The Bond of Five Dragons

An interlude in the past.

Makarov brought some news.

He stood by the railing of the stands, holding the notice that the Magic Council had just issued, the paper rustling in the wind.

"Since there are currently an odd number of teams, it's difficult to match them for duels. We need to merge the two teams into one."

The Fairy Tail members all gasped in surprise.

The sounds exploded from the mouths of more than a dozen people simultaneously, echoing in a corner of the arena.

They also wanted to take first and second place and enjoy the glory.

Natsu counted on his fingers, his brows furrowing in a frown.

Makarov also felt it was a bit of a pity.

He stroked his beard, folded the notice twice, and stuffed it into his pocket.

He also wanted to go and brag to his old friend.

Just thinking about how Fairy Tail swept the top two spots is exhilarating.

Now it's just a dream.

"Alright, you can choose your own people. I won't interfere."

Everyone stared at each other in disbelief.

A dozen pairs of eyes scanned each other's faces, but no one spoke first.

Riyao raised his head high, chin held high, waved his hand, and spoke in an unquestionable tone.

"Mira and I will go, who among you disagrees?"

"I'll take a break, Riyao. Keep up the good work with my share."

Mirajane smiled and patted Riyao on the shoulder, gently pressing his palm twice on his shoulder.

"Eh."

Riyao's neck instantly shrank back, his head drooped, and the corners of his mouth turned down.

Mirajane noticed their eagerness to play and considerately withdrew.

She took a step back, stood behind Riyao, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Riyao even wants to form a husband-and-wife team with Mirajane.

He leaned against Mirajane, humming and rubbing his head against her shoulder, making indistinct mumbling noises.

Mirajane ruffled his hair and ran her fingers through his strands.

Erza glanced at Natsu and the others, her eyes sharp, and the two of them straightened their backs as she looked at them.

Do you have any objections?

"Without..."

Natsu and Gray spoke in unison, their voices overlapping.

Only three qualifying spots remain.

Gajeel roared, the sound exploding from his throat, almost spitting out metal slag.

"I've never even had a proper match yet! You have to count me in!"

Natsu agreed, raising his fist upwards, flames shooting out from between his fingers.

Me too!

Gray scratched his cheek, running his fingers along it twice.

It seems that's really true. One of them played several matches but wasn't satisfied, while the other never even had a serious match.

I just beat up Lyon, so it wasn't a loss.

That means there's only one regular pick left.

Cana happily drank her wine, raised the bottle to her lips, gulped down two mouthfuls, and then let out a burp.

"Don't count me in, I'll just stay in the audience and drink."

Wendy waved her hand, shaking it back and forth in front of her, her head bobbing along with it.

"I'm not going."

Juvia looked at Gray, his eyes filled with Gray's reflection, his hands clasped in front of his chest.

"Juvia isn't going either, Gray, you can go."

Lucy waved her hand incredibly fast, her palm leaving afterimages in front of her, almost creating a gust of wind.

"Don't look at me, don't look at me."

Laxus leaned against the wall listening to music, headphones hanging around his neck, the music leaking out in a soft, fragmented way.

He coughed once, then coughed again.

He coughed deliberately, as if afraid others wouldn't hear him.

Everyone looked at him, but no one spoke.

A dozen pairs of eyes stared at him, and the air was silent for two seconds.

Laxus scratched his cheek, ran his fingers across his face, and looked up at the ceiling.

"If you really can't find anyone else, I can step in."

Riyao thought of something interesting, his eyes lit up, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

He walked over, patted Laxus on the shoulder, and pressed his palm down twice, with just the right amount of pressure.

"Then let's go with Laxus."

To create a pseudo-five-dragon synergy.

The successor (descendant) of the Sage Dragon, Fire Dragon, Iron Dragon, Azure Dragon, and Thunder Dragon.

Five dragons standing together—just imagining it is enough to make the scene explosive.

The commentator Chapati, announced it over the loudspeaker, his voice booming from the microphone.

"Now that the two Fairy Tail teams have been reunited into one, let's look forward to their performance!"

"Next up is the 2v2 duel! The first match is Fairy Tail versus Sabertooth! The first match is going to be incredibly exciting."

Riyao jumped directly off the stands.

With his feet on the railing, he leaped forward and landed steadily in the center of the field, his shoes making a thud on the ground.

A battle of four dragons! I have to participate.

He turned back and waved towards the stands, making two hand gestures in the air.

The remaining four looked at each other.

Riyao shouted from below, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Why don't you all stay here? I can manage on my own."

The four of them simply played rock-paper-scissors.

Natsu laughed wildly, his laughter booming from the stands and echoing throughout the entire arena.

"Haha, it had to be me after all!"

Gajeel kicked Natsu down with a single kick.

The soles of his feet imprinted on Natsu's back, the force of which sent Natsu flying.

"Too verbose."

"Damn Iron Dragon!"

Natsu flipped in mid-air, braced himself with his hands, and landed steadily after a backflip.

He stood up and dusted himself off.

As expected, Sabertooth sent Sting and Rogue.

The two walked down from the stands; Sting's steps were light and quick, while Rogue's were steady.

Chapati shouted excitedly, and his wig almost flew off.

"A battle between four Dragon Slayer! This is bound to be more exciting than ever before! Both sides, please prepare yourselves."

What preparation? It's just some trash talk before the game.

Riyao's attitude was extremely arrogant.

He had his hands in his pockets, leaned back slightly, his chin facing Sting and Rogue, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a disdainful smile.

"Those little brats have grown up, I wonder if they've reached the point where they can break the dragon's scales? There are two... two guys who told me to take good care of you."

Natsu wasn't thinking too much about it; all he wanted to do right now was have a good fight.

Flames erupted from his body, engulfing him in orange-red flames, his hair flying upwards in the heat.

"It's on fire, so don't hold back!"

Sting is no longer as arrogant as he was in the original story; he was already badly beaten up seven years ago.

He looked at Riyao and Natsu, his eyes flashing with intense fighting spirit.

"I won't let Mr. Riyao and Mr. Natsu down!"

Rogue pursed his lips, making a thin line, and stared at Gajeel in the stands.

"Gajeel..."

"Stop with the Gajeel, there will be plenty of opportunities later. For now, just enjoy this beating."

Riyao interrupted him, her tone casual, as if she were saying, "The weather is nice today."

He immediately started stretching exercises.

Stretch before strenuous exercise!

Within the unknown space, they all observed this battle.