Earth Land, Ishgar, Desierto, Ardeshir.
July 13, x790.
"This just adds to the list of things I hate about taking quests in this country." Gildarts grumbled while walking through the desert of the Sandy Country, Desierto. "First, they don't use Jewels. So, I have to exchange money. Then, there are no trains between cities. So, I have to walk everywhere because the camels won't come anywhere near me. And finally, it's so damn hot. *Sigh* At least I can take the train back to Fiore. But why are the tickets so expensive every time I have to take the train?"
Currently, Gildarts was returning after completing his 10 Years Quest to slay a monster that had been killing merchants and destroying caravans that traveled from Desierto's capital city, Ardeshir to the several towns in the area that housed the Village Hidden in the Sand.
However, when Gildarts arrived at the reported location to fight the reported monster, he quickly found that it was no monster. Instead, it was one of the Books of Zeref, an Etherious, much like the Deliora he fought back when he rescued Ur, Ultear, Gray, and Lyon all those years ago.
"At least this thing wasn't going around killing random things and people." Gildarts muttered as he looked over his shoulder at the giant head he was dragging along with him. "But seriously, why did the Black Wizard have to make all his creations so big? Ugh! Even worse, why did this thing pick a place filled with sand to cause trouble? Damn it! I'm gonna find sand all over the place for the next year. I hate the desert."
*Boom~~~~~~!*
Before Gildarts could complain any further, the sound of an explosion interrupted him. And when he turned his head in the direction of the sound, Gildarts saw a cloud of sand shooting up into the air in the shape of a mushroom.
"Well, that doesn't look too good." Gildarts muttered. "We're only a few miles away from Ardeshir. If whatever caused such an explosion were to make its way to the city, it could cause a lot of casualties. *Sigh* Being a defender of justice is such a tiresome and thankless job."
With that, Gildarts pulled on the hair of the dead Etherious he was dragging behind him. Then, he slung the head onto his shoulder before circulating his magic power through his body. A moment later, Gildarts vanished from where he stood, the only evidence of his presence a cloud of sand that followed him into the distance.
Meanwhile, near the point of explosion, two men, one with slicked-back silver hair and purple eyes filled with fanaticism while carrying a large scythe with three red blades over his shoulder and one with a grey hood that covered his hair and a half mask that covered his mouth only revealing his tanned-skin and strange eyes with green irises, red sclerae, and no pupils, wearing matching black robes with red cloud patterns standing off against a strange creature cloaked in dark red, ominous magic power with seven long tails waving menacingly behind it.
"Just give up." The tan-skinned man said calmly. "You're making this more trouble than it's worth. And I hate doing work that doesn't match the value."
"I'd rather just sacrifice her to Jashin right now.' The silver-haired man said, sounding disappointed that he could not do what he wanted. "But she'll be sacrificed soon enough, I guess. But if she keeps resisting, I don't know if I'll be able to hold back."
"Shut up, you idiot." The tan-skinned man shot back. "If you did that, all the resources we used for this operation would be wasted. And if that happens, I'll definitely kill you."
"Oh yeah?" The silver-haired man asked in a challenging tone. "You know, now that I think about it, Jashin would love your sacrifice, too. Maybe I should start there?"
Just as the silver-haired man and the tan-skinned man, Hidan and Kakuzu of Akatsuki, looked as if they would come to blows, the creature turned its head in a certain direction and tensed, readying itself for a possible incoming enemy.
Seeing the creature's movements, Hidan and Kakuzu stopped their bickering and turned to look in the same direction. At the same time, they went on alert once again, just in case the creature tried to escape.
It seemed the latter's preparation was unnecessary, however. Because a moment later, the trio could see a cloud of sand appeared in the horizon. And from what the three could tell, whatever was causing it was getting closer. And it did not take long before the sand cloud, or rather, what caused it to arrive near the three.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A rugged male voice asked from inside of the sand cloud. His voice then continued after what seemed to be the head of a beast was sent flying from the cloud. "If I didn't know any better, I would think there was a monster attacking two travelers out here in the desert. But those cloaks you two are wearing tell a different story. You two are from Akatsuki, right?"
As the voice spoke, the sand cloud settled, eventually revealing the speaker, a tall, muscular man with slicked back orange hair, a stubbly beard, and dark green eyes. Also, he only wore a pair of baggy pants and a tattered cloak that hid an Automail left arm and leg.
"Who the hell are you?" Hidan asked. A moment later, he shook his head with an unhinged smile on his face. "No, it doesn't matter. He'll just be another sacrifice to Lord Jashin."
"That's Gildarts Clive." Kakuzu said in a grim tone. "Fairy Tail's former ace. He's quite the high bounty. A lot of towns and cities seem like they want him gone. More than likely it's because of all the destruction he brings wherever he goes."
"Really?" Gildarts asked while scratching his head. "I didn't think it was that bad."
"Oh, but it is." Kakuzu replied. "You have the highest bounty of any legal wizard on the continent."
