X781: Jiang Bai at Sixteen
The banquet continued in the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Boom--!"
The gate was violently smashed open, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.
Gildarts, carrying Cana, burst in like a red whirlwind, leaping directly onto the bar. The commotion instantly silenced the revelers.
Look! Look at them all!
Gildarts, one hand on his hip and the other holding Cana high above his head as if showing off his most precious treasure, announced loudly to the entire guild, his face streaked with tears:
"This is my daughter! Cana Alberona! My biological daughter, Gildarts Clive!! Hahaha!!"
The entire guild fell silent for three seconds.
The next second, a commotion more intense than ever before erupted!
"What--?!"
Macao and Wakaba's wine glasses fell to the ground, their jaws dropping so low they couldn't close them for a long time.
Natsu and Gray stopped fighting and stared wide-eyed.
"Are you kidding me?! Cana is that old man's daughter?!"
"Really?!"
The entire guild was in complete chaos, with some expressing shock and others offering their blessings.
Amidst the chaos, Gildarts finally spotted Jiang Bai returning.
He jumped down from the bar, walked a few steps to Jiang Bai, and slammed his large, fan-like hand onto Jiang Bai's shoulder with a loud "bang," so hard that it almost knocked Jiang Bai to the ground.
"Good lad!" Gildarts' eyes were red-rimmed, his voice filled with sincere gratitude, "I can't thank you enough! If it weren't for you, I might never have known I had such a lovely daughter!"
Jiang Bai rubbed his shoulder, which was numb from being patted, and pouted, "Alright, alright, I know you're happy, just take your hand away."
However, the gratitude on Gildarts's face lasted for less than three seconds.
His expression changed instantly; his initial gratitude vanished, replaced by a serious, scrutinizing look that carried a strong warning.
He looked Jiang Bai up and down, his eyes becoming wary of him like a thief.
"Wait a minute..." Gildarts lowered his voice, his tone instantly turning dangerous, "I almost forgot, you're quite the heartbreaker!"
He glanced at Erza and Mirajane, who were congratulating Cana not far away, then suddenly moved closer to Jiang Bai, his magnified stubble-faced face almost touching Jiang Bai's nose.
"I'm warning you, Jiang Bai!" Gildarts' voice was filled with the authority of an old father, "You already have Erza and Mirajane by your side, so don't you dare mess with my Cana anymore! Do you hear me!"
This warning, spoken in a hushed voice, should not have gone unnoticed in the noisy hall.
But the names "Erza" and "Mirajane" seemed to trigger some key word, causing the two people involved not far away to freeze instantly.
Erza had just been at loggerheads, and Mirajane, who was clearly annoyed, turned around at the same time, their beautiful eyes fixed on them.
They heard Gildarts's words clearly.
The next second.
"Pfft--Pfft--"
Two plumes of white steam, like a small volcanic eruption, suddenly spewed out from above Erza and Mirajane's heads.
Their cheeks turned from pink to deep red at a visible speed, eventually becoming as red as two ripe tomatoes.
"Who... who is his!"
Year X781, Fairy Tail Guild.
Two whole years have passed since that Heavenly Movement S-Class Exam.
Natsu also found an egg during those two years, from which a flying kitten hatched, which he named Happy.
"Boom--!"
Go Natsu!
Happy cheered him on from the sidelines.
Natsu and Gray collided once again without any suspense, and the magic of ice and fire exploded in the center of the hall, overturning three tables and countless wine glasses.
"Stop it, all of you!"
Erza, clad in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, leaped from the second floor with murderous intent, ready to carry out the Disciplinary Committee Chairperson's iron-fisted punishment.
However, a lazy voice was faster than her actions.
"Hey you two, don't you feel uncomfortable if you don't take something apart every day?"
The guild's doors were pushed open at some point.
A sixteen-year-old boy walked in slowly, his hands in his pockets.
He had grown quite a bit taller, the childishness in his eyes had faded, and a handsome appearance had emerged, but his perpetually sleepy and lazy look remained unchanged.
The most conspicuous thing was the thin cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Erza's anger instantly shifted to the boy, and she rushed towards him in three strides, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.
Jiang Bai! How many times have I told you! No smoking!
Jiang Bai tilted his head, the cigarette waving around his lips with his movement, but not a single spark appeared.
"I didn't smoke," he said, shrugging innocently. "It just didn't light."
"Then why are you carrying it around?!" Erza's chest heaved with anger.
"You won't even let me smoke, so can't I just suck on it and feel it?" Jiang Bai retorted confidently.
Erza was rendered speechless by his twisted logic, and in the end, she could only stomp her foot in frustration, completely helpless against him.
In the past two years, Jiang Bai's shameless tactic of "holding her tongue without doing anything" has almost driven her crazy.
Mirajane, watching this scene from behind the bar, chuckled, "Erza, you should just give up. If you meddle too much, Jiang Bai might hate you."
"Hmph." Erza snorted coldly, then turned to teach Natsu and Gray a lesson for their continued fight.
"Jiang Bai, you're back!" Macao sidled up to him, his face full of admiration. "You've completed that Ten-Year Quest, 'Slaying the Sleeping Ancient Dragon'? That's incredible! That's Ten-Year Quest!"
Jiang Bai took the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, casually tucked it behind his ear, and yawned.
"What ancient dragon? It's just a sleepy old lizard. It can't break my 'Infinity.' It cried and ran away after I punched it twice. How boring."
Those around them twitched in disbelief.
The only one who talks about Ten-Year Quest as casually as going for a walk is this monster.
In the past two years, Jiang Bai has swept through almost all of the guild's S-Class Missions with a 100% completion rate. He even completed two of the Ten-Year Quest that no one dared to take on, as easily as strolling through a backyard.
The reason we only completed two is because these were the only two available at the moment.
Gildarts also took on two Ten-Year Quest.
The name "Infinity" Jiang Bai is now known to everyone in the entire Kingdom of Fiore.
Just as everyone was praising them, a discordant snort came from the corner.
Laxus sat alone in the most secluded seat, his eyes sweeping contemptuously over the noisy crowd in the hall.
"A bunch of useless trash, all they do is fawn over Jiang Bai. Is this Fairy Tail is all about? They're so weak it's disgusting."
He was promoted to S-Class Mage a year ago without any controversy, but that did not satisfy him.
Because he knew very well that the gap between himself and Jiang Bai had not narrowed, but had widened even further.
No matter how hard he trained, he couldn't even put any pressure on Jiang Bai when sparring with him.
The enormous gap in power completely distorted his pride with jealousy and obsession.
"Hey, Laxus, what did you say?!" Natsu immediately protested.
"Did I say something wrong?" Laxus stood up, golden lightning crackling around him, radiating a terrifying aura of oppression. "This guild is too weak, unworthy of the title of strongest. Only Jiang Bai and I can lead it to true power!"
The atmosphere in the guild instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Jiang Bai sighed and walked up to Laxus.
"Here we go again, Laxus." Jiang Bai's voice held a hint of helplessness. "Haven't I beaten you up enough times? Why won't you listen to a word I say?"
"What do you know!" Laxus glared at Jiang Bai, his eyes bloodshot. "A monster like you would never understand my resentment! I'll prove to you that what I did was right!"
After saying that, he shoved Jiang Bai away and walked out of the guild gate without looking back.
Jiang Bai watched his retreating figure, remained silent for a moment, and then put the unlit cigarette back into his mouth.
"Sigh, why am I so stubborn?" he muttered to himself, a hint of irritation flashing in his eyes that he himself didn't even realize.
"We've tried everything—persuasion, even beating—is this guy's brain made of iron?"