Yeah, it's been a while. Sorry bout that, stuff happens in real life and well... that does take priority. So, before you get into the story, I'm going to address a few things from the last couple of chapter's worth of reviews that apparently people felt I'm doing wrong or that I'm doing something stupid.

For the sake of the story, it makes sense to limit his over-powered modes, but I wish there was a reason for the seals to just show up like that - A reason will be revealed... later

why the fuck are those two still playing weak, it really annoying. just put hades and grimoire heart in their place and be done with it - Right... so let me ask you this, if you were in charge of a military unit, or a group of police officers and you got wind of a plot, would you A)go and just kill/arrest the ones who you were told would be doing it, or B)find out who was working with them, did they have a fallback plan etc. Naruto is considered part of the leadership of the guild, he has to watch out for everyone there, so do you really think he'd just go and leave something up to chance when he had a perfect opportunity to learn what was going on?

I really don't understand why he didn't just unleash a bijuu-dama when he woke up, and save everyone the time, energy and grief that he has caused - First, if you remember the beginning of the story, Naruto can't access his Jinchuriki powers on a whim. Second, see previous answer. Third... Since when does Naruto ever do the easy thing? Or slaughter tons of people for the hell of it?

Cliffhangers don't work well in fanfiction that takes longer than a week to update. People who read FF generally follow dozens at a time, asking people to remember where they've been left off in the previous chapter/s is a big ask - Uh huh, like it's any different from books, movies etc. All of them take a long time to come out, years usually and people either read/watch many of them at the same time.

I'm happy to say that during all of this I have received very few flames, which gives me hope that I'm doing justice to both of these Anime's... well, at least a little, lol. So, read, review and if there are enough reviews for this chapter I will write out Chapter 14 for this fic before switching back to my other one that's in the works.

Grimoire Heart Airship - Main Bridge

"Report, Captain." Rising quickly, the current captain of the of Grimoire Heart's airship towards the master of the guild as he entered the bridge. Swallowing loudly, the nervous man felt several beads of sweat forming along his brow as he stood before the powerful dark mage, his aura of power causing the small bridge to grow even more stifling by the moment.

"Master, there has been an slow increase in the ambient Eternano around us. I believe that we are being followed by several mages, what are your orders?" Hades stroked his beard slowly as he contemplated the captain's words, his gaze shifting towards the view of the clouded sky.

"Hmmmm, it is possible that someone has found us, but that is of no concern. We can easily locate these pests and..." Just as Hades was about to finish his thought, multiple voices shouted out across the bridge in a panic, the significance of each causing Hades to reexamine his earlier remarks.

"ETERNANO SPIKE!"

"Sir, I'm reading a massive buildup of lightning magic!"

"SHIT, BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Hades watched in wide eyed fascination as a pair of massive lightning blots tore through the dense clouds, both of them swiftly racing towards the hovering airship. The tall mage gripped the handrail before him just as the dense blasts of elemental energy struck his ship, the complex magical craft wobbling dangerously as the spells keeping the craft in the air struggled to compensate for the influx of deadly magic. Multiple lights throughout the bridge soon began to flicker erratically as the primal magic destabilized several delicate spells and systems, the raw energy tearing through the airship's hull with ease before they both crashed into the ground amid a spray of stone and earth.

Hades shook his head in attempt to clear his vision, the bright flashes of lightning having overwhelmed his vision. The captain rose to his feet shakily, his hand gingerly probing at a gash that stretched across his forehead. "REPORT!"

The crew was in a state of panic as they attempted to figure out what kind of shape the ship was in, an almost insurmountable task with the number of systems and spells that had been disrupted by the attack. Hades stalked towards a wildly blinking console and slapped his hand on the device, a pulse of magic soon racing through the equipment throughout the bridge. Moments later the lights ceased their erratic flickering, the various mages throughout the bridge looking towards their leader in awe.

"This will not last forever, you slack jawed idiots! I need answers, Captain!" Each mage turned back towards their consoles, their hands swiftly flying over the controls as they tried to figure out exactly what had happened.

"Levitation spells are holding for now, but they're going to fail if we take any more hits like that..."

"We have breaches in several locations on the port flight pod, none of the major mechanical systems were hit but the energy surges are playing havoc with all most of the subsystems on the ship."

"Sir, Ultear-sama and the rest of the Seven Kin are requesting instructions!"

Hades shook his head as he listened to the list of damage his ship had taken, his anger slowly building at the temerity of the mages who had attacked his guild. Just as he was about to give orders for a team to locate the soon to be dead mages, the deck below his feet shuddered fiercely. Hades glared at the pale faced captain, his eyes swiftly scanning the information he was getting from the ship's systems.

"Master, a secondary breach has been detected. It... it wasn't from a lightning strike. The blast came from inside the ship."

Hades' gaze narrowed as he felt a feeling of resignation slowly growing at the captain's words. "Where did the explosion come from, Captain?"

