A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Wakaba tossed aside the [silver] in his hand, exhaled a puff of melancholy smoke, and said, "Your problem is mainly due to skill counters. Like Natsu, you can only blame your bad luck."

Natsu was using the dragon [Grandine], a character with very powerful healing abilities. However, he was the only dragon in this match, so his healing abilities were completely useless, which meant that his defeat was inevitable from the start.

After the game ended, the group rested for a while and went to the edge of the Hope to enjoy the scenery. To their surprise, when they glanced down, they saw several ships that had appeared on the sea.

"That's... a navy ship? What are they doing gathered under our airship?"

In addition to the miniature magical spirit cannons, the bottom of the Hope also has a omnidirectional telescope that can see 100 kilometers away. The telescope is connected to the screen on the control panel, so even on the airship, Kira can keep track of the movements on the sea in real time.

From his vantage point, Killer had a clear view of the situation on the navy ship and muttered, "It looks like they're escorting pirates?"

On the naval ship below, Kira saw his old acquaintance Smoker and his first officer, Tashigi, the "glasses girl," "sword collector," and "childhood friend double." They were guarding a man who was tied up with ropes.

Even more surprisingly, the refined, gentle, and kind Tashigi was now touching and stroking a certain long and hard thing on that man's body, her eyes shining and her mouth practically watering.

That's right, the sword Tashigi is holding is the famous sword 'Hanazu,' and the man who is tied up is Baroque Works' Mr. 11.

“Natsu, he’s someone you know! Want to go down and take a look?” Kira was taken aback after saying that, and then, thinking that Natsu’s magic was fire, he suddenly felt that the word 'acquaintance' seemed a little strange.

"Hmm? It's Smoker and Tashigi! Great, perfect, I'll introduce you two!" Natsu suddenly perked up when he saw the two. "By the way, Wakaba, why don't you get to know Smoker? He can use smoke magic similar to yours! And his body can turn into white smoke like Juvia's..."

Wakaba raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised to encounter someone with similar abilities: "Oh? Is it the kind of Logia-type Devil Fruit power that Killer mentioned?"

Through their studies on the Hope Ship over the past few days, both Macao and Wakaba have gained a certain understanding of the energy system of this world. Apart from not having seen the so-called 'Haki' yet and not knowing its principles so they cannot use it, they already have a clear understanding of Devil Fruits.

Especially for natural-type ability users, this is not like magic that cannot be elementalized if there is not enough magic power. Instead, it is something that can actually change human genes by eating bloodline factors. Eating it is equivalent to having a 'special physique', 'freely controlling any element', 'immunity to attacks from any element' and so on. Except that magic power and physical strength cannot be restored by eating it, it is basically equivalent to a half-finished dragon slaying magic.

“Yes!” Natsu smiled brightly.

"Then we could get to know each other..."

As the saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having an elder in the home.

Although Wakaba's strength isn't among the top in the guild, he's older and more worldly-wise than younger guys like Natsu. He knows what it means to be on good terms with the Marines in this world—it's like having someone protecting you in the Council!

In this way, if the guild causes any major trouble in this world in the future, these people might be able to help take care of it. After all, Fairy Tail has received help from former councilor Mr. Yajima on many occasions.

Erza and Ultear, the only two people on the Hope besides Kira who had leadership qualities, shared similar ideas with Wakaba, and therefore both agreed to go down and greet the Navy.

Urged on by the crowd, Kira maneuvered the Hope to slowly descend onto the sea.

Chapter 835 Smoker: What exactly does this man want to do?

"Colonel Smoker! Unidentified flying object spotted in the sky!!"

On the naval warship, a scout in a naval uniform with an unremarkable appearance noticed the Hope's landing immediately and loudly reported it to Smoker.

"Ok??"

Smoker frowned, looked up at the sky, and saw a huge silver-white iron box. The box blocked the sun from above the warship, slightly relieving the heat of the summer.

"Who's that? A pirate? Hey, Tashigi! Stop standing there, get ready for battle!!"

"Yes...yes!!"

Tashigi hurriedly gathered up the Hanazumi she had just captured, placed her hand on the Koya Shigure at her waist, and looked up at the large iron box slowly descending overhead: "I've never seen this type of ship before..."

