Chapter 26 - Ragnarok
Porlyusica's Hut, 1 week after Mordred gives Birth
Laxus was smiling as he looked at his new baby brother. Being a small child, he was initially jealous that someone else would take up his mother's attention, but that changed. The five year old couldn't help but focus on the new addition to his family. Laxus slowly reached out to the newborn baby as the infant turned his head to acknowledge Laxus' presence.
Baby Siegfried Naruto would inadvertently grab his brother's finger. This made Laxus feel excited as his brother kept a tight hold.
"Mommy look, baby Sieg has my finger." Laxu called out.
Mordred coughed in response, "Do you love him Laxus?" she asked.
"Yes I love him, I'm gonna be the best big brother ever." Laxus said before watching Siegfried yawn. "Oh no! Don't cry!" he pleaded.
Mordred laughed, "He's fine Laxus, your baby brother is just tired like me." she said.
"Why is he tired? He doesn't do anything." Laxus asked.
"Your brother is still developing Laxus. Everything takes too much energy for him." Mordred answered. "Right precious?" she asked.
Baby Siegfried silently turned his head towards the sound of his mother's voice. As he was too underdeveloped to understand and react to anything.
"Baby Sieg can't talk yet." Laxus said.
"I know Laxus, but he knows when someone is calling out to him." Mordred said before trying to sit up. "Laxus, you know babies are difficult to raise right?" she asked.
Laxus nodded in response while still looking at his newborn brother.
"Then you know he's small and it's going to take a while for him to understand things." Mordred said as she gently rubbed her hand over Laxus' spiky hair. "Trust me, you were a little handful yourself." she said.
Laxus blushed, "No, I was a good boy." he responded.
Mordred smiled as she rolled her eyes, "Laxus, just promise me that you will be a good big brother. Sieg Jr. is going to need lots of attention, but don't think that means I love you any less." she said. "Fairy Tail is family and family stays together in the worst of days. Sometimes we fight, sometimes we don't get along and sometimes there's just that one person who annoys you." she said.
Laxus looked at his mother and continued to listen.
"So instead of ganging up one guy, try and remember that we're family. We're the only people who care for each other." Mordred said before coughing. "It might be hard when you're a boring adult and things seem more complicated than they should to be. But remember, don't try to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders. At least depend on others, know at there's someone that you can depend on." she said before coughing again.
"Mama, you're getting more sick." Laxus said, sounding more worried.
Mordred coughed for another minute before clutching her chest, "I swear, I was made for raising babies. Not making babies." she said. "Still, look at me, I'm the toughest Fairy Tail wizard and I need an old woman like your grandma to take care of me." she said with a weak smile.
Laxus slowly walked up to his mother and grabbed her hand, "Don't be sick, mama." he said.
Mordred just smiled as she gently ruffled her son's hair, "Don't worry about old me. Just stay healthy for me, okay?" she asked. "Watch out for yourself and your brother." she said before hearing her infant son whining.
Laxus quickly stumbled towards Siegfried who sounded like he was ready to cry. The toddler stuck out his hand but held it back as he was afraid of doing the wrong thing. Laxus looked back at Mordred who gave him an encouraging smile and while it wasn't much. Laxus gently reached for his newborn brother's hand and heard the boy calm down a bit.
"Okay, I admit I wasn't expecting that. I guess Baby Sieg just wanted attention." Mordred said with a snicker.
Deep down, Mordred just wanted to see her sons getting along even though she wasn't in any condition to stand and pick up her baby. Luckily the baby wasn't in any mood to cry for extender periods of time.
The most beautiful individual will die a needless death
In Magnolia Town
The stranger continued to beat up the boy who claimed to be Naruto across the forest. Every time the alleged shinobi from 30 years ago tried tos stand up. The stranger would proceeded to step on a part of his body to the point he could hear bones crack. By one point, the stranger gripped "Naruto" by the back of his neck and raised him up.
The stranger studied the angry boy as if he were looking at piece of meat and deciding if it's worth eating.
"If you're Naruto Uzumaki, how come you look like a little lad? Shouldn't you be an old codger by now?" the stranger asked before Naruto punched the man in the face. "This feels too fishy for me. I don't like seafood by the way. Can't stand it and I can't stand looking at a pretender like you." he said before his foe kicked him in the gut.
The stranger was hit with enough force to make him drop the boy and stumble back. Seconds later, the boy who the stranger deemed to be a fraud had charged up a sphere of blue chakra in his palm. The stranger tilted his head in confusion before being sent flying and crashing towards the brick road of Magnolia town. The stranger stood up and shook his head as if the crash did nothing to him.
Only then deciding to jump to the side as to avoid another sphere from hitting him. The stranger raised a hand as to avoid getting dust in his eyes from the attack.
"Let's try this again, they call me Balder. Can you say Balder?" the stranger asked in a mocking tone. Only to see a heated glare from the boy's red eyes, "Hm, not much of a talker. You're really not that good as cosplaying if you don't know the source material very well." he said.
"What would you know of me?" he asked.
"Because the whore who made me has been dying to get his hands on your genes. Or the real Naruto Uzumaki's genes. The dumb bitch is prattling on with her research." Balder explained as he cracked his knuckles. "Funny enough, there's a man going by the name of Naruto around these parts." he said.
"And that's who I need to get rid of." the boy said.
"You sound angry. You got some problem with a fellow with your name?" Balder asked, hearing a snarl in response.
As expected, the fake Naruto ran up to Balder and rammed his fist across Balder's cheek. Had Balder been a civilian, his jaw could have easily shattered. Instead, Balder took the punches along with one to the gut that made him stumble back. Balder nodded at the fake Naruto as he saw another Rasengan being prepared.
"You have to turn with the punch to reduce impact." Balder said before avoiding the Rasengan at the last second.
Balder then tackled the boy during his sloppy attack. Balder didn't knock him into the ground, but rather just carried him through the woods and rammed the fake Naruto across many trees and boulders. At the same time, the fake Naruto constantly punched Balder's back in an attempt to make the tattooed man drop him. Only for both of them fall off of a large hill and into town by accident.
With the fall resulting in a large crater due to the amount of speed Balder picked up during the tackle carry. The fake Naruto started to get angry as he radiated with red energy surrounding his body. As Balder stood up, he suddenly found his face being clawed at with the marks piercing his flesh. Balder fell onto one knee as he clutched his face with one hand.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm not letting anyone push me around anymore." the fake Naruto said as he looked at his claws. "I've done so much, work so hard and all to be left for dead. For some jackass as to claim my name and be famous for it? What sort of life is that!?" he angrily asked as a crowd started to form.
That's when Balder stood up again, "Lad, you have major issues." he said, revealing his face to be fully healed. "You should learn to stop crying like a bitch. If you want to be a bitch, that's your choice, but don't think I'm gonna give a rat's ass about someone hurting your feelings." he said.
