Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Fairy Tail and any other manga/anime that makes an appearance in my works of fiction. If I did, Sasuke would've continued down his dark path and killed Sakura back then.

Last Time:

Landing in a half-crouch, Naruto peered into the smoke to see Laxus struggling to stand, several burns visible on his frame. 'Payback is a bitch, ain't it? Still, I'd better wrap things up quickly.' Blurring towards the staggering Laxus, Naruto focused chakra into his hands and punched.

Several times. In rapid succession. At point blank range. "Asa Kujaku (Morning Peacock)!"

Face. Arms. Legs. Chest. Gut. Back to the face. Switch to chest. Naruto left no place unmarked in his furious assault, striking just as hard as it was fast.

All the crowd could see were countless flames that fanned out in the shape and appearance of a peacock's feathers as Naruto continued to wail on Laxus, not letting up until he felt Laxus was unconscious. Knocking Laxus down to the ground, Naruto waited for half a minute, calmly reading his book once again, before the crowd and Elfman snapped out of their gawking.

"Winner by Knockout! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Chapter 13: It's Finally Here! Demon King vs. Guild Ace!

The outcome of the announcement was as predictable as rain on a cloudy day; the crowd of mages roared their delight and approval, loudly shouting and waving their hands in fervent emotion at the recent battle that they had witnessed. Bottles of beer were cracked open and consumed with zeal that would've appeared extravagant in the eyes of those outside of the Guild, meaty claps were reverberated through the stands as proud friends of the combatants exchanged words of praise and pride.

In one section of the stands, where the younger generations were seated, Natsu let out a boisterous cheer at Naruto's victory, even going so far as to stand on his seat and shout out his excitement. "WOOHOO! Yeah! That fight was awesome! Naruto beat that Laxus like he was a sack of potatoes!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed, his little cat body being coddled by Lisanna.

Gray, who was sitting two seats beside Natsu and right beside Lisanna, had a huge smile on his face as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he owned Laxus so bad that even the Old Man must feel sorry for him." Placing his hands behind his head, Gray leaned back slightly to survey the downed form of Laxus with satisfied eyes. "Can't say that I'm not enjoying this. I think that bully got what he deserves-someone to finally kick him from that pedestal he love to tout about."

Lisanna frowned uncertainly at Gray's words, unintentionally playing with Happy's wings. "Still, I think Naruto was a bit too harsh on him…that last attack seems really-"

"Awesome, right?! I bet he could teach me a few of his moves, then I'll be even more kick-ass than I am now!" Natsu crowed, shooting a smug look towards Gray which made said Ice Mage scowl heavily.

Sitting up from his previous position, ignoring the unintentional slap from Wakaba, Gray shot his rival a dirty look. "As if Naruto is going to waste his time teaching you any of his moves; you'd just burn the Guild Hall again, just like when he tried to teach you how to do the 'Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu'."

Immediately in Gray's face, squishing his way past Lisanna with surprising force, Natsu snarled at his rival and spewed flames from his mouth. "At least he knew better to try and teach me his attacks than to waste his time on a snowcone stripper like you!"

Gray gained a tick mark at Natsu's words and began to push his head against Natsu's. "Shows what you know; he already taught me a bunch of stuff that he said was above your level! Wanna see!?"

"Bring it on, snowflake! I'll burn ya to a crisp!"

"In your dreams!"

Lisanna sighed in exasperation as the two began another mock fight beside her, a giant dust cloud obscuring their forms and only sounds of their tussle being heard.

Honestly, boys were so stupid sometimes.

-Waiting Tent-

Inside the tent, Makarov and Gildarts watched the projection lacrima as it showed the last few moments of Naruto's fight, namely the last attack he had used on Laxus. Having both fought against several high-level hand to hand combatants in their lives, they were each able to recognize the amount of skill that was required to pull off the devastating technique that they had witnessed.

Gildarts frowned as the scene was replayed once again. "I'm not sure what to make of this, Master. No matter how much of a genius the boy must be, he simply shouldn't be able to achieve such a powerful attack at his age. His body should be in the mid-stages of puberty, meaning his body should be changing to adapt to its future design and granting him more strength to utelise. For him to have such strength, at this young age…," He shrugged hopelessly. "I just can't make heads or tails of it."

Makarov said nothing, simply folding his arms as he watched the projection play the furious assault of Naruto's blows, which were so fast that some of them seemed little more than twitches on the screen. "Another thing that bugs me," Gildarts continued, "is the nature of that attack. If you look at it carefully, the first attack seems to deal the most damage and renders the victim paralyzed because of the greatly pained state they find themselves. The following attacks are only slightly less powerful than the first, implying that the attack altogether was designed to be a one-attack kill technique and end its target's life by the end of the barrage. Whilst Laxus is clearly not dead, I don't think Naruto should be considered as an S-Class Mage for some time…no member of Fairy Tail, no matter how recent an addition they are, should never use such a damaging technique on another."

