Naruto whistled happily as he strolled through Magnolia Town with both hands shoved in his pockets. He waved and greeted passing by civilians who returned greetings with smiles and courteous words. It seemed as if even being affiliated with Fairy Tail in this town in some way, even if not well known was enough to bring at least a baseline of respect. Or this Town is really that kind.

He slowed his trek to a stop as he came upon Magnolia Station.

He gulped as he looked at the large metallic contraptions capable of sustaining high speed traveling almost indefinitely. The last time he had seen one had been his mission to Spring Country where every cart was loaded to the brim with kunai launchers. That was the first time he had witnessed large scale slaughter. Easy now… This thing transports civilians daily. There's no way they use it like that.

He glanced back down at the job sheet. On the bottom of it below the rewards were directions to the build site. Defend the workers from magical beasts in the woods and water while they complete the bridge… Why the hell would they build near a much of beasts in the first place… Anyways, take the train to Hargeon Town then follow the coast south. Sounds easy enough.

Naruto eyed the train schedule and located the train finishing up its southern route and quickly made his way over to it. He was in luck and the train was scheduled to leave in a half hour. The blond shinobi walked over to the boarding area and waited patiently in line to take his seat. Once he got closer to the front of the line he noticed people showing the guard a slip of paper before they were welcomed aboard.

Damn… it must need a ticket, and I've got no jewels… Looks like we're going with plan B.

A gentle breeze was all the people around him felt as he disappeared, leaves swirling in the wind.

Naruto's body flicker brought him to the roof of the train where he molded Eternano to his feet to keep him from sliding off the slick metallic surface. He crouched low and stalked down to the end of the train where he could see workers loading the passengers luggage. Silently the shinobi dropped down to the baggage cart and preformed a seamless substitution with a large piece of luggage that had already been thrown into the hold before walking up to the shadowed corner where the walls of the train met the roof and once more utilized the Eternano to keep him in place. This is going to be a long trip…

Once the final piece of baggage was thrown into the train the door was slid shut and Naruto heard the trains engines start. He slid down the wall and onto a large box and rested.

-Red eyes floated behind him as he looked over the field of carnage with tear soaked eyes. The mangled bodies of those he had grown up with, fought with, laughed with stared back at him with lifeless accusing eyes.

"They died because of you Naruto," came a malignant voice echoing around him.

"No…" Naruto choked out.

He watched in horror as one of the corpses began to rise. Pink hair was matted in gore, and wounds littered her frail slender figure, "Naruto-kun… I thought you loved me… Where were you when we needed you?" She cried, tears of blood streaking down her pale cold face.

"S-Sakura-chan… I didn't know… They never told me there was a war…" He tried to plead to her, to pour his heart out in hopes she would understand. He came as soon as he heard.

More and more of the corpses stood.

Kakashi looked down at him with shame in his eyes, "I'm disappointed in you Naruto… Your father would be ashamed of you."

"Kakashi-sensei…" He had no chance to reply as they all surged around him, speaking to him through lifeless lips with accusations of cowardice and abandonment.

"It wasn't like that!" He pleaded desperately, "I came as soon as I heard. I fought Madara and won! The war is over!"

A cold chuckle behind him caught his attention. He turned slowly to see Uchiha Sasuke, once his best friend before his betrayals, "At what cost Naruto? What did you save?" Half of his skull was caved in from a brutal blow, but the other side's red sharing an spun in lazy mirth, "The world is brought to its knees, the Great Nations destroyed. Do you truly believe that there will be peace with such a vacuum of power? Dream on Naruto. Your so called victory will only bring a lifetime of war that will spread across the land as the strong battle for supremacy and the weak suffer. And look at you now, running away and hiding again… Pathetic."-

A loud bang and an influx of bright light brought the Shinobi back to reality. He vanished in a gust of speed out of the train and into the city with sweat coating his body. He calmed his breathing and swept the sleeve of his jacket across his drenched brow. What the hell kind of dream was that…

There was no answer, not that he had expected one. There were only two things that helped calm him and clear his mind. One was fighting which unfortunately wasn't possible at the moment, and the other was running.

