Chapter 23: Dino VS Natsu
The guild celebration was as lively as a festival and lasted until evening. Later that night, Macao returned to the guild with Natsu's support, which made everyone feel relieved. The banquet resumed, and Macao became the target of good-natured teasing.
Macao was later elected as the guild master. He was a powerful figure in the guild with an easygoing personality. He got along well with everyone and was a reliable drinking buddy with Dino.
That night, Dino returned to the men's dormitory completely drunk. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit didn't grant him any alcohol tolerance—he drank like anyone else and still had to deal with the consequences.
His room had been kept clean despite always being empty. Since he was constantly away on jobs, he'd never moved out. Sleeping in his own bed after so long felt reassuring. Although he considered the guild members his family, he figured he should probably find a serious girlfriend at some point.
There were several girls around his age in the guild who'd grown up alongside Dino. The ones he knew best were Mirajane and Erza. Dino had spent considerable time with both of them and they'd been through a lot together.
However, both girls still carried unresolved pain in their hearts. Dino, who understood how dangerous the future could be, carried his own burdens as well. Besides, part of him selfishly wanted what many guys secretly dream of—though he pushed those thoughts aside for now. Better to let things develop naturally. Who could say what the future held?
Because he'd been drinking and felt safe at home, Dino slept soundly until late morning.
Suddenly—"BANG BANG BANG!" Relentless knocking rattled his door, followed by Natsu's shouting: "Dino! Get up, you jerk!"
"Wake up already! BANG BANG BANG!"
Dino, still half-asleep, covered his ears, but the noise wouldn't stop. Finally, he yelled: "KNOCK IT OFF!!!"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"
The men's dormitory and surrounding area trembled with a minor earthquake. Even the Fairy Tail guild hall in the distance felt the shaking. Though it was only strong enough to ripple the drinks in people's glasses, everyone in the guild noticed.
"An earthquake?"
"No way—that's gotta be Dino!"
"Who went and provoked him now?"
"Natsu was talking earlier about challenging Dino to a fight."
"I've got a bad feeling about this. That idiot probably tried waking Dino up while he was still asleep."
"Oh no…"
"That moron!"
Dino woke up when the tremor occurred. For a moment he'd forgotten he wasn't in a dangerous zone but in his own home. Seeing there wasn't any serious earthquake damage, Dino sighed in relief. He opened the door to find Natsu and Happy hugging each other outside, wearing identical expressions of shock, as if they'd just realized they'd made a terrible mistake.
"What do you want? I was sleeping."
"Dino! Let's have our showdown! You promised me!"
Dino scratched his messy hair drowsily. "Did I? Can't remember that at all."
"You definitely did!"
"Fine, whatever. Let me get dressed and I'll head to the guild. I'll grab breakfast there too."
After getting dressed, Dino quickly made his way to the Fairy Tail guild hall. Everyone already knew about Natsu's challenge, so they'd all gathered to watch. Dino was an S-Class mage and rumored to be Fairy Tail's strongest wizard—a claim many people accepted. He was practically a living legend.
Natsu used powerful Dragon Slayer magic and was also a famous powerhouse in the Fairy Tail guild. A fight between these two would definitely be spectacular.
"Master, shouldn't you stop them?" Macao said to Guild Master Makarov. Thanks to Porlyusca, Macao had completely recovered and looked perfectly fine today.
Makarov maintained a calm expression. "No need. Wizards must believe in their own path and move forward!" Yesterday, Makarov had burned the document sent by the Magic Council, declaring that wizards shouldn't be bound by excessive rules and regulations. If two members wanted to settle things, he wouldn't interfere.
Someone shouted, "Master! You can still take back what you said yesterday!"
Makarov called back with a slightly trembling voice: "A man never goes back on his word!" Internally, he prayed they wouldn't destroy the town. That troublemaker Dino had only been back one day—please don't cause problems. He'd just gotten chewed out by the Magic Council and really didn't want another lecture.
Elfman pumped his fist: "The Master is a REAL MAN!!!"
"Go, Dino! Show Natsu what the strongest looks like!"
"You can do it, Natsu! Try to last at least ten moves!"
"Come on, Dino! Don't hold back—finish Natsu in one hit!"
Lucy wandered over curiously. "What are they doing?"
Mirajane explained with a smile, "Dino apparently promised Natsu a match."
"I'm betting on Dino to win within fifteen moves." After thinking for a moment, Happy pulled out a 10,000 Jewel note and placed it in front of Cana, who was running the betting pool.
Lucy glanced at the betting options and her eye twitched. "Dino wins in one move, Dino wins within five moves, Dino wins within ten moves…"
"There's no option for Natsu to win here!" Lucy couldn't help but comment.
"Aye! Because there's no point—Natsu's definitely gonna lose. It's just a question of how long Dino feels like playing around."
"You disloyal cat! Is the gap really that big? Natsu seems really strong to me!"
"Aye! I also wanna survive to see tomorrow!"
THWACK! Natsu slammed his fists together, flames literally burning in his eyes as he faced Dino. "Just so you know, Dino—I've been training hard! I won't go down easy this time!"
Lucy sweatdropped. "So you do know you're gonna lose!"
Dino grinned. "Oh? Then let me see how much you've improved this past year. I hope you can at least make me break a sweat."