On Tenrou Island.
Accompanied by bursts of powerful chilling air and scorching flames, Gray and Natsu were faintly facing off.
"Hoo..."
"Natsu, are you ready?"
"The me of today and the me of a year ago are on completely different levels."
Gray's magic power, comparable to that of a Ten Wizard Saint, was continuously boiling. He looked at Natsu not far away, his eyes filled with eagerness.
"Bring it on already!"
"I'm getting a little impatient, Gray."
Intense flames coiled around Natsu, and he seemed to have no regard for the current Gray.
As early as a year ago on Tenrou Island, from the day Natsu borrowed Laxus's lightning and briefly suppressed a normal-state Precht, his own base magic power had already reached the level of a Ten Wizard Saint.
By the way, Laxus's long duel with Precht was an anime original. In the manga, after Precht tested Laxus's magic power, he took him out in an instant with an Amaterasu Formula. Their exchange was less than sixteen pages long. Precht was truly the first boss in the original work to treat a Ten Wizard Saint like a mere mob.
"Heh heh!"
"That little ice-user brat... his skill in Ice-Make magic has already reached Ur's level. And has his magic power even faintly surpassed Ultear's from back then?"
The remnant soul of Precht crossed his arms. He glanced at Gray, who was facing off against Natsu, and spoke with a hint of surprise.
"Don't underestimate Gray."
"That kid is a genius, too."
Makarov stood beside Precht, his face filled with pride.
It was as if Makarov was saying to the man beside him, who was both his master and adoptive father, Precht: "Open your eyes and take a good look, old man! See just how strong the children I've raised with the way of Fairy Tail, the path you denied, have become?!"
"Heh heh."
"He's merely just stepped into the realm of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Don't forget, brat, reaching the level of a Ten Wizard Saint is only the beginning of a mage's path."
Precht chuckled and shook his head.
No exaggeration, if you were to tie up Jellal (Tower of Heaven arc), Ur, Jura, Jose Porla, and Makarov himself—mages from entry-level to veteran Ten Wizard Saint rank—Precht (in his normal state) could thrash them all without even using Fairy Law.
"Compared to that little brat who uses Ice-Make magic..."
"That kid with the cherry-pink short hair who uses Fire Dragon Slayer magic is indeed quite unique."
"To this day, I still can't understand how he managed to erupt with such immense power in a desperate situation!"
"It can only be described as incredible!"
"It even overturned many of the things I had come to understand through my years of magic research."
Precht recalled the time when he was still on Tenrou Island as the guild master of Grimoire Heart, the strongest dark guild on the continent of Ishgar, and fought against Natsu and the others.
When Natsu absorbed all of Laxus's magic power, he had inexplicably unleashed a force far exceeding Laxus's own...
Honestly, he had felt something was strange back then, but because he was in the middle of a battle, he didn't have time to think too much about it.
Now that he had calmed down, Precht's thoughts were more numerous and comprehensive.
Logically speaking, something like one plus three becoming ten was completely impossible!
No matter what, a person's magic power couldn't possibly surpass its source, right?!
Unless... Laxus's magic was just a catalyst. The unparalleled power Natsu had unleashed at that time, enough to overwhelm him, belonged to Natsu himself all along.
"Brat, that pink-haired kid must be hiding a world-shaking secret."
"If I'm not mistaken, his body must be host to at least one power so immense it surpasses both your understanding and mine."
Thinking this, Precht came to a direct conclusion. He was certain that Natsu's body housed some kind of formidable power.
"Precht, do not attempt to pry into the children's secrets."
"Otherwise... don't blame me for disregarding the bond between us."
Upon hearing Precht's words, Makarov's brows furrowed. A layer of golden magic power coated his body, the pressure of which made the very atmosphere of Tenrou Island creak and groan.
"Heh heh."
Hearing this, Precht just gave a light chuckle and shook his head. "Even if I really wanted to do something, I couldn't in my current state."
"Hmph."
Only then did Makarov slowly withdraw his magic power.
Not far from Natsu and Gray, Eden and Laxus were also facing off.
"Eden, over this past year, I have been training with every fiber of my being."
