Chapter 5: The Tournament Heats Up
Gajeel and Hibari clashed weapons, tonfa with iron sword, and struggled slightly before they both jumped back.
"Iron Dragons Roar", Gajeel yelled sending a cyclone of metal shards towards Hibari.
Narrowly dodging the attack, Hibari rushed towards Gajeel before swinging his tonfa towards Gajeel's head, and even though Gajeel managed to hold up a metal club in preparation to block it, he was surprised when the attack managed to bend his metal club and send him back.
Before he could completely recover however, Gajeel was forced to dodge a hedgehog being shot towards him covered in purple flames.
"What the hell was that?" he thought before he smelled another hedgehog behind him. But before he could turn around to dodge it he was quickly enclosed in a sphere made from the hedgehog's body.
"Let's see if your worthy of being bitten to death by me. Will you rise to the occasion and prove a carnivore against me? Or stay as an Herbivore who gets bitten." Hibari then sat back and watched, waiting to see if Gajeel would manage to break out, or pass out from lack of oxygen.
Inside the sphere, Gajeel was trying his hardest to break the insides of the hedgehog, but he was having little success.
"Iron Dragons Sword", Gajeel yelled swinging his sword arm into one of the walls, with absolutely no affect. "Dammit, what the hell is this hedgehog made off?"
Trying a different tactic, Gajeel used the chain saw ability of his sword, and tried to saw threw the sphere. But he noticed that the only considerable difference he was making was the oxygen his attempts were using up.
"This is getting me nowhere fast," He thought in frustration while breathing heavily. "If this keeps up, I'll pass out from lack of oxygen. This is risky, but it has to work".
Outside the sphere Hibari was growing bored with waiting for Gajeel to break out. After sighing in disappointment, he got ready to contract and dispel the sphere so that he could knock Gajeel's unconscious body out the stage and move on to the other two he saw earlier. However, before he could, he noticed a large amount of energy coming from the sphere.
"What is he doing?" he thought curiously.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon Iron Spiral".
Hibari was surprised to see he that a small crack was starting to appear in the sphere, before it started spreading across the rest of the it and shattering it completely.
Once Gajeel landed on the ground with a small amount of sweat coming off his head, he turned towards Hibari with an angry look on his face.
"Never forget you bastard," Gajeel said as his body started getting covered in Iron Scales. "That dragons are the top predator in the world".
This just caused Hibari to smile with excitement before he rushed towards Gajeel with both his tonfas covered in cloud flames.
Gajeel then turned his arm into a club before swinging it towards Hibari aiming to smack him upside the head, but Hibari managed to dodge the attack and slammed one of his tonfas into Gajeels chin shooting him back and cracking his scales.
"Alright then, take this. Iron Dragon's Lance", Gajeel yelled, before he shot several iron spears towards Hibari.
Seeing the attack coming from a distance, Hibari managed to block them using his tonfa. But once the attack was done he noticed that Gajeel was gone.
"Iron Dragons Roar". Hibari looked up to see Gajeels signature roar barreling towards him.
"Roll's Armor", Hibari said with narrowed eyes, as his attack blocked the roar.
Once it ended he was punched upside the head by an iron clad fist. However, Gajeel was surprised when Hibari looked up with almost no blood coming from his head, and slammed both is tonfas into Gajeels chest, shattering the scales around his midsection, and sending him sliding back while coughing up blood.
Wiping a small amount of blood from the corner of his mouth Hibari looked over towards Gajeel before he began walking towards him.
"You are stronger than I thought", Hibari said with his same intense gaze never leaving his face. "But you are still too weak to be considered a Carnivore".
Gajeel then looked up to see Mirajane, Sting, and Laxus heading towards him.
"Don't worry Gajeel, we got your back", Sting said enthusiastically.
"We will teach them not to underestimate Fairy Tail", Mirajane said, powering up to her Satan Soul form.
And Laxus, while not saying anything, did start powering up with electricity before he started shooting towards Hibari.
"Dammit guys", Gajeel thought. "Don't interfere with my fight, I can handle this on my own?"
Unfortunately, the attack that hit his chest still had the wind knocked out of him and he couldn't say anything, so once Hibari saw what he assumed were Gajeel's allies approaching he pulled out a box before putting his flames in it.
"Reverse Needle Sphere Form", Hibari said before there was an intense glowing of purple light, and cloud flames before Gajeel opened his eyes to see he and Hibari in a giant version of the prison he escaped.
"What the hell is this?" Gajeel asked curiously.
Hibari merely looked at him before taking a fighting stance and allowing the chains of his tonfas to pop out.
"I get it", Gajeel smirked as he started slowly getting up. "You want this to be a fair fight too huh? You're not such a bad guy after all."
"None of that matters," Hibari said as he started swinging the chains. "Once this fight is over, and I have beaten you. I will simply bite to death your herbivore friends as well".
However, when Hibari swung his chains towards Gajeel he was surprised by what happened next. He caught it, and started eating the chains.
"What?" Hibari questioned slightly shocked.
"Looks like I'm the only one who is taking a bite out of anything huh?", Gajeel asked mockingly, before he stood up rejuvenated. "That's much better, now I can get serious".
Hibari watched as Gajeel began getting covered in scales, however unlike before, Hibari noticed that shadows were also swirling around Gajeel's body as well.
