Orochimaru's subordinate threw another roundhouse kick at the blonde woman that sent her rolling. The white-haired boy with glasses leisurely made his way to her again. The woman was struggling to get back on her feet but she seemed to be in a state of shock. She kept staring at the droplets of blood that had landed on the back of her trembling hand.
"I can't believe I looked up to you." Kabuto sneered. "You were the greatest medical ninja that ever graced the Elemental Nations! The Slug Princess, Tsunade! Now look at you, cowering at the sight of a little blood. You're pathetic!"
He cocked his fist back to throw another punch. His fist went for her face but was blocked by Naruto. The blonde boy smirked at him before a clone appeared out of nowhere and rammed his foot into Kabuto's chin in an uppercut. The ninja stumbled backward a few feet before glaring at Naruto.
Tsunade seemed brought out of her hemophilic state long enough to notice Naruto standing in front of her with a clone at his side.
"Naruto, what are you doing?! Get out of here or he'll kill you too!" The blonde woman pleaded. She was surprised when the boy just smirked back at her.
"That's not going to happen." She heard him say. "Because I'm not going to die until I become Hokage!"
Kabuto charged and lunged at Naruto with a kunai in hand. The boy didn't even wince when the kunai cut deep into his hand. Kabuto's eyes widened when the blonde's injured hand gripped his own holding the weapon, therefore rendering him unable to break from the boy's grasp.
"Get ready to pay up on our bet, granny." He stretched out his hand and the clone began to form a blue rotating sphere on his palm…
Naruto was brought out of his meditative state by a drop of water landing on his head. He opened his eyes and saw a drop fall, followed by another. Soon, drizzle turned into rain as he noticed the dark grey clouds that were forming overhead. The blonde didn't bother to stay dry since he was already soaked.
He got up on his feet and stretched. He had been in meditating for hours now without moving. It was essential to remain still to gather and harness Nature Energy. He was slowly getting the hang of it by now.
Next to him, three shadow clones were also sitting in a meditating pose. He was thankful for the clones' skill, which was regaining the memory of the clone that was dispersed. He was able to speed up the process of his training because of this. Although he had to be careful about dispelling them all at once because he got a massive headache from the simultaneous memories rushing into his mind. He also had four more clones reading up on some scrolls that were sealed in a storage scroll. Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, might come in handy in the future.
Thunder boomed overhead, which caused Naruto to frown.
For some reason, the sudden change in weather bothered him. Now that he was relearning how to control Nature Energy, he also learned to sense different types of magic signatures. The rain wasn't natural and it made him feel uneasy.
Then again, Mira hadn't set off a flare yet. He left her a note saying that if there was an emergency, she would find a way to notify him. If that was the case, then that meant there was nothing to worry about. Naruto scanned the sky once more to make sure the sound of thunder didn't cover up the sound of the signal.
'I'm probably getting worked up over nothing,' He thought as he sat back down on the grass to meditate. He wasn't able to fully convince himself though.
Erza cursed herself for the millionth time already. She felt a single tear slide down her face and wiped it off as quickly as she could. Hopefully none of the other guild members noticed. She couldn't afford to look weak and helpless right now, not when everybody else was feeling the same.
They finally arrived back at Magnolia after reaching the top of the hill and saw the town spread out before them. Dejectedly, the mages slowly began to walk back to the guild hall. Their recent defeat hung over all of them.
The redhead clenched her fists tightly. This was all her fault. If she had accompanied the master to fight Jose, then maybe he wouldn't be drained of all his magic at the moment. She knew that the guild master Phantom Lord must've had something up his sleeves, but she failed to act until it was too late.
The next thing she knew was the small form of master Makarov falling from the ceiling…
"Guys, wait up!" She heard someone call out behind them. Everyone turned to see Natsu, Happy, and surprisingly Lucy walking toward them. It was surprising because Erza thought that the blonde opted to stay in the guild hall than to take part in the battle.
"Where've you been, Natsu?" Gray asked once the trio caught up with the rest of the group. "You disappeared right after Erza called the retreat."
