As if fate itself conspired, his self-destructive desire set events into motion. Was it his will, his Shinjutsu, or a mere coincidence? A man had arrived—one who bore an ironic fate. He who bore a paradoxical fate of defying fate. In the end, Menma failed in his endeavors. And if he could not erase himself— Then perhaps the star of change would. Mystogan walked through the shadows of Magnolia, the worn edges of his cloak whispering against the wind. His gaze drifted skyward, searching—waiting. Anima. The phenomenon that threatened to swallow this town, this world. He had spent years preparing for its emergence, ready to fight against the unseen pull that would strip Earthland of its very magic. But something had changed. He could no longer feel it. As if the fabric of existence itself had hesitated, as if Edolas—his home, his forsaken mirror world—had frozen in time. It unnerved him. Magic was not meant to stagnate. The balance between worlds was fragile, held together by forces beyond even his understanding. And yet, the pulse of Anima—the silent war between Earthland and Edolas—had stilled. Like the breath before a storm that never came. Something has changed. And Mystogan, despite all his knowledge, could not grasp what. Elsewhere, beyond the veil of a world—buried in the silent embrace of a celestial tomb—he waited. Encased within a crystalline mass, a pale-skinned figure slumbered in eerie stillness. The weight of entire stars pressed upon his prison, layers of translucent mineral gleaming in the abyss. Time did not touch him. It could not. His form, though foreign to this world, was unmistakably human—almost. His flesh bore an unnatural, ivory pallor, as if drained of all mortal warmth. Yet, even in his endless sleep, the strands of his red hair remained vivid, untouched by the void. A remnant of the past. A whisper of the life he had forsaken. He did not dream. He did not think. He only prayed. For the end. Of death. But for someone to bring him peace. For the one with the eyes that defies fate. In which at the time he didn't know. That the person who'd steer his fate was none other than him. His other self from another world, The ninja that will bring great change in the ninja world. Naruto Uzumaki. Chapter started:- "GAH!" A man clad in black robes let out a guttural gasp, his body convulsing as Natsu Dragneel's flaming fist buried itself deep into his gut. The sheer force sent him hurtling backward, his form crashing through the air before slamming into a stone wall with a resounding crack. His body crumpled to the ground, unconscious, as small shards of rubble rained down around him. Smoke curled from the scorch mark on his abdomen, proof of the power behind the attack. Standing in the aftermath, his fist still smoldering, was none other than the Fire Dragon Slayer himself—Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander of Fairy Tail. "Natsu! What the hell?! We were supposed to be discreet!" Naruto shouted, his voice carrying over the sudden silence that followed Natsu's explosive entrance. His body moved instinctively, his feet barely touching the walls as he scaled the interior of the building with effortless speed. High above, a hostage—a young child, no older than six—quivered in fear, gripped tightly by a black-robed figure. The man's grip tightened as he eyed Naruto warily, sensing the overwhelming presence of the blond intruder. Without hesitation, Naruto became an orange blur, his form vanishing as an afterimage trailed behind him. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the kidnapper. The dark mage barely had time to react before he felt a paralyzing force crush into his spine. Naruto's strike sent him flying across the room, slamming into the ground with bone-jarring impact. The child, freed from his grasp, fell—only to be caught in Naruto's arms a split second later. The remaining members of the dark guild, Scarmeleon, stiffened. Their insignias—an emblem of a chameleon with a scar near its eye—glowed faintly under the dim lighting. Murmurs of fear spread among them as their gazes locked onto the orange-streaked warrior. "D-Draining presence… Eyes reminiscent of a goat… The orange streaks left behind every time he moves..." one of them stammered, his face draining of color. "There's no doubt about it—that's Cait Shelter's Orange Leech!" A smirk tugged at Natsu's lips, his fists igniting once more. "Well, guess the cat's out of the bag." Flames crackled hungrily around his hands, the air around him distorting from the heat. Naruto exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation. Damn it, Natsu. He had spent the last hour meticulously scouting the entire building, mapping out the dark guild's numbers, positioning, and potential threats. Their client had explicitly warned them—stealth was crucial. If the enemy was alerted too soon, there was a high risk that they would trigger the ritual prematurely, endangering countless innocent lives. Now, thanks to Natsu's impatience, chaos had already begun to unfold as civilians screamed and scattered, panicked by the sudden battle. "Gah, just make it quick before they call for backup!" Naruto barked, his body already in motion as he blurred past a group of mages. His precision was terrifying—each strike landed with pinpoint accuracy, rendering his targets unconscious before they could so much as lift a finger. Their mission was an urgent S-Class Quest assigned under Erza's lead. The city of Fortenna was the epicenter of a large-scale dark magic ritual, one that spanned five separate vantage points. If left unchecked, the spell would consume hundreds of thousands of lives. Each team was tasked with infiltrating and neutralizing a designated sector. Gray handled the northern vantage point, Erza took the west, Lucy and Loke covered the east, and Wendy, alongside Carla, secured the south. Meanwhile, Naruto and Natsu were assigned to the southwest—a sector particularly dense with hostages, which made it even more crucial to remain undetected. But that plan had just gone up in flames—literally.
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