Makarov sighed heavily. "I can understand where you're coming from Gildarts…believe me, a part of me wishes to do as you say and remind Naruto about Fairy Tail being his family; family always sticks together, no matter what and what he did was certainly crossing the line." Sucking in a deep breath, Makarov continued to speak. "However, as the Guild Master and a person, I cannot prevent Naruto from achieving S-Class status; no matter how much I push it to the back of my mind, Laxus' words ring true. Without you and I, Fairy Tail is really nothing to boast about; before Naruto and Setsuna's arrival, Laxus would have been considered the strongest after you and we both know how vast the difference in power exists between you two."

Turning to face the shocked visage of Gildarts, Makarov spoke once more. "Despite how much we try to deny it, Fairy Tail needs stronger mages to flourish. Without stronger mages, there would be less requests. With less requests, there would be less to offer to those interested in joining the Guild. If this continues, the future of the Guild would be a bleak one."

Snapping out of his shock, Gildarts growled at Makarov. "You're going to let a future flight risk become an S-Class Mage because of something that might not even come true? Come on old man, you've got to see that going down this route can backfire and tarnish Fairy Tail's name even more than you think!"

"Unfortunately Gildarts, that is my decision. I will impress the importance of loyalty and family upon Naruto, mark my words, but I will not deny him the chance to achieve more in life. This discussion is over." With that said, the diminutive old man walked out towards the candidates, leaving Gildarts to stew in his thoughts.

-Second Tent-

Within the second tent that had been erected during the earlier fights rested the S-Class candidates, all of which had looks of anticipation, surliness and, in the case of Laxus, loathing as they waited for Master Makarov to arrive and inform them of the next trial.

Erza and Mirajane were huddled together in one corner, with the former talking in a low yet heated tone whilst the latter was arguing just as harshly, with her arms crossed in defiance. To everyone in the tent, it was obvious that Erza was grilling her lifelong rival/friend about her rather disappointing match with Cana. It was easy for Naruto to see that Erza was trying to come to terms with the fact that Mirajane, the person she could not easily defeat and often drew ties with, was bested by Cana…quite handily at that. Somewhere in the deep corners of her mind, despite her knowing that she had grown immensely under Setsuna's tutelage, she was now having some doubt about her capabilities.

Naruto sighed. Young teenage girls were such a puzzle to work out, with the constant contradictory messages that they sent out.

Crossing his arms, Naruto felt his arm brush against his coat pocket where a scroll lay hidden. Letting his eyes casually sweep over his surroundings once again, he silently admonished himself for being so eager to read what Jiraiya had sent him. 'The S-Class Exam is not the time and place for me to be reading what Ero-sensei has discovered. The Magic Council will be watching, and this Exam will be my only chance to make a good impression on them.'

Standing by his side as always, Setsuna shifted from one foot to the other as she studied Laxus Dreyar in mild interest and thinly veiled disdain. She had heard what he had said about her apprentice and was quite displeased with the way he talked down about Erza's battle tactics. The arrogance he showed reminded her of the unpleasant antics of Senju Nawaki, her former Chunin squad Commander, as well as the Senju Clan in its entirety.

With a Genjutsu cast on her eyes, no one but Naruto noticed her activate the famed Kekkei Genkai of her clan and lock eye contact with him.

Within the seal, Kurame chuckled at the actions of her kit. "That fool won't know what hit him. Good one, Setsuna; it's almost like they've never even thought of tipping things in their favor."

Setsuna mentally nodded. 'Hai, though Naruto-sama still has the biggest advantage over all of us…though I wonder if he managed to tag Dreyar-san with his Hiraishin seal. Either way, it still places Naruto-sama at the top of the order.'

"And you at the second position, right?"

She shrugged. 'Who else would be a challenge for Naruto-sama?'

The tent flaps were flung open and Makarov entered with a serious face. "Alright kids, the next trial will be commencing shortly so you should all be getting ready. I see that those who were injured have been restored to their previous condition thanks to the aid of Porlyusica; I bet you are all wondering why that has been done." He stated, gesturing to the healthy looking Mirajane, Erza and Laxus.

Seeing their nods, Makarov continued. "The fact is, these trials will only increase in difficulty as we progress to the end of the Exams. As such, all participants are healed after each trial to prevent any decrease in performance due to injuries sustained in previous trials as well as to check and disqualify those participants that use certain stimulants to enhance their progress."

"Has there ever been a case when doping was an issue?" Erza asked, a frown marring her face at the thought of someone cheating in the Exam.

Makarov nodded seriously. "Yes, there have been a few cases when some mages, who felt overwhelmed by the desire to achieve S-Class status that they underwent all sorts of rituals, took all sorts of potions and did anything they could to pass the exam."

Laxus snorted at that. "What losers…if they hadn't been weak-kneed, they wouldn't have need to use such cowardly measures. I, for one, feel quite insulted that you would think we'd do something like that old man." He shot an angered look at his grandfather.

Naruto and Setsuna eye-rolled. Why did the people here see cheating as underhanded? When facing opposition from several people, it was always best to give yourself an edge to make up for the number disadvantage you would have.

