CH8: Reunions

Time since Naruto's joined: 30 days

Bloodroot Canyon

The heavy musk of iron enveloped the air, hiding within the white mist that blanketed the ravine in a fume akin to blood, a putrid odor that prickled the nostrils and wore at the mind. Prolonged exposure to the air would have sent most humans running, yet Naruto and his team still had a job to do. It would take more than an awful stench to deter them from their goal.

Carefully monitoring the fragility of the barrier created by the relentless onslaught of dragon soldiers, Naruto could not contain the eager grin that crept onto his features as he dug through the inner pockets of his shirt, fingers hastily filing through a small stack of papers before his eyes widened in recognition as he fished out the sealing tag he had sought. In a puff of smoke, a scroll appeared in the place of the small piece of paper that lifelessly fluttered to the ground.

"Here Laxus, you're going to need this." Naruto said with an ever present smile.

Glancing at the seemingly plain scroll, Laxus accepted the parchment with no concealed hint of wariness.

"And what am I supposed to do with this? Use it like a pin roller?" the lightning mage questioned with dry sarcasm.

"Of course not, what you're actually holding is a lake."

There was a brief period of silence, the only sound being the continuous crackling of the barrier protecting them as it continued to deteriorate against the seemingly endless abuse.

"Explain." said Laxus, tone bearing no amusement as this was not a time for vague jokes.

Mirajane and Erza nodded their heads in agreement while simultaneously drawing upon their respective magic in preparation for the barrier's collapse.

"I can seal different objects into scrolls like those." Naruto sighed explaining it as clearly as he could. "A couple days ago, I took a trip to Lake Scilliora and wanted to see how much a seal that size could hold."

"Wait," Erza paused, suddenly remembering a strange tidbit of information she heard around that period. "Are you the reason why people panicked when the size of the lake shrank by almost a half?"

"More importantly," Naruto coughed intentionally moving along with the plan, "I need you down here at the bottom of the ravine. The rest of us will move along the wall, and knock down those bastards hiding on the ledges."

"Naruto, these things can absorb magic." Mirajane pointed out, some semblance of worry seeping into her tone.

Naruto could not help but chuckle slightly startling his three teammates. "Yeah, but this isn't exactly magic, remember? These seals don't create the items, they only hold them."

Naruto saw the expressions of understanding dawn upon each person as they realized the significance of his reminder.

It was plain water.

A sudden explosion blasted apart a corner of the barrier with the rest of it rapidly deteriorating after it. The earlier bombardment had been muffled to the extent that the occupants inside the shield only heard distant booms, yet with the absence of a literal cornerstone the sounds of the magical attacks deafened the ears they fell upon.

"Everybody, move!" Naruto shouted.

Powerful, destructive, and overwhelming; they moved like an unstoppable force of nature.

Leading the charge, Naruto and Laxus burst out from the plume of dust like a pair of missiles, trails of wind streaming past one and jolts of lightning from the other as they shot forward at breakneck speeds. Naruto's trajectory aimed for the biggest dragon out of the bunch as he tucked inwards, and spun his heel forwards.

A light blue glow enhanced Naruto's leg with chakra as Naruto almost looked like a top due to the sheer speed at which he flew forwards while spinning.

Laxus did not waste this opportunity to enter the fray either as Naruto was able to witness Laxus's right arm jolt, the mage empowering his fist with lightning magic.

The pair slammed their respective attacks head-on with Naruto landing a brutal axe kick on the dragon's skull while Laxus released a powerful roar as he pummeled its abdomen with a gut punch.

As the dragonoid was sent careening back into the fog, the near crash indicating its collision with the canyon's lower wall brought some relief for the pair.

However, this brief reprieve did little to stifle the immense jolt of pain Naruto felt piercing the back of his foot along with an intense burning sensation as a result of the blood coming to the surface of the undoubtedly bruised limb.

"You idiot, why didn't you use Sage Mode?" Kurama rumbled within the back of Naruto's consciousness.

"I didn't know that thing's body would be so damn dense." was Naruto's clipped reply as he took the brief break to begin entering said mode.

Naruto was no stranger to hand-to-hand fights, he wholeheartedly welcomed them. However, the natural body defenses these dragon creatures possessed were similar to the stone toad statues he had seen during his training on Mount Myoboku. It almost felt like he was a kid again trying to kick Gamabunta in the toe, which in case you may not know, was one of the fastest ways to getting squashed by the belligerent summon.

Nevertheless, if he was going to do some damage, he was going to need a little bit of a boost. With Kurama pitching in, Naruto did not have to wait long until a familiar haze of orange surrounded his eyelids while his pupils stretched outwards in a horizontal manner akin to toads.

"What are you doing?! Move!"

The rough shout of derision coming from Laxus brought Naruto back to his senses as he immediately complied to follow through with his original plan.

"There's about sixty of these things! I'll keep them occupied down here, you go help the others!"

Following the source of the voice, Naruto's gaze found Laxus rebounding off the walls like a human pinball, lightning trailing right behind him as he was able to keenly identify the dragon soldiers hidden within the dense fog and knock them towards the pit of the ravine. The mage had initially been aiming for the chests of the creatures, but upon realizing the sturdiness of them he had resolved the issue by aiming for their vulnerable hands and limbs.

Naruto could not help but be impressed by Laxus's efficiency as the mage alternated between attacking the dragon's stationed among the ravine's ledges while concurrently striking down the ones attempting to climb back up. What made the feat even more impressive in Naruto's eyes was that Laxus was doing so with practically zero visibility.

Not one for idling, Naruto quickly moved into action following along with Erza and Mirajane, the former who now donned a pitch-black armor with draconic like wings while the latter also used a lightning based magic to move under the guise of Satan Soul.

Slashing her way upwards, Erza's wings allowed her to soar upwards along the canyon's walls knocking aside any stray attackers to the depths below. Her sword swings were quick and nimble, aiming to loosen the dragons' grips while striking them back down from heaven to hell.

Behind her on the opposite side, Mirajane mimicked her rival in an almost mirror-like performance as she invigorated her speed to punish the dragons that aimed to fire an attack at Erza's back from the other side of the canyon. Adorning Satan Soul's complete transformation, violet lightning arced off of her as her speed and power were actually able to send shuddering ripples through the bodies of the dragons. She paid no mind to their cries, focused solely on sending them back into the depths below.

Any small hesitations or mistakes could prove fatal to both her and her teammates as she continued to attack her marks and defend the back of her rival.

With both S-Class mages covering a different side, they simultaneously were able to gather the enemy dragons to the base of the gorge while protecting each other.

Now that he was in Sage Mode, Naruto was able to obtain a much better understanding of the situation. Laxus's earlier statement of sixty was not inaccurate; in fact, Naruto could sense about sixty-three. The older Fairy Tail wizard's sensory abilities were almost frighteningly precise. Stealing a glance towards Laxus, Naruto could still tell, despite the presence of the fog, that Laxus's movements without a doubt proved that he could tell where those dragons were hiding.

Filing away that thought for another inquiry, Naruto focused on the task at hand. Creating two Shadow Clones to join him, Naruto split both of the clones apart and sent one to Mira while the other went to Erza .

With the same mind as the original, the two clones sprinted along the walls to assist Erza and Mirajane by directing them towards any especially shrewd dragonoids.

Both S-Class wizards had already seen Naruto's clone ability on more than one occasion, and so it was with experienced instinct that both mages synchronized with their clone assistants to continue their role.

As of this moment, there were exactly forty-five dragonoids at the bottom of the canyon who had finally noticed that there was still someone left alone.

Smiling in an amicable manner, Naruto held his arms spread out wide in an inviting gesture.

"Don't mind me, come whenever you're ready."

As if they actually needed his permission, the dragonoids swarmed Naruto like a vengeful hive of hornets as they all towards the blond. With the intent of perforating him, they fired countless beams of energy as their stings.

With the enhanced perception granted to him through Sage Mode, Naruto was able to seamlessly slide his way forward through the countless beams of light, Numerous razor sharp claws and talons aiming for his throat were redirected with a simple gesture as Naruto leaped forwards like a maelstrom of carnage. His punches rattled the dragons' skulls while his kicks sent vibrations felt by each of his enemies' bones.

