Happy's voice was still echoing in the air when Natsu spun around and charged toward the wooden crates.
The boxes were wrapped in layers of coarse cloth. Dark red stains seeped through the edges, resembling dried blood. Natsu tore open the nearest crate just as Gray swung his hand. An ice blade slid along the lid with a sharp crack, slicing clean through the lock.
The moment the lid popped open, a faint blue glow spilled out.
Five flowers lay quietly inside.
Their petals burned like flames, yet radiated an eerie azure light. The stems were tangled with fragments of gray-black ore, and those fragments were being absorbed at a painfully slow pace. Thin threads of light glimmered through the cracks in the stone, like veins pulsing beneath skin.
"These things…" Natsu frowned. "They're eating the ore?"
He reached out instinctively.
Erza raised a hand and stopped him. "Don't touch it directly."
She tapped the crate lightly with the flat of her sword. Metal struck wood with a dull thud. The flowers trembled, the blue glow rippling rhythmically almost like breathing.
Gray crouched down and condensed a wisp of cold air at his fingertip, guiding it toward the flower's core. The instant the chill drew close, one petal slowly unfurled. A pinpoint of blue light formed at its tip, extending straight toward the southeast.
"This isn't random," Gray said, standing up. "It's pointing somewhere."
Happy fluttered down from above. "I thought something felt off. The light's been moving this whole time like it's searching."
Erza's expression darkened. "Someone's using these flowers as markers. The bandits were just transport."
Natsu picked up one of the flowers and studied it carefully. The blue glow washed over his face, and the heat became clearer not the burn of fire, nor the violent pulse of dragon breath, but something deeper. Something familiar.
Like the scent he used to sense when standing beside Igneel as a child.
"This thing can lead us to something," Natsu said quietly. "And whatever it is… it's big."
Right then, Luffy hopped over and reached out to pluck a flower.
Erza stepped sideways and knocked his hand away. "You don't know what it is, and you just grab it?"
"It's just a glowing flower," Luffy grinned. "Looks kinda edible."
"Who eats this?!" Natsu snapped. "This is a clue!"
Gray was already prying open the second crate. Same flowers. Same ore. Same blue glow pointing southeast.
The third. The fourth. The fifth.
All identical.
"Six ships transported these," Gray said, straightening. "But only one batch reached the bandits. That means someone else is waiting for confirmation."
"Seal the remaining flowers," Erza ordered.
Gray nodded. Pressing both hands to the ground, ice spread outward from his feet, encasing four crates completely before dragging them into an ice hollow beneath the shallows. The surface closed seamlessly, leaving no trace behind.
Natsu carefully tucked the flower he held into his coat, pressing the fabric tight. The blue glow seeped faintly through the cloth, its heat steady and persistent.
"The direction's locked in," he said. "Now it's their turn."
Happy suddenly shot upward. "Three o'clock! Sails!"
Everyone looked up.
On the southeastern horizon, six dark silhouettes were racing toward them. The ships were heavily modified raised decks, dense cannon emplacements. The flagship flew a one-eyed skull banner, its figurehead shaped like a mechanical raven clutching a sword.
"These aren't ordinary pirates," Gray muttered.
Erza switched into Adamantine Armor, her sword already drawn. "Good. They picked the wrong timing."
The fleet halted five hundred meters from the reef, fanning out into formation. The flagship's cannons began charging, white light gathering at the muzzles. A signal flare shot skyward, bursting into red smoke.
Then a broadcast crackled to life, the voice cold and sharp.
"Hand over the Blue-Flame Flowers, and you'll be spared."
Natsu sneered. "Bandits down, and now another group shows up? You think this is your backyard?"
Luffy jumped onto the highest rock, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, "Hey! The flowers are ours! Want 'em? Go find your own!"
The broadcast fell silent for two seconds, then resumed.
"Final warning. You have three minutes. Refuse, and we open fire."
"They know the flowers' name" Erza said sharply. "Same organization. Not just the bandits' backers."
Gray was already expanding the ice around the reef. The frozen surface pushed outward, forming an arcing shield thick enough to withstand artillery.
"They can't be allowed to land," Erza commanded. "If they approach, drive them back."
Happy took off. "I'll watch their movements from above!"
"Wait." Erza removed a small metal piece from her belt and handed it to him. "Take this. Fly into the upper air currents and let the wind spin it once."
Happy nodded and shot skyward. The metal fragment was part of a guild emblem, etched with magical circuits. Spun in high-altitude airflow, it would briefly activate a positioning signal leaving behind an invisible trail.
"You're leaving yourself an escape route?" Gray asked.
"A choice," Erza replied, eyes on the sky. "We don't have to fight now."
Natsu clenched his fist, flames flaring in his palm. "I don't want to wait."
"I know," Erza said, turning to him. "But if you fight, make it worth it. Charge now and they might just blow their ships then the trail ends."
Natsu gritted his teeth, fist tightening. The flames didn't die down, they burned brighter.
Luffy rolled his shoulders. "Then what? Let them shoot first and smash their flagship?"
"No," Erza said calmly. "They want the flowers, not a war. If we attack first, we lose control of the situation."
Gray gave a cold smile. "So you want them to show their hand."
"Exactly."
The broadcast sounded again. "Thirty seconds. This is your last chance."
Natsu snorted. "A chance? All I see is free targets."
He didn't move, but flames crawled along the rocks at his feet, scorching them black. Luffy stood beside him, feet set apart, rubber arms hanging loose ready to stretch at any moment.
Erza stood half a step behind them, sword tip resting on the ground, armor reflecting cold sunlight. Her gaze never left the flagship's command deck.
A cloaked man stood there, holding a monocular, perfectly still.
Gray's ice continued advancing, already reaching three hundred meters. The sea froze faster and faster, the ice curling upward into natural defensive walls.
Happy's voice echoed from above. "They're moving! Three ships on the left are deploying boats! Two on the right are lining up for a simultaneous cannon volley! The flagship hasn't moved!"
"A feint," Erza said instantly. "They want to force us to split."
"Then let them come," Gray replied, slamming his hands together. The ice wall surged upward, its crest forming rows of razor-sharp spikes.
Natsu suddenly spoke. "The flower's still pointing."
Everyone froze.
He pressed a hand to his chest. "The heat's stronger than before. Something in the southeast… just woke up."
Erza's eyes sharpened. "A ruin responding?"
"More than that." Natsu looked up, flames reflecting in his eyes. "It's waiting for us."
The broadcast began counting down again. "Ten. Nine. Eight "
"They won't wait for zero," Erza murmured. "They'll fire at seven."
Gray spread his arms, cold gathering in his palms.
Luffy grinned. "Good. Let 'em shoot."
Natsu's flames surged up his arms. "That's what I've been waiting for."
At five
The flagship's cannons flared blinding white.
At the same instant, Erza raised her sword, pointing skyward.
Gray's ice wall exploded outward, countless ice spears blasting into the air to meet the incoming shells.
Luffy's right arm snapped forward, fist tearing through the air as it smashed toward the nearest warship.
Natsu drew in a deep breath, his chest heaving as the power within him surged.
Inside his coat, the Blue-Flame Flower suddenly began to tremble.
Every petal unfurled at once.
A column of blue light shot straight into the clouds
a beacon piercing the sky.