He took off into the rooftops of the city, and utilizing the sun's position, took off at high speeds down the southern beach and quickly left the town behind in the dust.

With the energy of the world coursing through his body Naruto pushed his limbs nearly to their limits. He couldn't say how far he ran or for how long. He also couldn't count the amount of trees he had destroyed on the way. All he did know was that he had left Hargeon Town and made it to the bridge just before the sun had fallen below the horizon.

The blond stopped on a tree branch just before the beach as he came upon his destination. The bridge was impossible to miss, towering high over the water leaving room for any size ship to navigate beneath it. Tall beams and thick steel wires held the framework together. It seemed as if it was nearing completion with the exception of what looked to be battle scarring decorating the side of his hands back into his pockets he stepped off the branch to the soft sand below and walked towards a large fortified camp.

He walked the perimeter of the camp, keeping just out of sight of the nervous guards posted haphazardly on the wooden staked wall before finally deciding to make his presence known by walking to the gate. He calmly strode forward before a small man peeked over the fortifications and aimed a crossbow at him, "H-halt!" the man exclaimed shakily, "Who goes there?"

A drop of sweat hung from the back of the shinobi's head. "Wow that was lame. People still say crap like that?"

The man's eyes took on a sullen expression as a dark cloud of depression hung over him. "We're required to…" he defended sadly.

Naruto glanced up at the man sheepishly, Wow… depressed… He quickly held the mission paper in the air for the man to see, "Namikaze Naruto of Fairy Tail."

"Prove it! Show your guild stamp!"

His grin quickly morphed to exasperation as he lifted the form fitting black shirt up to show the orange symbol emblazoned on his chest.

The man let out a relieved breath of air as he called down and had the gate opened for him, "Sorry, but recent events have caused us to be more cautious then usual. Where are your teammates?"

"I don't have any. I'm here alone. Where is Fujiko-san? The paper says to report to him as soon as I get here," he quickly questioned, in a hurry to get away from the odd gate keeper.

"Alone? We're doomed! Go down to the large white tent in the middle of the camp, he should be in there. I don't know how much use you'll be by yourself though," the man said mournfully before turning his gaze back on the forest and ordering the gates shut.

Naruto shrugged. He was used to being underestimated. The tent in question proved easy to find as it easily rivaled the size of a two story building. He made a bee-line towards it in hopes of getting his first mission as a mage started.

Dan Fujiko was a man of vision, a man of brilliance and wealth, but not even he could foresee this. The Great Bridge's construction had been going off for the past six months without a hitch. They were making amazing time with its creation and he had invested almost all his funds into it in hopes that with a path over the ocean to the country of Mins where he could double the size of his trade routes and increase his revenue by over two hundred percent.

That is until the attacks started. They began as attacks from the forest, large vulcans and other animals that while persistent were easily managed. Then they came from the sea. Large serpents attacked the ships and cranes as they attempted to complete the final stages of the project, and it just got worse from there.

Dan's thoughts were interrupted by the tent flap opening, letting in the cool evening breeze. He turned to face the entrance and locked eyes with Naruto.

"Welcome, you must be the mage from Fairy Tail. My name is Dan Fujiko, president of Fujiko Trading Company," he said, extending his hand in greeting to the anonymous mage. When he heard a Fairy Tail mage had picked up the contract his hopes had sparked. Fairy Tail was well known in Fiore for being one of the most powerful guilds in the country.

The man before him grasped his hand in a firm handshake, "Namikaze Naruto. From my greeting at the gate I assume you were expecting more then one mage?"

