Chapter 97: Yellow Flash
After confirming the ten-pull, Ren began to stare intently at the glowing blue system screen, his heart thumping in his chest.
No matter how many times he had drawn, he still got nervous when it was time for a draw. This was different. This wasn't just for fun; this was for the looming war with Phantom Lord. He needed this pull to be good. He was banking on Cana's divination and Mira's "goddess blessing" from the previous night.
And he hadn't drawn in a long time, so he felt a bit rusty.
The classic lottery animation reappeared.
On the panel screen, streaks of starlight began to converge in the starry sky; a total of ten stars. Soon, these ten stars would transform into various colored orbs falling from the sky, and these colors represented the level of each card.
Ren's eyes were locked on the screen.
Blue... white... green... blue...
"Junk... junk... more junk..."
Green... blue... white...
"Trash... trash... trash..."
One by one, low-level stars fell like meteors, but Ren paid them no mind. They were all just experience fodder. The focus was still on the ninth star.
The ninth star determined the lower limit of the tenth star. If it was purple, the tenth star would be at least purple.
Although Ren liked his gold, legendary characters, purple characters were actually quite good. For example, his Ace Take Over was often more convenient and practical to use than his gold-tier forms, as the gold characters consumed a terrifying amount of magic.
However, these words were all based on the premise of not getting a gold. As the saying goes, who would want purple if they could get gold?
Even if a gold character was "useless" in combat, recycling it gave much more experience than recycling a purple one!
'Come on... purple, purple, purple...'
The ninth star flew forward. It was... Blue.
Seeing that the ninth star was blue, Ren's heart sank. "Damn it."
He had to gamble on the last card again. That was a bit too exciting, a bit too stressful, for him. All his hopes were now on a single, final pull.
"Gold! Gold! Gold! Give me something good!" he whispered, his hands clenched.
Whoosh—!
A light, so brilliant it completely overpowered the blue glow of the system panel, lit up from the horizon. It fell like a meteor, and it wasn't blue, or white, or purple.
It was GOLD.
"It's gold—!"
Ren shouted excitedly, his voice echoing through the quiet house, completely forgetting that there were other people sleeping just rooms away.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
His door burst open.
"What's wrong?! Ren? Enemy attack?!"
Natsu, his fists already wreathed in flames, Gray, shirtless and in an Ice-Make stance, and Erza, already requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor, all rushed over, their expressions a mix of confusion and battle-readiness.
Ren immediately felt a bit awkward, scrambling to hide the glowing panel (which was invisible to them anyway). "No! It's nothing! I was just... having a nightmare. A really good nightmare. Everyone go back to sleep!"
"A... good nightmare?" Lucy asked, poking her head out of the girls' room, looking suspicious. "You shouted 'it's gold'..."
"I... I dreamed I found gold! A lot of it!" Ren lied, immediately shaking his head. "I'm really fine! Go back to sleep! We have a big day in three days!"
Seeing that he was fine, and not under attack, the others looked at him strangely. Natsu looked disappointed that there was no fight, and Erza gave him a final, critical, "don't-waste-our-time" glare before they all reluctantly returned to their rooms to rest.
Ren let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the system panel. The first nine cards had already been flipped open one by one, all of them junk.
And then, the last golden character card turned over.
"It's him!!"
Because of the previous experience, Ren deliberately lowered his voice this time, his shout coming out as a choked, ecstatic whisper.
But no matter how much he lowered his voice, he couldn't hide the pure, unadulterated shock in Ren's heart.
The person on the card had spiky, sun-yellow hair and sharp, kind blue eyes. He had a handsome, gentle face. He was wearing the standard blue Konoha ninja uniform, a green chūnin flak vest, and, draped over it all, a long white haori with red flame patterns on the bottom.
On the back of the robe were four large, bold kanji: 'Fourth Hokage' (Yondaime Hokage).
That's right!
The one Ren drew this time was the legendary, perfect ninja from the Naruto world. The man known as the 'Yellow Flash'.
Minato Namikaze.
[Akarin's Note: Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, is a legendary ninja from the anime/manga Naruto. He is known for his incredible, unmatched speed via his original space-time jutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu), his intelligence, and his creation of the Rasengan.]
"I hit the jackpot! I really hit the jackpot!"
Ren was extremely excited. Minato Namikaze was one of Ren's favorite characters when he watched Naruto.
A generous and kind person. A sunny, handsome, and gentle man... exactly like him, Ren thought with a grin.
Of course, besides these traits, the Fourth Hokage's strength was also very powerful. His signature Flying Thunder God Technique allowed him to soar freely, instantly, through space-time.