Like a tribute to the old tale Journey to the West, Naruto's fighting prowess paid a suitable homage to the original Monkey King as he bounced along each dragonoids' head, taking the extra effort to clean his sandals on their foreheads while retaining a childlike playfulness.

"55, so far." Naruto thought just narrowly dodging a set of feral claws that could have decapitated any normal person.

While he continued to draw the ire of nearly every dragon down in the gorge with him, Naruto did not forget to manage the multiple dragonoids falling from above as he mentally counted each one like checking his items off a grocery list.

As his tally neared its end, Naruto's clones scaling the two opposing cliff sides diverged away from Erza and Mira as they were also able to discern the situation from above. Passing over the horde of dragons, the Sage Mode clones spun and compressed their chakra to create a glowing, blue sphere that continued to grow in size.

With Rasengans the size of bowling balls, the shadow clones ran the orbs along the canyon's walls and downwards once they had reached the dragons' unguarded flanks.

The result was earth-shattering. Miniscule pebbles, gigantic boulders, and thundering pillars of stone rained down into the canyon below, amassing into a practical dam made of stone that blocked off any chance of escape for the dragonoids. A few of the smaller whelps attempted to scrape and claw at the boulders to clear a way but it was to no avail.

Realizing the copies' intent, Mirajane and Erza hastily moved to assist.

Enveloped in a violet light, Mirajane transformed into Sitri once more, hellish flames licking her coattails as her hands unleashed a roaring pyro storm of fire that turned the rocks into molten slag.

Not one to fall behind, Erza called upon her magic, surrounding herself in a bright glow. As her Black Wing armor was traded away for an armor of Atlantian origin, emerald green in color with a Merfolk design, it was accompanied by a beautiful crystal blade that rivaled a sea gem in terms of radiance. Slashing the long sword, Erza summoned an aqua-blue magic circle that unleashed a small geyser of water upon the molten slag, instantly beginning to cool and solidify it.

The pair of rivals repeated the process even as hundreds of rocks of varying sizes rained down upon them below. The early blockade had now become a near impregnable wall that reduced any chance of the creatures escaping to almost zero.

While the attention of the creatures were taken by the sudden collapse of stone, Naruto had maneuvered his way past the last of the creatures standing in his way and broke free of the encirclement as he now stood next to an equally eager Laxus at the front of the horde.

"Is there really a lake in this thing?" Laxus questioned while fiddling with the tie keeping the scroll closed.

Naruto didn't need to be a highly perceptive listener to hear the lingering traces of doubt in his inquiry.

"We're about to find out." was Naruto's response. His smile never once faltered as Laxus finally undid the tie and unfurled the scroll in preparation.

Trained eyes watched as the largest of the dragons that Naruto had dubbed their leader realized that escaping back into the mist was no longer possible if there was an immovable wall preventing them from doing so. It's pure white eyes dilated with unconcealed malice while its black scales surged with vigor.

With no other direction to go but forward, the creature released a deafening roar signifying its wrath. Razor-edged talons dug trails into the earth as it began its charge forwards followed by its smaller ilk. The rumbling of nearly a hundred feet sent tremors throughout the canyon while crushing any stray bones that lied in their warpath. To distant travelers, many had begun to make the preparations for a thunderstorm only to be met with sudden befuddlement noticing the clear azure sky.

"I'll take care of the big guy. Once we're clear, I'll release the water." Naruto spoke as he suddenly backpedaled to gain some distance for a running start.

"Assuming this actually does work out, anything else I should watch out for." Laxus retorted with a dry bit of wit laced into his tone.

Naruto noticed a bead of sweat slide down the side of Laxus's head as the mage stood against an army of magic-absorbing, super-armored dragons that had killed hundreds of S-Class mages just like him.

With a wry smile, Naruto sent an explosion of dust behind him as he took off like a missile towards the rapidly approaching mob, but not before imparting a few words to his teammate.

"Just don't get blown away."

When first learning to move at high speeds, many novice shinobi had first encountered a state of tunnel vision where they were unable to fully perceive their surroundings, yet these issues were gradually peeled away with steady training.

Naruto had long since broken free of those hindrances which was why he was able to fully appreciate the sight of the leader's pale eyes widening, just as he suddenly appeared right in front of it. His leg contracted inwards like a spring, storing energy that was just waiting to be released, and in the next moment Naruto delivered the sweet mother of all flying kicks. After the leader's chest, receiving the full force of Naruto's Dynamic Entry imbued with natural energy, felt the shock course through its body it was sent staggering backwards.

Despite being blasted with what was almost a human cannon, the dragon's feet never once left the ground as it burrowed the claws into the dirt, upheaving the earth while mitigating the damage. However, it still did little to alter his travel course as he collided with the countless groups of smaller dragonoids creating a jumbled mass of scales, tails, and nails.

The instant his first foot retouched the ground, Naruto jumped up and flipped backwards landing directly behind Laxus. Forming a half tiger seal, Naruto focused his chakra towards the scroll in Laxus's hands.

"Go!"

In a puff of smoke that covered their vision for a brief moment, Naruto watched as Laxus cried out in surprise, a deluge of water exploded from the unfurled parchment like a geyser. Skidding across the dirt, Laxus was losing ground with each second until he suddenly found a shoulder planted firmly against his back.

Acting as a bulwark to prevent Laxus from sliding too far back, Naruto pressed his frame against Laxus's lower back halting the lightning mage in place.

"Told you so." Naruto managed to laugh in spite of the absurd situation.

Biting back a sarcastic retort over the rippling rush of water, Laxus focused on keeping his arms steady as the massive tidal wave escaped its paper prison.

Two more blondes appeared by Naruto and Laxus. The former's pair of clones arrived after leaving the formation of a human-made rock partition to Erza and Mirajane. The two copies weaved through the few hand seals necessary for the basic C-Rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

For a jutsu as simple as this, one only needed to possess the proper elemental affinity along with the knowledge of the technique's seals. As walking chakra batteries, Naruto's copies were very lavish in the amount they used to complete the wind jutsu.

The chests of the clones expanded like balloons before they each expelled a colossal jet of wind through their pursed lips. What was originally a large, powerful wave became a destructive force of nature, an all-consuming tsunami that threatened to drag each scaled abomination into a cold, watery grave.

The torrent plowed the dragonoids and, like a cleansing wave carrying away the detritus plaguing the canyon, gathered the creatures without mercy. The dragonoids leading as the vanguard were the first to be washed away. The surging wave drowned their ferocious roars, suppressing any meager resistance as it plunged the dragonoids into its dark depths. Colliding and crashing into fellow dragons, the scaled monstrosities amassed into a large clutter of fangs and claws.

The heap of dragons were battered into the barricade of boulders created from the falling debris and submerged under the freshwater of Lake Scilliora. After colliding with the rock formation, the continuous gusts of wind stirred the waves into a funnel, creating a maelstrom that pulled each victim into its grasp. One by one, the dragons disappeared down the whirlpool with only the strongest barely keeping themselves afloat.

"Do it now!"

Once Naruto was able to sense the clustered presences of the dragons, he immediately notified Laxus who had somewhat stabilized himself in the midst of the disarray.

Expecting the mage to let loose a blast of lightning, Naruto felt a sudden dread creep into his chest upon noticing a distinct lack of yellow electricity.

"What are you doing?! Do it now!" he shouted over the sound of the crashing waves.

"I… can't!" Laxus managed to shout back. "Switch with me!"

Despite still standing, Laxus's foothold was still unstable. Realizing that Laxus needed his hands to attack, Naruto knew the scroll would also be destroyed in the process.

"If you let go, some of those things will get out!" was Naruto's regretful response.

Even now, some of the more tenacious dragons had used their drowning brethren as step holds as they clawed their way forward, moving against the torrent in an attempt to break free.

Gnashing his teeth in frustration, Naruto resolved himself to clean up his mess. Swirling into existence, a blue orb of chakra appeared within his palm, the canyon's dead winds spiralling around it while an acute ringing began to increase in presence.

He had no idea if these things could absorb chakra, but at this point it was a risk he was going to take. They had already destroyed a good portion of the natural landform, so what was adding one more Rasenshuriken to the mix?

Naruto's ears suddenly perked up hearing an inhale from Laxus, interrupting his completion of the S-Rank technique.

