Titania and The Hunter

by Master Attlon

Born as a human. Treated as a demon. Gathered as a slave. Viewed as a leader. Traveled as a Mage. Grew as a Legend. The journey and life of The Hunter, Naruto Uzumaki

33. Dragons, Demons, Monsters, and Fairies

Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 33: Dragons, Demons, Monsters, and Fairies

~Meeeeeennnnnnnnnn~

H-hurgh! Huugggrhhh! Ughhhhhhhhhh!

On a separate note, watch Daredevil. And Ultron. They were awesome.

Watch them.

Please~.

########Hunter########

"Hey, how tough is this magic yer teachin' me?"

The mighty red dragon looked down from where he was carefully stalking their prey and questioned, "What was that?"

The little pink-haired munchkin was looking up at his father and questioned again with increased interest, "I said how tough is this magic yer teachin' me?!"

Igneel just looked back forward and furrowed his eyes at the target, "Well, magic can't be tough. It's an abstract, metaphysical idea. Certain magic can make an individual tougher and stronger if that's what you mean."

Igneel focused on the deer and rabbit that frolicked in the small field of the forest. This was the effort of a predator stalking its prey. Complete silence. Erase your presence. Erase your existence. Complete control. Steady your breath. Focus your mind. And when the time comes...pou-

"HEY! IGNEEL!" Natsu yelled while jumping in front of Igneel's face. Unfortunately, Natsu abrupt and excited yelling made the wild animals suddenly aware of the apex predator watching them from several meters away and they all ran off to safety away from them.

Igneel looked at the situation in shock before one of his eyes twitched and he slammed his face into the grass with exasperation. He sighed while little Natsu kept bouncing up and down, "Hey! Hey! Hey Igneel! You didn't answer me!"

Igneel sighed before looking back up and resting his head on the ground, "What are you talking about Natsu?"

"I'm talkin' 'bout this Dragon Slayer stuff ya been teachin' me! Is it gonna make me tough or not?!"

"Hmmm...I suppose we should test it." Igneel said after a moment's thought before he lifted his large hand and flicked Natsu across the clearing with some small force from his talon.

"AHHHHAHHHHHHAHHHHHHH!" Natsu's voice rang out as he bounced along the ground before skidding along the grass for several moments and finally planting firmly in the dirt. It was silent with only the distant sound of chirping birds before Natsu popped back up on his feet with dirt marks and small, annoyed tears in the sides of his eyes. He yelled, "HEY YA JERK, THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

Igneel raised his head with some amusement at his son's anger, "You asked if the magic I was teaching you made you stronger and tougher. Well you seem fine to me so you must be getting stronger."

"YOU COULDA JUST TOLD ME!" Natsu yelled before plopping his butt down in the dirt and wiping off his scarf and shorts. He looked over himself and saw he really didn't sustain too much damage before he started grinning. He started shaking with excitement, "This is so cool!"

Igneel tilted his head in confusion, "What is?"

"I'm so strong with this magic stuff! It's so cool!" Natsu was beaming with excitement before throwing his hands up in the air, "When I finally get to meet other people, I'm gonna show 'em just how strong a Dragon Slayer really is!"

Igneel slowly walked out of the forest and into the clearing, "Well that also depends on if they haven't met a stronger Dragon Slayer than you."

Natsu mirth and joy escaped his voice and he looked up at his father, "What?"

Igneel lowered himself and sat back down in front of the pink-haired boy, "Well there are other Dragon Slayers in the world. There may be a chance that you meet one stronger than yourself."

"Other Dragon Slayers?!" Natsu ran and climbed up Igneel's arm before he was looking over his father's snout and in his eyes, "Igneel, are you teaching others the same magic as me you jerk?! Do I have brothers and sisters I don't know about or somethin'?!"

"What? No. I mean-well technically they could be considered cousins or at least relatives of some kind but-I'm losing my train of thought." Igneel shook his head before continuing, "Natsu, there are many other dragons around the world. And a few of them may have taken on children and students of their own. That effectively makes them Dragon Slayers as well."

"Oh." Natsu looked down for a moment and it looked like a thought was crossing his simple little mind before he asked, "Hey, are the others stronger than me?"

Igneel thought for a moment, "Well, that depends. You'll just have to meet with them and see for yourself."

Natsu scrunched his face, not totally satisfied with that answer before another idea came to mind, "Well are the other dragons stronger than you?"

"Probably not." Igneel bragged with a smug turn of the nose, "I'm pretty damn strong if you haven't noticed."

"So if you're teaching me how to be strong, shouldn't I be the strongest?"

"That's entirely up to you and the other Dragon Slayers, Natsu."

"Well I wanna be the strongest!"

"Then prove yourself to be the strongest." Igneel said with a small smile as he looked at his son's enthusiasm, "Just get stronger and prove you're stronger than every other Dragon Slayer out there."

"Ok!" Natsu answered happily before making a blank stare and tilting his head, "How do I prove that?"

Igneel rolled his eyes and shook his head before smiling and answering his son.

"Don't lose."

########Hunter########

This was an absolutely stark contrast to the scenario his mind was playing right now.

In his memories, he was reminded of a pleasant memory with his father where Igneel revealed the existence of other Dragon Slayers and encouraged him to be the strongest in the middle of the forest.

Right now, he was surrounded on all sides by concrete and wired machinery. Behind him was a battered Lucy and a worried Happy as they kept to the wall behind him. In the corners of his eyes he could see other Phantom Lord members stare at him in a mix of fear and anxiety as they backed up into the wall.

But the biggest attention-getter would have to be the combination of the strange, menacing feeling emanating from beneath the floor and the grinning Dragon Slayer standing across from him. Gajeel continued rubbing the steaming, burning bruise on his cheek after Natsu's sudden ambush attack and felt a stinging sensation through his skin. He chuckled, "Okay, I'll admit, that was actually a pretty decent punch." He swiped his thumb over his chin before rolling his neck, "Throw a few more of those my way and I might actually change my mind saying all of you Fairies are soft-knuckled little bitches." Gajeel looked off in thought before shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe."

Natsu ignored him before he started looking over the room with the same intense glare he entered with. Every Phantom Mage that came within his sight cowered and shook under his gaze before he moved on again. Gajeel noticed the pink-haired man's wandering eyes and decided to ask, "What? You keep looking around at everybody else. Are you thinking you'll have to take them out before you fight me because there's no need to worry. They'll stay out of the way, or get wrecked in the process."

Natsu didn't answer as he just kept scanning the area around him. Lucy and Happy looked at each other with concern before the blonde girl asked, "Natsu?"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow, "What the hell are you looking for?"

Natsu finally stopped and a cheeky smile grew over his face, "I had been wondering something for a while since I heard about you. And now I guess I was right. You must not have what every other Dragon Slayer has."

Gajeel felt a tick in his eye at the tone Natsu was using. He snarled, "And what's that?"

Natsu grinned and pointed at Gajeel, "You ain't got a cat!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone just looked at him, "Huh?"

A look of smug accomplishment came over Natsu face as he placed his hands on his hips, "I just found out that every Dragon Slayer has a cat for a partner! You ain't got a cat!"

Lucy sighed tiredly and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You have got to be kidding me."

Happy slumped his head, "Our idiot."

Gajeel titled his head, "Are you a fucking idiot? What are you talking about cats?"

"My friend told me that he met a few other Dragon Slayers and they all had cats! Just like me!" Natsu said proudly, "Since all us normal Dragon Slayers have cats and you don't, I wonder what that means?"

Gajeel didn't appreciate that tone and started gripping his fists before asking, "And what does that mean, Salamander?"

Natsu grinned...

"I think that makes you a pretty shitty Iron Dragon Slayer, don'tcha think?"

Gajeel dashed forward with an angry scowl and pulled his fist back as it became coated in a metal shine. Natsu reacted just in time and raised his hands up in a guard as Gajeel brought his fist down and a loud thud emanated through the room with the ground cracking under Natsu's feet.

The spectators all stared in shock at the sudden start of the battle.

"WRAH!" Natsu said as he threw up his arms and knocked Gajeel's fist away from his guard. Natsu jumped and sent a kick towards the Phantom Mage's head which he easily blocked before landing on the ground and sending a sidekick into his chest. Natsu didn't waste another moment before he covered his other foot in flames and made a massive crescent arc to swarm over Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer just smirked and jumped over the wave of fire as the other Phantom Mages screamed and ducked for safety from the flames.

Gajeel's grin became even larger before he aimed his palms at Natsu and a coat of metal covered the skin. Kunai and knives started firing from his palms at a staggering rate and followed Natsu across the floor as the Fairy Mage slid, dodged, and jumped out of the way. The others had to shield themselves from the spray of dust and debris as the knives leveled and demolished the ground with Gajeel's cackling just barely being heard.

Natsu kept dodging as best he could until he landed on his hands and bent his knees until they almost touched his chest. He kicked his feet out and shot a wide range of flames towards the ceiling, causing Gajeel to guard himself and fall back towards the ground. Gajeel looked back up to see Natsu's whole body covered in flames as he started throwing fierce punches and kicks as fast as he could.

Gajeel dodged and smirked as he extended his arm and his hand turned into a blade with a revolving chain. Natsu's eyes widened as Gajeel started laughed, "Like it?! Let's see how you handle the Iron Dragon's Sword!"

Gajeel waved the massive blade and nearly took off Natsu's head as he felt the massive amount of wind coming off the blade. He took another swipe and made a massive cut across the floor that subsequently exploded from the force of the slash. Gajeel started chasing after Natsu with a deranged smile and Natsu kept dodging the blade by just a few inches. Gajeel spun around and aimed for Natsu's legs as he jumped up at the last moment.

Natsu furrowed his eyes as he created a massive explosion of fire from his hands and launched himself back downwards and on Gajeel's blade with great force, splintering and breaking off the tip. Gajeel had no time to react as Natsu grabbed his collar and slammed his forehead into his nose.

Gajeel looked back at him and smirked before he covered his forehead in metal and slammed back into Natsu's head, causing the Fairy Mage to flinch and stumble back. Gajeel didn't stop and proceeded to dig his fist into Natsu's gut and punch him across the face. Gajeel grabbed Natsu's head and brought it down towards his knee but the pink-haired bruiser raised his hands and grabbed the knee just before it hit him.

Natsu looked up and glared before waving his arms back down on Gajeel and covering him in a mass of flames, "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Fire spread out over their bodies and blazed through a good portion of the room as Lucy, Happy, and the other spectators had to guard themselves from the intense flames. The smoke from the explosion shrouded their vision for a moment and Natsu looked up believing he had landed a solid hit.

But those dreams were dashed when he saw Gajeel guarding with his arms turned to metal and super-heated until they were shimmering white. A little sweat was coming down his face but Gajeel still had that cocky smirk on his face while Natsu grit his teeth. Gajeel grabbed Natsu's vest and under his arm before tossing him with enough force to reach the other room.

Gajeel turned around and prepared to hit the midair Natsu with an attack, "IRON DRAGON'S-"

Natsu righted himself in the air and puffed up his chest and cheeks, "FIRE DRAGON'S-"

They all realized what was about to happen and ducked for cover. Lucy and Happy clung in embrace while the Phantom Mages dove to the ground, "HIT THE DECK!"

"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

A collision of blazing fire and a gust of razor sharp metal collided as the force between them erupted in the room like a bomb went off. There was a massive blast and everyone screamed as the explosion rang though their ears until they could only hear a low ringing through the back of their skulls. They groaned and slowly lifted themselves up to see the condition of the two Dragon Slayers.

Natsu stumbled through the smoke with shards of misshapen shrapnel sticking out of his arms, leg, and shoulder. He grunted before he started heating up his body and causing the shrapnel to burn and fall out. He started rubbing his sore arms and looking over the accumulated damage he had gained over the day.

"Hehehe."

Natsu looked up and saw a familiar figure walk through the smoke. Gajeel walked out some mild burns on his arms and the tuft of feathers on his arms burnt to the bottom but no worse for wear.

Gajeel rotated his shoulder, "So...we done with the warm-up?"

########Hunter########

He felt different. Even from here you could feel an absolute inversion to his usual demeanor and atmosphere. He smiled. He was playful. He seemed stupid and he usually was but he had confidence to himself. And if you needed to rely on him, you could.

This Naruto was different.

He felt cold. They all felt shivers creep down their spines and it wasn't just because of the vortex he was manipulating around his strange hand. His eyes were emotionless, or at least they didn't have the same kind of life they usually had. His smile was psychotic and twisted, and his laugh held so much mirth but not with the same joy it used to have. But his voice...it was distorted and layered, like another voice was overlapping it.

Naruto flicked his strange, warped arm downwards and dismissed the violent winds that had gathered around him. His arms swung gently and he rolled his head for a moment before he slowly started stalking his way to the only person that had his attention.

Elfman and Gray looked between each other in confusion at their friend's new arm and strange behavior. They nodded and realized they had to help and stood up to confront their friend. Erza saw them move, "No, wa-"

"Naruto, hold on man, you need to rest. I don't know what's with the arm but you can't fight this guy alone." Gray said as he came over to his friend's right.

"Gray's right. We can still help fight against Jose." Elfman saw Naruto keep walking past and I growing them and grabbed his new left arm, "Naruto, let us-"

"Move."

*THWACK*

*THWACK*

Instantly, Gray was smacked away with a fist to his chin while Elfman toppled over with a sucker punch to the gut. Gray was thriving on the ground holding his chin and neck as Elfman fell to his knees and felt his stomach start to churn. Mira looked between her injured friend and brother in horror before seeing Naruto still strolling forward. Her mind was still racking as she started getting up, "Naruto, what are you-"

Erza grabbed Mira's hand and pulled her to the ground before holding tight and making it impossible to get up. Mira gasped, "E-Erza, what's-"

"Don't touch him." Erza whispered as her eyes were trained on Naruto as he walked past them without even sparing a glance. She had seen her boyfriend like this just one other time in her memory. Him. And her. And Jellal. All on that last day on the island in the Tower of Heaven. He was fueled by anger and pain and used Kurama's power to increase his strength to ridiculous levels.

