Crossing of the River Gates: The Rubicon's Flow
Chapter Nine: Changes
Shikamaru's Journal, training progress:
For documentation's sake, I just had to write most of what we discovered about magic because from what we gathered of the book that Makarov gave us, it only gave the basic guides in the knowledge of magic.
It was as helpful as chakra theory was back in school, in that we only managed to test the surface of it, not much going on with the more practical and advanced skills. We had to do that by trial and error, and there were more mistakes and repair costs coming from our pockets rather than achievements. But I have to say, even though most of it was troublesome, I found our successes to be more in leaps and bounds rather than baby steps.
According to Makarov's book, magic is about the manipulation of outside forces and changing it to a type of skill you want it to be. Think of it as a specialization, if you will, in the same manner as Gai and Lee are to Taijutsu or how Kakashi and Yamato are with Ninjutsu. The same way as the basics of Shinobi abilities, magic is divided by three specializations; Holder, Caster and Lost Magic.
Holder Magic requires there be an external source for the user to cast spells. It can be anything from a sword up to the tea set that Shizune likes to prepare for us. And depending for whatever use that the item gives, it usually has a specification for it doing the right job.
Out of all of us who had an interest in this field, Tenten, Sai and surprisingly Neji spoke their interest in using them. Tenten and Sai, I found predictable since the former has been a weapon nut for most of her career and Sai was trained to handle a short sword as a close combat measure from ROOT. Neji, because in his reasoning, that combat abilities should be extended beyond that of traditional means in his family, and he thinks he can find that in using a weapon. Initially, we thought it was a problem because we needed a reliable merchant for that kind of stuff. But thanks to Kiba and Ino's former employer, we got ourselves a trustworthy weapons supplier.
As an afterthought, Kiba thought it was funny that Shino join their roster. Shino took that joke seriously and is now a member of their group. I did not make that up. It seems like it isn't just Sai who has a problem socializing with other people.
The next type of magic is Caster Magic. It's the expulsion of magic from our bodies without needing the aid of an item. Now, it doesn't mean that Caster is definitely superior to Holder, but Caster presents a much more versatile style and a large array of skills to learn from while Holder gives of an easier access to any specific magic that you want, it's a 'Right tool for the right job' kind of thing.
Including myself, the people that took interest in this field are Hinata, Ino, Chouji, Lee and Kiba took this route for different reasons. For me, it was to see just how much I can improve my Shadow Manipulation and maybe see myself expand from there. But it doesn't mean that I will have to be locked in one type of magic. I think I just saw a very interesting magical set from that merchant we (or more precisely, Tenten) often frequent to.
Ino said that she was interested in Genjutsu and even Illusion magic so no surprise there. Lee, I don't think anything can compliment his style. He relies much on his speed and close quarters combat. I don't think adding any long range combat in his style would be beneficial. He'd be better with Neji's group.
Then I'll just have to trust in his judgement if this really is what he wants.
For Kiba's reasoning, he says he wants to learn Mirajane's style of magic. Take Over isn't something I'm fond of. My first encounter with them is enough. But Kiba says he wants something more watered down and be able to combine with Akamaru along with another magic. If you ask me, he bonds with his dog too much. And he asks me why Naruto or I get a lot of women?
I wonder if that guy makes a day to day self reflection thinking about what was wrong with his life.
Chouji's reasoning behind it is actually because he thinks he's better at improving something he already has expertise in and that he was never much of a weapon user. Understandable, since his most used weapon was the standard Kunai and Shuriken and that he wasn't like Neji who learns fast enough.
Hinata, well, let's just say she has it bad for Naruto and she would do anything she can just to keep him safe. Her improvements are much more noticeable than many of us though and through a sense of both awe and dread, we discovered her preferred style is both destructive and supportive. It's versatile enough, but it can exceed to something much more almost borderline Lost Magic levels.
Which brings me to the final and certainly not the last type of magic, it's Lost Magic. It's a type of magic that is as suggested, magic lost through the ages. Mostly purged from History because of their degree of difficulty and rarity, this type of magic is said to be the most superior of all magic types and pertains to abilities that are akin to Kekkei Genkai.
Wendy's magic is said to be lost magic. At least, that's what I read. Her magic is called Ten no Metsuryu Maho (Sky Dragon Slayer Magic). Wendy claims that a dragon taught her the magic and I'm even more confused about it.
Why would a dragon teach someone not of their species about magic that can kill dragons?
It's just one of the things that really got me scratching my head. But Wendy claims it all as true. Well, whatever. It's not like I would ever fully understand this whole situation in the first place.
Among our ranks, I'd say Sakura takes this specialty because she and Shizune managed to break down the code of Dragon Slayer magic when they were with Wendy. Unknown to the poor girl, Sakura and Shizune had been studying her style of magic for several months up to a year and breaking it down to DNA levels. What that is, they wouldn't tell me. Sakura said to me that it was a secret and that she had just developed her own style of magic based from the studies she had obtained from Wendy and adapted to her own fighting style.
It wouldn't surprise me if Sakura would be able to replicate Wendy's style of magic with a few tweaks.
