Chapter 112

"I didn't expect Hades's strength to be so astonishing."

After retrieving Blackbeard from a distance, Lin Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although the simultaneous battle consumed a fair amount of Blackbeard's energy, in reality, by coordinating with the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to deflect the opponent's attacks, it didn't consume too much.

At most, it consumed about twenty percent, leaving him almost at full capacity.

Yet, it was precisely this attack, accumulated by Blackbeard in coordination with the Dark-Dark Fruit, that barely managed to defeat Hades after he released the Demon Eye.

Even Lin Cheng had to acknowledge Hades's strength.

"However, although there were some unexpected incidents, the first stage of the plan was completed smoothly."

According to the plan, Blackbeard entering the Council was one part of the scheme.

For this reason, Lin Cheng had previously tested the Magic Council, but unfortunately, those councilors were too wary of Blackbeard's identity at the time, and it didn't succeed.

Now, the Magic Council, having suffered heavy losses in power, had no reason to refuse a powerhouse who had delivered himself to their doorstep.

However, considering that the other party might still have some hesitation, the head of the 'Zero' Guild Master would serve as his stepping stone.

The head of the former Magic Development Bureau and leader of the Oración Seis, one of the Balam Alliance, was clearly enough to erase their final concerns.

"The first stage is already complete, so I can consider the next stage of the plan."

"However, there are still some events that need to be prepared before that."

Magic Council Headquarters.

Some time had passed since the incident where Akainu attacked the headquarters, and the cities that suffered damage during that great battle were beginning to be repaired.

After all, it was the Magic Council headquarters, which had monitored the entire Ishgar Continent for many years.

Whether it was money or mages, they had everything one could ask for.

Driven by money, it had basically been restored in less than a week.

But although the city had recovered, the shadows left by that previous battle remained in the hearts of the city's residents.

It could be said that the entire city was still shrouded in the previous shadows, but one place was an exception.

At the temporary combat guild not far from the Magic Council, as time passed, mages from other guilds had also moved in one after another.

In order to deal with potential surprise attacks from the otherworld organization, these guilds were on edge every single day; by comparison, the members of Fairy Tail were even more carefree.

Roughhousing, playing, and drinking—they didn't care at all about their environment, treating the temporary combat guild entirely as their own Fairy Tail guild.

And Makarov, who cared deeply about his reputation in front of other guild masters, was almost angered to death every day, sometimes even forgetting he was still a patient.

Watching the little brats acting up again, Makarov was so angry his mustache almost curled up.

"Natsu! Put that thing down! Put it down!"

"Gray, hurry up and put your clothes on; you're about to make our guild lose all its face!"

"You little brat, stop right there!"

"Stop it already, you've already disturbed the Guild Master's rest!"

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Erza stepped in, knocking them down with one punch each, and the whole room quieted down a little.

"So boring, old man. You called us over just to stay here like this; I'm bored to death," Natsu said, covering the bump on his head.

Seeing this, Happy on the side chimed in.

"Natsu, have you forgotten that we have a mission here?"

"But the enemies haven't even appeared yet."

Before Natsu could speak, Gray, who was lying on the sofa wearing only his shorts, said in a listless tone.

Although he used ice-attribute magic, in reality, Gray's personality was not much different from Natsu's.

Staying in the temporary combat guild for several days doing nothing had almost driven him crazy too.

"Guild Master, is there really no news about those guys yet?"

Lucy walked over and asked.

Hearing this, Makarov shook his head.

"It's not certain yet. Currently, the people from the Magic Council are still searching vigorously; they should notify us directly as soon as there is news."

Although he said that, in reality, Makarov didn't have a clue either.

After all, so much time had passed, and with the Magic Council's capabilities, if there wasn't even a shred of news, it was very likely the other party had returned to their own world.

And once they returned to their own world, unless a way to traverse space was found, no matter how hard the Magic Council tried, it would be impossible to find them.

"Then how much longer will it take? Happy! Why don't we go out and play? By the way, this is my first time coming to the Magic Council headquarters."

"Natsu, you stop right there!"

Before anyone else could speak, Natsu had already stood up and rushed toward the door.

However...

Just as he was about to rush out, there was also a sound from outside the door.

Bang!

With a heavy thud, Natsu and the person who had just entered the door collided directly.

Seeing Natsu about to fall, a hand grabbed him.

"You're still as reckless as ever, Natsu."

The person who arrived was none other than Fire Fist Ace, who hadn't appeared for a long time.

With Ace's appearance, the fairies, who had finally quieted down, erupted into even louder cheers after a few seconds of silence.

"Ace!"

"Ace is here!"

"I've missed you so much!"

"Long time no see, everyone!"

After pulling Natsu up, Ace showed a very polite smile.

"Ace, did no one stop you when you came in?"

After the commotion, some people reacted and looked at Ace with some concern.

Since Ace was taken away by the Magic Council, they hadn't seen him.

Although they heard that Ace had left after causing a scene at the Magic Council, they were still a bit worried.

"No, they just questioned me a little and then let me in," Ace said with a smile.

Although he had caused a scene, in reality, the Magic Council didn't dare to do anything to Ace.

After all, both reasonably and logically, it was the Council that had provoked him, and plus, Ace had the terrifying Whitebeard Pirates behind him, so they naturally didn't dare to say anything.

Right now, the Akatsuki organization, the Witch Cult, and the World Government were already enough to give them a headache; provoking the Whitebeard Pirates as well was clearly not a wise move.

"Actually, I came this time to see how you all are doing. As far as I know, some time ago, you seemed to have encountered an attack from the World Government. Is that true?"

As soon as the words fell, the smiles on everyone's faces clearly froze.

"What's wrong?"

"Did something happen?"

Ace looked at the strange expressions on everyone's faces and immediately asked with curiosity, as if he were completely unaware of the matter.

"Did I ask something I shouldn't have?"

As he said this, Makarov stepped out from the crowd.

"It's not that it can't be said. Nice to meet you, Mr. Ace."

"I am Makarov, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail."