Chapter 99: A Game of Flames
The roar of the crowd was a physical force, a wave of sound that shook the very foundations of the Onibus Arena.
"COOL—!!! The audience is absolutely electric! I'm your commentator, Chapati Lola, and I can tell you, in all my years, I have never seen the arena this packed!"
Over one hundred thousand people from every corner of Fiore had gathered, all eager to witness this exciting, unprecedented showdown.
The Fairy Tail members, standing in their designated area, looked on.
"The rules of the competition are as follows!" Chapati's voice boomed. "Both sides will each send out one Mage for a one-on-one battle. There will be a total of six rounds in a wheel battle, or 'gauntlet' format! The winner of a match stays on to fight the next opponent, until one side's six Mages are eliminated first. That side will then be declared the loser!"
He paused for dramatic effect. "And the prize! Besides becoming Fiore's strongest Mage guild, the victor will also take half of this competition's massive ticket sales... a grand total of 20 million Jewel!!!"
"20 million J?!"
Makarov's eyes immediately lit up, his earlier rage replaced by a sudden, greedy gleam. This money was almost enough for him to rebuild his guild, bigger and better than before.
"You brats!" he roared, turning to his team. "Beat them up fiercely for me! We must get that 20 million J!"
"OH, OH, OH, OH, OH, OH!" Natsu, Gray, and Elfman roared back, their fighting spirit now mixed with financial motivation.
"And here we go!" Chapati yelled. "The first match is about to begin! Please, both Mages, step onto the stage!!!"
"I'M GOING—!!!"
Almost as soon as the announcer's words fell, Natsu, in a blur of red and gold, immediately charged out of the tunnel and into the arena.
"Natsu!!!" Erza yelled, annoyed.
"That idiot!" Gray facepalmed. "He's still so impulsive! He should at least see who his opponent is before charging in! He doesn't even have a strategy!"
Gray couldn't stand Natsu's impulsive nature; he never stuck to the plan.
Natsu, however, couldn't hold back. He had wanted to act earlier when provoked by Phantom Lord in the tunnel. His blood was boiling. Now that he could, he naturally rushed out first.
"PHANTOM LORD BASTARDS! GET OUT HERE!!!" Natsu roared furiously, flames erupting from his head as he stood in the center of the stadium, soaking in the cheers and boos.
"Fairy Tail has sent out 'Salamander' Natsu! A fiery start!" Chapati announced. "How will Phantom Lord respond?"
In the Phantom Lord stands, Jose Porla sneered. "A Fire Mage. How predictable." He turned to a man in samurai-like robes. "Totomaru. Go."
"Since he's a Fire Mage, I'll step up!" Totomaru said, bowing.
Jose sat back in his chair, a cold smirk on his lips. "Hit him hard. It doesn't matter if you kill him. I want all these uninformed spectators to understand the enormous, unbridgeable gap between Fairy Tail... and our Phantom Lord."
"Yes, sir!"
"Oh, oh, oh! And Phantom Lord has sent out Totomaru of the Great Fire, one of the legendary Element 4!!!"
A man dressed like a samurai, with a katana at his waist and striking black-and-white hair tied high at the back of his head, walked calmly from the Phantom Lord side into the arena.
"OH, OH, OH, OH, OH, OH!"
The crowd went wild. Compared to Natsu, who was mostly known for destruction, the Element 4 were superstars, famous across the continent.
"They actually sent out a Fire Mage," Gray said, a confident smirk on his face. "It looks like we've definitely won this round!"
The Fairy Tail members, hearing that their opponent had sent out a Fire Mage, all became excited. After all, Natsu was a Fire Dragon Slayer, the bane of all normal Fire Mages.
"It looks like both sides are ready!" Chapati roared.
"Fairy Tail VS Phantom Lord, the first match!"
"BEGIN—!!!"
Clang—!!!
With the sound of a massive gong, the match officially began.
"OH AH AH AH AH AH AH!!!"
As soon as the gong finished, Natsu, with flames swirling around his fists, immediately charged at Totomaru. "Here I come!"
Bang!
"Whoa!!!"
Before Natsu could even reach Totomaru, his own fist, in a blur of motion, slammed directly into his own face.
"Wah wah wah wah wah?!"
Natsu, his eyes spinning, rolled horizontally on the ground several times before stopping, a look of pure confusion on his face.
"Natsu!!!"
The Fairy Tail members were all a bit stunned by what they saw.
"What's going on?! Why is Natsu hitting himself?" Lucy yelled.
"It must be the opponent's trick," Erza said, her eyes narrowed.
"Bastard!!!" Natsu, still unclear about the situation, immediately charged forward again, his fists wrapped in even more powerful flames. "Take th— WHOA!!"
