Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Gears of War.
Before we begin it's time to answer some reviews:
Jgreek: All Kages will be canon I assure you.
Kingdark: I think I'm going to put up a kind of Codex (like in the Mass Effect series) that explains the Gears of War parts of the story…with my own little tweaks here and there.
VFSNAKE: I can't believe you're reading my story! I've loved you're Naruto and Naruto Crossover stories since I first read your Naruto/AVP crossover! You're the reason I started doing revenge fics! Thanks for the review, keep on writing!
Peter Kim: Exactly.
Marcus: First off, thank you for your review and encouragement. Secondly, what do you mean you've "been waiting for someone to finally do this?" Are there other people who came up with this idea?
Random guy: I can't bring myself to have Naruto be like Myrrah…but, to answer your question without to many spoilers, the world will learn to live with this new species or be destroyed. As for the concubines…I'll consider it, thank you for the suggestion.
One last thing: I forgot to mention this, but when the projections appear it's the same way Organization XIII members warp in Kingdom Hearts 2 (I do not own Kingdom Hearts either).
Now that that's out of the way; it's finally time for some action!
Chapter 2: Blood in the Water
The Purity, several miles off the coast of Water Country, evening:
The Purity was truly an intimidating sight, a fact that was unsurprising considering it was the flagship of Kirigakure's navy. It was 52ft in width and 107ft in length, with three masts protruding from it's deck. The ship was currently anchored but, when in motion, a total of 37 sails would fly. Its most intimidating factor, however, was its weapons; a total of 104 cannons lined the sides of the ship with two retractable triple barreled rotating cannons at its front; a surprise for enemies straight ahead of it.
It was crewed by the best shinobi and sailors in Water Country.
Truly, a more vicious and intimidating vessel there never was…and its captain equally so.
His true name is unknown to all but the Mizukage and the man himself, but his ruthlessness in battle and tactical prowess earned him the title: Demon of The Seas.
The Demon is 6ft tall, with short, dark brown hair. He has one dark brown eye and one pale eye, that eye having been blinded during battle with the scar running down his face to prove it. Both eyes are filled with malice. He wears a long, black trench coat with the symbol of Kiri sewn into left breast, while wearing his Kiri headband on his right bicep. He also had a katana strapped to his side.
The man has never lost a battle, is completely devoted to the Mizukage, and is feared by enemies and allies alike.
The Purity was not alone, however; twenty-nine other ships, mostly of similar design but smaller, were anchored nearby.
The Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, knew war was brewing within the other nations knew Kiri's current civil war would make his village a target. Yagura had sent the Demon of The Seas, the Purity, and a massive fleet (all under the Demon's command) to protect its borders for a possible attack by sea.
They had been out at sea for two months and it would be another month before the Purity had to return to Kiri in order to restock their supplies.
Thus far, they had encountered nothing, not even the ever present pirates that plagued these waters frequently.
Currently at his desk in the captain's quarters, the Demon was getting impatient…but he would never show it. He knew his orders and would follow them until he was told otherwise.
His devotion to the Yondaime was beyond question.
As he wrote in his log, a knock came at his door.
"Enter" the Demon commanded, irritated by the disturbance.
A member of the crew, chunin in rank, entered.
"Captain" he saluted before continuing, "I think we have something."
The Demon widened his eyes slightly before standing up and walking towards the exit.
"Show me" he ordered.
The chunin complied and led his captain out onto the deck. The sun was setting but the fog was too thick to see it.
The crew saluted the Demon as he walked past them and made his way to the prow.
He paid no attention to them.
"We caught sight of it just moments ago" the chunin informed him, before handing him a portable telescope and pointing in the direction of the sighting.
The Demon looked through the telescope and saw a small shape moving through the fog. He could not make out what it was.
"Is it a vessel from one of the other Great Nations?" he asked still looking through the scope.
"We don't think so captain" the chunin informed him, "it appears to be too small."
"Pirates then?"
"Possibly, captain."
The Demon looked through the telescope as the shape moved straight towards them.
After a few moments, the shape broke through the thickest fog and was revealed, though it was still quite a distance away.
It appeared to be a barge of some kind, completely made of metal and shaped to cut through water like a blade. It also had a strange emplacement on its bow.
'A Kunai Launcher, perhaps?' the Demon pondered to himself. Technology like that was nearly impossible to come by outside of Spring Country.
Despite this; what stuck out most, however, was its method of propulsion and its crew.
