?

Natsu had been running for hours through some huge forge with no one in sight. He may have been thick headed, but even he knew a dark guildhall would be livelier than this. To top it off, he hadn't seen anyone since he woke up here.

"Hello, is anyone here!" Natsu couldn't smell or hear anything around him. "Hey, dark guild wizards, are you here!" He had some hope, maybe, that he was brought here by his friends for some reason. "Kakashi, Romeo, Happy, Erza, and/or Gray!"

No matter what he shouted, no one came. He tried yelling for them, antagonizing Gray, and even running for a good long while searching for anything to tell him what was going on. In the end, he continued to never find, hear, or smell anything.

"Seriously, what is this!?" Natsu yelled confused.

He kept moving while trying to find something, someone, or anything. He was considering trying to attack the walls again, but his magic, for the first time, never damaged anything no matter how big he went.

Outpost, Night…

Kakashi and Kageyama were currently sat on the roof of the outpost while the rest of the team rested. There were no sounds to be heard in this forest as the night continued to wear on.

Kage eventually looked over at Kakashi. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away." Kakashi stated.

"You were a Shinobi before coming to Earth Land, right?" Kage asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I was."

"I've heard many things about your people, but I'm most curious about their views on killing." Kage held up his hands. "Not in the way you think. More in the way that you had to kill before; however, you don't now. Is that hard on you?"

"I don't fault you for asking." Kakashi stated. "To answer your question, I don't have the urge or need to kill. It's not like I reveled in the death. In essence, that is the difference between a monster and human.

Both can kill, but a human shouldn't take satisfaction in the fact that they killed. You can feel proud that you overcame a difficult enemy or happy that you protected your home. The moment you take satisfaction in the act of killing is the moment you lose your humanity."

"Is that the end all be all?" Kageyama asked. "Once someone becomes a monster, can they never become human again?"

"I'd say, for the longest time, it was impossible, but then I met my students. More specifically, Naruto Uzumaki. I believe I briefly mentioned him during our conversation in the train station. He had a talent for bringing back a person's humanity through his words.

He showed me that people can change no matter how far gone they may appear to be. In the end, I'm not Naruto. I don't think I can do what he did, but I might as well try to succeed where I can. I think your one such case Kageyama."

"Do you honestly think I can change?" Kageyama genuinely asked.

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't think you could." Kakashi took a deep breath. "Kage, I don't just trust in what you will do. For good or bad, I trust you."

"I see." Kageyama stood. "I believe it's about time for a change in shift."

"I suppose it is." Gray walked onto the roof and stared at the former dark wizards. "You can go get some rest."

"Don't worry, I know my place." Kage stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'll be sleeping in the magic mobile."

He left and Gray turned towards Kakashi. "You're not going to head down?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I can tell you have something on your mind, and I'm used to fighting with less sleep than I'll end up getting." He nodded ahead of himself. "Go on and take a seat."

Gray did just that and stared at Kakashi like he had the first day the former Jonin arrived. For the longest time, the Ice Make Mage was silent, but it didn't bother the Copy Mage. Throughout his time in the Elemental Nations, he had adapted to all types of people.

Finally, Gray spoke. "At the same time, you're not and are like Obito told me."

"So, you're one of the people within Fairy Tail who has a connection to Obito." Kakashi stated.

"You knew?" Gray asked.

"Minato told me there were people like you." Kakashi stated. "I'm not going to pry into your connection since it's your story to tell. Though, I just got to know if he seemed alright."

"Alright?" Gray gave a small smile but had a look of sadness in his eyes. "He was great. There were times I tried to learn his magic, but I eventually devoted all my time to his former wife's magic. I just couldn't do both like my fellow student at the time."

Kakashi nodded. "I'm happy he found new love."

"Obito didn't shy away from his past, and I admire him for it." Gray shook his head. "It's not easy owning up to the mistakes of the past. If there's one thing I can apply to this situation, it's the fact that Obito came back around to trusting you.

I can't say it will be easy, but I believe in you. Since I believe in you, I will trust that you're making the right decision by trusting Kageyama. It does help knowing the threat that is out there. I know better than most because of Obito."

