So, this took way long to work on then planned, my bad.
Enjoy and leave a comment/review.
Kessel
Deep within the unspoiled jungle side of Kessel, where miles and miles of long green and unexplored masses were the norm, the presence of civilization was even within this uninhabited wildlife.
The Royal Castle of Kessel, or also better known as the Yaruba Palace, was the main retreat for the rulers of the Yaruba Family, that ruled this planet and its resources for perhaps almost centuries with an undisputed power over the Spice mines, running it as an monopoly.
With a large palace, its conservatory building next to it, an large tower that served as both an private landing port and communication tower with the outside world, and numerous of guard towers that were kept running.
But within the tower, a pleasuring event was taking place that was exclusive to the most lucrative business people of the Spice trade, and others.
D'Nar frowned as he found a crack in his wine glass.
His nerves have been on the fritz for the past few days, and the fact that his spice mine has gone silent for a while certainly didn't help.
He was no fool - something definitely was going on here.
The guards have been put into overtime, and they were jittering about as if they had overdosed on a caffeine stimulant. There were also more ships arriving and leaving at a much more rapid pace, which he suspected was not a good thing in this case.
He tried to ask some questions, of course, both to the slaves and the officials, but either they really didn't know or they clammed up real quick.
Strangely enough, the humans from the Earth planet were the only ones that didn't seem concerned.
He chalked it up to ignorance at first, but he saw just how quickly they were beginning to wrap up their science projects. He asked them about it, but they just smiled and told him to "leave while he could."
He couldn't, of course, since his property was a few dozen miles away from here, but nobody would allow him to return there. Not especially after yesterday, where the palace underwent a silent lockdown.
While the guests, patrons, and workers grumbled about the lockdown, nobody really seemed to care too much about it, going about their usual business or vacationing as usual, but D'Nar knew for a fact that something terrible had happened.
"Lord D'Nar." A servant approached him with wine and bowed her head. "Do you wish for your glass to be re-filled?"
"Yes," D'Nar responded by extending his cup out for the servant to refill the half-empty glass. The servant left as fast as she came, leaving the Zygerrian slave master on his own.
He took another sip, trying to enjoy his drink, but even that small enjoyment failed to settle his nerves. His eyes stared endlessly through the large windows, observing the massive jungle that seemed to stare back at him.
The jungle….
"D'Nar?"
He turned his head to his left and saw that he was approached by a Twi'lek, who, for once, wasn't a servant/slave or one of his private girls.
It was Kinash Lock, a red-skinned Twi'lek who was the majordomo of the Yaruba Royal Family, the chief steward of the monarch who, in other words, worked directly under and for the King.
The Twi'lek himself held a glass of wine and gestured the slaver to follow him with his finger. Both walked to a more secluded part of the ballroom that was now full with guests.
A crowd was seen surrounding the dancing area, with various known slavers and business associates. Separatists like Neimoidians from the Trade Federation, Muunist bankers, and even Skakoan Techno Unionists were seen drinking and laughing with members of the Republic, a
A Kaminoan woman who was standing next to a Umbaran male who seemed to be enjoying himself talking to his 'secessionist' enemies.
But also among the guests were humans, and not just humans from the Core Worlds, but these were from the planet Earth. Among them were oligarchs with top government connections, high-class member socialites from long traditional families, and also secret envoys of some governments from Earth that were known for their Draconian human right abuses, and even highly regarded intellectuals and scientist with looked down upon views and research.
From Europe, to Asia, Africa, and even the Americas, the filthiest of the rich and powerful couldn't resist easy money by horrible means.
The Spice Trade really brought people together.
Yaruba Palace: King's Study
"Allow me."
"Thank you."
His glass refilled, the Zygerrian slave owner gazed at the crimson fluid that seemed to grow heavier the more it filled his cup. This was no ordinary wine. This was an exclusive drink from the Royal Family's personal winery made and stored beneath the palace.
Its strong scent filling the room, the two nonhuman males were left to themselves while the guards waited just outside the door. The two said nothing as they gazed at the beautiful forest below them, their wines settling in their cups. D'Nar broke the ice by taking a sip.
"Mmm, quite a lovely drink," he noted. "I've heard that these are personally made - no servants included."
"Half-truth," the Twi'lek shrugged. "It was like that for a while, but then we expanded our business, and we couldn't afford to get our hands dirty, so we initially paid others to do it. When that got too troublesome, we decided to cut corners."
"Hm, been there done that," the Zygerrian shrugged as he took another sip. The strong smell was beginning to fade, although he wasn't sure if it was truly gone or if he had just grown used to it. "Still, for something made by cutting corners, this is far superior than any cheap wine you can get in your local market. What's your secret?"
The Twi'lek gave him a small smile that unnerved him for some reason.
"It is said that even a fool can feel and taste the hard work and sacrifice put into their foods and drinks." He said nothing else afterwards and just took another sip.
D'Nar stared down into his drink, and the smell seemed to have returned. He stood there dumbly, unsure whether or not he still desired the wine.
