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Living Shadow
Ever since its founding, Fairy Tail has had a mysterious protector who works in the shadows and never reveals his face. Only the guild master knows his true identity. But when things begin to snowball downhill, beginning with Phantom Lord's attack, it's time for the legendary guardian to step into the limelight. AU, Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover.
Chapter Three – Hear the Fairies Roar
Year X784
"N!"
He had faced down three megalomaniacs hell-bent on enslaving the world, and won.
"Fight it, N!"
He had suffered through the agony of having the Kyuubi ripped away from him, and survived.
"Hang in there, N!"
He had stared down the fiery, gaping maws of dragons, and prevailed.
"Don't you dare give up, N! I'll kick your ass if you do!"
He had gone toe-to-toe against the darkest, most malevolent mage to exist in Earthland, and lived.
"Raaaaah!"
Compared to all the shit he had gone through in the entirety of his 934 years in existence, this puny beam felt like a hotter, but weaker version of one of Tsunade-baachan's affectionate finger flicks. Compared to all the fighting, the battles, the pain, the deaths, the blood, sweat, and tears he had shed – this… was… NOTHING!
The golden chakra cloak he wore around his body expanded according to his will, forming thin, crisscrossing strands that anchored him to the sandy ground. A pair of thick chakra arms bloomed out of his back, humming gleefully as if they were sentient. N directed them to clamp onto the sides of the Jupiter blast, grunting as he fought to keep himself steady. The blast sizzled angrily, its tiny discharges zipping across his exposed skin.
He felt a pair of armored hands press firmly against his back. "I don't know who you are, but you seem to be giving your all to protect our guild," the person behind him murmured in a low voice. "That's good enough for me. Fairy Tail will help you, too." N guessed that she was probably the red-haired woman who he had pushed aside earlier. At least she was willing to help him instead of bashing his head in, like he imagined his old pink-haired teammate would have done.
Mere moments later, Makarov's voice rang out, seeming to resonate with every mage on the beach, "Go, Fairy Tail wizards! Show them what we are made of! Show them that we are not afraid! Show them that we will fight for our comrades down to our very last breath! Because we are… FAIRY TAIL!" A deafening cheer rose up behind N, all of the Fairy Tail mages' voices uniting into a single, defiant cry. They surged forward to support him, each of them linking together to push against the Jupiter blast. Surrounded by their friends – their family – Fairy Tail faced down Jupiter as one, indivisible entity.
N smiled under his mask. Are you watching, Mavis-chan? Look at what Fairy Tail has become…
"Thank you for your support, Fairy Tail mages," he said, his voice rising above the din the guild members were making. "But I can handle it from here. Save your strength for the real battles." He sent out a light pulse of chakra that pushed them away from him. The ones caught off-guard fell into the sand in a pile of flailing limbs, yelping.
"What the hell was that for, N?!" Natsu yelled as he sat up, spitting sand out of his mouth. "I'm so gonna kick your ass later!"
N tuned him out and took a deep breath, concentrating all his attention on getting rid of the Jupiter blast that threatened to demolish the guild. "Secret Shinobi Art: Grand Galaxy Slicer!" he thundered, shooting out more threads from his chakra cloak. While his chakra arms compressed and twisted the energy beam, the individual strands weaved around it, shredding the whole beam as if it was nothing more than paper. The small light particles twinkled in the sunlight, giving off the illusion that they were tiny falling stars raining down from the heavens. In a matter of seconds, the Jupiter blast was completely decimated, its remaining fragments vanishing with the wind.
N exhaled slowly, straightening back up. His golden chakra cloak faded away, having fulfilled its purpose. There, that was one problem taken care of. He turned around to give Makarov a thumbs-up.
There was complete and utter silence as all the members of Fairy Tail stared at N, slack-jawed. N sweatdropped. Did he go overboard with his display of power? He looked at Natsu, who had sparkles in his eyes.
"That was so cool!" the Fire Dragon Slayer gushed, breaking everyone out of their momentary funk. "I definitely want to fight you when this is over! Ahhh, I'm all fired up now!"
N chuckled at his enthusiasm. He was about to tell Natsu 'no' when, with an ominously loud crack, his mask split right down the middle. With a sense of doomed finality, a network of spider web cracks spread all across the mask, shattering it.
N teleported out of sight before anyone could catch a glimpse of his true face. He reappeared on the guild's roof, summoning a spare mask from the seals on his left arm to replace the one that just broke. That was a close call. I could've fooled them with a Transformation Jutsu, but I think it will be more beneficial at the moment if they don't see my face at all. Judging by the events that are being set into motion, something big is going to happen very soon, he thought, looking at the Phantom Lord guild in the distance. That Jupiter blast didn't compare to a full-strength Tailed Beast Ball, but it spelled big trouble for the Fairy Tail mages. Something with that much magical power was nothing to sniff at, although gathering enough energy needed to fire a full-power blast would definitely take some time. He'd say ten minutes at the very least. Considering they had just fired, they would need to recharge its power source. Now would be the best time for Fairy Tail to begin its counterattack.
