Natsu and Gray had completed their first mission away from the guild with flying colors, and they started showing off as soon as they returned. Before long, they began arguing over how much each of them had contributed and ended up coming to blows. The guild broke into another brawl, and neither of them noticed Erza's hair rising with anger nearby.
Bang, bang! Erza angrily ended the fight with two swift punches. The guild members silently agreed to stop fighting and went back to the things they had left unfinished. Erza then turned to Cana and gently asked if she was hurt, changing her expression in the blink of an eye. Natsu and Gray were left lying on the floor, their eyes rolled back.
Zorn could hardly bear to watch. Lisanna, meanwhile, ate the local snacks Natsu had brought back while covering Happy's eyes with her hand. "Happy, it's too violent. You shouldn't watch," she said with a cute giggle.
"Aye!" Happy raised his right hand in agreement.
"Boring." Laxus strode through the guild doors with his coat draped over his shoulders. Seeing Natsu and Gray's sorry state, he turned his head away in disgust.
"Yo, Laxus!" Zorn called out as soon as he saw him, gesturing for him to come and sit down.
"Training starts in three days. Want to join us? It'll definitely give your strength a huge boost," Zorn assured Laxus calmly.
"Oh, Observation Haki? Don't let me surpass you, Zorn." Laxus crossed his arms and raised his head, a confident gleam in his eyes as he spoke haughtily.
"I'd love nothing more. So, Laxus, you're admitting I'm stronger than you?" Zorn seized the chance to tease him.
Smack! "Don't flatter yourself, Zorn. You do have a knack for Physical Arts, but we haven't settled who's better in other areas." Laxus slapped both hands on the table and stood up. Though he did acknowledge Zorn's strength, he still shouted back, unwilling to admit defeat.
"Hahaha, all right, all right." Seeing how worked up Laxus was, Zorn stood up too, laughing as he tried to placate him.
Makarov sat at the bar with a drink, smiling knowingly at the scene. He felt that with Zorn involved, Laxus was gradually getting better.
Three days later, at the East Forest Training Ground, Zorn divided the East Forest into three areas: a stamina training area, a Physical Arts training area, and a Haki training area.
He was now in the Haki training area with Laxus, Mira, Erza, and Cana. The others were still training in the stamina area, led by Natsu and Gray.
Thump, thump, thump. Zorn held a large, pitch-black wooden club that had clearly been coated in Armament Haki. He slapped it against his palm and said with a mischievous grin:
"This is the training plan I prepared especially for you, Laxus. Don't fight back, or it won't work. You ought to thank me properly. This will help you master Observation Haki quickly."
This was the method Rayleigh had used to teach Luffy in Pirate King. It was a good method, one that could draw out the potential of the person being beaten and help Laxus quickly master Observation Haki.
"Zorn, y-you, you..." Laxus stammered in disbelief as he watched Zorn approach him step by step with ill intent.
Bang, bang, bang! Before Laxus could react, he took three blows from the club, one each to his shoulder, arm, and thigh.
"Ahem, I forgot. It works better with a blindfold." After striking him, Zorn put on an act, coughing into his fist before taking a blindfold he had prepared beforehand out of his pocket and handing it to Laxus. The gesture made Laxus even angrier. Wasn't Zorn obviously treating him like a fool?
"Damn it!" Laxus trembled all over and was about to gather his magic power and lash out, but Zorn's words stopped him in his tracks.
"This is the fastest training method for getting results. I hear the S-Class Exam is being held at the end of the year. Don't you want to hurry and get stronger?" Zorn appealed to Laxus's desire to grow stronger and compete for the title of the guild's strongest.
"I'll trust you this once." Laxus spoke through gritted teeth, then unclenched his fists, took the blindfold from Zorn, and put it over his eyes.
Darkness fell before his eyes, and his ears became more sensitive than usual. He clearly heard Zorn's next words: "Get ready. Here we go."
Bang, bang, bang! The sounds echoed through the training ground...
Elsewhere, Mira and the other two were stunned by the sight. They had never imagined Zorn had this side to him.
Erza and Mira hurriedly asked Cana whether her Observation Haki training had been like this too.
Cana shook her head, then immediately fell into recollection. Back then... Zorn had also used attacks, but he had never actually hit her. He had stopped just before reaching her, letting her feel the wind from his attacks as a way to train. She had quickly grasped the sensation, and Zorn had been astonished, marveling at her talent and praising her to the skies. Then he had told her about many things involving female ninjas, as well as some Physical Arts techniques and the like.
On the first day, Laxus returned to the guild black and blue, nearly sending the guild into an uproar. Grandpa Master also erupted with terrifying magic power, destroying the bar. Only after Zorn hurriedly explained did the master learn that it was the result of training. He instantly calmed down, then stared at the bar, petrified and regretting his impulsiveness.
The results remained the same through the seventh day. On the eighth day, Laxus could clearly take more of a beating. Wearing a black blindfold, he bent over and gasped for breath, his body still covered in bruises from the blows. Over those seven days, Zorn had sensed that Laxus had made some progress and was only one opportunity away from succeeding, so he decided to make a bold move.
"Pay attention." At Zorn's warning, Laxus straightened and used his body to sense changes around him. Zorn vanished from where he stood without making a sound. When he reappeared, he was in midair on Laxus's right, the club in his hand glowing gold as it was about to strike Laxus's head.
At that moment, the two strands in Laxus's mind that had almost joined suddenly pulled tight and came together. A warning of danger to his right appeared in his mind, and he instantly ducked under the blow. Zorn didn't hold back, releasing the energy instead. An arc-shaped wave of energy shot forward at tremendous speed, destroying everything in its path.
When Laxus removed his blindfold, he saw that all the trees within a five-kilometer radius of him and Zorn had been cut in half, leaving only rows of stumps.
"Bastard, were you really trying to kill me just now?" Laxus instantly erupted, venting all the anger he had built up over the past few days. Magic power surged and lightning coursed over his body as he accelerated toward Zorn.
Zorn dodged as he said, "Come on, how could I? You're overthinking it." Laxus grew even angrier at his flippant response and attacked faster. Zorn began counterattacking as he dodged, his attacks growing faster as well. Their fists clashed again and again, and the energy destroyed every last tree stump around them.
After a quick dodge, Zorn channeled his magic power even faster and suddenly sped up to attack Laxus. Laxus had exhausted too much of his strength during training and was gradually unable to keep up in power, but he still narrowly dodged every one of Zorn's attacks. Seeing this, Zorn stopped and looked at Laxus with satisfaction, then said, "Laxus, haven't you noticed you've already mastered Observation Haki?"
Laxus froze. At the reminder, he instantly recalled how he had dodged all of Zorn's attacks just now and burst out laughing. Zorn suddenly fired a lightspeed laser at him.
Laxus abruptly tilted his head, stopping his laughter and dodging the attack. The Laser Beam struck a tree behind him and exploded.
"Well? Did you feel it that time?" Zorn had tested him again so Laxus could clearly feel how powerful Observation Haki was.
"All right, that's done. We can talk about strengthening your Observation Haki later. How about treating me to a meal first? I did teach you a really powerful skill." Before Laxus could react, Zorn abruptly changed the subject, darted over, and threw an arm around his shoulders as he made his request.
"Dream on." Laxus slapped Zorn's hand away, spoke irritably, and walked off without looking back.
"Hey, seriously? That's heartless." Zorn chased after him, looking incredulous as he pressed him.
"Then let's throw a party at the guild and liven things up. Grandpa Master will be happy too..."
"No answer, huh? No answer, so it's settled..."
"Boring..."
"Hey, you answered! Then that's what we'll do..."
To be continued...