But this wasn't like back then. Back then he was affected by it but he was still in control. Now...he was consumed by that same power. She always heard Naruto talk about Kurama being an entity that saved him and taught him how to survive and she associated his fond memories for kindness. But this power was dark. Demented. Twisted. And she could see all that clearly by the way it had changed her lover.

Jose let his eyes wander and looked between the two downed men and the hiding girls before resting on the approaching blond. He decided to goad the new player a little, "I must say you're quite different from how I pictured you, Uzumaki-San. Is this...altercation of yours supposed to give you some extra strength or magical power because I feel a very strange aura around it. And hitting the members of your own guild? Are you trying to keep them out of the way or were you planning on being that rough?"

He didn't receive a reply as Naruto just kept walking towards him with a confident smirk. Jose's smile fell into a frown before he threw his hand forward and sent a blast of concentrated magic from his finger and at Naruto. The blast impacted against his shoulder, causing him to stumble back and a blast of force to erupt behind him but he didn't fall. Naruto just looked back up with his one eye corrupted into a tint of red trained on the Wizard Saint.

Jose blinked in surprise and trained his aim on him again before firing blast after blast at the approaching blond. Naruto was hit in the arm but continued forward. In the leg but didn't stop. Against his collar but didn't so much as flinch as he kept marching. Jose was fed up with playing around and closed his fingers together before he gathered a mass of magic on the tips of his fingers and fired them at Naruto's chest. The blast impacted against him and a large explosion made a cloud of smoke that covered everything in their sight.

Jose waited a moment and lowered his hand as he thought he had finally hit him hard enough.

"My turn."

A hole appeared in the smoke and erupted away immediately before Jose realized Naruto's figure was hovering just in front of him. Naruto gave a toothy grin before he spun in the air and collected a vortex of wind around his foot. Jose's eyes widened and he jumped to the side as Naruto swung his leg, "WRAAHHHH!"

A massive blade of concentrated wind cut through the floor, rubble, and concrete as it left a trench and sliced through the wall. Naruto landed on some debris and looked up to see Jose still floating in the air after dodging his initial attack. Naruto grin stretched and he chambered his left hand before magic started concentrating around his fingers. He yelled and jabbed towards him, sending four blasts of magic centered towards Jose.

Jose felt the power behind each of those shots and narrowed his eyes before pulling his hand back and smacking them away. Jose gathered Darkness magic around his hands and sent a massive wave that blasted Naruto across the floor. Erza and Mira had to shield their eyes from the uproar of smoke as Gray and Elfman finally coped with the pain running through their systems.

Jose landed back on the ground and dusted off his shoulder before looking as Naruto lifted himself off the ground. He spoke, "I'm surprised. I always thought you Fairies were in a mindset of protecting your friends at all costs. But you seem so bloodthirsty and attack so destructively that you haphazardly place your friends in the thick of danger. Might one of you have finally realized the hopeless situation you've found yourselves in...or have your injuries and new taste in limbs caused something to snap in your head?"

Naruto lifted himself up and they could see blood start to drip down in a steady stream from between his lips. He spat out a mist of red before his disjointed voice reached out, "I always wondered what the difference was between me and the people I fought. I can only see a few differences between how we look on the outside but inside...we can hide a demon or a saint. And sometimes both. It's always something inside. Something that makes them good or bad. Even after all these years of playing nice and I can't find it. But you...with the title of saint and soul of a demon...I think I'll find an answer with you."

Naruto looked up at Jose and smirked as wind started whipping around him, "I'll tear you apart and see what I find inside."

Naruto's hands tensed and they pierced the ground beneath him before cracks started appearing all over the floor. With a loud laugh he ripped his hands out and caused the ground to splinter and exploded around them in a rain of debris and dust. Jose had to cover his eyes as the destruction ripped through the whole room and almost made it impossible to see.

He felt a flare of magic overhead and looked up to see Naruto had jumped above him during the chaos. Naruto gathered a mass of magic in both hands and started compressing it until they made his hands glow bright. He yelled excitedly and started sending a barrage of fists down at Jose while firing shot after shot of magic from them.

Jose smacked the first few shots of Armor away easily but could see his vision start to be covered with them. He clicked his tongue before he dashed back and dodged the brunt of the attacks before they started following after him while littering the floor. Jose kicked and jumped back to keep a wide berth between him and the attacks before he noticed the attack had stopped.

"Hehe."

Jose's eyes widened as he turned around and grabbed the clawed hand that was about to clamp around his neck. He tightly gripped the younger man's wrist and arm before roughly pulling and throwing him over his shoulder. Jose swung his arm as Naruto grunted and gathered wind around his arms before throwing a massive slash of razor sharp wind in return.

Naruto landed and let his arms hang to his side before whipping them out and spinning on his feet as a small tornado formed around him. Naruto's grin nearly split his face as he launched off the ground spinning and straight at Jose. Jose braced himself and anticipated the dangerous attack as the wind expanded around him and brutally ripped through the ground around them, slicing through the cloth and leaving dozens of small cuts across his arm.

Naruto spun and laughed as he sent a spinning kick towards Jose's head that the guild master blocked but grunted as he felt his feet nearly slip from the staggering force. Naruto's whole body whipped around and brought his right fist down like a hammer that Jose had to block as he threw his left fist towards the Wizard Saint's gut. Jose barely dodged the attack but felt the wind around his hand leave a cut through his shirt and lower abdomen.

Jose parried his fist before landing a hook punch across Naruto's face that resounded with a loud echo and forced the boy to stumble back. But despite what Jose had expected, Naruto's just turned back around with a bruised and bloodied cheek but the same grim smirk on his face. Naruto's eyes and smile widened before he screamed with mirth in his voice and started sending a blinding barrage of quick jabs at Jose as the Wizard Saint dodged desperately.

The Fairy members watched with shock and horror at the ferocity and contempt behind Naruto's actions as he charged the guild master. Gray gave a cough and held his chin before looking at Naruto fight and shaking his head. He groaned, "W-what's wrong with him? The hell happened after he blocked that Jupiter shot?"

"Something's wrong." Mira said as her eyes were focused on the orange-fur and animal-like appearance of his left arm. Mira never would have guessed that this is what was hidden beneath that metal prosthetic all these years. She did her best to stay calm and tried to make sense of this situation, "M-maybe...maybe Naruto learned a Take Over that went out of control after he was injured? His body must have been trying to cope with his injuries and he lost control in the process so-"

"It's Kurama."

The others looked at Erza as she just watched Naruto fight Jose with his laughter reaching out through the whipping air and destruction. Erza looked down sadly, "That was the name of the demon Naruto had inside of him when he was born." She clenched her teeth tightly before looking back up at the fight, "Kurama died years ago and left his energy inside Naruto to try and protect him, but Naruto was too young and wasn't strong enough to use that power at the time. And when Naruto lost his arm, that energy tired to heal him and make a new one, but he felt a flood of anger and hate pour into him when he did. So it was sealed under the Reformation Metal. But now it's broken...and that energy has taken him over."

Gray, Elfman, and Mira all looked at the redhead in shock before looking back at their blond friend as he gathered up immense amounts of Wind and started waving it around freely while Jose had to jump back and dodge to save his life. The others never knew if Naruto really did have experiences with demons when he was younger or if they were just a story he told to get attention. None of them could believe that a demon would have actually been able to possess a part of a person before and lived to brag about.

But it was real. Naruto had sealed away that arm for so many years because if he didn't he would've become...this.

Gray grit his teeth and felt his legs tense like he was about to dash into the fight and try to knock some sense into his friend. Elfman wanted to turn into his Beast form and try to save the man that once saved his life. They wanted to do whatever they could in their power to help their friend in need.

But...

This power...this ferocity and destruction being thrown around by top-tier monsters like it was nothing. It was like if they took a step forward...they'd be ripped apart.

Naruto started spinning through the air with a kick and Jose had to duck before the blond's foot knocked his head off. The Fairy Mage landed and with a roar he dashed in towards Jose and threw his fist into the Saint's stomach but Jose's hands blurred down and clamped on the young man's forearm. Jose gritted his teeth before kicking the boy under the ribs, "YOU MISERABLE-"

Followed by a punch across the face and a spray of blood, "-WORTHLESS-"

He grabbed the boy's shoulder and lifted him off his feet before throwing him with staggering force, "-IRREDEEMABLE REPROBATE!"

Naruto was thrown through the air and Jose held out his hands and started gathering magic to attack his airborne form. But Naruto used his Wind to stop spinning in the air and hung upside down as his chest puffed and he took a deep breath. Jose and the others looked at him in shock as he yelled and unleashed a tempest from his mouth.

Jose was blasted back from the intense current as Naruto spun and created a current of wind at his feet and launched himself with his Void Storm Step. With a resounding boom, Naruto rocketed across the room in an instant and Jose barely dodged the blond's charge that nearly took off his head. He turned back around to face his opponent as Naruto landed harshly on the floor and bounced a bit before landing on his hands and knees. Jose panted a little before smirking, "You expect too much from your wild movements, boy. A fight with a Wizard Saint is pointless and foolish without any hope of success."

Naruto slowly started lifting himself up as Jose noticed that a steady stream of blood started dripping from his mouth. Naruto turned his head and spit out a chunk of something that bounced off the ground before starting to create a small pool of blood.

Jose's eyes focused on the foreign object he had spit out before his eyes widened in horror and he started feeling blood drip down his neck. He raised a hand to his face and felt something strange and wet.

His ear.

That was part of his ear.

Naruto stood up and wiped Jose's blood from his chin before his dark chuckle reached the Saint's ears. Naruto stood up with a sway of his arms and grinned, "If you want to handle this better than you can call this a fight. But this ain't anything close to a fight."

Naruto dashed forward and covered the distance in a second before throwing another pair of razor winds at Jose that had to jump to avoid getting cut. But he felt a hand wrap around his ankle and pull him out of the air as he caught sight of Naruto's maniacal grin. Naruto pulled his left fist back and gripped it tight...

"This is a slaughter."

Naruto's fist drilled into Jose's stomach and slammed him into the ground as the whole floor cracked and exploded under the force.

########Hunter########

The black-eyed Naruto smiled triumphantly at his attack on the Wizard Saint. He could feel Kurama's untapped power finally come back into play after so many years. He could see through their eyes as dust and destruction filled their gaze.

The younger version looked over to his counterpart, completely smother and blocked out by the black mass of chakra and hate that came from Kurama and smiled. The young boy chuckled, "See, and just like that I'm taking care of the problem better than you ever could."

Naruto struggled through the mass and choked out, "N-no! Stop-"

"Shut up."

The energy covered Naruto completely once again and the shorter Naruto closed his eyes to concentrate once again. He turned and cracked his neck, "Now let's get serious."

########Hunter########

Natsu felt his fist break and dig into Gajeel's cheek while his own face was beaten by the Phantom Mage's fist. Even while the others and the entire room itself shook from the battle beneath their feet, the two Dragon Slayers were only concerned with beating each other to bloody pulps.

Natsu felt a sting and pain reverberate through his cheek with blood dribbling from his mouth with Gajeel in the same condition but with an eager smirk on his face. Natsu narrowed his eyes and covered his arms with flames as Gajeel's body became coated with metal. They yelled with equal ferocity and started sending punch after punch at each other in a blaze of shining metal and burning flames.

Natsu and Gajeel exchanged blows to the face and chest as neither faltered or submitted under the pain they were experiencing. Natsu struggled to fend off the jabs of a metal coated fist that continued to strike him in the ribs and sternum. But he noticed that even with the extra force of his fire, his punches were having a hard time causing equal damage to his metal coating.

And his knuckles were bleeding like hell.

"WRAH!" Natsu took the initiative and struck Gajeel across the face hard enough to make the Phantom Mage stumble back. The flames around his fist burned hotter and he punched, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Natsu spun and kicked Gajeel against his collar bone, "Fire Dragon's Claw!" He continued by grabbing Gajeel by the head and slamming him into the ground with a fiery explosion following after. And finished the combo by kicking his body up in the air before intertwining his hands and releasing a massive fireball at his metallic form, "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

The fireball exploded against Gajeel and sent a wave of blistering heat and smoke through the large room. Lucy heard the Phantom Mages' and Happy's screaming just barely over her own as the intense winds and heat covered them. The sensations started to subside and the blonde Mage and cat peeked up from the floor to observe their friend's injured form. Natsu was taking a few deep breathes and looked down to see the skin started ripping from his knuckles and smoke was coming off his injuries after using his flames.

Natsu clenched his teeth and started closing his fists again, ignoring the pain as he had a sinking feeling that he wasn't done yet.

He heard the sound of metal clapping against metal as he looked up to see a figure move through the smoke. He looked up and saw Gajeel walk back into sight, his clothes ripped and burnt to tatters and scorch marks over his stomach but his metal coating still staying strong. Gajeel rolled his shoulders with a metallic scratch, "You're kiddin', right? Tell me that isn't all you've got to give?" He grabbed the remains of his vest and ripped it off before tossing it aside, "I thought you actually could put up a decent fight but I was wrong. Hell, you're punches were getting weaker and weaker with each hit. It's pathetic. I can't believe this was all you had to offer."

"All to offer?" Natsu asked through his panting before he gave a lop-sided smirk at the other Dragon Slayer, "You jokin'? I ain't even started getting serious yet."

Gajeel smirked back, "Sweet. I'm gonna start breaking you piece by piece then."

