Chapter 7 - Master of Manipulation

'I lost…' Madara thought as he tried to get up from his position on the ground. His magic was spent and he could feel fractures all over his body with at least three ribs broken. Despite that, he had a smile on his face. To be able to fight with every ounce of his ability, and to know that there are even greater opponents for him to face. It was not terrifying…no not at all, the feeling was absolutely exhilarating.

"Hades chose well when he recruited you," Bluenote spoke as he put his cloak back on.

"I have no time to be taking an apprentice, but if you want to learn my magic, look for the grimoire hidden underneath the fourth step on the stairs to the library," he said as he proceeded to walk back to the ship.

Madara could see two familiar figures running towards him. He sighed while closing his eyes, he completely forgot that they were still on the island. He didn't bother paying attention to their whereabouts as his mind was still thinking back on his fight.

"That was awesome big bro!" Ultear shouted with stars in his eyes.

"Yeah! I mean you got your ass kicked but that big armour thing was super cool! I really want to defeat you now and-,"

"Zancrow. Ultear." Madara was not in the mood for this. "Both of you imbeciles go retrieve Master Hades and get me out of this spot," he said with a dark expression.

"AYE SIR!" The two saluted before running in different directions.


After the injuries Madara received from his fight with Bluenote healed adequately, he began making his way to the library in search of a spell book.

"I have no time to be taking an apprentice, but if you want to learn my magic…look for the grimoire hidden underneath the fourth step on the stairs to the library,"

'Fourth step underneath the stairs…' the words echoed in his mind as he reached the fourth step from the top. There was no indication of a hidden compartment, so Madara began sending pulses of his magic into the wooden planks in hopes of finding abnormalities within the structure.

'Oh?' he thought as a wireframe structure of the staircase appeared in his mind; it seemed that his Arc of Construction allowed him to get a general analysis of whatever his magic touched.

'This ability will be useful in the future,' he thought as he continued scanning the stairs for any hint of a book.

Where ever Bluenote hid his spell book, he did it with great skill. Even with him scanning the entirety of the staircase, there was nothing that stood out as a hidden grimoire. Deciding to try another method, Madara simply ripped out the top of the step to see if his eyes could find anything.

The empty space underneath did not reveal anything as he hoped.

'Perhaps, illusion magic.' It wasn't a farfetched thought. Parts of the ship were always covered by illusion and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibilities for the deputy commander to be well versed in more than one type of magic.

Looking into the stairs, he noticed three identical supporting structures underneath the steps. Focusing his magic into his eyes to enhance his vision, Madara thoroughly inspected everything he could see.

'That beam…it seems, odd' Madara thought as he looked at the very bottom of the three supports. There was a small beam in between all the supports that kept the structure from shaking, but the one he stared at did not seem to be connected to the stairs. It was just…resting there by itself. Perhaps the grimoire was disguised as the beam.

Madara used the arc of construction to form a long tentacular hand that picked up the beam with ease. 'This weight, it is not made of wood' he thought as he smiled to himself. If he did not have prior knowledge of its location, he most likely would never had even learned of its existence. Bluenote might have seemed like someone who relied on muscle, but in no way he was unintelligent if this method of concealment was of any indication.

As he held the block of 'wood' in his hands, Madara sent a wave of magic into it - disrupting the illusion cast upon the book. Slowly but surely, he noticed ripples that appeared on the object to gradually reveal a small purple book that read 'Arc of Manipulation' on its cover. 'Arc of Manipulation? It was not called Gravity Magic?" He opened the book in interest and read the introductory page.

Arc of Manipulation: A superior form of the more common 'Gravity Magic', Arc of Manipulation is a magic that allows the user to manipulate the physical forces that act upon the world around them. This allows the user to manipulate gravity in all directions, while normal Gravity Magic can only be used to force objects downwards. With enough power, a master of this magic would be capable of compressing gravity to the point it could bend space itself.

Madara thought back to Bluenote's spell 'Cosmic Singularity'; it was a small sphere completely devoid of light that seemed to ripple the space around it as it travelled. 'Perhaps with this magic, I will be able to use Planetary Destruction once again.' he thought as he continued reading.

This magic is extremely difficult to learn, even the most talented of mages take up to ten years to properly master this magic and even longer to muster the strength required to perform spells capable of manipulating entire islands or mountains.

It does not matter long it would take him. He was Madara, the most powerful Shinobi that has ever lived! He will master this magic far faster than even the most talented mages. He continued reading down the page until he reached a section that interested him further.

