A week or so passed after the mission in Northern Fiore, and Natsu spent that entire time focused on his family before his departure. Whether it was training with Romeo, helping Nab finally choose a mission, or just hanging around with some of the members he rarely interacted with, like Max, Laki, and some of the newer members. He also noticed that he's been getting a lot more attention whenever walking through town, especially from the female populace, who always greeted him with a wide smile and often offered gifts to him, which he gladly accepted. But, what he focused on most was writing the farewell letter, which led him to work on it in Makarov's room.

"Now I know why Luce is usually annoyed when writing. This stuff makes no sense!" Natsu grunted as he wrote just a couple of words, but after reading them out loud, he erased them in frustration.

"But the difference is that Lucy has an entire book to worry over while you only have a single page." Makarov chuckled as Natsu handed him the paper in frustration, "Are you sure you want to do this, Natsu?"

"I can't leave without settling things with Gray. It would only leave me feeling unresolved and angry with myself," Natsu said, taking a deep sigh and rubbing his head in frustration.

"Alright, I will take you both to Tenrou Island so that you can have one final fight with Gray." Makarov said as he placed the letter in his coat and watched Natsu rush out of his office and the guild entirely, preparing all he needed for his fight against Gray.

"Why did Natsu leave so abruptly? Was the Master going to punish him for doing something reckless?" Lisanna asked her older sister, who gave a quizzical look to her Lisanna as she tried to think of a reason.

"Maybe, but I don't remember Natsu doing anything that can be considered reckless in the past couple of days." Mirajane answered.

"Natsu's been acting weird ever since his mission with his team. Maybe we can ask them if they know what's up with him." Lisanna suggested as they finished cleaning the bar and shouted a good night to their Master before heading home.

"Only two more days…" Makarov sighed as he crossed off another date on his calendar before looking at the picture he had on his desk. It was a picture of his children partying in the middle of the guild without a care in the world, and in the middle of it, he could see Natsu holding up their second Grand Magic Games trophy high in the air. It hurts to see someone like Natsu leave, but he has his reasons, and Makarov understands those reasons even if he doesn't agree with them. With a deep sigh, he left the guild and walked to Gray's house.

"Finally, we have a night all to ourselves~" Gray sensually whispered in Juvia's ear as they were wearing only their undergarments.

"Juvia has been dreaming of this day ever since Juvia's first laid eyes on you, Gray-Sama." Juvia lightly moaned as she could feel the cold hands of Gray run all over her smooth, milky body before stopping down at her heart-shaped ass. Just as they were about to kiss each other and begin their passionate night of lovemaking, a knock on the door alerted them.

"Sorry about that, Juvia. I'll see who it is." Gray said as he gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the forehead before putting on his pants and opening the front door to see who was knocking at such an hour.

"Apologies for coming here unannounced, Gray. But I have a favor to ask you." Makarov said as he noticed the annoyed expression Gray had behind his usual blank face.

"What is it, Gramps?" Gray asked.

"I was wondering if you could accompany Natsu and me on a mission. By my approximation, we will return tomorrow night." Makarov answered as Gray thought about the mission before accepting, "Great, I'll wait for you out here while you pack up."

"I just wish you could have told me about the mission sooner, Gramps." Gray sighed as he went back to his room, where he saw Juvia with a small smile and holding a bag in her hands.

"Juvia overheard everything and will be patiently waiting for you, Gray-Sama." Juvia said as she kissed Gray on the lips before waving him off as he and Makarov traveled to Hargeon Town, where Natsu would be waiting for them.

"There you guys are!" Natsu said, wearing the wool that Aries had made for him over a week ago.

"You still have that thing? I thought it would have already been burnt or in pieces after our mission." Gray said as they entered the ship that was designated for them and traveled the open seas to Tenrou Island.

"Of course, I would. What if some pirates try to steal our stuff? I would be useless if that happened." Natsu answered.

"That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Whatever, just wake me up when we get to our location." Gray yawned as he went to his room and left Makarov alone with Natsu.

"You should get rest, too, Natsu. You have a big fight tomorrow." Makarov said as he pulled out the letter from his coat and handed it to Natsu.

"I know, I'm just excited for the fight, that's all." Natsu said as he went to his room and spent almost half an hour writing before going to sleep. Once he woke up, he went to the front deck, noticed how high the sun was, and saw Makarov standing at the very front of the ship.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu yawned, rubbing his tired eyes as he walked up to Makarov.

