Chapter 629

But for Lin Cheng, as long as he wanted Aizen to do something, there was nothing that couldn't be done; no matter how powerful Aizen's strength was, he was still nothing more than one of Lin Cheng's puppets.

So no matter what happened, Lin Cheng could make Aizen exit the stage completely, and all Lin Cheng needed was a reasonable plot so that the people of Ishugar wouldn't grow suspicious.

Looking at Makarov, Lin Cheng shifted his consciousness onto Hyōsube Ichibei.

"It's fine. At the critical moment, I'll cover this kid's strike. Don't worry—Aizen's existence has already threatened the safety of the world. I won't let him continue to plague this world."

"Since we have you stepping in to help, that's really wonderful."

Looking at Hyōsube Ichibei's towering frame, Makarov also let out a breath of relief. In truth, it wasn't that he didn't believe Natsu could possess the power to defeat Aizen.

It was just that he knew this power, though formidable, was something Natsu could only barely keep under control. Even the mighty Genryūsai's burden, Yamamoto, who had fully mastered that flame's power, only managed to slow Aizen's resurrection when his blade struck him.

It had no real effect on Aizen's overall strength, so no matter what, Makarov had to ensure Natsu and the plan's success.

But now, with Hyōsube Ichibei—who could match Aizen and Genryūsai's burden, Yamamoto—added in, for Makarov the plan's success rate had risen enormously.

Just from what Makarov had seen, Hyōsube Ichibei possessed many such abilities, and every single one of them was, to Makarov, an overwhelmingly powerful ability.

What convinced Makarov most that this could be accomplished was the ability Hyōsube Ichibei had once revealed—the power to make a person's existence vanish entirely.

This ability kept them all completely out of Aizen's line of sight. Although Aizen was now in a fully unleashed state, Makarov believed Hyōsube Ichibei's power could still keep them hidden until Natsu closed in, without Aizen noticing.

So for Makarov, the battle could now truly be called a success; after all, under his watchful eye, Natsu was already itching to go.

"Natsu, you have to be extra careful—you're our last hope, you know?"

"I know, Guild Master. It's fine—I believe I can do it!"

Unlike the somewhat worried Makarov, Natsu, now wielding tremendous power, was filled with confidence in his mind, even though he knew the gap between himself and Aizen was still vast.

But Natsu hadn't given up either; after all, only by knocking Aizen down would they have a chance to seal him—otherwise the entire world would be destroyed by Aizen.

Although Aizen was still being held back by Genryūsai's burden, Yamamoto, before the eyes of everyone in Ishugar, this was merely a matter of time.

Anyone with eyes could see that Genryūsai's burden, Yamamoto, was about to run out of stamina, so no matter what, the people of Ishugar still had to trust in Natsu's final strike.

Only if that one strike succeeded would this world be saved, weathering a crisis that might otherwise destroy it.