He summoned a clone to inform Makarov to take action while they still had the chance. He'd sit out of the fight for now. Makarov still had the tri-prong kunai with him, so if they really needed his help, he'd go. But as he had told Natsu before, he was Fairy Tail's guardian, not its babysitter. Those brats could handle things themselves – they didn't need him to hold their hands for them. That wasn't his job. Besides, he had already taken one of Phantom Lord's major players out of action for them. Gajeel Redfox wasn't going to be released from his prison any time soon.
N made himself comfortable on the roof to watch the action unfold. If Phantom Lord decided to fire Jupiter again, he'd be right there waiting for it. Phantom Lord wouldn't lay a single finger on his guild if he had anything to say about it. He had told Mavis that Fairy Tail was in good hands, and it was going to stay that way.
The blonde summoned the scroll containing Gajeel from the seal on his arm. He wasn't going to let the man go after all his work capturing and interrogating him, but he wondered what would happen if he stuck Gajeel back into the game. Even in his current condition, the Iron Dragon Slayer would put up a good fight against Natsu. The Fire Dragon Slayer would toughen up by beating the shit out of his opponent, reaffirming Fairy Tail's strength compared to Phantom Lord's, and form a special camaraderie with him that N could only expect between two Dragon Slayers.
On the other hand, if he withheld Gajeel from the battle, Phantom Lord would have one less power player on their field, thus tipping the advantage to Fairy Tail's side. Natsu would get to fight a different opponent, kick their ass, and grow stronger that way, but he wouldn't be able to forge the kind of Dragon Slayer kinship bond with Gajeel that would come out of two dominant males beating the crap out of each other. Perhaps he could introduce the two of them after the guild war was over. It would be too much to hope for them to get along, but at least they would know that the other existed.
N's thoughts were interrupted when a loud, sinister voice echoed in the air around them, "I don't know how you destroyed my Jupiter blast, but you Fairy Tail pests have been a thorn in my side for far too long. Give me Lucy Heartfilia or I will launch a stronger Jupiter blast at your pathetic guild. Your petty parlor tricks will not save you this time."
N's eyes narrowed. How dare the guild master of Phantom Lord call his beautiful shinobi technique a 'petty parlor trick'! He'd let it slide for now – insults were like water without any force behind them – but if any of the Fairy Tail members ended up hurt… he'd make sure the asshole regretted ever being born. That was an Uzumaki Naruto-grade promise. He resealed the scroll and stood up.
"Jose…" Makarov growled below. "Don't think you can scare us into submission with a paltry threat like that. We have defeated your Jupiter cannon, and it wasn't done using parlor tricks. No matter what happens, we refuse to betray our comrades. That is the way of Fairy Tail!" N watched as Makarov's hand shot up, his index finger pointing up and his thumb pointing sideways in a distinctly L-like shape. The Fairy Tail members followed suit, roaring their agreement to the high heavens. N wasn't sure what that gesture was supposed to symbolize, but apparently it had been made into a Fairy Tail tradition. He grinned. It was good to see things changing through the years. It would've been boring if Fairy Tail had stayed the same.
N decided to dispel his clone after Makarov's announcement. He felt the familiar rush of memories as they poured into his mind, and he carefully reviewed them. After hearing N's urge to take action from his clone, Makarov had carefully selected the strongest four mages among the group on the beach to invade the Phantom Lord guild and destroy the Jupiter cannon. Makarov would accompany them so he could confront Jose personally. The remaining mages would stay behind to defend the guild and keep Lucy out of Phantom Lord's greedy hands. Should the enemy guild fire another Jupiter blast before they could destroy its power source, Makarov had informed them to just leave the task of destroying it to N, since the Jupiter blast was likely strong enough to injure even someone of Erza's caliber.
Erza… that's probably the name of that red-haired girl I shoved out of the way earlier, N thought. He looked down from his vantage point and saw Natsu, Erza, a black-haired boy, a muscular mage, and Makarov grouped together at the edge of the lake. The black-haired boy smacked a fist against his other palm, building up magic in his hands, and released it in one go on the surface of the lake, "Ice Make: Floor!"
Part of Lake Sciliora froze over as the black-haired boy created a pathway of ice all the way to the Phantom Lord guild. The five Fairy Tail mages, followed by a flying blue cat, headed towards the enemy.
"Very well, you have chosen to defy me, you Fairy flies. In fifteen minutes, I shall fire another Jupiter blast and obliterate your precious guild! No third-rate barrier is going to stop me from eliminating you!" Jose's voice boomed from the mechanical guild. N twitched at the insult. He was much too old to react to such under-handed jabs, but he couldn't help it when someone insulted his work. That bastard just earned a one-way ticket to hell. N chuckled darkly as he summoned several clones to keep Lucy Heartfilia and Fairy Tail safe. He then used chakra to camouflage himself so that he wouldn't be seen as he followed the five mages to Phantom Lord. No one insults Uzumaki Naruto's seals and gets away with it!
