Author's Note: Um… reviews please? :D
Thanks to Hakkyou no Yami and Oxycoon who reviewed constantly for the last few chapters, and thanks to all those that reviewed, by the way. Very much appreciated. It is thanks to the efforts that allowed me to write up future chapters. Saying that, I also want to say, Merry Christmas! Or Happy Hanukah, or whatever you celebrate on this day. I celebrate Christmas, so naturally I got no idea what the others celebrate. Too bad there's no such holiday in Warcraft… is there?
Chapter 28: A Desperate Battle
"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he sat on the soft grass, nursing his aching eyes even as some Night Elves tended over him. Maiev stood by, watching him. With no small feat from Naruto, they had managed to escape the Tomb of Sargeras when Darkterror had collapsed the tomb on top of them. Maiev shuddered when she recalled the memory, fresh from just a few hours ago.
Inside the Tomb of Sargeras
"This is it, right?" Naruto asked as Illidan approached.
"Yes, I sense the power inside, we must hurry and get it before Darkterror does, or destroy it," Illidan said as Maiev opened the door. Inside, however, was several Naga, along with Darkterror.
"Ah, I see you made it," Darkterror sneered as he held the glowing spherical object in his hands, "Too bad I already have the Eye of Sargeras in my hands…"
"Put it down now Darkterror! You have no idea what it's capable of!" Illidan shouted as his warblades extended. Darkterror merely chuckled darkly.
"Don't know what it's capable of? Please," Darkterror mocked as he raised it slightly, "Let me demonstrate then… Maiev… for capturing me and imprisoning me underground for ten thousand years… I shall do the same to you! Consider this my final gift!"
The object glowed faintly, before a rumbling was heard, and rocks began to fall.
"Shit!" Naruto shouted, "The place is coming down! Everyone get out!"
It was too late, however, as the tomb crumbled, sealing the exit even as Darkterror vanished with his escorts. Naruto slammed a fist against the rock wall even as the rumbling increased. Maiev frowned.
"I could in theory get out of here… but all of you will be…" Maiev said as Illidan turned.
"They need you in the base, Maiev, go," Illidan urged, "Having one escape is better than none."
"But having more escape is better than having only one escape," Naruto growled as his eyes lit up once more with the pattern of the Rinnegan.
"What do you mean?" Illidan asked as Naruto raised both his hands, his palms pointing at the ceiling, and concentrated. He began to access the powers, and strained as it overcame him, threatening him to release. Naruto held firm, though the power began to corrode him from over exertion. Blood began to leak from his right eye even as Maiev looked on, shocked.
"Naruto! Your eye's bleeding!" Maiev said as Naruto grimaced, before a small pulse of energy moved, and the blood flow increased. Panting, Naruto directed several waves in one direction, focusing chakra to direct themselves from one pathway to another, and from one expulsion to another expulsion, before, in a loud cry, he unleashed a wave of energy from his palm so dense that it literally distorted the very air. The wave travelled slowly even as Naruto focused once more, and a small film of scintillating, transparent cone of energy appeared, forming a circle around the wave.
"Arrgh…" Naruto groaned as the wave flew up, faster, "Shinra… Tensei!"
The modified attack, in turn, impacted on the ceiling. There was a sudden silence, in which everyone stared at the point of impact. Then, at that moment, the ceiling exploded with a powerful force, as if a tornado had spawned inside the very wall itself and was tearing it to pieces. The rocks crumbled under the pressure, being reduced to dust while the cylinder of chakra stayed, forming a pathway for the Shinra Tensei to proceed, even as it blasted through more rocks.
When it looked as if the wave would clear the final obstacle to freedom, however, several giant rocks disengaged themselves, close to the position, and fell. Naruto had no time to react, as focused as he was, and the rocks smashed into him.
"Damnit! Naruto!" Illidan shouted even as the wave of dust sprang up to cloud their eyes. Thankfully, Illidan was able to get to Naruto, and looked up at the ceiling. There was an obvious gash along the side of Naruto's head, and his eyes were closed in exertion.
"Kuso… if only the rocks didn't fall…" Naruto groaned out as Illidan stopped him from rising.
