Author's Notes: Thanks for the review guys, and happy New Year!
Reikson, you're completely right, since there are multiple ways to translate that, I actually typed it in Chinese first before turning it into kanji (considering how similar they are, it probably won't matter). In that case, I would say… the first kanji is sky, which I guess could also mean heaven, the second is meteor, no if's, but's, or and's about it. The third means explosion, so its possible to mean exclamation, and the fourth is fall or flow depending on the context, so yes, it's completely possible that the translator came up with that, it's normal… I think.
There's a semi-important message from me at the end of the Chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Naruto, or either of the universe. The trademark belongs to Blizzard and authorized sellers and Kishimoto respectively. I do, however, own the original techniques and the character Fenix Skywalker – maybe not the originality in the name though. Oxycoon, you probably know who he is. Pheles belongs to Oxycoon.
Chapter 29: The Shattered Continent
"So…this is the kingdom of Lordaeron?" Naruto asked inquisitively, looking at the tall trees, along with the dead vegetation and the remnants of structures, "Wow, how am I suppose to tell Jaina-chan this? I don't think it was this destroyed when she left…"
"The once great kingdom… reduced to ashes," Malfurion said sadly, "And along with it, a civilization, torn apart by the undead horrors. I must find out what happened… I shall communicate with nature to find out more, meanwhile, search for Darkterror."
"Understood," Maiev replied as Malfurion strode into the deep forest. A moment later, Naisha rode up.
"Mistress, we found a lead," Naisha said, "Tracks were led astray, but we were able to find a set that veered off in what seemed to be a random direction, but we could feel the arcane energies that end on the path."
"Dalaraan," Illidan deduced as they moved, "Leave some Watchers here, Maiev, we'll need the base ready if anything comes up."
"Agreed," Maiev said before Naruto paused, feeling something.
"We're not the only ones around, excluding the undead," Naruto said, "And I sense… sadness… anger… a want for vengeance… what is going on?"
"Nevertheless, we need to continue," Maiev said, "From what Illidan described you can also sense nature, could it be that nature itself is angry at the destruction?"
"Perhaps… but I'm not in Sage Mode," Naruto said, "But now that you mentioned it… I feel unsettled…"
There was one thing in his mind right now, and the result was not pretty. He sincerely hoped he would not meet Sasuke here, and if worst comes to worst he would have to resort to using the powers Itachi gave to him. Naruto quickly flashed through seals, slamming his hand on the ground. Ichigo came out from the smoke.
"Let's go scout around, Ichigo," Naruto said as he leapt on, and Ichigo flew away.
"What is your situation, Naruto?" Ichigo asked as Naruto took a deep breath.
"Crazy things happened, get ready since this is a long tale…" Naruto said as he recounted the battle at the broken isles, and the chase that ultimately led them here. Ichigo stiffened slightly, however, halfway during the retelling, and when Naruto ended, Ichigo replied.
"I sense Al'ar's summoner…" Ichigo said as Naruto turned, surprised.
"Kael'thas?" Naruto said in surprise, "But I though Quel'Thalas was in the northern regions of this continent?"
"Perhaps more had happened than simply the fall of Lordaeron and Dalaraan," Ichigo said gravely as he flew back towards the base, "I suppose we ought to tell the Night Elves of this."
"Agreed," Naruto said as they descended.
"Anything?" Maiev asked simply as Naruto told her what Ichigo sensed. Maiev frowned.
"The Scourge led their troops across in a genocide against the world… it is quite possible that it had happened, yet…" Maiev trailed off.
"We would need to head forward in any case, so we could search for that as well," Tyrande added as Naruto nodded, and the small party set out. They soon encountered the group Ichigo had said, and many stopped when they saw the blazing phoenix. One, in particular, came up to them.
"Ishnu'Alah, what brings you to Lordaeron?" the elf greeted as Naruto came up, with Ichigo.
"That him?" Naruto asked as Ichigo nodded, before turning, "Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider?"
The elf, now identified, widened his eyes, "How…? The crest… you are one of Garithos' men?"
"Garithos?" Naruto repeated, before shaking his head, "No, I'm with Jaina Proudmoore, from Theramore Isles."
"Jaina!" Kael exclaimed, "So you are one of those who sailed across to the other land… how goes everything there?"
