Author's Note: This was written about 1 hour after I posted the last chapter, then read through it. At first it was okay, then, I noticed that I made Shikamaru and Kakashi way out of character – Shikamaru more so. I mean, why would Shikamaru want to hint that at Naruto, and I think Kakashi should make the questions a bit more… roundabout. Sure, he cares for his student, I made him OC enough that he actually bothers to teach Naruto and is a bit disdained of Sasuke at first… In any case, let's get on with the show, and now to find my disclaimer machine.
And a reviewer just made a very good case… I had intended on a fight, but his idea of bulldozing through an impenetrable fortress massacring the Scourge inside sounds much better – except I ran into an idea I can't get out of my mind, so I had to split this chapter into two. – this was added after I finished the chapter though
Oh, I found my disclaimer machine, now where's the play button…
Disclaimer: PyroC0ntrol does not own Naruto's copyrights nor Warcraft's copyrights, even if he does own the game and/or manga
Pyro: Stop reminding me… am I arguing with a machine?
Chapter 12: Clash of Worlds – Part 1
Next Day, after the events of Chapter 11
"Alright, I can't wait!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he bounced on his feet in the newly made training ground as the team sighed.
"Naruto!" Sakura said as she bopped him on the head, sending him crashing to the ground and creating a crater, "Calm down!" She then looked at the spectators who watched her in shock, "What?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Lina said quickly, not wanting to be at the end of that punch as she went forward and examined Naruto, poking him lightly with a stick. Kakashi and Yamato each took out three bells, as Naruto groaned and grabbed onto Lina's hand, "The bell test again? Lina-chan, stop it."
"Sorry," Lina said and stood back to where she was originally. The stick was still in her hand.
"Of course!" Kakashi said as his eye crinkled again, before he got serious and turning up the flap of his forehead protector, "We'll start when Jaina-san and everyone is ready."
"Wait," said Jaina as another messenger arrived bearing news, "Milady, Warchief Thrall has requested aid in attacking a large undead bastion, they say that it holds a massive army that could take down both the Orcs and Theramore easily."
"So you named this island Theramore?" Naruto asked as Jaina nodded at Naruto questions while turning to Sylvanas, "Do we have the manpower to do such a thing?"
"Maybe, but we'd need a good portion of those forces to defend and construct this area. The most we can send is a couple battalions, and we lost one when you engaged Sasuke Uchiha," Sylvanas replied as Jaina sighed. This is so not going well, she thought before Kakashi had another idea.
"Let's say… if we were to demonstrate by taking out that… undead bastion. It is undead, right?" Kakashi asked as Jaina nodded, "Do you really have the confidence to take on such a fortress though? They would surely number by the thousands, maybe even tens of thousands."
"We have Naruto," Kakashi offered as Naruto mock glared at Kakashi, before replying, "Sure, Neji isn't a wide range fighter, but he excels at destroying single enemies. Say we meet a dangerous opponent all we need to do is tell Neji to sic him… or it."
Neji glared at Naruto, "I'm not a dog Naruto." Naruto clearly ignored this as he continued, "The rest of us have wide area attacks and/or close range attacks as well, so all we really need is some reinforcements that could provide distraction… Provided there aren't anymore Death Knights or Lich… man those guys are pain in the asses, I swear."
"Death Knight and Lich?" Kakashi asked as Naruto nodded, "See a guy in big bulky armor holding a giant-ass sword – no, not like Zabuza's, just a really big sword – that's a death knight. Take him out first, he can revive his own troops and make our own theirs. Lich uses frost attacks, and one of them was powerful enough that I had to launch a Katon Rasengan at him, only for the technique to counteract it. In other words, use fire attacks against the Lich, which would mean, unfortunately, that Kakashi, Neji, and I are the only ones capable of attacking it. Speaking of which, Neji, when did you learn Katon no jutsu anyways?"
"Jonin exam," Neji said, "Hyuga could be an exception but I wanted to make sure my attacks hurt more. Hiashi-sama approved in any case so it wasn't much of a problem. Only that I don't use it a lot."
"Then it's settled, and now to decided the troops that will go with us…" Naruto said as he went deep in thought before Shikamaru spoke up, "What's the fastest troops you have?"
"Depends on the terrain, if its forest, then elves would definitely be better, but open terrain then the Knights would be better. Of course we have dragonhawk riders but we don't have many of them," Sylvanas spoke up in thought.
"How many elves specialize in range, and how many specialize in close combat?" Shikamaru asked.
"They could engage in close-quarters but most of them are long ranged fighters. We used to have spell-breakers who excelled in close quarter fighting with their blades but we have long since decommissioned them due to lack of need," Sylvanas said, "Archers take a large portion of the forces, with males dominating the healer and Priest, while females dominate the support roles as Sorceresses, and uses spells such as slow and polymorph to make the enemy disoriented."