"I know it must be hard to say that Gray, but I appreciate it." Kakashi nodded. "The fact is, whatever Earth Land would have been had Shinobi never came can no longer exist. That said, I can try to mitigate the damage that will follow."

"You sound like you're blaming yourself, but not even Obito or Minato know why they're here." Gray stated. "Earth Land has adjusted fine to what's already come, so don't worry about it. Just like everyone else in the guild, we got your back. That's just how it is, and you can't stop us."

"I get the feeling you added that last line because Obito doesn't believe I've changed all that much." Kakashi stated.

"Can you blame him?" Gray asked. "From what I heard; you only came around in the end to rescuing your comrade. That's the kind of person I can respect, but the guy you were before him has no respect from me."

"I hear you." Kakashi nodded. "Don't worry, I know the value of teamwork. No matter what path Obito walked after that day, I was and will be thankful for the lesson he instilled in me. Fairy Tail is where I belong in this world."

"Glad to hear it." Gray stated.

After their conversation, Kakashi felt like they had come to a better understanding Additionally, while he knew it was in the past, the former Jonin had to wonder about Sasuke. Could this be how the Uchiha turned out if he weren't cursed with hatred?

"I believe I shall turn in for the night." Kakashi stood. "See you tomorrow Gray."

Gray nodded. "Tomorrow."

The Forge

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu breathed out a stream of fire, at point blank range, into the wall but nothing happened. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" His entire body was cloaked in fire as he rammed into the wall only for that to hurt him alone. "Damn it!"

Natsu had tried every move in his arsenal to break something, yet everything he tried was ineffective. The one time he was intentionally trying to destroy things, and he ended up destroying nothing.

"If Kakashi or Erza were here, maybe they could help me figure out what I'm supposed to do." Natsu thought. "As things stand now, I'm at a loss, but I can't give up. I got to get out of whatever this is and help my comrades."

"This one certainly has a burning spirit; wouldn't you agree Sierra?" A manly voice stated.

A female voice answered him. "I agree with you on that; however, I can smell a dragon on him as well Hephaestus."

Hephaestus? That name rang bells in Natsu's head as he remembered hearing about it from his teammates. What's more, he could finally smell something on the air. There was a mysterious smell and the clear smell of a dragon.

"Hey, are you out there!" Natsu was quickly scanning his surroundings only to see nothing. "Are you with those dark wizards? If not, can you help me?"

"I do like the guy much better than those wizards who've touched my statue." Hephaestus stated.
"Plus, those foolish dark wizards either do understand what they're doing, or they've misinterpreted what we left behind."

"Can you blame them?" Sierra questioned. "It has been ages since we sealed ourselves away. I don't doubt that everything we left has corroded with age. No doubt countless information has been lost."

"Fair point." Hephaestus stated. "Hey Dragon Slayer, you want help, right?"

"At this point, I think I need it." Natsu stated.

"Alright, just keep running forward a bit longer, and you'll find us." Hephaestus stated. "We'll help you out of this predicament."

At this point, Natsu didn't have much to lose, so he started running once more.

Outpost: Morning…

Kakashi, Erza, Gray, Romeo. Happy, and Kageyama were preparing to storm Eisenwald when Elfman burst into the room. "When you called for help, a real man answered. Team Cana is here, and ready help."

"That's about the expected entrance." Cana stood behind him. "Hey guys. We heard you call and came on out here. What's the situation beyond Natsu's impending death?"

"You want to take this one Kageyama?" Kakashi asked.

Kage nodded. "Erigor and an unknown number of Sound's Desire members stand between us and the Fire Dragon Slayer. Currently, Natsu is being put through a ritual which should bring about the god Hephaestus in exchange for his life.

On top of that, Erigor holds the flute Lullaby. If he plays it in your presence, you're dead. As things stand now, we still have a little over a day to disrupt that ritual. Unfortunately, there is no secret passage into the guildhall, so we'll have to storm it."

"That's informative, but who is this guy?" Cana asked. "What's he even doing here?"

"This is Kageyama." Erza spoke up. "He's a former member of Eisenwald whose committed himself to bringing down Erigor and rescuing Natsu."