"Iron Shadow Dragon Mode".
"Interesting," Hibari said as he began getting ready for battle. "But you will be bitten to death regardless".
"We'll see about that", Gajeel said before charging towards Gajeel.
(Zoro vs Erza)
Clashing in a storm of metal, Zoro and Erza managed to dance back and forth, with neither one gaining ground on the other. Finally, Zoro managed to slash and send Erza back while cutting through her armor and sword.
"What incredible power," Erza thought before she requipped into her flame empress armor.
Swinging her flame sword, she sent a large slash of fire towards Zoro, aiming to use a follow up attack after he dodged.
Unfortunately for Erza, rather than dodging, Zoro cut straight through the flames before swinging his sword towards Erza.
"360 Pound Cannon", Zoro said, before sending an incredibly strong slash of air towards Erza, and while she did manage to dodge it, she was surprised when she had a cut going across her cheek.
Erza then requipped into her heavens wheel armor before facing Zoro, "You're not half bad," Erza said while summoning several swords.
"Hmm, you're a half decent swordsman as well", Zoro said with a smile.
"Half-decent?" Erza said with a frown. "And what may I ask makes me half decent?"
Instead of responding Zoro merely began running towards Erza after drawing his second sword. Seeing him coming, Erza began launching dozens of her blades at Zoro, aiming to catch him off guard with the numbers and force him back.
However, Zoro started deflecting all the swords while slowly approaching Erza before he began rotating rapidly. "Two Sword Style: Rhino Revolve".
Erza was quickly blasted back into the ground while watching as the swords that she had sent flying were all shattered.
"When I said half-decent. I meant your skill in swordsmanship, as good as you are, you lack the skill and grace that most swordsman have. Your swords are nothing more than iron bars in your hands", Zoro said unknowingly quoting Mihawk.
This just made Erza angry before she rushed towards Zoro while switching to her Purgatory armor, intent on showing him just how powerful she was.
However, as she rushed towards Zoro and prepared to crash at him she noticed a large amount of dark energy blast towards Zoro. Forcing him to cut it in half and dodge the rest of the energy blasts.
When Erza looked up, she saw that Mirajane in her Satan Soul form had landed next to her.
"Mirajane, what are you doing here?" asked Erza confused.
"Isn't it obvious Erza", Mirajane said grinning before turning towards Zoro. "I came to help you out. After we tried to save Gajeel and assist him, we were cut off. But I can still help you beat this guy and knock him off the stage".
Erza then began standing up before she requipped into her morning star armor, drawing both the swords she had and staring off at Zoro.
"Thank you, but I can handle this on my own. Why don't you go see if Natsu or Gray need assistance with their opponents."
However, Erza was surprised when Mirajane, instead, shot another blast of darkness magic at Zoro, forcing him to dodge it once again.
"What are you doing?" Erza yelled, beginning to get angry. "I told you I can handle this".
"Yes, I heard you perfectly well Erza. But I also heard you when you told Natsu and Gray that we must put pride aside in order to protect our world. I never took you for the hypocritical type".
Hearing this stunned Erza into silence. After all, what Mirajane said was true, how could she preach about working together and overcoming pride, when she let her very own pride blind her to what needed to be done.
"So, what do you say Erza?" Mirajane said extending a hand towards her. "Let's take this guy down together".
Erza nodded in agreement before rushing towards Zoro and swinging both of her swords at him. And although he was able to dodge it with observation haki, he was forced to dodge a darkness infused punch from Mirajane from above sending him jumping back.
"72 Pound Cannon".
"Photon Slicer", Erza yelled, canceling out the wind slash with a blast of light.
While the flash of bright light temporarily blinded Erza, Zoro using his observation haki was able to sense her perfectly, and rushed her, aiming to end her in a single strike.
"Now, Two Sword Style: Rasho-"
"Evil Explosion", yelled Mirajane, interrupting Zoro's attack and sending him flying away from Erza.
Mirajane then landed near Erza before she shot herself towards Zoro. Once he regained his balance, he started clashing with Mirajane, darkness covered claws vs katanas.
Unfortunately for Zoro, when he finally found an opening in Mirajanes guard and aimed to strike her with the katana in his right hand, Erza speed towards him and blocked the attack in her Flight armor. And Zoro, shocked with her speed, was unable to fully protect himself from Mirajane's full powered Satan Blast attack to his chest which sent him flying back, and coughing up blood.
Once Zoro started rising, he noticed that Erza and Mirajane were standing side by side, ready to attack him at a moment's notice.
"What do you say we end this with one attack Erza?" Mirajane said while charging up a large amount of darkness.
"Yes Mirajane, let's do it", Erza said with a serious look on her face while requipping back into her morning star armor.
"Soul Extinction".
"Photon Slicer".
As the two incredibly powerful attacks of light and darkness shot towards Zoro they began mixing together to create a Unison Raid unlike any the members of Fairy Tail had ever seen.
And once Zoro saw the power of the attack, he knew there was only one thing he could do. So, he put his third sword in his mouth, before he aimed all three swords at the attack.
"Three Sword Style: 1080 Pound Cannon", Zoro yelled, before sending and incredibly destructive slash of air towards the attack managing to cause a clash and eventually stalemate the attack, with much surprise to Erza and Mirajane.
