Disclaimer: "You know what super-power I would like?"
"Nope"
"The ability to shoot the fact that I don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft from my fingers!"
"Fuck that's lame!"
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
Speech" Orcish
"Speech"Human
"Oi, human, wake up!"
"Hmm? Wha's goin' on?" mumbled Naruto, jerking out of a rather pleasant dream involving himself and lots of ramen. The blonde blinked the sleep from his eyes as he took note of the small, green creature to his right glaring at him. The goblin's face was split by a condescending sneer, something Naruto was familiar with, and he was tapping his foot impatiently.
"I said wake up! We've almost arrived, and if you don't get up soon, we'll dump you off with the rest of the garbage!" the goblin snapped. It was clear that despite the rather large sum of money that they had weaseled out of Naruto, they weren't very tolerant of his presence aboard the zeppelin.
Naruto shook the last vestiges of sleep from his head, and stood up, stretching. A few of the goblins gave mock catcalls, which caused Naruto to bristle with annoyance.
Geez, I hope this is the last time I meet these dumbasses, the blonde thought irritably. He shot an annoyed look at the goblin, who was still tapping his foot and glaring. The goblin gave him another sneer, before turning and walking towards the stern of the zeppelin. Naruto followed, and when they reached the back, where a goblin dressed in incredibly outlandish clothes, heavily embroidered purple tunic, cape, pants and hat, was attending to the helm, and looking off into the horizon. He shot a look in Naruto's direction as they boy reached the helm.
"We're almost there, you'll be able to see it in a few minutes, human," he said, sneering slightly. Naruto ignored the look and looked forwards, into the rising sun.
It had taken the zeppelin nearly a day to cross the Great Sea, and during that time Naruto hadn't done much other than slept and admired the view. He hadn't trained, as he hadn't thought that the goblins would have appreciated him interrupting their work, and he didn't want to give them more of a reason to hate him.
The view, however, had been amazing. Naruto hadn't been near any great bodies of water, other than the coastline in the Wave Country. But because of the layer of mist that had obscured the horizon, he hadn't gotten a great view then. Now however, as he flew high above the seemingly endless fields of blue, he was able to properly appreciate its sheer size and awesomeness.
It was simply amazing.
The fact that he was flying further enhanced his feelings of elation, and though it was different than flying atop a gryphon, it was still one of the best feelings Naruto had ever had.
Even if it was being controlled by a bunch of greedy little snots whose attitudes resembled Sasuke's on a good day.
As he looked across the deck into the morning sun, he spotted a dark splotch beneath it. He placed a hand on his forehead to shield his eyes from the blazing sun, and tried to get a better view of the dark splotch, which was quickly becoming an even larger one. As the zeppelin moved closer, Naruto got his first glimpse of the great continent of Kalimdor.
From what Kira had said, Kalimdor was home to no human populations. The only permanent settlement, Theramore, had been destroyed some years back, and thusly it was home to completely non-human species. It was characterized by the many grasslands and deserts it had, with few forests and many mountains. That wasn't to say it was all desert and grasslands, as there was a particularly large forest to the North, called Ashenvale, where a contingent of Night Elves lived. While most of the elves had retreated to Teldrassil, a small portion remained in Ashenvale, watching over it so that the other races didn't wipe it off the face of the earth.But it was the startling fact that Naruto was going to an entirely different continent that really thrilled him. As far as he new, there were very few shinobi who had ever left the Elemental Countries, and thusly it wasn't widely speculated that there were other continents out in the world.
The idea that he was about to land on an entirely different continent appealed to Naruto's love of adventure, and couldn't help but be slightly excited over the fact that he would be setting foot on a place that very few humans had, as well as a place where he would be the first shinobi to set foot on.
When land was completely in sight, the goblin helmsman shot another scathing look at Naruto.
"We will drop you off near the shore. You will not be getting off at the tower, as there will doubtlessly be Orcs there to barter for our goods. Orgrimmar is about a mile and a half from the shore, just head in the exact opposite direction of the sea, that's easy for you, right human?" the goblin said, taking great delight at Naruto's reaction to the insult. Naruto just bristled, having gotten slightly used to the goblins' annoying personalities.
He was so glad that he didn't have to hang out with these little snots for longer than he had to.
When they came even closer to the shoreline, the helmsman shouted out something in another language, and seconds later the zeppelin began to descend at a rapid rate. Naruto molded some chakra into his feet to keep himself from falling on his behind. He was suddenly glad he had done so, as the goblins had no apparent reaction to the sudden change in direction.
The rapid descent was halted suddenly, and Naruto once again had to keep his balance. A pair of goblins carrying a length of rope walked towards the entrance to the basket and after securing the rope on the side, opened the gate and tossed the rope out. The helmsman then turned to Naruto.
"Well, human, here we are. You're getting out that way," he said, pointing to the aforementioned rope. Naruto nodded, and though he was a little sad that he'd have to get off the wondrous machine, he was even gladder that he'd be getting away from the snide little goblins that ran it.
He walked towards the entrance, and instead of simply grabbing the rope and sliding down, he jumped. The fall wasn't far, merely twenty or so feet, and with his shinobi leg strength, it wasn't bad. He landed softly on the reddish, coarse sand below, and then looked back up at the zeppelin.
But they had already pulled up the rope and had begun to rise once more.
Naruto sweat-dropped.
Bastards…After dusting himself off, and checking that he had everything that he had boarded with (gold not included), he looked around, his deep blue eyes taking in everything that they could of this new land.