The fake Naruto pounced on Balder and started clawing at him like a wild animal as his features started to morph as well. Balder only felt more annoyed as he kicked his foe away and sent him crashing into a nearby fountain.
"Boy, I don't care about whatever is going on in your head. You can be all sad and cry in some corner." Balder said as he approached the fake. "But unlike you, I have balls. I don't cry when someone hurts my feelings and I don't feel PAIN when someone hits me!" he yelled as he lifted up the fake Naruto by his shirt.
At that moment, the fake stabbed his long nails into Balder's throat, but before Balder could register the attack. He threw the fake into a nearby abandoned building.
"You want to cry and complain!? I'll give you a reason to cry and complain!" Balder yelled as he used all of his strength to collapse the building.
As the building crushed the fake Naruto's body. Balder placed his foot on top of some of the rubble. He waited for a few minutes, expecting for the faker to either pop out or die and stay under the mess he made. Moments later, a clawed hand surrounded by red energy came out.
"Hm, so the little wimp still has some fight in 'em." Balder said.
With Naruto
After arriving at the train station, the father and daughter boarded the next train to Magnolia Town. On the way there, Naruto joked that they would be there in about a fifth of the time it takes for the train to arrive at the town. Filo immediately responded by saying they could save money and time if she just turned into a bird and let Naruto ride her. Naruto had various reasons to deny this, which included Filo's stamina and the length of travel.
"And how come horses would do better?" Filo asked with a frown.
"That's a funny story I will tell you about later." Naruto said with a chuckle. At that moment, Filo started to yawn, "See? You're feeling sleepy already. What would happen if you felt sleepy during your run as a bird?" he asked.
Filo shook her head as she wiped her eyes, "Then you have to train me harder." she said as she felt sleepy.
"Maybe later Filo. How about you rest up first?" Naruto asked.
"Tell me a story first. A good one." Filo said, still sounding bitter about last time.
Naruto rubbed his face and sighed, "How about I play you a song? There's hardly anyone around to object." he asked.
"Are you going to sing?" Filo curiously asked.
"No, actually I don't think I've played in a long time. I used to do it when I was little and sometimes for your aunt Aries." Naruto answered as he dug up his ocarina. "Oh boy, I haven't taken good care of this thing." he said.
"Papa, that's a rock." Filo said as she pointed at the ocarina.
Naruto chuckled, "Filo, this is an ocarina. It's like a type of flute." he replied.
"Flutes are boring." Filo said. "Play guitar or a drum!" she said.
Naruto suddenly felt less excited, "I think your mothers spoiled you. I think it's time you appreciate fine music." he said.
Filo decided to listen to her adoptive father's song. She wasn't sure what to think of it for the first few seconds of listening. However, her bored demeanor suddenly made her sleepy again. The music started to calm Filo's soul as she lied her head on her father's lap. Letting the music sink into her ears as she drifted off to sleep.
(Majora's Mask OST - Song of Healing)
Naruto continued to play his song and as he said, there were hardly any people on the train. Luckily everyone was either sleeping as well or too distracted to say anything. Leaving Naruto to rekindle his little hobby while his mind drifted off into the past.
Flashback, several years ago
Little Siegfried was happily making his way back to the guild with a girl who promised to be his new friend. She was kind of odd, but the boy was taught to not be disrespectful towards strangers. Sure, this Erza girl was bit intense and she didn't exactly have appropriate clothing on but Siegfried was sure she had her reasons. He really wanted to ask her, but he thought it might be rude.
Siegfried went through a similar experience with Gildarts who smelled funny and had lipstick marks on his face. Gildarts told Siegfried that its inappropriate to ask someone about their appearance and it's worse to judge them. Although, its safe to say that Erza wasn't getting drunk at host clubs and flirting with women. Though years from now, little Siegfried would assume Erza was lesbian or possibly bisexual as she grows up to become a closet pervert.
"So where did you hear about Fairy Tail?" Siegfried asked.
"From my surrogate grandfather, Rob. He told me all about the guild." Erza answered.
"That's nice, where is your grandpa Rob?" Siegfried asked.
"I prefer not to say." Erza answered.
"But why? You shouldn't be alone." Siegfried asked.
"I said, I don't want to answer." Erza said, raising her voice. "Just drop the subject." she said coldly.
Siegfried felt hurt, "Okay." he said.
Erza had already been through enough abuse and with Jellal having lost his mind. Erza had closed off her heart and wouldn't realize how she affected Siegfried because of this. Ironically, this behavior would have made her a hypocrite in the upcoming future as well as disregarding everything that Rob told her.
What reason would the young girl have to join a guild that embraces camaraderie when she's going to close herself off to them?
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Siegfried announced as he saw his grandfather drinking at the bar.
"I see, how was your quest?" Makarov asked.
"Super long, but I got it done. Also, I met this girl named Erza. She said she wants to join the guild." Siegfried said.
Makarov noticed Erza and could see she wasn't looking too good. From wearing rags, having an eyepatch and overall a dirty figure, it left Makarov wondering what cruel fate Erza had been through. Makarov kept a calm look as to not frighten Erza or concern Mordred's son.
"I see, you have a habit of inviting new people in. You seem to be trying hard to make friends, Naruto." Makarov said.
"Grandpa, not you too." Siegfried whined. "My name is Siegfried Naruto, not just Naruto." he said.
Makarov suddenly bursted out laughing, "Forgive me, I just hear Mira call you all the time. It got stuck in my head." he replied.
Siegfried pouted, "So mean." he said.
Then again, the poor boy didn't have it any easier with everyone else. Levy had a hard time calling the boy by his whole name and would sometimes call him "Sieg" like his father. Gildarts would also tease Siegfried by calling him "Junior" or "Tiny Mordred". Cana often tried, but her genuine attempts sounded like she was drunk. It's already obvious what Mira and her siblings say, but at least Lisanna and Elfman try.
"How come my name is hard?" Siegfried asked.
"You weren't any better, you used to call Laxus by the name "Alexis" when you were younger." Makarov said, remembering how embarrassed Laxus felt by being called a girl's name.
"Where is big brother?" Siegfried asked, hoping to give news of his accomplishment.
"He's on another mission, don't worry child." Makarov said.
"Aw." Siegfried whined.
By this point in time, Laxus started having a more negative behavior towards his younger brother. Before Makarov really learned that Laxus was made using a stolen ovary belonging to Mordred. He had already told the young man that he was adopted and Mordred wasn't his real mother. However, Laxus didn't feel angry for too long but it did add another reason for his disliking of Siegfried. Right now, it looked like Laxus was avoiding his younger brother who still looked up to him.
It hurt Makarov as he knew how much Laxus loved Siegfried from birth but things changed around the younger boy's adolescence.
"Anyways, maybe you should rest up. I'll get Erza-chan signed up for the guild and maybe take her to see Porlyusica while I'm at it." Makarov said.
Siegfried nodded, "Okay, I'll see you later and welcome to the best gild ever!" he said before running up to his room.