Gajeel dashed forward and almost disappeared in a burst of speed that nearly caught Natsu off guard. The Fairy Mage was just barely able to raise his arm as a guard as Gajeel's leg came in for a roundhouse, causing Natsu's eyes to widen in pain as he felt his bones creak under the force. He stumbled back before Gajeel stepped in and punched him under the chin. Natsu's eyes shook and he couldn't react as Gajeel started beating him with a barrage of iron-clad strikes.

"NATSU(x2)!" Lucy and Happy cried as they saw Natsu get smacked back and forth and specks of blood started littering the ground. Natsu could do nothing but gasp in pain as Gajeel dug his fist into his gut and ribs. He tried to block but Gajeel just serrated the metal scales on his arms as he punched.

Gajeel clasped his hands together and slammed them into Natsu's head hard enough to send him flying back. He smiled and charged after the Salamander's body before he flipped through the air and landed on his feet fast enough to stop Gajeel's chase. Natsu looked back up at him with an anger burning in his eyes as his body burst into flames and he rocketed himself into Gajeel's chest, "FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD EDGE!"

Gajeel was pushed back along the ground as his feet dug into the floor and created a trench. Natsu pushed him back as far as possible until their momentum started to weaken and they came to a slow halt. Natsu felt Gajeel's hands grab his shoulders and hold him in place as he pulled back and brought his iron knee into Natsu's forehead, "GAHHHHHH!"

"Kehehehe!" Gajeel reeled his fist back before punching forward an creating a pillar of metal that slammed into Natsu's chest, "Iron Dragon's Iron Club!" Natsu was skidding back on the floor and doubled over as the club slammed into his gut. Gajeel smirked but his smile faltered when he noticed he couldn't pull his hand back from the Fairy Mage.

Natsu looked up and seethed through his teeth as his arms wrapped around Gajeel's iron club. He turned and roared as he lifted Gajeel off his feet and slammed him headfirst into the ground. Natsu followed through and charged at his fallen form before he started punching the Iron Dragon Slayer as hard as he possibly could. Cracks started forming beneath Gajeel's head from the onslaught of punches before the Phantom Mage grabbed his fists and head-butted him.

Gajeel flipped to his feet and grabbed Natsu's vest before pulling his fist back and punching him in the face, "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" His fist dug into Natsu's cheek and blasted the pink-haired Mage across the room as his shirt ripped in Gajeel's hand. The Phantom Mage smirked and chuckled as he looked down at the cloth in his hand before tossing it aside.

Natsu gasped and coughed up some blood as he slowly opened his eyes again. His ears were ringing but he could still hear Lucy and Happy yell in panic for him to get back up. His vision was hazy but he blinked his eyes enough to get some clarity as he saw Gajeel laugh a few feet in front of him, "You ain't lookin' so good, Salamander. I think yer about to call it quits any moment."

Natsu pushed himself up to his knees and held his ribs gently to ignore the pain as he kept panting. He looked up with half-lidded eyes and a small bloody smile, "You...ain't lookin' all that better...prick."

Gajeel blinked before looking down to see cracks and scorch marks over his chest. He tasted blood in his mouth and sloshed it around a bit before spitting off to the side. He felt the cuts in his mouth after the punches and he chuckled, "Heh."

Gajeel stomped on the floor and a panel of metal jutted out of the floor. He harshly pulled the metal panel out of the floor and started biting into it like it was fresh bread. The Fairy Mage's looked at him in shock as the Phantom Mage's cheered, "Haha, that's Gajeel-San's special trump card! He gets more of his power back with the more iron he eats!"

Lucy looked around the room and saw it covered with metal Gajeel could eat. She yelled, "T-that's not fair! Natsu, quick, eat some fire or-"

"H-he can't."

Lucy looked down at Happy as the blue cat's shoulders were shaking and tears were coming into his eyes. He cried, "He can't eat his own flames, a-and we can't make any more fire by ourselves." Happy's voice started to crack as he heaved, "A-and he fought a really, really strong guy before coming up here too, s-so he isn't even close to full strength."

Lucy's eyes widened in horror as she looked back at her exhausted friend and felt tears come to her eyes. Natsu was injured, beaten, weakened, and at a disadvantage with the area they were fighting in. And she had lost all her keys in the street after the caravan was destroyed. She shook her head, "No..."

Gajeel bit into the last of the metal plating before throwing it into his mouth and savoring the taste. He finished it off and already was feeling his strength return as a confident smile came over his face. He looked at Natsu and cracked his knuckles with anticipation, "Ready for the next round?"

Natsu was breathing heavily, trying to take as many relieving breaths as he could to try and ignore the pain. He pushed himself off his knees and struggled to get to his feet before letting his arms fall back to his sides. He met Gajeel's smirk with his own feigned, challenging one.

"Bring it, you prick."

########Hunter########

Erza immediately reacted and stabbed the black sword into what remained of the floor to stop her sudden descent into the lower levels of the giant guild. She reached out and grabbed Mira before she fell through the floor and held her close, "E-Erza?"

"It's okay Mira, I've got you." The redhead pulled herself and her friend back onto a section of the floor that was still intact and took a deep breath. She looked around at the floor and saw all that remained of it was a few concrete tiles around the edges and the now massive holes that broke through this level and the following two underneath. She stood up and cupped her hands over her mouth, "Gray! Elfman!"

The two waited anxiously until they heard Gray yell through the dust, "We're here!"

Elfman yelled back, "Nee-chan!"

"I-I'm here Elfman! We're fine!" Mira yelled back to her younger brother before she fell back on her butt in shock. She looked around at the obliterated floors and couldn't believe she had just watched someone do this with just one punch. The only time she saw someone do something like this was when Gildarts fought, but even he never needed to go as far as to obliterate entire floors in a fight. She gulped nervously, "Did Naruto...really do this by himself?"

"Yes." Erza answered immediately as she stepped to the edge of the platform and looked over the edge at the cloud of dust that blocked everything in sight. She narrowed her eyes, "And this will only get worse if we can't find a way to stop him."

Mira looked down and her hands started clenching the ends of her dress tightly. She looked up at the armored Mage with concern, "Erza...we have to help Natuto. If we can't, t-then I don't think he'll-"

"I know." Erza interrupted, not wanting to hear Mirajane finish that sentence but already knowing what she was going to say. She clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth while her eyes roamed the smoke to see anything that moved.

"There!" She looked over and saw the smoke had cleared to show Elfman and Gray further down the floor as they looked over the edge as well. She followed Gray's point and finally noticed a shadow on the last unbroken floor start to appear as the dust subsided. The figure started to become clearer...

And it revealed Jose had fallen to one knee.

The Wizard Saint was on his knees and panting desperately to ignore the pain spreading through his torso. He flinched and spat up some spit and bile before gently pulling his hand off his stomach and abdominal. There was a nasty spiraling cut centered around his stomach and a massive purple and black bruise that only made the pain worse. And he was certain some of his organs had been injured as well.

'That...stupid bastard! H-how could he do this with one hit by himself?!' Jose thought as he let out a long groan before slowly pushing himself up on his feet. He coughed up some blood that dripped down his chin before he wiped it away and looked at it. He clenched his fist, 'These Fairies...maybe all these rumors and tales hold some merit after all.'

He looked around to face his beastly enemy and finally noticed something in particular.

'W-where is he?'

Two hands shot out behind Jose's head and almost wrapped around his head to snap his neck but he ducked down just in time. Jose spun around to attack Naruto in return but the possessed blond leapt over him and away from his reach. The whiskered man landed in a crouch before standing back up and chuckling at the injured man, "Looks like you're starting to get scared, Jose."

The Wizard Saint furrowed his brow and felt his face twist into an angry, disgusted scowl. He spat out at the feral blond, "You're a monster."

"Hehehehe. Oh, that hurts. Keep talking. Just keep prolonging the end."

Jose snarled his teeth before lashing his hand out with a whip of black magic, "Shut your damn mouth!"

Naruto jumped over the whip as it annihilated any debris or boulders that was caught in its range. Naruto arched his palms as spiraling currents started gathering around his hand. He threw them forward and sent blades of wind in every direction to land an attack. Jose had to duck and dodge as the Fairies had to lean back as the razor winds flew just past their heads and littered the ceiling above them.

Jose finally dodged the last of the Wind attacks before dashing towards Naruto as he landed back on the floor. Jose gathered magic into his hand and punched the whiskered boy in the gut with enough force to create a shockwave around them. Jose felt his fist grind further in his belly and noticed blood drip from the Fairy Mage's mouth. Naruto shoulders slumped...

Until his altered hand blurred and wrapped around Jose's forearm. The Wizard Saint flinched as the fingers dug into his skin and muscle enough to draw blood. Naruto started punching Jose across the face over and over as the Wizard Saint could no longer escape from his range. Naruto laughed madly while his fist beat Jose back and forth. One good strike under the chin knocked the master off his feet as Naruto spun and lifted him up before slamming him into the ground hard enough to make a crater.

"HA!" Naruto yelled as he followed through with a kick to the stomach and sent Jose flying into a wall. Jose fell to the floor and started coughing up blood from the damage he had taken. Naruto tensed his feet as they cracked into the ground before he dashed forward, "DIE!"

The Fairy Mages looked with shock and suspense as Naruto turned into a blur that rocketed at Jose's form as he pushed back up to his feet. Naruto's hand came at his face like a spear-

"Stop playing around."

Jose moved his head just as the spear-hand passed by his head and avoided a fatal strike by the blond. He reach up and grabbed Naruto's neck before slamming him headfirst into the ground. Jose stood up with a cold fury in his eyes before aiming his hand down as Darkness magic started to mold around his hand. It erupted in a massive blast and resulted in an explosion that sent Naruto flying back and bouncing off the ground repeatedly.

Steam was coming from the Wizard Saint's hand before he lowered his arm and slowly walked over to the downed young man. Naruto started pulling himself out of the trench in the ground and looked up at Jose's oncoming form with a smirk. He whipped his hand out and made a large blade of Wind, "WRAH!"

Jose responded by pointing his fingers and sending a barrage of small but powerful shockwaves from his fingers that blasted through the blade of wind and pelleted Naruto and the wall behind him. Naruto coughed and struggled to catch his breath as Jose continued marching forward.

The Wizard Saint kept a firm glare on the man's unmoving form as he was sick of being toyed with by the deranged blond. He nearly growled out, "Were you underestimating me? Did you think it was really that easy? A little boost of strength and speed...exude some bloodlust and nasty words and you think you're an unstoppable, unbeatable killing machine? On paper that must have sounded so very easy...but sadly that's not the case."

Jose stopped a few feet away from him, "You don't just get to win because you come back a little stronger and angrier. You could come back a hundred times stronger and it wouldn't matter!" Jose's face twisted with anger with veins pulsing through his neck and forehead, ignoring the injuries and wounds he had sustained from the insignificant little whelp in front of him. He roared with spittle and specks of dry blood coming from his mouth, "I AM JOSE PORLA! I AM THE MASTER OF PHANTOM LORD! A WIZARD SAINT! I HAVE CRUSHED INSECTS LIKE YOU COUNTLESS TIMES BEFORE AND I WILL CRUSH COUNTLESS MORE AFTER THIS! SO DON'T YOU DARE CONSIDER YOURSELF MY EQUAL, BOY!"

Naruto's finally started pushing himself up to his feet, revealing the extent his accumulated injuries had taken on his body. But he ignored the pain and stood up with life still in his eyes and a snarky smirk on his face. He spoke, "Looks like you've finally decided to take off the mask and show your real nature. That's good." He wiped some blood off his chin, "We're in the middle of a war right now. You can't afford to keep that prim and proper image up for appearances. That stuff will keep you off guard, and then it'd be too easy for me to swoop in and rip out your throat. But this is good. Lose the image of the saint...and reveal your nature as a demon. That seems more natural for you."

Jose narrowed his eyes angrily at the young man before feeling a small sense of mirth wash over him. He gave a small chuckle before staring at the boy, "Reveal my nature? I'm not quite sure you're as persuasive and influential as you think. But I suppose I shall lighten up a bit...I'll consider that more after I've destroyed you and your pathetic guild."

Naruto devilish smirk stretched wider and wider as he focused Kurama's chakra around him even more and started releasing waves of killing intent at the Phantom Mage. But while Naruto's raw intent was colder, Jose matched the volume of it and even took it a step further. The dust and ground around them started to spread and shake from the pressure as the two men slowly tensed their fists.

Naruto was the first to make a move as he made a wide hook punch to the side of Jose's head but met only air as the older man ducked at the last second. Jose countered and lodged his fist into Naruto stomach but was nearly knocked into the ground as he felt the Fairy Mage return the favor and land a punch on his shoulder while he was attacked.

Jose fell to a knee as Naruto was launched into the air and slammed into the wall above them. Jose jumped back up and unleashed a barrage of magic blasts and pressure at him. But the blond pulled himself out of the concrete and launched himself off the wall as he dodged the attacks that followed after him.

The whiskered boy landed on the floor again and dashed towards Jose for a follow up. But the moment Naruto sent a punch towards Jose's head his fist was parried by the master's palm. Jose calmly blocked and deflected all of Naruto's powerful attacks without fret, now being accustomed to the man's enhanced power and speed. The Phantom guild master kept holding the younger man at arm's length for a time before Naruto's hands became covered in Armor and he manipulated their shape into claws.

Jose had to step and jump back as the whiskered blond chased after him while waving his arms around rapidly, slicing through the rubble and ground like wet paper. He swiped upwards and appeared to overextended himself long enough for a counter, but he spun in the air and landed a kick into Jose's chest that blasted them both away from each other. Jose was propelled into the ground as the young man flipped through the air before landing in a crouch.