Dan ran a hand through his ebony hair before sliding it over his grey suit in an attempt to smooth out any wrinkles. "You would assume correctly. There's something strange at work. When we had first sent off the post we had believed it to be just creatures of the forest trying to defend their land, but then we began to notice something odd. The animals of the forest seemed to be learning our defenses. Each attack brought more damage, more lives lost. It wasn't until yesterday that one of our sentries noticed that each of the beasts had the same pale green eyes."

"It almost sounds as if they are being possessed." Naruto remarked.

"That is exactly what I fear, in which case I'm afraid that this mission has been upgraded to S-Class. I would respect your decision if you choose to leave. I sent out a missive changing the rank just before you arrived. This new intelligence makes me believe that its not an act of nature, but an act of a Dark Guild hired by my leading competitor the Arisaga Shipping Company."

"Why would you suspect them?"

"They are the ones with the most to gain and most to lose. This bridge will effectively cut a large amount of their profit with Mins Country, and if its destroyed then the amount of money I've put into building it would break my company."

The blond man before him held a contemplative look on his face before locking Dan with a firm gaze. "Don't worry Fujiko-san, I'll take care of it. I've never backed down from a mission, and I don't plan on starting now."

Before he could reply, the man was gone.

Something isn't right here… This bridge must have been started months ago, but it looks like the attacks have started only recently. There is no way this is a coincidence. Naruto leapt over the wooden wall of pointed stakes before sitting cross legged in the sand and stretching his senses out. His eyes snapped open in a feral grin. They are coming.

It was strange seeing the creatures flood from the tree line. Unlike a chaotic rampage he would expect from a stampede, these had structure to them. There were tigers leading the charge, powerful jaws extended in ferocious roars. Behind the tigers were bears, with gorillas and other assortments of animals mixed in. If he wasn't currently staring them down he might have chuckled at seeing the squirrels bobbing between the massive paws of the larger creatures.

"Eternano Make: Mass Shadow Clones."

Forty diagrams appeared in the air near Naruto, coupled by a massive explosion of smoke. Before the breeze even had a chance to clear the air, blurs shot out of the concealment at high speeds, slamming into the charging force of wildlife. While the creatures were easily dispatched it was slightly difficult to keep them from the walls of the encampment, but they managed with the occasional bolt shot from the crossbowmen behind the walls.

It was unfortunate that the clones were unable to break the animals out of their possession with trauma, but in order to protect the camp behind him he did what was necessary. The actions of whoever was controlling them were unforgivable.

He stretched his senses out while the battle died down in search of the culprit behind the attack. It was difficult to make out anything with so much residue energy flowing up from the carcasses of the fallen animals. Where are you… Aha! The shinobi sent out a mental command for all but three of his clones to dispel, and issued orders for the three remaining to go behind the wall and gather Eternano.

Naruto took off in a burst of speed into the woods towards his opponent as adrenalin flooded his system. There was nothing quite like the high of battle.

Seconds later his target came into view. It was a tall man with ebony skin, a tall top hat on his head and a long buttoned up purple suit jacket with a high collar. His hair was in large dreadlocks and adorned with golden rings. The man wore a white dress shirt with the top buttons undone showing off the top of his well defined chest and black slacks and polished black shoes. His right hand clutched a beautiful crystal ball cane.

Naruto followed him deeper into the forest, keeping to the branches above with a silent grace. Hopefully he'll lead me right to where he's camped.

Patience was something that every last one of the senseis that Naruto had over the years had painstakingly tried to teach him. He didn't know if it was due to that, the absence of the Kyuubi, or the calming presence of the Eternano flowing in him, or perhaps a combination of it all that was allowing him to think more clearly… but he wasn't about to start complaining now.

The man went deeper and deeper where the trees were larger and more spread apart forcing Naruto to take to higher branches in order to keep up with the man.

At the base of a large stump the man finally stopped, and after wiping a bead of sweat from his brow he placed the cane in the middle and brought his hands to either side of the smooth crystal and mumbled a few words, an incantation Naruto assumed, before small magic diagrams appeared within each hand. Once the spell was complete he began mumbling again.

