Author's note: Hey everyone, new update! The tenth chapter of this story is up, I hope you like it! Once again, I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.
A SHINOBI IN EARTHLAND
CHAPTER 10
Deep inside the thick forest Gray was getting ready for his own fight.
"This guy, he may seem strange but I got a feeling that he is stronger than he looks. I should better be careful" he thought.
"Well then let's start, shall we?" Arkana said as he quickly drew a couple of cards from one of the pockets of his tuxedo. The cards started glowing in a bright purple light as he threw them towards where Gray was standing. Gray was barely able to dodge as the cards flew at a high speed against him and started exploding once they hit the ground.
"That was close" Gray said as he dodged the attack. "My turn now. Ice Make, Lance!" the dark haired mage said as he put his arms together and threw a number of long, ice made spears.
"Interesting! But not as good as this one. Magical Mist!" Arkana said as he draw another card and held it in front of him. The card started glowing and a fog of white mist appeared, causing the ice made spears to vaporise once they got inside the thick fog.
"What kind of trick is this?" Gray said surprised.
"One of my favourite cards, as well as one of my strongest! Nothing gets past my Magical Mist. Now let's see if you are ready for this one. Scattershot!" Arkana said with a grin as the cloud of mist dissolved and he threw another card high in the air. The card levitated in the air for a while before it glowed in a purple light like the previous ones and exploded in the air, sending a barrage of smaller cards towards the spot where Gray was standing. Gray managed to dodge again, even though the force of the attack caused him to land clumsily on his feet and lose his balance, hitting the ground.
"Damn it!" he said angrily as he got back on his feet.
"I see you are pretty good at dodging, ice mage. You seem a little bit tired and a little tensed though. How about a magic trick?" Arkana said as he drew a white handkerchief and held it from the sides with both of his hands.
"What are you going to do now? Make a bird appear or something?" Gray said sarcastically.
"Actually, this is exactly what I'm planning to do! Nothing in my sleeves and, voila! Here's a pretty pigeon!" Arkana said as he flapped the handkerchief with a theatrical move and a white pigeon appeared.
"Huh? He actually did it" Gray said surprised.
"Heads up!" Arkana said as the pigeon suddenly dove against Gray, who dodged again as the pigeon exploded once it hit the ground.
"Okay, enough of this! Ica Make, Hammer!" Gray yelled as he put his hands together, created a large, ice made hammer and threw it against his opponent.
"That looks dangerous" Arkana chuckled as he threw another card that started glowing and absorbed the ice made hammer.
"What?" Gray's eye shot wide in shock.
"Now, let me return this to you" Arkana said grinning as the card started glowing again and threw the hammer back at Gray who barely dodged one more time.
"What was that?" Gray said as he got back on his feet.
"Another one of my favourites, my Reflecting Card. Even though, I don't think I'll be able to use it again during this fight since it takes a while to recharge" Arkana slightly frowned as he put his card back to his pocket.
"Man, this guy's moves are totally unpredictable! His style is much different from Cana's Card Holder Magic. Okay then, I'll try close combat" Gray thought as he charged forward.
"Are you going for hand to hand combat? In that case, you might want to watch your step" Arkana said simply. Gray's eyes grew wide with surprise as he looked at the ground and noticed a card in front of him.
"Damn it!" he said as the card created a vortex of lightning that caught him in the middle of it, striking him and causing him to fall on his knees panting.
"You are making this too easy ice mage. Is that really the best you can do? This is almost disappointing!" Arkana said with a mocking tone and a hint of disappointment in his voice, as he walked slowly towards Gray. But he suddenly stopped once he noticed Gray's expression.
"Maybe you should also watch your step!" the dark haired mage said with a grin.
"Did the electric shock hurt your head? What are you talking about?" Arkana said but he suddenly stopped as he nearly lost his balance. "What's this? The ground got slippery?" he said surprised as he looked the ground underneath him which was now frozen. "Hmph, what a cheap trick!" he said with a disparaging tone in his voice as he lifted his head and his eyes grew wide in surprise as he saw Gray charging against him.
"I got you now!" Gray said as he landed a hard blow on his opponent's face, who was sent flying backwards. Gray attacked again and landed another hard punch but his next strike was blocked by his opponent.
"You pack a strong punch ice mage! I am not that surprised actually, given your guild's reputation. I don't really like this whole fist fighting though, that's mostly Kenji's thing. But this doesn't mean that I don't know how to fight" Arkana said as he landed a hard kick on Gray's midsection, followed by a strong second kick at the same place and a hard strike with his cane on the side of Gray's face. Arkana went for another strike with his cane, but Gray caught it firmly with his hand.