Makarov scowled. "Insulted or not, you'd better take that warning to heart in this Exam. Now get yourselves prepared for the next trial; the Trial of Knowledge."

-Era-

Back with the Magic Council, many of the Council members were talking in loud tones amongst themselves about the young mage Fairy Tail Guild Master Makarov had bragged so brazenly about: the young mage, Naruto Uzumaki. Having just watched the match between him and Laxus Dreyar, a powerful Lightning Mage in his own right, many of them were ecstatic and impressed with the results of the match.

Yajima gave a rambunctious laugh as the fight ended. "Ha! In your faces! Here you all were, putting the young lad down as if you were all omniscient or whatever and the truth was spot on! Maki may be old, but he ain't senile yet!"

Org grimaced at Yajima's words. "To be fair, most recommendations and reports we receive on individuals tend to be exaggerated at least a little bit. Makarov's claim of the boy being able to create a whole new class all to himself just seemed like the usual arrogant boast that most Guild Masters make about their most prized members." Coughing slightly to clear his throat, Org surveyed his colleagues with an interested eye. "So? What did you all think of him?"

Belno was the first to respond. "I find him to be just as powerful as Makarov said he was. Not only did he display incredible strength, good fighting skill and particularly devastating Fire Magic, but he also displayed speed that is perhaps on a level that has never been achieved before. If you look at the fight more closely," she gestured to the screen as it went over the recorded fight, "you'll notice that Uzumaki was able to completely evade Dreyar's charge, return to his previous position and elbow strike his face…all in tenths of a second."

Ultear leaned back in her seat, her eyes watching the screen as it replayed the fight with an intensity that was unusual. "That would imply that his leg muscles are strengthened to an abnormal degree to allow him to reach and maintain such speeds. His clothing reveals that his body is not built heavily; if anything, his build resembles that of a sprinter or swimmer. Shows how much appearances can be deceiving." Gently grabbing a lock of her hair and absently twirling it about her finger, Ultear's intense expression relaxed and turned mischievous. "Getting kicked by those machine legs must hurt like a bitch."

"Ultear-san, such language is not what should be uttered from one as young as yourself." Belno admonished, a faint scowl on her face.

Ultear just nodded with a cheeky grin that showed just how much she thought about that statement. Beside her, Siegrain rubbed his head in embarrassment and laughed nervously. "I guess I jumped the gun in this instance, Yajima-san. This Uzumaki guy seems to be a really talented individual!"

Slipping into a more comfortable seating position, Siegrain continued to give his impression of Naruto. "He seems very resourceful and used his opponents anger against him, something that I say from experience is very good to use. The only other magic he used in the fight was Fire Magic, but what I've just witnessed is far more impressive than anything I've from our top Fire Mages." Setting his chin in his open palm, Siegrain smirked at Org. "If anything, it resembles the type of control Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer has over his element. Coincidence maybe?"

The cheerful atmosphere in the room slowly turned serious as they all watched the finishing blow once again, comparing and contrasting the performance with that of Natsu Dragneel, the youngest member of Fairy Tail to cause the most damage in over a decade. As the Council members grew more and more alarmed at how disturbingly similar both attacks were performed, none besides Ultear saw the manic smile that appeared on Siegrain's face.

After all, if he could appear as someone the boy could trust and depend on, why should he use force when slippery words would be more effective in serenading him to aid in resurrecting Zeref?

- Fairy Tail Stadium-

Standing once again in the stadium, the S-Class candidates stood before Makarov as he explained the second trial. "The Trial of Knowledge will test your ability to discern an opponent's magic alignment as well as your ability to deal with unknown magic. To up the difficulty of this trial, you will be given a time limit of two minutes to name at least two different magic types your opponents will be using against you."

Erza stepped forward once more, a question burning on her lips. "Who will we be facing?"

The elderly man chuckled and removed his hand from behind, revealing a small and slightly crumpled paper bag. "You'll have to find out by yourselves, I'm afraid. While I know the name of all the individuals you all will be facing, even I can't tell which one you'll end up picking." Holding the bag out, Makarov gave it a little shake with a smile on his face. "Come on, pick your target and pray you get a good one."

Stepping forward with some disgruntlement, Laxus nevertheless flashed a confident grin at the others as he stuck his hand into the bag and begin fiddling. After a few moments of him mulling over his choice, he retracted his arm to show a small strip of paper that had been folded neatly in two. Opening the strip, his eyes furrowed in confusion. "I'm going to be tested by some guy called Jiraiya?"

Nodding carelessly, Makarov extended the bag towards Cana, who was closest to Laxus. "Those you will be facing are individuals I have selectively chosen to test your mettle against. As the Master, I am entitled to know what Magic they use to see the difficulty that would face you in this challenge."

Walking up to Makarov, Cana slipped her hand into the bag and picked a random piece of paper. Unrolling it, she arched a brow at the name written on it. "My opponent is Anko Mitarashi. What kind of name is that?"

Next was Erza. "Tenzo," she stated, her eyes narrowed in thought.