Pausing his concentration, Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing a yellow magic circle appear before Laxus's mouth, the lightning wizard's body suddenly growing in size and muscle.

From Laxus's side, Naruto watched as Laxus's appearance became more feral, his canines elongated with a dangerous sharpness while his eyes became a pure white. Yellow electricity traveled along his legs and torso, gathering towards the epicenter of the magic circle. Like a dam being broken, the lightning was unleashed with a resounding crash of thunder that broke through the air with a single shout.

Lightning arced through the wave of water like a Leviathan, fluid and free, as it skimmed across the watery surface before coiling around each dragonoid with its massive body. Their roars became harrowing shrieks, the agony in their cries sending chills through Naruto's bones.

Scalding steam rose from the surface of the water as Laxus refused to relent in his wrath. A few more creatures that had been able to resist the pull of the tide were dragged into the maelstrom without mercy, their screams silenced.

There had been sixty-three dragonoids at the beginning. Their numbers had dwindled to a mere six, their leader included, as they proved to be the most tenacious of their brood continuing to gnash and rip their way through the endless torrent. With every attempt to consume lightning, their mouths were filled with crashing waves causing them to splutter and hack.

Even the magic-consuming creatures were not dulled to pain as their agonized shrieks continued and echoed along the canyon's walls, ringing in the ears of the Fairy Tail wizards as they continued their counterattack.

With the fortification of their dam complete, Erza and Mirajane joined Laxus and Naruto. The pair, with Erza switching back to her Black Wing armor, flew high, higher than the makeshift rock barrier they completed that nearly reached the very top of the canyon.

Soaring past the wall at breakneck speeds, Erza reached the very pinnacle as she requipped her Sea Empress Blade, pointing its masterfully crafted tip towards the very sky. Materializing a large blue magic circle, the long sword became the focal point as dark clouds began to swirl and gather above the canyon.

An aquamarine aura coalesced around Erza as she drew on her magic, funneling it into the continuously expanding magic circle.

Naruto blinked, a cold sensation caressing his cheek and coercing his chin up. As his gaze reached the sky, he found no trace of the gentle blue sky carrying its innocent clouds. A black sea that drowned out the sun stretched across the expanse for miles. Cold drops of rain plummeted down onto the earth, washing down into the canyon as if it was a storm drain.

A heavy deluge of water battered against the canyon and its occupants, the sudden addition being supplemented by the winds being created by Naruto's clones. A new wave came towards the remaining dragons, hammering them with bone-crushing force and knocking them off their feet as they were pulled towards the man-made whirlpool.

Yet again, the dragons vanished into the murky deep one by one until the leader was the last who remained. It's roars were gurgled and intermittent, but its defiance was unyielding as it continued to struggle with all its might.

Unfortunately, its resistance was caught by the Fairy Tail group's fourth member.

Assuming the guise of her original Satan Soul, Mirajane's slender figure was swathed in a near obsidian, violet bodysuit with black segmented armor pieces. Massive bat-like wings lifted her into the air as she raised her outstretched hands towards the rumbling black skies, flashes of violet streaking behind the clouds.

Pupils encased in a violet afterglow, the air around Mirajane was charged with electricity as she summoned down a jagged, bolt of lightning from the darkened clouds above into the roaring maelstrom below.

Naruto's gaze lingered upon the Mirajane, from the moment of the lightning bolt's conception to its delivery, and all it took was a brief touch between the sky and the sea to turn their entire world white.

Like the fading blackness after the flash of a camera, the spots in Naruto's vision faded away as he gradually regained bits and pieces of color before situating on the carnage before him.

The sudden heat created by the lightning caused a rapid expansion of air sending tremoring shockwaves throughout the canyon. The force was so great, it had obliterated the molten barrier of earth and slag releasing the dragons from their watery imprisonment. As the freshwater escaped and drained away into the canyon, what was left behind were the sixty-three carcasses of the scaled creatures.

Flecks of snow-white scales littered the loamy soil like pearls, displaying their opulence in the darkened earth. The dragons lied motionless, their once pristine bodies rivaling a winter's hoarfrost were blackened by the demonic and draconic lightning that surged through them. Their once proud chests were still and their ferocity quenched by the silenced storm.

Naruto's gaze continued to linger on the lifeless scene before him, even when he heard the arrival of his teammates as they gathered behind him. He needed to be certain that the threat was truly gone.

A subtle twitch caught his eyes, Naruto's hand arising outward as he motioned for the wizards to be careful.

A couple meters away, violent spasms crippled the largest of the dragonoids as it's harsh breaths came out in shuddering shivers.

"H-Help…" it rasped, the plea soft and quiet.

His footsteps light yet encumbered by caution, Naruto, followed by his close teammates, warily approached the distinctly human request that had originated from the mouth of the same ravenous creature moments before.

As they came upon the dragon, their hands went cold as a pit fell within their stomachs at the sight before them.

With the dragon's scales and hide flaking away, a hidden gem of blue emerged from its blackened carapace. A lone human eye, its counterpart still a hidden beneath the smoldered reptilian hide, showed a flickering flame of life growing within it as its mouth opened and closed repeatedly.

"My name… is Veis…" it spoke in a soft yet clear voice. "I thank you… for freeing me of this cursed existence."

"Veis, what exactly are you? What happened?" Naruto questioned, gaze never leaving the human's single eye.

"We… were corrupted… by that accursed Black Wizard." Veis managed to seethe. In spite of her deep injuries, she continued to struggle as more scales continued to crumble away revealing a human beneath. "I am one of the Falsuryus."

"The Falsuryus?" Laxus spoke in sudden recognition. He looked around the pit, searching for any other signs of movement in the mist, yet he was only met with stillness. No other dragons moved. "Isn't your tribe the one that made this request in the first place? How come none of the others are getting up either?"

The scales covering Veis's facial features bled away away revealing a young woman's pained yet human visage that was covered by her raven black hair. The girl looked to be almost the same age if not younger than Laxus, and was quite pretty.

Crawling to her knees before pulling herself up, Veis's legs quivered like a newborn fawn taking its first steps as Naruto and Mira each wrapped an arm beneath her shoulders for support.

"They were outsiders affected by the corruption of the Heart. Their bodies were lost years ago, however other members of my tribe should still be able to be saved." Veis answered while Naruto and Mirajane carefully lowered her onto a boulder to sit on. "The Falsuryus have existed for centuries. The elders have often told us the stories of old. The bright days in which dragons roamed the skies as the mightiest existences while coexisting peacefully with our people."

"Sounds like those stories are just a bunch of nonsense if you ask me." Laxus scoffed.

Naruto felt a sudden chill run down his neck as he watched Veis stab Laxus with a cold glare. Her lips were pursed while her jaw was clenched. Forcing herself to her feet before marching over, she left her helpers stunned as she jabbed a finger onto Laxus's chest.

"They are not nonsense. Our ancestors were once a part of the Dragnof Kingdom, and they were taught dragon slaying magic from the dragons themselves! How a fool like you came to wield Lady Fulgur's power is beyond me!"

"Wait, you're a dragon slayer?!" an incredulous Mirajane balked, interrupting Veis's rising diatribe. "Then that means you're just like Natsu!"

Veis's tense standoff with an uncomfortable Laxus came to a pause as she directed an equally surprised stare at Mira.

"You know yet another slayer?" she questioned.

"Another?" Erza repeated with a touch of uncertainty. "There is only one slayer in our guild."

"Yes." Veis replied with a curt nod before pointing a finger in front of a surprised Laxus's face. "But this one is a slayer as well. His lightning is a pale imitation compared to the stories of Lady Fulgur's legends, but he is a slayer nonetheless."

Naruto had not known Laxus long, but from the reactions of Mira and Erza, as well as Laxus himself, he'd have to be denser than a brick to not realize this was a new revelation to the former two as well.

"Laxus, you're a dragon slayer?" the shorter and astonished blond asked.

Laxus let out a resentful growl towards the bemused Veis, who was quite oblivious to the severity of her actions, and settled for irritatedly scratching the back of his head with an annoyed sigh. There was no longer any use in denying it.

"Yeah, I am a dragon slayer, but I'm also different from Natsu. I wasn't trained by a dragon, but I had a lacrima implanted into me when I was young. After it happened, I knew the old man would scold me for it so I've kept it a secret from him ever since."