"The me of today is on a completely different level compared to the me of the past."
As Laxus spoke, he unleashed the immense magic power from within his body. The terrifying magic shook the heavens and the earth, causing a change in the world itself!
In an instant, ferocious lightning bolts intertwined in the sky, letting out violent roars.
From the celestial phenomena Laxus triggered and the powerful magic he unleashed, everyone on Tenrou Island could clearly feel just how strong the current Laxus was.
"Laxus's power has reached this level?" Lucy said in shock, staring at Laxus who had caused the sky to change.
"Laxus has undergone hellish training over the past year~"
"The current Laxus is not what he used to be."
As Lucy's voice fell, Freed, the leader of the Thunder God Tribe, could no longer contain his excitement. He loudly boasted of Laxus's current strength to Lucy and the others nearby.
"That's right! Laxus is the strongest, isn't that right, my BABIES~"
Bickslow stood beside Freed, chiming in continuously.
"That's right! That's right!"
As Bickslow finished, the dolls behind him immediately nodded in succession, issuing sounds of agreement.
"Heh heh."
"I imagine Eden is no longer a match for Laxus now."
Evergreen held a small fan, fanning herself lightly as she looked at Lucy and the others, speaking with pride.
"Is that so?!"
"In that case, how about we make a bet?"
Just as the Thunder God Tribe was certain of Laxus's victory, Nami appeared beside them out of nowhere. With a mischievous smile on her face, she spoke softly.
"What's the bet?"
Freed's eyes watched Nami cautiously as he asked.
"The loser has to hand over fifty percent of all their job rewards for the next year."
Nami smiled, a sharp, murderous glint in her eyes.
"Uh..."
When Nami finished speaking, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen all fell silent. They exchanged glances, seeing the worry in each other's eyes. Fifty percent of all rewards for a year, that was no small sum!
"What?!"
"Are you scared?"
"It seems you don't have that much confidence in Laxus after all~"
"If that's the case, just pretend I never said anything~"
As Nami spoke, she turned and strode away without a second thought.
But in a place no one noticed, the corner of Lucy's mouth curled up slightly as she silently counted in her head: "Five, four, three, two..."
"A bet's a bet!"
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
Just as Nami had counted to five in her mind, Freed and the others immediately caught up to her, speaking urgently.
"Heh heh, they took the bait."
The corner of Nami's mouth curled up. She knew the Thunder God Tribe would never be able to resist such a taunt.
With Nami's personality, manipulating the mere Thunder God Tribe?
It was almost too easy.
"But what if you lose and then don't take any jobs?!"
At that moment, Evergreen seemed to think of something. She carefully sized Nami up from head to toe before asking.
Yes, according to Evergreen's judgment, Nami's magic power was about the same as Jet's group. At most, she could handle some B-class or C-class jobs on her own.
But the three of them, the Thunder God Tribe, often went with Laxus to handle S-class jobs.
The rewards for S-class jobs and other ranks were on completely different levels! Calculated this way, no matter how you looked at it, they were the ones at a disadvantage!
"Then let's agree on a number."
"How about one hundred million Beri, or one hundred million Jewel?!"
Nami smiled, her eyes filled with cunning.
Yes, Evergreen's question was also within Nami's calculations.
"One hundred million?!"
As Nami's words fell...
Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow were all dumbfounded.
Even with the efficiency of the three of them, earning a hundred million would take a massive amount of time!
This was no joke.
"Do you even have a hundred million?"
Bickslow looked at Nami suspiciously and asked.
"I don't."
"But Eden does!"
"In short, since I dare to bet with you, I can definitely produce the money."
"But you three, dragging your feet like this, does it mean you don't want to bet at all?!"
Nami said, turning once again as if to leave.
"Wait."
The moment Nami turned her back...
Evergreen didn't hesitate. She ran over to Nami's side at full speed, grabbing her wrist forcefully. Her eyes seemed to glow with a bloody light as she nodded. "Bet! We'll bet!!"
"Heh heh."
Hearing this, Nami turned around and simultaneously pulled out a contract, smiling. "In that case, why don't you all sign right here?!"
"What?!"