"Let me think then…" Shikamaru said as he sat down and took a stick from the ground beside him, scribbling mindlessly into the dirt. "I say bring…"
"Hang on Shikamaru," Naruto said as he turned to Sylvanas, "Can I put my seals on those arrows in this case?"
Sylvanas thought for a moment then nodded as Kakashi's eyes widened, "Hiraishin seals Naruto? Are you sure they can work?"
"Yeah," Naruto said as Shikamaru's eyes also widened before settling down, "That makes it simpler than, yet so much more complicated… I would say in that case bring about 200 to 300 archers, and about 100 to 200… Sorceress did you say? Anyways, then followed by about a hundred Priests, that should do the trick."
"How's that going to work?" Naruto asked, "and how are we suppose to transport that number that fast?"
"We won't. We'll set up a beacon here for the selected troops, and only Naruto will move out… well unless there's other people who insist on going with him, but I wouldn't recommend it. When he reaches the destination, he'll summon the entire array over," Shikamaru said as they nodded, before Jaina looked at Naruto, "You still have that crystal right?"
Naruto held up the crystal from his neck, "Yeah…"
"Who here can apply those seals?" Jaina asked as only Kakashi and Naruto raised their hands, "We're the only qualified sealers here that can apply those. While the others can apply seals, they can't do it on this caliber."
"You mean size or complexity?"
"Complexity… and partially the amount of arrows as well," Kakashi said as he looked at Naruto, "Are you sure you have completely mastered it though?"
"Mostly, I'm still wasting a bit more chakra and prolonged exposure will still make me a bit dizzy but with the amount of chakra I have that won't be a problem," Naruto said as Kakashi nodded, satisfied, "You also realize that you'll have to destroy those arrows later on."
"Why? We could always reuse some," Naruto argued.
"Hiraishin no Jutsu is a village secret Naruto, even if they can't use it as well doesn't mean they can't use it at all," Kakashi explained as Naruto paled slightly, "You've used this before haven't you?"
"Don't worry, those arrows were recycled already, but they were left around… somewhere in one of those boxes back in the warehouse," Sylvanas assured Naruto, "If that is the case, then we will honor your request."
"Thank you general. Naruto," Kakashi ordered as Naruto stood at attention.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said.
"Meet up with this Thrall and head with him to the undead bastion. Once you're there, contact us, and summon us an hour after you have established contact," Kakashi said as Naruto nodded, but before he left, "Kakashi-sensei?"
"Yes Naruto?" Kakashi asked, unsure and slightly disturbed at Naruto's smile.
"Thrall may be a bit… different when you see him. Ja ne!" Naruto said as he disappeared all of a sudden in a flashing yellow light. Kakashi stared at the spot he was in, perturbed. Hiraishin? But when?
Meanwhile, as Kakashi had his conversation with Naruto, Jaina turned to Lina and Sylvanas, "Get ready, we're going too. Thrall also requested that we meet up with him for something else, something regarding the prophet."
"Hey Jaina!" someone yelled as he shoved through the crowd, "I'm going too!"
"Ricky? Why?" Jaina said as he looked at her.
"I may be just a mage, but my skills could still be equally useful, and plus…" he lowered his voice, "Are you sure you can trust these… people?"
"Yes Ricky," Jaina replied, "Naruto's not that bad of a person, and if he vouches for them, then I can say I trust them as well."
"But… well…" Ricky said, at a loss for words, "How can you be sure you can trust Naruto then? What has he given you to warrant your trust?"
"I…" Jaina said as she truly thought about it, "It was his attitude towards these things, Ricky… he just emits an aura that makes you want to trust him. I can see these things remember?"
"Well… if you insist…" Ricky said, "But… I'm still going anyways!"
"Trust me, with whatever they'll be doing, we'd just get in the way…. Well I would be in the way, Lina and Sylvanas won't because they're much more maneuverable in forest conditions and fighting those Scourge," Jaina muttered the end to herself but Lina caught it as she bounded over to Jaina, "Jaina! When do you think we're going then?"
"Honestly… I have no idea where Thrall is actually, so I can't really say anything," Jaina said raising an eyebrow mentally as Lina tugged her slightly away from Ricky, who looked confused at the sudden turn of events. Once they were far enough, Lina dropped her charade. Ricky scowled as he thought, What does that Naruto guy has that I don't? I know Jaina longer, hell he's not even from here! Why do I seem to be losing to that guy? Arrgg…
"Are you really going to listen to him Jaina?" Lina asked as Jaina looked at her oddly, "You mean his suggestion to fight, or his insinuation that Konoha is bad?"
"Both," Lina said as Jaina just looked at her, "What do you think?"
"Well… since you know him longer, I thought you might listen to him more…" Lina replied honestly as Jaina sighed softly.
"Naruto hasn't presented any ill-will towards us, and I know what Ricky wants – he just wants to impress me enough in the field so that the next time he asks me out I would accept. We're just mages, we may be able to fight, but not on this scale. Konoha is, according to Naruto, a military village, and those are quite potentially some of the best we can get," Jaina said before looking downtrodden, "In fact, I think I'd just get in their way too…."