The attacks then created a huge explosion that blanketed the entire field in smoke, preventing Erza and Mirajane from seeing anything. And once the smoke cleared Zoro was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go?" Mirajane asked confused.
Erza closed her eyes for a second, and tried to sense the energy that Zoro gave off. And after a short while of picking off nothing she gave up.
"He has no source of energy that I can track, so finding him will be very difficult, if not impossible".
"No energy?" Mirajane asked surprised. "So he did all that with physical strength alone?" Mirajane questioned.
"He truly is a powerful warrior, and one we cannot take lightly", Erza said matter-of-factly. "And if that blond man and the rubber boy are as strong as he is. Then Natsu and Gray are in trouble".
(Sanji vs Gray)
"Ice Make: Lance", Gray yelled sending multiple spears of ice towards Sanji.
Kicking each ice lance away, either shattering it or deflecting it, Sanji started shooting towards Gray at high speeds before doing a handstand and kicking at his midsection sending Gray sliding against the ground.
"Ice Make: Hammer", Gray yelled forming a giant hammer made of ice and swinging it towards the cook.
"Poitrine", Sanji said calmly, shattering the hammer before aiming his other leg towards Gray's shoulder, attempting to knock him off balance. "Épaule".
When the leg hit against Gray, he was sent face first into a ground leaving a large crater.
"Stay down stripper", Sanji said lowering his leg, before his eyes became hearts. "I have to make sure that bastard Zoro isn't hurting that red-haired goddess I saw."
But when he tried to turn away he was surprised to see a large sword being swung towards him, forcing him to block it with a leg covered in armament haki.
"Where not done yet you blonde bastard, don't underestimate me. Ice Make: Floor", as Gray put his hand on the ground. The entire area around them instantly froze, and when Sanji tried to regain his balance, he was slashed by an Ice axe, giving him a large wound on his chest.
"Ice Make: Cannon". Sanji was then forced to block a large ball of ice with his leg. And as he tried to jump back he was surprised when his back hit up against a large wall of ice.
"When did you-"
"Don't think me freezing the ground and all those ice attacks weren't planned. This is what happens when you underestimate me, Ice Make: Cannon", Gray then created several cannons of ice, and started firing rocks and ice blocks towards Sanji. Aiming to bury him under the rubble while he couldn't dodge.
"Looks like your caught with nowhere to go" Gray thought with a smile.
"Sky Walk", Sanji yelled. Before he began running on the air dodging, every single shot fired at him while getting above Gray shocking him.
"What the hell?" Gray yelled. "You can walk on air?"
Instead of responding, Sanji started skywalking towards Gray at high speeds getting ready to launch another attack, and surprisingly his leg started glowing red.
Gray getting ready to attack him, began turning his arm black, in preparation to use his Devil Slayer magic, when they both heard a really loud women's scream in the distance. Causing both men to stop, and look towards the source.
"A woman in distress?" Sanji said with shock. "Don't worry my future love, I shall rescue you." Sanji then started skywalking as fast as he could in that direction.
Before Gray could stop him he heard the noise again and realized where he heard that voice before.
"Mirajane?"
(Earlier)
"Thanks for that assistance", Erza said, powering down her armor back to her basic form. "That guy was incredibly strong. Especially since he managed to block a Unison raid".
"Agreed, but we did manage to drive him off. Maybe soon we should try and find somebody else that we can take down", Mirajane said with a smile.
"How about me?" said a deep voice from the distance.
But when Erza and Mirajane turned around they were surprised when somebody slammed their outstretched fist into Erza, sending her flying so far away that Mirajane couldn't even see her.
"ERZAAAAA", Mirajane yelled before transforming into her Satan Soul: Halphas in rage, and turning towards the culprit.
Who she saw was Estarossa looking towards her with a smile on his face.
"Gee, I hope I didn't kill her. But since I haven't disqualified our team yet, I guess I didn't, although most of her bones are probably broken. Do you have any healers on your te-"
"Cosmic Beam", Mirajane yelled sending a blast of purple and blue energy towards Estarossa blasting him point blank in the face. But surprisingly, there was absolutely no damage to him.
"What an interesting attack", Estarossa said, never losing that same carefree grin, before rushing towards her, and grabbing her by the neck.
"How did that attack not affect you?" Mirajane asked, while barely managing to gasp for air.
"Why that's simple", Estarossa said calmly before slamming Mirajane into the ground and throwing her into a large amount of rock. "It's because you have hatred for me in your heart".
Estarossa then began walking towards Mirajane, before he appeared in front of her and slamming his foot on her leg, snapping it like a twig, causing Mirajane to let out an extremely loud scream of pain.
"Your ability is actually quite interesting. I have sensed several energies that are similar, or almost identical to that of us demons, but since you were the closest I decided to question you first." Picking her up and holding her by her neck again. "Why does your power change from that of a humans to that of a demons?"
Instead of responding, Mirajane tried punching Estarossa in the face to force him to let her go, but instead he calmly grabbed her arm after she was done, and broke it just like her leg, causing another scream, and having Mirajane turn back into her normal form.
"I wonder how many bones I can break before you start to answer my questions?" Estarossa asked curiously.
"Mouton Shoot".
Estarossa turned around before receiving several high-speed kicks into his face and stomach, not only forcing him to let go of Mirajane, but also sending him sliding back against the ground.