"You even had the contract ready?"
"I'm getting a bad feeling we've been tricked!"
When the trio of the Thunder God Tribe saw the contract Nami produced, they finally realized something was wrong, that they had likely been duped.
"Sigh~"
"Three more victims."
After the Thunder God Tribe trio signed the betting contract, Lucy sighed helplessly from a short distance away. She knew Nami all too well. The moment Nami proposed a bet, it was no longer a gamble, but Nami unilaterally reaping what she'd sown.
"Lucy, from now on, I'll cover all your rent."
Nami looked at Lucy, who was staring up at the sky, and sidled up to her, speaking with a smile.
"Thank you for your grace, Big Sis Nami!"
"Your humble servant Lucy swears to the heavens that from this day forward, I will be utterly devoted to Big Sis Nami and follow you for a lifetime."
Hearing this, Lucy immediately swore an oath to the heavens, pledging her loyalty to Nami.
"Heh heh~"
"Lucy, you really have no shame, do you~"
"That ugly look on your face, even I, flying up here in the sky, can barely stand to watch it~"
Happy was flying in mid-air at that moment, mocking the Lucy on the ground.
"You damn cat, what do you know?!"
Seeing this, Lucy cursed angrily at Happy in the sky.
"Happy, I'll cover all your fish from now on, too."
Nami waved at Happy in the sky and said with a smile.
"Aye~"
"From today onwards, I too will pledge eternal loyalty to Big Sis Nami."
Upon hearing this, Happy didn't hesitate for a second. He descended from the sky, landed in front of Nami, and knelt on one knee while loudly proclaiming his oath.
"So, Happy, where is your shame?!"
Seeing this, Lucy didn't hesitate. She grabbed Happy with one hand and began punching him forcefully while asking.
"Aye~"
"Lucy, I'm just a cat~"
"A cat's sense of shame is different from a human's."
Happy answered truthfully.
"You're calling yourself a cat now?"
"Go to hell! You damn cat!"
As she spoke, Lucy threw Happy directly into the air. Without any hesitation, she unleashed her Cat-Slaying Secret Art: Lucy Kick.
"Pow!"
With a soft thud...
Happy was sent flying by Lucy's kick.
"Gray vs. Natsu and Eden vs. Laxus, huh?!"
"I wonder who the final victor will be?!"
Just as Lucy kicked Happy away...
Cana, who had just landed on Tenrou Island and discovered such a grand spectacle unfolding, her eyes lit up as she shouted, "Place your bets! Let's go, everyone!"
"I'll bet a thousand Jewel on Natsu to win."
Lucy agonized for a long time before finally betting on Natsu.
Of course, it wasn't that Lucy thought Natsu couldn't beat Gray; it was because Lucy was genuinely broke.
"I'll bet ten thousand Jewel on my beloved Gray to win!"
Juvia didn't hesitate, directly pulling out a ten-thousand Jewel note and betting on Gray.
"I'll bet on Laxus to win..."
"I'll also bet on Laxus to win..."
"Of course we're betting on Laxus to win!"
The Thunder God Tribe chose Laxus without a second thought.
"You guys are definitely going bankrupt now."
Nami looked at the Thunder God Tribe trio, a rare trace of pity flashing in her eyes.
"I bet one million Jewel on Eden to win."
Then, Nami turned around and placed her bet on Eden.
Yes, the strong must thoroughly humiliate the weak.
"I never thought Laxus's strength would have reached this level. It's truly surprising."
Erza crossed her arms, looking at the formidable magic power erupting from Laxus in the distance, and spoke with shock.
"Ooh~"
"How terrifying~"
"Laxus's strength has already surpassed this old man's~"
Borsalino stood beside Erza. He gazed at the thunderous magic power of Laxus not far away, and behind his sunglasses, a flicker of surprise silently passed through his eyes.
"By the way, Erza and Mr. Borsalino, aren't you two Marine Admirals?"
"Is it really okay for you to come back at a time like this?"
Lucy couldn't help but ask as she looked at Borsalino and Erza, who, despite being Marine Headquarters Admirals, were acting as if no one else was around.