He started sprinting across the floor to attack the guild master again but stopped when he saw a black and purple magic seal appear above them. It started glowing and a small army of Shades started pouring out of it. They floated around Jose for a moment as the Wizard Saint stood up with a mix of disappointment and disinterest over his face. He held out his hand and ordered his army of ghastly summons, "Attack."

The Shades started flying at Naruto and one of them phased through his chest, causing him to fall to a knee as some of his strength was zapped away from him. The rest of the summons started to center down on him but a majority of them were blasted out of existence by a punch from the whiskered man.

The possessed blond smirked before his hands tightly clenched into fists and were chambered at his side. He jumped up and started punching rapidly as the Shades dissipated around him from the power of his punches. He continued dodging their diving attacks and blasting them away before they could even touch him. But despite being destroyed by Naruto's attacks it was only temporary as the ghosts reformed not long after and chased the blond to continue their assault. It was an endless cycle of destruction and reformation as Naruto laughed while defending himself.

Jose stood by and watched as Naruto spun and dodged all of his Shades with little effort. He sighed with annoyance and disdain as he crossed his arms, "This is troublesome. You keep making me waste more and more of my time and that is pissing me off."

The Shades surrounding Naruto slowed down for a moment before they all started flying up and joining together into a large black mass. The mass slowly expanded into a ball a swirling magic that hovered over Naruto and Jose's head. The blond stood underneath it apprehensively before several protrusions started forming around the perimeter and becoming fists. The fists fluttered around for a moment before they all focused on Naruto and started beating down on him with a barrage of fists.

Erza watched in horror as the amalgamation of Shades littered the ground and Naruto with a flurry of strikes. Her eyes did not waver from the spot she last saw him stand but she could not find the will to charge into the fight to assist him. She bit her lower lip so hard she drew blood at her inability to act against Jose. Her shoulders were shaking, "Naruto..."

*Schwip*

The sound of slicing air reverberated up the empty floors and the mass of magic split down the middle before dissipating entirely. Jose stood there silently and watched his magic disappear from existence before he looked straight at the dust cloud that had risen from the attacks.

The dust slowly settled and Jose watched as a figure walked back into sight. Naruto slowly stepped over the rubble, his eyes shadowed out by his hair and his whole body matted with bruises and blood. Jose stood there while Naruto was taking the chance to catch his breath after all the fighting. Jose watched as everything settled into silence before he lowered his hands and he started weaving a seal, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Naruto perked up a little when he heard that question. Jose continued gathering magic and weaving the magic seal for his next attack, "I've never seen anyone charge into a one-sided fight so eagerly and without any concern for his own safety. I don't know whether to be impressed...or just horrified that people like you actually exist." Jose raised his hands and increased the magic around them, "And I have the strangest feeling that your doing all of this for yourself, and not for the sake of your guild...am I right?"

A small smile came over Naruto's face before it turned into a toothy grin. He chuckled a little before looking up and staring at Jose, his crimson eye uncovered by his blond locks. He placed a hand on his chest, "Me and my enemy. That is all that matters in a fight. All that matters in a war. I was bred to know who my enemies were and eliminate them as best I could. I don't have anyone aiming me anymore but I still know who I should and need to kill." His fist tightened and he swung it downward, creating a massive gust of wind and throwing up a cloud of dust. He grinned, "I don't need to hide behind the idea that I need to be a part of something anymore. I just need to focus on what I do best. Killing my enemies. And nothing else."

"Heh. My, that is quite a bleak modus vivendi you have there. But to each their own I suppose. Just one problem with that plan..." Jose held his hands up and a large magic seal started appearing in front of him. He continued to weave his magic through the seal and smirked menacingly, "Of the two of us, only you will be dying today."

"Hehe." Naruto lowered his stance, "Believe whatever you want. It won't matter soon enough."

Mira continued looking over the edge and her eyes widened when she realized what Jose had been preparing. She leaned over the edge and screamed, "Naruto! You need to dodge that attack! Please! He's gonna attack with Abyss Break!" She yelled with concern in her voice, "You can't take an attack like that head-on! It'll kill you!"

Naruto didn't show any change in movement or awareness as Mira's warning echoed through the floors. They noticed he didn't make any attempt to escape or move out of the way so Gray and Elfman followed Mira's lead. Gray yelled, "You idiot! Get out of the way!"

"You can't withstand more attacks like that anymore with your body!" Elfman added on, "Jupiter! Jose's attacks! Abyss Break will destroy you!"

"Stop talking!" Naruto screamed up at them with anger before turning back to Jose with a vile smirk, "Kurama's chakra keeps my body together no matter how much I might get hurt. It's been doing that this whole time. I just need to have a little faith that it can keep holding me up while I finish you off."

Jose smiled, "So you can regenerate, huh? I was wondering how you were still moving around after everything you've taken. But it seems like this little healing factor of yours can't keep up as well as you thought with all the damage you're taking." He smiled and held his hands out as his magic seal was finally complete, "Let's see you walk away from this!"

"DIE!" Naruto's feet cracked the ground and he dashed forward as the light enveloped everything around them.

"Abyss Break!"

########Hunter########

"Lightning!" Bolts of electricity shot out of the cards and dispersed the Shades long enough for Cana to run to a safer spot away from their reach. She came over to Loke and Macao's side as she saw the older Mage on a knee favoring his left arm and with one eye bleeding. She stood by them and panted, "How are you guys holding up?"

Loke took a few deep breaths and tried to keep his composure, "Well, I've definitely been better."

Macao groaned and felt the blood trickle down his face, "Double for me."

"Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired too." Cana looked back to them with concern, "Think we can hold out a little longer?"

"Don't know. How long have those guys been fighting in there now?"

"Almost an hour."

"Do you think they're all right?"

"They have to be. We just have to put faith in them that they can handle things in there. We need to handle everything out here." Cana stood back up and pulled out another set of cards before yelling out for everyone to hear, "HOLD OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER GUYS! CHARGE!"

"RIIIIIIGGGHHHHHH-"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM*

Everyone on the battlefield froze in place as an explosion blew out a massive section of the Phantom Guild robot's center piece. A pillar of light created from several different forms of magic shot out with an earth-shaking force and obliterated the top half of the Fairy Tail guild. The small army of Mage's looked back at the destruction done to their home with shock and horror.

And could only watch in silence as the old, broken building finally started to collapse onto itself.

The wood. The metal. The banisters. The scaffolding. The roof. The flag. The insignia.

It all fell down as their home toppled into a mess of worn out and broken wood.

Wakaba stood there in silence as his cigarette fell out of his agape mouth.

Alzack couldn't even make a sound and Bisca covered her mouth in horror.

Lisanna felt her shoulders start to shake and tears fill the corners of her eyes as her guild became nothing more than rubble.

Cana stood there in disbelief before she started taking a few steps towards it. But before she could run at it in a mad dash, Loke reached out and grabbed her wrist, "Cana-"

"N-no! No it can't! I-It can't just fall like that! It can't!" She cried and tried to pry Loke's hand off of her wrist while tears filled her eyes. She sobbed, "N-not like-"

Loke cut her off by wrapping his arms around her in a hug as she started to cry and sob into his jacket. Cana continued to wail as her voice was drowned out by the sound of the guild crashing to the ground.

The Fairies could only watch with sorrow and regret...

As their home was destroyed.

########Hunter########

"AHHHH!" Natsu screamed as Gajeel's swipe slammed down on the pink-haired man's arm and left a nasty bruise that immediately turned black. He shuffled back and held his arm that went limp at his side and was panting desperately to fill his lungs with air. One of his eyes was swollen shut and he could barely stand on his legs anymore.

Gajeel slowly strode up to him with a smile on his face. He mocked his fellow Dragon Slayer, "Okay, you gotta admit it now...you've lost."

Natsu snarled his teeth and summoned enough of his strength to make a small flame around his fist that he threw out at Gajeel's head. But Gajeel caught his hand with little effort before lashing out and making a tight grip around the Fairy's neck. He slowly lifted him off his feet as Natsu started to gag and struggle under his grip.

"Gajeel-San, look out!"

"LET GO OF HIM!" Lucy yelled as she came in from the side and slammed a brick against his head that shattered on impact. Lucy stood there while the brick crumbled in her hand and Gajeel showed no change on his face. A small crack formed on the metal around his face and a small trickle of blood dripped out before his eyes turned to her. She panted but stayed firm under his gaze.

"HAAAAA!" Happy came flying in from behind and whacked the Iron Dragon Slayer behind the head with a plank of wood.

Gajeel clicked his teeth before letting go of Natsu's hand and grabbing Happy before throwing him into Lucy hard enough to topple them over. But Natsu took this opportunity to breathe fire over Gajeel's face in a last ditch effort to leave some damage. But the smoke dispersed when Gajeel turned back to him with anger and frustration at their determined final attacks.

He gripped Natsu's throat tighter and made the man gasp and cough before yelling, "Let me remind you how a real dragon roars!" He threw Natsu across the room before puffing up his chest and roaring, "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Natsu was engulfed by the roar of shrapnel and magic that blasted a hole through the wall and clear outside. Everyone else covered their eyes against the rapid wind before looking back at the result of Gajeel's attack. The massive new hole still had smoke coming off of its rigid edge as light slowly peered brought the smoke and filled the room. And finally...the smoke vanished and revealed Natsu on his stomach with his head and arms hanging over the edge.

Gajeel walked over and stood over Natsu's beaten form before shaking his head, "It's over Salamander. You're finished. Learn to accept defeat." Gajeel seemed to notice something and stood up straight to get a better look outside the hole in the wall. He looked back down at Natsu, "Looks like your guild is finally starting to learn that lesson too."

Natsu's eyes barely pulled themselves open as he struggled to lift his head even a little. His vision was blurred and almost complete black but he was able to get some clarity back as he looked down at the ground below them. He could see his friends cry and scream as their guild collapsed into a broken heap.

Natsu's half-lidded eyes stayed focused on his guild and his ears could still pick up the cries and screams of sadness from his friends. Natsu's eyes began to slowly close and the noise started to fade...

"So, Natsu, you've gotten a chance to look around the guild now, right?" Makarov said from atop the bar as he placed his mug down. He looked down at the little boy, "What do you think about our little guild?"

Natsu fixed his scarf around his new shirt and grumbled a little. He looked up with discomfort, "This place looks like a shabby old shack."

"Why you?!" Makarov yelled angrily before coughing into his fist and calming down. He spoke wisely, "It's not shabby. It has character. When you see something old, you say it has character. It's less rude."

Natsu blinked in confusion before he brightened up, "Oh, so you have character too, right Jii-chan?"

"OH YOU LITTLE-"

Natsu's eyes opened again and stared at the fallen guild again.

"Are you supposed to be the new kid or something?" A boy with black hair said condescendingly at Natsu from a table off to the side. He scoffed, "You look pretty weak to me."

Natsu fumed, "What was that jerk?! I'll kick your butt!"

"Ohhhhhh, I'm shaking in my boots."

A girl sitting across from him sighed, "Gray, you aren't wearing boots. Or anything else for that matter."

"AGH, DARN IT! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN AGAIN?!" Gray jumped out of his seat and ran into the back room of the guild, "I WAS BEING CAREFUL THIS TIME!"

Natsu blinked in shock before the girl in a orange sundress turned around, "He's an idiot but he a nice guy after a while. I'm Cana. Nice to meet you."

Natsu's hands came back onto solid concrete and tightly gripped the rock.

Natsu shook with apprehension and fear, "W-who are you, you weird girl?!"

"Why am I weird? I just told you to sit up straight and chew with your mouth closed. Otherwise you'd probably get punched in the mouth while you were chewing." The girl with the scarlet braid crossed her arms over the plate on her chest, "And I'm Erza. Erza Scarlet."

"Well I'm Natsu Dragneel! And I don't listen to anyone who can't back up their words!" Natsu held up his fists, "So if you wanna boss me around you better prove it!"

He didn't take notice of everyone in the vicinity cringing and sliding away from the two kids.

Erza smiled and cracked her knuckles, "Okay, if you say so."

Natsu's grip tightened and cracked into the concrete beneath him as he struggled to lift himself up to his hands and knees.

"Your name's Lisanna, right? You're that weird girl Mira-whatever's sister, right?"

"Yeah. And her name is Mirajane." The mop-haired girl replied with a nervous smile on her face, "And Mira-nee is just a little agitated over what's happened recently. Our parents passed away not too long ago and we're still having a little trouble using our magic. We...were kind of hoping coming here would help us."

"Oh, is that it?" Natsu smiled, "Then there's no problem!"

"Huh?"

"This place is actually really cool! You'll fit right in!"

Gajeel stood by and watched as Natsu placed a foot down to keep himself steady.

"Ahhhhh!" Natsu yelped as he was knocked down on his butt.

"Natsu you idiot."

"That's what you get for challenging one of the new guys right off the bat."

Natsu pushed himself up, "But Erza said he was her friend! And if you can be friends with Erza then you gotta be strong or a total weirdo!"

The new whiskered member of Fairy Tail looked at Erza with confusion, "What's he talking about saying I'm a weirdo?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure, but I don't think he's wrong."

"Hey, don't ignore me jerk!" Natsu yelled as he pointed at the blond with the mismatched eyes, "I'm gonna kick your butt too Fishcake! Got it!"

He got flicked in the nose with the metal hand before the whiskered boy crossed his arms, "It's Naruto, dumbass! And if you wanna fight, bring it on! I'll kick you around until that gets through your thick skull!"

Lucy, Happy, and the other Phantom Mages watched as Natsu finally pushed himself up to his feet and struggled before keeping his balance.

"Hey Hashirama-jiichan, have you ever been a part of a guild like this before?"

"Guild? No no no. I've never joined a guild before." The old, bearded man said as he looked back at all the lively action and talking happening between the guildmates. He looked back down at the young teen that sat beside him, "But I was part of a village once. A place I used to lead as its head."

