A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Zoro sheathed the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri, leaving only the Wado Ichimonji, which carried the dreams of the two of them, in his hand: "No, but I have mastered the Breath of All Things."

Seeing Zoro's actions, Mr. 1 frowned: "You couldn't stop me with three swords at once, and now you think you can block my attack with just one?"

"That's enough! Oh, right, there's one more thing..."

"Ok??"

"When facing that move just now, the best way to deal with it was not to defend, but to attack with all your might and see whose belief is stronger!"

"You're teaching me how to use a sword?!" Mr. 1 was furious. His feet transformed into thin steel blades, and he charged forward at high speed in a skating-like motion. At the same time, his arms transformed into blades, and he used his strongest move.

"Just telling the truth!" Zoro remained calm as he unhurriedly sheathed Wado Ichimonji.

"Dust-Slicing Blade!!"

"One-Sword Style Iaijutsu: Lion's Lament!!"

The next moment, a flash of light appeared!

Puff-!

Mr. 1 collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood, while Zoro slung Wado Ichimonji back into its sheath with a snap, the outcome of the battle decided!

"Thank you! I've become even stronger!!"

After consuming the experience pack given by Mr. 1, Zoro's strength improved even further. As for Erza's "Belief Slash," although he didn't receive it, it strengthened his resolve to protect his comrades.

"Speaking of which, what was that woman's name again? I've been teaching her for so long, but I still haven't grasped her 'Faithful Slash.' Should I apologize to her?"

After muttering this to himself, Zoro took off his bandana, looked around, and was about to continue to the rain banquet he had arranged to meet Luffy and the others when he suddenly stopped as he turned around.

Behind him, Tashigi stood with her sword in hand. Although her movements were still full of flaws, her eyes had changed, becoming somewhat similar to Erza's eyes when she unleashed her Determination Slash.

"It seems that woman's lesson wasn't entirely useless after all..."

Tashigi gripped Yoru Shigure tightly, held her breath, and concentrated her willpower. The originally ordinary blade suddenly became three times brighter: "If I attack you now, you shouldn't think it's taking advantage of your vulnerability, right?"

Zoro showed no fear, drawing his sword sheath along with the blade: "Bring it on!!"

clang--!!

With a metallic clang, Shigure Koya flew out of her hand, spun several times in the air, and then plunged into the ground at an angle.

"We have the belief, but our strength is still insufficient!"

Tashigi knelt on the ground, her eyes showing no sign of frustration: "Next time we meet, I will be even stronger and bring you to justice!!"

This time, Zoro didn't reply. He simply sheathed his sword and strode away.

……

"That guy with the headscarf seems to have an unexpectedly keen sense of magic... Could it be that he also has the talent to use magic?"

On the other side, Erza, who was heading in the direction of the others, was reviewing the battle in her mind when she suddenly realized something. A hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, but she quickly sighed.

"Unfortunately, judging from his unwavering dedication to swordsmanship, he probably has no interest in learning magic anymore."

Chapter 861 A Step Too Late

There were three people: a woman, a man, and a person wearing glasses.

The woman possesses powerful magic, which is closely related to magic and space. The voice actress is Sayaka Ohara.

The man comes from a special family and always argues with the person who wears glasses whenever they meet. The voice actor is Kazuya Nakai.

The person who wears glasses is a junior to the woman, and their relationship with the man is ambiguous. They always argue whenever they meet, and they serve as a bridge for the woman and the man to get to know each other and reach a certain understanding.

So this woman and man are...

"Miss Yuuko and Hyakki-me!!"

After the broadcast equipment followed Erza away and transmitted her mutterings, Kira in the carriage finally came to his senses. Unconsciously, he dug out a long-forgotten anime from the depths of his memory and fell into a deep sense of resentment.

"No wonder I had a sense of déjà vu when Erza and Zoro stood together..."

Snapped!

Kira, feeling frustrated, couldn't help but slap his thigh hard, and then...

Urudia slapped him across the face: "Why did you hit me, you bastard?! Slap your own leg!!"

What a joke! Doesn't it hurt to slap your own leg?

Kira was prepared for the slap. She sneered, bent down, and nimbly dodged the slap that came from the side. After a crisp sound, Marcus became the only one in the carriage to suffer.

"Why...why...did this happen..."

"Every cloud has a silver lining, brother! This might be the price you pay for being too arrogant at the banquet yesterday, right?"

Marcus fell silent, his eyes filled with confusion. He subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Poor child, he's been beaten senseless..."

Kira looked at Marcus, sighed deeply, then turned to Ultear and glared angrily, "So rough, let's see who dares to marry you in the future..."

The words abruptly stopped, because at that moment, a long purple lipstick line ran from the corner of Urutia's mouth to her ear, making her look incredibly comical.

"Pfft—!"

"You still have the nerve to laugh?!"

Seeing that Kira not only showed no remorse but even laughed out loud in a rather unkind way, Ultear was so angry that her chest swelled up, and she reached out to hit him again.

"Alright, stop fooling around and watch the live stream properly!"

