Chapter 8 - A Newfound Desire
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.
Madara was not given a time limit in regards to his mission. However, he knew that becoming a wizard saint wasn't something he could do by throwing spells around. He was confident that he had the strength, skill, and intelligence required to make the position; however, he had to gain the trust of the council. This would not be as hard as it seemed however, as when it came to his reputation, the country of Fiore did not even know of his existence - due to being trained in secret by Hades.
He stopped his train of thought to look at a figure with long blonde hair. "Hey Madara! You're going to leave without saying goodbye?" he asked with a sly smile while black flames surrounded his fists.
Sighing while closing his eyes, Madara responded while sparing him a glance, "I see no reason to…Zancrow." Over the years, he had grown to tolerate the blonde mage's antics. The constant fights became routine despite the thousands of losses that Zancrow accumulated over the years. He had to respect his perseverance however, as not many could be beaten daily yet still had the motivation to fight again.
Zancrow's grin widened further.
"Same old Madara," he said excitedly while jumping towards him, obviously looking to try to get a few shots in before the former Uchiha departed.
"Flame God's Bellow!" Zancrow shouted as a massive torrent of flames engulfed Madara's form, only to dissipate showing no effect whatsoever.
"You should know that you cannot beat me." Madara was still far stronger than the god slayer; his mastery of the new magics made him nigh-untouchable by the fire mage. Despite Zancrow's own high level mastery of Flame God Slayer Magic, he was still no match for the former Uchiha.
"That ain't no reason to stop fighting!" Zancrow exclaimed as he leapt towards Madara, leaving a trail of dust behind him. The blonde mage tried to land a spinning round kick to Madara's face; only to be met by a fist that seemed to blur until it distorted the blonde's cheeks.
Looking down at the downed mage, Madara allowed a small smile to grace his features. 'To think…I would actually grow to tolerate this buffoon' he thought as he turned towards the open air and flew towards the ground.
"So long, Zancrow," he said while hastily descending from the air ship that was making a pass around the southern mountains of the nation.
There were only mountains as far as he could see. A great blizzard blanketed the sky, causing visibility to be extremely low. 'Hnn…how annoying.' he thought as flew close to the ground. He was confident no one saw him leave the Grimoire Heart ship as there were none he sensed nor was it possible to see his face in the weather. Of course, the massive blizzards were of no consequence to someone of Madara's strength; it simply made navigating around more troublesome than it should be.
Now, there were multiple ways he could go towards his goal. There was the option of visiting Era directly to apply for the position of Wizard Saint. Any requirements he was missing could easily be found out. However, Madara knew that if the magic council was anything like the shinobi council, then a mission and personal record would most likely be required. Showing up without any indication of his prior existence would no doubt create mistrust as he has not yet proven himself in the eyes of council leaders.
He was not in a rush, therefore he could take his time in building up his name within the country. Looking at the guild mark on his right fore arm, he focused magic on his left palm and erased it from his body.
'There should be nothing to link myself to Grimoire Heart now.' he thought as he flew towards the coast. The entire south-eastern coast of Fiore was completely covered in massive storms; which resulted in the chances of him being spotted becoming quite low. He knew his skills would gradually become known once he decided on a course of action to become a Wizard Saint; however, he did not want to take even the slimmest of chances to arouse suspicion prior to his introduction to the council.
As he continued to make his way through the storm, he sensed a powerful presence towards his north-eastern side. 'A mage?' he thought while narrowing his eyes; if a well-known wizard spotted him, it could bring unwanted attention in regards to his intentions. Focusing magic to his eyes, Madara noticed that the cause of the presence was not a mage - but rather, a large island. He noticed a large mangrove tree towering above its surroundings growing from the island.
'Shinju…' the word echoed in his head as he remembered the god-tree that he once absorbed. The great tree was something of interest; if something was similar to the ten-tails in this world, perhaps he could find out information about the origins of magic. He did not intend to study the island thoroughly however, as there was no need to become completely side tracked from his main goal.
It seemed that the tree was far greater in size up close; it was easily greater in height than mountains he originally left the airship from. There were forests that grew all around the base of the tree; a sharp rock formation rested right under while forming a second layer of forests on one side. Madara was never one to bother looking at nature; however, he had to admit that the island was quite a fascinating sight. There was nothing to his knowledge in the elemental nations other than the god tree that could resemble what he saw here.
If not for the presence he had sensed, he likely would have missed the island completely.
As Madara landed in the interior of the island, he took notice of the properties of the surrounding magic.
'This feeling…it's similar to the sage chakra of the six paths.' Whatever magic resided on this island was not only ancient, but raw. Extending his senses, he could feel a small but distinct aura resting somewhere in what seemed to be the base of the great tree. Seeing as there were nothing worth noting around the island itself, Madara hastily made his way towards the source.