"Well, that's too bad for you! Because, I don't mind a good fist fight at all. In fact, I do this with Natsu all the time, even if it makes Erza angry" Gray said with a wide grin as he landed a hard blow on his opponent's midsection, whose eyes grew wide and he gasped in pain, and continued by surrounding his fist with a block of ice and landing another strong punch on his opponent's face, who was sent flying backwards and crashed on the ground.
"What's the matter? Come on, is that all?" Gray chuckled, as Arkana slowly got back on his feet and dusted his tuxedo.
"Hmph, I shouldn't expect anything different from a Fairy Tail mage. You guys are just what I've heard of, a bunch of loudmouth brawlers, with uncouth men, skimpy dressed women and an old pervert for a guild master, that all they do is drink, yell, fight and destroy stuff! Not one of you has the class or the elegance of a real mage!" Arkana yelled angrily, but he stopped once he noticed Gray's furious expression.
"You just made a serious mistake! I am going to teach you never to talk about Fairy Tail like this again, especially in front of me!" Gray said with a slow, growling voice that burned with anger.
"Is that so? Well, let's see if you are actually going to be able to do this, ice mage! Because I'm done playing around. Now I'm getting serious. And you won't be able to land another blow on me!" Arkana said seriously with his black eyes shinning as he started charging his magical power and he was surrounded by a dark purple aura.
"I am going to beat you with my magic! I'll teach not to take Fairy Tail lightly! For the pride of my guild, my friends and gramps, I'll make you eat those words!" Gray said seriously as well, with a hard and determined expression on his face and a clear look on his dark blue eyes as he started charging his own magical power, surrounding himself with a light blue aura and freezing the ground around him. "Ice Make, Geyser!" he yelled as he slammed his hands on the ground and created large blocks of ice with long spikes that moved towards his opponent.
"Dark Bombers!" Arkana said as he held several cards on both of his hands, which were surrounded in purple flames as they started to glow, and threw them. The two powerful magic attacks collided, creating a series of explosions as the ground was momentarily filled with blocks of ice and purple flames. Gray got ready for another attack.
"Ice Make, Hammer!" he said as he put his arms together and created an even larger than before ice made hammer which he threw it towards his opponent.
"What?" Arkana said surprised, but he quickly recovered from his surprise and spread his arms on his sides, creating several glowing cards that started to move quickly around his arms in circles. "Card Dealer!" he said as he put his arms in front of him with a wavy motion and started firing the cards rapidly against the large hammer, stopping it's speed gradually in the process and destroying it just barely before it reached him.
"I got to admit it, you are stronger than I expected ice mage" Arkana said panting slightly. "But it's over now! I'll finish this with my next move. You see, when you use only one specific type of magic, even if it is something as powerful as your Molding Ice Magic, then sometimes it has obvious weaknesses! And I got just the right cards for that!" the hat wearing mage said as he held two cards.
"You mean fire magic, don't you?" Gray said slightly worried.
"That's right! My Blazing Flame Card is my strongest fire magic card and it should be more than enough. And to make things even hotter, I'll combine it with this one, Dark Impulse. This special card will make the devastating effects of my fire card almost twice as strong. You're finished ice mage! Blaze Tornado!" Arkana said as he held both of the cards with the same hand, the one started glowing in a bright red and orange light and the other one in a purple light, and fired a torrent of hot flames.
"Ice Make, Shield!" Gray said as he put his arms together and created a large, semicircular, ice made shield that kinda reminded of a flower in its shape and got ready for the impact. The hot flames crashed on the shield with force and Gray struggled to hold his ground.
"Are you really that stupid? Do you really think you can hold your own against flames with ice? You are more foolish than I thought! Ha, ha, no way, you're finished ice mage! Burn away, along with your pathetic guild! Ha, ha, hah!" Arkana yelled with a maniacal laugh.
