One week later, on Tenrou Island...
Laxus and Zorn were waiting early at the designated spots on Tenrou Island for Erza and Mirajane to arrive...
The Fairy Tail ship was sailing across the sea toward them. It was packed with guild members, with the camping equipment used in the previous exam and all kinds of supplies set beside them.
"Natsu, daijoubu, are you okay?" Happy stood beside Natsu, watching him with concern written all over his face.
Natsu lay on the deck, his face pale as he fought to keep from passing out. He desperately tried to hold back the churning urge to vomit, his cheeks puffing out as he clapped a hand over his mouth. Then a great wave struck, rocking the ship even harder. Unable to take it any longer, Natsu ran to the railing and threw up.
Seeing this, Gray burst out laughing and mocked Natsu. He also tried to take a picture, but Natsu spotted him out of the corner of his eye. Forcing himself to endure the nausea, Natsu started running around the ship with Gray again as the two of them fought.
Erza and Mirajane stood at the bow, gazing solemnly toward Tenrou Island in the distance. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking. Master Makarov, meanwhile, sat on a barrel, leisurely sipping some liquor.
"Everyone, look, we've reached Tenrou Island!" Wakaba shouted as soon as he saw the island appear ahead, drawing everyone's gaze toward it.
"All right, full speed ahead! Charge!" The helmsman grew excited and steered the ship with all his might. It immediately picked up even more speed, racing forward. Natsu, who was still running and chasing Gray, stopped in his tracks, covered his mouth with both hands, and ran to the railing to throw up again.
Gray seized the chance to snap a few pictures. Chuckling to himself, he admired the unflattering photos of Natsu.
The ship slowly came to a stop. Standing on a liquor barrel, Makarov held out one hand to signal everyone to be quiet and held a whistle in the other. Everyone listened attentively for the master's announcement. Mirajane and Erza stood on opposite sides of the bow, their eyes fixed on the two clearly visible paths on the island.
"Ready. The exam starts now." After making the announcement, Makarov blew the whistle. At the sound, Erza and Mirajane pushed off hard and sped through the air. Mirajane headed left, while Erza flew to the right.
Using their powerful Observation Haki, Zorn and Laxus each sensed who was coming toward them and prepared themselves. Zorn conjured a Light Sword and gripped it in his hand, while lightning crackled all over Laxus. Both stared solemnly at the ends of the paths before them.
"Master, then we..." Cana walked over to remind Makarov, who was still gazing deep into the island. Makarov came back to his senses, raised his hand, and turned to the guild members, his face full of excitement.
"All right, let's have a party, just as planned!"
"Oh~!" All the guild members cheered and happily carried the supplies and other items to the shore one by one. They gathered firewood, set up pots and tents, and chopped ingredients, enjoying themselves as they busied about.
"Cana, move! I just want to watch from beside the exam area. I'm not going to do anything." Natsu jumped up and down, noisily demanding that Cana get out of his way. He had planned to sneak off and watch the fight while everyone around him was busy, but just as he was about to slip into the forest, Cana stopped him.
"Nope. Zorn specifically told me to keep an eye on you because he was worried you'd sneak off. And sure enough..." Cana put one hand on her hip and held the other out helplessly, her expression both resigned and firm.
"Then I'll challenge you first and go find them afterward." Natsu planted his feet, flames rising from his right hand as he looked at Cana with equal determination and excitement. This was just the chance he needed to see what level Cana had reached after following Brother Zorn for the past year or two.
"Dragon Slayer Magic: Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu brought his hands together, and a magic circle flashed into existence. Flames slowly gathered around his right hand, their heat setting even the air ablaze. The attack was clearly powerful, yet Cana watched Natsu with interest, without a trace of concern. She held out a hand to stop the guild members beside her who wanted to step forward.
Natsu stomped down hard with his right foot and shot forward, leaving a large crater in the ground in an instant. His flaming right fist struck toward Cana.
Cana marveled that Natsu really had grown much stronger. Unhurried, she gathered a terrifying amount of magic power in her right foot and stomped down hard in front of her. A tremendous force struck the ground, and under Cana's control, the magic power instantly split it apart. A huge, thick stone slab filled with magic power rose before her.
Natsu's fist slammed into the slab. He and the slab remained locked in a stalemate for a moment, but under his attack, cracks spread across its entire surface. "Crack, crack." With those sounds, the slab shattered.
Natsu continued swinging his fist forward, coming face-to-face with Cana. She raised her right hand and caught his still-flaming fist, then turned and used her strength to fling him into the air.
"What? She's that strong?" Still airborne, Natsu wondered in astonishment how Cana had ended the fight so easily. He didn't notice at all that he was flying straight toward where the master was drinking. Makarov sensed something and looked up. Just as Natsu was about to crash down, Makarov instantly grew gigantic and caught him in his palm.
After flinging Natsu away, Cana stepped to the left with her left foot. A crack instantly shot through the ground deep into the forest, toppling trees and kicking up thick clouds of dust.
"And you too, Gray. You can't go any farther. Come back with me." Cana turned and gently urged Gray, who had frozen like a statue while cautiously creeping forward.
"Hi, okay, I got it." At her words, Gray held his stunned pose, then turned mechanically and walked back to the campsite one stiff-limbed step at a time.
"Sigh."
Seeing this, Cana sighed helplessly, dusted herself off, and took the equally shocked female guild members back to the campsite with her. She didn't want to use violence either, but it seemed to be the only effective way to stop Natsu and Gray.
Erza and Mirajane had also just stopped attacking the magic beasts. Both turned in puzzlement toward the sounds of fighting behind them. Once they saw Natsu being flung through the sky, they had a rough idea of what had happened and paid it no further attention, focusing instead on clearing their paths to their examiners.
Seen from the sky, the two were advancing at exactly the same speed. Each magic beast they faced went down to a single punch or a single sword strike, their heads swollen as they fell unconscious. Neither woman had dealt killing blows. A test of this level was easy for the two of them.
To be continued.