Madara could sense faint presences that mingled with the aura of the island. Wild life thriving on this island wouldn't be an impossibility, for it was filled with plant life that would be more than capable of supporting a functional ecosystem.
'All seems to be in shelter from the storm…' he thought as he continued towards the original aura, not crossing paths with any of the indigenous population.
Arriving at a stone formation after travelling through many hidden crevices in a seemingly labyrinth-like landscape, Madara began focusing on the magical presence that seemed to be almost…calling to him.
'Something is here…' He did not have the perceptive abilities of the Rinnegan nor did he have the acute sensing abilities offered by the six paths sage mode; however, his magical sensitivity still allowed him to pick up the faintest traces of magic in the area.
He continued to walk slowly towards the formation, easily recognizing the purpose of the structure.
'A grave…judging by the moss and vines, it has been here for close to a century.' As he felt the grave with his hands, he noticed the sensation that reached him as soon as he entered this area strengthen a hundred fold. Looking around, Madara still saw nothing that could have been possibly triggering his senses. This feeling, it was akin to the sensation he felt when utilizing the technique Limbo: Borden Jail for the first time. The invisible entity seemed to move towards him, stopping on top of the grave. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus his senses, only to see a humanoid figure sit on top of the stones.
'Perhaps…the spirit of the grave? To think, those in the afterlife can hold a presence in the material realm. How odd.'
The curiosity that once brought him to this, peculiar island was satisfied. Whatever secret held here could wait until he was done with his main goal. Once he was a wizard saint, he could find out more about things of interest to fill up gaps in his agenda.
As he turned to leave, he felt a longing sensation from the presence. It was as if, it did not want him to leave.
'A lonesome spirit…it must have been by itself all this time,' he thought as he remembered his time in his hideout. Most of his focus was in extending his own life and completing his goals; he never actually had the time to feel lonely. But now, when he really thought about his predicament, he had no great ambition that he dedicated his life to.
Perhaps, it was only a distraction, that he simply did not have an answer to his existence. He remembered the desire he had as a child to protect his younger brothers, only to lose himself when he had failed to do so. He thought back and realized that he truly had no one after his younger brother fell at the hands of the Senju. Everyone that even tried to get close to him were all pushed away, for he was consumed by great hatred and grief.
He halted in his position. For a brief moment, he could have felt something grab his arm. Turning to look at the grave, he let a nearly unnoticeable smile embellish his hardened expression. "Whatever you are, perhaps when I have achieved my current goal, I will return once again," he said as he made his way towards the exit of the cavern area.
With Spirit
A soft pleading voice, unheard by its intended ears, spoke gently on the passing breeze.
You hold such great pain, loneliness, and wanting deep down within you, perhaps in time you will finally learn what it means to live again.
With Madara
The encounter with a presumed spirit made him think; memories that were once forgotten began resurfacing from his subconscious. Of all times for him to reminisce, why now? Was it because he never bothered to remember what once made him forget about the pains of war? For decades, all Madara had done was plan, manipulate, and fight. His whole life as a child was dedicated to the betterment of his clan, and as soon he became an adult, it became the betterment of the village; there was no room for thoughts like the ones he was having.
A sudden tingle in his senses caused him to look back towards island, whatever presence that beaconed him there, was gone.
Did the spirit part from this world?
As he flew away from the island, his thought trailed towards his interactions between Hashirama and himself before the construction of Konoha, the words once said by his friend echoed in his mind.
A young Hashirama and Madara looks over a great forest from on top of a rocky mountain. "I dream of a time when all shinobi will cooperate with each other, a time when everyone's hearts will be together regardless of their clans. That's my dream…for the future."
He remembered the alliance created by all Shinobi for the sole purpose of defeating him.
'Odd, his attempts at achieving his own reality indirectly brought an understanding between the elemental nations.' he thought as he chuckled at the absurdity. Hashirama once told him it did not matter whether or not their dreams would be achieved personally; as long as they could pass on their legacies to the next generation. It was ironic; to think that he would become his own legacy, how amusing.
Madara noticed that he was no longer within a large storm; his face was greeted by sunshine while his eyes by the sight of calm ocean water. He remembered that Hades told him that the storm would reach from the mountains all the way off the coast of a well-known port called Hargeon. If the skies were clear, this meant he was close to his first destination.
'Hargeon…' he thought as he saw a large town in the distance. Slowing down and descending, Madara made his way towards the shore and proceeded to walk towards the town. At his current pace, he would reach the settlement in less than a hour.
