Chapter 4 - A Land of Mages

He was confident he could easily regain his former strength with enough knowledge of this world and magic.

'This seems like the best course of action for now…' he thought as he inwardly smirked. He would use the man to further his own goals. Hades might have thought he was using him, but it would be the other way around. As far as he could see, there were no wars or cycles of hatred present in his former world. There was no need to achieve something that seemed to already be achieved. Sighing, he imagined himself standing above all other oppositions. He would grow stronger, surpass himself in his prime, and perhaps aim for more…if there was anything that existed above that.

Thinking back to the black beast he saw just minutes before, he compared it with the likes of the Juubi. Perhaps they were similar in power, perhaps not. But, to tame the beast that could rival the Juubi, to tame the heavens themselves in his pursuit. That was as good as a goal as any in this new world.

After a minute of silence, Madara let loose a small grin.

"I will accept your offer," he said, reaching out his hand to shake the man's.

'If following this man's order will help me further my own ambitions, then I shall play nice…for now.'

Madara followed the man into a clearing with a large rocky formation in the center. Observing closely, Madara noticed that there were small particles of magic constantly flowing outwards from it.

Genjutsu.

Despite not having his Sharingan, he was able to recognize the magic that flowed to manipulate his senses. Perhaps it was a base hidden within that was similar to the one he used to prolong his life. How interesting.

As he thought about it, what he knew of Hades made him similar to himself in some ways; he looked like the type to have a long term goal and knew what was needed to achieve it. Madara narrowed his eyes at the man's form.

A man with patience is a very dangerous man.

Nearing the formation, Hades tapped the side of the rock gently, revealing a gate that materialized into existence. Hades gestured Madara to follow him in to base.

Entering, Madara took notice of his surroundings. It was a bland red hallway that extended for distances far greater than could have been hinted by the rock. It had a few doors adorning the sides and at it seemed end led to a more open space. As they continued down the hallway, they entered a spacious room embellished by hundreds of different pipes on the outer edges. In the center, laid a small table decorated by a red cloth and two candle stands. It had a total of ten chairs surrounding it, each with a spiked symbol resembling a heart.

'That must be his group symbol,' Madara concluded as he remembered the leaf that represented Konoha. Around the walls, he noticed large abstract designs. The sides were covered by rounded triangular shapes with four circles that decreased in size from top to bottom. In the back, a wall was decorated with two circles that converged at the edges, while having many intersection lines all around.

The old man stopped in front of the table and turned to look at Madara.

"Welcome, to Grimoire Heart." Walking towards the other end of the table, Hades took a seat on the largest chair.

"Take a seat, we have lots to discuss." Madara had many questions about the world he is currently living in; however, the most important currently was the man's goal. The knowledge for usage of magic, the realm's history, and geography could easily be attained through reading, as long as the base had a library.

Madara sat in the seat directly opposite to Hades. To his irk, his miniature feet was unable to reach the ground - shame -he was again reminded that he was no longer in a adult body. Constantly he had to ignore that fact and was forced to adapt until he reached maturity.

Looking around, Madara noted the other chairs around the table; he concluded that their presence indicated other members resided in this 'Grimoire Heart' group. They were of no importance however, as he was here to increase his strength and to attain knowledge. Perhaps he could try to establish…relationships as that would no doubt be what his friend would have done in this situation.

Before any of that however, Madara needed to find out Hades' purpose. If he did not like his goal, he would take what he wanted and leave. He would not take action that went against his interests even if the old man could provide shortcuts to his current goals. Deciding to be direct, Madara simply asked out of the blue.

"What is your goal?" The de-aged shinobi did not care for pleasantries or conversation. He preferred to be straight to the point and to get his statements across with conciseness. If Hades was anything like him however, he would give a half truth; the same way he told Obito to tell Nagato of their purpose in the collection of the tailed beasts.

"To Attain the essence of magic." The man said in a familiar manner, causing the former Uchiha to reminisce to days past.

"To achieve peace" an elderly Madara sat as he addressed the younger Uchiha.