Finally deciding that good wine shouldn't go to waste, he continued drinking it.
The Twi'lek Kinash began straight away. "First, I'd like to know if you've been doing alright. I've seen you keeping yourself away from the crowd."
"My apologies for that, just a lot has been on my mind lately," D'Nar said. "Also, I'm still trying to get used to our new colleagues."
"Ah, the Earthlings, I understand what you're talking about," Kinash nodded in agreement before a chuckle escaped his lips. "They're certainly obnoxious, some even arrogant, but they've got a lot of money."
"I've seen them bragging about it, but I doubt that sincerely. From my observation, even the lowest Muunist banker has more credits than those Earthlings."
"Maybe, or you're saying that because you don't like competition," Kinash smiled with a hint of smugness. "I can understand that with how your business is handled."
D'Nar turned his head upwards to the Twi'lek's comment. "Excuse me?"
"You don't keep in touch with your own operation, do you?" Kinash said before twirling a finger through his glass. "Well, I've brought you here because of the state of your spice mine, which, I might add, is now unresponsive."
D'Nar had to hold back the urge to tear off the arrogant Twi'lek's lekkus off of his head. Kinash's word was often law, since he had deep ties to the royal king, who held the final decision for who was allowed to do business on Kessel or not. Besides, the bitter truth was that the only reason why he held a great deal of land in this goldmine was because of Kinash himself, even if he did slap on a higher taxation rate for him.
D'Nar suspected that the feelings were mutual, since every meeting the two of them had was cordial, but tense, the two of them forcing friendly smiles as they struggled to shake hands. If he disapproved of his views on the other races he never said so, but the heavy tax said everything for him.
"Reports of our security forces have just arrived back, speaking about inactivity from your little mine. No communication, no shipments, nothing for the past few days," Kinash pressed on. "Mind elaborating for us?"
"My subordinates can handle things without me babysitting them 24/7," D'Nar growled. "The explosions were most likely spice dust exploding, nothing new. If something happened, I would've been alerted by now. Besides, I'll be returning to Ölüm tomorrow morning, and mark my words, it'll be in better shape than when I left it."
Kinash just scoffed at this. He had his security forces inspect the mine days ago, only to find it abandoned and destroyed - a clear show of the Zygerrian's incompetence.
He only played along because this was exactly something he needed to disgrace the Zygerrian out of the king's favor, and hopefully kick him out of the spice trade entirely.
"I'll take your words as the truth," Kinashi replied with a small bow. "For the sake of our king, let us hope that business goes well."
"To Ölüm," D'Nar raised his glass, and the Twi'lek repeated those words as he took a drink.
A human slave - one loaned from an Earthling, stood there in silence as he stared at the two while keeping his head bowed.
Yaruba Palace - Gardens
In the gardens of the grand palace stood a pair of elite human Kessel guards who wore mostly white armor. They patrolled the area with their spears lazily, his blasters dangling in their holsters.
Working the night shift, they turned on their flashlights as they walked right past the end o the deep forest, which looked extra ominous tonight.
Unbeknownst to the group, they were being watched by the unseen hundreds of armed men of Ölüm, who hid themselves behind the bushes, trees, and the various vegetation that gave them perfect cover and view of their place of interest.
They clutched at their weapons tightly, their breaths unsteady as they struggled to keep quiet, adrenaline flowing through their veins as they were forced to wait for the signal.
It was mainly the leaders such as Naruto and Jango that kept their cool, observing the Royal Palace as they waited for the perfect moment. Using their binoculars or range finders, they eyed every inch of the palace carefully as they absorbed all the information they needed for this plan to go well.
"What do you see?" Cad Bane growled quietly.
"Multiple towers occupied by guards and patrol units. All of them moving in single pairs," Jango replied. "It's nothing we can't handle."
"So we'll have to strike fast and quietly, especially before they can start calling for reinforcements," Bane nodded slowly. "Got anything, kid?"
Naruto frowned a little at this before he responded swiftly.
"The port's all decked out," Naruto replied. "Must be a party inside. More than enough ships for all of us."
He wasn't kidding about the party. Even from their distance, they could see lots of flashing lights and loud music blaring, with hundreds of figures presumably dancing in the ballroom.
"I wonder what they're so happy about?" Sugi snorted. "I'm guessing they're celebrating a new partnership in the Spice Trade."
"Then it's time to crash this party," one of the partisans snorted. "Let's see how uppity they feel when they have a blaster up their arse."
"Keep your cool, men." Jango shook his head. "We need this to go as well as it can, so don't give us away just yet."
His words didn't seem to reach a certain group, as they continued to glare daggers at the palace.
It was then that they heard someone running towards their position. They turned to see that it was one of their scouts who had just returned.
"Adrik's in position, sir," the runner panted. "So is Tarik's group."
"Just as planned?" Jango asked.
The runner nodded. "Adrik's in position and Tarik's got the last group of survivors notified and is on the move, with his teams having just arrived and are on the flanks," the runner stated while pointing at the surrounding forest that encircled the palace.