But Naruto, out of all of us, by far improved the most. He's grown a lot more controlled and more patient. Although he still shows signs of idiocy, he doesn't complain much anymore and has taken into fighting with a Wakizashi. That and he just learned Magic. What it is, he wouldn't tell me. But from what I can tell, that idiot somehow learned how to fly. I think that's an indication that he learned wind magic and that one of the abilities given by said magic is flight.
Also, that idiot managed to get the attention of a local just a few weeks ago and told the local tabloids about a yellow forest deity roaming the forests outside of Onibus Town at night. What a headache that caused us! That idiot is lucky that Anko didn't skin him alive that day.
An update to the last entry:
As an update on the information given last week, I've had to put the information of my friends' signature magic abilities because I need to memorize all of them and prepare for battle tactics that will be useful and who goes with who.
Tenten's magic: Tenten's ability gives the most versatile form of magic I've ever seen…
"Shikamaru, how much longer are you going to take staring at that journal of yours? We've already located one of the suspected members of the slave trafficking business here in Hargeon Town." His teammate admonished Shikamaru, who simply clicked his tongue in annoyance from his review being cut off.
"Alright, alright already, I'll be there in a sec!" Shikamaru replied earning another smart ass comment coming from his current teammate, "Be sure to have your napkins changed! I swear you can be worse than a woman sometimes!"
"Naruto, do you want to go there?"
The person now identified as Naruto, wearing his Kage attire went up and removed his mask to talk to Shikamaru.
"That's because you aren't the one who's going to catch this guy red handed! You think its fine that I have to turn into a girl just so that he could probably kiss me?" Naruto retched at his own statement before giving Shikamaru a glare.
"Hey, I would have volunteered… If I could change into a girl and have the same experience as you do."
Naruto glared at Shikamaru, simply giving him a mocking smirk knowing full well what Shikamaru was getting at.
"Fuck you, Shikamaru! That didn't happen!" Naruto exclaimed earning a chuckle from the strategist before he stormed out of the pineapple head's room and back down to the inn's lobby. Chouji came back from the bathroom and noticed Naruto storming down, seeing Shikamaru, the chubby boy asked, "What was that?"
Shikamaru merely gave an off handed reply, "It was nothing. Ready for that big raid later tonight, pal?"
Chouji nodded, "Yeah. I think I'm just about done with what I need. You're about to change?"
Shikamaru nodded.
"Alright, just let me inform Yamato-taichou that we're about to place in the bait."
Shikamaru stood up and put on his utility belt over his black pants and a black long sleeved button jacket with a white mane on the edge of the hood. He donned the black leather gloves that were lying neatly by the desk and wore his Nue mask to hide his face.
With a check of his current Ningu, Shikamaru jumped out of the window and landed lithely on the roof next to the inn.
'Now let's see if those guys take the bait.'
The council had issued another mission to them, an investigation and possibly an apprehension of a rumoured human trafficking operation. Trying to take them down wasn't the problem. It was weeding them out and exposing them. Because these guys didn't have a normal schedule so that it was more difficult to track them, the operation was subtle enough that the entire population of Hargeon Town were none the wiser. Sure there were rumors going about, but they were disregarded mostly because the targets were foreigners to the town. The searches made by the local authorities always end up a dead end because not only were the targets younger women, they were younger women who visit the town which meant that there were little to no witnesses or reports.
At least, that was part of the official report that concerned the townspeople. He had Chouji and some others to investigate the town itself and had an inkling suspicion that the slave traders had some sort of connection with the local authorities if they had managed to continue this long.
As a way to bring out the culprits, Shikamaru had Naruto transform into a girl and roam around town in the same erratic manner and have some pray that they encounter their targets. He could have asked Kiba, Neji or Shino's help in this case, but they were too busy with another mission that involved taking care of an infestation just north of Era.
Hinata was automatically ruled out since she could become a likely target, and they had to take more precautionary measures than necessary if it were so.
So far, it's been two weeks since they last did this mission and even though they were making slight progresses on the patterns that they had been doing (Placing clone outposts on every corner of the city) and planting bugs and spies to wherever they knew it was suspicious, the progress was too slow for his liking.
They were cornering the group and they knew it. It was only a matter of time now before they would be making a huge discovery with this mission and today was the day. Or at least, he hoped it was.
Earlier in Hargeon Town:
Lucy Heartfilia walked around the bustling and lively city that was Hargeon. She had heard of a merchant managing to obtain an item of her interest and she was determined to get it as soon as she sees it!
Turning to a corner, her world spun around as she bumped into something, tearing the wind out of her lungs and falling down to the stone cobbled floor butt first. She groaned from the blunt force of the impact and rubbed her temples from the nauseous event and finally apologized to the one who she bumped into.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you!" She said in a panic. She had thought that the person she had crashed on was male, it having the consistency of a stone wall, but was surprised when she heard the voice.
"Ow! Damn it, I almost hit my head on the streetlight!"
Well, it may not be a masculine voice, but it sure did have a masculine way of speaking. Also, the girl right in front of her was showing her panties to the world while she was rubbing her head.