"Aargh!" Gray groaned as he was surrounded by the hot flames which burned intensely, his ice made shield almost gone. "Damn it, this is it? Am I done here, in this place? No, I need to do this, I need to win. But, can I do it?" Gray said silently as he slowly closed his eyes and started to feel the flames getting closer, his body getting weaker and his senses fading. "I'm sorry everyone, it looks like I'm done here. Goodbye Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, everyone. I can't do it" But as he started to remember some of his best and most joyful moments back at the guild, as the memories of his closest friends started to become more vivid, something seemed to burn inside him, and it had nothing to do with the flames surrounding him. He remembered Natsu's words about going back home together, he remembered his own words to Erza about meeting each other again, he remembered everyone's smiling and determined faces before they split in the forest, especially Erza's smiling face. Gray opened his eyes decisively, a determined look on his face, his body no longer feeling weak but full of energy. "No, I will not lose! I will do this! We made a promise, to return back home together, all of us! Back to Fairy Tail! I will not lose here!" Gray thought decisively, as he started to charge his magical power, making his shield stronger and pushing the flames away.
"What? What is going on there? Why is he still standing?" Arkana said with an angry and confused tone in his voice.
"Haaa!" Gray roared as he exploded in a wave of ice, freezing the flames around him.
"Impossible! He froze the flames?! How can this be?" Arkana stammered shocked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"There goes your master plan, trickster! It looks like your flames weren't that hot after all!" Gray said with a grin.
"This guy, I can't believe he actually froze the flames! How did he do that? How strong is his magic? Perhaps I underestimated him" Arkana thought still shocked as some drops of sweat ran on his face.
"What's the matter? Not so talkative now, are you?" Gray said.
"I see. That was, impressive. But don't think you've won just yet! You see, I am not only part of the Black Crows, the strongest team of Black Wing, I am also the strongest of my team. Kenji may be at the same level with me when it comes to magic power, but I have studied magic way longer than him, ever since I was a kid, and I have a wider range of magic attacks. Recently, I have started using Rune Magic. You guys may have already fallen in some of my traps" the hat wearing mage said.
"Your traps? Wait, those falling rocks. So that was your doing, huh?" Gray said angrily.
"I'll take that as a yes. Let's see now, whoever stands in this place, will be trapped by the forest" Arkana said as he moved his cane, creating some purple markings in the air. The ground where Gray was standing shone in a purple light and then suddenly, some large tree roots came from the ground and wrapped tightly around Gray, covering him entirely. "I got you this time!" Arkana said with a smile but his expression quickly changed and turned into an irritated frown as the tree roots started freezing and then got smashed around Gray.
"Ice Make, Arrows!" Gray said as he created a large, ice made bow and fired a barrage of ice made arrows towards his opponent who was barely able to dodge, and he was pushed away by the force of the attack as the arrows crashed on the ground.
"You stubborn fool! Why don't you just stay down? That's it!" Arkana said angrily as he draw a number of cards, threw them in the air and they started flying around him quickly in a circle, glowing in a purple light. "Cards of power, give me energy. Dark Sphere!" the hat wearing mage said as he put his hands together on top of each other, leaving a gap between each other and creating a large, dark purple sphere which he fired against Gray. Gray raised his arms in a defensive position and surrounded himself with a large block of ice with long spikes around him. The dark purple sphere crashed on him with force, creating a strong explosion.
"This time I got you for sure!" Arkana said with a grin. But after the dust settled down, his eyes grew wide in surprise and his mouth hang open once he saw that Gray was still on his feet, panting but still standing with blocks of ice lying around him. "But how? Why are you still standing?" he said stunned.
"It's about time I finish this. Ice Make, Cannon!" Gray said as he created a large, ice made, bazooka like weapon.
"This doesn't look good" Arkana said nervously.
"Take this!" Gray yelled as he fired a large ice blast which crashed directly on his opponent, creating a large explosion. Arkana was sent flying backwards and fell on the ground with his hat rolling away. Gray sighed tiredly and sat on the ground for a while, trying to catch his breath.
"Man, that was a tough one, but I did it! Anyway, I wonder how are the other's doing. Maybe I should go look for them. It's not gonna be easy in this big forest" he said as he slowly got back on his feet and looked around.
At some other place deep inside the forest, at the building of the Black Wing the guild master was watching at a crystal sphere on the upper floor of the building.
"I see. I guess Fairy Tail is stronger than I expected. But I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised. No matter though. The fight is still not done. The seals will be activated and the Black Crows will be back on their feet! Not only that, but now he has also left to join the battle. Let's see now Fairy Tail, how will you get out of this one!" master Sid said laughing as he turned around towards the balcony and watched the forest with his yellow eyes shining under his large, black hood.
Meanwhile, at a different side of the forest on one of the hills, Natsu was still trying to recover from his hard fought battle.