"Laxus, the lacrima implementation process is not a simple medical operation." Erza said with suspicion. "It's a highly dangerous surgery, especially on younger wizards. Who did this to you?"

Erza's question seemed to prod a sore spot for Laxus as his neutral frown twisted into a scowl.

"It doesn't matter, and it's none of your business," Laxus barked back before redirecting his ire towards Veis. "And you, start talking. If you're a dragon slayer as well, then are you a first or second generation? Were you taught by a dragon like Natsu?"

Veis was taken aback by Laxus's abrupt question and domineering glare before seemingly shrinking away, a quiet mutter escaping her lips.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Naruto blinked in response to Veis's mumbled words.

"I said I wasn't taught by a dragon," Veis shouted indignantly. "... and I wasn't given a lacrima either..."

Her demeanor became meek as she murmured the last part. It seemed like this was a sore spot for Veis who clearly did not take a liking to Laxus. If anything, Naruto imagined that she would, in all likelihood, swallow an entire watermelon whole before choosing to lose face to him.

The atmosphere fell silent and even Naruto was at a loss for words due to the fact he was still somewhat confused. When they got back home, he'd definitely have to ask Mira to teach him about this stuff.

"So… you weren't taught by a dragon?" Mirajane mumbled, expression blank yet puzzled.

Veis responded with a shake of her head, her pale cheeks a rosy red while her lip was shaped into a pout.

"Pfft…"

Everyone in the canyon looked towards the source to find a visibly trembling Naruto as his chuckles turned into full blown laughter.

"Naruto!" Mirajane was the first to recover as she gave a reprimanding smack upside the blond's head.

"I'm sorry but I can't help it!" Naruto replied in between laughs. "She seemed so mature, but Veis is surprisingly cute!"

Another snicker emerged from behind Mirajane as Laxus was next to follow, his guffaws growing into uproarious laughter as Veis grew redder with each second.

"How can you even call it dragon slaying magic if you didn't learn it from a dragon or gain it from a dragon lacrima? "

Following the actions of Mirajane, Erza immediately set upon Laxus, harshly rebuking the latter for his insensitive mannerisms. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as considerate as Naruto and still laughed despite an armored and verbose maiden scolding him.

If it were at all possible, Veis's complexion could have rivaled a tomato in terms of redness, her pale complexion betraying her, as she stood in place on the brink of tears.

"S-Shut up! Although it's true some of our ancestors were taught elemental slayer magic, the Falsuryus of today use the teachings of the first king and Sage dragon, King Belserion!"

A whitish hue coalesced around Veis's as she clenched her hand into a fist, her indignation taking form as glowing anger. She released her humiliation on a towering stone next to her, pulverizing it, as it exploded into dust and shards silencing the two laughing men while stunning the two women.

"King Belserion's dragon slayer magic was not elemental by nature." She began, strength returning to her posture. "It gave humans the ability to amplify their innate physical power and match the strength of dragons as means to combat them. It is thanks to the efforts of our elders as well as the Heart that our first king's teachings have not been lost."

"Wait, so you can boost the power of your physical strength equal to a dragon's?" Naruto asked with awe. In a way, it was highly similar to the Sage Mode taught by Mount Myoboku's Toads, and could possess the potential to be just as versatile.

Able to discern the impression she made, Veis scratched the side of her cheek, embarrassed that she lost her cool, and nodded. "Although I can only increase my power so much until my body starts to break down. Our human bodies impose a limit which is why this magic isn't as effective as elemental dragon slayer magic, depending on the user of course."

Veis suddenly swayed, her expression dizzied as Erza helped her sit back down to rest. Smiling gratefully, Veis continued her explanation.

"However things are different now. Whatever the Black Wizard did to the Heart, it gave our monster forms the ability to consume nearly any magic. The corruption of Belserion's Heart warped the minds and bodies of my people causing our magic to go berserk. In that draconic form, our strength is increased to even greater heights with the loss of our human limits. Our bodies are in constant state of agony, and we lash out at anything that breathes."

"Belserion..." Mirajane murmured softly to herself. "I've heard of that name before."

"Hm? Something wrong Mira?" Naruto curiously asked only to receive a silent shake of the head as Mira profiled that thought for a later time.

"More importantly," Erza began as she decided to put their group back on track. "You've mentioned this so-called Heart, and you even said it was corrupted by a black wizard—"

"Not a black wizard." Veis interjected, voice filled with contempt and hate. "The Black Wizard, Zeref. Ten years ago he came searching for something only to leave empty-handed. The magic he left behind altered the Heart of the Falsuryus, the corruption spreading to our people, changing our bodies, and driving us to madness."

Three jaws nearly dug a hole in the earth while one remained passive.

"Zeref?! That guy was supposed to have died hundreds of years ago!" Laxus muttered in shock. "He's practically a myth!"

Naruto was the only one seemingly unaffected by this revelation, but in his case it was to be expected. As an unexpected arrival, he was still not versed on the history of Fiore, so he turned to his closest link in this new world.

"Hey, Mira, who's this Zeref?"

The astonished expression Mirajane gave him practically became flabbergasted as he realized he could have worded his question a lot less bluntly. She was not the only one as Naruto found himself on the receiving end of everyone's dumbfounded stares.

"Naruto, the Black Wizard Zeref is regarded as history's most evil wizard ever to walk this earth! Any book you read about him will correlate him as the very personification of death because he's killed hundreds of thousands of people as naturally as breathing!"

Mira's normally kind features looked as if she had just swallowed an extra sour lemon as she spoke again.

"He created countless demons even stronger than Satan Soul and Sitri that have killed millions."

"This guy sounds really dangerous." Kurama rumbled with a sharpened edge to his guttural tone.

From Mirajane's clarification, Zeref seemed like a being that rivaled even Hagoromo.

"You feeling scared, Kurama?"

"Keh! Don't get ahead of yourself, kid! I'm more afraid knowing you, you'll definitely run into this guy!"

"Oh? You're worried about me? How reassuring."

"Cheeky brat. Laugh now but when it actually does happen, I will never let you live it down."

Naruto suddenly blinked as a slender hand waved in front of his face.

"Naruto?" Mirajane called out watching the boy's eyes follow her hand. "Earthland to Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"You spaced out for a second. Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"Never better." Naruto replied returning a grin.

Mirajane's worry withered away with a sigh as she gave an unamused stare towards the blond. "Then did you even hear a word I said?"

"Super bad guy, if he's actually alive, I'll definitely kick his ass," was Naruto's glib response.

"I'll never understand where your confidence comes from." Mirajane sighed with an exaggerated shake.

"Ahem." Erza cleared her throat, expressing her desire to listen to the entirety of Veis's circumstances. Gesturing to the raven-haired woman, she nodded her head urging her to continue.

"Right." Veis sighed, realizing that she had strayed the conversation away from what was important. "At the moment, there are three things we must pay heed to. The first thing is the enemy we face. Larger black-scaled ones are Falsuryus tribesmen. You've handled nearly all of them already but those white ones you fought earlier are outsiders who came into the canyon years ago. Second, without strong magical power, any normal human that touches the mist will turn into a dragon as well. Lastly we must move quickly, prolonged exposure will soon begin to affect any human no matter what, and the deeper we go the stronger the corruption will be."

Naruto's features lit up, as did his teammates, whose expressions became panicked realizing the cause of the draconification engulfed them entirely.

"If you've made it this far, then you still have enough magic to resist the effects of the mist. Once a mage is low on magic and begins to draw in the etherano from the air, that's when the symptoms begin."

"And what are these symptoms?" Mirajane asked warily.

"Headaches, nausea, sweats, and hallucinations." Veis replied listing what she could remember. "These are the first symptoms that appear. Anything after is more… conspicuous."

Nobody, not even Naruto, needed any further explanation on Veis's implication.

"Ha! Are you worried about turning into a lizard?" Kurama spoke in between feral chuckles. "Don't worry, whatever this is, it only seems to be an issue for those mages. After all, our biology is inherently different than theirs."

"That's a relief." Naruto mentally sighed, grateful for his partner's assurance.