Natsu tilted his head, "Really? What did you guys do at that village?"

"We were ninja."

"NINJA!" Natsu yelled excitedly as his eyes began to sparkle, "THAT'S AWESOME! WHERE IS THIS VILLAGE?! I WANNA SEE IT! I WANNA SEE IT!"

"Hahaha, calm down calm down. My village is very, very far away. So far that we can't possibly ever get back to it by ourselves." Hashirama looked off to the side with a longing expression, "If we could then I would have tried to fix things a long time ago."

Natsu just looked at him in confusion before smiling, "I really wanna go to your village."

Hashirama looked back at him and smiled, "I'd like it if you went there too. Maybe the whole guild could go there on a big trip someday, huh? That'd be fun." He grinned, "I'd like to show the village the kind of camaraderie here at this guild. I'm sure there are a lot of people that would benefit from it."

"Totally! It'd be awesome if we could show people how cool Fairy Tail is!"

The two goofballs laughed between each other before the older man asked, "You really love this guild don't you, Natsu?"

"Of course!" Natsu gave the biggest grin he could...

"This place is my home!"

Natsu panted for air and clenched his teeth before slowly turning around back to Gajeel. He carefully put one foot in front of the other to make sure he didn't fall over before he finally reached the Iron Dragon Slayer. He pulled a fist back and punched Gajeel across the face but he had so little strength left he barely did anything more than move Gajeel's head. He tried again and again and again and again but still couldn't hit hard enough to do anything.

He finally lost his footing and fell forward until he was leaning against Gajeel's shoulder. Lucy cried watching her friend suffer like this and whimpered, "Natsu."

Happy was shedding tears with a little blood trickling from his head from his earlier injury.

Gajeel didn't push Natsu off but looked at the Mage that was resting against him. He furrowed his eyes, "Give up. You've lost. It was admirable but your beaten, just accept it."

Natsu groaned, "Never."

"We're taking the girl back to her dad."

"You won't."

Gajeel felt a vein pulse, "Why the hell won't you just fall?! Your guild is done! You've lost! Fairy Tail has been destroyed!"

Gajeel's scream echoed rough the whole room and everyone watched silently as Natsu finally pushed himself off the metal shoulder...

"Not...not like this..."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow before Natsu looked up at him and shook his head, "Fairy Tail...can't be beaten...by something like this...it never can. So stop trying."

Gajeel mashed his teeth and grabbed Natsu's head, "I'M SICK OF YOUR SHIT, SALAMANDER!"

He turned around and threw Natsu headfirst into the machinery on the other side of the room. The people flinched when Natsu's head audibly broke into the mechanism and revealed the wiring inside. Natsu's body slid down the side and he seemed to stop moving all together. Everyone thought it was over...

*Bzzt*

Until some wiring malfunctioned and a small flame burst from inside the metal.

Natsu's eyes widened with a new life as they instantly shot to the flickering flame. With renewed vigor, he jumped to his feet and sucked up the flame almost instantly. He savored the taste and swallowed it before an idea popped into his head and he punched the inside of the machine as hard as he could. And continued on and on with as many punches as he could.

Everyone watched Natsu punch the machine rapidly like his animosity had shifted to the mechanism and not on Gajeel. Some of the Phantom Mages whispered, "What is that guy doing?"

"I don't know. Does he think he can make the guild fall over if he breaks the machine?"

"YOU IDIOTS!" Gajeel yelled as he ran at Natsu, "HE'S TRYING TO MAKE A FIRE TO RECHARGE HIMSELF!"

"AHHH! STOP HIM!"

They all charged at Natsu but he turned around and spat fire around him, "PISS OFF!"

These flames caused them to shuffle back before Natsu threw one last punch and made the entire machine exploded.

*BOOOOOOOMMMMM*

########Hunter########

The blast and energy from Jose's attack overwhelmed all of their senses for a moment. Like a massive flash bang that robbed them of sight and sound. Gray coughed and lifted himself off the floor while groaning and holding his head. He looked off to the side and saw Elfman composing himself just like he did and then looked further down the room to see Mira moaning and trying to lift herself up. But Erza wasn't anywhere to be seen. Before he could think any more about that, he realized the fight might have just ended and peered over the side, "NARUTO! ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?! SAY SOMETHING MAN!"

The tension and silence were almost palpable as the smoke slowly started to filter out through the large hole in the wall. Jose appeared, facing his opponent directly but with a look of shock and awe over his face. They heard some shuffling and looked aside to see...

Naruto lift himself up off the ground, without any extra severe injury or damage evident from the attack. In fact, he seemed just as surprised as the rest of them that he was still in one piece. Naruto and Jose were both looking at the same spot as the smoke parted...

And revealed a Mage in broken armor, covered in burns and wounds after blocking the worst of Jose's Abyss Break. Erza was struggling to stay on her feet before she let out a pained gasp and fell to her knees, the remains of her Adamantine Armor falling off her body to reveal the black undershirt she wore beneath it. Jose clicked his tongue and looked down at the injured woman, "I can't believe you would willingly throw yourself in front of an attack like that. Even for one of your own guild members."

Mira screamed, "ERZA!"

Gray seethed and roared at Jose, "BASTARD!"

Naruto looked over at the injured woman and a look of surprise covered his face before he shook his head. He glared, "Stupid woman." Naruto spat out as he stood back up while pitying the panting redhead. He continued, "I warned all of you to stay out of my way. I was going to take care of Jose myself but you just had to interfere and now you're nearly half-dead because of it." He looked down at Erza and a conflicted expression came across his face before he looked up at Jose and started marching towards him, "Stay still and get out of my way and you might just survive those injuries."

"Wait!"

Naruto stopped when Erza grabbed his hand and halted his walk. He looked back angrily and tried to pull himself out of her grip, "Let go of me dammit!"

Erza ignored her injuries and looked up at him, "You have to stop! Before it's too late!"

"I said let go!" He swiped his hand out of her grip and caused her to stumble over before turning back around, "I just need to kill Jose and that'll be the end of it. After that I'll leave your guild and be off to take care of the rest of the scum in this world!"

"Don't you dare even try it!" She yelled as she struggled back to her feet and grabbed his shoulder. She pulled him back and got a growl of displeasure from the possessed blond but match it with a resolute glare of her own. She struggled with her injuries but kept a demanding edge in her voice, "Stop this Naruto! You have to come back!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Come back from what? This is who I am!" He argued back and tried to pull her hand off his shoulder but Erza was adamant on not letting go, "I kill! It's what I've always done and I know it! And so do you! So let go of me!"

"Did you two forget who you're dealing with?!" Jose yelled, angered by the fact the two Mages were arguing and treating him like a sideshow. He fired magic and caused them to flinch and dodge back before he prepared a stronger method of attack, "If you two are going to continue your lover's quarrel then I'll take the chance to finish this!"

"Ice Make: Lance!"

Jose looked up and swiped his hand out to destroy the spears of ice that threatened to hit him. Gray and Elfman landed in front of Naruto and Erza, ready to face the Wizard Saint. Elfman's body started to change as he yelled, "We won't let you hurt them anymore, bastard!"

"Take this!" Gray slammed his hands down and made a giant spiked hammer, "Ice Make: Hammer!"

Jose clicked his teeth and leapt back before the hammer landed on his head. He had to continue effortlessly dodging Elfman's swipes and strikes as he took on an annoyed and bored expression.

Naruto looked over and saw Gray and Elfman take over the fight for a moment. He yelled, "God dammit, stop interfering!"

"No! Because you'll get killed if you keep fighting like this!" Erza yelled at him as he kept shirking his arm out of her grip and causing her to fall down. She felt pain spread through her whole body but kept focused on convincing Naruto, "You can't lose to Kurama's influence like this Naruto! You always told me how much you admired and cared about Kurama! I know someone you respect like that couldn't do something like this to you!"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled back at her, "This is what I always was! Before I came to this place! Before Fairy Tail made me weak and docile! I'm a killer! And If you keep getting in my way I'll kill you just like I will Jose!"

"If you were going to do that you would've done it already!" Erza yelled back, getting the berserk Naruto to widened his mismatched eyes. She glared, "Killers don't stand by talking themselves up! They get the job done! You aren't a killer! Or a monster! You never were! And you never became weak since you joined the guild! I know this isn't you! Your eyes and arm changed but I know this isn't the real you! So stop acting like this!"

Naruto clenched his teeth and fists before he threatened to attack, "You little bitch-"

But Erza used the last of her strength to dive into his chest and wrap her arms around him. She yelled, "I know it might be easier facing your enemies like this, but this isn't you anymore! You love Fairy Tail! You understand the value of life! You find strength in being with these people because you have a reason to get stronger for them! And you know this!"

"L-let go of me!"

"You wouldn't submit to being overpowered by something like this! You wouldn't lose to it! You're Naruto Uzumaki! A member of Fairy Tail!"

He mashed his teeth and prepared to strike Erza while she clung to his chest, "ENOUGH!"

"COME BACK NARUTO! PLEASE COME BACK!"

Naruto's fur covered arm lunged down to strike Erza's head but stopped short of contact, making a powerful gust of pressure spread over her hair and head before it settled down. Erza waited for a moment and realized there wasn't any more shuffling or resistance coming from her lover. She looked up and saw Naruto's head ducked down with his eyes covered and out of sight by his messy hair.

She waited with baited breath before asking, "Naruto?"

"NO! No no no no no no no!" The younger version of the whiskered blond yelled angrily as he tried to make his body move but to no avail. He clenched his teeth, "You can't stop me now! Not when I'm so close! It's because you and all of them have been meddling that I haven't been able to finish Jose off yet! Get out of my way!"

Just before he was about to attack the redhead clutching onto his chest, he felt a wave of something strange pass through his body before he could no longer move. He tried to force any movement to show he was still in control, "Dammit! This can't be happening!" He turned aside and watched with shock as the black mass of chakra covering Naruto started to recede back into their conjoined arm. The shorter of the two panicked, "T-that was all of Kurama's hatred and anger devouring you! You can't just push it back like that! It's impossible!"

Naruto clenched his teeth and forced himself out of the confines of the black energy with a struggle. He groaned, "Yeah...and there's a lot of it too! Damn...I-I didn't know this was what Kurama felt like for all those years...even so...if it's just for a little while...I can handle hate like this! Besides..."

Naruto overwhelmed the black mass of power and forced it back into its place around their arms before he narrowed his eyes, "She's calling out. We can't just ignore Erza if she's calling our name. We never could."

The younger boy looked at him in surprise and disbelief before he furiously shook his head. He yelled, "Y-you can't take over! I won't let you! We need to stay like this! It's the only way for us to stay strong!"

"No, it isn't. This is us being scared and influenced by hate." Naruto calmly answered back as he looked at his manic and concerned younger self. He spoke, "That's not us anymore. So stop cowering under that fear and let me go."

"I'm not cowering! We only need Kurama's power to survive, nothing else! We just get weaker when we're concerned about others! Forget that stupid guild! Focus on protecting ourselves!"

Naruto snarled his teeth, "STOP TALKING SHIT!"

"NO!" Dark Naruto screamed out defiantly, losing his breath under the stress and unease he was feeling. He shook his head, "I-I don't wanna get hurt anymore! The Tower! The Wyvern! Just when we have hope, we suffer worse! Every time! At least when we had Kurama it didn't hurt as much! I'm tired of getting hurt like this! I want it to stop!" He was panting and his shoulder was shaking before he glared up at his older self and asked, "Don't you want to stop suffering like this?"

Naruto stared at the younger representation of himself as he closed his eyes and thought back on everything he said. He was right. There were a lot of times when a lot of people suffered, including him. The killings. The war. The Tower. Grimoire Heart. Damnation. Maybe if he was the same as he was back in Konoha, those situation might have ended differently. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt as much. Maybe some people would be better off if he stayed like this.

The pain wouldn't be so bad...

However...

"It's not all just pain anymore."

Dark Naruto looked up at Naruto as he opened his eyes again to show a cheerful, strong glimmer in them. A small, sad smile came over his face, "It hurt a lot when we were kids. It might have been easier if we stayed like this. But we didn't. We changed and moved on from what we were back then." The glimmer of dejection that was on his face was completely overwhelmed with a grin of happiness, "But a lot of great stuff has happened to us since then too." He looked down at the Fairy Tail tattoo on his right bicep, "We reunited with Erza. We joined Fairy Tail. Made friends and family that we won't ever lose. There are still times that it hurts...but I've never been so happy than these past few years. And I don't wanna give that up for anything."

Dark Naruto was silent for a moment before lowering his head, "But I thought we could never get past what we did."

Naruto placed a hand on his head, "We're getting there. It's us so it's taking some time but we'll get there."

"Are they really worth it?"

"Absolutely."

Dark Naruto struggled for a moment before looking up with hesitation in his tinted eyes, "What if we lose them."

Naruto gave a confident smile before answering, "That's why I need to go back. I told you...I'm not gonna give them up for anything."

Dark Naruto closed his mouth and looked down for. He wanted to say something else-

"You don't have to worry anymore. We're not alone. And we don't need to be afraid. Never again." The younger blond looked up and saw Naruto smile, "We're a part of Fairy Tail."

Dark Naruto stood there silently before closing his eyes, a small tear rolling down his cheeks. After a moment, his entire body started to shimmer and glow with a light before disappearing completely. Naruto closed his eyes and took a breath as he felt something well up and vanish inside him. So much of his pent up hatred and anger just felt like it was washing away. He felt better than he had in a long time.

He looked down to see that he could now freely move his left arm again, although it was still covered with the black chakra from Kurama's influence. His eyes followed up to the empty shell sitting beyond the bars, patiently waiting for the time it needed to act.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before speaking up to the body, "I know I need to work things out with you Kurama. You left behind your body and chakra and all I've done is hide you away all these years. I promise...I'll figure out what needs to be done..." He lifted up his left arm and clenched his fist, "But until then I'm gonna need to borrow your power a little bit longer. There's something I need to do right now."