"What should I do now? I suppose trying to find the others would be a good idea. This forest is too big though. Maybe I should start by going down that hill, Lucy and Happy should be somewhere there. I think I heard an explosion a while ago, I hope they are fine. I need to check on them now!" he said as he got ready to jump down the hill. Suddenly, he heard a noise and noticed some light. Natsu turned towards the place where Kenji was lying and saw that a large, green seal had appeared under him.
"What's this?" Natsu said worriedly as he saw the seal glowing. The large, magical seal quickly disappeared and Kenji slowly got on his feet.
"Man, I really didn't want to use this, but I guess I wasn't planning on losing too" he said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"What just happened? What was that seal? Why are you on your feet again?" Natsu asked loudly pointing his finger at him.
"You look surprised Salamander. Well, I can't actually blame you. Let me explain, what you just saw is called the Regeneration Seal. It's something that all of us, the Black Crows, have and it was given to us by master Sid. It activates automatically when we are defeated or hurt seriously in any way. It makes us recover and also restores most of our magic. I think it's something more than the three quarters of our magic" Kenji responded.
"Such strong magic should definitely have some drawbacks or be dangerous in some way!" Natsu said, still surprised.
"Not much as far as I'm concerned, I think I'll just feel extra fatigue later. Of course this is a one time trick, after that master Sid has to re-activate it. I haven't actually used it before, but I think Jinrei and Arkana have used it only once. Anyway, that's not good for you or your friends. If your friends have won their fights then the seal will be activated and my teammates will be back on their feet with most of their magic recovered" the blond mage said.
"That's playing dirty you bastard!" Natsu said angrily. Kenji just looked at him seriously, his brown eyes making contact with Natsu's black eyes.
"Perhaps. Look, if I had things my way, then I would fight you again when you would recover, when you would be at your full power again. Then we could have a good rematch. But I told you before, master Sid has ordered us to finish you off, no matter the way. I don't have a choice" the blond mage said seriously, without grinning this time.
"Come on then! I'll just beat you up again!" Natsu said decisively as he charged forward. He attacked with a number of quick hits but Kenji was easily able to block and dodge the hits and landed a few strikes of his own, sending Natsu skidding backwards.
"You can't win Salamander. Not at this state" Kenji said.
"Damn it. I am not giving up!" Natsu said panting.
Near the feet of the hill Lucy, Loke and Happy were standing against Jinrei who had also recovered most of his magic.
"Loke, go back. I'll be fine, I'll summon someone else!" Lucy said worried.
"Don't be silly Lucy, you barely have any magic left. Don't worry I'm fine. I can still fight" Loke said with a reassuring tone in his voice.
"You may say that Leo, but you are also more tired than you look" Jinrei said.
"We'll see about this" Loke said as he charged forward with his fists glowing. They started exchanging strong blows with Loke managing to land some strong strikes, sending his opponent stumbling backwards.
"Sand Attack!" Jinrei said as suddenly, he made a waving move with his hand and threw a wave of sand at Loke who tried to cover himself from the sudden attack and dropped his guard temporarily. "I got you now. Petrify!" the tall mage said as he formed a green seal with his hand under Loke, surrounding him with a green light which turned into rock and moved quickly upwards covering Loke's body except his head and trapping him inside.
"Loke!" Lucy yelled worried as Loke was trapped.
"I told you that you are more tired than you let out. You lose this fight" Jinrei said as he raised his fist to finish Loke off, until he felt something wrap around his wrist. He noticed that it was the end of a black whip and he turned around, only to see, with some surprise, that Lucy was holding firmly the other end of the whip.
"You will not hurt him! Come on, you were supposed to fight me, weren't you? It's me you are after" Lucy yelled, her brown eyes looking at him firmly.
"True, you are my opponent" Jinrei said as he pulled his arm, causing Lucy to fall on the ground. The muscular mage then untangled his wrist and moved slowly towards Lucy.
"Lucy!" Loke yelled as he started charging his magical power. "Haaa!" he roared as he surrounded himself with a bright light and shattered the rocks around him. He then tried to attack but he fell to the ground.
"I see you managed to escape from my petrifying attack. You really are powerful Leo, the only one who has managed to do that before is Kenji, but he was numb after that for a while. I don't think you'll be able to move again any time soon" Jinrei said simply as he continued his way towards Lucy who was still lying on the ground.
"Stay away from Lucy!" Happy yelled as he flew directly against the tall mage and headbutted him on the side of his face, but he remained completely unfazed and simply hit Happy with the back of his hand, sending him to the ground.
