Disclaimer: I'd rather not own Naruto or World of Warcraft…because then…well, I don't know, it'd be rather pointless, wouldn't it? I mean, it wouldn't be a fanfiction any longer, would it? It'd be the real thing. Who wants to read that?

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

"You're giving me a choice?" Naruto asked, blinking.

"Of course," said Kira, frowning at him. "Besides, you know better where you would do best, right?"

Naruto nodded a little. "To tell you the truth, then, I wanna go after Magni-jiisan's killers. I don't know if that's where I'm suited best, but it's what I want more than anything."

"Which is why he shouldn't choose," said Kakashi, sighing as he leaned against the wall. "Naruto always has a problem acting on emotion, and needs to learn how to put that aside and use his own best judgment. We don't have time to teach him that, so you'll have to choose for him, Kira-sama."

Kira bit her lip, and looked at the others. Sakura met her stare squarely, and Sai with a smile. Each of the other shinobi nodded in turn or smiled in some way to show that whatever she did decide, they would follow it without question. But she didn't want that.

"I don't know any of you," she said, finally. "Not only personally, but I don't know anything about your specific skills or anything like that. How am I supposed to choose?"

"Start with Naruto," said Kakashi. "I'll fill in the rest. Where do you think he should go?"

She frowned, and was silent for a few moments, before saying, "To find Magni's killers."

"Why?"

"Because of his determination," she said. "I think he has the power and the will to find those that did this and bring them to justice—and it doesn't matter that he doesn't distance himself from his emotions…he needs them to do this, I think. The fact is, the dwarves may not accept it even if the true killers are captured—they need someone they can trust, someone that King Magni trusted. Naruto's sword," she said pointing to the weapon that hung from Naruto's belt, far below his blushing face. "Is that proof."

"On the other hand," Kakashi said, "somebody who knew King Magni may be needed to convince Moira-sama to return, is that not so? Perhaps the only thing that may convince her is that attachment she once had to her father."

Kira opened her mouth, and then closed it again, without speaking. She closed her eyes and her brow knitted in concentration as she considered what to do.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi threw a lazy look at Gai, who now stood before him, frowning. The goofy man with the bowl-cut then grinned at him, and from some hidden light source emanated a glittering sparkle that could have lit even the darkest rooms. He thrust up a hand, with his thumb extended, making Lee and Naruto gasp in unison at the appearance of the most elegant and heart-warming "Nice-Guy" pose either of them could have even dreamed of. Of course, it made everyone else in the room stare in detached disgust, as if at a hideous accident, unable to look away.

"Kakashi," he said again. "Let her choose, or better yet, let them choose. They know best what they can do…who are we to say otherwise?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Because that's how it's been done for the entirety of our shinobi careers, and long before that…but whatever you say, Gai." He looked at Kira. "Is that alright with you, Kira-sama?"

Kira quickly nodded, looking slightly relieved, though she tried to keep it hidden behind her regal mask. She glanced at the other shinobi, and waited for them to speak up.

"If that's the case," said Shikamaru, after a moment. "Then my team…" he glanced at Asuma, who merely nodded, "…will try to retrieve Moira-sama and her son, if that is alright."

"Your reasons are…?" asked Kakashi.

"Ino's abilities are best suited for infiltration," Shikamaru said, calmly. "So are mine, and Chouji's for if we get into a real fight. We also work well together, know each other's weaknesses and strengths, and that's more important than anything isn't it?"

"Yes," said Kakashi, nodding.

"My team, too," said Neji. He spoke softly, but his voice was deep and strong so it carried easily across the room. "Are best suited for this type of duty. It is hopeless to assume that we'll get in and out of there unscathed, so what we need is a group that can move quickly and can defend sufficiently when our presence is revealed, in addition to being able to sneak in without causing much of a disturbance."

"I quite agree," said Gai, grinning widely. "And these two teams provide both, and they are all filled with the power of youth after all!" He pumped a fist in the air, and flashed everyone another glittering smile. "Moira-sama will be unable to refuse that!"

Kira nodded. She looked over each of them in turn, and saw no problems with it. "Can you do this duty?" she felt compelled to ask, still slightly nervous—not of their ability, but of the seriousness of this task, and what could happen if it went awry.

"Of course," said Shikamaru. He grinned at her, lazily. "Don't worry about it, hime-sama, we'll bring them back."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Good," she said, with a sort of finality. She turned to the remaining shinobi. "Then you all will…"

"Not all," said Kakashi, shaking his head. "We can only allow one group, at best, to go after the killers."

"What! Why?"

"Because protecting you is an as important as the other two missions," said Kakashi. "So one group must stay here. It can be either, since we both have the same tracking capabilities."

"Don't compare me to those dogs, Kakashi-san," said Kiba, rubbing his nose and sniffing haughtily. "Mine's way better."

"Ah," said Kakashi. "So it would seem that they have better tracking than we do…."

Kira, however, wasn't listening. Her eyes were Kurenai, where she stood beside Asuma in the back of her group. She was biting her lip, and though her face remained perfectly blank, she seemed uneasy. Asuma continually glanced at her in a worried manner, and would then look back to Kira, but never directly meet her eyes.

"Kurenai-san's group will stay," she said. She resisted the urge to as them if this was alright.

Kiba looked crushed, sagging forwards, but behind him Kurenai seemed relieved, and so did Asuma. Kira turned then to Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato. "You all will go in search for the killers, then?"