Hargeon
Hargeon was an impressive town; buildings filled the area and great stone structures lined the streets. Compared to Konoha, Hargeon was easily five times the size of the hidden village. In place of dirt roads were stone tiles and instead of wooden houses, stone and brick were the main materials used.
The outskirts of the town was not busy. There were less than ten people he could see in any given direction; usually in the early morning, Konoha would already have shinobi patrolling the streets and civilian stalls open. Now, the only question was where to look for information that he needed. As he continued towards the interior of the town, he saw more concentrated groups of people as when compared to when he first entered. There were easily up to a hundred walking towards and away from him on the street while many stopped at stalls.
'Must be the market area, how noisy'
Madara tuned out the crowd until he saw a blonde male walking directly towards him. He noticed a lightning shaped scar that went over the right side of his face and a weird spiked earmuff over his head. Judging by his stature, he would be in his early teens compared to Madara's nineteen years of age.
'Lightning…' Madara thought as he sensed the affinity of the boy in front of him. It seemed that the young mage did not bother suppressing his aura at all; anyone who aimed to kill him would have been able to find him from miles away. Of course, this world was unlike his own; the threat of an assassin that could end your life at any moment did not exist.
"Hey, you." Madara spoke calmly as the teen neared him. However, it seemed that he did not hear him if the lack of response was of any indication.
"…"
Madara stopped right in front of the boy, causing him to look up at the taller man with an annoyed expression.
"What do you want?" Madara was slightly perturbed by the tone of voice used by the boy. He was usually addressed with respect due to his stature as the Uchiha clan leader, a co-founder of Konoha, and the true leader of Akatsuki.
A dark expression adorned the former Uchiha's features. "Tell me where I can find information about the wizard saints," he spoke menacingly as the boy narrowed his eyes.
"And why should I tell you anything?" The blonde's remarks irked him. Madara wanted to show this upstart who was the superior one out of both of them; however, he knew that any unprovoked aggression to anyone will no doubt become an obstacle to his goals in the long run , therefore he had to be patient…for now. Sighing in exasperation, Madara softened his features and spoke with a bored tone.
"My name…is Madara. I request any information you may have on the ten wizard saints." The boy seemed to smile slyly before speaking.
"Why didn't you say so!" he said with a taunting smirk. "The ten wizard saints? They are all in a place called the none-of-your-business land!"
'It seems this boy was not properly disciplined in his youth, such disrespectful actions would be met by many beatings.' Madara did well to hide his anger despite the small amounts of his aura leaking from him.
"You should learn to respect your elders, child." The word child seemed to illicit an reaction from the blonde boy; his teeth slightly gritted and his body tensed.
Throwing an accusing finger towards Madara, the boy spoke, "And what about you?! You can't be more than a couple years older than me, and you've done nothing to warrant respect." Oh? Perhaps the boy was similar to him…in some ways. When it came to respect, titles, names, and age meant nothing. What mattered were the actions and qualities of a person that allowed someone to be respected.
It seemed that there were only two options on how he would make the boy talk - either by exchanging something of equal value or by threatening him. Madara was confident he was capable of both but he was unwilling to do either at the moment.
'Talking to this boy any longer will simply be a waste of time.' he thought as he closed his eyes and began to walk around the blonde.
"Hnn," Madara said as he walked passed the boy. He could hear something alone the lines of 'stupid old man' as he made his way towards the center of the town. The first person he had actually talked to already tested his patience. Inconsequential however, as this would be likely the only time they would ever meet.
As he made his way down the stone path, he noticed a sign on one of the buildings saying 'Magic Store 3ZX3.'
'A magic store…perhaps it would have information regarding the wizard saints,' he thought to himself while entering. Madara was so focused on training and learning different applications of magic that he began his mission without learning about the details regarding the wizard saints. If he did the same thing back in the Elemental Nations, he would have died…well maybe not - he was Madara after all; someone of his strength would simply get a short delay without adequate information.
The magic store was quite small; there were multiple shelves to the right with books while ones on the left had an assortment of items. Madara could not sense strong magical auras from any of them…they must have been of low quality - similar to civilian ran weapon shops. It was doubtful that the old man reading a book behind the counter was a mage. Regardless, he only needed information.
After searching the shelves thoroughly, he was surprised to find not a single book with any ounce of information on the wizard saints. He believed that there would be many texts dedicated to the most well-known mages in the country. Madara sighed. It seemed that he would have to talk to the peculiar looking man managing the shop.
Walking up to the counter, Madara attempted to look as friendly as possible, which became a neutral expression with a hardened stare. "Excuse me, do you have any information regarding the ten wizard saints?"
