Landing heavily, Naruto looked up to see the entire Phantom Lord guild chasing all of Fairy Tail from their guild, their mocking cries raining down heavily upon the fleeing mages. Attacks were still being fired at the retreating guild too, a further insult to injury.
Pushing chakra into his legs, Naruto charged forward and rapidly caught up to the guilds. As he passed Phantom Lord, he had to avoid several attacks from their mages as they noticed him. Near the front of the guild though, one man broke away and caught up to him, clearly a speed based mage. Ducking under the man's surprisingly fast punch, Naruto turned to glare back up at him.
"Ha! You thought you could get aw-"
Not sparing him a second thought, Naruto jumped sideways into a back heel strike, the blow cutting short his monologue and blasting the mage back into the mass of people he just ran from. Ignoring the outraged cries, Naruto continued running until he spotted Elfman just ahead of him. Quickly catching up to the hunched man, Naruto looked up. "Oi, what's going on – the hell happened to him?"
A flash of green in the giant's arms had caught his eye and when he focused, he realised it was actually Makarov. For some reason, the little man's skin was a bright, lime green and looking extremely sickly. He was continually muttering something about his magical power being gone too. Looking over the injured man, Naruto frowned in concern as he realised this was the reason for the retreat.
"We don't know what happened... Erza just gave us the command to escape so we did."
Hearing the deep voice above him, Naruto looked up and saw a storm of emotions running through Elfman's expressive eyes. Not really having anything to say, all Naruto could do was nod. "Well... I'll go talk with her. Be back in a bit."
Hearing a worried hum, Naruto took that as his leave and charged up to the front of the group. They had covered a lot of ground and were now at the edge of the town, rough rocks and jagged cliff faces becoming the scenery. Seeing the tell-tale shock of red swishing around at the front, Naruto ran up beside Erza and looked over worriedly. "So, what do you think..."
Naruto's question died on his tongue as he realised tears were falling from the distressed mages eyes. She hadn't looked over or even acknowledged him, looking like the world itself had all but fallen apart. Naruto guessed it was taking all her will not to just collapse there and then, if the rate her tears were falling was any indication. Hearing a boom behind them, Naruto looked over his shoulder and realised the group was still being perused by over half the Phantom Lord guild. Checking back with Erza, Naruto tried again. "Did you want me to stall Phantom Lord so you can get away a bit easier?"
Finally looking over, Erza did her best to look composed. "How would you go about that?"
Sending her a reassuring smile, Naruto let himself drop back. "Don't worry about that, I got it covered. You just get out of here with the rest of the guild. I'll be right behind you."
Seeing her nod acceptingly, Naruto slowed to a jog as the mages overtook him. Turning to face the Phantom Lord Mages, Naruto's eyes hardened and he held his hands out. "Go back to your guild now! I won't ask again!"
Hearing his shout over the thumping of feet and victory cries, the forerunners just scoffed and laughed as they picked up speed. "Us, back down? You're a complete retard if you think we'll just let you lot go!"
Frowning as the entire charge picked up pace, Naruto crossed his fingers as he slowed to a stop. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)."
A sudden explosion of thick white smoke disoriented the pursuing guild and their cries of confusion and anger filled the air. There was a sudden staccato of cracks as fists met flesh and as the smoke rapidly dissipated, eyes widened as they saw what looked like over forty of those blond, orange jacket wearing freaks unleashing hell upon the first few lines of their charge. Several dozen of their members were incapacitated instantly, all of them laid out suffering from severe concussions as well as some sporting rapidly forming bruises. Skidding to a stop, they all looked out over the mass of orange and looked into the cold eyes of the boy down the very back.
"I told you to go back. Don't make me make you."
Hearing his calm voice ring true over the departing thumps of the footsteps of the Fairy Tail guild, the mages of Phantom Lord quickly calculated their options. Realising they had all but won by driving out a rival guild from their own, they snorted and spat several curses and insults at the blond but still backed down.
"Bah, you bunch of piss weak maggots better not come back here again or we won't let you escape with your lives next time! Now get out of here before we change our minds!"
Hearing a rise of agreement, Naruto frowned but all the same dropped his technique. Taking several steps backward, he sized up the possibility of a chase. Seeing most of the mages come forward to check out the downed men and women from the first row, Naruto took one last look at the aggressive guild before turning and chasing after his friends.
Naruto found himself at the back of the room again, looking over the frustrated guild members. Various mages were getting bandaged up after taking the brunt of some damaging attacks, their discouraged voices audible over the groans of pain from the others. Macao and Wakaba, along with a couple other mages Naruto hadn't been introduced to yet were hunched over a map laid out on a table. From the bits and pieces Naruto could make out, it sounded like they were trying to plan a counterattack.
Most however were just spotted about here and there, despondent looks on their faces after the recent flood of horrible events. Levy and her team were still in hospital after that brutal attack, the guild was all but peppered with holes and old man Makarov was in intensive care somewhere with an old medical friend of his. The most surprising and disturbing piece of information however came from Natsu when he walked in a few hours later than the rest of the guild, carrying an immensely distressed Lucy on his back.
It turned out that the reason for the attack on the guild wasn't because Phantom Lord were just being a pack of unlikeable pricks, but because Lucy's own father had put out a mission request to retrieve her any way they could. The initial attack had been a plan to lower their defenses and swoop in and snatch up the girl while they weren't looking. Natsu had clued into the fact after overhearing the Master's seemingly delusional ramblings and had kidnapped a Phantom Lord mage before charging off to the headquarters to rescue her. The pink haired mage was now standing protectively by her side, not saying much or even comforting the girl, but simply standing watch for her.
When that little tidbit of information had come up, and especially after hearing the platinum blond girl exclaim she'd rather be considered an orphan than have that man as a father, Naruto had to rapidly disappear to prevent his fury from getting picked up by the rest of guild. He had run for a long while before finally exploding and destroying large amounts of nature around him in an effort to vent his anger. How a man could possibly do that to his own daughter was far and away beyond anything Naruto could comprehend. A beautiful daughter like that at his fingertips, and yet he saw her as nothing but a servant? It brought to the surface a lot of negative emotions Naruto hadn't felt for a long time. It took a while, but eventually Naruto was calm enough to return. He made sure to cover up the various holes in the earth and rocks first, so no one would come asking questions.
Scratching his head, Naruto sighed and looked over at Mirajane, still frantically trying to keep everyone's hopes alive. Rubbing his face, Naruto rolled his eyes. When it rained, it sure as hell poured here.
Hearing a louder than normal muttering of voices, Naruto turned to see Erza snap at someone before walking away briskly, a slight fault in her steps. Frowning slightly at her departure, Naruto looked around to see no one really make any attempt to follow her. Sliding inconspicuously along the wall, Naruto followed her to the showers and ducked in. Hearing the rustling of clothes from the furthest stall, Naruto walked over and sat down outside the door.
"Hey... you ok in there?"
The rustling abruptly stopped and silence arose for a few moments. "What are you doing here? You better not be trying to catch a peek."
Chuckling, Naruto shook his head despite the woman being unable to see. "No, I don't have a death wish like that. I just saw you walking in here looking a little... unsure, so I followed you."
The rustling resumed, though at a slower pace. "Well, I thank you for your concern, but you really didn't need to follow me in here of all places."
Naruto shrugged helplessly. "I can't help it, sorry. I get... thingy* when I see my friends distressed."
The rustling finished and a tap squeaked before a rush of water sounded out. "Well that is very kind of you, but isn't there anyone else to worry about at the moment?"
