Chapter 11: Absolutely Not!

“Bang!”

Natsu lay helplessly on the ground, his color gone.

Though the boy’s body still lay sprawled on the ground, his soul seemed to have slowly risen, as if about to ascend to heaven.

Natsu’s expression revealed a hint of despair.

“He lost so cleanly.”

Cana held Whitey in her arms and couldn’t help but sigh—poor Natsu, this was already the second time today he’d been knocked flat on the ground; how desperate was he?

But this time, Natsu quickly got back on his feet, grimacing and writhing like a worm, as if his whole body ached, his face twisted in pain.

Erza stood there with her hands on her hips, perfectly poised; she hadn’t even drawn her sword—she’d simply punched Natsu down, making him look utterly pathetic.

In truth, though Natsu had been knocked down repeatedly by Mo En and Erza, his strength was quite impressive, not nearly as weak as he appeared.

Ultimately, it was just that Mo En and Erza’s power was monstrous.

After joining the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu finally understood what “there’s always someone stronger above” meant; having spent his life among wild animals, he’d been immediately knocked flat the moment he entered human society.

“Want to go again?”

Erza brushed her hair behind her ear and asked Natsu—no matter how long it took, she’d be happy to keep fighting.

“Enough, enough, Erza, let’s stop here.”

Seeing Natsu biting his lip tightly, too pained to speak, Mo En smiled and waved his hand at Erza.

“Natsu still has to study characters today.”

Mo En patted Natsu’s shoulder, giving him an excuse—but his words made Natsu’s face darken even further.

“I-I can still keep going!”

Natsu shrank back and raised his hand weakly.

Compared to getting beaten up, he hated studying even more—those scribbles that looked like demonic glyphs made his head ache just by looking at them.

“Hmm? Itachi’re sure?”

Mo En’s smile didn’t fade; he narrowed his eyes at Natsu and slowly pressed harder on his shoulder—Natsu’s face twisted again.

“Sorry, Brother Mo En! I’ll study hard!”

Natsu yelled through gritted teeth, finally surrendering—he’d realized studying characters was necessary, otherwise he couldn’t even read the mission notices on the bulletin board.

“That’s the spirit. Time is short, don’t waste it—don’t forget, after cultural lessons comes meditation practice.”

Mo En laughed, released Natsu, patted his shoulder, then grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him off.

“Erza! Just Itachi wait! I’ll beat Itachi someday!”

Dragged away by Mo En, Natsu shook his fist at Erza, throwing down a challenge—this guy truly remembered only the food, not the beatings; he still dared to provoke Erza, clearly not yet broken.

“Fine, I’ll wait for Itachi to challenge me again.”

Erza’s response to Natsu’s words was utterly calm; she simply nodded, not caring much.

Gray, however, stood nearby, visibly stirred; seeing Natsu’s defiant expression, Gray clenched his fists, then leapt forward, pointing a finger at Erza.

“Erza! I challenge Itachi too!”

Though his expression was grimly determined, Gray had finally mustered the courage—he would challenge Erza again, not hoping to defeat her, but at least not to be worse than that bastard Natsu!

“.”

Watching Gray leap out to challenge Erza, Cana was astonished—why challenge if Itachi can’t possibly win? Did he enjoy getting beaten?

Cana completely failed to understand Natsu and Gray’s behavior.

And she wasn’t imagining it—since Natsu’s arrival, Gray seemed to have become strange too.

Cana’s feeling was entirely correct: Natsu’s arrival had fully ignited Gray’s competitive spirit.

Before Natsu came, Gray occupied a middling position in the Fairy Tail guild—unable to defeat Mo En or Laxus above him, yet easily overpowering Jett and Troy below; his competitive drive had never been stirred.

But Natsu’s arrival gave Gray a worthy rival, and with their personalities clashing so badly, they were now locked in a bitter feud, determined to settle who was superior.

Now, if Itachi wanted to motivate them both, the method was simple.

“Natsu, learning characters isn’t hard—even Gray can master them easily. Itachi don’t want him laughing at Itachi as a fool, do Itachi?”

In the study room, watching Natsu scratch his head and look as if he’d lost a loved one the moment he opened a book, Mo En unleashed his ultimate tactic.

“Absolutely not!”

As expected, the tactic worked—no sooner had Mo En spoken than Natsu ignited, literally—fire began to rise from his head, and he perked up instantly.

“If that guy can do it, I can too!”

Natsu roared and began frantically writing; those once dizzying, demonic glyphs no longer made him nauseous—he had to learn characters fast, or risk being mocked by that bastard Gray!

Natsu acted almost entirely on instinct—he perfectly fit the definition of a “single-celled organism,” so dealing with him required no complicated schemes.

“Pfft~”

Watching Natsu scribbling furiously, the blue-haired girl beside Mo En smiled with crinkled eyes.

“Levy, take over—watch Natsu, don’t let him slack off.”

Mo En turned to the blue-haired girl beside him, Levy—two years younger than him, one year younger than Natsu, only ten years old, slightly shorter, and adorably petite; he patted her head and smiled as he gave his instruction.

“Yes, Brother Mo En, I’ll supervise Natsu.”

Levy’s big eyes narrowed slightly, clearly enjoying Mo En’s head-pat; she nodded obediently and replied earnestly.

Levy was a literary girl, exceptionally skilled in literature; though young, she had already begun studying several ancient scripts—her dorm was practically filled with books; “sleeping on books” was her daily routine.

To read more, Levy had spent a fortune on a pair of “Wind-Singing Glasses”—a magical artifact similar to Laxus’s “Sound Vase,” capable of reading at up to 32 times normal speed.

Mo En felt perfectly at ease leaving Natsu’s supervision to Levy—she might even be more effective, able to make these dull lessons more engaging.

Though he’d entrusted Natsu’s supervision to Levy, Mo En didn’t wander far—he simply sat cross-legged nearby and began his daily meditation practice, which required intense focus, so he couldn’t spare attention to guide Natsu; with Levy volunteering to help, he’d saved himself considerable trouble.

New book seeking support! Seeking continued reads! Thank Itachi!!

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(End of Chapter)