'I never asked to be a general, a knight was fine with me.' Naruto rolled his eyes. He heard Natsu yell for Happy and the two flew off and landed on top of the canon and started punching it with fiery fists.
"ICE MAKE: STAIRS" a set of crystalline stairs connected the edge of the cliff and the end of the barrel. "After you." Gray made a jester with his hand so Naruto would walk in front of him, between the knife that rested at the blonde side and the cold that even made him shiver in his voice Grey didn't ask questions.
"Grey, Elfman. Once we get up there we divide and conquer." Naruto walked up the stairs as he said that. He could see that Natsu was trying to punch the gun barrel and that was not going to work. After they had reached the half way point and they were down to the eleven-minute mark Natsu and Happy were inside the castle.
"Naruto, what is with you?" Elfman looked up at the blonde as they climbed the stairs. He had seen the change in the man and it worried him a little. He had seen eyes like that on a few of the older Rune Knights when he was a child, the eyes of a soldier.
"When this is sorted out and if we are still alive than I will explain." Naruto stopped and looked back at the two. "You have my word." Naruto raised his right arm rolled the sleeve of the red tunic up the orange Guild Mark on his right forearm showing he laid the hand across his chest in a salute. For now, that satisfied the two younger guildmen, and they continued their climb.
They reached the barrel of the Jupiter Cannon as the large focusing Lacrima was broken and they watched as Natsu fought with a man with black and white hair. Natsu was beginning to tire out and that is when the three intervened. The man was sent flying in a ball of ice while Elfman made some comment about snowflakes that Naruto ignored.
It was during the time that the castle was transformed into a giant standing mech of some sorts. It was doing something that Naruto could sense in the back of his mind and Happy flew outside to see the spell that the giant was casting.
"Good, your alive." Grey hauled his friend/rival to his feet. "What took you so long to destroy a single lacrima?" Before the two could get going into their normal routine of bad insults and punches, Naruto grabbed each by the head and turned them forward. Happy flew back in with a look of terror of his face.
"WE ARE DOOMED!" Happy shouted. "It's the Abyss Break."
"FUCK." Naruto swore and drew the attention of the three. "We need to take out the remaining members of the Element Four, that is how the Abyss Break is powered."
"How…"
"I've used that spell before and I know how it works." Naruto spat. "If the giant is casting the spell than it will level the entire town." The two facts dropped stopped Elfman, Grey and Natsu in their tracks.
Before any more words were exchanged the three took off to try and deal with the remaining Element Four Members. Natsu headed up a few levels, Grey went right and Elfman headed left. Naruto slowly headed into the heart of the Castle to where he thought that the main control room would be.
Naruto reached the main control room for the giant and handily dealt with the weak wizards there with a few punches each. Even when the controls were in his, Naruto was unable to stop the giant casting the Abyss Break. After making sure that nothing was working, he headed towards the large source of magic that the Voice could sense. It made him feel whole again for the longest time to have that reassuring voice in the back of his head.
Naruto was walking up a flight of stars when he heard the sounds of battle taking place ahead of him. Naruto picked up the pace of his climb to a sprint up the stairs and he came out into a wide stone room with a dull orange carpet running down the middle. He could see the three people and a cat. One truly surprised him, the scarlet hair flowed behind her as she quickly struck down the fat and strongest member of the Element Four.
Naruto slowed his pace as he walked into the room with his hands raised as to not provoke Erza into an attack. But once he came in to view it was clear the Erza was in no shape to fight. Erza collapsed into the arms of Natsu, she had reached the end of her magic and strength.
"Natsu." Naruto reached down and checked the pulse of the beaten woman. "Give her to me." Naruto knelt down and cradled Erza in his arms.
"Naruto…" Natsu looked at the older man.
"You have one more opponent."
"I get to fight José?" Natsu look up in joy and excitement.
"No, he would kill you in a matter of seconds." Naruto looked over at the Dragon Slayer. "This is my last Order to you. SEARCH AND DESTROY the Iron Dragon."
"What…"
"Melt his Iron with your Flames." It was then that the voice of Lucy came ringing through the castle. Naruto smirked, the fire that shone in Natsu's eyes teemed with determination and hatred fort the guild he was standing in. Now Naruto only wished he could watch the fight but he knew… no felt the dark power heading his way. Natsu took a long breath through his nose and took off.