"Ah! Cover yourself, please! I could see your panties!"
The girl, now she could identify as the same cute blonde but with twin pigtails and azure eyes with the most prominent features being her exotic whisker marks on her cheeks and wearing a light blue Yukata, looked on in observation and gave a small laugh at it. She looked a little embarrassed at this and said, "I guess I am showing it, huh?"
Not only was this person speaking like a man, he was behaving like one as well!
"Uh… Come on let's just go before a lot more people see us." Lucy suggested in discomfort as she was now fully aware that some of the men around them were now staring at the other blonde. Granted, flashing them her underwear would get them to stare long enough that would either grant them a nosebleed or simply blush. But somehow, the girl either didn't care or loved the attention.
Lucy hoped it was the former rather than the latter.
When they were far enough, Lucy held out her hand and apologized yet again, "Sorry about that, I put you in an embarrassing position! I shouldn't have shouted about you flashing your panties!"
The girl simply patted her on the shoulder and reassured her as if she didn't mind it all along, "Ah don't worry about it. It wasn't on purpose anyway."
Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief as the girl in front of her gave her a grin. The Heartfilia heiress gave off a smile of her own, noting that this woman's smiles were infectious.
"My name is Lucy Heartfilia, what's yours?"
The girl looked hesitant for a moment before doing a double take when she introduced herself, "You can just call me Naru."
Lucy had to scratch her head at the weird introduction that Naru had told her. Was she cautious about something?
"Anyway, what are you doing here, Lucy?" Naru asked, obviously curious.
"Well, I just got word that there is a special item here that's taken my interest. I'm a mage, you see and I'm looking for one of the golden celestial keys." She said this and held out her keychain that housed all of her celestial keys.
But Naru, leaving everything else to the side, was all over Lucy with bright eyes as she said, "You're a mage? That's so cool!"
Lucy swelled a little bit with pride that someone was admiring her for her being a mage, even if technically, she hadn't done anything yet to be a famous mage. But she had to remind herself.
'Baby steps…'
Lucy thought to herself as Naru looked at her keys with a certain glimmer in her eyes.
"Wow, you like magic, too?" Lucy asked while Naru furiously nodded. It was then that Lucy had noted that Naru can be a bit of a ditz.
As they walked around town and began discussing magic, Lucy had noticed that Naru may be a bit of a ditz, but she sure knew her way around the town like it was no one's business. That and she occasionally glanced side to side when Lucy thought she wasn't paying attention as if Naru herself was looking for something suspicious.
When they had managed to find the shop she was looking for, Lucy sighed in disappointment since this was the only shop that had magical items for sale. Naru seemingly looked around as if she was a kid in a toy store, impressed and absolutely giddy.
"Oh, looks like the young miss is enjoying my wares!" The merchant jovially announced but as soon as he said those words, Naru's excitement suddenly turned to boredom.
"What the hell? I thought I'd see more magic swords and weapons. Not this color magic bullshit."
Naru suddenly looked disappointed too. That is, until Lucy had found what she was looking for. It was one of the keys that she had been hearing of. But instead of the gold keys that Lucy described, this one was silver.
"Say, mister, how much is it for the key?" Lucy said as she leaned her torso just a little closer to the counter, slightly showing some skin.
"Twenty-thousand jewels." The man said as straight as possible without a hint of hesitation in his voice. Lucy, accentuating her curves, leaned in much closer and exposed her chest a little more.
"No, no, you misunderstood. I said, 'how much is it for this key?'"
By the time the merchant was about to name his price, Naru had just accidentally hit a magical item that transformed her clothes.
Smoke billowed all around her as her Yukata was transformed into a sexy devil girl's outfit, complete with leather gloves, thigh high skin tight stiletto boots, cute little devil wings and horns and a lacy one piece swimsuit.
Lucy's jaw dropped at how much of a bombshell Naru was who was looking down at her own figure while the merchant was simply drooling.
"F-F-FIVE THOUSAND JEWELS ON THE KEY!"
Cha-ching!
They exited the store premises without many problems except that Lucy was feeling a little inadequate now that she was around Naru.
"My sex appeal can only go as high as a thousand jewels…" She said in a depressed town with her head hanging low all the while staring at Naru who looked like she was nervously laughing.
"If it makes you feel better, Lucy, a thousand jewels is a lot." Naru said trying to make Lucy feel better, but it coming off from the lady that got a fifteen thousand jewel discount, she wasn't feeling that swell today.
"Coming from you, that's nothing." Lucy mentioned while Naru gave an embellished laugh once more.
Once they turned to the corner of the street, they saw a lot of girls clamouring to one direction. They turned to the place where the commotion was about and quickly noticed a man was standing in the middle of the crowd of girls.
He was wearing a rather flamboyant set of clothing, black pants and shoes, a white long sleeved shirt and a long black cape swaying with the wind as he walked. He walked with a confident smile, and a rather flamboyant way of speaking. Needless to say, a lot of the women around him were smitten with his somewhat boyish good looks.