"How recent are we talking?" Elfman asked.

"He was our enemy just yesterday." Gray approached Kageyama and patted his shoulder. "Today, he has my trust. I believe in him."

Kageyama was surprised that the Ice Make Wizard genuinely meant it. He thought he'd only have Kakashi backing him.

"I don't know about this." Cana stated. "Can we really trust him?"

"I stand by Kakashi and Gray on this." Romeo decided to speak up for the guy as well. "He may have done wrong, but people can change. If we just expect the worst of him, he'll act it. We got to be better than that."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Elfman approached Kageyama and stared down at him for a minute. The former dark mage never broke eye contact.

"I think he's honest." Elfman smiled and patted him on the back. "It takes a real man to break the shackles of his bonds to do what's right."

"I suppose we don't have much time to stand around debating this." Cana sighed. "It's not like I can just leave with Natsu in trouble." She walked over. "You won't here anymore trouble from me."

"Then, we move out now." Erza declared. "Time to storm Eisenwald!"

"Remember, the goal is Natsu." Kakashi stated. "That means we need to get to the basement, so let's match the enemy with people confident they can take them. We may have a day, but that is not a guarantee once we begin making noise."

Everyone nodded.

Eisenwald Guildhall: Courtyard

Dosu was taking stock of the walls and door around the guildhall to ascertain if there were any weaknesses. After walking around the perimeter, he had yet to find anything. The Sound Mage just knew those Fairies would come knocking, so he wanted to be ready.

Erigor had jumped from the top of the guild and floated down until levitating just above him. "What are you doing walking around my guildhall?"

"Looking for entry points our enemies could use against us." Dosu replied.

"Why are you doing something so useless?" Erigor smugly remarked. "Those flies won't be upon us until this evening at the earliest."

As he said that, the door to their courtyard was frozen before being smashed to pieces as Kakashi, Erza, Romeo, Happy, Gray, Elfman, Cana, and Kageyama stormed into the courtyard. Elfman's arm was that of a black beast.

"You have someone who belongs with us, so we've come to claim him back." Erza declared firmly.

"Aye!" Happy declared. "Give us Natsu!"

Dosu looked at Erigor. "You were saying?"

"How are they here now?" Erigor grit his teeth before resting his eyes on Kageyama. "Kageyama's with them? Now it makes sense." He smiled smugly. "I never pegged you to turn traitor Kageyama."

"When one of your guildmates aims to kill you, it's rather eye opening." Kage declared. "In that sense, Eisenwald betrayed me, don't you think?"

"That's what happened." Erigor declared. "Perhaps I was a little rash with my wording. Tell you what, help me crush these flies, and you can have a prominent place within Neo Eisenwald. We'll recruit better wizards than those fools. How does that sound?"

Everyone looked at Kageyama waiting to see what he would do.

"Rejoin you?" Kageyama smirked. "You've just confirmed everything I've heard from these guys. You never cared about Eisenwald, but I suppose I'm right there with you. In the end, I wasn't willing to lay down my life, but I am for the Dragon Slayer.

That's because he's their comrade." He pointed at Erigor. "Hear these words because I can speak them with conviction. Those who break the rules are scum, but those who betray their comrades are worse than scum. I will not betray these guys."

"So be it." Erigor held up his hand while cloaking them in wind magic. "Magic Wind Palm!"

Shadows appeared beneath the entire group curtesy of Kageyama. "Guard Shadow!"

A dome of shadows encompassed everyone as Erigor fired off a large blast of air. The attack had cracked the shadows, but those same cracks began sealing themselves rather quickly.

Kageyama looked at the group. "It won't be long before Erigor and/or Dosu destroys this dome." Attacks began to slam into the dome. "The rest of you should hurry on. I'll hold the dark mages here."

"Yeah, now that's a real man." Elfman smiled.

"As cool as it is for you to do this, I want to stay back and help." Romeo declared.

"Romeo, I don't know if this is a wise decision." Erza stated. "I trust Kageyama more now, but Erigor may too much for you to handle."

The dome was taking longer to heal.