Erza looked at Siegfired's little body retreat to his room to rest up as instructed by his grandfather. Erza looked back at the Guild Master of Fairy Tail as he looked at Erza with curiosity. She already understood that her appearance was not natural and it already annoyed her, but she had to respect Makarov. He was a friend of Rob who was the closest thing she had to a family and wanted to honor his memory.
A day later
Siegfried was waiting for Erza as he wanted to see his new friend again. He didn't want to be a jerk or look like he was blackmailing a lost orphaned girl, but the boy did request Erza's friendship in exchange for a slice of cake. Siegfried wondered if he went too far with that when it was just something small. Makarov told him that Fairy Tail wizards are meant to have bonds that are strong enough to the point they see each other as family.
Now the young boy sits alone at one of the tables as he hopes to see Erza again. For now, he would have to settle with Mirajane who approached his table.
"Are you eating alone like a weirdo again, Naruto?" Mirajane asked, almost sounding happy at his isolation.
"I'm waiting for someone but if you want, you can pull up a chair and join me." Siegfried replied, not knowing Mira was trying to insult him.
Mira glared at him, "I don't want to join you. Who in their right mind would want that?" she asked.
Then Lisanna came from behind Mira, "Big sister, are you finally inviting Naruto to our table?" she asked.
"No! I'm not inviting him!" Mira replied.
"But Mira, if you don't invite Naruto. You'll never get over your fear of boys." Lisanna teased.
A light blush appeared on Mira's cheeks, "I'm not scared of boys!" she exclaimed.
"Then why do you avoid Naruto when you're always looking at him?" Lisanna asked.
"I just don't want to sit near him!" Mira answered stubbornly.
Siegfried decided to speak up before this escalated, "It's fine Lisanna, you girls and Elfman don't have to invite me. I'm waiting for someone that just joined the guild." He said, surprising the girls.
As he said this, Erza finally arrived at the guild. The red haired girl now sported some basic looking armor instead of her rags. Erza then ordered a strawberry cheesecake from the current barmaid of this period. As Erza received her cake, she started making her way towards the dining tables where she saw Siegfried raise his arm.
"Erza, over here!" Siegfried called out.
Mirajane already looked annoyed, 'Since when is he close with some stranger?' she thought somewhat aggressively.
Erza didn't give any sign that she couldn't see or notice Siegfried but she didn't seem to acknowledge him either. Instead, the girl sat at a nearby table where she faced away from Siegfried.
"I can see you made a good friend." Mira said sarcastically.
Lisanna looked at Siegfried and could see he looks saddened. But then he did his best to look optimistic.
"I'm sure Erza is just nervous. The whole guild is big and busy, so she's probably not used to it." Siegfried said, making Lisanna smile.
"Whatever." Mira said as she left.
"Bye Naruto." Lisanna said before following her sister.
Siegfried still felt sad that Erza ignored him and this would be a trend that would continue for a long time.
End of dream
Naruto stirred awake as he felt Filo shaking him, "Papa! The town is under attack!" she yelled.
"What? By who?" Naruto asked as he quickly got up from his seat.
Naruto immediately made his way towards a nearby exit and looked out to see a large explosion followed by a series of tremors that made Magnolia town shake. Naruto looked back at his daughter and right back at the destruction in the distance. He quickly pulled out his golden key and summoned Ares.
"Open! Gate of the Ram: Aries!" he called out, summoning his Celestial Spirit.
Aries was about to ask what Naruto wanted when she felt the tremors. Naruto picked up Filo and grabbed Aries by the hand as he led them to the train station where the civilians were taking cover.
"Aries, I know things look intense but I need you to get Filo back to Fairy Tail." Siegfried said.
"But what about you?" Aries asked.
"I need to deal with that attack. It could be dark mages." Naruto said as he summoned Balmung. "Just get Filo to the guild. It should be safe there." he said.
"Papa, I don't wanna leave you!" Filo exclaimed.
Naruto bent down and gently grabbed Filo by the shoulders, "Filo, papa has to deal with bad people. Aunt Aries will make sure you stay safe with Uncle Kurama." he said.
"But I can help too." Filo said.
"Another day, you're not ready for something this big." Naruto said before giving Filo to Aries. "Hurry Aries, get Filo to safety while I contain this." He said.
Aries nodded, "Right, you can count on me!" she said as she quickly ran.
"Papa!" Filo cried out as Filo carried her away.
Naruto looked away as he could still hear Filo calling out for him. The Azure Knight forced himself to ignore it as he summoned his armor and rushed towards the destruction. As he made his way deep into the battlefield, he witnessed Balder's body flying out and hitting a wall. Naruto then heard a loud disgusting crunch as he saw Balder's neck break.
Unaware of his tolerance to pain, Naruto focused on the threat to Magnolia town. As his Rinnegan was constantly active and could see through the slits of his helmet. Naruto witnessed a lot of chakra being built up and it was unnatural and very familiar.
'Unless the town banded together to brand Shukaku as a tanuki. Something very evil is nearby.' Naruto thought as he raised his guard.
As Naruto prepared himself for the worst, he made sure that the area was clear of civilians. So far, there was just a lot of smoke and damaged debris. Naruto couldn't see any bodies or hear anyone calling for help, but it left him concerned with the idea that people are trapped under the debris. Naruto decided to clear his view, starting by removing the smoke.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he yells as he unleashes a large gust of wind.
With the smoke cleared, Naruto already discovered the source of the destruction. His mind couldn't process what he witnessed, but his instincts forced him to move quickly. For the threat cloaked in red chakra with the outline of a monstrous humanoid with four tails moving like wildfire.
"RAAGHHH!" the creature roared as it tried swiping at Naruto.
Naruto dodged the attack and jumped back to gain more space. Naruto was confused about the appearance of the aggressor. Was there another jinchuriki in the present day? Every bijuu except Gyuki was free and Naruto knows Kirabi too well. The man is still quite strong for his old age and he wouldn't let himself go on a rampage. Then again, it could be a pseudo jinchuriki like the gold and silver brothers.
'I'll figure it out once I defeat this thing.' Naruto thought as the creature lunged at him again. But even the aggressor was unprepared despite his current state, "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto yelled out.
For the first time, Naruto was forced to use the Rinnegan for battle. In an instant, the pseudo jinchuriki was sent crashing several meters away. At the same time, Naruto felt slightly disoriented from using the Rinnegan.
'Just like my EMS, I gotta get used to the overwhelming force.' Naruto thought as the pseudo jinchuriki roared at him.
At The Same Time, With Laxus
Laxus was on a boat heading to Ishgar when he felt something in the air pushing against him. Feeling as if the winds were trying to guide hm instead of the sailors. Telling him that he needed to go towards a specific location, not just Ishgar itself.
"You look lost, Laxus." said a blue haired woman with a butterfly shaped eye mask.
"I know where I'm going. You didn't need to follow me." Laxus said.