The barge had no sails and had no visible motor. What it did have, however, was two large, demonic, fishlike creatures (one on each side) pulling the barge forward at an incredibly fast speed.
The crew was even more shocking.
They looked to be human at first but as the barge got closer, they were revealed to be anything but.
They appeared to have a scaly hide covered with chalk-white skin. They were clad in somewhat bulky yet intimidating armor with a symbol he did not recognize on its chest. He could make out their bestial, snarling faces and razor sharp teeth. Most also appeared to wear eyewear of some kind.
There were at least fifteen them on the barge.
"Those aren't pirates" the Demon said out loud.
"Captain?" the chunin inquired.
The Demon continued to gaze through the telescope. Whatever these…things were, there only a handful of them on one barge speeding towards a sizable fleet.
'They must be suicidal' he thought to himself.
He was about to signal his men to fire the frontal cannons and destroy these monsters when something caught his eye.
Something that made his eyes widen greatly.
Behind the barge, two more appeared behind it, following.
Then two more…then three…then five…then ten!
After a few more moments, a vast armada of barges were speeding towards them, several dozen at least, each holding between ten and twenty creatures.
On the lead Barge:
The barge was speeding towards the fleet before it.
The driver looked towards one of his passengers and nods to him.
The Drone nodded back, raised his weapon and peered through the scope.
He lined up a shot…and fired.
Aboard the Purity:
The Demon heard a loud bang and saw the chunin next to him fall onto his back, a large hole between his eyes.
"We're under attack" he said quietly, in shock at the sudden invisible force that killed the man next to him, before shouting, "To quarters men! We're under attack! Signal the rest of the fleet! Bring the ship to the starboard side and load all cannons!" he ordered, knowing the frontal cannons would not be able to sink as many barges as the broadside cannons.
The crew rushed to their stations as quickly as they could and began loading cannons as the Purity began to turn its right side towards the incoming armada. The crew began loading the cannons with the rest of the fleet doing the same.
When the crew signaled they were ready, their captain gave the order.
"FIRE!" the Demon commanded.
With that the cannons on all ships began firing, a symphony of an endless number of bangs and the smell of gunpowder filling the air as the explosive shells sailed towards their targets.
Many of the cannonballs hit their targets, blowing them (and their crews) out of the water, but there many more to replace them, most weaving out of the way of the shots.
The Demon watched as the armada grew closer. Once they got close enough, it would be almost impossible to hit them with their cannons; they would be too inaccurate and could risk damaging the other ships of his fleet.
The cannons kept firing but there were too many.
"Keep up the pressure! Don't them get close to us! We-!"
Before the Demon could finish his next sentence, he heard a disturbance coming from another vessel, the sounds of panicked and frightened yells, splashing, and something solid hitting wood.
He turned and widened his eyes further.
One of the other ships was under attack but not from the barges.
A massive tentacle was rising out of the water and slamming into the ship, flattening certain crew members while tossing aside others. Those who avoided the attacks began attacking the tentacle with weapons and jutsu, trying to dislodge the attacking appendage with little success. The tentacle began constricting around the ship and squeezed tightly, the wooden hull groaning in protest. After a few minutes, the tentacle snapped through the ship, splitting it in half, and causing it to sink, the crew falling into the sea. Suddenly what appeared to be a massive fish popped it's head out of the water and swallowed the helpless crew before diving back underwater.
The Demon couldn't believe what he just saw.
He had heard the legends, of course, but he had always thought they were just stories sailors told their children as cautionary tales.
But he had just seen it; the sinker of ships, the bane of sailors, the harbinger of death.
The Leviathan.
Suddenly, the Demon heard more screams, this time coming from multiple directions. He looked up and, to his horror, saw four more tentacles, each wrapped around a different ship.
There was more than one Leviathan!
He then looked back at the approaching barges and saw that they were almost upon them.
Shaking himself out of his stupor the Demon shouted, "They are coming men! Prepare for close combat!" he ordered before unsheathing his blade.
'Legends or not, these monsters will not defeat me and they will not take my ship' he mentally vowed to himself.
At this time, the barges closed in and began to speed between the ships, the smaller craft easily able to outmaneuver the enemy fleet. The shinobi on each ship began hurling weapons and jutsu at their monstrous foes. Some hit their mark, but most missed, the barges being too fast.