After informing the other mages that he was heading off to confront Jose and that they should destroy the Jupiter cannon themselves, Makarov entered one of the hallways. His power began to manifest in a visible aura around him, enough to crack the floor he walked on. He was pleased to see that none of the Phantom Lord members dared to attack him despite him being the enemy. This would make his trip up much less arduous.
He fingered the kunai hidden in his coat. Six years ago, he had defeated Jose at the regular meeting, but Jose had undoubtedly grown stronger since then. Although Makarov was confident that he could still beat the Phantom Lord guild master in a straight-up fight despite his old age, he wouldn't put it past the man to have a dirty trick or two up his sleeve. Should that happen, all he needed to do was to throw the kunai and N would immediately come to his aid. N was infinitely more terrifying than he was, so if he was cornered to the point where he required N's help, Phantom Lord wouldn't stand a chance. It was time that Jose learned that messing with Fairy Tail was a very bad idea.
There was a thunderous noise from below, followed by a brief quake. The Jupiter lacrima had most likely just been smashed to smithereens, courtesy of his Fairy Tail mages. Makarov ignored the ruckus and continued onward to his destination. With that handled, Phantom Lord was down on their main weapon, but he couldn't let his guard down. Jose might have a couple more things that he hadn't shown yet.
Just as that thought passed through his head, the guild began to rumble. Makarov was taken aback as the floor started to tilt upward, making him slide into a nearby pillar. He clung on with all his might, enlarging his hands to make sure he had a firm grip. Whatever he had been expecting from Jose, this certainly wasn't it!
"Fun stuff, isn't it?" N's voice came out of nowhere.
"Wha – N, is that you?" Makarov asked, bewildered. What was N doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be back at the guild?
"Correct, Makarov-san."
N appeared in front of him, somehow managing to stand on the floor, which was nearly vertical at this point. Makarov chalked it up to an ability of N's that he had picked up some time in his life. N walked forward with steady steps, gently removing Makarov from the pillar. "Seems like neither of us expected a development like this," said N, heading up. "You're going to where the Phantom Lord guild master is, yes?"
Makarov nodded. "But now that this has happened, get outside first. I want to see what's going on," he said. Floors didn't switch orientations without a reason.
"As you wish." To Makarov's shock, N began to run up the floor, which was more or less a wall by now. Makarov gave up trying to figure N out. The immortal man was as enigmatic as they come.
In no time at all, N exited the guild. He set Makarov down. They now stood on top of a small platform close to the top of the enemy guild. Makarov gasped when he realized that Phantom Lord had literally turned into a mechanical giant and one of its fingers was drawing the magic circle for the forbidden spell Abyss Break. That Jose–!
Suddenly it began to rain. Both N and Makarov looked over the edge to peer at the larger platform below theirs, where Gray was confronting a woman wearing a Russian Cossack hat. She had tightly-curled blue hair, and she was wearing a navy-blue coat with a fur shawl over her shoulders. They weren't fighting yet, but Makarov guessed that she was probably one of Phantom Lord's elite Element Four. His eyes narrowed. Come to think of it, how was Jose powering the giant to write the spell? If Makarov knew the other man, he wouldn't do it himself. Did that mean the Element Four had something to do with it? He decided it would be best to leave his Fairy Tail mages to deal with it while he challenged Jose. He had faith in the generation that he had raised.
"Let's go, N. Gray can handle himself," Makarov said, turning to head back inside.
N nodded and followed after him.
They walked down the hallway, Makarov once again displaying his impressive aura of power. The few Phantom Lord members they encountered hurriedly scampered out of the way. No one wanted to mess with Fairy Tail's guild master or the tall, masked man who accompanied him, who oozed strength and confidence from his every pore despite keeping his aura contained.
Makarov glanced back at N when the shadow guardian suddenly pivoted on his heel and sucker-punched a man wearing a green bowler hat and a white blindfold over his eyes, who had appeared out of nowhere behind them. The man flew backwards and went through the wall, leaving behind an enormous hole. A consecutive series of crashes indicated that the mage had also gone through several more walls after that. N straightened and said, "Let's continue. We don't need to waste time on someone who can't even do a proper ambush."
That would've caught me off-guard, Makarov thought. I didn't even sense him.
As if knowing what the guild master was thinking, N spoke, "I have a sharp nose. He might've been able to hide his presence, but not his scent. I could also detect the slight vibrations he sent through the floor with his footsteps. It's not possible to sneak up on me if you don't have any shinobi training, so you don't have to worry about ambushes when I'm with you."
"That's a relief," Makarov replied, grinning. "I don't want Fairy Tail to lose morale if I'm taken down before I defeat Jose."
"I won't allow that to happen, Makarov-san. Rest assured that Phantom Lord will be going down today," N said. He began to walk forward. "Let's go. I can sense that your mages have all completed their battles and are heading up as well. We'll reconvene in one of the rooms."