Once he had left Elfman, Grey and of all people Mirajane walked into the room. Not a lot was accomplished before the dark power settled into the room. And three of the four truly active wizards jumped into the fray.
Elfman and Grey were quickly and mercilessly dealt with in two quick attacks. Erza using the last dregs of her magic managed to requip to her Blackwing Aromor.
She quickly slashed and hacked at the master of Phantom Lord but it was clear between her injuries and the greater magic power and ruthlessness of her opponent that Erza stood no chance against him.
It was when she was thrown away like a ragdoll and Jose's Shade magic was hunting her down that Naruto made his move. In a second Erza vanished from José's sight and was laid next to the shocked Mira.
"Master José, Stand down." Naruto strode out from behind a pillar of stone. The black cape rustled as he stepped forward.
"Who are you?" José sneered at Naruto.
"My Name is Naruto Uzumaki. Fairy Tail Wizard." Naruto rested a hand on the kukri's hilt.
"Another Fairy Tail Fly?"
"I ask again…" Naruto vanished from José's sight and then in the next instant before the Guild master could move the blade of the Kukri was pressed against his throat. "Stand Down."
As Naruto stood that close to his enemy that José got a good look at the cape that hung from Naruto's shoulder. The curved blade over the nine, how had Makarov enticed this man into his guild? José could see that the man was very serious and that if he didn't take it seriously that he may end up dead at this Fly's hands.
"I don't wish to spill your blood." Naruto lowered the blade and sheathed it. He took a few steps down but never took his eyes off José. "Your guild is beaten and you know who you face."
"Makarov is not here to stop me." Jose let out a small laugh. This weak hearted fool must just be a copycat of the Demon of Korthell Valley. José twitched and finder and a magical circle formed and a blast shot out and it collided with the battle worn pauldron. With an explosion Naruto was tossed through the air. "A damm Copycat." Jose sent another few blasts into the area that Naruto landed.
"No." Naruto stepped out from the dust. He was a little worse for wear but relatively unharmed. Naruto looked at the torn sleeve of his right arm, the one he had used to block the attacks from José. His tunic was torn to shreds and the guildmark was clearly visible along with a collection of scars that ran up his arm from the elbow. Naruto reached up and tore the sleeve from the rest of the tunic. "I understand now that I will have to put you down."
"Oh Really?" José smirked again. He knew of Fairy Tail's rule of not killing. "How are you going to do that? I know Fairy Tail members don't kill."
"Than for this fight, I don't face you as Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto drew the kukri from his belt and tossed it into the ground with the hilt sticking up. With the tattered remains of his sleeve he wrapped his right arm, right over the guild mark.
"Then who am I facing?"
"I have so many titles in Bellum. Monster. Demon. Hero. Knight. Murderer. Butcher. The list goes on." Naruto stated as he pulled the wrap tight using his teeth to secure the end he right hand couldn't reach. "But you can address me formally…" Naruto swept his arm out and grabbed the end of the cape that hung from his shoulder and made the insignia clear. "Naruto Namikaze, Ninth General of the Grand Army of Bellum. I give you my vow I will not hold back in this fight; it will be your life or mine that ends this day." With a quick bow Naruto was gone, a quite ping was all that could be heard as he grabbed the kukri and raced towards José.
For the first time in many years well before he gained the title of Wizard Saint of Fiore José felt true terror. He was facing one of the most well know generals of the last century to have come from Bellum's borders. This man had power to back up his claims to fame and still have enough to level a small army. In preparation José began to throw spells around in hopes that he could land a solid hit and then truly go on the offensive. If he could back the younger man into a corner and always on the defensive than he stood a chance of ending this quickly.
Naruto swung the Kukri down at José arm hoping to take a hand off but he was stopped by a shade and the Kukri was torn from his hand with a black spell. He was well out of practice when it came to his basic kukri training, it had been over six years since he had to wield one in an actual fight. With a sigh, Naruto made no move towards the knife. "I did say I would take this seriously didn't I?" Naruto jumped back from José and he landed and began pumping power into the magic that he was about to use. José also powered up a spell to counter whatever Naruto had planned. In a flash the black circle was back and gain and Naruto's take over was happening.
In his place stood the Kitsune, in all its glory. Its tail swung forward and batted the incoming spell away. With a hint of blue fire, Naruto shot forward and brought a clawed hand down José chest leaving a series of shallow cuts across his chest, not very deep just scratches to José but the fear gripped the Wizard Saint again.
