Chapter 60:

The water sphere that stood in the air was a truly an amazing sight to see. The crowd that gathered around the arena watched in anticipation as each guild choose theirs participates for the games.

Chapati, with new wig again, was sitting on the edge of his chair as he spoke "The adrenaline is rising down in the arena. Your guess how will Naval Battle finish is as good as mine! What are your thoughts on this, Mr. Yajima?"

Yajima smiled as he gazed down raising his bushy eyebrows for a moment to get a better look "This will be quite interesting to watch, I'm sure in that. That being said... GO FAIRY TAIL!"

The guest of the fourth day, Rabian glanced at Yajima slightly confused before he spoke"If I may interject; my money is on Sabertooth"

Yajima shot a fierce glare at the man who ignored it as he continued "They sent Lady Minerva today. Other guilds don't stand a chance"

"You seem awfully sure in that, Mr. Rabian."Chapati spoke up "You fail to notice that every guild sent their best to participate"

Yajima shrugged "They sent their best when they saw who Fairy tail sent"

Down in the arena, Jellal smirked when he heard Yajima say that. ''That guy's definitely a Fairy tail mage''

Wendy looked at Jellal curiously where she stood beside him ''He was a Fairy tail mage?''

Jellal chuckled and nodded.

''Of course, he is supporting Fairy tail then'' Rocker muttered.

Risley shrugged ''So? I think that's nice of him''

Jenny huffed "They are talking about Fairy tail and Sabertooth like they are the only guilds left"

"Jealous?" Minerva taunted ''You don't have to be. The crowd is after all just stating the obvious. Sabertooth is the best''

Jenny huffed "Why you!"

''You don't have to fight over this'' Wendy spoke beside them trying to calm down the blonde-haired woman. ''Everyone is giving their best''

Risley nodded ''Yea, the kid's right''

She sent the small dragon slayer a grin that Wendy quickly returned with a smile of her own.

''This is a competition. Giving your best is a must'' Chelia said with a smile.

"Now, folks"Chapati spoke again "The rules of Naval Battle are simple. The player who leaves the water sphere will lose and is not allowed to return to the game. The last person in the sphere will be the victor. When only two mages are left in the sphere a special five-minute rule will be applied. The person that leaves the water sphere during that time will be given the least points."

"Enter!" Chapati roared, the crowd joining him "The Naval Battle has begun!"

The competitors jumped in the water sphere not wasting another moment.

''I guess I will be the one to start it this time! I will show you that you should not underestimate Blue Pegasus!'' Jenny yelled as she rushed at Wendy who looked at the girl in shock but she quickly regained her bearings just in time to block Jenny's kick that was aimed at her head.

''I will not loose!'' Wendy said as she looked at the older girl, a magic circle appearing beneath her as she outstretched her hands and yelled ''Sky dragon's heavenly spin''

Jenny's eyes widened in surprise as the sphere of air formed around the dragon slayer. The blond-haired mage got barely enough time to push herself back before Wendy's defense formed. Without a doubt, the speed of the wind that formed was enough to do some serious damage.

Wendy stopped spinning, her mouth already filled with air before she even completely stopped. ''Sky dragon's roar!''

The tornado that emerged from her mouth surprised even Jellal by its size. Jenny barely managed to twist her body to avoid the worst of the attack but the sheer force of it caught her along with Risley that was behind her.

Both girls barely managed to avoid getting thrown out as the tornado erupted from the surface.

''Wendy does not seem to want waste any time in eliminating her competition'' Chapati said ''Isn't she adorable?!''

Wendy blanched for a moment when she heard that comment. She quickly regained her bearings when she saw Chelia moving at her surprisingly fast.

''I hope I didn't hurt you yesterday'' Chelia said, genuinely concerned, with mall smile as she launched at the girl with a kick.

Wendy smiled somewhats shyly ''No, no''

Chelia twisted her body again, another kick aimed at Wendy's head but the young dragon slayer caught her leg by the ankle. Chelia quickly followed up twisting her body again at an impossible angle, her other knee going toward Wendy's stomach but Wendy let go of her angle and pushed herself back with a burst of her magic.

Seeing Wendy occupied Jenny turned toward Rocker who was looking at two girls, maybe waiting for an opportunity to strike.

''No guys allowed'' Jenny yelled as she kicked the Quatro Puppy member out of the water much to shock and disappointment of his teammates.