"Then, I'll just fight Dosu." Romeo declared. "Look, we don't have much time, and the stronger guys are likely inside. That means I either fight with Kageyama out here or fight someone stronger inside."

"The kid makes a good point." Cana declared.

"He doesn't wear our mark for nothing Erza." Gray nodded. "I think we should trust in Romeo to handle himself."

"God Slayer isn't just a fancy title." Kakashi finished.

"Very well." Erza took a deep breath. "Kageyama, you better look after Romeo." A dark aura flared up around her. "If he dies on your watch, you'll wish you were fighting a hundred Erigors over what I'll do to you."

Kageyama gulped. "I hear you loud and clear ma'am." A hole opened in the back of the dome. "Now, get going."

"Alright, let's move everyone!" Kakashi declared.

Everyone, but Kageyama and Romeo, booked it out the back as the dome was on its last legs.

"Hey Romeo, you got something that can give them cover?" Kage asked.

"I have something up my sleeve." Romeo declared.

The next barrage of sound and air hit the barrier of shadows shattering it.

"You might what to do it now!" Kageyama declared.

Romeo slammed his hands on the ground. "Earth God's Dancing Sand!"

Before their opponents could see anything, black sand washed over Erigor and Dosu. With their sight limited, the rest of their group slipped inside the guildhall. The Reaper then unleashed some wind magic dissipating the sand.

"What happened to the others?" Dosu asked.

Erigor glared at his former guildmate. "What did you do Kage?"

"Don't look at me." Kage patted Romeo's head. "This kid here is the one who blinded you. As for the others, they're inside the guildhall." At that moment, the doors slammed shut. "I don't doubt that they've sealed you two out."

"That means, we are you opponents!" Romeo declared firmly.

Eisenwald Guildhall

Kakashi and Elfman moved various tables, chairs, and anything large in front of the door while Gray iced the whole thing shut. Once that was taken care of, the group reconvened in the main room.

"Alright, we're inside, so where's the way down to the basement?" Elfman asked.

"According to Kage, it's not simple." Kakashi stated. "Behind the bar, there's a trap door leading to a set of stairs. At the bottom, there's a passageway which will slope up leading to another courtyard. There we should find a smaller building containing stairs leading back into the earth."

"Why didn't we just head to that smaller courtyard then?" Cana asked.

"It's surrounded by dense, dead trees." Kakashi stated.

"In truth, this was a wise course of action, but not the fastest." Aoi's voice rang out before he popped out behind the bar. "Long time no see Kakashi."

"Aoi Rokusho." Kakashi declared as he noticed the head band he wore. "Figures you'd join a dark guild."

"It is the better option than some legal guild you joined." Aoi stated.

"You know this man?" Erza asked.

"You could say that." Kakashi stated. "Aoi was once a Chunin Instructor of the Leaf Village, but that was never enough for him. He tricked a Genin into stealing a valuable sword and scroll before going rogue. He later joined another village where he was made Jonin."

"Aw, you remembered me." Aoi feigned a warm smiled. "It's such a treat coming from the Copycat of the Leaf Village." He soon smirked. "Honestly, I could care less as that's all in the past."

"What you did does matter." Gray declared. "You betrayed your comrades for some rank you could have earned yourself. Now, you had a hand in taking our comrade from us." He stepped forward. "You're exactly the type of guy I hate."

"Big talk coming from some legal guild member, but let's put it to the test, shall we?" He jumped over the bar. "The rest of your group is free to go, but once they're gone, I'll show you power that comes from breaking the rules."

"I hope your more impressive than that Rayule guy I fought at the train station." Gray stated.

"Please, that guy pales in comparison to me." Aoi declared.

"We'll just have to see." Gray looked back at the others. "This guy is all mine. The rest of you should hurry on after Flame Brain."

"We'll leave him to you Gray." Erza declared.

"Show him what it means to be a man." Elfman declared.

The group ran behind the bar where they found a trap door. Kakashi threw it open allowing them to proceed.

In the Dense Forest: Courtyard

Kakashi threw open the trap door allowing the group to enter a courtyard surrounded by a wall. Surrounding that wall was a thick, dense, and dead forest for miles.

