Disclaimer: Life is like a blender full of fish…I don't know where I went with that. I don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft.
Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!
Vol'jin? Naruto thought, his eyes widening at the name. That guy is Vol'jin?
He began to get to his feet, never taking his eyes of the motionless troll. As he did, his arms felt curiously heavy, and upon glancing at them he saw two large, metal bracers, much like the ones that Vol'jin was wearing. Inscribed on the side were various strange markings, and Naruto recognized them as seals, or runes as they were called in this world.
Naruto jumped when the voice from before returned, booming out across the noisy stadium.
"Hyahaharrr! Let's be getting this show on the road, eh maties? I, Edward Scool, captain o' the Crimson Tide, and fourth in command o' the entire Bloodsail Buccaneers, bring this fantastic show to yeh for only the price o' a single silver! Best entertainment ye'll find down in these parts! Don't go seeking out that has been, Short John Mithril, cause yeh won't find him, on account'a I cut his pudgy head off and tossed him to the crocolisks!
"Now, fer all ye newcomers, (an' by newcomers, I mean those of ya' that are sober this time around) I'll tell ye what goin' to happen. Those two be real fighters, ye see, dangerous ones, specially that Vol'jin. He gave our cap'n quite a bit o' trouble, in the past, ye see. But worry not! Our gracious and wonderful captain has been nice enough to give us a horde o' magic restrictors, eh? Those fashionable bracelets o' their's keep them from throwing around stuff that could harm yeh!"
Naruto held his arm in front, examining the bracelet with wide eyes.
This definitely sucked.
He felt around inside of himself, trying his best to locate the familiar rush that came from the Kyuubi's chakra. Instead, he found himself blocked, and he realized that it felt a lot like when Orochimaru had slapped that seal on him in the Forest of Death.
That was definitely not good. It not only kept him from using the demon's chakra, but it also screwed up his chakra control, to a degree. Even so, he realized that if it restricted his chakra as well, then that didn't matter. He wouldn't be able to use any jutsu anyways. He could feel his chakra, but he couldn't force it out, as he did with the Rasengan.
Which meant that he would only be able to fight by enhancing his strength and speed. He hoped that didn't restrict his ability to use the Kongou, and he desperately hoped he could still use what he had mastered of the Kazaashi.
Vol'jin was a shaman, he realized, so unless he used a different style, like the tauren, then he'd be far more skilled than Naruto in all areas of the Tetra-Elemental style.
'Crap, crap, crap, crap!' He mentally raged. He hadn't come to fight this guy, only talk to him! And if he didn't make that known to the troll quickly, then he didn't think he'd be able to last long against the much stronger fighter.
Normally, he would have rushed into battle anyways, fought the troll, regardless of the sheer difference in power between them. But in his travels in this world, he realized that that wasn't going to cut it much, anymore.
Sakura-chan had always told him to think before he said something, and he guess that applied to his actions as well. If he fought Vol'jin, not only would it be impossible for him to gain the troll's trust, but also he'd likely lose, and probably die.
He opened his mouth to speak, to stop the quickly coming fight, but the announcer, Scool, drowned out what he was going to say, with his own speech.
"This be real fightin' ladies! If ye be squeamish, then ye'd best leave, since this'll get mighty bloody mighty quickly! Now," though Naruto couldn't see the pirate, he got the distinct impression that he was going to address him and Vol'jin directly, "you two, whoever wins this bout, gets a nice, cozy, cell to themselves! Sound nice, eh? If yeh don't fight, then ye die, so get to it!"
Vol'jin's face twisted into a scowl, but he began to move forwards, slowly tramping towards Naruto, raising the wicked-looking weapon that he held.
Naruto backed away a bit, and said, in Orcish, "Stop!"
Vol'jin did stop, but not in accordance with Naruto's command, but rather out of surprise.
"Eh?" he said, his voice deep, and thickly accented, "yeh be speakin' de language of de orcs…dat be strange, for a 'uman."
Naruto seized the chance, and said quickly, "Thrall taught it to me! He sent me here to find you!"
At this, Vol'jin's eyes widened briefly, before his face reverted to its previous state, one of composed ferocity. He spoke quietly, eyes blazing, "Dat so? I don' tink dat Thrall would be associatin' with 'umans, child. He may be havin' a soft spot for dem, but he not be sendin' dem to see me. Just because ye be a child, don' mean dat I be goin' easy on yeh."
The troll then hunched over, but straightened his legs, and spread his arms out to the side, in a strange, almost scarecrow-like display. Then, dark markings began to appear across his chest, arms, and along his neck and face, like ink staining unmarked paper. The designs were nothing he had ever seen before, and were a mixture of deep black and several dark blues and purples.
He then held his weapon parallel with the ground, and almost immediately, Naruto felt something strange happen.
The troll chieftain's massive source of chakra, which seemed to fill the entire stadium with his presence, vanished, as if it was never there. Then, his entire upper body seemed to go limp, and his arms dropped to his side, his chin rested on his chest, and he bent forwards slightly.
Naruto was about to protest Vol'jin's words, but suddenly found himself unable to breath.
This was due to the fact that Vol'jin had sunk his fist into the blonde's sensitive, still healing stomach. The blonde's eyes popped out, and he expelled a spray of saliva and blood into the air. He flew backwards, smashing hard into the wall of the stadium.
He slumped down a little, but managed to stay on his feet. He looked up, and saw that Vol'jin was gone. He would've believed that alone, however, if his nose wasn't screaming everything to the contrary.
The blonde was unprepared, again, when Vol'jin appeared beside him, firing off two more punches into the blonde's gut. If Naruto had eaten recently, he would have vomited, but as it was, he could only feel blood mixed with the burning sensation of his stomach acid jumping into his throat. He slammed backwards into the wall, and managed to dodge Vol'jin's incoming punch, and kicked off the wall, soaring past the troll. He twisted in mid-air, only to find that Vol'jin was gone.
He landed on his feet, coughing, and looking wildly about him. Gritting his teeth, Naruto summoned up everything he had, and prayed that his control had suffered to the point where he couldn't control the Kongou.
He was in luck.
He suddenly felt a strong punch to the chest, and as if by magic (which, Naruto reasoned, wasn't the best of similes), Vol'jin appeared, his fist striking Naruto's chest.
