Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or World of Warcraft. I have chosen to keep this disclaimer simple, as in the following pages you will experience so much mind-blowing awesomeness that any extra would fry your brain like French fried potatoes.

Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!

Booty Bay was a symphony of battle, the sounds of dying men and trolls mixing with the sounds of bombs exploding, guns firing, swords clashing, and blood flowing. The hymn of violence could be heard throughout the entire area, and the effects visible from even farther. It seemed that not a street, alleyway, building, or person was left unaffected by the battle. It spread like a disease, igniting the passions of shop owners, barmaids and others, all eager to join the battle for their own reasons; whether it be to drive off the attacking horde of trolls, due to the fear and hatred generated by their presence, or to fight with them, believing the terrible Bloodsail Buccaneers to be the more dangerous of the two.

But, despite the veritable flood of hate, of fear, of bloodlust and desire to fight, to protect, and to regain lost honor, two figures remained unaffected. They stood as stone statues would, silent and observing. But it was not the fight that they observed; it was each other. The battle, in their minds, was a backdrop, a score to a play or an action movie. They saw none of it, only felt it excite them, drive them, and prepare them for their own battle, which would commence soon.

Blood smiled at Naruto, and spoke to him in Common. "I don't know you, boy."

Naruto frowned, thinking this was an odd thing to say. "So? I don't know you either."

Blood chuckled. "I have never heard of you before in my life, nor have I heard of someone like you. But somehow, you are here, a nameless, foolish boy that has somehow been able to escape from the arena that I designed to keep the trolls in check, and has even been able to gain the allegiance of said trolls, without, to my knowledge, any sort of bribery. Yet, the Princess of Stormwind knows you, and even escaped in order to find you. I also find you aboard the ship that the Warchief of the Horde was supposed to be on, making my dream that much harder to accomplish. Who are you?"

Naruto stood up straighter. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" responded Blood, whispering the name as if he were tasting it, rather than hearing it. "A strange name, but I find it interesting enough."

He raised his sword, and pointed it at Naruto, his one green eye glittering with power and pride.

"Then, Uzumaki Naruto, I shall make you immortal."

Naruto blinked, now completely confused.

Blood smirked, and continued, "You will be known as the boy who almost led a rebellion against me, in this place. You will be remembered as a fierce warrior, a boy who managed to slay both my Cannoneer, and the person who guards my jail. Both are incredible feats, so I will be sure to preserve the memory of their defeats in my defeat of you."

Naruto scoffed a little. "Geez, you've got a pretty high opinion of yourself. Who says that you're going to win this fight anyways?"

At the same time, his mind was racing. 'How did he know about those two? I just beat that fat guy a little while ago, and he was probably on the ship when that happened…'

Blood lowered his sword, his face hardening. "I do."

Naruto was caught off guard when the pirate captain suddenly moved, so quickly that the blonde swore that he had used some variant of the Kazaashi. The blonde was able to throw up a moderately powerful Kongou mere seconds before the incredibly sharp edge of Captain Blood's sword struck his side. Naruto's Kongou managed to stop the blow from piercing his skin, but the force sent him flying. He managed to stop himself from falling off the ship by sticking to the end of the bowsprit. Having just caught himself, he was still slightly off-balance when Blood continued his attack with two slashes, both two flickers of light in the afternoon sun.

This time, however, Naruto reacted with a well-placed Kawarimi no jutsu, leaving only a barrel of water. The blonde quickly used this advantage, after reappearing in the spot that the barrel had once been, near the foremost mast; he conjured a pair of clones, each bearing weapons of their own.

Blood quickly spun to face Naruto, and charged at him. As soon as he was in range, Naruto grabbed the arms of the two clones, and had them draw their swords. He then spun, and expelled a massive storm of chakra, bellowing, "Bladestorm!" in the process.

The whirlwind of chakra that suddenly surrounded Naruto and his clones did not deter Blood however, and he shoved his blade into the middle of the storm, holding it at a slight angle. In a heartbeat, Naruto's adamantium blade struck it, and was amazingly repelled. Blood then pushed the blade back, completely throwing the attack off and making Naruto stumble. The pirate captain thrust both of his blades into the two clones, dispelling them, while he smashed his boot hard into Naruto's chest.

The sheer force of the attack blasted the shinobi backwards, making him smash into the deck a few yards away. Blood moved gracefully after him, never stopping.

Naruto growled, jumping to his feet, and made several hand seals, ending in the fabled tiger. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" he roared, expelling a large ball of flame.

Blood blinked at the attack, but didn't stop advancing; instead he whipped his blade down in a manner similar to what he had done when Naruto had still been on the deck, and sliced the ball of fire in two. As soon as he passed it, however, he realized that Naruto was gone.

He finally located his quarry, but not in the way that one would have desired. Naruto, using the Kazaashi, had moved beyond the length of Blood's swords, and had proceeded to ram his fist a few dozen or so times into the man's stomach. The air was forcefully expelled from Blood's lungs, stunning him long enough for Naruto to draw the Dwarven short sword from its sheath and deliver what he hoped would be a finish blow to the pirate's neck. However, his blade, despite being made from possibly the most durable of all metals, encountered resistance in the form of Blood's pearly, white teeth.

The pirate had stopped the blade from piercing his flesh by biting down on it seconds before it connected with the vulnerable flesh of his neck, and then prevented it from cutting his head in half using only his jaw muscles. He was completely unharmed.

Blood then kneed the fox-like shinobi in his stomach, and tore the blade from his grip with the strength of his mouth and neck. Because Naruto was still two close for him to use his swords, Blood backhanded him across the face, still gripping one of the gleaming blades in his fist.

The attack had the effect of knocking Naruto senseless, as well as across the deck of the ship, so that he crashed hard into the wall of the rear cabin, making the wood splinter.

Naruto coughed a few times, spitting the blood that was now welling up in his mouth and trickling down his face. He felt a few teeth loosen, but they immediately hardened after the Kyuubi sent its chakra into the wounds, repairing them quickly.

Blood continued to walk towards him, literally spitting Magni's Pride onto the deck; he was an unstoppable force, a juggernaut.

Naruto growled a little, and said breathlessly, "How the heck are you so strong?" He was both annoyed, and amazed that a man who didn't seem to know anything about chakra could possess such strength and speed. In fact, all the pirates seemed to possess that incredible strength, making Naruto suspect that Blood had done something to them to make them stronger.

Blood's answer was simple. "I am a pirate, Uzumaki Naruto. Life on the sea is the harshest existence one can imagine. One must be strong if he intends to survive it, and so I have trained my body to be as strong as it needs to be, in order to accomplish my goals. But now I have a question for you. How is it that you can heal so quickly, as a troll might?"

Naruto frowned. So he had noticed, then. "I've got a demon lord stuffed into my stomach."

Blood blinked disbelievingly at first, but upon seeing Naruto's eyes, seemed to reconsider.

"Is that so?" he said. "That makes this a bit more interesting. Perhaps I should use my ability, instead of playing around, as I have been doing. If what you say is true, then I might have to use all of the power that I possess."

He then reached up to his face, and slowly removed the black patch that covered his left eye. Naruto suddenly got an eerie sense of foreboding. Was this guy going to pull a Kakashi-sensei?

Beneath the patch, Blood's eye was closed. As soon, however, as he had placed the patch in one of the pockets in his coat, he opened it. Instead of an empty socket, or a Sharingan eye, or a normal eye at all, there was a gleaming turquoise stone. It was the exact shape of an eye, and was the same size as well. There was one marking on its surface; that was so vague that Naruto had to squint to make it out. It was a bird of some sort, clutching a diamond shaped object in its beak.

'What is that?' he thought, meaning the eye, rather than the symbol.

Blood answered his unasked question, smiling calmly as he did so. "This is the power that has aided me since I acquired it, many years ago. Have you not wondered how I know of your defeat of Mr. Grubbins and Mr. Scool? How I was able to fight and take apart a group of creatures, the trolls, whose leader is a far better tactician than I, and render them either as my subordinates or my prisoners? How I was able to know of your ship's arrival and plan an attack against it? This is the reason. This, my True-Seeing Eye."

Kira was breathing hard as she ran. She was almost completely exhausted, and even with Kylia urging her to go faster, she found herself beginning to slow.

"Mist– Kira! We must go faster, if we don't then he will catch up!"

Kira nodded, barely hearing her. Her mind was clouded, and her thoughts continued to drift back to the faces of the trolls that had protected them, just moments before, allowing them to escape. When they had left the building, the shouts of one of the trolls was clearly audible, as was the sound of flesh being torn apart, and the sickening splatter of blood across the surfaces of the room.

Kira wanted to keep running, but her body wasn't letting her. She had never felt so terrified in her life. She had been prepared to deal with the horrors that she would no doubt face outside the sanctity of the castle. But having seen one man, in possession of almost no magical ability, rip the head off of a troll, with as much effort as one would tear a piece of paper, had been an eye-opener for her. Her mind also drifted earlier to the pirate that she had fought on the boat. He had been just as strong, but she hadn't been as terrified then, and she believed she knew why.

It was this battle. It was pounding her sensitive mind with hundreds of murderous intentions, and coupled with the sounds, the screams, and the death, it was almost too much to bear. She had never experienced something like this.

The raw, primal fear that now filled her made her frantic and confused. Her mind was clouded with the chaos that the battle was bringing, and so she could do nothing but rely on one of the most basic mechanisms that a human mind possesses.

Fight or flight.

At the moment, fighting was the last thing that she wanted to do, so flight was the only option. Kylia had shared her sentiments, mostly out of concern for her mistress. She would rather die than let Kira fall into the hands of that man.

They rounded a corner, which would take them closer to the bay, and met a large group of trolls battling an even larger group of crimson-dressed pirates. There were bodies everywhere, mostly human, and a few trolls that were so maimed that one could scarcely recognize them as trolls to begin with. So absorbed were they in their fighting that Kira and Kylia were completely ignored, and so they managed to back up, and attempt to flee down an alleyway on the far side of the street. Unfortunately, their luck had just about run out.

For, several seconds later, out of the corner of her eye, Kira saw a flash of green and red. She swiveled her head, not stopping, and spotted, to her horror, Shanker's pet parrot circling above them, squawking something furious.