"Aft section," The captain said, his tongue licking his lips nervously as he refused to meet the taller man's gaze. "Deck three... i-it's the dungeon, Master."

At those words Hades' hands tightened, a soft sigh passing his lips as he remembered the blondes words from several weeks ago.

Flashback

"You do know I'm keeping track of everything you're doing, right? They say that payback is a bitch and trust me, I know from experience that it's true."

End Flashback

"Oh that little bastard... he set us up."

Chapter 14

Airship Cargo Hold

Deep within the bowels of the damaged airship, a grinning Naruto finished doffing his long sleeved shirt as he stood amongst a group of his clones. Running his fingers of a seal he had inscribed along his forearm, Naruto nodded happily as his Sage bracer appeared, the blonde soon repeating the process on his other arm to release his Biju bracer. "Heh, that felt good. So tell me, how we doing?"

One of the clones stepped forward, a grin appearing as he took on of the leather bracers in his hand, his fingers deftly tightening the item around his creator's forearm. "Well, Boss, we managed to find quite a few weak points on the ship that we've covered with tags. The clones that are impersonating the crew are waiting for those to go off before revealing themselves, we're hoping that'll add to the insanity. There was a place on the lower decks that no one could get into, the Seven Kin were the only ones allowed there. A few clones are on their way now, maybe they'll have some good intel for us." As the clone began working on the Biju bracer, a sigh passing the original's lips. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, nothing really." Naruto said, a wry grin appearing as he watched his clone swiftly secure the bracer. "Just remembering that the last time someone helped me put these on it was Mira. I miss her, that's all."

Pausing for a moment, Naruto looked at his clone in confusion before the doppelganger gave his creator a devilish smirk. "Feh, I can solve that, one quick henge and bam, instant Mira!"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he studied the smirking clone for several moments. "Dammit, stop screwing around with me, ya bastard. After not seeing her for the past 2 months I'm liable to jump you the moment you transform."

"And?" Naruto looked at the grinning clone in shock, the chakra construct waggling his eyebrows as he continued his adjustments with the Biju bracer. "I'd still be you, just think of it as an elaborate form of mastur..."

"OK, LET'S GET BACK TO TAKING DOWN THE DARK GUILD." Naruto glared at the assembled clones as they began to snicker at his discomfort, a faint blush staining his cheeks while he donned his shirt once more. "Damned clones start acting weirder every time I use them... Alright, time to get all of ya in position, we're bringing down the heavy end of the hammer!" Each clone grinned as they swiftly vanished, the multiple shunshins throwing a storm of leaves into the air. Passing his hand over another seal slowly, Naruto raised his hands to his forehead with a nostalgic smile. Nimble fingers deftly tying the black cloth securely to his bare forehead, his fingers trailing over the familiar sign of his home once more. "Well, guess I'll use this for now, I'll need to get a new one with the guild symbol when I get home. Actually," Naruto paused for a moment, a grin appearing as he adjusted the worn forehead protector nostalgically. "I've kinda missed this old thing." One shunshin later and the lower level was empty once more.

Laxus shook his head at the sight of debris from an explosion falling from the far off airship, a grin appearing as he watched the magical craft begin to list towards the ground. "Heh, between that and our barrage, there seems to be a slight malfunction on that ship."

Candra huffed petulantly as she folded her arms against her chest, a pout forming as she studied the scene before her. "Damned Sensei, stealing all the fun... does he really expect us to wait here in case he needs help?"

Flashback

The lead clone of the transport group, Jackass Leader, shook his head in amazement at the sight before him. Laying his cargo on the ground gently, the clone couldn't help but marvel at the luck his creator had at the strangest time. 'After all, what else would you call it if you run into a group of your students and.. is that Laxus? Even better!' Walking towards the group, each of the girls smiled happily at the sight of their sensei, while Laxus was pouting at the sight of the blonde that approached them. Despite the distance between them, Naruto couldn't help but grin as his fellow member of Fairy Tail began to complain. "Stupid idiot, even when he gets captured he can't let us have any fun. He didn't even need to be rescued."

As Naruto stood before his delighted students and a visibly annoyed Laxus, a playful gleam appeared in his eyes. "You six sure are a sight for sore eyes! I'm gonna need you all to give me a hand with something, this'll be the biggest Dark Guild bust I've done yet so I may need some help." Naruto cackled internally as Laxus growled softly, the older mage not taking kindly to being ignored.