"I've been following you since we met. The trick was you letting me follow you." the woman said.
Laxus sighed, "I need to see my folks again. I feel like avoiding them is already a pointless thing." he said.
"I thought you said you were excommunicated." The woman said.
"I was, but I know the old man doesn't have it in him to cut ties with me forever." Laxus said. "Look, I appreciate the old woman hosting me and everything, but it's not home. I already took one place for granted and I'm not going to pretend that castle is where I'm living for the rest of my life." he explained.
The woman stared at Laxus with sad eyes, "You belong where sister Mordred found comfort." she said.
"Stop calling her that, you make it sound weird when you call my mom that." Laxus said.
"But she is my sister. Mordred is my amazing big sister!" the woman happily said.
"Well I'm not calling you aunt, Lucina." Laxus said.
Lucina looked away, "I mean, you don't have to see me as your aunt." she said.
"You're making this very awkward." Laxus said.
"How am I making this awkward?" Lucina asked with genuine confusion.
Laxus groaned, "You just are. Especially with the way you're staring at me." he said.
"Laxus, you aren't exactly doing a good job by staring at me the same way." Lucina countered.
Laxus looked away from her, "You don't know me." He said.
The two silently stared in opposite directions with only the waves of the ocean filling up the silence. After a few minutes of not speaking together, Laxus felt more wind pressure hitting the side of his face.
"We need to another direction." Laxus said.
"I thought you said you were homesick." Lucina said.
"Think of it as a second home. Now help me find a dingy or something." Laxus said, now determined to go to another direction.
"I will never understand you." Lucina said.
"You don't have to follow me. I already told you this Lucina." Laxus said.
"But I have to." Lucina responded.
"On what orders?" Laxus asked.
"My own volition." Lucina answered. 'This man is much different from Siegfried.' she thought as she remembered having already met Laxus' brother in the past.
Although back then, Lucina wasn't fully aware of who she met back then. Having only followed Laxus when she realized that he was carrying Clarent on his back. It was then that Lucina realized that Mordred had two sons when she left Camelot.
Meanwhile, on Tenrou Island
Even though they were weak compared to her, Erza was shocked to see that two members of Grimoire Heart had arrived onto the island. Kneeling before her are two low level members who were just above the rank of grunts. It took a few promises involving pain to make the two tell the truth about their guild's plan.
This left Erza with only one decision as she can see how dangerous things have become.
"Juvia, take Gajeel and Levy back to camp. I'll restrain these two." Erza said as she glared at Kawazu and Yomazu.
"Not that it matters to Juvia anymore, but what about the test? Gray-sama and everyone else are still scattered." Juvia said.
"The trial is cancelled. Now regroup at base camp." Erza commanded.
Juvia did as Erza commanded her too as she helped carry Gajeel back with Levy following her. At the same time, Gajeel was subjected to Juvia muttering about the situation of the island and it somehow led to her going on about Gray's safety. Luckily the Dragon Slayer can't hear thoughts like Cobra, because Juvia was fantasizing about finding Gray injured and volunteering herself to be his nurse.
As this happened, Erza finished restraining the two dark mages. Erza walked over to the edge of a nearby hill and did a quick survey of the island. When she couldn't find anyone else, she pulled out a flare and released it. Launching like a firework, everyone on the island was made aware that there was an emergency and needed to regroup. Although some were too stubborn and refused to stop where they were now.
As Erza sent her signal, she suddenly felt the island shake and could see the guild master growing to his largest size.
"Even you have seen the threat, haven't you master?" Erza asked as she looked very serious.
The watcher will sound the horn to warn of the end times
Erza then Requipped into a set of armor and began to look for her fellow Fairies. As she began searching, she could see the Grimoire Heart airship making it's way towards the island where Makarov intercepted it.
"What kind of villainous scum would dare invade our guild's most sacred land?" Erza asked as she narrowed her eyes at the airship.
Unaware of the foe that leads one leading guilds of the Balam Alliance.
A traitor will return from the underworld with an army of the deceased
Back with Naruto
Naruto was having a tricky time with the with the pseudo jinchuriki despite the sloppy animalistic style it had. Having faced Kurama in this lifetime, Naruto had a decent idea on how to take on a jinchuriki in their second stage. The tricky part was the unpredictable and destructive capabilities of his opponent.
"RAAAHR!" The creature roared as it lunged at Naruto yet again.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, sending a large fireball at his foe. He then followed it up with another quick technique, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he yelled, enhancing the fire technique.
The creature barely jumped away from the attack but was met with Siegfried who dashed at him. The creature roared as it slashed it's claws at him, but was blocked by his sword. Naruto thrusted Balmung at the creature in quick succession before finally sending it crashing into more debris. But it was far from over as he found himself avoiding a chakra barrage from the creature's mouth.
Naruto quickly moved out of the way in time to avoid the powerful blast. He then raised his guard as the creature came pouncing at him again. Naruto swung his sword several times at the creature before it clawed at his chest, making him stumble back. The creature clawed at Naruto again, but he was ready this time and blocked the attack with his sword. This time however, Naruto parried the creature's attack but shoving his sword against it.
The creature let out a snarl as it hit the ground but quickly recovered. The recovery was too slow as Naruto stabbed his sword into it's chest and raised it over his head, slamming it into the ground. Naruto didn't give the creature the chance to so much as catch it's breath as he delivered an upward slash, making it raised into the air. Where he then delivered a heavy 360 degree slash with Balmung, making it crash into a wall.
"I don't know who you are or how you obtained that power, but I'm putting an end to your reign of destruction." Naruto said as he raised his free hand and channelled a large orb of chakra into it. Naruto then channelled the wind element into it before rushing at his enemy, "Wind Style: Odama Rasengan!" he yelled.
Just as Naruto was about to make impact with the creature, it stood up and charged up an orb of chakra of its own. Only it's own was much bigger and surrounded in red chakra that made the orb look sort of purple. Naruto was shocked and couldn't comprehend the sight of the Vermillion Rasengan as his own technique collided with it.
The resulting explosion caused the two combatants to fly away from each other. As Naruto took a minute to recover from the heavy blast, he tried to comprehend what he saw. Wondering if he really saw the Rasengan of if the pseudo jinchuriki was somehow able to mimic his attack to a certain extent. He didn't have much time to think about it as the creature suddenly returned and tried to rush at him with another Vermillion Rasengan.
Naruto was able to dodge the attack and avoided the swipe of the chakra tails from behind. The creature then quickly formed another Vermillion Rasengan in quick succession, giving Naruto little time to avoid the attack.
'Damn, too fast. Maybe I can try and absorb it.' Naruto thought as he attempted to use the use the Preta path.
It was unsuccessful and Naruto was sent crashing across the brick road. Naruto cursed his luck as he didn't fully master the power of the Rinnegan and even with his limited memories from fighting Pain and Madara. Naruto didn't instantly know how to use something more complicated than the basic powers of the Deva path.