Mirajane cracked her knuckles and reached into the bag, a look of concentration on her face. Removing her hand, she read the name off with a touch of excitement. "Juugo."

Setsuna was next, her eyes calm and zen-like as she picked out her opponent. "Chojuro…sounds interesting."

Naruto watched as Cana, Mirajane, Erza and Setsuna retrieve a name from the bag and announce the names of their opponents, hiding the smile that wanted to shine on his face despite the fact that his lower half was always hidden by his late mentor's mask. It had been quite a trial of patience in ensuring that his Pseudo-Paths had managed to catch Makarov's eye and make sure that they had been selected during this Trial.

Seeing that it was finally his turn, he placed his hand inside the bag with some interest. With his hand hidden from view, a chakra string grew from his finger and attached itself to a paper slip which had residual chakra on it. Flicking his index finger backwards, the slip f paper was pulled into his palm and he removed his hand. Unfurling the slip, a satisfied look appeared in his eyes. "Menma Kazaama."

-Fairy Tail Exam Grounds-

"Alright! The Trial of Knowledge is about to begin!" Elfman bellowed, having had to resort to shouting to have his voice heard over the din of the crowd. "The first candidate to participate; our very own Laxus Dreyar! His opponent will be Jiraiya!"

The crowd was enthusiastic in their applause, but that did nothing to stop the twinge of anger in Laxus' heart at how subdued it was compared to when they had cheered for Uzumaki. Scowling heavily, Laxus stomped from the tent and walked towards the center of the stage, sizing up the person who was standing next to Elfman with a scrutinizing eye.

The first thing he noticed was how tall Jiraiya was; the man stood slightly taller than 6 feet, just a few inches taller than Laxus, who was quite tall even amongst the standards of adults. His eyes moved on to his clothing and quirked. Jiraiya wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit with his red haori. On his back was a large scroll, which confused Laxus slightly. 'Why would he bring that here?'

Stopping right in front of Jiraiya, Laxus smirked at the older man, who returned it with an arrogant smile. "You ready to lose, Gramps?" Laxus taunted, allowing small bursts of lightning to appear over his body.

Jiraiya guffawed loudly, his laughter that of an adult being demanded to take a child seriously. Laxus' smirk disappeared at his actions to be replaced with an angered frown. Calming down from his minor laughing fit, Jiraiya placed his hands on his hips in a laidback fashion. "The day I lose is the day I can finally kick the bucket. C'mon kid, lets see what you got!"

"BEGIN!"

Laxus was the first to start; immediately after the word left Elfman's throat, he was in front of the Gama Sennin in the blink of an eye. He struck with a knee-strike to Jiraiya's torso that made the Sennin double over in 'pain'. His left fist rocketed towards Jiraiya's face and sent him flying away due to the extreme strength and speed behind it. As Jiraiya was sent tumbling away, Laxus kept his hands outstretched and began to fire countless rounds of mini-sized rapid thunderbolts to keep the pressure on his adversary.

His other hand, which had been gathering magic energy, joined in the assault with slow yet explosive bolts that, combined with the fierce flurry, would keep Jiraiya on the run.

As Jiraiya was sent rolling, he swallowed back the instinctive curse that wanted to leave his mouth. 'That punch wasn't so bad,' he begrudgingly commented. Flipping over to avoid falling on his back, he quickly glanced up to see rounds of lightning bolts rushing towards him with intense hunger.

Hopping to his feet, Jiraiya began to run around the stadium whilst pumping chakra in his legs to keep avoiding the intense assault Laxus was putting on him. As he zigzagged through the maze of lightning, he idly assessed Laxus' strategy. 'He's keeping me on the defensive, trying to force me to think of more ways to escape his traps and reveal the extent of my abilities. In fact,' he focused chakra into his legs, tensing as his hands blurred through the seals, 'I'd better start taking him seriously.'

'Jinton: Mueisho (Swift Release: Shadowless Flight)!' Shooting forwards at speeds he had only imagined himself moving in his dreams, Jiraiya's form blurred out of existence and began a head turning as well as dizzying game of ducking, weaving, jumping and maneuvering through the barrage of bolts that Laxus kept feeding with his magic. To those watching, it was as though Jiraiya's movements were being fast-forwarded all over the grounds, with several copies of himself trailing behind the real one.

Laxus smirked in victory as he felt Jiraiya's punch heading towards his face. Sensing it coming from the right, he ducked with his head tilted to the right and allowed himself to fall over from the momentum. As Jiraiya slowed down momentarily, clearly not expecting Laxus to have sensed his attck, Laxus slammed his right palm on the ground as he simultaneously released the magic he had been gathering in his left leg. His leg blazed with lightning as he yelled out his attack. "Rankyaku (Storm Leg)!"

His lightning-infused leg slammed into Jiraiya with devastating force, making him cry out in pain. Laxus' smirk deepened…until 'Jiraiya' popped into a cloud of smoke. Shock wiped the smug look on his face, his eyes bugged out and mouth agape as he stared disbelievingly at what happened. 'What the-'

"Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)!"