"Kono yarou..." Laxus angrily advanced on the grinning clone, the twitching muscles in his jaw clearly communicating his anger at being ignored, the much taller blonde towering over his grinning guild mate. Raising his hand over his head, a crackling orb of electricity rapidly came to life as he glared at the still grinning clone. But before Laxus could even think of releasing the attack, a small body slid between the pair of blondes, the normally happy go lucky expression that Elysia wore having shifted to a non nonsense glare that was solely focused on Laxus. Laxus' watched in wide eyed shock as her dainty foot lashing out at the taller mage with a swift crescent kick, the tall blonde trying to reign in his laughter as the girl's foot barely reached his chest, resulting in a soft breeze tickling his chin. Laxus felt his laughter slowly growing until a powerful blow slammed into his cheek, the shocked mage careening towards a dense copse of trees. Laxus' cries of anger and outrage were muffled by the sound of several trees snapping under the force of the blow that had sent him flying, the remaining women all whistling in admiration at the blow. The clone laughed loudly, his hand ruffling a beaming Elysia's hair affectionately as Laxus struggled to free himself from the fallen trees that had pinned him down.

"Nice, you remembered what I said about the follow through when you attack! And this is why I love ya, Elysia-chan, you actually listen to me! Now, back to the plan..."

End flashback

'The little bastard just needed us to let him know that we were in the area before he began his attack, just in case he needed backup. It makes sense, Grimoire Heart isn't exactly your run of the mill Dark Guild. Still, it's not fair that Naruto gets to hog all the fun.' Shaking his head slowly, Laxus raised his hands to the heavens once more, his actions attracting Candra's attention. "You're absolutely right you know," Laxus said, the sky over the distant airship growing violent once more as another blast of lightning slammed into it. "He's such an inconsiderate guy. But you know what? I think this plan of his calls for more lightning! After all, if I was trapped in a giant metal box and someone was taking pot shots at me, I'd definitely send someone out to stop him. We could consider it a... a form of payment. You know, for services rendered and all that."

Candra chuckled darkly as she raised her hands once more, lightning flashing over her hands once more as she studied the tall blonde out of the corner of her eyes. "You know what? I really like the way you think."

Airship - Main Bridge

Hades was about to order a complete search of his airship when another burst of lightning slammed into the vessel, one of the consoles on the bridge exploding violently as it's operator fell to the deck in a heap. Growling angrily, Hades stomped towards the communications panel, his hand swiftly opening a ship wide channel. "Azuma, Caprico, Rustyrose. Take a squad and locate the rats outside, show them what it means to attack our guild! All remaining members of the Seven Kin are to hunt down Uzumaki, I want his head on a platter! Bluenote... protect the vault at all costs, I wouldn't put it past our pest to know what it contains. All remaining members of the guild are to not engage the prisoner, take shelter because anyone found wandering the corridors will be killed immediately. I along with the Seven Kin will personally handle the situation." Flicking several switches, Hades opened a channel to the engine room, wanting to get a status report on the repairs that were surely underway. "Chief, status report!"

The normally chaotic engine room was as silent as a tomb, the normally bustling members of the engineering detail apparently having something better to do than repairing the heavily damaged craft that they were inhabiting. A lone pair of footfalls were heard as a young man burst into the silent room, his expression contrite as he began to stammer out an apology. "I'm sorry, I was in the shower! I...I... oh this is bad..."

"Chief, status report!" The young mage gulped loudly at Master Hades' booming voice, sweat dotting his brow as he neared the microphone.

"M-master... um, Eng-gineer T-third Class T-t-tully, reporting in." Hades blinked at the response he received, his fists tightening as he attempted to reign in his anger.

"Tully, is it? Where is the Chief Engineer?"

"Master, I, uh... I d-d-don't know. The engine room was ab-abandoned w-w-when I arrived, I'm the only one here."

Tully swallowed nervously as he awaited Master Hades reply, the silence nearly suffocating the terrified crew member as it continued to stretch on. "You are the new chief. Gather anyone you can find and do whatever you need to do to keep us in the air."

Tully swallowed nervously at the tone of Master Hades voice, the young dark mage having no problems hearing the fury that the older mage was struggling to control. "Y-yes, Master."

Hades rose to his full height, the armoured mage turning towards the thick steel door that closed off the bridge from the rest of the ship. "RAAGH!" Sweeping his hand forward, a burst of chaotic magic slammed into the door, ripping the heavy steel hatch from it's hinges. Several mages on the bridge winced as they heard the sound of the steel portal slamming against the wall, their eyes focused on the sight of the furious Guild Master as he stormed off the bridge.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship

A blast of wind slammed into the unmoving Azuma as he opened an exterior hatch, the Great Tree Arc Mage's eyes tightening at the sight of the lightning storm surrounding the airship. Turning towards the team he had gathered, Azuma's gaze briefly passed over a dozen low level grunts before his gaze landed on Yomazu and Kawazu, their predatory grins eliciting a smirk from the powerful man. Caprico leaned against the far wall, his normal cool demeanour unchanged despite the current situation. Rustyrose smirked as he adjusted his glasses lazily, his hands sliding into his pockets as he waited for Azuma's orders. "You all heard the master, our job is to find the ones creating this storm. Caprico, Rustyrose and I will wait for your signal once they have been spotted. Do not attack them once they have been located, signal us and we will deal with our 'guests'. Yomazu and Kawazu will check the surrounding forest to make sure that they are alone, we cannot have any witnesses."