"Yes," said Kakashi. He was smiling beneath his mask.

"Very well." Benedictus stood as he said this, and gazed around the room. "Then it's time to prepare. Naruto, call Matthias—he shouldn't have gotten too far away, and Kira, send someone into the town to gather supplies—lots of water and heavy fire-protective gear, and then someone to the archives for a map of the Blackrock Mountains as they are now." They all nodded, even as Benedictus started for the door. "Kira, inform the retrieval group of the dangers of the Blackrock Mountains. I want the other group to come with me, so that I might provide some suggestions on what to do."

"That's great," said Kakashi. "Thank you."

The old man huffed. "You won't go anywhere without it. Let's go."

With a final parting glance, Naruto left Kira to the others, while he, Tsuwabuki, Sakura, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi followed Benedictus from the room, and down the cold, dark hallway.

"You must understand the danger you are heading into…" Kira began, taking the seat that Benedictus had vacated, and gesturing the others to do the same. They all found spots at the circular table, feeling a little unnerved by its grandeur (Kiba particularly, as he had the fortune of sitting in Cairne's chair, which was so large that he looked like a child in comparison). "There's a lot about this world that you don't know, and I can't say much other than what I've learned from books and Benedictus' lectures, but it will still help you to assess the danger that you are going to be heading into…" she took a breath, "and the extreme caution that you'll have to exercise."

Gai chuckled. "You sound like an adult, Kira-sama, so I will address you as one. We have faced many dangers in the past, and indeed, I must say, far more than you have." His grin faded into solemnity. "You do not need to tell us of caution, because we exercise it on every mission."

She nodded, feeling a little ashamed of herself. "You're right. But as I said, there are far worse things than human evils in this world. You're about to go very close to one of them." She paused for a second, staring at the dark wood of the table, as she dredged up everything she knew about the Blackrock Mountains.

"The creature that rules the Blackrock Mountains is not an earthly creature. It's one of the most powerful beings to have ever existed—it's the original elemental of fire, and so it's believed that its existence in this world brought that element to us. However, just like fire itself, this being is unpredictable and incredibly dangerous, and worse, if given the chance, it would consume everything in its path until there was nothing left. It's a force of nature. It was sealed away thousands of years ago, before humankind even existed, and returned during the end of the War of Three Hammers, summoned by the ancestor of the current Emperor in an effort to destroy the armies of Ironforge that were about to assault the Dark Iron kingdom. Since then, it has resided in the depths of the Blackrock Mountains, and nothing since has been heard."

"Why?"

Kira looked across the table at Shikamaru. "Pardon?"

"You said it yourself," he said, "it's a force of nature. Why can't it do what its meant to do? Attack and destroy everything? Why is it still there?"

"I don't know," she Kira. "Nobody really does—nobody has been close enough to figure that out. However, the theory is—and by theory I mean what master Benedictus believes—is that it has not been fully released, and is chained to the Blackrock Mountains, not unlike how a normal elemental is sometimes bound to the duty of a mage."

"The golden bracelets…" Shino said aloud.

Kira blinked at him. "Yes. How did you know?"

"We fought some against Akatsuk," Kiba said. "Dunno how they were made though, it was pretty wierd.

Kira nodded, and went on. "Yes, it's usually a sort of bracelet. It's likely that what binds Ragnaros is merely the remnants of the much stronger seal that kept it down there. No doubt, it is attempting to break that seal, which might be well impossible, since it was placed there by the Titans themselves…"

"The who?" Ino spoke up. "Titans?"

"The creators of this world," said Kira. "Supposedly," she added.

"So this guy was so powerful that even these gods couldn't kill him, and had to seal him away, right?" Shikamaru said, frowning.

"Yes."

"Crap," said Asuma, blowing a ring of smoke into the air. "That's tough. How are we supposed to contend with that?"

"You don't fight with him," said Kira. "Though the Dark Iron dwarves are essentially under its control, it does not necessarily treat them any different from how it would treat humans—most likely with the same uncaring apathy you'd look at a insect with."

Kiba and Hinata, standing near the door with Kurenai, flinched at that and looked at their friend Shino, though he appeared unmoved by the slight.

"It most likely doesn't use them for anything other than manual labor. That means that you won't likely have to deal with anything like it in your journey, and you'll only have to contend with the Dark Iron dwarves." She paused again, and took a few breaths. "That said, there are things you should know about them as well.

"I'm told that their greatest ability are their weapons—all made of dark iron, which is not only very durable, but when made into weapons, can burn as well as cut. I've never seen any myself…it can only be mined in the Blackrock Mountains. They also, I'm told, have an affinity for fire elemental jutsu."

"Which is fine," said Gai, nodding. "There aren't any fire jutsu users in this group, so we'll have no problems there."

"Good," she said. "I don't think I can tell you much else—you'll have to wait until Benedictus returns for that. The supplies should be arriving soon, as well, so when they get here…?"

"We'll leave," said Gai, nodding to the rest. "All of you get ready. I'll go meet up with Kakashi and Benedictus-sama, and get the information we need." He stood. "Where are they?"

"In the chapel, I imagine," said Kira. "Kylia, could you lead him there?"

Kylia nodded quickly, and gestured for Gai to follow.

"Ah, but before I go…" Gai turned and stuck out a thumb at Kira, who blinked at it. It looked familiar, but she couldn't think of anyone she knew that was that weird…unless….

She sighed. Unless you counted Naruto.

