Title: Naruto Shippuden Evolution
Book one: Rise of the Betrayer – Chapter three: Shadows
Author's note: This story takes place in the world of Azeroth during the Naruto Shippuden time period. It is a crossover between Warcraft, Naruto and Avatar but the main focus will be on Naruto and his adventures. It is mostly an adventure story, but I may consider a few pairings later on. Please review so I can write better! Also, please beware of spoilers! Note: words in italics are either jutsus or spells. So…I decided to change a little of the original story. See if you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Warcraft or Avatar. All three are properties of their owners, Masashi Kishimoto, Blizzard, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko respectively.
The Maelstrom:
Heavy rain lashed the island. It was forever trapped in a tempest, surrounded on all sides by violent, uncrossable seas, and assaulted by wind and rain. Thus, it was the perfect prison for The Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage. For many centuries, he had been chained in darkness, in a vast underground chamber many miles below the island. Unable to see, hear or feel. Unable to tap on the energies of his coveted magic. And, as everyone had thought, unable to bring any more calamities to the world.
Illidan was condemned to remain where he was until the end of all time for the great sin that he had committed. However, his imprisonment would not last for long…
Four figures dashed at high speed from tree to tree. Expertly avoiding any low-hanging branches while still maintaining their pace, they made haste to the great temple at the centre of the island. The blinding rain and thick mist shrouded their surroundings, but the four mysterious shinobi easily reached their objective. Stopping just at the edge of the clearing where the giant structure rose like a spire into the dark sky, the four shinobi gathered at the base of one of the trees, huddling around their leader. They were all dressed for the weather, wearing thick waterproof cloaks, and sporting wide straw hats bearing the hidden rain village symbol.
Their leader spoke first.
"Alright. It's time to receive our instructions."
All four raised their arms and formed a different hand seal each. The leader lifted his head and glanced at his comrades. They nodded, and then cast their jutsu in unison. There was a brief flash of light and when it cleared, a hazy, shadowy figure had joined their ranks.
The astral projection of Danzo looked at Furido, Fudo, Fuuka and Fuen. His scarred and bandaged face carried no emotion as he started to speak.
"I see you have all made it safely?" He inquired.
"Well…except for the fact that our boat got smashed up and that we almost drowned…yes."
Danzo frowned. "Furido, I have no time for your jokes. Time is short. You must complete this mission as quickly as possible."
The others glanced at each other and fidgeted uncomfortably in the freezing rain. "What do we have to do anyway?" Fuen asked impatiently. The rain was really getting on his nerves.
"Your mission is simple," Danzo continued, "you are to force your way into the Great Temple, and fight your way to the lowest floor. After you have accomplished this, proceed to the locking mechanism in the far wall and channel your combined chakra into it. That will open the entrance to the Betrayer's prison chamber. Free him, and bring him to the top of the Temple. Summon me again so that I can get him to set the next part of the plan into motion."
With that, the image of Danzo shimmered and disappeared. Furido sighed and looked up at the imposing sight of the Great Temple. "Well, that doesn't seem too hard." He said sarcastically. "We're about to break the most dangerous criminal in history out of the largest prison on the planet."
The Great Temple:
A giant iron gate more than thirty metres across and twenty metres high barred the way into the Temple, but behind this formidable-looking obstacle, the security was lax. Only a handful Night Elf Sentinels were stationed in the entire Temple itself. After all, there had never been any attacks on the Temple throughout its ten-century-long history.
The two Night Elves were stationed just behind the gate on their regular night patrol. A loud boom, followed by an ominous pounding sound at the gate caused the two Night Elves to end their conversation and snap to attention immediately.
"What was that?" The first looked worriedly at her companion. The furious pounding continued and the gate was starting to shake violently. The second backed away slowly. "Maybe I should alert mistress Shadowsong." She said, turning to run down the hall.
She hadn't taken two steps back when the entire gate shook one more time and fell inwards with a huge crash. Now without a barrier to keep it out, the tempest outside attacked the Great Temple with all its fury, extinguishing all the torches on the walls and tearing chunks off the stone walls, tossing them everywhere. The two Night Elves struggled to raise their bows, shielding their faces against the wind. The first one was closest to the collapsed gate, and saw to her horror that the gate hadn't been simply knocked down by the wind as she had previously thought. There were multiple dents in the two metre thick gate, meaning that the colossal gate had been, in fact, punched down. Before the two Night Elves could react any further, two kunai flew with deadly accuracy into their necks, sending them crashing to the floor.
"Knock knock." Fudo stepped over the two dead Night Elves and bent down, grabbing hold of the edge of the gate and lifting it up slowly, yelling with the effort. Furido and the rest hurried into the Great Temple, shrugging off their cloaks and hats, just as Fudo heaved the gate back into place, blocking out nature's fury once more. The muscular man turned to his teammates, looking very annoyed.