The guild began to rumble again, some of the walls crumbling into debris. N sent a clone to check on what was going on outside. Makarov surmised that the reason the mechanical guild was shaking was likely because his Fairy Tail mages had defeated the other Element Four. N had knocked the one with the bowler hat through several walls with a single punch, probably rendering him unconscious. If all four of Phantom Lord's elite squad of mages had been defeated, they would stop powering the giant robot. Consequently, the Abyss Break spell would disappear, since the giant would no longer be functioning enough to finish drawing it.
When N's clone dispelled, he affirmed that Makarov's reasoning was spot on. The mechanical giant had been powered by the Element Four, and with all of them beaten, it had collapsed. The Abyss Break spell had faded.
A few rooms later, they stepped into a large chamber that was easily twice the size of some of the previous rooms they had passed through. From a door at the opposite side of the room, five victorious Fairy Tail mages emerged. Makarov blinked. When did Mirajane join the party?
"Master!" Erza called out upon seeing them, her face lighting up. "You're alright!"
"Did you beat the Phantom Lord guild master already?" Gray asked, walking towards them.
Makarov shook his head. "We haven't located him, unfortunately. But with his guild on the verge of collapse and the Element Four defeated, I'm certain he will come and fight us on his own," he answered. He gestured to his side. "N here will also assist us."
"N? When did you get here?" Natsu asked, bounding over to them with an excited grin. "Did you follow us?"
"I did. That asshole insulted my seals. I'm not going to let him get away with that," N replied, miffed. "Although I'm only going to step in if he proves to be too much for you guys."
"What?! You're not fighting?" Natsu demanded. "Why not?"
"I'm stronger than all of you combined. If I fought for you, none of you would get any valuable battle experience that comes from fighting a strong opponent, because it would be over in less than a minute," N explained. "So I'm going to sit this one out unless he does something drastic or he gets the upper hand."
"Good point," Erza conceded with a small smile.
"You're a man among men!" Elfman shouted, punching his fist into the air.
"We'll definitely show you the power of Fairy Tail! You better watch, N, 'cause I'm going to beat you one day!" Natsu declared, pointing his finger at N.
"Aye!" Happy chirped from his position on Natsu's head.
N chuckled. "I'm sure you will," he replied.
The atmosphere in the room abruptly turned serious as a huge amount of malicious intent made itself known at the third doorway to the room, where the Phantom Lord guild master entered, slowly clapping. A horrific aura surrounded Jose, so full of hatred and anger and malevolence that it made most of the Fairy Tail wizards in the room feel physically ill. Only N stood unaffected by it.
"You disgusting Fairies have irritated me for the last time," Jose growled, his hands falling back down to his sides. "I applaud you for taking down my Element Four, but you will go no further. I will crush you all myself. Feel the power of my hatred! Feel my enmity and grovel at my feet, you worthless flies!" He cackled maniacally, throwing his arms out wide.
Even Makarov was feeling the effects of Jose's animosity. His Fairy Tail mages were struggling to fortify their mental will against Jose's overwhelming aura, but they were ultimately failing. His hostility is… too strong… Makarov thought, forcing himself to stay on his feet. How can this be? Mirajane was shaking, and looked like she was about to hurl. There was a subtle hint of fear in Natsu's eyes at the sheer power that Jose was giving off. Is this the end?
Then N did something that none of them expected him to do.
He laughed.
The malignant atmosphere abruptly vanished, replaced by total bewilderment as all the Fairy Tail mages and the Phantom Lord guild master just stared at the laughing man, utterly baffled as to why N was cracking up in the face of such horrific intent. Had it been too strong for him and he'd gone mental on them?
N's laughter finally subsided, although a few extra chuckles still escaped his mouth. "You call that… enmity? You call that… hatred? Oh man, that's just too funny! That wouldn't even register a one on my hatred scale! Hahahaha! Oh gods, I can't–" he choked out, before laughing all over again.
Everyone else in the room just sweatdropped.
"You dare to mock me, you Fairy trash?" Jose spat, sending a wave of Darkness magic towards the shadow guardian. "What would you know of my anger, of my humiliation?!"
To his astonishment, N just dispersed his Dead Wave with a casual flick of his wrist. Two seconds later, the opposite wall was cleaved in half. Jose gaped at the damage. "What – how? What did you do?"
N calmed down again. He looked directly at Jose and enunciated every word loudly and clearly, "I don't know where you got the idea that your malicious aura would amount to anything, but it's not going to work on me. I've faced hatred a thousand times worse than yours will ever be, and I came out fine. You want to know what hatred feels like? Let me give you a taste of my killing intent." His eyes turned blood-red.
The pressure in the room tripled as N unleashed his own aura, although he made sure to direct it only towards the Phantom Lord guild master and not to his own guild members. They would still feel it, but it wouldn't be as powerful.
Makarov shivered as N's killing intent washed over him. He tore his gaze away from N to glance at his Fairy Tail mages, cringing inwardly as he saw the fear written all over their faces. He switched his attention back to Jose. The other guild master looked white as a sheet. His eyes were bulging in their sockets, and he was gasping desperately for air. Sweat was literally pouring down his face, and his hands were shaking so badly that Makarov thought they might fall off. There was a noticeable wet spot on the front of his pants. Jose tipped backwards, his hands shooting up towards his throat. The Phantom Lord guild master looked just about ready to strangle himself to death.