"Do not worry, hime-sama," he said, and flashed one of his sparkling grins, which succeeded in its job in making her smile as well, but it was a half-hearted, rather forced smile that hardly disguised the unease caused by Gai's.

"We are Konoha-nin," Gai said, "and we do not fail in such important missions. You have also done well, in choosing this team."

She flushed. "I didn't choose anybody…"

"Ah," he said, "but you did the next best thing—you let them choose."

Inside the chapel—lit by only a small, flickering candle on the altar in front—Benedictus sat before Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Sai and Yamato. His face was grim and seemed even more so in the dim light, with the heavy shadows cast about his face, and he seemed very, very old as he spoke, no louder than a whisper.

"I do not plan for this to take long—I would like you get on the trail of the killers as soon as possible. I merely have some suggestions on what you should do first." He glanced back towards the door, as if waiting for someone to come in. "Unfortunately, at this time, I have only limited access to the sources that may confirm my suspicions. Nevertheless, I can tell you a few things about Magni's death that bothers me considerably.

"First is the timing of his death. You could look at it being no more than a chance opportunity, but by looking closer, you can see that it was more than the perfect chance, especially for the intended effect. Just days before his death, I discussed with Magni his troubling relationship with the other leaders."

Naruto frowned. "What?"

"Come now," Benedictus said, "you cannot expect Magni to have forgiven them, can you? They caused the deaths of many of his people, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual on their end. Though they managed to put it aside, they still hold a fierce distrust of each other in all of their hearts—something that not even your words can mend, Naruto."

Naruto lowered his eyes, but he gave a slight nod.

"Nevertheless, the timing was too perfect—how did they know when to strike? Did they intercept a message from Magni? Moreover, how did they get in? The tram tunnels do not open save for in Stormwind, Ironforge and most recently, Gnomeregan. There is little way they could get in, short of building an entirely new entrance—which seems a little impractical. They knew exactly when to strike, catching Magni at his lowest in all senses of the word. They attacked after a meeting with his greatest enemies—and knew that he would be at his lowest."

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Because of the time and place of his death!" Benedictus snapped. His face then softened, and he sighed. "But that is only a suspicion, at this point, and I refuse to pursue that subject any farther without more information…forgive me." He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and continued. "The second oddity, and indeed the most profound, is of course, the manner of his death."

Benedictus was silent for another moment, as he stroked his beard and recalled the memory. "As I said…I only saw Magni's body briefly, before it was taken away, and they noticed I had come. I suppose they were all far too shocked themselves, so much so that I don't think they noticed anything that I was able to glean from the situation—they have thick heads, that bunch." He grinned wryly at some memory, and then shook himself. "The first is that most of the visible wounds were concentrated around his head and face—all done by something blunt, such as a fist or a hammer. There were no cuts…sorry, that isn't quite right, there was one cut—a mere scratch, just below his right eye. So small that it could only have bled for a mere second, and he probably didn't even feel it. But the more important thing was that his death wound was not situated on his face, which was odd, considering the number of blows concentrated there."

"How do you know?" Sakura asked, who was frowning as well.

"Two reasons," said Benedictus. "The first is that dwarf skulls are harder than most rocks, and could even take a direct blow from a sword and have more damage done to the sword than their head. The second is that the wound was clearly on his body—given the amount of blood."

"Why note the scratch, then?" Sakura asked.

"Merely an observation," he said, calmly. "Which I hope will amount to nothing. But the wounds on his body, as it is, are the most peculiar feature of his death."

He paused again, as Sakura knit her brow and Naruto leaned forwards in anticipation, while Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai (who was trying to rectify it), remained immobile and expressionless.

"As I said, his body sustained heavy damage—all puncture or slashing wounds, I suspect, save for one on his chest, where the plate was dented inwards, no doubt struck by the same force that ravaged his head. But that wasn't the peculiar part—it was the fact that none of the wounds were visible."

"What?" Naruto said, leaning back. "How can you see them but have them be…?"

Benedictus leveled a stare at him. "The wounds were not visible through his armor. In fact, aside from that one dent and a few others, there was no damage to his armor at all. Yet, I knew there were wounds there because of the blood that had spilled out the sides of his armor—a copious amount, showing that the wound that had done him in was likely a wound to his heart, where there is the most blood; and yet, the armor was completely intact, and there is no way they could slip a weapon in between Dwarfish-made plate mail."

"How is that possible?" Kakashi said this more to himself, than to Benedictus, but the old man answered him anyways.

"I don't know. Not for certain, at least. I have a slight suspicion, but there is no good telling it to you now." He wiped his head with his sleeve, and leaned back in his chair, sighing. "The final observation was curious, but it tells me more about our enemies than the others. It seems that despite their skill at infiltrating and their apparent cleverness, they are not above looting their enemies' bodies."

He let that sink in. "Magni wore rings—not on his fingers, but in his beard. They were once his daughter's, and he wore them in remembrance of her before her betrayal. But, they were not there, nor anywhere in the immediate vicinity."

"So they're common criminals," said Sakura. "They have to be under orders from someone else—they should've known not to loot the bodies, especially if they were attempting such a grand ruse."

"Yes," said Benedictus. "That is my belief, too." He stared hard at the ground, and began scratching his beard. "Though they need not be hired at all. They could simply be stupid, or exceptionally greedy, assassins, who planned that the dwarves would be so devastated by King Magni's death that they would not notice the missing jewelry."

