Author's Notes: Righto! This is the last chapter for the Phantom arc. I know plenty have been puzzled/disappointed with the addition of canon, but I have to say, I personally enjoyed re-reading the manga and writing them. Don't worry, everything after this chapter should deviate more from canon.
As for this chapter, it starts from the Natsu/Gajeel fight, so if you don't want to read that, you can give the first section a miss, and skip straight to the Naruto/Jose fight. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.
Chapter 11: Phantom Lord III (X784)
Lucy's body quivered in agony as metallic plates that pinned her hands to the wall held her up in a cross. Her legs dangled from the ground, and as time slowly ticked by, the strain on her shoulders and arms increased to unbearable levels. Knives were stabbed into the concrete around her body, all of them awfully close to cutting her. Spidery cracks from where the knives were embedded told any onlooker that had those knives hit her, they would have pierced her body with little trouble. She winced as her muscles twitched in protest at the torturous position they were made to hold, and that seemed to save her eye as a knife flew past, stabbing into the wall right beside her shifting head.
"Ooh, nasty…I thought that one was going to hit her for a moment there," Gajeel grinned gleefully, his hand outstretched in a post-throwing stance.
"Gajeel…you really shouldn't do that!" a Phantom mage protested against the Ace's cruel game.
Gajeel paid no heed to the man, forming another throwing knife in his hand. "Eh? But I'm bored, you know? Now, where should I aim for next?"
"Just stop it!" the man continued arguing.
He was immediately silenced by Gajeel, who cracked his head against the other man, knocking him down and out. "Shut the hell up. I don't care who the hell this girl is. From where I'm standing, she's just another one of those pieces of trash from Fairy Tail. Who gives a shit if she dies or not?"
"I-If she died, Master will become very angry with you!"
"Ah, who cares? I'd just blame it on you guys," Gajeel sneered derisively. "Man, this sucks…even those Fairy Tail idiots are throwing their lives away just 'cause this girl's got a bit of cash in her family. This war will be pointless if I didn't get some action."
"You guys are complete idiots, aren't you?" Lucy smirked, to Gajeel's amusement. "I feel so sorry for you guys, it makes me want to cry."
"Is that right? Huh, to be able to bluff in a situation like this, maybe you are worth somethin' after all," Gajeel teased. Lucy merely scoffed, her confidence in her guild undented. "You fools aren't even the tiniest bit scared, aren't you?"
Lucy twisted her head quickly to the side, as another knife soared past her ear, dangerously close to severing something. Gajeel cupped a hand around his ear jeeringly. "What was that? I didn't hear you."
"You're the ones who'd be in trouble if I died, you know," Lucy reiterated her threat. "There's no way Fairy Tail would ever forgive you if I die! That's the kind of guild they are! You'd end up spending every day cowering in fear from the most terrible guild in the world…for the rest of your lives."
"Interesting theory you've got there," Gajeel grinned at her challenge. "Maybe I should put it to the test…?"
With another toss, Gajeel's aim was true as the knife in his hand flew unerringly towards Lucy's body, somewhere where she couldn't contort herself to avoid. His fellow Phantom members shrieked in horror as the knife sailed through the air, all of them fearful of their master's wrath. Suddenly, the ground rumbled as an object blasted through the floor directly in front of Lucy, flame trailing at the bottom. Natsu Dragneel glared murderously at the Phantom mages. Clenched between his teeth was the last knife that Gajeel had thrown. The Phantom Lord members scrambled away from the rubble that Natsu's dramatic appearance had tossed around, but Gajeel was pumped up for the challenge ahead.
"I knew it…I recognised your smell," Gajeel smirked.
Before he could blink, Natsu engulfed his whole body in flames, and smashed his fist into Gajeel's jaw. The dragon slayer careened backwards, tumbling into the rest of his guild mates. Tangled in a pile of limbs, Gajeel gruffly shoved his comrades aside, only to find Natsu already within his guard, his fist rising in a powerful uppercut. Catching Gajeel in the jaw, he sent the man flying, smashing into more Phantom members. Happy, flying in through the hole Natsu smashed, tugged away at the bindings that held Lucy captive.
Gajeel recovered his bearings quickly, grinning savagely as he leapt at Natsu, an iron club extending from his thrown punch explosively. The rod smashed the ground beneath Natsu's feet as the pink-haired mage hopped over the attack, planting his hands on it. Inverting his body, he spun his legs before smashing Gajeel with a fire-boosted helicopter kick. Instead of being blown away, however, Gajeel only smirked as he turned his club into a giant sword, cutting Natsu's side when the man lowered himself off the metal. The momentary pain distracted Natsu, which allowed Gajeel to pull his serrated blade back, tearing a wide wound across Natsu's side. Then, he kicked the back of the fire-breathing mage's head, but allowed Natsu the time to retreat and regain composure.
"I think it's time we put an end to this, Salamander!" Gajeel grinned cruelly.
Natsu returned the wild grin. "I'm just getting started…ya scrap metal bastard!"
Gajeel stretched his hand out, and metallic scales crawled up his hands, covering his entire arm with shiny iron armour. The man howled as he charged Natsu, throwing a fist the pink-haired mage could only block painfully with his arm. Natsu's feeble defence was blown wide open, as he was sent flying. Gajeel didn't let up, swinging a roundhouse kick that Natsu managed to duck under. The simple yet powerful attack caused a shockwave to blow past Lucy, almost toppling her. Natsu retaliated, his arms coated in fire as he crashed a fist into Gajeel's face. The iron dragon slayer was not even scratched, as more metal appeared all over his body and face. Natsu yowled as his fist was hurt more than Gajeel.