'This is really going to hurt.' Naruto thought as he stood up again.
"ROAAAR!" The creature announced it's presence with yet another Vermillion Rasengan.
Naruto gritted his teeth, "Shinra Tensei!" He shouted as he sent the creature flying away again. Naruto then took a moment to catch his breath, "Bansho Ten'in!" He shouted as he pulled the creature towards him.
Once close enough, Naruto raised Balmung and quickly slashed at the creature. Causing it to roar in pain before hitting the ground behind him. Eventually, the rogue bijuu chakra started to die down and Naruto took the moment to rest. At the same time, he made a mental note to send a message to Sasuke to ask for advice on the Rinnegan and its abilities. At least he managed to learn enough of it's powers to use it in the span of a day.
Some of the knowledge is in there, but Naruto really needed to practice it. He could use some of the abilities like Sasuke did after the war, but even he had a lot of strain and confusion in attempting to use some of the powers.
'I'll worry about that later.' Naruto thought as he stretched his arm. "Now, what to do with you?" He asked as he turned to look at his foe.
Naruto watched as he saw the psuedo jinchuriki's true form. To his shock, Naruto witnessed a reflection of his old self wearing ragged clothes and having developed a feral appearance.
"What are you?" Naruto asked, already knowing he wasn't human.
Despite the appearance and familiarity, Naruto was instantly on guard as he saw someone with his own face. Rather, his old face, glaring at him with eyes filled with hatred.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the fallen shinobi thrown away by this world." the doppelgänger said. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the impostor, "And you are just some fraud. Some fake piggybacking off of my name made famous by some lies." He said.
'Lies?' Naruto wondered.
The doppelgänger clenched his fists in anger, "I don't know how I got here and I don't know what's been going on. Except I know is that I've been denied release. Everything I worked for was for nothing." he said.
'And here I thought I was becoming emo.' Naruto thought as he continued to listen.
"I don't know what there is left for me now. I don't know even know how a world can live in a place full of lies and deceit." The doppelgänger said as his body was being surrounded by red chakra. "The only thing I know is that if there is nothing left. I can only take what I deserve and make it my own. Even if means someone or some people get hurt. I can't be restrained by the opinions of some people and their measurement of trust." he explained.
"You can't make everyone happy." Is all Naruto said and likely comprehended.
"Exactly and not everyone knows how to be happy." the doppelgänger said, suddenly in front of Naruto. "Vermillion Rasengan!" He yelled.
The Rasengan was thrusted towards Naruto's gut and created a massive explosion that engulfed the town in a large wave of dust. By this point in time, Balder decided to step in after having watched the fight unfold.
"If that was the real Uzumaki,, a clone or some semblance of the kid with a good heart. Then this became too complicated." Balder said, feeling like he screwed up.
As the dust started to settle down, he heard a loud crunching noise. Balder squinted as he as he tried to look through the dust and watched as Naruto stood still with the doppelgänger. Naruto fell a single knee but the doppelgänger coughed as a giant stain of blood came out from his back.
"What in Helheim did I just watch?" Balder asked as he saw the doppelgänger collapse.
"Loveless." Naruto suddenly said as he looked at his counterpart. "You have no love for others or yourself. You call yourself Naruto Uzumaki, you claim to feel pain and you claim to see evil in the world. If I am a fraud, you are a hypocrite." he said.
The doppelgänger coughed up blood before noticing that the hand he used for the Vermillion Rasengan had some twisted fingers. He tried to look at Naruto but his neck hurt too much to move it.
"Even if he felt hated or anger towards someone, no matter how justified. He wouldn't wish destruction and death to those who oppose him." Naruto said as he looked at his bloodstained armored hand. "Maybe I'm not Naruto Uzumaki either. Maybe I'm just somebody wanting to emulate him after obtaining his memories." he said.
The doppelganger tried to stand up despite the pain but Naruto stomped on his back to keep him down.
"But even so! Even if there's one innocent life with no desire to wish harm upon you! You have no right to judge them all before experiencing the world for what it is!" Naruto screamed as he planted his heel deep into the doppelgänger's spine. "You didn't have to follow the pacifistic ideals, but you didn't have to settle with being a mindless animal! You have so much power and potential and you became everything we stood against! How dare you claim to be the victim!? Do you have no shame!?" he further shouted.
All the doppelgänger would process was pain and fear. Almost as if it had awakened a sleeping lion or found itself standing in front of volcano that is about to erupt.
Naruto grimaced as he looked at the doppelgängers, "I will no longer regret my actions or my choices. I won't blame anyone I know for what I've become and the paths I take. What I am is this and I will not deny it. You on the other hand are no one and have no right to use your pain as an excuse to be what you are not!" he added.
'This is the most confusing monologue.' Balder thought as the analogies confused him.
"The only thing I can see that makes you and Naruto Uzumaki alike are the fears of what he… what I would have become." Naruto said as he stepped off of the doppelganger's back.
'I guess that's done with.' Balder said before watching the fake Naruto throbbing on the ground.
The impostor quickly contorted into an human creature as some strange plant like object fused with it. Balder was beyond confused and ran to save Naruto as the creature tried to attack him.
"Move boy! I can't have you dying on me yet!" Balder yelled as he ran.
Naruto quickly raised Balmung but just as the plant like creature tried to attack him. A massive fox came down and chomped on the upper half of the hybrid. The hybrid let out a screech as it was surrounded by red chakra before the fox ripped it apart and set the corpse ablaze.
"Thank you, Kurama." Naruto said as he saw the massive fox being surrounded by the red chakra.
"Of all the places, my chakra had to be in some absurd evil form of yourself." Kurama said before shrinking. He then walked up to Naruto and smacked him across the face with his tails, "What did I say about giving your emo speeches!? How do you forget your own identity, stupid?" He asked.
Naruto just smiled, "I missed you too, fur ball." he said before being smacked again.
"The slaps won't hurt, but what will is learning how much you made Filo cry." Kurama said as Naruto sighed.
"Oi, before we go to babysitting and whatnot. I gotta a message for the real Naruto Uzumaki or what's left of him." Balder said.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"Long story, but you'll need this first." Balder said as he presented a grimoire.
As Balder tried to tell his story, no one noticed the strange tiny cyclops with a Sharingan that was approaching the remaining pieces of the doppelgänger's corpse. However, as the creature tried to interact with it. It was suddenly set on fire and wreathed in pain before turning to ash.
Back on Tenrou Island, With Wendy
The Seven Kin of Purgatory had arrived on the island after having made their way past Makarov. Makarov failed to stop their airship because of Ultear's magic and was now facing their leader, Hades. However, that left the rest of the guild open to being attacked by the Seven Kin who had been personally trained by Hades himself and are now equipped with seven weapons belonging to Kirigakure's strongest swordsman group.