"Earlier, you mentioned that the white dragons can no longer return to their human forms." Erza said, doing her best to remain unhindered by the previous information. Her brown eyes hardened while the subtle clenching of her fists drew attention from those nearby. "Is that true?"

Naruto sighed as his muscles slackened, his eyes traveled over each and every unmoving dragon in the base of the canyon. Glancing towards Mirajane and Laxus, he could see that even they felt a slight pang of guilt enter their hearts, knowing that they were the cause of the carnage left in their wake. Gaze shifting towards Veis, he knew she was not a fool. Even she could see the guilt hidden in Erza's mannerisms.

"Yes, it's true. Without expansive magic reserves, the corruption can enter and alter your body beyond recognition. Frankly speaking, the only reason I'm still standing here is because of the magic inherited from the Heart."

"From your explanation, it sounds like this heart thing is the cause of all of this." Naruto said as if asking for confirmation. "If that's the case, wouldn't it be easier to just destroy it?"

"It's not that easy." Veis calmly replied with a solemn shake of the head. "The Heart I speak of is a lacrima that was created from the remains of the first king, Belserion. It is not a mere fragment grafted from his majesty's bones or organs. It was made from the entirety of his majesty down to the last scale. Its durability is nearly equal to that of a real dragon's."

A warm smile crossed over Veis's features; however, her hands gripped her knees so tight they became white. The conflict danced behind her eyes while her voice quivered with each word. "Even after death, Lord Belserion is still protecting us. The magic his Heart imbued us with must be the reason my people can still be saved."

Veis closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before releasing a calm breath.

"Even so, I know what I must do." she spoke with resolve as she opened her eyes. "Please—"

Veis trailed off slowly as a crimson hue crept across her cheeks confusing those around her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe I asked for your guild..."

Realization dawned upon the Fairy Tail wizards, and before anyone could speak Laxus had beaten them to the punch.

"We're Fairy Tail wizards, and we formally accept your request."

Naruto made to speak before stopping himself seeing Laxus's taciturn yet resolute countenance. He chuckled to himself. Although he was still a dick, at least he was serious about his goal.

Heart of Bloodroot Canyon

Miles of earth and dust stretched across the land, chasing after the horizon with no end in sight. Before the human eye, this was how Bloodroot Canyon appeared. As one traversed closer and trekked through its veins, they would soon be encapsulated within the boundless sea of ethereal mist spiriting away all who enter.

As they traveled further, in its center lied the ruins of a small village. Crumbled stone, splintered pillars, and shattered glass were all that remained of the former residents homes. The settlement was further hidden away within a small pocket of land that was overlooked by shelves of earth.

In the very middle of the village lied an enormous obsidian sphere that rivaled Kardia Cathedral in size. It pulsed with malevolent energy as it emitted a foul glow that hummed with energy. Guarding it, fifty dark-scaled dragons, each one nearly a quarter the size of a tailed beast, surrounded the orb, basking in its glow.

Their plated scales intersected with each other at their shoulders forming reinforced pauldrons of armor that traveled from their arms to their torsos and backs. Their tails swayed back and forth with a sharp, bladed tip in the shape of a two-sided halberd at their ends. Similar to Veis, their bodies were a black so dark it matched the night sky while their white, pupiless eyes glimmered like pearls through the fog.

Perched high above the dragonoids, five people crept towards the edge of the ridge and looked down on the scene below. They moved without a sound; cautious and alert for any sudden movements that may give them away to their enemies.

As they reached the end of the ridge, their eyes fell upon their mark.

"I knew it would be guarded, but I did not think it would be to this extent." Veis spoke as she bit down on her lower lip.

"In any case, we'll need to avoid fighting them." Erza said. "They're far too scattered to capture with brute force alone, and we still must consider their ability to consume magic."

"But still... those things are huge!" Mirajane whispered with shock.

A wince of pain drew the group's attention as their eyes focused on Veis. Clutching her head in between her hands, Veis grit her teeth to bare the pain as her head began to throb once again.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Laxus asked, wariness bleeding into his motions.

"I-I'm fine…" Veis muttered with assurance in her tone. "My magic has yet to recover, so the effects of the mist are beginning to affect me already. We must hurry before I lose control."

A grim line appeared on Naruto's features as he couldn't help but agree. Even looking from a distance, the Heart was nearly three times bigger than his largest Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, and was protected by dragonoids even stronger than Veis. The area below them looked more like a crater without a single blind spot to strike from.

The black-scaled creatures could consume magic meaning the others would have to fight with only their hands and fast, or they run the risk of Veis turning on them with her people. As far as he knew, he had yet to test whether these creatures were capable of absorbing ninjutsu, and he had no intention of finding out.

Naruto's jaw tightened as he glanced towards the others nearby. Ever since he arrived, he had felt a piece of himself missing. His goal of becoming Hokage, the purpose he had dedicated his entire shinobi career to, had been taken from him by a tempermental goddess. He would be ignorant to not acknowledge that he was still somewhat aimless, yet he still did not wish to take flight into this new world with wax wings.

Naruto had heard about the governmental authorities of Fiore, the Magic Council and the King, and he had no desire to intermingle with either. He had grown up in a world where those with power were relentlessly sought for to the point that those closest to them would suffer the most. If either of those authorities were to learn of an otherworldly denizen, wielding powers rivaling a God, there would be no doubt in his mind that Fairy Tail would be the first obstacle they would tear down.

Learning of Kurama would be an even worse outcome.

Unbeknownst to the others, Naruto's fist clenched itself tightly, nails digging into his palm turning his knuckles a pale white. A rigid knot twisted in his gut while a burning lump formed in his throat, his anger boiling beneath the surface. Kurama suffered for hundreds of years at the hands of humans seeking to bend his will to their own, all for the sake of their selfish desires.

"Naruto, everything okay?"

A hand placed itself upon his own, it's cool touch startling him from his thoughts. He looked to its owner to find Mirajane's worrisome gaze resting firmly on his own, her gentle blue eyes reflecting the concern in her heart. She had probably mistaken his anger for nervousness given the futile situation they found themselves to be in. Even so, the warmth of her sympathy melted the forming ice in his chest, his lips involuntarily pulling themselves upwards in a thankful smile.

However he could not forget, there were also good people in this world that he could trust, new friends and allies that he had unknowingly formed bonds with already. Mirajane, Natsu, Makarov, Erza, Elfman, and even Laxus; they were all people who placed their trust in him, so how could he not do the same?

"I'm fine." Naruto answered with a smile, his resolve tempered. "There's not a lot of time to explain, but I need you guys to trust me here. I've got a plan."

"A plan? We're going to need a freaking miracle here," Laxus muttered, his gaze lingering on the restless Falsuryus dragonoids that would sniff towards their general direction every once in a while. "Well? What is it?"

Naruto sighed as he pushed himself to his knees before standing up. His movement surprised his teammates, but they remained vigilant nonetheless.

"It's a bit of a gamble, but if I'm right then I'll be able to make an opening for you guys."

Everyone's eyes simultaneously darted over to the blond with distinguishable disbelief. It wasn't Naruto's choice to challenge the countless dragonoids on a mere possibility that stunned them. It was his self-certainty in the idea that he would be able to take on each one by himself.

He saw the dubiety reflected from his Fairy Tail comrades, and was first interrogated by Erza.

"A gamble? What do you mean by that?" the steel in her question demanding an answer.

"These things can eat your magic right? Then I won't give them any."

Wisps and flecks of golden energy flickered into existence like ethereal ghosts, clustering and swarming around Naruto like a maelstrom of energy. Materializing from the very air around him, a golden cloak, with a radiance and majesty that was unrivaled, surrounded and garbed Naruto's form. The shinobi's hair jutted upwards like horns, and released a shimmering gleam matching his coat in magnificence.

Despite his dramatic alteration, the final and most harrowing aspect of his transformation was not his new apparel or the new nine floating spheres behind him. No, the change that sent chilling tremors through the hearts and up the spines of his allies was what was absent. Gone were eyes so blue they rivaled the clear sky, and in their place now resided golden irises paired with obsidian black, cross-barred pupils.

Their world flashed yellow.

Naruto's Mind

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself standing in a familiar sewer once again. Ripples of water spread across the space from beneath his feet while a flaxen glow illuminated the blackened area before him.

