Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

Celestial Dragon Shirou let out a hearty laugh and didn't argue.

Indeed, that was just lip service.

"Three days. Give me three days to prepare. I'll leave what you need here bit by bit, and you can just come in and take it."

"Thanks! But... thanking myself doesn't really mean much, does it? Haha..."

Fairy Tail World, Kingdom of Fiore.

"I'm back!"

Natsu's voice rang out before he even stepped through the door.

"You're back! Natsu, Happy."

"You've gone and caused another big mess this time..."

As Natsu and Happy entered, the already noisy Fairy Tail Guild grew even louder.

Arguments, drinking, brawls—with Natsu and the others stirring things up, quite a few tables and chairs in the middle of the guild were smashed to pieces.

"Everyone, stop right now!"

With a roar, the Third Hokage, Makarov, swelled to an enormous size.

That shout brought all the fighting members to a halt, and the clamor and chaos gradually died down.

Seeing this, Makarov shrank back down and pulled out a stack of documents from his hand.

He was about to speak when he suddenly felt an overwhelmingly oppressive, dangerous aura pressing in from all around, making his breath unconsciously quicken.

"What is this...?"

Including Makarov, every member of the guild turned to look toward the entrance.

At that moment, the guild fell utterly silent, and many members found their bodies trembling faintly.

"What the hell is going on? Is the sky about to fall?"

"That direction! Something's coming!"

"Why can't I move at all? Is this... fear?"

Move, damn it! Why can't I move at all?

If even I, as the guild master, am like this, the kids must be in a worse state.

Makarov desperately wanted to grow large again and shield everyone, but no matter how hard he strained, his body felt disconnected—trembling uncontrollably yet frozen in place.

Damn it!

Why would an enemy of this caliber come knocking? Did Natsu and the others stir up some kind of trouble?

As everyone in the guild stared in panic and bewilderment, a dark-skinned young man with black hair walked in.

"Guild master, Natsu, Gray, you're all here? And Lucy... so this must be Lucy's first day joining the guild."

Makarov forced his legs to move, stepping forward, and asked:

"Who are you? What are you here for?"

"Is there a kid named Shirou here? Age fourteen years and two months."

"No. Are you here to take a job?"

"No. I'm here to join Fairy Tail. Or rather, I'm here to report back."

"You... want to join Fairy Tail?"

Makarov stared at the young man in disbelief, his face full of shock, momentarily doubting his ears.

A mage of this caliber—why would he want to join Fairy Tail?

Was he after the First Master's relic?

But even that relic would mean nothing in front of him, wouldn't it?

"If you really want to join Fairy Tail, how about reining in that killing intent of yours first?"

"Uh... sorry. Four hundred years of killing too many people—it's a bit hard to control all at once."

Shirou tried for a moment, then pulled back the faint trace of killing intent leaking from him.

The next instant, that suffocating pressure vanished, and the guild members collectively let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me to death! My back's soaked with sweat."

"Terrifying! I've never seen a mage of this level before."

"Yeah, even that Gildarts probably couldn't take a single punch from this guy, right?"

"Why would someone like that want to join our Fairy Tail? Has our guild's reputation spread that far?"

Chapter 29: Welcome Home

Shirou glanced around, then sat down across from Cana, picked up the cup, and poured himself a full glass of wine.

"Don't steal my booze, you jerk!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Cana realized his terrifying strength. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, her face a perfect "Oh crap, I said the wrong thing" expression.

"Haha... no need to be that scared. I'm not some bloodthirsty maniac."

Shirou took a sip of wine, then said:

"Want to hear a story?"

No one objected. Even Natsu, usually the loudest, sat still as a puppet.

"I was an orphan. In the summer of 781, I joined the Fairy Tail Guild."

"How is that possible?" Makarov blurted out. "If that were true, there's no way I'd ever forget you."

"The story's a bit long. Please don't interrupt. Thanks."

"Alright. Please, go on."

"In 784, this year's S-Class Mage promotion exam, Fairy Tail's main members all headed to Tenrou Island to participate. On the way, the Heart of the Demon Guild attacked us."

In that instant, Makarov suddenly realized—he might be talking about the future.

"...After that, the Black Dragon King Acnologia struck. First Master Mavis failed to activate one of the Three Great Magics, [Fairy Sphere]. The Master, Natsu, Happy, Gray—one by one, they died."

"In the end, only Lucy and I escaped with our lives."

Thinking back to that, a trace of loathing involuntarily crept onto Shirou's face.

In that moment, his killing intent leaked out uncontrollably. The entire guild was once again crushed under a sky-shattering wave of fear.