N's spine-chilling aura vanished, leaving the entire group shaken and shivering in their own clothes. The masked man stood in the center of the room, his red eyes receding back to their usual blue color.
Makarov was the first to recover. "N, I would like to reiterate what I said the first time I met you… you're terrifying," the old guild master remarked, taking deep breaths to get his nerves back under control.
N observed the twitching form of the Phantom Lord guild master, who had fainted and had foam bubbling from his mouth. "I might've gone overboard on this one," he conceded, scratching the back of his head. "My bad. I'll wake him up so you guys can have your battle."
"He might be too traumatized to continue," Makarov replied, sparing Jose a minute glance. "It's alright, N. They got their fair share of battle experience already."
"Ah, well, guess it can't be helped," N said, shrugging. "So much for me sitting out on this one. Sorry about that."
The Fairy Tail mages slowly recovered from their shock. "It's… it's alright, N," Erza responded after a moment. Her eyes gazed at him warily. "…You're strong."
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," N returned casually. He looked at Natsu, who was still gazing at him with fearful eyes, his pupils dilated. N sighed. He walked over to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer and crouched down, frowning behind his mask when Natsu made a move to scoot away from him. It was probably his draconic instinct, warning him that N was dangerous and to keep as far away from him as possible. Well, he'd have none of that.
"Natsu," he intoned sharply, setting a hand on top of Natsu's head. "Natsu, look at me."
A bit of awareness came back to the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes. "N…?" he whispered, his pupils shrinking back to a more normal size. "What… was that?"
"That was something called 'killing intent'. It's a technique of sorts from my homeland where the user expresses his intention to kill to the opponent. It functions as an illusion, more or less, since a particularly strong amount of it can enable the opponent to see their own death," N explained, gently ruffling the boy's pink hair. "I'm sorry you had to feel it. But remember this, Natsu – it's alright to know fear. Fear is important. It tells you when you are outclassed, when to back down, and when to admit defeat. It also represents an obstacle you have to overcome. Think of it as your weakness. When you are able to overcome your fear, your weakness will disappear."
"That makes sense," Natsu murmured, averting his gaze. "But I can't seem to get it out of my head. How terrifying you were in that one moment, I mean. It's like…" He trailed off, looking down at his hands. They still quivered slightly. He clenched them. "It's like you weren't there anymore. Like you had disappeared and were replaced… by a murderer."
The room went quiet at the sound of Natsu's words. N stood up, his hand sliding from Natsu's hair. "A murderer, huh… that's not so surprising," N said softly, sounding slightly sad, and maybe a bit wistful. His next words were so quiet that only Natsu and Makarov could hear them, "When you've lived the way I have, killing becomes just another one of those unavoidable things." Natsu gave him a confused look. N shook his head and stepped away. He turned to the twitching Phantom Lord guild master and summoned the scroll he had sealed Gajeel in. He released Gajeel from the scroll. The Iron Dragon Slayer landed flat on his back, jerking him awake.
Gajeel immediately shot to his feet. "You fucker! I'm going to cave your face in for everything you did to me!" he roared, throwing his arm forward and morphing it into a steel sword.
N caught the sword with one hand, paying no heed to the way the sharp edges dug into his skin. "I advise you to take a look around first, iron boy. Your guild has lost the war it started," N said. He threw the sword away from him, causing Gajeel to lose his balance and fall on his ass. "Fairy Tail is the victor here."
Gajeel stole a quick glance around, his eyes landing on his unconscious guild master. "Master! You bastard…" he seethed, switching his gaze back to N. "How dare you do this to our guild! We're supposed to be the strongest! You Fairy trash!"
The Fairy Tail mages glared at Gajeel. "Who're you calling trash?!" screamed Natsu, leaping to his feet, fists ablaze. Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, looming dangerously over Gajeel with numerous swords pointed at his head. Elfman used Take-Over magic and transformed into an enormous beast with horns growing out of his head. He cocked a fist back, ready to pummel Gajeel at a moment's notice. Gray spread his feet apart, locking his hands in his usual Ice Make stance. They looked ready to kill.
"W-wait!" A woman's voice called from the doorway where the Fairy Tail team had first entered the room. All eyes turned in that direction, landing on a blue-haired woman in a navy-blue coat. She shrank back a bit at all the attention, but squared her shoulders and strode forward, coming to a stop in front of Gajeel. She held her arms out, spreading her feet apart in a protective stance.
"Juvia? What are you doing? You're supposed to fight them!" Gajeel growled, getting to his feet.
"Juvia has already been defeated, Gajeel," Juvia replied, keeping her eyes trained on Makarov. "Juvia wants stop fighting, too. Juvia's guild master is down, and though Juvia's body is made of water, even Juvia does not think Juvia could take on all of these Fairy Tail mages at once."
Gajeel looked vexed, but he knew Juvia was correct, especially since N was present. He glowered at them, crossing his arms petulantly and muttering, "Tch."