"Interesting", Estarossa thought. "That attack did absolutely no damage at all, even though it had that much force. That means that he has hate in his heart, I wonder if it is someone from her universe".
When Mirajane looked up from her position, she was surprised to see Sanji standing above her, shaking with anger.
"Why are you helping me out here?" Mirajane asked confused. "We aren't even from the same team?"
Sanji before taking out his cigarette and dropping on the ground, before stamping it out simply looked towards her with a smile.
"Regardless of what team you're on, I can't just let a damsel in distress get hurt by someone in my presence. That's what it means to be a gentleman".
"My my", Estarossa said walking forward. "You humans sure are confusing, helping someone who isn't on your team? That is definitely interesting".
However, before he could take a step further he was immediately incased in large amounts of ice from behind, showing Gray behind him with his hands on the ground.
"What happened Mirajane?" Gray asked concerned before turning angrily towards Sanji. "What did you do to her?"
"No Gray, it was that guy you froze, he is the one who did this to me".
When Gray turned towards the now frozen Estarossa, he had an extremely angry look on his face before turning back towards Mirajane.
"Don't worry Mira, I'm sure someone in our group can help your arm and leg. Hey curly brow, you mind kicking that guy off the stage for me?"
Hearing his nickname, Sanji got a tick mark on his face before he got into Gray's face, "What did you call me stripper, what makes you think you're in charge of me anyway?"
As the two of them got into each other's faces, planning on starting a round two, they heard a cracking noise behind them before the ice covering Estarossa shattered, with him having absolutely no injuries what so ever.
"How interesting. Your ice abilities are very powerful indeed", He said mockingly. "But if that is all you have, then this will be a very short battle".
Seeing him walking towards him, both Sanji and Gray took battle stances before they looked each other in the eyes. Gray could sense the energy he was giving off, it rivaled or maybe even surpassed the magic energy he felt from Zeref.
And Sanji's observation haki, was practically screaming at him to get away from this man.
"Truce", they both said simultaneously, before getting into defensive positions ready to defend themselves against Estarossa's attack.
(Luffy vs Natsu)
Luffy and Natsu were seen blurring across the field. A storm of stretching punches, lightning and fire before they clashed fists in the center and both jumped back.
"Wow, you got way stronger Natsu", Luffy said while taking a deep breath.
"Yeah, I told you I had something to keep up with you", Natsu said grinning. "The lightning of my attacks may not work, but that doesn't mean that the enhanced speed and power I get won't make a difference."
Luffy just smiled upon hearing this before he started running towards Natsu with both his hands stretched out.
"Gum Gum-"
"Lightning Flame Dragons-"
"Jet Pistol".
"Iron Fist", both yelled simultaneously before the clash of both attacks sent both sliding in opposite directions.
As Luffy and Natsu stared each other down, getting ready to continue round 2. Natsu began channeling light and fire into his left and right hand respectively.
"With the flames of my right hand, and the Lightning from my left. Put them together and you get. Light-Flame Dragons Brilliant Flame". When Natsu shot the attack forward, a huge ball of burning fire and crackling lightning, Luffy put his thumb in his mouth and began blowing air into it, increasing the size of his hand before turning it black.
"Third Gear, Gum Gum Elephant Gun", Luffy yelled, using his blackened hand to completely burst through the attack and slam right into Natsu, sending him flying back.
Natsu looked up from his downed position to see Luffy high above him in the air.
"So he can grow his body parts too? What the hell is next?", He asked confused.
"Gum Gum Giant Axe". Luffy then swung his foot down towards Natsu, large enough to cover Natsu and the surrounding area in a shadow.
Using his fire and lightning abilities, Natsu barely managed to speed out of the way of the attack before firing another Lightning Flame Dragons roar towards Luffy.
And while he managed to deflate his body fast enough to dodge the attack and head towards the ground, while in free fall, he was unable to block a lightning enhanced flame punch from Natsu, that sent him flying directly into the ground.
"Time to finish this, Lightning Flame Dragons Firing Hammer". Natsu then sent his flaming arm and elbow towards Luffy aiming for his chest, so that he could knock him out.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance since he was quickly hit by a blackened fist disrupting his attack, and sending him flying back in the distance.
When Luffy looked up, he saw Sabo standing above him holding his fist covered in haki, before helping Luffy to stand.
"You all right Luffy?" Sabo asked with a smile. Before he looked towards Natsu and shot a stream of fire towards him.
"Stop Sabo", Luffy said looking towards Natsu. "Don't interfere with my fight against this guy".
Sabo was about to comment on Luffy's recklessness before he heard what sounded like a slurping noise, and looked up to see Natsu devouring his fire.
"What the hell?" Sabo said with a shocked look on his face.
"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed with excitedly look on his face.
After completely eating what was left of the attack, Natsu looked towards Sabo before slamming his fist into his palm.
"Now I'm all fired up", Natsu said as his flames began spiraling up around him.
"He can eat fire?" Sabo asked. "What the hell is this guy?"
Luffy just smiled before he stepped in front of Sabo. "Let me handle this Sabo. I can take this guy down no problem," Luffy said cracking his knuckles. "Don't interfere with this fight".
Sabo just looked over towards Natsu, before looking back at Luffy and the confidence he displayed. Smiling at him, he started stepping back before he nodded at Luffy and sat on the ground, ready to observe the battle.