Naru tilted her head in confusion. They were clamouring over this guy? He didn't even look that much. Naru was about to grab Lucy from her side but saw the girl love stricken as well. Naru sighed as she was about to drive her out of her funk when she heard someone from the crowd come over and shout something.
"IGNEEL!"
And the sound of a boisterous youth charged his way towards where they were, making his way to the crowd and squeezing around women, came a pink haired boy with a blue bipedal cat and looking as if he had found a treasure trove.
"IGNEEL!"
He shouted once more, until he snuck from below ignoring the women who were yelling in surprise and finally shouting from below,
"IGNEEL!"
The sudden surprise coming from the boy snapped Lucy out of her trance.
His smile suddenly changed to confusion upon seeing the man's face. Instead of excitement, the pink haired boy suddenly asked rather rudely, "Who the hell are you?"
The man stepped back a little but regained his composure once more. He cupped his chin with a confident smile as he said to the boy, "You'll probably know me as, Salamander."
"Nope, sorry, you're not him." The boy suddenly turned his back on the man and left. The man's charisma had no effect on the boy.
This had the unforeseen consequence of the man's fan club beating the crap out of the boy as he crumpled to the ground below.
After another display of his fire magic, Salamander excused himself from the crowd to talk about something in the docks before vanishing in a rise of flames but not without sending invites to a party at a cruise ship.
"Man, that dude was annoying." Naru commented subtly with Lucy looking disdainfully as Naru poked the twitching boy.
"Hey, you okay?" Naru asked and noticed that the boy had the resiliency of a cockroach when he got up, somehow, seeing the boy get beat up like that by a crowd of hormonally charged females made Naru shudder in fear.
"That guy disgusts me." To this, Lucy turned to the pink haired youth and gave her gratitude, "Thanks by the way." And she shuddered once more all the while the pink haired boy and Naru stared at her curiously.
"What are you talking about?" Naru asked and Lucy looked incredulous.
"Don't tell me you weren't affected by his charm magic. You saw what happened!" Lucy commented and Naru scratched her cheek and thought back for a moment before giving a reply with a grin, "Nope, didn't feel a thing!"
"Wait, what? How come you aren't affected? It's either you're a guy or you were aware that he was casting it!" Lucy said and Naru simply grinned sheepishly, "Well… I don't know that happened but I sure am glad I wasn't affected!"
Lucy suddenly backed down a little as her spine crawled up and down, "Naru, don't tell me you swing that way!"
She didn't know Charm magic was also ineffective to girls who had different… Preferences, if you will.
Meanwhile, Naru simply looked at Lucy as if she was going to neither confirm nor deny Lucy's statement.
Maybe it was why Naru can be boyish in attitude even though she looked so cute. Lucy gave a sigh, today was full of close shaves and disappointments on her part. Besides, she still had to repay both Naru and the pink haired boy for their company and their help, respectively.
It was then that Naru had to decline Lucy's offer as she had to go. But before Naru left, she advised Lucy.
"Be careful later, Lucy. I saw that guy earlier had his eye on you." And with that, Naru ran and disappeared from Lucy's view.
*Cue scene with Shikamaru*
Later that night:
The trap was set. Naruto had successfully made his way inside the party while he (Shikamaru), Chouji, Yamato and Sai had made their way inside due to Naruto's infiltration and knocking out specific low grunt targets. Tonight was their perfect chance. With this big haul, they can put a major bust into their operations. Two weeks worth of investigations finally paid off.
As they were surveying the area, Naruto couldn't help but notice that his warning was completely ignored by the girl he had managed to talk to earlier. Now she was in the party/trap laid by these scum of society and he had a wary feeling that the mission was about to get more dangerous.
Then, it happened. The pink haired boy figuratively and literally crashed the party just in the middle of the guy claiming himself to be the Salamander of Fairy Tail breaking Lucy's spirits. It was an entertaining sight and seeing the pink haired mage's rage whittle down as the tides churned the boat sideways made him nauseous and therefore, sick, Naruto had to let a small chuckle escape his lips.
Seeing as the mage from Fairy Tail was down, Naruto took a step forward and dispelled his henge.
'About damn time we do this!' Naruto thought as he walked away from the billowing smoke, and Naru's image was changed to that of a more intimidating person, punching one guy straight at the face and elbowing another, breaking the man's teeth before going for a vicious uppercut that sent the man sailing outside the boat and into the cold ocean waters.
"What now?" The man claiming himself to be the Salamander asked as he heard one of his comrades was just painfully sent sailing outside the ship.
It was then that the masked man stood on the ceiling and gave an amused and menacing wave.
"Hi."
The man stiffened, he glanced to the wooden ceiling up above and saw a person wearing a white mask with a blue streak in the middle looking down at him with a black and hollow expression.
A feeling of dread and fear escaped his being. That man's casual wave at him made him feel uncomfortable. It was as if something beneath that gesture told him that the person had meant more to it than those two simple letters.
The man with the faceless mask then disappeared from his view in a flash and reappeared just to the side of one of the fake Salamander's comrades and gave a vicious straight punch right before disappearing and reappearing once again to one of his men, this time, it was a straight flying kick straight to the thug's chest, nailing the poor sap to the ship's wall causing a minor stir.
Lucy watched in fascination, as this man with the faceless mask was beating up people around the ship frantically while Natsu was still feeling the effects of his seasickness, she then noticed several more people jumping into the scene. And like the person creating havoc all around the ship, these people wore the same porcelain white mask. But this time, the masks had different designs that she couldn't quite figure out.
"Murakumo surely loves loosening up, doesn't he?" Asked the rather husky man with the long mane for a hair that wore the traditional red Samurai armor complete with scaled armor to the side of his thighs and arm guards and to top it off, horns placed on his helmet that have the same scaled design to its side.
"I think it's because his frustrations of being a girl earlier were welling up and he couldn't exactly hit Nue, Oni." The other one, wearing white chest armor over a long sleeved black shirt just reaching to his upper thigh with the same black colored pants and bandages on his forearm and legs, to his back was a handle to what Lucy could tell as a short sword.
"For the last time, Kappa, he's the only one who could pull it off, aside from the fact that he's busted multiple perverts with that form right, Tengu-taichou?" The one with the Nue mask said as he dug through his ninja pouch and pulled out three shuriken and flinging it lazily to one of their targets and pinned him to the wall.
The one with the teal green kimono and dark green sleeveless haori that reached just to his lower torso looked hesitant and tapped his getta sandals on the wooden floor before answering,
"I don't want to answer that question." The one with the Tengu mask replied. It was at that instant that all four of them moved and began their assault on the enemy.
Nue, pulled out the trench knives that his master had left behind. It was such a convenience that not only was the weapon capable of being a conduit for chakra; it was also a good conductor for magic. This discovery wasn't easy though when they were studying magic. It literally was only by accident that he saw the compatibility and Nue had to hit himself on the forehead when he had soon realized that chakra and magic were, in essence, a basic composition of malleable energy. It was to which he had studied and looked for a way to incorporate his style with the current magic. He had to recall most of their teacher's basic moves only by memory and although he wasn't as physical as Asuma was, Nue had more than enough skill and tactics to employ his usage of the trench knives.
His shadow gripped the trench knives and began crawling and creating a formless blade that matched the knives' shape to its edge by almost twice as long. Nue then began slashing down enemies left and right with his usage of the blade. It was thanks to their guild master, Panda and Kappa that he was a little bit more proficient in the art of armed combat although he wasn't as good as those three are in the field, he could probably give a common thug a run for their money.
Nue continued to cut down his opponents and turned to his side, and saw Kappa handling the short sword and a long azure one as if he had been holding it all his life. To make matters worst, Kappa held the short Wakizashi like blade in a reverse grip. Something that seemed very difficult to do when holding a sword as it tended to mess up swings and blade placements.
Nue didn't know why, but he was sure that Kappa somehow found some sort of pleasure in cutting down his enemies as evidenced by the fact that he was taking them down with not only the finesse of a seasoned swordsman, but also the efficiency and the dexterity in which he does, a product of his training from his former benefactor, no doubt.
To the farther side, he saw Oni and Murakumo doing what they do best and it was to cause havoc. Both of them were smashing faces with either brute force or unmatched speed. To Murakumo, it was the latter as said person not only honed himself in the way of magic, but also gained a respectable amount of speed that almost matched a de-weighted Lee while Oni pummelled with literally the strength of a giant and kept sending people literally through the wall and landing on the cold sea water outside.
All this occurred as Tengu simply watched his subordinates work. It was then that he felt a sudden churning of the ship.
In the midst of the chaos, Happy, Natsu's flying-talking blue cat, carried Lucy overhead and both were unceremoniously dropped on to the cold waters below.
Lucy, out of wanting to pay her abductors back, grabbed one of her golden keys summoned her magic.
"Open the gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"
And at her command, a magic circle had appeared just in front of the key that she was holding. The Magic circle expanded and its rotation stopped. Out of the middle of the circle appeared a blue haired beauty only matched by her grace, her beautiful alabaster skin reflected in the moonlit waters of the ocean as her seemingly elegant form spoke to Lucy, "You better have a damn good reason to summon me here while I was having a nice date with my boyfriend, you wench."
Lucy was held back when her eyes changed from that of elegance to a very dangerous and enraged one.
Lucy had to stutter in her speech but still, she had to show to her summoner just who was boss around here! "A-Alright, Aquarius, Aim for that big ship over there, and send that thing crashing to the port!"
Aquarius looked like she was about to obey that order and Lucy looked pleased for a moment…
Until she realized she was in Aquarius' line of fire as well.
Lucy was sent flying from her area along with Happy towards the Port. Despite the torrential wave that she was experiencing right now, she could hear the thunderous crash of the ship just where she expected it to be, at the port.
Inside the ship, the five members of Kage didn't even look like they were dishevelled by the sudden turbulence that occurred within the boat. Murakumo looked around, seeing as some of the men, still unscathed, got up with the world still spinning in their vision. The resulting event, however, not only forced them to dry land, it also relieved a previously motion sick Natsu, who looked about as energized and as he was before he crashed the party, and the gleam and intensity of his eyes showed forth a menace that the crew had just realized.