Some were still uncomfortable with the blades, but others saw some use in them and were still thinking of good ways to utilize them. Not that they were needed against foes that they had deemed to be too weak. Not even against someone as experienced as Panther Lily.
"I will not claim to be a better swordsman, but not even you are worthy of the blade bestowed to me by Master Hades." Azuma said as he avoided sword strikes from Panther Lily.
"Blade? Are you talking about that thing on your back? It looks a lint roller!" Panther Lily said before landing a punch under Azuma's chin. "The only offense I feel is that you can't tell the difference between that and a real sword!" he said before punching Azuma across the ground.
"To me, it looks like a giant rolling pin." Wendy said.
"Now isn't the time, child." Carla said, keeping Wendy focused.
Although Carla had to agree with her fellow Exceed, Azuma's weapon looks nothing like a sword. Even if it didn't look like it, Shibuki is a dangerous weapon and it was wielded by a dangerous person. They're lucky that Azuma never had the chance to properly train with it.
Carla then glared at Mest, "Are you not going to do anything?" she asked.
Mest winced, "I'm an agent of the Magic Council. My goal was disband Fairy Tail, not help it!" he said.
Carla has been in Fairy Tail for several months and has dealt with so much stupidity that no ordinary person should be able to handle. Yet, while Mest may look like a total jerk for spying on the guild and using dirty tactics to get them disbanded. He literally admitted to being an agent of the government which is in charge of the law and order of the magical world. Or at least the magical establishments in Fiore.
"You are the closest thing to an officer of the law and you are refusing to combat the present dangerous criminal because you do not like us?" Carla asked.
Mest already had an answer to that and he was about to say it. When he suddenly realized that Carla had a good point. It would be the same as a police officer refusing to help the suspect of a criminal case when they're being brutally assaulted.
"I mean... when you put it like that." Mest said.
"Bleve!" Azuma shouts as he sends Panther Lily flying with an explosive attack. "Wherever you go, may explosives will always reach you." he said.
Panther Lily quickly extended his wings and tried to fly away. He avoided most of Azuma's attacks before the man eventually shot him down to the ground. As Azuma finally landed a critical hit, he raised Shibuki from his back and let the sword unroll itself. At the time, Wendy and Carla thought that Azuma was preparing a really dangerous attack that could kill all of them, if not just Panther Lily.
"Consider this a send off. It's more than what someone as pathetic as yourself deserves." Azuma said before Mest finally decided to step in.
Mest quickly grabbed the girls and used his teleportation magic to appear behind Azuma. Without thinking about it for too long, Wendy formed a familiar hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Wendy shouted.
Azuma quickly looked around and saw five or six copies of Wendy surrounding him. Just as he prepared to blow them up all at once. Wendy and her clones released every bit of magic they could muster in a single attack.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" every Wendy shouted at once.
Azuma's eyes widened as he found himself trapped in collision of multiple tornadoes. The man was surprised by the power and struggled to stay in one place before finding himself twirling in the air. Azuma briefly struggled in trying to control his senses as he started falling back down to the ground but Wendy wouldn't give him the chance to recover.
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Wendy shouted as she fired a large sphere of wind from her mouth.
Azuma raised an arm to shield himself but still felt some impact from the attack. However, it wasn't close enough to defeat him let alone harm him greatly.
"Your effort is strong, but nothing worthy of praise." Azuma said as he landed safely and far from them.
Just as Wendy tried to prepare to defend herself, Carla pointed out that the strange rolls were still on the ground. Wendy looked horrified as she recognized the markings on the papers that Azuma was putting around.
"What are those? Are they like Levy's Script magic or that green haired man's magic?" Carla asked.
"Worse! These are explosives!" Wendy screamed in fright.
"Explosives!?" Carla asked.
Wendy had no training in understanding fuinjutsu but she can read kanji. It also helped that she's seen Naruto work on seals before including explosive seals. Even if the sheets of paper were different, Wendy could still recognize that Azuma was leaving out a giant carpet filled with them.
"Hang on Carla!" Wendy yelled before the explosives went off.
The explosion sent Mest flying a few meters away with minor burns but it sent Wendy and the exceeds falling over the cliff. Mest looked horrified as he assumed that all three Fairy Tail mages had met their demise. He then looked up at Azuma who began to roll up Shibuki before placing it on his back.
"This may take time to get used to, but I made the correct choice." Azuma told himself, not bothering to bat an eye to Mest.
Almost as if the dark mage either saw Mest as no threat or lacked any respect for Mest to the point of just ignoring him. For someone working for the Magic Council, Mest felt pathetic as he mostly sat there and watched events unfold.
With Lucy
Lucy was scared and panicking but she was doing her best to try and keep a cool head in her fight. All she could remember is that she lost consciousness and woke up to find Kain standing above her and revealing that he was a member of the Seven Kin. Luckily for Lucy, Kain is an idiot and went on to explain what his magic is along with the fact that he had Kabutowari.
It did Lucy a lot of good for her to know that Kain had no idea how to use Kabutowari. Except that it involved him having to use it like a hammer and that the hammer is very strong to the point it can cause shockwaves.
"Ooh! Or maybe, I gotta hit the axe! Yeah, I gotta hit the axe with the hammer like if I were hammering a nail!" Kain said.
Lucy sweat dropped as Kain stopped the fight just to explain that, "So you're hammering an axe?" she asked.
"Yeah, exactly! I gotta hammer the axe!" Kain said as he slammed the axe down, nearly hitting Lucy.
Lucy avoided the attack but found herself flying away as Kain hit his hammer against the back of the axe. Unfortunately for Lucy, this was a correct method in utilizing the Kabutowari and Kain only became more dangerous. Lucy raised up her new whip and tried to attack Kain with it, even going as far as to try and rip the axe extension out of his hand.
Unfortunately, Kain's size came with great strength and Lucy was quite scrawny. This allowed Kain to pull Lucy towards him and he hit Lucy with the hammer as if she were a paddle ball. Lucy then crashed into a tree and started coughing heavily, feeling as if a bone had been broken.
'Cana, where are you?' Lucy mentally asked, wondering why her teammate left her.
Now was one of the worst times for Lucy to be on her own. However, she quickly tried clearing her head again as she saw Kain quickly run up to her.
"Wait, you're gonna drop your doll!" Lucy suddenly said.
"Eh?" Kain asked.
"If you hit me, the shockwave is gonna make you drop the doll and lose it. Then you'll have less magical abilities." Lucy said.
"Oh right. Can you hang onto it for me?" Kain asked as he gave her the doll. "You better give it back when I'm finished beating you." he said.
Lucy gave a fake smile and salute, "I swear, Fairy Code of Honor." she said.
Kain nodded, "Cool, now where were we?" He asked.
Lucy then manipulated Kain's doll by making the doll's hand hit itself. As Kain's magic was basically puppetry in the form of a voodoo doll. Lucy forced Kain to hit himself in the face with the hammer portion of the Kabutowari. Now Kain felt the pain of taking the direct hit from the hammer.