Jose flung another Dead wave at his enemy but it wasn't evaded. Naruto stood straight looking into Jose eyes. He raised a clawed hand and slashed through the incoming spell slicing it into four pieces that all took off in different directions away from his guildmates.
The four Fairy Tail members that were witnessing the fight stared with awe in their eyes, they knew that the blonde was well deserving of the S-Class ranking that their master had bestowed upon him. The master wouldn't have given him the title if he wasn't able to back it up.
"Wow, he is a real man." Elfman stated. Grey was slumped next to him leaning against a pillar for support.
"I never knew he was that strong." Grey looked away from the fight briefly. 'I always thought that Naruto was just strong enough to reach S-class, but he could match the master if he wanted to.'
"I never thought that I would get to see Naruto really go full out." The three wizards looked at Erza. She had pushed herself into a sitting position and was watching the fight with studious eyes. "I always thought that he was holding back in our fight."
"Erza?" Mira kneeled down to her friend.
"In the S-Class Trials last year the Master gave me a mission."
"To test Naruto?" Erza nodded to Mira. "Why?"
"The Master knew that Naruto was strong but he truly thought that if I fought him than he wouldn't have a choice but to fight a full strength."
"And he beat you while holding back?" Grey broke into the conversation. Grey was truly shocked if that was true.
"The problem was he was ready for me." Erza stated. "He outsmarted me."
"How?" Mira asked
"He knew what he needed to do and he didn't want to put up a strong fight." Erza nodded and looked at the fight in front of her. Naruto was leaving after images and scorch marks around the area that he was fighting José. Naruto was dealing out a lot of physical damage to the older man. While it was clear that he was slightly out of practice with his take over magic he was still a match for the Phantom Guild Master. "He put up just enough fight for me to pass him. He took a lot of solid hits from my attacks. Now I realize that he was holding more back than I thought. I thought he was trying to save a bit of power for the next test."
"But the Master…"Grey started.
"While the Master did tell me to try and get Naruto to fight all out he never said that I would have to try and kill him." Erza smiled a little. "That may have been the only way to truly see what he is capable of in a head on fight. The Master trusted my judgment that I had pushed him far enough to gage his power."
"So if you had to take a guess at where his real power is at?" Elfman asked as he popped the knuckles on his hands in a little bit of excitement.
"Wizards Saint Level." Ezra pointed to the fight where Naruto was fighting. "Maybe equal to the Master and Gildarts."
Back in the fight Naruto heard Ezra explaining where she thought he stood amongst the monsters of his guild and he frowned a little. He disliked being looked at like a bomb waiting to go off and after this fight he would be given a wide berth at the guild like what was given to Gildarts when he came into town. Even Erza was given a lot of space at the guild because she was prone to being destructive. It was while Naruto was caught up in his thoughts that José landed a clean hit and sent him flying into a pillar.
"How…How did Makarov bribe you…"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto stood up and wiped a little blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That Bastard Makarov must have bribed you into joining his weak guild."
"He found me at a time when I needed a master and leader the most." Naruto looked down at the ground. "I had just…" Naruto shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
"NO! Answer me!"
"No." Naruto stated. He again started pumping power into his legs. "I tire of this fight." With a burst of speed Naruto vanished from where he was standing.
Jose's eyes widened as he remembered what had happened the last time that Naruto had vanished from his sight and pushed a wave of death towards where he was expecting Naruto to be coming from.
The wave engulfed the area but it didn't affect its target. "Did you really expect me to do the same move twice?" a cold voice echoed into José's ear from behind him. "I think that it is time I end this." Naruto grabbed both of José's arms and with a sickening pop he pulled both of them out of their sockets and let them hand at José's sides. With was enough to bring José to tears as he fell back way from the Kitsune.
"Please no more." Jose lay on the ground and started into the cold eyes of the Demon that he had mocked not a few minutes earlier. The four Fairy Tail Wizards looked at their fifth member to see what he was going to do.
"No, I said that this fight will only end in the death of one of us." Naruto knelt down to the fallen Wizard Saint. "I will make this quick." A hint of lightning wrapped around the right clawed hand of Naruto and with a swipe of his left hand he tore what remained of José's shirt off. With a quick movement of his lightning encased hand Naruto rammed his fingers into José's chest right where his heart was and José's eyes went dull.
