Lucy and the Trimens fought Angel, managing to outmaneuver her celestial spirits and secure victory. Ichiya and Jura battled Midnight, with Jura's overwhelming strength breaking through the illusionist's reality-warping magic. What surprised Naruto most was Erza's mention of Wendy and Carla. They had fought Hoteye, one of the six. Carla had struggled, but Wendy arrived just in time to shift the tide. Together, they had managed to defeat him—before Wendy was pulled away once again, heading toward where she was needed most. "When she arrived in our battle, we were barely holding on," Erza admitted. "Her magic didn't just heal me—it disrupted Cobra's abilities. He could hear everything, but he never accounted for someone who could control the wind itself." Naruto nodded, absorbing everything. His eyes flickered across the camp once more, searching for one person in particular. "…Where's Jura? Lyon and Sherry?" "They left early this morning," Erza said. "They're escorting the five captured members of Oración Seis. Jura was the best option to ensure they wouldn't escape." Naruto frowned slightly. That means one of our strongest fighters is gone. And yet, despite five of the six being defeated… One still remained. Erza met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "We aren't done yet," she said quietly. Naruto clenched his fists and pushed himself up, ignoring the dull ache in his limbs. Somewhere out there, waiting in the shadows—was Brain. The true leader of Oración Seis. And he was still standing. Hours Earlier… As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting elongated shadows across Worth Woodsea, an eerie stillness settled over the battlefield. The allied guilds, exhausted yet victorious, took a moment to catch their breath, unaware that the true menace had yet to reveal itself. Deep within one of Oración Seis's hidden caverns—the same chamber where Jellal Fernandes had once been imprisoned—a sinister energy stirred. A low, menacing chuckle echoed through the darkness, growing into a full-bodied, manic laughter that shattered the silence. Then, without warning, the cavern's debris erupted outward, stone and dust scattering like shattered glass. And from the chaos, he emerged. Brain stood at the center of the destruction, but something was different. His calm, calculated demeanor was gone, replaced by a wild, unhinged expression. His eyes burned with madness, his lips twisting into a deranged grin. "At last…" he hissed, his voice dripping with malice. His hands stretched outward as if welcoming something unseen. "The shackles are broken." A tremor rippled through the air. A presence darker, more oppressive than before began to take hold. "Let the era of annihilation commence." Zero had awakened. For half the day he was unconscious his body fought for balance. Naruto stood in a daze, as if waking from a deep slumber within his mindscape—the vast plane where Kurama once lay dormant. He looked up, his gaze drawn to the two sources of light in the endless sky. Two radiant spheres hovered above, like celestial bodies suspended in eternity. One pulsed with nature energy and ethernano, while the other radiated his chakra, its glow far stronger than before. It had grown. Ever since reforging the Eight Trigrams Seal—now simply named as modified Trigrams Seal—his progress had skyrocketed, surpassing anything he had achieved in months. Yet, despite these leaps forward, he was still far from true self-sufficiency. As he stared at the two spheres, lost in thought, something stirred in the back of his mind. Nirvana. The name hadn't meant much to him earlier, but now, the word rang familiar—like an echo from a distant past. Then it hit him. Roubaul. "Cait Shelter is... an illusion." Roubaul's voice was calm, yet heavy with unspoken weight. He paused, letting the words settle. "I created this guild to give Wendy and Carla a home." Naruto's eyes widened, but he remained silent, sensing there was more. "Long ago, I was part of the Nirvit tribe—the creators of Nirvana magic." His gaze drifted, distant, as if staring through time itself. "But our arrogance... our misuse of that power led to our downfall." A sigh left the old man's lips, carrying centuries of regret. "To atone, I used what remained of my strength to conjure this guild, its members, the village—everything you see." Naruto glanced around. The guild members he had once thought real—every smile, every voice—were nothing more than illusions. And yet, they had felt so alive. "Wendy was just a child," Roubaul continued, his voice tinged with sorrow. "Alone. Frightened. I couldn't bear to tell her the truth... that she was the only human here." Naruto clenched his fists. He understood now. "You wanted to give her a family." "Yes." Roubaul's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "But now... with your arrival, perhaps it's time she learned the truth. That she found a real home among real people." Naruto's breath hitched as realization struck. "Old man!" He bolted upright. Roubaul—he might have the answers he needed. However, before Naruto could take action and head to Cait Shelter, a massive rumbling shook the entirety of Worth Woodsea. The ground trembled beneath his feet, trees swayed violently, and the very air seemed to vibrate with an ominous energy. Something was coming. "Let's move!" the blonde declared, towards the center of the rumbling. Simultaneously, at the periphery of the battlefield, Jellal Fernandes stood, his teal hair catching the dimming light. His face was a canvas of confusion, memories fragmented and elusive since his revival by Wendy Marvell. Yet, amidst the haze, one term echoed with undeniable clarity: Nirvana. "Nirvana..." he murmured, the word laden with a significance he couldn't fully grasp. Instinctively, he clenched his fist, flashes of ancient knowledge surfacing—visions of a formidable magic capable of inverting the very essence of light and darkness. An unwavering conviction took root within him. "This magic... should not exist." A sharp pain throbbed in his temples, but his resolve remained steadfast. Channeling his magic, he began to trace the intricate sigils of the Square of Self-Destruction, a technique embedded deep within his subconscious. "I will end this before it begins," he vowed.
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