"Happy!" Lucy yelled.
"You are brave little cat. Brave, but stupid" Jinrei said as he reached Lucy, having a cold look on his dark brown eyes and standing above her.
Deeper inside the forest, Erza was facing Honoka who had also gotten back on her feet.
"I see. That's an interesting trick" Erza said.
"I don't really like this. But I have no choice. Get ready, here I come!" Honoka said as she attacked, holding her sword. Erza quickly summoned one of her swords, got in a defensive position and started blocking Honoka's quick strikes. Even though Erza had proven to be more experienced at swordsmanship, her weariness, along with a recovered opponent, turned out to be the difference maker, as Honoka quickly managed to knock her on the ground and stood above her, pointing her sword against her.
"I win" Honoka said simply.
"So it seems" Erza responded calmly.
"I didn't want this, I didn't want to fight you again like this! I wanted to fight you again when you would have recovered and, perhaps, under different circumstances. But, I don't have a choice" Honoka said, in an apologetic voice.
"Of course you have a choice. Just do what you think is right" Erza said.
"But I have clear orders to finish you off! You are the one who told me to be faithful to my guild, didn't you?" Honoka said frustrated.
"I told you to have faith in your bonds with others. But, you also need to have a mind of your own. If you think something is wrong, then don't do it! And if you are too confused to listen to your head, then try listening to your heart! I can't say anything more, do what you need to do" Erza said honestly. Honoka's hand trembled for a while, as she struggled to decide what to do, and eventually she lowered her sword.
"I can't do it, I can't hurt you! I don't want to! You win again. I guess, I really am weak after all" she sobbed as she dropped her sword, fell on her knees and lowered her head. Erza slowly sat up, and gave her a sad look.
"You are not weak! Doing what you think is right is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength. You have a mind of your own and you can try to choose your own path, alone or with others. Preferably with others. So cheer up, okay?" she said softly as she lightly took her chin with her hand and lifted her head. Honoka looked at her, her light blue eyes meeting Erza's chocolate brown eyes. The red haired girl felt something warm inside her, as she saw Erza's warm smile and kind expression, and she smiled as well.
"Thank you, Erza!" she exclaimed, as she lashed forward and hugged her. Erza seemed a little surprised at first but she returned the hug, smiling. The two girls remained like this for a while until they broke their hug, as Honoka got back on her feet and lifted her hand towards Erza.
"Now you offer me your hand?" Erza said smiling.
"That's what you did before for me, isn't it? Besides, we are not enemies anymore, right?" Honoka said, smiling as well.
"That's right!" Erza responded, as she took her hand and got up.
"You should probably find your friend who was with you earlier. If he is fighting Arkana, then he will probably be in trouble" Honoka said.
"Gray can handle himself. But you are right, I should better find him" Erza said. But suddenly, a large, dark purple blast was fired and crashed on Honoka, hitting her on the back, and causing her to cry out in pain and fall forward towards Erza, who caught her in her arms.
"Honoka, are you okay? What happened? Who did this? Who's there?" Erza said angrily, as she held Honoka in her arms and looked around alerted.
"Don't tell me, it's him?" Honoka mumbled painfully, as she struggled to get on her feet. There was a sound of laughter, and the two girls turned towards the place where it was coming from. They noticed someone coming from behind the trees, and then they saw that it was a tall, well built mage, with long, black hair that reached a little bellow his shoulders, and a black goatee, dressed in dark purple and silver heavy plate armor, matching shoulder pads, black trousers and heavy, dark brown boots.
"Well, isn't that a touching moment! Making friends with the enemy! Seriously, how hard is it to finish of someone who is already tired?" the dark haired mage said with a mocking tone in his voice, while grinning.
"Sigmund, you..." Honoka said, weakly.
"Sigmund the Vanguard? I think I've heard of you before, but I didn't know you were in this guild" Erza said.
"Erza Scarlet, I've been looking forward to meet you! I have heard a lot about you and I was curious to see what the big fuss was about myself. I honestly didn't expect you to have trouble with a weakling like her" the dark haired mage said.
"Is this a way to talk about your comrade?" Erza said calmly, but with anger vivid in her voice.
"Don't waste your breath. He will not sit around and listen to your speeches about guilds and friendship. He is not part of the Black Crows, but he is the strongest in the guild, and far worse than any of us" Honoka panted.