Kira was knocked to the ground by the force of Shanker's landing a few feet in front of her. The massive pirate had landed so hard that the street shattered beneath him. He stood straight then, leering down at Kira, his terrible eyes aflame. The parrot settled on his shoulder a few seconds later, giving a loud squawk of, "Ya snooze ya lose, kiddy!"

Kira scrambled backwards, her eyes wide with fear. 'That bird…!'

Upon the pirate's appearance, several trolls made a dash for Shanker, but with a grin, he twisted his body and released the chained hook again. He swung it around hard, so hard that the chain cleaved straight through the attacking trolls, slicing their bodies across around the level of their hearts. He retracted the hooked chain, and Kira saw that is it returned to his arm, the chain was made out of many small razor blades, all cut into rings and linked together.

Upon seeing their comrades die so easily, the other trolls fled down an alleyway, the pirates in hot pursuit.

Shanker dusted his pants off, and lifted the massive golden hook that had been grafted in the place of his hand. "Tell me love, did ye really expect ta' get away? This whole place is filled wit Bloodsailors, an' the trolls aren' gonna be sympathetic to a 'uman they don' know. Besides, Morgan here's gotta a sharp eye, an' while 'e's got quite the mouth on 'im, 'e's a good spy. How about ye just come with me, an' I'll protect ye from those nasty trolls?"

Kira gulped again, and slid a little bit farther away. 'No! I have to get away I have to–'

Shanker sneered, and walked towards her, reaching out to grab her, but stopped when something hard struck the back of his head, causing a sharp explosion of pain to shoot through his skull. He cried out, and reached back, feeling a slight trickle of blood. He also found a small, sharp object, which, upon pulling it out with a grunt, discovered it to be a small sliver of a knife, about half as long as his own finger.

He whirled, and spotted Kylia, standing near the alley. The girl had been in front of Kira when Shanker had landed, separating them, and thus had remained behind the gigantic pirate the entire time he had been present. In her hands she clutched a dozen more of the small blades, her eyes piercing into Shanker's with a determination that shocked Kira.

The first mate of the Bloodsail Buccaneers growled in a low voice, "Where did ye get those? We took all o' ye weapons away."

Kylia smiled a little, and lifted her arm. Upon rolling back the sleeve, Kira saw dozens of small wounds, which were fresh with the blood still dripping down. Her eyes widened.

'Did she…?'

"I always have some knives placed in my own skin. I insert them and let the wound heal, making them almost impossible to notice, unless you really know where to look," said Kylia, coldly. "I must protect my Mis– Kira, at all costs. I would rather die than let anything happen to her."

Kira was stunned. She knew that Kylia was protective of her, but had she really done that to herself, just to protect her?

And what's more, was she so weak and scared that she would watch Kylia take on someone so much stronger than her and do nothing?

Shanker grinned. "Such a feisty little one. I may 'ave to revise me opinion of ye. But those little knives aren' gonna do much against me."

Kylia responded by flicking several of the weapons at Shanker. They moved so fast and were so small that it was almost impossible to see them. Shanker, however, grinned, and raised his arm so that it protected both his neck and face. The small daggers appeared, burying themselves in rapid succession along the man's thick, muscled arm. He never flinched once, and when Kylia had stopped her throwing, he lowered his hand and then made a fist, tightening his muscles until, one by one, the small knives popped out and fell to the ground with small metallic tinkles.

Kylia was not deterred, however by the display of strength. Instead, She ran to the side, and flicked several more of the weapons at the large pirate. They pierced him in minor places, but otherwise, he didn't seem affected at all by them. She quickly ran out of the small weapons, however, and when Shanker noticed this, he grinned.

"Oi, lass, what're ye gonna do now?"

Kylia once again responded, not with words, but with actions. She had maneuvered it so that she now stood in the small crater that Shanker had created when he had first arrived. She suddenly twisted her body to the side, and did particularly graceful, and incredibly quick cartwheel, so that her foot connected with a large piece of the street. The semi-large piece of stone shot like a bullet and connected with Shanker's surprised face.

The pirate howled in pain from the attack, and stepped back, clutching his wounded face.

Using the chance, Kylia turned to Kira and shouted,

"Mi– Kira! You must go! I will stay here and hold him off!"

Kira didn't react to the words for a few seconds, simply staring at her friend. Her rational mind, however, decided that following Kylia's advice was a very good idea, and soon her body began to move.

But once again, it froze, upon sighting Shanker, standing just a few feet behind her beloved handmaid. The girl was still looking at her, her face more concerned than she had ever seen it. She opened her mouth to shout a warning, but Shanker beat her to it.

"Well lass, that hurt, but ye really hav'ta pay attention when ye be fightin'."

He then raised his hook and brought it slashing down at Kylia.

The girl dodged back and to the right, avoiding the initial strike, but Shanker's follow-up, a brutal punch to her stomach, lifted the girl off her feet, and sent her flying into the wooden building behind her. She crashed through the wall, ending up in a heap on the floor of the deserted house.

Kira's eyes widened.

'No!'

Shanker pushed his way through the small hole in the wall, and lifted Kylia's injured body, palming her head and lifting her up with a single hand. He smirked, and then threw her into the wall next to him, so hard that she smashed through into the alleyway that they had intended to escape from minutes earlier. The small girl crashed to the ground, gasping and coughing, blood pouring from numerous wounds upon her person.

Shanker walked forwards, intending to continue the assault until Kylia was clearly dead.

Kira couldn't stand around like this. She couldn't just watch her friend be killed. Gone was the fear that she had been consumed by earlier. Now, the same fierce determination that Kylia had possessed minutes earlier now burned within her, is if a nameless spirit had given the courage to Kylia and now possessed her.

She wasn't weak!

Shanker grabbed Kylia roughly again, and lifted her up so that her face was only inches from his.

"You know what would make this even better? You screamin'," he said, his hot, stinking breath filling her nostrils with a most awful stench.

But she didn't, simply gasping and coughing, hoping Kira had gotten away safely.

Shanker pulled his hook back, and prepared to gut the girl, only to be seized by a sudden and overpowering pain in his head, so great that it felt as if his head was being ripped apart from the inside out.

"Mind Flay," Kira whispered, her hand extended, a dark blue tendril of chakra connecting her hand and Shanker's head. Shanker screamed, and grabbed his head, letting go of Kylia in the process. The pirate stumbled back against the wall, still screaming as his mind was assaulted by waves of fresh pain.

Kira lowered her hand, and though the chakra tendril vanished, its effects did not. Shanker had slumped to the ground and was gripping his head in his hand, muttering unintelligible things underneath his breath. Kira quickly rushed to her friend, and did a quick diagnostic spell to determine the most heavily damaged areas. She did her best to focus completely on her work, though her mind continually slid back to the stunned pirate a few feet behind her.

She sent healing chakra into Kylia's chest, healing the damage to her broken ribs and then up towards her face and neck. Her handmaiden gave her a troubled look through the pain.

"You…s-should…h-have gone…mi–Kira," Kylia said breathlessly.

Kira smiled a little. "What kind of princess would I be if I didn't take care of my friends?" she asked.

Kylia spared a glance at Shanker, and gasped when she the man was standing. Kira turned as well, her hands flying into a seal, ready to fight the awful pirate if necessary. But then, a curious thing happened.

Shanker stumbled, and fell to all fours, making a horrible retching noise. The pirate's face was clammy and his eyes became bloodshot and his pupils dilated. He continued to retch, and to Kira's disgust, suddenly threw up a tremendous amount of blood onto the street. The blood dripped from his mouth, forming a crude beard, as crimson as his hair. Then, he began to convulse, and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Kira stared at the man in confusion. The Mind Flay wasn't supposed to do that…

Kylia gave a small laugh, though it sounded more like a cough.

"Those weapons, you big moron, were filled with poison; a special, dry-based poison that doesn't wash away with liquid. I am so used to the poison that I have gained immunity to it, which is why I was able to keep them inside my body without suffering from its effects."

Kira stared at both her friend, and the dying pirate with disbelief. When had Kylia become so cool?

Shanker made a strangled sound, somewhere between a scream and a cough, and pitched forwards, convulsing as his face began to bruise up, and more blood poured from his mouth.

Kylia then looked at Kira, and smiled a little. "Shall we go, mis– Kira?"

Kira blinked, then made a slight noise of irritation. "We're going to have a long talk about just when you found the time to learn all of this, Ky'. And I have to know…are you really clumsy, or is that just an act?"

Kylia blushed a little, and ducked her head in slight shame. "I-I a-am clumsy when I am not fighting…I can remain graceful because it is needed to protect you."

Kira, smiled warmly, feeling a deep gratitude towards her friend. "You were great, Ky'. Definitely cool."

Kylia ducked her head farther, this time in embarrassment.

"Let's go then," said Kira. Kylia nodded, and quickly followed the girl down the alley, leaving Shanker still twitching on the ground in a pool of blood.

Shanker, however, wasn't prepared to lose. He slowly got to his feet, forcing his body to stop shaking, and his mind to clear. He turned in the direction that the two girls had disappeared in, and an exhausted, pain-filled grin stretched across his bloody, scarred face. His parrot, which had perched itself on the edge of the house that Shanker had thrown Kylia from, spread its wings to fly off, only to have the large, golden hook pierce its body, and pull it towards Shanker. He devoured the bird greedily, his grin never fading.

He wasn't down for the count yet.

Gen'rash rammed the head of a vicious looking gnoll pirate into the stone street, feeling it burst in his hand. He lifted the soaked, warm, dripping extremity from the pirate's remains, and turned, gritting his teeth as another pirate shot him in the shoulder with a pistol. The troll wasted no time in attempting to attend to the wound, as he made several seals, gathering his chakra to perform a technique.

He then bellowed words in a language far too complicated to write down, and felt the warm, sticky blood on his hand begin to slide off, and float a little ways in front of him. The dried blood that covered most of his body began to liquefy, and added to the steadily growing mass in front of him. The wound in his shoulder added a small amount before it closed off completely, and then the sphere stopped growing. He then swept his hand around in a wide arc, and the sphere burst into hundreds of smaller spheres, before they lengthened and sharpened, forming a cloud of red needles. With another sweep of his hand, they shot, faster than the eye could see, in a conical spread away from him. They pierced and struck the bodies of dozens of pirates, and amazingly, carefully avoided striking any fellow trolls. The pirate that had shot Gen'rash was rendered a pincushion in seconds, while many of his fellow comrades were slain in the midst of their own fights.