Caprico nodded slowly as he pushed himself off of the corridor wall, his hands stretching out before him as he clapped loudly, the dozen grunts disappearing from sight before he leaped through the open hatch, the powerful mage landing lightly on the ground. Another clap of his hands and the mages were free once more, each of them eagerly running off in an attempt to locate the ones that had been foolish enough to attack them. Caprico watched the last mage disappear into the woods, the Goat faced mage remaining still as he heard his underlings Yomazu and Kawazu land heavily beside him, the bestial pair racing forward as well to scout the area for any surprises. Caprico glanced to the side as a cloud of dust marked the arrival of Azuma, the tall mage landing amid a shallow crater. Rustyrose landed gently behind the duo, a pair of dark wings attached to his back soon fading as he looked towards the darkened forest that surrounded them.

"And now, we wait."

Back on the airship...

Hades sighed softly was he continued to stalk the corridors of the airship, his magical senses stretched to their limits in an attempt to locate their missing prisoner. 'It's as if he's disappeared, no one has run into him since his escape.'

As the old man approached the ship's extensive library he paused, his nostrils flaring as he smelled something burning. "Oh no..."

Flames exploded from the library's open hatch, the dense smoke that poured out of the room clinging to the ceiling while the numerous tomes packed into the room fed the conflagration. Hades growled angrily, his mind racing as he tried to come to gripes with just how much this prisoner was costing them in the end. As the old mage contemplated the blonde's upcoming demise, a piece of paper gently fell at the guild master's feet, his gaze narrowing once he saw his name scrawled on the errant sheet. Plucking the paper from the ground, Hades read the note swiftly, his face slowly shifting to red as his rage bubbled to the surface once more.

Miserable Old Bastard aka Hades

Hope this stuff wasn't valuable... yeah right, I hope it was, serves you right you miserable old shit! Better come and find me before I destroy anymore of your ship!

Signed,

Kage

Meredy's normally passive expression belied determination in locating the escaped prisoner, her eyes shifting from shadow to shadow as she hunted the elusive blonde that had escaped their clutches. 'We will find that man... he's number one now, he dared to attack Ul, he deserves to die.'

Kain, on the other hand, was trembling as he followed the short girl, his hands shaking at the thought of what could be lurking in the shadows. The large mage jumped at every errant sound that rang out within the heavily damaged ship, his brow soon becoming dotted with sweat as he felt as if hundreds of eyes were following his every move. 'W-w-where i-i-is that ba-bastard, he b-b-better show h-h-himself-f soon!'

As the two mages continued on their patrol, neither of them noticed a bright head of blonde hair appear over their heads. Grinning broadly, the clone studied the passing pair before deciding that it would be fun to ambush them. His chakra coated hands and feet glowing softly as he clung to the ceiling, the clone slowly approached the oblivious pair, his grin growing as he drew closer towards the unsuspecting pair. As he neared the mismatched duo, a smirk appeared as he began to file away all the information that their body language was communicating to the silent blonde.

'So, we have a little girl that is serious, determined, focused... and a grown man acting like a scared little child? Wait, the midget is less scared of me than a grown ass man?'

'Well, you are my container, that immediately raises your level of... how did you put it, 'awesomeness'? By a factor of ten, at least.'

Naruto chuckled under his breath as he sped up, his silent movements still passing undetected as he began pacing the pair once he was over their heads. 'Aw, that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me...'

'Don't get a swelled head, ten times zero is still zero, kit.'

'... Fuck you.' Naruto ignored the raucous laughter in his head, the shinobi pausing a moment as the mages softly argued about the direction they should take. The clone shook his head at their indecisiveness, the chakra construct deciding that it was time to announce his presence. Reaching into his hip pouch, the clone removed a small screw he had pocketed earlier, his eyes becoming mirthful as he stretched out his hand. Release the small metallic object, the clone watched the small object it fall to the deck, the sound causing both mages to freeze instantly. Both mages looked at each other for a moment, swallowing loudly before they shifted their gazes upwards, their eyes widening at the sight of Naruto grinning happily.

"Yo."

"I don't see what all the fuss is about, he's just a shitty nobody from a shitty light guild, we shouldn't have a problem killing the annoying bastard. The second I see him he'll be nothing but ash!" Zancrow cackled madly as he stalked the corridors of the airship, his laughter trailing off as he turned towards his current partner. "Oi, Ultear, what's wrong? You aren't scared of this guy, are ya?"

Ultear's eyes were scanning each shadow before her nervously, her hands twitching randomly as she finally met Zancrow's eyes. "Uzumaki is not like any other Light guild mage you have faced, Zancrow. He came to the council with an offer to hunt down Dark guilds, an offer that the council was more than happy to take him up on once Makarov agreed that he was uniquely suited to the task. He's taken out over twenty dark guilds in the last three years... all on his own. Org has been Uzumaki's only point of contact with the council, none of us knew the extent of his abilities except for him. He had a name for him, one that never made any sense to the rest of us. After all, why would you call a single man 'Legion'?"