Grinning, Naruto leant his head back against the wall, the heat from the water beginning to raise the humidity in the air. "No, most everyone seems to have someone to talk to. No one seemed to come and see if you were ok though, outside of a comment here and there. It almost seems like they see you as completely infallible. So yeah, I just wanted to come make sure you were alright."
Erza didn't respond for a while, the only sound being the changing rush of water as Erza moved beneath it. Eventually though, she replied quietly to his statement. "We have many injured members and our strongest mages aren't here. I honestly don't know if we'll be able to continue this war."
Hearing a strong thump, Naruto looked over at the shaking door. It seemed Erza had punched the wall. Apparently the girl was taking it harder than she let on. "If I had just gone with the Master back then... if only I hadn't let him go alone, we could have avoided all this! So pathetic! It's all my fault!"
Letting her calm herself, Naruto leant back in thought. "Well... I don't see how you could have done much else. From what I've gathered, that old man is one of the ten strongest mages in the whole world. And then Phantom Lord's master is like, equal to him in strength? Not to knock your skill, but I doubt there was much you could have done."
He heard Erza growl before speaking. "That's beside the point. I could have watched his back, or offered support, or, or attacked Jose first or..."
"Hey, hey, hey, take a moment will you? Just calm down." Naruto held his hands out awkwardly as he tried to calm the hyperventilating woman from behind a door. He wasn't too used to dealing with something like this. "Look, whatever is wrong with him isn't life threatening is it? I mean, he's with... what's-her-face, that awesome medic you were telling me about."
Hearing Erza calm, Naruto silently congratulated himself on a job well done. "Porlyusica. She was on the Master's original team. And yes, if there's anyone in this world that could heal him, it's her."
Smiling, Naruto pushed the positive point. "See? And if he's just had his magic drained, then it should come back with time. You were the one who told me that so just remember it!"
Hearing Erza take a shuddering breath, Naruto nodded happily. "I suppose you're right. What I need to focus on now is how to prepare for the upcoming battle when Phantom comes back for Lucy."
Giving the door a sidelong glance, Naruto sighed. "No, what you need to focus on now is being a girl having a shower. Do whatever it is in there that makes girls come out smelling so nice. Get refreshed and relax. It's not healthy to focus obsessively on a task like this all the time. Clear your head, have a break and then once you're done, come out and plan your plan. Sound good?"
Naruto could have sworn Erza was about to say something, but silence followed his question. Hearing her shuffle around, Naruto smiled as he heard her answer. "You're quite insightful behind that dense exterior, aren't you?"
Naruto shrugged and raised his arms behind his head. His eyes now tracked the multiple floating water droplets before his face, dancing and weaving with every breath he took. "Nah, I just got smart friends and teachers. I pick up things from them when something they say strikes a chord with me."
Hearing Erza chuckle, Naruto looked over. "What's so funny?"
The woman shifted under the water and the temperature jumped as she turned up the hot water. "I just noticed you didn't deny being dense."
A lopsided grin broke out on his face as he thought of that. "Eh, I'll admit I ain't the sharpest kunai in the shed, but I get by alright."
They both chuckled at that, but the little conversation was cut short when a boom accompanied by an earthquake suddenly rocked the building. Steadying himself, Naruto looked up at the roof as he called out to Erza. "You ok?"
She groaned in response. "I shall be fine, I just slipped when the ground shook."
Another earth shaking boom suddenly rocked the room again and Naruto instantly had his arm grabbed by Erza as she dashed past. "Come on, it's not safe down here!"
The fact she was clad only in a wet towel didn't escape his attention, the fabric desperately clinging to her shape as she rushed to the door. As the two of them ran into the room, they saw the last of the mages running up the stairs and out the back door. Dashing after them, Naruto and Erza were briefly blinded by the sunlight. Once that faded though, Naruto's eyes widened until they filled half his face, disbelief filling his eyes. "What the hell is that?"
The entire guild and a good portion of the civilians that had gathered were all looking up at a giant mechanical beast that towered above the town. Six enormous, gold coloured metal legs sank deep into the water as it waded forward, the earth shuddering with every step they took. They were connected to a massive slab of rock, the rugged, half-moon shape of it making it look like it had been physically ripped from the very ground it had rested in. On the flat top of that rock sat a massive white, hexagonally shaped building. Windows covered its faces, four massive, intricately designed, thin pillars with even more windows in them, protruding upwards from each corner of the slab of rock they were sitting on.
Watching on in awe as the gigantic thing walked forwards, Naruto overheard several mages muttering amongst themselves.
"Is that Phantom Lord?"
"The freakin' guild is walking!"
"What kind of magic is this? I've never heard of such a thing!"
Due to the shock of seeing such a creation, it took Naruto a moment to realise he was losing feeling in his left hand. Looking down, he realised Erza was gripping it tightly so tightly that it was cutting off the circulation; the red haired woman literally shivering in horror at the advancing leviathan. "I... I had no idea that they would attack us like this..."
Finally though, the contraption stopped moving and came to rest. Looking up at it cautiously, Natsu frowned slightly as he took a step forward. "So... has it stopped for real?"
His answer came in the form of a loud rumble before a section of the Phantom Lord Guild face actually slid away, revealing a deep hole into the mansion. Another rumble followed and then from within the hole, the nozzle of a massive cannon began sliding forward. That section locked into place, then another attachment within the barrel of the first started sliding forward, further lengthening the massive cylinder. This continued another two or three more times before everything finally came to rest.
Looking around nervously, Naruto wondered just what was going to happen to the town as that cannon most probably had enough fire power to not only blow away the guild it was pointed at, but half the town around it too.
Suddenly, an ominous dark ball began to form at the nose of the thing, the colours of the guild behind it becoming inverted and distorted as it rapidly gathered power. A dangerous hum filled the air, along with a strange sense of pressure from the sheer power of the ball being generated. Throwing Naruto back, Erza looked around at the group, horror filling her eyes. "This is very bad! Everybody, GET DOWN!"
Looking up at the petrified woman, Naruto then turned his gaze over to the ball and swallowed a gasp of surprise. It had easily quadrupled in size, the diameter of the thing looking like it was well over fifty meters and still growing. Hearing a cry, Naruto looked over to see Erza ditch her towel and charge forward, completely ignoring the fact she was now completely naked. It only lasted a moment however before she started glowing a bright gold as her magic took hold.
When the light dissipated, the woman now stood at the water's edge, completely covered in thick, shining chrome armour. Her shins and thighs were completely hidden behind a wall of metal, her knees having a large, protruding black cover sticking out for mobility. Her waist was covered in a heavy pleated skirt, the edged rimmed with sharp looking spikes that resembled a kunai. Her stomach, back, breasts and shoulders were all covered by black and white armour, the bulk of it increasing in size upwards towards her face until she had a chest and shoulders that easily dwarfed even Elfman in size. Her arms were completely covered in bright gauntlets, but the most interesting parts of the whole suit were these two massive, thick blades of some sort that were attached to her forearms. All in all, the suit looked like it easily weighed over half a ton but the lithe mage carried it with ease.
Hearing Macao call out desperately, Naruto turned to look at him. "Erza! Don't tell me you're gonna try and stop that thing? Even with the Adamantine Armour, you'll still get yourself killed!"
"I SAID GET DOWN!"