Jellal chuckled behind her ''That means you'll try to kick me out as well?''

Jenny whirled around only to come face to face with Jellal outstretched hand, his palm facing her face, purple magical circle in front.

''Darkness magic: Ghost Fireworks'' Jellal whispered as several ghost shaped shadows exited the circle.

One warped around Jenny who was in the middle of a surprised scream, the ghost quickly covering her mouth and binding her hands to her body as the rest of them pushed her toward the edge.

''Don't forget that I'm still here!'' Risley yelled, her chubby frame gone as the woman moved toward Jellal her hand cocked back ready to strike.

Jellal kept his hand positioned toward Jenny who was struggling against the iron grip of the ghosts around her while twisting the rest of his body to the side avoiding the hit by a mere inch.

Risley didn't expect him to dodge so quickly, her arm overextended.

Jellal moved back to his original position that was occupied by the Mermaid Heel member, his knee raised to strike meeting his surprised mark.

Before the woman could be sent flying out of his reach he grabbed her wrist and released the spell around Jenny as the woman was dragged out, brought the elbow of his until now outstretched hand in the base of Risley's neck making the woman's vision spinning for a moment.

Before the woman could even regain her bearings Jellal steeled his grip on her wrist and spun around before letting go, sending the woman flying at the two girls that were still locked in the conflict.

Wendy dodged another magic induced fist from Chelia and quickly followed it with her own attack, raising her leg and warping it with the wind she yelled ''Sky dragon's claw!''

The pink haired girl raised her hands to block the kick that sent her back trough the water several meters.

''Not bad'' Chelia said ''But then again I know you are strong. You proved it yesterday''

Wendy smirked ''I learned from the best''

Chelia gained a thoughtful expression as she looked at the dragon slayer for a moment ''You said something like that before. Who was your teacher?''

Wendy's smirk widened as she spun around her hands warping in the wind as she rushed at Chelia who braced herself for the attack. ''Ever heard of Natsu Souleater?''

Chelia's eyes widened as the girl rushed at her. Like hell, she hasn't. She saw what he did yesterday to that guild. Everyone saw it. But Wendy didn't seem as bloodthirsty as her teacher.

''Sky dragon's Crushing fang'' Wendy swiped her fingers at her target that warped her own hands in black wind blocking the most of the attack.

Their fight was interrupted by one Risley Law that crashed in Chelia almost taking the pink-haired girl out with her but the Lamia Scale mage barely managed to stop herself and the Mermaid heel competitor.

Wendy watched this with some confusion before she saw golden flesh of Meteor, Jellal soon on his opponent that managed to get her head back together and by a mere inch evaded a kick that would've without a doubt sent her flying out.

Chelia looked at Jellal and glared, obviously not happy for interrupting their fight.

''Sky god's BELLOW'' she screamed at him, a torrent of black wind catching the blue-haired man off guard by the share size of it.

Unfortunately for Lamia Scale mage the Meteor allowed Jellal to escape the eye of the storm and quickly reappear behind her, his leg already raised to strike but was stopped when Risley came at him from the side, stopping his leg with her forearm.

''Never underestimate chubby''

Jellal smirked ''Wouldn't dream of it''

With that said Jellal swung his hands and moved up just as from behind him Wendy's wing attack sent Risley flying out of the sphere.

Wendy looked frustrated with herself when she realized her target avoided her attack.

Chelia didn't wait for Jellal to start another attack as she closed in on him, ready to strike.

''It seems Chelia and Wendy are double-teaming on Jellal. A smart idea considering Mr. Fernanders went toe-to-toe with one of the ten wizard saints.'' Chapati commented again.

Wendy followed Chelia's attack ignoring the comment.

Jellal found himself dodging and ducking under a barrage of wind attacks as both girls turned towards him.

Chelia moved closer to him once more, determined to get in close combat with him, something that she would realize quite soon was a big mistake as Jellal moved too quickly for her to do more than a glancing blow.

Then much to her surprise, Jellal twisted his body above hers, his hand on her shoulder, as he avoided another Wendy's large distance attack.

Before he let go of her shoulder the Fairy tail mage smirked and said ''Bind Snake''

From his hand sprung red snake that circled around her skin like a tattoo. The god slayer stayed frozen in the spot completely shocked at her inability to move even so much as her face muscle, the snake moving along her jaw and up to her forehead.