Natsu's expression darkened a little bit. "Well, you see-,"
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Lucy, who grabbed the teen's arm. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, Erza didn't know why though. The girl made eye contact with Natsu and silently pleaded with him: Please, not now.
The dragon slayer got the message and decided to keep his mouth shut for now. Erza could tell that something had clearly made Lucy upset. She would just have to ask her later.
Damn brat!
Jose was still clutching his throbbing family jewels thanks to his encounter with the Heartfilia heiress. The girl had caught him by surprise which he swore would never happen again. Thanks to her, his reputation has been pegged down slightly. It wasn't easy to look like a ruthless and dignified guild master while holding an ice pack to your crotch.
Gajeel was snickering as he stood next to the Element four. Jose shot him a death glare that shut him up instantly. He turned to the rest of his subordinates.
"Prepare to move out! It's time to eradicate these pests once and for all!"
"They're back!" Mira heard someone yell. She put down the tray of drinks she was about to deliver and rushed outside to see the dejected and battle weary faces of her friends. Mira rushed toward her brother immediately and engulfed him in a big hug.
"Thank goodness you're all okay." She said, wiping a few stray tears. Other guild members forced a smile and nodded. It truly was a miracle that they only suffered minimal casualties.
Erza stepped forward. "Did any attacks happen while we were gone?"
Mira just shook her head. "Fortunately, there was none and-,"
She caught sight of a blonde haired girl standing off to the back of the group. "There you are Lucy!"
The celestial spirit mage was surprised when Mira came over and hugged her tight.
"Where have you been?! I thought something terrible happened to you after you went missing like that!" Mira said. "I searched everywhere for you!"
Lucy felt the tears beginning to pool around her eyes. They were worried about her and tried to find her after she got kidnapped by two of Phantom's Element four. Not to mention that Natsu saved her life when she leaped off the tower back at Phantom Lord's. She had never felt so at home anywhere else except here, with her friends at Fairytail. That was why she couldn't help but let the tears flow and sobbed as Mira pulled her in for another hug.
"We should all head back inside." Erza told them. "We have a lot to talk about."
They spent the next hour filling the guild members in on what happened at Phantom Lord's guild hall. The injured were treated while the others just simply listened to Erza as she recapped the battle. The red-head's voice shook a little when she got to the part about Master Makarov getting drained of his magic. Mira gasped and the others who weren't there had similar reactions.
They all sat in a stunned silence for a while after the tale was done.
"What happens now?" Macao asked.
His friend Wakaba sighed. "Phantom might attack us again this time, but with more force and numbers. We're really not in the best position to defend the guild hall if it comes down to that."
Mira nodded. "He's right. I'm going to contact Laxus and the Thunder God tribe to see if they could lend us a hand."
Loki snorted. "You really think that stuck-up prick and his three stooges would help us? They don't give a shit about Fairytail."
"It's worth a try, Loki. I hate turning to someone that's as much of a dispicable disgrace to Fairytail as Laxus myself, but we hardly have any choice since we need all the help we can get." Erza said. Her head looked up and scanned the room. She turned to Mira. "Speaking of which, where's Naruto?"
"He's somewhere in the forest along the outskirts of the town, training. He told me to use a flare to signal him if there was any sign of danger."
Erza nodded but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had been hoping to see Naruto straightaway when they got back. She didn't know why but she wished that he was here right now. He radiated that strange aura that made you feel safe and calm. Maybe he would know what to do in this situation.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Gray spoke up. "There's something that I just can't figure out. Why would they go through all of this trouble to start a fight with us? I mean, sure we don't really get along and we've been competing for the top spot for a long time now but is that really all there is to it?"
Everyone seemed to ponder on this for a moment. The ice mage raised a fair point. Erza thought about that same question a few times and never found an answer. That's when she heard Lucy say softly: "It's all, my fault."