This was a game-changer. Whitebeard was raw, destructive power. Yoriichi was perfect, untouchable skill. Toji was pure, anti-magic instinct.
But Minato... Minato was absolute, unbeatable speed and utility.
Ren remembered Jiraiya's evaluation of the Fourth Hokage: 'Compared to the Fourth Hokage, everyone else pales in comparison.'
Later, the Fourth Hokage's performance in the anime during the Great Ninja War, even as a reanimation, had fully lived up to Jiraiya's praise.
From the perspective of pure, natural talent alone, throughout the entire Naruto anime, the only one who could rival the Fourth Hokage was Itachi Uchiha.
As for Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha... those guys were reincarnations of gods. They were already at a non-human level.
Ren now wanted, more than anything, to receive the Fourth Hokage and really experience the feeling of soaring freely through space-time.
However, after thinking about it carefully, he held back.
'No... not now,' he thought, his excitement cooling into strategic thought. 'The reception of a Gold-tier character always releases a massive, uncontrollable wave of magic power. Erza, Gray, and Natsu are in the next rooms. Laxus is probably still in the guild hall. They would all feel it. It would attract too much attention. This... this is a trump card. One that nobody can know about until I use it.'
He would wait. He would wait until no one was around to try it out properly.
At this moment, the system, which had been quietly observing, couldn't help but feel a little speechless. 'Could this kid really be having an affair with Lady Luck? A ten-pull, which barely has a one-in-ten-thousand chance of getting gold, is always so easily drawn by this kid? Not only did he draw it, but he also drew an extremely powerful, top-tier character among the gold character cards. This is too unscientific...'
Magic Council Headquarters, Era
Bang!
"Nonsense! This is simply nonsense!"
Councilor Orga slammed the new edition of Weekly Sorcerer on the table, the headline "FAIRY TAIL CHALLENGES PHANTOM LORD" facing up. He was furious. "A 'friendly spar'? They're spitting on us! They're making a mockery of the Council's authority!"
Councilor Siegrain chuckled, his calm, manipulative demeanor the perfect opposite of Orga's rage. "What's so nonsensical about it, Councilor? I think this method is very good. Very clever. They are resolving their dispute through a sanctioned, public competition. It avoids a full-scale, kingdom-wide guild war, which would cause far more casualties and property damage. There seems to be no better way."
Orga slammed the table again. "It's just finding a way around the rule against guild disputes! It's a blatant loophole!"
Siegrain spread his hands. "Then what do you suggest we do? Let's be practical. This incident was caused by Phantom Lord first... when they attacked the Fairy Tail Guild. If Fairy Tail doesn't receive a satisfactory explanation, it might lead to more serious, unsanctioned problems later."
"Explanation? What explanation?!" Orga roared. "Fairy Tail has caused us so much trouble! I haven't even asked them for an explanation about the Eisenwald incident, or the destruction of the Galuna Island ruins!"
"Exactly!" Councilor Org, another hard-liner, agreed. "If you ask me, a Guild like Fairy Tail, which flaunts our rules at every turn, should be forcibly disbanded!"
"Hmm..." A new, older voice spoke up. It was Councilor Yajima, Makarov's old friend. "Although Fairy Tail causes a lot of trouble, they also make significant contributions. They are, in this instance, the victims. Forcibly disbanding them... that might lead to even greater problems."
He looked at Orga and Org. "Ask yourselves: a Fairy Tail with restraints, or a Fairy Tail without any scruples? Which one would you choose?"
"Fairy Tail is not just an ordinary Guild," Siegrain added, his smile thin.
"..."
Everyone in the chamber suddenly remembered the reports. They remembered the name that was now inextricably linked with Fairy Tail: 'Tyrant'. They remembered the reports from Galuna Island... a mountain split in half. The sea divided.
If these talented, monstrous individuals—Erza Scarlet, the 'Tyrant' Ren, and even the new Dragon Slayer—were pushed out, cut loose, and, in their anger, joined a Dark Guild... the threat could be even greater than the Balam Alliance.
At this moment, Councilor Crawford Seam, the eldest member, spoke. "Mages sparring with each other is a time-honored means of improving strength. This time, Fairy Tail has a motive for revenge, but... their proposal is, as Councilor Siegrain said, technically within the rules. As for Phantom Lord... after this duel ends, we will discuss their punishment for the initial, unprovoked attack."
Hearing this, Siegrain breathed a slight, almost invisible sigh of relief. Fairy Tail was too prone to causing trouble, but this time, their recklessness was playing perfectly into his real plans.
Three days passed in a flash.
[Akarin Note:
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