"Jaina!" Lina scolded her as Jaina looked up curiously, noticing exactly how Lina was actually quite tall, "Don't think like that… it's true that we may have better physical abilities, but you're still powerful in your own right. Even Prince Kael said so, remember?"
"You mean the elf that tried courting me? Or are there other Kaels around?" Jaina asked curiously as Lina raised an eyebrow, "Nope, only one Kael. Hm, to think you once dated the Prince of the High Elves…"
"Oh," Jaina said as she reddened and Lina laughed lightly before Kakashi came over, "Is there anything you wish to tell us, Jaina-san, before we start on the sealing? Naruto has already left the island from what I can tell."
"That fast? What did he do, using the Hiraishin without the seal?" Jaina asked as Kakashi wondered about that too, "That could be a possibility. He just used it to go somewhere, I don't know where though…"
"Wait…" Jaina said as she thought a bit more and searched through her clothes. Finding nothing, she started, "I think I know where he is… during the fight with Madara, he somehow managed to slip one of his special kunai into the folds of my clothing, but I think it was dropped when he couldn't handle the blunt force and sort of ran headfirst into me."
"He slipped it into your clothes?" Kakashi asked as Jaina reddened. Hehehe, Naruto, I never thought you would be like this… Kakashi thought with a hidden smirk. "You thought he was groping me?" Jaina asked, slightly flustered.
"Well…" Kakashi said as he held up his Icha Icha – the last one ever made by Jiraiya at least – and presented it to Jaina, "His teacher wrote this book, what can you really expect?"
Jaina took the book pensively as she flipped to a random page. She looked at the text, "Kakashi?"
"Yes?"
"I don't understand your native language, remember?" Jaina said, "Now that I think about it, how did you know about Common anyways?"
"You mean English?" Kakashi said, "There are other countries beyond the elemental nations, just that we don't usually venture out, and vice versa, but occasionally we do have to, so we need knowledge of foreign language. All of them here are heirs to a prominent family… well except Sakura, but she's probably the best at politics here so she learns it too to help us." (Neji's the clan heir, technically, to the branch family here, but he was too young when his father died so someone else took over until he could do it)
"That still doesn't make me understand the language that's written in your book," Jaina deadpanned as Kakashi laughed, "Well, looks like I'll have to recite whatever you found then shall I?"
"No thanks," Jaina quickly said, "He said his teacher was a super pervert already, while you're, thankfully, just a pervert."
"Just a pervert…" Kakashi said, crying anime tears as Jaina sweatdropped at that and edged away, "Okayy…"
Naruto
As Naruto appeared at the site of the kunai he sensed, he looked around for it immediately, "Huh? I swear I dropped on top of it…"
Naruto looked around before looking down. Right beneath him was a layer of dirt, but it looked fresh, as if recently overturned. Naruto crouched, and using a simple doton technique moved the pile until he saw a glint and dug his kunai up, before securing it. "Now to find Thrall… Where did he say he was going again…"
Completely lost in the forest, he leapt up into the forest, looking for clues as to his exact whereabouts. After randomly searching in one direction, he found traces of broken rocks, and as he continued to move forward, saw gigantic boulders extending out of the ground – the remnants from his Chibaku Tensei. "Gotcha."
Naruto then began to trace his steps, trying to find the destroyed camp, but he was unsuccessful although he now had a good bearing of where he was. He remembered Thrall talking about moving North to a plateau, but decided that rather than explore it, he would simply find them. He sat down and began to gather Senjutsu chakra again. Funny how now I always try to use Sage Mode now… Am I starting to rely on it and the Rinnegan too much? Naruto wondered as he felt the currents of the air, and finally the energy and absorbed it. Doesn't matter, what matters more is that I need to remake my coat… stupid attacks completely shredded it apart… I wonder how tou-san never got his torn, maybe he's just better at fighting than I am.
"Now… where are you…" Naruto whispered to himself as he gathered more energy and looked around the site, before realizing something. There was another source of energy that was actively gathering Senjutsu chakra as well – moving. Interesting… I'll file it away for later, Naruto thought as he spread his senses out more, before finding Thrall. He sensed a very faint signature at extreme ranges, and unsure if it really was Thrall, decided to follow it. Of course, he didn't know that he was going right to Tyrande and Malfurion who were readying themselves to retrieve the Druid of the Claws.