"Ready to pick up where we left off Natsu?" Luffy asked blowing air into his thumb, reactivating gear third.
"Hell yeah Luffy", Natsu said allowing the lightning to swirl around him, before he rushed towards Luffy channeling a large amount of flames and lightning around him.
(Meliodas vs Akainu)
Meliodas dashed towards Akainu just like Ban, but instead of punching him he sliced at him using Lostvayne.
Unsurprisingly, the attack went right through Akainu, but as Akainu turned around towards Meliodas and punched at him, his attack was dodged as Meliodas started jumping back.
"Cheeky brat", Akainu said annoyed before shooting another blast of magma towards Meliodas, before watching it get full countered against him once again.
"Not really a kid actually", Meliodas said while calmly holding his sword and watching Akainu. "In fact I might be older than you".
Rather than responding, Akainu turned into lava and shot himself towards Meliodas before punching down at him. However, once he dodged the attack the fist promptly exploded, sending Meliodas sliding back covered in slight burns
"Hmm, so it looks like my attacks have an effect on you after all," Akainu said with a slight smirk before he allowed Kings spear to fly through his body.
"Damn, thought I could give him a severe injury while he was caught off guard", King said frustrated.
Akainu simply looked at him and pointed both his fists towards both King and Diana before firing large blasts of lava towards them. "Meteor Volcano".
Seeing the attack coming, both Diana and King prepared an attack to counter it before Merlin put up a perfect cube to block it.
"This certainly is an interesting opponent", Merlin said with a smirk on her face. "He is not only immune to most conventional attacks, but he also has a way of sensing sneak attacks. He is also quite destructive. Defeating him won't be easy."
"You shouldn't talk about someone who is in front of you", Akainu said appearing in front of Merlin.
"He's fast", Merlin thought, preparing to cast a spell to block his attack.
"Don't worry, I will only leave you with enough burns to knock you out", Akainu said maliciously.
However, he never got the chance before an attack completely dispersed his body and sent the remains flying a short distance away.
When Akainu reformed himself, he looked over towards Merlin, only to see the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor standing in front of her with a still outstretched hand.
"Attempting to harm my sun while I am here? How impertinent", Escanor said before glaring at Akainu.
Akainu simply glared at him before he started channeling lava into his arm, and launching it towards them all as an explosive shot. "Lava Rocket".
However, before the attack could get close, with a wave of his axe Escanor dispersed it.
With a shocked look on his face, Akainu was unprepared for the attack being aimed at him by Gowther.
"Now it's time", Gowther said with the same monotone as usual in his voice. "Nightmare Teller".
Gowther then fired one of his arrows of light towards Akainu, and watched as it shot towards him at a high-speed. Believing that this would be as futile as the other attacks, Akainu simply let the arrow hit him, thinking it would go right through him. However, he was surprised when he was shot directly by the arrow, and he collapsed onto the ground.
This caused many onlookers to look around in confusion, while the members of the Seven Deadly Sins only smiled.
"So it looks like he can't faze through Gowthers arrows." Merlin said calmly. "He let his guard down, and payed a price that will cost his team severely".
Walking towards Akainu's now collapsed body Meliodas carefully poked him to make sure he was really collapsed. And once he realized that he was not fazing through his touch, Meliodas picked him up and looked towards the other end of the ring.
Taking a few steps, he began twirling Akainu in the air, before throwing him as hard as he could towards the edge of the stadium.
Sailing through the air, Akainu's unconscious body was about to fly right off the edge, before a wall of ice acted as a cushion catching his body, and causing him to slide back onto the stadium floor.
"Really Sakazuki", A voice called out in the distance, "You of all people got careless."
Appearing from the smoke and ice, was none other than ex-Admiral Aokiji, now Kuzan of the Blackbeard Pirates. Staring down at the unconscious Akainu, he waited for him to wake up but was slightly surprised when he didn't.
"If your waiting for your friend, it is very unlikely that he will ever wake up again", Gowther said calmly as he looked towards Kuzan.
Unfortunately, he didn't get to ask for an elaboration before he was forced to dodge several of King's spears being shot towards him. As he started jumping back to gain some distance he was surprised to see a wall of earth rise up behind him.
"What the hell?" Kuzan wondered confused, before his observation haki warned him of an upcoming attack, forcing him to dodge one of Gowthers arrows. "Definitely don't wanna get caught by one of those".
However, do to being caught off guard, Kuzan was unable to dodge a sneak attack from Ban, as he grabbed him from behind and held him in a headlock.
"Now Gowther, hit him with everything you've got", Ban yelled.
"Right Ban, sacred treasure Herritt. Blackout arrow", Gowther said aiming it towards Kuzan. "This should render him unconscious".
Seeing the attack, and thinking about his team's chances of victory if he were to fall as well, he calmly exhaled a large amount of mist. Instantly freezing Ban as well as all the surrounding earth.
Thinking quickly, he shattered Ban around him, and jumped away from the area barely managing to dodge the arrow of light.
When the other sins looked at Ban's shattered remains, they were unprepared as Kuzan fired large amounts of ice spears from above towards them.
"Damn," Meliodas thought. "His Ice is physical, I can't full counter it".
"Form Five: Increase," King said calmly, canceling out each spear with one of his kunai.
As Kuzan was starting to fall towards the ground he was surprised when Escanor appeared in front of him and swung his axe down at him, completely cutting him in half.
