Chapter 9: A Clash of Idiots!
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
Naruto leapt out of the way as the guy with pink hair slammed into the ground. His leg was already flipping over to try and knock Naruto in the head. With a grab and a twist Naruto sent his opponent to the dirt. That didn't stop Natsu though. He landed on his feet, still smiling.
"Happy, find Erza and Gray, tell them what happened, and them tell not to worry, because I'm gonna kick this punk's butt!" Natsu said.
"Aye Sir!" Then Happy the cat flew off into the trees.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto felt the puffs of smoke pop up around him.
Come on Naruto, unlock the gate. Let me take care of this dragon. I promise I won't blow up the country side, please? Said the Fox Demon.
"Not in your life time," Naruto replied.
"What the hell? Why are there five of you now?" Natsu's head swung back and forth in confusion, "Man, this is so weird!"
"Yeah, well too bad. It's time for an Uzumaki surprise! Get him boys!" Naruto waved his arm forward like a general. The clones rushed forward jumping and kicking.
"Fire Dragon Roar!"
Natsu's blast of flame dispersed the shadow clones. Naruto stood there, his mouth dropped open.
"Oh, come on!" Naruto was pointing and waving in Natsu's direction, "Nobody said you could breath fire like an Uchiha!"
"Yeah, well it's not like I knew you could confuse me with your clones either!" Natsu was pointing and waving at Naruto now.
"You want to see confusion huh! I got your confusion right here pal! Multi-shadow clone jutsu!"
An army of clones appeared up and down the road.
"Sweet! I get to fight an entire army now! Woohoo!" Natsu pumped his hand in the air, "I'm all fired up!"
"Uhhh… didn't you say that already?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, shut up man!"
With that Natsu launched himself into the crowd of Naruto clones.
/
"Wait, so you're telling me your pal has a demon inside of him? And that the demon is going to try and break out to kill Natsu?" Gray asked as they ran in the direction of the caravan. He decided not to rest. There was work to be done.
"That's the gist of it," Kakashi replied.
"How do you know this?" Erza asked.
"It's ancient history. Our Hokage gave me the information before we left. It's been so long, we figured that dragon slayer magic had disappeared from the continent. I guess we were wrong."
"What's the chance of this demon breaking free from your team-mate?" Erza asked.
"I honestly have no idea. Naruto's usually been pretty good about keeping the fox demon under control. Recently though, there's been a couple of incidents. Things that haven't gone so well. I just hope it doesn't come to that. It should only get truly bad if your friend with magic decides to keep fighting. Hopefully, he'll be able to see reason."
"Yeah, I seriously doubt that. Reason was never a word Natsu understood," Gray said. His face was contorted into a grim smile.
"Why do the demon's want to kill the dragon's so much?" Erza asked while running.
"Apparently, it was because some dragon tyrant attempted to steal the power of the Tailed Beasts. Some dragon named Acnologia!" Kakashi shouted.
Erza and Gray stopped running.
Kakashi turned back to find them standing still, frozen, their faces locked in memories of a distant time.
"You guys want to explain why you stopped running?"
"Acnologia…we've faced him before…"
"Tenrou Island…seven years ago…he almost killed us…forced us to retreat into a time bubble…"
"Our entire guild…"
Kakashi grabbed Erza by the shoulders, "Look, worry about that later! Your friend is in danger! My student is in danger! The only way we save them is if we work together!"
Erza snapped back into focus.
"Gray, is it ok if we leave you behind? Can you catch up to us?"
Gray nodded.
Erza reequipped into her leopard armor, "Good, we will find you later. Come Kakashi, this mission just took on the utmost urgency."
With that, Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, was racing off into the woods.
"Wasn't she majorly injured just a little while ago?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah, Erza just sort of…does her own thing…I've learned not to question her...or try to stop her…" Gray said.
Kakashi nodded before racing off to catch up with the scarlet hair warrior.
/
The caravan had made good time down the road. The fear of being caught in explosions probably helped. As they sprinted down the road to Bosco, they saw a traveller standing by the road. His long brown cape picked up dust. His ruck sack hung over his shoulder. It looked like he was missing an arm.
The caravan master slowed down as he approached the newcomer.
"I wouldn't go up this road if I was you stranger! A wizard from Fairy Tail, and a ninja from the Land of Fire are doing battle up the road!"
"Is that so? Thanks for the information pal," the guy said as he kept on walking. As he walked buy the caravan master called out one last warning.
"Don't go that way stranger! That wizard is a dragon slayer! Breathing fire and everything, he is!"
The traveller stopped walking and took a long breath, "It just had to be you, didn't it Natsu? You couldn't just leave well enough alone? You just had to pick a fight with a ninja…"
The traveller set back off down the road.
/
"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!"
The flames exploded around Natsu, taking out even more clones. Unfortunately, though, there didn't seem to be an end to the freaks, they just seemed to keep on coming, an endless tide of blond annoyances.
"Alright, who's next huh?"
"How about me! Rasengan!"
