Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
November, x788.
Not long after receiving the order to join the battle from Obito, Yagura, accompanied by his guard unit of Anbu, stepped through the gates of the Village Hidden in the mist. When he did, he looked around, as if he could see all the ongoing battles through the forest surrounding the village.
"This has gone on for long enough." Yagura said as he unrolled a storage scroll that he took from his shinobi backpack.
Yagura then channeled his magic power into the scroll. A moment later, a cloud of smoke appeared above the scroll.
When the cloud dissipated, the scroll was nowhere to be seen, already rolled up and placed in Yagura's shinobi backpack. However, now there was a long, metallic staff with different tips in Yagura's hand.
*Swoosh!*
"Let's go." Yagura said after flourishing his staff. "It's time to make those rebels regret their decision to defy the village."
"Well, I don't know about making anyone regret..." A deep, male voice said from the tree line. "But I do agree that it's time to end this. I've grown bored with fighting all these weaklings."
As soon as the voice sounded, the Anbu assigned as Yagura's guards jumped into action, taking up defensive positions around their Mizukage. Yagura, on the other hand, only looked in the direction from which the voice originated.
"Oh, they're pretty well trained." The voice said as a tall, blond man walked out of the forest, stepping into the clearing just outside of the village entrance. "Not that being well trained will make much of a difference."
"For such disrespect, you deserve death." The captain of the Anbu unit said in a menacing tone.
At the same time, all four of the Anbu guards tensed their muscles in preparation for a coordinated attack. However, before they could make their move, Yagura raised a hand, indicating they not make a move just yet.
"You're not a shinobi." Yagura said calmly, his voice sounding just as young as his appearance would suggest. "Then, why do you interfere in the Mist's internal affairs?"
"Don't ask stupid questions." the blond man, Laxus, said disdainfully. "It's because I was hired to do so."
"Then it seems you will be losing your life for quite the pitiful reason." Yagura said coldly. "Dying in the pursuit of wealth... You will neither be the first nor the last to do so.... But the reason is pitiful all the same."
Then, Yagura vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed.
*Boom!*
An instant later, Yagura reappeared in front of Laxus while thrusting his staff at Laxus' throat, clearly intending to crush the Dragon Slayer's wind pipe.
Despite Yagura's impressive speed, it was nothing compared to the speed Laxus could reach. Therefore, Laxus was rather relaxed when he raised his left hand to catch the tip of the staff. Yet, Yagura, who was used to being the strongest shinobi in his domain, slightly widened his eyes when his attack was so easily stopped.
"Please tell me that's not all you got." Laxus said while looking down at the much shorter man. "Alfonzo told me that I'd be able to enjoy myself if I fought you. But this is rather disappointing."
In response, Yagura did not speak. Instead, he pulled his staff back, which Laxus allowed with a bored expression on his face, and jumped back to where he stood at the beginning of this encounter.
"Tch!" Laxus clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You should have just stayed back and enjoyed the show. At least you would have been able to stay conscious that way. [Lightning Magic: Discharge]."
*Zap!*
As soon as Laxus finished his chant, the four Anbu guards appeared around him with their weapons aimed at vital points, head, heart, kidney, and throat. Yet, before they could complete their sneak attacks, Laxus body was covered by golden currents of lightning before the lightning was discharged in all directions, electrocuting the four Anbu before they could react.
Laxus retracted the lightning a moment later. When he did, the four Anbu, while violently twitching, fell to the ground with their eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth, and releasing the scent of burning flesh. Luckily, they were all strong enough to survive.
"[Water-Style: Water Dragon Jutsu]." Yagura, who had been running through hand signs since the moment he leapt away from Laxus, chanted once he was finished.
Then, Yagura inhaled a large breath of air. A moment later, he exhaled. However, instead of air, Yagura spat out a large mass of water that formed into the shape of an eastern dragon with glowing yellow eyes.