The entire area was filled with outcroppings of rock, sometimes large pillars of the stuff, when in other cases it was large boulders or flat sheet rock. All the rock was the same reddish color as the sand beneath him, and aside from a few shrubs, there was no signs of life. He took a large whiff of the air, noting that the salty smell of the sea was mixed in with a dustier, burnt smell, which he guessed was the land before him. Accompanying these smells, there were others, some familiar, others not so. There were a few musky, animal smells, and even stranger, smells that reminded Naruto of what bugs usually smelt like.
Except a whole lot bigger.
To his right there was a massive wall of red rock, with many jagged outcroppings. What was mystifying was that the outcroppings appeared somewhat…manufactured. Some of them were far too sharp for it to be totally natural, and others far too straight. Another smell, one he had not smelt before, emanated from that direction as well.
Letting his eyes drift a little longer, Naruto then started up the red sand beach, towards the more rugged and stony ground that made up the majority of the area. The goblin had said that Orgrimmar, or the entrance at least was about a mile and a half from his current position.
What he planned to do there, however, what still up in the air, as far as he was concerned.
He walked a slow pace, with no trees to hop from, and the fact that the sun was beating down on him with an intensity that rivaled Gai's speech about the "Springtime of Youth"; he didn't want to overexert himself. He kept his eyes open, however, in case he saw something that posed a threat.
It didn't take long for that something to appear, either. After several minutes of walking, Naruto was alerted to a strange clicking sound. The sound was accompanied by an insectine smell, which got steadily stronger and the sound steadily louder as Naruto walked. He encountered the creature that both the sound a smell belonged to mere seconds later, as he leapt on top of a large rock that was impeding his path.
He nearly fell over when he saw it, too, as it scuttled along the ground in front of the rock he was on. It was huge, probably the size of a dog, maybe bigger. It was covered in an armor-like shell, and had eight, spindly, jointed legs that stuck out from the sides of its elongated body. Springing forth from its front where two large pincers; behind it a large, upwards curving tail sprouted, the end of which had a wicked looking, curved point that reeked of poison.
It was a scorpion.
A very large one, at that.
The creature appeared not to have noticed him, and continued scuttling slowly along, not doing apparently anything. He screwed his face up in disgust at the sight of the monstrous scorpion, but couldn't help but think that Shino would have loved seeing it. He then shrugged, and leapt off the boulder, over the scorpion, and continued on his way. As much as he wanted to try his skills out against the creature, he needed to be somewhere else.
He walked for what seemed to be hours as the sun rained its extreme heat and unhealthy ultraviolet rays upon his body, before he finally got a hint of civilization. The smell of cooking and cleaning wafted across his nose, along with another smell that Naruto had smelt just before, coming from the jagged wall that still existed on his right. He then spotted something in the distance, something familiar.
The zeppelin.
Though the distortion caused by the heat and sun had prevented Naruto from seeing it until now, it was amazing that he had missed it at all. A huge tower, similar to the one he had seen in Dun Morogh, had been constructed not far away from the rock wall, and the zeppelin that he had come on was floating right next to the tower. He could smell and hear the sounds of the goblins unloading whatever cargo they had brought along with him.
He sped up, and when the tower was completely in his view, no longer obscured by the wavy heat, he watched the top from behind a boulder, trying to spot whatever the goblins where conversing with. A few minutes passed, and when nothing came Naruto almost started moving again, until a few grunts froze him in his tracks.
From the entrance, which Naruto couldn't see as it was on the other side of the tower, a group of easily some of the strangest creatures Naruto had ever seen in his life came.
They were huge, nearly seven feet tall, most likely more, and were the color of Naruto's least favorite things in the world, vegetables. They were all varying shades of the green as well, ranging from a light, yellowish green, to a dark, emerald. Each one the creatures had dark hair that had been braided in some way, and from what he could see of their faces, most of them had beards as well. All of them bulged with huge muscles, not the muscles that a ninja possessed, but that of a brawler's, strong and wild.
Their faces were hard and worn looking, the leathery green skin that covered them stretched taught over bulging facial muscles. They all had strong jaws, and their lips were parted slightly, most likely caused by the tusk-like protrusions that sprang from their bottom jaws.
Naruto knew at once what these creatures were.
Orcs…He didn't dare go any closer yet, so he simply sat and watched the group as they moved away from the tower, lugging heavy crates with strange markings that Naruto guessed was either Goblish or Orcish. It was all Greek to him anyways. He was slightly in awe of their strength, as they were lifting the huge crates with apparent ease, and talking (or grunting) in audible tones to each other as they did. When they had moved away from the tower, Naruto crept from his hiding spot and followed quickly. He ducked behind rocks every now and then, crouching low both when he was trying to hide, and when he was moving. Stealth wasn't his strong point, but, being a ninja, he wasn't totally bereft in that area.
He followed them for a few minutes before he caught sight of where they were headed.
And once again, he couldn't help but gawk.
A massive gate had been built into the equally massive rock wall. Rather than being the same color as the wall, it as a white stone with crude wooden supports built into it. On both sides were two large, wooden guard towers, with small slits along the top. They were crude looking, and possessed none of the detailed skill that the towers in Stormwind or Ironforge had. Situated directly between the two towers was a large, closed gate, also made of wood. In front of the whole structure was a road, which led off into the distance away from the entrance, towards a canyon that Naruto could just see in the distance. On either side of the road large, tusk-like structures had been driven into the earth, forming crude boundaries. The whole structure had a strange feel to it; a primordial, primitive feeling that stirred something within the deepest depths of Naruto's mind. It was, in a word, fantastic.