"I'll handle it," Illidan said as he searched inside for his own reservoir of demonic energy, before willing it to the surface. Dark purple energy rose from him in wisps, before he gathered it together in a beam, and fired it straight up, piercing the last of the tomb. Maiev wasted no time in blinking out, even as Illidan used the residual energy to move the rest of the troops up, before picking up Naruto and flying away into the newly created exit.
It took a while, but they managed to escape the Naga's notice and fled back to their own base, where Naruto had finally managed to stand on his own power, the gash healed, though his eyes were still closed from the exertion. Illidan looked at Maiev.
"Send a message to my brother, now!" Illidan shouted, "Darkterror will no doubt attack at any moment, and we need all the help we can get. Tell Malfurion that Naruto is also injured and request any aid we can get."
"On my way," Maiev said hurriedly as she found one of the messengers and relayed the message, before sending her off with a small company of Watchers to defend the message until its destination. Once there, Maiev sensed something.
"The Naga's attacking," Maiev said as she blinked away, "Watchers! Defend the base!"
The Night Elves, at that command, rushed out of the base, ready to fight the enemy, while Illidan looked between Naruto and the battlefield.
"Go," Naruto said, "I'll be fine, defend the base or else it will fall. I have no doubt Darkterror is somewhere nearby, and you're the only one who can hurt him seriously. First order of matter is to take him down, and the rest will retreat to cover him. Get that Lady Vashj as well, if you can."
"Got it," Illidan said before he swept him wings open and flew up high. Naruto grimaced at the pain in his eyes.
"Another wave is approaching, Mistress Shadowsong. Illidan is already engaging," Naisha reported, "What are your orders?"
Maiev was about to reply when Naruto stood up, "Let me handle them."
"Absolutely not!" Maiev objected, "You're still injured when you blasted the tomb open, and…"
"I'm almost healed. I'm a shinobi, Maiev, I'm trained to fight with my other senses as well, not just my sight," Naruto said as his eyes returned normal, "Sure, they're useful, but I haven't had them for fifteen years, fighting without them isn't going to make much of a difference."
"Very well," Maiev said after a long period of thinking, "Naisha, lead some troops to aid him."
"Yes, Mistress Shadowsong," Naisha said before a squad of huntresses moved up and Naruto nodded. Then, in a swirl of wind, he disappeared, and the huntresses, guided by the chakra, followed into battle. As Naruto sped through the trees and into the midst of the battle, he spied Illidan charging at Darkterror, and proceeded, without thinking, flashed through seals.
"Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he sent a raging violet fireball at Darkterror, who managed to leap back and avoid it, but was unable to avoid Illidan's blade gashing a very light wound across his shoulder, nor the successive kunai and shuriken that Naruto launched right after the fireball. Several pierced his body even as a Naga Royal Guard appeared and used his trident to block the remaining, before lowering it and seeing Naruto right in front of him.
"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he slammed the spherical ball into the Naga, sending it backwards, before focusing on Darkterror again.
"You die today," Naruto said simply before three seals were flashed and he held his hand down. Lightning cascaded instantly across, cutting through the earth before the screech of a thousand birds appeared on the battlefield, but then warped into a single, hawk-like scream, as the lightning turned bright white with reddish streaks. Naruto charged, leaving a trail of dust and destruction behind him as he closed in on the enemy.
"Kyuybiko Chidori!" Naruto screamed out as he thrust the blade forward, streaming from his palm. Before he had a chance to strike Darkterror dead, however, a Naga Siren jumped in front. Not having the Rinnegan, Naruto couldn't predict the move, and he blasted through the Siren, now dead, and approaching Darkterror. However, he had the chance from the Siren to jump back and sent a bolt of negative lightning at Naruto, forcing him to use the enhanced Chidori as a shield to absorb the bolt, instantly dissipating the Chidori as the demonic energy cancelled out.
Kuso, cursed Naruto as he leapt back to avoid the sudden appeances of several tridents, before throwing a single kunai and making several seals.
"Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto called as the kunai multiplied into a hundred and stabbed through the enemy, even as Naruto brought his katana out and stood in a defense stance, his blade glowing blue with wind-natured chakra.
"Think you got what it takes?" Naruto taunted as they charged. Naruto was ready, however, even as the first one reached, and Naruto sliced the tips of the trident off cleanly, before reversing his grip and stabbing through, kicking the trident out and knocking a Naga over, who was instantly impaled by yet another blade even as Naruto turned and the blade glowed white.