Erza and the others turned their eyes on her when they heard that. She stood at the back of the room, isolating herself from everyone. The girl had her arms wrapped around her midsection and she was holding back a lot of tears. Lucy couldn't meet anyone's gaze.
"Huh? Why would you say that, Lucy?" Elfman asked.
The blonde girl sniffled. "Because of my father…"
She then explained how she got kidnapped by Juvia and Sol of the Element four. She told them that she was the heiress to the Heartfilia family, why she ran away from home and her encounter with Jose. Everyone was just as shocked as Erza was. Although, anger soon replaced her surprise as she clenched her fists. How could any father do this to his own child?
"Oh, Lucy," Mira once again wrapped her arms around the girl and let out a few tears herself.
"I'm so sorry everyone." Lucy's shoulders began to shake and she sobbed on Mira's shoulder.
A fist slammed into a wall and everyone turned to see Natsu with a fierce glint in his eyes. "If they want to get Lucy, they're going to have to get through me first!"
"Hey, why do you get to be first flame breath?" Gray smirked. "They're going to have to get past me and don't worry Natsu, I'll save you some of the weak ones to fight."
"I'm going to fight too! I'm a real man!" Elfman declared.
Everyone began to cheer an assent. Lucy couldn't believe the number of people willing to protect her. She had only been here for a short time and yet they would go so far for her. Her heart swelled and she felt Erza's hand on her shoulder. The older girl had a smile on her face.
"You're not alone, Lucy." Erza told her. "You're a member of our family too."
Naruto and the clone he was sparring with froze in mid-swing, their fists inches away from connecting with the intended targets when they felt it. A huge magical signature was slowly moving. Whatever it was, it was massive and he could feel a lot of malicious intent within it. He could sense the direction it was headed and he didn't like it.
I guess Phantom Lord's here.
The blonde frowned. If Phantom Lord was indeed attacking, then something must have happened to the group that led an assault on them earlier. He dreaded to think of the possibilities. He just hoped that everyone made it back safely.
He dispelled his clones and began to prepare for the upcoming battle. He zipped up his jacket and attached his weapons pouch. He tied his forehead protector tightly and slipped on his sandals. He also picked up a long white coat with red flame designs along the bottom and short sleeves and put it on.
He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment before his eyelids turned orange and his eyes had morphed into toad's eyes. Naruto could go into sage mode pretty easily thanks to the abundance of Nature Energy in this place. Fiore was brimming with life and it made him feel good to breathe in a hefty amount of fresh, clean air.
He turned to the direction of Magnolia where Phantom Lord would be waiting for him.
I'm placing the guild in your hands while I'm gone. Makarov had told him.
"I promised." Naruto said to himself.
A slight breeze of wind washed over the clearing and it made his coat flap in the same direction.
Erza pressed herself against the bathroom wall when she felt the ground shake underneath her. She hastily wrapped a towel around her and headed outside. Most of the guild members were already standing behind their guild hall, where they could get a good view of the ocean. What she saw however made her eyes go wide and a small amount of fear to crawled up her spine.
Heading toward them was the Phantom Lord guildhall. The colossal figure was supported by four large mechanical legs that made it look like a tortoise, with the guildhall as its shell. Another mini-earthquake hit them as the moving structure raised one of its legs and landed in the water.
"What the hell is that thing?!" One of them shouted.
"It's huge!" Wakaba exclaimed.
"Damn, they're relentless." Cana muttered angrily.
"Umm...Erza...? Maybe you should put on some clothes..." A blushing Lucy suggested, noticing her dripping form.
The structure took one last step before becoming absolutely still. Erza had a sense of foreboding. The rest of the gild was tense as they waited.
Then something opened up in front of the structure just below the guildhall. A large metallic tube extended forward and locked itself into place. Erza exchanged a couple of uneasy glances with some of her guild mates. She didn't like the fact that the cannon like thing was pointed at them.
Suddenly, a voice blared out. "Fire the Jupiter Cannon!"