"So what does this tell us?" Yamato asked, calmly. "With all of this, what do we do?"

"I have suggestions, as I said," Benedictus said. "The first is simple—you investigate as to how they entered the city. Depending on where they entered will tell us a lot about their current location and their path of travel—and if they had any possible help, as well. It is unlikely that they came from here, and Gnomeregan is exceptionally difficult to enter at this point, so I am of the belief of a new shaft entirely, or, if it comes to it, entering from Ironforge itself…"

"Then…" Naruto said, "…you think Magni-jiisan was betrayed?"

"I won't go down that road, not yet," said Benedictus. "There is no need to." He paused. "The second suggestion, once you have found out that…I'm assuming that those nin-dogs of yours can help?"

Kakashi nodded.

'I, as well.'

Naruto looked at her. "No, you're staying here."

The fox looked up at him, and cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner. 'Oh? Why am I to be deprived of being by your side again?'

"'Cause you're the best communication I got with this place," Naruto said. "It'll be better if you stay here so we can relay messages and things like that."

'You just like fighting by yourself," she said. 'But I cannot complain, nor can I say that fighting alone is preferable to me as well.'

"Besides," Naruto said. "It's not like we can't talk or anything."

Tsuwabuki nodded, and lowered her head to the ground again.

Benedictus cleared his throat. "As I said, once that information has been found, you will go with Matthias up north, to Hillsbrad."

Kakashi frowned. "Why?"

"There was an attack there, not long ago," Benedictus said, "on the Ravenholdt Manor, the headquarters of the Ravenholdt Assassin's guild—something Naruto no doubt has heard of before."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I think Myrdraxxis is a member, or something—Fen told me about it briefly when I was up there once."

"There are few rogues who are not a part of it," said Benedictus. "Regardless, it has been laid waste to, and from the reports, there are some startling similarities to Magni's death. All of them were killed by either brutalization, or were assailed by wounds beneath their clothes, as if they had been attacked from within, and all of them were looted of their valuables. There was only one survivor, an orc named Master Kang, who is now in Southshore and is apparently in a coma. Your job will be to investigate the ruins—see what you can glean from them, and then attempt to wake up this Kang, and hopefully get some information from him."

"How do we wake someone up that's in a coma?" Yamato asked. "Even medical ninjutsu has its limits."

"This girl is talented, I'm told," said Benedictus, jabbing a finger at Sakura. "She'll figure it out—she'll be better than any healer we have up there, in any case."

Kakashi nodded, and then stood. "So that's it, then? We have our mission. There's no point in wasting any more time."

"Too right," said Benedictus. "I will remain here, with Kira and Tyrande—"

"Oi," said Naruto, perking up, "Tyrande is here?"

"Yes," said Benedictus. "But you have no time to speak with her. Save it for when you come back." He ignored Naruto's pout, and instead focused on getting out of his chair, which appeared to be very difficult. He now knew why Magni had such trouble with being old, and Benedictus never felt it more than at these times.

"Fine," said Kakashi, "we will…"

The door creaked, and flew open.

"Oho! What a nice room this is!"

Gai stepped into the room, followed by an increasingly embarrassed Kylia. Naruto and Sakura sighed, as did Kakashi, who shook his head and started towards the door.

"Why'd you come here, Gai?" he asked.

"Information!" said Gai. "But if you are…?"

"We're done," said Kakashi. "I'll tell Asuma the plan—we'll be gone before you get back, I suspect."

"Very good, very good," said Gai, nodding a few times. "Take care, Kakashi! I'm still one up on you, so you'd better get back in your game, before we next meet!"

Kakashi nodded, lazily. "Right. You be sure to come back, too, Gai."

"Of course," the Azure Beast of Konoha said, grinning. "There's no point in worrying about that!"

Kakashi nodded, and passed through the door into the hallway, with the others in tow, who said goodbye to Gai in their own ways. Kylia bowed to both of them, and shut the door, leaving Gai and Benedictus alone, the former with a slowly fading grin in response to the latter's darkening face.

Gai returned some time later with Benedictus—and neither looked particularly happy, though that changed when Gai saw Lee—after Naruto and the others had come and gone, saying their goodbyes and good lucks, before disappearing into the depths of the castle. Kira stayed to oversee the coming of the supplies and the map, which was carried by Archivist Sevenius Coutrend himself. The caustic man swept in and deposited the wrinkled old map in Benedictus' hands, and did not linger, when Benedictus informed him of the information that was needed.

"Religions?" Coutrend sniffed, frowning. "Why would you need such a thing now?"

"Humor me," Benedictus snapped. "I am old and feeble, and I'm losing my mind and I have a wish to read of the ancient teachings of the past so that I may wonder where I went wrong in life."

"Your wit is as sharp as ever, though," Coutrend said, before sweeping from the room like a passing shadow. Benedictus grumbled, and unfurled the map, laying it down on the table. It was easy to make out, despite the obvious wear and tear, which it more than likely suffered during its creation by the fumbling Brann Bronzebeard of the Explorer's League.

"Here," he said, pointing to a set of Dwarfish runes written next to a line of well-drawn mountains. "There lies the entrance to the Blackrock Depths, where Moira likely lives, or rather, is kept. There is only one entrance, and I have no doubt that it's heavily guarded."

"Leave that to us," said Shikamaru. Benedictus nodded, stepped back, and allowed Shikamaru to see the map properly for a moment. The boy stared at it for only a brief time before rolling it up and tucking it into his backpack. "Thanks."