A couple miles away, a female night elf looked around, curious at who was manipulating the Nature like her. Is a druid here? She wondered as she quickly deciphered the signature. Doesn't feel like a druid… in fact, it doesn't even feel night elf, or elf in general. She quickly packed and left her small hut, following the trail, but was shocked as the source suddenly travelled several dozen meters in a span of a few seconds, far too fast for her to follow. (Thanks Oxycoon for the idea)
Naruto quickly scaled the cliff as he rushed through the forest, heedless of anything that rushed by, only occasionally activating his Rinnegan to check his surroundings. He noticed a couple of night elves but not much more. Strangely, he didn't feel a large pack that would indicate the Orcs, but rather a few, then more deeper underground. Underground? Naruto thought as he leapt through the forest, before sensing that the pair of signatures were descending as well. Naruto stopped, pretty sure that he was not on the right track, but decided on checking it out, if anything for more information. The crystal necklace suddenly glowed.
"Jaina-chan?" Naruto asked as the voice came over from the necklace, though it was in his head. He stopped on a branch, listening to Jaina.
"Naruto, where are you right now?" Jaina asked as he looked around.
"Actually, apart from knowing that I'm in the middle of the Ashenvale forest, I have no clue. I followed the wrong energy signature but I'm checking it out as well, to make sure if there's anything useful that we can know about. But now that I think about it, why didn't I just follow the guy back to the mainland?" Naruto asked.
"The messenger also said that the Orc came to them, not the other way around, so we don't actually know where they are either. In any case, check it out if you want, the summoning seal won't be ready for at least another day," Jaina said as Naruto nodded, "How did you get all the way into Ashenvale that fast anyways?"
"The kunai you dropped Jaina-chan," Naruto replied as he felt… fluster?... coming from the other side of the crystal, "Is there anything wrong?"
"Your teacher is insisting that you used that time to cope a feel," Jaina replied as Naruto reddened, "Tell Kakashi-sensei I will have a good talk when I see him again."
"Okay, be careful," Jaina said.
"Nah, it's not fun that way, bye," Naruto said as he cut the connection himself and leapt forward again, wanting to find out what was going on. Jaina tried to contact him but it resulted in silence as Naruto ignored it. Naruto started leaping through the trees again at a faster rate as he felt the signatures getting dimmer as they went underground. He suddenly felt yet another presence which he felt similar to Mannaroth's, only more tamed and controlled, yet as if it was purposefully made weakened for some reason. Naruto shrugged it off as he came to a large cave.
"Another cave?" Naruto muttered as he stepped in. It was dark, but Naruto had no problems adjusting to the light, although he nearly activated the Rinnegan, he convinced himself that it would be better if he didn't rely on it as much as he was right now. He moved through the darkness, hiding with the darker shadows, until he came across the two signatures that he found. He cursed.
Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage were the ones he found, along with a contingent of night elf sentinels and some other night elf males. Tyrande, having better ears, picked up the soft cursing and turned around, but seeing no one there, was unsure if it was just the wind or if someone had followed them. Malfurion turned to Tyrande, "Is there anything wrong, my love?"
"I thought I heard cursing…" Tyrande said as Malfurion, at that, stretched his senses. Naruto knew that hiding was futile when he sensed the energy probing him, yet not penetrating since he was still in Sage Mode, but in another minute he would be out, and would be found out, and thus found no reason to keep hiding himself, even if he really wished to. He stepped out of the shadow, five meters away from the group. He purposefully made a loud noise as he stepped on the ground as he spoke.
"You know, had I been an assassin sent to kill you two, you would've been dead. Um… what's your name?" Naruto asked the night elf as he never picked up his name, all he knew was that he was powerful and was apparently Tyrande's lover.
"Na… Naruto?" Tyrande exclaimed before slowly lowering her bow as Malfurion introduced himself, "I am Malfurion Stormrage, Archdruid of the Night Elves."
"You're really good at sensing," Naruto said bluntly as Malfurion raised an eyebrow, "I didn't even sense you… how did you blend in with the nature anyhow?"
"No, you did, your presence was probing me the whole time, but… well, it's a secret," Naruto grinned before having to dodge a dozen arrows again. "There you go again Tyrande, can you please stop it!"
"What are you doing here?" Tyrande asked as she raised her bow again, but was held down by Malfurion, "No need for violence Tyrande, let's just see what he wants."
"I was actually here to one," Naruto said as he took out the Hiraishin kunai, "retrieve this, two, to find this gigantic Scourge bastion which is… somewhere. Thrall has asked us to aid him in destroying it and I'm suppose to meet up with them, but I found the wrong signature and followed you. Three, when I figured out what was wrong, I decided to gather information to see what's useful and what's not. Judging from what your expressions are… you know where the bastion is don't you?"
"We had an encounter with a particularly large undead… bastion you say, that has corrupted parts of our forest, but we're not sure if it's the one you're looking for," Malfurion said, "There are, however, Orc presence there, so it may be the one you're looking for."
"Is there anything I can do to get that information?" Naruto asked as Tyrande snorted in a very unladylike manner.
"Tyrande!" Malfurion chastised as Tyrande reddened although Naruto couldn't see it, "Provided that you can promise us that your forces can destroy the bastion, then perhaps I can tell you where it is."
"How big is it?"