"It's fine~"
Borsalino replied with a smile. "It's about time to show our hand anyway."
By the way, in the past year, Borsalino had learned Light God Slayer Magic from Precht, and his strength was no longer what it once was.
"Eh?"
Lucy was stunned for a moment. She suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, wondering what expressions the Marines and the World Government would make when they found out that two of their active Admirals were undercover members of the Fairy Tail guild.
It would surely be a spectacular sight, wouldn't it?!
"Huh?!"
"They're already fighting?"
It was at this time that Gildarts, who had been messing around with 'Red-Haired' Shanks for several months, finally landed on Tenrou Island. What was noteworthy, however, was that behind Gildarts followed a girl with red and white hair tied into pigtails, who always wore a sullen expression.
"Gildarts, welcome back~"
Upon seeing Gildarts, Mirajane immediately went up to him, handing him hot water and a towel. She then looked at the timid-looking girl standing behind Gildarts and asked, "And who is this young lady?"
"Could it be..."
"Is she your illegitimate daughter, Gildarts?"
Mirajane covered her mouth as if she had discovered a shocking secret and shouted it out loud.
Yes, that Mirajane girl was definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"She's not my daughter!"
"Of course, it wouldn't be wrong to say she's my daughter either..."
"If I have to put it one way, she's the daughter that guy Shanks forced on me."
Gildarts was having some trouble explaining his relationship with the girl behind him.
In short, one day, he and Shanks got drunk together, and then the two deadbeat fathers started talking about their respective daughters.
Shanks felt troubled whenever he thought about his relationship with Uta.
In truth, Shanks knew that if he kept Uta alone in that place, something bad would definitely happen.
But letting Uta leave would be extremely dangerous for the world.
So, after much thought, Shanks finally decided to entrust Uta to the Fairy Tail guild.
In Shanks's own words, their guild already had enough dangerous people, so one more Uta wouldn't make a difference.
Yes, his reasoning was so sound that Gildarts couldn't refute it at all.
And just like that, Gildarts went to pick up Uta before returning.
Of course, Uta had tried to resist. She attempted to use her singing to put Gildarts to sleep.
Unfortunately, Uta failed.
Uta watched with her own eyes as Gildarts simply waved his hand lightly towards the sky and shattered the power within her song...
This left Uta utterly perplexed, and she asked Gildarts, "Why aren't you affected by my ability?!"
"Because a father's love can never be put to sleep."
Gildarts smiled at Uta and said.
In reality, Gildarts had just used Crash magic...
Just as a high-level enchantment mage can use concept-level enchantments, at Gildarts's level, he could even shatter concepts themselves.
Anyway, just like that, Uta was spirited away to the Fairy Tail guild by Gildarts.
"Oh~"
"Shanks's daughter, is it?!"
"I hear she's a very famous diva~"
Borsalino muttered to himself as he looked at Uta in the distance.
In fact, Borsalino had once thought that if he hadn't become a Marine Admiral, debuting as an idol might have been a good choice...
"Mr. Borsalino!"
"Please stop thinking about useless things."
After Lucy inadvertently used her mind-reading ability and saw the images Borsalino was fantasizing about in his mind, she cried out that her eyes were burning.
"Ehh~"
"This old man once had the heart of an idol, too."
Borsalino said with a laugh.
"BOOM!!"
On the other side, the battles between Natsu and Gray, and Eden and Laxus, seemed to be decided in an instant.
"Natsu, how did you get so strong?!"
Gray said in shock after being instantly taken down by Natsu, who had entered Lightning Flame Dragon Mode.
"Don't underestimate my hard work!"
Natsu laughed loudly, speaking with smug satisfaction.
In fact, Natsu had been undergoing special training with Garp these past days.
Under Garp's unique style of diligent instruction, Natsu had evolved once again.
Yes, the current Natsu, after entering Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, could already compete with beings at the peak of human limits like Jura (Grand Magic Games arc).
Of course, this was only in terms of magic power...
In reality, with Natsu's strength, he could totally exchange a few blows with the "Heavenly King" level monsters.
"BOOM!!"
However, Gray being defeated by Natsu in one blow was not the most surprising thing to everyone.