Grabbing Natsu by his scarf, Gajeel pulled his other hand back, ready to smash Natsu's head. The fire mage managed to slither out of the iron user's grip as Gajeel's clawed palm punched a hand-shaped hole in the ground. The two of them inhaled a large amount of air as their cheeks puffed up. With unrehearsed synchrony, they both launched their Dragon Roar at each other, the torrent of flames and metal clashing with cataclysmic power. Everyone was blown away by the pressure wave that resulted from the attacks…all except Gajeel. As the smoke and debris settled, only the iron dragon slayer was unharmed in the exchange. Natsu was heaving large breaths, his body littered with pieces of sharp iron, large and small.
"Looks like the difference between our dragon elements is becoming clear, Salamander," Gajeel taunted, as he slowly walked towards Natsu. "Even if your flaming breath has the power to burn your opponent to ashes, it can't leave a single mark on steel. But my own breath of iron blades can slice up your body pretty damn good."
"Oh?" Natsu scoffed. Gajeel paused in his tracks, stunned, as he felt some of his scales fall off.
Natsu chuckled as he steadied himself. "My flames aren't just some ordinary flames, you know. Dragon flames can incinerate anything. If you don't hit me with everything you've got, you're just gonna get smashed to bits, Iron Gajeel. We've got the measure of each other now. Playtime's over."
Every non-dragon slayer in the vicinity gaped at Natsu's words, realising just how outclassed they were compared to the anti-dragon mages. Gajeel's eyes held a steely glint as he smirked at the challenge, ready to do battle once more. "There ain't no room for two dragons in this sky. I'll strike you down, Salamander Natsu!"
The two men hollered in sync as they charged at each other, a non-stop barrage of blows hammering away at each other. Neither bothered with dodging or playing defensive; indeed, inflicting as much damage as possible seemed to be the one and only concern for these two fighters. Their power was so immense, every hit they pulled off seemed to trigger a shockwave, breaking up the floor and blowing away the other mages present. Gajeel was then knocked down by a particularly strong punch to the shoulder, which Natsu capitalised on. The fire dragon slayer jumped high up into the air, before diving down with a drop kick. His counterpart was equal to that, flipping backwards to safety.
Gajeel retaliated, crashing his iron fist into Natsu's jaw. The pink-haired mage responded with his own punch. Another flurry of fists and feet were exchanged as the two mages stood toe to toe with one another, neither willing to capitulate. Sensing an opportunity, Gajeel grabbed Natsu by his white scarf, and head-butted the fire mage. Most other people would be feeling the effects of a concussion by then; the Iron Dragon's head was as tough as steel, and his brute strength was near unrivalled. But apart from a trickle of blood, this failed to rattle Natsu. Instead, it only enraged the Fairy Tail mage, who returned the head-butt, somehow getting past Gajeel's iron armour to cause bleeding as well.
As Natsu wiped the blood off his forehead, Gajeel stooped down, and snagged one of the metal plates that covered the floor. He stuffed the plate into his mouth, crunching on the metal to Natsu's consternation. Gajeel only smirked in response, as he fired off a volley of iron clubs that smashed into Natsu, driving the weary mage back. Having regained his vigour from the meal of metal, Gajeel proceeded to crush Natsu's feeble defences as he bloodied his fellow dragon slayer. Lucy watched the current massacre in horror, as she desperately tried to think of a strategy to help Natsu. She knew she was of little help in the actual combat, but if she could attempt to get some fire to the dragon slayer…
Fire, fire…do I have a stellar spirit of fire… Lucy fumbled around, but came up with only one key on her body. That's right, I lost the keys…
"Well, the only one I have on me is the one I just got, Sagittarius…I haven't made a contract with it yet, but I've gotta try something!" Lucy thought out loud, raising the key to the ceiling. "I am the one who forges the path to the stellar plane! Answer thee now, and transcend the gate! Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"
The magic circle preempted the arrival of Sagittarius, who instead of someone who looked impressive as was to be expected, was in fact a guy in a horse suit. Though he did carry a boy and a quiver of arrows, Lucy had been expecting something more of an actual centaur than a silly man horsing around in a suit. Seeing as she had little choice in the matter, she hurriedly addressed the celestial spirit. "Uh, we'll go through the proper procedures of making a contract later, but can you make fire?"
"Nay…I'm afraid my skill lies in the art of archery," the man replied honestly.
Lucy, despondent at her uselessness, was promptly told to stay out of the fight by Natsu. It was more bravado than anything, as Gajeel was dominating their fight now that he had settled his hunger and Natsu had not. The fire dragon slayer was pummelled further, as Lucy watched in abject horror. Battered and bruised, it seemed like Natsu had lost all strength to fight as Gajeel blew him away with a final shot, sending him bouncing off the ground like a stone skipping across a lake. Natsu slid to a halt at a gigantic hole their battle had created in the wall, his arms lingering over the edge of the concrete. From there, he could see Fairy Tail's dilapidated guild headquarters, a far cry from what it was like before the war.
Gajeel laughed victoriously, inordinately pleased. "Take a good look at the thing you've all been fighting so hard to protect. Take a look at that crumbling wreck you call home!"
Then, as Gajeel's words rang out, the guild collapsed, the structural damage too great to sustain. Natsu forced tears back as he recalled the wonderful memories he had of his guild, the guild that had just been toppled. He remembered meeting his peers and friends, the lively atmosphere, and how, despite Igneel having left him when he was just a child, he was never alone from that moment Makarov brought him to Fairy Tail. His irrepressible will gave him the impetus to rise to his feet, and as he staggered towards Gajeel, Lucy found her heart tearing into two. She couldn't bear to see Natsu struggle so hard against a superior foe, to get beaten and hurt for her sake.