"What the…?"

"Haha! It's been too long! Naruto!"

Naruto practically jumped out of his pants hearing the boisterous laugh and bellowing voice, his heart nearly following suit as his jaw dropped in pure shock.

"Son?!"

Standing before him, the gargantuan gorilla formerly known as the Four Tails beared down upon the blond as his four tails swished behind him leisurely. His crimson fur looked as bright as ever while his yellow irides were upturned with delight. While his two tusks looked as fierce as before, his grin betrayed any chance of ill intentions as he continued to laugh heartily.

"It's not just me either!"

Naruto's eyes nearly popped from their sockets as the rest of the Tailed Beasts emerged from the waters one by one. Grinning from ear to ear, the beasts sat around the shinobi in a manner all too similar to their first meeting.

"Shukaku and Matatabi? Isobu too?" he spoke upon seeing the first trio arrive.

"KEKEKEKEKE! He remembered our names!" Shukaku laughed with psychotic glee.

"We meet again, Naruto." Matatabi greeted with a slight inclination.

"I guess this is the third time we've met, huh?" Isobu grunted with some amusement.

"Hey! You didn't forget us, did you?" an impish six-tailed slug shouted poutily.

Naruto chuckled as well, happy to meet his friends once again in this unexpected reunion. With a childish splendor filling his chest, he grinned brightly to the remaining Tailed Beasts meeting each of their individual gazes with great joy.

"How could I forget, Saiken? It's good to see you all again, Kokuo, Chomei, and Gyuki."

Saiken seemed to nod in satisfaction while the remaining three simply chuckled in agreement.

"Well this is certainly a surprise." Kurama gruffly spoke as he entered the plane shortly after.

"Kurama? Did you know about this?"

"If I did, I would have told you. How are you all even here in the first place?"

The beasts glanced towards one another as if having a silent conversation between the eight of them. Their gazes settled on Son Goku who seemed to have been delegated the role of speaking.

"Back in the battle against Obito, don't you remember how we were all able to meet once again in this plane? Although we're technically inside you at this moment, our real bodies are still back in the other world. When we shared our chakra with you back then, we became linked together."

Naruto's eyes lit up in realization as he decided to ask a question that had been constantly lingering in the back of his mind.

"Then does that mean you guys know what happened back in the Elemental Nations after we beat Kaguya? Is everyone alright?"

Son's jubilation deflated as he and the rest of his kin's tails lowered. Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, and Gyuki all quieted.

"Oi, what's wrong with you guys?" Kurama questioned in response to his siblings change in demeanor.

The easygoing atmosphere dissipated into nothingness with a heavy quiet taking its place. Son's pupiless eyes showed a rare sight of sympathy born from gratitude as he spoke once more.

"After that last explosion, the rest of us were freed and the war finally came to an end. I'm not sure what exactly happened afterwards, but I know for a fact that the sacrifice you made put the rest of the world on the right path to true peace."

A smile slowly spread across Naruto's face as he let the giant ape's words sink in. His shoulders seemed to shrug off a heavy weight he did not realize they had been carrying while laughter slowly bubbled up like a spring onto the surface of his features.

"Why do you guys seem so depressed then?" Naruto laughed startling the other Tailed Beasts. "That's great news! You guys are finally free!"

Kurama seemed to share his partner's exuberance as he too began to chuckle at the man's amusing behavior.

"But what about you?" Gyuki asked in bewilderment. "Aren't you sad you died? I thought you wanted to become your village's Hokage, so how can you laugh so easily?"

Noticing the puzzled states and confused glances being sent his way, Naruto's smile faded into a thin line as he sat down cross-legged in the center of the plane. His blue eyes seemed to shed some of their earlier luster, a small shade of melancholy looming over his irises instead. Kurama, who had been resting on his haunches, fell to his stomach and rested his chin upon his crossed arms closely behind Naruto as he recalled upon the final moments of their clash with the Goddess.

"Of course I'm a little sad I died. I really did want to become the Hokage, y'know?"

"You probably would have become the greatest one too if that damned monster didn't decide to take us out with her." Kurama huffed in gruff resignation.

"Hehe, thanks." Naruto replied with a chuckle. "But I'm okay now."

Gazing towards the beasts he was able to befriend, Naruto's lips returned to the same bright smile that had convinced the children of the Sage to place their hopes in him. The same confident grin and attitude that earned their respect and belief that he would succeed their father.

"If I continue to mope about what could have been and give up, I'd be spitting in the face of everyone who helped me get to where I am today. It's still frustrating that Kaguya managed to pull one over us, but if it means you guys finally earned your freedom then that's all that matters."

The thickened and tense atmosphere loosened and faded as seconds later the tailed beasts erupted into uproarious bouts of laughter startling the shinobi.

"You still haven't changed a bit have you, Naruto?" Son managed to say despite choking on laughter.

"I must agree." Kokuo replied in between refined chuckles. "Your jinchuriki is still quite amusing, Kurama."

"Don't I know it." Kurama grinned. "Who would've guessed that the biggest idiot among our jinchuriki would end up being the one we've all acknowledged."

"Hey, I resent that! It's not like you made it easy for me anyway!" Naruto shouted back towards the massive fox. "Besides, Yagura looked way younger and weaker than me too!"

"Yagura became the Fourth Mizukage and was known as the third person to ever gain complete control over a tailed beast." Isobu pointed out.

"Gah! Whatever, I'm leaving!" Naruto spat standing up to make his exit.

"In any case, what is it that you plan to accomplish in this world, Naruto?" Matatabi curiously asked stopping Naruto in his tracks. "With the power you possess, there is hardly anything out of your reach."

"Take over the world!" Shukaku suggested in between his insane cackles before he was cut off by a louder buzz.

"Don't fill his head with your stupid ideas!" Chomei scolded. "He's more than earned the right to enjoy his time here."

"Mmhmm. Just take it easy, I always say." Saiken said nodding its gooey head.

"Thanks for the ideas you guys," Naruto spoke interrupting their argument. Turning to face the beings once again, he raised his fist out towards them in the gesture that connected them all when they first met. "But like Saiken and Chomei said, I'm going to take my time to learn more about Earthland. There's a bunch of different kinds of people and things in this world, but I know I'll find a new dream to follow some day. If you'll excuse me, I've gotta go save my friends."

Present

In the fraction of the second it took for his friends to blink, Naruto had already begun his siege on the dragonoids as he dove off the ridge overlooking his already waiting foes. Although they no longer retained their human rationality, they swarmed the golden intruder like a horde of raging hornets towards a small hive the instant Naruto activated his Six Paths power.

Unbeknownst to them, their roles were reversed.

Hovering in the air before them, he raised his hands into a simple cross before summoning an army of copies that outnumbered each dragon five-to-one. Hundreds of chakra constructed hands emerged from the palms of some while thousands of hardened chains burst forth from their chests as they rained down from the skies to the earth, encapsulating the mere mob of dragons into an inexorable prison.

Countless scattered dragonoids were clutched within the claws of hands larger than their own bodies while some were ensnared within chains strangling their limbs, necks, and heads. A piercing, metallic screech followed soon after as the creatures attempted to gnaw their way free from their bindings, their razor-edged teeth grinding against the chakra metal sending shrill squeaks throughout the fog.

With the ferocity of raging bulls, the dragons thrashed around in their bindings as their frustration continued to grow after failing to consume the metal trapping them. Through pure savage power and primal instinct, many dragons were able to break apart their shackles as if they were paper and surged towards Naruto with newfound vigor.

Of the fifty that were captured, a mere ten, each the size of a small building, were the only ones unable to escape as they were firmly suppressed by fifty copies of Naruto.

The remaining forty opened their maws, some of the mist in the air being drawn into their jaws as a white light materialized within the throat of each dragonoid.

Numerous lights among the ground blinded Naruto's vision as he relied on his years of honed instincts and enhanced senses to dodge the piercing beams that were dragged across the sky of clones like bug repellant. Blinking to remove the spots from his eyes, he frowned as felt many of his unfortunate clones perish from the enemies' retaliation. What once was a strong army of nearly 300, was now a mere ten hidden within the smoke created by their brethren's dispersion.

