Chapter 62

"What you mean is, that guy called Teach…"

"Killed Ace's companions?!"

Natsu had never been this angry before.

Precisely because he believed what Ace had said, Natsu instinctively let his imagination run wild.

His most precious companion had killed his own companions.

Just thinking about it made Natsu feel as if he were suffocating, unable to breathe.

………

"Oh my, oh my, oh my."

"I presume this gentleman must be a Mr. of the Magic Pingyi Society."

Magnolia, on a certain street.

A middle-aged man with a somewhat rough appearance and unusually thick body hair approached a young man wearing the standard uniform of the Magic Pingyi Society and laughed: "Might I ask, the name of this gentleman?"

"Hmm?"

"My name is Lahar."

Looking at the somewhat slovenly middle-aged man who had suddenly approached him, Lahar's brow furrowed slightly as he said: "May I ask what business brings you to seek me out so suddenly?"

Lahar, Magic Pingyi Society, captain of the Fourth Forced Surveillance Unit.

Some time ago, when Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail went to war, he had been dispatched by the Magic Pingyi Society to conduct an investigation.

Now that the investigation was nearly complete, in two days he would return to the Magic Pingyi Society headquarters.

At the same time, because Fairy Tail had taken into account that Ace was a wanted man, they had not revealed the mission Ace had posted, so Lahar likewise had not recognized the identity of the man before him.

It was precisely the appearance of Blackbeard, whom Ace had been searching for all along.

"Hahahaha."

"Coming to find Mr. Lahar so suddenly, of course there is something important."

The slovenly middle-aged man burst into laughter, revealing a mouth missing several teeth, and said: "I just discovered something extraordinary inside the Fairy Tail guild hall."

"The person currently wanted by the Magic Pingyi Society, Portgas D. Ace, has appeared there."

"What?!"

"As expected, that guy has shown up at Fairy Tail again!"

Hearing the words of the slovenly man before him, Lahar's expression shifted slightly.

Apart from being dispatched by the Magic Pingyi Society to investigate the cause of the all-out war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail, Lahar had another mission: within one month, to lie in wait in Magnolia.

The Magic Pingyi Society could not determine whether Ace had deep ties with Fairy Tail.

But that did not stop them from making a guess — guessing that Ace would, within a short time, reappear at Fairy Tail.

Now that Ace had indeed appeared, Lahar naturally needed to take action.

"Very well, then I'll have to trouble you to come with me, so we can confirm it together."

Lahar looked at the slovenly man and said with an earnest expression: "I must verify the truth of the information before I can pay you the bounty."

Lahar assumed the man before him was after the bounty the Magic Pingyi Society had placed on Ace.

In order to issue the warrant on Ace, and to demonstrate the Magic Pingyi Society's zero-tolerance stance toward those who broke the law, the bounty on the fugitive murderer Ace was quite generous.

"Hahahaha."

"Since Mr. Lahar has said so, then I'll accompany Mr. Lahar and go."

"But that guy called Ace is a pirate, right? Pirates are definitely all bad guys, aren't they?"

The slovenly man waved at Lahar and said: "If he sees me and takes revenge, what am I supposed to do? I'm just an ordinary little citizen with a tiny sense of justice."

"When the time comes, Mr. Lahar, you'll have to protect me."

Saying so, the slovenly man turned with a smile and headed in the direction of the Fairy Tail guild hall.

Lahar, watching the slovenly man turn away, frowned slightly.

He felt something was off, something strange, yet he could not say exactly what was off or strange.

In the end he could only shake his head slightly and follow the slovenly man, hurrying toward the Fairy Tail guild headquarters.

No matter what, since Ace had already appeared, he still had to move quickly.

No one noticed that among the bustling crowd on the street stood a man who did not fit in with those around him.

Short brown hair, black-framed glasses, and a face bearing a gentle smile.

It was precisely the top-tier puppet Lin Cheng had drawn, currently the only one Lin Cheng possessed — an S-rank puppet, Aizen Sousuke.

And in Aizen Sousuke's hand, a Zanpakuto that looked unusually ordinary was flickering with an eerie light.

From beginning to end, the people around him showed no reaction whatsoever to Aizen Sousuke.

………

'Mm, the effect is not bad.'

'Having Aizen Sousuke help me tweak the instance really does make it much more comfortable.'

In a small tavern, Lin Cheng — who was currently slacking off — tilted the corners of his mouth upward slightly.

In fact, in Lin Cheng's original plan, there had never been any plan for Blackbeard to appear; from beginning to end, the three words "Blackbeard" were just background story Lin Cheng had casually made up.

He had purely dug a pit and never once intended to fill it in.