Immediately after, the flames became uncontrollable. They suddenly detached from his fists, wrapped around his body, and began spinning him in circles like a top.
Totomaru, who hadn't moved an inch, seized the opportunity. He rushed over and struck the spinning Natsu with a powerful, reinforced knee strike to the gut.
"Ugh!"
Natsu was sent flying again, crashing into the arena wall.
"I am Totomaru," the samurai said, his voice calm and arrogant. "I manipulate the element of fire. I can control all flames. Whether they are the enemy's or natural flames, they are all mine to command."
"What did you say?!" Natsu growled, getting to his feet. "My flames are mine!!!"
"It's your bad luck to encounter me, Fire Mage," Totomaru said, holding up his hand. "Blue Flames!!!"
He waved his hand, and a stream of eerie, blue flames rushed towards Natsu.
Seeing the flames, Natsu, in a display of pure, defiant instinct, immediately opened his mouth wide and began to eat them heartily.
"He actually..."
"...ate the flames?!"
The audience all gasped at this scene.
"Whoa! So cool! I've never eaten this kind of flame before!" Natsu said, wiping his mouth. Although it was fire, it was cold, and Natsu felt like he was eating ice cream.
"I see," Totomaru said, his arrogant expression faltering for the first time. "So you are the legendary Fire Dragon Slayer, 'Salamander'. It seems we are not compatible."
Seeing Natsu eat flames, Totomaru immediately guessed Natsu's identity. After all, his own guild also had a Dragon Slayer, Gajeel, so he wasn't completely surprised that Natsu could eat flames.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Natsu asked.
"It means fire has no effect on either of us. This is a stalemate."
"Don't jump to conclusions so early," Natsu grinned. "You haven't tasted my flames yet."
"I told you, fire can't hurt me," Totomaru sighed, as if bored. "No matter what magic, as long as it's fire, I can control it."
"Then what about this magic?" Natsu said, taking a deep breath. "Fire Dragon's..."
Natsu puffed out his cheeks. Totomaru, with a bored sigh, raised his hands, preparing to control and dissipate the attack. He knew Natsu's magic perfectly well; wasn't it just magic that spat fire from his mouth?
"It's useless."
"...Saliva!!!"
Natsu, instead of fire, spat a massive, disgusting mouthful of saliva directly onto Totomaru's face.
"GACK! Ptooey!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing his prank succeed, Natsu immediately burst into triumphant laughter.
"How dirty!!! You bastard, you tricked me!!! Orange Flames!!!" Totomaru roared, enraged and wiping the spit from his face.
He released a stream of thick, orange-colored flames from his hand. Natsu, seeing the flames, immediately prepared to enjoy them.
"Fire magic is a piece of cake," Natsu taunted. "What flavor is it this time?"
But as soon as he was surrounded by the flames, a terrible, nauseating stench assailed him from all directions.
"What... what is this!!! It stinks!!!" Natsu wailed, his sensitive Dragon Slayer nose immediately overwhelmed. "Ow ow ow ow!!! My nose! It's going to break!!!"
"Hahahaha!" Totomaru laughed. "Those are incredibly stinky flames! How do you like that?"
"Your taste is terrible!!!"
"You started it!!!"
"Bastard!!! I won't let you get away with this!!!"
This time, Natsu, knowing his fire was useless, clenched his fists and charged straight at him.
"Giving up magic and going straight for hand-to-hand combat?" Totomaru sneered. "In that case, am I, a trained samurai with a sword, at an even greater advantage?"
Totomaru immediately drew his katana and, with superior speed and skill, began to continuously attack Natsu, putting Natsu on the defensive for a while.
"He's getting beaten..." Lucy said, worried.
Seeing Natsu at a disadvantage, Gray couldn't help but say, "Natsu, that idiot! I told him not to be impulsive! Now look what happened!"
Constantly pursued by Totomaru, Natsu, in his frustration, couldn't help but use magic again, igniting his fist for a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
Totomaru scoffed, "What a brainless idiot! You fell for it again!"
He held up his hand, and Natsu's fist, against his own will, began to arc back towards his own face.
"These are my flames!!!" Natsu roared, his eyes wide with fury and concentration. "You're not allowed to touch them casually!!!"
With a massive effort of will, Natsu roared, and the flames that were about to hit him immediately stopped, hovering in the air.
"What?!" Totomaru's eyes widened. "I... I can't control these flames! Did... did this guy learn this during the battle?"
Totomaru was somewhat disbelieving. His control over fire was absolute. Yet his opponent had actually broken free of his control.
"I see," Natsu said, a wide, predatory grin spreading across his face as he forced his fire back onto his fist. "I've figured out your magic. It's not that strong."
"Now... brace yourself."
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