"It has… gone well," Naruto replied, "And here? I was under the impression that Quel'Thalas was in the north. Unless this is your army, it seems unlikely you will be in this region."
At that, Kael's face turned somber, "Quel'Thalas has been destroyed utterly. Silvermoon is no more, and so is the high elves."
"What…?" Naruto said, eyes wide. From watching the elves, he knew they were extremely powerful fighters, "And now…?"
"The Scourge committed genocide… barely fifteen percent of our original population remained…" Kael said as he sighed, "Many fell during the invasion… I returned only to find my father's blade, broken… just like our homeland…"
"And what of…" Naruto tried to say out loud, "What of Traxex and Fenix? Sylvanas requested to embark on a search for them, hoping she could find the latter."
"Both fell," Kael replied as Naruto sighed, "I saw Traxex… she was killed and taken away for who knows what purpose by the Scourge… And despite being a Farstrider, Fenix was seen coming out to enter the fight personally instead at range, for none of our warriors are able to best Arthas, who Fenix managed to wound enough for Arthas to retreat. He was last sighted being cornered by hundreds of undead… and when I have arrived, all I can see was a ring of undead corpses numbering in the hundreds, and the broken blade of Fenix."
"Dear Kami…" Naruto breathed out as he looked, "So… the blades you talked about…"
"It is both the blade of my father and the blade of Fenix Skywalker. However, because of him, most of what remained of our population remained… and now we have renamed ourselves the Sin'Dorei, in honor of our fallen brethren."
"Sylvanas-chan needs to know of this," Naruto said as he looked as Ichigo, "Can you reverse summon?"
"Well… yes," Ichigo said, "But why…?"
"I need you to be summoned in Theramore and bring Sylvanas-chan over," Naruto said, "She needs to know what… what happened."
"Understood," Ichigo said as he disappeared in a burst of fire. Kael looked at the blaze as Naruto turned to him.
"So you are the summoner of Al'ar, king of the Phoenix, correct?" Naruto asked as Kael looked at him.
"Yes… and may I inquire as to how you have a phoenix of your own?" Kael asked as Naruto shrugged.
"Separate clan of phoenix," Naruto replied, "But related. Al'ar is Ichigo's grandfather."
"I see… and that is how you identified me?" Kael asked as Naruto nodded. Tyrande spoke up next.
"We are… sorry for your loss…" Tyrande said as they bowed silently in remembrance of the fallen high elves. Kael looked at them.
"Is it possible for you to defend us for a little while… at least until our caravan is ready to move?" Kael asked, "The undead had been especially restless, and seemingly much more powerful than before… and I sense much hatred in them… an unnerving thought."
"We…" Maiev said but Illidan placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned.
"Let's do it for a while, at least," Illidan said, "They have lost nearly everything… it's the least we can do, and in this case, we can learn more about the undead and have aid with which to help us attack Darkterror. I think whatever riled up the Scourge is related to him. And, in any case, we can also ask them to aid us when attacking Darkterror."
"…" Maiev said nothing as she pondered, before sighing, "Very well…"
Tyrande had spoken already, however, before Maiev could tell her of any decision.
Well… that was unexpected, Maiev thought, That was fast…
"Hatred, you say…" Naruto said as he pondered with growing dread, "Hopefully not…"
Just then, there was another burst of fire as Ichigo appeared with Sylvanas. The instant Sylvanas looked down, she saw Kael.
"Prince Kael!" Sylvanas said as she bowed, "Naruto, what is going on?"
"He's got information on Fenix… and Quel'Thalas…" Naruto said somberly as Sylvanas turned to Kael, who sighed and recounted the entire tale, from the beginning of Arthas' invasion, to the forces resurrection of Traxex, to the fall of Fenix, and finally to the destruction of the Sunwell. By the end of it, Sylvanas was in tears and denial.
"No…" Sylvanas breathed out, "No… this can't be…"
She started to collapse on her knees, but Naruto had caught her in time. Sending an apologetic look to Kael who returned it, Naruto leaned down to embrace the sobbing figure.
"Quel'Thalas… no…" Sylvanas whispered as Naruto closed his eyes and held her in tighter.
