A vortex appeared in Finn's room and Finn came shooting out of it, bouncing aggressively against the floor.
"I need to fix that urgently!" Finn repeated to himself in pain.
Slowly, he got up only to throw himself back down onto his bed, exhausted. He hugged the blankets, wanting to fall asleep, but his bedroom door swung open, revealing Master Makarov.
"You need to fix your arrival, son. Every time you use that magic, it's like a massive beacon lighting up for all magic sensors," Makarov warned calmly as he walked toward Finn, who was still lying down.
Finn just nodded his head before reaching into his clothes and throwing Minato's scroll at him. Makarov caught it by instinct and looked at it with curiosity. Scrolls hadn't been used much recently.
"Minato sent it to you," Finn clarified sleepily.
Makarov raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Couldn't he just speak with me directly?" Makarov asked.
"No, I don't have his soul anymore..." Finn revealed between his teeth.
"What do you mean you don't have his soul anymore?! What happened over there?!" Makarov asked quickly. It wasn't normal at all for a Take Over user to lose a soul out of nowhere, let alone one as powerful as Minato's.
Finn sighed tiredly before sitting up, letting Makarov see his sleepy eyes before he began to briefly explain what had happened in the Shinobi world and Minato's resurrection.
Finn made sure to skip parts like the fact that Death itself had cut a wound into his stomach. However, he spoke openly about the new soul he had obtained and the potential new acquisition of a Lost Magic.
After a few minutes, Makarov was sitting on the bed next to Finn, gently stroking his mustache with a thoughtful expression. The mention of Finn's potential new magic and the creation of the phone would undoubtedly be of great help for communication between worlds, but more importantly, a faster and more accessible way of communication among wizards themselves.
Finn yawned again, and Makarov couldn't help but notice his fatigue.
"Well... we will continue talking about this later. For now, rest while I review this in my office," Makarov said, looking at the scroll in his hand. "Report to the guild tomorrow; several masters sent requests for you while you were away."
Finn nodded slightly before lying down again and falling asleep.
————
Makarov walked back to the guild, holding the scroll behind his back. Upon arriving at the guild, he noticed that several wizards had already left, leaving only a few in the great hall.
Natsu and Gray were fighting in a corner as usual, while Erza and Mirajane were arguing over the table where Laxus was listening to music.
"What do you have there, old man?" Laxus asked without turning to look at him.
"Classified information," Makarov replied without breaking his stride.
"That sounds interesting, father..." another voice echoed in the guild.
From one of the tables in the back, a tall man with black hair looked at Makarov arrogantly.
"Ivan," Makarov whispered to himself.
"Don't you think it's important to share that information with us? Especially with me, your son and future master?" Ivan asked haughtily.
At that moment, Gildarts, who had been drinking at the bar with Macao and Wakaba, turned to look with a serious gaze—something he rarely showed, and even less so when he was drinking.
"The master's business is his alone. We have absolutely no right to pry into it," Gildarts replied.
The atmosphere in the guild suddenly shifted; the tension spiked instantly. Ivan had been acting strange for the past year, and Gildarts had noticed it just as much as Makarov. It was no secret in the guild that Gildarts disliked Ivan.
"As the future guild master, I have the right to know certain information," Ivan replied with an arrogant smirk on his face, but his eyes showed clear disgust toward Gildarts.
Several wizards grimaced at Ivan's words, but none dared to say a word. Everyone believed that, being the current master's son, Ivan had a high probability of inheriting the title.
"That is where you are always wrong, Ivan," Makarov raised his voice firmly. "The position of master is earned, just like the Second and I did. So far, you haven't shown any of the qualities necessary to be a master."
Ivan's expression turned into one of displeasure and resentment. Ivan and Makarov held each other's gaze for a few seconds before Ivan gave up, clicking his tongue, and walked out of the guild under Laxus's watchful eye.
Makarov stood in the same spot for a few seconds, watching Ivan's silhouette disappear through the guild doors, then sighed with exhaustion and continued on his way to his office.
Upon entering his office, Makarov sighed again as he sat down at his desk. He rested his forehead in his hands for a few seconds, thinking about what had happened. After a few moments of reflection, he looked up, noticed several messy books scattered on his desk, and let out an even longer, more tired sigh.
He calmly opened his desk drawers, noticing disorganized documents, open notebooks, books with torn-out pages, and the absence of other books.
"He did it again..." Makarov said to himself sadly.
This wasn't the first time someone had entered his office over the last few years to look through his important documents and information. If it weren't for Natsu—who had tried to break in to look for books about dragons, only to get caught by Makarov and claim he had seen Ivan doing the exact same thing—Makarov would have never imagined it was Ivan invading his office.
"What am I going to do with you, foolish son?" Makarov wondered.
After a few seconds, he shook his head and placed Minato's scroll on his desk, noticing it was sealed with a wax seal stamped with a leaf.
Makarov broke the seal carefully and unrolled the scroll across his desk, beginning to read with interest what Minato might want to tell him.