"It numbers in the tens of thousands, and many of our warriors have been sacrificed to keep the infestation back. So far, we don't see any signs of decreasing numbers… if anything they seem to increase," Tyrande said finally, agreeing with her lover's decision.
"Wait," Naruto said as he contacted Jaina, "Jaina-chan?"
"Yeah?" Jaina asked.
"I know who the two are now, its Tyrande and Malfurion, I think they know the position of the bastion, but in return I need to promise them that I can destroy it, and probably something else," Naruto informed Jaina as there was a pause on the other end.
"See what they want, and try to strike up an alliance at least to attack this bastion then. I think you can handle this situation on your own, so be careful… not that you'll listen," Jaina said as Naruto laughed a bit.
"Okay, okay, Jaina-chan, I'll see you soon, ja ne," Naruto said as he cut chakra to the necklace and looked at the night elves, "What? I was contacting my leader for instruction. There is one more thing – if provided we can give you the time when we attack, will you assist at least for this assault? I know we don't like each other, but we can at least strike up an alliance to deal with the Scourge, then go back and continue kicking each other's asses."
"Hmm…" Malfurion murmured as he thought to himself and turned to Tyrande, "It would be a good suggestion to ally ourselves for the threat, but what do you think?"
"…" Tyrande didn't answer for a while as Naruto waited, before creating a lot of clones. Malfurion watched in confusion as two Naruto's sat down as the rest emitted clouds of smoke and became… cards?
"I'm guessing this will take a while so…" Naruto said as he began to play Go Fish with his clone partner, "Do you have a three?"
"Go Fish. Do you have a seven?"
"Go Fish…" the two blonds went at it for a few minutes until Tyrande finally makes a decision, "Very well… Although I do not like it, I will agree to help, but we do need those druids Malfurion… What are you doing Naruto?"
"I'm playing Go Fish against myself… and losing," Naruto muttered as he looked, "I heard you loud and clear, but I still find it funny how I'm losing to myself in a game… I guess I'm the only one who can do that…"
"Right…" Tyrande had long given up on trying to guess if Naruto was sane or not, and just decided to go with it as Malfurion shook his head, amused at Naruto's tendency, "Naruto, if you will, can you assist us on gathering some of our forces?"
"Sure…?" Naruto said as Malfurion sensed his confusion and clarified, "Druids are required to enter an… area called the Emerald Dream, if you will, and the only way is to, for a lack of a better word, hibernate. We are here to wake up some of the druids to complete the army required to assault the undead."
"Oh," Naruto replied as Tyrande led the group, now including Naruto, down, as Malfurion walked beside him, wanting to know more about the person which seemed so different. "You seem different from the other humans, anyhow, more… powerful, in a sense, as if there's more to you than normal."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, afraid of the answer. Crap, did he find out about Kyubi?
"There seems to be another source of power inside you, but I can't really feel it. The little I feel, however, seemed demonic in nature. Have you been in contact with demons before?"
"Yes, I… encountered one when we fought one of the sub-leaders of the Burning Legion, who was controlling the Orc, or rather those who seemed berserk," Naruto replied carefully, making sure to keep out any mention of Konoha or that fact that he was from a different dimension.
"I see," Malfurion said but knew that Naruto was keeping some things hidden – both of them know, "I feel that you do not wish to deprive deeper into your other encounter then, yes?"
"Yeah, it's a more painful experience," Naruto admitted in honesty as he had no reason to lie still, "it's helped me out of tough situations before but I would rather not talk about it."
"I'm sorry for intruding on you, yet you seem very different to the other humans I have seen, even if I have not seen much," Malfurion stated as Naruto chuckled, "My teacher referred to me as one of the most unpredictable person he ever knows if it makes you feel more secure."
"That, I would have to keep my opinion about," Malfurion said as Tyrande suddenly stopped and turned around, "Malfurion, there's a small group of Furblogs there."
"Of all places?" Malfurion said in confusion as he headed towards the small group of Furblogs and began to chat with them for a bit while Naruto looked in confusion, "They look familiar…"
"You know this particular group?"
"I think I met it while I was searching for Sasuke but paid it no mind… it looks like they're one of the few not to get attacked by him," Naruto said as Tyrande turned sharply, "Attacked?"
"Sasuke attacked a number of wild animals, and it was the carcass that we got interested and I was sent out to search from, you know him probably, one of your archers noticed him as well a while ago," Naruto said as Tyrande nodded.
"I recall that encounter that you spoke of, but was he at the site of battle a few days ago?" Tyrande asked. Naruto nodded, "He was the reason why I looked battered before even facing Madara…"
"Great… just what we need, "Tyrande sighed as Naruto turned to her, "He is none of your problem, he is mine, and mine alone. I will deal with him myself… because I failed him."
"Failed him?" Tyrande asked as Malfurion moved back, "These Furblogs are here waiting for their brethren who had gone with retrieve some holy water from a nearby fountain, but several hours have passed and yet they have still not returned. They have asked me to find out what happened to those Furblog and if we could gather the water."