She was brought out of her reverie as Happy touched her leg, the flying cat's face contorted in agony. "Natsu…he's not running on empty yet…"
"Your guild is in shambles. Let it go. It's over," Gajeel proclaimed, as Natsu shuffled his way in front of Gajeel. The pink-haired man didn't reply, which frustrated the iron dragon slayer. The dark-haired mage ground his teeth together as he backhanded Natsu, sending him flying. Even as he managed to spin and slide to a halt, he couldn't stop himself from wheezing blood from the blow. Gajeel was not finished, flashing beside Natsu in an instant and crushing a powerful knee to the fire mage's abdomen.
"Just so you know, I'm not the merciful type," Gajeel sneered maliciously. "After I rip you a new one, get ready to meet your maker, Salamander!"
"The Jupiter cannon, the Element Four…he's used up too much of his magic!" Happy shouted, angered by the disparity. "If he had some fire to eat, he'll kick your ass for sure!"
Sagittarius had a sudden look of comprehension cross his face, as he drew an arrow from the quiver on his back. "I see…it seems there may have been something of a misunderstanding…when you asked me if I could produce fire, the obvious question to that answer is 'no'. However, it would appear that the issue is not whether I can produce fire or not, but whether I can help generate it."
As Gajeel rushed towards Natsu, his hand transformed into a giant blade, Sagittarius let his arrow fly. The projectile flew straight and true, forcing Gajeel to come to a halt as it zipped by his face, missing his nose by inches. The two dragon slayers and every mage in the vicinity watched as the arrow struck the machinery beside the two duelling opponents, causing a plume of fire to spurt out from the broken electronics. Natsu cheered at the sight of fire as Sagittarius launched a volley of arrows in quick succession, creating more and more flames for the dragon slayer to consume with glee. It was then that Gajeel had finally noticed Sagittarius, having long discarded the idea that Lucy could be a threat to him in any way.
"To set machinery aflame…is child's play for my arrows," Sagittarius declared proudly.
Lucy's cheer returned at the sight of Natsu regaining his energy. "Great job! You're a real master archer, aren't you?!"
"Man, that was good" Natsu grinned, little wisps of smoke escaping his mouth. "I owe you one, Lucy."
"Don't get cocky just because you ate a little fire!" Gajeel snarled, charging at Natsu. "All that did was put us back on level footing!"
Natsu was in no mood to accommodate Gajeel, as he channeled all his fury into a flaming uppercut. Holding the memories of his injured friends in his heart, he threw his hands out to unleash an inferno from his palms, completely overwhelming Gajeel's hastily fired Iron Dragon's Roar. Disbelief set into Gajeel's eyes as Natsu overpowered his shower of steel, and there was nothing he could do to counter the pink-haired dragon slayer as Natsu unleashed his Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist. The intense barrage of fists aflame with Natsu's righteous fury blew a massive hole in the robot they were fighting in, and the destruction didn't stop as the entire top half of the robot exploded outwards, to the delight of the Fairy Tail mages on the ground.
The robot creaked and groaned as it crashed, grounded forever.
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"Erza?!" Mirajane exclaimed, as they stumbled into another massive room.
Beside her, Gray and Elfman seemed just as shocked at the sight of Erza, who should have been resting back in the guild headquarters and not in the Phantom building. There was no one else in sight, which indicated that Erza had fought someone and lost. Rushing over to her body, it was clear she was unconscious. Pressing two fingers to her neck, Mirajane heaved a loud sigh of relief when a strong, steady pulse was felt. She wondered who was it that defeated Aria to end Abyss Break, because it certainly didn't seem like Erza did it.
Running a hand over the fallen swordswoman, Mirajane checked her magic level. Using her hand to make contact with Erza's forehead provided a far better estimate. It was not surprising for Erza to be dangerously low on magical power, but what surprised Mirajane was the Sleep Magic that was cast on her. Her suspicions about her attacker's identity rose when she noticed the red marks all over Erza's body. Given she was in her Flight Armour, any bruising would stand out on her creamy, exposed skin. The telltale marks of chain links pressed tightly against her body could be a coincidence, but given his absence, the use of Sleep and now Chain Magic, it was painting a picture that Mirajane didn't like too much.
She worked to release the spell on Erza. It was a weak spell, meant to hold only for an hour or so, which made it easy to dispel even for Mirajane's meagre reserves. The scarlet-haired woman moaned in agony as her eyelids fluttered sporadically, before they snapped open. "Ráfaga!"
Erza's sudden outburst puzzled Elfman and Gray, and confirmed things for Mirajane. But before the ivory-haired girl could ask her former rival anything, a sudden chill rushed over them. Magic coalesced around a form as everyone shivered from the deathly sensation of the magic that was flowing around them. Jose Porla materialised before them, a sharp clap drawing their attentions. "My, my…what a wonderful show you all put on. I never honestly expected you brats to provide me with so much entertainment."
Mirajane felt sick as she clapped a hand over her mouth. How can his magic feel so evil? It's making me physically sick just from standing this close! The magic continued to gather as Jose slowly walked towards the four mages, a wicked grin plastered on his features. "Well then, I must properly thank all of you for providing me with all this entertainment. I've had my fill now."