Jango scanned the pointed area, and confirmed for himself that the men were in perfect position, awaiting their orders to attack.
"How many are ready?"
"We've got perhaps over four hundred ready for the assault," the runner estimated.
"Wait, I thought we had five hundred," Sugi pointed out.
"Tarik's last men are on their way. He needs a few to stay behind to evacuate the last camps," the runner explained. "He told me that your group would have to initiate the attack without them."
This earned the Mandalorian bounty hunter a lot of eyes on him, who held the most leadership of this group next to Naruto.
Jango went to his wrist and tapped his finger into the button and began to speak.
"Aurra. Can you hear me?"
"Yes Jango, we can hear you, loud and clear." Aurra spoke through her mic. "We're in the air."
"We're near the objective, armed and ready. On my signal, come in and take out that communication tower with the Slave I, alright?"
"Sure. Out." Their comms went quiet, prompting Jango to turn right to Naruto.
"Are you ready, kid?"
Naruto looked around at first, seeing the numerous gazes of the others who were waiting for the signal, and he turned then back to the bounty hunter, giving him a firm nod.
"Okay now for-"
FHEW!!
Everyone jumped at the sudden noise, causing everyone to look up at the small, red star that had just erupted from one of the groups. It hovered in the air for a moment before it exploded, sending showers of sparks and balls of fire down into the forest.
The guards shouted as they moved closer to the fence, checking the edges of the forest once more.
Two of them used a pair of macrobinoculars to scope out the forest, and with the help with the flare's light, spotted a group of partisans.
"What the-"
BANG!
Without a warning, the communication tower exploded into flames and shrapnel from an unexpected missile. This finally prompted the guards to raise the alarm.
"Alert! Alert!" The first guard shouted over the comms. "Intruders! We've got intruder-"
*Gunshot!* *Gunshot!*
Two laser bolts flew past the forest and hit the guards right in the chest. Their bodies fell over the railing silently.
"CHARGE!" The moment of shock now over, there was no more time to waste. With a singular war cry, the Partisans threw away all hesitation as they charged into battle.
Two more rocket missiles flew from the forest, both heavily damaging the palace's infrastructure.
"What the hell happened?!"
"Someone compromised the plan. Let's move, now!" Cad Bane yelled, being the first to fly off. Jango quickly followed suit, but not before he turned to Naruto.
"Commence the assault and cut out all exits - Nobody escapes!"
"Right!"
"Move!" Jango shouted before jetting off, joining Bane with the aerial assault. The champion of Mandalore turned to his men, raising his hand up in the air as he took a deep breath.
"TO THE PALACE!" Naruto ordered, running up first out of the forest, charging the palace gardens.
A collective roar of approval rose like wildfire as hundreds of armed men and women rose from their hiding spots. Raising their weapons and fists into the air, they joined their leader behind him, firing at anything that stood between them and freedom.
The guards that survived or stayed behind on the towers stood their ground, being the first to respond to the ambush. But they were quickly being slaughtered, be it from lucky shots or from the missiles, leaving only two standing, who were desperately returning blaster fire against the hundreds of fighters swarming out of the thick, green woods.
They managed to take out a few fighters, but this only agitated them even more. Like killing drones from a hive of insects, this only sent them into an even more frenzied state, more determined to succeed if only to avenge their fallen.
"That tower, take it out!"
"I'm on it!" Sugi shouted, running towards it with a few guys behind her. "Cover me!"
"You heard her! Covering fire!"
The remaining tower quickly became the singular target for blaster and gunfire. Many of the bullets missed, striking an inch too close to the last guards' position, making them flinch or duck.
"They're hundreds of them out there!" The guard manning the blaster repeating gun, he tried to pick his targets to mow down. "They're about to reach the-"
"I know! I know!" the gunner's second spoke. "Just keep them off-!"
BOOM!
Another explosion caught everyone off guard, but it was the gunner, who briefly shielded his eyes, was the first to turn to the cause of that explosion and was stunned by what he saw.
"They're attacking on the other side!"
"What?!"
"Look!" The gunner pointed out, and the second guard turned to see something horrifying.
It was true, on the other side of the palace, where the other explosion came from was now the burning tower of the Northside was in flames, with one guard even seen jumping out covered in the burning inferno, all while hundreds of unrecognized bandits were attacking also.
"What's going on here-"
A figure then jumped out of nowhere and caught the two guards by surprise, as it got too close! - that figure turned out to be Maroi, holding nothing but a blade!
"Halt!" The gunner guard tried to go for his holster. "I said halt-"
"You halt!"
The two guards jerked their heads to the only entrance and saw Sugi standing there, with her blaster aimed at them. The two guards then knew they were done and held their hands up.
But they were unlucky, as one other person ran out the same entrance with Sugi, and aimed his loaded blaster at them.
"Wait, WAIT!"
"We surrender-"
*Gunshot!* *Gunshot!*
The room was briefly consumed in blighting light as two thuds echoed the room. Sugi frowned a little, but said nothing.