"What? I don't get a single word of thanks?"
"Hey, I took out the guards. I deserve more credit." Fuuka said haughtily, sweeping her head from side to side, trying to shake out the water trapped in her long hair.
Fudo looked ready to pout. "But they were weaklings!"
Furido ignored them both and lead the way down the spacious main hall. The huge walls of the bare hall bore many magnificent carvings and the distinctive curves and arches of Night Elf architecture. Pillars rose to meet the ceiling tens of metres above their heads, and torches hung at regular intervals from brackets in the walls. Looming ahead of them was a giant archway, with stone stairs leading down into the darkness.
"We made it," Furido addressed his three companions," our objective is directly below us."
Taking a step forward, the long white-haired man jerked backward instinctively the next second, just as a sharp, female voice rang out across the silent hall.
"Fan of knives!"
A whistling sound, then about fifty razor-sharp daggers rained down on top of them. Furido raised his staff, swinging them about with expert precision, knocking any incoming projectiles away while Fuen and Fuuka sidestepped, dodging the thrown daggers easily. Fudo simply stood where he was, and the lone dagger that hit him in the chest bounced off his iron-hard skin. Once the attack was over, the floor riddled with daggers, Furido looked up, beaming at the Night Elf woman who was crouched on one of the ledges above them. She was a Night Elf Warden, he guessed, now taking a good look at her. Wielding a jagged wheel-like weapon known as a chakram blade and dressed in tight leather armour with metal plates here and there, the Warden also had a dark green cloak draped around her and a mask which covered half her face, designed in such a way that it gave her a fierce, feline look.
"Hi," Furido began good-naturedly, but was swiftly cut off by the Night Elf's words.
"Trespassers," She hissed, holding her weapon in front of her," you shall go no further or risk my wrath."
Fuen laughed softly as more Night Elf Sentinels appeared from the shadows. They were archers and huntresses, bows and glaives at the ready. Furido, Fuuka, Fudo and Fuen were all surrounded, outnumbered ten to one.
"I see. You used your shadowmeld abilities to sneak up on us. No wonder we didn't sense you sooner." Fuen said, drawing out his scroll and calligraphy brush, scribbling furiously.
"Indeed," Furido held out his hands in a mocking gesture of surrender," You got us."
Behind him, Fuen continued to draw on the scroll held out in front of him while Fudo and Fuuka stared disinterested at their aggressors. The Warden narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"What is he doing?" She snapped, jerking her head and motioning to Fuen who was now halfway through a landscape drawing on his scroll.
"Relax," Furido said, turning to see how far Fuen was to completing his jutsu.
"He isn't doing anything…"
A moment later, Fuen finished his drawing, finishing the last stroke with a dramatic sweep of his arm. Robes whirling, he hurled the scroll on the ground at his feet, and formed a hand seal.
"Yet." Furido grinned.
There was a loud poof, and instantly, black kanji markings spread out from the scroll across the floor like a net. Before any of the Night Elves could react, huge stone pillars smashed out of the ground, continuing to rise until they struck the ceiling. Dust and rubble cascaded down, and when the shaking stopped, visibility returned, revealing that the interlocking rock pillars had formed a wall around the four intruding shinobi.
Furido grinned, looking at the walls of rock which had formed a barrier between them and the Night Elves on the other side.
"Nice work. Now let's get down to business."
On the other side of the rocks, Maiev brushed off some dust and loose stones from her armour, shaking her head to get rid of the minor concussions she had just gotten. Coughing, she peered around the now-ruined hall, taking in the smashed pillars, and the dead bodies of her comrades. They had all been crushed under the rubble, while she had been lucky to escape death from that sudden jutsu. Narrowing her eyes, Maiev retrieved her chakram blade from the ground next to her and formed a quick hand sign. 'Let's see what those intruders are up to.' Maiev thought fiercely.
"Blink!"
There was a quick flash, and Maiev teleported to the other side of the barrier, facing the stairs. The four shinobi were long gone, most probably now headed toward the entrance to the Betrayer's prison, Maiev reckoned. She hurried down into the darkness, her ire up at the thought of her dangerous prisoner walking free once again. 'No, not when I'm still her. Not if I have anything to say about it.' Maiev thought, rounding the corner to find herself in a high-vaulted chamber, with a huge locking mechanism in the wall. The mechanism was designed in the shape of a great coiled, feathered serpent, and the four shinobi were standing in front of it, their hands in some sort of seal. Blue energy seemed to be swirling around them, flowing slowly into the great serpent's mouth carved in the mechanism. The serpent's eyes were glowing a brighter shade of red by the second, meaning that the gate was opening!