Elfman and Gray stood in the way of Mirajane and Erza, the two girls far more defenceless. Jose's smile only widened as he swung his hand grandiosely, the magic gathered around his hand striking Elfman and Gray with explosive force. Another swipe of his hand blew all the Fairy Tail mages back as the ground crumbled from the sheer power of the energy that seared past. Erza wanted to retaliate so much, but her magic was drained already, and she had barely enough energy to shift a limb or two, let alone Requip and do battle with a Wizard Saint. She decided stalling for time was the only way any of them would get out of the situation alive. She had questions she wanted answered too, and Jose could give them to her.
"When did you plant Ráfaga as a double agent in Fairy Tail, Jose?" Erza shouted at the top of her lungs. The surprise was evident on everyone but Mirajane's face. "When did you turn him?!"
"Turn him? Ráfaga? I'm sorry, but I don't know that name," Jose sneered derisively, allowing the conversation to flow. He had nothing to fear from the youngsters before him, so why not indulge them a little. He was curious to know what Titania was on about anyway. "He must be some nobody, to escape my notice."
"He was masquerading as Aria!" Erza cried in frustration. "Surely you were the one to instruct him to infiltrate our guild!"
"Aria? What nonsense are you babbling, Erza Scarlet? I have done no such thing. Aria is Aria, not whoever you think he is," Jose scoffed at the clearly delusional Erza. "I wonder how you even defeated him."
"He was the one to beat me," Erza murmured, her eyes wide. Jose's brow furrowed. "My Abyss Break ended prematurely. That meant all of the Element Four was beaten. He wouldn't have been taken down by the likes of the dragon or those two lying down there. The Demon is nothing but a pretty face now. Who else could have beaten Aria but you?"
The pieces slowly fell into place for Mirajane. "Ráfaga was infiltrating Phantom Lord as Aria! That's why even though he beat you, Erza, he ended Abyss Break! He's still loyal to us! He couldn't fight with us in the war, because he had to maintain cover as Aria!"
"That doesn't explain why he took Master down with an underhanded trick," Erza growled. "And there's no reason for him to spy on Phantom!"
"Master told me…Master told me that Ráfaga was doing something for him," Mirajane replied softly, recalling the hesitant words of Makarov. "That Ráfaga had been on that task for a few years now. That he had known of Phantom's actions, and Master allowed for the attacks to occur for justification to retaliate. Ráfaga offered to attack Master Jose for us, but Master shot down the idea because he could die. I understand what he meant now. Ráfaga was thinking of going to ambush Master Jose as Aria, taking him by surprise!"
"I had enough of this foolish banter!" Jose screamed, incensed by the discussion. "Aria was a loyal Phantom mage taken out by you brats! I'm a Wizard Saint! Do you expect me to be fooled by some random mage for the six years Aria was my subordinate? Preposterous! For that insult, die!"
Jose waved his hand once more, forming a blast of magic that hurtled towards the four Fairy Tail mages. Mirajane squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the end. When the sound of a loud explosion and falling rubble was heard, but no harm had come to her, she cracked open an eye. Her eyes flew open at the familiar spiky blond hair of the man that stood protectively ahead of the Fairy Tail mages, his hand outstretched to the side. Staring in the direction of his smoking palm, it was clear he had deflected the blast to the wall beside them, saving all of their lives.
"Ráfaga!" Mirajane exclaimed in joy.
Naruto turned his head around, greeting Mirajane with an eye-smile. Wordlessly, he swivelled his head back to face Jose, whose eye was twitching at his attack being redirected with nonchalance. "Who the hell are you? You aren't any of the S-class mages in Fairy Tail."
"You can call me Ráfaga, or Aria, it doesn't matter which," Naruto smirked behind his mask as he lowered his hand. "Or you can call me by my real name, Naruto."
"Aria? Don't kid me! You can try to unsettle me all you like, but I won't fall for your parlour tricks!" Jose yelled, gathering his ghosts around his palm.
The gathered ghosts then roared towards Naruto, who faced down the attack with not a hint of fear. Raising his palms, the blond allowed the attack to contact his left hand. The magic slipped into his glove as if getting sucked in, and when it was all gone, the magic then erupted from Naruto's other palm, sent back at Jose himself. The guild master, startled, barely had time to react to his own attack getting thrown back at him. Dispelling his own magic was a breeze, but the shock factor was undeniable. He had never heard of anyone deflecting his Dead Wave before, let alone absorb and send it back at him!
"Who are you, brat?! How did you do that?" Jose snarled, furiously thinking of another way to attack the blond.
Naruto shrugged casually. "I'll be stupid if I told you my secrets. Anyhow, I know all of your moves from my time as Aria, given how much you like to brag about them, so don't bother fighting me and just surrender already."
"Why should I surrender?! My guild is in the better position right now!" Jose scoffed indignantly.
Naruto giggled, before bursting into outright laughter. Livid at the blatant disrespect, Jose fired off a few Dark Explosions, which were absorbed and reflected by Naruto dismissively. "Look, Makarov will be here soon, and you can't even beat me. You are in no position to negotiate, really."
"Makarov? Aria sealed up his magic! He won't be coming to rescue you brats!" Jose sneered smugly, before the seeds of doubt that Erza and Mirajane planted took root. "Wait, you…"
"Yea, me. If you know Aria's abilities well enough, then you should know that he can dismantle his own scripts as easily as he can plant them," Naruto said condescendingly. "And if I'm Aria, then it's not unreasonable to assume Makarov will arrive soon to crush you."
"If you were pretending to be Aria, there's no way you'll follow through with my plans to ambush Makarov," Jose retorted hotly.