Madara slightly narrowed his eyes; it was unlikely that the man will reveal how he would go towards that goal. However, Hades would no doubt send him out for missions once he attained enough strength. This alone will be enough of an indication to find out the main parts of his plan. For now however, he would have to focus on building up his knowledge and magic. For that, he will have to offer his cooperation.

"I see."

Standing up, Hades slowly made his way towards Madara.

"There is something…peculiar about you, or rather your body." Oh? Was it possible Hades was able to see the possible changes his soul may have had? Perhaps there was something else that made him stand out from a regular person.

"You have far more magic than a regular child should have." That was a given, but the way the old man addressed him hinted that his power was some sort of disease rather than an advantage.

"All infants born with your condition don't live to your age." Hades let a small confused expression grace his features.

That's why. Madara always felt something was preventing him to utilize his magic in anything other than basic strengthening. Perhaps whatever ailment that was supposed to affect him was indeed affecting him. He was simply kept in good shape by circumstance. Made weaker by illness, but made stronger through reincarnation. The latter seemed to overpower the former and made whatever physical disability seem non-existent.

"Can you get rid of it? This condition." Madara had his arms crossed with a hardened look on his face.

The old man began caressing his beard. "Yes, there is a way." Whatever method it was, it would most likely come to body modification.

"The issue is that your body cannot properly contain your magic, making it nigh-impossible for you to manipulate it properly. The easiest method to solving this is to implant a Lacrima - a magic crystal, into your body," Hades looked down, then back to Madara with a stern expression.

"However, the chances of survival are very slim. Not only that, but the process is extremely painful. The Lacrima will forcefully enlarge your magical container, it can easily mutilate your entire interior."

Who did he think he was? He was Madara. As if a little pain and risk would daunt him. Even though he was confident that he would be capable of finding another way of regaining his power, he did not wish to waste time nor live with a constant handicap.

"Very well, I will have the operation done at the earliest possible time." The excitement began filling his body, he knew that he would survive the implant. Just how strong would he be without a handicap? Perhaps in time, he would dance with the old man; but for now, he shall wait.

Two Weeks Later

Madara learned quite a lot in the past two weeks. He learned that fortunately, his species were still called humans, and that they lived in a country called Fiore which resided on the continent of Ishgar. It seemed that only about ten percent of the population had access to magic. Those who did were called mages, rather than magicians. To his slight shock, he found out that the base he dwelled in was actual an airship capable of travelling great distances in little time. It was constructed with metals capable of absorbing magic and was covered with hundreds of seals akin to Fuinjutsu.

He learned that chakra and magic were just as much similar as it was different. While chakra was generated by the combination of spiritual and physical energies of the body existing in a series of circuits, magic was absorbed passively into a metaphysical container located in the mage's midsection. Unlike chakra however, being completely drained of magic did not cause the user to die right away - even if it will cause unconsciousness, and eventually death if left untreated.

Of course, Madara did not expect to wait this long to have his operation. It seemed that Hades was intent on finding a high enough quality Lacrima. It was understandable as he too, would want to have powerful pawns. Hades also required him to bear the mark of the Guild - Grimoire Heart, for going ahead with the operation. He did not care for it however, as he could simply get rid of it if he ever wished to leave.

During his wait, Madara spent most of his time in the library, and in the training hall to practice his hand to hand combat. Other than Hades, he did not interact much with rest of the mages aboard the ship. Most of the members of Grimoire Heart were nameless cannon-fodder that could barely match his own strength, despite his age. He had met other potential 'elites' and they were all relatively young, with just one exception.

The most powerful mage he encountered other than Hades was a man named Bluenote Stinger. He was a very tall man with a weird animal like expression. A long thin pony tail reached his lower back and he would often dress in eastern style priest robes with a cloak on top. Like him, he did not show any interest in interacting with other members. From what he saw, the man was indifferent to the others but he would often answer his questions if he asked. Madara had learned Bluenote was a powerful gravity mage; he would no doubt attempt to learn it as to regain his powers once granted by the Rinnegan.

Another member he met was a boy named Azuma. Azuma and him only had one thing in common, they both desired a good dance. It seemed that Hades was teaching him a magic called the Great Tree Arc - a powerful wood magic. This made him think of Hashirama; he did not know how strong mages were compared to Shinobi. Perhaps it was possible for someone using wood magic to rival the feats achieved by his friend. He would note this however, so he could recreate his own Mokuton when the time came.