The man jumped out of his chair and threw his book into the air, comically landing back on his face. He quickly stood up and faced Madara from behind the counter. "Why welcome! How may I help you today sir?" the man greeted with a bead of sweat on his brow. It was understandable; Madara's much larger form could seem as intimidating to the much smaller clerk.
'Tch. He did not hear me…at all' he thought as he made to repeat his question. "Do you know anything about the ten wizard saints?"
"…ten wizard saints" the man repeated right after him quietly. "Why of course! Everyone knows who the wizard saints are!" Madara looked at him impassively, waiting for him to expand on his statement.
"…"
Sighing, Madara spoke, "continue."
"Well! Um…I know there's Jose of Phantom Lord and…and…oh! Makarov Dreyar of Fairy Tail! I don't know what seat they are though." It was interesting; someone who ran a magic shop would know nearly nothing about the most famous wizards in the country. However, he did get some information; perhaps if he could find one of the two mages he knew that held the title, they would be able to tell him how they got the position.
"And which of these two mages are closer to here?"
"Well…that would be Makarov Dreyar! The guild he's a part of lies just in the town of Magnolia!" Madara stared at him, expecting him to tell him instructions on how to get to Magnolia. The man began sweating again but with a forced smile on his face.
"Um…you can get there by the train! The station is just in the edge of the town, you can't miss it!"
'Magnolia…Makarov Dreyar…Fairy Tail,' the words resounded in Madara's mind. It seemed he found himself a lead to further himself towards his goal. Looking at the smaller man, Madara responded, "Thank you."
Turning to leave, Madara heard the shopkeeper sigh in relief from his departure. Tch. How rude.
After about ten minutes, Madara came to a clearing with large metal tracks laid in a squared ditch. There was a small stone building just to his right. Making his way towards the station, Madara noticed a small line of people each handing pieces of paper to a man in a booth. He reached into one of his pockets to feel the jewels that he brought with him…he only had about 400,000J with him. He had reason to believe that this amount would allow him to travel without financial trouble. With a short look towards the sky, Madara thought that Instead of taking the train, he could simply fly along the tracks to Magnolia.
Almost immediately, he dismissed the idea, attention was something he was not ready to gain.
Madara lined up at the back, patiently waiting for his turn. "Well, well. It's the annoying old man, just where exactly are you heading?"
Madara recognized that voice…'Perhaps if I don't acknowledge his existence, he will simply go away,' he thought, closing his eyes as the boy continued to talk in an attempt to get his attention. The constant repetition of 'Hey you' and 'Are you listening?' thinned out his patience as he opened his eyes, turning around to stare at the boy.
"What do you want? Boy."
"Don't call me a boy! Old man!" Perhaps he could just kill him and be done with it, he wished they were the only two people in this town…and that the town was a barren field with no one around for miles.
"Hnn. You are a boy because you act like one, conduct yourself properly and you will be addressed as such." He said as he paid the fare which Madara counted was 300J and stepped on the train. He made sure to sit at the back of the train in hopes of not speaking with the bothersome youth. There was no need for him to become famous for being a criminal…yet. After all-
"So old man, where you headed?"
His thoughts were interrupted by the same annoying voice that came from across. Looking up to see the smirking face of the blonde mage, Madara ran a hand through his hair in frustration. 'Hnn. I will be rid of him as soon as I get off the stop, at Magnolia,' he thought as he continued to ignore the kid's constant attempts at conversation.
.
.
.
.
Chapter 8 Completed! Next Chapter - Missions with Fairy Tail!
For those that wanted to see Madara become a Wizard Saint; don't worry, it will happen! The transition between Chapter 7 and him become a wizard saint will need some mini-arcs to establish his position!
Melolchain123rich: Madara's current strength is roughly equal to Bluenote's when they fought seven years ago so he would be 8-7th seat wizard saint level I would say.
Vulkhanos: Madara still has his old skills from his former life, most of his training was learning magic because it was different than Chakra. Madara is capable of using weapons such as sword, staff, basic stuff. The weapons Madara used in the manga I believe was just the fan and maybe a scythe and a kunai?
RadioPoisoning: DW Madara will interact more and more with the outside world.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks for all your reviews! Stay tuned for more interesting stuff :).
Readers: Madara won't be joining Fairy Tail for now :) But if he does he won't be happy go lucky and all Nakama crazy and shit. He will change into a cross between his 4th war self-Hashirama-and his young self.
Make sure you guys check out my other stories!
[ROTLB: The Birth of the Light Bringer]
[ROTLB: Light of the Fairies]
[Chef Ramsay]
[The Nothing Dragon Slayer's Misadventures in Earthland]
[Minipa's Trope Discussions and How to Not Suck Shit at Writing]
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Minipa, out!