However, when Escanor looked at Kuzan's body he saw that it started reforming back from ice into his original form. When Kuzan reformed, he noticed that he was starting to melt again from being in Escanors presence.
"The heat he is giving off", Kuzan thought. "It's actually melting my ice body".
Escanor then swung his axe towards Kuzan, forcing him to dodge and send several spears of ice towards Escanor. But once the spears actually got close to, his heat and magical ability melted the spears before they even touched him.
"Well, looks like your ability is a perfect counter to my devil fruit", Kuzan said calmly. "This is gonna be incredibly tough to win. Maybe even worse than that fight against that bastard Akainu".
"Hm, I assure you, I will put up much more of a fight then that man did", Escanor said matter-of-factly.
Off in the distance, Gowther was watching the attack with an arrow aimed towards Kuzan, waiting for him to make a single mistake against Escanor so he could end him.
"Once he makes a mistake, I will hit him with the blackout arr-"
"GOWTHER WATCH OUT", Meliodas yelled towards Gowther.
Gowther was barely able to turn around before he was slammed into the ground by a fist covered in lava. A pissed off Akainu above him, smoldering with anger.
When Escanor turned around to see what happened, he was promptly punched by a fist covered in haki, courtesy of Kuzan, sending him sliding a few feet back. Not much distance for any normal opponent, but enough distance for Kuzan to get himself away from the Lions Sin.
Akainu himself was surprised when Meliodas managed to get up to him, grab Gowther, and get back before he could stop him. Kuzan then jumped towards Akainu, and once he landed next to him he merely watched the Sins.
"So it looks like you woke up from your nap Sakazuki", Kuzan said calmly. "How was it?"
Rather than responding Akainu turned towards the rest of the sins, preparing to launch a large amount of lava towards them all, but before he could get the chance Merlin shot a giant fireball towards both former admirals. Kuzan in response created enough ice to cancel out the attack, but when the attacks clashed and created a large amount of mist, the sins used that blind spot to escape.
"Damn, those criminals got away", Akainu said annoyed before turning away from the spot they were just at and turning back.
"We can still chase after them", Kuzan said looking in the distance. "I doubt we couldn't locate them if we tried".
"It is pointless, they have us outnumbered and they have someone who can hurt us despite us being logias. The best possible plan is to wait for them to attack us, then we strike".
Looking towards Akainu before sighing, Kuzan decided to walk off again and make sure that other members of their group weren't in a bad situation. After all, there were no Pirates, Marines, and Revolutionary army, only the people of that universe trying to survive.
(Kuwabara vs Kenpachi)
Kuwabara was currently rushing towards Kenpachi with his spirit sword activated, but surprisingly Kenpachi managed to block it with almost no difficulty. He then swung Nozarashi towards Kuwabara, shattering his spirit sword, and sending him flying back in the process. Kuwabara landed heavily on his back, trying to bring in more oxygen, but he barely had time to think before he was forced to roll out the way of another of Kenpachi's slashes.
"Come on so-called strongest human", Kenpachi said with boredom. "If you're the best that your Universe has to offer, then this tournament is gonna be really boring. Tell you what, why don't I give you an advantage".
Kenpachi began taking off his Shinigami robe, enough to show his chest. "I will let you get a free hit".
Seeing him let his guard down, Kuwabara got an angry look on his face. "Is this guy trying to trick me? No just from our clashes I can tell this guy's a real man. So that means that he is underestimating me."
Getting up, Kuwabara started channeling more spirit energy into his sword, forming a giant great sword, before he rushed towards Kenpachi.
"I'll show you not to underestimate me, Spirit Sword: Excalibur." Kuwabara swung the sword, aiming to give Kenpachi a shallow wound, but was surprised when the blade shattered against his skin like glass.
"What the hell?", Kuwabara said shocked. Kenpachi merely sighed in disappointment before slashing him across the chest and sending him sliding back with a punch to the stomach.
Once Kuwabara started getting up, he noticed that Kenpachi was already above him, swinging down his blade at him. Thinking fast Kuwabara channeled spirit energy into his leg and kicked Kenpachi in the chest, sending him sliding away from him.
"Take this then you bastard, Spirit Sword Shards", Kuwabara yelled, sending shards of his spirit energy towards Kenpachi, which all either got deflected or tanked with ease.
Seeing this Kenpachi simply sighed, but when he turned towards Kuwabara he was surprised when he was him right in front of him, holding another spirit sword. Surprisingly however, the attack actually managed to leave a slash mark on Kenpachi's skin. Jumping back to gain some distance, Kuwabara smiled at Kenpachi before swinging his sword around.
"I figured it out. You use your energy to harden your skin, so all I had to do was add a little extra spirit energy to my sword, and I could cut you. Now this is more of a fair fight".
"A fair fight huh," Kenpachi said smiling. "You know something kid, I like you. This might just be a bit of fun after all."
"Well if you wanna have a real fight, then stop holding back on me. I don't like being underestimated, so come at me with everything you've got".
Hearing this Kenpachi started laughing, "Go all out huh". Reaching for his eyepatch, he smiled as he gripped it with his hand. "Be careful what you wish for, he said maniacally removing his patch.
Once Kenpachi removed the eyepatch, a flood of spiritual energy began pouring out from him turning the heads of several people from throughout the field.