"Feh, is that supposed to impress me?" Zancrow said, the psychotic blonde waving off the dark haired beauty's words. "Most Dark Guild's are unworthy of being called just that, their usually full of weaklings and rejects. You worry too much, Ultear. And as for this 'Legion' name, it's probably just some stupid bullshit to make him sound scarier for the weaklings that he hunted." Zancrow turned away from a silent Ultear, his psychotic grin returning as he began walking once more.

"Yeah, I thought Legion was a little silly sounding... maybe Swarm? Oh, how about Phalanx? Now that sounds cool!" Zancrow swiftly spun around, his eyes growing wide at the sight of a visibly trembling Ultear, the God Slayer's eyes focusing on the dark blade gently resting against her throat. Black flames exploded to life around the God Slayer's hands when a pair of glowing hands burst through the steel floor, the God Slayer looking at his feet in wide eyed shock as both hands latched onto his ankles.

"What the hell is... GAHHHHHH!" Ultear watched with wide eyes as Zancrow was dragged under the floor, dark flames bursting out from the hole as the sounds of battle reached the trapped woman's ears. "OH YOU BLONDE, FUCKING BASTARD! ENJIN NO KAGUTSUCHI! " A soft chuckle caused Ultear to tense up, a shiver running down her spine as she felt the man at her back tightening his grip.

"And that's why the call me 'Legion', cause where's there's one of me there's bound to be more. A lot more. Miss me, Ultear-chan?" Silence was the clone's only answer as Ultear looked over her shoulder, her eyes glowing ominously as the kunai at her throat crumbled into dust. An orb of lacrima slammed into the clone's nose, dispelling the construct and filling the corridor with smoke as Ultear raced down the corridor.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship

Pausing in mid-bite, Naruto pulled a kunai from his pouch and inspected the small knife for several moments for any flaws. "Hmmm, nope, they're perfect. Must have something to do with Ultear-chan's freaky time powers.'

'You got overconfident, that's why she beat your clone.'

Shrugging his shoulders, the blonde tossed the remains of a roasted chicken to the ground before swiftly grabbed several other delicious looking items before exiting the airship's impressive kitchens. 'Ah, now I'm full and ready to kick ass!'

As he continued towards the location his clones had told him about, the blonde shinobi paused for a moment as he felt a rush of new memories, a sour look appearing as he shook his head. 'Dammit. The lower levels are a bust.'

'What? Why?'

Several moments earlier

A pair of clones studied the large door before them, their prankster sense tingling madly at the fact that no matter what they threw at the structure it refused to budge.

"We could use explosive tags..."

"We'd probably destroy what's inside, dumbass!"

"We are supposed to destroy stuff! That's our reason for existing right now!"

"Yeah, but we need to know what's in there first! It could be valuable..."

Groaning softly, the first clone glared at his partner, his annoyed expression eliciting a look of confusion from his fellow clone. "Dammit, I bet you got the majority of the Boss' kleptomania, didn't you?" The second clone shrugged helplessly at he turned back towards the door, the first clone sighing as a Rasengan swiftly appeared in his hand. "No, we're not stealing from these guys, we're blowing the base up and making sure we don't miss any surprises that could come back to bite the Boss in the ass if we miss them. This is the last spot we need to check... wait, did it just get darker in here all of the sudden?"

Looking overhead, both clone's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a tall, black haired man towering over them, his blank expression revealing nothing about his intentions. "Can you two fly?"

Both clones looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders before they threw a pair of smoke bombs at the ground, the recent arrival's posture never changing as the duo disappeared from sight. The high pitched hum of a pair of Rasengan's filled the room, both clones launching themselves the shadows on opposite ends of the room, each of them having the same thought. 'I am not messing around with a guy that can sneak up on me like that!'

Sighing loudly, the tall mage raised his hands, a single word his only response. "Fall."

'Shit, clones are not going to cut it with that guy at all. I get the feeling things are not exactly going to plan...'

Scowling lightly, Naruto opened the portal that led to the observation lounge, his eyes looking around the large, open space. Naruto nodded his head slowly at the wide windows before his eyes, the roiling thunderclouds letting the blonde know that his friends were still nearby. 'Yep, it's like Pein all over again... ugh, I hate gravity powers.'

Spying a large throne at the centre of the room, Naruto sat down, a sigh passing his lips as he leaned back in the large chair. 'Well, I will say this, Hades may be an Dark Mage, but he sure does... son of a bitch, again?!'

Zancrow held his hands aloft as he slowly made his way through the cargo hold, his dark flames lighting the way as he slowly made his way through the almost labyrinth like area, the various crates and supplies forming multiple hiding spots in what would normally be a wide open room. 'Little fucker's gonna burn for how he brought me down here.' Zancrow winced as every movement pulled at the various lacerations that littered his body, each of them a silent reminder of how he had been violently pulled through three steel floors before landing in the dark hold.