"Fuck them, they deserved it," the human man spat, before manning the repeating blaster and readied it. "Go, I'll provide cover!"
Maroi and Sugi nodded and then ran back downstairs, not noticing the smaller young man, Ezra having entered the tower, and went over to the man's side with a pair of binoculars to try and help.
"Spot the enemy for me, kid!" the partisan said while preparing the tower gun.
Ezra went on to look down below with his binoculars, watching the chaos ensue down below.
The fighting continued on the ground as the guards were just getting reinforcements pouring out from the building. They, however, were already forced to take cover behind the pillars of the entrance.
They used the pillars as cover for themselves while more of the guards who were in the gardens were running towards them, having been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.
The partisans, on the other hand, had little to no cover. With the plants and hedges already burnt away from the firefight and the benches blown to bits, they were forced to advance under heavy fire, and were beginning to get picked off one by one.
This, however, did not help the Royal Guards, since this only encouraged the enemy to rain fire to compensate for their lack of cover, their never ending offense turning into their greatest defense. This, and their will to fight, is how they were gaining ground quickly.
"They're too many of them!" One of them yelled before he quickly took a shot at one-
BANG!
"Ugh!" One of the advancing partisans took a hit to the chest, dropping to his stomach just as behind him Naruto and the others were coming, firing back at the guards.
They themselves were forced to take cover behind some of the statues and garden infrastructure, with Naruto stopping behind one himself, just next to where the fallen partisan lay.
ZAP!
A blaster shot went past Naruto's head, just by luck, as he then looked back and fired a few times back before he then grabbed for the shirt of the fallen comrades and dragged him to safety.
One guard noticed Naruto, whose bright, yellow head sticking out like a sore thumb. Raising his blaster, he took a deep breathe-
BANG!
The guard's head jerked back as he took a blaster bolt to the head, killing him instantly. His colleagues looked up, searching for the sniper, only to find a few rockets screaming towards them!
"Cover!"
The rockets bombarded the area behind the guards, blowing them away from the impact. This created an opening for the entrance to the palace.
Jango landed right in front of the opening with Bane, cracking his neck.
ZAP!
Bane quickly tapped a surviving guard in the head without looking. His body went limp, dropping the blaster he was weakly holding.
"Like I said, no witnesses," Bane growled.
"Move in now! Inside the palace!" one Partisan shouted as he ran past the bounty hunters. "Clear the building, room by room!"
The palace was swarmed with angry men and women within seconds, the armed partisans rushing to be first to get a taste of blood. A couple even accidentally bumped into the bounty hunters.
"Watch it," Bane warned with venom, but if anyone heard him, he would never know. Gunfire quickly rang out in the hallway, which was his que to join them.
Before joining him as well, Jango turned around and shouted, "Naruto! Move up!"
Naruto looked up as he tried to help the wounded. Two others who stayed behind swooped in to drag them to a safer spot as Naruto grabbed a blaster pistol to enter the burning palace.
Inside the once glamorous hallways, the Kessel Guards were seen running around back and forth.
"Get to defensive positions! Check the doors!" one captain ordered around his men. "We're not losing the Yaruba Palace to these criminals!"
"Who are these attackers?!"
"I don't know, but we need to hold them off until the reinforcements arrive!" the captain responded to one guard's question. "What's the report of the north wing?"
"They're holding out! But we haven't heard anything from the south-"
BOOOM!
A sudden explosion rattled the building, the chandeliers above swinging wildly as the guards looked around, unsure of what had just happened.
"That explains the south wing," one of them said, deactivating the safety on his blaster rifle.
The captain was about to bark out another order until they heard the marching of a thousand footsteps. Coming out at the other end of the hallway were the assailants of their beautiful palace.
"Guards!"
"Intruders!"
The two sides opened the fire the instant they met eye to eye. With blaster bolts going back and forth like a light show, the first deaths came to the ones who were too slow to get to cover.
Shots kept getting exchanged as the casualties were already numbering upwards on both sides. The guards of the palace were holding up strong, and were beginning to go on the offensive to remove these rebels out of-
BANG! BANG!
Two golden bolts managed to strike two different guards, and whatever bravado the remainders held disappeared in an instant as they retreated back to cover.
"Nice shot, Sabine!"
The female Mandalorian had just arrived, her twin blasters smoking as they were pointed at the nearest guards. The sight of her armor made the protectors of the palace freeze up.
"A Mandalorian?!"
"Take her out, quickly!"
All blasters went towards Sabine, but they were quickly forced to shrink back into cover as the other partisans continued to open fire. Regardless, Sabine managed to get herself to cover, ducking under a few blaster bolts.
"Are you kriffing blind?! Shoot the Mando!"
BANG!
"Ugh!" A guard in front of the captain caught a blaster shot, taking the leader off guard as he watched where it came from.
Zeb had also just arrived, and had his own rifle, having just breached through with his own men who were laying down suppressing fire at the enemy guards.
"Zeb!"
"Sabine, Hera told me to pass you these orders!" the Lasat leader shouted. "Go to the upper levels, reach and secure the landing pads!"