"And if I told you Makarov told me to keep myself hidden until now? That Mystogan needed time to take out your subdivisions so they can't wreak havoc on us?" Naruto explained, his grin widening at Jose's paling face. "Oh, did you really think we wouldn't know about your backup plan? That you wanted your subdivisions to pincer Fairy Tail ground forces with your shades? Do you believe me now, when I say I have been pretending to be a loyal part of your forces for the better part of six years?"
"What is happening?!" Elfman shouted, echoed fiercely by Gray.
Erza angled her head to stare at Mirajane, who only smiled confidently back at her friend. "Trust him."
"H-How…" Jose stammered in incredulity.
Naruto chuckled once more. "The old man looked rather convincing when he was ambushed, didn't he? I guess him not having any details on your exact plans helped his acting. I entrusted his counter seal with Mystogan so once he was done cleaning up your subdivisions, he can unseal the old fart to finish you off. He had faith that his children would not perish, that they would triumph as you pulled out one weapon after another, only for all of them to fail. His faith is repaid in full, I think, given you only have yourself and Gajeel in fighting shape now."
"You lie!" the Phantom master snapped in denial. "There's no reason for Makarov to send you to spy on Phantom! He couldn't possibly have predicted this!"
"Six years ago, he crushed your pride when you insulted Fairy Tail," Naruto intoned quietly, to Jose's surprise. No one but the guild masters knew of that incident. "He knew your nature, Jose, and fathomed your deepest desires. When your activities grew increasingly suspicious, he asked me to show my strength, to become your elite so I can be privy to your plans. He has been expecting an attack since six years ago. You needed an excuse to attack in Lucy, and you needed Gildarts out of the way because you didn't think anyone in Phantom can handle him. That's why it took so long for this attack to come to fruition, am I right?"
"You…you…" Jose muttered, realising at that moment how prepared Makarov really was.
Naruto shook his head, as his eyes reflected his activated Sennin Mōdo. "I think I have spoken enough words now. Maybe you'd like to fight to take things off your mind?"
"G-Gladly!" Jose roared, unnerved by the revelations.
He summoned an exorbitant amount of ghouls around him, relying on the sheer weight of numbers to take down Naruto. If the blond man could nullify all his attacks by absorption and reflection, then using a mob of fearless, unkillable shades would be impossible to counter with that sort of magic. Around Naruto, four puffs of smoke precipitated the appearance of four more Narutos. The four of them rushed to form a square formation around the fallen Fairy Tail mages, and they sat in the lotus position facing the inside of the square. Chains sprouted from each of their backs, and stretched in three directions; forming what appeared to be a pyramid. Then, a blue light flickered between the interlocking masses of chains.
"Now you can't take any of my nakama hostage," Naruto announced, cutting clean through two shades with one lazy swing of Kubikiribōchō. Even Jose baulked at the size of the weapon. "Let's get wild!"
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Inside the pyramidal barrier, Mirajane turned to the Naruto clone closest to her, an angry pout on her lips. "You could have told me, you know?"
"And what good would that have done, Mira-chan?" the clone replied serenely. "It would only have dragged you into a mess I would never wish for anyone in Fairy Tail to dirty their hands in."
"But that doesn't justify your actions against the guild!" Erza cut in, obviously upset at the deception. "You let all of this happen when you could have stopped it all! Jet, Droy, Levy, and everyone who's fighting for their lives could have been spared all of this had you spoken up!"
"They could have, and I should have protested harder against Master's decision," Naruto murmured contritely. "But what's done is done. I've played my unsavoury part in the war, and I suppose it will be best for all parties that when this battle ends, I leave the guild."
"W-What?" Erza stuttered, taken aback by Naruto's words.
The blond man flashed her an eye-smile, looking completely at peace with his decision. "I lied to everyone, no? I could have done this differently. I could have fought Jose like I suggested to Makarov, heedless of his worry for me. I could have prevented everyone from being hurt. But I didn't. Hell, only five people in this guild know my real name. I've been lying and lying everyday to my guild for the past ten years. If that isn't a reason for expulsion I don't know what is."
"But you've done so much, sacrificed so much for this guild!" Mirajane shouted, desperately blinking hot tears away. "You've done so much for the people of Fiore as Maelstrom! You've…you've done so much for me! Is this really how little you view us? That we can't accept you in spite of all the good work that you've done?"
"Maelstrom?" Gray interjected, bemused. "You mean that blue-cloaked guy who goes around beating up dark guilds?"
"That's me, or at least, my cover to beat up dark guilds without implicating Fairy Tail," Naruto confirmed. Everyone bar Mirajane had thunderstruck looks plastered upon their faces at the revelation. "It's nothing, really. I just thought it would be good to keep an eye on the bad guys, and before I knew it, I was getting contracted to take them out."
"Your manly work shouldn't be hidden away like that! It's wrong to have omitted the truth from us, but you did as Master instructed!" Elfman shouted passionately, clearly inspired. "We should honour your manliness instead! There's no reason for you to leave Fairy Tail!"
"You won't think the same way once I confess the next little tidbit," Naruto replied wearily, his voice sounding far too tired for a spry man in his prime. "Ten years, I've been hiding things from all of you. I'm tired of lying, tired of the deceptions. I thought…I thought I could contribute in the way I best know how, by doing everything in the shadows as I was taught. But I realise that I never belonged from a long time ago, and I've finally come to terms with that. Legal guilds like Fairy Tail…they bask in the light. I revel in the shadows. I can't be in the light and the dark at the same time."
"Then step into the light! Become a fully legal mage! Stop doing all these things for Master!" Mirajane suggested tearfully. "Don't…don't just leave us like this!"