"Damn... That's kinda badass." Gildarts said with a grin. "I bet the Kid will flip when he hears that."
After saying that, Gildarts turned towards the seven-tailed creature.
"And if those two are from Akatsuki, that must make you one of those Jinchuriki that these guys are trying to kidnap, right?" Gildarts asked. "Well then, I guess I'll have to step in to stop that. Can't have them completing their goals, after all."
"You're going to... help me?" The seven-tailed creature asked in a bestial tone.
"Yeah, helping those in need is kinda what Fairy Tail wizards do." Gildarts replied with a shrug.
Hearing that, the seven-tailed creature seemed to relax. Then, the dark red magic power covering its body began to thin out. And as it did, it was clear to see that the seven-tailed creature was not some kind of monster. Instead, it was a young woman with tan skin, short, layered mint green hair, and orange eyes wearing a hair clip that matched the color of her eyes, a white and red crop top, white skirt, white detached sleeves, and white shinobi sandals.
As soon as the dark red magic power was completely dispersed, it was clear that the young woman was injured, as her clothing was torn in various places. She was also covered in bruises, cuts, and blood.
"Seriously, you two would beat up a little girl this bad?" Gildarts asked while shaking his head at Kakuzu and Hidan. "Well, whatever. You won't' be hurting anyone ever again when I'm done with you."
"I think you overestimate yourself, Gildarts Clive." Kakuzu said grimly. "Your bounty will be mine."
"And your soul shall be sacrificed to Lord Jashin!" Hidan shouted as he dashed towards Gildarts with the strange scythe he carried ready to strike.
"*Sigh* The bad guys always act like this." Gildarts said as he reeled his right fist back. "Fine. Then, I'll just deal with you like I do all the others. "
By the time Gildarts finished speaking, Hidan had reached the optimal distance to use his scythe. Yet, Gildarts reacted calmly, casually dodging Hidan's seemingly wild, yet very precise swings, which had a clear purpose.
'He's not trying to inflict any serious injuries with these swings.' Gildarts noticed while continuing to dodge. 'If I had to guess, even the smallest injury would be enough for him. Hmm... Is there poison on the blade? I guess I don't really wanna find out.Something tells me there's more to it than that, though.'
*Swoosh!* *Swoosh!* *Swoosh!*
"Hmm... he's better than I thought." Kakuzu muttered while watching Hidan attack Gildarts. "Still, he's not as impressive as I imagined. Especially with a bounty like that. No matter. As long as I get the money for bringing in his head, it's actually better if he's not as strong as I expected."
Reaching that point, Kakuzu turned away from the fight, refocusing on the actual target for his and Hidan's mission, the tan-skinned young woman they were fighting before Gildarts showed up.
"There's no point in struggling, Girl." Kakuzu said, drawing the young woman's attention away from the fight. "Just make this easier on both of us and come with me."
"No!" The girl replied firmly. "Giving up would mean giving up on my dream. And I definitely won't do that."
"Well said, young lady." Gildarts replied while continuing to avoid Hidan's attacks. "Never give up. If you do, you'll never know just what you could have accomplished if you kept going."
*Schick!*
After saying that, Gildarts drew the attention of the young woman and Kakuzu back to himself. At the same time, he stopped dodging, having understood Hidan's level of skill with his weapon of choice. He then raised a hand coated in magic power and caught the scythe with his palm. And to Gildarts' surprise, when he did so, the blade was actually able to cut through his magic power and leave a shallow wound on his hand.
"Oh, that's new." Gildarts said while looking at the blade of the scythe with curiosity. "When's the last time a weapon was able to get through my [Crash Magic]. I bet the kid would like to take a look at this thing."
"Hahahaha!" Hidan began laughing a very unhinged laughter while Gildarts was looking at the small injury on his hand. "I really must thank you, because of your actions, you've sped up Lord Jashin's sacrifice."
Looking at Hidan's wild laughter, Gildarts began to think.
'Well, it looks like the blade isn't poisoned.' Gildarts thought to himself. 'So, that's not why he seems so happy. So, the only other reason I can think of is that he wants my blood. And I can think of more than a few ways that a dark wizard could use my blood for something dangerous for me. Well, I really don't wanna deal with that. So...'
With his thoughts reaching that point, Gildarts tightened his grip around the middle blade of Hidan's three bladed scythe. Then, after exerting a good amount of strength...
"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?" Hidan shouted as the scythe was yanked out of his hand. "That was bestowed to me because of my service to Lord Jashin! How dare you defile it like so?"
... pulled the scythe right out of Hidan's hands. Gildarts then stepped back and looked at the scythe, noticing the few drops of fresh blood on the center blade.
"Is that so?" Gildarts asked as he tossed the scythe up and caught it by its shaft. "Well, I'd rather not let you have access to my blood. So, I'll be keeping this."
"Damn you!" Hidan shouted angrily as he charged forward to try and retrieve his weapon.