"Kaze no Yaiba!" Naruto growled out as the energy discharged, forming a compression of air that tore through an entire file of Naga as Naruto leapt up and formed several clones, which dropped from the sky. Naruto formed a single seal.
"Bunshin Daibakuha!" Naruto called as the clones smiled and detonated with a kamikaze-like frenzy, scattering the enemy formation. Taking the chance, Illidan leapt back and transformed into his demonic form, Naruto following soon after as his chakra went low. It was fortunate, he reflected, that he had managed to somewhat befriend the demon in his gut or he would have never be able to do this when low on chakra. A cloak formed around him, white, while the seal flared across him, and as soon as the first enemy attacked a claw made from the youki charged forward, utterly obliterating the enemy. The rest hesitated at the power. Naruto did not. The claws shone from his back, nine in total, and surged forward, smashing through the earth and in some instances charging right up from the earth itself. Screams of agony and terror came from the Naga army as they witnessed the carnage the single human was causing them, but they surged forward once more, intending on eliminating the one they consider just a boy.
Naruto, on the other hand, knew he was close to his limits. Though he could give the Kyubi far less chakra than he can use the Kyubi's, there was still a small drain which Naruto knew he could not sustain for any longer than a scant few minutes, and that meant he had to finish this now. A wave of chakra gathered as he knelt down on all fours even as his canines elongated and five tails appeared, the shroud slowly turning a pale pink. Illidan remembered the powerful blast when he was in prison, and with a start recognized what this actually was.
"Everyone get back!" Illidan shouted as he used his wings to propel himself backwards, even as small spheres of chakra gathered and formed into a giant sphere, which Naruto, now covered completely, focused right in front of his mouth, the tails fanning out and the tips focusing on the sphere, growing smaller. Then, with but a single warning as the ball stabilized, Naruto roared. Not the normal kind of roar, mind you. This was a roar that shattered the sphere, and with the guidance of the tails, surged forward in a massive wave of destruction, tearing up the ground right in front. Whatever had been lucky enough to survive the initial carnage had no chance to survive this as the supersonic wave of energy tore right through the first Naga like a hot knife through butter. After what felt like an eternity when it was in actuality only a single minute, the shockwave finally subsided, leaving Naruto crouching there, panting heavily, before the shroud disappeared and he stumbled, before getting himself upright.
Kuso, an insanely powerful Shinra Tensei followed by the Chidori, Rasengan, and this is taxing on my chakra too much… Naruto thought as he looked at the destruction he had caused. Reaching into a hidden pouch in his cloak, he managed to find the seal and unsealed a single object which he held up and popped right into his mouth, feeling the energy return almost immediately after he swallowed it, though he shuddered at the taste. Having so much chakra, he had seldom needed to use a soldier pill, and thus each time he had to take one he could never get used to the taste. He took a deep breath as he turned around and looked at Illidan.
"Stay alert," Naruto said, "I didn't manage to finish off Darkterror with that attack, and it's sure that he'll bring more reinforcements. Our borders are spread too thin…"
"You need us to make the defensive perimeter smaller?" Illidan asked, "But that would make their numbers seem overwhelming in our terms…"
"I know," Naruto said, slightly frustrated at the situation, "But it's either that or guerilla warfare, and… sure, you're good at it, but that also means they can push right through to the base. Either way is risky, but if we don't do something, we're all going to die, power or not. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Several clones popped out as they spread out, looking for enemies even as Naruto sat down in a meditative position, "In this event, there's only so much we can do before the big guns need to come out…"
There was a slight glow as a previously unseen necklace glowed as Illidan watched in fascination, before feeling the rush of energy, druidic-like, enter Naruto. The greenish glow of energy that surrounded Naruto gathered around a little crystal decorated with eight shards of even smaller crystal, and was then transferred into Naruto. The flow continued even as Naruto opened his eyes, and the troops gasped in surprise at the new changes.