He held his ground, however, and was only knocked back a few inches. His chest was intact, and realizing that he wasn't going to get a better chance, he hauled off and drove his fist as hard as he could into Vol'jin's jaw.
The troll was shocked by the force of the blonde's punch, and was knocked to the ground by the strength of it. Knocking a seven-foot tall creature, almost entirely muscle, was no small feat. Vol'jin quickly recovered, however, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the stance that Naruto had taken.
"Kongou…" Vol'jin muttered, staring straight into Naruto's eyes. It was unbelievable that a human, no, a human child, had managed to learn one of the most sacred shaman arts. It made him bristle, but also recall the boy's earlier words. Had Thrall truly called this boy here?
But soon the roaring of the crowd, gradually increasing at the lack of action, brought him back to his senses. It did not matter even if this boy was an emissary from Thrall. He could do nothing, and so he would have to fight him anyways. He slunk backwards, and let the power of his Shadow style remove him from the blonde's sight. He quickly put on a burst of speed from his Wind style, as well, fully vanishing from his opponents view.
Naruto cursed at Vol'jin's actions, and once again began to look around him. He sorely wished that he had Neji's Byakugan, which would have made locating him far easier.
Vol'jin appeared again, this time behind the blonde, but Naruto was ready again. He troll's tremendously strong punch severely taxed the blonde's ultimate defense, but it held firm, allowing him to whip around and direct a roundhouse at Vol'jin's face. The troll dodged, effortlessly, and vanished again.
"Yeh be a skilled 'uman, but yeh not be a match for me. Dat style you be usin', has one weakness. 'oever taught yeh that, musta not have said anytin'."
Naruto steeled himself for another strike, which came at him from directly in front. The massive troll appeared, and before Naruto even saw his hand begin to move, he felt a blinding pain in his chest. His Kongou, as powerful as it was, was broken completely by the troll's lightning fast attack, or rather attacks. A series of lightning fast punches, all delivered at the speed of the Wind style.
A style that Naruto had not yet mastered.
All of the strikes were delivered at the same spot, coupled with the troll's already immense strength; such a barrage was completely indefensible. Naruto was launched from his feet, coughing blood and landed in an undignified heap at the other end of the stadium, after skidding along the ground for several yards. He immediately got on his hands and knees, and retched horribly onto the ground. The pain was tremendous, and he found himself fighting to stay conscious once more.
He got to his feet, shakily, however, and turned to meet Vol'jin's stare, from across the stadium. He wiped a bit of drool and blood from his mouth, his breathing ragged and short. Meanwhile, Vol'jin vanished again, just as Naruto's vision finally cleared. He cursed.
It was clear that he was out of his league. While he was strong, in his own right, he was nowhere near skilled enough to take this guy on. It grated on his nerves, terribly, of course, as he hated to lose and hated even more to acknowledge that fact. In his previous fights, he had done his best not to doubt himself, but that had been due to ignorance his foe's true strength, and the desire to protect one or more of his new friends.
But anyone that Thrall considered an equal had to be as strong as they came. He was likely facing, once again, a foe that could easily be comparable to Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya or even that creepy Itachi. He knew that a foe anywhere near the levels of those four was unbeatable, at least for now.
So, he would have to try a different tactic, at least, if he was going to survive this fight. He was going to need to do something that Uzumaki Naruto was best at in battle- improvising.
He noticed, that while all of his weapons had been removed from his body, including his goggles, he still had his earring. Even if Vol'jin could fool his eyes, he hoped that whatever ability the troll was using didn't affect hearing or smell. So, planting himself firmly in place, he inhaled deeply, at the same time doing his best to blot out all of the excess sound in the background. Over the weeks, he had been able to teach himself to filter out all sorts of excess sounds, making it much easier to keep the earring on at all times.
With everything else blotted out, Naruto listened for the rough, padded sound that Vol'jin's feet would likely make on the stone. He also searched for the source of that smell, the smell that he had learned to associate with trolls.
He waited…
'There!'
Naruto moved just in time, vanishing in a manner not unlike Vol'jin. The troll's failed attack, a punch that would have been directed at Naruto's spinal column, had hit nothing but air, leaving Vol'jin vulnerable for a moment.
But that's all it took, with the power of the Wind style.
Naruto reappeared in a flicker of black, and drove numerous lightning fast punches into the troll's stomach, effectively reproducing the very attack he had been struck with moment's ago.
Vol'jin's eyes bulged out, and he let out a choking gurgle, spitting some blood into the air. He had managed to stay standing, but Naruto's next attack sent him to the ground. The blonde drove a Wind enhanced punch into Vol'jin's face, driving so hard into the ground that it cracked and broke from the force.
Naruto stood, triumphantly, over the fallen troll, breathing heavily. There was no customary fox grin on his face, only a pained grimace, with a slight mixture of disbelief in his eyes.
It couldn't have been that easy…
True to his thoughts, Vol'jin got to his feet, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. On of his tusks had shattered from its impact into the stone floor, which he seemed to ignore, as he stared at Naruto with slightly more respect than before. He then reached up, and with a grimace, tore the broken tusk from his jaw, causing blood to gush out. Not a second later, however, the blood stopped, and to Naruto's wonder, a new tusk pushed its way out of the healing skin, until it had replaced the other one completely.
Vol'jin tossed the broken tusk away, and turned to face Naruto once more.
Naruto readied himself again, but found that his stance was unsteady, and his legs were weak. He shook it off as best he could, and focused on the task at hand. If he couldn't stop this fight, then the best he could do was fight until he lost, and pray that he got lucky and wasn't killed.
In the back of his mind, he marveled slightly at the change in himself. He had never doubted himself like this before, so why now? Was it because he was facing an opponent that by all intents and purposes, he couldn't beat, or was it that he had been humbled by past defeats- Orochimaru, Sasuke, Rexxar, the Ventursaurus Rex, and now those stupid pirates?
He steadied himself. He would not lose, even if it was against someone like this, he wasn't going to lose.
He then struck. Using the imperfect Kazaashi, he flashed forwards, only to meet the hardened flesh of Vol'jin's Kongou, which repelled him for a time, but did not deter him. He flickered again, dodging one of Vol'jin's lightning fast punches, marveling at how slow they now appeared. When he was moving at the speed he was, he guessed that everything would appear slower.