Maiev stood transfixed as the humans transferred their magical energy into the lock. She knew that it was a matter of time before they succeeded in opening the gate, thereby letting the Betrayer free after more than ten centuries of imprisonment. She could not allow this to happen!
Suddenly, there was a deep, grinding sound. The gate was unlocking! The serpent's mouth closed, eyes flashing a brilliant red. A hissing sound filled the entire chamber and the gate, slowly swung outward. Maiev was gripping her weapon so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, her breath caught in her throat. The Betrayer was free! Still, hiding with her Shadowmeld, she could only watch as the four shinobi entered the room beyond through the gate.
In the darkened room:
Furido smiled as he approached the winged figure in the center of the dark cavern. Although they could only see his silhouette, they could tell just by the powerful ripples of chakra flowing out from his body that this was the Betrayer, Illidan Stormrage. Crouched in a meditative position, the former Demon Hunter no longer bore any resemblance to the Night Elf warrior he once was. As the clouds of dust and mist settled down, fresh air rushing into the cavern that was his prison, Illidan looked up slowly, turning his head in the direction of Furido and company. Saying nothing, he got up from his previous cross-legged position and drew himself up to his impressive two-metre height, demonic wings unfolding. The shinobi noted that Illidan appeared very calm and collected, as though he had expected them all along.
"Well?" Illidan said arrogantly, striding over to Furido. "Explain the meaning of this."
Fudo tensed, his hands bunching up into fists. The rest similarly, were looking edgy.
"Relax," Furido explained, waving to his comrades before switching his attention back to Illidan to address him," I mean you no ill intentions. Our master requires your assistance. Thus, we have freed you from your prison."
Illidan continued to keep the look of superiority plastered on his face. "I see," he scoffed," you humans are arrogant as always. Your race is forever in my debt, and yet you want my help?"
There was a threat concealed in his icy words that Furido was not quick to dismiss. Fuuka glared disgusted at Illidan. "How dare you!" She spat, throwing him a dirty look. "We freed you and al…"
She was cut off by Illidan who let out a bellow of rage, "You dare to challenge me!? I am the only reason why magical energy still exists in this world! I am the only reason why you humans and every other living thing can tap into what you call chakra and mana!" He drew back his taloned hands and raked Fuuka across the stomach, sending her stumbling backwards, shrieking. She collapsed, panting heavily onto the floor, blood seeping through her clothes.
Furido laughed nervously. "Hey now. We mean no disrespect at all. Please hear us out first!" His words appeared to calm the enraged Illidan down.
"Speak." Illidan commanded, turning away from Fuuka who was being helped to her feet by Fudo and Fuen.
"Let's get topside first." Furido nodded at Fuen.
"Wait." Fuuka gasped, clutching at her deep wound, the blood spilling over her fingers. She formed a hand seal. "Shikashi Tensei!" A second later, a cloud of ninja smoke concealed her, and when that cleared, there was not a single trace of her wound remaining. Even the torn parts of her clothes had disappeared.
Fuen and Fudo let go of her once they were sure she could stand unsupported. Illidan watched with mild interest as the long black-haired man drew out a long scroll and a brush of some sort. He started to sketch two rectangles on the blank paper, finishing up with a line below the two shapes. Forming a hand seal, Fuen cast his summoning jutsu and a pillar of rock smashed out of the ground with a tremendous rumbling sound, punching through the roof of the cavern with devastating force, revealing the tempest outside. A second pillar of rock rose out of the ground below all of them, lifting them into the air and out onto the wrecked roof of the Great Temple.
Illidan stepped toward the edge of the roof, maneuvering around some rubble. He breathed in the rich, ocean air and turned back to Furido and company. The island was still battered by the gale-force winds and rain. The sea was a raging sheet of dark blue, and the sky was a horrific shade of grey. 'If anything, this weather is even worse than when we got here…oh well.' Furido thought, approaching the Betrayer, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Betrayer." Illidan spoke suddenly.
His face twisted into a look of pure hatred. "In truth I was the one who was betrayed. They said that I had committed the greatest sin. But now, my blind eyes can see what others cannot. I have given this whole world life! But, even now… I can see that this world is in such a pathetic state. My magic has instead been shunned by my own race, and humans have used it to further their own petty disagreements. What is this? Is this the destiny of Azeroth?"
Illidan's expression hardened. "The wrong must be righted. This world…needs to be cleansed!"
Suddenly, a voice from behind him broke into his thoughts.
"Well then, Illidan. We may have much in common after all."
Author's Note: Yay...my first cliffhanger! Thanks for reading once again, and stay tuned!