Futsu no Mitama

"Bang!"

Just then, the door was suddenly flung open violently.

"Hahaha, that old man Makarov wasn't lying to me after all! You brat, you really are here!" A familiar old man's voice rang out from the doorway, followed by a tall, dusty old man in a black robe walking in.

Chiba snapped out of her reverie and couldn't help but ask, "Old man?"

The elderly man who suddenly barged into the ward was none other than Hodrian.

"How did you find this place?" Chiba asked, his face full of surprise.

Hodrian stroked his beard and chuckled, "Of course, it was that old Makarov who contacted me. You actually joined Fairy Tail, kid. By the way, weren't you a ninja? How did you end up in a mage guild?"

"Just trying to make a living." Chiba touched his nose.

"If you need a job, come to me. The work I can arrange for you will be much easier than at the Mage Guild. Hmm? Little girl, you're here too. No wonder you joined Fairy Tail." Hodrian noticed Mira by the bedside at this moment, with a look of sudden realization.

Mira: "..."

The girl suddenly stood up.

Chiba suddenly had a bad feeling and clutched the blanket.

Hodrian looked puzzled.

"Bang!"

The girl angrily stomped away.

"..." Chiba looked at Hodrian lying on the ground, his face trembling.

After the girl left, Hodrian coughed twice before slowly standing up, his aged face full of surprise and doubt. "How did this little girl suddenly become like this?"

In his memory, Mira was the epitome of gentleness and virtue. How could she have changed so much in just over a year? The moment they met, she threw a punch. If it weren't for his remarkably tough old bones, no normal person could have withstood it.

Chiba silently thanked Hodrian; if he hadn't suddenly barged in, he really wouldn't know how to deal with Mira.

His eyes were somewhat dazed. He had roughly guessed what Mira had done, but he was just a little slow to react, practically a blockhead. Of course, he could see something so obvious.

But do I truly like Mira? Am I just starting to like her, or have I already fallen hopelessly in love?

He felt it was most likely the former.

His mind was a mess. He felt that Mira was too young, and perhaps this was just a passing impulse on her part. Dating wasn't something that could be resolved just because two people liked each other; many things could change, and no one knew what the future held.

Or rather, he didn't know what his future held.

"Hey! You brat, are you even listening to me?" Hodrian interrupted Chiba's train of thought.

Chiba snapped out of her daze and then told him about the series of events that had occurred after Hodrian left.

After listening, Hodrian looked thoughtful and said, "Take Over was a demon, it's very likely that your personality has been changed due to the demon's influence. But this change isn't irreversible; perhaps after some great shock, you'll revert to your original self. By the way, how come you've experienced so much in just one year?"

Hodrian then shifted the topic to Chiba, because in his view, Mira's personality change was nothing unusual. To put it bluntly, this guy just likes hot girls.

But Chiba asked, "You're saying Mira will revert to her original form after experiencing some kind of huge shock?"

"Pretty much. Take Over Magic is already quite rare, and receiving demonic possession is even rarer. I just deduced that."

Chiba fell silent.

If this reversal were to disappear, considering that Lisanna's "death" in the original story greatly affected Mira, and that Mira subsequently became gentle, virtuous, and somewhat slow-witted, it's highly likely that Hodrian was right.

782!

All he knew was that Mira had accepted the Beast King quest that year, but he didn't know the exact month or day. He was already prepared to stay by Mira's side for the entire year.

Or perhaps, by learning the Flying Thunder God Technique developed Tobirama Senju the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, beforehand, he could be by Mira's side anytime, anywhere?

He felt it was time to challenge this Space-Time Ninjutsu technique previously only known to the Second and Fourth Hokage.

"So, why did you come to see me in such a hurry?" Chiba couldn't help but ask.

He didn't believe Makarov had told him he was there, and that guy had come running over specifically to see him. Who knew what he wanted Makarov to do?

Sure enough, after hearing Chiba's words, Hodrian rubbed his hands together and said, "That's because I need your help with something!"

"What is it?" Chiba was quite curious as to what Hodrian, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, needed his help with.

"The Sword Mountain Contest." At this moment, a clear, cool female voice came from outside the door.

Chiba turned his gaze toward the door and saw a girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old and a girl who looked about eleven or twelve years old walk in side by side.

Both girls were dressed similarly in white shirts, black skirts, and black stockings, with gray coats on top and off-white ankle boots on their feet. Both girls were pretty and at least seven or eight points similar. The older one was more aloof, while the younger one was more like Feiyin, lively and energetic. Of course, it was unknown whether she was as silly as Feiyin.

But what is most striking is that each of them has a long sword hanging from her waist.

"Who are they?" Chiba asked Hodrian.

Hodrian coughed twice, then said, "Let me introduce them. These two are my disciples. The older one is called Nuolin Kelvia, and the younger one is called Haiweier Kelvia. They are sisters, so they are your senior and junior sisters."

Chiba's face was full of strange expressions.

"Hmph! If Master hadn't insisted that my sister and I couldn't win the championship on our own, I wouldn't have come here!" The little girl... Haiweier, wrinkled her cute little nose and said in an extremely unfriendly tone.

"What is the Sword Mountain Contest?" Chiba ignored the little girl's unfriendly tone and asked the girl who had spoken first.

Nuolin's pretty face was cool and aloof as she replied calmly, "The Sword Mountain Contest is a tournament established by a country called the Land of Swords to the east of Ishgar. It's a competition exclusively for swordsmen, with participants under the age of eighteen, a clash of young swordsmen. It's held every five years, and the top three from each edition have a chance to enter the summit of Sword Mountain and choose a sword that suits them. The champion even has the opportunity to have the spirit sword 'Futsu no Mitama' recognize them as its master."

Chiba roughly understood.

"Speaking of which, your guild's Erza will be participating in this year's Sword Mountain Contest; she's a very strong contender for the championship," Nuolin added.

"I'm not surprised at all that Erza will participate, but why are you looking for me? I'm only a half-baked swordsman," Chiba said.

"Hehe, the Sword Mountain Contest isn't going to start for another three years. With your learning ability, I can train you into a top-notch swordsman in three years," said Hodrian.

Chiba hesitated for a moment.

It will only take three years to reach 781 years, which will not delay his plans.

"Good!"