Barbarians in the ash-lands
I own nothing save for Oc's: All other content goes to respective owners
After a few weeks, the ash-lands became a mixed blessing. On one hand, the refilling of the treasury allowed Naruto to continue and expand his public work projects, now including ones that would make the ash-lands more habitable. Even the ash was useful for a few things. The problems that were arising however was making a few people in Naruto's government think it was a bad idea. There were very few settlements that survived, and troops were sent in to enforce laws, and protect citizens. The roads were not safe, hordes of barbarians and rumors of werewolves stalked the roads, so trade ground to a halt. Naruto decided to move to the capital, which was now repopulated with refugees and the homeless from his own country. Hinata was helping him towards his escort. Due to his legs being broken, he couldn't use Ryu, so he was going to be guarded by a force of 1,000 light troop and Gatoa and his dragon.
"Hinata, I feel guilty having to have this kind of escort." Naruto said as he was helped into his transport, a large fire-drake
The drake was orange in color, and only about the size of a extremely large elephant. It had a carriage strapped to its back. A former shiniobi was its partner, a recruit in the Ultra Dragon Guard. He was equipped with a bow, but did not receive the armor yet. Hinata got in after Naruto, and sat next to him.
"Naruto, you are in no condition to fly there on Ryu. Tsunade said so." Hinata said hugging him
"I just feel useless, people waiting on me hand and foot now that my legs are broke." Naruto complained, motioning to the casts he had on both his legs
"P-please Naruto." Hinata begged
"Fine. Just please no special treatment, it makes me feel bad." Naruto said
As much as Naruto used his power, he didn't like using it for the wrong reasons. Being spoiled made him feel guilty about what it was putting the people that was serving him through. Living in the wilderness as training made him develop this mentality. Hinata after he came back became overprotective of him, and in a way that helped her with her confidence and shyness. She was even able to stand up to Naja to some extent. However Naruto didn't like her worrying about him all the time, and while he did it, he only did it when the concern was justifiable.
"Forward march!" The officer in charge of the 1000 said and the group was off
The zombie dragon lead in front, and the soldiers flanked him on both sides. To prevent someone from attacking from the rear, the carriage had a arrow tower on its back, with a team of 5 archers nested in it. There job was to lay down lots of arrows onto any enemy that tried to attack.
2 days later, on a road in the ash-lands
The escort made camp around the carriage, and Gatoa was with his dragon. Over the weeks he was helping it with its armor. It now had a heavy spiked club at the end of its tail, and its back was now reinforced with a layer of spiked armor, to protect against aerial attacks. The spikes were on his back, and tail in rows, but on his neck they were only on the top, two rows on opposite sides of the neck, each with 12 seven foot spikes. In the dark the soldiers couldn't see a thing, but the dragon could. They were night hunters normally, and there eyes were built for it. He saw several shapes moving in the distance, in a strange gait. It rose to its feet and made a few step closer to get a better look.
"What is it?" Gatoa asked, but the dragon nudged him away
The shadows were werewolves. Each were about 7 feet in height, but kept there distance. There was no food, but even they were not desperate enough to attack a dragon. Zombie dragons used dragon bones for there armor because its the only thing stronger than dragon scales. He then saw a much larger shape, a massive werewolf almost the size of him. While the lesser werewolves stayed out of range, this one was coming towards him. The dragon roared as a final threat, but the werewolf only scoffed at this and charged. In a instant, the wolf was on the dragons back. He couldn't exactly do anything, the spikes on his back prevented the werewolf from attacking, and even stepped on one. He rolled off, feeling like a needle pricked him.