"I'll go, I'm faster than any of you if I know the directions," Naruto volunteered as they looked at him, before looking at each other and nodding. Malfurion gave Naruto the small vial and gave him the rough directions, before Naruto ran off. Malfurion looked at Tyrande, "So, what have you learnt about him as well?"
"He is… sophisticated, and appears to carry a large burden on him," Tyrande said, "I could see that he has some sort of mask on but I can't read him at all… it's almost scary thinking about it, I have never seen anyone who has done that before."
"A burden…" Malfurion said to himself as he looked at the direction which Naruto has ran off to, before motioning for the party to continue, "He will catch up later, we should keep going."
Meanwhile, Naruto hunted for the fountain in the semi-darkness as he ventured even deeper. He eventually came across some spiders as he rushed past as well as a few red and brown spots, before stopping abruptly. Red and brown spots? Naruto wondered as he looked back. What he saw was unnerving – the giant spiders were eating the dead Furblogs, but one of them had a glowing… thing in their hands and Naruto ventured closer. The spiders suddenly attacked and Naruto was forced back a couple meters, but quickly made short work of them using the wind blades mounted on his forearm protector. He studied the Furblogs, and was surprised when one of them still spoke, even when his legs were partially eaten, "Take this…" it said as it loosened its hand and revealed a vial, "Please… take this… to our tribesmen…"
"I will," Naruto said as the Furblog grunted in pain, "Rest in peace." Naruto continued as he activated the wind blades and the Furblog looked appreciative. Naruto slashed down directly into the heart of the Furblog, ending its torment as there was no way to save it at all, and the least Naruto could do was to put it out of its misery. Naruto pocketed the vial as he sped back quickly to the tribesmen earlier. As he approached, another Furblog stood up, "Have you found our kinsmen?"
"I'm sorry…" Naruto said as he held out both vials, empty and full, "But I found them too late; they were devoured by giant spiders. One was still alive, but he died soon afterwards. He gave me this to give back."
"Thank you," the Furblog said as it remained silent the whole time before moving back to the rest of the group, as Naruto took off, following the Night Elf's signatures again as he quickly caught up.
"That was fast," Malfurion commented as Naruto remained silent for a while before speaking, "That's because I found the Furblogs sent."
"So they were still alive then," Malfurion deducted expecting it. Naruto shook his head, "No, they were devoured."
"Oh," Malfurion said, "But… I don't recall ever having such vicious creatures in this domain…"
"Many things have transpired since you were last awake, Malfurion," Tyrande said, "And many things could have happened in ten thousand years."
Naruto remained silent although he was surprised at how old they were. Then again, he reflected, many thing were weird here, it might not be so surprising after all. Soon, they came across a large clearing, with an ancient door to the right. As Naruto looked on curiously, Malfurion suddenly spoke up, "Oh no, how could I have forgotten!"
"What is it, Malfurion?" Tyrande asked. Malfurion said a single word, "Illidan."
"He was imprisoned here?" Tyrande asked as Naruto looked back and forth.
"If someone wouldn't mind…" he said in a quiet voice as a huntress replied, "Illidan Stormrage, from what I remember, was the brother of Malfurion here, but he was lusted after demonic power and ended up betraying us just to sate his hunger. I was but a child at that time, so I can't remember much, but I know that he was imprisoned and sentenced for eternity."
"Demonic power, huh…" Naruto said to himself as the two argued, before Tyrande waved the sentinels forward.
"No Tyrande! I forbid you from freeing him," Malfurion said desperately as Tyrande glared back.
"Only the Goddess may forbid me anything," she said simply as her troops went in after her, the door sealing shut right afterwards as Malfurion sighed.
"So…" Naruto said as Malfurion turned back, having forgotten that he was there.
"I'm sorry Naruto to have you see us arguing like this," Malfurion apologized as Naruto waved it off.
"It doesn't matter, but… what exactly happened between you and this Illidan? All I got from one of the Sentinels was that he was… well, your brother," Naruto said as Malfurion sighed.
"That he was," Malfurion said, "We best get going, I'll tell you what happened along the way… you will need to know if he really becomes free."
With that, they continued on their way to the cavern which housed the druids while Naruto listened in on Malfurion's tales between his brother and himself. At the end of the tale, Naruto was deep in thought, before replying back.
"Malfurion," he said, gaining the attention on him, "Don't blame him… demonic energy is very addicting… its hard enough to control, and when you start to use it, you always feel more powerful, as if you can take on the whole world. And not only that, but also the most effective way to combat a demon…" at that point Malfurion was listening in closely as Naruto trailed off, before beginning again.
"Is to use it's own power against him," Naruto finished with a small sigh, "Don't blame your brother for his action in this, and quite frankly, give him a second chance – maybe he would've repented after ten thousand years."