Instantly most of the mages dropped to the floor. Natsu tried to make a dash for the girl, crying out her name desperately in hopes of saving her. Gray however managed to catch him before he could get too far and pulled him to the ground. "IDIOT! Don't let her sacrifice go in vain! Besides, she still has a really high chance of surviving that thing with all that armour on. You however only have a couple of clothes covering your back. Now shut up, hold on tight and believe in her!"
Turning his stunned gaze back to Erza, Naruto's eyes widened again as he saw ready her armour. Slamming her arms together, the blades interlocked revealing that each blade was half of a massive shield. Drawing on her power, Erza screamed and a giant, chrome magic circle exploded out from the shield just as an enormous boom sounded out when the cannon fired.
'There's no way she'll survive this!'
Reacting quickly, Naruto bit deeply into his thumb and swiped it across the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
A white cloud exploded out, but what appeared instead of Gamabunta was a little baby toad, only just big enough to survive outside of a pond.
"NO!"
Naruto's scream was cut short as the immensely powerful beam smashed into Erza's shield, the woman groaning with the stress of holding back such a mammoth sized attack.
This time, Naruto reacted on instinct. Kicking off the ground with a massive boom, he left a clone behind in the crater he formed and let an amount of the Kyuubi's tainted chakra flood his system. Crouching down on all fours as he hit the water, Naruto felt his features warp as his teeth sharpened, nails lengthened and eyes narrowed. Exploding across the water's surface in a blistering display of speed, Naruto reached the mechanical guild in less time than it took to blink. Jumping high at the base of the rock, Naruto suddenly felt a flood of natural energy fill his system as his clone dispersed. Having used the short burst of demon chakra for speed, Naruto let the vile substance slide back inside the seal. Feeling his features restore and the tell-tale signs of Sage Mode appear, Naruto reared back a mighty hand, screamed out and punched.
XxXxXxX
"Wha... what the HELL JUST HAPPENED?"
The entire populace present dropped their mouths in astonishment as a line of water shot into the air from something headed straight for the attacking mechanical monster. Water then exploded out as something jumped, and then the whole of Phantom Lord physically lifted from the ground. They were hit with a shockwave only a moment later, the unbridled power behind whatever it was that hit the underside of the guild blowing most everyone over. A faint, effort filled cry reached their ears after that as massive chunks of rock from beneath the building began falling away into the water below. There was a brief hint of something oppressive in the air too, but it was too faint to properly identify. The cannon blast however was knocked clear into the sky, the force behind the attack sending the energy wave shooting away into the clouds. It disappeared for a moment before the town was lit up in an unearthly blue light as it exploded.
Despite the redirection of the cannon, Erza didn't come away unscathed. Having thrown all her strength behind her defensive wall, the second the attack shifted, so did her weight and it overbalanced her. The weight to the top of the deflection magic increased for a split second, and that was enough to send her flying backward. She hit the ground hard and rolled away, completely out of control. Finally sliding to a stop, her damaged armour evaporated into the air, her magic defaulting her clothes back to a simple white blouse with a frilly front that concealed the buttons and a simple, navy blue skirt.
A deep boom sounded out a moment later as the Phantom Lord guild landed heavily, its massive six legs struggling to hold its entire weight up. A large wave began rushing towards Fairy Tail as the massive amount of water was displaced. Several mages ran forward, all holding up their arms and crying out a defensive spell. The combined effort was enough to protect the majority of the area from the rush of water, but a fraction of the water managed to make it around and flood the outer reaches of Magnolia Town.
Natsu and Gray had run forward before this, completely ignoring the wave and knelt by Erza's side. Natsu looked especially concerned since he hadn't seen anything due to Gray pushing his face into the ground. "Erza! Are you alright? Tell us you're ok!"
The woman beneath him groaned painfully and looked up at him through one eye. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."
Attempting to push herself up, she flinched and dropped back down, clutching her arm. The violent roll she had been subjected to had done some damage. This time, Gray reached out and stilled her movements. "Stop moving, you're too hurt to get up right now. Just relax and we'll carry you back."
Whether she replied or not was lost on those two as a massively amplified voice rang out across the town. It had a nasal quality and was in a higher male pitch, but occasionally dropped to a baritone at the end of the sentence. "Well now, that was unexpected. Not only did Erza manage to hold off Jupiter, but someone also actually managed to redirect the attack! Impressive, quite impressive, I honestly did not expect such a powerful defence. Despite this though, you unfortunately have lost your two best warriors. Makarov is down and now, Erza 'Titania' Scarlet is too. You should be able to see your position here now. Hand over Lucy Heartfilia and we will leave you be."
The voice then fell silent, expecting a positive response. That wasn't what he got though.
"What kind of people do you think we are? There is NO way we'd just abandon our comrade to some freak guild like yours! Get the hell out of here!"
Natsu's voice rang clear across the water in defiance, his fist raised and encased in flames. A burning anger filled his eyes and a dark shadow seemed to grow over his face. His fury rallied the troops and within seconds, deafening and rather aggressive denials filled the air as the whole of Fairy Tail told Phantom Lord exactly where they could stick their demand.
Unknown to the guild though, Lucy was currently torn up over everything. Tears threatened to break free of her eyelashes while her shoulders shook as she struggled not to cry. She loved the guild so very much and they were all supporting her through this, but it was her fault everything had happened. Her fault Levy, Droy and Jet were hospitalised. Her fault the guild was destroyed. Her fault the Master was currently in a coma. It was all her fault...
"We'd rather DIE than hand over one of our own to the likes of you!"
Erza's defiant cry finally unlocked Lucy's tears and the liquid began running down her cheeks as the mages lifted their voices as one, screaming out in agreement with their current leader. Smashing his foot into the ground, Natsu leaned forward as flames began licking his body, passionate loyalty further fuelling his fury. "Our answer will never change! We will destroy you!"
As the noise continued to increase, the amplified voice from before echoed out, rage filling his words. "Fine! If that's how you want to play your cards, then we shall simply fire an even more powerful Jupiter at you! Enjoy the last fifteen minutes of your lives before we obliterate you all!"
Finishing up with a click, the guild fell silent as the last few echoing words died. Turning to look at each other, they began muttering amongst themselves.
"Jupiter again?"
"Fifteen minutes... that's really not very long to work out how to counter it."
"Erza can't even counter it again, not after that first shot."
"Maybe whatever it was that knocked the guild over from before might help again?"
"Wait, what's that?"
A mage pointed to the sky, her delicate finger trained on some strange, ghost-like apparitions that seemed to be flying out of the windows on the house and aiming right for them. Worried whispers began flowing through the crowd as they watched the things draw near. Hearing the nasally voice speak again, the guild looked up. "It seems you are left with one of two options, mages of Fairy Tail. Either you die via my soldiers, or you die via Jupiter. Your choice."
"Bah!" Turning to look back, a few mages saw Macao standing with his hands on his hips. "He's got to be bluffing. There's no way they'd shoot their own men."
"Yes they would."
"Huh?"
Turning to look at the voice, they saw Cana staring up at the approaching army. "That's Jose's magic, Shade. Those things aren't human, they're a part of his magic ability."
Growling, Natsu stepped back beside Cana, eyes tracking the ghosts. "So the only way to stop this is by destroying Jupiter?"
The tall girl nodded. "Fighting these things is just a waste of time. There'll always be more to back them up."
Grinning, Natsu smashed his fists together and looked up at the cannon. "Fifteen minutes to destroy that then? Consider it done."
Running forward, Natsu jumped off the edge of the dock. "HAPPY!"
"AYE, SIR!"
Swooping in, the helpful little cat caught his longtime friend and sent them rocketing into the sky.