Before she could even think what to do Jellal spun around and delivered a kick to her stomach sending her flying out of the ring with no way to stop herself.

''And now it's only Fairy tail and Sabertooth. Lady Minerva has yet to make a move''

From Sabertooth box Sting was shouting ''That's our Lady for ya! She was preserving her magic while those weaklings took each other out!''

Minerva smirked as she looked the two. Her superior smirk making both mages quite irritated.

Wendy though felt more than a bit afraid, not that she showed it. She was left with two mages that were way stronger than she and she definitely didn't like the sound of that.

Minerva extended her hand, the palm glowing with magic. ''How about we get rid of the rest of the trash''

A small bubble of magic formed beside Wendy and Jellal's eyes widened, immediately recognizing the magic.

''Shit'' was the only thing he could say as the bubble exploded releasing insufferable heat that made the water around them boil while sending them flying to the side.

As Wendy stopped her spinning she looked up toward the woman, one hand sporting burn marks while the other hold it.

''You okay?'' Jellal asked her, he himself sporting a slight burn on the right side of his face but chose to ignore it as he locked his eyes on a woman above that laughed sinisterly.

''Yea'' Wendy replied fighting back a wince.

''You should've just jumped out when you realized I was the one you will fight'' Minerva gloated as her hand lit in the magic again, this time behind Wendy.

Jellal, making his mind in a second grabbed Wendy's wrist and flung her up, away from the bubble that exploded right in his face.

The heat of it was even greater than that of the previous one but it would be little more than an annoyance in a fight had it not been for the fact that Jellal was already at the edge of the water prison, the explosion sending him out.

''And Jellal is out. You know what that means! Five minutes rule is now active!'' Chapati spoke.

Jellal landed harshly on the ground but didn't so much as a twitch from his own pain as he looked up Wendy was staring at him in shock.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized what he had just done. He now had no way of protecting the girl from that disgusting woman who was laughing again.

''He made a big mistake leaving you here, girl'' Minerva said as she looked at the blue-haired girl in front of her.

Wendy stared back at her in horror that was carefully hidden. She couldn't lose now! Not after everything her guild fought for!

But that didn't change the fact she was weaker than the woman in front of her.

''I will not give up'' Wendy stated as she moved to a stance Natsu showed her once. It was different than the one she usually used and preferred but it was also more violent, more unpredictable. One hand in front of her while the other at her side, her legs positioned opposite to her hands while her back hunched forward to increase the speed.

''Don't say I didn't warn you, brat'' Minerva hissed, looking angry at the determination the other girl showed.

Her hands started glowing again, this time two bubbles appearing around Wendy, both sending her back with more than enough force to sent her head spinning.

Before the dragon slayer could fly out of the water prison she managed to push magic into her hands and with a burst of her magic sent her small body at Minerva, an incantation on her lips but never spoken as another bubble appeared in front of her, sending her to the side.

''This is brutal. Can't someone stop this?!'' Chapati whispered horrified as he watched the dark-haired woman toy with the dragon slayer who managed to miraculously hold herself in the sphere every time she was close to the edge.

On stands Fairy tail mages were furious and that was an understatement. ''They will pay for this'' Makarov hissed as he looked at Sabertooth master who sat among the regular crowd, the old face of Jiemma twisted in a sick satisfied smirk and for a brief moment their eyes met.

''He wants this'' Makarov breathed in shock.

''What?'' Macao turned toward him in shock. ''What are you talking about master?''

''Master Jiemma... he – he's supporting that woman to do that. He wants her to do that''

Annie gasped near Makarov as she looked wide-eyed at Wendy, a red smudge spreading trough the water around her.

The young girl's eyes moved toward Natsu for a brief moment, fearing what she will see.

And she was right to be afraid.

Natsu was standing in his box, gripping the railings to the point the stone was cracked and his fists were bleeding. Laxus stood beside him, watching the dancing magic around the dragon with worry evident on his face.

Ultear hugged his other arm, her eyes wide but she refused to let go, afraid that Natsu will jump down and do something that he will regret later.

Meredy stood behind them, her hands covering her mouths, her eyes wide in terror.

Arthur was beside Laxus, looking ready to kill someone himself.

Natsu was staring at the water sphere with such intensity it was surprising Minerva didn't catch on fire already.