Smoker, with two cigars between his teeth, said seriously, "This doesn't look like a ship! And as far as I know, there's only one person in the world who has the ability to make objects fly!"

Tashigi instantly became alert: "Are you talking about that legendary great pirate?"

As one of the legends of the previous era, Shiki the Golden Lion has disappeared for more than 20 years, but his fame on the seas has not diminished at all. Even young upstarts like Tashigi have heard of his story.

Smoker nodded and said, "Yes! He is..."

However, before the two could utter the name 'Golden Lion', a familiar blue figure emerged from the iron box above their heads. A cute blue cat with a white belly and a pair of snow-white wings flew down from the sky.

Tashigi was taken aback, then a hint of joy appeared in her eyes: "Happy?!"

Hearing their conversation, the young marines behind them were completely dumbfounded: What?! The legendary great pirate's name is Happy?! How could anyone choose such a cute name?! It's not imposing or powerful at all!!

Happy flew very fast, landing on the warship in less than three seconds after a height of several tens of meters: "Long time no see, Tashigi!"

Smoker waved behind him, temporarily lifting the alert. Tashigi also released her grip on Sayo Shigure and greeted Happy: "Happy? What are you doing here? And what's that... uh... ship up there?"

"That's our guild's airship!"

Tashigi was taken aback, then remembered what Natsu and Happy had said to them in Loguetown: "The guild... is it the 'Fairy Tail' you mentioned before?"

"Yes, it is!"

"So he really wasn't a pirate after all?"

"Of course! We're mages, you know!"

Tashigi breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving a positive reply. She actually quite liked Natsu and Happy, if they were pirates... Of course, out of a sense of justice, she would eventually draw her sword, but that would definitely not be an easy thing.

Kira sent Harpy down first to avoid a misunderstanding that could lead to a fight. However, he didn't think the Navy was particularly strong; he was mainly worried that if they attacked rashly, they would be overwhelmed by the Hope's automated defense system.

To ensure the safety of sea voyages, Kira cast an automatic counterattack spell on the Hope, which could reflect any attacks launched against it back intact—these 'attacks' include elemental energy attacks, purely physical attacks, and mental attacks invisible to the naked eye.

With this automatic counterattack magic, not only cannonballs and slashes, but even Sea Kings, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities will not be able to harm the Hope in the slightest.

However, the Hope was an airship that could only fly in the sky and could not go into the water, so most of its defenses were actually useless. More often than not, this layer of defense was used to ensure that it could sail normally in bad weather.

Well... Kira always uses magic to dispel bad weather whenever it happens.

"An airship... This is the first time I've ever seen one like this..."

Tashigi gazed at the Hope, her eyes filled with curiosity. "How does it work? Electricity? Wind power? Solar power? Or is it powered by a Devil Fruit?"

Happy looked at Tashigi as if she were an idiot and retorted, "How can you be even dumber than Natsu? We're mages, so our working principle is magic!"

"..."

Tashigi wasn't angry at being teased like that by the adorable Happy, she just felt a little embarrassed: "I...I see..."

It's normal for mages to use magic... but airships operate on magic? No normal person would ever think of that!

Smoker, standing to the side, didn't say anything, only muttering, "This airship is really ugly, and its shape is so bulky. If a ship had these proportions, it would be impossible to sail at sea!"

Harpy shuddered instantly, glanced up, and seeing that the mighty Hope was still some distance away, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Actually, that's what I thought too..."

"Is that brat Natsume up there too?" Smoker asked.

After spending a few days in Loguetown, he thought highly of this cherry-haired boy. Although he was a bit of an idiot, a bit playful, and a bit of a troublemaker, he was indeed an upright person.

"Yes, there are other friends here too!"

"The other companions... are they the two girls who came to Loguetown to redeem you?" Smoker thought of what his subordinates had reported back then: the ones who came to take Z away were a blonde woman with big breasts, a blue-haired twin-tailed loli, and a white female Happy.

"Besides Lucy, Wendy, and Charlotte, there are several other friends. Some of them came to pick us up with us, and some we found during this time."

Tashigi covered her mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "So you guys really do have partners?!"

Happy complained, speechless: "So you guys never believed me all this time?!"

During the conversation, Kira had already lowered the Hope to a position roughly the same height as the warship, with both decks level, at a point where they could see each other.