"The whole plan's screwed up!" Sabine responded, staying in cover. "What the hell happened!?"
"Don't know, but we got new orders!"
*GROWL!*
BANG!
A rather powerful blaster bolt sent one of the guards flying backwards. His limp body slammed into the wall, before falling lifelessly onto the floor.
Chewbecca's bowcaster let out a small trail of smoke which he blew out. Tayuya stood next to him, firing off rounds with her AK rifle.
"Nice shot, Chewie! You too, redhead!"
"Call me that again and I'll shove that grenade up your ass!" Tayuya snapped, before adding, "Now shut up and keep sending those bastards to hell!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
More and more bodies fell, and it was clear whose side this battle was leaning towards.
"Fall back! Fall back to the main hall!"
The palace guards were more than happy to retreat, covering fire for each other hastily as they did their best to dodge death.
One of them tripped over a dead colleague. Stumbling, he managed to catch his balance and tried to keep running-
PANG! PANG! PANG! PANG! PANG!
A series of gunshots rang out, several holes erupting in the guard's back. He fell back onto the floor, bleeding out. This time he didn't get up.
Tayuya glanced down at her latest kill in satisfaction, before she turned back to the group.
"Move!" the redhead ordered, putting in a new clip as she moved up. "Don't let them escape!"
"You heard her! Go!" one of the human partisans followed up.
"Blood!" the group cheered in unison as they charged forward. The hallway quickly grew empty, save for the littered dead and Zeb and Sabine.
"What the hell's going on, Zeb?" Sabine began as she turned to her friend. "We were supposed to wait for the signal, but nobody said anything about the flare being one."
"Don't ask me. You know just as much as I do," Zeb growled. "I'm just following orders Hera gave me when I bumped into her."
"Then what happened?"
"Somebody got trigger-happy. Don't know who, but that's not important now."
The chandeliers above trembled a little, but they disregarded it. It looks like their friends had made it upstairs too.
"They're going rough up there," Sabine grinned, before turning back to her friend. "Tell me where to go, and you can do your thing."
"Just follow them down the hallway," Zeb pointed. "They'll be waiting for you."
"Thanks!" Sabine said before running past him down the hallway. "Watch out, and don't get yourself killed!"
"I won't!" Zeb responded before joining up with the other partisans into the fight against the retreating guards.
Outside
The Slave I was seen making several circles around the Yaruba Palace, which was now on fire and in ruins. What was once a collection of structures, statues, and gardens now lay in ruins, looking like a proper warzone.
Comms now gone silent, Aurra and Boba watched on in amazement at what seemed like a fantasy - the house of the most powerful spice trading family, was up in flames.
"Wow…"
Aurra smirked at the look on Boba's face, before turning back to the carnage below. Feeling left out of the action, she decided to try to get in contact with the others again.
"Your father's been quiet for a while," Aurra thought out loud while pushing some buttons. "Let's try to see what he's up to."
Boba nodded and began working on the communication responder, but instead of one connection, he accidentally tapped into the wider-
'Secure the third floor! Don't let those terrorists get in!'
'What's going on-'
'Shoot them!'
Instead of getting into contact with Jango, both pilots now were hearing the live communication of the battle inside the Palace, with them now being into the comms of the Palace Security detail.
And it didn't sound good….for them.
'Fourth floor is secured, we're sending backup down there to help you take out the intruders, over.'
'Negative! Negative! Third floor has been breached, they've reached the staircases and are making their way towards you.'
'Fifth floor here, evacuations of the dignitaries has stalled, there's a group stuck on the west-wing, near the ballroom. over.'
'I heard you, Fifth floor. But I can't reach there. Intruders have entered the kitchen area, heavy fighting is happening. I can't afford any more men up there. If they get the kitchen, they'll have one way towards the ballroom.'
'Sir, with all due respect. These aren't just visitors, they're VIP's who are stuck, last readings have sighted them being almost surrounded on three sides. Immediate extraction is a priority!'
'Second floor! Second floor! We're being overrun, we need backup over!'
'Copy that, second floor. Unfortunately, your position is lost. Try to get your men to the third floor.'
'Heavy combat in the kitchen, they've reached the kitchen!'
Kitchen
The chaos had now fully ensued inside the Palace, with the planned groups having now gone into disarray, as the leaders were trying to re-organize their own people back.
But the reality is that everywhere, guards and partisans, scattered all around, were now fighting across the entire palace, room by room, floor by floor, and even by chance and sheer coincidence.
*PEW!*
*PANG!*
*BANG!*
Anything that was left standing on the tables was either shot, blasted or thrown aside as it all laid on the floors, alongside the bodies of the deceased fighters who were close to engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
And they were really close.
"CHARGE!"
"DON'T LET THEM THROUGH!"
The roars only made it come to fruition, as like back on the mess hall of Ölüm, the close area forced the two sides to use their fists, knives or whatever they could get their hands on, to take each other out.
Punching, swinging, slamming, strangling, stabbing poking each other's eyes out or even plunging objects into their enemy's guts. Anything was used to try and gain even the smallest momentum over their opponent and to end their lives.
