The Army Arrives

Under the blazing midday sun in Magnolia, the group headed towards the guild at the very center.

Arriving at the familiar, tall building, even through the large door, Chiba could already hear the commotion inside.

"The same as always..." Chiba smiled.

Erza pushed open the door, but the entire guild fell silent the moment she did.

Natsu: "???"

Gray: "???"

The two remained in a wrestling stance, then suddenly sprang up like springs and embraced. Gray, like a robot, said, "Yo... oh... Erza... we've been friendly today too..."

Natsu: "Love!"

Chiba: "..."

How afraid of her must you all be...?

"Hmm, that's good." Erza looked around, and everyone her gaze met trembled. She asked, "Is the guild master here?"

"Yohohoho... I'm here..." came Makarov's drunken voice from behind the counter.

Chiba and the others walked over.

"Hmm? Did something happen?" Makarov put down his wine glass, glanced at Mira who was clinging to Chiba's arm, and then chuckled.

"Well, things are probably... I kidnapped Mira..." Chiba said earnestly after a moment's thought.

"Hehe! Not bad, kid!" Makarov chuckled, patting Chiba on the shoulder.

"Sister!" Elfman ran over at that moment.

However, when he saw Mira hugging Chiba, Elfman paused, and said, "Sister, are you and Chiba already...?"

Mira blushed and asked, "Where's Lisanna?"

Elfman scratched his head and said, "Lisanna's been nowhere to be seen these past few days; I wonder what she's been up to."

Mira was a little angry. "Why is a young lady like her running around everywhere? She wouldn't be staying out all night, would she?"

Elfman chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

Chiba glanced at her and said, "You're still dressed like this..."

"What? You have a problem with me dressing like this?" Mira raised her pointed chin and said.

Chiba smiled, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then put his arm around her waist and said, "No objection, how could I dare..."

Mira's little face was flushed, and she muttered, "He steals a kiss without warning..."

Makarov coughed twice dryly and said, "Don't be so sarcastic about this old man. If you want to be affectionate, go find a corner to be affectionate."

Erza and Laxus both laughed.

Makarov then looked at Laxus and said, "I didn't expect you to take the initiative to communicate with people. How's it feeling working with your teammates?"

Laxus turned his head away and said, "Old man, you're really long-winded..."

Makarov smiled.

Afterwards, Erza reported the work to Makarov.

The old man patted Chiba on the shoulder again, looking at him with the eyes of Chiba looking at a promising talent, and said, "Well done. You can clean up the mess when these people cause trouble in the future."

Chiba was somewhat speechless; why did he feel like he'd been turned into a tool?

He took a deep breath and said, "President, I need to be honest with you about something."

Makarov straightened his expression slightly, because he saw the seriousness on Chiba's face.

Chiba slowly said, "I killed Bolunte, the commander of the Magic Custody Force of the Magic Council..."

After he finished speaking, the entire guild fell into a deathly silence...

"Clang!"

The wine glass in Makarov's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"Captain Bolunte of the Magic Custody Force of the Magic Council, that's a big shot!"

"It's said that his strength is among the best, far surpassing the guild's S-Class Mages!"

"Haha! I never expected Chiba to be so amazing!"

After the silence came bursts of laughter.

During the three months that Chiba was asleep, the names Bolunte and Tianna had become well-known throughout the Fairy Tail guild.

Without exception, all members of Fairy Tail care about their guildmates. The guild's motto is that the guild's interests come first. "Companions" are like "family." After Chiba's incident, they learned the truth about what happened through Mira and Erza.

At the time, some even advocated going to the Magic Council to cause trouble and give Bolunte a good beating.

But the person who started this trouble got a good beating from Erza; that person was Natsu.

Therefore, upon hearing that Chiba had killed Bolunte, they were not panicked, afraid, or resentful.

Chiba felt very uneasy.

Makarov patted Chiba on the shoulder and laughed, "You little rascal! I didn't expect you to be this strong already. In a few years, I'll pass the chairmanship to you, and I'll be happy to relax!"

Chiba pursed his lips and said, "President, stop joking. This is a big deal. Let's discuss a solution..."

"Kid, as long as the sky doesn't fall, it's not a big deal..." The old man took a sip of his drink and chuckled, "Look at your guildmates, they're all genuinely happy that you've made up for what you did back then. Nobody cares if Bolunte is the leader of the Magic Council; everyone cares about you, and about your family..."

He looked around at the faces of the people around him; they were all smiling.

"You're a member of this guild, so as long as you don't do anything wrong, you don't need to worry about the consequences. I've heard of Bolunte, he's not a good person. So... even if it costs me my old bones, I will protect you... and this guild," Makarov said calmly.

"Yeah, yeah! What's there to worry about! What's there to be afraid of about those people from the Magic Council?!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Chiba bit her lip, then said loudly, "Thank you everyone and the guild leader for your kindness all this time. However, I don't want this guild to be harmed because of me. As the guild leader said, I am also a part of this guild, so I hope I can do my part to clean up the mess and protect this guild. So... so..."

As he spoke, his voice trembled, and he finally shouted.

"So... please allow me... to leave Fairy Tail!"

After the words were spoken, the surroundings fell completely silent.

"How is that possible?!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

The crowd was filled with righteous indignation. Finally, Makarov said in a deep voice, "Chiba, if it's your own intention to leave this guild, I won't stop you. But I absolutely will not allow you to leave Fairy Tail because of external threats. As the guild master of Fairy Tail, I do not agree to your request..."

"President... I..." Chiba was about to speak when he was stopped by a sudden sound.

It was the sound of the front door being pushed open.

A group of members of the Magic Council stood at the entrance. The young man leading them adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice, "I am Lahar, the captain of the fourth squad of the Magic Custody Force of the Magic Council. Regarding the murder of Captain Bolunte of the Magic Custody Force, I hope that your guild's Chiba Uchiha will come with us..."