"Sage Mode…" Naruto whispered as he stood up. With the creation of the crystal, he had solved the problem of the Sage Mode once and for all. By injecting a miniscule amount of Senjutsu chakra into the crystal, he could initiate the catalyst reaction due to the special properties of the Shodai's crystal to absorb chakra, and automatically gather it from the surroundings, allowing him to have a constant supply of senjutsu chakra even during intensive combat without the need of clones to gather the chakra. The downside, however, was that he needed to gather some Senjutsu chakra in the first place, and it will only stay active as long as Naruto have some senjutsu chakra running through the crystal. Any lapse in concentration would stop the flow and pulse him out of Sage Mode. He felt his body repair itself at an accelerated pace as the chakra worked, and squinted at the far end, before closing his eyes and sensing.
"Illidan, head back to base," Naruto said, "Maiev's going to be under attack by that Lady Vashj soon, and she with a large force of Nagas."
"Okay," Illidan said, "I trust that you can hold the line?"
"I'll try my best?" Naruto said jokingly as Illidan flew off, leaving Naruto with the Watchers. He sighed wearily before sitting down and letting Sage Mode flicker out.
No point in staying in Sage Mode if I'm out of chakra in the first place… too damn risky… Naruto thought as he looked at the Night Elves.
"Scatter, four per team," Naruto said, "Scour the forest and try to take out strays that come too close. Do not engage those in groups that's larger than two unless there's two teams."
"Understood," the Night Elves said as they quickly divided and went into the forest. Using the chakra he had left, Naruto summoned a small group of phoenix and dragon.
"Hold the position," Naruto said as the group nodded, before Naruto finally fell unconscious from chakra exhaustion even as the group of summons grouped around Naruto protecting him, and even then the dragons began to disappear in the air while the phoenix formed a protective flaming cocoon which camouflaged against the background as a simple campfire. No Naga ever noticed the slight human scent that was emanating from the 'bonfire', thankfully for Naruto.
For two days they had fought the unending wave of Naga. Too many times had they came close to a wipeout, only to be repelled by a miracle. Morale was running low, and their supplies diminished. Illidan was grim at the prospect when Maiev came up.
"Illidan," Maiev said simply as Illidan turned, "There's only one way to achieve a further stalemate at this point…"
"A pre-emptive strike, correct?" Illidan asked, "Naruto proposed the same thing a few hours ago, but we simply don't have the manpower available."
"I do," Naruto's voice came up from behind them as they turned to the battered Naruto. The cloak, though still in relatively good conditions, was still torn in several places, exposing the silver and gold plates underneath. With each stride, the tears become more noticeable as the condition became clearer.
"I can perhaps swarm them with my clones first, as cannon fodders," Naruto explained, "The first order is to retake the resources about one kilometer away from here. Once we established a foothold there, then we have the supplies necessary to continue this tug-of-war. That's how we'll hold out until Malfurion arrives with his forces."
"Yet… even if you can break their forces off, then what?" Maiev asked, "We do not have enough troops to guard the Ancients as they move, and they are at their most vulnerable during that very period of time."
"I'm suggesting this now for a reason," Naruto said, "I sensed Malfurion at the extreme range of my detection, which is pretty close to this island, mind you. If we were to launch a pre-emptive strike right now, with the sudden aid of the Sentinel forces it will be far easier to push them back."
"Then it is settled," Maiev said after a while, "We will strike immediately. Watchers, prepare for combat."
"I'll begin preparations for the assault as well," Naruto said as he disappeared in a swirl of wind as he created a few clones who scattered to kill the guards, before sitting down. Here goes nothing… Naruto thought as he disappeared back to base, where Maiev had gathered all the warriors she could get.
"Now Naruto, how are you going to do this?" Maiev asked skeptically as Naruto gathered his chakra and placed them all into a single move.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as clones flickered into existence. For a few moments, the entire clearing consisted of only blue-robed blond-haired humans, before they all disappeared, with everyone starting in shock. Naruto paused for a moment as he looked back up.
"It's time," Naruto said as he too disappeared, but this time in a yellow flash even as the Night Elf Watchers moved out.
Meanwhile, Naruto dashed through the trees, with his army of himself even as he activated the Rinnegan, though he winced a bit as the world came into focus once more. There was no time to wonder, however, as he approached upon the enemy territory, and the clones stopped. A few went up before performing a Henge and moved closer to the Naga camp, who never suspected a single thing until a trident was buried in each of their heads. After that all hell broke loose as his own clones transformed back, and the hidden ones charged forward intending on taking them by surprise.