And that was just the entrance.
Naruto was distracted from his slight awe when one of the orcs moved forwards, grunting something to the two orcs that Naruto couldn't understand. He suddenly grew a little nervous. Mekkatorque had mentioned that the orcs spoke a different language, but he hadn't remembered that until now.
Shit… how am I going to talk to them if they can't understand me?IT YOU HAD BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, BRAT, THE LITTLE MORSEL DID MENTION THAT THEIR LEADER SPOKE OUR LANGUAGE. FIND HIM FIRST.
Oh yeah…Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Naruto crept a little closer, hiding behind a large boulder that sat nearest to the road. He watched the orcs converse, before one of the ones behind the gate pulled a lever, and the gate began to rise up. Naruto realized that if he didn't get in at this point, he probably wouldn't get another chance. He stood up straight, and formed a seal, muttering under his breath,
"Henge no jutsu." In a puff of smoke and slight popping sound, Naruto was suddenly an orc. He was one of the darker colored ones, with dark red hair that had been braided into a topknot. He wore leather pants and a leather jerkin, with black leather boots. It was slightly awkward, and it took Naruto a few seconds to adjust himself to the new body structure.
By this time, the gate had fully opened, and the orcs were passing through steadily, hauling the huge grates with them. Naruto quickly sprang from behind the boulder and jogged towards the entrance, moving as fast as he could without appearing threatening. He slowed down when he neared the gate, and gave what he hoped to be a friendly grin to the guards.
One of them raised an eyebrow, and muttered something to his partner. Naruto had no idea what he said, but from the expression the other one was sporting, one of barely contained laughter, Naruto guessed it was a joke at his expense. He grinned good-naturedly again, and moved past them. They didn't attempt to stop him at all, which relieved Naruto slightly. As soon as he had passed the gate, one of the guards pulled the lever back, lowering the gate behind the transformed blonde.
The hallway that Naruto had entered carried the same primordial and primitive feel that the outside did. The ceiling was supported by a series of buttresses and the walls were adorned with ornate carvings of different sorts. Torches burned bright from their positions on the walls, alighting the carvings and casting shadows upon the dimly lit ground.
He followed the hallway, turning several times, before he spotted the exit. He emerged from the darkened hallway, and this time, his breath caught in his throat, and he was struck dumb.
Every place he had visited so far had possessed its own beauty. Stormwind had a majestic beauty, with its white stone streets and walls, and the large castle in the middle. Ironforge had possessed a more crafted beauty, like that of a stone statue that a master carver had just finished. Even Gnomeregan, despite the toxic waste filled air and numerous bloodthirsty troggs had possessed a cryptic beauty, one that boggled the mind and appealed to a person's imagination.
But Orgrimmar was simply amazing.
From his position at the entrance, Naruto could see almost the entire city. It dipped downwards into a valley, where a sea of houses, dotted with several large towers and other structures had been built. The road diverged almost immediately, splitting off into many smaller sections that weaved between the houses and shops. To his right a set of winding paths had been built into the wall, and more houses had been built above him, into the huge red stone that protected the city.
But that was just the beginning. He saw smoke rising from multiple houses where orcs where likely cooking meals, he saw small Orcish children running and weaving through the legs of adult orcs, making funny faces at each other or simply bothering the adults they passed. He saw Orcish guards walking through the streets, stopping occasionally to speak with the passers-by before moving on. Naruto could see hordes of other orcs traveling through the streets, laughing, talking, shopping, and doing things that one could see humans doing in Konoha or Stormwind. Naruto was struck at how very similar they were to humans, and that despite their size and color, they weren't much different at all.
And the smells, Naruto had never smelt such smells in his life. He could smell meals of all kinds being cooked, drinks being served and many others he simply couldn't identify. The smells enhanced the feeling that had stirred in Naruto's since had arrived. It was a feeling that was, for him, hard to describe. He didn't know why, but he felt…at home at this place. The high walls on all sides, coupled with the fantastic smells, and wondrous, open atmosphere, made Naruto instantly think of Konoha.
That was it.
This place…despite the crudeness of its structure, and its green-skinned people, reminded him exactly of the city of his birth. It had different smells, to be sure, but the atmosphere was exactly alike. It was one of peace, peace with a slight undertone of power, something that proved to Naruto that if anyone attacked this place, they would be in for the fight of their lives.
He hadn't gotten the same feeling in Stormwind, or in Ironforge. Ironforge had been closed off, musky, and hot. Its people had been friendly, but it had felt old, and Naruto had felt that unlike Konoha, the walls of rock that had surrounded Ironforge held much more history, and the stains that accompanied that history.
Stormwind, too, hadn't felt this way. It was beautiful, to be sure, but the entire city had been filled with tension. He had seen it in the people's eyes as they walked, never getting too close to another, lest they get their pockets picked or molested in some way. No, Stormwind had been filled with a constant strife, even if it had appeared peaceful; the paranoia, the fear that each citizen had, not knowing if they'd wake up the next day, or praying that their possessions weren't stolen while they slept.
But Orgrimmar had that feeling. Orgrimmar had a peaceful feeling to it, despite the constant hustle and bustle of its citizens. As he descended the hill, and traveled the road, not really knowing (or caring) where he was going, he could see that none of the orcs feared for their lives as they drifted off to sleep. None of the orcs kept their guards up around the members of their own kind. The bond of trust that the people had was as great as that of Konoha's.