"Werewolf!" The soldiers yelled and readied there weapons
The soldiers made a shield wall of spears and tower-shields around the carriage. The men in the war tower fired arrows at the large werewolf, but the arrows simply bounced off when it hit the fur. In a instant the wolf bowled the dragon over and slashed his underbelly. While it didn't do damage, claw marks were made on the bone armor, even though it wasn't enough to pierce. A massive kick got the wolf off him and then sent a fire blast at the wolf. Like its attack on the dragon, the werewolf was not very well affected. To add to the empires attacks, Gatoa began firing arrows at it, only he was aiming for some of its weaker areas. One arrow pierced through the inside part of the back leg joint, where there was little fur. While it didn't feel much pain, it noticed Gatoa and charged at him.
"Help!" Gatoa yelled as he ran away, and the dragon charged into the werewolf's flank to stop his charge
Hours pass, and the two titans slug it out. Fire, claw and tooth were used in ton's of variations to try and kill each other. While the dragon kept it busy, the fire-drake carrying Naruto was slowly turning, so slow Naruto and Hinata would not notice. Then it sent a fireball at the werewolf. While it did not do damage, it knocked the wolf off its balance, and the archers pelted its weaker points with arrows. Certain parts like the joints and flanks were covered with them, but stuck out harmlessly, not doing any damage. It jumped up, and for another hour the titans clashed. Both were tired as hell, and the two made one final charge at each other. The dragon swung with a right hook and skewered the eye of the werewolf, killing it instantly. It feel slumped on the ground. The zombie dragon slowly walked back and fell asleep, but before it did, it roared in victory to drive away the rest of the pack.
Next morning
Naruto had Hinata help him out. When he saw the dead werewolf body, he was instantly interested.
"What happened? And why is there a massive dead werewolf here?" Naruto asked the soldiers
"This werewolf attacked the camp in the middle of the night sir." Gatoa explained
"Unaka tin yura ka tu noke. (I BARELY won that fight...! He was good...)" The dragon chipped in
"Well now we know why trade's stopped, this one could wipe out a hundred trade caravans no sweat." Naruto replied and had Hinata help him back to the carriage
After the group left, the werewolves that were in its pack came over to eat. They were so hungry, they cannibalized on even there own kind.
Later, in the capital of the eastern ash-lands
The escort arrived in the capital within a few hours. Hundreds of people gathered in the streets to see him.
"My lord, it is a honor to see you." The government officials said when Naruto arrived
"It took a long time to get here. Lets get down to business." Naruto replied
"Naruto, what took you?" The voice of Draco asked from inside the
"Why are you here!" Naruto yelled
"I had nothing better to do and the magic chess board is on strike." Draco listed off nonchalantly
"Whatever. Lets talk over lunch, I'm starved." Naruto said
They all entered a massive dinning room of the capital building. The walls were made of black marble, and intricately carved in all forms of shapes. Silk curtains covered the stained glass windows, and massive gold and jeweled shaldilers lined the ceiling. Hinata was absolutely amazed at the extravagance of this place. Even the table was rich. Red oak and ivory carved into a table with platinum lining and edgings. The chairs were extremely well crafted and sturdy. On the end of the table, two thrones were brought in for Naruto and Hinata. When they sat down, the table was then stuffed to the brim with massive and extravagant dishes of all kinds. Meats, pies, platters of fruit dishes, fish, salads, and sweets.
"Wow." Hinata said quietly
"Lets eat." Naruto said, and his voice echoed in the space
"Naruto... after lunch... I want to talk to you about something." Hinata whispered in is ear
Naruto was interested. While he stuffed his face, he keep an eye on Hinata. She had a careful manner and shy way of eating. He wondered why, she had more power than any other person in the room, only equal to Naruto. Yet she acted as if she had none at all. After lunch, Hinata helped Naruto into a secluded room. Three guards instantly guarded the door, and prevented anyone from even getting near the hallway.