He avoided a kick, and then struck again, driving a countless number of blows across Vol'jin's chest. He finished off his attack with a bone-shattering blow to the troll chieftain's chin, blasting him upwards and backwards, onto the ground.
Naruto stopped once more, his breathing now so labored that his vision was beginning to blur.
"You be experiencin' de weakness of dat style, child," came the deep rumbled of Vol'jin. The troll had gotten to his feet, and was rubbing his now healed jaw staring at the tired boy, his eyes slightly taunting.
"De speed you be goin', be so great dat it wears out de body, especially a body like yours. You be 'uman, not orc, not troll, which means dat your body not be as strong or as durable. You be healin' quickly, and you be possessin' a great amount of stamina, but it not be enough, for dat style. You still be an amateur."
Naruto grunted, glaring heatedly at Vol'jin. He knew Vol'jin was right, as that was very much the same of what Thrall had told him when he had first started learning the style. Because the Tetra-Elemental style was designed to be used by orcs, the techniques were suited for Orcish needs. So while, after repeated use of the Wind style, he would be able to build up strength to the point that he'd be able to master it, it would be a long time before that actually occurred.
Unable to use any jutsu, his healing abilities cut down, and no Kyuubi to aid him, Naruto definitely not in a desirable position, especially up against a master of the style that he was still learning.
Naruto settled down into a fighting stance once again, fighting back the pain and exhaustion. He would fight until he couldn't fight anymore.
Vol'jin adopted a similar stance, his eyes placid green pools, showing nothing of what the troll might have been feeling.
Then he struck. Like a bullet, he shot from his position, appearing in front of Naruto faster than the boy could see. But Naruto was ready for him, again, with the Kongou. The troll's fist smashed into the chakra hardened flesh and muscle. The technique, already weak due to Naruto's fatigue, was no match for Vol'jin's tremendous strength; a tremendous amount of the original force traveled into the blonde, despite the resistance from the Kongou, Naruto gasped and then fell limp against the troll's fist.
Vol'jin, knowing that his opponent was defeated, began to retract his hand, letting Naruto's body slump forwards a little. However, much to his surprise, the blonde's right hand grabbed his wrist, and the blonde looked up at him his eyes wide.
It was the first time that Vol'jin noticed the color of his opponent's eyes.
Blood red.
Naruto's left arm began to crackle, as the chakra-blocking bracelet attempted to suppress the tremendous influx of power. Unfortunately, even an item that was originally created to bind demons was nothing compared to the monstrous power of the force of nature that was the Kyuubi. It began to crack and shatter, as the blonde's arm began to glow with reddish, fiery light, taking a vague, claw-like shape; the bracelet, however did as best it could, by forcing as much pain into the blonde's arm as was possible. Dark splotches began to appear along his arm, indicating the blood vessels that were breaking beneath his skin. The pain was tremendous, but it was the last thing on Naruto's mind, now.
Vol'jin's eyes were wide as he witnessed the blonde's features transform slightly, his hair growing wilder, his teeth longer, and the markings on his face growing darker, and watched as the boy, still gripping his arm tightly, pulled his left arm back, in preparation for a punch.
He delivered said punch a second later, driving all of the explosive power of the demon's chakra into one, last blow, before the searing pain that the chakra binding bracelets, as well as his wounds, overcame him. The blow ejected Vol'jin across the stadium, kicking up dust as he sped mere inches off the ground. He slammed into the opposite wall, shattering it under the force, and flinging debris in every direction. The crowd behind him roared with approval from the attack, even as they rushed out of the way.
Naruto, was unable to watch the effects of his final attack, however, as his body finally gave into the pain and weariness. He dropped Vol'jin's arm, which was bleeding profusely, before falling backwards, already in blissful oblivion, even before he touched the ground.
Vol'jin stood, oblivious to the roars from the pirate audience. His eyes were focused calmly on Naruto's prone form. His left arm was torn off at the shoulder, with veritable buckets of warm blood gushing out onto the ruined, ancient stone of the arena. As he walked slowly towards the blonde, the blood stopped flowing, and his arm began to regenerate.
"An incredible fight, wasn't it!" roared Scool's voice, from high above him, in a booth that had once been reserved specifically for the emperor of the now fallen Gurubashi Empire. "If Vol'jin doesn' kill the wee whelp, maybe we can see more o' him!"
Vol'jin turned back to the unconscious boy, a frown marring his face. Why should he not just kill him? It would spare the boy the life that he had his people were now doomed to…so what was stopping him?
'If Thrall did send dis boy…den I want to know his story…before he die.'
With that last thought, Vol'jin turned, and walked away, earning even more cheers from the all-pirate audience.
He didn't know if was him or Thrall that was softer…sparing this boy's life, or teaching him sacred arts only known to his people, respectively. But if Thrall had done that…then it was likely this boy was special. After that last attack, too, he decided that this boy would need to live a little bit longer…if only so Vol'jin could discover his true intentions.
Kira stared at the door of the heavily decorated, ornate room that she had been taken to.
She didn't know how long she had been stuck there, in the ship, but she was glad for the change of scenery. The small, cramped room that she had been in before, with only a bed and a tin of water and plate of what she guessed was food, but to her it looked more like something a horse would spit up after eating something that didn't agree with it. In other words, it was sorely lacking in comfort. There had been a small pail as well, likely for going to the bathroom in, but she had no desire to be stuck in a room that smelt like fecal matter.
There had been no window, and the only sound of the outside world that she could hear was the gentle sloshing of water against the hull of the absolutely massive ship that she had been taken to.
She still remembered it clearly- massive red sails, each bearing a Jolly Roger with a one-eyed skull, twin swords crossed beneath it. Twin masts, nearly fifteen cannon holes on each side, and numerous hook-cannons mounted on deck. The deck itself, along with the rest of the ship, was a dark brown wood. At the bow, there was a massive humanoid skull, eternally grinning, as it stared outwards towards the sea.
After they had departed Captain Shep'rick's ruined boat, they had taken a smaller one, around the bay and along the coast for almost half an hour, until they reached a large cove, with a large waterfall bearing down at the end. It was there that the ship had been anchored. She had boarded it, the two troll pirates flanking her every step of the way, and had been taken down to the small room. She had been left there for an indeterminable amount of time, before they had returned, explaining to her gruffly that she was to accompany them to the captain's quarters. When she had arrived they had left her there, explaining to her that the captain would be with her shortly, and that if she tried to escape, they'd know.
