The Shinobi Alliance Headquarters — Summit Battlefield.
The tide of war shifted by the minute.
Up to this point, negotiations between the World Council and Fairy Tail had completely collapsed.
The guild had now stepped fully into the fray.
Both the World Council and the Shinobi Alliance had joined forces against Fairy Tail and the Whitebeard Faction.
And today, it was the World Council that moved first.
Under the blinding glare of the floating orbs above the battlefield,
two figures leapt from the Council's massive airship, landing with commanding presence upon the field below.
Unlike the chaos of smoke and shattered stone elsewhere,
these new arrivals touched down without sound — their presence was calm, precise, unnervingly composed.
The air itself seemed to still as they appeared before Tyrant Bear and his daughter, Bonney.
Their descent caused no tremor, no shockwave.
Yet when the dust cleared, everyone — Alliance shinobi and Fairy Tail members alike — froze in disbelief.
The figure who had appeared bore dark brown skin, a pair of jet-black wings,
and behind him, a living flame burned steadily, illuminating his back like a divine mark.
And yet, what stunned everyone even more… was his face.
Though he was young — barely a teenager — his appearance mirrored that of the Tyrant Bear himself.
Bonney's eyes widened in shock, her voice trembling.
"Wh-what…? Another Father Bear?!"
"No, no… look at him! He's just a child!"
"But then… what's with the wings and those flames?"
Sabo, Koala, and Callas exchanged bewildered glances. None of them could make sense of what they were seeing.
Uru hesitated, her brow furrowed.
"Bonney-chan's father… could he be your brother? Or maybe… your son?"
Tyrant Bear said nothing. He only shook his head.
He had no brothers.
No sons.
Only a single daughter — Bonney.
Urrutia spoke up next, piecing together the most logical theory she could.
"Then… if this child looks so much like Bonney's father, perhaps — like the other Kuma models — he's a human weapon built by the World Council?"
"A pacifist model?"
"I've never heard of one like this!"
"What kind of body is that supposed to be? Wings and fire? It doesn't make sense!"
On the Alliance's side, the high-ranking shinobi muttered amongst themselves,
their eyes sharp yet uncertain.
Even among the ranks of the Alliance's Science Division,
few truly knew the truth behind the S-Series Project.
Only the senior researchers stationed in Egghead Fortress — those assigned to guard Doctor Vegapunk — had even glimpsed its prototypes.
Commander Zhan Taowan, one of those few, stared wide-eyed.
"Is that… the finished product of the Seraphim Project? Completed already? But the old man said it'd take at least two more years of tuning before deployment!"
Another commander muttered under his breath, anxious and excited.
"Even the Seraphim prototypes were supposed to be sealed! Vegapunk swore they weren't combat-ready yet!
So why now…? No — never mind that. If a Seraphim joins this battle, everything could change!"
Atop the command tower, Field Marshal Sengoku clenched his fists, his expression fierce yet oddly elated.
But not everyone shared his confidence.
Standing nearby, the wrinkles between Vice Admiral Tsuru's brows deepened.
Half a year earlier, Doctor Vegapunk had reached a secret agreement with Sugisawa Yuuto.
Yuuto had even mentioned, cryptically, that he would one day "reclaim what was his."
A cold, uneasy feeling settled over the Vice Admiral's chest.
Her instincts whispered danger.
"If this new Bear is anything like the other prototypes," she murmured, "then he's our enemy. Child or not… mercy isn't an option."
The pirates of the Whitebeard Faction didn't hesitate.
They lunged forward, eager to bring down the mysterious newcomer.
But in the very next instant —
The unexpected happened.
The young S-Bear didn't dodge.
He didn't even move.
He simply stood there, letting the pirates' blades crash against his body.
"Got him—! Wha—?!"
The triumphant smirks froze on the pirates' faces.
Their blades had landed true — yet they hadn't even scratched him.
The shockwave of disbelief rippled across the field.
Then, the boy raised one small, gloved hand.
He peeled off the glove, revealing a palm etched with a bear's mark.
And with a casual swing —
BOOM!
The air exploded like thunder.