The ground beneath him exploded as a blue orb slammed into his gut and sent him blasting into the air. Gritting his teeth in pain and thrown high above ground level, Laxus cracked open an eye to see Jiraiya iside a hole-a hole that had been directly underneath him!

His eyes widened in realization. 'That's it! The two magic types he used were Speed Magic and Earth Magic!' Charging his body with Magic, his form flickered and morphed into lightning before shooting towards the earth. As he landed, the gong was sounded to indicate the end of his trial.

Wincing at the wound on his body, Laxus nevertheless waited for Jiraiya to crawl out of his hole before he began to state his observations. "You…you used Speed magic to avoid my Lightning Barrage and try to get in some hits. When I used the Rankyaku, you must have used Clone Magic whilst zipping about to confuse and disorient me. Finally, for that last attack of yours to hit, you used Earth Magic to hide underneath my position though I have no idea how you managed to get the timing right."

Arching a brow at the slightly panting boy, Jiraiya nodded with a smile. "Pretty observant on you to pick up those details whilst in the midst of a fight. Most people focus only on flat-out overpowering their enemies to get the fight over with, especially when they have no idea what they can do." Cupping his chin, Jiraiya thoughtfully hummed for a few minutes before speaking. "You pass. I hadn't expected you to pick up the clone bit, only the first and last ones. My advice to you would be to brush up on a few more types of magic before you head out on your first S-Class request; if you had done that, you would've noticed that my last attack falls under Energy Make." He chuckled as Laxus face-palmed, muttered curses barely being heard over the wind.

-Second Tent-

When Laxus entered looking fine bar his bandaged torso, Makarov looked towards Cana. "Alright Cana, since we're going in the order of those that picked, that means you will be next participant. Good luck."

Nodding with a resolute expression, the brunette rose from her seat and marched through the tent flaps towards the stadium.

-Fairy Tail Exam Grounds-

Wincing slightly from the sudden brightness, Cana blinked furiously to clear the spots in her eyes as she nervously walked towards the center of the grounds. As her vision cleared and no longer needed blinking, her eyes locked unto the woman standing besides Elfman with curiousity.

That curiously quickly turned to shock and embarrassment as she took in the woman's clothing.

The woman had light brown, pupil-less eyes and black hair that had a blue tint to it which was styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. Having a curvy body that some of the girls in the Guild were sure to get as they grew older, her choice of clothing was questionable at best, atrocious at worst; a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam that barely covered her fitted mesh body suit which stretched from her neck down to her thighs. An orange mini-skirt was the only thing preserving her modesty, which was connected to a dark blue belt with an appendage-like sash. Shin guards and sandals completed the woman's ensemble.

'My god…' Taking a quick look at the stands, Cana confirmed the fear she had; all the males were staring at her with no doubt as to their intentions. Groaning mentally, Cana trudged up to her opponent with exasperation. 'Why am the one who ended up having to fight a would-be prostitute?' Grumbling incoherently at her day, Cana sighed as she drew closer to the brazen woman. Up close and personal with her, Cana swore she saw a flash of the woman's nipple when she puffed her chest out.

'Fuck my life…'

-Time skip-

Naruto crossed his arms as he stepped out of the tent with the other candidates, each having their game faces on. The Trial of Knowledge had served its purpose; it had shown just how they reacted when confronted with an opponent wielding unfamiliar magic, reviewed their knowledge on the different types of magic and showed their level of preparedness when confronted with the unexpected.

However, it was the Trial of Knowledge that showed the differences between them; when Cana faced down Anko, the young brunette had found herself on the receiving end of an ass-kicking that had inflamed the crowd against Anko. She had been only able to identify two magic types Anko used, namely Poison and Speed Magic, but had suffered many wounds that varied in lethality. If the disappointed look in her eyes was any indication, she had clearly expected herself to do better.

Erza's opponent had been very annoying; keeping her on the run with wooden stakes that were fired from the ground, she had been forced to stay in her Flight Armor in order to avoid the assault. To make things more difficult, Tenzo had turned the entire area into a large, moist land which he then manipulated into a continuous mudslide. Erza had to resort to making split-second multiple Requips in mid-air; from her Flight Armor to move faster than ever, to her Black Wing Armor in order to take to the skies. She seemed pleased with her performance, though she had struck up a conversation with Setsuna on improving her mistakes.

Mirajane, unlike the last round, managed to complete the Trial thirty seconds before the time limit was up. Juugo had used a type of Take-Over Magic that had transformed him into a monster-like form which had increased his abilities several fold. The second Magic he used was an animal based version of Puppet Magic that she had heard of, namely using animals such as birds to attack his enemies.

Setsuna's match…had not been what they were expecting. Instead of there being any fighting at all, she and Chojuro just stared at each other for some time before Chojuro revealed the three types of Magic he used in a bland and emotionless tone. Many people learned one lesson that day; Setsuna was unnaturally adept at casting high-level illusions.