"There will always be the need for someone to get their hands dirty, and I rather do it all than let any of you have to," Naruto gently shot the ivory-haired girl down. "Listen carefully to what I'm about to say next, then you can decide if you still want me around."
The man took a deep breath, staring straight into Mirajane's teary orbs. "Lisanna is probably still alive."
Mirajane's eyes widened in astonishment, but even as Elfman protested the proclamation, Mirajane could see in Naruto's eyes that he was not lying. She stifled a sob as her fists involuntarily clenched in her lap. "Why? Why did you hide that information from us?"
Elfman was instantly silenced by his elder sister's apparent face value acceptance of Naruto's confession. Naruto didn't look away from Mirajane's accusatory gaze. He didn't regret the decision all those years ago, even if he felt incredibly guilty. But it was a good opportunity to ease that guilt, and ease his exit from Fairy Tail. Makarov would understand his decision; there was bound to be uproar over his role in the conflict with Phantom, and leaving was the easiest way to keep the peace. This day has been a long time coming. I expected it, yet it still hurts to see Mira-chan's anger directed at me. I'm so soft now it's embarrassing.
"If someone dies, then you'll have a corpse, not a body that dissolves and floats to the sky," Naruto explained vaguely. "Lisanna is a smart girl, so I presume she's probably still alive. I know roughly where she might be, but I can't say anymore because it'll compromise some of my work."
"Work? You…you prioritised your work over Lisanna's well being?" Mirajane shrieked tearily, cracking the ground with her fist. Her magical power was rising rapidly, as her rage brought her ever closer to becoming the Demon Mirajane everyone once feared. "She loved you like a brother! How could you?!"
"Because I'm not your typical Fairy Tail member. Because I can see the consequences of what I do, and act accordingly. Because I knew that if I told you right then and there that Lisanna was only transported somewhere else, you and the rest of the guild would stop at nothing to retrieve her," Naruto shot back, allowing his ire at his own callous decisions to rise to the fore, masking the tremble in his voice. "You can't always wing it. You can't always pretend that everything will turn out okay after diving headfirst into trouble. I learnt that lesson when I was still young and naïve, but no one in Fairy Tail has caught on."
"And what, pray tell, would befall us if we tried to find Lisanna?" Erza enquired sarcastically, miffed at the criticism.
The blond doppelgänger threw Erza a perfunctory glance, before turning his attention back to Mirajane. "War. We would have brought war on our heads…no, the whole of Fiore…a war that we cannot hope to win because less than five people in this world would know anything of the half-asleep beast we prodded so carelessly, and thus able to do anything about it. We would be crushed, and everyone would be dead because people can't think clearly when their loved ones are in danger."
Erza recoiled at the dull inevitability in Naruto's answer. Her anger faded slightly; she understood the difficulty of Naruto's position, even if she didn't agree with his choice to hide Lisanna's fate. Mirajane didn't seem at all convinced by the blond man's logic. "So you don't care for Lisanna? Did you ever care for me too? Or was everything between us a sham?"
"There was nothing between us, Mirajane," Naruto lied through his teeth, thankful for his mask. It had been hard enough to learn how to keep inflections out of his voice; to force a scowl like an Uchiha would be a task in futility. "I can only express my sympathies that you wasted your time working towards a relationship with me."
"Then leave," Mirajane whispered, almost too soft for Naruto to catch. She stared at her lap, unwilling to meet Naruto's gaze anymore. "Leave this guild, and never come back."
Naruto cursed himself within as he saw the fresh bout of tears that dripped into Mirajane's lap. "I will."
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Naruto faltered in his tracks as his doppelgänger telepathically showed him what was happening inside the pyramidal barrier that enclosed the Fairy Tail mages he was trying to protect. The shades tried to dog-pile him, but he recovered in time to protect himself with Fūton: Kaiten, blowing the shades away. The turbulent winds gave Naruto a breather as he stared at a cackling Jose Porla. He had to admit, Jose really deserved his place as a Wizard Saint. However, the man had been using Naruto's usual tactic from when he was still a kid; mobbing the enemy with copies. Granted, the shades Jose employed were far stronger than his clones, but the tactic was roughly the same.
He had been sandbagging to see what sort of threat Jose really posed. Thus far, given the man's reluctance to use any of his spells beyond summoning shades, he didn't really have a good handle on Jose's strength. That caution was admirable; plenty of enemies he fought didn't take into account his Hiraishin gloves, and promptly got a face full of their own attack even after they got a first hand demonstration. He was pretty sure with a good light spell, he could eradicate the shades, but he didn't possess anything like that. If he still had the bijū Kurama with him, he could just Bijūdama the hell out of the place, but that ship had sailed a decade ago.
Seeing as continuing the fight was going to be pointless, and the shaking building felt like it was on the verge of collapse, Naruto decided to try and end the battle. Allowing bursts of wind from his feet to propel him up into the air, he floated above the battleground, tossing dozens of Hiraishin kunai all over the place. Jose dodged them easily as did his shades, the Phantom master only laughing at the feeble attempt at an attack. Ignoring the man's taunt, Naruto focused on the tag closest to Jose.
Jose had no time to be shocked as Naruto's Rasengan nearly hit his shoulder. But instead of hitting the Phantom mage, a shade interposed itself between Naruto and Jose, the ethereal warrior dispelling with a violent pop. Naruto ground his teeth in frustration at having to deal with the relatively clever shades. They were almost completely independent of Jose, which explained how he could fight separately from the shades that were mobbing Fairy Tail on the ground. Naruto wondered if those were real ghosts, but shook that thought off. No need to scare himself while in a fight.