The creatures began firing their strange weapons at the crews of each ship, taking down those who were foolish enough to stand too close to the sides.
The Demon was about to issue further orders when he heard a metallic Clang! noise.
Turning towards the sound, he saw a grapple hooked onto the side of the ship.
Several more clangsfollowed. He looked and saw this happening on some of the other ships as well.
He knew what was happening.
"We're being boarded men, repel the invaders!" he shouted to his crew.
Soon after saying this, the first boarding party came aboard, firing their weapons.
The Demon formed hand signs and shouted, "Water Release: Gunshot!"
After he said this, three balls of water shot out of his mouth and towards the invaders. Each ball of water slammed into one of the creatures, the force sending them flying back and shattering bones, killing them.
The Demon then turned towards another boarding party and ran towards them. The creatures aimed their weapons at him, but he was already upon them. He slashed at first, slitting it's throat, causing it to fall to the floor, choking on its own blood. The then twisted around the first and impaled the second creature through its chest. The Demon briefly noted the resistance of the creature's skin before yanking out his blade and beheading a third creature (which took quite a bit of effort).
Unfortunately, the rest of the crew was not faring as well as their captain. The advanced weapons, strength, savageness, and sheer numbers of their foes proved too much for most of them and were killed within minutes.
The Demon was faring very well, however, and his skill could have inspired his crew.
Could have.
The chance was never given.
As the Demon hacked and slashed at the invaders, he failed to notice another creature climbing aboard behind him.
This creature was far larger than the others, standing at a little over 9ft tall with a permanent snarl etched onto his face. His build was greater than the others creatures and he wore bulky, intimidating armor, more so than the others. He added to his terrifying appearance by holding a serrated blade in one hand. This weapon was considered to be a sword by most, but the wielder's size made it seem more like a dagger.
The giant looked around, watching his warriors slaughtering the human soldiers ("shen-oh-bee", he believed they were called) with ease before turning to see their leader killing several Drones. The giant growled and looked to the boarding party next to him. He pointed to them and then towards the human soldiers before pointing to himself and then towards the leader.
The Drones understood, they would handle the lesser ones while their general would handle the leader.
The giant then began making his way towards his target.
The Demon had just killed another Drone when he felt a presence behind him. He turned and was only able to get a glimpse before the giant he was facing delivered a powerful punch to the jaw causing him to drop his katana.
The punch felt like it was going to tear his jaw clear off his head!
Before the Demon could recover, he felt a powerful hand grab him by his throat and lift him into the air.
He stared into the eyes of the monster before him…before it drove its blade straight through his chest.
The Demon gasped out in pain and looked at his killer's snarling face with a look of shock.
The monster stared back…before throwing him over the side.
The Demon hit the water and began to sink. He looked around and saw sinking ships and corpses all around him, most of them human.
'I...I am…defeated? I…I failed?' he asked himself in disbelief, 'Im…possible.'
As he sank downwards, a Leviathan came out from the abyss below him.
The beast opened its mouth…and swallowed him whole as it swam by.
The infamous Demon of The Seas was no more.
Back aboard the Purity:
The giant looked down at the place where he had thrown the deceased enemy commander for a moment before looking out across the battlefield.
The enemy fleet his in disarray; the sounds of gunfire and the dying screams of their foes echoed through the fog in a chaotic harmony.
The battle was coming to a close.
The giant looked upon the battle in silence.
About fifteen minutes later, one of the drones approached him and bowed.
"We are victorious, general" the drone told him in their native language of growls, grunts, and snarls.
The giant didn't bother to even look at his subordinate.
"Secure the captured enemy vessels and throw the bodies overboard" the general commanded in the same language before turning and heading towards the captains quarters.
The drone did not bother to ask where his general was going; he already knew.
The general was going to contact the King.
Moving to relay the general's orders, the drone would also tell the others not to disturb their commanding officer.
There were exceedingly few things his kind were afraid of…but General RAAM was one of them.
Captains Quarters:
Closing the door behind him, RAAM took a moment to look around the room before kneeling.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath (which he rarely ever did)…and called out for his king.
Not physically, but mentally.
RAAM knew that, wherever he was, no matter how far away, if he called, his master would hear him.
He was right.
In a burst of dark energy, a projection of the King appeared before him, still on his throne.
"My liege" the monstrous general greeted (in English) in a humble tone.
"General RAAM" the king answered before continuing, "I take it you succeeded in your mission?"