"Good to see someone with a brain around here," N said, signaling for the Fairy Tail members to stand down. In return, Juvia lowered her arms and moved to step beside Gajeel. "Your name is Juvia, correct? What do you guys plan on doing after this?"
Juvia looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"The guild war that Phantom Lord instigated has undoubtedly caught the attention of the Magic Council. Once they get all the information they need, they will disband Phantom Lord and strip your guild master of his Wizard Saint title. Without an official guild to return to, do both of you intend to become mercenaries until you can find another guild to join up with?" N elaborated.
Juvia fidgeted shyly, her eyes flicking in Gray's direction. N smirked under his mask when he saw that. I sense a fangirl crush in the works, he thought, amused.
"Juvia would like… to join Fairy Tail," she murmured, inclining her head. "That is, if you don't mind Juvia joining?"
"Juvia!" Gajeel exclaimed, shocked. "You want to become one of these annoying Fairies?"
"What'd you say, you bastard?!" Natsu exploded, firing up again. "Why don't you say that to my face, huh?!"
Gajeel rammed his head against Natsu's, his eyes twitching in irritation, "Didn't you hear me the first time, trash? Or are your ears just for show, eh, Salamander?" he hissed back, grinding his teeth.
"Why, you–"
N clapped his hands together loudly, interrupting the fight that was starting between the two Dragon Slayers. "Right, let's stop there, you two," he called loudly, breaking the fight up. "Natsu, I know you don't like him, but try to get along with your fellow Dragon Slayer, alright?" He laid down a hand on both boys' shoulders.
As predicted, Natsu gaped at the smugly-grinning brunet. "What the hell… you're a Dragon Slayer, too?" he blurted out, pointing a finger right at Gajeel's face.
Gajeel swatted N's hand off his shoulder and leaned back. "That's right, bitch, I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer," Gajeel boasted, sending a cocky smirk in Natsu's direction.
"Then do you know where Igneel is?" Natsu prompted, ignoring Gajeel's smirk.
Gajeel scowled. "Of course I don't, idiot. Who the hell is Igneel?" he asked.
"My father, the Fire Dragon!" Natsu proudly proclaimed.
"Why the hell would you think I'd know him then, you dumbass?" Gajeel retorted, his eye twitching. "I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer. The only dragon I know is Metalicana, and the bastard flew off and abandoned me seven years ago. Fucking piece of shit."
Natsu froze. "Seven years ago?" he whispered, going pale. He stared at Gajeel with a serious expression, then asked, "Did your dragon also leave you behind seven years ago on July 7th, the year X777?"
"Yours too?" Gajeel grunted, frowning. "That can't be a coincidence."
Before they could discuss any more on the mysterious whereabouts of their respective dragons, a wave of Darkness magic shot towards them. They leaped apart, everyone's attention going to the now-conscious Phantom Lord guild master. He was still shaking a bit – aftereffects from receiving the full-brunt of N's killing intent – but he looked more pissed off than a PMS-ing bitch on a bad day, and that was saying something.
"Master," Gajeel acknowledged, inclining his head.
Jose's face warped into a demonic grin, showing all of his teeth. "How nice of you to return Gajeel Redfox to me," he jeered, pulling himself up to his full height. "Gajeel, Juvia, attack those Fairy pests!"
"Oh no, you don't! I took him off the playing field and it's going to stay that way," N said, unfurling his scroll. He slipped the Light Pen out of his pocket and quickly drew a seal in the air.
Gajeel's eyes widened. "FUCK YOUUU–" he yelled, once again disappearing into the scroll. N rolled it up and resealed it back into the markings on his left arm.
"There," he said cheerfully to the enraged guild master. "Now you can't get to him."
Jose's face turned an unpleasant shade of maroon. "You disgusting brat!" he spat, charging up his Darkness magic. He swung his hand in an arc in front of him. "Dark Pulse!"
N had already written a seal in the air with his Light Pen before the area around him and his fellow Fairy Tail mages exploded. The dome-shaped barrier he had created blocked the explosion from reaching them. "You know, I take offense to that insult," N sighed, bringing the index and middle fingers on his left hand together. "'Cause I'm older than you, you know. You should respect your elders, you impudent child. Burst!"
The dome-shaped barrier blasted outward, creating a shockwave of air that knocked Jose clean off his feet. N leaped into the air, his golden chakra cloak once again enveloping his body. Two arms sprung out of his cloak and grabbed onto the Phantom Lord guild master, who looked fearful upon remembering that N was the one who had unleashed the terrifying killing intent on him earlier. N held up a single index finger, a small, compact blue sphere with four razor-sharp edges spinning around it forming at the tip.
"Mini Rasenshuriken," he said, flicking the sphere towards Jose. The guild master struggled to move out of the way, but N's chakra arms held him firmly in place.
Jose screamed as the attack impacted, a whirlwind of tiny, invisible chakra blades shredding and slicing through flesh and bone. Gasping for breath, he fell to his knees, one hand pressed against his abdomen. Blood poured out of the wound, showing no signs of stopping. N watched him struggle with unsympathetic eyes.