Benedictus merely shrugged, and looked at Kira. "I'd like to speak with you, as soon as you're finished here."

"Of course," Kira said, nodding as he left. She then turned to the shinobi, who were all more or less prepared for their journey. Their packs were laden with food, but far more water, as well as a scroll which would teach them a jutsu that would allow them to produce ample amounts of both should they need to do so. Despite the later hour, they all looked alert and ready to act at her word.

"Are you all ready?" They all nodded, more or less, so she nodded, and led them out of the Great Hall, and to the steps of the castle. The sky was a brilliant dark blue, as the moon was almost full and the sky was peppered with stars. She waited until they were all out, standing before her on the steps, to speak further.

"I can't thank you enough for what you're doing," she began, softly. "Risking your lives to do this is—"

"All in a day's work for us, Kira-sama," Gai said, saluting. "You need not thank us."

"I have to," she said. "Because I know you're doing it more than out of duty. So please accept my thanks, and my wishes that your mission will both be a success and you will all return here safely." She bowed almost embarrassingly low to people of their status, but she had never cared for that sort of thing and never would. They did care, however, and flushed at her praise (and the boys did get a chance to look down her shirt, though it earned them a punch from either Ino or Tenten. Kiba and Shino, standing behind Kira, got the sudden feeling that they had missed out on something amazing, as well).

"We'll come back," Shikamaru said, trying not to blush as the image of her curvaceous chest locked itself firmly in his mind, "If only to see that Naruto doesn't get into any more trouble."

"Yeah," Ino said, massaging her knuckles from where she had punched Lee, who was closest to her. "He constantly needs looking after—he goes away for a few months and ends up in a new world. He'll probably be half a continent away by the time we step out of this city." She grinned at her. "But don't worry about it. Like you said—this isn't just because of our duty, you know. We want to make this work as much as Naruto does, I'll have you know. This place is great!"

The others agreed in nods and grunts of affirmations (the grunts mainly from the still flesh-shocked boys), while Kira smiled widely at their words. She was finding less and less cause for worry as she stared into their confident smiles and determined eyes, because she found that they were the same as his when he had left for the first time, nearly two years prior.

"Thank you," she said again.

They didn't respond this time, instead turning and walking down the path towards the gate. They disappeared from sight before they reached it, even as Kira turned back and strode with determined steps back into the castle, Team Kurenai and Tsuwabuki in tow, to a conversation she knew would be a long time coming.

It took them mere moments to leave the city through the Northern Gate, where they stopped to check the map. They would head north, into the mountains, which would lead them well into the Burning Steppes, southeast of the Blackrock mountain range. They all decided it would not only give them ample time to assess the layout of the land, but it would give them some idea of the defenses the Dark Iron dwarves possessed, given that they would be well into their territory as soon as they entered the mountains. The map revealed only one path that led through them, and though they couldn't read what was said about it, the path didn't look particularly easy, as it wound and bent around the largest mountains. It would probably take them several days to get through, at best.

"We'll run to the base of the mountains," said Shikamaru, calmly. "Not at full speed, but fast enough so that we don't lose much time. It'll probably take us…" he checked the map, "two days."

"Simple enough," Asuma said, stamping out a cigarette and fishing for another, before deciding that he would probably need them for the trip, and needed to conserve.

"Say goodbye to Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked, her attention drawn to him by this unusual action.

"Yeah," he said, "why?"

"Just wondering," she said, grinning. "Secondhand smoke is bad, you know. It just reminded me."

"Thanks," he said, looking away. "I'll remember that."

Both Shikamaru and Chouji stared at Ino strangely, but decided not to comment, and none of Gai's team seemed to be listening. Neji, in fact, was staring into the trees, a frown on his face.

"There is someone coming," he said, softly. "I can't see much in the darkness-only their outline, and their chakra system…" he frowned. "But it is strong."

Gai glanced at him. He then looked at the rest of the team, motioning for them to stay back. He stepped forwards, and called out into the night:

"Who are you?"

"He's stopped," Neji said, softly.

"Who are yeh?" The voice called, thick and rumbling like a small rockslide.

"I asked you first!"

"Then to hell wit ye!"

Gai fell into his trademark Leaf-nin taijutsu stance, his eyes becoming glittering onyx slits at the presumed threat. The other shinobi reacted in a similar fashion, and held their ground as the figure approached. It clanked as it walked, and made no attempt to conceal itself in the darkness, and even let out an offended snort at their reactions.

"Calm down, ye jittery little bairns! I ain't yer enemy—just th' opposite in fact."

Gai lowered his guard, and squinted through the darkness—the figure was short and squat, but was dressed in shiny silver mail and held a similarly polished hammer, all of which would have been quite impressive had there been more light. It had a long, black beard and hardened blue eyes like sapphires, imbedded in a grey, scrunched face that looked like it was made of granite, and despite its small stature, the creature gave off an impressive presence that made it appear twice its size.

"A dwarf!" Lee shouted.

"Aye!" the dwarf snapped, flashing a dark look at Lee. "A dwarf! An' look there! A human!" He pointed at Lee, looking falsely surprised; Lee drew back, and looked contrite.

Asuma raised an eyebrow at the action.