"Ahhhhhhh! Get off me!" One of the Partisans was seen struggling to keep a knife being slit across his neck by one of the guards, with it only being inches away.
"Die-"
SHANK!
"Ugh!" The guard moaned before he got grabbed by the mouth as it was Naruto who had just saved the partisan by just stabbing the guard in the back multiple times.
"T-Thanks-"
Naruto just moved past the partisan as he kept the cutting knife in his hand and kept on moving in the chaotic kitchen. As Maroi was the only other one from his group who stuck with him through the fighting.
He saw how one guard was overwhelmed by three partisans, with the one with the knife seen repeatedly using a large knife to basically gut the man up as he was held against the floor with his arms pinned down.
"The gut, hit his gut!"
"No-Hmph!" The guard's pleas were silenced as he could only watch as he was getting stabbed over and over again.
"I surrender-"
*Gunshot!*
Naruto then turned around to see then that two guards were seen with their hands up, the second one having just been executed in mid-sentence as the other was faced by another Partisan holding one of the Earthling pistols.
"Please, don-"
*Gunshot!*
The first guard also met his demise as he got shot through the head. Executed by the partisan who didn't even flinch on what he was doing.
The madness was getting out of hand, as the blonde Shinobi had seen acts like this happen more often ever since the attack had begun-
"Kid, behind you!"
Naruto heard the warning but was too late whe-
WHAM!
He got knocked aside when Adrik, the Slavic second-in-command, was seen with an chopping knife, fighting against the retreating big guard, who already was bleeding from the neck and face by the cuts he had been given, some nearly slicing off his skin.
"No, P-Please-"
SLASH!
The guard wasn't shown any mercy by the Slav, who just hit the arteries of his neck and made a clean chop in the shoulder.
Thud!
The guard dropped dead with his head barely hanging onto his neck.
"Do Svidaniya, piece of shit." Adrik turned his head around to Naruto. "Hey kid, you alright?"
"I…Ugh…" Naruto laid flat on his back, even with the armor he wore, the wounds haven't yet healed up yet as he still got bandages. "Fuck…it hurts."
Adrik called out for help. "Maroi!
Running up, Maroi had heard the call for help as the fighting continued, with it this time the blaster fire going off again, forcing everybody to duck down for cover as Naruto was laid against the small cover.
"Kid's wounds are bothering again. Try and help him." Adrik told him before getting his gun back and turning to the fight. "Wait here, kid."
"But-"
"That's an order!" Adrik barked at him before shooting twice and moving upwards. "Move it people!"
As the fight continued on by the Partisans, it was then that Naruto who was being helped with the Beskar armor being removed from his chest, revealing the bandages being close to shredded apart.
"Need to check on your wounds, so let me remove those bandages and I-"
"This is bullshit!" Naruto cursed, staring at the ground, the anger exploded. "I can't even use my chakra, how can I be of help if I'm still walking around with that damn seal on me!"
It had been a silent frustration of Naruto for the past few weeks that he couldn't hold back anymore. Even with Kurama trying to break the damn seal, it was still strong enough for it to minimize Naruto's use of his chakra network.
"I'm useless without my chakra." Naruto muttered out. "I could've smashed those guys right now if it wasn't for that damned seal!"
*TICK!*
A termal detonator was thrown and it was just around the corner as Maroi grabbed Naruto and laid him to the ground.
"TAKE COVER!"
BOOM!
The thing exploded just and it caught a few guys in the explosion, but Naruto and Maroi were luckily fast enough to have ducked for cover before being impacted by it.
With Maroi being ontop of Naruto, he took the opportunity to do something.
"Get off me, Maroi!"
"Hold on, kid."
A hand suddenly felt on Naruto's back, causing the blonde to be weirded out to what the partisan was doing.
"Just let me do this, kid. Release!"
!
Naruto/Kurama then both felt a huge release of weight coming from their shoulders, as they suddenly were now fully connected with the whole chakra network.
'Kid, that guy, he released the seal, that means-'
'Has to be.' Naruto noted as he slowly turned his head towards Maroi, who he then asked the question.
"You're a Shinobi?"
"I-"
"ENEMY REINFORCEMENTS!" Someone shouted. As then more guards were seen entering the kitchen, in bit overwhelming numbers.
Naruto however grabbed the nearest knife he could snatch and could feel the flow of energy through his body properly again, and turned towards Maroi.
"Shall we?"
Maroi could see the long unleashed anger in Naruto's eyes, and instead of speaking against it. He simply nodded.
"Good, because I'm done trying to learn how to use a blaster." Naruto said as he did his hand signal that was his trademark.
"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
Landing platform
"Move it, people, move it!"
The invited dignitaries, senators, oligarchs and other high-level visitors that were just mere moments ago stuck inside a battle-ridden palace, now had gotten themselves through without a scratch.
Only a few meters away, covered by barriers, in a secret tunnel, dozens of ships were prepared for the evacuations of the guests, who were all forced to share the ships that would travel to a safer area of the planet, or even getting out of it.