"Well Hinata, what would you like to talk about so privately?" Naruto asked
"N-N-Naruto..." Hinata started, but couldn't speak
"What would you like to say, you can say anything to me." Naruto replied, and got closer to her
"I-I want to have a baby." Hinata bravely said
"Come again?" Naruto asked, not being disrespectful, just surprised
"I want a child, our child." Hinata replied
"Don't get me wrong Hinata, but right now, I don't think we should. My legs are broken, and we haven't even had sex with each other yet. I'd love to have one with you Hinata, but its not the time." Naruto explained, and pulled her close
"Thank you for listening to me Naruto." Hinata answered, and walked out disappointed
Naruto felt horrible for having to give her that answer. In the shape he was in and the challenges facing him in the ash-lands, it was the only answer he could give. Using his crutches he made his way to a office given to him by the governor of the province. Sitting down, he then dove into hundreds of papers stacked on the desk. Bandit raids, massive ash storms burying abandoned cities, and trade is nonexistent.
"Draco, who are these bandits attacking us?" Naruto asked Draco
"I'll be bluntly honest with you, I have no idea." Draco replied
"Well that's just great. I want all the scouts in this province looking for there bases and finding what they are doing. Also why would be nice too." Naruto ordered, and Draco quickly wrote up the orders, then sent them
He heard a knock on the door, and stormed in Tsunade, who along with Shizune came later to meet up with Naruto. The only one not there was Kuroi, who stood behind to keep his family in line and get them settled in new Konaha. The sage stormed up and slapped Naruto so hard it almost broke his face in.
"OW! That was a little not called for." Naruto said in pain
"Yes it was you bastard!" Tsunade yelled in his face
"This is about Hinata isn't it. Look this is not the time, I have a ton of..." Naruto said, but stopped when Tsunade grabbed him by the collar
"You broke her heart you idiot. How can you be so heartless to not even think about trying to complete her dream?!" She growled
"Is that what you think? I didn't give it any thought? I gave it a lot of thought, but you of all people should know my reasoning behind it. Look at me, and look at whats going on. Further more, you of all people should know that love isn't measured by how many kids you give, or did you forget about Dan already?" Naruto argued, and Tsunade dropped him as his statement hit her like a ton of bricks
"I'm sorry." Tsunade said solemnly
"I forgive you. Thank you for hearing my side of this. No one ever does." Naruto said and went back to work
"Are you going to make amends?" Tsunade asked
"Yes, but not right now. Now I need to figure out who our adversaries are." Naruto said as he unfurled a map
"I hope you do, cause Hinata is in a wreck right now." Tsunade replied, and walked out
With a sigh, the emperor got back to work. He had only 5 medium sized towns and a city under his control. The rest of the towns and cities were under the bandits control. They also took over ancient tombs and forts. There hold was so great that they even constructed massive fortresses. To Naruto, these were not ordinary bandits, and something far worse than them.
Meanwhile with a scout
The scout got close to a massive war band. They were camped inside a old tomb. However, the weapons and armor didn't appear like a bandits, more like a armies. Massive amount of smoke came out of cracks above it. Forge's must be in there. Then there was something that caught the scouts eye. Two massive werewolves flanked a man coming out. From a distance, he could only make out one feature on him, his skin was deathly pale. The scout then ran stealthily away to tell the new's of the new enemy.
Back with Naruto: 3 hours later
"These are not bandit's sir. These are a organized military force, led by Vampires and Werewolves." The scout said
"Well, now we know not to underestimate them. I got reports of 100 forts, abandoned towns and cities, tombs and fortresses they control." Naruto said
"That sounds like a large task to eliminate them sir." The scout replied
"Yes it will be. Dismissed." Naruto ordered and he left
After that the emperor face palmed. Now he'd have to call in the whole army, which getting here would take about a week due to its size. That left him a week on the defensive. In that time, that gave him a opportunity to make amends to Hinata. He had to get her in his office, but after what happened before she wouldn't even look at him.
'Think Naruto think. How do I get Hinata... how stupid am I.' Naruto thought and quickly wrote up a invitation for Hinata, then called a servant to bring it to her
Quickly the servant got it to Hinata, and surprisingly she wanted to see Naruto. Two guards instantly flanked her when she stepped out of the room she was in, and then when she got there, they joined the two at Naruto's door.