Kira reacted quickly, slapping her hand away and retorting, "This isn't a makeup livestream! Doing makeup at a time like this shows absolutely no respect for Erza and the others' hard work!"

The carriage was already cramped, and the way it was pulled by Crocodile was not very stable. As a result, Ultear was jolted and lost her balance, falling backward and ending up in Robin's arms.

"hiss--!"

Kira gasped instantly, his eyes wide with surprise and disbelief: Could this be the legendary scene from romantic dramas where the male and female leads hug the girl in their arms?!

Oh wait, Robin and Ultear are both women, so this scene should be called a yuri (lesbian) love triangle?

For someone like Kira, whether it's a lesbian kiss or a billion-dollar subsidy that differs from it by only two words, it would make him blush, his heart race, and he would lose control of his hands.

Unfortunately, Robin just smiled gently and helped Ultear up without saying anything, much to Kira's disappointment, but that was in line with her personality.

……

"Luffy, since you're a rubber man, you can try making your hands bigger to fight! Like a giant..."

"Huh?! That makes sense!! But it must be difficult, right? Oh well, I'll try it another time..."

As the protagonists of the two-part anime, Natsu and Luffy faced off for the first time, but surprisingly, they didn't put on a spectacular battle. This was not only because their personalities were compatible, but also because of the two large meals that Ace had given them beforehand.

Since he felt obligated to help someone who had paid for his meal, Natsu said, "Your brother is my brother too, so it's only right that I take care of him."

Luffy has only been at sea for less than two months and is only 17 years old this year, while Natsu... although he is still impulsive, hot-blooded and idiotic in personality, he is indeed 20 years old this year, the same age as Ace, so he naturally refers to himself as 'older brother'.

The two hit it off immediately, and Luffy told them everything Crocodile had done in Alabasta. Natsu, with his upright character, was immediately filled with righteous indignation and stopped fighting, leading Luffy towards the direction of Rain Banquet.

Along the way, the two chatted as they walked. Natsu instructed Luffy on how to transform into a giant to fight, because he felt that Luffy's Devil Fruit ability was somewhat similar to Makarov's giant magic. Having been taught a lesson countless times since childhood, Natsu immediately came up with a way to become stronger. Luffy, on the other hand, was overjoyed because Natsu was upright and passionate, and his magic was similar to Ace's. He immediately tried to get Luffy to join his crew.

In fact, when Luffy heard that Natsu was a mage, his eyes lit up and he invited him to join the crew, but the result was definitely a refusal.

"Natsu, do you really not want to be my crew member?"

"I will never leave Fairy Tail!!"

"Really... What a pity~"

Led by Natsu, the two ran side by side toward the Rain Party's interior, toward the room where Crocodile was locked up, while Smoker trailed behind them at a distance, ready to strike and take down Luffy at any moment.

Rain Banquet is a 24-hour casino with employees working in shifts. Even though it's broad daylight, there are still many gamblers inside, including people in suits, coats, and casual wear.

Because of Kira's announcement of the 'hunting game' over the rain, these gamblers are now both eager to play and afraid to go out for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

A short while later, the three of them arrived in front of a room.

"Is Crocodile here??"

"Yes, he got a really bad beating from Gajeel!"

"Thank you so much this time, Natsu, Happy!"

After saying that, Luffy slammed the door open with a loud bang, yelling and swinging his fists as he charged in, "Crocodile! Come out here!! I'm going to beat you to a pulp!!!"

"..."

Silence, and more silence.

The room was completely silent, without a single person in sight, only Luffy's voice echoing through the room.

"Where is he? Wasn't Crocodile supposed to be here??"

Luffy looked around and finally found the cage Natsu had mentioned in a corner of the room. However, the cage was already open, and Crocodile was not inside. There was only an overturned iron box and a dried-up water stain.

"That's strange... I was here yesterday!" Happy scratched his head, vaguely guessing that Kira must have released him, since he was the one who stayed here last yesterday.

"Could it be that he got away?!"

Luffy was both shocked and furious, his nostrils flaring out two plumes of white steam like a locomotive, and he slammed his fist hard against the cage. "Damn it! I was just one step away!!"

Boom! ! !

With a muffled thud, Luffy instantly lost all strength and collapsed to the ground: "Uh...why did I suddenly lose all my strength...??"

"What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

"No, Natsu! Those people seemed to have said that this cage is made of seastone, which has a restraining effect on Devil Fruit users, causing them to lose their strength or something."

Natsu suddenly realized: "Isn't that similar to the Demon Sealing Stone?!"

Sealing stones prevent mages from using magic, just as sea stone makes Devil Fruit users lose their strength. It is a huge weakness for them. Fortunately, even in Aslant, sealing stones are very scarce and are controlled minerals. Moreover, there are no sealing stones in this world.

"Damn it!! Where on earth did Crocodile go?!"

Luffy got up from the ground and had just complained when he suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind him. By the time he realized it, it was too late. He was pressed heavily against the cage by a ten-handed hand and instantly freed.

"Luffy?!" ×2

"It's you?! The smoker..."