Naruto leapt forward, his palm stretched out. Natsu didn't understand what the thing in his hand was. It looked like some sort of blue orb. For a second, he wondered if he could eat it. He leaped out of the way a split-second too late. The thing grazed his stomach, and it was pure pain.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Naruto Uzamaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves! And I'm going to be the next Hokage!" Naruto adjusted his forehead protector. The metal caught the sunlight, and something happened to Natsu. He saw something of himself…a kid with a dream. He could respect that.
"Well I'm Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail! Be prepared to eat dirt! Fire Dragon: ROAR!"
Naruto was hit by the roaring inferno of flame. It was insane, the heat was out of this world. This wizard wasn't kidding, he really was a dragon. That's when the clone vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Oh, come on! Another one of these creeps! These are really starting to piss me off!" Natsu's mouth was on fire from frustration. He stamped his feet much like a little kid would. What was with this guy? Didn't he understand proper fighting etiquette.
"Sage Art: Rashenshuriken!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Natsu had almost no time before he felt something whip by his head. He was lucky to be alive, because when he saw that spinning ball of white death hit the dirt…there was no way he could survive that.
Then he was sent flying into a tree. Then another tree, and a couple more after that. It was humiliating, being distracted like that.
"Basic Shinobi Strategy, distract and attack! Dummy!" Naruto made a face in the middle of battle.
"Oh whatever! You missed your big attack anyway…hey…you look different!" Natsu said while pointing in Naruto's direction.
"This is my super amazing Sage Mode! With it I can take you in for interrogation!" Naruto replied, also pointing at Natsu. For a while they just stood there pointing at each other.
"Is this the real you, or some clone…because I'm getting real tired of your cheap tactics and fake tricks! Coward!" Natsu shouted, still pointing.
"It's the real deal now! You have my full attention!" Naruto replied, also still pointing. It was like a staring contest, but with two nuclear idiots. Natsu broke first.
"Alright then, I guess fair's fair. You brought out all the stops for me, so I'll do the same for you. Lightning Fire Dragon Mode!"
Natsu lit up as the air around crackled and the wood at his feet became singed.
Come on kid, you have to let me out. It's a fire lightning dragon! Just one little scrap, and then I'll go back. This punk is asking for it!
"I said no! God! Just back off!" Naruto grumbled to himself, "stupid nine-tailed demon…thinking I need help with some pushover wizard…"
/
"That idiot!" Sakura and Lucy shouted.
"Once I get my hands on that little dork, I'll throttle him!" Sakura said as she treated Lucy. Yamato and Wendy had brought them up to speed.
"I swear, that insane fireball is going to be the death of me. Picking a fight with a demon, what was he thinking?" Lucy grimaced in pain, but she would manage.
"Knowing him, he probably wasn't," Carla replied, hovering nearby.
"Erza and Gray are with that Kakashi guy. Hopefully they'll be able to stop the fight," Wendy added. She was on the other side of Lucy helping Sakura with her healing.
"It'll be fine you two. Besides, you need to recover your strength. Sakura, after you patch our new friend I want you to go help Sai," Yamato stood nearby.
"Yeah, no problem. Wendy do you mind helping me? It'll go a lot quicker with an extra set of hands."
"Of course, we owe you one anyway!" Wendy smiled. Yamato was still amazed that one so young could have such courage and compassion after battle. Truly remarkable.
"I think I'm ready to go, lets help your friend," Lucy breathed out. She shifted into a sitting position, and then slowly got to her feet.
"You're still injured, lean on me," Sakura offered her shoulder, "Wendy, you go on ahead."
Wendy nodded, then was off flying to Sai with Carla. Yamato led the way.
"Thanks for the help," Lucy managed to say.
"Hey, no problem, I caused those injuries anyway. Besides now I'm warmed up for the butt-kicking I'm going to be giving Naruto! Idiot!" Sakura's free hand clenched into a fist.
"Yeah, boys are idiot's, aren't they?"
/
Naruto and Natsu had reached a stalemate. They were in a pushing contest now, hands locked with each other. They were scuffed up beyond belief, and had lost all the power that they had. The only thing moving them forward was pure dogged will.
"You know, you're not half bad…for a shady, wimpy ninja," Natsu grinned. Their foreheads making contact, Naruto's headband having fallen off a while ago.
"Right back at you, you dumb stubborn wizard," Naruto grinned back, "I've still got one last trick up my sleeve though…"
Naruto didn't know what was going on. The whole fight it was like something was pushing him. He got angrier, and began feeling a desire to destroy this wizard. Not because of any rational means, but because he had been raised by a dragon. Dragons needed to be exterminated.
That's it Naruto, let out your anger. Let me out! We can take this punk together!
Naruto gave in for a second, he could feel the nine-tails energy seeping into him. Then his head was getting grabbed.
His face was crushed against Natsu's, and they both fell to the ground. Naruto lost consciousness.
Well, too late for that then…
Everything went to black for him
/
"What a pair of idiots…"
Poor Gildarts, he couldn't catch a break, first dragons and now tailed demons.
Friends! Followers! Reviewers! Lend me your ears! I come to offer my soul to sate you appetite and appease you for what I have done. I will not commit to a schedule, now will I promise change, but I give this humble chapter for you to devour as you see fit. I hope I may continue this sad excuse for a story someday. Forgive my sin, for I fell out of fandom, but like a fungus it has returned. I am one with the light again!