"It's…" Naruto tried to comfort her, but knew that it would not be sufficient. Instead, he remained there.
"Go on, find Darkterror and bring him to justice," Naruto said, "I'll catch up later."
The rest of the people nodded as Kael's army finished loading their supplies and left on the trail. Naruto was left with a sobbing, shaking Sylvanas, even as he gently led her to a more comfortable position. There was silence except for the occasional hiccups from Sylvanas, before he heard something. A low hum came from Sylvanas, almost as if… she was singing?
Naruto stayed silent as he listened to the tune that Sylvanas sang, and, quietly, to himself, thought she had quite a nice voice.
Not so far away yet, the sensitive ears of the elves caught the sound, as Kael stopped, and so did his followers.
"Is there something wrong, Prince Kael?" Tyrande asked as Kael motioned of them to listen.
"That is… Lament of the Highborn…" Kael said sadly, "I'm guessing Sylvanas is the one… she always had a penchant for such a thing in addition to her combat skills."
The group stayed quiet for a while, before the song ended, and a strange whistling sound was heard, and Naruto reappeared, holding Sylvanas bridal-style.
"She's exhausted from this ordeal… I'm guessing something else happened while I was away from Theramore…" Naruto said quietly as he laid her on one of the caravans, one of the priests getting a blanket for her, "Keep moving, I sense the undead nearby."
"My men are ready," Kael said as Tyrande signaled for the Sentinels to do the same, even as Naruto shook his head.
"They are only minor, as I said, keep moving, I'll rejoin you in a few moments."
With that, Naruto disappeared as he flickered away. The group continued to move, until a sudden explosion was heard, and the crashing sounds as trees fell from a powerful concussion force. And after that, a small wave travelled towards the group near the ground. The shockwave passed through the small band of night elves and blood elves, causing a vibration in their bodies that resonated badly with their sensitive hearing, and Naruto came back, singed but unharmed.
"Like I said, small band," Naruto said before they departed once more.
"What was that?" Tyrande asked curiously as Naruto looked back.
"I used their own powers against them," Naruto said, "It unfortunately caused a gigantic explosion that I barely escaped from."
"Ah," Tyrande replied lamely, "That was most… fortunate… that you escaped from it then… I suppose."
"Don't get any ideas on tackling them yourself," Naruto replied back carelessly, "I think they have shared vision and knowledge… whoever or whatever stationed them there must have realized the destruction of the bastion."
No sooner had he said that was he riddled with several dozen kunai, even as the Sentinels prepared to fight, and the blood elves looked around nervously.
"I knew it…" a voice came out of nowhere as Naruto reappeared, and what seemed to be Naruto was in fact only a log, "Sasuke, show yourself!"
"Hn," and with that Sasuke reappeared, "Surprised, Naruto?"
"Hell no, teme," Naruto replied coldly, "Knew you were behind this when I sensed the malice. Tell me, where is Arthas now?"
"Hn," Sasuke said nothing as he drew his new blade. Naruto eyed him warily even as he drew his own katana.
Like Naruto, Sasuke also went through a change. However, Sasuke had donned the armor of the death knight, and yet, instead of being the color of ice, it was the color of fire that trimmed his armor. Both combatants looked at each other, before killing intent was unleashed. One being of pure malice, and one of pure chakra. The explosion of the two was so powerful that even the undead could feel it despite having no emotions, and the Sentinels and blood elves were on the ground from the sheer pressure. Then, without so much as a single signal, they clashed, sparks flying from their blades mere instants before they flew apart, going right at each other again as they landed. They traded attacks, blow for blow, before Sasuke executed an overhead flip while using Naruto's katana as a leverage, and narrowed his eyes as Naruto. But, before he could say a single word, he was blasted away even as Naruto charged forward with a Rasengan in his hand. Sasuke stood up as well and launched himself forward, a Chidori in his hands.
"Rasengan!" "Chidori!" Naruto/Sasuke yelled as the two techniques collided, and a sphere of pure white formed between them. That lasted only a few seconds, before the energy discharge blew it apart, sending waves of power blasting out from the epicenter – the sphere. Naruto and Sasuke stood there, across, even as they leapt back. Sasuke threw several shuriken as Naruto deflected them with a wind technique, but Sasuke immediately shot a beam of green energy at Naruto, who dodged it by a hairbreadth, before going through seals at a rapid pace and holding his hand out. A small tornado formed as Naruto leapt into the air and shot it off.