"Naruto." Hinata said kindly, trying to make it seem like she's not bothered being around him
"Hello my love, thank you for coming." Naruto replied warmly, and kissed her hand
"What do you want?" Hinata asked
Naruto got up and using his crutches got behind her, and pulled her in a hug. It surprised her, and she tried to get out, but her husband wouldn't let her. He had to many things to say to her to let her go.
"The reason I called you here, is I want to talk. I know you want a child. I do too. However you have to put yourself in my shoes in why I said no. Right now I'm not in the condition. My legs are in so many pieces that it hurts to even use the crutches. Also right now there's a major crisis going on. Hinata, it broke my heart to tell you what I did. I'm sorry, and I want to make it up to you." Naruto said, and Hinata cried from it
"Naruto!" Hinata screamed and spinned around to hug him
Her hug was not crushing, but firm and affectionate. She then began kissing him, and Ventros walked in on this. He slowly closed the door and backed away.
Next day: War meeting room
Naruto moved in with his crutches with Hinata at his side. The room was full of high commanders, but they were in a state of disarray. Ventro's was trying to calm them, but for some reason the presense of a general only made it worse.
"Ventro's, what the hell's going on?" Naruto asked
"Sir... let me explain." Ventro's said, and Naruto was about to say something, but Hinata butted in
"Explain what?" Hinata asked
"We have a new problem to keeping control of the Ashlands. The werewolves that attacked your party on the way here Naruto were sent by someone." Ventro's said
"Who?" Naruto asked
"A Fire Giant tribe. They have made camp north west of here. There leader is a cleric, she goes by the name of Junqual. Extremely powerful magic user." Ventro's said
"We will be dealing with some powerful adversaries. Call in reinforcements." Naruto ordered
"Yes sir." Ventro's said, and instantly got to writing the request
Quickly it was drawn up, as Ventro's has written these types of letters before. There troop numbers were desperate. Only 3000 odd guards were defending them, with half that at the capital of the eastern ashlands alone. Actual armies will be require to fight off the giants, but even with the scouts info, there was no idea to tell there strength. The fire giants were leading the vampires and werewolves into battle.
In the Giants camp
The massive camp had many werewolves, vampires, hellhounds, and trolls, two headed furry giants called Ettins, and two young Red Dragons. There were also lots of Fire giants. They were 12 feet tall, with 9 feet around chests, and firey red hair. A female giant sat on a wood throne, with the two Red Dragons chained to each side of the throne. A vampire in leather armor came up to her and kneeled.
"Master Zunqual, your preparations for the invasion are ready. All we need is your order." It said
"Not right now, I want there leader to make the first move. Its to make this more interesting." She Zunqual replied
Back with Naruto and company
In Naruto's office, the young emperor was diving through work orders and paperwork faster than any Kage before him. Hinata sat in a chair next to him, trying to understand all the stuff he was putting through.
"How do you handle it Naruto?" Hinata asked
"When one does something for 3 years they get used to it." Naruto replied
"Three years?" Hinata said flabber gasted
"Ya, never intended for all of this to happen, but now, I wouldn't go back for the world." Naruto answered
"Sir, we have news. The giants are on the move." Ventro's said
"To where?" Naruto asked
"The town of Aukar." Ventro's said
"Shit. We don't have the forces. They'll get slaughtered." Naruto said
There was a thump on the wall by his office. Then the window opened to reveal Ryu. The dragon had followed Naruto on his journy.
"Ryu, I need you to go to the town of Aukar to stop Fire Giants, can you?" Naruto asked, to which the dragon nodded
"Thank you Ryu." Hinata said and kissed its cheek
The dragon blushed a bit and flew off at a incredible speed. He was on a hunt, the kind he most likes. Army killing.