The young witch doctor turned, his mouth stretched into a snarl.

'There are too many…' he thought, glancing over the entirety of the area they were fighting in. Gen'rash had fought his way from the entrance and past the long series of shops that ran along parallel with the boardwalk until it curved around. The street he was on was a little above that. Like the rest of his brethren, he had no real goal to fulfill, save for the utter defeat of their enemies. It didn't matter where he was, so long as there were pirates there to fight.

But he hadn't realized there were so many…

They came in swarms, as well. One moment, there were very few, and the next, they would jump from the tops of houses, or run from inside them, crying out in fury and desire for blood. When the massive ship had arrived, bearing so many pirates, Gen'rash had become even more worried.

There were only four other trolls, two of them Darkspears, and the other two Bloodscalps, in the area, that he could see. They had started out in the vicinity of around twenty, but the pirates, despite dying by the droves, had managed to either completely mangle the troll's, picking them apart so much that it was impossible for their bodies to regenerate, or they had wised up and begun using the technique that the humans had used against them many times. One would cut off an extremity, and then quickly, another would rush in and burn the wound, cauterizing it so regeneration was unable to take place. Thankfully, almost a year of constant fighting, as well as the experience they had held before, had helped most of the Darkspears survive, but his own Skullsplitters and some of the Bloodscalps were far worse off.

'If that troll intends to keep his promise…' he thought, glancing briefly towards the entrance, 'then he will come now.'

He trusted Vol'jin. The Darkspear chief had done much for their people already, so he would fight, and would survive, until Vol'jin came.

Besides, having not been able to fight in the last battle against the Bloodsail Buccaneers, Gen'rash and his brethren were itching for the chance to prove themselves.

He then glanced towards the ship, which he could just see over the smaller houses nearest the bay. He was, however, distracted by a charging gnoll pirate, who gleefully slashed at his neck with the crude cutlass in his hand. Gen'rash dodged the attack, and impaled the gnoll with one of his tusks. He lifted the smaller beast completely off the ground, and then chucked him into a horde of dead bodies.

He once again glanced towards the ship, having seen Naruto head there when he had finished with the pirate outside the entrance.

'That boy…' he thought, "I wish him luck…he is interesting, and I find him to be good company, even if he is a human. I hope that I may see him again. I believe he still has much to teach me.'

Then, he spotted something a little surprising.

From between the gap of two small wooden bungalows, two human girls, one looking far worse off than the other, emerged. The girl who was worse off had shiny black hair, and stood protectively in front of the other, who had shoulder-length golden hair, tied back in a small ponytail.

He remembered, briefly, that the boy, Naruto, had spoken of two girls that he needed to save. He hadn't learned much from the boy's ramblings, other than that, except that the boy had a favorite food called ramen, which he made a note to try.

He advanced towards the girls quickly; though his menacing appearance, coupled with the determined look on his face, made him appear as if he was going to attack.

The girls must have thought this as well, because the golden-haired one shouted something and pointed at Gen'rash. The other girl swiveled, and lifted a small dagger, which was very worn-looking, leading Gen'rash to believe she had picked it up off of a dead pirate. She shouted something that he did not understand, making him stop. He glanced at the dark-haired girl, before looking intently at the golden-haired one. He said in Orcish, stringing words that Naruto had recently taught him into a semi-coherent sentence.

"No 'urt. Be friend Naruto."

The golden-haired girl looked shocked for a second, and said something to the other girl in their strange language. The dark-haired girl lowered her dagger, but still looked distrustfully at him. The two girls backed away into the alleyway, out of the battle, and Gen'rash followed, stealing a glance behind him. No pirates had noticed him yet, having moved upwards through the streets. Thankfully, no new ones had entered the fray.

The girl spoke in Orcish, to Gen'rash's relief. She spoke it a little quickly, making it hard for him to understand, but he managed to get a good idea of what she said.

"You know Naruto? Where is he?" she asked, looking desperately at him.

Gen'rash responded to the best of his ability. "'Dere…" he said, pointing towards the ship. "He be 'dere."

Kira glanced backwards, where she could see the ship's tall masts through the small alley. Heading towards the ship meant going deeper into the raging battle. She needed to get Kylia somewhere where she could rest, but she still wanted to help Naruto.

"Go," the troll said, pointing in the direction of the street that led down to the boardwalk.

Kira opened her mouth to protest, but Kylia interrupted.

"We must go, m– Kira. I don't know what he said, b-but he seems to be t-telling us to leave as well."

Indecision once again welled up in the youthful princess of Stormwind. How could she just leave Naruto there? She voiced her concern to Kylia, who looked at her calmly, if a little nervously.

"I don't know Mr. Naruto very well, mi– Kira, but I think he is strong enough t-to take care of himself," Kylia said, glancing behind Gen'rash into the street.

Kira sighed, and nodded. Naruto was far more adept at this than she, and she needed to have confidence in his abilities. She nodded at Kylia, and looked back at Gen'rash. She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said, in Orcish.

The troll gave her a toothy grin, something that didn't look a bit out of place on the troll's angular face. He moved aside to let them pass, when they heard the small tinkling shatter of glass, and the splashing of liquid.

Kylia turned around, and spotted a small, broken bottle of greenish liquid a little ways behind her. Seconds later, another bottle, filled with blue liquid, fell from above them, and landed on top of the green substance. At once, they began to smoke, and all three people realized that when that started happening, nothing good could come of it.

Gen'rash bolted from the alleyway, Kira and Kylia fast on his heals. Seconds later, both houses exploded in a fantastic show of greenish fire, hurtling fiery pieces of wood into the street. The two girls and one troll quickly turned, staring at the verdant inferno with shocked eyes.

It was Gen'rash who first spotted their attacker, when he emerged from the blaze, remarkably unharmed, smirking at them. What he was, however, completely shocked Kira and Kylia.

It was an elf.

A High elf, to be precise; he stood almost as tall as Gen'rash, with pale, ethereal skin, long platinum blonde hair, and large, pointed ears which resembled a troll's, in a way. His eyes were a deep, blood red, but they did not appear as menacing as one with red eyes should. He was dressed in an open front, blood-red robe, with black pants and sandals, and a silvery-white shirt. He had a superior, arrogant smirk on his face, reminding Kira of some of the nobles that she had known back in Stormwind.

"Good afternoon," he said in unaccented Common. His voice carried a pleasant lilt, as she had heard that all elves possessed. However, his eyes, cold and filled with a terrible greed that would have made Cyrussian T. Venture proud, served to make everything that his voice enhanced all the more appalling. He seemed, to her, like poisonous animal, brightly colored, but still tremendously deadly.

"My, isn't this my lucky day? I seem to have found that missing girl that the Captain has been searching for so obsessively for the past few days," his smile widened, making it even more terrible to behold. "My name is Gerethas Sunseer, I am the ship's doctor and alchemist, and I double as the quartermaster. It would be in your best interests, young miss, to come with me. I have no intention to let the reward that the captain will inevitably bestow upon the one who brings you back slip through my fingers. So be a dear, and come, yes?"

Kira stared at him, shocked that he had the gall to ask her to come peacefully. Kylia stared in anger, lifting her dagger to prepare for the fight. Gen'rash stared in confusion, wondering what the strange elf had just said.

Gerethas smiled at their silence, and said, "I'll take that as a 'no' then. I confess that I was hoping that you would say that."

The elf's hands dove into his robes, and in the movement, Kira caught sight of many other vials, located in small pouches along the entirety of his robe fronts. He selected two, both of them varying shades of blue, and popped their corks off. The arrogant smirk had been wiped clean from his face, replaced by a twisted smile that spoke of nothing but madness.

Now his red eyes were menacing.

He then threw the two vials in front of him, so that the contents of both splashed out, striking and mixing with each other in mid-air. The mixture struck the ground in front of them, and the very instant it touched the ground, large, glittering crystals of ice erupted upwards. The air around the area suddenly became as cold as the deepest and darkest ice storms of winter, making it very difficult for them to get free of the rapidly freezing street and area. Once again, Gerethas remained unaffected by the effects of his alchemy, watching with sick delight as the ice consumed several pirates and a few trolls, flash-freezing them into statues.

Kira found herself lifted from her feet as Gen'rash grabbed both her and Kylia, and leapt away from the freezing area. It was so cold that she could see her breath, and a steady fog had appeared, slightly obscuring the elf.

The ice finally stopped growing, allowing Gen'rash to stop, and release his grip on the two girls. Gerethas emerged from the icy fog, grinning sadistically.

'How is he doing that?' wondered Kira, her eyes wide. Why wasn't he being affected by his attacks, when due to their chemical rather than mystical nature, they should affect him as well.

Gen'rash gave a rumbling growl from deep within his throat, and stepped forwards in front of the two girls. His body was trembling with restrained rage. He knew the figure that stood before him, grinning madly, for he had been waiting for this meeting for quite a while.

This elf, he knew, was the one that had captured him last time. During the last battle between the trolls and the Bloodsail Buccaneers, which had been a desperate attempt by the trolls to protect their last camp, it had been this elf that had allowed Blood and his crew to utterly decimate them.

He remembered a sweet smell, one that invaded and enraptured the senses as delectable food would to a starving man. They had all lined up in formation, ready to battle the Bloodsailors, who, according to Vol'jin's scouts, would be attacking from the west, as they had managed to cover their backs by setting up the camp in the deserted Mosh'Ogg Ogre Den, which was situated in a small canyon, a perfect place to fight.

Then, a light, almost invisible fog had crept through the ranks of the witch doctors and shamans, who, in battle, where generally behind the attacking berserkers, axe-throwers, and warriors. The no one had taken noticed of it at first, but when a sudden drowsiness had taken hold of him, they began to notice the wisps of smoke at their feet. Then, without warning, the Bloodsailors had attacked, and without the full support of their healers and shamans, they were inevitably defeated.

The last coherent thought, Gen'rash remembered, that he had had before he had awoken in a cell, had been the grinning visage of that elf.

Lowering himself into a battle stance, Gen'rash promised himself that he would rip this little elf limb from limb.

Gerethas smiled at him, seemingly completely oblivious to the troll's anger. "My, you look familiar…I think I might know you," he said, in surprisingly good Trollish.