Jose had already stumbled away, hurling Dead Waves at Naruto. The blond blinked out of his position, reappearing in front of Jose. The man was saved by an intervening shade crossing its arms above its head, catching the massive Kubikiribōchō as it chopped down, only managing to nick Jose's forehead. Naruto encased his entire leg in slicing winds as he spun, lopping off the head and raised arms of the shade, dispelling it. Jose retaliated by sending his ghosts to wrap around Naruto. The blond lost his grip on Kubikiribōchō as the ghostly ropes snapped around him, constricting his entire body.
With a thunderous roar, Naruto unleashed a full body wave of wind chakra that exuded from every pore, eradicating every shade within five metres of him as well as destroying the ghosts that were restraining him. Jose was blown backwards, and fortunately for him, away from the field of Hiraishin kunai. Landing adroitly, Naruto picked up Kubikiribōchō, cutting down the five shades that tried to attack him from behind. From above his head, a sudden flash of lightning struck him on the shoulder. If not for his Sennin Mōdo, he would have been taken out. Instead, it electrocuted him lightly, fraying his nerves and affecting his cognition for a few seconds.
As he struggled to recover his bodily functions, Jose struck. Naruto's breath left his lungs forcefully as a Dead Wave struck him head on, blowing him past a dozen shades and into a wall. The flight through the air and subsequent impact seemed to have removed any lingering effects of the lightning, although a long, ugly wound now cut across his torso from left shoulder to right hip. His cuirass, now in twain, was tugged off, allowing Naruto to inspect his wound better. It was a shallow cut compared to some injuries he'd sustained before; Sennin Mōdo was a godsend on that front. Blood oozed from the wound sluggishly, but Naruto was confident he could take Jose down before blood loss got to him.
Forming a dozen clones, half immediately ran interference as they formed a rough semicircle that kept the shades at bay. Two of the Kage Bunshin stayed with the original Naruto, with the final four dashing out of the makeshift human barrier, chains sprouting out from their hands to try and restrain Jose. The wily Wizard Saint was equal to the task, dodging the clones without breaking a sweat. A Fūton: Rasenshuriken hummed in his hand as the shrill whistling noise grew louder and louder, attracting Jose's attention. His momentary pause was enough for a chain to snag his leg, and that led to a full body bind almost instantly. Naruto hopped onto the shoulder of a clone, before launching off the doppelgänger, hurling the shrieking disc at the immobilised Phantom Lord master.
Jose roared as he released his full power, the sickly magic disrupting the structural integrity of the clones holding him down, popping them all. As he prepared to jump out of the way, Naruto released his control over the Rasenshuriken, allowing it to expand with impunity. The sphere of raging winds shook the entire building as it bore through the floor they were fighting on, just managing to catch Jose's right arm before he got out of the attack radius. The Darkness Magic mage screamed as his arm was turned to little more than loose flesh, the little slicing blades of wind chakra cutting his muscles and tendons to bits.
With Jose struggling to think past the pain of his mangled arm, Naruto took the opportunity to cut down every shade in the room with wind-enhanced swipes of Kubikiribōchō. Jose sucked in a deep breath as he hovered his left palm over his arm, gathering ghosts to wrap around the limb in a cast. Naruto had to applaud the versatility of the Phantom mage's little ghosts; they could even numb pain and allow him jerky use of his hand, an arm that would take months, if not years to heal properly. It was a bit like puppeteering his own arm, which Naruto hoped took concentration, because their fight was still pretty even so far.
Well, my capabilities are geared towards fighting ninja or large numbers, not mages who uses ghosts, damn it, Naruto groused in his head, as he dispelled all but two clones. With a quick telepathic message, they all flashed through hand seals, standing side by side. Jose swung both his arms in wide arcs, two large waves of ghosts barreling towards them in the largest Dead Wave Naruto had seen the man use yet. All three Narutos focused on their tasks, and in synchrony, they each inhaled deeply. The combination of a spiralling blast of wind, a ball of flames and extremely flammable oil crashed against the ethereal energy blast with explosive results. The ground in between Naruto and Jose crumbled before melting into slag. Hot, flaming oil splashed everywhere.
Naruto expertly used his control over wind to feed his fires more air. The sudden influx in oxygen caused the flames to expand forcefully, blowing both Jose and Naruto back and dissipating the two clones. Naruto crashed heavily into the pyramid that held his guild mates, while Jose found himself embedded in a wall. The oil splattered across the area, leaving puddles of flaming, hissing oil all over the battlefield. Angry red splotches could be seen on Jose's exposed skin and tattered clothes; the early signs of burns from the bits of oil that got onto him.
"How…how did someone like you hide from scrutiny so well?" Jose hissed, clambering slowly out of the impact crater his body made in the concrete.
Naruto coughed lightly, smearing the blood trickling from the corner of his lips with his sleeve. "Because I'm not a mage. I'm a ninja. But that matters little now, given who's just arrived."
"Naruto…I apologise for everything you've had to do," Makarov spoke out, as he walked slowly upon the scene. "The building's about to collapse. Let the children retreat."
Naruto nodded, dispelling the four clones that held his barrier up. The unanimous, joyous cry of 'Master!' twisted Naruto's stomach into an uncomfortable knot. Makarov ordered the four to retreat, and they did so with little complaint. Only Erza looked back at the unmoving form of Naruto; Mirajane kept her eyes firmly ahead. Makarov surveyed the damage to the area, before throwing a questioning glance at Naruto. The blond man shrugged helplessly.