"Stupid sword! You're supposed to my enemies, not me!" Kain angrily said.
"I still doubt that thing is a sword." Lucy said before having another idea. "Open! Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" She called out.
Aquarius then appeared and could only look disappointed as she saw Lucy's opponent. It only got worse as Kain quickly got to his feet and blushed at the sight of the beautiful celestial spirit. He then got on one knee and behaved like the most nerdy impression of someone with chivalry.
"And what is the name of this maiden? This beautiful maiden of the sea?" Kain asked.
"I think I need reconsider updating our contract." Aquarius told Lucy with a glare.
"Aquarius, before you find an excuse to get mad at me. You should know, this guy wants to ruin Naruto's Christmas." Lucy said.
Aquarius looked confused, "Naruto? Oh you mean Siegfried!" she said.
Lucy sighed, "Yeah, well you see. Since Christmas is almost here, we all wanted to get Naruto a new set of swords but that guy wants to keep that rare sword to himself." she lied.
"That is not a sword." Aquarius said as she looked at Kabutowari. "Lucy, do you think I am so stupid that I can't tell the difference between a sword and a hammer? What's worse is the fact that you're messing with my feeling.. er, my respect towards Siegfried to manipulate me!" she angrily said.
"That's where you're wrong hot mermaid lady!" Kain shouted. "This is a sword, it's a weird sword. Master Hades said its part of the Seven Swords of the… of the… what was it?" he asked.
Aquarius just stared at Kain blankly as the idiot tried to make something up. Apparently, Kain can't remember the name of the Seven Swords of the Mist or the description of the swords and what makes them infamous. So he had to make up whatever made sense to him.
"These are the Seven Deadly Swords of the Ninja Seas! You see, samurais thought they looked so cool because of their swords. So a bunch of sea ninja made their own swords that were crazy overpowered so only crazy overpowered guys like me can use them. They're super rare and everything, so you get how screwed the two of you are." Kain explained
Lucy sincerely doubted anything Kain said was remotely truthful. However, Aquarius took Kain's word with a grain of salt and decided to steal the sword.
"Give me that sword! Only someone truly great deserves it!" Aquarius shouted as she summoned a giant tidal wave at Kain.
"Hey wait! I'm not wearing my swimming trunks!" Kain yelled as he was swept away by the water.
"Go get him, Aquarius!" Lucy cheered.
Aquarius smirked, 'I don't know if Lucy is lying and if that man is an idiot. However, if any part of is true then…' her thoughts trailed off to her imagination.
Aquarius' Imagination
Naruto smiled as Aquarius handed him a Christmas present with Kabutowari inside. The young man quickly jumped up and down in delight as he loved his gifts.
"Aquarius, this is such a wonderful gift!" Naruto complimented.
Aquarius gave a hearty laugh, "Why of course, only I am capable of giving you such great gifts on Christmas. Unlike some people." she said while looking at Lucy.
Lucy looked sad and depressed, "I'm such an idiot. An incompetent one that doesn't respect Aquarius-sama." she said.
Even Aries was around and looked depressed, "I can never be as good as Aquarius! I should trade myself to Lucy so big brother can have a woman he deserves! Bwah!" she said.
Aquarius was suddenly being lifted into Naruto's arms like a bride, "Oh my! We're under the mistletoe, I never even noticed!" she said.
"Merry Christmas, beloved." Naruto said as he leaned in for a kiss.
In Reality
Aquarius just hummed Christmas jingles to herself as Kain screamed in terror, 'But if Lucy lies, not only will I punish her. Sieg-kun can punish her too for trying to trick me.' she thought.
Lucy suddenly looked terrified, "Why is Aquarius humming to Christmas songs?" she asked as she shivered in fear.
With Natsu
Unlike Lucy, Natsu had to put in some real effort against someone with the same power as him but on a greater level. Another bad side to this is Natsu's foe is a lot more crazy than he is and having the time of the life putting down Natsu. Like some of the other Seven Kin, they were also less than enthusiastic
"Normally this wouldn't fit my style, but I can't help it if this is too much fun!" Zancrow said as he tried to slash at Natsu with Samehada. "Only I do regret that it's really heavy and the momentum is an added annoyance." he said as Natsu was too quick to hit.
Natsu snickered at Zancrow, "Listen here, I don't know who you are but you can't beat me. Especially when your weapon is so fragile that it needs its own bandages." He said.
Zancrow just laughed at him, "Foolish you are to underestimate the power of Master Hades' gift." he said.
"You got this Natsu!" Happy said, encouraging his best friend.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Natsu yelled as he propelled himself towards Zancrow.
With great speed, Natsu tried to kick Zancrow with his fire coated leg. Only to find it blocked by Samehada which quickly ate Natsu's magic despite feeling some discomfort. Zancrow grinned as he could feel Samehada transferring Natsu's magic into his own body like a medium. At the same time, Natsu jumped back as he saw his flames disappear when it hit the bandaged sword.
"I thank you for the meal, Dragon Hunter. It seems that my new toy is quite the picky eater." Zancrow said.
"What the heck was that?" Natsu asked.
"An energy booster for me." Zancrow answered before attacking again. "Fire God's Bellow!" he shouted.
Natsu found himself facing a massive black fireball heading towards his direction. He quickly jumped back and tried to pump out enough fire to counter the attack.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roared as he unleashed a massive wave of flames from his mouth.
The two attacks collided and even with all his effort, Natsu found himself crashing onto the ground with minor wounds. Zancrow laughed at Natsu as he deemed the Dragon Slayer's flames to be far more inferior to his own.
"What is wrong? Are you ready to weep? I won't hold it against you if you will!" Zancrow said.
Natsu gritted his teeth, "What the heck was that fire?" He asked himself.
Zancrow mistook the question as one directed at him, "This is the power of a Godslayer. Your puny flames are no match for my own." He said.
"You liar! You weren't trained by a god!" Natsu angrily yelled.
Zancrow laughed at him again, "Fool, Master Hades is the personification of a god! For he is the one to grant me this power while you were trained by a pathetic lizard like this one!" he said as he picked up a random lizard that was on the ground.
"Igneel isn't an iguana!" Natsu yelled before rushing at him again. "Let's see you try and counter this. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled as he tried to hit Zancrow.
"Once again, too weak and too slow!" Zancrow said as he managed to block the attack in time.
This time however, Zancrow skidded back a couple of meters as Natsu's punch was filled with a lot more pressure. Regardless, the impact was severely reduced as Samehada devoured the fire despite feeling more painful discomfort. Before Natsu could pull back his fist, Samehada released several spikes that cut up Natsu's hand.
"AUGH! Stupid bandaged popsicle!" Natsu yelled as he retreated to nurse his hand.
"To me it looks like a bandaged surfboard with a handle." Happy said as he dug into his bag. "Hey Natsu, permission to use the scroll?" he asked as he pulled out a scroll.