They were facing Rage incarnate.
"Bastard, I'm a member of the guild Fairy Tail and I haven't seen that mug before!"
Fire soon erupted from his hands and blazed forth like a solar flare, "Bastards like you who shame our name deserves a beating worse than any other!"
Nue noted immediately as he signalled for Tengu to create a wooden barrier, preferably, one sturdy enough to withstand the force of a Rasengan fully powered.
"This…Probably won't end well." Murakumo commented, earning a look from Nue.
"Let's just get out of here and hope that Tengu's barrier holds up from the incoming onslaught." Nue mentioned but Kappa simply mentioned flatly, "Too late, Nue."
With that, they saw the man impersonating the Salamander sent flying like a missile outside the ship and crashing on to the wooden wall that Yamato had created. Well, it was sturdy alright, right before crumbling from the impact reaching down below into the ground.
"The council is not going to like the fact that the port is destroyed." Oni muttered, earning a glare from Murakumo.
"Not our fault, he crashed the party, remember?" Murakumo pointed down towards an enraged Fire Dragon Slayer that just socked a completely helpless Bora straight to the face with a flame powered fist and then sent sailing from the ship, bursting through the wooden Barrier that Tengu had made and slamming just above the clock tower's watch.
Nue shook his head and gave a sigh, "That's the kid we know from two years ago. Looks like nothing changed when we left."
Murakumo simply looked entertained beneath his mask as he watched the now identified Natsu Dragneel, the Real Salamander; thrash about at the destroyed ship and port.
"You know that guy?" Murakumo asked while Nue turned away from his teammate.
"Kind of… We've done jobs with him in the past. He's just like you, walks in head first in a fight with shuriken flying. He also gets beaten up by Ouka when he doesn't listen or he does something boneheaded. Kind of reminds you of someone, doesn't it?" Nue spoke those words with a hint of amusement.
"I wasn't that bad, was I?" Murakumo asked, all four of them replied at the same time, "Yes, you were."
"Though you're not as bad back then, dickless, Ouka still beats you up for being stupid at times."
"You know I'm tempted to stab you right now, Kappa."
"Save that for another time, the fuzz are here and I'm sure we don't want to get in anymore trouble than we already are."
"I blame your laziness." Murakumo commented before disappearing from view
"And I blame your meddlesome attitude." Nue retorted back as all five of them left without as much as a trace.
Era Magic Council:
The center of magic has always been one to impress Haiirogami (Grey Wolf), ever in its elegant and exquisite walls and articulated pillars; it put the architecture of almost all the nations of his homeland to shame.
He could tell that the council were fond of the arts. Just looking at the statues, the paintings and even the chiselled designs of the roof were meant that these people either valued the arts for its aesthetic purposes or they just had too much time on their hands.
Once Haiirogami had reached the main chambers itself, he could hear the muffled mumblings and murmurs coming out of the old men and women who were discussing likely the current politics.
'Typical for men of their age.'
He commented as he walked towards the center of the council chambers, a document folder in hand.
"Haiirogami, what is your report in Hargeon Town?" One member of the council asked, almost demandingly, Kakashi complied well on his own.
"We've managed to put a stop to the slave trading business or at least, cripple the majority of it. It was a big haul that night and we think that we've busted their major mode of operation. We believe that it lasted for several months but we couldn't be sure. If that were the case then it is within reasonable suspicion that some of the operatives there had connections to their local government, perhaps more." The masked leader of Kage mentioned as he placed the folder on the podium that was in the middle.
"In light of this, the mission has been completed with little to no property damage, but the problem would still probably exist. We have captured one of their primary members, Bora, a former member of the guild Titan Nose. With your permission, we would do some means of 'extracting' information to trace the ones who would be involved in this business. With Bora's prominence over the whole operation, he must probably know a lot. However, be advised that in getting that information, we will obtain it at our own discretion; our job, our rules."
To this, some of the councilmen looked uneasy and the look of uncertainty circled around them. The youngest of the councilmen, Sieglein, was leaning to his table forward and asked the leader of the council funded guild,
"Shouldn't you add anything to that, Haiirogami?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this beneath his mask.
"I don't understand, honourable councilman, what is there more to add?"
"Oh, that the port of Hargeon was destroyed and a part of the clock tower was ruined. Didn't you know?" Seiglein asked as a grin escaped from his lips while the leader of Kage remained silent for a second before answering back.
"I have read the mission report, Councilman Seiglein, and though it is very unfortunate and the damage is wide scale, I assure you that my people are disciplined enough to not let something like that happen in a highly populated area."
'At least I hope not.' Kakashi muttered this to himself. Seiglein simply grinned and looked over to his co-members and to his subordinate, the lovely Ultear.
"Well, that's that for me, then. Anymore of you wish to continue this interrogation?" Seiglein asked. A member of the council, much, much older than Seiglein replied,
"Hmph, insouciant brat, I find that your lack of interest in the matters of administrating and regulating guilds not amusing. You are proving far more incompetent than I could imagine, Kage. Where it not for the fact that your credential only speak well for your guild now, I would have voted to stop funding your little organization." Said the other member in disdain, some of the members nodded to what the man was saying.