Quite knew to the kidnapping experience, Kira had obeyed them silently, but after they had left, had still poked around the room, looking for a way to get out. After finding none that would allow her to escape unheard, she sat in one of the ornate leather chairs, surrounding a finely crafted, square table. All of the furnishings were red.
And so there she was, waiting to meet the man whom had brought her here.
Several minutes later, there were a few grunts outside the door, and it opened a second later.
"Hello, Ms. Wrynn! I am terribly sorry to have kept you waiting…there was a slight incident involving one or more of my men in a tavern in Booty Bay, which I had to resolve." Captain Blood had entered, dressed in the blood red coat and shirt, his smile warm and inviting. He clutched within his hands a platter, upon it a set of sandwiches, as well as a pot of tea, and several cups and saucers, a small dish of cream, and another of sugar.
He set the tray upon the table that she had sat down at, and smiled at her.
"Care for a spot of tea, Ms. Wrynn? The sandwiches are also quite good, and you must be slightly hungry, I suspect?"
Kira shot him a distrustful glare, and didn't move.
He sighed slightly. "I did not poison it, Ms. Wrynn. I have no intention of killing you with such dishonorable means," he picked up a sandwich and bit into it, smiling slightly as he did, "Ahh! I must give my compliments to the cook, for making these delightful snacks!"
He continued to eat, and watching him, Kira felt her stomach rumble. He smiled triumphantly, making her scowl grow. But, she conceded, if he wanted to kill her, he would have already done so. She reached out, and took one of the sandwiches, biting into it thoughtfully. Her eyes widened.
This is really good!
She quickly devoured the rest, absently accepting the cup of tea that Blood had poured for her. She downed it quickly, delighting in the taste, much to Blood's amusement.
She did not eat anymore, so she spoke.
"Why are you doing this?"
Blood paused, his teacup halfway to his lips.
"Do what, my dear?"
Her scowl returned. "You know perfectly well what. Why have you taken me here? More importantly, where are Kylia, and Naruto!"
He took a sip from his tea, setting it down upon the table, and looking at her with his one good eye.
"Kylia, I assume, is the other girl that was with you. She is currently in Booty Bay, most likely in one of the inns. She is quite safe, I assure you, as I took the liberty of checking up on her on my way back. As for the boy…he is in the jungle, a ways away from here, likely fighting to the death… or resting in one of the many cells built into the arena that Mr. Scool is in charge of. As to your other question…the answer is not as simple."
She scoffed slightly, glaring at him with as much fire as she could muster.
"I suppose you're going to ransom me, or something? You seem like the type of person that would do that."
He frowned slightly, taking another sip of his tea. "You think so little of me, Ms. Wrynn? I am hurt; no, I have not captured you for ransom. If I needed money, there would be far less troublesome ways in order to acquire it. The reason I have brought you here is, if I put it in the simplest form possible…
"To kill you."
Her eyes widened, and she quickly scrambled away from the man, pushing her chair away, making it fall behind her with slight thumping sound as it hit the red carpet.
Captain Blood smiled at her benignly, sipping his tea once more.
"You need not worry, Ms. Wrynn; your death has a specific time and place, and it is neither now nor here. Now calm yourself, it is not proper for a lady like yourself to be getting all flustered."
She glared at him, her fire returning, "You just said that you were going to kill me! How am I supposed to be calm! And why are you doing this! Why me?"
He gave her a sad smile, " I am truly sorry, Ms. Wrynn, but you were not the intended target. You are an unfortunate victim of circumstance. My true target was the Warchief of the Horde…Thrall."
Thrall? She thought, her eyes widening.
"So it was you," she said quietly, "it was you that sent that troll to Orgrimmar…the one who told Thrall of what was happening down here…"
Blood blinked a little. "You were in Orgrimmar? That is…interesting. I didn't think that a human had ever set foot in Orgrimmar, but it seems that I am wrong. That would explain why you were on the ship that I targeted, then. You, the other girl, and that boy came in place of Thrall…"
"What does Thrall have to do with this?" she said, heatedly. "Why was he your target?"
The captain stroked his beard, sighing again. "He was simply what I found to be the best choice for my plans. The trolls of this land were once allied with him, and after I captured their leader, a friend and ally of Thrall, I believed that I could goad him into coming here, where I would instigate my plan; the beginning of my dream."
"Your dream?" she asked, frowning a little.
He nodded, looking a little wistful, "Yes…my dream.
"To become a legend…"
Kira frowned even deeper at the man, who smiled and began to explain.
"In my youth, I was a tremendous fan of stories. All kinds of stories, about heroes and villains, both true and fictional, about mystical lands across the sea, about bloodthirsty monsters inhabiting the deepest, darkest pits of the world, everything. I was enraptured by all of it…so enraptured, that I wished to join those in the stories that I had been told.
"But, in almost all of them, I noticed a recurring theme, one that bothered me quite a bit. The hero, the gallant, powerful warrior, who achieved fame and fortune through his honorable deeds, I found lacking in substance. Even in stories that I knew to be true, I found the hero a flat, stereotypical person, one that was not, nor could not be human. They were to good, you see, and none of them were described as possessing faults, and so they all began to sound the same. Human heroes, thousands of years ago, who fought in wars that I knew to have taken place, sounded all the same, and even had very much the same reasons for doing what they did; for their country, for their people, for a loved one. The only faults they are described as having are the ones that affected their deeds, but that fault is usually righted in the end. We place statues up of them, honoring them as gods, when in reality, even in the most well described books, in the truest of stories the hero is merely an archetype, repeated throughout history. Even non-humans fell into this category, in many cases.
" But the villains…they are quite another story. Every villain of every story that I have ever read, has been fleshed out to their fullest. Their appearance, their personality, their actions- all described in the utmost detail. They are the subject of the author's opinion, no doubt, and are portrayed that way, but an author does not change the actions of the villain, as they do a hero. They describe everything that the villain ever did, because the truth is far worse, usually, than any fabrication. And what's more…they are entirely human. Their desires, their actions, their abilities, all human, and never elevated to a higher position. Take the most famous of villains in modern history- Arthas Menethil. Born a hero, supposedly, but his mind, human as it was, gradually succumbed to the darkness that it had been filled with. He gave into this desire for power, as many would, and thusly he broke away from the 'hero' category, and became a monster; whose actions were so frighteningly inhuman, that it makes the fact that he was once human so much more tragic.