"You seem way too upset after just losing one weapon." Gildarts said while dodging a barrage of punches and kicks from Hidan. "I see you have that weird spike-thing under your cloak, why don't you just use that instead?"
"Silence, infidel!" Hidan shouted like an enraged cult member. "I won't make your sacrifice to Lord Jashin quick. No, you'll suffer more than anyone before you!"
Meanwhile, Kakuzu could not help sighing while rubbing the space between his eyes in exasperation. "Why do I always get partnered with idiots? I can't even kill this one. Not that I haven't tried before, though."
After saying that, Kakuzu decided he could deal with the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki later. For now, he needed to deal with Gildarts. Otherwise, the former would be much more difficult.
*Swoosh!*
With that decision made, Kakuzu grabbed his cloak with his right hand. Then, he flung it off in one motion. When he did, his bare arms were revealed. However, they were strange. Unlike most people, it looked like his arms were held together with sturdy black threads.
The threads holding Kakuzu's body together were produced by a Jutsu known as [Earth Grudge Fear]. With these threads, or rather tendrils, Kakuzu has completely remade his body from the inside. And by integrating the hearts of others into the tendrils, he gained a form of limited immortality. He also gained the ability to use elemental Jutsu that he did not have an affinity to, provided that the victim of his heart extraction had the affinity for it.
A moment after Kakuzu took of his cloak, two masks, that were once attached to his back, split off, supported by the tendrils. Both masks were white, one of which had red markings while the other had green markings. Then, the mouth portions of both masks opened while aiming at Gildarts and Hidan, who were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, Kakuzu started performing hand signs at high speed.
"[Fire-Style: Intelligent Hard work]." Kakuzu said, naming his technique while continuing to perform hand signs after casting his first Jutsu. A moment later, he completed the second series of hand signs and named the technique. "[Wind-Style: Pressure Damage]."
When she heard Kakuzu call out his first Jutsu, the young woman snapped her head in his direction while preparing to evade. However, when she saw the masks supported by the tendrils coming out of Kakuzu's back, she opened her eyes wide in shock. Just a moment later, however, she snapped back to her senses when she realized that Kakuzu was aiming at the two fighting in the distance.
'Is he going to attack is comrade, too?' The young woman thought to herself. However, before she could sink too far into those thoughts, she forcefully shook them off. 'That's not important right now!'
"Hey! Watch out!" The young woman shouted in an attempt to warn Gildarts, who was clearly trying to help her.
Unfortunately, the young woman's warning came too late.
While she was surprised, the mask with the red markings gathered. [Fire Magic] in the open part of its mask. Then, after it was condensed sufficiently, the small fireball was shot in Gildarts' and Hidan's direction. All the while, the mask with the green markings was also condensing [Wind Magic].
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~!*
By the time Gildarts and Hidan heard the young woman's warning and looked for what was approaching, the small fireball was already upon them. Unluckily for Hidan, Kakuzu had aimed at him, knowing that he would not evade. And there were two reasons for that.
First, Because of Hidan's abilities, he would not bother reacting to an incoming attack. So, Kakuzu knew the attack would land. Second, Kakuzu was afraid that if he had aimed for Gildarts, the former Fairy Tail ace might sense it with his instincts and get out of the way or counterattack.
And things went just as Kakuzu expected. The small fireball landed on Hidan then, it expanded into a giant firestorm that engulfed both Hidan and Gildarts.
"Kakuzu! You bastard~~~!" Hidan screamed as he was engulfed in flames. "I'll definitely sacrifice you to Lord Jashin one day!"
Then, just as Hidan's creams and curses echoed over the battlefield, the [Wind-Style Jutsu] that was forming in the other mask's mouth was fired, as well. And when it entered the flames, the firestorm expanded explosively, intensifying the flames at the same time.
"Good." Kakuzu said as he retracted the two masks. "Now I'll be able to collect Gildarts Clive's bounty. *Sigh* I'll have to put Hidan back together, too. Damn it... I'd rather that idiot died, too."
Kakuzu then turned to the young woman.
"But I'll deal with you while the fire burns out." Kakuzu said as he raised his left foot to start walking towards the young woman.
"So, you don't think that was enough to kill that guy, huh?" Gildarts' voice sounded from the conflagration. "Then, I guess that means I don't have to hold back. You see, I'm not really into killing dark wizards. I'd rather allow the Magic Council to deal with them. They don't bother me as much for all the stuff I destroy if I do, you see. And if I let them take credit for catching them, they overlook some of the stuff I destroy all together. Well then, let's make this quick. [Bring Devastation, Calamity]."
*Hum~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
In the next instant, the magical pressure in the area skyrocketed as the flaming vortex was dispersed by a powerful shockwave that sent Hidan's burnt body flying. However, the source of the magical pressure, Gildarts, was nowhere to be seen because the magic power leaking casually from his body was distorting the air as it was being broken down into small cubes before reforming repeatedly. As a result, a haze was obscuring Gildarts from view.