"You really wanna use a dragon against me, a Dragon Slayer?" Laxus asked while shaking his head. He then raised his hands to his mouth, forming them into a trumpet shape. "Fine. Let's see who's better, then. [Lightning Dragon's Roar]."
Before chanting his spell, Laxus, like Yagura, took a deep breath. Then, he exhaled a condensed beam of golden lightning that collided with Yagura's [Water Dragon].
*Boom~~~~~~~!*
Unfortunately for Yagura, the power behind the two spells could not be compared, as Yagura's [Water Dragon] was destroyed on impact. On top of that, the lightning was being conducted through the water leading back to Yagura.
The silver lining in this bad situation was the fact that Yagura was a seasoned shinobi. Meaning, as soon as he realized the situation he was in, he cut off his magic power flow to the [Water Dragon Jutsu]. Then, he leapt away from where he stood.
In the next instant, the village gates, which had been closed as soon as Yagura and his Anbu guards left the village, were destroyed by the [Lightning Dragon's Roar], debris from the gates flying in all directions.
"Ah... Damn!" Laxus groaned in irritation. "That's gonna cost me some points."
Despite saying that, Laxus did not take his eyes off Yagura, who was staring back without fear.
"How 'bout we take this a little further away from the village?" Laxus asked. "I'm not really interested in hurting the civilians in the village."
Instead of replying, Yagura dashed forward, his staff primed to strike once again.
"*Sigh* Now I see why your own people are rebelling." Laxus said as he sidestepped the incoming swing. "You don't even care about their lives, do you? Well, of course you don't. I mean, I heard about that graduation exam of yours, and that's just barbaric."
Instead of replying, Yagura only continued to swing his staff at high-speed. Meanwhile, Laxus, although he could handle the onslaught easily, he intentionally allowed himself to be pushed back. Unfortunately, before getting too far away from the village, Yagura stopped and started running through another series of hand signs.
"Damn... He's not falling for it." Laxus muttered. "He's basically using the village as a hostage. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to do it the hard way. Subtlety isn't really my strong suit, anyway."
"[Water-Style: Severing Water Wire]." Yagura chanted as he once again took a deep breath.
And once again, Yagura exhaled water instead of air. However, instead of a large mass of water that took the form of a dragon, he spat out a thin, highly compressed stream of water while turning his head from left to right.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
As a result, several trees were cleanly cut through before they fell to the forest floor, kicking up mud and debris. Despite that, Yagura's Jutsu was unable to even touch Laxus' clothes, as he transformed into his [Lightning Form] and dodged at high speed.
"[Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist]." Laxus chanted as he rematerialized behind Yagura with his right fist cocked back and sparking with lightning.
In the next instant, all the lightning arcing on Laxus fist was absorbed into it. At the same time, Laxus threw his fist forward, landing a devastating punch on Yagura's back.
"Argh!" Yagura groaned due to the impact that was increased thanks to Laxus' spell.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
Laxus' punch sent Yagura flying towards the forest. Along the way, Yagura crashed through any trees that were in his way, causing more trees to be scattered along the forest floor.
*Bang!*
Eventually, Yagura was stopped when he left a crater in an especially large tree. The only good thing to come out of all that, however, was the fact that Yagura was able to turn his body around. So, instead of slamming face first into the trees along his path, he crashed through them with his back.
"*Cough* *Cough*"
After a moment to reorient himself, Yagura coughed out a mouthful of blood while picking himself up from the crater he, himself produced.
"You're a tough little guy." Laxus said as he descended from above in his [Lighting Form]. He then continued after rematerializing. "I was expecting you to be unconscious when I got here. But look at you, you're already standing."
In response, Yagura did not say a word. Instead, he only tightened his grip on his staff. Laxus, on the other hand, was not even really paying attention to Yagura. Instead, he was estimating how far he sent Yagura flying from the village.
'This is probably good enough.' Laxus muttered to himself. 'There's not much chance that I'll accidentally destroy more of the village from this far away. Still, I'd rather get him a little bit further away... Just in case.'