Five Truth-Seeking orbs floated towards his hand, orbiting around his palm as their creator locked onto the signatures of his remaining clones. Taking advantage of the smokescreen, Naruto and his clones landed on the ground, creating an encirclement around the former Falsuryus faster than than the dragonoids could hear or smell their presence.

The five orbs held by the original had scattered to form a pentagon around the encirclement with each orb being a vertex. The black spheres melted and manipulated its shape to form a large lacquered ring, stretching outwards and reconnecting at each vertex. At the same instant the legendary relics of the Sage of Six Paths reformed, the ring snapped inwards like a rubber band.

There was no time for the mindless beasts to question what occurred as they were brutally jerked and pulled inwards by the shrunken, black ring. Crushed against the weight of each other, the dragonoids had no chance of escaping this time. The ring held the dragonoids on the outside by their torsos, just barely out of reach from their elongated necks, while the dragons on the inner circle were pinned beneath the weight from every direction. In the span of a minute, Naruto had immobilized the fifty draconic monstrosities without shedding a single drop of his blood.

Searching for his team, Naruto found them close by already attempting to destroy the source of the corruption.

With Fairy Tail's Mages

When their sights had set upon the unexpected threat, an opening was made in the Falsuryus's defenses allowing the remaining members of the Fairy Tail team to slip through.

The rumbling of thunder had boomed in the hidden sky above while electricity charged the air. Leading the main force after their vanguard, Laxus, Veis, Erza, and Mirajane raced to the undefended orb. An unearthly white aura had enveloped the Fairy Tail wizards, a strength enhancement given by Veis as she followed closely behind the invigorated mages.

Hundreds of magic-imbued weapons, courtesy of Fairy Tail's Sword Maiden, rained downwards onto the massive lacrima reducing the entirety of the zone to scraps and rubble, yet failed to leave even a barely visible knick on its shell. Following after innumerable comets of demonic hellfire plummeted downwards, enveloping the entirety of their target with calamitous explosions of annihilating flame, yet the heart of the past Dragon King remained immaculate in the wake of it all.

The culmination of their combined effort was ended with a gargantuan orb of dragon slaying lightning that grew to nearly double the size of the Heart. Fist clenched while lightning surged into the expanding sphere, Laxus released an inhuman bellowing roar that shook the earth as he pulled every drop of magic he had into his attack. Slamming his fist downwards, the miniature star of lightning swallowed the entirety of the obsidian entity. The yellow sphere pulsed and fluctuated as it attempted to annihilate its target down to the last molecule.

Its shape abruptly warbled before it collapsed on itself and imploded. The resulting explosion ended with a loud crash of thunder that practically blew away the eardrums of those close like a powerful bomb. As the smoke and ash faded away, the Heart's unscathed surface casted an eerie gleam from within the dreary fog.

"Dammit, just what the hell is this thing made of?!" Laxus growled, frustration bleeding from his gasping breaths. "I threw everything I had at this piece of shit!

"That's what I'd like to know." Mira huffed from above as she slammed a fire-encased kick into the orb, cracking the earth beneath it. "I've tried everything, and this stupid thing just won't budge!"

"I thought your last move would be able to make a change, yet at this rate we'll never even scratch the surface." Erza added with a strained expression as she landed beside the lightning dragon slayer.

The Titania adorned her renown Giant's Armor, an armor embodying the strength born from lofty pride. The yellow breastplate possessing intricate black markings covered her torso, shoulders, and waist while the arrangement was completed by feline like ears. Initially believing the Heart to be protecting itself with an imperceptible barrier, Erza had thrown the Giant Armor's spear, imbued with darkness repelling qualities, in hopes of breaking the orb's defenses yet it was to no avail. The powerful spear was instead repelled by the Heart like it was a toothpick.

Watching from behind the team, Veis forced herself to remain focused lest she revert back into that abominable form. Overriding the pleading cries from her legs to fall, she compelled herself to stand as she did her best to make her voice heard.

"The Heart was created from the remains of our king. It is not something that can be destroyed by humans so easily." Veis answered in between labored pants as she finally mustered her strength. "If your dragon slaying magic cannot break through, my people will be doomed! Now quickly, we must hurry before—"

"Yo!"

"AH!"

Veis let out a terrified shriek following the unforeseen reappearance of a familiar golden shroud belonging to Fairy Tail's most unusual addition. A pair of cross-shaped pupils observed her frightened reaction with some amusement, but remained otherwise unoffended. After arriving to the scene, Naruto felt the tension in his shoulders somewhat lighten after confirming the safety of his friends. Seeing their surprised yet relieved expressions, he knew they probably felt the same.

"How did you—I mean— Weren't you fighting my people just now?!"

"I was." Naruto answered in response to a hysterical Veis. "I just finished up. My clones should be able to hold them down long enough for us to take care of your old king."

"You… restrained all of my tribe…?" Veis murmured with unadulterated disbelief, her gaze falling off into the distance where Naruto had just came from.

Veis was not alone as Fairy Tail's other wizards were also able to make out the distant yet subdued roars in the fog.

"Look, I'll explain myself later. How are we doing so far on this thing?"

"How do you think?" Laxus scoffed with a sarcastic edge to his response as he continued to huff and puff.

Eyeing Laxus's arms, Naruto noticed a distinctive scale-like pattern traversing his bulky arms while electricity skittered across his body erratically. He had only seen a brief glimpse of the wizard's new form earlier, but observing from up close was a truly strange experience.

"I've tried everything short of blowing up this entire canyon, and I've done jack shit to this brick. My dragon slayer magic can't even leave a dent." he grunted.

The shinobi raised his arm to shield his eyes as a sudden pyre of flame erupted into the sky, enshrouding the Heart in a bright, white glow that incinerated the nearby buildings into ash while turning the rock beneath it into molten slag. His nostrils flinched and his eyes watered from the sudden stench of sulfur contaminating the air as their owner found the source hovering above the obsidian sphere.

"Speak for yourself, I've actually been trying to blow this thing to bits but its like water on a duck's back." Mirajane spoke shedding the persona of Sitri to return to her human form. The frown that marred her beautiful features showed the annoyance feeding into her growing vexation.

"Indeed," Erza agreed biting down on her lower lip. "None of my blades have managed to even scratch the surface."

Glancing towards Erza, Naruto had to do a double take as he confirmed that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Erza? Why are you dressed like a cat?"

Tilting her head in confusion, Erza inspected herself following the blond's strange analysis. Her features lit up upon idly touching her hair band as she came to an understanding of Naruto's misinterpretation.

"Ah, this is my Giant's Armor. It increases my strength and throwing power immensely." she explained as if it were natural.

"Uh-huh…" was Naruto's bland reply.

He had known the Knight had possessed some powerful yet strange apparel, but this one was pretty up there. He idly wondered just how extensive Erza's collection was before focusing his attention on the task at hand.

"It's hopeless...!" Veis suddenly spoke as she collapsed to her knees. The strain of her exhaustion and the burden of the fog was finally taking its toll on her as she could no longer find the strength to stand. "Belserion's Heart is highly resistant to any magic other than Dragon Slaying magic. Without it, we have no chance at making even the slightest wound..."

Uncaring, Naruto walked past the others and stood at the forefront with his back facing them. Rolling his shoulders, Naruto could sense it had been quite a while since he last entered this form and had almost forgotten just how powerful it made him feel.

"Let me take a crack at it."

Transforming into Kurama mode would undoubtedly end up catching the immobile Falsuryus in the ensuing explosions, so he'd have to make do with something smaller. Calling forth his four remaining Truth-Seeking orbs, Naruto held the levitating spheres above his palm. Raising his fingers in the shape of a cross, Naruto summoned four clones each taking on one of the orbs.

Wind began to gather and spiral around three of the clones' orbs shrouding the pitch-black spheres in a bluish-white glow. The earlier explosions were practically whispers as three deafening shrieks filled the air. The practical mirror images of wind shurikens were shattered once each clone's attack began to dramatically alter.

Raging streams of water were pulled inwards around one spiraling storm as the edges of the shuriken threatened to cut anything nearby in two. A clear, white liquid emitting bubbles slipped into the core of another, yet the sizzling drops that escaped burned holes through the solid stone beneath it. The third evolved into a miniature sun as torrid, molten lava burned brightly from its nucleus.