Seeing this, Shirou closed his eyes and composed himself for a while. When his emotions calmed, the killing intent receded as well.

"After that, consumed by hatred, I searched everywhere for a way to revive all of you."

"Five days later, at dusk, I passed through the Eclipse Gate, trying to go back one month—before the S-Class Mage exam ever happened—to change that tragedy."

"But lacking intel on the Eclipse Gate, I used it wrong. Instead of going back one month, I crossed through time and ended up four hundred years in the past."

"By chance, I learned Dark Dragon Slayer Magic."

"That era, four hundred years ago, was crawling with dragons. I saw it as an opportunity, so I stayed there to train in Dragon Slayer Magic, aiming to grow stronger."

"At first, it was just friendly sparring. But as my mastery of Dragon Slayer Magic deepened, my temper grew more and more violent."

"During one fight, I unconsciously went for the kill."

"After that, that dragon's kin came to avenge it. I killed them too."

"Later, I killed more and more dragons. I gradually lost my sanity, turning into a monster driven purely by instinct."

"Over four hundred years, I accidentally destroyed countless cities and nations."

"And this morning, for certain reasons, my consciousness suddenly snapped back."

"Now, I've returned to Fairy Tail. Reporting in."

With that, Shirou rolled up his sleeve, raised his arm high, and revealed the Fairy Tail guild mark tattooed on it.

"Wah..." Lucy suddenly burst into tears. "So moving! A reunion after four hundred years! After losing his mind, relying on his longing for Fairy Tail, through four centuries of time, he managed to recover..."

The next moment, Makarov took the lead. Every guild member raised their right hand in unison, making the Fairy Tail sign.

Though it was an utterly unbelievable story, with his level of power, there was no need to lie or make up tales.

And more than that, the gut instinct told Makarov—it was all true.

So, facing a family member, a comrade, who had wandered for four hundred years, there was only one thing to say:

"You've been through a lot. Welcome home!"

Pirate World.

"Now, I can finally set sail."

Though only eight years old, after sharing in the Black Dragon King's power, he had leaped to become the strongest being in the current world.

Moreover, his body was honed to the extreme. Combined with the Water Shadow's water-style ninjutsu boost, his Devil Fruit development had taken a huge leap forward.

He was no longer far from unlocking the ability to freeze time.

"Hyman! Hyman!"

A middle-aged man in butler attire hurried over.

"Young master, your orders."

"Prepare a ship. I'm going to sea."

"May I ask where you intend to go for fun, young master? Would Sabaody Archipelago be acceptable as a destination?"

"No. I'm going on a Four Seas Pilgrimage. Also, bring along all the slaves and servants in our household who have a talent for business."

"This... if you wish to play at business, young master, perhaps we could find some people locally on Sabaody Archipelago..."

Clearly, he was underestimating her.

But then again, that couldn't be helped.

After all, no matter how strong she really was, on the outside she was just an eight-year-old kid.

"Go make the preparations. Three hours should be enough. Or are you going to ground me?"

"How could you say that, young miss? I'll go prepare at once."

Butler Hyman hurried away. Once he was out of Shirou's sight, he immediately pulled out a Den Den Mushi and contacted the Celestial Dragon couple who were out enjoying themselves.

"Master, something terrible has happened. The young miss suddenly announced she wants to embark on the Four Seas Pilgrimage and ordered me to prepare a ship. She wants to set sail in three hours."

"Ohhh...! Eight years, and she's finally willing to leave the house? Hahaha... For eight years, no matter how wonderfully we described the outside world, she never showed the slightest interest and always refused to go out."

In that instant, Butler Hyman sensed trouble—this was clearly heading toward approval.

"Master, the Four Seas Pilgrimage is far too time-consuming. If she truly sets that as her goal, it will take at least a year or more to complete the voyage."

"Haha... children mostly have short-lived enthusiasm. No need to worry, she'll definitely get sick of the boring life at sea. Besides, since she's finally willing to go out, we as parents naturally have to support her. Go make the preparations! Just as she said—set sail in three hours."

"Yes, I'll go prepare immediately."

"Don't worry about safety. I'll have Sora dispatch the Navy to escort you."

"Yes."

At the same time, over by the Red Line, a Fish-Man had climbed bare-handed to the top and was painstakingly trying to sneak in.

As he sat resting on the peak, gazing toward Mary Geoise, his eyes burned with endless rage.

Wait until nightfall to act? No—the blazing fire in his heart had nearly robbed him of reason.

Those bastards who took it for granted that others should be their slaves—they needed to be taught a bloody lesson.

Rescuing slaves from Mary Geoise? That was simply impossible.