"How did you know that this happened ten thousand years ago?" Malfurion said in surprise.
"I overheard your conversation… hey, are those dragons?" Naruto asked as they came across a small flight of black dragons.
"Yes they are… I can't believe that the remnants of the Black Dragonflight have arrived here," Malfurion replied as the rest of the group took on battle positions.
"What?"
"Never mind, just know that they're… hostile," Malfurion said choosing the last word carefully as Naruto nodded and began a chain of seals, as Malfurion struck first, his spell striking the largest flight directly in the head, before pulling roots out of the sides of he cave and restraining them.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he finished the last seal, and from the water underneath a gigantic dragon appeared and smashed itself against the leading dragon as well. Naruto followed immediately, as the droplets were still in the air.
"Raition: Gian!" Naruto yelled as a spear of lightning made its way towards the droplets, and proceeded to chain itself around the vapor and the dragons, stunning and wounding them, but they retaliated with a powerful breath attack which knocked some of the druids off their feet as Naruto dodged to the side.
"Damn… they're tough," Naruto said as Malfurion managed to strike yet another, this time in the eye, with his attack, sending it reeling back as Naruto launched about half a dozen wind bullets at the beasts, knocking them back even farther as Malfurion took some vines again.
"Malfurion, chain them!" Naruto yelled as he began another chain of sequence, ending with Tora, as one of the smaller dragon, unable to escape in time, was chained by the vines. "Katon: Karyu Endan!"
The white inferno that was the fire dragon spewed out of Naruto's mouth, but unlike others where it sped off immediately, Naruto's gathered briefly right in front of him before exploding into action, the white hot flames searing through the vines and tore into the dragon, burning through its hide and literally disintegrated the dragon into ash from the heat alone. After the flames, Naruto looked at Malfurion, "Sorry about the vines."
"Arcane magic?" Malfurion thought but was distracted as Naruto launched yet another fire attack, this time blazing through but only scorching the hide.
"No, its something different," Naruto replied as he finished and then held his hand out without forming seals, as a tornado appeared in his palms.
"Futon: Atsugai!" Naruto yelled out as the tornado discharged, spiraling towards the dragons before striking one directly in the stomach, erupting into a full blown blast which shot the dragon into the wall, causing the wall to crack and then crash down, burying it in the rubble as Malfurion looked on in partial shock. He has much power, that I know of… but I didn't expect this much… just who is he? he thought but snapped out of it as he activated on of his wide area healing spells to heal the druids who were just coming back to consciousness. Meanwhile, Naruto sent out about half a dozen blades, before activating his forearm blades. Twin flashes of light flared in the darkness as the blades formed, humming and ready to strike, as Naruto looked at the dragons and noted their location relative to the kunai. As he stepped forward and a dragon lunged –
– he disappeared in a flash of yellow right next to another dragon as he slashed his blade down before swiping his other one across the wing, sending the dragon crashing down even as he somersaulted over an attack and brought his changed blade now lance down onto the dragon's head, and at the same time using it as a hold to swivel himself beneath the corpse and blocked the attack from the dragon which lunged at him. There was a sudden burst of wind, then silence for a bit as Naruto looked up and saw several cyclones swirling around the dragons who looked confused inside.
"We won't have much time before the cyclones disperse, so we best get moving," Malfurion said as Naruto looked at them curiously, "We are coming back this way right?"
"Yes, but we don't have a lot of time. The more time we waste, the larger and more deadly the bastion becomes," Malfurion explained as Naruto nodded and sprinted down the hall with them, and in moments arrived at a cliff edge as Malfurion looked over, "Oh, good they're awake already."
However, as one of the druids of the talon approached, a bear suddenly attacked and knocked it back, forcing another to cast a cyclone to move it away.
"Oh… it appears that they have lost themselves to their animal instincts…" Malfurion said as Naruto asked, "So… how do you wake them up from it then?"
Malfurion held up a horn, the same one Naruto found a day into this world when he ventured into the forest, "I will need to find a clearing that can give out the most of the horn's call."
"I'll give you cover," Naruto said as he quickly sent a burst of fire right up as the bears all looked at him. As Malfurion looked on and began to run inwards, he warned Naruto, "Do not kill any of them, Naruto."
"Alright, alright, calm down, I won't do anything," Naruto said as he dodged yet another slash from the bears, and continued his dance with the pack for a while, at least until he heard a low bellowing sound several minutes later. The bears were silent for a time, before slowly being enveloped in light, and all of them transformed as Malfurion moved back.
"I take it that the sound was the horn?" Naruto said as Malfurion nodded, "Come, we must hurry back."
"If you say those dragons are… hostile, does that mean that it won't matter if they're… let's call it eliminated?" Naruto asked as Malfurion looked on.
"…No, I suppose it won't matter too much in the end," Malfurion said, "But still we must hurry."