"I'm leaving the guild at the end of this," Naruto announced to the diminutive man, who stumbled over nothing at that declaration. "What? What happened?"
"You can talk to any of those four earlier. I've made my decision, and you won't be able to change it, old fart," Naruto stated firmly, voice brooking no argument. "I think it's the best for everyone that I go. I was never meant to be a part of Fairy Tail anyway."
"You belong to the guild as much as anyone of us do," Makarov snapped.
Naruto chuckled morosely. "Thanks for your vote of confidence. But I was never a mage. I was just pretending to be one. It's been a fun ride, these few years in Fairy Tail."
"We're going to talk about this later," Makarov said warningly.
Naruto spun on his heels, his back facing Jose. He had faith Makarov would not let his rival guild master harm him. "Sure we are. It's an honour to have served you, Makarov Dreyar. I hope my services haven't disappointed you. I'll see you around."
With those parting words, Naruto vanished into thin air. Makarov sighed, even as he faced his opponent. A surge of sympathy for Jose's pathetic, near-crippled state was overwhelmed by his righteous fury at the man's cruelty and actions against his children. "It's impressive that you became a Wizard Saint at your young age. You could have been a great role model for the younger generation had you used your powers for good. Naruto has inflicted much damage on you. On account of our similar positions as guild master and Wizard Saint, and Fairy Tail's justice system…"
"I shall give you until the count of three. Kneel," Makarov threatened, growing into a titan that dwarfed over the exhausted yet pridefully unyielding Jose Porla.
"Forget it, old codger! You have no power over me! Even in this state, I can defeat you!" Jose boasted loudly. "You should be the one kneeling!"
"So be it."
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"You are far too manipulative, Naruto-sensei," Mystogan commented airily.
The two mages sat at the highest beam of the unfinished frame that was going to be the base of the new Fairy Tail guild headquarters. The moon hung brightly in the twinkling night sky, illuminating the near empty guild grounds and the abandoned Phantom building in front of them. Naruto only smiled mysteriously at his pupil, his mask pulled down to beneath his chin as he sucked on a lollipop. "So you heard. I hope I didn't make things difficult for you by revealing Lisanna's fate."
"You know as well as I do that you didn't leak anything about Anima, Edolas or my involvement in Lisanna's 'disappearance'," Mystogan snorted, before his voice softened with worry. "You don't have to put up an act around me, you know."
"How are Mira and Cana coping?" Naruto finally asked, offering his student a fresh lollipop.
The Edolas prince declined the saccharine treat. "Cana moved out in a huff, as you should know, even though you were seemingly out of town and away from everyone's sight these last few days. She's back in Fairy Hills, and drinking herself into a drunken stupor every night. Mirajane is pretty devastated, but they all have support from the rest of the guild, so they will recover in due time. I doubt you are really bothered by anyone else's reactions to the truth, but just so you know, there was quite a bit of anger. But there was grudging respect too, for your part in doing Master's dirtier work without complaint."
"Did the old man try to say anything to mitigate my actions?" Naruto queried curiously. "I hope I didn't cause too much trouble for him."
"He just explained his rationale, apparently confirming what you told those four when you fought Master Jose. Everyone accepted it eventually, and Wakaba-san has expressed his wish for his regular drinking partner to come back. The news about your infiltration as Aria on Master's orders has also made Lucy feel less guilty about her involvement in this business," Mystogan remarked wryly. "I'm still in awe at that, by the way. Six years is a long time for you to be pretending to be two people at the same time."
"I've done way, way more than just two identities at one go. Aria was just one of the longest infiltration ops I did," Naruto bragged, before the duo fell silent once more.
Mystogan broke the silence first. "Have you considered what you want to do after this? Become an independent mage? Maybe you can invite your Hato-chan to join you in a new guild?"
"I've considered that, but she's still an immense help with valuable counter-intelligence work that is succeeding in keeping Tartarus from causing legal guilds too much trouble," Naruto replied. "In any case, I have a summons to Era for tomorrow, as Maelstrom. Yajima-dono implied that it's something to do with replacing Jose Porla."
"As one of the Wizard Saints?" Mystogan inferred.
Naruto shrugged. "I'm as much in the dark as you are. I'm guessing it's probably that, though I don't see why they've suddenly changed their minds about choosing Maelstrom as one of the Wizard Saints. They were against it for years, and your Earthland counterpart took that spot eventually."
"You should accept the title if it were offered," Mystogan commented sagaciously. "Having some clout will help when you've just left your guild. Or you can choose to apologise for your actions, and be welcomed back into Fairy Tail instantly. I have no doubt time heals all wounds, even those as deep as betrayal. Besides, your deception was not truly betrayal, but your own roundabout way of protecting the guild."
"Thanks for the suggestions, my student who is seven years my junior, and who is in no capacity to give me worldly advice," Naruto rolled his eyes. As if he didn't know anything about how the world or Fairy Tail worked. "Maybe you'll like to recite to me the three rules about leaving Fairy Tail too?"
Mirth danced in Mystogan's orbs as he stared unflinchingly into his teacher's mock angry eyes. "You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail as long as you live. You must never use former contacts met through your time in the guild for personal gain. Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, never consider your life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget your friends and dearest Mira-chan for as long as you live."
"Keep up the teasing, and you'll find yourself naked, strung up and hanging upside down from this very wooden beam come tomorrow morning," Naruto smirked, before sighing theatrically. "You know, I reckon if I didn't bless you with the presence of my greatness in your life, you'll end up as some prudish, philosophy-spouting martyr."
"Says the man who pranced around the countryside, saving people under an alias for years," Mystogan retorted.
"Touché."