"What's a dwarf doing here, in this situation?" he asked, a little softly. "Curious…"

"So ye know?" the dwarf said. "Then there's nothin' curious about it. Not all o' us 'r as convinced as the 'igher ups that King Magni was done in by who they say 'e was. Doesn't seem right—an' I thought I'd come and see fer meself what you guys are doin' about it."

"You must be mistaking us for someone else," said Neji, who was just beginning to relax, in seeing that they were not threatened. "We are not…"

"Yeh dress like 'e did. Got the same weapons as 'e does. " The dwarf pointed at Neji's kunai holster. "Yer from the same place as Naruto, eh?"

Gai's considerably large eyebrows went up considerably high on his forehead. "Oh! You know Naruto-kun?"

"'Course!" the dwarf said. "One o' me best mates, 'e is. We killed a dragon together," he gestured to his back, where a long, fluttering leather cloak hung. "Ere's the proof! Dragon scale cloak! 'Nuff about that, though, where is 'e?"

"On his own mission," said Gai, chuckling. "As we must be going as well."

"Where you off to?"

"The Blackrock Mountains," said Gai, grinning in a way that showed he didn't understand what he was grinning about. "To bring back your Queen and future king!"

The dwarf blinked. "Wha'?"

"To return Lady Moira," Tenten, from just beside Gai. "And her son, so that they can inherit the throne."

The dwarf stared at her, and then at Gai, and then at the rest of them. "Just the lot o' yeh?"

"Of course!" Gai bellowed, raising a fist into the air. "We are shinobi of Konoha—that is all it will take!"

"Can be damn sure that all o' ye will die afore you get within ten miles o' that 'ellhole," the dwarf said, rolling his eyes. "Yeh got no idea o' the dangers that place 'olds."

"We have some," said Shikamaru, walking forwards, and crossing his arms.

"By someone tha's been there?"

"No…" Shikamaru conceded.

"Then yeh got no idea." He glanced back towards the city, frowning. "I'd like ta talk ta Naruto, but ye say 'e's gone?"

"Yes," said Shikamaru.

"Then I'll go wit yeh." He glanced at everyone's surprised, and indeed, slightly doubtful looks. He grinned. "Heh, don' gimme that! I won't slow ye down, and this is a bit more relevant to me than ta you, eh? Tell me the whole story, and we'll get on our way."

"You're coming?" said Shikamaru. "We don't even know your name!"

"Undrig, lad," the dwarf said, grinning. "Pleased ta meet ya! Now, like I said, get talkin', and someone send a bird or somethin' back there to tell 'em that I'm goin' with you. Bet the princess'll be a bit 'appier knowin' that not all dwarves 'ave gone off the deep end!"

They reached the mountains a day and a half later, and slowed their pace to a walk. As Shikamaru had thought, the path they chose was anything but easy—it was hardly a path, and they consistently found themselves losing it, almost to the point where Shikamaru began to doubt whether the path drawn was truly a path at all.

"Yer right about that," Undrig said, observing the map after they lost track of where they were for the fifth time that day, the second since they had entered the area. "Says 'ere," he pointed at the runes marked next to it, "that yer only supposed to follow a general direction—where the sky is burnt, and it it'll generally take ye around a lot o' the bigger mountains."

"This mapmaker wasn't terribly bright, was he?" Shikamaru said, sighing.

"'E was brilliant," said Undrig, shaking his head, "but wasn't the best mapmaker, that's fer sure. Could get 'imself lost inna bathroom if 'e tried, and I'm not talkin' even 'bout the ones they got at the palace—an outhouse would pose a challenge fer that bloke. Good thing 'e had a bunch o' others with 'im, or I doubt we could trust this map at all." He glanced at the sky, which was quickly darkening, though he could see black clouds creeping like weeds above the mountains closest to them, and knew that in two days that would be all they saw of the sky. He could already smell the sulfur.

"But, 'e's got a point. Not much to do than to find the best route fer ourselves, eh?"

"Will there be any guards near the entrance to the Steppes?"

"Shouldna be," Undrig said. "Not too many, anyways. A group this small, and as quick as ye all are, could probably get by them easy."

Shikamaru nodded, and turned back to Asuma and Gai, who had been listening closely. It had long been decided, due to his gift for strategy, that Shikamaru would be the one who told them where to go, unless either Gai or Asuma had a better plan. "We'll stick to one group, then, until we reach the Steppes proper. Then we'll probably split."

"Is splitting up a good idea?" Ino called from where she was resting, on a small outcropping ten feet above everyone else, where she was admiring the view. "We only have one map."

"If we do," said Shikamaru, "it'll be when we're in sight of our target. As it stands, we're too big of a group to go unnoticed as a singular entity. If we break up into smaller groups, that gives us more ways to enter efficiently and once inside, a more effective way of searching."

"How do we keep in contact?" Neji asked. "Should that occur?"

"I..." Shikamaru began, but Undrig, to his relief, cut him off.

"Easy," the dwarf said. "I'll spend then next few days makin' them, but it shouldna be too 'ard."

"What are they?" Neji asked.

"Communication Stones," Undrig said, as he began to scan the ground for appropriate size rocks, picking up a few and testing them with a couple of throws, and few hand exchanges, and finally by putting them in his mouth and spitting them out. Apparently he had judged well, because he set them aside and began searching for more, doing the same thing as he found them.

"What are those?" Ino asked, hopping off her perch and landing almost soundlessly beside Shikamaru, a faint look of disgust on her face when she realized she'd have to touch something that had been in Undrig's mouth.