Two of those, were highly known and influential senators of the Republic, one was Mee Deechi from Umbara while the other, wasn't much of a senator who represented a planet or a sovereign state, but represented a entity.
"Senator Deechi, please enter the ship." One of his guards pleaded as the senator followed up by his security detail.
He then noticed the human senator to stand there to watch palace being on fire.
"Senator, please, join me." Deechi offered. "There's no need for you to be be captured by these terrorists…"
"I believe we're not dealing with the likes of terrorists, my Umbaran friend."
The pale skinned male Umbaran looked confused until he saw the human turn his head around and walked up to the ship and entered it with the security detail of his own who kept a secured perimeter.
They all wore the insignia of the Umbrella corporation, showing clearly they were this man's security.
"Let's go!"
The evacuations of the secured dignitaries began taking off, one by one as many were staring through the windows at the ravaging fighting that continued at the old Yaruba Palace as it was still being besieged on by all sides.
They didn't know how lucky they were.
Palace
The flames were getting out of control, as it now got into some parts of the palace, where it became the third contender in this battle, and was gaining a momentum. It even interrupted a few fights as both the Partisans and the Royal Guards were seen ceasing their fights and trying to run to safety.
But even still, some were stubborn enough to fight in even the most unsuitable areas as it were a moment of life or death for them. With some being locked into hand-to-hand combat with the occasional knife being pulled out in an attempt to end one life's quicker then the other.
"Look out-"
KICK!
A guard was slung across the hallway with a deadly kick to the chin, as the boot belonged to Naruto as he was running in free-range, having gotten out of the kitchen, without his Kevlar armor, and covered in sweat, he was on an justified rampage to taking out as many guards that stood in his way between where he stood and the target.
And there were a couple of guards in his way, and he only carried a knife - to which he was in the advantage!
"Out of my way!" Naruto shouted, dashing forwards - ready to get them.
"Kill him!" The front guard shouted while aiming. "Kill him!"
ZAP!
One blaster shot went straight through Naruto's chest, making the shooting guard think he got him.
"Yes!"
POOF!
Instead, it was one of his clones, much to the man's horror. Meaning it was a fluke.
"Where-"
PLUNG!
That was the sound, of the vital organs of the guard, being stabbed in so deeply, that the sound could be heard as the organs shattered.
"Gasp!*
Naruto's ears heard the gasp, but his eyes focused on the remaining guards who were frozen by fear, as he disappeared in speed - causing more panic.
"Take him down-" The guard tried to say before he got two kicks to the chest and felt his throat slashed right open, and thrown out of the window by Naruto, who then turned to the other and threw his knife-
"No!-"
SHINK!
The knife went deep into the man's chest, even through the armor, as he then punched the off-focused guard multiple times in the head before slamming him away, fatally, going then for the next target.
"He's too fast-" Another guard felt attacked from above by another Shadow clone of Naruto, as then two more popped up from out of nowhere - Causing total confusion for the guards, it caused a morale boost for the trapped partisans.
"Follow Naruto!"
"Hold them back!" The nearest guard yelled desperately. "Try take out the kid-"
BOOM!
The wall behind the guards exploded. With rubble flying everywhere, if the explosion didn't take them out, the pieces of the wall might've done it, with the remainders trying to stand up and make a last stand.
"They're attacking us from both sides-"
PANG!
PANG!
They also soon were silenced as blaster bolts had come from that hole in the wall, with the ones coming through being the late party members - Tarik and Ibrahim, being also accompanied by Hera, having linked up.
Tarik quickly ordered around. "Forwards, men! The platform is not far from here!"
"Move it!" Ibrahim shouted.
The leftovers of the attack began following Tarik, with dozens filling the hallway in the one-way traffic, but it was Hera who walked up to the opposite side to come across Naruto.
"You doing alright, kid?" She asked seeing the dirt and bruises on his head.
"I'm doing fine, really." Naruto assured her and asked. "What about the others?"
*Rumble!*
The ceiling began to shake again, and this caused Hera and Naruto to hold their questions for later and move upwards, joining Tarik and the others.
"We're almost there, we found a shortcut!" One of the partisans shouted running up front. "We need to hurry, now that we can!"
Ball Room
Whilst the fighting continued, the large room was left now unused for combat, as it was no use to it for now, as for the reason being that it was over.
A group of partisans had closed off the last exit with the others, and therefore had trapped the remaining dignitaries and their Royal Guards who were seen with their hands up and their blasters on the floor. The silence was real as no screaming or yelling was being heard from both sides, causing an very uneasy tenacious moment that caused the emotions to rise to a boiling point.
That only got worse than among those partisans, was Tayuya, as sh had been going off to the ballroom with some others of the group, as they were now on the few dozens, having their hostages forced into a corner with their weapons pointed against them.