————
Finn's Room, Morning
The next morning, Finn woke up feeling refreshed. It felt like the first time he had slept properly after countless sleepless nights.
"God, I feel great!" Finn stretched.
(You constantly depleted both chakra and magic during your stay in the Shinobi world, even more so yesterday when you fought the undead, created that strange hammer, and revived Minato. You'd be a freak if you didn't feel exhausted in the slightest,) Kurama clarified in Finn's mind.
"I thought my magic and chakra had replenished after all that" Finn replied, standing up and getting ready to head to the guild.
(I thought I already explained to you that there are various forms of fatigue. Yours is more mental than physical, brat,) Kurama grumbled.
"Right..." Finn replied, dismissing it as he left his room. (I wonder if I'll run into Jellal in the future. We did destroy his little island, after all.)
(From what I saw in the memories inside your mind, that boy is heavily brainwashed into worshipping that wizard, Zeref. I doubt he'll give up; he might join a group of dark wizards or something similar,) Kurama replied.
Finn nodded with a bit of unease. He knew that deep down Jellal was a good person, but that brainwashing was too strong to break with just a beating.
(The boy was brainwashed; they didn't strip away his ability to make decisions. Whatever decision, action, or path he took is his choice alone. His goal to revive this Zeref fellow doesn't require killing innocents) Kurama grumbled, sensing Finn's worry. (But for now we have more important problems to face; it's not worth focusing on him when we have a dragon to deal with.)
Finn raised an eyebrow with curiosity. Until now, he hadn't known Kurama had any interest in Acnologia.
"Are you talking about Acnologia? Why should I worry? The dragon slayers can handle him like they're supposed to do in the future. Besides, you're stronger than him, right?" Finn asked with clear innocence.
Kurama growled at Finn's words. He knew Finn didn't fully comprehend the future that awaited them, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed by his ignorance.
(Don't be so overconfident, brat. In that future, you didn't even exist, but now here you are. Nothing guarantees everything will turn out exactly as you know it. And as for me being stronger...) Kurama paused for a long moment, a pause that Finn didn't like at all. (...Initially, yes, but his ability to absorb energy makes him dangerous... very dangerous for any Tailed Beast.)
Only then did the realization hit Finn.
"I'm a damn walking power-up for him, great..." Finn said to himself before walking into the guild.
As soon as he entered, Finn ducked to avoid a flying chair and walked through the guild's morning rowdiness.
Finn walked toward the bar where Master Makarov was sitting, drinking beer. Next to him, Gildarts was eating breakfast, and beside him, Cana was playing with some cards.
While walking toward the bar, Finn bumped into Ivan, who seemed to be in a hurry for some unknown reason. This was the first time Finn had ever seen him, so he simply ignored him and kept walking.
"Oh Finn, you're back from your mission. How did it go, kid?" Gildarts asked in a lively manner, watching Finn sit down on the master's side.
"Normal. Fights, exploring, met a ugly guy with bushy eyebrows, a pervert, and a prodigy... oh, and I also met an undead guy," Finn replied before ordering a breakfast similar to Gildarts's.
"I see you're enjoying your life to the fullest," Gildarts responded with a laugh.
"Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that you're calmer and better looking than Gildarts, I'd say you're his son. You two spend all your time on missions, and it seems you're taking a liking to disappearing for quite a while just like him," Macao spoke up, arriving at the bar. "Look, you even have the same brown hair!" He ruffled Finn's hair.
At that exact moment, Cana turned to look at Finn with judging eyes, examining Finn and Gildarts from head to toe.
"Hahaha," Makarov laughed. "Finn and Gildarts related? Impossible. Though it wouldn't be surprising with all those women Gildarts has dated."
Gildarts chuckled, embarrassed; his history with women was well known among the guild's elders.
"No way, I'm not that ugly!" Finn responded defensively. "Besides, if anyone here is related to Gildarts, it would be Cana. Their magic might be different, but they feel similar."
"What?!" Cana asked quickly, completely caught off guard by Finn's words.
Makarov looked at Cana and Gildarts for a few seconds, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm... actually, now that I look at them closely," Makarov began, making Cana break out into a nervous sweat.
"Now that you mention it... doesn't Cana look like that beauty you were seeing almost 12 years ago?" Macao asked, looking at Cana.
Gildarts turned to look at Cana, examining her for a few seconds before his eyes widened in disbelief.
"You look a lot like Cornelia," Gildarts said, before a sudden realization hit him. "Wait, how old are you, Cana?"
"Hehehe, oh look at the time! It's so late, I need to go to sleep!" Cana laughed nervously as she quickly grabbed her cards and ran toward the guild doors.
"But it's barely 7 in the morning," Finn whispered.
Gildarts stared at Cana in disbelief before scarfing down his food, chugging his drink in a single gulp, and running out the door right after Cana.
(I guess that moves Cana's plans forward,) Finn thought, glad that nobody was comparing him to Gildarts anymore.