"Yes, we'll be there in about an hour or so. Maybe you should wake up Gray when we arrive." Makarov suggested as he could see the large tree over the horizon. At the same time, Natsu went back downstairs and entered Gray's room. He almost laughed when he saw his rival underneath a blanket covered with images of Juvia.

"Yo, wake up! We're almost here." Natsu said as he pushed Gray off the bed, abruptly waking him up from his dream.

"What the fuck was that for, Flame Brain?" Gray grunted as he could feel a bump grow on his forehead.

"I've been trying for five minutes, and you just didn't want to wake up." Natsu lied before continuing to speak, "Gramps said we're going to be there in an hour, so hurry up and change."

"Five minutes, my ass." Gray grumbled as Natsu left his room, allowing the Ice Mage to change in peace. When he got up to the front deck, he saw the coast of Tenrou Island. "Wait a minute. Why are we going to Tenrou Island? I thought nobody lived there."

"That is true, Gray. I guess now would be the best time to reveal the true intentions of why I dragged you here." Makarov said as the boat stopped, with Natsu shooting himself off the ship and landing on the coast. I promised not to tell anyone until a week had passed, but I trust you with this information. Gray, Natsu is planning on leaving the guild for a couple of years and wants to have one final fight with you before he leaves."

"Really?" Gray asked as he looked at his Master like it was some kind of joke, but he only got a small nod of the head. "But why did you drag me so far away from the guild?"

"Natsu didn't want any distractions as they fought and figured out the best place to fight was on Tenrou Island. So, will you accept Natsu's request in one final fight? And before you leave, he wants to have no transformation during the fight." Makarov asked as he planned on staying on the ship and not interfering in their fight.

"Sure, just to prove to Flame Brain that I have always been the stronger mage." Gray responded with a smirk as he froze a path to the island and slid his way there. Makarov watched on in anticipation as two of his strongest mages fought for what would be their final time.

(At the guild)

"Good morning, Juvia! Why isn't Gray with you today?" Lucy asked Juvia as she noticed the blue-haired mage walk up to the counter without Gray by her side.

"Good morning, Lucy." Juvia said, dropping the Love Rival nickname as, according to Juvia, she defeated the blonde cow in the battle to Gray's heart, "The Master had somewhere he needed to go and brought alongside Gray and Natsu."

"Looks like we found out why either of them aren't here then." Cana said as she wrapped her arms around Juvia's shoulder and decided to get a little handsy. She placed her hand over Juvia's large chest and gave them a couple of experimental squeezes, much to the Water mage's embarrassment, "Dang girl, how much do you fill these water balloons?"

"J-Juvia will have you know that her breasts are all natural." Juvia answered with a small amount of pride as Cana continued to grope her breasts.

"Ignore Cana for a minute. Do you have any idea where those three went?" Wendy asked, still jealous that everyone around her had large chests, some of them her own rivals, while her chest barely had grown. Even Levy's chest had grown with the incoming babies.

"Master was pretty vague about the mission. He only told Gray that they were needed." Juvia answered as Cana swapped breasts and kept on squeezing.

"All we can do is hope for their safety." Erza said as she took a bite out of her breakfast before looking at Cana, "And stop groping Juvia's breasts, or else I'll take away all your alcohol." Erza threatened as Cana instantly stopped groping Juvia's chest and went back to drinking.

"Speaking of Natsu, have any of you noticed anything different about Natsu?" Lisanna asked the rest of them.

"At first, I thought you were paranoid, but now that you mention it, Natsu has been acting a bit different than he usually does." Mirajane answered.

"What are you two talking about? I haven't seen Natsu do anything out of the ordinary." Erza questioned as some of the girls thought about it and slowly began realizing what the sisters were talking about.

"No, they're right. This is the longest time Natsu has gone without participating in a guild fight, and this is Natsu we're talking about. He would always be the cause of the guild brawls." Cana pointed out.

"Also, Natsu spends most of the time either inside the Master's office or hanging out with the newer members or some of the members he doesn't usually talk with." Wendy added as she noticed Laki walking to the mission board, "Laki, come here!"

"Do you need something, Wendy?" Laki asked as she walked up to the group.

"What did you do with Natsu a couple of days ago, and how did it make you feel?" Wendy asked as a small blush grew on the Wood mage's face from being asked these kinds of questions, especially from Wendy of all people.

"Well, me and Natsu spent most of the day carving small figures out of wood and just talking about any recent missions we've been on. And to answer your second question, I don't know. I guess it made me feel happy that I spent most of the day with a guy that wasn't trying to be with me just for my body or trying to use me to get closer to any of you. Is that all?" Laki answered as Wendy thanked her for taking the time to answer her questions before going to the mission board.