Dark purple energy began to form at the opening of the cannon. Everyone from Fairytail stepped back as they realized what was about to happen. They had a few moments to get away from here before the weapon was finished charging. Erza clenched her fists. There was no way in hell would she ever let anything harm her family.
"Erza, what are you doing?!" Mirajane called out to her as she saw the redhead re-quip into her Adamantine armor.
The redhead placed herself in front of everyone else and locked her giant shield. "I won't let you!"
The Jupiter cannon launched a huge beam of energy toward them and Erza braced herself for the impact. The rest of the guild used their arms in an attempt to prepare for the shockwave that was sure to follow. Everyone waited for the blast to hit…
…but it never did.
Everyone opened their eyes and was shocked to see some kind of blast zoom towards the on fired by the Phantom Lord Guild hall. The two attacks met in a collision of power and exploded, canceling each other out as the sound of a sonic boom was heard, and it met the guild members gathered there; the winds from the explosion washed over everyone, threatening to send everyone flying.
When everything calmed down from the blast, everyone looked around.
"What the-?!" Natsu's question was interrupted.
"So...you're the mage that defeated my dragon slayer..." Jose's irritated voice blared once again. "To be honest, I thought that you'd be older..."
The members of Fairytail were confused for a moment, wondering who he was talking to when someone shouted. "Look, up there!"
Erza followed his gaze and saw what he was pointing at. She felt a big smile form on her face when she saw who it was standing on top of their guildhall. She honestly couldn't remember being more happy to see someone in her whole life.
"Too close...and damn using that was a complete, total, and utter BITCH...!" Naruto leaped down from the roof and landed lightly on the ground. The guild made way for him as he walked forward to face Phantom Lord.
The major attention grabbing point was the bubbling cloak of glowing red energy that covered his form in the outline of an animal, complete with ears and a trio of tails.
He sported what looked like claws on both his hands and feet. His lips had blackened and his canines had also lengthened and sharpened until they had turned into fangs while the pencil-thin whisker-like markings on his face had grown more pronounced, widening and darkening, until they resembled abysmal scars. His eyes had been the greatest change as, not only had his eye shape become more vulpine and had gained black eye rings around them like an animal, his once soulful blue eyes themselves had changed; becoming blood red with an animalistic, vertical black slit for the pupil.
Some type of demon takeover magic like Mira used? Either way, the aura and features vanished as he landed and stood up.
The redhead couldn't put her finger on it but he seemed different. His eyes had changed from blue to yellow and toad like. He strode with such confidence and authority that it gave him an intimidating effect. His face was hard and unreadable. She had seen this only a few times in their battle with Eisenwald. Naruto was serious.
"Jose, guild master of Phantom Lord, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I would like to speak with you." He said with a cool and collected voice.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, young Naruto." Jose responded in an amused tone. "And what, pray tell, do you wish to speak to me about?"
Naruto drew a deep breath before answering. "I would like to call for a cease-fire and put an end to this battle before it gets out of hand."
This drew a lot of surprised looks and a shout of "WHAT?!" from Natsu. The blond ignored him and kept his gaze locked in front of him. Erza understood his intentions. Naruto wanted to call off the battle to avoid casualties on both sides. She resisted the urge to tell him that talking things out wasn't going to work at this point.
Laughter blared as Jose heard the blond's request. "Boy, you are naïve. Diplomacy will get us nothing. I came here with the sole purpose destroying your pathetic guild once and for all. Nothing you say can dissuade me from that goal."
"Battling with you was never our intention." Naruto replied, unfazed and determined. "Fairytail has done nothing to provoke a confrontation with you, and yet you attack us first. I wish to stop this before it escalates even further than necessary. We can all walk away from this."
"Why should we?" Jose countered. "I have enough magical power and the numbers to wipe you all out if I wanted to. Your guild hall is in ruins, Makarov is still drained of his magic, Laxus, as well as most of your other S-class wizards aren't here at the moment and your members are still weary from our last battle. From my point of view, you're doing nothing but stalling the inevitable."