He closed his eyes and focused before disappearing from his inner space completely.

Unbeknownst to the whiskered blond, faint lights were watching from across the sewer as he conquered his inner fears and traveled off to fight. They wanted to say something. To speak up and meet him. But they knew now wasn't the right time. The day would come when they could speak to him directly about how proud they were about what he had become...

But right now he had to finish his fight.

########Hunter########

Erza watched silently as Naruto finally started moving again. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally just snapping it shut. Both arms lowered and wrapped around the redhead against his chest, gently squeezing her in a tight hug. He shook for a moment before resting his head against the top of hers and whispering, "I'm sorry."

Erza's eyes widened before they closed and she let out a mental sigh of relief, glad to hear Naruto's normal voice over that strange altered voice from a moment ago. She let out a small chuckle before looking up, causing him to lift his head off to see her smile, "I'm going to kick your ass for making me worry like that."

Naruto made a small smile in return, glad to be back in control of his body again and to see Erza smile at him after everything that happened. His hair and whiskers were still a little rougher and his eye was still red from Kurama's influx of power but he was back in control. He felt Erza leaning against him and held her shoulders to help steady her back on her feet, "Yeah, I was having a little argument inside my head with a younger, messed up version of myself. But we came to an agreement."

Erza looked at him quietly before a small chuckle came out, "Well I'm used to your brain problems so I'm just happy your you again." She wanted to take another step but she flinched in pain as her injuries flared up again.

Naruto worried and held her up before he looked her over and felt a sense of guilt well up inside him. She had been fighting all this time to protect their guild, even when she was tired and weary. And she protected him from a monstrous blast that he knew could have killed her if she hadn't been using her armor to block it.

His eyes wandered up and he looked out the smoking hole in the wall to see that the guild hall had finally fallen over. He bit the inside of his cheek and was shaking with anger as his grip slightly tightened on Erza's shoulder, alerting her to the state of their guild and the damages they had sustained over this war. He gritted his teeth, "You all...you've been fighting this whole time...and I've just been fucking around while it was happening. I-"

"We don't need you beating yourself up right now. We can't afford to waste time like that." Erza looked up at him with a focused glare and asked, "I know you're hurt...but can you still fight?"

Naruto took his hands off her shoulders and started gripping his fists. He nodded, "I got a little bit left in me."

"Enough to finish the fight?"

"More than enough."

"GAHHHHHH!"

They heard Gray scream as he came flying over and harshly landed in a pile of rubble to the side. A second later, Elfman landed by their feet, letting out a gasp of pain before he started panting with a hitch in his breath. He struggled to lift himself up and cursed, "Bastard."

He felt a hand on his shoulder that helped him up, "Elfman."

The large, white-haired man looked up in shock and saw Naruto calmly try to lift him back up on his feet. His arm still had fur and looked like it came off an animal, and his eye was still red, but they didn't have the same crazed look in them like they did. Elfman relaxed a little before asking, "You're back to normal?"

Naruto nodded, "As normal as I can be I guess."

"That's good." Elfman struggled to his feet and held his ribs, "I was getting worried that we'd have to try and calm you down after we beat this guy."

"That's not a problem anymore." Naruto looked over at the pile of rubble, "Gray, can you hear me?!"

"Yeah yeah, I heard." Gray lifted himself out of the pile of rocks and held the wound leaking blood underneath his hair. He groaned, "As long as you've stopped with the 'psycho-killer' act then we're fine on that part." He looked up and directed their attention to the extremely powerful Mage with the black miasma flowing off his form, "I don't know about you guys but I don't think I can stand against this asshole much longer."

Naruto looked over at Erza, "Is there anyone else still here in the guild?"

"They captured Lucy and have her upstairs." Concern crossed his face before she reassured him, "I sent Natsu up there to get her back."

He relaxed a little, "Good, then we don't need to worry about them. They'll handle it." He looked out the wall and down at the battlefield to see that the others were still holding off Jose's Shades even after all this time. Damn that bastard had a massive reserve of magic. He turned back, "You guys need to get down there and help them out."

They looked between each other before turning to Naruto and asking the question that was hanging in the air, "And...what about you?"

Naruto turned to back to Jose and furrowed his eyes, "I'll finish this."

Gray argued, "Are you kidding? My whole body feels like shit right now and I'm certain I'm doing better than you are!"

"It's fine. I can still finish this." He looked over at Elfman, "You need to grab Mira and get her outside. And all of you need to leave after that too. If I wanna beat him I'm gonna need to give everything I've got with this arm. And I don't think I can hold it back to make sure I don't hurt you guys in the process."

Gray yelled, "Are you fucking crazy?! We need to-"

Erza held her hand up and stopped him entirely, "We need to trust him. We can't do anything more as we are and Naruto might be the only one of us left that can handle Jose." Gray wanted to speak up but he saw the look in Erza's eyes that said his complaints were necessary. She knew the risks and dangers he'd be in facing someone like Jose alone. But she still trusted him enough to handle it. Erza looked up at the platform she came down from and turned to Naruto, "Do you need Kokuryū?"

Naruto thought for a moment before he shook his head, "Nah. I don't think I can use it properly right now, especially against him. Keep a hand on it for me until I'm done."

"Then make sure to kick his ass."

Naruto smiled and started stepping forward while cracking his knuckles, "No problem."

The other Fairies started moving to grab Mira and escape as Jose glared at the blond with pure disdain and anger. The Wizard Saint raised his brow and asked with venom in his voice, "I'm starting to get very tired of this switch up game you all are playing with me. I face your friends, then I face you, then Titania intervenes, then I have to beat your friends around a little more, and then we're back to you. Your little group needs to make up their mind about who wants to get put in the ground first."

"Well don't worry. We're done switching things up." Naruto cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before glaring back, "You'll just have to settle with me."

"Oh I'm not settling at all. In fact, I'm quite happy being able to end this fight with you. You have, without a shadow of a doubt, tried my patience and angered me more than anyone else in you guild." Jose turned and revealed the portion of his ear that was missing, "I'll be paying you back for this a hundred times over by the way."

Naruto flinched and gagged a little at the memories of what his body did while he had lost control of it. This bastard had really pissed him and everyone else off but you had to draw a line at biting part of someone's ear off. Maybe it could be patched back on in the hospital after Naruto was done kicking his ass.

Jose took note of something and inquired, "What happened? You aren't acting like that same beastly self you had just a moment ago? No empty threats? No snarling, psychotic smile? Did something change?"

"Yeah, someone else was in charge for a little while back there but don't worry." Naruto stood firmly, "The real Naruto Uzumaki has arrived to beat you."

"Big talk considering you can barely stand on your own two legs."

Naruto couldn't deny that. Everything was hurting and aching. He played it off with a small grin and chuckle, trying to convey a confidence that said none of it would change the fact he was ending this fight.

"And there's no point in trying to protect your guild now anyway." A condescending smile came over Jose's face, "I've destroyed it. I've won."

Naruto smile fell and he sent a quick look back towards where he had seen the guild lying in disrepair. His face fell and he lowered his head as Jose began to laugh, "Hahahahaha! You all were tougher than I thought you'd be but it doesn't matter! We've won! I got what I wanted! Fairy Tail is no more! Phantom Lord is back to the top guild! Hahahahahaha-"

"This isn't enough to destroy it."

Jose laughter was halted before he looked back at the blond with an unamused glare, "What was that?"

"The full force of a Wizard Saint and Phantom Lord and all you've accomplished is breaking down a worn out building that's stood for over a hundred years. Great job. But nothing you could ever do will be enough to actually break Fairy Tail." Naruto clenched his fist and glared at Jose, "You've destroyed a building. You can't destroy our guild. But if it's any consolation, I loved that place like a home. So in return..."

Naruto raised his fist at Jose, "I'm gonna sending you flying through this stupid mobile guild, you bastard!"

Jose stood silently before a small smirk grew on his face. He held his arms out and left his chest wide opened before he goaded the whiskered blond, "Then come boy. Let's finish this."

They stood across from each other and silently summed their opponent up with a quick look. Their eyes narrowed before Naruto tensed his hand and started gathering a current of wind around it. They waited anxiously for the first move...

"HA!" Naruto jumped to the side and threw his hand out like a whip, sending a blade of wind out across the floor so fast it left a deep trench through the concrete and stone.

But Jose swung his arm and dispelled the attack before it could hit him, "Pathetic!" He responded with an attack of his own as black magic started gathering on his hands and he started firing rapid blasts of magic in Naruto's direction. The injured blond could do nothing else but jump and dodge to avoid further risk of injury.

When he finally had a chance to catch his breath, he saw Jose turned to him and prepare another wave of attacks. Naruto clenched his teeth before chambering his fist at his side. He gathered magic before punching forward, clashing against Jose's magic wave, "Flying Gauntlet!"

With the Wizard Saint's attack blocked, Naruto then gathered Wind and started throwing out a barrage of quick jabs, "Storm Fist!" His attacks of concentrated wind blasted through the dust cloud while Jose leaned and easily evaded the quick attacks. Naruto clicked his tongue before summoning the Fire sword from his Requip and swinging it out as a wave of flames covered every inch of the floor, "Blazing Dragon Tail!"

Jose was undeterred by the wave of fire as he easily leapt high into the air and used the upper walls to support him over his enemy. Naruto looked up and furrowed his eyes before he switched his Fire sword for his Earth sword. He slammed it into the ground and all the rubble and rock surrounding him started to levitate, "Rumbling Earth!" He aimed his sword at Jose and sent the shards of rock flying up towards him, "Take this!"

Jose jumped off the wall and his whole body seemed to blur as he dodge the rocks through midair. He then started falling towards Naruto like a rocket and the blond raised his sword to block the attack. But Jose landed an axe-kick that easily smashed the blade to pieces and followed through to land a devastating blow on Naruto's collarbone.

Naruto's eyes shuddered and his knees shook before he almost stumbled and fell on his ass. Jose kicked up and hit Naruto under his chin before landing a punch in his gut, making blood spew out from between Naruto's clenched teeth. The Wizard Saint spun and knocked Naruto across the floor with a powerful strike before he started following after, "Time to die, Hunter!"

Naruto's eyes shot back open and he flipped over before his bare feet started to skid along the concrete. Jose slowed down to a near halt at Naruto's sudden stop before he saw the air warp and gather around the Fairy Mage's hands. Naruto whipped his hands out on either side of Jose and sent large blasts of wind from his palms, "WRAHHHHHHHH!"

Jose furrowed his eyes at the sudden vigor Naruto had regained and decided he needed to move back. But before he could move he felt the sharp contrast of wind pressure around him and looked through his peripheral to see two walls of wind on either side of him and extending all the way down the floor behind him.

This boy...boxed him in.

Jose felt a horrible pain run through his foot and leg to see that Naruto has slammed his foot down on Jose's foot and pinned him down. Naruto looked back up at the Wizard Saint with fury and pulled his fist back, "This...IS FOR LUCY!"

*THWACK*

His fist dug into the Saint's stomach as Jose's eyes nearly turned white from the pain.

"THIS IS FOR THE HALL!"

*THWACK*

He struck him across the face.

Naruto hands became covered in magic and clenched them into fists. He roared, "AND THIS IS FOR EVERYONE IN FAIRY TAIL! KNIGHTS' CRUSADE!"

Naruto started unleashing a relentless barrage of enhanced punches that knocked Jose back and forth. His fists started to blur and he could barely hear the sound of Jose's pained grunts and the ground crack beneath them. Naruto had his teeth grit before he started yelling as he unleashed the devastating flurry of punches against the Wizard Saint.

This continued for several moments but Naruto's attack finally stopped when Jose grabbed both of his wrists and halted his attack completely. The guild master had bruises and blood all over his face but he could still convey the sheer, unbridled anger Naruto was causing him. Naruto panicked and was able to pull his right arm out of Jose's grip but couldn't act fast enough as Jose used his magic and caused a line of explosions to cover Naruto's entire left arm, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naruto stumbled back, holding his injured arm, before he was kicked in the gut and sent flying into a pile of rubble. He came flying out the other side and landed on the ground just in time to see Jose had already unleashed another magic attack. The Wizard Saint yelled out with anger, "DIE!"

*BOOOOOOM*

########Hunter########

Gajeel covered his eyes from the intense fire and heat coming from the exploding machine that almost engulfed the floor. But before it could reach anyone, the flames started dancing and swirling around a focal point at the center of the explosion. He stood there and narrowed his eyes as he realized what was happening.

Lucy and Happy opened their eyes again and looked up to see the fire was shrinking. It started swirling around like it was being sucked in by a vacuum before a silhouette appeared in the fire. The fire started shrinking before they could spot the figure of their friend in the raging inferno.

They heard one last sucking noise before the flames all but disappeared into Natsu's mouth. After he ate them all, he covered his mouth and forced them in before making a loud gulp that echoed through the room. The smoke and steam coming off his body intensified before he lowered his hand.

The will and fury in Natsu's eyes was relit and increased a hundred fold as he let out a loud burp. He breathed out, "All right, now I'm all fired up again."

Lucy had tears of joy streaming down her face at the sight of her revived friend. Happy leapt into the air and cheered, "NATSU!"

Natsu rolled his shoulders, "Okay Black Steel, I'm well fed and fired up now. Wanna try going for Round 3?"

Gajeel smirked, "Kehehe! You got you spine back! Great! Then we can get back to the beating!" His feet pressed into the cracked tiles before he dashed forward. Natsu didn't make any move as Gajeel smirked widely and pulled his fist back, "GRIT YOU TEETH, SALAMANDER!"