Akahoshi was above the group with his purple wings as he prepared a spell. "Star's Might: Destroy!"

A beam of concentrated, light purple magic fired at the group once they emerged.

Cana withdrew a card and threw it at the oncoming attack. "Card Conversation!" The attack was sucked into the card. "Targeted Release!"

As the card fell, the moment it faced Akahoshi, the magic fired right back at him. He only just managed to get out of the way.

"Alright, this one is mine." Cana declared. "The rest of you need to continue on."

"Right, we'll be counting on you Cana." Kakashi stated.

"Be careful." Erza warned. "An enemy who can fly is a tricky enemy to beat.

The group started to run onward.

"I won't let you get away." Akahoshi performed another spell. "Star's Might: Dragon!"

Light purple magic radiated from Akahoshi before surrounding him. He then dived straight for the group.

"Nice try, but they'll be moving on." Cana withdrew three cards and held them together. "Thunderbolt's Fate!"

Multiple bolts of lightning fired forth and hit Akahoshi throwing him off course. He crashed into the ground as the group made it into the building.

"You just disregarded me as an opponent, and that's a mistake you shouldn't make with any wizard of Fairy Tail." Cana approached him. "I'll make this simple for you. I'm your opponent, got it?"

"If you really wish to die girl, I will oblige." Akahoshi stood up and glared at her. "You just made a mistake by challenging me."

Passageway

"Are we nearing the basement Kakashi?" Erza asked.

Kakashi nodded. "There's a storage room and another hallway just before where Kage believes they're holding the ritual. Judging by our luck, I'm betting there's one more enemy we'll need to bypass. I'm not certain whether they'll let us by or not."

"Well, we could get lucky." Happy declared. "Maybe they've expended everyone."

"I wouldn't count on it." Kakashi stated. "I'm fairly certain they'll have someone attempt to stop us and someone watching over Natsu."

"In that case, allow me to take the next one." Elfman declared. "I'll move him away from the door, and you three can press onto Natsu."

"Are you sure Elfman?" Erza knew well that Elfman and Mira were never the same after losing Lisanna. "I'm fairly certain that the closer we get, the stronger the enemy."

"I'm certain Erza." Elfman nodded. "I can handle this."

Erza nodded reluctantly. "Alright, we'll leave them to you."

The group entered the next room which was full of wooden boxes.

"I was hoping you'd make it this far Kakashi!" Mizuki called out as he walked out from behind a box. "It gives me the opportunity to exercise my power and kill you in the process."

Elfman ran at Mizuki with his arms wide open. He closed them around the form Shinobi and carried him away from the path to the door.

"Let me go big ape!" Mizuki started pounding on his back. "My fight is with Kakashi Hatake!"

"No, it's with me." Elfman declared as he continued to push the guy. "Get going you two!"

The remaining wizards ran out the door with Kakashi slamming it shut. The former Jonin then froze the door over before continuing down the hall with those who were left.

"Kakashi, that mage seemed to know you." Happy stated. "Is he another Shinobi you know?"

"There are likely to be few Shinobi in this world I won't know on some level. As for him, we've met a few times." Kakashi stated. "I eventually learned he's just a man obsessed with power. He has no care for his teammates and would sacrifice them in an instant to get a leg up.

"This is a rather odd assortment of people with similar traits." Erza mused.

"Even with this being a different land, I find it unlikely that people like this would come together." Kakashi stated. "Many of them are obsessed with power, and that's a trait which only one man, with more ambition than them, has. Orochimaru."

"You're now certain this is all his doing?" Erza asked.

"It has to be." Kakashi stated. "The sound notes on the head band, people like him, and Mizuki himself. Mizuki was a secret follower of Orochimaru. I'm betting he's the one waiting for us at the end of this hallway."

"We'll see because we're coming to the final door now." Erza declared.

She requiped a sword into her hand and used it to cut the door to pieces allowing the group access to the room.

Basement

Kakashi, Erza, and Happy entered the room to find Orochimaru staring at the unconscious body of Natsu as he laid in the center of a drawn magic circle which glowed a brilliant red. Hephaestus' statuette was sat above The Dragon Slayer's head and resonating with the circle.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted.