"What's more, all villains had different motivations for doing what they were doing. It was never just for their country, or for a loved one. It was for power, for recognition, sometimes simple insanity, other times the result of dark experiments, corruption, but even then, there were so many more. Villains always had many layers to them, so that even if one layer was exposed, another still lay hidden beneath it. Their actions were their own, and they did it for themselves. Once again- even the villains of other races had so much more depth to them.
"I was fascinated by them, you see, and thusly I began to desire my own cornerstone in history. Villains are always remembered, and even now, many still remain in the hearts of the people, either as ghost stories, things told by mothers to their children to keep them from getting into trouble, or serving as reminders for the people now to never repeat that mistake. In that respect…they are unique.
"So you see, Ms. Wrynn, my reasons for wanting the Warchief were the reasons that I now have for you. I intended to defeat Thrall, and destroy him, which would cause the collapse of his nation, the destruction of his people's spirit, and the Horde would likely never reform. From there, I would do much the same to the other leaders of the world, and my name would soon become as feared as that of the Lich King. You will be killed in much the same fashion. I will kill you in Stormwind City, before I ransack it, defeat the armies that they send after me, and assault the costal towns of that area. I will do this to show them that they are weaker than I. I will break their spirit, with your death. Then I will possibly renew my actions against Thrall, or, if the gnomes and dwarves rush to Stormwind's aid, I will deal with them."
Kira sat opened mouthed in horror at the man's words. What's more, he had said them with such certainty and confidence that it had been almost like hearing Naruto speak of his dream…
She shook her head fiercely and then looked at him, pouring as much of her hate into her voice as she could. " You…you're sick! That's why you enslaved the trolls then, too, right? Just for this idiotic dream!"
Blood's eye suddenly became cold. He set the teacup down, and looked at her with is one, blazing green eye.
"You do not seem to understand…all of the trolls that you see on my crew, joined of their own free will. Most of them were part of the native tribes, the Bloodscalps and the Skullsplitters, but there are a few Darkspear trolls as well."
Kira was standing, however, not listening to the man's calm reply, and not taking notice of his now cold eye.
"So you'd kill so many people…you'd attack Stormwind, ransack it, and then begin killing the people of my kingdom, for nothing more than a dream! You sicken me! You're more a monster than Arthas ever was!"
He stood, towering over her, his single eye boring into her two purple ones.
"You think I enjoy it, girl?" he said coldly, "Do you think I take pleasure in killing others? I will do what I need to do…nothing more. Killing those people is merely a necessity for my dream. Now tell me, Ms. Wrynn…"
He then bent down, and faced her on eye level, his face gaunt and full of cold rage.
"If you had to choose between killing one man…and giving up your dream forever…would you do it? Would you kill two men, ten, a hundred, a thousand, a million?"
Kira opened her mouth to respond, ready to shout a definite "NO" at the man, but found herself unable to. He eyes widened, as her mind began to process just what he was asking her.
Would she kill a man, if it meant allowing her to continue her dream? Could she?
She didn't know.
Her lip quivered slightly, and her eyes began to tear up. Captain Blood stood up to his full height, looking down on her once again.
"Not such an easy answer, is it?"
He then turned, and strode from the room, leaving her alone once more. Shortly after, the two troll guards returned, and escorted her back to the small room.
She gave no resistance.
Naruto awoke in darkness.
The blonde groaned as consciousness returned to him. He felt a lot better than the previous time he had awoken, but still a little achy. He sat up slowly, his eyes working to adjust to the darkness that he was in.
When they had, he realized he was in a small room, probably eight feet long, and around five feet from the back to the new, gleaming metal bars over the entrance. He looked around, and spotted a small pile of straw, with a dirty piece of cloth draped over it. Next to it, there was a small pail, rusted and dirty, whose use Naruto didn't want to think about. The ground was damp and covered in various mosses, and small vines ran through cracks in the wall. There was no window, so Naruto was unable to tell whether it was night or day. The room stank of many things, most of which Naruto would have rather not smelt.
It was also then, that he noticed he was not alone in the cell.
Huddled in a back corner, farthest away from the blonde, there was a massive shape, draped in shadows. As soon as Naruto noticed it, however, it moved, allowing Naruto see part of it.
He saw two huge tusks, a flash of reddish hair and green skin. Two eyes, dull amber, stared at him in the darkness.
He gave a startled cry, and backed away quickly, against the bars. The troll didn't move any farther, and simply watched Naruto's reaction with his unwavering stare.
"You be afraid of de dark, boy?" rumbled a voice from outside the cell. It was familiar, so it didn't take Naruto long to figure out who it was.
"Ah! You're Vol'jin, right!" he cried out into the darkness.
There was a deep, almost sinister chuckle, "I be him, yes. Question is, who be you?"
"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde said stoically, gazing wearily at the troll in his own cell as he did.
"A 'uman name, for sure. What ye doin' here, boy? Did Thrall really send yah? You be skilled in dat style, but dat doesn' convince me."
"He really did!" Naruto snapped, glaring at the darkness, "He sent me to help you out with whatever had happened down here, 'cause a troll appeared in Orgrimmar a few days ago, saying that you needed his help! He sent me 'cause he couldn't go himself, because he has a city to protect!"
There was a silence for a while, then, Vol'jin gave a dark chuckle. "I finally tink I know what dat man be tryin' to do…'cause as ya can see, I not be in da position to be sendin' anyone ta Orgrimmar. But dat be just like Thrall, I tink. Your words be sincere, but dat doesn' change much. You be trapped, and will be doomed to da fate dat me and my people be sharin' now."
Naruto's eyes returned to the troll in his own cell, who seemed to be listening to their conversation. He then looked back into the darkness.
"Are all of your people imprisoned like this?" he asked.