Arc of Manipulation - Grand: A even higher form of Arc of Manipulation. The Arc of Manipulation - Grand is a category that was created by users who had mastered this magic to the point where they could affect other magic or other seemingly intangible forms of matter. Users of this can make any physical spell completely useless by manipulating its force to either negate it or redirect it back to the caster…

The library was filled with the excited laughter of Madara, "Bluenote Stinger, you truly ARE a worthy dance partner!" If Bluenote was truly a master of the Arc of Manipulation, then it seemed that he would have to do far more training if he were to surpass him.

With an excited expression, Madara closed the book; picking it up and heading towards the spot on top of the airship to begin his training.


7 Years Later - X778

A much taller Madara with spiky raven hair stood on top of a mountain while a massive lightning storm thundered around him. A waterfall of rain descended from the skies as powerful gusts of wind capable of flattening whole forests bellowed around him.

"Fall," he spoke as the rain around him became an entire ocean, drops of water became massive cyclones from the force exerted by his magic. Following the rain, he himself jumped off the mountain, feeling the drastic increase in his own weight as massive ethereal warriors came to life around him.

Crash!

A fist made of blue energy formed a shock wave as Madara wind-stepped away into the open air. An unseen force slowed his descent, moving his body through the stabbing rain as he began floating in the air. The massive constructs flew towards him, each taking a different side to prevent escape.

"Repulse!" he shouted as he blew away the rain, granting him vision of all four constructs. He continuously wind-stepped around the air as he burst from one point to the other, skillfully navigating through the gigantic limbs that aimed to strike him. Despite his efforts, he was caught by a devastating side kick that knocked him to another clone. He was continuously pin-balled from construct to construct until a massive front kick shot him into the clouds above.

Madara grunted in pain as he shot above the clouds. What was once a thunder storm was replaced by a tranquil night sky with a full moon that overlooked a bed of clouds. Righting his posture while in the air, Madara let a familiar black aura cover his fingers as six Susanoo Warriors all burst into his vision.

"Amateratsu: Formula 95" he said as eight purple magic circles converged into one giant one, shooting out rapid beams of energy towards the constructs. Madara wind-stepped towards one of them and charged his fist with gravity magic, driving it right into its head.

A massive shockwave that parted the surrounding clouds into a crater emitted from the strike, completely annihilating the Susanoo. Despite his constructs being immune to the Arc of Manipulation, he could increase the force of his punches tenfold by manipulating the force as they come into contact.

Madara crossed his arms in front of his face as two of the constructs threw a third into him. The resulting clash pushed him back at near super sonic speeds as a vapor cone could be seen around him. In response, he began charging fire magic throughout his body as he used the momentum to begin rotating rapidly.

A massive red and white magic circle appeared while flames erupted outwards from his body, "Great Infernal Spiral!" he shouted as a hurricane of embers radiated from his form, engulfing all of the Susanoo warriors that charged at him.

He underestimated the strength of his own constructs as they continued through the flames with cracks on their bodies. Not having enough time to cast another great spell, Madara began dodging all around the three dimensional battle field. A barrage of kicks and punches surround him as he dodged, blocked, counterattacked the constructs that put him on the defence.

Seeing an opportunity, Madara shot towards a clone and drove his foot right into his back, bisecting it and causing it to dissipate. Madara backed away from the other clones in exchange as he concentrated a massive sphere of wind into the size of his fist.

"Sonic Palm!" He shouted as a displaced pillar of air rushed towards a construct, piercing and destroying it. Madara instantly wind-stepped to dodge the charge of three other warriors that rushed him while he was preparing the spell.

'Perhaps I should attempt…that' After all, the best way to defeat Susanoo is with another Susanoo.

A familiar blue aura surrounded him as he continued to dodge the unstopping onslaught of the other Susanoo. A fully armed Tengu warrior emerged with Madara resting at the top of its head. A field of arms then burst from its back as his Susanoo assumed a lotus position.

"Susanoo: True Several Thousand Hands" he whispered as he materialized a technique once used by Hashirama against him. His version was nowhere near the size achievable by his friend; however, it still easily dwarfed the other constructs multiple times.

"Summit Enlightenment." As soon as those words were said, all of the arms shot out at the charging constructs, each taking hundreds of continuous strikes. As soon as his technique was over, all the constructs were destroyed and he himself was slowing falling towards the ground.

For now…this is my limit.

He estimates he is just under the strength of Bluenote when they first fought seven years ago. Despite his near complete mastery in both the Amateratsu formulas and Arc of Manipulation, he still needed raw power to be able to defeat mages such as Hades or Bluenote. Perhaps there was some way that he could enhance himself with magic that was not his own - just like Hashirama did with senjutsu.

As Madara fell through the clouds, he began challenging the last of his magic to soften his landing. Despite his efforts, Madara landed harshly, forming a small crater in where he landed. However, due to his endurance and constitution, he was able to stand back up with little injury.