Erza cursed silently. Everything Jose has said thus far was true. Her friends were still recovering slightly from their previous fight. There was no way the master would be in any condition to fight. Laxus was being a prick. God only knew where Mystogan was. She was the only S-class wizard available.
If only Mira could still fight...
Then she remembered that maybe they did have a trump card up their sleeve. Looking at him now, she could feel the monstrous amount of energy coming off of Naruto. She remembered all of the battles when she saw the blond in action. He was a capable fighter in his own right, but now she was sure that he was on a whole new level. Mira had told her that he had been training since they left, but how could he have improved in just a few hours?
"No matter how strong you are, you will suffer casualties too." Naruto pushed. "We will not just stand idly by while you try to destroy everything precious to us. We will fight and you will acquire losses just as much as we do."
"I don't care. As long as you pests are eradicated then I will gladly expend any resources I have at my disposal, even my guild members' lives!" Jose declared.
Erza saw Naruto clench his fists. "How would you feel about a trade?"
Jose paused for a moment. "What trade?"
"If you promise to leave my friends alone and our guild hall untouched," Naruto inhaled before continuing. "I offer you my allegiance in eternal servitude. I shall become one of your members and do anything you ask as long as you swear to never again harm any of my friends."
A lot of guild members began to shout in protest. Erza couldn't believe what she just heard. Naruto was opting to throw himself into the enemy's hands just to protect them. Before she knew it, she had found herself next to him and clutching his arm tightly.
"There has to be another way." Her voice was shaky. "Don't do this."
He placed his hand on top of hers. "Don't worry about little old me. If there's a chance that this could be solved without any of you getting hurt, then I'll take it."
He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. A tiny smile that was both encouraging and a little sad was displayed on his face. His gaze was intense and Erza could barely remember how to breathe. Something fluttered inside her but she couldn't place it.
"Hmm, interesting," Jose's voice spoke again. "I must admit that your bargain is something that has caught my interest. You are powerful, oh yes. You managed to defeat my dragon slayer with minimum injuries and I also know that it was you who defeated Lullaby in Clover. Fascinating, your potential is limitless and I can assure you that, under my command and supervision, you may become quite formidable."
Jose paused for a few minutes. "I will consider your terms. However, I have my own Condition."
She felt Naruto tense.
"Hand over Lucy Heartfilia as well and I shall agree to call off the attack." Jose declared.
A small struggle broke out as several of the guild members had to restrain Natsu from charging. The pink-haired teen roared "Lucy's one of us! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER!"
"We would never do that! You'll have to kill us first!" Erza shouted as well. The rest of Fairytail took up the call and began to shout protests. In the background, Lucy couldn't hold back another round of tears.
Once they all settle down somewhat, Jose spoke again. "It's your call young Naruto. Either you and the Heartfilia heiress step into my guild hall without a fuss or you can refuse and witness the destruction of your wretched excuse for a guild."
All eyes turned to Naruto. He had his head bent slightly downward and a shadow covered his eyes. Erza saw his closed fist trembling with anger. A minute passed before Naruto lifted up his face.
"If you want Lucy, then you'll have to take her from my corpse 'cause there's no way in hell that I'll hand her over to you!"
A sinister chuckle was Jose's response. "So be it. From this point onwards, the battle will commence. I gave you the chance to walk away from annihilation and yet you refuse. Come then, young Naruto. Show me how powerful you are. I will wait for you. The Jupiter cannon fires again after seven minutes. If you all still miraculously survive the next blast, then I will show you the reason why Phantom Lord is the most fearsome guild in Fiore!"
Naruto wasn't going to let him have the last say in it though. "Making Fairytail your enemy was a grave mistake. Wait for me Jose and I will show you why."
The blonde turned to face his friends. They were all looking at him expectantly, even Erza. He scanned the weary faces of his friends. He could see their determination and will to fight to protect their home.
"Natsu," He called out to the dragon slayer. "The cannon fires in less than seven minutes. I'll give you five max to destroy it."
Natsu grinned at him. "No problem. Let's go Happy!"