"Happy wait!" Kakashi shouted.

The cat wasn't willing to listen since his friend was right there. He flew at the seal only for a forcefield of red magic to appear well before Happy got close. To make matters worse it both shocked and rebounded the cat back. Kakashi caught cat and gently sat him on the ground.

"That hurt." Happy whined.

"To think, you of all people would be the first to come to me instead of the other way around." Orochimaru turned to face them as a powerful, purple aura flared up around him. "Just like with Sasuke, you intend to stand in the way of what I want."

"What are you really after Orochimaru?" Kakashi grit his teeth. "The last I saw of you, you were fighting on our side in the war. Now, you seem to have reverted back to your old ways."

"Who's to say I ever gave up my ways?" Orochimaru questioned. "I had my own reasons for aiding the war. Chief among them was to observe the windmills of fate personally. I never had any intention of changing. If that is what you and others believed, that is on you."

"What are you doing with Natsu?" Erza demanded.

"Oh, you have some fire to you Titania." Orochimaru chuckled. "It's simple really. I seek knowledge and power. This world is quite interesting. When I discovered there were once beings who existed well before humanity, I grew curious.

Curious enough to do research and figure out ways to bring them into this age beyond what they were sealed in. With Hephaestus, my experiments and power can reach new heights. That is why I took Natsu. His body is a perfect host for a god of fire."

"The board was reshuffled by a new world, so I've taken the liberty of setting myself up for better results." He began to slowly walk towards the mages. "Tell me Kakashi, have you ever heard of God Serena?"

"God Serena?" Kakashi questioned. "What does the strongest wizard of Fiore have to do with this?"

"I'm impressed you learned about him, but you clearly don't know everything." Orochimaru stated. "He is a fool, but a fool who created the Hybrid Theory. Titania, mind filling Kakashi in on what that theory is?"

"The Hybrid Theory is God Serena's own creation." Erza stated. "He has never written it down or shared it with anyone; however, it is a system put within himself granting him the ability to hold eight lacrima within himself."

Kakashi looked at Orochimaru. "You didn't."

"I wouldn't let such a thing rest." Orochimaru stated. "Brilliance is all it takes. I didn't even need him to figure out myself. In the end, I created God Slyer and Demon Slayer Theories. God Slayer for me and Demon Slayer for an ally of mine. Would you like a taste of the power I've gained?"

Orochimaru's aura shifted from purple to black. This feeling was starting to rival the raw power given off by Kuroma, but with a huge level of control the fourth gen hadn't exercises as not even the room shook.

Kakashi rushed forward and punched Orochimaru in the face with every ounce of strength he could muster catching the former Sannin off guard. Even so, Orochimaru was able to catch himself and maintain a skid back.

The former Jonin hated to admit it, but he was shaking. Shaking like he did with Kuroma and when he confronted Orochimaru in that sealing chamber. Even though he was shaking, his eyes shone with determination.

"I don't care what power you may have gained Orochimaru." Kakashi declared. "Just like with Sasuke, I will protect my comrades. I will protect them all even if I must stake my life on it."

"Well said Kakashi." Erza came to stand at his side. "If we work together, we stand a better chance of beating him."

"I won't turn down the help." Kakashi took a deep breath and clenched his fist calming his shaking. "Today, you aren't getting what you want Orochimaru."

"This will prove to be interesting." Orochimaru laughed. "Let's see just how true you Fairies can hold to your word."

Rook2020: When I set out to write this story, I resolved to make big changes. There are countless stories out there where the crossover into another world is one character alone. I have no problem with those stories, but to stand out I realized I was going to need to tackle this a different way. Well, Naruto is a large anime with countless characters, so I figured I might as well make use of them. Like Zabuza and countless others.

As for he meeting and conflict, I figured there are enough stories where it's put off. Some like Kakashi, a pretty smart guy, would easily figure out the truth. If I'm honest, Kakashi is one of my favorite characters as well. As for the stories I write, I tend to jump around a bit, but I end up coming back eventually. Anyways, hope you enjoy this new chapter.