"You see. When have you heard of Natsu doing something that takes patience?" Wendy told Erza, who thought about what the girls were saying and agreed that their suspicion of Natsu had some merit.

"If you girls are so adamant about Natsu not acting like himself, I suggest you speak to him when he returns, whenever that is." Erza proposed, and all the girls agreed with Erza's suggestion.

"And here I thought you were going to chicken out." Natsu said with a smug grin as he had his stuff hanging on top of the rocks behind him.

"And let you get the last laugh? Trust me, Flame Brain, I'm going to make sure that you spend the last couple of days recognizing that I was always the stronger mage." Gray declared as he took off his shirt and got into a fighting position.

"So you know… good. That just means I want you to go all out!" Natsu shouted as he charged towards Gray, his hands igniting in flames. He tried to punch Gray but was met with a wall of ice, creating a small smokescreen.

"Ice-Make: Spikes!" Gray would put his hands on the floor as a row of icicles shot up from the ground and towards Natsu.

"You think something like that would catch me off guard?" Natsu said as he jumped to the side and fired a couple of fireballs toward Gray, who would, in turn, create columns of ice to protect himself, "You left yourself wide open! Fire Dragon's Claw!"

Gray had no time to react as Natsu kicked him in the midsection and sent him flying back, only stopping when he collided with a tree. He clutched his stomach in pain as he looked up at Natsu, who quickly approached him, "That was just a lucky strike, Ice-Make: Hammer!"

"You're too slow!" Natsu said as he jumped over Gray's attack before kicking him into the ground and then back to the sandy coast, "What's wrong? I can tell you're holding back."

"Why would I be holding back against somebody like you?" Gray grunted as he barely avoided a stream of flame, "Just because you got a couple of lucky hits against me doesn't mean anything."

Natsu stopped speaking as he continued his assault on Gray, who could only dodge, parry, or block every attack that came his way. Makarov watched on as he also noticed that Gray was not fighting at full strength. It was as if he was subconsciously holding himself back while Natsu continued to toss him around the coast.

"Fighting you isn't fun. If I wanted a challenge, I would have fought someone like Erza or Laxus." Natsu stated as he stood on a pile of boulders and looked down at Gray, his body covered in burn marks, bruises, and a noticeable cut over his eyebrow, letting blood gush down his face.

"And get your ass kicked in less than a minute?" Gray coughed as he was only on one knee, wiping the blood that covered his face.

"At least, I would have gone all out fighting them. Hell, even Romeo forced me to exert more power than you currently are." Natsu retorted before he jumped down from the boulders and kicked Gray back into the water, "We're fighting in the water. You should have the advantage right now, but you barely landed a hit on me."

"Fuck you, Flame Brain… Ice-Make: Prison! " Gray said as he created a prison around Natsu and used the water to replenish the ice in case Natsu ever melted it, "I am giving it everything I got! Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!"

Natsu watched as Gray charged his attack before firing at him. He didn't seem afraid of getting struck and, instead, took the attack that pierced through the prison. Gray winced from overexerting himself as he watched a cloud of smoke fill the now-destroyed prison and waited with bated breath as he tried to see an outline of Natsu.

"See, you are holding back." Natsu shouted through the smoke as he revealed that he suffered no damage from Gray's attack; he had melted his ice before it could even connect with him, "What happened to the Ice Prick that I've known for my entire life?"

"He died when he almost got Juvia killed!" Gray shouted as tears rolled down his face. Natsu stopped in his tracks as he stared at his rival, who got on all fours and continued to cry, "Every time I fight, I always bring a loved one into it, and most of the time, they end up dying. First, it was Ur, then it was Ultear, and finally it was Juvia. She would have died if it wasn't for Wendy! Why should I fight when it ends up with somebody I love getting killed? Tell me that, Nastu!"

Gray looked at his reflection in the water and gritted his teeth in frustration, "It's to protect them." Natsu answered as Gray stared at his rival through teary eyes, "Gray, everyone you mentioned sacrificed themselves to protect you. If it weren't for Ur sacrificing herself, then both you and Lyon would have died. If it weren't for Juvia sacrificing herself, then you wouldn't have defeated that Invel guy and saved Juvia from dying. And, if it weren't for Ultear, none of us would be here. They all did something to protect their loved ones from further harm."