"Futon: Atsugai!" Naruto shouted as the ball of air rushed as Sasuke, who jumped clear of the destructive ball of wind that impacted, raising a cloud of dust. Naruto followed it by throwing a kunai. Sasuke scoffed.
"A single kunai?" Sasuke laughed, "Perhaps I should show you what Madara left behind…"
And in front of them, Sasuke phased through the kunai, even as Naruto smirked as well. The instant Sasuke disengaged his phase, he found Naruto right in front of him with a fist extended, punching him right in the face with a chakra-powered punch, sending Sasuke hurtling end over end for several meters.
"And you're like Madara too, falling for that," Naruto said lightly, "Only thing is, I don't need to protect myself this time, unlike otou-san."
"And you failed to see my intention as well, dobe," Sasuke said as he snapped his fingers, "Katsu!"
Naruto had no time to react as a giant explosion enveloped him, blasting everything out within five hundred meters, and sending debris flying everywhere.
"No…" Tyrande said, eyes wide, as Sylvanas woke from the noise, and, seeing Sasuke, widened her eyes.
"What…?" Sylvanas asked before seeing Naruto next to Tyrande, "Naruto, what's going on?"
"No time to explain," Naruto said, scaring the crap out of everyone except Sylvanas, the only one to notice him, "Suffice to say, we're in a lot of trouble."
And with that statement, he rushed back to fight Sasuke, who managed to keep up with the onslaught, but Naruto noticed a few things, primarily that Sasuke didn't use any Mangekyou Sharingan techniques, and he used techniques which were, relatively speaking, much less chakra exhausting.
"Heh, never thought you would use this technique either, Sasuke," Naruto said as he turned and suddenly ducked as an electrified rune blade passed mere millimeters away from his head, before lashing out with a kick that threw Sasuke away, and flared his chakra, leaping into the fray once more with a Rasengan that was blocked with the blade. Amazingly, the blade didn't crack, though there were ominous sounds coming from the blade. Naruto narrowed his eyes as, suddenly, a claw of chakra came out and stabbed Sasuke through the neck from behind, who instantly transformed into another human. Naruto stopped, having expected that, and, noticing a piece of parchment, bent down and picked it up.
Arigatou for telling me how to kill you better, huh dobe?
Like the gift?
Naruto destroyed the scroll without blinking an eye, as he groaned. Thankfully, he didn't fight at full strength, so Sasuke did not know much beyond what he already knew, but he had an inkling that this was just the beginning. He thought back to the message. Wait, gift?
"The caravan is under attack, protect it at all costs!" Kael shouted as legions of undead assaulted the group, even as Naruto teleported back to engage.
"Form a defensive perimeter!" Naruto shouted, "Whoever can use large area spells should do so now!"
There was a sudden barrage of spells as large blocks of ice and balls of fire were launched in succession against the horde of undead, and Naruto, having spread his chakra out, readied his katana, and disappeared in a flash of yellow.
Appearing right in the middle of several Abominations, he slashed right through with his wind-enhanced blade, destroying the monsters utterly even as he turned around and decapitated another, lashing out with a chakra powered kick which utterly disintegrated a Ghoul, even as a dreadlord emerged. Naruto snorted as the Dreadlord came over to try and attack him, and sprinted forward, a Chidori blazing in his hands. Before the Dreadlord had any time to react, he slammed his Chidori against the wings, cleanly shearing one off as well as burning through one of the arms. The Dreadlord roared as it tried to bash its powerful claws against Naruto, who managed to dodge it while kicking a Ghoul back. Naruto was, however, unprepared for the swiftness of the Dreadlord when it swerved and suddenly punched him in the ribs, hard. Naruto groaned as he felt his ribs crack and break from the blunt force even as he tumbled end over end, leaping up only after the fifth roll. Glaring at his opponent, he summoned his energy and created six clones, which seemed to surprise the Dreadlord.
"Illusions?" the Dreadlord wondered as they charged forward, but even as the Dreadlord hit one of them, they remained intact unlike illusions which waver slightly. Instead, one exploded in a cloud of smoke, and right out of the smoke one came and latched on to the Dreadlord, preventing him from lashing out, before grinning.