And surprise the Naga Naruto did, as the horde of ninjas let loose a rain of deadly projectiles onto the enemy. And right as they reached the apex, the thousand of so kunai were suddenly multiplied by several times to tens of thousands, all with explosive tags slapped on, descending towards the enemy camp.
"Futon: Daitoppa!" Naruto yelled as the gust of wind picked up and sent the kunai hurtling straight into the center of the camp, killing many in their barrage. Then, they detonated in a powerful blast of fire and smoke, as the mounds of corpses piled up. The water they tried to conjure had no use at all as the fireball was simply too hot, too powerful, for a simple water blast or water ball to extinguish, and certainly not when Illidan arrived with the rest of the Night Elves and launched demonic energy into the blazing inferno. The Night Elves rained yet another storm of arrows down on the enemy as the huntresses charged forward, their glaives shining in the light as they sliced through the enemy. Naruto joined in the fray, his twin wind blades flashing and his robes discarded of their sleeves, descending on the enemy like a predator would a prey, and dug into the battle. Naruto sliced right through the first Royal Guard, before twirling and sending a blade of wind screaming silently at a Siren, who was torn apart almost immediately, and even then Naruto had jumped clear, up into the sky as he formed several seals.
"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Naruto called as several basketball-sized fireballs expelled themselves from their mouth, roaring down at the enemy who had no time to dodge, before Naruto went through another set of handseals.
"Raiton: Gian!" Naruto yelled as the arcs of lightning stroke down upon the enemy, forking around to strike multiple at once, frying them to a crisp even as several Myrmidons tried to engage him. Naruto leapt over their heads, before using a powerful chakra-powered jump to crush one of their heads, even as he flipped and slammed his heel into another, caving the head in, before spinning, slapping an explosive note on, and kicking the corpse to another, causing the trident to stab into the last Myrmidon and flying backwards, eventually detonating at Naruto's command, clearing a large area clean of Naga. Meanwhile, the rest of the horde of clones charged into the middle of the enemy camp, though some were dispelled from attacks, before they stopped en masse, even as Naruto smiled sadistically and held up a hand sign that even the Naga recognized and scrambled to run.
"Tajuu Bunshin Daibakuha," Naruto whispered as the clones smiled sadistically and all detonated at the same time. The Night Elves covered their eyes as the power rushed over them, kicking up clouds of dust. As it finally settled, it revealed a cleared up section of the tree where there were treants in battle-ready positions, and some Sentinels stand ready for battle, with Malfurion and Tyrande leading, but completely frozen.
"Naruto?" Tyrande asked as Naruto smiled tiredly.
"Ohayo," Naruto waved as he sat down, "As you can see, we're in a bit of a tight situation right now."
"Brother!" Illidan said as he approached. Malfurion looked at Illidan.
"It's good to see you again as well, Illidan. What's your current status?" Malfurion asked as Illidan outlined their current crisis. Malfurion's face was grim after the finish, even as Maiev arrived.
"Shan'do Stormrage!" Maiev exclaimed, "It is good to see you once more!"
However, her demeanor changed when she saw Tyrande.
"Priestess Tyrande… how… nice to see you once more… prepared to pay for your atonement?" Maiev said coolly as Naruto looked between them.
"I did what I have to do, Maiev. You are in no position to judge me," Tyrande said back just as hostilely, even as Malfurion tried to intervene.
"Had you not let them out, then none of this would have happened," Maiev said bitterly even as they looked poised to let their weapons loose on each other, even as Malfurion tried to persuade them out of it. Naruto finally had enough of their bickering, knowing that each second wasted was a second for Darkterror to prepare. He unleashed his killing intent, freezing them all in place.
What… what is this? Maiev thought frantically. Never before had she felt such an intent, as if death itself was staring down at her, preparing her judgment lest she make a single mistake, no matter how slight; as if death itself was the predator, stalking her, yet she cannot determine its position for as soon as she tries to look for it, it disappears. None of the others were as well off as Maiev, as they stood, shivering on the spot from the intent given off by that single human.
"Had enough?" Naruto said, his Rinnegan active, "We need to move, so unless you're willing to leave your animosity behind, I'm not going to let this pressure off. All of you are far wiser than you are right now, act like it."