"That energy, it's like I'm looking at another tailed beast", Gaara said with slight surprise.
"Too think these other universes would have people on par with a tailed beast, we really cannot let our guard down", Onoki stated while trying to get a feel for the heights of Kenpachis energy.
"You feel that King?" Diana asked while looking towards the source. "That's a pretty big energy signature".
"Yeah, it's at the level of Galan's, maybe even higher", King said with a slight amount of worry. "But if he's the best they have to offer, we can win this for sure".
"Yeah, the Captain and Escanor can beat him no problem", Diana said enthusiastically.
"How interesting", Doflamingo said, while keeping his usual smile. "He may be an interesting opponent to fight after all".
"Who, this energy is like a second Gildarts", Laxus thought surprised. "That man is someone who needs to be watched closely".
Both Natsu and Luffy, battered and breathing heavily from each other's attacks, stopped to look towards the energy that they could feel rising from Kenpachi. They then smiled in anticipation, mentally deciding to challenge that person next, before shooting towards each other once again.
Back with the competitors themselves Kuwabara was in a state of shock, the energy being given off by Kenpachi was so powerful that it actually took form all around him.
"I hope you ready", Kenpachi yelled snapping Kuwabara out of his trance. "Cause here I come".
No sooner did those words leave his mouth, did Kenpachi appear in front of Kuwabara, and slam his sword down on top of him. While Kuwabara was able to block the slash with his sword, he was still forced to his knees by the slash itself.
"His strength, it's unreal", Kuwabara thought with gritted teeth. "I think he's as strong as Sensui".
"Come on. Didn't you say you wanted to see me going all out, well this is what it looks like", Kenpachi said while pushing him back.
Seeing himself being pushed further and further, Kuwabara decided to try a risky tactic. Rolling away from Kenpachi he began increasing the length of his spirit sword before stabbing it towards Kenpachi,
"Take this, Spirit Sword Javelin". Kuwabara stabbed the javelin towards Kenpachi, trying to stab him or force him to dodge the attack, but instead, Kenpachi countered it by running past the spears point, although he was cut across the face in the process and he slammed his fist right into Kuwabara's chest.
Coughing up blood from the hit, Kuwabara was sent flying to the ground but managed to stop himself before he fell off the edge. Lying on his back, he was struggling to get up as Kenpachi started slowly walking towards him, his massive spiritual pressure taking the form of a yellow skull behind him. One that Kuwabara could see all too clearly.
"This isn't good", Kuwabara thought, struggling to stand. "At this rate, the only thing that could work on him is the dimension sword. But he's too fast, there's no way I could hit him".
"Your time of thinking is up", Kenpachi said running towards him, before swinging his sword down. "It's time for you to get off the stage".
Shakily standing up, Kuwabara began attempting to form his dimension sword. "It's now or never, Dimension Swo-"
"Serpent Yo-Yo's", a childlike voice yelled as Yo-yos wrapped themselves around Kenpachi, restraining him completely.
"What the hell is this?" Kenpachi asked annoyed, trying to get out of his binds.
"That voice, Rinku?" Kuwabara asked, as a short kid with brown hair wearing a cap came out of the smoke.
"Of course, who did you think it would be who saved your butt". Seeing Kenpachi struggle, Rinku merely smiled before tightening the rope around his body, completely immobilizing him. "It's useless to struggle, my strings can hold down even S-class demons. Just give up".
Rather than respond, Kenpachi tried using his spiritual pressure to blast the strings off him, but to no avail.
"Kuwabara, hurry up and use your dimension sword to get this guy. Then we can regroup with the others," Rinku said.
Kuwabara merely looked at the restrained Kenpachi, gripping his sword so tight that his knuckles were white.
"This doesn't feel right, winning like this. This isn't how a man is supposed to wi-"
"What about Yukina?" Rinku asked, causing Kuwabara to tense up. "If we lose, everyone dies, even her. Being a man isn't worth it if it means losing everyone you care about right?"
Hearing these words of wisdom, from a surprising source none the less, Kuwabara simply nodded before channeling his spirit energy through his sword in a very familiar shape. "Dimension Sword", Creating a blade that was completely streamlined with a perfected edge.
Running towards Kenpachi, who was still struggling to get out of the strings that bound him, Kuwabara raised his sword aiming to slash and incapacitate his opponent.
"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro", said an unknown voice as six blades of light stabbed into Kuwabara from all sides, paralyzing him a few inches away from Kenpachi's chest.
"What the hell?" Rinku said confused before a blast of fire sent him flying back, loosening his Yo-yo's enough for Kenpachi to get free.
Looking towards the cause of those techniques, Kenpachi was annoyed to see Byakuya Kuchiki standing a short way away, holding out two smoking fingers. He then flash stepped next to Kenpachi before looking towards Kuwabara.
"I didn't ask for your help Kuchiki", Kenpachi said with a slight glare before turning towards Kuwabara. "Now let the kid go, I wanna finish that fight we were having".
"I don't expect a barbarian like yourself to understand, but in matters such as this personal beliefs must be put aside for the sake of Soul Society," Byakuya said matter-of-factly.
Looking towards Byakuya, Kenpachi put his blade towards his neck before staring him down, "It doesn't matter what's at stake. If I start a fight, you better be damn sure I'm gonna finish it. So unless you wanna fight me right here and now, I suggest you drop that damn kido spell".