"Boom," was all the clone said before a large explosion engulfed the Dreadlord and everything within ten feet, given that the clone was not suppose to detonate as powerfully as Naruto could've.
And the instant the clone detonated, ten Naruto's came down from the sky, each nearly glowing from chakra overload even as they landed in strategic positions in the undead army, and promptly exploded as well, this time with a twenty feet radius explosion. The cloud from the explosion, guided by the wind, swept over the Sentinels and the blood elves, causing them to cough in the dust.
"What power… what was that?" Kael asked as he set up a flame strike.
"It's… hard to explain…" Tyrande replied, "Apparently he can make solid copies of himself, not illusions, that can do a variety of tasks. Only thing is, only he can create it since his energies are much more dense than the normal mana."
"You've tried?" Illidan asked as Tyrande shook her head.
"No, it's against our nature, but we've had Pheles, who wielded similar energies, try it, but the structure seemed more like an illusion than an actual copy like his. Malfurion is still wondering why."
"There's no time to talk about this," Maiev warned as she blinked away from a strike downwards at her, before lashing out with her blade and decapitating the enemy, even as Illidan charged up his warblades and went on the offensive instead of defending the caravan. Diving into the midst, he neatly bisected an Abomination without so much as blinking before flapping his wings out and slapping two other ghouls away from him, killing them from pure blunt force trauma. And from there, the carnage started as he weaved through the enemy lines, slashing and bashing those who got in his way, forging a bloody path out of the Scourge. And before long, the dust cleared to show the majority of the Scourge destroyed, and the Dreadlord with heavy burns across his body, and tied by ninja wires.
"You know, if you had just left us alone you wouldn't be killed," Naruto said lightly as he flashed through seals, "And I don't mean the death where you wait a while to resurrect, I mean truly dead, as in hit by Phoenix fire dead. Does that make it clear?"
With that single comment, the Dreadlord's eyes widened in terror.
"You can't possibly be able to wield of the fires of a phoenix!" the Dreadlord exclaimed as Naruto shrugged and ended his chain of seals, taking in a deep breath. Before firing his technique, however, he spoke one last time to the Dreadlord.
"Well… Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" Naruto finished as he breathed violet fire onto the wires, sending them speeding along to the Dreadlord who struggled more before being engulfed in the flames of the phoenix. His screams could be heard for what felt like an eternity though it was only a few scant seconds, before he was utterly destroyed by the flames. As the flames died down, he detached the kunai and the wires, rolling them back and storing them, thankfully as phoenix flames damage only those he needs to damage. All that remained of the Scourge was eliminated from the combined might of the Sentinels, the Watchers, the Blood Elves, Naruto, and Sylvanas.
"We've wasted time," Naruto said, "Even if we did manage to kill more Scourge agents. Sylvanas, you best-"
"No," Sylvanas said quietly as Naruto looked at her, "I want to fight the Scourge…"
"Revenge is not the way to go, Sylvanas-chan…" Naruto began but thought better of it, "You wouldn't listen anyways, so I guess… Just don't overdo it, and we're returning back to Theramore the instant we're done with Darkterror, revenge fulfilled or not. In any case, we don't know where Arthas is, we only know where Sasuke is."
"Didn't you just kill him?" Kael asked as Naruto shook his head.
"That was a mere decoy, he's up ahead waiting for me," Naruto replied, before walking away once more, his navy blue cloak billowing from the autumn winds. The rest of the group hurried to follow him, glancing at each other nervously for much of the way, until Sylvanas finally asked, "Prince Kael, are you really that frightened of his powers?"
"To be truthful, yes," Kael admitted, "We are natural spellcasters and mages, and though humans seem to share a similar aptitude, I have never seen him in Dalaraan or indeed, anywhere with a heavy emphasis on the learning of magic. Moreover, I have never heard of this Naruto before in my life, ever. To suddenly have him out here is quite… unnerving. No offense to him, we are truly grateful for what he is doing for us right now, but to be honest, we are… wary of what a person of his power can do."