The shinobi crept closer to the tall man to hear what he was saying.

"… defeated the attack with clones. The Fairy Tail stamp was on his shirt. Have you ever heard of this mage Master?"

An almost demonic sounding voice reverberated from the crystal, "He must be the new mage that disgrace of a wizard Makarov just registered. We have no information on him. Gather what you can and complete the mission then return."

"Hai Master."

The man let the diagrams in his hands fade and lifted up his staff once more before walking in the direction of the dying fire pit. He must have just contacted his guild asking for information on me to use. Its time to take this fool out and get back to Magnolia.

Naruto dropped silently down behind the tall man and launched a devastating right hook.

Only for it to stop millimeters away from the back of the man's head.

"Namikaze Naruto, I'm glad you finally decided to join me down here. You're pretty quiet, ya know?" He said, taking a few steps before turning around and facing Naruto. His eyes were the same pale green of the possessed animals and a neatly trimmed goatee surrounded his mouth.

"Obviously not quiet enough," Naruto replied, mentally kicking himself for the screw up.

"I didn't hear you once. I couldn't see you either. You're very good at being sneaky… ya know?"

"Then how did you know I was here?" Naruto asked as he tried to move, but to no avail.

"Your energy. You're like a beacon of light in the darkest night… ya know?" A grin stretched across his face, "My codename is Puppet Master…" the man said, "of Tartaros!"

"Eh?"

A tick mark appeared, "Tartaros! Member of the Balam Alliance and one of the strongest Dark Guilds in existence, ya know?"

Naruto looked at the man with a lazy expression, "Did you say something?" I have an idea…

"Show some respect, loser! You're about to have the honor of dying by the hand of one of Tartaros' Top Ten ya know!" the man screamed. He grasped the pole of his cane and tugged, revealing a hidden blade attached the crystal mounted on the top. The Puppet Master wasted no time and thrust the thin blade towards the frozen shinobi's throat.

"Kai!"

Naruto surged the calming energy through his system like a tidal wave, freeing him from the binding hold before quickly dodging to the left and sending his leg up in a swift round house, but before he could land it he felt a tug on his other leg that caused him to face plant.

"Kai!"

Its like he's actually taking over part of my body… What a frightening ability. How do you counter something like that? Naruto glared at the man as he regained his footing and flipped back. Shadow clones are out of the question. He's already proven that he can control a large amount things.

"It seems like we may be at an impasse here like this… although, there is a reason why I led you all the way out here to the heart of the forest… ya know?" He said as his face morphed into a maniacal grin. Just as he finished his sentence the forest floor began to shake.

On instinct Naruto dove out of the way as a gargantuan serpent erupted from the ground. Its scales were patterned in an assortment of ovals colored in red yellow and black while the remainder of its scales were a light brown. Its underside was a pure white. The snake had fangs the size of Naruto's forearms. Well this sucks. I wish I took time to work on my seals. Hiraishin would have done the trick, unless…

Naruto grabbed a handful of rocks that came up with the snake and threw them towards the Puppet Master, who laughed at the attempt and brought his cane up to deflect them away.

"Eternano Make: Mass Substitution"

Naruto was gone. The area surrounding the Tartaros member was suddenly enveloped in blue as Naruto appeared behind the man with an outstretched fist and hit him in the kidney. The man tried to turn only for the shinobi to already be gone again in another flash before striking him once more in his blind spot.

As he went to strike again he was caught in the back by the giant serpent's tail and sent soaring through the forest, slamming through two trees before crumbling into the third.

The Puppet Master grinned at the devastating strike before spitting out a mouth full of blood. He walked slowly over to the downed form of Naruto and grinned at his unconscious form, "You're good, Namikaze Naruto. Its been a long time since anyone has been able to make me bleed, but you're not good enough, ya know?" He stabbed his cane down at Naruto only for the man to disappear in a puff of smoke. "What? When did he clone?"