Natsu leaned his head out of the way at the last moment to avoid Gajeel's fist before countering and slamming his blazing fist into the Phantom Mage's nose.

Gajeel was knocked back as Natsu stood over him, breathing heavily through his nose but not losing any intensity in his eyes. Gajeel spit some blood off to the side and flipped back up for a surprise attack. But Natsu spun and slammed the heel of his foot into his opponent's side, "Fire Dragon's Claw!"

Gajeel nearly toppled from the attack as Natsu followed through and sent a punch up into his chin. Gajeel was sent off his feet before Natsu breathed in, "You wanted to hear me roar, right?! Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Gajeel screamed as he was engulfed by the blazing flames of Natsu's roar. The other Phantom Mages finally realized how bad the situation was as they retreated and desperately ran for safety. Gajeel was still hanging in the air and gasped with pain before moaning out, "H-how did you get this much strength-"

"I got it back because it's been building up since you guys wrecked my guild! Attacking my friends! Hurting Jii-chan! Trying to kill all of us! Capturing Lucy! It's been building up all this time that I couldn't use it properly! But now I'm all fired up and ready to show you the mistakes you made!" Natsu's whole body became engulfed with flames as his eyes turned white, "THE MISTAKE OF FUCKING WITH FAIRY TAIL!"

Gajeel grit his teeth and attempted to make one last swipe at Natsu, "DAMN YOU!"

"CRIMSON LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON'S FIST!"

Natsu's hands blurred into a flurry of red fists that impacted and exploded over Gajeel's entire body. The Iron Dragon Slayer's entire body was rocked by the blows before the metal surrounding his body began to crack and shatter. The scales fell and the punches riddled Gajeel's entire body without guard as the ferocity vanished from his eyes to be replaced by unconsciousness. After a few more moments Gajeel fell to the ground but Natsu kept attacking to room with a rapid barrage, "WRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Lucy and Happy felt the ground beneath them break as Natsu destroyed the room. They tried calling out to him but Natsu was only focused on destroying the ground he stood on. Happy felt the room fall apart and flew up as he grabbed Lucy's back, "Lucy, we gotta go!"

Lucy was lifted off her feet as they headed to the hole in the falling wall, "W-what about Natsu?!"

"We have to trust him! C'mon!"

Lucy looked back at Natsu's furious punches and powerful yell before they evacuated the falling guild.

########Hunter########

Jose stared at the smoke cloud that he believed to cover the beaten, motionless corpse of Naruto Uzumaki. He could no longer sense any flaring presence or magic from his enemy but stayed standing for any following attack. He could not underestimate his opponent any longer.

Just as he stood there waiting, he felt the floor beneath him shake and rumble as a cloud of dust and pebbles fell from high over his head. He looked up and saw the ceiling far over him start to crack and crumble from some powerful attack from the other side.

That's where Gajeel was holding the Heartfilia heiress.

Was he not finished with his battle yet?

Jose sent one last look at the ground before looking up and jumping to the next floor. He kept leaping from foothold to foothold as he made his way to the top floor to finish the Fairies assau-

"JOSE!"

Jose's eyes widened in shock before he looked down and felt like his veins we're going to pop from anger.

Standing in the middle of the floor beneath him, with the smoke and dust whirling around him like a powerful tornado, was the whiskered Fairy with Wind gathering in his hand. Naruto spat out, "Are you trying to run?!"

Jose clenched his teeth so tightly that blood started to form in his gums. He yelled with spittle coming off with his words, "HOW?! HOW CAN YOU STILL BE STANDING?!"

'Thank you, Kurama.' Naruto mentally thanked his guardian beast for the extra durability and strength granted by the Bijū's chakra. He bent his knees, ignoring the fatigue and pain running through his body as he stifled a groan, 'Just a little longer! Please hold out a little longer!'

Jose raised a hand up and gathered the last of his monstrous magic reserves into his Darkness magic. He roared and threw down his hand, "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?! DEAD WAVE!"

"STORM STEP!"

Naruto launched himself up at sonic speed towards the blast of magic that came flying from overhead. He braced himself and barreled into the wave of magic, gritting his teeth and trying to force his way against the powerful attack. It seemed like he was about to fall but he let out a final roar and forced himself against the attack until finally it warped around him and dissipated. Jose slowly fell to the ground and Naruto lost his momentum as he fell as well. But the Fairy Mage looked back up with resolve and blasted off the Wind with his feet, "VOID STORM STEP!"

Naruto went flying at Jose as he panicked and tried to protect himself but to no avail. Naruto yelled and pulled his fist back as the vortex raged around it, "I WON'T DIE AGAINST SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"

Jose screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

"GRAND MAELSTROM CHARGE!"

Naruto's fist landed in the center of Jose's face and a stagnant silence fell to their ears. Before the wind swirled around them and Jose was blasted at breakneck speeds upwards and through the ceiling above them. Jose was blasted through the ceiling, sent flying through a number of upper levels, and barreled through the top level before flying up over the mobile guild. The Wizard Saint flew high over his guild, unconscious and defeated as the Phantom Lord mobile guild started to fall over into rubble.

Phantom Lord fell to ruin just as the war had turned Fairy Tail to rubble.

Destruction onto destruction.

Naruto fell from midair, all strength and vigor that once filled his body sapped by exhaustion and fatigue. He fell with the massive guild crumbling around him. But even in the dire circumstance, a proud grin came across the blond's face.

He chuckled, "See? I told ya I'd send you flying."

########Hunter########

The Shades finally dissipated and the Fairies looked around in surprise. They heard something shatter behind them and looked back to see the Phantom guild fall on its foundation. They looked up and saw something flying up through the top of the guild's head.

"W-who is that?"

"The guild is falling!"

"The Shades stopped!"

"Aren't they a part of Jose's magic!"

"I-if they disappeared-"

"Then that has to be Jose!"

They watched the figure fall back to the ground and slam into the shallow edge of the beach reaching the water. They saw Jose's beaten, bloody, and unconscious form and felt something well up inside them.

"T-they beat him!"

"Jose lost!"

"T-that means..."

The Fairies all started to look between each other before they smiled with glee. They jumped and cheered-

"WE WON!"

They all cheered, hugged, and embraced each other after the long, arduous conflict had finally ended in victory. Mira fell to her knees and nearly whimpered as joy filled her voice, "Thank goodness."

Gray and Elfman sighed before looking to each other and bumping fists.

Erza looked over at the defeated Jose before looking up at the broken guild. A smile came across her face as relief filled her heart. She let out a small chuckle...

"I knew you could do it."

########Hunter########

"Owwwwwwwwwww~." Naruto moaned painfully as he laid in an uncomfortable position on the ground, resting on his shoulders with his legs hanging lamely over his head. He tried to move and flinched, "OW! Ow! Pain! So much pain! Really hurting! And the shittiest place to get stuck in."

He looked around at the debris and rocks that surrounded him on all sides. He was surrounded by rubble. He couldn't feel his arms and legs. And everything hurt.

Naruto's nose flinched and he sighed, "My nose itches."

He heard some rumbling as the stones around him settled. He jerked up but realized it wouldn't do much good considering he couldn't move. The whiskered man could only lay there in wait as he heard some footsteps slowly start to approach from his side. He waited anxiously for whatever would show itself...

But was met with a ragged mop of pink hair popping up over a large stone, "Dammit, that hurt." Natsu rubbed the back of his head before kicking a small rock over in annoyance, "Stupid, dumb guild. Glad I broke you down."

"Natsu?"

Natsu perked up and looked over to see his friend lying awkwardly on the ground in the middle of the remains of the guild. He smiled, "Naruto! Hey, you're okay after that big magic blast hit you?! Wait, what are you doing here? And...why are you bent over like that?"

"It's not on purpose you idiot! I can't move!" Naruto yelled back at Natsu with a tick forming at the top of his head. He sighed, "I'm hurt and I can't move anymore. So you wanna help me up or just stand there watching?"

Natsu stood there silently before crossing his arms stubbornly, "Didn't even say please."

Naruto sighed, doing his best to stop from yelling in anger before asking calmly, "Natsu, please help me up."

"Okay." Natsu reached down and with a huff lifted Naruto onto his butt before resting him against a large rock. After the effort Natsu let out a long breath and took a seat besides his injured friend, "I feel a little lightheaded."

Naruto looked Natsu over and saw the numerous injuries that littered his body. He nodded, "I bet. You're covered with bruises and blood. What the hell were you doing up there exactly?"

"You too! You look like a gang of four-wheelers ran you over and parked on top of you! What were you doing here anyway?! Weren't you blasted unconscious by that Jupiter thing earlier?"

Naruto shrugged a shoulder, "I got better. Then I had to come back here and bust up this stupid guild for causing all this shit in the first place."

"Like hell you were!" Natsu yelled indignantly before pounding his chest, "I broke this place down! Stop trying to take the credit, jackass!"

Naruto glared at his friend, "Do you see these empty floors? I was the one who broke them! I don't know what little fit you were throwing upstairs but I was the one who brought it down."

"I blew up the head! And crashed the rest of it afterwards! This was my win!" Natsu crossed his arms, "And I was handling that other stupid Dragon Slayer the whole time."

Naruto scoffed, "Whatever. I fought a Wizard Saint. That totally wins."

Natsu's eyes widened, "Holy crap! Seriously! You fought one of those guys that Jii-chan hangs out with!"

"That's right!" Naruto answered with a smug smile and pride filling his chest. He laughed, "Wasn't so hard! I bet I could handle a few more of those guys right now if I wanted!"

Natsu just gave him a flat and dry stare in return. The pink-haired man grabbed his shoulder and slowly started to push him over. Naruto panicked, "Don't don't don't don't don't don't don't don't!" He was let back down and he sighed in relief, "Jerk."

"You two are weirdly comfortable considering you're in an enemy guild."

The two Fairies flinched and looked to the side to see Gajeel climb out of a pile of debris with his shirt burnt off. Natsu jumped up to his feet and pointed at him, "How are you still moving, I hit you with everything I had?! And what are you still doing here anyway?!"

"I just said...you're the ones in our guild." Gajeel groaned as he sat on a rock to make sure he didn't strain his injuries. He rubbed the back of his neck to calm the pain, "And I'm still moving cause I can take a beating. But...considering the state the guild's in and how our guys are beaten, I guess you win." He looked up and over at the blond resting against the rock, "Were you the one who beat Master Jose?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. I mean I didn't do it alone but pretty much, yeah."

"Well good for you I guess. That ain't an easy feat for anybody to achieve, even if they had help. Of course there are a few things I think could have helped you in that match. Like for example..." Gajeel paled a little and pointed to his side, "What the fuck is with your arm?"

Natsu blinked before looking back and freaking out at the sight of Naruto's arm. He pointed, "Naruto, what the hell happened?! Can you just switch out your arms or something?! And why did you switch from the metal cover to the furry edition?!"

Naruto yelled angrily, "My arms aren't interchangeable, dumbass! This was what was underneath the metal all these years!" Naruto looked down at his arms and slowly reached up to rub his hand through the orange fur, "The last blessing from Kurama, I guess. I told you I had a demon inside me."

Natsu was still shocked by the surprising revelation as Gajeel blinked his wide eyes in confusion. He raised an eyebrow, "How the hell does a guy get raised with a demon in him?"

Naruto scoffed, "That's rich, considering I'm right in front of two guys that say they were raised by dragons."

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders, "Meh, that's fair."

"Hey, that reminds me!" Natsu turned to Gajeel, "You were raised by a dragon, right? Was it a red dragon named Igneel or-"

"No." Gajeel interrupted with a point as this seemed like a sore subject for him. He rested his cheek in his hand and looked off to the side, "My dragon was silver and named Metalicana. I don't know about any other dragons so don't ask."

Natsu seemed to deflate a little at the fact he didn't learn anything new about his father's location. Naruto looked up at his friend with empathy, knowing just how badly Natsu wanted to find Igneel. The Fairy Mage shook his head before asking, "Then let me ask you this instead. Did your dragon leave on July 7th, 777?"

Gajeel looked up at him, interest piqued at the mention of the specific date he had been abandoned by his mentor. He nodded, "Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Because it was the same day as me." Natsu looked back over at Gajeel, "I tried thinking about all the stuff that might be important when Igneel vanished and that was the only thing that I thought was really weird."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I heard from some other Dragon Slayers that their dragons disappeared just like yours. I don't know about the date but it's definitely weird. And what's with all the sevens?"

"Oh! That's right! One more thing!" Natsu pointed at Naruto and inquired, "You said the other Dragon Slayers you met had cats, right?!"

"Um...yeah. Why?"

Natsu smiled patronizingly at Gajeel and crossed his arms, "Told ya."

Gajeel shook his head, "You are some really annoying pricks, you know that?" He pushed himself up and put his hands in his pockets before he started walking away up a pile of rubble, "Fuck it. Who cares anymore. Just get out of our rubble and go home. Ours guilds are probably gonna be disbanded after this crazy war so I won't be seeing you ever again. Oh well, I don't care anymore."

"Hey Gajeel!"

The Phantom Mage stopped and looked back to see Natsu looking up at him. Natsu smiled, "You're a dick but maybe I can kick your ass again some day soon!"

...

Gajeel turned around, "Fuck off."

The Iron Dragon Slayer left the two Fairy Mages alone in the broken guild. Naruto groaned sarcastically, "Well he seems nice."

"Not really." Natsu walked over to Naruto and bent down to wrap one of his arms over his shoulder. With a huff the two injured men went to their feet with Natsu supporting Naruto. The younger man asked, "Ready to head home?"

########Hunter########

The Fairies all waited quietly as they stared at the pile of rock and machinery that was the Phantom Lord guild. The sun started to set around them as a color of orange and red started to fill the sky in waiting for any sign of their friends.

They all watched a large rock fall over and splash into the water...