Gen'rash was unaffected by the elf's choice of language, and grinned. So this fool knew who would kill him. Good. That made it all the sweeter.

Then, "Hmm…maybe not. All of you trolls look the same! Now, move out of the way, oaf, and let me take that girl off your hands. It is not as if you need her, you'd probably cook her and eat her, if anything."

Gen'rash's grin disappeared, and was replaced by a feral rage. He growled, and shot forwards, ripping one of his tusks out and throwing it at the grinning elf.

Gerethas lifted a small vial of pinkish liquid from his robes, and popped off the cork. He then, instead of throwing it, slashed it downwards diagonally. The pinkish liquid shot from the end, stretching into a long whip-like shape, and with a flick of his wrist, he batted the incoming tusk out of the air. As soon as it had knocked the tusk away, it returned to its original shape, like a piece of rubber.

Gen'rash, however, had not stopped his attack with a simple tusk. He had dodged to the side, and was making several seals, readying a powerful spell. Gerethas, however, lifted another vial of pink liquid, and popped the cork on it. He then lashed out with both, making them move so quickly through the air that before he could finish the hand seals necessary for his spell, they had wrapped around his hands, and ripped them forwards, with surprising strength. He tried to pull them away, but found himself not strong enough to resist the pull.

Gerethas gave a little laugh, and transferred one of the vials into his other hand. With a hand now free, he produced another bottle, filled with a darker liquid, and popped the cork, as he had done with the others.

He smiled. "My own special concoctions. None of them affect me, because I always add a bit of my blood into them, as well as a special little mixture that integrates my blood into the mixture, without affecting the outcome. It essentially makes them ignore anything that has my blood in it. Ingenious, no?" He spoke in Orcish this time, as if he wanted Kira to hear what he was saying.

Unfortunately, this meant that Gen'rash understood very little of what he was saying, so he ignored it, and ran forwards, letting himself be pulled by the elastic substance.

Gerethas smiled again, and dropped the vial of dark liquid at his feet. It at once began to spread outwards, almost like it was consuming the street and simply forming a black, swampy void. He remained in the middle, unaffected, smiling.

Unable to stop himself, Gen'rash fell straight into the mass of black, and found that there was no longer a street beneath him. Instead, he began to sink into the inky liquid, finding it almost impossible to move his legs as he sunk. He growled, attempting to struggle, which only brought more laughter from Gerethas.

Then, there was a flash of silver, and the elastic ropes snapped, releasing Gen'rash's hands from their bindings. He glanced to the side, and saw the dark-haired girl, holding her hand out, the dagger which she had held earlier no longer in her hands, or anywhere near her.

Gerethas blinked and turned towards the two girls, startled, though not appearing so, that they had helped. This gave Gen'rash a chance to make some hand seals unmolested.

"Hey now, young miss, perhaps it would be better if you didn't do that, again, okay?" Gerethas's eyes seemed to glow with even more madness, and his horrible smile never left his face. He made to start towards them, before he suddenly remembered Gen'rash.

Two tendrils of chakra had extended from Gen'rash's hands, and had gripped the unaffected street a few feet away from him. With incredible effort, he pulled himself from his capture, and lifted himself onto the street, grunting with effort.

Gerethas made a small noise of impatience. Gen'rash, however, didn't allow him to speak, as he made a seal, and roared in Trollish, "Shadow Bolt!"

A dark, skull-shaped burst of chakra erupted from his hand, and flew towards the elf. Gerethas lifted a vial from his robe and shattered it in his hand. It began to engorge rapidly, until it had become almost the diameter of a man's height, and had formed a disc-shape, grafting itself to his arm, creating a shield. The ball of dark chakra smashed into it, exploding and making the shield crack, but not break.

"Don't think I don't see you, little misses!" he laughed, suddenly throwing a vial of turquoise liquid towards Kira and Kylia. Kira's hands were in the middle of a spell, while Kylia had picked up a few sharp stones, originally part of the street, and was preparing to throw them. The vial burst only a few feet in front of them, and a bluish smoke rose from it, obscuring their vision of the two. They tried to move to the side, to run past it, but it seemed to move with them. Neither wanting to test what would happen if they ran through it, they stopped, helpless, trying to spot the two fighters.

Gerethas then turned back to his true opponent, suddenly noticing that he was no longer present. His sharp ears suddenly the picked up the slow, rhythmic beating of a heart, so very close to his own.

Rising from the large shadow that the orange shield had created, Gen'rash now stood inside his opponent's guard. His body was aglow with purple markings, much like the ones that had appeared on Vol'jin's during his fight with Naruto.

The Shadow-Walk ability was something that Vol'jin had taught him personally, making it one of the strongest abilities that he had. It was a technique that usually went hand in hand with the Shadow style of the shaman arts, because it required the same chakra tattoos in order to use. Normally, it was only taught to shaman, but Gen'rash, upon seeing it used to great effect in many of the earlier fights against the Bloodsail Buccaneers, expressed an interest in learning it. Vol'jin had readily agreed, pleased that he was able to pass along his knowledge to the trolls of a different tribe.

By using his chakra, he could melt into the shadows of the world around him. He had also learned the other part of the Shadow style, Keiei, but because he rarely engaged in hand to hand combat, and performing a spell while that technique was activated was almost impossible, Gen'rash rarely used it.

However, he had learned to use the Shadow-Walk quite well, and found it to be most effective against those who had no way of protecting themselves against it.

Gerethas swiveled, reaching into his robes for a vial of unknown liquid to counter, but found himself suddenly out of breath. Gen'rash had punched him hard, in the stomach, so hard that it drove more than just air from his lungs. A second, even stronger punch smashed into his pale, shining face. He sailed backwards, with Gen'rash pursuing him relentlessly, attacking every time he had the chance. He attacked with such ferocity that Gerethas had no way to counterattack with one of his potions. With the elf sufficiently beaten, Gen'rash took it a step further. He flashed through two, well-practiced seals, which caused his hands to begin glowing a deep, angry red, with swirls of black mixed in. He smashed both fists into the elf's face, sending him flying backwards a few feet, landing in a heap in the center of the street.

Gen'rash lowered his hands, grinning in triumph. He knew he had won. There was no way that the weak little elf would be able to stand up, especially after that last attack.

But that didn't stop him from trying, of course. Gerethas slowly sat up, leaning on one arm to help him to his feet.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be a mistake, as seconds later it broke under the strain, despite how slight that was.

The elf made only a soft grunt as he sat completely upright, taking his weight off his arm. He glanced at it curiously, as it hung uselessly by his side. He then glanced at his feet, which lay in odd angles. Horrifyingly, his sadistic smile had not yet faded.

"What is this?" he asked, using his one good hand to gesture at the broken limbs. There was no expression of pain on his face; he merely seemed curious.

Gen'rash grinned. "That is de Hex of Weakness," he said, in Trollish. "It weakens your bones, and makes your skin thin and easily ripped. You no longer de have ability to hold your own weight."

Gerethas gave a small laugh, and reached into his robes again. Gen'rash tensed a little. A part of him, the more rational part, told him to attack now, and prevent him from using whatever potion he planned to use now. However, the other, less rational, and more instinctual side, told him to wait, and see what type of plan this fool was going to use to try to recover from the attack. What potion could reverse the Hex of Weakness?

He opted for his more instinctual path, and grinned again at the elf.

Gerethas pulled a very small vial, filled with dark green liquid. He lifted it, and with a smile, downed it in a single gulp.

He sat there for a few seconds, and then, steam began to rise from his legs and arm, and Gen'rash's eyes widened. His legs, once bent out of shape, returned to their normal states, and his useless hanging arm became useful once more. He stood, smiling, and Gen'rash stared as the large bruises on his face faded as well.

"Infusion of troll's blood," the elf explained, smiling. "It won't last very long, but I have several here in order to keep me alive in the direst of situations. Captain Blood does not wish to lose his doctor, you see, so he allows me free reign with what I buy, and with what I experiment on."

The elf retrieved two more vials from with his robes, one dark blue, another light green.

"This ends, now, troll. I have a reward to collect, you see."

Gen'rash growled, and Gerethas then threw the vials forwards, his eyes glinting insanely. The troll witch doctor-in-training flashed through three seals, and then thrust his hands forwards.

"Hex of Darkness…"

For Gerethas then, everything went black. He heard the sound of glass shattering, and the contents of both spilling out onto the ground. However, he blinked curiously when he heard no explosion, no sound at all, really, after those first two. He blinked, the potions he had selected were most certainly the correct ones, and he had not made them incorrectly. He then withdrew another vial, one that he knew well. The smell came to him, strong, almost alcoholic. He thought it odd that the troll wasn't attacking, and so he simply downed the potion.

At once, sight returned to him.

And he found the grinning face of Gen'rash straight in front of his. The troll mouthed, "and Silence," and Gerethas could see briefly in the background the effects of his potion, a towering inferno of greenish fire, which the troll had somehow escaped.

My shadow… the elf thought, almost chuckling to himself, before Gen'rash grabbed him hard by the neck, lifting him off his feet.

With a savage twist, Gen'rash snapped the elf's neck.

He then let Gerethas drop, before grabbing him in a bear hug, and with a violent growl, which went unheard by the now deaf elf; he crushed Gerethas into him, in a perversion of a hug. Instead, he snapped the elf's spine in two, and then, with another unheard roar, he flung Gerethas's limp body away from him.

Gen'rash didn't believe he was dead, however. Odds are, the fool still had a troll's regenerative abilities, and that meant that a broken neck and broken spine could be easily healed. He began to advance towards the fallen elf, who, as he had thought, was still moving, before he caught sight of something in the smoke that was blowing up the street, from the blazing green bonfire behind him.

Kira and Kylia, who had long been able to see what was happening, saw the shadowy figure as well, and when they caught sight of him completely, they froze, their mouths agape.

'It can't be…!' thought Kira, her eyes wide, and hand clapping to her mouth to hold back her revulsion.

Kylia couldn't believe it, staring at the figure as he materialized from the smoke, grinning wickedly.

Gen'rash, remembered the man as well, as he had been present at many fights in the past. But even he was astonished at the man's appearance, and even more so when in a single cut, the giant pirate sliced the slowly recovering Gerethas in two with his massive, golden hook.

Stepping past the now truly dead High Elf, Shanker lifted his bloody hook, and grinned sadistically at Kira.