It made Naruto's heart ache, too, for his own home. Even though the people had never really accepted him, it had always been his home, and it always would be.
So wrapped up in this experience, Naruto wasn't able to prevent himself from knocking shoulders with another orc, causing them both to stumble slightly. Naruto gave him (again what he hoped) an apologetic smile.
"Sorry," he mumbled, before passing the orc, who stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide. The orc then turned furiously around and grabbed Naruto by the shoulder, pulling the still-transformed boy to face him.
"&((&)(&()&)(&!" The orc shouted, his face screwed up with rage. Naruto took a step backwards, utterly baffled. What had he done wrong? He had said sorry, so why was this…?
A sudden jolt through his thoughts reminded him that he spoke not a word of Orcish, and "gomen" could easily be something extremely rude in the orc's language.
YOU HAVE ALL THE LUCK, DON'T YOU BRAT?
Naruto refrained from answering.
The orc still hadn't let go of the boy, and was glaring at him expectantly, most likely waiting for an apology of some sort. Panicking, Naruto flailed his arms about, stammering half-apologies before his brain kicked in and stopped him from making the situation even worse. The orc, guessing that Naruto wasn't going to apologize, hauled off and without warning, punched Naruto in the face.
Hard.
So hard in fact, that Naruto was launched off his feet, and slammed hard into the wall of a nearby building.
He groaned, and lifted himself to his feet, his wounds already healing, and glared at the orc full-force. Sure, he may have insulted the orc in some way, but that didn't give the guy the right to slug him that hard! He was about to ready himself to counter-attack, when he noticed that the orc was staring at him, not with anger, but with sheer astonishment. He wasn't the only one, either; nearly everyone in Naruto's range vision had stopped, and was staring at the boy with wide, shocked eyes.
He briefly wondered why for a second, before he noticed that his hands weren't green anymore. He looked down, and spotted his black and orange jacket, pants and boots, the ones that his human appearance wore.
Oh…crap…He slowly turned around; hoping that they'd stay shocked so that he could begin running.
Alas, that would not be.
The orc he that he had (supposedly) insulted recovered first, and bellowed something out in Orcish, which broke the others out of their shock as well. He rushed towards Naruto, and threw a punch at the blonde, who dodged expertly and leapt over the orc. The orc swiveled to meet Naruto, who this time ducked under the punch, and attacked with his own fists. He quickly deduced that that was a bad idea, seeing as how they caused very little damage to the overly muscular orc. He dodged another punch and this time poured his chakra into his fist, smashing it into the orc's face. The orc stumbled and fell, unconscious into the crowd, which had begun to amass around the blonde.
He raised his hands and formed a seal, but before he could completely execute the jutsu, he felt a sharp, blinding pain in his back. He managed a half turn to see what had struck him, and saw one of the guardian orcs that he had seen patrolling earlier. The tip of the orcs spear was covered in blood.
His blood.
Growling in anger, he struck out with his fists and hands, unconsciously adding the demon's chakra into them. The breath was driven suddenly from his lungs as an orc in front of him drove its fist into Naruto's gut, and as he fell, a second attack from his side, then a third from behind, before Naruto's world degenerated into a haze of pain, sound and finally blackness.
Naruto suddenly became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on the ground, no doubt, as it was course and sandy. The smell of earth was very heavy in his nostrils, and above him he could dimly hear the shouts and roars of possibly hundreds of orcs. As consciousness gradually returned to him, he realized that he was still alive.
He managed to crack open one eye, and found that he was indeed face down in the dirt. He managed a soft moan, and as feeling began to return to his limbs, he struggled to turn himself over. He managed to get one arm to move, but the other remained limp at his side, the whole thing covered in a fuzzy, lifeless haze. The feeling began to return much quicker now that Naruto was almost completely conscious, and after several seconds of struggling, managed to lift his upper torso off the ground, and flip himself onto his back.
He was staring up at the blue sky, his vision still slightly blurry. He became increasingly aware of the din that was blaring on all sides of him, and with a few seconds more struggle, Naruto managed to turn and look at what was causing it.
He wished he hadn't.
To his right…as well as to his left, in front, and he guessed behind were rows upon rows of orcs. They sat on rows of benches that had been raised up a good dozen or so feet, and the rows went back for many yards, gradually ascending upwards as they did. Inhabiting nearly every one of the seats were orcs of all colors, sizes, ages and genders. Somewhere watching in amusement, conversing with the orcs on either side, while others were howling into the air, slightly crazed looks on their faces.
By now, feeling had crept back into every part of Naruto's body, and he began to ache slightly. He was definitely healing, but he judged it had taken a long time for him to heal from the damage that the orcs had done to him earlier.
Speaking of which…
Why did they leave me alive?I HAVE A FEELING YOU ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT.
Indeed, as Naruto lifted himself to his feet, he looked completely around him, observing the many hundreds of orcs that populated the seats of the stadium-like structure. He saw that there were four closed gates on all four sides of him, and hoped that he wouldn't have to face what was behind them.
He suddenly got a vague feeling of déjà vu.
Suddenly, they were silent.
The rather unexpected silence unnerved Naruto, until a voice pierced the air, causing Naruto to whip around to face whatever it was.
"You are finally awake, boy?" A massive orc had spoken this, high on a balcony that had been raised above one of the gates. The orc was huge, and covered in armor of black and gold. He had a jet-black beard, and hair that had been braided so that it hung down in the front, his skin was a simple green, and his face was composed, not betraying anger, hate or disgust. The orc spoke calmly and didn't need to shout. That reason alone alerted Naruto to the fact that this orc was no doubt the leader.