While Laxus was thinking, he noticed that Yagura's magic power was beginning to circulate for his next attack through his [Magic Power Detection]. However, just before Yagura launched himself forward to reengage, he stopped.
"Hmm?" Laxus hummed in confusion while turning to see what Yagura was planning.
However, when he looked into Yagura's eyes, Laxus saw the Mizukage's irises change from their pink, pupilless form to red with black patterns.
"What the hell is that?" Laxus asked.
Unfortunately, there was no one to answer Laxus' question. On top of that, something a little more important than getting an answer to his question happened not long after Yagura's eyes changed.
First, Yagura was coated in an ominous red magic power. Then, that magic power darkened in color as the density increased. All the while, the power Laxus could feel rolling off of Yagura was increasing with every passing second.
Then, one by one, three tails of the same dark red magic power grew from behind Yagura, lashing about violently and destroying any, and everything they came in contact with.
"Based on the color of the magic power, this should be the Stage 2 Transformation Alfonzo was talking about, right?" Laxus asked, his gaze growing more excited as time passed. "Good, he might finally be able to give me a challenge now."
Unfortunately, Yagura's transformation did not stop there. Instead, the magic power cloak began to expand, quickly growing to a point that Laxus had to crane his neck to see its three hundred plus feet size.
*Roar!*
Once the transformation was complete, the gigantic blue-skinned turtle with only two legs and three tails let out an ear-shattering roar while standing atop the many toppled trees caused by its transformation.
"That's more than I expected." Laxus said, the sound of his voice losing to the volume of the roar.
["Gwahahahahahaha!"] Elexion laughed uproariously while he looked at the Three-Tailed Beast through Laxus' senses. ["I thought I would never find a worthy opponent to serves as this Dragon King's debut opponent. But finally, the day has come. Now, Laxus, call upon my power. Let the world know that the Lightning Dragon King has returned."]
"*Sigh* Finally." Laxus grumbled. "It's been more than three years since I learned your name. And this is the first time you're actually going to let me use your power."
With that said, Laxus reached behind him and grabbed the golden halberd strapped to his back. Then, with a challenging smile on his face, he pointed the halberd's tip at the Three-Tailed Beast.
"[Bow Down to the Majesty of the King of Lightning, Elexion]." Laxus chanted.
*Swoosh!*
As soon as the chant finished, Laxus magic power surged to the sky, distorting the surrounding air as it crackled with sparks of lightning. AT the same time, the halberd, which was coated in the glow of Laxus Magic power, seamed to break into two parts. Then, those two parts formed around Laxus hands, taking the form of a pair of gauntlets.
However, unlike normal gauntlets, there was an axe blade and a hooked blade extending from the sides of each gauntlet, giving Laxus the appearance of having a halberd on each hand.
"What the hell is this?" Laxus asked while looking down at his hands. "I spent years training with a halberd. But now I'm back to fighting with my fists?"
["You're a Dragon Slayer."] Elexion replied disdainfully. ["Why would you expect anything different?"]
Instead of replying, Laxus only shook his head in disappointment. However, he did not have much time to wallow in that disappointment, as he could feel the Three-Tailed Beast gathering magic power in its mouth.
When Laxus looked up, he could see a large ball of water forming between the beast's jaws.
"Hey, Elexion..." Laxus said while condensing his magic power onto his right fist. "What new spells do I get now that I've partially released your seal?"
["None."] Elexion replied.
Hearing that, Laxus furrowed his eyebrows. Still, he did not stop gathering magic power.
["Instead of new spells, what I offer is more power."] Elexion continued. ["The power of all your Dragon Slayer Magic will come another step closer to the power I wielded in my prime."]
Hearing that, Laxus' eyebrows relaxed while a smile simultaneously curled his lips.
"I see." Laxus replied, his smile turning more and more excited as his magic power was ready to be used. "Well then, let's put that theory to the test. [Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist]."
With his chant, Laxus punched up at the Three-Tail's open jaw. Then, as soon as his arm was completely extended, a lightning construct in the shape of Laxus' fist wearing the gauntlet formed by his released [Soul Armament], magnified several times over, flew towards its target.