"Oi, lass, ye miss me?"

"True-Seeing Eye?" mumbled Naruto, staring at the revelation that Blood had just made, as a slight breeze swept past him, filling his nostrils with not only the salty air of the sea, but with the blood and fire that raged in the city around him.

The Captain smiled cordially. "This is the power that I have used since the beginning, boy. It is the power and ability that I will use to further my dream. It was forged by goblins, and it was from them that I stole it, when they were transporting it to the Undermine. It is made from a special, synthesized material, the goblins, I believe, have called it vericite. This material is conductive to life and spiritual energy. Therefore, even though it is truly not a part of my body, it channels my body's life processes, even acquiring impulses from my brain, and thus acts like a true eye, allowing me to see without flaw. I can even see through objects, no matter how dense they may be.

"But that is only the first ability. The second, I think, is far more useful."

He then shot forwards, moving towards Naruto like a bolt of lightning. The blonde summoned a surge of the demon's chakra in order to boost the power of his Kongou, and was confident that he wouldn't be affected by the pirate's attack. He placed no chakra into his feet, and prepared to ride the blow backwards away from the pirate.

With practiced ease, Blood struck out with his sword, thrusting it into a point on Naruto's chest, only six inches to the right of his heart, and one or two inches above. And instead of being deflected, it pierced straight through, so swiftly and easily that it was as if he had pierced a piece of paper. Naruto cried out, as a bolt of pain shot through him, and again as Blood kicked him in the stomach, knocking him backwards into the wall of the rear cabin, only a few feet away from the last place he had struck.

Naruto slumped, coughing and hacking blood onto the deck, even as the wound healed.

'How did that stupid bastard break through?' the boy wondered angrily, staring up at Blood with unbelievable fury in his eyes.

Blood lifted his bloody sword, and wiped the tip off on his coat. His eyes, one green and one a glittering solid turquoise, stared down at him stonily.

"The second ability, as you have found out, is the ability to see a person's weakest point on their body, at any time, and any position. Every time you move, this point changes however slightly. The best of warriors can locate the general area of a person's weak point, based on their stance, body structure, and overall skill. The True-Seeing eye does all of that for me, and therefore I am able to see the point with such clarity that I can defeat even the greatest of warriors in several strikes, by draining all of their stamina in striking those points. On your last technique, for example, the point was tremendously small, but in a place on the body that, if it where a lesser man, they would have fallen. Due to your healing ability, I believe that isn't so, so it will take a few more strikes to truly finish you off."

'STALL.' Naruto heard the demon command from inside of him. He still needed more time to heal, so he grit his teeth and said, "Eh…but what about the fact that you knew how to fight Vol'jin, when he was better at than you at fighting, and what about you knowing about my killing that bastard Scool and the tubby guy?"

Blood, who had been advancing towards the blonde in preparation to continue the battle, stopped.

"That is the third ability," he said. "It is the ability to see the future, in the lowest sense of the term. It sends me visions, visions of things that may happen in my, or another's future. It let me see the tactics that Vol'jin and his trolls would use in every battle against them, and thusly I was able to build my attacks around that. It allowed me to take over the Bloodsail Buccaneers from their previous captain, as well as take over Booty Bay. Of course, it doesn't always show me what I want. It showed to me the boat that I believed Thrall would be on, as that was what I had been concentrating on, but it did not show me Thrall himself; it turned out that you, and the dear Princess where there. It also did not show me the rebellion of many of my own crew, only showing me the battle that the trolls would start with your defeat of Scool and Grubbins. It has shown me several times of things beyond this point, but I cannot see the outcome of my dream; meaning that I must insure that my dream comes true, and that I can only use this eye to foresee every step of path to my dream, but not the actual goal. This battle is necessary, then, to show to the world my power. Vol'jin will die this time; I shall not practice clemency on his people again, they will be exterminated, before I leave, as an example."

His eyes then were stone again. "But do you know what it shows me when I see you, Uzumaki Naruto? Nothing. That is because I have already decided your future. It will be death, by my hand, and immortality, in my list of kills."

Naruto chuckled, standing to his feet, swaying slightly. His bloody face was covered in a fox-like grin, and his deep blue eyes, pools of azure fire, were matching Blood's glare of emerald and turquoise. He felt the demon's chakra begin to broil with him again, making his body stronger, sending a rush of demonic excitement through him.

"You're wrong, bastard. I have a dream of my own, and I don't plan to let another crazy with a special eye technique change that! I'm going to beat you, and that's a promise!" Naruto shouted, pointing a now clawed finger at Blood.

Then his blue eyes became red, making Blood smile as well.

The fight began anew.

Kira took several steps back; almost losing her balance her knees were shaking so much.

'It's impossible! Kylia said that he had enough poison in him to kill a kodo! How is he still alive!' the girl silently wailed. She stilled herself, quickly however. She wasn't going to lose her cool now. She was going to fight him, and she wasn't going to be afraid, no matter how horrible this man was.

If he could truly even be called a man, anymore.

His mouth was still covered in a beard of blood, and numerous cuts all across his visible skin were bleeding as well. His face was red and splotchy, and covered in various bruises, likely from where blood vessels had popped due to the poison. The sclera of his eyes were no longer white, but rather red with blood. The blood had soaked into his shirt, turning it red as well.

The terrifying grin on his face, however, shook her more than his appearance. It was not the grin of a man; it was one of a demon from the lowest pits of hell. For only such a creature could have survived such poisoning.

None were so shocked as Kylia, however. She couldn't believe that the pirate had survived the poison, for quite simply, it should have been impossible.

'Is he some sort of monster?' she wondered.

He would have to be, for only a monster would have so heartlessly killed his own crewmate.

Gen'rash stared at Gerethas's remains, his eyes cold. This man had taken away his revenge. He glared up at the monstrous pirate, who stared past him, almost ignorant of his presence.

Shanker lumbered past Gerethas's body, only stopping to sneer down at it. "Never liked ye anyways, ye fancy little git. Shows ye for gettin in me way." He then continued to walk towards the two girls, both of them frozen with fear.

Gen'rash moved in front of him, however, his eyes smoldering. The pirate stopped, and fixed his terrible eyes on the young witch doctor.

"Oh, tryin' ta protect them, are ye? Won' do ye any good, I don' think. Whether it be me or them, ye three are beat."

He pointed with his only hand past Gen'rash, and behind Kira and Kylia. Kira turned, and gasped.

Pirates, of all shapes, sizes, and species, had begun to pour from between the intact houses. Some even leapt from atop them, landing deftly so that they formed a wall of bodies, preventing any chance of escape. They then began to slowly advance, their weapons drawn and ready. Their faces were alight with cruel, greedy grins, and the bloodlust that the battle was igniting in them seemed to have pushed them far over the edge of any sort of reason. They were now nothing but twisted murderers, with whom bargaining was impossible.

Gen'rash made a hand seal, causing his hands to glow with same crimson as before. If anything, he would destroy this man, for taking away his chance at revenge against Gerethas.

Shanker glared at him, and said angrily, "Still gonna fight, savage? Then die!"

Gen'rash thrust his palm forwards, but Shanker stepped quickly backwards, a remarkable feat for his badly damaged body. With the same quickness, he snapped his hook forwards, skewering the Skullsplitter's arm, and then jerking it violently to the side, across the troll's body. The troll cried out in agony as his arm was removed completely from his body, but managed to strike the tall pirate hard in the chest with his Hex of Weakness. Unfortunately, he only achieved a glancing blow, as Shanker had kneed him in the stomach, sending him flying to the ground, a few feet away.

Shanker grunted as he walked forwards, seemingly unaffected by the effects of the attack. He stopped in front of Gen'rash, who was trying to stand, and kicked him hard in the face, driving him backwards several feet. The troll stopped moving, unconscious. He then advanced steadily on the two girls, who had steadily began moving forwards, away from the approaching wall of pirates.

Kylia stood protectively in front of Kira, making Shanker laugh. "I was looking for ye, girl. I gotta pay ye back for poisonin' me."

He reached out, and grabbed Kylia's head, swiftly enough to prevent her from dodging. He lifted her up into the air, at the same time savagely kicking Kira in the stomach, knocking her backwards.

"Ye won' use anythin' this time, lass. I'll gladly take a few lashes fer that one," he sneered, before lifting Kylia directly in front of his face, his breath, coppery with the scent of blood and therefore even more horrible than before.

Then, with a bestial roar, he leaned forwards, and bit down on Kylia's ear, tearing it clean off.

Kira's mind froze, completely shocked and horrified by the action. Kylia's scream tore through the air, so loud and so close and so incredibly horrible that she almost vomited. She had never heard a scream like that. It was one of complete and utter terror; meaning Kylia was just as shocked and reviled as she. Her sickness only grew when the horrible pirate chewed the soft cartilage, and then swallowed.

Blood spurted from Kylia's wound, and continued to flow as her scream died away, replaced with a look of absolute defeat. Any fire that she had once had was gone. The act had so shocked her, so repulsed her, that any coherent thought, even if it was to save her mistress, was gone. Shanker grinned in appreciation, and discarded the broken, wounded girl, before turning towards Kira.

He walked towards the girl, a moving, breathing engine of cruelty. He lifted his hook, and said to her, "This next one's worth a hundred lashes, lass. I'm gonna enjoy every moment o' it."

She closed her eyes. She began to curse herself, under her breath. She wanted her weakness to disappear, she wanted to get angry, really truly angry, more angry and hateful than she had ever been in her life. She wanted to make this man pay, but now she would never get the chance.

'My dream…' she thought, despair flooding through her. 'I need to accomplish…my dream…!'

And then, it came to her.

A broiling hot, monstrous rage, sending adrenaline flooding through her bloodstream as if a dam had broken within her. She stood and leapt backward, using chakra to enhance the power of her jump.

She landed, breathless, a few yards away. Her mouth was open, her teeth gnashing, her face twisted into a snarl of animalistic rage.

She wouldn't let her dream die here. No, like Blood had said, she would kill in order to accomplish her dream. She would kill to save her friend, and her dream.

Then, there was a sound.

It was unlike any other sound in the battle; for it was not a sword striking another, nor a gun going off, or a head falling to the ground, or bomb exploding, or a spell being cast; no, it was something almost refreshing in the din, the sound of rushing water to a man lost in the desert, or heat to a man drowning in cold.