He rushed forward and took a huge leap. Happy the flying cat caught him in midair and carried him toward the Phantom guild hall.
"Erza, Gray, Elfman!" The three came to attention as Naruto called their names. "You three are coming with me! We're going to help Natsu take that thing down from the inside!"
Gray smirked. "Sure. I can't let that hothead get all the fun."
"We've got your back." Erza assured him. The blond gave her a thankful smile.
"What about me? I want to help." A tear-streaked but determined Lucy pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of Naruto.
Naruto placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and met her gaze. "Lucy, I need you to go somewhere safe for now. They obviously want you for some reason and we can't let that happen. Mira will take you someplace away from the battle."
The girl shook her head. "No! I want to fight beside you all! I don't want to just sit on the sidelines and watch you all risk your lives for me. I can't do that…"
Erza saw Naruto's eyes soften and a small smile crept up on his face. "Lucy, what's that on the back of your hand?"
"It's…it's the Fairytail symbol." Lucy answered a bit surprised by his question.
Naruto nodded. "That's right. We all have the bear the same symbol of the guild. It means that you're part of a family now, this family, and we will do everything we can to keep this family whole. This doesn't just concern you anymore Lucy, it concerns all of us. We all have to do our part to make sure that Phantom doesn't win this battle. All of us are going to show them the strength of our bonds and that messing with us was a huge mistake."
By the end of his speech, everyone was cheering. Erza was a little awed by his wisdom and knack for leadership. It was like seeing a different side of the fun-loving goofball she saw slurping up ramen in the guild. Yet, she somehow liked this side of him. He was showing who he really was: a kind and courageous man who would put his life on the line to protect the people he cared about.
"Alright…" Lucy whispered. She didn't like it, but she knew that he was just looking out for her. They all were.
"Come on, Lucy," Mira took her by the hand and began to lead her away. She called out to Naruto over her shoulder. "Do your best and come back safe."
The blonde nodded. Suddenly, a large group of shades began to shoot out from the massive structure. Dark hooded figures were flying toward them like a swarm. They had a few minutes before the creatures reached them.
"Cana, Loki, Macao, Wakaba, you four are in charge of defending the guild." Naruto ordered. "Make sure not to get overwhelmed and fall back if you have to."
"It sounds as if you don't think we can do it, Naruto." Cana said as she took out a few tarot cards. The brunette gave him a sexy smile and a wink. "I'll just have to prove you wrong and we can talk about it over a few drinks when this is all over."
Erza had to suppress a growl. For some reason, she didn't like the idea of Cana flirting with Naruto. She pushed those thoughts aside for now and focused on the task at hand.
"I'm counting on you guys." Naruto said. "Alzack and Bisca, you two will have a better vantage point on the roof. Those ghosts will be easy pickings then."
"You got it." Alzack said and the two of them headed back inside of the ruined guild hall to make their way to the top.
"Here they come." Gray muttered from beside Naruto.
The shades were only a few meters away now. The blonde stepped forward and created four shadow clones. The five of them wove through a fast set of hand signs and raised their fists. Simultaneously, they shouted. "Wind style: Hurricane Fist!"
A huge tornado of wind shot from their fists as they thrust it forward. The five cyclones combined into a massive swirling mass of wind that blasted through half of the shades. Some of the guild members were awed by the display, even Erza was impressed.
However, the dark creatures were already re-emerging and continuing their advance. The sounds of explosions could be heard from within the Jupiter cannon. Natsu was having a field day.
"We can't waste anymore time." Naruto said. "Gray, we need a way to get to Phantom's guild hall."
The boy nodded and brought his hands together. "Ice make: Floor!"
He slammed his hands on the ground and a thick layer of ice began to form a bridge leading to their destination. Naruto took the lead as the four of them began to run at full speed toward Phantom. Behind them, sounds of shouting and spells being cast could be heard. They knew that they shouldn't look back but focus on what their mission was in front of them as the huge guild hall drew closer.
The battle between Fairytail and Phantom Lord had begun.