"What? No! We need to save it!" Natsu yelled.
"Now isn't a good time to be greedy Natsu! We only have two and you were lucky to save them after fighting Gildarts!" Happy yelled.
"What are you two blabbering on about?" Zancrow asked.
"Fine, just open it!" Natsu said as Happy ripped open the scroll.
Zancrow watched as Happy's scroll released a wave of black flames that were darker than his own. Zancrow could even feel a lot more heat coming from the flames from where he stood. Zancrow then realized that Natsu was trying to get a bost as he knew enough about Dragon Slayers to where they were virtually immune towards their own element and can recharge by devouring their element from almost any source.
"I see your plan, I won't allow you to rest!" Zancrow said as he dashed in front of the black flames.
Only as Samehada tried to devour the flames, it let out a pain filled screech. Zancrow winced and recoiled as he felt the sentient sword forcing him to get back. The God Slayer didn't realize it yet, but Samehada hates fire the most due to the heat and what confused Zancrow more was Samehada's reaction.
"What do you mean the flames too hot? Are you that much of a picky eater and what do you mean when you say they are familiar?" Zancrow asked the sword as it cried in pain.
At the same time, Natsu devoured the remaining wave of flames as Zancrow only managed to absorb a very small fraction. Unfortunately, Natsu also felt great discomfort towards the flames and not just because of the immense heat. The flames themselves were too foreign and didn't burn like natural fire and yet Natsu was trying to keep it down. Using his willpower, Natsu tried to grasp the feeling of the heat and properties of the black fire.
Natsu could slowly feel the flames overtaking the remaining bit of magic he had. While he did briefly rest after fighting Gildarts to the best of his ability. Natsu wasn't entirely back to 100% and fighting Zancrow didn't help as he was absorbing his attacks as well as countering them.
'Swallow it. Just swallow it. Don't be picky for once.' Natsu mentally told himself. 'You and everyone else put down Naruto for being weak. Except he bounced back after all sorts of crap tried to keep him down.' he thought.
Natsu kept trying to motivate himself, thinking about Naruto who gave him the flames. They weren't ordinary flames with a nice color for style. They were Amaterasu, possibly the hottest fire jutsu in the Elemental Nations and it's exclusive. Natsu didn't know this but understands that Amaterasu is quite powerful and he himself is having difficulty trying to keep them in his stomach.
'You didn't want to fight Naruto just because you felt jealous or threatened. Not even because it was fun.' Natsu told himself as he pushed down the flames. 'In a way, you did it because you knew he was strong. It wasn't out of respect or fear or some negative crap. It's because you like fighting strong people and in a way, you acknowledged the fact that Naruto isn't a wimp anymore.' he thought.
Despite feeling like his intestines were burning, Natsu started tapping into his magical reserves. Before long, he was surrounded by black fire that was darker than Zancrow's.
'If the wimp can be tough, then what's stopping us from beating some crazy guy with his own flashy fire?' Natsu thought with a grin.
"Oh, are you still alive? I would actually have felt disappointed if you died from eating such an ugly fire." Zancrow said as he raised Samehada despite the sword no longer wishing to be a part of this fight. "Fine, if you don't wish to fight. I will just finish him off on my own!" He told Samehada as he tossed the sword aside.
Zancrow then combined his hands together and generated another massive ball of black fire. Natsu just stood there as he was getting a good grasp of his magic now that he ate a greater fire.
"Fire God's Kagutsuchi!" Zancrow shouted as the black fireball flew towards Natsu.
Natsu then clapped his hands together, "Fire Dragon's Amaterasu! (Cool name pending)" he shouted as he released a massive shockwave of more elegant looking black flames.
The shockwave dispersed the Kagutsuchi and went straight towards Zancrow who lost his balance. Despite the attack being a singular one, Zancrow felt as he were suddenly cut across eight different parts his body. With one of those cuts being around his neck, making Zancrow feel like he was about to be decapitated.
The fear and frustration disappeared from Natsu as he could see that Zancrow was all alone and with no idea on how to fight back now. The one sided beating was over and it was Fairy Tail's time to take back their island.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Q&A With Astolfo
Astolfo: What's up guys? It's me Astolfo, anyways since Sieg has to fix a town and save everyone on the island. It's up to me save the day and answer all of Sieg's questions. Also R0tatcid-sama would like to give a half assed apology for being… five months behind!? What the heck man!? You owe us double for Christmas and New Years and Chinese Years! Also, what happened to the Poll man? Ugh, let's just get to the questions.
Question #1 (Guest): Is Erza Bisexual?
Astolfo: Maybe, I think she's been attracted to girls. R0tatcid-sama guessed Pansexual, but we know Erza would be okay to have a three way with Mira… oops! Spoilers
Question #2 (Guest): Siegfried, as you are an officer of the law, I wanted to file a report for vandalism. A guy very similar to you accompanied by a girl in a red cape wearing a mask hiding her face, showed up at my house and broke all my lamps and candles. You have to do something about it! The masked girl also ate all my cookies before leaving with her partner.
Astolfo: That's not a question! But I'll make sure Sieg gets the message. He'll probably beat up the guy and then discipline the girl. Why do they sound so familiar?
Question #3: NARUTO! FIGHT WITH ME! YOU ALWAYS STEAL MY FIGHTS! RESPECT MY DIBS!
Astolfo: Dang it Natsu, stop sending messages here! Even if Sieg saw this, he would just ignore you. Besides, you just got your own badass moment. What else do you want? Please don't answer that question.
Question #4 (Curious Fan): To Erza and Mirajane: You two know that Siegfried is the best guy in the guild, right? If you two know that, then what are you two waiting for? There's a princess showing an extremely obvious interest in him, and you two are still there with your doubts and uncertainties. Are the mighty Demon Mirajane and Titania Erza cowards? Or will they act and reveal what they feel and thus claim Siegfried for themselves?
Mirajane: Listen here you jackass! I want you and Erza to stop messing with me! Naruto doesn't want me even though I would be an amazing wife… not that I would marry that loser, but I guess he has his qualities… no, I mean… just tell that stupid green haired bimbo to stay away from him!
Erza: I always feel shame and in fact, I'm worse than Mira. At the very least, she acknowledged Naruto even in a negative light while I ignored him. The one person who treated me like an equal. So if you feel the desire to mock me, meet me in person and hit me! I will not hit back! Release your frustration on me!
Astolfo: Get out of here you masochist! Ugh, just share him or something. Either marry him or wait until Princess Hisui claims him.
Question #5: What is the most absurd dark mage you have fought?
Astolfo: Sieg tries to ignore their existence, but I remember there was this guy claiming that his name was Julius and that he was a knight. But Sieg and I both knew that his real name was James and that he was from Team Rocket. (Another RE: Zero reference)
Astolfo: Anyways, we'll add the Kingdom of Fiore Secret next time because a certain somebody accidentally forgot them all. Sorry guys, check back tomorrow afternoon.