"Enough talk! Since this weakling couldn't take you out, I'll do it myself" Sigmund said simply.
"Very well then" Erza said as she left Honoka gently, who fell weakly on her knees, and got on her feet ready to fight.
"Wait! He is too strong, and you are tired" Honoka said, worriedly.
"It can't be helped. Requip! Purgatory Armor!" Erza said as she changed into a black, spiky armor.
"Interesting. Come on then" Sigmund said as he drew a large great sword from behind his back, with his dark blue eyes shining, as he grinned.
Meanwhile, at another side of the forest Gray was also standing against his opponent who had also recovered most of his magic.
"I can't believe I have to fight this guy again! What a dirty trick!" he said angrily.
"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you? Dark Bombers!" Arkana said as he threw a number of cards surrounded with purple flames, which exploded as they crashed around Gray and sent him crashing against one of the nearby trees. "I got to say though, you really are powerful and your guild, although I still think it lacks class and elegance, is quite formidable. Only a fool wouldn't recognise it. But you didn't think you had actually won, did you? I guess you are not strong enough" Arkana said as he picked up his hat, dusted it and put it on again.
"You bastard, I did beat you! you" Gray said angrily.
"Perhaps. But you can never be sure with magic. Honestly, I would prefer it if I didn't have to use the seal. I never expected that I would have to use it again but, I can't really complain. I do what I can with what I have" Arkana said simply.
"Okay then, bring it. I won't just sit around and give up!" Gray said as he got back on his feet.
Kakashi was still resting from his fight while Hun was sitting against one of the trees still wounded. But Kakashi could hardly believe what he had just heard.
"What?! So you are telling me that even if those mages lose, they can still recover and continue the fight?" he said with his eyes wide open in surprise.
"That's right. I told you before that your mages cannot win this fight. Even if they win the first round, they will probably be too tired to fight again. There's no way they can do this, there's no way they can win twice" Hun said.
"I got to find them!" Kakashi said greatly worried as he tried to live but after a few leaps he stopped, like he hit an invisible barrier.
"You will not be going anywhere for a while. You see, I came here prepared. I've set up two seals somewhere near here, creating a barrier around this place. Even you won't be able to find them easily and if you do, you'll have to remove them at the same time. I realise that this won't be much of a problem for you, but for the moment you're stuck here. Even if you get out of here, you won't be able to make it in time. You've failed them Hatake Kakashi, you've failed your team. You can't help them!" Hun said with an evil smirk, his black eyes staring at him. Kakashi stood silent for a while.
"Maybe I won't be able to help them, but others will" he said.
"Others? What are you talking about? Have you finally lost it?" Hun said.
"Exactly what I said. And no, I haven't lost it" Kakashi turned around to face him with a serious look on his face. "You are not the only one who can plan ahead. I have already called for a back up team. They'll come here just like we did. And I don't plan on staying here for too long either" he said.
"You can't be sure when or if they are going to come. And if they do come, what can they do?" Hun said.
"Do not underestimate the shinobi of Konoha!" Kakashi said intensely.
At another part of the forest, Lucy was still lying on the ground with Jinrei standing above her.
"You fought well, little girl! I don't know if this means anything, but I was wrong about you. You are stronger and braver than I thought, but most importantly, although you are a Stellar Mage, you actually care about your spirits. For what is worth, I respect you for that. But I can't ignore a direct order. It's over" Jirnei said as he lifted his rock fist. Lucy lowered her head.
"Lucy!" Loke and Happy yelled as Jinrei began to lower his rock fist.
"Konoha Senpu!" a loud, spirited voice was heard as suddenly a blurry figure appeared spinning quickly in mid air and landed a number of strong kicks at Jinrei, who was sent skidding backwards, before he landed in front of Lucy.
"What just happened? Who's that guy? At least Lucy is safe" Loke said confused but with a sigh of relief. Lucy lifted her head and saw a tall, teenage boy, with short black hair, dressed in a green, full body spandex outfit and a light green vest.
"Who are you?" Jinrei said surprised.
"Konoha's beautiful green wild beast, Rock Lee!" the black haired teen said with a loud, enthusiastic voice and a shining smile.
"Rock Lee? That was one big introduction" Loke said slightly confused and amused at the same time.
"I have a feeling I'm gonna like this guy" Happy said.
"Konoha? You said you are from Konoha? You know Kakashi-san?" Lucy said as she sat up.