"Elfman, we'll go help!" Running forward, Gray jumped onto the water, his magic instantly freezing it and giving him a straight path to the guild.
"Of course, it wouldn't be right for a man not to!" Jumping onto the ice, the massive mage closely followed his companion.
XxXxXxX
Repetitive clangs and bursts of fire shot into the air as Natsu pounded the solid iron nozzle of the cannon. Despite all his efforts over the last five minutes though, nothing had actually worked.
"Damnit, not even a dent! What is this stuff made of?"
Continuing his onslaught, Happy frowned in thought. "Maybe we'd be better off attacking it from the inside? It might be softer in there."
A light seemed to flicker in Natsu's eyes and he looked down at his little friend in awe. "That's so smart! Let's try your idea."
"Aye!"
Swinging down, the boy and his cat landed inside the massive barrel, the diameter of the hole easily over twenty feet. Looking down the dark passage, Natsu squinted. "See anything?"
The cat shook his little head. "Nope. Can you?"
Shaking his head, Natsu started running. "Nup. Let's hurry but, we don't have much time."
Both charged down the tunnel, a light at the end of it growing with every step they took. Quickly reaching it, they skidded to a stop and looked around in awe. The hole led into a gigantic, cylindrical stone room. The floor and walls weren't all that interesting, but above them sat a massive clock face that easily filled the entire roof. In the middle of the room sat an enormous, clear crystal ball, four smaller balls stationed away from it at equidistant lengths; each with gears and interlocking cogs positioned underneath them. The smaller balls were tinted as well, one being blue, the next red, the one after a pale cream and the last a light brown.
Hearing a loud clunk above them, Natsu and Happy looked up to see the minute hand on the clock shift over one and a loud, automated lady's voice call out, "Seven minutes till Jupiter fires."
Pointing at the orb, Happy frowned. "That thing looks like a Lacrima that gathers power. It must be a magical convergent cannon. These things emit compressed magic instead of bullets. I've never seen one this big before though..."
Looking down at the surprising amount of knowledge the little cat had, Natsu raised an eyebrow. "So... all we have to do is break this thing then?"
Happy nodded and with that, Natsu jumped down to the floor. What he wasn't expecting though was to see Naruto standing there looking around agitatedly, a broken man at his feet. Eyebrows raised, Natsu called out to him. "Oi! When did you get in here?"
Hearing the voice, the blond turned. "Oh, Natsu! I got in here a bit before you I guess. I wanted to stop this thing but I dunno how."
Pointing up, Natsu grinned. "All we gotta do is destroy that ball, or so Happy says."
Lowering his hand, the boy then looked at the man at Naruto's feet. "So, who's that?"
The man twitched as another spasm shocked his muscles. He had a strange dual toned hair style, one half black, the other half white, pulled back into a top knot. His face had three horizontal dashes across his face, the middle being the longest of the three, stretching from the edge of one cheek, across his nose and all the way to the edge of the other cheek. He had a reddish overcoat on that hid beneath it a black undershirt, fishnets extending down to his wrists from under the elbow length sleeves.
Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, he called himself Totomaru. I asked him how to stop this, he said he would never say, he attacked, I beat him, and now he's too unconscious to tell me what you just did."
Nodding acceptingly, Natsu grinned. "He mustn't have been much of an opponent then."
Another resounding clunk filled the room and the mechanical voice called out again. "Six minutes till Jupiter fires."
Looking up as the ball in the middle of the room began to glow gently, Naruto turned his gaze back to Natsu. "You want me to take care of this?"
Cracking his knuckles, Natsu shook his head. "Nah, I got it."
Crouching down, the boy held his arms out as fire exploded to life around them. Jumping straight up, he reared back a fist. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Twin jets of super-heated flames shot out, crossing over each other and aimed directly at the ball. Smashing into it, the crystal groaned for a moment before giving way under the pressure. Fragments shot into the air and both teens had to cover their heads as chunks of the Lacrima fell down around them. Raising their heads once it stopped, both boys shared a grin and high fived each other. "Well that takes care of that. What happens now?"
Looking up at the roof as Naruto began toeing his downed opponent, Natsu frowned. "We need to find Jose now. He's the guy who started all this, so let's take the fight back to him."
Hearing a thump behind them, both boys looked over to see Elfman and Gray land behind them. They looked around the room before resting their eyes on the pair. "So I take that you two managed to stop it? Huh, it looks like I didn't have to come babysit."
Growling, Natsu ran up to the ice mage. "I didn't ask you to come! If anything you would have gotten in the way and just made things difficult. Turn around and go back down to the rest of the guild. I got this sorted."
Ignoring them, Elfman looked at Naruto. "So everything seems ok now?"
Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It wasn't too hard. This guy put up a bit of a fight but he went down easily enough."
Looking at the mage, Elfman's eyes widened. "Naruto, you said he wasn't that strong. Do you know who he is?"
Naruto shrugged. "Nup, do you?"
Nodding slowly, the man looked up. "That is one of the Elemental Four, Totomaru. He is one of the five strongest in all of Phantom Lord and you said he went down easily?"
Pursing his lips, Naruto looked down at the twitching mage. He hadn't expected him to be such a high profile opponent after that performance. "Uh, maybe he was just having an off day?"
Chuckling to himself, Elfman raised an eyebrow. "You're a lot stronger than you let on, aren't you Naruto?"
Grinning apologetically, Naruto scratched his cheek. "Well, everyone's gotta have their secrets, ya know?"
He then found himself squashed against Elfman's chest as the man wrapped a massive arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a manly hug. "Indeed. That is exactly what I would expect of a full-fledged man."
Having had his personal bubble well and truly popped, Naruto pulled his head free and stepped back. "Uh... yeah, alright."
Suddenly the earth beneath them began to shake violently, gears within the walls screaming as something began to happen. Anchoring himself to the floor via chakra, Naruto looked around in suspicion while the other men slid around as the room shook. "What's happening now?"
Feeling the gravity increase, Naruto looked down. That could only mean one thing; that the room they were in was lifting up into the air. Glancing over at the still skidding around mages, Naruto called out to them. "I'm gonna go outside and check what's going on. Be right back!"
Not waiting for a reply, the blond dashed up the wall and out of the cannon barrel. Reaching the end, he climbed out and looked around in surprise. The entire structure was transforming, bits and pieces of the massive mansion sliding across each other as a humanoid creature took shape. The rock that the guild originally sat on had completely crumbled away, the six legs now integrated into the body of the thing.
Now finding himself standing on a wall, Naruto looked up as a head slid into place and a pair of red lights flickered to life within the eye sockets of the thing. Looking around at the new guild form, Naruto noticed two massive arms reach out slowly and start tracing a line in the air. Light seemed to appear from the fingertips as they began to draw some strange floating lines. Frowning, Naruto took one last look at them before running back down to tell the others what he had seen.
By the time he'd gotten back though, Happy was standing in front of the trio, explaining what he had overheard from the mages when he had flown back to tell them of Jupiter's destruction. "... Abyss Break! If it fires within ten minutes, all of Magnolia will be wiped out!"
Hearing the men gasp, Naruto jogged up. "So what did I miss?"
Gray looked over, his normally lazy expression now much more serious. "This thing is readying a massive attack that will obliterate the entire town if we don't stop it. We gotta split up and try find the power source of this thing."
The group hummed in agreement before Natsu raised a confident fist. "Alright! Ten minutes is plenty enough."