"That would depend on your opinion," Sylvanas replied, "Fenix was similar in the fact that he could've chosen any profession, Ranger, Warrior, Mage, anything was possible for him, and in the end, he was able to mix them together to form something which is now the basis for our hunter units. Yet, you are not afraid at the slightest of him. What differences are there?"
"I…" Kael started thinking, "I don't know, really. But, Fenix did not show as much… raw power as Naruto did, nor the finesse in which the skills are executed immediately. I sense the control that Naruto places on his abilities, which Fenix, though he can control it as well, cannot control as finely. Indeed, the only one I have ever felt was my father's aura, and that had been honed for hundreds of years. Naruto's raw powers even exceed Antonidas at his prime."
"That's expected, according to him, he had an unusually large store and unusually potent store of… mana," Sylvanas said, careful to change the word 'chakra' to 'mana' as to not arouse even more wariness, "That allows him to perform attacks of a much more powerful caliber, but it also denies him the ability to control. His control was honed to this degree, also through years of practice… in fact, the practice hours may even surpass yours if his training abilities are anything to go by."
"How?" Kael asked.
"His personal secrets, I am not privileged to reveal them," Sylvanas replied, sorrow in her voice. Naruto stopped at a junction as Kael looked up at the sudden stop.
"Ah, the crossroads," Kael spoke, "Both ways will lead to the river, but they both have a catch…
The one to the left is direct, leading us right to the bridge that crosses, but there are several undead bastions along the way, most likely there to take out anymore survivors in the area and turn them into the undead. The other route is much more sparsely population with enemies, but it is a longer route."
Naruto pondered for a moment before turning to the rest, "What do you think?"
"Both have their tradeoffs, but I would suggest the longer route," Tyrande replied, "We are short on manpower with which we can defend the caravan or ourselves from a large assault such as the one we will most certainly get from going through the direct route. With that in mind, the longer route poses much less danger for us."
"I concur with the Priestess' suggestion," Maiev said grumpily as Illidan withheld his laughter. Naruto looked at Kael and Sylvanas, as they shrugged.
"Makes sense, I suppose," Sylvanas said as Kael nodded, before directing the caravans to the right path. Naruto paused as he looked a bit to the left of them, before he narrowed his eyes and the Rinnegan pattern burst. There was a silent scream as something seemingly evaporated, and Naruto moved on, the Rinnegan pattern now gone. He marched forward until he was walking by Sylvanas, before he slowed down.
"Still thinking?" Naruto asked at seeing her downcast expression as she turned to look at him, never breaking stride.
"I suppose… it's hard to believe it after all," Sylvanas said reluctantly, "We elves are not easy prey."
"I can attest to that," Naruto said, rubbing his side at a phantom pain. When he was training himself to dodge fast projectiles, he had asked Sylvanas and her team of now-hunters for assistance. Turned out, they had excellent aim, such that he was bruised more than just a couple dozen times, especially when Sylvanas shot off multiple arrows in a single volley, making it impossible to dodge unless he used ninjutsu, which, of course, was not the point of the exercise, "Your volleys hurt,"
"Hey, you're the one who said not to hold back," Sylvanas said with a small smirk as Naruto silently breathed a sigh of relief. At least the news didn't completely crush Sylvanas, "So I didn't."
"I didn't complain did I?" Naruto retorted with a smirk, before something suddenly jumped out and lunged at Kael. Before anyone had done anything, however, Kael had already killed it with a shot from his verdant sphere.
"Ghoul," Kael said grimly as he looked at the corpse, "That means the undead knows we're on the way."
"So we prepare to fight?" Maiev asked as Naruto looked around. Sensing nothing, he replied back.
"Not yet, this one is most likely a scout… or a searcher," Naruto said as they turned.
"Searcher? Explain," Illidan asked as Naruto looked at them.
"When we were at the crossroads, I… saw, I think, something," Naruto began, "It was watching us, and I confirmed it using the Rinnegan. Had it not moved, I would have never noticed the shadow. From there, I destroyed it with a small Shinra Tensei, but I think… I think it's the eyes for the Scourge, and it was there to monitor us… and it heard us talking. When I killed it, someone must have noticed and sent the ghoul out to search. It's failure to return would mean, of course, that it is true, and in any case if their mind is linked then there would be no point in guesswork for them. "
Before anyone could reply, however, Naruto continued, "But I don't think they'll set up an ambush here, since, for one, I sense nothing else around, and second, the bridge sounds much more vulnerable, especially when we're crossing. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, though, this is only speculation."