As Zancrow made his way deeper into the hold, several of Naruto's clones clambered silently over the various supplies, each of them using their hands to communicate with the each other. One of the clones dropped to the floor silently, a pair of black kunai clutched in his hands as he slowly advanced on the unsuspecting God Slayer. Just as he was about to leap forward and plunge his blades into his target, Zancrow thrust his hand directly into his stalker's face, a manic giggle passing his lips as he slowly looked over his shoulder. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me? I may not have the enhanced senses that your shitty Dragon Slayer's have, but that does mean you get to look down on me!"

Midnight black flames engulfed the clone in an instant, a brief cry of pain was the only sound that escaped the doomed clone's lips before he vanished, the God Slayer cackling madly as the remaining clones leaped towards the deck, his hands wreathed in flames as he charged the oncoming clones.

'Well... shit. Dude's insane, like Shukaku insane. These guys are not like the other Dark guild's you've encountered before, kit. Maybe we should pull back and work out a real plan?'

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, his head looking towards his covered stomach in surprise. 'Wait, the great Kurama, destroyer of all things great and small wants to back out? What the hell, fuzzy?'

'... Fuck you, that's the last time I express concern for my container.'

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto settled into the comfortable chair once more when the sole hatch into the room was blown off of it's hinges, a furious Hades passing through the smoking portal. Naruto grinned happily as he waved at the approaching dark mage, the old man pausing as he studied the blonde that occupied his throne.

"For everything that you have cost me, you're going to die, boy. Right here, right now." Naruto blinked slowly as he studied the angry mage for a moment, his expression shifting to boredom as he assessed the furious mage before him.

'Huh, different dimension, same bullshit villain cliches.' Naruto yawned as he pulled an apple from his jacket, the blonde happily snacking on the fruit. "Sorry about this, but I haven't eaten for a week. Some bullshit about how my hunger would break me or some such nonsense." Sighing happily, Naruto negligently tossed the apple core towards the fuming mage, the remains of the once whole fruit coming to a stop at the dark mage's boot. Raising his arm towards the seated blonde, Naruto watched as the Hades extended finger glowed ominously, the blonde smiling at the sight of the swiftly growing orb of energy. "Oooh, fireworks. You must make a killing as the entertainment during festivals and birthdays!"

Naruto waggled his eyebrows as Hades roared angrily, the Dark Guild master releasing the blast of Bullet magic, the orb of energy slammed into the seated blonde. Hades grinned savagely as the explosion of magical energy kicked up debris and smoke that soon obscured the taller man's sight.

Breathing deeply, Hades smirked as he watched the smoke slowly dissipate, his eyes hardening at the sight of his destroyed throne and the conveniently missing body.

"Wow, all that destructive power and no body to show for it, I'd be a little annoyed if that happened to me." Narrowing his gaze angrily once more, Hades slowly walked towards the centre of the observation lounge as Naruto's loud laughter echoed throughout the room, the tall guild master quickly running through every method of detection he knew. In the end it was in vain, a frustrated sigh the only sign of Hades' annoyance as he stood in the middle of the empty room.

"You've changed, boy. You're less psychotic than when I last saw you... but you're still as annoying as ever though."

"Oh, that as just an act. The moments I sensed your mages in the forest to pick Ultear up, I knew that there was more to this whole thing. So I decided that I needed to find the answers for all my questions. Why was Ultear part of the council? Who was she working for? Was this all part of some sort of Master Plan? Well that last one is kind of a silly question, there's always some sort of Master Plan with you villain types. You know, the normal stuff that you need to know when you're responsible for protecting the people you love and the rest of the world from assholes like you." The sound of rustling cloth had Hades swiftly spinning towards a darkened corner, several bursts of Bullet Magic racing from his extended fingers. Mocking laughter echoed in the dark mage's ears as the spheres of magic lit up the darkened area, the spot appearing to be abandoned and empty.

"I see, so the demonstration of your powers was a lure for me and your insanity was a way to trick me into thinking you were less of a danger. Bravo, I have to admit I am impressed you stayed in character for so long despite the torture that you were exposed to. But there is one small thing, I disabled you quite easily, I can do so again if needed."

"Yeah, about that." Hades paused for a moment as a lone strip of paper fell from the ceiling, his hand swiftly snatching the falling item and studying he design written across it's surface. "See, that's called a tag. A sealing tag, to be precise. And all those little squiggles there? That's a formula to knock me out in the event that I need to have myself captured. So you see, I let you capture me. It made it easier to get the information I needed."

A brief flare of magic incinerated the strip of paper, the ashes scattering to the floor as Hades chuckled softly. "Interesting. I haven't met a mage that was willing to go so far for a goal in years. And now I suppose that your going to take down the guild, capture me and turn us over to the council? How pedestrian, all that effort and still following the council's petty ru..." Hades paused for a moment, the dense clouds of smoke appearing throughout the room diverting his attention from the hiding blonde. As the smoke cleared, Hades chuckled softly at the sight of a dozen of identical blondes, each of them wearing identical grins as they nonchalantly clung to the ceiling. "One of your abilities, I take it?"