It was the sound of a horn, loud and near, blowing into the smoke-filled air, almost as if piercing a veil. For a moment, there was no other sound; it seemed, than that horn.

And then, emerging from the entrance cavern, as fluid and powerful as water when it is released from floodgates, but as silent and quick as a shadow, came the trolls. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of them; she saw, to her amazement, that most were female, though there were many males as well. Some rode atop massive, green raptors, and strode ahead of the rest, moving towards the wall of pirates faster than Kira would have believed.

And at their head, atop a massive purple raptor, with a large, orange Mohawk and wielding a twin-bladed weapon that was slick with blood, was a troll that was undoubtedly Vol'jin.

With the troll's arrival, the wall of pirates turned and rushed at them. Only a small portion of the trolls rushed to meet their attack, Vol'jin being one of them. The others ran down the boardwalk, and flooded into the other streets, seeking comrades and perhaps husbands or other family members to aid. Some even rushed towards the ship, where Naruto was probably fighting.

Shanker's bloody eyes grew even more maddened as he saw them arrive, and let loose a roar of primal fury. He turned towards Kira, whom he found staring straight back at him.

There was something in her eyes, he saw, that hadn't been there before. There was a drive that alerted him to the fact that she was no longer afraid of him.

But that only made him even more excited.

Vol'jin cleaved his way through dozens of pirates, uncaring of their species, as he fought towards where he had seen the young human girl, and the giant human man standing. Naruto had told him about the girl as well, and he knew, therefore, that she was important.

But he saw what was happening, so when he arrived on the other side of the bodies, covered in cuts and wounds, all of which began to heal quite quickly, he did not attack.

This was the girl's fight, he realized, and that interfering would deprive her of something that she needed. It was a lesson, perhaps, in the art of war; one that every person needed to learn, no matter what age or species.

Shanker ignored the newcomer, and with a roar, no longer caring for what the girl's fate was, launched his hook forwards. The girl's hands, in response, flew together in a collection of seals.

"Power Word: Shield," she said. A glowing shield of chakra swirled around her, just in time for the hook to strike and fall harmlessly away. Her hands had already begun to move again, forming seals that she had learned only recently. She had locked her index and middle fingers together, as if they had been tied, and had done the same with her ring and pinky. They were meant to emulate the three-fingered hands of a troll.

Shanker had retracted his hook, and rushed her. His eyes were raging pools of hate, so hot and terrible that any lesser person would flee. For he, in that moment was the perfect embodiment of what humans could become when consumed by their baser instincts. He had become the physical projection of all the cruelty and hate and rage that a man could generate.

He had become a monster.

"Shadow Word: Death" the Princess of Stormwind spoke, in words that only Vol'jin understood. The Shadowhunter's eyes widened considerably, upon hearing the words spoken.

'That technique… was lost centuries ago. And now this girl knows it?'

Her teacher had drilled the words into her skull; who, what seemed like a lifetime ago, had produced to her a scroll, written in Trollish.

Flashback

"Is this that scroll you had earlier, master?" Kira asked, staring at the ancient piece of literature with curious eyes.

Benedictus nodded, looking down at the scroll with grave eyes. "It is indeed. I have successfully translated it, as I said I would. Within it, I have discovered something incredibly remarkable, but also incredibly dangerous."

Kira blinked. "What is it?"

Benedictus sat upon one of the large chairs atop the altar. "It is a spell. A spell of great power, and of great darkness. It is the technique that was once used by ancient troll witch doctors, and as I understand it, is now lost. It is the word of Shadow, for 'death'."

Kira's eyes widened. She knew very little shadow words. Only 'pain' and 'darkness' and 'fire'. And she never used them, for according to Benedictus, their uses had dire consequences.

"I am going to teach it to you," he announced, startling Kira from her reverie.

The girl recoiled from him, looking horrified. "What, but master, I don't–"

"Save your protests, child. I do not like it any more than you. But I think it may be useful to you, somewhere down the road. But I must caution you. Shadow word techniques are only used in the direst of situations, for they are the most forbidden of techniques in our history. It is not because they use more chakra than others, though that is certainly true, but it is because every use of them leaves a stain on your soul. This stain is something akin to what would happen if you murdered a family member in cold blood, or committed a rape upon an innocent. The trolls and Forsaken are particularly resistant to this effect, but you are not. Therefore I ask of you, Kira, to use this only if your life is in the greatest of dangers. You will need to be prepared to bear the mark of shame of using this forever, so I ask of you not to use this technique, unless you have no other choice. Do you understand?"

Kira was silent, her mind in turmoil. Then, she nodded, demurely.

Benedictus nodded. "Then, let's get started."

End Flashback

She was prepared. She would wear the black mark of using this forbidden spell for all history, if it meant allowing her to continue the pursuit of her dream, and to save her best friend.

She slammed her hands into the ground, causing black marks to shoot along the ground, forming a wide circle around her. Other markings spread across the ground, towards Shanker, and when he stepped into them, he found himself unable to move. The markings traveled up his body, constricting around him like long, thin, black snakes, until they converged on his forehead, in a terrible looking black symbol, in the shape of a cross, with many markings spread out around it, perverting the holy symbol.

Shanker's eyes lifted towards his forehead, and then stared back at Kira. Kira's hands began to glow a terrible poisonous green, and that glow quickly spread along the markings, alighting the pirate like a Christmas tree. When the green converged on his head, his eyes popped out, and he began to convulse. Then, he began to laugh.

His laughter would remain with her forever.

"SO THAT'S WERE I'M GOIN' EH? HAHAHAHAHAHA! IT LOOKS LIKE A NICE VACATION SPOT! SEE YE THERE, LASS!"

Then, he stopped convulsing, and the markings stopped glowing. The life, if one could call it that, had vanished from his eyes, and his body had fallen limp. The smoldering rage had vanished so abruptly that if one had been staring into the now vacant eyes of the terrible pirate, it would have been like being submerged in cold water.

His skin began to turn an awful black, and his muscles shriveled and when he finally struck the ground, he was but a ruined, blackened skeleton in pirate's clothes, with a golden hook attached to one hand.

The black markings retracted, returning to Kira's hands, and when they had finally disappeared, she felt a white-hot pain in the palms of her hands. She turned them over and saw, that on both hands, were two black symbols, identical to the one that had appeared on Shanker's forehead. His laughter was still in her ears, as she slumped to the ground, and let loose her building revulsion in the form of a spectacular bout of vomiting.

Tears leaked from her eyes, and she found herself unable to move. What she had just done was unforgivable. And now she had the marks to prove it. She barely noticed the approach of someone behind her.

"Be strong, girl. De boy wouldn' be wantin' to see ye in dat state. You have just learned de worst lesson in war. Bear ya shame, an' be stronger, for now ye have tasted de worst of de worst. Ye can only go up from here," said Vol'jin standing beside her.

She turned, and looked back up at him, her face teary eyed, her mind still reeling. But, Vol'jin could see a small sliver of thanks in her eyes, something that, despite her being human, he found to his liking.

Then, there was a loud boom, and Vol'jin turned, towards the sound, his eyes alert. It was coming from the ship, where Naruto and Blood were fighting.

"Dat boy…" he rumbled. "Better be winnin'…for he be de first 'uman dat I enjoy bein' around. He better win."

Blood's sword cleaved into the deck with such ferocity that the entire ship shook. Naruto had managed to dodge at the last second using the Kazaashi, moving past the pirate captain and appearing a little ways behind him. In the process, he drew a pair of kunai, which he threw with as much force as he could muster at Blood's back. But with the same fluid grace that he had attacked with, Blood turned and deflected the oncoming projectiles, before propelling himself towards the blonde. Naruto gathered chakra into his feet, and jumped, avoiding Blood's attack once more, sailing over his head and landing on top of the rear cabin that he had been knocked into twice already.

He was breathless, but the Kyuubi soon fixed that, and so he conjured a group of clones. Bending their knees, the group of Narutos shot forwards, one after the other, hardening their bodies with the Kongou in mid-air, with their one of their fists held up, so that it gave them each the image of a javelin or arrow.

"Naruto Aroo Rendan! (Naruto Arrow Barrage!)" They roared, using the technique of Air-grasping to speed up their flight towards Blood, who had remained still the entire time.

The first Naruto that neared Blood was cleaved in two, several feet in front of the pirate captain. Another, also a clone, sailed past, and doubled back with another Air-grasping attack, shooting for Blood's unarmed back, while another went towards his front again.

Blood moved swiftly to the side, causing the two clones to smash into each other, dispelling them both. He then dealt with the third and final attacker, the original. The blonde shot towards Blood, but at the last second used Kawarimi no jutsu to disappear, replacing him with another water barrel, which Blood simply dodged.

The pirate captain then turned towards the only place he knew water barrels existed on the deck of his ship, near the front mast, and saw Naruto standing in that spot. The blonde had savagely bitten his thumb, and was in the process of making a series of hand seals.

Blood's eye saw two glaring weaknesses as the boy prepared to slam his hands into the ground, and so he sped up, reaching the blonde just as his hands hit the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jut–" the blonde started, seeing the telltale black markings begin to spread from his hands. However, any concentration he had was lost when Blood suddenly slammed both of his swords into Naruto's hands. The boy cried out in agony, unable to hold the chakra he had gathered. Blood retracted his blades, but without taking a step back, he booted Naruto in the face, throwing him against mast, making it crack and splinter. It wavered dangerously for a second, but held.

Naruto spat blood onto the deck for the third time in a while, and glared up at Blood, his eyes smoldering. The pirate captain stared back, his face stone. He then swiped his blade downwards, towards Naruto's head, before a sudden wind, emanating from Naruto, blasted his sword away. For almost the first time since the fight had started, Blood took a step back, away from Naruto.

Reddish chakra was seeping from every part of the boy's body, forming a protective cocoon around him. The cocoon, however, soon received a shape, in the form of a large fox, with one long tail, long pointed ears, a demonic, ethereal visage, and long, fiery claws. The boy's face, too, became far more animalistic. His red eyes became even redder, and were filled with even more power and rage. His canines lengthened until they were visible even when the blonde's mouth was closed, and the dark whisker markings became even darker. All of Naruto's wounds healed, and before Blood could react, he had smashed his spectral claw into his chest, throwing the pirate captain backwards, through the wooden wall of the front cabin.