"You wench!" One of the guests, a man in a Thawb robe, with an Keffiyeh was not having it and was yelling at the armed fighters, and especially against the woman. "Know your betters, you whore, I will-"
*Gunshot!*
…
The Thawb wearing man fell to the ground, on his knees as he clutches his hand against the gut, where he just was shot at point-blank range, gasping in pain as the man was experiencing.
The shot came from Tayuya's Kalashnikov rifle, who hasn't even a eye at her action, and continued to stare at the man in pain.
"He looks like an Royal prince or something..." One of the Arab fighters spoke. "Or he could be Qatari, or even a Saudi."
"Why does that matter?" One of the Non-earth partisans asked.
"Because they are rich assholes, oil giants, way too much fucking money than they deserve." The Arab explained to them, having a clear dislike. "They may act like the most devout of our people, but are the more corrupt and disgusting people if you get to see what's behind the curtains."
"P-Please!" The gutted prince looked up and begged, yes, begged for his life. "We're both Muslims-"
"Kol Khara, you filthy dog." The Arab fighter shouted at the prince. Not done insulting him. "You keep that preaching bullshit for the imams who you're paying as your mouthpieces."
"You filthy!-"
*Gunshot!*
The Thawb wearing man got shot again, this time through the leg by Tayuya for the second time, shutting the royal up as he was screaming in pain once again, but this time louder.
The actions caused the hostages to be in panic, given they saw one of their own being shot multiple times.
But that panic was soon to be responded - By Tayuya who went for the switch: Automatic.
"Enough of this."
Landing Platform
"Prepare the ship!" One of the guards shouted orders around as the sounds of heavy fighting could be heard around them.
The landing platform was the last floor of the palace that was in full, or at least partly secure, as many of the armed guards had now regrouped and were making their last stand.
Their last stand as they were given their orders to keep the skies clear, so their ships could take off in their own evacuation efforts, yet, the first ships that were to be taking off were of two individuals-
"Get this thing airborne!" Kinash, the Twi'lek right-hand man of the Yaruba Monarch was seen entering his own ship with the escorting of his personal bodyguards, who brought him in a Sheathipede-Class Transport Shuttle that he bought from the Trade Federation.
"D'Nar!" The majordomo turned around for a quick moment and shouted. "I will hold you responsible for this!"
D'Nar, who watched from a distance, could only glare in response to the majordomo's threats as he knew that when word would reach the Royal Family about this, there would be repercussions.
The shuttle began to take off as it was getting shot at from multiple directions from the ground, with the shield happening to withstand those hits before it took off.
"Kriff it all…" The Zygerrian cursed to himself, walking over to his own ship. "Damn these slaves!"
BOOM!
A big explosion went off in the hallway, causing the slaver to turn his eyes on it.
They had arrived - and were already storming the platform.
"They've reached the platform!"
…
The group that reached first was that of Sabine, Zeb and the Wookie Chewbacca, with the bounty hunters Sugi and Embo right behind them, as they were being met with intense blaster fire, some of the first storming partisans were quickly to be hit by the dozens of shots, forcing the others to turn to cover.
"Well, they really don't want us to take those ships." Zeb commented first, holding himself covered behind one of the steel pillars.
"Yep, from what I see, they're trying to get out of here fast." Sabine commented by what she was seeing through her helmet's vizier. "But if we don't get a foothold on that platform soon, they might even destroy them to block our only escape."
"We'll provide you cover fire." Sugi suggested, gesturing to herself, Embo and Zam. "You guys move up and we'll keep them busy."
"Sounds like a solid plan-"
FWOOSH!
Two figures quickly passed by the partisans, catching the fighters off guard.
"What the-"
SLASH!
SLASH!
"Ugh!"
"Bwah!"
Two of the guards were unlucky enough to be in those figures' path, as their blood splattered across their chests, having just sliced up in an brutally speed.
"Take that!"
That voice alone was recognizable and it earned the first reaction.
"BRAAAAAH!" Chewbacca growled up.
"Bout time you arrived!"
Having taken up the front, both Naruto and Maroi, both Shinobi had just entered the last state of the fight, and were going through the guards with no holding back.
as Naruto was seen speeding and avoiding the blaster shots before violently and lethally taking the guards down with his bare hands, as the sound of chopping and cracking was vile enough for even Maroi to speak up.
"Hold on, kid! We-"
"Got no time!" Naruto dis-armed a guard before knocking him over the platform, arguing. "Let's move!"
PEW!
"Look out!"
A bolt explosion sent both Naruto and Maroi away a few meters backwards, having just been nearly hit.
Naruto groaned as he moved his head upwards, and saw what was happening, or yet worse, what was in front of him.
The Aurore-class freighter had just fired its twin medium cannons at the platform, as it was hovering above the platform and with its guns aimed ready-
PEW!
PEW!
Two more blaster shots were fired, but this time it hit the sides of the freighter ship, that had its shields on, as the shots were coming from the Slave I, coming right on time to save the day.
And by the sight of that ship, the freighter took its leave, all in front of Naruto's eyes that began to close down again, just as the shooting seemed to be calming down and feet steps behind him were getting closer.
Not knowing they had just taken Yaruba Palace.