Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. Anything I write in this story is purely from my thoughts

Chapter 22

The Former S-class Wizard watched with wide eyes as her brother transformed while a giant made of shades squeezed the living daylights out of her. She had never seen Elfman transform this way before after that accident. It was just so surreal.

Elfman was now briefly engulfed by a golden light which blinded the Earth Wizard of the Element Four. As the light died down, it was revealed that his size increased exponentially. His arms grew longer and larger, and they now bore claws. His body was now covered in thick fur where his abdomen and pectorals prominent in the middle. His hair grew into a mane-like appearance, and his ears and canines became pointed. His head also bore a pair of striped horns jutting upwards starting from a plate on his forehead. Finally, his legs and feet also grew larger only leaving a sliver of pants due to the transformation.

"Th-this is—" Sol gawked as the now transformed Elfman.

"Now, you will pay for everything you did!" His deeper voice said.

"Non non non non—" Sol panicked as he tried to get as far away from the attacker.

And so, his pummeling began. Punch after punch, Sol was beaten into a pulp. The monster went on a hay day. Sol didn't even send an attack of his own. He was completely overpowered.

"Elfman…" Mira watched her brother from across the lake. Her brother didn't seem to be in control. It was just carnage. "AHHH!" She screamed again as the giant's fist tightened further.

The King of the Beasts cocked his head to the direction of the barmaid. "Nee-san…"

He gave one last look at the Element Four member, and seeing that he cannot fight any longer, leaped off the building easily with the beast's powerful legs landing on the shade's back. He moved to the giant's arms and shook with all his might. The shade seemed weaker somehow, since the middle Strauss was able to pry the hand open and free his sister.

With another leap from the shade, he landed in front of their guild hall around his guildmates trying to ward off the giant from attacking their home. He set down Mira onto the ground. "A-are you okay Mira-Nee?" The hulking beast asked.

"Elfman, you're in control?" The barmaid walked forward holding a hand up. "H-how?"

"It's a long story, but this is all thanks to some training with Naruto…" Elfman explained, but he fell to a knee then to his back right after.

"You're hurt!" Mira rushed forward in worry for her little brother.

"I-I'm okay," Elfman tried to stay strong. Not long after, the take-over timed out, reverting him back to human form. "I'm sorry for hiding it from you, Nee-san. I just figured you never wanted to see that face again."

"H-hey! We got out of that just fine, right?" Mira smiled as she ruffled her brother's hair. "None of us are to blame for Lisanna's loss..."

Tears welled on Elfman's eyes. "Nee-san!"

"There, there…"

WITH GRAY AND ERZA

"I'm pretty sure there's two of them down," Gray said as they ran through the halls of the guild.

"I wonder where the other two are," Erza said back."

They were running looking high and low for the rest of the Element Four. One turn later, they found themselves in a room. Around them, the wind suddenly picked up.

"Keep your guard up," Erza said as she eyed the figure who was now standing in the middle of the room.

"Fairy Tail Wizards," Aria greeted them. "How nice of you to join me."

"Aria of the Wind, I presume," The S-class Wizard said back. "Where are the others?"

"You have already eliminated two of us and one other has betrayed us," Aria answered.

"So only you and Gajeel are left," Gray said. "Where is he?"

"He went to pick up a little package," Aria answered.

Erza's eyes widened. "They're planning to go after Lucy while we fight here!"

"I'll go warn the others!" Gray turned back but an invisible force exploded and damaged the two Fairy Tail Wizards.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Aria said with his arm outstretched.

"I see, you're the one who took out the master," Erza said.

"Come on, this guy?" Gray asked, looking him over.

"It is unwise to underestimate him," Erza said, summoning a sword. "He is after all one of the Element Four."

"Ahh, Titania Erza," Aria started to unwrap the blindfold on his face. "You are right to be cautious. And since I am facing you, I will reveal my trump card."

The air around the Phantom Wizard kicked up forming a whirlwind that swirled inwardly. "Now, let's have some fun!"

"Go! Find Lucy!" Erza ordered.

"Oh no you don't!" Aria said,raising a hand to attack the retreating Gray.