"I know, I know, I'll deal with it," Naruto said as he disappeared in a flash of light as Malfurion waved his newly acquired troops forward. As they charged forward, tearing through any enemies that may have still been left in their first rampage, they heard he sounds of intense fighting, and curses. Lots and lots of curses, before a particularly loud explosion occurred, and dust streamed through. The druids coughed as Malfurion waved the dust cloud away before moving forward. He arrived at the clearing where Naruto was, only to see him choking as well and waving the dust away.
"Oh man… that was not supposed to happen," Naruto said as he hacked out the rest of the dust in his lungs.
"Your exploding trick again?" Malfurion asked. Naruto shook his head, "No, just a complication when I tried to write my seals. Nothing serious."
Malfurion looked at the remnants of the clearing, as well as the fine dust that used to be five feet of the walls of the entire clearing, and decided that he did not want to know what is serious for Naruto. "Very well, can we move now then?"
"Yeah, just one more thing," Naruto said as he walked over to a pile of rubble, and his wind lance flashed on, "I forgot about this guy. Let's go." Together, they moved through the hallways, taking care not to destroy the cave anymore than Naruto had, although, Malfurion thought, it can't really be helped seeing as they were the remnants from Dreadwing's flight. Soon, they reached the spectral bridge as Malfurion led his troops over, but the cave began to rumble as several golems pulled themselves out the wall.
"Get your asses out of there!" Naruto yelled as he charged up two blue spheres, "Rasengan!"
Two golems were pushed back and promptly disintegrated from the force, but more were still coming as Malfurion looked back, "Naruto, we're almost through! Just hold them off a little more! No trees here…"
"Trees?" Naruto said.
"I can create reinforcements if there are trees, by summoning treants," Malfurion explained as Naruto dodged a rocky fist and leapt back and began making hand signs.
"Well why don't you say so? Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!" Naruto shouted as trees began sprouting from the sides of the cave as Malfurion, rather than look on shocked, immediately began casting Forces of Nature as treants appeared and began attacking the golems. As the final druid passed over, Malfurion yelled, "Naruto, get over now!"
Naruto, on hearing the command, immediately launched several air bullets which impacted on the golems knocking them back, before back flipping over the bridge even as he unleashed yet more air bullets, managing to tear one apart as the treants tore through another, before the mana sustaining them ran out and they collapsed. Malfurion quickly deactivated the bridge to prevent the golems from moving forward, before turning to Naruto, "We best get moving."
"Got it," Naruto said as they ran back towards the gates that imprisoned Illidan, before seeing the gates open once more, and Tyrande moving forward.
"Tyrande!" Malfurion said as he moved forward, and seeing someone out of Naruto vision, turned cold, "Illidan…"
"Brother… will you still not forgive me?" a deep voice sounded as Naruto moved forward, only to see Malfurion about to attack Illidan, and vice versa. "I have changed."
"What you did was despicable Illidan, allying yourself with the Burning Legion, just to quell your thirst for magic," Malfurion countered as Naruto had enough. Enhancing his voice with chakra, he yelled out, "Enough!"
"This is our business, Naruto, don't get in the way," Malfurion said as Naruto activated his Rinnegan, followed by pushing Kyubi's chakra into his eyes. The result was a blood red Rinnegan which caused Malfurion and Tyrande to widen their eyes, and for Illidan to growl, "I sense demonic energy… are there demons nearby."
"Naruto, you don't understand," Malfurion explained before being cut off by Naruto.
"Yes I do, I know the powers of a demon very well, and I know what it will do to a person better than you ever will Malfurion," Naruto said, "It's far more potent than the energies we naturally wield, humans, night elves, whatever. Once you get a feel for it without it damaging you, you're addicted to it."
"And how would you know of this?" Malfurion asked, "How can you even fathom the powers of a demon? And overall, that was not his greatest crime – his greatest crime lies in betraying our kinsmen and recklessly endangering the night elves."
"Give him a chance to repent – I told you, the most effective way to slay a demon is to use its own powers against them, and if what you told me about him is correct, then he has a far greater chance at killing them than you ever can," Naruto said.
"And what would you know if it?" Illidan said, curious, as Naruto turned around, forgetting about everything else, "Because I know a demon personally."
"That is preposterous!" Malfurion exclaimed, "How could you even fathom such a thing?"
"When you're eternally bound to him in life and death," Naruto said solemnly, "You get to know him pretty well. Now is not the time for this, we need to move to destroy the bastion."
"Very well…" Malfurion said as he turned to Illidan, "We'll settle this later."
Whew, done the first part – the next part will include the big-ass fight between all the factions, in a 3v1 situation… or a 4v1 if Konoha is counted as a separate one. Although this chapter didn't come out as expected… I was imagining that Naruto got pissed at Illidan's situation and then loosen his tongue and tell the night elves of Kyubi and his seal but alas nothing ever goes right anymore… Oh well, the next part will come out ASAP, until then, farewell
PyroC0ntrol, out *Big fire burns him to ashes*
Not like that…