This was Thrall.
The former Warchief of the Horde watched Naruto, light blue eyes staring hard into more defiant, deeper ones.
"Why have you come here, boy? What possible reasons could a human child have for entering my city, and attacking my people? I will not give you another chance to speak, so do so now!" he spoke with such power and force that Naruto flinched slightly at his tone, before he answered.
" I came here to see you, if you're Thrall, the Warchief that is. I need to talk to you," he said, watching the orc leader warily. Thrall raised an eyebrow.
"I am he. But to talk? You disguised yourself using magic to enter my city; you insult one of my people, and then attack him as well? And you think that I would simply listen to you? You are very naïve, boy, if you think that you can gain an audience by simply forcing your way in."
"It wasn't like that! I didn't know that I insulted him 'cause I have no idea how to speak your language! If I did, I would've asked the guards at the gate if I could see you, but I had no choice! And I was only defending myself! They attacked me first!" Naruto shouted back angrily. Thrall watched the boy for a time, his electric blue eyes not leaving Naruto's.
"Perhaps not…but I cannot allow such a breach of my security go unpunished. You will fight the one that you offended and attacked, and if you win, then you will leave, alive and free. But you will not return, ever. If you lose, then you are at the mercy of the one who defeats you," he said softly, causing Naruto to start visibly.
"You can't do this!" he cried furiously.
"I can boy. You are on our soil, and thusly you will obey our laws. I don't take kindly to those who harm my people. If you are strong, then you will redeem yourself by fighting, and clearing your name in that respect," he said. He then motioned with his hand, and the gate directly below him suddenly opened. From it, the very same orc from earlier, decked in armor and carrying a massive axe walked towards the boy, his face a mask of rage. Naruto took a few steps back, and reached for his own weapons, before he realized that they were gone.
"Hey, how come you took my weapons away, but you gave him back his!" he shouted at the Warchief, who had settled down into a large throne. Thrall frowned a second, then nodded to one of the orcs on his side.
"Give him a weapon," he ordered. The orc nodded and withdrew a small knife from his belt and threw it across the arena. It imbedded itself right at Naruto's feet, and the boy glared even harder.
This is supposed to be fair?He picked the weapon up, and almost wished he hadn't. It was quite heavy and he knew that it would be more of a burden than a blessing in the next fight, where he needed speed rather than brute strength.
"Begin," the Warchief exclaimed, and once more the entire stadium was filled with noise, causing Naruto to wince slightly. The orc then charged.
He first swiped down at Naruto with his axe, who dodged to the side, causing the axe to crash into the ground. The ground split with the force of the blow, and Naruto instantly realized that he'd be finished, healing factor or not, if he let the orc hit him. He leapt up and kicked the orc in the head, causing him to stumble. The orc quickly recovered, and slashed at Naruto with the axe again, pressing him backwards with a series of powerful cuts.
Naruto narrowly dodged them, and was slightly amazed at the speed the orc had. He then planted his feet hard into the ground, pouring his chakra within. With the next attack, he bent backwards, avoiding the horizontal strike and then shot back up, smashing his fist into the orc's jaw. It hurt like hell, but the orc stumbled back, allowing Naruto to press the attack. He brought the heavy knife up and drove it into the handle of the axe, splitting it in two, and causing the axe to fall from the orc's grip. He then jumped and launched a few kicks at the orc's head, finally toppling him.
Naruto landed deftly, breathing hard. The orc had fallen, but was not down for the count. Instead he had got up swiftly, and charged Naruto, his axe forgotten. He threw a series of punches at the blonde, who dodged all of them with ease. Naruto countered with a punch aimed at the orc's head, however, the orc swiftly grabbed the blonde's fist, and grinning wildly, lifted him up and threw him across the arena.
Naruto smashed hard into the wall, which cracked and broke under the force with which he had struck it. Pain erupted through him, and he slid to the ground, groaning. He could taste coppery blood in his mouth as he struggled to get to his feet.
Time to stop playing around.
He formed a seal.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he cried, causing four clones to appear from thin air. The orc, who had begun to run towards the blonde, stopped, shocked. Up in the balcony, Thrall leaned forwards slightly, his interest piqued.
He knows that technique…amazing…The four clones grinned simultaneously, as did Naruto himself. Without a word he charged, the six clones at his sides.
The orc had recovered by now, and had charged as well, moving directly towards what he thought was the original. When he met the line, and struck out at the middle Naruto, but hit nothing but air. The clone had ducked underneath his punch, and now inside his guard, let loose a powerful kick to the orc's face, launching him backwards.
"U!"
Naruto himself leapt off the clone's back, high into the air, as the other clones converged around the orc. One slammed his foot hard into the still falling orc's gut at an upward angle from one side.
"ZU!"
Another drove his foot hard into the orc's chest with as much force as the first, and at the same angle from the front.
"MA!"
The final clone kicked right in between the other two from the other side, launching the orc skywards.
"KI!"
The last thing the air-born orc saw was a black-and-orange blur, streaking down towards him from above.
"Naruto Rendan! (Naruto Combo)" Naruto's orange-glowing foot slammed with bone-shattering force into the orc's face, blasting him downwards. He struck the ground with enough force to shatter the earth beneath him, causing dust and debris to fly up all around. Huge cracks blossomed out from were the orc struck, causing the whole arena to shake with the tremendous force caused by the massive orc's collision.
This time, he did not get up.