"You are Lucy-san, right? Yes, I am one of Kakashi-sensei's students. I was sent here along with the rest of my team at his request to assist his mission. He asked for reinforcements so we can fight along with a group of mages that are helping him" the black haired teen said.
"Along with the rest of your team? You mean you are not alone? Others have come too?" Lucy said spirited, with her hopes lifted up.
"A special team was made for this mission! Don't worry Lucy-san, I'll protect you!" Lee said decisively as he took his battle stance.
"I see. It looks like I have another opponent. This looks interesting!" Jinrei said with a small smile.
"Be careful Lee-san. This guy is strong!" Lucy said worriedly.
"Good! This will be a good fight then!" Lee responded with a grin.
Meanwhile, Erza had already started her fight with her opponent as they both attacked and engaged in a close swordfight.
"He is pretty strong" Erza thought, as Sigmund seemed to block her attacks effortlessly. He then counter attacked with a heavy swing from his sword that Erza managed to block, but was sent backwards from the force of the hit and fell on her knees panting.
"You are good, really good Scarlet! But it's obvious that you can't keep up anymore" Sigmund said as he fired a purple blast from his hand, which landed directly on Erza who couldn't block. Suddenly, a large fire ball was fired at him which he managed to block with his sword and turned towards the place where the attack came.
"Honoka!" Erza said with a mix of surprise and worry in her voice.
"You, what do you think you are doing?" Sigmund growled with a low, menacing voice.
"You won't hurt her! I will not let you hurt her!" Honoka yelled decisively, as she had gotten on her feet.
"Have you lost your mind? Not only you refuse to fight your opponent, you let her go away even though she is winded, but you also attack me, your ally? All you have to do is just sit there and let me deal with what you were supposed to do! Or have you forgotten your orders?" Sigmund said angrily.
"I won't listen to those orders any more! I'll do what I think it's right, what my heart tells me is right! Erza showed me compassion and kindness, she told me how important is to have others by your side, to care about others, so I won't abandon her! Even if that means having to fight against you!" Honoka said, as she fired another large fireball.
"Enough, Honoka! Let me fight him!" Erza yelled, as Sigmund blocked the second attack, as well.
"You fool, have you forgotten that you haven't recovered all your magic? Do you really think you can fight me when you're not even at your full power?" Sigmund said, as he fired another purple blast which crashed against Honoka and knocked her down.
"Your fight is with me!" Erza said, as she got on her feet, but another purple blast from Sigmund knocked her sword away.
"No, the fight is over" Sigmund responded, as he summoned a long, heavy chain and threw it against Erza, wrapping it around her and throwing her on the ground. "It's a shame, really. It would be interesting to fight you at your full strength. Maybe I should have challenged you in the first place" he said, as he pulled Erza on her knees.
"No, Erza! Let her go!" Honoka said as she tried to get up.
"Quiet down! If you like her so much, then maybe I'll finish you with her" Sigmund said, as he lifted his sword which started to glow, and got ready to strike. "You're finished!" he yelled as he leapt forward, and moved to strike. Suddenly, a strong blast of wind was fired and knocked Sigmund away, sending him flying backwards.
"What was that?" he mumbled surprised, as he got back on his feet. Erza and Honoka turned, surprised as well, to see what happened. They both saw a tall teenager, with long, dark brown hair, dressed in a white shirt with long sleeves, matching white pants and a dark grey apron.
"Who's this guy?" Sigmund wondered, surprised and confused at the same time.
"It's all right, I'm not an enemy" the brown haired teenager said to Erza as he stepped towards her and lifted his hand, which glowed slightly in a light blue light, and cut through the chains with one swift strike.
"What?" Sigmund yelled shocked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"He cut through the chains with one move! How did he do that?" Honoka thought, stunned.
"Who are you? You are, a friend of Kakashi, aren't you?" Erza said, as she noticed the forehead protector.
"That's right, I am one of Kakashi's comrades. My name is Hyuga Neji, and I'm here to help. Rest now, I'll deal with this guy" the brown haired teenager explained calmly, as he got up and walked towards Sigmund. As he was walking his eyes fell on Honoka, who was looking at him with a mix of surprise and slight uneasiness. "This girl, even though she was her enemy she tried to protect her. Why would she do that?" he wondered.
"So you are one of these shinobi guys, aren't you?" Sigmund said.
"You seem pretty good fighting against tired opponents and knocking them from behind. Let's see how you fare against a fresh opponent" Neji said with an icy glare.