His magic spiked in intensity every few seconds, only his sheer will power controlled him from letting it all out. His bloody red eyes were narrowed in barely restrained fury.

He knew if he did something now he will do more damage than help.

''Do you give up girl?'' Minerva questioned with a smirk as she eyed the girl that was bleeding from the gash above her right eye.

''Never'' Wendy breathed out, her breaths heavy. ''I will not let my friends down. Not now, not ever. They fought so hard to come where we are today. They didn't stop when they thought we were dead! They continued fighting every single day! My pain is nothing compared to theirs!''

Her voice was strained from the pain and shouting but she continued nevertheless.

''I'm maybe not strong enough to defeat you! But I'm sure as hell not gonna let my guild down! I will fight as long as I have my two arms and legs! If you cut off my arms I will kick you! If you cut off my legs I'll bite you! If you cut off my head my spirit will suffocate you! So NO. I. WILL. NEVER. GIVE. UP!''

Minerva looked at the girl, her face falling impassive as she watched the girl struggling to breathe.

''Such resolve...'' Rabian spoke in shock.

''Why are they just standing there?'' Chapati questioned as he looked at the clock. Only ten seconds until the five-minute rule wears off.

Ten..

Nine..

Eight..

Minerva's face slowly moved from impassive to furious.

''Five minutes are up!'' Chapati yelled as the gong echoed around them, his voice relieved beyond belief. ''Now all that's left is ranking them''

''You think you can challenge Sabertooth?'' Minerva's voice was quiet but Wendy heard it clear as day and it sends chills down her spine.

''I will teach you some manners, brat!'' Minerva hissed as her hands lit in magic again.

Wendy's eyes widened in horror as the bubble exploded in front of her sending her toward the edge but before she could do much else she disappeared much to the shock of the crowd only to reappear in front of Minerva who drives a knee in her stomach before spinning around and kicking her in the neck sending her spiraling away.

Another explosion resonated stopping her body from falling out.

''Dear gods! Someone stop this!'' Chapati yelled.

Kabo ran in the arena, panicked ''Stop the fight! It's over!''

Minerva scoffed as she held Wendy's body out of the sphere by her hair. The moment she let her go Natsu appeared beneath catching her, careful not to hurt her further.

Minerva slowly made her way down and looked at the dragon who knelt on the ground and pushed Wendy's head against his chest.

The silence was deafening as the crowd stared at the scene below them in shock. Wendy's team quickly making their way down while Natsu's stayed up, unsure what to do.

Jellal quickly made his way to the two and looked at the Wendy, his eyes wide with horror and guilt ''I am so sorry... I shouldn't have let this happen''

''It's not your fault'' Natsu whispered as he removed a stray strand of hair from Wendy's forehead, minding the gash above her eye.

''Could you hold her for a moment'' Natsu asked as he carefully scooped her up in Jellal's hands who nodded dumbly, put out by the sudden question.

''Don't cry, Natsu'' Minerva's voice carried to them ''She'll live''

''Sabertooth'' Erza and Gray hissed simultaneously as their magic spiked up, the two with the rest of their teammates beside them, the five standing in front of Natsu and Jellal.

''You've made enemies of the worst possible guild to piss off'' Erza growled furiously.

''You will pay for this'' Gajeel cracked his knuckles, his hands turning silver, the armor spreading over them.

An orb raised over Ultear's hand as she moved toward Minerva only for Sting and Rogue to stand in front of her ''Our Lady doesn't need you stinking the air around her'' Sting replied.

''Why you!'' Grey moved forward ready to beat the guy to next week but Rufus grabbed his arm, a sickening smile on his lips ''Now now... We don't want any trouble''

''You should've thought about that before your Lady Bitch went too far'' Mira spat with vigor.

Orga cracked his knuckles ''What did you just say?''

''You heard me, you idiot!''

''Umm... You shouldn't be fighting-'' Kabo started but quickly moved back when both teams turned toward him ''SHUT UP!''

''What about you Souleater? Cat ate your tongue?'' Minerva taunted as she watched Natsu looking their exchange behind the five teammates.

'Come on, Natsu. Kill them! I know you want to so just do it' the Voice echoed trough his mind much to his annoyance.