Town of Aukar
The small walled town of around 2000 residents cowered in fear as the warband of giant's, hellhounds and vampires marched towards him. There were guards, but only a few dozen, no where near enough to even issue a challenge. To the warband, it seemed they would be enjoying lots of spoils with ease. That is till they saw a shadow block out the sun. Ryu rocketed towards them and did a flyby fire blast. Vampires and hellhounds burned to death by the dozens from that one blast while the giants were unharmed due to there nature. The giants wore blackened steel armor and wielded blackened steel greatswords, which were massive.
"Kill the dragon!" One of the higher ranking giants yelled
In a instant the giants grabbed large rocks and threw them at Ryu. With masterful flying skill, Ryu weaved in and out of the rocks with no trouble. Ryu then realized that there immunity to his fire made his circle strafe idea useless. He had to go against his nature, and land. With a massive thump, he hit the floor, then reared up. While the dragon towered over them, there greatswords would do some big damage. Another rock got thrown at him, but like a baseball bat, Ryu used his tail to smash it into one of the front line giants. Around 30 giants were in front of him. Two flanked him and swung, but the dragon grabbed them with his hands. In a simple hand turn, he snapped there swords in half.
"This wasn't part of the plan!" One of the broken sword giants yelled
"Well punch it man!" His buddy replied
Before they could do that, Ryu grabbed the two's heads and crushed there skulls against each others. Bare in mind that a giant of any type has a tough skull. Then he threw the carcess's away, then dodged another sword strike. With 28 left, Ryu felt cornered, and a cornered dragon is a dragon not to be messed with. He took his hands and charged magic into them. Electricity then began forming in his hands.
"This thing knows magic!" A female giant yelled
Ryu cracked his knuckles and unleashed a flurry of martial arts moves ranging from simple karate chops to jumping and high speed combo's. The electrity in his hands only amplified his attack power. Within a minute, all of them were wiped out. Ryu roared in triumph, and flew away.
30 minutes later, back with Naruto
By the time Ryu got back, Naruto was at war with his Generals. Despite having no use of his legs at the moment, he was still able to wage a verbal war. The Generals wanted to go on the offensive to try and get rid of the Giants. Ryu decided to not tell his partner just yet and left him to handle the mess.
"Sir, we have to hit them right now or else more settlements will be endangered." A General said slamming his hands on Naruto's desk
"With the forces we got, they would be slaughtered before they even get close." Naruto shot back
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." A voice from a cloaked figure said
"And who might you be?" Rectangle asked
"I am Jark Thornmaster. I am a wanderer mostly, and I wish to be of service to you Dragon Emperor Naruto." The voice, raspy in nature said
"Remove the cloak over your face and I will discuss this matter with you." Naruto ordered
He removed his cloak, and revealed a strange humanoid face. He had human like skull, only thicker with green skin, sloping forehead, red eyes and large fangs jutting out of his lower jaw, easily reaching up his cheek. He had black hair which was cut short and in a ponytail. Several red markings were also on his face, a kind of warpaint.
"A Orc." Draco mussed
"Master Draco, it is a honor to meet you." Jark said, beating his chest in respect
"Orc? What are those?" Naruto asked
"A humaniod race that left through the portal to the underworld to this one. They mostly are brutal and savage raiders. However, they if given asylum can be very loyal subjects." Draco explained
"What all he said is true Naruto-sama. There are hundreds of Orc tribes roaming across Japan now, and more will be coming. I, being a rare case in my society, could easily get them to join you as loyal citizens, and swell your empires somewhat sparse population in this area." Jark offered
"I will take you up on that offer. If you can get rid of the Fire Giants, I will grant you a position as negotiator to Orcish tribes." Naruto said
"Consider them eradicated. Have your army as a clean up crew. Who knows what treasures they will hold." Jark said humbly and left
"Have your forces follow him Rectangle. Watch him only. If he fails, retreat. Thats a order." Naruto said
"Of course sir." Rectangle replied grudgingly
5 hours later
Having ditched the robe a long ways back, he stared at the massive camp the Giants created. Being perched on a ash dune, he wore a chainmail shirt, and several furs drapping below his belt. On his belt were two hand axes, and on his back a composite longbow. He also had a quiver full of various arrows. Around 120 arrows to be more exact. Carefully Jark took one from his quiver, and aimed at one of the fringe vampire guards. Letting the arrow fly, it hit home right at the Vampire's temple. This however brought others to the spot of the dead body, including one of the two young red dragons. The Orc smirked as he readied one of the few explosive arrows he had. Arcing the arrow high, it landed in the center of them. Then it's ensuing explosion killed all in the radius save for the young dragon, to which it only stunned.