They could say nothing except nodding their heads, and Naruto suppressed his intent and turned.
"I sense Darkterror that way," Naruto said simply, "but the Watchers need some rest."
"I'll send some druids against the enemy," Malfurion said as a few druid of the talons emerged and transformed into crows, flapping their wings up and away into the air. Naruto watched while he turned around to face the rest. Quickly going through a few seals, a wooden wall emerged high into the air, thick and powerful, even as Naruto called up more trees to act as his own eyes.
"There," Naruto said, "When should we begin the attack then?"
"Now," Malfurion said without hesitation, "While the enemy is unaware of our new attack or supplies, and you are pretty much rested, no?"
"Yet the Watchers had not have time to rest," Maiev argued as Malfurion turned.
"Then you shall have to be the reserves and the defenders of the base. We do not have much time before Darkterror takes the Eye of Sargeras away and use it for unknown purposes," Malfurion said as he led the troops away, Tyrande following. Naruto hesitated for a moment, before turning to Illidan.
"What's the chance that the enemy will attack as we launch our own?" Naruto asked the duo as they considered.
"Not very high since we just obliterated this region's troops. Why?" Maiev asked as Naruto looked at them.
"Since we need the manpower even if you are tired. One of you are coming to attack them," Naruto replied. Illidan was about to speak up when Naisha beat him to it.
"Mistress Shadowsong, allow me," Naisha said as Maiev frowned.
"Naisha, you ought to take some rest from this onslaught as well," Maiev said as Naisha shrugged.
"My ability with the glaives far surpass other huntresses, making me much more useful in fights than normal, since I can engage multiple enemies at once," Naisha countered as Illidan replied.
"I need to go," Illidan said, "It is my responsibility to track him down and take him in, and I will not fail you, brother."
"You have not, Illidan," Malfurion said, "To be able to track him all the way here and engage combat with him, surviving even when he now has some power that belonged to Sargeras is nothing short of being a miracle. To hold him off for this long… This is truly astounding, even with a legion of Sentinels of Watchers, never mind that you only have a battalion or so."
"But still, I insist on going," Illidan said stubbornly as Malfurion sighed.
"Very well then," Malfurion said, "WE must move out, now."
Naruto was the first to leave in a blur of blue, followed by the rest of the Night Elves as they converged upon the last stronghold of the Naga.
They were making good pace until Naruto suddenly stopped and pulled out a pair of kunai. The rest tensed as Naruto crept into the shadows, before two soft thumps could be heard, and Naruto reappeared, holding onto two dead Naga Myrmidons over his shoulders, dumping them onto the ground.
"That's the first of the sentries," Naruto said, "We got to be careful of anymore flanking us. Can you shadowmeld while moving?"
"No, and even then only the warriors can shadowmeld, not the druids," Malfurion replied from his stag as Tyrande shot another dead with a single, precise shot.
"We need to keep moving," Illidan said, as he sensed Darkterror's energies probing the surrounding area, "I sense Darkterror's energies close."
"Then we must make due haste," Tyrande said as she led the contingent of archers forward even as Naruto disappeared, and half a minute later two more Myrmidons fell, along with a single Royal Guard and four Sirens. Before long, they had amassed themselves along the edges of a river, overlooking the shallow waters that held Darkterror's base. Naruto looked at them.
"Water-based attack or an area of effect strike?" Naruto asked as they looked in curiosity, before Malfurion spoke up.
"From what you have told us, it would appear they can, for a lack of a better phrase, sense the ongoing of which was in the water, so I would suggest an attack which would not use the water around."
"I have a couple," Naruto said lightly before his Rinnegan activated, and he floated up, free of gravity, "Stay back."
"Shinra Tensei?" Tyrande asked as Naruto shook his head.
"After the last stunt I've been having trouble with an insanely powerful Shinra Tensei, I still need time to recover from that focus, so no. It's different," Naruto replied as he went through a couple dozen seals, even as Darkterror felt the energy buildup and looked into the sky, when Naruto ended with the tora sign. A small orb of energy gathered, before Naruto extended his palms and the energy gathered around his palm, turning a dark red. With but a simple command, he let the energy soar into the air, and just as it reached the apex of its flight, Naruto called the name out.