"It is… unfortunate, then," Kael said, "But we will have our vengeance against them, and we will reclaim our homeland from the Scourge. Such a little thing will not bother us."
"As will the Night Elves," Tyrande said, "We shall not stand by while the Scourge ravages this world. If we must enter the ambush, we will brave through and emerge victorious. Elune is on our side, my sisters, we will not fail!
Naruto closed his eyes, feeling the wind flowing through his hair, before looking back up determinedly, his Rinnegan now active.
"That's not coming to pass if we don't get moving, though," Naruto shot them down as he looked around, "Well… there is a small undead base here, but it's relatively minor, even smaller than the one I destroyed earlier. If we take some care, they won't even notice us here. But just in case…"
Naruto ended his sentence by creating half a dozen clones and having them scatter, "Hopefully this will work, but right now we don't have much time…"
"What? You're not making sense Naruto," Sylvanas said as Naruto turned.
"It's… nothing," Naruto replied. In truth, he knew where Sasuke was, right now, and he knew he would have to confront Sasuke soon in order to destroy the Eye of Sargeras. He started walking again, forcing the group to catch up.
"Be wary though, the undead isn't the only thing we have to worry about," Kael warned as he walked up to Naruto, "With the fall of Lordaeron, the entire kingdom fell into disarray. Bandit camps now fill the place, threatening anyone and everyone who crosses their paths, be it a single traveler or an army."
"How organized are they?" Naruto asked.
"Some of them are actually quite well organized – they strike out in coordinated attacks and with obvious strategies involved. They attack only when it is favorable and only take what they need to survive, nothing more, nothing less. The others don't discriminate – they attack anything and everything regardless of consequences, even if it ranges on suicidal. Unless it is clear they have an overwhelming disadvantage, they will always attack. The only thing they don't attack is the undead, which is quite obvious," Kael replied as his eyes scanned over the tree lines, "And, if it's possible, Naruto, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, go ahead, so long as it's not too personal," Naruto shrugged back.
"If I may ask, then," Kael began, "Who is your teacher?"
"My teacher…." Naruto replied, staring off into space, "I've had quite some teachers actually… my first teacher, before I graduated in my village, was Iruka Umino… he taught me the basics that I use to fight today. Jiraiya was my main teacher though… he was the one who really set my foundations back to where it can be taught much easier, and was known in the surrounding as a man of insanely powerful caliber. Then came Kakashi Hatake, a teacher I was assigned to, a very powerful person in our village but unknown to the rest due to our likes of secrecy. It is said that during some of the skirmishes we had, with his unique skill he has copied over a thousand… spells and other techniques to use, in addition to being a genius and creating many original spells. There were others, but these were the main three."
Kael was dumbfounded by the existence of such powerful characters without his, or indeed, anyone in the Kirin Tor's knowledge. He wondered why they chose not to expose themselves, however.
"So… why did you not reveal yourselves?" Kael asked as Naruto looked back, wondering how to answer that.
"We were… different," Naruto finally decided on answering, "The mana which was used to power our spells are… denser, making them more powerful. You saw firsthand what my battle was like. Those techniques could be done by you as well, sure, but it would be much less powerful. Because of that, we feared we would be outcasts, and combining that with our preference for secrecy and a simple lifestyle, we stayed hidden. In fact, our village was named the village hidden within the leaves because of that.
That changed on the onset of the Scourge invasion. Many of us were separated in the result, forcing some of us to flee as the others died. I was one of the lucky few to escape. Sasuke… was not. Corrupted, he turned against us, once the brightest in our forces, now an agent of evil. Once my best friend, a brother even, and now…"
"I'm sorry for your loss," Kael replied, not knowing, of course, that Naruto fabricated a lot of that up. They continued to talk for a while, about Quel'Thalas, about Theramore, and about Lordaeron and Konoha, and soon they arrived at the bridge. Kael breathed a sigh of relief, glad that their journey is close to an end, yet missing the sudden narrowing of eyes from Naruto.
"Finally," Kael said, "Now we can rest."