Bzzz…Bzzz….

A small vibration went off in his pocket as he pulled out a small Lacrima. The small sphere was a special communication device that Hades gave to all of his members. They were made differently than other lacrimas, allowing them to communicate at a different frequency.

Click.

"What is it Hades," he spoke into the Lacrima.

Madara, come back to the ship at once, I have a mission for you. Normally he would not bother to pick up if he was doing something of importance; however, Hades got lucky he just finished a all-out sparring session against his constructs and had no intention of continuing for now.

"Very well." Click. 'A mission, Hades waited a long time before assigning me one…even Zancrow was called before I was.' Despite his more rebellious attitude compared to the other Grimoire Heart Mages, Hades would not have called him unless it was something that no one else could do.

Looking up towards the clouds, Madara undid his fall spell, causing him to feel a lightness he had just forgotten, then proceeded to return to the airship.


Grimoire Heart Airship - Hades' Throne Room

Hades sat in a opulent red chair while a young raven-haired woman stood beside him. He had spent the last fifteen years building his strength to accomplish the goal of finding the one magic. He had finally found the final member for his team of elites, the seven kin of purgatory. Ultear, being the first and eldest of the group, was chosen as the leader of the team.

The seven kin of purgatory was a group of seven mages that all used forms of lost magic. While most of them could only use one type of magic, mages like Azuma could use both Great Tree Arc and Arc of Burst [1].

Click. A double door unlocked as Madara entered the room. His presence was immediately greeted by Ultear running towards him and putting her head on his chest.

"Ahhh Madara dear! I was wondering when you would arrive," she said as she put on a excited grin.

"You haven't talked to me for so long I was beginning to think that you hated me!" She began rubbing her head into his chest before being lifted by the collar and dropped to the side - causing her to huff in frustration.

'This woman is almost as annoying as the blonde one…' he thought as he looked at Hades.

"What is your mission?" He asked bluntly. He was not in a hurry to do anything, he simply wasn't for one small-talk.

"At this time, the actions of Grimoire Heart can no longer be conducted in uninterrupted secrecy," he began as he left his throne, walking towards the glass walls. "In order for us to continue our movements without interference from legal guilds, we must have some sort of power within the magic council to deter any actions that could detriment our goals." Oh? Is he being asked to do a spy mission?

"For us to do that, I will have need to have someone attain a position that could sway them."

Hnn. Madara heard about the magic council from Hades many times. They are a bunch of stuck up old fools that did not seem to put any effort into keeping the peace. This was what allowed the existence of powerful dark guilds such as the one he was a member of.

"I hope you aren't asking me to become a member of the council, I might just kill them and be done with it…"

Hades chuckled in response. "Do not worry, I never intended to have you become part of the council, as I already chosen another to participate in that task," he said as he gestured to Ultear. The woman seemed to be the type that could easily manipulate old fools into her bidding, even if she was an annoying brat. "Your mission however, will be to infiltrate as a member of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Ten wizard saints? He heard the ten wizard saints were a group of wizards with great magical strength. Many of them were chosen by the council as figureheads or icons in an attempt to intimidate dark wizards from doing anything illegal. This did not tend to work however as the wizard saints all acted on their own accord despite having power in the council. "Ten wizard saints? Wouldn't Bluenote be a better choice for the position?"

Hades turned towards Madara. "In Grimoire Heart, there are only three wizards that are strong enough to become wizard saints: Bluenote, myself, and you," he said as he walked towards Madara. "Bluenote was a dark mage even before he joined Grimoire Heart, making him easily recognizable by the council. You however, have never even been seen by the public. Your movements were always hidden and you trained in uninhabited areas with no eyes and ears around. The most anyone could say of your actions are undocumented magical anomalies."

'Ten Wizard Saints…' Perhaps this mission might be…fun. If he were to be recognized as ten of the greatest wizards in the country, no doubt he will be able to fight powerful opponents with magic he has not seen before. He had spent the last nineteen years of his life training and reading; it was about time he left to truly experience what this world had to offer.

"Very well then. I will see it done," he said as he made his towards the top of the ship. Hades didn't bother giving him instructions, as he knew that whatever Madara had planned, there will only be success in his endeavors.

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Chapter 7 Finished! Next Chapter - Madara as a Wizard Saint!

[1]: I read the Fairy Tail wiki about Azuma's magic and his magic 'Great Tree Arc' can randomly create massive explosions despite his magic granting him the ability to grow and manipulate trees. I really couldn't find an explanation of how the hell A tree growing magic allows you to randomly nuke objects so I made him use another lost magic.

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