Not waiting for any more encouragement, the excitable mage ran from the group, calling out for Happy to follow him. Gray took off next, heading in a different direction leaving only Naruto and Elfman to watch them disappear. Looking down at the smaller man, Elfman narrowed an eye. "Naruto. How strong do you believe yourself to be?"
Looking up at the unexpected question, the blond shrugged. "Pretty strong I guess. I can handle myself."
Raising an eyebrow, Elfman pushed. "Who do you think you are as strong as though? Myself? Natsu? Erza?"
Wondering where he was headed with this, Naruto turned to face him fully. "I'd say about Erza. Why?"
Elfman turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Jose is incredibly powerful. I doubt any of us here could hold him off for any length of time, except you. I want you to find him and if you can, stop him. At least try and delay him long enough so we can find the power source of this wretched thing and stop it from wiping out our home."
Naruto looked up at him. He clearly had a lot riding on this. Sighing, Naruto shrugged. "No promises. I'll see what I can do."
Smiling down at him, the man nodded and then took off. Watching him leave, Naruto took a deep breath and scratched his head. How he kept getting distracted from getting home so often was beyond him. It was like he wasn't meant to or something. Still, there was no way the ninja would leave his friends to face this situation alone. Spying the nearest staircase, the blond ran off towards it.
XxXxXxX
Growling to himself, Naruto looked around. The giant's internals was a veritable labyrinth of staircases and hallways. He had already tried a number of different passages with his clones but had repeatedly come to a dead end involving a room with nothing of any interest in it. Looking at the next staircase to be tried, Naruto ran up it and to his relief found that it seemed to continue going up. Skidding around a corner, Naruto heard a blast from just up ahead.
Hearing a cry of pain and anger, Naruto ran over and looked down a hallway. Spotting Natsu with a giant standing over him, Naruto dashed in and roundhouse kicked the guy in the face with enough force to embed him deep into the far wall. Turning, he looked at the boy as he knelt down trying to catch his breath. "You alright? What was that guy trying to do to you?"
Shaking his head as he breathed, Happy spoke up for him. "That's Aria, the wind mage of the Elemental Four. He's the strongest of them all, and Natsu had been getting completely flattened before you turned up."
Coughing in protest, the pink haired boy turned to glare at his companion. "I was not! I was just getting warmed up, that's all!"
Hearing a rumble, the three looked over as the behemoth pulled himself from the hole in the wall. He didn't seem too troubled by the fact that he had just flown face first into a wall either. Sizing him up, Naruto crouched as he readied himself for an attack.
The enormous human easily towered over even the likes of Elfman, his girth also being just as impressive. He had a deep green top hat on with a matching long green cape that flowed all the way to the ground, its high popped collar hiding his face from side views. Under that he had an off yellow shirt tucked into a pair of baggy blue pants which lead down to a simple pair of shoes. A strange red skull-like pendant hung around his neck, the string holding it up spotted with red crosses. The most curious thing about the man though was that he had a number of bandages wrapped around his eyes. Holding his hands out in front of him, Naruto frowned as a tear began to slip down his cheek from under the bandages.
"So sad... that a loyal friend of this mage would run in here to only meet his death... it's just so SAD!"
Tears began running down his cheeks faster as the massive man wept, the tears dropping onto his robes and beginning to saturate them. Feeling a bit unsure about this new problem, Naruto looked over at Natsu and Happy. "Is this normal?"
Natsu shrugged. "I think so. He cried the whole time I was fighting him."
Turning back to the man, Naruto raised his voice. "Oi, Aria or whatever your name is. I don't suppose you'll tell us where the power source for this thing is would you?"
The tears slowed a bit as the man looked down at them. "Oh, I suppose I could, but unfortunately you won't be able to do anything about it. The giant is run from the magical powers of us, the four people of the Elements. If you were to beat us, I suppose you could save your guild, but against my Airspace magic, you have not a chance in the world! Oh how cruel this world is! How sad!"
As Aria broke down again, Naruto looked over at Natsu. "You catch your breath for a moment. I'll play with him."
Struggling to stand, Natsu wiped his mouth. "Don't get in my way. I was just about to finish things up."
Raising a disbelieving eyebrow, Naruto gave the boy a gentle push which sent him down flat on his back. "That's what I thought. Regain some energy and try again if I haven't beaten him by then."
Growling at his own weakness, Natsu looked away indignantly. "Fine. Like I care what you do."
Rolling his eyes, Naruto looked up to Aria as he walked forward slowly, muttering something about the sadness of his defeat. Growling, Naruto gazed upon his opponent. No one was going to proclaim their victory over him until they had him face down on the ground. Crouching, Naruto decided to test the waters with this guy.
Dashing in, Naruto reared back a fist and brought it forward into the giant's gut. What he didn't expect was for the man to shimmer and vanish right before the punch connected. The inertia of the punch carried him through and Naruto was forced to flip and land on his feet. Hearing movement behind him, Naruto rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a hammer fist that crushed the ground where he had been. Pushing off an arm, Naruto landed back several meters and looked at the crying man. "So sad... that you struggle for life while it is only going to desert you!"
Growling at the never ending negative cries, Naruto stood up. "What is wrong with you?"
Despite being blind folded, Aria looked straight at him, an eerie grin on his face, the smile contrasting against the tears that continued to fall from his cheeks. "Everything. That I must have this power to destroy you is sad. That I will destroy you is sad. That no matter what you do, you will still fall, that is sad! How can you not see it?"
Extending a palm outwards towards Naruto, Aria tensed. "Eradicate!"
Feeling more than seeing the attack, Naruto dived backwards as the very air before him exploded. Feeling another prickling to his left, he dived right. Thanking his training, Naruto continued to evade as the blasts became closer and closer together, the air seemingly guiding him to a certain point. He couldn't think too much about it though as the air continued to detonate, the powerful blasts singeing his hair and clothes. Finally, Naruto felt the air on all sides begin to spike. 'Crap.'
A brilliant explosion went up around the blond and Aria laughed uproariously as he witnessed his apparent defeat. "My poor child! That you had to meet your end here! SO SAD!"
His laughter was cut short though as a thunderous punch smashed into the back of his neck. Coughing as his neck muscles spasmed, the giant hit a pillar with enough force to completely destroy it. Standing where Aria once stood was Naruto, his fist clenched and his eye twitching as he looked over at the mass of rubble. "It's too soon to count me out. You'll learn that you need to double, triple and even quadruple check that I'm down or else I'll be coming for you from the shadows."
Heaving himself free of the stone, Aria looked over and smiled despite the blood that began running down his face in generous amounts. "To think that a child would have this much will to live... oh how ripping that will from you will hurt me; how it will hurt you!"
Reaching up a massive hand, Aria gripped the bandages that blindfolded him and pulled them free. "With that kind of resolve, I must show you just how impossible your survival is! That is the only kindness I can give you!"
Opening his eyes, violet pupils flickered into focus before they grew and split into four equal quarters, the whites of his eyes showing through the cross that formed. Frowning as he felt the man's power jump, Naruto took a step forward.
Aria grinned, tears beginning to slip from his eyes again. "That's it my poor child. Come forward, come at me and meet your death. The Airspace that consumes all life, Activate, Airspace of Death, Zero!"
Holding his ground as a powerful wind ripped through the room, Naruto stared straight into the unnatural eyes of his opponent.
"Do you think you can survive this, my child?"
Watching on as the ground beneath Aria was ripped to shreds, Naruto clenched his fist and let his adapted wind technique burst to life around his arm. Keeping it a safe distance from his body, Naruto pointed at him. "I am not your child. And yes, I believe I can more than survive this because I have something to protect."