"Eternano Make: Rasengan!"

He turned around in shock as he watched the giant snake fall to the ground, minus a head. There was no sign of the blond mage anywhere, and he couldn't even feel the large source of energy that surged through the man like an ocean.

"Snap."

He turned quickly and brandished his cane sword in the direction of the sound only to see nothing.

"Crack."

Another sharp turn as his blade cut through empty air. "Where are you?" he shouted, "Face me!"

"Says the Puppet Master… Not used to someone else holding your strings?" The voice came from no where and everywhere at once. It echoed throughout the clearing. He felt as something was latching onto his heart. He swung again at the sound of a breaking twig. How can someone just vanish? What is this oppressive feeling?

"You're going to die out here, Puppet Master, and no one will ever find your corpse."

"Snap."

He gasped, turning too fast and tripped over the corpse of the large snake.

"Eternano Make: Rasengan."

And he screamed. The attack drilled into him, twisting his shoulder before it mercifully exploded, sending the Dark Mage skidding across the ground.

Naruto watched the man lay in a crumpled heap. He pulled back on the Rasengan just before it would finish the man off. While killing him would make life easier, he would transport him back to Fairy Tail. Who knows, they might be able to get some information from him.

"H-How?" The man groaned out.

"Magic." Naruto said with a grin before pinching the nerve on the Dark Mage's neck and sending him into a blissful sleep. He checked the mans vitals before hefting him over his shoulder and grabbing the cane. I bet I could make some good money off of this!

Mirajane hummed softly to herself as she sorted out the new requests and began to pin them up on the board. When she got to the S-Ranked stack she gasped. This is the same mission Naru-kun took!

While very rare, occasionally the status of missions could change as employers learned more information. "Master!" She called out, running to catch up to the Wizard Saint, "Master, this is the same mission Naruto-kun went on. It was upgraded to S-Class, you have to send someone to help!"

Makarov Dreyar looked at her, eye-lids sagging slightly from large amounts of alcohol and hiccupped, "We don't have anyone to send who can handle it, Mira-chan. Erza left to go bring Natsu and Lucy back from the S-Class job they stole, and Laxus and Mystogun are on the other side of the country. I dislike this as much as you, but Naruto is strong. Believe in him and he'll make it back safely."

"Yeah…" Mira sadly agreed. I should have gone with him…

At the pace he was walking it took Naruto over an hour to make it back to the beach where the encampment was. It wasn't long before he found himself in front of the gate once more staring in annoyance at the guard with the crossbow.

"… I was just here two hours ago. Open the damn gate," he shouted in exasperation, causing a large vein to bulge near his temple.

"Identification," the guard deadpanned.

"Does it look like I have any free hand to lift my shirt? To hell with this." He crouched low before leaping the gate and landing gently on the other side and made straight for the large white tent.

"Ohayo Fujiko-san!" Naruto exclaimed as he stepped through the flap.

"Namikaze-san, back so soon? Is that the one behind the attacks?" the Trader asked

"Yep, he called himself the Puppet Master. I'm going to bring him back to Fairy Tail and see what the master wants to do with him. That should keep everything off your back so that you can finish the bridge." the shinobi replied, "and if its all the same to you, I'm going to spend the rest of the time relaxing on the beach."

Without anymore interruptions the rest of the bridge was finished within two weeks. Two weeks that Naruto spent just as he said he would, relaxing. The engineers fashioned a steel prison to keep the Puppet Master for the duration of the stay, and also bound, gagged, and blindfolded him to keep him from using his magic on any of the workers.

"Namikaze-san, a word please." Dan called, interrupting Naruto's packing.

"Yes, Fujiko-san?"

He handed him a large suitcase, "Here's the money for the job. I know you accepted the job back when it was still labeled regular, but I threw in the amount listed on the S-Class mission. My company and I owe you a debt of gratitude. I'll be sure to spread the word of your bravery through my contacts."