"Oh, you sound pretty tough! Sounds interesting. I just hope you are not only words. Let's see what you got then, shinobi boy!" Sigmund said as he lifted his sword in a battle position.
"On my pride as a Hyuga and as a jonin of Konoha, I will defeat you!" Neji said decisively, as he took his battle stance.
At a more shadowy part of the forest Gray was struggling against his opponent.
"You put up a good fight, even at this state. But it's pointless to continue this" Arkana said.
"Damn it, I will not stay down" Gray said as he got back on his feet.
"It's time to end this. So long, ice mage" Arkana said as he threw a number of dark purple, glowing cards at Gray. Gray got ready for the impact but then a stream of blue lightning passed between the two mages, knocking the glowing cards away.
"What? Who's there?" Arkana said as turned towards the place where the attack came from to see the newcomer.
"This move looked like Kakashi's move. But how, could it be?" Gray said as he turned as well and saw a raven haired teen dressed in white shirt, black pants, a purple cloth tied around with a black belt and a sword hanging on his waist.
"It's been so long that I still can't get used to it. But I kinda like the sound of it. Shinobi of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke!" the raven haired teen said.
"Shinobi of Konoha, huh? A friend of Kakashi, I take it?" Gray said.
"You could say that. And I guess you are one of the mages that Kakashi said we are supposed to help. Anyway, I'll take on this guy, you can just sit down and rest" the raven haired teen said simply.
"No way. I will not sit this one out" Gray said.
"Oh, a mage and a shinobi. This looks quite intriguing!" Arkana said with a grin.
"Whatever. Just stay out of my way" Sasuke said as he got ready.
"You might want to fix that attitude of yours" Gray said as he got ready as well.
On one of the hills inside the forest Natsu was fighting against his own opponent, but he seemed to have trouble as well.
"Give it up Salamander. You can't fight like this" Kenji said.
"I am not quitting!" Natsu yelled as he attacked again. Kenji once again blocked his strikes and sent him crashing on the ground.
"Enough! I admire your spirit but you are making this hard, for both of us. Just stay down" Kenji said seriously.
"This is not an option. In Fairy Tail you don't stay down, you get up, you move forward. I won't stay down, not as long as I can still move!" Natsu said as he tried to get back on his feet. Kenji gave him an almost sad look.
"Then, I'll put you out of your misery. Goodbye, Salamander" he said as he fired a large, golden blast against Natsu, without looking, creating a strong explosion. "I'm sorry Salamander. This, I don't think I'll ever get over it. What have I done?" he thought with a hint of regret as he turned towards the place where he fired the large blast and saw only a crater once the dust settled. "Wait, this can't be right" he said as he looked around and spotted Natsu lying on the ground with someone else next to him.
"Aww, what happened?" Natsu said dizzy as he lifted his head and saw a young teenage boy with spiky, blond hair, dressed in a black and orange jumpsuit standing next to him.
"Hey, are you okay there? Your name is Natsu, right?" the blond teenager said.
"Yeah, who are you?" Natsu asked.
"Oh, let me introduce myself. Uzumaki Naruto has entered the stage! I am here as part of Kakashi-sensei's back up team!" the blond teenager said with a wide grin.
"That's nice, but I can take care of this guy myself" Natsu said as he got up.
"No way, it's part of my mission to help. I didn't come all this way over here to sit around!" Naruto said.
"Fine, then we both fight this guy" Natsu said.
"Good, maybe this will finally turn into an actual fight again" Kenji said as he grinned again.
"A team up, huh? This sounds interesting!" Naruto said with a wide grin, tightening his forehead protector.
"Okay, let's go then!" Natsu said grinning as well, as the two of them got ready for their battle.
Author's note: There goes one more chapter and this is one of my longest chapters so far. About Gray's fight, the title could be "For the pride of Fairy Tail". So the shinobi of Konoha have arrived and round two is about to begin, what do you guys think about the Naruto characters that appeared? I think the team is kinda original, but it could happen. As far the timeline is concerned in Naruto, it's somewhere between the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc and the Itachi Pursuit Arc and, of course, it's slightly AU, with Naruto finally convincing Sasuke to go back to the village and that's why he is part of the team. Actually I wasn't completely sure about Gray's partner, I was kinda between Shikamaru, Sai and Sasuke and eventually I chose Sasuke, for not any particular reasons. Anyway, I am not sure when the next update is going to be, it may take a while since I got some other things that I need to do regarding my school. I hope you liked it and I would like to know what you think about it. See you next time everyone!