Naruto landed unevenly, nearly falling over as he did. He left leg was completely numb from the kick.
That hurt!The noise gradually tapered off, the audience stunned by the events. The human…no the human child, had defeated one of their own. It was unbelievable.
Thrall did not share the shock that his people did, for he had seen many humans who were strong. He was nonetheless impressed. An attack like that, so coordinated and powerful, was most certainly a testament to the blonde's skill.
Thrall stood, and was about to speak when Naruto interrupted him.
"Hey! Warchief! I got a proposition for ya'!" Naruto shouted, grinning as he stood up straight. Thrall raised an eyebrow again.
"What proposition is that, human?" he said, his voice carrying throughout the whole stadium. Naruto smirked.
"If I beat some more of those guys, say two more, then you have ta' listen to what I came here to say! I didn't travel halfway around the world to just leave after I've gone through all the trouble. So what do you say?" he said, grinning arrogantly. Thrall was silent, then,
"You have a deal, child. If you defeat two more of my warriors, I will listen to what you came here to do. If you lose, however, you will be at my mercy, and it will be up to me to decide your fate," he said solemnly, then made a hand motion to one of the guards next to him, the very same one whom had given up his knife. The guard nodded, and without a second's pause, leapt into the arena, landing with a resounding boom.
Thrall smirked slightly.
This boy is interesting.
Naruto nodded, lowering himself into an attack stance. His wounds had already healed for the most part, and he was quickly getting his second wind. The guard drew a huge, curved blade from across his back, and then charged the blonde shinobi.
Naruto summoned two more clones, and almost immediately after he formed a second seal.
"Henge no jutsu!" He cried, causing both clones to disappear in puffs of smoke, and be replaced by huge, wicked looking Fuuma shuriken.
The blonde unfolded one, and hurtled it at the approaching orc. It sliced through the air, moving incredibly quickly. The guard took it on his blade, pushing it to the side, before continuing his charge. When he got close enough, he slashed at Naruto's head, but the blonde stepped backwards, avoiding the strike. However, instead of pulling back and readying another attack, the guard charged, ramming his shoulder hard into Naruto's chest. The attack knocked Naruto back, causing him to almost lose grip on the transformed clone shuriken. The guard pressed on, this time delivering a sharp, powerful blow with the flat of the blade to Naruto's side. Naruto flew, landing hard on the ground a few yards away, skidding to a stop near the wall. He managed to hold onto the shuriken, however.
Grunting, Naruto stood up, but smirked arrogantly again. The guard raised an eyebrow at the boy's boldness, but didn't bother saying anything, and charged towards the blonde, his blade held high.
This time, however, he didn't make it to the blonde. Instead his raised weapon was suddenly removed from his grip, and the orc found himself floundering around, unsteady from the loss of the weight. He turned, and saw that a clone was clutching the curved blade, sticking its tongue out at the guard.
The clone, which had once been the first shuriken Naruto had thrown, hadn't been dispelled after being knocked aside.
The guard made a grab for the weapon, but the clone danced away out of his reach. He made to move after it but a whistling sound from behind alerted him to the presence of the second shuriken, which was cutting through the air towards him. The guard met the attack by grabbing the blade out of the air, and prepared to return it. This was a problem, however, seeing as it suddenly turned back into the clone that it had started out as. The clone grabbed the orc's arm and bit down, hard. The guard yelped slightly in pain, letting go of the clone, which leapt back, moving alongside the clone that had relieved him of his weapon.
Above, Thrall watched the fight with growing amusement. The boy was incredibly skilled, a bit crude, and lacking in experience, but skilled nonetheless. He thought quickly on his feet, and attacked without any regard for his own safety, and from what it looked like, never even considered the consequences of his attacks. He was amusing, to say the least.
"An interesting lad, don't you think, my friend?" rumbleda deep, throaty voice from behind. Thrall didn't show any signs of surprise, having felt the presence long before.
"I didn't know that you had returned. And yes…he is interesting," Thrall returned not taking his eyes off the fight.
"He fights with a tenacity that reminds me of you. I would like to try my hand at him, if you permit it," the voice said softly. Thrall considered the figure's words.
"I could not stop you, if you did."He will most certainly lose if you do, however, he said.
"All the better," the voice intoned. Thrall nodded, smiling at little, and then turned his full attention back to the fight.
The guard, now bereft of weapons, moved to engage the real Naruto, who was still standing against the wall. The clones moved swiftly as the guard charged, coming up behind him. The one wielding his weapon drove the heavy blade forwards, aiming low for his legs. The second clone leapt up and threw a kick at the guards exposed neck.
The guard avoided the first strike by moving to the side, and then caught the clone that had jumped before his leg connected. He threw the second clone into the first, and both flew backwards, exploding into smoke.
The guard caught the blade that had fallen from the clone's grip and lifted it up once more, brandishing it menacingly at the blonde. Naruto's mind flew at a mile a minute, trying desperately to come up with a way to fight defeat the guard. It was clear the thing was much stronger than he, and it's skill with a weapon far surpassed his own. Plus, the guard had experience in battle.
But then again, fighting against Uzumaki Naruto was an experience in itself.
His mind suddenly stopped, and a sudden thought came to him. It was crazy, stupid, and completely unpredictable.
In other words, it was totally Naruto.
He grinned wickedly, his eyes scanning the crowd, before finding what he was looking for. His wild imagination doing the rest, Naruto formed a seal.
"Sexy no jutsu: Style: Orc!"
The guard stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide.