Gray choked up as he was reminded of all his previous failures, but Natsu continued to speak, "What if you fought a villain with only Juvia by her side? What would you do, use Iced Shell and kill yourself alongside the bad guy to save Juvia? Congrats, you just made Juvia, the girl who cared for you the moment she laid eyes on you, depressed. We may be a family, but we all know that Juvia heavily relies on you, even when you used to push her away. Just imagine how she would know that her beloved died right in front of her eyes and did nothing about it!"

Gray looked away, the weight of Natsu's words pressing heavily on his mind. Memories of Ur, Ultear, and Juvia flashed before him—each face etched with determination and love, each sacrifice a painful reminder of his failures and their strength. He clenched his fists. Anger and sorrow were warring within him as he heard Natsu shout, "That's why I'm leaving! I want to get stronger to protect my family, and I want you to do the same! Get stronger so that you can protect Juvia and the rest of the guild from anything that comes their way!"

Makarov heard everything Natsu said and watched Gray slowly rise to his feet. He could feel Gray's magical power gradually intensify, his mental handicap finally buckling underneath Natsu's words. Gray wiped the tears from his face and stared at his rival with renewed determination. The hesitation and self-doubt that had plagued him began to fade, replaced by a flicker of fierce resolve. Makarov could see the transformation in Gray's stance, ready to fight, and grinned as the final fight between the two could truly begin.

"You could have taken the easy way when you had the chance, Flame Brain." Gray said as he allowed his magic to flare up while looking at his rival with a determined glint in his eyes.

"I know, but I just want to prove that at your strongest, you're no match for me." Natsu cockily replied as he watched Gray create a sword of ice and charged towards him. Natsu waited for an opportunity for Gray to leave himself open and found one. He dove underneath Gray's swing and tried to kick his legs, but his rival jumped over it and countered by creating an icy fist underneath the water and hitting Natsu square in the face, causing him to fly closer to the coast.

"It's like what you said earlier, Flame Brain; I have more of an advantage when I'm fighting in the water." Gray remarked.

"Then all I need to do is drag you out of the water." Natsu said as he took a deep breath, "Fire Dragon's Roar! " Gray created a wall to protect himself and used the steam to his advantage this time, " Ice-Make: Cannon!" Natsu barely avoided the attack before he was struck with another shot from Gray, sending him crashing into the rocks behind him.

Natsu pushed himself off the rubble and looked up at Gray and noticed three of them, two of them holding a sword and shield while the other was on a small island of ice with a cannon in hand, "What's wrong, scared that you couldn't beat me one-on-one?"

"You said I should give it everything I got, and I intend on doing so." The Gray with the cannon said as the two Grays holding the swords charged toward Natsu, "Now, which one am I? Maybe I'm staying back while I let those two attack you. Maybe I'm fighting you head-on. Or maybe all of us are clones, and we're just stalling for the real Gray to charge up an attack."

"I don't care who's the real Gray. I can still beat you all." Natsu declared as he jumped back the moment the two Grays with swords lunged at him but got struck by the cannon-wielding Gray as he was at the peak of his jump. Before he could even fall back to the floor, the two Grays bashed him back in the air with their shields as another shot was fired toward Natsu. Natsu saw the attack barreling at him with incredible speed and, in a split-second decision, ignited his hand in fire and redirected at the two Grays below him, forcing them to jump away from the attack and allowing Natsu to land on his feet.

"If fighting one of you was annoying, then fighting three of you is hell." Natsu commented as he made a mental note not to be in the air as much if it meant he would be easily combo'd like he was earlier. He focused on the Gray on his left and engaged in a fight with him. In contrast, the Gray he did not focus on forgone his sword and shield in favor of being more supportive by creating walls to block any hit, making the floor beneath Natsu ice so that he would slip more often and allow the Gray he was fighting an opportunity to strike him, and overall be a general nuisance to Natsu. On top of all of that, he still had to worry about the Gray out in the water who continued to fire at him. Natsu even tried to swap the Gray he focused on, but that only resulted in the one he left alone becoming the support while the one he focused on went back to the sword and shield.

"You better think of something fast, Natsu." Gray shouted.

'Fuck, what should I do? Whoever I focus on just makes me open for the other two. Come on, Natsu, use your brain for just a second!' Natsu weighed his options as he clutched the side of his stomach, melting a patch of ice that one of the Gray landed on him. He couldn't focus on the Gray at his side as he would always be at a disadvantage. He couldn't attack the one still out at sea as he didn't have that much range to begin with, and that would leave him open for the Grays by his side. Then, an idea flashed through his mind, and he entered the ocean and made his way towards the Gray with the cannon.