Aria's grin widened grotesquely at Naruto's resolve. "Yes, yes, that's what I wanted to hear! Let us have some fun in your final moments!"
Frowning as the man laughed, Naruto leaned forward and charged. The giant pushed his palm out in joy, the very air around Naruto bristling as the power built up within it. Ducking low to avoid the explosions, Naruto veered out wide and came in to attack from the side. Looking over, Aria grinned. "Such stubbornness... truly a thing of beauty. What a shame it must end now!"
Clapping his hands together, Aria then drew his palms apart and the air started rushing out from around Naruto. Frowning as he felt his veins start to rise to the surface, Naruto pushed on. 'He's sucking the air out from within the area. I gotta act fast.'
Taking a deep breath, Naruto sprinted forward, covering the distance between himself and the mage in a flash. Rearing back a fist, Naruto looked up and saw the mage laughing, but could hardly hear it. Crying out with the last of the air in his lungs, Naruto punched forward, the air from his lungs sucked straight around his hand and smashed into the invisible barrier around him. Feeling it give way under his fist, Naruto pushed through as the wind gushed back into the vacuum. Hearing a disbelieving gasp, Naruto grinned and upped the chakra output to his arm. Pushing through, Naruto drove the spiralling vortex deep into the man's wide stomach.
Crying out as the breath was knocked from him, Naruto opened his hand within the folds of Aria's flesh and grabbed a hold of his skin. Flipping upside down and bringing his knees up, Naruto coiled himself like a spring before exploding out with both feet into Aria's face. Feeling a crunch beneath his heels as the bone gave way, Naruto released his hold on Aria's stomach and back flipped out from the force of the kick, all the while watching as the man was sent smashing into a wall, through that and into the next room.
Landing lightly, Naruto took a calming breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them after a moment, he looked over at the two others in the room and sweat dropped. The boy was kneeling on the ground, his fists held up on either side of his face and his eyes shining spectacularly. Happy was just staring at Naruto in pure shock, not at all expecting that kind of a fight.
Crawling forward a few paces, Natsu looked up at Naruto in awe, his hands shaking. "That was so AWESOME! Naruto, you GOTTA fight me for real when this is over!"
In the background, Happy struggled to regain his voice. "Na – Natsu, you'd get squashed!"
The teen ignored the comment though and just kept prodding Naruto in the hope that he'd accept. Laughing awkwardly, Naruto took a few steps backwards, holding his hands out. "Uh, I suppose, but we really need to focus on the things at hand."
Honestly, the amount this boy was like his younger self was astounding. The moment was ended abruptly though as the nasally voice from before echoed around them.
"Excuse me, mages of Fairy Tail, I have an unexpected development I must inform you of. Would you please listen carefully to this voice?"
Looking up in frustration, Naruto tried to locate the voice.
"That's Jose!"
Looking down at Happy, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So that's Jose? He sounds like he's got something stuck up his nose."
Anything further they were going to say died in their throats as a piercing scream of pain filled the inside of the mechanical man, along with all of Magnolia. Jose then took back the microphone and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you must recognise that scream. It is indeed Lucy Heartfilia. And with her capture, our first objective has been completed. We now have but one more task to complete before going home and that would be to slaughter you disgusting lot!"
Both teens growled dangerously at the proclamation, each giving off a wave of killing intent that would have knocked over a whole weaker guild. "Naruto, I'm gonna go save Lucy."
Turning to look at Natsu, Naruto nodded. "I'll wait here for Gray and Elfman 'cause they're bound to turn up any moment now after that. Give us a moment and we'll catch up."
Grunting, Natsu ran past him, calling out to Happy. Watching him as he left, Naruto then turned and looked at the doorway behind him, fidgeting as he forced himself to wait. 'Hang on just for a minute or two Natsu, we'll be there in a heartbeat.'
Unable to stand still, the blond took to pacing the room after about thirty seconds. While it was only maybe a minute or two later till he heard the sounds of footsteps, to Naruto it felt like an eternity. Walking towards the door, he held a hand up as he saw a white tuft of hair. "Gray, Elfman, in here."
What he didn't expect though was to also see Mirajane accompanying them. His eyes widened as he saw the buxom girl skid to a stop with the other two as she caught her breath. "Mira? What are you doing here?"
Looking up, she waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about that. I was trying to help protect Lucy but it didn't work out. Now what's going on? Where's Natsu?"
Thumbing behind him, Naruto looked up at the staircase behind him. "After we heard Lucy scream, he took off while I waited for you guys. We better go now if we wanna catch him."
Turning, they all managed one step before the light before their eyes seemed to vanish, leaving them all in darkness. Naruto's nose twitched as he fought the urge to spit. 'This energy is disgusting!'
The room then faded back into view as whatever it was cleared. The air however seemed to have a thick black haze through it, the smog like cloud making every part of Naruto's body it touched feel grimy.
Hearing a cough behind him, he turned to look at Gray. "Ugh, what is this foul smoke? I can't breathe properly."
Seeing Elfman shiver, they looked up at the man. "That was unbefitting of a man. I couldn't help it though because this malice in the air is overwhelming."
A slow clapping sounded out behind them and everyone turned to look up to the top of the stairs. "Well done, very well done, all of you Fairy Tail mages."
Seeing the figure, Naruto frowned. A tall, thin man looked down at them condescendingly, his beady black eyes running over them in unveiled contempt. His dark red hair was pulled back in a short ponytail, his angled eyebrows and thin moustache near identical in colour. His lips were pulled back in a sneer, the actual flesh being coated in a black layer of lipstick. He had a blue with yellow trimmed overcoat on, the waist being pulled in by a black belt. Jutting out the bottom of his coat were blue pants, each tucked into the metallic tops of a pair of knee high boots. To top off the strange uniform was a bright red cape draped over his left shoulder. The bit that disturbed Naruto though was that surrounding the mage was a sickly black-purple aura, the very existence of it feeling like death.
"I had never expected you to have put up such an impressive defence. You defeated Jupiter, you defeated the Elemental Four, you even brought my giant to a standstill and managed to save your guild... somewhat."
Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw his friends faltering under the sickening pressure. He heard Mirajane dry retch as she dropped to her knees, unable to tolerate the man's presence any longer. He seemed to ignore it however and continued his mocking praise. "So I must thank you for the entertainment you have given me. I thoroughly thank you."
"Gray!"
"Right!"
Jumping past Naruto, both male mages attacked the guild master. Slamming his hands together, Gray's fists began frosting over as his magic took hold. "Ice Make, Saucer!"
Elfman's own magic took hold, the glowing light encasing his right arm as it began to change. Once the light faded, his entire limb was now completely made of metal, the enormity of it looking rather out of place even on him. "Beast Arm, Iron Bull!"
Crying out as they attacked, Mirajane called out from behind them, "No, wait! You can't!"
Looking up at the attacks, Jose's eye twinkled as he watched the respective abilities target him. "Absurd."
Raising a single hand, the oppressive feeling in the air seemed to double as a dark purple ring shot out from his hand. Not a moment later, dozens of purple and black spirit-like things shot out and smashed solidly into both mages. Their clothes had holes blown through them despite nothing physical happening to their bodies. Crying out in pain, the two fell solidly to the ground, each hitting with a dull thump. Not even giving them the chance to even think, Jose then swept his arm across in front of him and the entire floor around the two exploded, sending them flying into the air. Mirajane wasn't spared either, the force of the blast sending her flying back, bouncing several times before colliding with a solid chest. Struggling to breathe after being winded, the waitress looked up through one pained eye and saw Naruto behind her, Gray and Elfman on each shoulder. His piercing blue eyes however were trained on Jose, not a flicker of emotion on his face. "You ok?"