"You better believe it, bitch. But their so much more than just copies, as your guild members are finding out right now."

Meredy panted softly, a pair of teal blades hovering over her open hands as she shook her head in confusion at the sight before her. Her target, Uzumaki Naruto, was standing in the hall, grinning broadly as Kain thrust a pudgy finger in the blonde's face. "YOU BASTARD! W-W-W-WHY DOES YOUR H-H-H-HAIR KEEP DISAPPEARING?!"

Meredy watched in shock as Uzumaki leaned forward, his arms spreading out before him in a mocking gesture as he struggled to not to laugh at the overweight mage before him. "Oh come on, take another one, maybe you'll get lucky this time." Kain roared an anger as he deftly plucked one of the blonde's follicles, his eyes focusing intently on the lone strand of hair clenched between his fingers. Several moments passed in silence as Kain held his breath, his expression becoming hopeful when the stolen hair failed to go up in a puff of smoke. Kain roared in triumph as he attached the hair to the top of his doll, his hand thrusting towards the grinning blonde triumphantly.

"Finally! Now with Mr. Cursey, I will control you!" An evil grin split Kain's lips as he held his doll before him, evil laughter escaping his lips as he slammed the doll into the corridor wall. After several moments of Naruto standing tall before the pair, a sweating Kain looked down at his doll in confusion, his expression soon becoming incredulous at the sight of a once again missing hair from the top of his doll. Kain fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks as he impotently shook his doll at the grinning man before him. "You b-b-b-b-bastard! I hate you!"

Meredy sighed in annoyance as she strode towards the infuriating blonde, the short girl summoning dozens of blades that hovered around their creator. As the blonde before her raised an eyebrow at the display of glowing weaponry, Meredy stretched her hand forward, her eyes tightening as she spoke. "Disappear, trash."

The clone grinned playfully as each of the floating blades raced towards it, the construct weaving through the storm of energy that had been flung at it. Just as he reached the stoic young girl, the clone's eyes widened is surprise as he felt a blade pierce his stomach, his gaze falling to the teal blade that had been shoved through his back. Looking up form the mortal wound a smile appeared on the clone's face as he locked his gaze with Meredy's

"N-not bad, little girl. S-small problem though, I'm..." Meredy waited patiently as the blonde coughed loudly, his blood slowly running down his chin before it fell as his feet. "Not the r-real one." Meredy's eyes widened in surprise as the clone began to glow brightly, her hand shoving the dying blonde to the ground as she raced towards Kain.

"RUN!"

The deck below Hades' feet began to pitch wildly, the sound of several explosions echoing throughout the ship. "So that's how you've done all of this, those copies are what you've used to sabotage my ship."

"Yeah," Naruto said, the original landing in a crouch on top of the destroyed throne. "I don't know what was sabotaged, all I know is that they were shiny and they looked expensive."

Breathing deeply, Hades felt his ire slowly settling as he prepared for the upcoming battle. "Every part of the ship can be repaired or replaced. My guild members are efficient and well trained, your pitiful sabotage will be but a small obstacle."

Naruto nodded slowly as he raised a lone finger, his grin growing even wider. "True, they are efficient and that's why I pinched your engineering crew. Well, most of them anyways." Hades eyes widened comically at the blonde's words, his jaw dropping as Naruto continued speaking. "The council has them right now, as well as several other low to high ranking members of your guild. I'm sure they've learned so many interesting things from them by now. Actually, there is one thing I have to ask you," Naruto said, his expression turning inquisitive as he stared at Hades. "What are you hiding behind that big door on the lower levels? Your damned attack dog stopped my boys just before they could break in."

Hades schooled his expression as Naruto landed on the ground, his arms folded against his chest as he watched the expectant blonde for several moments. "Well, we all have our secrets, boy. Maybe if you defeat me then I'll tell you mine." Flinging his hands forward, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as a pair of glowing chains raced towards him, the blonde leaping backwards and latching onto the the ceiling as the glowing constructs slammed into the floor where he had once stood. Pulling his arms back, Hades grinned evilly as he swung his arms in an arc before his body, the chains following the same path before they slammed into several stunned clones. Explosions tore through the tall windows that protected the observation lounge from the elements, the original Naruto smirking as he dropped to the floor.

"Yeah, you might want to re-think that strategy. That is unless you want a pile of... on second thought, no. Go ahead, blow your ship up for me, it makes my job easier." Hades raised his hands as arcane symbols stretched along the floor, each clone dodging a blast of compressed air as they each flashed through several hand seals.