Vol'jin grunted, "Not all. Dere be some who joined Blood's crew, but only out o' necessity. Dere not be a one in my tribe dat would betray us. But de others… many of da ones from the Bloodscalp and Skullsplitter tribes, be joinin' him quickly. But some o' dem refuse, and stay with my tribe in capture like dis. I don' know how loyal da ones in Blood's crew be, but da ones dat are in these cells, fightin' day in and out like me, be trustworthy. Da one in your cell be a Skullsplitter, witch doctor in trainin'. He don' be speakin' much Orcish, so he be unable to understand much of our words."
Naruto once again looked back at the troll in the cell. He gave him a grin, which made the troll grunt something, and look into the darkness, muttering something in another language.
"He be sayin' dat your smile be strange."
Naruto blinked, his smile dropping, and he scratched his head awkwardly. There was silence for a time, before Naruto asked another question.
"Have you tried to escape, at all?"
Vol'jin gave a dry laugh, and Naruto could almost see him sneering into the darkness. "How, boy? Dese bracelets," Naruto heard the cling of metal on metal, and he assumed the Vol'jin had just banged the bracelet against the cell, "seal my chakra. Dey seal all de other's chakra as well, makin' it impossible to do much else den fight according to dere rules."
"But you can still use the Tetra-Elemental style!" Naruto bellowed, "can't you use that for escaping? Like that weird technique you first used on me?"
"You don' understand, boy. Dat man, Scool, da one who makes all of dese fights, be the one who control da power of dese bracelets. If he be wantin' he could cause as much pain and suffering as he wants, to us. So strong, dis pain be, dat it be impossible to resist for long."
Naruto grimaced, remembering the pain he had felt when the Kyuubi's chakra had been trying to break free. He had thought, at the time, that that was just something the bracelet would do if one tried to break free, but now that he realized it had been done intentionally, it felt a whole lot more…annoying. He gazed at the bracelet in the darkness, and was surprised to see that it still bore the cracks that had been caused by the demon's power, and that it was slightly looser than the one on his right arm.
"Now tell me, boy. Dat power you be usin' on me…what was it? It be tremendously strong…nearly broke through de bracelet. What are you?"
Naruto flinched slightly at the question, even though he was used to it by now. So he said quietly, "It's my burden…"
He explained, in brief detail, what his burden was. Vol'jin listened to it quietly, and when the blonde was finished, Vol'jin laughed.
"A interestin' story, dat be, boy. I had tought dat you must have been an interestin' boy, if Thrall be teachin' yah. You be one o' de first 'umans that I ever enjoyed talkin' to."
Naruto grinned a little. "Thanks." He then thought a moment, and said quietly, "How did you end up here, anyways? Is this Blood guy that powerful?"
Vol'jin gave another grunt, "It be only a year after we arrive dat he come. Before he did, I made much progress wit de other tribes. The Bloodscalps be a little less resistant dan the Skullsplitters, but I found out dere true reason for remaining dem here in de Vale. Dere rage and bloodlust be fueled by an evil god, da Blood God, named Hakkar de Soulflayer; he be summoned by a small group o' Skullsplitters, and dey be controllin' and magnifyin' the hate and rage o' the other tribes, so dat dey spill more blood for him. My people and I attacked deir lair, in Zul'Gurub, and after much fightin' we defeated Hakkar and destroyed da grip he have on da Skullsplitters and Bloodscalps. They then begin to join us, and I work to make them as much a part of our group as we a part of deir's. But den…he came.
"He be very skilled, but his true power be lyin' in his tactics. He always seem to know exactly what to do. He take goblin town like that, by bein' one step ahead o' dem. He den fought us, breakin' up the camps we be settin' up, and drawin' us out. Every time we try to launch an attack, he be in ready, and always turn it around on us. His strength in battle be tremendous, but he use surprises and cleverness to defeat me, which makes me believe he not as strong as I. But den, he asked many o' the Skullsplitters and Bloodscalps and even my own Darkspears if they would join him. Some of my Darkspears joined, as dey new I would want dem to, and many Skullsplitter and Bloodscalp as well. De rest, who didn't join him, remain in here, and he place powerful bracelets on dose who are skilled in wieldin' chakra. He place new, strong bars and special runes on entire prison, so we cannot escape."
"I now want nothin' more den revenge. I will destroy dat man and his crew, one day, and my people will be free once more."
Naruto found himself grinning at Vol'jin's pronouncement. This guy was his type of guy, he realized. He hadn't given up hope, and had sworn that he would free himself.
'Finally, some people who don't need a pep-talk!' he thought, grinning brighter.
"Oi! I'll help, then! But I gotta a few requests, before I start. I wanna know how to do that technique that you did in our fight, for one thing."
Vol'jin was silent, then he said, "What makes ye tink dat I want your help, boy?"
Naruto smirked, "'Cause you need all the help you can get at this point." He banged the cracked bracelet against he metal bars, for emphasis.
Vol'jin then laughed. "You be right… but I do not like 'umans, boy. Dey have wronged my people and I for many years, so I find most o' dem untrustworthy, racist fools. But I do know dat not all 'umans be the same, and so if ye manage to succeed, 'uman, and help me free my people, den I will teach you de Shadow style, my people's contribution to de Tetra-Elemental style. But what be de other things you want?"
He heard Naruto's laughter through the gloom, "I wanna learn that accent!"
The sound of Vol'jin face faulting- a remarkable feet while sitting, could be heard throughout the entire prison.
Kira nodded to herself. Her plan was formed, and now all she needed to do was to put it into action.
It was night, or at least she assumed it was, because the activity that she had once heard above her had ceased, and occasionally she heard one of her two guards begin to snore outside her door. Usually accompanying that sound was the sound of a slap, and a grumbling as the other guard smacked the sleeping one awake.
Ever since she had met with Captain Blood, she had been thinking of his words.
Could she really kill someone…if it meant allowing her dream to continue? She had wanted, at first, to scream, NO! But she realized that wasn't true, not in the slightest. Her dream was almost everything to her at this point. It was the result of many years of listening to her father and his advisors speak of the depleting resources of the world, the fewer people joining the army, and the weakening alliances. It was also of Benedictus' stories of her mother, a woman who would heal both members of the Alliance, and members of the Horde, if they needed it. That was one of the reasons that Benedictus had loved her mother so much- she was a being of infinite kindness, who was one of the last bastions of that feeling in this world.