His own fight with Menma had been disappointingly short due to the two minute limit, but it had been fun while it lasted. He wondered if the crowd and Magic Council would react to the aerial battle he had just been in. Maybe they were shitting their pants…that would be pretty funny if it actually happened.

Now they were getting ready for the next trial; Laxus was standing the furthest away, arms crossed and alternating between shooting him glares and eyeing Mirajane with that strange expression he had seen when he first arrived. Naruto arched a brow at that. 'Looks like someone doesn't like a certain Demon getting close to me.' He would have to keep an eye on Laxus' jealousy; while it was normal for things like that to happen, the loathing that Laxus held for him seemed…off. As Naruto watched Laxus with veiled interest, Mirajane and Erza were off to the side in deep conversation.

"So, how are you finding the S-Class trials Mira?" Erza asked, arms crossed over her armor-plated chest as she gazed at her rival in interest. During the past six months, she had barely had much time to have a proper conversation with her rival; between demanding job requests that took up most of her time, training with her most skilled and powerful friend and generally trying to keep the Guild in line left Erza with very little time to herself. Add the fact that Mirajane had also found herself busy during the half-year, obviously trying to better herself.

Mirajane grunted noncommittally, waving her hand in a 'so-so' manner. "It's not as easy as I thought, that's for sure…still, I don't have an opinion about it just yet. When it's over, I'll tell you what I think about it."

Erza eyed her strangely. "And your thoughts on our chances of becoming S-Class?"

Her response was swift. "Not a chance. We're competing against Naruto-kun," she began ticking the names off, "Laxus and Setsuna. Each of those guys could beat us, despite our improvements, and Cana just pales in comparison to them. This is nothing more than an exhibition event for us, to make us see how difficult they are and force us to improve ourselves in order to reach that next step." Her eyes stared into Erza's with unusual intensity, silently daring her to contradict the words she had just spoken.

Erza sighed, averting her eyes from Mira's and shifting away slightly. "I see…that's why you didn't take the first trial as seriously as you could have."

Mirajane nodded silently, toning down the intensity of her stare to a more light-hearted one. "The way I see it, we're the lucky ones that get to experience the Exam first. Next time, we'll kick so much ass that Master will have to create a new rule to prevent said ass whooping." She grinned at that thought. "Though I'll obviously become an S-Class Mage before you do, metal tits."

Gaining a tick mark at that, Erza smirked dangerously at Mirajane. "Hmph. As always, you yap your lips all day but never actually deliver. If anything, I'll become an S-Class mage a year before you do."

Before their conversation could escalate, the footsteps of Makarov caught each participant's attention and drew them in. The old man stopped right in the center of the group, a position that was becoming his usual area, and crossed his arms. "Alright brats…this is the final trial you will be undertaking in this Exam. I know I said we would have three trials and a battle royal, but it was decided that the last two events should be done at the same time to keep from dragging this Exam for too long." Leveling each of them with a proud yet cautioning stare, Makarov delivered the rest of his news. "The last event for you lot is to last at least five minutes in battle against stronger foes and superior numbers. Each of you will be fighting for yourself; the time limit will be half an hour. To make things more difficult, Gildarts will be participating in the trial."

At that bit of news, the participants each had their own reactions: Laxus grinned at that, happy to get a chance to fight against Fairy Tail's Ace, Naruto and Setsuna quirked their brows in interest, Erza gained a determined look, Mirajane paled slightly but cracked her knuckles threateningly and Cana gulped audibly.

Seeing the looks on their faces, Makarov smiled grimly. "As I said before, the objective of this is to last at least five minutes…you are not required to defeat any of your opponents to pass. I wish you the best of luck in this trial…hopefully, all of you fine Mages will become S-Class Mages by the end of the day." Chuckling at the thought, Makarov walked off into the stands.

Turning to the grounds, Naruto arched a brow at the sight of Gildarts Clive staring at him with some irritation. He wasn't sure what he had done to warrant such a look, but he didn't really care. Soon the S-Class Exam would come to a close and he would be able to head back home and pay homage to Setsuna's body as he usually did…

He shook his head slightly, banishing the thought of Setsuna's naked form from his mind. 'Now is not the time to get a boner…that would be embarrassing and would send the wrong message to those watching.' Striding towards the others, who had walked on ahead towards the center of the grounds, Naruto allowed a smirk to cross his face. 'So…what should I use? Fire Dragon Slayer Magic is a must, it would leave those old fogies in the Council shaking in their boots. Kawarimi is also a must…I think I should take it easy for the others and keep the big guns for Gildarts. Wonder how he fights…'

"All contestants ready?!" Elfman bellowed, his hand raised in the air ready to signal for the start of the last trial. Seeing no objections, he brought his hand down in a swift cut. "Begin!"

A fist of lightning streaked towards Naruto, Laxus moving at his absolute speed to hopefully catch said blond off guard. As his fist smashed into flesh and a pained as well as surprised grunt escaped his target's mouth, Laxus' smirk of accomplishment blossomed into view.