"GOKYAKYU NO JUTSU!/DAITOPPA NO JUTSU!" Hades smirked at the sight of several immense balls of flames racing towards him. A chuckle soon passed his lips as the approaching flames soon grew to enormous sizes, the futon technique supercharging the oncoming inferno. Hades raised his hand slowly towards the incoming flames, a shield of darkness flaring to life before the old mage as the flames closed in, the conflagration petering out swiftly as it struck the shield. A ring of shadowy orb's soon replaced the shield, each sphere of Dark magic racing towards the surprised clones. Hades scoffed as he watched most of the clones dodge the redirected attack, his hands soon never slowing as more Amaterasu glyphs appeared, the condensed sphere of wind tearing through several more clones with ease.

Naruto's eyes tightened as the fight continued to drag on, the shinobi realizing that it didn't matter what he threw at Hades, the old man was somehow managing to shrug each blow off as if it was nothing more than a mid summer's day breeze. Stretching his hand behind him, Naruto felt a pair of clones racing towards him while the remainder charges a grinning Hades, several of them engaging the white haired mage in hand to hand combat while others threw multiple jutsus. Chakra swirled over the blonde's hand, each of his clones helping to form the structure and imbue the growing Rasengan with their creator's chakra. Once the technique was completed, a high pitched wail attracted Hades' attention, his lone eye widening in consternation at the dense energy that rested over the blonde's palm.

"RASENSHURIKEN!" A mighty swing of his arm was all it took to launch the attack towards his target, a triumphant grin appearing as Naruto's remaining clones latched onto the frozen mage. As the rapidly moving projectile reached it's target a violent gale swept through the observation lounge, the loose pieces of debris rising from the floor as they were flung to and fro form the powerful currents of air.

'Nice job, all that work you put into learning how to throw the Rasenshuriken out of Sage... MOVE!' Naruto immediately dove towards the edge of the room, his eyes widening as the floor beneath him began to glow an ominous red. Pure black flames exploded from the airship's lower decks, a psychotic cackle accompanying the dark flames. Naruto slowly stood as he watched Zancrow leap through the hole, his hands twitching madly as he faced off against his fellow blonde.

"You... I'm going to kill you..."

'Oh look, a psycho that shoots flames, where's Natsu when you need him?'

'You're not helping, Kurama. Bastard is tougher than he looks.' Naruto rose to his feet slowly, his eyes flicking towards the large dust cloud had enveloped Hades. 'Did we get him?'

'Naruto, you can sense his chakra, why do you bother asking?'

'I'm an optimist?'

You're an idiot... whoa, incoming!' Naruto grimaced as he thrust his hands forward, a sphere of dark magic sending the shinobi skidding towards the destroyed windows. 'Kit, I think we may have a problem. Fat ass and pinky are on their way right now and Ultear-chan isn't far behind them. I... I think we've lost this one, Naruto.'

Naruto grimaced as he watched Hades slowly striding towards him, a smirk appearing on the old man's features as he cradled another sphere of dark magic in his hand. 'What about Sennin modo? I can hold it for hours now, that should even the odds.'

'Oh sure, Sennin Modo... you'd have to fight Hades, Bluenote and the rest of the Seven Kin at the same time and you still can't make more than five clones when you're using Nature Chakra. Until we know how Hades is standing up to all this punishment, we're not going to get past him. And don't even think of using Biju Modo, you have enough energy collected for 15 seconds, tops. Naruto, we've lost. Get the others and pull back, we'll get them another time.'

His hands clenched tightly in anger, Naruto raced towards the madly grinning Zancrow as the flames coating the crazed mage's arms formed a massive blade, his arm lashing out at the approaching shinobi. Dropping to his knees, sweat dotted Naruto's brow as he skidded under the flaming blade, the shinobi popping to his feet as he delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the shocked God Slayer's flying into the air. Drawing his hands back, a glow surrounded the blonde as he gathered as much elemental chakra as he could, his hands trembling as he thrust his hands forward.

"FUTON: TATSUMAKI!" Naruto's hands directed the hurricane he'd created towards the airborne God Slayer, the funnel of spinning air igniting as soon as the powerful flames touched it. Grinning broadly, Naruto directed the technique towards the still grinning Hades, the blonde shinobi immediately spinning towards the shattered windows and leaped towards freedom. As he fell away from the airship, Naruto pulled his arms close as he hurtled towards the ground, his eyes squinting shut as he raced towards the forest beneath him. A quick hand sign and a clone appeared at his side, the construct grabbing it's creator and tossing him towards the nearest tree. A shroud of blue chakra burst to life as the shinobi smashed into a tree, the blonde swiftly getting his feet under him and racing towards his friends. As he pulled away from the hovering airship, the shockwaves from several powerful explosions nearly sent the blonde tumbling to the ground, but he managed to keep his balance as a grin appeared. 'I may have lost this time, but I gave them a nice parting gift to remember me by. The remaining clones managed to disable the engines and the Jupiter Cannon, so we should be ok until we can escape. Next time will be different, just you wait Grimoire Heart.'

Yes, Naruto LOST. Next chapter we see what happened with Laxus and the others, plus the next arc begins!