So, in effect, her dream was as important to her as her parents had been, and she realized that even if faced with the prospect of killing someone…she would continue to pursue it.
Was that wrong of her? She had wondered, sitting on the small cot, staring at the floor. Was it wrong of her to put her own ideals above the life of another human?
At that moment, it didn't matter. She would pursue her dream, and if she were faced with that situation, then she would handle it as she saw fit. Right now, however, she needed to escape, and she had the perfect plan to do it.
She stood and called out to her guards. "Excuse me?"
She heard the click of multiple locks, and the door suddenly opened, revealing the green skin of one of her troll captors. "What?" he rumbled, glaring at her.
Even as he uttered the word, Kira was acting. Her hands flashed through seals, stopping on the moon seal. She whispered, "Binding of the Psyche!"
The troll, blinking rapidly at the girl's actions, suddenly went rigid, as Kira took hold of his mind. His eyes suddenly glazed over, and he made a crude bow to her, making her smile at the success. The technique was one of the most difficult to perform that she knew of, and also very difficult to maintain. It was totally ineffective against those whose wills were stronger than hers, but she had guessed correctly in thinking that the troll didn't have greater willpower than she.
She quickly directed the guard to turn around, he close the door. As soon as he did, she made him, lightning fast, ram his fist into his partner's face. Upon hearing the sound of flesh striking flesh, and then a slumping sound as the now unconscious partner slid down the wall onto the ground.
'Phase One, complete!'
She opened the door, and entered the hallway. The mind-controlled troll stood in the same place that she had told him to stand, staring out into space. She looked up at him, and told him through the bond that they shared, to take her up onto the deck, using the quickest way possible.
Her order struck a small part of his mind, and immediately, the information that she needed was brought to the surface of his hazy mind. He spun on his heel, and walked down the hallway, Kira quickly following.
He turned left, went down another hallway, then up a pair of stairs, which she remembered going up when she had been taken to Blood's room. Her eyes widened, and she quickly told him to avoid Blood's quarters at all costs. When they reached the top, he turned left again, making her sigh in relief.
Right led directly to Blood's quarters.
They encountered no one of their trip through that level, something that made Kira very happy. They went up another flight of stairs, more walking through hallways, then another flight, before they reached the deck.
And then her luck ran out.
As soon as they reached the deck, she and her thrall came face to face with another troll, who was looking tired.
The troll blinked, staring first at the troll she was controlling, then at Kira herself.
"What ye be doin'? Dat girl is da boss man's prisoner…she supposed to stay down below."
Working quickly, she had her servant say, calmly, "Givin' her a bit of fresh air, she be makin' a lot o' noise down dere, very annoyin'."
The troll blinked, and nodded, "Sound good, don't want her wakin' us up, den." He sneered at Kira as he walked past, and she averted her eyes, hoping she looked frightened. When he was gone, she exhaled deeply, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.
'That was close' she thought. She then walked to the edge of the ship, and peered over, into the dark waters. The sound of the rushing and falling water from the falls met her ears, and she nodded, knowing that she was in the same place. From what she remembered, than she just had to head directly south, and Booty Bay would be there. She would grab Kylia, and then they would both head off into the jungle, and locate the arena that Blood had mentioned Naruto being in.
She prayed that he was still alive.
She readied herself to jump, but felt a sudden hand clamp on her shoulder.
"Were you be goin', missy?"
She froze. Turning her head, ever so slowly, she met the cruel, beetle black eyes of a monstrous human pirate, with a hugely scarred face, curly, mangy black hair, stubbly beard, a red bandanna over his head and breath that stank of booze. He wore a white, loose shirt, with the collar open, revealing his hairy chest.
"Hic! Lookit this, I found me an escapee! The cap'n will be sure to promote me now, eheheheh!" His grip tightened, painfully, on her shoulder, making her cry out slightly. He pulled her away from the railing, grinning darkly.
The pirate took a swig form a dark bottle in his other hand, spilling some of the dark, stinky liquid down his chin. He then turned to the troll standing next to her, unmoving and sneered.
"Ya think ye could help her, you damn traitor? The cap'n will have your head for this, I think! Gwahahah- OW!"
He abruptly let go of Kira's shoulder, clutching his arm in pain. A small, silver knife had been stuck through it, and it was gushing blood out onto the deck.
Seizing this chance, Kira sent her servant, making him punch the pirate hard in the jaw.
The pirate, however barely budged from the hit, despite the troll's tremendous strength.
"That it, ya ponce?" he snarled, ripping the blade from his arm and slamming it into the troll's stomach. He then proceeded to grab the troll's head, and with apparently little effort, crush it completely with a single hand.
Kira's eyes bulged at the display of strength and brutality, and backed away, feeling a slight wave of dizziness overcome her, from the now broken bond that she had shared with the troll. She found herself against the railing once more. She bent her knees, and readied to jump again, but the pirate was quicker, and grabbed her roughly by the front of her shirt, and threw her over his shoulder, making her land roughly on the deck a few yards away.
She got to her feet, groaning in pain, as the pirate grinned, and walked forwards towards her. He drank the rest of the liquid from the bottle, and then smashed it against his leg, breaking half of it, and then brandishing the now sharp edged weapon with a look of intense greed in his eyes.
"The cap'n'll definitely give ol' Burgess a raise for this one. So long as I don' kill yah, you'll be fine, I think. Gwahahaha!"
Kira narrowed her eyes. She was pathetic at hand-to-hand fighting, and she had no staff. Therefore, she would have to rely on her techniques to get through this fight. From what she had seen, both previously on Shep'rick's ship, and here, the human pirates were the most dangerous. They all had brutish strength, and tremendous stamina, making them incredibly powerful. That meant that she had to attack the only thing that wasn't strong in a pirate.
His mind.
Burgess, as he called himself, rushed towards her, brandishing his makeshift weapon with a stupid, greedy grin on his face.
She dodged his first attack, a thrust to her leg, and spun out of reach. While she was pathetic at actual fighting, she had trained herself to react as quickly as possible. Benedictus said that the primary role of priest in battle was medical support. Therefore, they needed to be agile in order to avoid damage. They had other things, as well…
Flashing through some seals, she thrust her hands out in front of her, and said quickly, "Power Word: Shield!"
