the next few days, you will watch, and you will learn something, child. You can help, as considering that you were able to defeat several of my guardsmen, you will be coming along with me and my group." Naruto blinked, before nodding, still slightly annoyed. He hated being useless.

Mekkatorque turned once more to the entire group, saying calmly,

"We must make this work, I finally believe that my wits have returned to me, so we must make this time count. I will not allow any more of my people to die for my revenge. They will live, live to see their home retaken." The other gnomes and Naruto nodded, all grinning.

Mekkatorque gave them all a half smile, something that hadn't appeared on his face in years.

"Then let's get started, shall we?"

For the next few days, the entire camp went into a sort of hyper-drive. Gnome who had previously spent their times standing outside the Research Tent, or practicing in the woods, were now scuttling to and fro, carrying a tool here, taking a part there, and doing whatever they could to be useful.

On the first day, when Mekkatorque announced the plan, the entire camp had cheered, realizing that their king was gradually becoming himself once more. They knew that Naruto had had something to do with it, most having been present at Naruto's cursing out of the High Tinker, and were all deeply thankful. No longer did they stare at him distrustfully, but greeted him with warm smiles or a nod of acknowledgement. He was treated respectfully and people seemed to enjoy his company now that he wasn't on the bad side of their king. Linkizzle and Rurizzle were completely amazed that Naruto had managed to do something that they had been wishing would happen for years. Naruto had given them back their king, and a renewed sense of hope and fervor had swept through the ranks of the gnomes.

Immediately following the High Tinker's proposition, the camp had moved to complete their king's orders, gathering the necessary materials for the digging machine, and cutting the material for the protection suits. Mekkatorque and a group of his best scientists holed themselves up in the Research Lab, and hadn't been seen since.

For Naruto, the first day was spent watching the gnomes scuttle about gathering materials and taking stock of what they had. He watched them, near noon; begin to put together the machine that would allow them to enter the city. It started out with them taking large sheets of metal, welding them together to form a box shape. Next, they began to put together what would become wheels, first by cutting out large circular metal pieces and covering them in a rubber-like material. On the main body, they built two sidepieces in order to house and protect the wheels. As a portion of them worked on that, another began the length process of forging a drill that was strong enough to punch through dozens of meters of dirt and rock and finally the metallic walls of Gnomeregan proper. First they began to build a mold for the drill, taking a massive boulder they had found in the woods and painstakingly transporting it from its resting position to the camp. After that had been done, they began to cut away and shape it, using strange tools that sliced away rock as if they were slicing warm butter. When it was a rectangular shape, they cut it in half and began to cut out the insides, taking extreme measures to make sure both sides were identical. At the same time they began building a network of ropes and pulleys, which Linkizzle explained was a crane that would allow them heft the liquid metal that they had been melting since they started and pour it into the mold.

Naruto watched in awe on the third day of work as the gnomes finished carving out the mold, as Linkizzle explained to his left.

"Now that they've finished both the mold and the crane, and the metal is ready, they'll pour it out into the mold, careful to keep it warm as not to cause the metal to become brittle, and will let it slowly cool in the snow, before removing the sides of the mold and polishing and finishing up the drill itself. The metal they're using is a variant of iron called Dark Iron, something that the dwarves rarely find and was given to us by Magni himself. It is much stronger than iron, and will serve as a drill splendidly."

Meanwhile, another handful began putting the engine of the drilling machine together. Apparently it ran off coal, and they began to make a furnace within the small confines of the metal box they had started earlier. They constructed the rest of the main body around it as they went, adding a mechanism that allowed the back to rise and fall as needed, allowing the drill that would be mounted on it to adjust the course of its digging. By the time the sixth day had passed, the main body was finished, and they had begun to mount the drill on the main body, while they polished up the rest of the DiGMaster 300x. The end result was a tank-sized machine with a massive drill on the front, a small chair on top, and a hatch in the back for a gnome or two to enter in order to feed and stoke the engines. On the eighth day, the DiGMaster 300x was fully operational, and ready to drill.

During the construction of the digging machine, Naruto also observed another group of gnomes cutting and melting together the airtight suits that would shield their bodies from the radioactive wastes within. Naruto hadn't understood what exactly radiation was, and after a lengthy and rather confusing explanation from Rurizzle, he had a better idea of what it was, and why they had to protect against it. Naruto even saw a group of gnomes making a larger suit, just for him. What made Naruto really interested, however, was that all the suits were probably the best color that anything could have possible have been.

Orange.

Lovely orange.

They were almost the exact shade of orange as Naruto's old jacket (which he still missed greatly) and were slightly reminiscent of the body suits that both Lee and Gai wore. But orange.

Even he'd wear clothes like the Green Beast of Konoha's if they were orange.

Finally, in the dark, temperature controlled laboratory in the King's Research lab, Naruto witnessed a smaller group of scientists, Mekkatorque included, run over notes, mix chemicals, and squirt small drops of a purplish liquid on the small bits of graying flesh, which turned out to be trogg flesh.

At one point, Naruto asked Linkizzle why Mekkatorque wasn't outside working with the others on the machine, because he was High Tinker, after all.

"The High Tinker doesn't have to be all engineer, Naruto. In fact, Mekkatorque's inventions mostly involved the use of some sort of chemical. He is a brilliant scientist and alchemist, and though engineering is his primary trade, he is one of the best scientists that we have. There are plenty of engineers out there who can help create the machine, and we have a limited number of scientists. They need all the help they can get.

