Fairy Tail's Guild Hall.
Kenichi, Erza, Wendy, and the other members of Fairy Tail were gathered together.
At the front, Makarov wore a complicated expression.
Through the intelligence that Mest had gathered from the Magic Council, Makarov knew that the Alvarez Empire on the Western Continent was far more terrifying than imagined.
It was a super empire that had merged hundreds, even thousands, of mage guilds.
Not only did it possess millions of soldiers, but it also had numerous mages with terrifying strength.
In Makarov's view, if such a fearsome super empire attacked, Fairy Tail stood no chance of winning.
After some thought, Makarov decided to go to the Western Continent alone to negotiate with the Emperor of the Alvarez Empire, hoping to save everyone in the guild this way.
But what Makarov hadn't expected was that Kenichi would somehow learn of his plan.
Faced with the stares of Kenichi, Erza, and the others, Makarov found himself in a difficult position… telling the truth didn't seem right, but neither did keeping it a secret.
After all, this matter involved Fairy Tail's highest secret, Lumen Histoire.
"Master, what exactly is going on?" Erza first glanced at Kenichi, then stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, looking at Makarov as she asked.
Gray and the others had naturally also sensed something was wrong. With Erza taking the lead, the other members also spoke up.
"Master, are you facing some kind of difficulty?"
"Tell us, and we'll solve it together!"
"That's right! We're all comrades! What matter could possibly require dissolving the guild to solve?"
"The guild was founded by the First Master and the others! It can't be dissolved!"
The First Master!
Hearing this name, Makarov's pupils slightly dilated, then flickered uncertainly.
After a long time, he slowly raised his head and looked at everyone.
At this point, Macao and the others very consciously quieted down, waiting for Makarov to speak.
"This matter starts from a long time ago..."
Then, under everyone's gaze, Makarov explained everything about Mest erasing his own memories to infiltrate the Magic Council as a spy.
"Just now, I received intelligence from Mest regarding the Alvarez Empire on the Western Continent!"
"It is a super empire that has amalgamated hundreds of mage guilds!"
When they heard Makarov say that the Alvarez Empire had amalgamated hundreds of mage guilds, Macao and the others were all astonished.
"Amalgamating hundreds of mage guilds... that's truly terrifying!"
"But Guild Master, what does this Alvarez Empire have to do with dissolving our guild?" Wakaba, puffing on his pipe, said with narrowed eyes.
Makarov glanced at Wakaba, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Due to a certain reason, this Alvarez Empire might target our guild!"
Whoosh-
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
As soon as Makarov said this, everyone except Kenichi… Erza, Wendy, and all the rest, had their expressions change dramatically.
"Hey, hey, is that for real? A super empire like that is going to target our guild?"
"Is this the reason you want to dissolve the guild, Master?"
Just as everyone was reeling from the shock, a very loud voice suddenly rang out in the hall.
"If that's the reason for dissolving the guild, I disagree!"
Hearing this sudden voice, everyone looked towards the source.
They saw Natsu, who had originally left the guild, standing panting at the guild entrance.
"Natsu?!" Looking at Natsu, Gray's eyes widened slightly.
After all, not long ago, Natsu had left the guild early, feeling downcast about the matter with Igneel.
'Why had Natsu suddenly returned?'
Just as Gray was feeling puzzled, he noticed Kenichi looking at Natsu with a faint smile on his face.
'Did Kenichi use magic to make Natsu come back?'
"Master, if that whatever Empire attacks, we just need to crush them! Just like we did with Phantom Lord and Grimoire Heart back in the day!" Natsu, who had been feeling low, immediately turned back after learning from Kenichi's telepathic message that Makarov intended to dissolve the guild.
When he heard Makarov say the reason for dissolving the guild was because of the Alvarez Empire, Natsu had already forgotten about Igneel, and his heart was now filled only with anger...
Hearing Natsu's words, Makarov said solemnly, "This enemy is completely different from Phantom Lord and Grimoire Heart. It's on a whole other level. It has amalgamated hundreds of mage guil..."
Before Makarov could finish, Natsu lifted his arm, revealing the Fairy Tail's mark on his shoulder, and said with a grin, "If we all work together, we'll definitely win somehow!"
If it were the Natsu of old, he would have said these words full of vigor and fighting spirit.
But the Natsu before them now said these words in a soft, gentle voice.
Seeing the expression on Natsu's face and hearing his tone, Kenichi, Erza, Gray, and the others all felt a pang of heartache.
For Natsu, Igneel was the parent who raised him in his childhood, and the Fairy Tail Guild was the family he grew up in.
Not long ago, he had lost Igneel, that parent.
And now, if the guild were dissolved, he would lose the family he grew up in.
It was precisely because they thought of this that Kenichi, Erza, and the others felt that heartache.
Just as everyone fell silent, Kenichi turned to look at the conflicted Makarov and said:
"Master, in Future Lucy's world, we dealt with tens of thousands of dragons. If the Alvarez Empire comes, we'll just crush them!"
Once Kenichi said this, Macao and the other Fairy Tail's members remembered that they had someone as exceptionally terrifying as Kenichi in their guild.
Immediately, they too felt encouraged, their faces filled with fighting spirit.
"That's right! Kenichi can even instantly kill dragons!"
"No matter how strong the Alvarez Empire is, they're no match for us!"
"Let's fight! All of us together!"
Hearing everyone's words and seeing the fighting spirit on their faces, Makarov was also affected.
At this moment, he was already beginning to feel some regret.
Regret for having brought up the idea of dissolving the guild earlier.
'That's right... Everyone has grown up. They are no longer the little ones who needed my protection back then!'
A smile appeared on Makarov's aged face, and then he said with a firm expression, "Then let's fight!"