"Hey, N! Stop hogging all the fun to yourself!" Natsu hollered, breaking N out of his bloodthirsty mindset. The masked shinobi silently cursed at himself – he thought he'd finally broken out of his bloodlust phase, but it seemed like it was starting to return to him. He needed to get the hell out of here before it got worse.
"N…" Makarov murmured, giving him a look heavily laced with disapproval.
"My apologies, Makarov-san. I let my dark side get the best of me," N said, bowing his head. "Unfortunately my skills in healing are rudimentary at best, and are unsuited for use on mages. The most I can do is first-aid."
Makarov solemnly observed the other guild master, who shakily stood back up despite the hole in his abdomen. "I'm… not finished yet!" Jose growled, his eyes going bloodshot with delirium. "Phantom Lord will never… bow down to Fairy Tail! Now die!" He shot a destructive wave of magic towards them, which cracked the floor as it passed over it.
Everyone dodged the Dead Wave easily. "Give it up, Jose," Makarov said, a somber expression gracing his aged face. "You've lost already." The elderly guild master stepped towards the younger Wizard Saint. He didn't like Jose or the fact that the Phantom Lord guild master had tried to annihilate his guild, but the other man was a fellow Wizard Saint and human being. Fairy Tail also had a strict 'no killing' policy – although N had just toed the line with his last attack. He'd have to talk to the shadow guardian about that later.
Jose gritted his teeth. "You think I'm a fool, Makarov?" he snarled, raising his arm again. "Phantom Lord is… number one! Juvia! Finish them off!" He pointed at the Fairy Tail mages.
Juvia looked calm as she stepped towards her guild master. "Master, Juvia means no disrespect, but… Juvia quits!" she announced loudly, erasing her Phantom Lord guild mark.
Jose's eyes bulged sickeningly. "You bitch. Are you siding with Fairy Tail now? Then you can die, too!" he yelled, spit flying from his mouth. "Dark Pulse!"
The attack simply passed through Juvia, since her body was made of water. Behind her, Gray moved into position. "Ice Make: Shield!" he said, throwing his arms up. A thick shield of ice rose up before them, blocking Jose's attack from reaching the Fairy Tail mages.
Erza surged forward. "Blumenblatt!" she called out, slashing at Jose with her swords. Despite being heavily injured, Jose's ingrained reflexes allowed him to dodge the majority of Erza's strikes. His blood painted the stone tiles a bright, crimson color. "We will not allow you to harm Fairy Tail anymore, you snake!"
Natsu was next. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He breathed out a hot stream of flames from his mouth. Jose moved to the side and countered by sending small bursts of Darkness magic at Natsu. The magic bullets forced Natsu to end his attack so he could dodge them. "Fairy Tail is the strongest!" he shouted, flames blazing around his fist. "And you aren't going to take that away from us, you bastard!"
Gray dispelled his shield and concentrated his magic in his hands. "Ice Make: Lance!" Several spears of ice shot towards the Phantom Lord guild master. Jose destroyed them with his Dead Wave, but then he got clocked in the face by Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist attack. He flew backwards and hit the wall with a resounding crack. He slid down, letting out a wet gasp.
"No… no, I can't lose… this is impossible," Jose gurgled, trying to get back up. "I can't lose… not to Fairy Tail…"
Elfman also prepared to launch his Beast Soul fist at Jose, but Makarov held out a hand. "That's enough. He's already been defeated," the elderly guild master commanded. "To continue would be nothing more than bullying at this point." Elfman reluctantly lowered his arm. He dispelled his Take-Over magic, allowing himself to revert back to his human form.
Erza requipped into her usual Heart Kreuz armor, and both Natsu and Gray extinguished their magic. Together with Mirajane and Makarov, they stood tall in front of Jose. "You've lost, Jose. And if you dare to come after us again, we will not show mercy. You had the power and strength to secure a position as a Wizard Saint despite your relatively young age, yet you wandered down the wrong path and squandered your potential. If you had chosen to use your power for good, you would have been a good role model to the younger generation," Makarov said gravely. "Fairy Tail will trump your guild no matter what you do, because we are a guild that encourages bonds between comrades. We will never betray one another. If you attack us, you will incur our wrath. If you hurt us, we will pay you back three-fold. We are the strongest guild, and we will continue to outshine you. Why? Because we are… FAIRY TAIL!" The last two words were echoed by all of the Fairy Tail wizards, resulting in a loud and proud declaration that reverberated throughout the room.
"My guild… was supposed to be the strongest!" Jose wheezed, his bloodshot eyes glaring at the line of mages standing together in front of him. "Damn you all! Damn you all to hell! I will never… bow down to you!"
N stepped forward. "Please allow me to finish this," he said, summoning an empty scroll from his seals. He wrote a seal in the air and activated it. Jose instantly disappeared into the scroll before he could say anything else, leaving behind nothing but a bloody smear on the wall. N resealed the scroll and gave Makarov a thumbs-up.
The guild war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail was now officially over.