"Our answer to Gnomish electronics," said Undrig. "Just stones with runes carved in 'em, makes us able to talk ta' each other over a short distance of about 20 miles. Only problem is that they run outta power fast, but I don't expect we'll be in there fer long, eh?"

Shikamaru nodded, relieved that the communication problem had been solved. It had been nagging him for some time, and though he had prepared several alternatives, none of them beat this. He nodded.

Throughout the journey, the pass through the mountains remained constant in its appearance of looking nothing like a pass. They followed the map's instructions, always looking to the ever-growing roof of black clouds that began to crumble and deposit a layer of dark fog upon them, which burned their eyes and filled their noses with the scent of rotten eggs and burning metal, and spewed ash at them in a constant snowfall that soon piled up to knee-height, making it almost impossible to walk. Though the first time the ashfall began, they sought shelter, they had since donned their fireproof hooded cloaks, and now slogged through the infernal wonderland, a fair number of them wishing for Naruto's goggles.

The air didn't clear as the exited the mountains, which came four days after they had entered, leading to the rim of a gigantic crater. On two opposite ends of the crater were large, black towers that flew black flags with a hideous red-orange, horned skull, and within it were several large wooden structures, including a crane, a conveyer belt that was moving nothing but large, uncut stones, and a large drill that was currently not in use. Numerous little black tents dotted the crater, with tiny black figures that Undrig identified as the populace of the area—the Dark Iron Dwarves.

"Didn' realize they mined this close," Undrig said. They remained well out of sight of the guard towers, hidden within the craggy terrain that led down from the mountains.

"They don't seem to be mining," Neji said, his eyes glowing white and his temple throbbing with blood. "They're not even drilling—they seem to be just gathering rocks into a large pile."

"Aye," said Undrig. "They'll do that, dunno why, though. We 'aven't gotten close enough to be able ta see what they do wit the stones—must be somethin' fer their master, though."

"Ragnaros?" Gai said, narrowing his eyes as if he had spotted the Firelord himself.

"Aye," Undrig said, with a little shiver. "That'd be the one. Le's go around."

"Yeah," said Shikamaru.

They circled to the right around the giant crater, careful not to stay too long in sight of the tower. They stuck close to the mountains and when the tower was but a sliver in the distance, they broke off into the wasteland and headed northwest. The black fog grew heavier as they went, and the ash fell more frequently, and there was more wind, each gust like opening the door to a furnace, which flung ash into their faces regardless of their hoods. It hampered, but did not halt, their travel, though it was so slow that it gave the appearance of halting, especially when Shikamaru found that he had no idea where they were, or what direction to go in.

In that instance, Shikamaru thanked the Will that Undrig was with them.

"The wind always blows east, 'ere," he told them. "Always from the Blackrock Mountains, where the Dark Irons have their furnaces always runnin' and the Firelord rages beneath the earth."

With this in mind, Shikamaru led them, in only four days, to within sight of the Blackrock Mountains.

The air became strangely clear at this point, when Shikamaru thought it would be its worst. The block fog had faded, and for almost ten miles, Shikamaru could see clearly. Though the only thing he did see was an enormous black mountain.

The name Blackrock was obviously chosen well, because the mountain was just that—it stretched high into the air, so wide that it obscured three quarters of the visible sky and was so black that the orange, fire-licked sky seemed bland and dull, all the light it was supposed to give drawn into the heart of the great black mountain. Even as clear as it was, the black mountain had no features—it was simply a solid, black, triangular shape in the distance. The bottom was obscured by many glowing vents in the earth—the chimneys of the Blackrock populace spewing a less-than-homely black smoke into the air, which was also filled with a distant but constant hum, which seemed to reverberate through the earth.

Shikamaru glanced at Undrig. "How far can we go before we run the risk of being discovered?"

"Not much," said Undrig. "The Molten Core lies below us, even now. Once we 'it those vents, we're gonna need to go fast and 'ard, and you'll see more sentry towers when ye get closer."

"Then let's split up here. Are you done with those stones?"

"Aye," Undrig said, holding up a black sack. "Of fer each o yeh. Just in case yeh get lost or summat. All got one?" At their nods, he pocketed the pouch and returned to his gaze to the mountain.

"Where would Moira-sama most likely be?" Gai asked.

"The top, right?" said Chouji, pointing to the tip of the spire.

"Don' think so," Undrig said. "Dunno 'bout the top at all. Nobody ever seen anythin' goin' on up there, but some people—rumors—say that the top is 'ome to a brood o' dragons or summat. Seen somethin' flyin' around it, and we dwarves 'ate flyin' things."

"Dragons?" Ino said, blinking. "Like the one you fought with Naruto?"

"Doubt it," Undrig said. "Dunno if there are any black dragons left, after her. Or if there are, they ain't nowhere near as powerful. She was a big 'un. Broodmother, ye see. None o' them left, so they're pretty much extinct." He shook his head. "Nah, more likely just a nest o' chimeras. The whole Spire used to belong ta' the Blackhand orcs, but that was a long time ago, and they're gone anyways. Left it, along time ago, and after that went and got themselves beaten by Naruto and Thrall." He began stroking his beard. "Nah, the most likely place would be near the bottom. Dwarves like the ground, so it stands ta' reason that Moira, bein' Queen and all, would be at the bottom, near the entrance ta' the Core."

"Right," said Shikamaru. He turned to Neji, who was watching the mountain, but Shikamaru was sure he shifted his attention too. "Neji, I'll need you and Ino on reconnaissance."