Naruto took the suitcase with a grin, "I've never backed down from a mission, no matter what happened in it. This one was no different. Thank you for the reward, and if you ever need anything else you know which guild to call."

"Most definitely. I've taken the initiative to arrange for your transport to Hargeon Town so you don't have to haul the Puppet Master across country. Take care Naruto," he said as he held out his hand.

Naruto gripped it firmly and shook, "You too Dan," he said warmly. He lugged the tied up mage up on his shoulder and into the vehicle and sat down on the bench. The ride to Hargeon Town was mostly spent being roughly thrown around for three hours.

They made good time though, arriving just as the clock hit noon. Naruto went straight to the station and bought two tickets for a private chamber and spent an hour using the unfortunate criminal as a foot rest as they made it the rest of the distance to Magnolia Town.

Naruto watched through the windows as he saw the town break through the horizon. He was excited to be back.

When the train came to a halt he got up and slung the Puppet Master back over his shoulder and grabbed the rest of his belongings he obtained and exited the train to a welcome sight, "Natsu, Erza!" he yelled, as he saw the two on the other side of the terminal. The tension in the air between them was palpable, and when Gray and Lucy, two other Fairy Tail mages walked up to them with their eyes downcast he knew he missed something important.

Erza looked at Naruto with a piercing gaze, "Namikaze-san, why do you have a tied up man on your shoulder?"

"I didn't know you were into those kind of activities!" the talking blue cat said.

"What! I captured him on my mission and wasn't sure of the protocol for mages from Dark Guilds so I just brought him with me."

"Usually they are just dropped off with the law enforcement, but if you've already lugged him this far you might as well bring him to Master," Erza said

"You llliiiiikkkkeeee hiiimmm…" said Happy, rolling his tongue with the pronunciation.

"Shut up you stupid cat!"

Naruto fell in step with the four as they made their way back to the guild hall, "So what's with all of the tension?"

"Natsu and Lucy stole an S-Class mission from the board without authorization and Gray followed them. I'm escorting them back to Master for punishment," she said stone faced.

Natsu looked at Gray with a horrified look in his eyes, "Gray, do you think he's going to do… IT?"

Whatever IT was, it certainly terrified the two. When Lucy asked them what it was, the two looked almost as if they would break down in tears. Naturally it caused Lucy to be even more terrified.

The thought however was quickly erased from everyone's mind though as they came into view of the Guild Hall… or what was left of it. Large metal poles penetrated it in almost every direction. It was obvious that in their absence the guild had come under attack.

The group ran towards the building, calling out for any of the members. Panic began to set in until Mirajane stepped out of the building with another of her heartwarming smiles, "Welcome back, I'm so glad you all are safe. Everyone has been worried sick. They are all in the basement along with the Master, I'm sure he wants to see you four."

The four members of Team Natsu trudged into the wreckage of the guild hall while Naruto dropped the Puppet Master off his shoulder and looked at Mirajane with a smile. Just as he was about to speak she flung herself at him into a hug.

"When we got the upgraded mission card I was so worried," Mira cried, clutching tightly to him.

"Mira-chan…" he gently wrapped his arms around her waist, "You don't need to worry about me."

Mira sniffed before breaking the hug, "I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him and smiling, "I'm glad you're back."

Naruto grinned back at her and offered his elbow, "So what happened with the guild?"

She looped her arm through his and let him through the wreckage, "last night the guild hall was attacked. We were lucky no one was inside when they stuck."

"Who did it?"

"Phantom Lord."

Author's Notes - Thanks for the reviews y'all, its nice to know when ones work is appreciated.

Chm01 Eternano from what I understand is the particles that make up the magic in the land. The reason behind it staying Eternano Make, even though it is a bit to type, will be explained later in the story I promise.

Revised 6/3/2012 - Corrected a few spelling errors and got rid of more of the pesky random Japanese words dotting the chapters. Not much else was edited. If you see any mistakes by all means just let me know and I'll get right on it.