Upon realizing this, the Fairy Tail mages burst into cheers. Makarov and N walked a little distance away, watching the scene fondly. Even Juvia was dragged into celebrating with them, although she protested at first because she had been one of their former enemies.
"Who cares? You want to join Fairy Tail! That makes you one of us!" Natsu announced, punching a flaming fist into the air.
"That's right," Gray added, holding out a hand to her. "So come on!"
Juvia looked at both of them in wonder and flushed pink. "Thank you," she said, taking Gray's hand. "Juvia… Juvia will do her best!" Natsu grinned boyishly at her, his eyes slipping closed.
What do you think, Mavis-chan? N thought, smiling softly behind his mask. This is the Fairy Tail you've always dreamed of; one that is bright and warm, yet strong, and values family and friendship above all else.
"N, I would like to ask something of you," Makarov began in a low voice, tearing his eyes away from the scene to look up at the masked shinobi.
"Yes? What is it, Makarov-san?"
Makarov took a deep breath. "Would you consider giving up your shadow guardianship to become a full-fledged member of Fairy Tail?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Hah? You want to terminate the shadow guardianship contract, Makarov-san?" N asked, sounding surprised. Makarov could see a glimpse of shadowed blue through the eyeholes in N's mask.
The aged guild master nodded. "Your alias has become known to most of the Fairy Tail wizards by now, N. I think they will feel better if you could show them your face, too," Makarov explained.
"The man named Mystogan doesn't show his face," N pointed out.
"Mystogan is a different story. There's a good reason why he doesn't reveal his face. You only keep your face hidden because it is requirement of the shadow guardianship contract. But if the contract is dissolved, you won't have to hide anymore, N," Makarov said.
N sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know, if I hadn't been there, your guild would be a pincushion right now," he replied, glancing back to the rowdy guild members. Erza was currently prying Natsu and Gray apart and reprimanding them for fighting.
"That's nothing, we would have just rebuilt it. The guild isn't comprised of just the building, you know. It's the mages in it who make it up," Makarov countered. "We were planning to expand it anyway."
"Heh, you sound like Mavis," N chuckled, slapping a hand over his mask. He was quiet for a moment. "…Are you sure you want me in the guild, Makarov-san? I'm not even a mage, I'm a shinobi."
Makarov waved a hand around casually. "Don't sweat the small stuff. If you're part of Fairy Tail, you're part of our family, mage or not," he said, pushing N to accept his consideration.
Fairy Tail will become your new family, you'll see.
Mavis' words echoed in his head, despite being said nearly a hundred years ago. N smiled.
"You got me, Makarov-san. Very well, I will consider it. But I think we best be heading back now. The rest of the guild is probably anxious for our triumphant return," the masked shinobi replied, turning to walk towards the door. "Come on, you rowdy lot, we need to tell the other guild members that we won."
"Yeah!" Natsu cheered, bounding after N.
"Aye!" Happy chirped, flying beside him.
In high spirits after defeating their enemy, the group climbed to the highest part of the mechanical giant, which had collapsed after the Element Four were defeated. Looking down, the other Fairy Tail members still standing on the beach looked like tiny, colorful ants. They crowded together on the ground, looking up expectantly at the members who had infiltrated the guild.
"Everyone, get ready!" Makarov instructed, standing in the center. The other Fairy Tail members arranged themselves on either side of him, while N stood behind him. Juvia hung back since she wasn't an official member yet, but Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand beside them. Juvia smiled at being included, even though she didn't know what they were preparing to do. They all took a deep breath.
"We are… FAIRY TAIL!" the Fairy Tail mages bellowed together, shooting their hands into the air to form an L-shape with their thumbs and index fingers. Juvia followed suit once she saw what they were doing.
Upon seeing the sign and hearing the united cry, raucous cheering rose up from the members on the beach.
Fairy Tail had won.
This chapter took a little longer to get out for a couple of reasons. First, some reviewers pointed out that N could have used the Hiraishin to teleport the Jupiter blast away. To be frank, I completely forgot about that possibility. Second, a couple of you guys informed me that N didn't need to verbally command his clones because they are all a version of himself and therefore know all his thoughts and techniques and such. Looking back, it does seem incredibly unnecessary for N to order his clones around. Considering these two things, it appeared that the gap in my Naruto knowledge was larger than I thought, so I decided to do a refresher and read all of the Shippuuden chapters again (yes, all 444 of them). It took a few days to read everything while writing the new chapter, but when I finally got through, I realized a good portion of the canon messed up a few things in the chapter for which I'd already written roughly 4000 words. So I had to scrap most of it and rewrite it and that's why it took a little longer than it should have to get it out. I also went back and edited a few things in the last chapter (like the parts where N pulls his Light Pen from his sleeve even though he's supposed to be bare-chested, derp).
You guys are just the greatest ever, by the way. I posted the previous chapter a week ago and urged you guys to review. What happened when I did that? I got 65 reviews. Holy cheese, guys, look at how much spirit you have! If we continue on this path, we can totally make it beyond 200. Show me what you've got!
Please leave a review! Let's make it to 200 and beyond!
MangaFreak15