"Time to die dragon." Jark muttered and downed the dragon with a armor piercing arrow to its head
Now the entire camp was onto him, and they began to try and rush him. Despite being able to pick off several dozen of the smaller targets, they kept coming. Even after killing a few dozen more at closer ranges, creatures still kept coming. By this point all the werewolves and vampires were dead. Now the Ettins, trolls, hellhounds, Fire Giants, and one red dragon was left.
"So, you killed all my cheap underlings. Interesting." Zunqual said
"You must be Zunqual the war cleric." Jark said
"Yes, and I don't appreciate Orc's mettling in my buisness. Granted I have thousands under my command, it makes no difference. I control all settlements, forts, and tombs in this paradise, save for the ones that coward emperor Naruto has." She answered
"There's a difference between someone who is not fit to fight, and one that's a coward. He is not the latter." Jark replied
"Whatever. Everyone, whoever kills him will get a promotion." Zunqual said
The dragon was the first to attack, lunging at lightning speed. Jark side stepped and chopped it in the back as it moved past. Then with similar speedy move, the orc put a arrow in the back of its head. Within a second after that the Hellhounds, all 30 of them, charged at him. However they feinted it, and surrouned him. Then they opened there mouths, and fired a cone of fire at him. Jark jumped up and drew his long bow. As he fell, within a few seconds, he fired 30 arrows, one for each hound.
The Ettins and Trolls lumbered towards him. Even with the handaxes, it would take time to hack one of them down to size. Time that he didn't have. A Ettin and Troll tried to surround him, and the Ettin smashed down with its club. However Jark rolled out of the way, and while trying to follow it the club crushed the Troll's skull. The Orc weaved in and out of the two types of Giants. Each one exchanged massive crushing blows with each other. Even the Fire Giants tried throwing rocks into the melee, but only succeed in hitting there allies.
"Thats it you idiots. If you can't hit that Orc, I will." Zunqual growled, and grabbed a large cleric staff
She quickly charged a spell, and sent a fire storm at the Orc. She missed, and all but the fire giants burned to death. That pissed her off even more as she couldn't hit him. She then used a domain of magic called war magic. Channeling energy into the rod, she created flying blades, trying still to hit the Orc. His speed however dashed her hope. The swords hit all of her other Fire Giants.
"Hold still you little coward, so I can hit you." Zunqual growled
"You want me still, here you go." Jark replied, and stopped
Quicky Jark threw one of his handaxe's at her staff. It hit the charging rod, and the force cause the energy to backlash. The force the revered energy forced her back onto a spike. When she landed, it thrusted through her stomach, and she could see its point on the other side. Slowly the orc walked up, and with a swift chop he severed her throat and vital veins of the neck. Rectangle's force came as they saw the carnage was over.
"A bloody well job." Rectangle said
"Thank you. It was easier than I expected. Giants aren't the sharpest knifes around." Jark replied
"Well, we'll be picking this over to see whats useful. To bad there's still more in the Ashlands." Rectangle said
"With me, we'll deprive them of there most numerous warrior, Orcs. That will put a halt to there plans for a while. Gareenteed." Jark explained
"Its not that that worries me. Its what problems they will cause for us letting them have asylum here." Rectangle answered, looking out into the firey red Ashland sunset.
MHG: Sorry I took so long. I got typers block. Its basically where I have the ideas, but I don't type them. Oh well. Here it is, and next time will be a small break from the ashlands saga as you get to see the origins of the Oriental Dragon and his Brother.