While Kenpachi and Byakuya had a mini-staredown, Kuwabara tried his hardest to break out of the binds, but to no avail. Flexing as much of his spirit energy as possible, he managed to loosen the technique enough to get his arm free. Trying not to waste any time, he slashed the spell apart with his dimension sword before he started breathing heavily.
Looking towards the downed Kuwabara, Byakuya was about to attack him regardless of Kenpachi before he was forced to dodge several Yo-Yo strings from rapping around him.
Turning towards Rinku Byakuya stoically stared at the childlike demon before he began drawing his sword, "I'm impressed that you managed to take that Kido spell with almost no injuries. Your much more durable than I gave you credit for child".
"Of course I did, you're dealing with an S-Class demon. Just one of us is strong enough to destroy the human world, and our entire team is made up of them".
"Intriguing, in that case", Byakuya said before flash stepping behind Rinku with his sword in the air. "I suppose I should defeat you quickly then". Seeing the katana being swung down at him, Rinku was forced to block it with his yo-yo strings before jumping back to gain some distance.
"Hado 4: Byakurai", Byakuya calmly said, shooting a large blast of lightning, engulfing Rinku's body.
"RINKU", yelled Kuwabara. Trying to rush to his aid, Kuwabara was forced to dodge a slash from Kenpachi who had his same sadistic look on his face.
"Don't turn your back on me kid", Kenpachi yelled swinging his sword repeatedly at Kuwabara, forcing him to dodge each time. Before finally, tired of constantly dodging, Kuwabara swung his dimension sword with enough power to actually leave a large gash on Kenpachi's chest.
However rather than being deterred, Kenpachi simply moved closer and headbutted Kuwabara, sending him sliding away from him.
Looking down at the wound that was starting to bleed, Kenpachi started laughing before he held his sword and pointed it towards Kuwabara. "Your definitely strong kid, and it looks like you sword can finally cut me".
"Of course it can. My dimension sword can cut through anything, even space it's the sharpest sword in existence", Kuwabara said smugly.
This caused Kenpachi to get an even larger grin before looking at his blade, "The sharpest sword in existence huh? How about we put it to the test."
Kenpachi's spiritual pressure started rising, to the point that all the rocks and pebbles in the vicinity started shaking as he held up his blade.
"Drink Nozarashi".
Energy began pouring off of Kenpachi as his blade started glowing and smoke rose from around his body. When it cleared, Kenpachi was seen holding the shikai form of his blade that looked more like a giant cleaver.
Pointing it towards Kuwabara, Kenpachi began smiling before he started running towards him, "Let's see whose blade is sharpest".
(Meanwhile)
Killer Bee was currently wandering around, looking for a quiet place to perfect his latest rap. He had been working on it for hours, and he only needed on last line before it was complete.
"Shouldn't you be focused on the tournament Bee?" Gyuki aka the 8-tails asked.
"Yo don't worry about it eight, when I'm done this rap'll be really great. Until I can come up with a good ending for my style, fighting all these others might take awhile".
Sighing at Killer Bee's antics, Gyuki simply decided to sit back and wait for him to decide when his rap was done. But before either of them could react or understand what happened, Erza came out of nowhere, her armor shattered, and slammed directly into Killer Bee sending him off the edge of the stadium.
Slowly getting up, Erza looked in the direction that she was punched in before she narrowed her eyes.
"That man, he managed to send me flying such a distance with just a single punch. And his magical energy, it was brief, but it rivaled even Gildarts. I have to get back and help Mirajane as soon as I can", she said with worry.
"Hold on, fool ya fool", Killer Bee yelled while holding onto the edge before swinging himself back onto the stage. "You came outta knowhere and hit me upside the head, the last person who tried that ended up dead. Oh that was good, I gotta right that down, if I forget my smile will turn into a fro-"
Killer Bee suddenly stopped rapping when he realized that Erza slamming into him knocked his rap book into the void.
"Bee?" Gyuki asked, concered for his partners mental state.
"Listen, I don't have time to be fighting you", Erza said calmly. "I have a comrade who is in danger, but after I help them I would be happy to fi-"
Erza didn't even get to finish her statement before she was forced to dodge a punch from Bee that cracked where she was standing on. "What the hell?"
"Yo, you trashed my book and my raps are history, the final verse of my lyrics will forever stay a mystery, but when I'm down with you, you'll be black and blue, Eight tails that's me the rappin Killer Bee".
"What the hell is he talking about?" Erza thought confused before she was forced to dodge a slash from one of Killer Bee's sword.
Authors Note: So sorry about the long ass wait guys, I'm pretty happy with where I stopped but if any of you have some thoughts or critiques I would love to hear them. BTW, to all those Screwattack fans out there, Ichigo vs Naruto is coming on November 11. Let's be honest, win or lose there are gonna be triggered fans on both sides, I'm not gonna say who I personally think would win, since I might have these two clash in this story. And if they do I want the result to be a surprise, but I might talk about what Screwattack gets wrong if they get anything wrong that is. But if you guys have any idea about who would win, let me know. Until next time, peace out.
Coming Up Next: Nearly every universe is stuck in a serious battle with another. While some are easier than others, one things for sure, The Tournament is only just heating up.
Next Time: Clash of Power, Swords, and Spirits