"Not yet," Naruto said as suddenly a small wave of Scourge advanced forward, but a sudden blast of several beams shot down and killed them. Naisha turned.
"Move now!" Naisha yelled, "My lucent beam can only stop so many of them before they come en masse!"
"Kuso," Naruto swore as he saw another wave, and moved forward, a clone appearing beside him.
"Futon: Atsugai!" "Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" the two Naruto yelled as they unleashed the combination technique, creating a white hot sphere of fire that tore into a tornado and rushed at them, even as the two Naruto turned.
"Futon: Rasengan!" "Suiton: Hahonryu!" the two Naruto created another set of techniques and shot them together, forming a giant water vortex that tore through the third wave.
"Gufuu Suika no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as the technique expanded. "Get everyone out now!"
Meanwhile, Tyrande had also joined the fight even as Maiev and Illidan worked to keep any that the three missed from attacking the caravan as it moved slowly across the river, and they retreated as they fought when the numbers were becoming overwhelming.
"You two, move across the river, I shall hold them back," Tyrande ordered as she unleashed a devastating starfall, destroying the Scourge one by one as the rest watched in elation.
"She's doing it! She's stopping their movement!" Illidan shouted but that changed a moment later; there was an ominous creak, before the bridge suddenly shattered on one side, stranding her, before the bridge began collapsing on either side as well. Tyrande stopped her barrage as well, looking desperately for a way out. There was none as the bridge suddenly crumbled altogether, sending her crashing into the waves.
"Damnit!" Naruto shouted as he leapt onto the surface of the water, "Tyrande!"
"Take down Darkterror! I'll be fine!" Tyrande's voice broke through the currents as he saw her being swept down by the fast stream, "Take him down!"
"Kuso…" Naruto growled out, resisting the want to punch something, "We need to get moving."
"But… this river leads directly into the heart of the undead center in Lordaeron…" Kael said uncertainly, "Will she be… alright?"
"We have no choice. Compared to Tyrande, Darkterror's plans are much more important," Maiev said as she turned, "Kael, please help us battle the Naga, not only for our own sake but also for Tyrande's sacrifice."
"Those who abandon the mission is trash… but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. That is the motto I go by, and damned if I will be if I don't follow that," Naruto replied back, "Let me find Tyrande, keep moving on."
"No, Naruto, she will have to do this. For the millions that might die from Darkterror," Illidan said as Naruto looked at him.
"Can you not use a clone?" Kael suggested as Naruto lit up.
"A clone won't do it, but something will," Naruto said as he summoned the body of the Nidaime Hokage, being much more suitable for water-based combat. Though they were paths, Naruto had altered them such that they do not function like those of Nagato's. Instead, they kept their abilities, while adding in newer ones that came with the Rinnegan. Without a word, the Nidaime shot off like a rocket, speeding on top of the water. Naruto turned back to the group.
"That's the best I can do then, no matter how much I don't like it," Naruto said, "We need to defeat Darkterror, fast."
Deep down, there was another reason.
The stream that Tyrande was now blasted away in leads right to where Sasuke was waiting, as the leader of the forces there. The real Sasuke.
Tyrande, stay safe, was the collective thought that ran through everyone's mind as they moved. Meanwhile, Malfurion began his trek back to meet up with Naruto, even as Darkterror began initiating his plans for unknown purposes…
Chapter Done! Remember, reviews are greatly appreciated! The more reviews, the faster chapters come out!
As a side note, I'm probably changing my name to ArcticFirefox. No specific reason... well PyroC0ntrol wasn't really owned by me, but that guy gave me permission to use it so long as it doesn't affect him. Didn't expect to find it on Google Search though, my bad. I owe him an apology and probably some repentance. Depending on the situation I might change, I might not - ArcticFirefox is my old name after all, and if not he might use it instead.
P.S. Also, I'm considering giving Naruto a weapon from here, should it be:
a) The counterpart to Frostmourne, Shadowmourne
b) A warblade similar to the one that Illidan uses, or
c) The warhammer that Uther the Lightbringer used before?
Personally, I would prefer to use the warhammer (a contrast between light and dark), but of course I would like to see your opinion. Since I don't know how, and personally too lazy, to set up a poll, just send your thoughts in reviews, thanks