'Shut up' Natsu hissed at him mentally 'I promised myself long time ago I wouldn't kill in front of Wendy if I could help it'

'But you can't' It continued 'You can't stop yourself. She'll understand'

'She won't. No one would. No matter how much I want to kill these imbeciles. I killed yesterday but only because I knew she wouldn't see the actual act'

'If they can't accept you for who you are then you don't need them'

Natsu found himself inwardly horrified he actually started nodding his head for a moment before he stopped. What was he doing?!

'What have you done to me?'

There was no response. His thoughts stayed undisturbed as the Voice fell quiet.

Natsu shook his head to clear his thoughts and blinked out of existence only reappeared in front of them. Team A watching their guildmate slightly guarded. Minerva made a big mistake.

''Mark my words. You will suffer''

The cold promise sent shivers down her spine but Minerva merely smiled at him ''Oh I would love to see you try''

''Yea! You don't stand a chance against our Lady'' Sting spoke up ''You might've been more powerful than we were five years ago on that mission but you don't stand a chance now''

Rogue nodded ''We are more powerful than we used to be. More powerful than you are''

''You seem awfully sure in that'' Gajeel barked.

''With a reason'' Sting replied with a smug grin.

''After all, we are now the third generation of dragon slayers''

Natsu's eyes narrowed ''Third generation? What are you talking about?''

Sting laughed ''I thought you knew everything!''

The blonde sneered at the pink-haired man before he mocked using his own words ''Mark my words. You will lose''

'KILL HIM!' the scream was so loud Natsu barely stopped himself from wincing, his eyes gaining a maddened glint that greatly alarmed his guildmates.

'SHUT UP DAMMIT!'

''Please ladies, gentlemen! If you start fighting here I will have to disqualify you! –kabo!''

Sting sent the pumpkin man a look that sent chills down the smaller man's spine but after a moment scoffed ''My Lady, we should get going. I'm getting sick from the smell anyway''

Minerva smirked as she glanced at Natsu, her teammates following her without another word.

As the two teams departed Kabo quickly made his way from the stadium. It was slightly surprising when he emerged in Fairy tail box and called out ''Uh... master Makarov... If you have a moment''

Makarov frowned in confusion but nodded nonetheless ''Yes, of course. Is there a problem?''

''Actually yes but don't worry''Kabo spoke ''It is easily fixed... You see...''

The silence was broken by Chapati who spoke up, somewhat reluctantly ''Umm... We will now move to the other part of the day... The battle part is about to begin! And for today's treat, we have tag battles!''

The crowd seemed relucent to cheer at first. Everyone still had their minds on the brutal display a few minutes ago.

After a moment of silence, Chapati continued ''Right.. Uh.. The match-ups for today have been announced... Oh, dear.. Someone really has a bad sense of humor'' the wig-wearing man muttered before a lacrima lit up in the sky showing the battles for the day:

BLUE PEGASUS VS. QUATRO PUPPY

LAMIA SCALE VS. MERMAID HEEL

SABERTOOTH VS. FAIRY TAIL

''Fairy tail? What about the other team? How is there only one?'' one of the spectators wondered and he wasn't the only one.

As more similar comments rose five blank lacrimas screens appeared in the sky.

''As you probably noticed Fairy tail lacks a team. Due to the problem that arose yesterday regarding Raven tail and their rule breaking the organizers asked Fairy tail to merge their teams because the odd number of teams left was quite inconvenient''

''The pictures you see on the screen are the pictures of the new Fairy tail team''

The crowd watched as the five lacrimas lit on the screen. Five Fairy tail mages appearing on them.

''This is ultimate Fairy tail team'' Mavis said with a small smirk.

''It is'' Makarov nodded.

Natsu looked at his own face that moved as he looked at the lacrima. Next to him proudly stood Mira, Erza, Laxus and Jellal.

End of chapter 60.

I'll start with how deeply sorry I am for not updating for so long.

I planned on writing the fourth day completely but this seemed like a good place to stop. Well, Fairy tail is pissed and Sabertooth will definitely feel it soon. I hope you all liked the chapter and if there is some mistakes or misunderstandings feel free to point them out.

One chapter closer to the end of the games and I promise you it will make your head spin. That being said I hope you won't kill me once the GMG arc is done.

Please review and thanks for reading :)

P.s.

Team 8 by S'TarKan

(Summary: What if Naruto had been selected for a different team? What if he'd had a different mentor? Who would guess the consequences would be so large?)