There were two others that he met, neither of them he liked very much. There was a girl named Ultear, who reminded him of Obito. She constantly looked for a way to change the past, but she no doubt would be devastated when she learns that such a thing will never truly change the way she wanted to.

The second was someone that infuriated him to no end. A perfect example of idiocy and was the pinnacle of stupidity. A blonde hair boy named Zancrow that would constantly challenge him and lose - only to complain and carry insults that were void of logic. An object of interest however, was the black flames he used which greatly resembles Amateratsu.

"It is time." He looked back from his resting spot on the top of the ship to see Hades. It seemed that whatever was needed for the operation was ready. The risks were inconsequential, it did not matter as long as he could get closer to his goal.

As he followed Hades, they walked past the library to a opulent black door. It did not have any magic pressure emitting from it but when it opened, the magic inside flooded out like a tidal wave.

'Magic Barrier' Madara thought. Yet another application of what was called runes in this world. He only learned the basics of sealing during his time in the Elemental Nations. It would be useful to be able to learn a similar yet power craft, if that Uzumaki woman his friend married was of any indication.

He walked into a dimly lit room with a large pedestal in the center. This was no doubt where he would have to lie to have his operation.

"I need you to sit over here," Hades said as he put a hand on the pedestal. Upon closer inspection, there were rune-like symbols etched onto the structure. It was possible Hades prepared all this in the two weeks he waited to make sure the implant would happen without complication. Glancing at Hades, Madara sat on the pedestal and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the process to come.

"The operation will be swift, but painful. You must not move or else the Lacrima might not bind properly." He carried a fist sized sphere toward him.

Nodding in response, Madara sat completely still in his spot.

"Hn."

Despite his closed eyes, he could still see a powerful light suddenly illuminate his surroundings. He could feel the magical pressure become heavier around him until he felt an acute pain on the right side of his lower back. It was indeed painful, but manageable. He was not a stranger to keeping still while under physical stress.

The pain that quickly came, left just as quickly before dissipating into other parts of his body.

Madara opened his eyes as the light around him died down; he could feel changes to the magic within his body. What was originally a collection of power that spread towards most of his torso became a concentrated mass of magic near where the Lacrima was implanted. This is interesting indeed. Madara could only smile as he felt the foreign magic contained in the Lacrima combining with his own.

"The operation was a success, as expected." Was there ever any doubt. There could only be success when it comes to him. Suddenly, Madara felt a pain many times greater than the one in the implant appear in various places over his body. Widening his eyes in surprise while flinching, Madara quickly regained his composure. The sensation lasted for far longer than the operation, to the point it was starting to become a nuisance. Whatever it was, he would get through it - even if the implant failed, he would not allow weakness to show.

The past minute seemed like an eternity as the pain finally left his body. He was breathing heavily with his head slumped forwards. Curse this six year old body. If he was an adult he would not even have felt it.

"The Lacrima I implanted you with contained a lost magic known as Arc of Construction." So that's what it was. The foreign magic was fighting with his own before finally merging properly. It was very similar to when he implanted Hashirama's cells into himself, even if it was to a lesser degree.

"Not only has it fixed your condition, you will have gained the ability to solidify your own magic into massless constructs, limited only by your imagination."

Oh? That magic could definitely be a way to recreate one of his favourite techniques, the Susanoo.

As his body calmed down, he could feel the power flowing within his body. He could feel something that he has not felt since he came to this world - balance. The magic and his body were in harmony. His body became lighter, as if a great boulder was taken from his shoulders. Jumping in excitement, Madara rushed past Hades into the hallway outside and ran towards his spot on top of the airship.

As he reached his destination, he let a great smile embellish his features.

"This…is what it feels to be alive," Madara laughed as he felt the blood flowing in his body. He could feel his surroundings far more acutely that before. His magic responded faster, and with far more precision than anything he could have managed before.

There was nothing to hold him back, he would truly walk the world once more.

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Chapter 4 Finished! Next Chapter - New spells and old Jutsu!

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