"Ow! Did I really need to be the one to kick it?"

"You had a better angle. I could have done it but I needed to drop you-"

"Stop talking! Just walk."

Natsu and Naruto finally walked into sight of everyone else as they walked over the large rock and back onto the beach. The two men looked up and saw everyone looking at them. They were silent before they both grinned, "We won(x2)."

"YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And they all burst out into a fit of cheers and congratulations from the fight. Erza pushed her way through the crowd and ran over to Naruto's side as he lost the strength in his legs and need to sit on the ground. He was panting a little before he looked over at the small, relieved smile on Erza's face at seeing him alive. He chuckled and gave a weak smile, "Okay...so it was just enough to win."

She shook her head before giving him a small peck on the lips and hugging him tightly, ignoring the slight hiss of pain he let out before he relaxed and returned her embrace.

"NATSU!"

Happy barreled into Natsu's chest and caused him to stumble back before he looked down to see the blubbering cat in his stomach. Happy sobbed, "I-I WAZ ZO WEERIED!"

Natsu grinned, "Why? I totally had it." He looked up and saw Gray, Lisanna, and the others surrounding him. Gray reached out and offered his hand that Natsu eagerly accepted and lifted back to his feet. The two men nodded to each other and bumped fists. He felt someone nearly tackle him over and looked down to see Lisanna hugging him tightly after seeing him covered in bruises and blood. He smiled and patted her head to reassure his friend that he was still okay.

"Guys."

Lucy garnered most of their attention despite her voice coming out as nothing more than a whisper. Mirajane saw the bruise on her friend's cheek and came running over to her, "Lucy, are you all right?! You weren't too hurt badly were you?"

Lucy tried to stop Mira's dotting over her condition, "I-I'm fine Mira-San. It's nothing severe."

Mira's face fell as she looked at the younger girl with guilt, "I'm sorry for knocking you out Lucy. I thought we could hide you and protect you better if we moved you away from the fight. But you and Reedus were injured because of my idea and-"

"No!" Lucy yelled, interrupting Mirajane and getting everyone to look in her direction. Lucy's shoulders and head fell and started to shake as her voice wavered, "E-everything...all of this started because I ran away from home. And because I couldn't face my family, you all were hurt in the process. I...I'm sorry."

They were silent before Gray shook his head, "Lucy, you don't have to apologize for anything."

"Yes I do! It's my fault this all happened!"

Erza spoke sternly, "Lucy, don't ever say that.,

"But it's true!" Lucy grabbed her arm tightly and looked back at the heap of wood that was their guild. She hung her head, "B-because of me...the guild...a-all of you were-"

"It's just a building."

Everyone was shocked by the old voice that joined in their talk and looked behind Lucy to see Makarov back to health with Koyuki holding his hand and Porlyusica following behind. Makarov let go of Koyuki's hand and the little Senju went running over and hugged her older siblings happily.

The old guild master had a small smile on his face before looking back to his children, "I told you all that when this silly business started, remember? This hall is our home...a place we can come to in times of trouble and worry...but it was just a home. Our guild...Fairy Tail...its us." Makarov looked up at the destroy Phantom Lord guild, "Phantom Lord thought it could break us down by destroying this building and breaking our spirit. But we have built our bonds and spirits so tightly that our name and what we trust in can never be broken so easily. No matter what we face, Fairy Tail and the family it has formed will weather all storms. Especially ones that think they can tears us apart."

He turned back to his followers and smiled, "That what it means to be in this family. We're just about ready to face hell and hounds for our friends."

Lucy was shocked by those words and shut her mouth. She struggled for a moment, "B-but they were hurt-"

"Who was hurt Lu-chan?"

Lucy perked up and looked to see Levy walk over with Reedus, Jet, and Droy following behind. They all had bandages or bruises on them but what was most noticeable were the smiles on their faces. Levy patted her own arm and grinned at her friend, "Are you talking about these little things? We get scratches worse than this all the time."

"Yeah, no worries here!"

"See? We're movin' already!"

"Oui."

Lucy felt her eyes start to water, "L-Levy-chan-"

"See Lucy...this is what it means to be in Fairy Tail." The blonde Mage looked down at her master as he grinned, "We're a family that sticks together through and through...so don't go blaming yourself whenever we start fighting for our family."

Lucy was absolutely silent as their heartfelt words started to sink in. She tried to say something else...to say thank you...to say sorry...but all that came out was-

"Waaaaahhhhhhhhhh~!"

Lucy started crying, her tears a mix of sadness, joy, and relief that this war was finally over and the people she loved didn't hate her for it. She tried to stifle her sobs but continued crying as Levy and Mira came from the sides and hugged her. Everyone started sitting down and catching their breaths as the sun continued to set in the sky.

Porlyusica stood behind silently and looked down to see Makarov smile as his kids celebrated despite the obvious injuries and beating they obtained. If she was actually going to take care of all of their injuries, she had her work cut out for her.

But first...

"Fluffy~." Koyuki cheered as she ran her hands over the orange fur covering Naruto's left arm. She kept playing with it before looking up at her big brother and sister, "Your arm's all fluffy now Onii-chan!"

"C'mon Koyuki, stop playing with it." Naruto said as he gently pulled her hand off his arm before looking it over. He sighed before turning towards Erza, "How much do you think people will stare when they see this?"

"Quite a bit, at least at first."

"Well...that'll be fun." Naruto said unenthusiastically before he saw someone walk up to them. He looked up and saw Porlyusica standing over the three of them with a silent, stern look on her face. Naruto gave her a smile, "Hey Baa-chan, thanks for looking after Koyuki while we were doing all of this. I guess I owe you a whole lot after this, huh?"

The pink-haired woman didn't answer him as she just looked down at his arm and silently thought. She was quiet for a few more moments before speaking, "Can you walk?"

"Um..." He felt his legs and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe...if I take it a little slow."

Erza started standing up, "I can help you if you need."

Naruto shook his head, "You're injured."

"And you're just as bad. At least I can walk." Before he could retort, Erza asked the medical advisor, "Where do you want to go?"

"To my home. I have what we need there. Are you sure you can help him walk with your injuries?" The redhead nodded firmly and Porlyusica decided that was enough for her to believe. She knew how tough the armor-clad girl could be. She looked down at Koyuki, "Young one, I need you to stay here with Makarov and the others. Don't follow, understand?"

Koyuki looked at her curiously, sad that she only got to see her brother and sister again for a few minutes before nodding her head, "Yes ma'am."

"Good." She turned around, "Let's hurry."

########Hunter########

When they finally reached the tree home on the outskirts of town, Erza and Naruto carefully walked in through the center room. Erza asked, "Where should he sit?"

"Sit on the bed. I need to prepare something." The older woman went off to the side and opened a large closet that held many chemicals, herbs, and other assorted things.

Erza sat Naruto down on the bed and the blond looked around at the tree home he was so familiar with after years of visitations. He asked while they waited, "Is Jiji okay to be moving around so soon?"

"He's fine. The old fool already has all the magic he lost returned to him."

The two Mages perked up and the redhead asked, "How is that possible? Did you discover a way to speed up the recovery process?"

"Nope. All his lost magic was gathered together and returned to him." Porlyusica picked up a large scroll and separate sheets of papers before walking over to her workplace, "That fellow Mystogan retrieved his magic and returned it to him."

Erza and Naruto both looked surprised at that information, "Mystogan(x2)?!"

"Yes. Turns out he had the spare time to do that after he had finished up attacking all of Phantom Lord's sub-bases." Porlyusica looked back, "That lad is surprisingly tough, though you would never guess it just from looking at him. Your little sister also seemed to enjoy his company before he left."

Naruto was silent before a small chuckle came out. He smiled and shook his head, "And here I thought he didn't hear our call."

Erza let out a sigh of relief, "I'm glad to know we could trust him when we really needed to."

Porlyusica started drawing and writing something from the scroll onto the pieces of paper and started tying them around a bandage. When she was finished she had a long white bandage covered with runes and characters that seemed oddly familiar to the two younger adults. She walked over to the bed, "Can you still use that strange energy ability of yours? The one that's not your magic."

Naruto tilted his head, "My...chakra?" She nodded and he agreed, "Yeah. I don't have a lot left but there's still some."

"All right." She started wrapping it around his left arm and it was silent in the room as she continued her task. She finished and the strange wrapping covered his arm just like the Reformation Metal did once before. She nodded her head and stepped back besides Erza before leaning to her ear, "I hope you aren't too injured. Because I'll need your help to hold him down." Before Erza could ask what she meant she turned back to Naruto, "Use your power and touch the paper...and be ready because it's going to be uncomfortable."

Naruto blinked and was befuddled by her demand but knew that whatever she was doing was probably helpful in the end. He slowly reach up and touched the paper over his shoulder with his chakra over his palm. He watched the paper start to light up red before-

"GRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled through grit teeth as he fell over in the bed and started thrashing around.

Erza was shocked and Porlyusica went to the bed. She held down his bandaged arm and chest, "Quickly! Hold his legs! He shouldn't move around to much!"

Erza went to her side and held Naruto's legs before yelling, "What's happening to him?! What did you do?!"

"You'll have to see! Just focus on holding him down!"

Naruto's back arched and he felt like his whole body started to burn and twist. He thought it was just pain striking through his body but realized those were just from his injuries. The sensation he was feeling was like the flesh and bones in his arms were being ground to dust before being reformed back into place. He yelled, "-AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He finally felt the sensations end and he fell flat on the bed, panting with sweat dripping from his face. He wiped his face and covered his eyes before moaning painfully, "B-Baa-chan, what the fuck was that?!"

Porlyusica sighed and reached down to pull the wrappings off Naruto's arm, "Something I never thought I would get the chance to use."

Erza came to Naruto's side and held his shoulder as his hand held hers in return. She asked while lifting him up into a sitting position, "Naruto, are you all right? What happened?"

He shook his head and looked at her, "It felt like a fire was spreading in my body and then ice came and took its place. Fuck, that was weird." He was lightly panting before he looked up and saw the disbelief in Erza's face. He asked, "What? What is it?"

Erza shook her head and couldn't find the words so she looked around. She found a metal plate and grabbed it before holding it in front of Naruto so he could see his reflection.

One brown eye...and one blue.

The whiskered man stared at his reflection in shock before the old woman finished her work at his side and he looked down. His mind went blank at the sight...

His left arm had pink flesh and no fur.

Erza and Naruto both looked at his left arm and saw that it was no longer under Kurama's influence or covered by a metal coating. It was somewhat pale and less defined compared to his left arm with a noticeably large but faded scar around the shoulder but...his right arm was normal again.

"It was that old Hashirama."

They looked over at the old woman as she threw away the bandages and showed them the scroll on her desk, "A few years ago he came up to my house and told me about the situation with your left arm. That Kurama fellow has a very powerful and influential energy resting in your body, and you were too young at the time to harness and control it correctly. When you tried, it attempted to take you over and the pure form of its power started to recreate and figure the arm on your side. Luckily Rob stopped it with his sealing but if that seal ever broke, it would try to retake you again. Even if you didn't feel any of the lingering side-effects then, they were going to come again."

"S-so he planned for this?"

"He said if the day ever came when that metal came off of you, you would need a way to win your arm back and take control. So he left me a scroll about the best way to reseal the power trying to corrupt you. It controlled and extinguished the evil power corrupting you, and your body would turn back to normal." Porlyusica gave a small, sad smile while looking at the scroll, "All these years after his passing and he still gets to pass on his blessing."

Naruto was still in disbelief, "S-so this arm-"

"Is yours again. Congratulations."

Naruto looked over his arm before he closed his eyes and reappeared in his inner mind. The energy connecting his arm to Kurama had disappeared and his arm had returned to normal even in there. There was a lot to consider about this moment. He didn't have the enhanced strength of Kurama's influence anymore. But if he had kept his arm like that, then that powerful hatred might attempt to corrupt him again...

But right now...all that was really going through his mind was...

Erza looked down and saw Naruto was completely silent from the revelation that his arm was back to normal. She asked, "Naruto...are you okay?"

"..."

"Please...you have to say-"

She was left silent as she felt his left hand reach up and run through her scarlet hair. It gently caressed it before touching her cheek and staying their for a moment, letting her feel the new warmth and blood flowing through his hand and saw the happy relief covering his face. Naruto smiled and chuckled...

"It's real."

Naruto fell back in the bed and passed out.

"Naruto!"

"He's fine." The older woman reassured while wiping her hands, "He's just exhausted from all the fighting and injuries. Plus I'm sure the feeling of your arm being reformed and reshaped had to be draining for just about anybody." She walked over and patted the girl's shoulder, "I'll let him rest and tend to his injuries while he does. Until then come over here and I'll look over yours as well. You're just as bad off as the rest of them."

Erza was silent but gently patted the hand on her shoulder in appreciation. Porlyusica asked, "What's wrong?"

Erza looked up at her, a small tear forming in her eyes with a content smile before she looked back at the peaceful, sleeping form of her lover. She gently held his left hand in hers and rolled her fingers over it as she laughed.

"This is the most peaceful I've seen him sleep in years."

Porlyusica gave a faint smile, "Well, for all that crap he does and endures sometimes...he deserves a little reward for once."

########Hunter########

Done

Imagine me kneeling. Now imagine me slamming my head into the ground. Followed up with me yelling-

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD TAKE THIS LONG! I'M SORRY!"

I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this took so fucking long to come out! I can't think of the proper excuse! Life! That's the only I thing I got to say that might be enough! Life grabbed me by the balls and wouldn't let go like the fucking cruel mistress it is!

I'm sorry!

Ughhhhhhh...

...

I have no right to talk casually to you guys about shit right now. I'll earn that right back after more updating.

I'm just gonna try getting back to more writing.

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Thank You and Bye