A glowing yellow light suddenly surrounded her, and just in time, as well. Burgess' broken bottle struck out, aiming for her chest. Instead, it struck the light, and shattered, causing Burgess to blink and look at the useless weapon, before looking back at Kira, with wide eyes.
"What the…?"
Unfortunately for him, Kira was already beginning her second attack, as the shield held. That was one of the greatest advantages of Power Word: Shield. Unlike other chakra shields, it didn't need to be constantly held, and would remain up for a few seconds, using the person's own life energy and chakra to sustain it. It had its downsides, however, as she was unable to perform it for several minutes afterwards, due to the strain it had on the person's life energy.
Her hands made several more hand seals, and she roared, "Mind Blast!"
Burgess was suddenly slammed backwards by an invisible force. He clutched his head, crying out in pain as his mind was nearly ripped in half by the force of Kira's attack. He grabbed his hair and pulled, eventually tearing it out, and began to beat his head furiously against the deck, trying to rid himself of the pain. She knew that it wouldn't last long, as a Mind Blast was generally used to knock an opponent out. If it didn't, they still felt intense pain, and would be rendered immobile for a minute or so.
Part of her wanted to run, and leap off the ship into the sea, to escape, but the part of her that remembered how he had killed the troll with such cruel ease, wanted to make him pay.
So she flashed through a final bit of seals, and ended with a cry of, "Holy Smite!"
She thrust her hands forwards, and from them there was a blast of golden light, which must have been visible for miles in the dark. The blast slammed into the slowly recovering Burgess, and blasted him backwards, so hard that he smashed through the railing on the other side of the ship, and crashed backwards into darkness.
But Kira didn't stick around long enough to hear the splash, instead rushing to the side of the ship opposite were Burgess had fallen from, and without hesitation, leapt into the sea.
She landed in the surprisingly warm waters, and then poured chakra into her feet, and stood atop it. Water walking was one of the first control techniques that she had learned.
She then ran, as fast as he could, for the shore.
'I'm coming, Kylia, Naruto!'
"Cap'n…we can find no trace o' her on land. She musta covered her tracks, and headed into the jungle…"
Captain Blood frowned, as he stared into the distance. It was almost dawn, and the sun was beginning to rise just behind him.
"Execute Mr. Burgess, if he managed to survive his ordeal. I have no use for fools like him on my ship. Then, alert Mr. Shanker and Mr. Grubbins, for they are still in Booty Bay, and tell them to capture her, and to do whatever is necessary to. Kill the girl that was brought there, if that is what it calls for."
The pirate, a goblin, gave a quick nod and departed.
Blood's frown deepened, as he stared off towards land.
"I will not be made a fool of, girl. I will do everything in my power to achieve my dreams. I hope you are prepared for that."
Done!
Okay, all of the talking and stuff has been exhausted in this chapter. The next two will be battles!
Yay battles ! (I have never used in anything, so I felt I should at least once!"
Okay, some bad news, or moderately bad news, at least (I scared you didn't I :p )
I am going to be going away for the next week, without any computer. I will return on Sunday of next week, but that means that there won't be a chapter until around mid-week after next. I am sorry, but I am going to enjoy some time in the sun in Sunny California! WEE!
Also, I am going to hold another vote…but this one is good, so bare with me. You know how mangas have those Popularity Polls? Well I am going to hold one of those! So far, in the story, who has been your favorite character, original or otherwise? I look forwards to hearing who that is! (Though I have a feeling it is Naruto…but that's good, because he will still beat Sasuke.)
Okay, reviewer mail!
PersonaJXT- Dude…we are talking about pirates here. If Naruto was anyone other than Naruto, than one smash of his head into the deck would have crushed it, and he would have died! Pirates are ultra-strong, you see. Besides, Naruto's never been shot by a gun…and he was shot in the stomach, and I don't know about you, but I would guess that is a tremendously painful place to be shot, what with all those organs around that area. Naruto's lucky that they didn't bring out the flaming, flying sharks…And as for Jaina, who knows?
Yue Ryong- Shadowborne- Thanks for the kind words, they really help me go along! But, I have to say, and I have said this before- I don't recall ever underestimating the Kages. If I had, it was likely in the author notes, and those guesses are tentative at best. I realize how strong the Kages are, but I still think that you are underestimating the Warcraft guys as well. For example, you say that the Yondaime was the ultimate speed freak, and I agree that he was fast, and probably faster than Thrall, but that is for several reasons. Mainly, Thrall isn't small and light and quick, he's huge and heavily built, making him more strong than fast. But comparing them is stupid, mainly because the Yondaime is dead, and Thrall uses more than just speed. I realize that I may have put the Kages down in some instances (I am not sure when…but you wouldn't be doing this unless I had) but until they are actually shown using their full strength, please don't pass judgment on how I've portrayed them. If the time comes, and I make Tsunade or Jiraiya or Orochimaru too weak, then you can bust my chops. I don't plan to make them seem weaker by comparison to guys in the World of Warcraft universe- in many cases they are stronger, and in many they are not. But I thank you for the help!
Constructive Criticiser- Thanks for the correction! Now may I offer constructive criticism of my own? Criticiser is actually spelled with a "z" so it would be "Criticizer." Your welcome :)
Well that's it, SO REVIEW, and VOTE for your FAVORITE character!
Seeya later!
General Grievous
Spellbook-
Keiei- The essence of the Shadow style- making a person almost totally invisible using a combination of the person's chakra, and tattoos all over their bodies. They are not actually invisible, it is simply and illusion to make them unnoticed, unless their opponent knows exactly where they are. Does not work against Byakugan or Sharingan users.
Power Word: Shield- Uses the caster's life energy and chakra to make a shield which will remain for a short time, without constant attention. Cannot be used for several minutes afterwards, due to low life energy.
Mind Blast- Fires a blast of chakra into the person's mind, either knocking them unconscious, or stunning them and causing intense pain.
Holy Smite- A blast of pure, holy-based chakra, causes massive damage to shadow creatures, and also against other corporeal beings.
Bestiary-Ol' Drunk Burgess (Humanoid) (Elite)- A dirty, boozing, cruel pirate that Blood doesn't respect much, and only uses for his muscle. Like all human pirates, he is incredibly strong and durable.