Holding a hand to her chest, she coughed and nodded. Dropping the two groaning men to the ground, Naruto stood up and walked in front of them. "You best run. I don't want to have to cover you while I fight."
Looking up at the blond in worry, the girl held out a hand. "But Naruto..."
He held a hand out as Jose began laughing. "No buts. Get out of here. The only thing you should be worried about is whether or not there's enough left of this guild to identify it. Now get moving."
Feeling Naruto's own power begin to rise, Mirajane frowned in concern but conceded nonetheless. Turning to the mages behind her, she shook them. "Come on, we gotta go. We don't wanna get in the road while Naruto's fighting."
Groaning, the men managed to pull their feet under themselves as Mira lent them a shoulder to lean on. Looking back one more time, she saw Naruto staring at her over his shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back in no time."
Nodding as Jose laughed louder, Mirajane turned and helped the men out as fast as she could. Watching them leave until he was sure they were at a safe enough distance, Naruto turned his eyes back to the conceited guild master before him.
"Well, well. The hero of Fairy Tail! If your pathetic guild had a future, I'm sure you would have gone down in the books as one of the best."
Naruto didn't move. "I'm not sure where you're getting that idea from, I'm merely friends with them. I haven't joined."
Raising an eyebrow, Jose tilted his head. "Oh really? Hmmm, that's interesting, it's not often they're wrong."
Frowning, Naruto clicked his tongue. "What do you mean by that? Gajeel told me the same thing."
The Master just shrugged. "Oh, nothing important, really. Now, about your death..."
Forgetting that last sentence, Naruto crouched. "You best not underestimate me. It wouldn't do you any good."
Charging forward with a burst of speed, Naruto swung out at Jose's head. The man didn't even uncross his arms, merely waiting until the last possible moment to dodge. Digging his foot into the ground as he landed, Naruto stopped himself and swung around with a backhand, forcing the man to jump back. Pushing the slight advantage, Naruto stepped in with another round of punches; the mage always just slipping out of reach. Finally though, Jose shot his hand out and gripped Naruto's wrist with a grin. Feeling him begin to pull, Naruto instantly channelled chakra to the floor and gripped the Master's hand. His eyes widened in surprise as Naruto managed to reverse the throw and hip chucked Jose clear across the room. Flipping gracefully, the man landed solidly on the far wall before dropping to the floor. "Alright boy, you have caught my interest. It seems you have some skill. Perhaps I shall entertain you a while longer before I destroy everything you love."
Holding a palm out, the man frowned and a magic circle lit up before a thick, black and purple twister shot out at Naruto. Eyes widening as he tracked it, Naruto dashed to the side. Jose simply swept his hand after the ninja, the attack tracking right along after him. Jumping high to avoid it, Jose let out a bark of laughter. "Bad move!"
Flinging his arm upwards, the twister shot straight for Naruto and engulfed him. Before Jose could celebrate though, he had to rapidly raise an arm in defence as a punishing kick shot out at his head from behind. Silently groaning under the immense force behind it, Jose pushed the kick away and jumped back. Frowning at the blond, he pointed a finger at him. "How did you do that? I didn't sense any magical power from you."
Naruto shrugged. "I'm not your typical mage. That was a little trick I like to call Shunshin (Body Flicker)."
The mage frowned as he heard the unusual word. He tried it out but found he couldn't quite pronounce it properly. "I've never heard of such a thing. You are definitely full of surprises. I'm actually starting to regret not being able to meet you in another life. There is a lot I'd like to know about you."
Naruto snorted. "Yeah, well I'm glad I met you here so I could see the kind of scum ball you really are."
Bristling at the insult, Jose began to glow purple. "You'd best watch that tongue of yours, brat, before I rip it from your throat."
Standing up calmly, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I've had stronger men than you tell me something along those lines and yet I'm still here."
Growling, the mage held his arms out and the ground shook as his power crushed the rock beneath his feet. "You're just full of bragging rights, aren't you?"
He then seemed to disappear as he charged, his magical power fuelling his unnatural speed. Used to this kind of speed though, Naruto watched as the man raced in, arms raised and fingers curled in like claws for the attack. Dropping to the floor a moment early, Naruto let Jose pass over the top of him and lashed out with a kick. While not quite on target, it managed to catch the mage just on the outside of his stomach. The blow didn't seem to affect him in the least however as his arms shot down to grasp Naruto's leg. His sharp nails sank deep into Naruto's flesh and the boy bit his lip to stop from crying out. Allowing his rotation to bring him around in a front flip, Jose growled and flung Naruto at the roof.
Unable to control himself such was the speed of the throw, Naruto smashed into the roof with a solid crunch, his body embedding into the stone quite deeply. Coughing as the air was knocked from his chest, Naruto wiped his chin and noticed a small trail of blood running from his mouth. Looking down at his leg through the puncture holes in his pants, he saw the deep perforations healing rapidly, the holes filling in with renewed muscle and eventually flesh. Frowning as he pulled himself free to stand on the roof, Naruto looked down at the glowing mage. 'Man, they weren't kidding. This guy is on a whole other level."
"You can even stick to inverted walls? You interesting little devil you!"
Suddenly a violent quake rocked the room as a loud boom echoed through the halls. Looking around anxiously, Naruto held his hands out while he heard Jose tut beneath him. "My, my, those dragons do like to rampage."
Frowning as he considered the words, he thought back to something Natsu told him back during Lullaby's attack. Raising an eyebrow, he looked down at the Master. "You mean Natsu and, from the sounds of it, Gajeel?"
Chuckling, Jose nodded. "Indeed. They seem to be causing quite the mess. Ah well, they can play for the moment. It's time to deal with the more pressing matters."
Raising a hand, palm up, the mage sneered up at Naruto. "I must admit though, you have really given me an enjoyable time. No other mage has ever managed to last so long against me."
Letting go his hold on the roof, Naruto let himself fall to the floor. He landed solidly in a crouch and looked up. The older man grinned down at him and pointed a closed fist at him. "I just can't stand the thought that a person as powerful as yourself is affiliated with that worthless guild."
Flicking out his index finger, something shot at Naruto's head at a near impossible speed, catching the blond square in the middle of the head and blowing him into the back wall with considerable force.
"Do you know why I didn't finish off Makarov earlier?"
Groaning as he held a hand to his head, Naruto ignored Jose for a moment as he blinked away the significant amounts of blood that had trickled into his eyes.
"It was because of despair!"
Pulling his headband back down to its rightful place, Naruto felt the hole in his scalp heal over, the headache unfortunately lingering a while longer. Sensing an attack, Naruto rolled quickly to the side as whatever spell Jose shot at him before imbedded into the rock beside him. Looking up, he saw the mage flick his finger at him again. Jumping up several feet in the air, he felt the blast shoot under him and collide with the rock. Landing, Naruto instantly started running in a zigzag pattern towards his opponent. It was proving difficult however as the speed of his attacks were something else.
"I wanted to show him despair."
Skidding to a stop besides a wall, Naruto looked up at the mage and frowned. "What do you mean?"
Grinning evilly, Jose lowered his hand. "Let me explain to one lesser than myself. How do you think he would feel if he awoke to find his guild completely destroyed? His family dead? His home town in tatters? The amount of sorrow he would experience would be intense. I will destroy that man with sorrow and unrest. He will not be able to escape. I'll make him suffer... suffer oh so very greatly, right up until the bitter end when he begs for me to end his life!"