The audience fell silent, staring wildly at the scene in front of him.
Thrall snorted as he held a hand to stem the nosebleed he was getting.
Standing where Naruto had been, was a lusciously (in the orc's opinion at least) gorgeous female orc, bereft of any sort of clothing, standing in a very sexy pose, and smiling cutely at the guard, who was still frozen on the spot. The guard could only stare for so long, however, before his animal instincts kicked in and blood began to gush from his nose. The guard grinned perversely, stumbling forwards, his weapon forgotten. The female blew a kiss in his direction, and he sped up.
Instead of another kiss, however, he got Naruto's fist in his face.
The shinobi had released the transformation, and had run forwards, hammering his fist into the guard's face. He followed up with a second series of powerful punches to the orc's face, causing the guard to lose balance and fall backwards onto the ground, with Naruto still punching him.
He landed with a crash, and was soon unconscious, Naruto's powerful strikes taking their toll, coupled with the blood loss from earlier as well.
Naruto stood, triumphant, and turned back to Thrall, smirking. The Warchief was smirking as well, and had cleaned the remnants of his own nosebleed away.
"How'd ya' like that, Ero-orc!" Naruto shouted. Thrall growled slightly, a little annoyed at the disrespect, but still amazed that the boy had won.
"Well done, you have one more to go, boy," Thrall said, forcing down the annoyance. He nodded, and while Naruto prepared for the other guard to jump in, something different happened.
The gate below the balcony opened once more, and something huge moved out into the ring, something much bigger than the previous two orcs.
The massive figure that stepped into the light was not an orc, Naruto knew. If it was, it was far bigger than any he had seen, and was a different color as well. All other orcs were varying shades of green, but this one was sort of a dark beige color. The creature's body bulged with even larger muscles than any of the previous orcs, and Naruto could feel the barely restrained power flowing from it. It was garbed in bulky leather armor, and a strange helmet obscured the majority of its head; it was the upper jaw and skull of a wolf, with the fur still attached. The rest of the wolf skin fell down behind him, forming a sort of cape.
In it's hands, the creature clutched two massive axes, deadly sharp, and what was exposed of its face was bared in a feral snarl, even bigger tusks than the previous orcs' sprouting from the lower jaw.
The crowd began to cheer so loudly that Naruto nearly fell over. He pulled off the earring of hearing, growling. He was going to have to talk to Berlyiro about that.
Naruto crouched low again; ignoring the feeling he was getting in facing this creature. He didn't know why, but he could tell that if he fought this thing, then he would lose.
But it wasn't in his nature to give up.
He charged, summoning another crowd of clones as he did. Unlike the other two, the uber-orc didn't move a muscle, and let Naruto come to it. The clones split to the side, surrounding it, and then launched themselves at the orc, moving as one.
They never even got close.
The orc moved with frightening speed, and began spinning quickly, his huge axes whirling through the air. The attacking clones were blown away by the force generated from the spinning, and a small, but extremely powerful windstorm blew up around the orc. The ground was torn asunder, rocks, pieces of earth and dirt where thrown in every direction. The charging clones sailed in every direction, too, and some landed hard on the ground of the arena, while others smashed into the walls, and even some landed in the audience.
Naruto gaped at the extraordinary technique, but didn't have time to do much of anything else. The orc, despite its size, charged at Naruto with incredible speed, slamming his left axe into Naruto's stomach, driving the breath from his lungs. As second attack dislocated Naruto's right arm, and a final shattered a rib or two, launching him across the arena. He rolled across the ground to a stop on the opposite end, coughing and spitting blood.
The orc didn't chase him, but remained stoically in the middle, his axes gleaming in the light of the sun.
Naruto managed to get back to his feet, groaning. His right arm hung limply at his side, and it hurt to even breath. The Kyuubi was working hard to repair the damage, but Naruto didn't think he'd be able to last another attack like that.
He growled, and lowered himself. He couldn't afford to lose. His wounds repaired even faster as reddish chakra began to coalesce around the blonde, subtly changing his features. His hair grew slightly longer and wilder, his canines and fingernails lengthened, and his eyes became blood red. He lowered himself onto all fours, the Kyuubi's instincts running through his head.
The huge orc frowned, watching the transformation. He had never seen anything quite like it, especially from a human. And the presence the boy gave off had tripled in size, causing the orc to question if this creature truly was a human. He had never felt such powerful animalistic emotions in his life. Whatever this boy was, or whatever ability allowed him to duplicate the presence of something akin to a dragon, or worse, a demon, he knew that he'd have to finish it off quickly if he was going to win.
Naruto shot forwards, moving much faster then before. He was upon the huge orc in seconds, slashing with his new claws, kicking, head butting, snapping his jaws and doing everything possible to injure the huge orc. Amazed at the boy's sudden surge in power, the orc defended himself with increasing difficulty, as the boy never seemed to do the same thing twice. He slashed downwards with his axe, but the boy avoided it, leaping to the side, and attacking again, this time summoning clones to aid him.
The huge orc then focused all of his power into his axes, and slammed them downwards. The ground beneath them exploded, blasting the clones and the boy away from him. The boy landed on all fours, growling slightly, before he held out his hand, and a sphere of glowing power appeared, spinning wildly. The boy charged again, the reddish aura growing as he did, and pulled his arm back to ready the attack.
But the huge orc was ready, and as the boy shouted, "Oodama Rasengan! (Big Ball Rasengan)", he moved. An aura of chakra, wild and untamed, erupted from the orc's body, and he dropped one of his axes, catching the boy's arm and stopping the attack from striking him. He then swung the boy downwards, and brought the handle of his axe down hard on the boy's chest.