*Boom!*
*Zap!*
Then, upon impact, the Three-Tail's mouth was snapped shut, causing water to go cascading in all directions. On top of that, the [Breakdown Fist] exploded grandly, covering the beast's entire head in a large number of lightning bolts.
*Roar!*
Because of the pain of having its [Jutsu] explode in its mouth and being hit with so much lightning, the Three-Tails raised its head and roared in agony.
"Seriously!" Laxus shouted as he appeared above the Three-Tail's head. "You're way too loud. [Lightning Dragon's Jaw]!"
As soon as his chant ended, Laxus raised his hands over his head and locked his fingers together while once again gathering as much lightning as he could. Then, with the help of gravity, he swung his arms down, slamming the axe blade portions of his gauntlets into the top of the Three-Tail's head.
*Boom!*
The force behind Laxus axe handle smash slammed the Three-Tail's head into the ground. However, that was not the end of it, as upon contact with the ground, not only was a crater created below the beast's head, but a shockwave charged with lightning spread out from the point of impact while destroying all the trees unlucky enough to be in its path.
Even with all that destruction, the Three-Tails was still stirring beneath Laxus.
"Seriously, how is this thing still conscious?" Laxus asked.
["It matters not."] Elexion replied. ["Just keep attacking until it is conscious no more."]
Agreeing with Elexion's plan of attack, Laxus bent his knees. Then, with everything he had, he leapt straight upwards, causing the crater below the beast's head to expand. Then, when Laxus reached the peak of his jump, he raised his hands to his mouth for the second time during the battle.
"[Lightning Dragon's Roar]." Laxus chanted.
With that, another, more concentrated, beam of lightning was expelled from Laxus' mouth. However, even though it was more concentrated, the area of effect was greatly increased, covering all of the Three-Tail's head and part of its shell.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~!*
The impact of Laxus' [Roar] kicked up a cloud of debris comparable to a nuclear bomb, the mushroom cloud reaching high above the tree line of the forest.
"*Pant* *Pant* I think I *Pant* overdid it." Laxus muttered after landing outside of the dust cloud. "I just hope nothing else in the village got damaged. I wanna be able to eat Alfonzo's cooking at least once before the year ends."
["Ha! This was truly a battle worthy of my return."] Elexion said proudly from Laxus' inner world. ["Dominating such a powerful opponent is exactly how someone of my stature should return to the public's eye."]
While Elexion was basking his sense of majesty, A violet flash appeared next to Laxus. When the flash dimmed, Alfonzo, carrying a restrained Obito over his shoulder, was revealed. He then took in the devastation Laxus caused with only three attacks. He then looked down into the dust cloud after swinging his free arm to clear it away.
At the bottom of the crater, Yagura, looking as if he were sleeping peacefully, lay there.
"Well, looks like the Mizukage is dead." Alfonzo muttered. "*Sigh* I mean, that's how he would have ended up anyway, but I really wanted it to be for a different reason. Like after I extracted the Three-Tails from him. It would have probably gone really well with Juvia, you know."
"Huh?" Laxus, who had noticed that Yagura was dead, as well, exclaimed in confusion.
"*Sigh* I'll tell you later." Alfonzo said. "For now, let's find Mei and tell her that Yagura was taken care of. Plus, I'm pretty sure this guy is responsible for all the shit Yagura put the village through."
"What do you mean?" Laxus asked curiously.
"Just pick up his body." Alfonzo said as he turned in the direction where he sensed Mei's magic power signature. "I'll explain it in front of everyone. I'm not really feeling like explaining this more than once."
"If you say so." Laxus replied as his gauntlets returned to the form of a halberd. He then strapped the halberd to his back as he continued. "Not that I care all that much."
With that, Laxus jumped into the crater and picked up Yagura's corpse. Then, he and Alfonzo vanished from the battle field in flashes of golden and violet light, respectively.