"I'm sorry but your group made a miscalculation in trying to keep Fairy Tail out of the equation. An occurrence that is nuisance to us almost every week, was it not in your calculations, Haiirogami?"
Kakashi shook his head, "None that I know of, honourable councilman, we make it a policy that we have minimal interaction outside the council unless we are tasked upon. Fairy Tail, if I remember correctly, was not within our mission parameters when we obtained the order for the mission or expected a member of the guild to show up."
He knew what this was, this was politics. For every positive, people will always find something to bore holes in. This is just one of them. It wasn't just their guild at stake here; it was probably also the people behind who would support their idea. After all, not all of see each other eye to eye.
"I disagree with that statement because their presence has been a big help in maintaining order and tipping the scales in our war against the dark guilds. Without them, our progress would be nothing. Already there are reports coming from different towns that Dark Guilds are collapsing one by one. It would be only a little more and the Balaam Alliance would be crippled. It would only be a matter of time until one of the Dark Guilds start to act. And dare I say it, would search for the ones who would dare to challenge them."
It was at this time that Seiglein spoke, "Which, in all cases probably won't work since there has been no indication or word sent that we are doing a pre-emptive strike, yet. Is that what it is councilman?"
"Yes, the more we look clean to the public, the less conspicuous we become. Let the small conspiracy theories rattle out in the streets. But there will be nothing that the Balaam Alliance can pin on us even if they DO begin some sort of Counter-Offensive. A little mistake is but a small cost if we are to maintain peace here in Fiore."
"It is but wishful thinking if you believe that the Balaam Alliance would yield to such acts of treachery, councilman. But be wary, the Balaam Alliance would most likely consider retaliation with most likely the Oracion Seis leading the front."
"Precisely the point, if we continue playing with fire then we will eventually be burned! You want us to suffer and be tossed to the dogs just because of a tiny group that will most likely churn the alliance? This council is but one organization against three guilds filled with S-Class Mages or worse, dark magic!"
"ENOUGH!" The eldest of the member said before slamming down his staff on the ground.
"We have seen and heard enough. Kage, in a short span of two years, you have given your services well. Unlike many of the guilds today, you show efficiency and professionalism in what you do. With regards to the Balaam Alliance, it is inevitable in the end. Why not hasten up the process? With this, the stir in the Balaam Alliance will force them to draw closer to us." One of the members, who looked like he had the highest authority within the room, spoke.
"Not only that, they managed to clean out the weeds placed in different towns. I admit that we are spending much on this guild, but the investment is worth it if they can detect and locate under the table dealings and stabilizing any town under a crime lord's thumb. The confusion in the Dark Guilds is just a bonus."
"The pros outweigh the cons with their involvement. No matter what each of you see, spending on this guild is a small price to pay in eradicating those that would follow Zeref's ways. We need not to dirty our hands if necessary. With that in mind…" The eldest then pointed to Kakashi, "Your guild, Kage, shall continue to receive monetary aide from us, but be warned, so much as our involvement be heard in your operations then we will halt any further dealings with you and deny you. Your existence shall be exposed to the public and we will wipe away any form of interaction about you."
Kakashi noted, "It is duly noted, councilman. As per our terms two years ago, we will make sure that any form of your involvement will be held secret. I only ask that you do the same."
Kakashi looked at every council member and stared longer at Seiglein. Kakashi, for as long as he had been summoned in these chambers, knew Seiglein the least. For a while he had thought the boy was just someone filling for his parent since he never saw him during his trial and was absent when he was given their first mission. Something told Kakashi that trusting this man was close to suicide. There were too many things that Seiglein represented that were sending alarm bells ringing in Kakashi's head. As they say, be wary to those who are forthcoming.
Years of experience taught him that.
As the meeting drew to a close, Kakashi excused himself from the room and exited curtly. Once outside, the masked guild master gave a sigh and put his hands in his pockets.
... And flicked a kunai just past his stalker and embedding to the wall just behind her.
"Ultear, you of all people should know about sneak around a guild master. It would be unfortunate if you suffered an... Accident of some sort." The gray haired ninja mentioned, careful of his wording to Seiglein's subordinate.
Ultear gave a soft laugh, more amused than threatened, "My, my, the master has fully honed senses. It would be wise for this one to tread likely. I wonder if any of your subordinates are able to do that as well."
Kakashi grabbed the kunai from the wall and pocketed it to his pouch all the while saying, "My subordinates are fully capable. Of that I assure you. Now, what it is your agenda that you came here to talk to me?"
Ultear smiled, "Haiirogami, you wound me. Is it unusual to be curious around an employee of the council that neither Seiglein-sama nor I have heard of?"
"Your boss was absent when we were recognized. I think it's his fault for not paying enough attention." Kakashi admonished as he walked away.
Urtear had to admit, that much was true, but she was willing to believe that even the rest of the members of the council knew as much as them.