It was only then that Kira realized how big a naval warship was. It was three to four times longer than the Hope, more than four times wider, and even much taller than the Hope's ten meters.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. A naval warship can house hundreds of people, while my Hope only has ten people and it's already a bit overcrowded. The two are simply not in the same league.

Kira knew he didn't have much talent for shipbuilding, but when he saw the naval warships, he couldn't help but feel somewhat inferior. However, this feeling was quickly dispelled by another thought.

'There are so many warships here, should I just steal one? ...Never mind, it would be troublesome if I were mistaken for a pirate. I'd better hurry to Water Seven and have someone build one. Speaking of which, I'm getting a bit tired of flying in airships lately, I wonder if I could hitch a ride with them?'

"We meet again, Navy!"

"It's you?! Hopelette?!"

Smoker recognized the red-haired man who had once made outrageous remarks in 'Rogge Times Square' at a glance. He had felt that this man was extraordinary and would surely become a prominent figure on the high seas in the future.

Later, Killer introduced himself as a mage. When Smoker returned to the Marine base, he received news that Natsu had been ransomed. Connecting the two events, he quickly deduced that Killer might be Natsu's partner, and now it seems that he was right!

"Oh dear... My name is Kira, not Hopelight!"

Kira deliberately smiled in a sinister way, like a viper, while waving his hand and saying, "Our culture in Aslant is different from yours; the first name comes first, and the surname comes last!"

“Kira…Hopright…”

Smoker pondered Kira's name. His surname was "Hope of Light," but his given name was "Killer." A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind: What was this guy implying? What was he alluding to? What was he trying to subvert? Who was directing his actions? What was his purpose?

However, Kira had no idea what Smoker was thinking. He simply pointed to the warship in front of him and asked, "Um... could you give us a ride?"

Chapter 836 Look at this uncle, he's not even as well-off as Macao.

Naval warships are not all the same size. Some large warships can easily accommodate one or two thousand naval soldiers, and some can even accommodate giants. The smaller ones are the kind that Smoker is currently riding on.

Although it is a small warship, it is large enough to accommodate 500 people.

"These warships are really impressive. When we get to Water Seven, let's have them build a ship to this standard! A large ship that can accommodate 500 people can fit everyone in our guild!"

After obtaining Smoker's consent, Kira and the others boarded a naval warship and headed towards Alabasta with them.

Meanwhile, Kira, Happy, Natsu, Gray, and Romeo sat side by side on the edge of the warship, took out the magical item [Never Goes Air Fishing Rod] that had been gathering dust in the warehouse for a long time, and began a leisurely fishing activity.

clap clap clap...

The fishing rod, which had been in the water for less than half a minute, began to vibrate violently. Kira exerted a little force, and under the influence of magic, the magic power was transformed into a powerful force, pulling the fishing hook out of the water.

As Kira moved, the fishhook drew a beautiful parabola in the air, casting a half-meter-long fish onto the warship.

Kira's eyes lit up instantly, and he cheered excitedly, "Oh my god!! Nice! Another big fish! We can have an extra meal tonight! Such a delicious fish, should we make soup or grill it? Braised or steamed would also be good..."

This sight made Happy's eyes light up, and he drooled, "Kira, I want one too!!"

Gray looked at Happy with curiosity: "Isn't that the same magical item you have in your hand as Kira's?"

Harpy was a little discouraged and said pitifully, "But my magic power is too low, the fish I catch are all ordinary size..."

The "Never Misses a Fishing Rod" is Kira's masterpiece. Once it hits the water, it can hit the target almost every time, making it a very practical magical item.

But this tool has another feature: if you inject magic into it when using it, the fishhook will emit a special magic. The more magic you inject, the higher the quality, and the bigger and fresher the fish that will be attracted. It will also be more convenient for the user to reel in the fish.

Kira, with his abundant magic and excellent control, can catch any size fish he wants. Happy, on the other hand, has too little magic, so he can only catch ordinary-sized fish each time.

In places like the Grand Line, even a fish is much stronger than an ordinary one, making it very difficult for Happy to catch such a large fish. Adding to that, Killer is also vying for resources nearby, making it even more difficult.

So far, he has caught some useless marine debris several times.