"Katon: Tenin Bakuryuu (See note at bottom for description)!" Naruto yelled as the sphere of energy detonated, sending balls fire spiraling down on the enemy, crashing and exploding across the base, leaving behind craters after the impact. The effect, though not as devastating as it would be by itself, superheated the water to the point where it began boiling. Needless to say, most of the Naga died from the superheating water, unused to the temperature, even as Naruto landed and the attacks began.
The instant Naruto landed, he dashed forward and smashed a chakra enhanced fist into the first Royal Guard he found, smashing his face right in and sending him spiraling back to hit the others like a cannonball, before Naruto leapt back up and, during a flip, directed lightning to his feet and sent an arc right into the boiling water, conducting right through the entire base. Darkterror had disappeared, however, and Naruto had to suppress a groan of frustration, before noting that some Sentinels seemed to have disappeared as well. Putting that off his mind, he performed several seals in succession before calling out, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!"
A blaze of fire resembling a dragon soared at the enemy, burning them into ashes before they had a chance to respond. Night Elves marched forward, eliminating the shocked – literally – Naga as they rampaged through the structure, and Naruto saw a structure flaring to life, and a figure materialized.
"The alter, Naruto!" Illidan shouted, "Destroy that altar or they could recapture the souls of the elites again and again!"
Naruto wasted no time even as the Naga fired a frost arrow too fast for Naruto to dodge, but where there was a hit a log was in the place instead, even as a whirlwind appeared behind the Naga – Lady Vashj, and Naruto stabbed her from behind. Hiding a shriek of pain, she managed to dive underneath the water and escape before Naruto could do anything, but Naruto managed to create a few clones to follow, before sending another batch into the structure, which detonated soon after. Naruto regrouped with the Sentinels as they looked around.
"Malfurion?" Illidan asked, dread in his voice, "Did you send Tyrande away?"
"No…" Malfurion replied as he paled as well. Without another sound, Naruto flared his chakra out, high and fast, before disappearing in a bright yellow flash.
Tyrande had, indeed, followed Darkterror with the intent to recapture him, with or without the aid of the other Sentinels. With a small band of archers, she had managed to catch up to Darkterror.
"Your path ends here, Darkterror!" Tyrande yelled as she fired a flaming arrow, summoning several starbursts which disintegrated his Naga followers. However, Darkterror, using his demonic energy, literally suffocated the life out of the archers, leaving Tyrande frozen in place.
"You think you can catch me in this state?" Darkterror laughed sinisterly as he approached Tyrande, "You know, you've always been quite… attractive…"
Tyrande never replied as she paled, but as Darkterror reached her, Naruto reappeared in a bright yellow flash just in time to kick Darkterror away.
"You know, you shouldn't take someone else's girlfriend for your own, and especially when Malfurion can kick your ass seven ways into hell without breaking a sweat," Naruto said lightly as Malfurion appeared, furious, and roots sprang up.
"Ah… I seem to be at a disadvantage here…" Darkterror said lightly even as an arrow pierced through the roots, and he flew away, "Or maybe not."
"Vashj…" Naruto said as he threw a kunai but was deflected with a wave of sound, which dissipated against a sudden vacuum sphere that Naruto generated.
"Where is he going?" Naruto asked, "Or rather, where could he be going to?"
"The origins of Archimonde's coming…" Illidan said, "We best get moving first, we can scout out where Dalaraan is later."
"Dalaraan?" Naruto asked, "That's a bit south of Lordaeron if I remember right… are you sure?"
"Positive," Illidan replied, "If Archimonde came through there, then it's assured that it's a pinnacle of demonic energy, one which Darkterror cannot resist the lure of."
"Then we must make haste," Malfurion declared, "We will hunt him down and end his schemes once and for all!"
Well, end of chapter. Now:
Katon: Tenin Bakuryuu (Kanji: 火遁:天隕爆流, Literal Translation Fire Release: Sky Meteor Explosion): Naruto focuses his chakra into a dense ball of fire-natured chakra, before sending it into the air, at which, at a certain height, it splits apart into dozens of smaller balls of fire which strikes down in a large area, just like a gigantic meteor showers with meteors the size of cars – of course, they don't have cars, but they have bikes, helicopters and tanks… yeah, that doesn't make sense. Large chakra consumption.
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