Erza rushed to move in front of the attack and took the full brunt of the force.

Aria chuckled after seeing the redhead's actions. "My, my, how eager of you to taste my new power. Fine, you shall be the first to taste my Airspace of Death!"

"D-did you say death?" Erza looked up at the Phantom Wizard.

"Why yes, of course," Aria grinned madly. "It is the Airspace that consumes life."

"You bastards!" Erza snapped at her opponent, her anger flaring. "Why is it easy for you to take someone's life!"

Erza rushed forward.

Aria thrust his palms at the Fairy Tail Wizard, his palms facing her directly. "Can you survive this? Zero!" Golden sparkles then surrounded his opponent who fearlessly rushed forward.

The sparkles intensified to a golden light that fully consumed Erza. Aria watched this unfold with a smug look on his face, thinking he won. He was wrong.

The smug look was wiped from his face as he watched his magic get sliced to pieces.

"No way! She's slicing the airspace!" was his surprised response.

It turned out the golden light wasn't his magic. It was Erza transforming into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. With two slices of her swords, she brushed past him. What came next were dozens of swords converging around, hitting him one after the other.

Aria dropped on his back out cold, defeated.

Erza landed on her feet and glared back at her opponent. "I can't believe the master lost to you. You're even less of a wizard than I thought you were."

She then looked up remembering where their latest member ran off to. "Naruto, be careful."

GUILD MASTER'S ROOM

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Blades clashed against magic as the two wizards fought to gain the upper hand.

"To think you would last this long against me," Jose smirked. "Show me more!"

He waved his hand at the blonde and a wave of magic fired at him. Naruto nimbly avoided the attack and landed on another part of the room. His hands flew into a flurry of hand signs ending in a tiger seal.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A ball of blue fire spewed from Naruto's mouth.

"Ahhh! Taste my hellfire!" Matatabi screamed from the blonde's mindscape.

The shades floated back to their master and covered him protecting him from the fire.

"Impressive attack," Jose laughed from within his protective shell. "But you have fallen for my trap!"

The magic circle began glowing underneath Naruto's feet and produced shades that bound him. "Shade entangle!"

Naruto struggled to break free, but this only made the shades wrap him even tighter.

"Don't bother struggling," Jose said, extending his hand to the blonde. "Such a shame… A wizard, like you, is full of potential. It is too bad I will have to eliminate you."

"Hmph," Naruto smirked despite his predicament.

"What are you smiling for?" Jose was only angered by the blonde's actions.

"Nothing," the blonde shook his head. "You're so overconfident to think you have already won."

"Empty words for a cornered rat like you," Jose said. "Honestly, I would have made you watch as I obliterate your family, but you have infuriated me. Any last words before I wipe you from this planet?"

Naruto just smirked.

"Quiet now are we?" Jose finally after waiting for a while. "Fine, you had your chance. Dead Wave!"

A wave of ghosts rushed from a magic circle in Jose's hand splitting everything in its path. When his purple magic died down, there was nothing left in the wake of the attack.

"Apparently you're all talk after a-"

Naruto appeared out of nowhere and socked him in the cheek, sending Jose crashing him into a wall a few inches from the hole he made with his attack.

"Impossible!" The Phantom Guild Master peeled himself off of the wall. "I was sure I caught you! I was sure you were not using an illusion!"

"Sucks for you," Naruto shrugged. He got into a fighting stance. "Now, it's my turn."

Naruto rushed forward charging the Wizard Saint. Not wanting the blonde to have his way easily, he swiped his hand horizontally and the path Naruto was taking exploded.

"What the-"

Naruto appeared right in front of him and sent another punch straight for his face. Jose moved his head to the right to avoid the fist. He was yet again surprised as an invisible force slammed him on the face.

The guild master slowly got to his feet and wiped the blood that formed at the side of his lips. 'That last attack was unexpected.' Jose thought, studying the blonde. "Wait, what is this?"

His eyes widened as he noticed the boy's features. For the first time since he thought he obliterated the blonde, he noticed that his irides were now yellow and his pupils were now horizontal slits, making them toad-like. Additionally, there were orange pigmentations around its eyes.