Eyebrows dipping in anger, Naruto growled dangerously. "That is disgusting! Why do you hate him so much?"
Jose shrugged. "Phantom Lord has always been the number one strongest guild. In the whole of Fiore, our powers were unsurpassed, our numbers and even our funds, all unsurpassed. We were the very best. But then, for some reason, Fairy Tail came into considerable power within a few years. 'Titania' Erza... Mystogan... Laxus... Natsu the Salamander... even you, yourself are beginning to create ripples in the magic world, whether you like it or not. With these powerful men and women, Fairy Tail became as well renowned as my own guild! I just could not abide by such a thing... especially seeming it started out as such a disgustingly weak guild!"
By the end of his speech, Jose was visibly trembling, such was his anger. Naruto was trembling as well, his anger directed at the man before him though. Flashing forward, the two briefly exchanged solid blows, both blowing off a little steam before they came to a standstill again.
Struggling to hold himself back, Naruto glared at the man. "So what's your reason for telling me that you have a pathetic little jealousy streak? That you started up this whole battle for your own misguided pride?"
"Jealousy?" The guild master actually looked surprised. "No, not jealousy. I simply wish to make clear that we are the superior guild!"
Shaking some more, Naruto forced himself to relax. It was a great deal of effort, but eventually he managed. "What a pitiable excuse. What... ugh, I don't even know what to say!"
Sighing as he felt the familiar boost enter his system, he opened his eyes feeling a great deal calmer than he was a moment ago. Jose seemed to notice the change as well and leaned in. "You... what just happened? Something changed."
Looking up at him evenly, Naruto relaxed back into the beginning stance of the Kawazu Kumite (Frog Kata). "I calmed down. Getting angry won't solve anything. All I need to do is defeat you and then everything will be restored to normality."
Growling, Jose lifted his fist again. "Do you really think that just because you're calmer now that you have more of a chance? You might be strong, but you are a complete fool."
Flicking his finger out, he expected Naruto to fly back, but widened his eyes in surprise as the attack flew straight through his head. 'An afterimage!'
Seeing a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, Jose weaved to the side, narrowly avoiding the sneak attack. Or so he though.
A thunderous impact smashed into his face as the fist breezed by, the force bending his whole face inwards around the point of contact before being brutally thrown across the room to smash into the far wall with a sickening crunch. He gasped in pain as he felt a few of his ribs crack; such was the force he hit the wall with. Pulling himself free, he dropped to the ground and spat out a wad of blood that filled his mouth. Glaring daggers at the calm blond, he pointed a furious finger at the teen. "What the hell was that?"
Naruto didn't respond and simply dropped back into that first stance again. Lashing out a hand, Jose threw what looked like a long, snake like ghost at Naruto, the creature lining up to capture him within its grasp. Just as it wrapped around him though, a crunch sounded out as the snake constricted around a mass of rubble. Eyes widening, Jose turned to see Naruto running in, hand reared back. Dropping well out of the way, the mage managed to avoid the attack this time, but still felt the gust of wind blow past his head despite the fact that the swing missed by over a foot. Rolling backwards, Jose considered the boy. 'Whatever that thing he did before seems to have given him an unseen aura around him that allows him to hit me, even if he 'misses'. What a frustrating ability.'
Standing up straight, the guild master grinned at Naruto. "Well now, you seem to have acquired quite the ability boost. Seeming you deemed me worthy of such an honor, let me show you mine! I wanted to show Makarov this, but you'll do just as well I think!"
Drawing upon his massive reserves, Jose groaned as his power flowed within him. Opening his eyes in a flash of dark light, he chuckled as the whites of his eyes clouded over in an inky black, his pupils shrinking and turning yellow. Screaming out in glee, the mage fired out several purple and black snakes again, all zeroing in on Naruto with astounding speed. Frowning, Naruto dodged all the attacks by millimeters, the dark energy making his skin crawl as it passed by.
Running from within the maze of creatures, Naruto crossed his fingers and five clones sprung to life around him. Each separated off to another part of the room and began charging a Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere) in their hands. Only waiting a moment, they sprinted in, arms outstretched as they attacked. Not quite knowing what the assault was but knowing it was deadly nevertheless, Jose retracted his snakes with a snarl and encircled himself with them. The blue balls all detonated upon contact with the purple shroud and the whole room imploded in on itself as the structure gave way beneath the force of the onslaught.
Being blown away by the power of the explosion, Naruto and his clones all landed on a wall, each looking down impassively at the cocoon that had fallen to the next floor down. The purple defence receded slowly as Jose glared up at the blond in hatred. He was looking rather messed up too, blood dripping down the front of his face along with the majority of his luscious clothing having been shredded. Not wasting a moment however, he lashed out an arm at the nearest teen he could see.
"Dead Wave!"
The blast rocketed towards the wall, the blond only just being able to avoid the attack. What he didn't expect was for a ball to shoot out of the original wave and bore a hole straight through his stomach. He coughed up a large wad of blood as his eyes widened before he exploded in a cloud of smoke.
Growling, the mage tried again, but this time the remaining teens were wizened up to it as they dashed around the attack and headed for the far wall. Landing solidly behind Jose, they all stood up and stared at him as he turned around menacingly, his eye twitching uncontrollably.
The Naruto in the middle of the pack stepped forward and met the glare. "Jose. This can stop now. If you just leave now, no one else has to get hurt."
The maniacal glint in the mages eye increased as well as his eye twitch. "What was that you insolent brat? You DARE to ask me to leave?"
Naruto inclined his head slightly. "I do. I don't wish to cause you or any more of your members further harm. However, should you continue pushing me, I will finish you."
A purple aura literally exploded out around Jose as his fury burned brighter than ever before. "That... that you would even have the GALL to assume you could finish me... I... you... raaaaaahhHHHHHHH!"
Completely losing his ability to speak such was his overpowering wrath, Jose flung his hands out to the sides and began generating a number of thick, black ghosts, all looking far more dangerous than anything he had thrown before. Frowning as he literally felt the air vibrate from the power, Naruto stepped back, two clones breaking away. "Don't say I didn't warn you. I shall try minimise the damage to your people, but the building is as good as gone."
Turning, the three of them ran up the walls of the broken giant and jumped high into the sky. His memory was suddenly assaulted with the death of his remaining clones below. Frowning at the disgusting feeling, Naruto rolled over in the air and held his hand out. The clone either side of him held their hands out beside his own hand and began generating the necessary chakra combinations, a glowing blue light beginning to form in Naruto's palm.
Hearing a furious cry from beneath him, Naruto looked down and saw Jose directing his attack into the sky, the snake aimed right at him. A chiming ring began to fill the air as his attack neared the end of its birth, his clones popping when their job was done. Lifting the attack above his head, Naruto took a breath as the ringing ball of bright blue and white light flickered in his hand. Focusing on the very edge of the remains of the giant, Naruto reared his hand back.
"Futon: Rasenshuriken (Wind Release: Spiralling Shuriken)."
The enormous ball was then flung from his hand. It ploughed through the heads and bodies of the snakes like they didn't even exist before crashing into the side of the giant not even a second later. The ball seemed to bury into the side of the stone a fair way before the power contained within the attack began to expand. An agonised scream of pure pain echoed above the harsh ringing for a moment before it was swallowed up in the silence that preceded a deafening boom.