Unlike the other trades, this wasn't even the slightest bit entertaining, and Naruto found it hard to keep his eyes open.

At some points he would walk in on the War Room, which he had stayed in when he had first arrived, and watched another small group of gnomes work over the calculations in order to dig directly into the great city of the Gnomes. This was just as boring, so Naruto spent little time watching that.

During these days he gradually shifted between watching the three different projects. He spent most of the time observing, learning, and occasionally napping. He spent all other times training fiercely in the woods with his kodachi, practicing everything he could, and even inventing a few techniques to use with the sword.

By the eighth day, everything but the chemical had been created. Many of the gnomes waited anxiously outside of the research lab, while Naruto, Linkizzle and Rurizzle watched the processed happening on the inside. By this time, the scientists were working fervently, almost never staying in one spot for more than a few seconds. Chemicals were mixed, notes were jotted down, and bits of gray flesh were dropped into a variety of colored liquids.

Finally, a day later, Mekkatorque heaved a great sigh, causing Naruto to jump up in surprise.

"What is it? Something wrong?" The other scientists exchanged looks before turning to their king. Mekkatorque smiled a little once more, and held bottled vial of purplish-red liquid up for inspection.

"I give you…TrogAway."

It was the dawn of the tenth day that saw a small group of gnomes and one human in the forest, east of the valley which housed the Gnomish camp, and at the foot of a large hill, the very same one that Naruto had first caught the scent of the camp. The digging machine was facing the mountain, the gnome known as Knurlig on top, driving, with two others, name Thirdink and Murgrezzle stoking the fire beneath. It was belching smoke and the hum of life within signified it was ready to go. Mekkatorque nodded approvingly at the machine.

"It is perfect. By our estimates, it will take several hours of digging before we can get close to the chamber that we are planning to enter. When we first puncture the side, the small group consisting of myself, Naruto, Linkizzle, Rurizzle, Renikle, Quidneer, and the rest will enter and make our way, as quickly and as quietly as possibly out of the lower levels. It will be difficult, no doubt, and it is doubtful that we will be able to bypass the troggs without using hostile force. But we must be a careful as possible, and not dawdle. Once we reach the cleaner areas, we will split up. Group A, myself, Naruto, Linkizzle, Rurizzle and Renikle will make our way up to the control room, to deal with Sicco himself. Quidneer and the rest, which will also contain a clone of Naruto, allowing him to be able to offer his assistance to both groups, will make their way towards the central venting system, closing off the vents that drain the toxic smoke outside, and opening up the vents that send clean air into the lower levels, adding the TrogAway to it, and hopefully annihilating the whole lot. There is always a chance that his will not work, but we cannot give up now."

The group saluted the Gnome King, causing him to give another smile, and turn back to Knurlig.

"Fire it up, Knurlig! Let's show them what we can do!" Grinning, the gnome flipped on a switch, and the DiGMaster 300x roared to life. The drill began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster until the drill was a whirling, solid-looking cone that glinted slightly in the light. It started forward, and in the space of a few seconds, struck the mountain, boring straight through. Dirt and rock flew everywhere as the machine bored into the side of the mountain swiftly, before the back lifted itself up, directing the drill at a more downwards angle. Gnomes flooded from either side, following the progress of the drill as it quickly bored through the rock soil. They began immediately to build supports onto the tunnel walls and ceilings, so that a cave-in didn't occur, and their progress was completely ruined.

They worked like this for hours.

When the sun had finally set, the digging sounds far beneath the earth ground to a stop. Minutes later, a small group of gnomes, all covered in dirt and grime climbed out of the tunnel, Knurlig, Thirdink and Murgrezzle last. Knurlig saluted the King.

"It's done my liege. We have but a few feet of dirt, and then we will meet the wall." Mekkatorque nodded, and turned towards the infiltration group.

"This is our chance. Our chance to get our home back. I promise, from the very bottom of my heart, that I will not fail you in this. I will not fail as I have failed for the last few years. We will take back our city; we will take back our homes. And we will not fail."

Every gnome present bowed deeply to the High Tinker of Gnomeregan, while the one human grinned fiercely.

Now that's a leader, old man, looks like they were right about you, huh?

Another chapter, sorry about it not being as long as the last one. I'll try to update in the next two or so days, but I have SAT's coming up, so I have to try and study for those too.

I've noticed that I have absolutely no patience in writing periods that don't involve fighting or merrymaking. I realize that this would probably be better as a manga than as a story, due to the fact that I seem to rush through things. This will be a very long fic, but please don't get turned off by the seemingly rushed and manga-esque attitude.

Some reviewer answers:

PersonaJXT- I made it come from his mouth because that seems more Naruto-esque, and hey, if Superman can do it, why can't Naruto? Summoning spells will be revealed soon.

Slimeman- Thanks for the advice, I will try not to rush, but I seem to have a habit of doing it anyways. Naruto doesn't use Kuchiyose no jutsu that often in the manga, when compared to Rasengan, but he will use it eventually.

Druss the Legend- Naruto will get summoning contracts, but you will have to wait and see for what (Sorry to keep you all in suspense).

Ranma hibiki- Don't judge him so harshly just yet…there is still much to be revealed in that area.

The Forgotten Lord- Thrall will play a very big part in this fic, but later.

Well, that should be everything, until next time.

General Grievous.

Next time, The Assault on Gnomeregan!

Armory:

Radiation Protection Suit- Made of a special material which protects its wearer from the harmful energies of radiation.