The fourth and original Naruto had created an enlarged screen with his orb shielding his friends and Veis from the blast just as each clone threw their storm. The three Rasenshuriken spiralled around one another before combining into a shuriken even greater in size.

The resulting explosion practically made Laxus and Mirajane's combined efforts look cute in comparison. From behind the pitch-black curtain, a blinding flash of white escaped past the edges forcing the wizards to shield their sight lest they lose it. The dull ringing that filled their hearing created an illusion that everything had become calm, yet the violent quakes and tremors that continued to travel through their teeth, bones, and beneath their feet proved that what was happening beyond the shield was something of cataclysmic proportions. It was a miracle in itself that the wizards remained standing, yet through the cracks in their vision and harsh light they could see the unmoving back of Fairy Tail's "rookie" who continued to hold the thin screen firmly against the chaos.

Erza had summoned and stabbed a pair of blades into the ground to prevent herself from falling while Laxus had taken a cruder approach by imbedding both of his fists into the stone below with Veis holding on to him for dear life.

Struggling to even raise her hand, Mirajane reached forwards and grasped onto Naruto's shoulder for support finding him to be an otherwise sturdy human totem. The blond seemed to have noticed the hand upon his shoulder, and glanced behind him to see who it belonged to. Upon seeing its owner, a bright grin was his only response as he used his free hand to press Mirajane's more firmly onto his shoulder.

The disaster prolonged for a few more seconds as Mirajane squeezed her eyes shut before the aftershocks finally subsided, everything becoming still once again.

Hesitantly opening her eyes, she found four of the same copies of Naruto staring back at her yet the persistent ringing in her ears remained. She could vaguely make out the blond's moving lips as he gave orders to his clones even as he held up the shield. She watched his copies as each one moved to assist one of the wizards. Placing their hands over the ears of each wizard, the clones closed their eyes in focus as the ringing in mages' ears simultaneously faded away.

The first things to follow were the words of the original Naruto who had turned to face them.

"Hey, sorry about that. It's been a while since I could cut loose, so I kinda forgot how much of a punch those things pack."

The golden cloak and glow around Naruto began to dissipate along with the shield that had protected them after reverting back to its spherical form. Blithe to their speechlessness, Naruto continued to talk about how their hearing should be back to normal and how he was surprised by the destruction using only three of those things he referred to as "Truth Seeking Orbs".

Even so, the S-Class mages paid no heed to his musings as they gazed down into the large crater stunned and voiceless. As the smoke and dust finally began to settle, they found the massive dragon lacrima, that had never ceased to give them a headache with its unholy resilience, neatly split into two halves. A multitude of cracks and crevices combined to form one vast network of scars and wounds upon the lifeless orb's exterior and interior rendering the Heart truly dead. There was not even a glimmer of a light left within it as it had lost its malevolent illuminance in its entirety.

Realizing the sudden presence of clarity, Mirajane looked wildly around her noticing that the frustratingly pervasive fog had finally begun to lift and vanish. In a small distance away, the sounds of strangled growls and howls grasped her attention as she looked towards the area Naruto had arrived from.

Black smoke and mist escaped from the captured Falsuryus in the distance as their scales and armored plating began to crumble to pieces and fall. The obsidian ring, with the same hue as the screen Naruto had used to protect them, released its captives by stretching outwards and rising into the air.

The ring split apart and melded into five individual orbs once again, and returned in the blink of an eye to their owner. With each fragment and scale evaporating into nothingness soon after hitting the ground, the humans beneath their prisons began to regain the clarity of their minds as they thrashed even harder to break free.

Fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters all shed away the crumbling fetters of the curse that plagued them and rejoiced to reunite with their family once again. Some laughed, some wept, and some even cursed, but even so it was an undeniable truth that they were happy.

Hearing a choked sob close by, Naruto's gaze wandered over towards Veis whose features were stricken with tears of relief and happiness as she rushed to join her family in friends in their joyous revelry.

Laxus and Erza had yet to recover from their shock of witnessing the power possessed by their guild's newest member, but they did a remarkable job of maintaining their professional composure for the sake of their job's completion. There was always a time for questions, and most importantly a time for answers.

"All's well that ends well, am I right?" Naruto chuckled as he stood beside Mirajane.

Not hearing a response, he glanced to his side to see that with surprising slowness, Mirajane trudged towards him as if her legs were made of lead.

His eyes widened in surprise seeing her raised fist, yet they watched in confusion as it made a weak thump against his chest. His puzzled state remained even as she continued to beat against him with the ferocity of a puppy. The realization finally dawned upon him, his eyes coming alive with understanding, as a sad and apologetic smile replaced his prior grin.

Mira's eyes were hidden beneath her hair, her fists continuing to thump his chest until Naruto caught them with his own. She struggled to pull them out from under his hold until he let them go, and instead wrapped his arms around her pulling her close.

"Are you mad?" he quietly asked.

He looked downwards, finding the girl's cheek resting firmly against him, and felt a nod from the below. He released a heavy sigh, choosing to hold her tighter as his way of showing that nothing had changed. He had betrayed Mira's trust in him even if he hadn't meant to, and needed to let her know he wouldn't be going anywhere. Mira was the first person he had met in Earthland, and the closest person to him in this world.

He was the one who took responsibility and persuaded Mira not to give up after Lisanna's passing. He was the one who helped and trained alongside her until she could once again stand on her own two feet. He could only imagine how Mirajane felt knowing, or rather not knowing, who he really was. He imagined that his choice not to trust her with a secret like this when he had witnessed her at her weakest most likely cut deeper than the sharpest knife.

Naruto's chin rested on the crown of Mira's head, the sweet scent of her hair filling his nostrils, as he felt the shorter girl's arms encircle themselves around him. The sounds of laughter and cries of joy in the background melted away as the pair faded into a quiet world of their own, a world where the only voices that could be heard were their own.

"I'm sorry." Naruto murmured, his chest rumbling against smaller woman's ear. His thumb circled around the small of Mira's back as he spoke once more. "I promise… I'll make it up to you no matter what."

Naruto hoped Mira would be able to forgive him. There were a lot of different things he wished she would do if only to lighten his own guilt. Scold him, yell at him, or even give him a good punch to the gut, yet he was content to feel her dainty arms tighten around him. He hoped he did not imagine the slightest nod he felt.

There was nothing left to say. For now, he could at least make a good shoulder to lean on. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

End...

Leave a review and let me know what you thought. I hope it was to your liking, and the traditional AN is below.

A/N

I know, I'm the worst… I said two months and instead I release it almost four months later. Fuck, man. One of the reasons why this took so long was because it was an original arc. The worst part of writing original arcs is that it takes a lot more effort to write, so that it doesn't turn out bad. My standards for these are for readers to at least say, "Oh, that's possible/believable." Rather than, "Wtf is this…?"

Essentially I had the idea of taking elements that were revealed later in Fairy Tail, and incorporating them into early adventures. At this point in time, we all know how powerful dragons are, so I decided to make use of the character Belserion to come up with the idea of a group of humans that were taught by him. This group later become a part of his empire, and escaped with the body of their king after their kingdom fell to the Western dragons. Not much is known about Belserion's powers except that he was known as the Sage dragon. I ran with the concept that his followers gained power similar to Sage Mode's increase in strength and they made a lacrima from Belserion's corpse to hide their presence away in an unsuspecting canyon.

One of the things that is a massive pain is writing other characters' roles in fights like this. As a writer, you don't want any of the background characters to become irrelevant to the overall result, but in this case it was rather unavoidable. There's no justifiable way of arguing that pre-canon Fairy Tail S-Class mages can even damage a dragon. This wasn't just an S-Class job, but a Decade Quest. In addition, the enemies are actually the worst enemies possible for mages but not much for ninjas. I felt it would make sense for Naruto to actually show his best rather than to hide it in a fight where the others are vastly outmatched. It's kind of like them realizing he's protecting them with his best rather than finding out later he put them at risk holding back.

As for Mirajane… well that cat's out of the bag. There's a lot of different ways to react when you find out someone who you've come to trust closely, almost like family, reveals they aren't what they've made themselves out to be. I felt that for Mirajane, who has come to trust and lean on Naruto for support, this was appropriate.

That's pretty much it, so I guess I'll see you in the next one.