"Surprised?" Naruto taunted. "You just got a taste of my sage mode."

"But when did you…" Jose asked dumbly.

"You didn't notice?" Naruto placed a hand on his chin in thought. "You should shut up for once."

Jose growled at him, dark energy began swirling around Jose. "You boy have been a thorn to my side. There was a day that I would love that you would join this guild, but now, I will take great joy in eradicating you!"

"Oi, Naruto. His power is rising more than before," Kurama warned him in his mindscape."You might need the cloak for this one."

"That won't be necessary, Kurama," Naruto answered in his mind.

Back in the real world, Jose held his hands out and willed magic to explode around the room.

"Woah!" Naruto said as he jumped around the room avoiding the explosions. There were a couple of close calls, but they were avoided thanks to his enhanced danger sense.

This happened for a while until Naruto landed on the ceiling. He pushed himself off and flew off towards his opponent. On his right hand, he formed his signature move ready to finish his opponent off.

Seeing this happen, Jose aimed at the blonde and began charging his magic on his palm ready to blast the blonde to pieces.

Jose's Death Wave exploded just as Naruto was close enough. Before the attack could hit him straight in the face, he slapped Jose's hand away, causing the Wave to miss completely. After that, Naruto slammed the Rasengan on the Dark Wizard's gut.

The guild master screamed as the chakra rotation burned his skin. Then, he was propelled backward and embedded in another wall of his room.

Naruto landed nimbly on his feet and exhaled releasing the Nature Energy from his system. "That was the hardest fight that I had in this world so far."

His gaze shifted to the hole overlooking his guildhall. The shade that was attacking his guildmates had dissipated, but he was too late. The guild looked worse than before. It was falling apart now.

He sighed, "Sorry guys. I was too slow."

Just then, purple energy once again exploded. He turned back to his opponent. Jose was slowly getting on his feet with more of the purplish aura surrounding him. He seemed to be oozing with power, but his body was telling a different story. Though, he hid that tidbit perfectly. He didn't want to show the blonde a shred of weakness.

"I have toyed with you long enough, boy," Jose said, his voice sounding colder than before. He looked a little too worse for wear, but he was leaking wisps of dark magic.

"You think it's the right time to stop holding back," Gyuki advised.

"You're right," Naruto answered his Biju out loud.

Naruto held his hands out, his palms facing each other.

CRASH

The Phantom Lord Guild Hall crumbled even more. Whatever wasn't destroyed by Naruto's attack when he crippled the Super Mage Giant all fell to pieces.

"Well, your dragon does love to rampage, does he?" Jose commented after the tremors died down.

"You are wrong to underestimate us," Naruto shot back. "Your wizards don't hold a candle to the Fairy Tail Guild."

"I suppose you are right, boy," Jose swiped his hand in front of him. A large explosion of magic followed the action, engulfing whatever was in front of him.

When the magic died down, Naruto stood there unmoved by the magic.

"Impressive, to think that you could withstand that attack," Jose studied the blonde with interest. "I just can't stand the thought of that pathetic guild having all the wizards like you."

Jose sent another massive wave of magic, this time increasing the output. This time it pushed Naruto back a little bit.

"I better make this quick!" Naruto muttered to himself.

He returned to the stance he held earlier. This time a ball of golden light was glowing in the middle.

The Wizard Saint cackled. "What spell do you have out of your sleeve this time, boy! No matter, whatever you're plotting is futile!"

"You asked for it!" Naruto yelled back. "I inv-"

"That is enough, my boy," an old man's voice came from the door.

The blonde deactivated the spell and turned to see who it was.

His expression brightened when he saw that it was the short, old, guild master of his guild.

"Master, you're okay!" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise seeing the old man.

"I was told of the power you shared with me. I thank you for that," Makarov bowed his head in gratitude to his guild wizard. "But that spell you were about to use, how did you learn it?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well you see… uh…"

Jose exploded with anger to get his opponents' attention. He was being ignored by the two wizards of his rival guild, and that irked him to no end.. "Makarov! I am so glad you're back! Are you here to finally settle the score between us?!"