And was promptly threw off by the stupidly fast punch that smashed right into his face, the distinctive crunch sounds of bone and cartilage breaking being heard. Flying backwards with a pained grunt, Laxus' body disappeared into lightning and shot into the skies.

Paying no mind to Laxus' retreat, Naruto lashed out with a sweeping kick that a rapidly approaching Mirajane vaulted over. Taking advantage of her momentum, she made a frontal flip with the intention to land a cartwheel kick to Naruto's head as she readied her Soul Extinction spell. Grimacing slightly as her kick was expertly blocked by Naruto's left hand, she cast her spell and a miniature black ball of crackling energy appeared. "Soul Extinction!" She screamed, aiming directly for his face.

Shoving his right hand towards the spell, a Rasengan of equal size blazed into existence with three even smaller ones rotating around it. "Mini Wakusei Rasengan." He whispered the name of the jutsu as it slammed into Mirajane's spell.

The results were explosive; when Naruto's jutsu came into contact with Mira's spell, the distorted rotations of the individual Rasengan, created by the central and smaller ones spinning in different directions, interacted with each other to form a massive and turbulent wave-like vortex that pushed Mirajane away into the atmosphere. At the same time, Mira's Soul Extinction had fired in a large and destructive yet concentrated beam of energy that fought tooth and nail against Naruto's jutsu.

Smirking at his situation, Naruto quickly cut the jutsu, therefore allowing Mirajane's attack to cut through the remains of the chakra and head towards him, before substituting himself with Laxus, who was in the midst of diving towards him in his lightning form. While it had been mildly uncomfortable substituting himself with a bolt of lightning, he managed to pull it off and watched the black beam crash right into the other blond. Landing on his feet like a cat, Naruto briefly admired the damage done by the spell before shifting his attention to Erza, who was engaging Setsuna and Cana. As far as he could tell, no one had engaged Gildarts yet and the older man seemed content with that.

Gathering chakra into his throat, Naruto leaped into the air and let loose a 'Fire Dragons Roar' towards Gildarts. Having read up on Gildarts' file, he had found himself highly curious about the man's Crash and Disassembly magic. As the flame attack sped towards Gildarts, a Kage Bunshin pooped into existence besides the original and thrust its hands out towards a descending Mirajane. "Futon: Fujin Seiken (Wind Release: Divine Fist of the Wind God)!" A fist-shaped gust of wind slammed into the Take-Over Mage and sent her tumbling right into the female smackdown that was occurring a distance away.

The original, on the other hand, was watching Gildarts in action; as the stream of fire shot towards him, the elder man just held out a hand towards the flames. His hand glowed faintly with white light and the next thing Naruto could see, his flames exploded in a flash of brilliant light.

'What the-?!' Surprised at seeing Gildarts' magic in action, Naruto just barely managed to catch Erza's descending slash. Growling lightly, he viciously slammed his head against hers and shrugged off the now disoriented Requip mage. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" A flaming right hook sent Erza skidding backwards, reeling from the force of the punch.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Naruto sweep-kicked the redhead and grabbed her by the leg as she tripped. Spinning her once, twice and three times, he flung her right into the path of Setsuna and shot towards Laxus, who was zipping about in his Lightning Body trying to land as many hits as he could on anyone he could find.

Of course, he was deterred from his goal by the appearance of Setsuna in the typical Leaf Shunshin, Kurohime descending in a vertical slash. Fast as Erza's Requiping, Samehada appeared in his hands and blocked the descent of Kurohime. Naruto and Setsuna narrowed their eyes at each other, their Sharingan engaged in a battle of eyes; their hands flashed through different one-handed seals, though Naruto's chain sequence was shorter.

"Katon: Goka Mekkakyu! (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)"

"Enton: Kokuen no Tate! (Blaze Release: Shield of Black Flames)"

As Naruto's crimson tinted flames bore down on the stage, Setsuna coated herself with black flames that took on the form of a protective cocoon and weathered the heat. Behind her, the other competitors did all they could to avoid the flames that spewed unto the grounds: Laxus and Mirajane took to the skies, the former using his Lightning Body spell whilst the later used her Partial Take-Over spell to carry herself out of harm's way. Erza simply requiped her Flame Empress Armor the second she had seen the flames and was attacking Cana, who was going strong despite the heat.

Gildarts just used his Crash magic to disperse the flames before they got anywhere near him, though he narrowed his eyes at the wide-scale fire spell Naruto had cast. He clenched his fist as he watched Naruto and Setsuna duke it out, blades clashing and striking with the intent to kill. 'These two…no matter what Master says, they will need to be under constant watch. No one in Fairy Tail should strike another with malicious intent!'

His scowl deepened as he watched Naruto substitute himself with Mirajane to avoid Setsuna's point-blank Chidori (Thousand Birds). Surprised at the sudden change in situation, Mirajane ended up taking the moderately powered lightning jutsu right in the chest. Luckily for her, the five minute bell mark rang and she sank to the ground, sprawled out unconsciously as her Take-Over spell ended.