Neji nodded, once. "For how long do we observe?"

Shikamaru thought a moment, resisting the urge to look at Gai or Asuma. Finally, he said, "The rest of the day. We'll plan the infiltration based on what we retrieve today." He told them where they should observe, and what to look out for, taking suggestions from Undrig as well. They needed one to scout out the inside, which would be Ino, due to her Shintenshin no jutsu, while Neji would use his Byakugan to scan for possible routes from the ventilation area around the mountain. They both understood.

Shikamaru glanced at Ino. Her face was unreadable, but her eyes remained strong and vigilant, so he again went against an urge to ask if she was alright, and instead said, "Good luck."

"Thanks," she said. She gave him half a smile, but it didn't last long, as Neji had already started moving. She followed a heartbeat later, and the two of them soon vanished, speeding towards their respective destinations.

The rest moved back into the black fog, and found a suitable crevasse to rest in. It was peppered with fire crabs—annoying little beasts that seemed to be made of lava and scuttled about, randomly singing their supplies as they passed, but they had gotten use to them at this point.

Then they waited, hardly speaking, in the midst of the violent winds and downpour of ash, huddled like lambs in a snowstorm, and waited for their friends to return.

"It's no good."

Naruto and Sakura jumped a little at the sudden voice, which came out of the thick darkness of the tram tunnel and echoed throughout the silent station. Pakkun, Kakashi's favorite nin-dog, appeared a moment later, balancing on the middle track and looking as forlorn as he always did. He stopped before his master.

"Nothing?" Kakashi asked, bending down to face the dog directly.

"Nadda," the dog repeated. He sat on his haunches. "There's no smell from either of the two tunnels that lead from that mountain city. Whoever did it didn't come in through the tram tunnels. Nor did they leave."

"Which means," said Kakashi, "they came in through the city itself, right?"

"Right," said Pakkun. "Can I go?" At Kakashi's nod, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"How?" asked Sakura, frowning up at Kakashi, who stood beside her on the tracks. "Without anyone seeing them, that would be—"

"Nigh impossible," said Kakashi. "Which means that we have to accept the fact that they may have had some help."

"What?" said Naruto. He was crouching on the edge of the train platform, staring into the tunnel. "From the dwarves? Why would they do that?"

"Who knows?" said Kakashi. "It would make sense, though, that they did it to take advantage of the confusion his death would cause—to seize power, or something of that nature."

"Perhaps," said Sai, who was crouching next to Naruto. "Were they hired killers then? It would make sense, given the information Benedictus-sama has given to us, wouldn't it?"

"True enough," said Kakashi. "Though, in a way, they didn't seem terribly professional, did they? They went through all that trouble to pull an elaborate scheme to frame the orcs and trolls, and yet it still has demonstrations of a more primitive type of fighting. They even stole the valuables off those they killed, didn't they?" He frowned, considering what to do. "That leaves us with only a few options, I suppose."

"Let's go to Hillsbrad," Naruto said, suddenly.

"Sounds good," said Kakashi. "Hopefully this Master Kang has sufficiently recovered by then."

"If not?" Sai said.

"Then we have Sakura do her best, see if she can speed it up."

"If not?" Sakura said this time.

"I don't think that far ahead," Kakashi said. "Let's go."

A figure stood at the top of Blackrock Spire, and gazed down on the Burning Steppes and the rest of the Hell-on-Earth with a pair of large, sulfurous orange eyes, like twin oceans of flame somehow captured in the space of two small globes; but at the same time they spilled out, flooding into the world and erasing everything they took in, with a just and cleansing flame.

And yet taints of black swirled within the flames, like ships being sucked into a ravenous whirlpool—the pupil—and the flames that could cleanse, the flames that were just, suddenly seemed a little less cleansing, and a little less just. The pupils were wide and cold, and did not burn, but only devoured.

"It Is Almost Time," he said to himself. The sound of his own voice soothed him, because no matter what form he took, it was always the same. He always, too, chose his words very carefully, so that each word seemed to carry power to it, and he never spoke a word, a phrase, or a sentence that did not have meaning, because never had his words been just words.

They had always been reality.

"Come," he said aloud again. "Come And Face Me. We Shall See Who Has Mastered Life. We Shall See Who Is The Greater God."

He loved that word: god. No matter who said it, no matter how weak or how small they were, it always sounded the same. It always carried the power that befitted it—that of a creator.

It was his favorite word of all.

Even his laugh had a meaning beyond that of a laugh, as it echoed throughout the wastelands, and the ash fell harder and the winds blew faster and hotter, and his enemy heard him, and answered in kind.

A distant rumbling filled the earth, shaking all the way up to where he stood atop his palace, atop the world.

It too, sounded like laughter.

Victor Nefarious smiled.

Reviews? Please? Plz? I'm in a mood to hear what you guys think more than usual. Tell me what I'm doing wrong, or right, if you prefer, though not too much, as ego boosters are never good in excess.

Please, it takes five seconds and you may even enjoy it, especially if you get into a role in explaining my faults to me.

I realize that this isn't an action-packed chapter, but it was necessary all the same and I hope it was enjoyable, nonetheless. I tried to speed it along without actually making it feel rushed. How did that go?

Hope it was a good chapter, and I promise that the next chapter will contain action, adventure, and a hell of a lot more fighting! See you soon!

General Grievous