"No, I am here to beat you down for ever thinking of messing with my guild," Makarov said.

"Do you feel it now, Makarov?!" Jose once again sent wave after wave of magic towards the two Fairy Tail Wizards. "Your so-called children are now bloodied and beaten, and your guild hall is in shambles! SUFFER IN YOUR DESPAIR AND SORROW!"

Jose let up on the onslaught of his attack to let out a brag or let out monologue to which the Fairy Tail Wizards begrudgingly listened. "Phantom Lord was the Number One Guild in Fiore! Our Magic was unrivalled, and our funds were unsurpassed. Then, your pathetic guild came along with your rising stars and the rumors of Salamander spread. And you Naruto Uzumaki, don't get me started about you. These things I could let slide, but then word came along of Lucy Heartfilia joining your guild. You now have access to the vast wealth of the Heartfilia Konzern. That was the one thing I could never forgive!"

"So, this was the reason for everything?" Naruto said; his anger is now rising. "You hurt my friends just because of your stupid jealousy? I will never forgive you! The master doesn't have to dirty his hands with the likes of you!"

Naruto was about to get into the stance again, but Makarov held his hand out to stop the blonde.

"I appreciate the sentiment, my boy," Makarov explained. "But you should know, that spell was passed down from guild master to guild master and it will only gain suspicion upon yourself if you use that spell. I understand you have secrets to keep, right?"

"Alright, master," Naruto relented. "You do the honors."

"Oh? You wish to cause a cataclysm?" Jose said.

"No," Makarov got into the stance that Naruto got into. "You do not understand what I am about to do next. I will end this with my next attack."

"Now you, boy, I will give you until the count of three to kneel before me," The Old Man surged with magic power.

Jose burst into laughter at the wizard's words. "Don't be absurd. Me? Kneel before you? You must be joking!"

"TWO!" Makarov's voice also became deeper.

"YOU MUST BE SENILE IF YOU THINK I WILL KNEEL BEFORE YOU! I AM STRONGER THAN YOU!"

"THREE!"

"YOU SHALL VANISH FROM THIS WORLD ALONG WITH YOUR PITIFUL GUILD!"

"Time's up! I invoke FAIRY LAW!" Makarov clapped his hands together. A bright light engulfed the whole area blinding everyone who would have looked up at the light. Surprisingly, though, those bearing the Fairy Tail Guild's emblem all felt the warm bright light of their master's magic. Naruto, who was with the Master at the moment, stared at the magic with stars in his eyes. It was his first time witnessing the holy light casted by another person.

"Mavis-chan explained this to me," Naruto muttered in awe. "One of the three Grand Fairy Spells. It is said to vanquish anything that the user deems its enemy."

Makarov heaved a sigh. His bright light was now dying down, and his magic was now settling down. It revealed Jose now smoking, the whites of his eyes were showing, and his body was pale. The short man glared one last time at the beaten wizard saint. "Never come to Fairy Tail again."

"You have caused so much damage. I doubt the council will stay quiet about this," Makarov said, turning his back to the Phantom Guild Master. "For now, we should take care of ourselves. Naruto, let's go home…"

Naruto smiled and caught up with the guild master as he walked with his hands crossed behind his head. "I'd like that Master. Would you like some ramen when we get back?"

"That would be nice…"

The two wizards walked out of the room finally, believing that the conflict was over. They were relaxing for the first time that day. The fight was now over.

Or so, that's what they thought.

Aria burst into the room with a creepy look. He was hoping to ambush the two wizards.

"Foolish fairies," He muttered to himself.

He didn't expect what happened next. Naruto appeared in front of, with his fist reared back. He decked the bigger wizard in the face knocking him out cold with a single blow.

"Your master is finished," Naruto glared at the man. "Stay down."

"I won't be as merciful if you want to fight some more," Makarov followed up. "So, I recommend you take your master back and get ready for the trials to come."

He turned to Naruto and his expression softened, "Shall we go back?"