Naruto launched himself forwards after Blood, feeling the hot rage and power of the Kyuubi rushing through him. Remarkably, he still had his mind. It seemed the Kyuubi wanted him to finish this battle himself.

Blood emerged from the wreckage of the cabin, and ran to meet the blonde. His eye spotted very few weaknesses on Naruto's enhanced body, but they were still present. They met in the center, between the mast and the front cabin, and Blood thrust his blade into one of the weaknesses, which lay on the boy's left shoulder, at that second.

To his immense surprise the fox-like claw that surrounded the boy's left arm suddenly parted with it, and grabbed the approaching blade, without the boy even moving his hand. At the same time, the other claw lashed out towards Blood himself, aiming a blow at his head.

With the skill and fluidity that only an accomplished fighter could produce, Blood released his grip on the blade the boy's left claw had grabbed, and at the same time, parried the right claw, ducked down, and pulled one of the large pistols from his belt. He thrust the gun upwards, aiming at the blonde's face, and fired three times.

The bullets didn't pierce the first layer of "skin" that now protected Naruto's face, but it was enough for the shinobi to jerk backwards, allowing Blood more room to attack. The pirate captain stood up, and fired more shots into Naruto's chest, producing enough force to knock the blonde back a few paces. Blood then dropped his gun, and pushed aside his coat, revealing two more swords, one of which he drew, and then resumed his attack.

Naruto let out a growl of frustration, angered that attacks weren't working. He threw the sword that the Kyuubi's chakra had grabbed, making the man dodge to the side, and then thrust both of his weapons forwards. The fox claws attempted to grab them again, but the pirate captain moved his wrists in quick, efficient circles, evading their grasp. He thrust the weapons into the blonde's shoulders, piercing through the layer of chakra and then through skin and muscle.

Naruto cried out again, but instead of backing up, he leaned forwards, and the Kyuubi's unearthly head opened its grinning maw, biting down hard on Blood's shoulder. The pirate captain grunted in pain, but before the ghostly mouth could rip any more flesh away, he kneed the blonde shinobi in the stomach, and followed up with two punches, still gripping his swords.

Naruto flew backwards, while Blood waited. He felt no warm blood coursing down his chest or arm, so he glanced at the wound Naruto's spectral-fox mouth had made. To his surprise, the wound was completely cauterized, and was smoking slightly. He felt very little pain, so he turned and stared at the recovering Naruto, smiling.

'This boy…is remarkable. I have struck him in perhaps a dozen or so weak points since this fight has begun, and he still stands and fights. He is admirable, pursuing his dream so relentlessly.'

He saw Naruto beginning to recover, and to his surprise, he saw something else. A second tail had formed on the wraithlike fox that surrounded the blonde. He saw Naruto smirk, as well, and he knew the blonde would soon attack.

His eye, however, told him that was a good thing.

Almost all the blonde's weak points had disappeared. But there was still one, very large one, that didn't involve him striking a point on Naruto's body.

'The aura burns his body, and injures him as much as it protects. He cannot go for very long in this state.'

"I made a promise…" Naruto growled, his red eyes so terrible that to many, he would not seem remotely human, if one just looked into his eyes. "I will help Kira accomplish her dream, and you're in the way of that. That eye isn't going to help you now, bastard."

Blood shook his head. "You are admirable. Willing to help the dream of another, with no regard for your own life. But…that will not help you in this fight. I have a dream of my own to accomplish. I must become a legend, I MUST BECOME IMMORTAL!"

Blood moved faster than he had ever before, slashing into the thicker, more opaque form of the demon fox. Naruto took both blows, surprised that the swords could even cleave through the protective covering without being destroyed. He ignored the pain, the pain that was constantly bubbling around him. The new power that the Kyuubi had given him meant that his body would degenerate almost twice as fast. He needed to defeat this man.

Growling, he made practiced seal, with both claws and hands, and said, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

The wraithlike fox that surrounded the blonde then began to bubble, and atop his back, two claws emerged, followed by a head, a body, and finally two more legs. Another entire fox had appeared, and with a pop, it disengaged itself from Naruto, taking one of the large tails with it.

Blood leapt backwards, dodging the large claws from the clone Kyuubi. They extended far beyond their normal reach, and smashed into the deck, blasting that portion of it away. He dodged one of the original Naruto's attacks, and then another from the clone. The attacks came with such ferocity that Blood had to keep his distance, unable to attack. He danced back, and leapt past the front mast, and with a quick slash, toppled it. It fell to the side, suddenly creating a rift between him and the two attacking foxes. Naruto, however, didn't plan to let that stop him. He slammed his spectral claw into the dense wood of the mast, splintering it apart, and then rushing through the cloud of debris, his clone quickly following.

Blood began slashing quickly, sending blades of air towards the attacking blonde. Naruto dodged, letting his clone take most of the attacks. They passed harmlessly through it, causing Blood to curse. Then, before Naruto reached him, he did something he had not done before.

Blood's hand moved faster than Naruto could ever believe, and so he was just able to dodge using the Kazaashi as the pirate captain thrust one of his blades forwards with all of the monstrous strength he possessed. He released his grip on the blade, so it shot forwards, at a slight angle downwards, creating a massive tunnel of wind that tore the clone apart, and the blade continued through the ship, smashing through everything it encountered until it struck the sea. It created a huge tunnel in the water, piercing all the way down into the sea floor, where it created a huge crater, having bored through dozens of feet of rock and sand.

Naruto, even in his Kyuubi enhanced state, was stunned by the power of the attack. It had pierced through the entire ship, and likely even more than that. He growled as the chakra from his clone returned, making the second tail sprout once more. He then hissed again, feeling his body begin to weaken. The demon's chakra was taking its toll, he knew.

Blood drove his boot hard into Naruto's stomach, but at the last second, stopped his kick, dropped his leg, and pivoted around, bringing his sword directly into Naruto's head.

Only to encounter resistance in the form of Naruto's spectral fox teeth.

Blood's eyes widened in surprise, as he stared into Naruto's grinning face, when he felt an influx of wind beginning to form near him. He looked down, and spotted a glowing, swirling mass of chakra in the blonde's hand. He remembered it in his vision of Scool's fight, and knew it was deadly.

He lashed out with his free hand, and grabbed the hand that held the swirling ball of death. Naruto growled, and tried to thrust it forwards, but found that even with the demon's enhanced strength, he didn't match up to Blood's own. With that same monstrous strength, Blood ripped his blade from the fox's teeth, and punched Naruto in the face, driving him backwards.

As he did that, he drew the remaining blade from his belt, and roared; he thrust both blades together, so that they were parallel with each other, and in a second fluid motion, he thrust them forwards with all of his strength.

Just as Naruto appeared, and drove both his Oodama Rasengan, and a second hand, glowing with the power of the Tsuchidageki (Earth Shock). The blonde shouted no words of attack, and the combined attack literally ejected the Rasengan from Naruto's grip, grinding deep into Blood's chest. The force from the attack blasted Blood through the other part of the ship, and past the boardwalk into the streets above. He finally came to rest, only a single street above the boardwalk, upon smashing into an old wooden building; it was obliterated, however, by the chakra winds that had carried him there.

But at the same time, the two blades struck Naruto in the chest, piercing straight through in the span of a second. The accompanying wind did not rip Naruto apart, but dispelled the fox-like aura from around him. The force transferred into him, however, threw him across the entire length of the ship, splitting it completely in two. There was an explosion of wood and debris, and Naruto then smashed into the water, skipping across it and finally coming to a stop when he had reached the mouth of the bay.

All at once, silence reigned. It was as if the earth had suddenly stopped, upon the climax of this fight between two men with dreams that were beyond the scope of everyone else's.

Every creature: troll, gnoll, human, goblin, and even raptor heard the tremendous explosion, and many of them saw it as well. They had stopped their fighting, to gaze in shock, wonder, and even despair at the scene.

Vol'jin, standing at the end of the boardwalk, with a stunned Kira and a wounded Gen'rash, stared at the spectacle, his eyes calmly staring towards Naruto's distant form in the water. It had been a long time since he had seen such a fight. It had been spectacular, as well. He felt no loss of pride in thinking that he had placed his faith in that boy. The boy had been right.

It seems he would have to reevaluate his opinion of humans altogether.

Gen'rash, having almost completely regenerated his arm, stared wide-eyed at the effects of the battle. It was good that he had made a friend out of the blonde, he decided, for he didn't want to get on his bad side, after seeing that.

Kira, with Kylia's unconscious form laying its head in her lap, could not help but be amazed at her new blonde friend. Kylia had been right. Naruto had been able to take care of himself, and she could not help but feel that her dream was that much closer to being accomplished.

But, Vol'jin saw that the battle was not over.

Because both were still standing.

Blood stood at on the boardwalk, just in front of the ruined hole where he had smashed through, staring out into the water, into Naruto's clouded, now blue eyes. The wound on Naruto's chest was so tremendous that one could see out the other side. It was directly to the right, so it had thankfully missed his spine, but nonetheless it had done so much damage that the Kyuubi would need a lot of time in order to heal it.

But, the wound on Blood's chest was far worse. It seemed inhuman that he could even stand, with the entire front of his chest having been torn apart, and almost all of the bones in his body injured in some way thanks to the Earth Shock. His face was as stony as before. He would not die, he knew, for he still had a dream to accomplish.

But then, something happened. He felt a pull, and then a vision, given to him by his True-Seeing eye, was upon him.

He saw many battles, where hundreds died, where dreams were made and lost, love was found and revenge was settled. He then saw a figure, his features and body obscured, with golden blonde hair, and eyes of blue fire. He was standing in front of a massive castle, and at the same time, a large tower, both as regal as he.

Then he caught sight of something else.

It was a marking, no, a scar, upon the man's chest. It was illuminated for him to see, for all to see.

And at once he knew.

He laughed, ignoring the fact that laughing for him should have been almost impossible.

He had done it.

He fell backwards, onto the soft dirt of the ruined street.

He was smiling, even as the last of his tremendous vitality left him.

He had accomplished his dream. In a way, he felt it proper.

He had become immortalized, as the villains of old had, in their defeat by a hero.

But he was glad that it had been this hero, who now lay unconscious, sinking into the water, as several trolls swam to gather him up, and quickly attend to his wounds.