What surprised everyone the most was the sight of Laxus being instantly defeated by Eden.
"How is that possible?!"
"Even if Laxus were to be defeated, he shouldn't have lost so quickly!"
The Thunder God Tribe trio simply couldn't believe what they were seeing.
That was Laxus!
How could he lose to Eden?
"Eden, your strength... has it already reached a level where you can rival Gildarts?"
Laxus, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised by his own defeat to Eden.
What surprised Laxus was that the magic power Eden had just displayed was faintly comparable to Gildarts (in his prime).
"No!"
"The current me should be stronger than Gildarts."
Eden crossed his arms and stated as such.
"Hah?!"
"I can't just pretend I didn't hear that!"
Gildarts, hearing this, came directly in front of Eden. He glared at Eden and demanded.
"What?!"
"Gildarts, you're at this age, and you still refuse to admit you're getting old?"
Eden's ego was extremely inflated at this moment. He pressed his forehead against Gildarts's, staring directly into his eyes, and said angrily.
"Then let's give it a try!"
As Gildarts spoke, he suddenly erupted with astonishing magic power.
That magic power had already surpassed the level Gildarts was at when he challenged Acnologia, rising from the original Strong Shield level to the Super Shield tier.
Yes, in this short span of one year, Gildarts had evolved again.
"Huh?"
"On what grounds did you get stronger again?!"
Eden roared in anger upon seeing this.
He had put in a massive amount of effort to reach his current level! He had nearly failed.
But Gildarts had spent this past year just drinking, so on what grounds had he also gotten stronger?!
Who was the main character here?!
Damn it!
"Oh?!"
Just as Eden and Gildarts were facing off...
Precht had his arms crossed, taking in the performance of everyone present. He muttered to himself, "The current Heavenly King-level pieces are: Aramaki (Weak Shield), Issho (Weak Shield), Mirajane (reached Weak Shield through the Pseudo-Grimoire Heart), Erza (at least Weak Shield, upper limit unknown), Laxus (Normal Shield), Borsalino (Normal Shield), Kuzan (Normal Shield), and also Eden (Strong Shield in base, Super Shield in dragon form) and Gildarts (Super Shield in base)."
"If we were to go to war against the Alvarez Empire on the Western Continent with the nine Heavenly King-level combatants above, plus Warrod and the others, our current chance of victory is still... 0%."
Precht said with some vexation.
Yes, even with the fully evolved Fairy Tail, if they were to face the Alvarez Empire led by Zeref, their chances of victory were still 0%.
To be honest, Fairy Tail no longer lacked Shield-level combatants, but none of them could match up against the Twin Walls.
Precht felt a headache coming on just thinking about August's heaven-defying magic and combat power.
"With August's power, he could probably melt the entire Kingdom of Fiore, right?!"
"He's far more powerful than the three great Ancient Weapons of this world."
Precht shook his head repeatedly, sighing with emotion.
By the way, the Kingdom of Fiore was only called a kingdom...
Its actual area exceeded Australia, over ten million square kilometers. (And if you calculate based on Warrod's two-thousand-kilometer stacking, you could get a figure larger than the continent of Asia.)
The Ishgar Continent was even more outrageous.
The Ishgar Continent, at its largest scale, far surpassed the surface area of Earth and was bigger than Jupiter.
If you assume the world of Fairy Tail has four continents (north, south, east, west) of roughly equal size, and consider the panoramic view of the planet during Irene's Universe One, where Earth Land, like Earth, is mostly water...
You could even conclude that the surface area of the world of Earth Land is comparable to that of many stars.
No wonder Acnologia couldn't find the dragons on the Northern Continent. This planet was just too damn big.
"Eden, go to a stronger world!"
"If we want to deal with that monster Acnologia."
"We need at least enough combat power to easily destroy an entire planet."
"Otherwise, everything is just empty talk."
Precht shook his head and sighed.
Amidst the cheerful and harmonious atmosphere of the Fairy Tail guild, only the remnant soul of old Precht, beaten by his own disciple, wore a worried expression, anxious about the future of the Fairy Tail guild.
(End of Chapter)
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