REMAINS OF THE FAIRY TAIL GUILD HALL

Cheers rose from the wizard ranks as the last members of their guild joined them outside their ruined guild. Smiles and grins were shared, and tears were shed for their injured comrades and damaged home.

"We did it!"

"We actually won!"

Happy lowered Lucy onto the ground after flying her from the equally ruined Phantom Lord Guild Hall. The cheers died down as they watched the wizard who was the reason for this whole fiasco in the first place.

"Uh, hi guys," She said bashfully.

"Where are the others?" Erza asked.

"Natsu said he had to take care of something," Happy answered.

"Huh, what's that?" Gray followed up.

"He didn't say," Lucy said with a finger to her lip. "He did say it was nothing important."

"What about Naruto and the master?" Erza added, wondering what happened to the blonde in the fight with the master.

"Over here!" Naruto said, landing from a large leap from the waters below.

"Naruto, you're okay!" Erza said with wide eyes. She studied the blonde's features. The indication he had been in a fight was the dust that clung to his clothes and the minor tears in his clothes. There wasn't a speck of wounds from his body. She knew the blonde was strong, but to go up against a Wizard Saint and come out unscathed. That opened up more questions about the blonde that she had before.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto greeted with a grin on his face.

Lucy ran up to her partner with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay? I heard you went up against the Guild Master."

"I should be asking you that question," Naruto replied. "You got captured. I was so worried during the whole fight. How did that happen?"

"So, did you beat him?" Gray asked.

"Almost," Naruto answered as he scratched the back of his head. "He was one tough cookie!"

"So, you lost after all?" Erza raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, I let Master do the honors of defeating him," Naruto waved off the question.

The other wizards wanted to continue the conversation further, but they noticed that their Guild Master was looking at their guild hall with a melancholic look on his face.

"Master, are you okay?" Mira walked up to the short old man.

"I'm fine," Makarov said. "Our place got trashed pretty badly, huh?"

"Um...Master…" Lucy's voice trailed off.

"You guys ran into quite a bit of trouble, did you?" He continued.

Lucy's expression regressed further. It was clear that she still blamed herself for what happened to their guild hall and her friends. Naruto saw this and walked up to her partner.

"Hey, don't let it get you down," He placed his hand on her shoulder and drew her close. "Take a look."

Lucy looked up and her expression brightened, but her eyes welled with tears of joy. "You guys…"

"He's right, you know, Lu-chan," Levy confirmed Naruto's words.

Lucy looked to her partner and back to the newcomers. She let herself go and ran to the blue-haired wizard and wrapped her in a hug.

"Levy-chan… " Lucy sobbed on the girl's chest.

After a few seconds, she looked back up to the rest, "Jet… Droy… Reedus…You're all alright..."

"Of course we are," Jet gave him a toothy grin.

"It would take something more than this to bring down a Fairy Tail Wizard," Droy added.\

"I-I'm sorry…" Lucy looked down, not wanting to meet the girl's gaze as she apologized.

"Naruto filled us in on the whole story," Levy placed a hand on the Celestial Spirit Mage's Shoulder. "As we've been telling you, we don't blame you for what happened."

"I should be the one to apologize," Reedus looked down in shame. "I couldn't protect you…"

"Lucy...No, everyone…" Makarov got everyone's attention. "Happiness, sadness, we cannot share it all the time, but there are times that we can. That is a guild, ney a family, what a guild is supposed to be. One person's happiness is everyone's happiness, and the same goes for one person's tears. None of you should suffer on your own."

Naruto placed a hand on the Heartfilia's head. "So don't let it get you down, kay?"

Lucy let herself go. She leaned her head on Naruto's chest and wailed, letting out all her tears and sorrows.

Everyone looked on with smiles on their faces. It was nice to share a bond with other people. After all, we are weak when we are alone, but together, you can find the strength you have never found there before.

The moment was broken when they heard another set of wailing, it was coming from the old man. "The council's going to kill me! Waaaah!" He yelled.

The others just looked on with shock. The only thing that escaped their lips was: "Eh?!"

A/N: I finally got one chapter out, but I have a bad feeling about this one. I hope I didn't botch the whole chapter. Sorry about that. See you in the next one.