Makarov, who was watching the event from his seat in the stands, frowned heavily at Gildarts. The man hadn't moved a single step the entire time, only reacting defensively when an attack got too close to him…what was he thinking? 'Gildarts…why aren't you opposing them as you should? Is your opinion of Naruto so bad that you can't keep the objective in sight?'

His aged eyes perked slightly as Gildarts finally made his move; a single step. Two steps. A light jog. Full blown sprinting. However, as he charged towards his target, Makarov's eyes widened. Surprisingly, it wasn't Naruto he was after…

Laxus had no idea what happened; one minute, he and Erza were trading blow for blow, the next he was knocked straight into the earth with force that rendered him unconscious immediately. Erza only had time to attempt to guard herself before Gildarts punched her lights out with a quick strike.

The two shinobi paused in their skirmish and watched the occurrence calculatingly. When Gildarts took off towards Cana, who seemed to shrink into herself, Setsuna locked eyes with Naruto, a question within them. 'Now?'

He blinked once. 'Yes.'

Nodding minutely, Setsuna raised her hand. "I wish to withdraw. I've already achieved the required task and have no wish to continue."

Elfman nodded understandingly and bellowed, "Setsuna Uchiha withdraws! The only competitor remaining is Naruto Uzumaki!" The crowd roared approvingly, eagerly anticipating the Ace of Fairy Tail clashing with the Demon King. A few were disappointed that Setsuna hadn't stayed to fight, but sat straighter in anticipation for the coming fight.

Staring hard at the blond, Gildarts laid the unconscious Cana gently on the ground and rose to his feet. "So, you're the one they're calling Demon King, huh?"

Naruto arched a brow as he hefted Samehada unto his shoulder, ignoring her rustlings. "What of it?"

Gildarts found himself getting excited, despite his feelings about the boy. "Nothing. I just thought you would've been somewhat bigger than you actually look; some rumors say that you can kick at least three mountains with a single kick."

Naruto sweat-dropped. 'The hell did that come from?' Shifting his body, he was now holding Samehada out towards Gildarts in challenge. "Well, are you ready to fight?"

Gildarts furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you want to do this? I'm not good at holding back and you've been fighting for a while…you sure you don't want to take any break?" Sure, he was looking forward to pounding the kid, but he had to at least offer him the chance to back out before things got hairy.

Naruto frowned. His body stance remained the same, save the tightening of his hands.

They both tensed.

They both leaped.

-Time Skip-

In the security of his study, Naruto unsealed the scroll Jiraiya had dropped off earlier from his arm. With Setsuna back at the Guild celebrating with Erza on becoming S-Class Mages, the house was quiet and semi-peaceful. Looking back at the scroll, Naruto frowned.

The scroll was much shorter than he had initially thought. That was pretty bad; Jiraiya always sent reports that were pretty winding and filled with ridiculous statements…for him to send such a short message, something bad must have happened.

Breaking the seal that protected the scroll from nosy eyes, Naruto unfurled the parchment and read.

'He's caught wind of your exploits. Mirajane Strauss is one of his targets. Father be damned.'

The scroll slipped through Naruto's fingers, clattering to the floor as his eyes bugged out. 'No way…no fucking way!' One of Jiraiya's means of transporting sensitive information was to hide the message within inane text; the first words of each sentence contained the message, preventing others unfamiliar with the trick to be misled.

If he rearranged the message…it would spell out like this: He's. Mirajane Strauss's. Father.

Naruto scowled heavily at this news. 'I knew I should've tagged him back then…' Clenching and unclenching his fist, he drew a shuddering breath. Opening his eyes, a cold fire burned within them. "Well, Elfman did say he wanted me to help his sisters…"

Why the fuck did all this happen to him?

-Tenrou Island-

The sleeping figure lay curled in a ball, his face settled in a peaceful expression in his sleep. As he turned over, a large spider could be seen crawling towards him.

Just as it got close enough to the figure, a wave of black energy lashed out and disintegrated it from existence. The sleeper's face tightened. "Tou-san…"

A/N: I'm very sorry, but the fight between Gildarts and Naruto will not be revealed…yet. I'm saving it for when Gildarts returns to Fairy Tail after his 100-year quest; both you and Lucy will find out how the match went, at the beginning of the Edolas Arc. I have my reasons for doing this, so no amount of begging or flaming is going to get me to change this.

The last bit is symbolic; anyone who can accurately guess why will receive five internet cookies!

Next chapter will feature the debut of Tayuya, Anko and Konan as well as the different Guilds they entered. Also, because of my schedule, I'm going to be busy as a bee and updates will be sporadic; don't know how long it will last, but you guys will just have to suck it up and bear the wait.

Naruto 646: So Kishi went the 'women are the root of all men's problems' eh? Given the evidence of weak kunoichi he uses, it's actually not that surprising to see that a woman basically fucked up the Elemental Nations…Adam and Eve remix, bitches. Finally see Hiruzen again…at this point, I really hope to see the Mugen Tsukuyomi activated; show us if all the hype you made about it is spot on or not, Kishi!

Review. My muse craves reviews.

MaelstromBankai.