Yes… this hero… Uzumaki Naruto.

OH YEEEAAAAAH!

THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!

(pardon my French).

Was that the greatest chapter ever or what? That was probably the most fun I've ever had writing a chapter ever. Those last few lines…my blood is still pumping!

I hope you guys are dazzled by this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. If not, then that doesn't matter, 'cause I still loved it!

But it gets me thinking…the characters of this chapter had their way with me…repeatedly…

I mean, I had no idea the fights with Shanker would turn out to be so…gruesome! And Kylia's abilities just sort of popped out of nowhere. I enjoyed the character development for Kira, though, and mark my words- this will be a big point for her, and she will learn a lot from it. She and Kylia both will.

But…geezus! Shanker turning out to be so monstrous was completely unexpected on my part! He just…turned twisted by the end, especially when he bit off, and ate, Kylia's ear. He isn't really a cannibal, mind you, but he is definitely hardened warrior. What he did was a fear tactic. If someone bit off your ear, and you were a young girl, even as cool as Kylia, I doubt you'd react any other way than she did.

And then there is Gerethas… I didn't even know he existed until Gen'rash's fight with him. He and his face and his retarded personality and his wicked awesome abilities just popped, fully formed, into my mind the second I began writing Gen'rash's fight section. I personally hate his personality, and find it a bit too cliché, but I love his abilities.

Don't even get me started about Blood.

He is, in my opinion, the greatest original villain that I have ever thought up. His mannerisms, and abilities, and character are just all so cool! I'll admit, I based his appearance and sword skills on Wrath from Fullmetal Alchemist (manga), but his dream was pretty original for me. He is the strongest pirate out there, due to his sword skills and gun skills and stamina and strength…and I love pirates.

His True-Seeing eye, in an effort to differentiate it from the Sharingan, Byakugan, and the Ultimate Eye (which Wrath uses, and analyzes, apparently all the possible outcomes of a single situation), I made it sort of a combination. It can see through walls, but instead of analyzing the outcomes of a situation, it simply identifies where the weakest points on the body are. These constantly change with a person's movement, and it in no way slows things down. Therefore, Blood had to be that skilled in order to attack and keep up with the eye's power. The future-seeing part of it was somewhat appropriate, since I had planned on that happening since I created his character. After all, he would need some advantage to conquer a strategist like Vol'jin.

Wow…just wow.

Next week, the end of the Troll arc, and the beginning of the end of the Orc Arc. Then comes…you guessed it…THE UNDEAD ARC! WEE!

Okay, that was a lot of excitement.

Take a chill pill, General.

Eh, I'm too lazy to count the polls now, so I'll do it next time, giving you guys more time to vote (I've had too much fun with this chapter!)

Oh…forgot to mention it.

Here's an omake, written by my good friend MuhiTatsu, who wrote the uproariously funny, and incredibly creepy, Kaine x Hinata omake way back when.

It's a little thing that makes fun of Sasuke-lite, or rather Sai, whom I hate almost as much as Sasuke.

Ooohh! He betrays the Leaf, didn't see that one coming! Kishimoto-sensei, it would be wise if you didn't create any more androgynous characters…Haku, Deidara, and Sai are quite enough, thank you.

Alright, here it is!

Omake by MuhiTatsu-

(A man walks into a dark stage, a spotlight trailing his movements. He stops and looks into what is presumably the audience. He has short white hair worn down, and wears a leather jacket as well as blue Warcraft-esque pants with sandals as well. Six Thorium daggers are inserted into a belt on his waist, three on each side, as well as a short sword made of Mythril. A staff made of ebony is on his back and he wears tinted glasses. The man clears his throat.)

Man: You all are probably wondering what I, Tatsu, am doing in a story that is not mine, nor in which I appear.

Tatsu: Well, considering that most of we Naruto fans at the moment seem to enjoy the General's story, Legend of Uzumaki Naruto, more than the actual Naruto series, I thought I would give the readers a treat considering we now know that that gay prick Sai is actually a villain.

(Tatsu presses a button on a remote he pulls out of nowhere, and Sai, his wrists tied to the ceiling and hanging, is lowered to Tatsu's position.)

Tatsu: Now dear readers, I'll be taking suggestions on what to do to our 'dear friend' Sai. We'll start by asking Sai what he wants. If it's not something fun, or what the readers would like, I'll just ignore it and come up with something interesting. Now Sai-kun, on which body part would you like me to start?

Sai: Boy Danzou-sama was right, torturers might not have 'things'. (If you've seen the manga, you know the 'thing' Sai is referring to. But I can't seeing as how it might get this part and the General's stories banned, and we don't want that.)

Tatsu: Sorry girly-boy, wrong answer. However, we might as well settle something that has now doubt been on the minds of our readers and even just the Manga readers.

(Tatsu takes one of his daggers and carefully rips nearly all of Sai's clothing off, save underwear. Exposed are two small, but nevertheless real female breasts. Tatsu then pulls Sai's underwear out and grimacing, looks inside.)

Tatsu: Well, looks as though he actually DOES have something there. I hope this settles some debates. We're nearly out of time, but for now, the General will give me a suggestion about what we can do with our little friend; and I do mean little!

(Grievous hands Tatsu a note. Tatsu takes two seconds to read the short note and starts to smile sadistically.)

Tatsu: Hey Droid troops, I need some of the clear sticky stuff!

Random Droid troop number 1: Roger Roger!

Tatsu: While Droid 1 gets what I need, be sure to tune in next time to Sai's fitting punishment, handled by Muhi Tatsu and General Grievous! Remember, send us suggestions, and you're method of punishment might make it in! And remember, when in doubt, 'Sai deserves this!'

Droid 1: Here's the duct tape you requested sir.

Tatsu: Thank you trooper. Now Mr. Sai, you will tell me the location of the ANBU ROOTS ba-

No screw it, I'm putting the duck tape on you.

(A few seconds pass, and as the show fades to black you hear a distinct high pitched shrieking noise.)

Send in the votes for the above omake too! What shall Sai be tortured with? Who knows? You decide!

There you go! Now, finally, reviewer mail!

The Forgotten Lord- Kyuubi can't beat Kil'jaeden? Where did that come from? I haven't even featured Kil'jaeden, although he will appear near the end, I imagine. And who says he can't beat Kyuubi? They are both demon lords…even though I do confess that Kil'jaeden would be more of trickster fighter, and less of an animalistic monster. So you're probably right. But wait until I actually show Kil'jaeden in the story before you say he isn't as strong as Kyuubi! As for not killing Blood…no can do. He was slated to die in this chapter, and always has been. His death is necessary, I think, for Naruto to grow up a bit more, and besides…he already accomplished his dream.

Darksentinant- Eh? Too much potential to get crappy? How? Isn't that the same with just about every fic? And I have been reading the manga, I know what happens to Naruto when he gets angry. You won't like him when he's very angry. In this though, the Kyuubi gave him the chakra, but let him keep his mind. For what reason, who knows? He's a demon, who does he have to answer to?

Das Leech- You, my friend, just gave me the perfect opening for the next chapter. I wonder what Naruto will say when he wakes up to find a near-topless troll female attending to his wounds?

Well, that's everything! Until next time, enjoy the total awesomeness of this chapter! (Or don't, if that suits you!)

General Grievous

Spellbook-

Mind Flay- Causes tremendous pain in a person's mind. Can shatter minds, with this pain.

Hex of Weakness- Weakens a person's body, making it very difficult to support their own weight without breaking bones.

Shadow-Walk- Allows the user, using the techniques of the shadow style, to meld with shadows in an almost Night Elvish way. Much more effective, however, and can be used to transport people over short distances.

Hex of Darkness and Silence- Renders a person blind and deaf.

Shadow Word: Death- A tremendously evil attack- destroys a person utterly, draining them of life force. It is said that it gives a person a vision of where they go when they die. It displays a marking, each time it is used, to show the stain it creates on a person's soul.

Naruto Aroo Rendan- Launches clones towards opponent, their bodies hardened with the Kongou, and their speed enhanced with Air-grasping.

Bestiary-

Tobias "Shanker" Guthrie (Humanoid)(Elite)- Perhaps the most terrible pirate to have ever existed, Shanker is the physical embodiment of all the cruelty that men can possess. He is unfeeling towards others, even going so far as to eat his own parrot, and kill his own crewmates. His body, at the end, with flaming red hair, blood filled eyes and a blood beard, coupled with his bloody shirt and coat, and on his back (which is never shown) a skull bearing the Bloodsail Buccaneers' flag. This symbolizes no quarter given, as he certainly gives no quarter in his fights. Ruthless and using whatever means to defeat his opponents, he is truly a monster in human form. His hook can rend the flesh of almost everything living thing, the chain as well. Is almost immune to curses (this is unknown) and has a pain threshold through the roof. It is clear why he is the first mate.

Gerethas Sunseer (Humanoid)(Elite)- Crafty, intelligent, and sadistic, the High Elf Gerethas Sunseer is an insane alchemist/doctor/quartermaster for Blood's crew. He is therefore one of the most important members, and so Blood gives him free reign with almost everything he does. Uses a variety of potions in his fights, as he has no physical ability whatsoever. His personality is brutally insane, and he almost never seems to get angry or stop smiling.

Captain Thaddeus Blood (Humanoid) (Boss)- Thaddeus Blood is quite possibly the strongest pirate in the world. Possessing sword skills that seem to defy reality, stamina and strength that aren't human, and an eye that can see the weaknesses of his opponent, as well as the future, make him a tremendously deadly opponent. He is even more dangerous due to his relentless pursuit of his dream- to become a legend in the eyes of the world, like the villains of stories that he read as a child. In the end, it is only because he believes his dream is accomplished that he seems to die. He not truly evil, however. He treats women with respect and courtesy, and is heavily admired by his crew. He dislikes some of them, of course, namely Scool and Gerethas for their personalities, though he seems to like Shanker, despite that man's cruelty. He acknowledges the strength of his opponents, and almost never underestimates them. He is a true warrior, and honors his opponents by telling them that he will immortalize them by killing them. It is unknown why he let Vol'jin and his people live- perhaps it is because he saw the battle at Booty Bay, and wanted to prove to the world that he could conquer everything. In the end, even though he dies, he dies happy, his dream having been accomplished.