RAAM nodded, "Yes, your majesty" he answered, "We engaged the enemy fleet and boarded them. We captured eighteen of the enemy warships, including their flagship; the Leviathans sunk the rest" he told his master.
The king grinned, "Excellent my general, I take it the enemy was no match for your forces?"
"They were not, my lord" RAAM confirmed, "We cut through them like a Butcher's Cleaver cuts through a Rockworm's hide."
The king nodded, taking a liking to the metaphor, before continuing, "Good, and I am pleased to hear the tamed Leviathans performed so well on their first outing. What about the enemy commander?"
"Dead by my hands" RAAM answered.
"As I expected" the king said knowing the general was likely to do that himself, "You have done well general" the king complimented.
"I live to serve you, your highness."
The king grinned even more, "I'm glad to hear that, because I have new orders for you."
"I am yours to command, master" RAAM replied, eager to spill more blood.
"I want you to take your new fleet to Kirigakure and lay siege."
RAAM became more enamored with these words, "Conquer the main stronghold of one of our enemies?" he asked, eager at the prospect.
The king nodded, "The time has come to begin the master plan and Kiri's fall will set the stage for the death of our enemies" he explained before continuing, "Take the fleet and position it just outside of Kiri's port. Once that is done, begin shelling the village. I have another force in position to attack once you give the order. When they emerge, send the forces not commandeering the ships to take the barges to the shore and assist the main invasion force. They have orders to kill everyone who fights back and round up the rest. Tell the drones you have with you to do the same once they reach the shore."
RAAM nodded, attack from two different sides would create a net that would surround their enemies in a pincer move, leaving little room for escape.
"I will gather my warriors and prepare to set sail" RAAM said and was about to stand when he was interrupted.
"Not so fast general" the king told RAAM, "I have a second task for you to complete, one of equal importance" he informed the monstrous general.
"Anything, my lord" RAAM answered.
The king waved his hand and another figure projection appeared next to him.
The projection was of a short and child-like human male with messy hair, pupiless eyes, and had what appeared to be a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye that went down to his jawline. He wore a sleeveless shirt with Kiri's symbol attached to the front, short-sleeved mesh armor over which he also wore a poncho along with a sash around his waist, paired with an apron over his pants. On his back he carried a long staff-like pole weapon that was almost twice his size with a large hook on the top of one side, while the top part of the other side appeared to have a sharpened edge, like a cleaver. The staff also had a large flower at the top. Projections were always a dark color, so it was impossible to tell what color his clothes, hair, and eyes were. The projection itself was unmoving, like a statue. The "person" was just an image of what his king wanted to show him.
RAAM stared at this strange human for a moment before looking back to his king.
"A child?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Do not be fooled by his appearance, general, he is a fully grown adult" the king informed RAAM before continuing, "His name is Yagura and he is the Yondaime Mizukage, that is to say, the leader of Kirigakure. I have a personal interest in seeing this monster dead. Once the invasion begins, you will find him and you will kill him."
RAAM was surprised, this childish human was the leader of the humans he had just slaughtered?
The king knew what RAAM was thinking, "I know he doesn't look like much, but he is the villages strongest warrior and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people within his own country, people he killed because they were different, people he called impure" the king informed his general, who noticed the amount spite he put into that last word. The king trembled slightly in anger before calming himself before continuing, "Be warned, though, he contains something…special within him."
RAAM's tensed slightly. He knew what that meant, but how could this creature contain such power within him?
It didn't matter though; RAAM had trained in how to bring down beings like him.
The king continued, "He is likely located in his tower, the tallest structure in the village. Once he is dead, present to me his head and his staff as proof of the deed. Am I understood?" he asked.
RAAM nodded, "It will be done, my king" he vowed.
The king grinned once again, "Good. Now go forth, General RAAM. Go forth and show our enemies the true might of the Horde!" he ordered proudly before both projections vanished.
RAAM stood up and walked out onto the deck.
He had much to do.
End Chapter
Sorry, I actually intended to add the attack on Kiri in this chapter as well, but this seemed like a good stopping point. Plus I like to make you guys sweat a little!
Anyway, read and review because, next chapter:
The Horde vs. Water Country and Kage vs. General; Yagura vs. RAAM!
Also, the Purity was modeled after the HMS Victory, a real live ship and a famous one at that! The size and number of guns and sails are the same (except for the two triple barreled rotating cannons at the front; it was my idea to add that).