A smile escaped from her lips as she watched Kakashi vanishing from her sight.
"Have you obtained anything, Ultear?" Seiglein asked appearing from the shadows.
The female mage shook her head, "He's terribly distrusting to us. He finds us dangerous and problematic."
Seiglein simply leaned back in his chair and gave an amused smile, "That's funny. I thought the same to him and his group. I guess great minds do think alike in this case. Don't you think so, Tenko?"
Seiglein turned to the man leaning at one of the pillars, hidden from Urtear's view. He was wearing a long, darker version of Seiglein's coat along but with a hood over dark pants and shoes. His chokuto was strapped on his side so he could draw it quicker and his arms were a mismatch of steel and flesh, his left arm, instead of warm skin was cold steel that reached up to his elbow. Along with the artificial arm were pads of iron that acted as covering over the metal wiring and cylinders beneath.
His hair, ebony and wild, stretching at the back of his head, taking the shape of a hawk, stood perfectly tamed to him despite the rustling wind. He had the facial features of a handsome man but marred by his look of apathy. He gazed at Seiglein, even though he was somewhat grateful at the man, he was still annoyed that the shrewd mage would give him a name of a girl, or possibly, a pet.
"Why must you insist that name for me? Taka would have been fine." He said, although he didn't show it, he was clearly annoyed.
"Now, now, Tenko, I found you. As such, think of me as your father christening that name to you. Besides, don't you think it's cute?" Seiglein asked with a smile annoying Tenko even more.
"It's humiliating. Not only is it a girl's name, it could also be given as a name to a pet. And I am not your pet, Seiglein." He said as the man merely laughed at Tenko's demands.
"Ah but you aren't, Tenko. It just so happens that you couldn't remember your name or where you came from. What was I supposed to do? I could have called you Mr. Freeloader and be done with it."
Somehow, that nickname would have been worse. Tenko simply grumbled in annoyance and simply accepted Seiglein's name for him.
"Good! See? I have a heart to even name you like that! Now that Mr. Brooding has been dealt with, I'd like to have a task done by you, Tenko."
Tenko raised an eyebrow at this as Seiglein grinned, seeing the man's curiosity.
"There's this Dark Guild called Death's Head Caucus. In their ranks are three of their most powerful members. They are the Trinity Raven. I want you to confront them and make them join my side." Seiglein gave Tenko the instructions as the ebony haired boy read the direction on how to get there as well as the descriptions of the group that Seiglein was pointing.
'A talking man sized owl riding a jetpack, what the hell is this?' Tenko scratched the back of his head in confusion.
"Why are you giving me this assignment? What is this for?"
To this, Seiglein's smile turned menacing, as his eyes grew sharper. He asked Tenko, "Have you ever heard of something called the Tower of Heaven?"
To Be Continued…
Well, here it is, a reintroduction at some of the casts two years have past and we know move on to the timeline of the pre-time skip Fairy Tail. As such, even though this time skip coincides with the main story line, Kage will not be involved much with the story of Natsu and Friends until much, much later. They will have their own storyline until Phantom Lord and Oracion Seis. Sasuke will be involved with the Tower of Heaven arc although as a minor character with not much impact into the story itself until the events of Oracion Seis AND Edolas.
Madara will be much longer; he will make his appearance and act much later than the rest as he is the last obstacle of the Naruto cast. He will play a bigger role in the future and his presence (or not) in Deliora Arc will be close to non-existent as such, I will not be writing that particular story as well as the arc that follows it but instead, it would only be references to what happened.
Regarding Sasuke's memory loss, yes, I know, some of you may hate it. But do remember that even though Sasuke's turned into a Psycho in the manga, I needed him to be saddled with one of the cast in Fairy Tail to get the ball rolling with him. He will, in due time, discover his past gradually as he has encounters with the members of Kage. The memories and encounters will be small, almost minute details, but eventually (with the wonders of character development) this will place Sasuke in a different light than right now.
I know you're all dying right now just what kind of stuff that the crew has learned (along with Sasuke) in the span of the time skip but I think I'll keep it to myself, unless if you ask me nicely, I can give you some of the concepts that I've laid out and figure it out for yourself or I could just leave it altogether and reveal it by the time I feel like telling you. I've given you a taste with Naruto's with this chapter as well as Shikamaru's.
Also, for those who are confused just to who's who in our masked brigade, here's the list of the people I've revealed:
Murakumo- Naruto
Haiirogami- Kakashi
Kurohebi- Anko
Byakko- Gai
Nue- Shikamaru
Tengu- Yamato
Kappa- Sai
Chouji- Oni
And as for reference placed in here:
Panda- Tenten (I swear to God, Panda has no Japanese name except for, well, panda. Kuma would be good but I think Panda fits better for Tenten.)
Ouka- Sakura (Ouka is actually another name for Cherry Blossoms, but I guess some of you already know that.)
Keep track, everyone. As every chapter I reveal a character and codename, I'll update this list and by next chapter, there's a reveal on some of the magic that some Shinobi have learned.
With all that I DEMAND THAT YOU LEAVE A REVIEW! RAWR!