The force of the strike drove Naruto deeper into the ground, rock and earth cracking underneath him. The sharp blow from the axe, however, did its work, and Naruto's consciousness was snuffed out immediately. The Rasengan dissipated, and Naruto knew no more.
The orc stepped back, watching the fallen boy, keenly. The audience erupted with cheers, making it hard for him to think. He watched the boy for a little longer, before turning and walking back towards the gate. He stopped however, when he felt something grab his boot. He turned and stared down at the blonde shinobi, whose hand had shot out, even in his unconsciousness, and grabbed the orc. He raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Even in oblivion the boy doesn't want to lose. How curious.
He gently shook the hand from his boot, and turned, disappearing through the gate from whence he had come.
Thrall was there to meet him. He passed the Warchief without stopping.
"Keep him alive, he is a curious little thing, and I don't believe he is here to cause harm. Keep an eye on him, he could be useful, I think," he rumbled. Thrall looked at him curiously, but nodded.
"Good luck, Rexxar, my friend," he said. Rexxar nodded, and without another word, departed.
Naruto awoke in a bed.
It was a soft one as well, somewhat strange smelling but comfy and warm. He slowly sat up, and at once was alerted to the presence of another in the room.
"Good afternoon, boy," came the deep, commanding voice of the Warchief Thrall. Naruto swiveled his head towards the orc, who was sitting in a chair near the bed. Two other orcs stood by the door, both Naruto had never seen before, and where dressed the same as the guards on the balcony.
"Why am I still alive?" Naruto said softly, looking at the orc, confused.
"Because I chose to let you live. I said you would be at my mercy, not that you would die," Thrall responded. He stood.
"You had something to say to me, I believe. But I will not hear it now. You are indebted to me, boy, and thusly you must repay me in some way."
"How?" Naruto said. Thrall looked down at the boy, piercingly.
"You will train under me. You will perform services for me. You will act like a member of the Horde, and you will obey me. If you do all of this, then I will listen to your proposal in time. For now, you are mine to command, and if you refuse, I will kill you. What do choose?" he said, his voice rising slightly. Naruto was taken aback, his eyes wide.
"For how long?" he asked. Thrall's face didn't change as he said,
"For as long as I see fit." He then waited again for the blonde's response. Naruto looked down, fighting an internal battle. If he accepted then there was no telling how long that he'd be there, and he didn't exactly have all the time in the world!
But if he didn't accept…well, he was dead. He sighed in resignation.
"I'll do it," he said tiredly. Thrall nodded, his ice blue eyes staring once more into Naruto's deep blue ones, before he turned and left the room.
And so Naruto was apprenticed to the Warchief of the former Horde, for an indeterminate amount of time.
He was so lucky.
SHALL I REPEAT MYSELF? YOU HAVE ALL THE LUCK DON'T YOU BRAT?
Shut up.
Chapter done!
This one was fun to write, because I not only am a Horde character, but I'm extremely fond of the orcs. I don't know much about Thrall, per say, only that humans raised him and that he's rather soft on enemies of the Horde. So, I made him somewhat hard assed, but willing to give Naruto a chance.
Rexxar was also fun to write.
Reviewer Answers:
obsidian-fox- You are my hero, my friend. I thank you for correcting that large mistake that I made, many times in the past, so for that, I give you the "Most Helpful Reviewer Award" For the chapter! I hope that it is easier to follow in this chapter, I was sure to make it clearer. I also think your story Eldritch Asylum is great, so keep up the good work on that!
PersonaJXT- Yes Thrall is alive, as for Jaina, you will find out. And yes, all of the Horde races will make an appearance in this story. The two factions of Undead, The Forsaken (Led by Sylvanas) and the Scourge (by the Lich King) will make appearances later. The Scourge don't really need allies, considering just about everything they kill can be added to their army, and the you will need to keep reading to find out what becomes of the Forsaken. You will have to find out who is controlling Anduin, as well, as that will be revealed later on.
Sanosuke- Thanks for the words of encouragement. The fic is going to continue, but there isn't really a "World of Warcraft" arc.
Tatsu- Thanks for reviewing. Don't assume anything about Naruto's return home yet, only that I have mentioned how he will be returning already, back a few chapters. And yes, I imagine it will be difficult for him to get The Night Elves and The Forsaken, as well as the Trolls, but he's Naruto, after all. So far, in WoW, the Lich King's domain is blocked off, and nobody can encounter him. It is likely that you will in a later expansion pack or patch, but not now.
Gamergirl333- Yes he did.
Skuld's Sentaro 5- Shhhhhhhh! That's supposed to be a secret! And hopefully this and the following chapters will convert you to the Horde!
That's everything I think. Until next time,
General Grievous
Next time, Naruto begins training, and a whole lot of missions, misadventures and malefactors!
Spellbook-
Sexy no jutsu: Style: Orc – A variant of the original Sexy no jutsu, only the user turns into an orc, so it is most effective against orcs (and really weird humans).
Bestiary-
Armored Scorpid (Beast)- A giant scorpion, 'nuff said.
Rexxar Champion of the Horde (Humanoid)(Elite)- The Champion of the Horde, Beastmaster, and friend of Thrall. Immensely powerful due to his Half-Orc, Half-Ogre lineage, he fights on his own terms, and occasionally Thrall's. He usually wanders the wasteland of Desolace, but occasionally returns to perform services for Thrall.