Kurosaki recorded for an entire afternoon. Trying to match what he remembered perfectly was far harder than he expected.
He hummed the melody more than ten times, tested several different instruments, and took Varro's adjustment suggestions. Only after careful comparison did he finally settle on the version that sounded closest.
During the recording, Kurosaki would quietly activate a thread of Unohana's spiritual pressure from time to time, gently wrapping it around the instruments to stabilize the tone.
It looked like simple control, but what it really reflected was the terrifying foundation hidden inside Unohana's power. The purity of her spiritual pressure was far beyond the magic power of ordinary mages in this world. Kurosaki had simply been careful, keeping everything restrained, so it didn't cause a stir.
After keeping a copy for himself, he asked Varro to store the music into the sound jar as well. He planned to give it to Laxus as a special gift once the Fantasia Parade was over in a couple of days.
When Kurosaki returned to the guild, he immediately saw Laxus sitting there, staring longingly at the food on the table.
"You're finally back. Why did you come back so late?" Laxus complained.
"Why didn't you eat first? Did Grandpa and the others already eat?" Kurosaki asked while taking off his coat. After running around all afternoon, he was starving.
"It's fine. I decided to wait for you." Laxus nudged his chin toward the table. "Grandpa and the others ate a long time ago. Come on, sit down. Eat."
Once Kurosaki sat, Laxus tore into a meat leg and asked with his mouth half full, "So what were you doing all afternoon? How's your parade act coming along?"
"It's a secret," Kurosaki said, eating as well. "But it's ready."
In truth, he already had the performance planned out. He intended to use the Fantasia Parade as the perfect stage to unlock and reveal Unohana's release.
He understood Unohana wasn't some ordinary healer. Once released, her combat power could crush every young mage in Fairy Tail right now with ease. Even among the Ten Wizard Saints, Unohana had the strength to suppress them.
As for her far greater Bankai, Minazuki, if it were ever fully unlocked, it would be close to unbeatable in this world.
It had to be made clear just how frightening Unohana truly was.
As the 4th Division Captain of the Gotei 13 and the first Kenpachi, her real strength had been buried for the sake of her healing duty. But in Soul Society, she was unquestionably top-tier.
When Minazuki released, its command was, "Drink, Minazuki."
With those words, the short blade would transform instantly into a massive flying-fish-like spiritual entity, luminous white with a faint blush-pink glow, dreamlike in its beauty.
In that form, it could swallow any wound, even fatal injuries, and heal them instantly, almost like bringing someone back from death.
It could also release dense spiritual pressure shocks on a massive scale, wide enough to cover the entire Magnolia district. The raw force of those shocks far exceeded Fairy Tail's S-Class magic, closer to something that could crush everything in its path.
And her hidden strength went beyond that.
The first Kenpachi's core sword art did not even require release. With nothing but a short blade, she could cut through carefully constructed magical barriers, a level of swordsmanship beyond comparison.
Her spiritual pressure self-healing was equally absurd. Even if she were struck head-on by Dragon Slayer Magic, she could recover rapidly, almost as if she had an immortal body.
Her precision control was unmatched. She could compress spiritual pressure into hair-thin blades of light, or expand it into devastating wide-area attacks, switching seamlessly between offense and defense.
As for Bankai, Minazuki, once released, the blade would become countless pink spiritual butterflies, a surreal, beautiful storm.
Those butterflies could instantly heal every ally within range, restoring them completely, while Unohana's swordsmanship and spiritual pressure surged by orders of magnitude.
In that state, a casual swing could cut through towering mountains and shatter large-scale magic arrays. In this world, no one could oppose her. Truly invincible.
After continuous training and the brutal spar with Laxus, Kurosaki's proficiency had risen to 70%, finally reaching the condition required to unlock Unohana's release.
That was the "secret program" he had prepared for the Fantasia Parade.
It could display his ability in a way that felt perfect, while still hiding the horrifying power of Bankai, avoiding unnecessary panic.
"Tch." Laxus heard Kurosaki's mysterious answer and clicked his tongue in obvious disdain. After that, he stopped talking, and both of them focused on the food in front of them.
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those two days, Kurosaki didn't train like usual. Instead, he mostly wandered around Magnolia with Laxus. Over the past year, he had barely taken time to actually explore the town, and this felt like making up for it.
During that time, he also introduced Laxus to Varro.
Kurosaki couldn't help complaining to himself.
The moment those two started talking about music, they completely left me out. Three people standing together, and I'm the one who feels like an outsider.
To make sure he could appear smoothly during tonight's parade, Kurosaki informed Makarov and Laxus ahead of time, then left early. Right now, he was sitting inside Varro's shop, sipping tea and chatting, planning to head out with Varro once night arrived.
In the gaps between conversation, he quietly stirred his spiritual pressure, feeling the power inside him grow thicker and more refined. He repeatedly confirmed he could control release steadily.
He kept the output suppressed with extreme care, not daring to slip even slightly.
Because once Unohana released, if her spiritual pressure erupted at full power, it could shatter more than half of Magnolia's buildings.
That would be a disaster.
"Alright, we'll head out first. Laxus, Wakaba, Macao, and everyone else performing, get on the parade float. We won't wait for Kurosaki." The parade time was approaching, and Kurosaki still hadn't returned to the guild. "That kid said he'll show up on time."
Because Kurosaki had already reported his schedule, Makarov wasn't worried about his safety. In his mind, as long as Kurosaki didn't leave Magnolia, nothing major could happen.
He didn't know that the power Kurosaki held was already far beyond his imagination.
Even without Bankai, Unohana's release alone was already approaching the peak level of the Ten Wizard Saints.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Brilliant fireworks burst one after another across the night sky, blooming like huge flowers. The light scattered like stardust, illuminating every face below.
The streets were packed with residents in colorful costumes, smiling widely, cheering and shouting at the parade floats. All of Magnolia was submerged in a sea of celebration.
Dynamic music blasted from Magnolia's speakers.
On the float, Fairy Tail's members showed off their magic.
Wakaba used pink smoke to form beautiful words, writing mysterious poetry into the night.
Macao shaped flames into vivid animals. The fire creatures leaped and ran across the air as if they were alive.
Kurosaki and Varro stood off to the side, watching the performances.
On the float, Laxus was actually playing the drums, matching the rhythm with practiced skill, pounding out intense beats.
But the crowd was too thick.
Laxus couldn't see Kurosaki standing somewhere inside the sea of people.