"Looks like you don't have a brain at all, Flame Brain!" The Gray Natsu was going after shouted as he charged another attack while the two Grays back at the coast created a sword and charged at Natsu. He would wait as the cannon Gray fired another shot and redirected back into the floor beneath him, causing him to fly high into the air from the impact. Natsu looked back at the ground and saw that the two Grays were deep inside the water and grinned as he took a deep breath.

"My brain is bigger than yours, Snow Cone! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu would fire his roar beneath, and as the Grays tried to shield themselves from the roar, the water beneath them would heat up at a fast rate, and they began melting until they evaporated. Natsu landed on the water and looked at Gray with a victorious grin, "Looks like I found the real Ice Princess."

"Oh, and how do you intend to get closer to me? I'm still in the water, and I have the advantage over you when it comes to range." Gray cockily responded as, even though his clones were defeated, he continued to fire round after round towards Natsu, who he forced back onto the beach.

"We'll see about that." Natsu said as he outstretched his hand, "Fire-Make: Exceed!" Gray watched in shock as Natsu created three replicas of Happy and pointed them toward Gray. He had to create a floor of ice and avoid the three quickly Exceeds chasing him. As one slowly approached him by his side, Gray made a pillar and avoided it as it exploded on impact. He continued to run from the two Exceeds, but what he didn't realize was that they were only guiding him back to the island, where Natsu would then jump onto the platform Gray was using to skate on and avoid his Exceeds and deliver an uppercut that sent Gray into the Exceeds where they crash into him and explode, causing him to hurdle back to the island.

"When the hell did you learn Molding Magic?" Gray grunted as he got out of the small crater he created.

"You pick up a couple of cool tricks when one of your partners is a perverted stripper." Natsu responded as Gray rushed towards him and initiated a slugfest.

As they continued to fight with everything they had, Makarov could tell that both mages were on their last legs if their non-magical fight was anything to go by. They both used nearly all of their magical reserves and only had to rely on their fists for the time being until their magic recharged. He saw their fists, covered in ice and fire respectively, collide and explode, pushing them away from each other, and knew that whoever landed the next attack would be the winner of their fight.

"Accept your defeat, Natsu! Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!" Gray shouted as he froze the ground underneath Natsu and watched as a tower of spikes shot out of the floor beneath Natsu.

"Not when I'm fighting my rival! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Natsu shouted as he mustered every single ounce of magic into his final attack, and before the final spike could connect, he burned it alongside every other spike around him and shot the attack toward Gray, who could only watch as it got closer and accept that he lost to Natsu and that he was the stronger mage.

"I… WON!" Natsu shouted as he looked at his defeated rival before falling, his body no longer able to support itself anymore. Once the fight concluded, Makarov guided the ship to shore and walked down to the unconscious bodies of his children.

"You both impressed me the moment you joined the guild. I'm glad you found each other as rivals and as friends. You pushed each other to grow stronger, not just as mages but as individuals. Today's fight proved that more than ever." He knelt beside their unconscious forms, a warm, proud smile spreading across his face despite the harsh battle they had endured. "You both have come so far, and seeing you give it your all for the sake of each other and our guild fills me with pride. Remember, it's not just about winning or losing—it's about the bond you share and the strength you gain from it."

Makarov gently placed a hand on each of their shoulders, feeling the remnants of their magical energy still pulsing faintly, "Rest now, my children. You've earned it. I'll take care of the rest. The guild will always be here to support you, just as you support each other." He stood up and carried Natsu and Gray back to the ship. As they did, Makarov looked out to the horizon, a sense of hope and assurance settling in his heart, "With determination like that, there's nothing this guild can't overcome."

Natsu woke up in his room. He winced as he tried to move his body but managed to pull himself out of his bed. He looked down to see that he was wearing Aries' wool. "At least Gramps was kind enough to put me in this stuff." Natsu looked around the room and saw the unfinished letter still on the table. He limped his way toward the table and found exactly what he wanted to say in his message and, for the next ten minutes, wrote until he finally finished his letter. When he finished the letter, he heard the door behind him slowly creak open and turned to see Makarov.

"And here I thought you would still be asleep." Makarov muttered as he walked up to Natsu.

"I woke up a couple of minutes ago, and look here; I finally finished writing the letter," Natsu said as he handed Makarov the letter and allowed him to read it. He could see Makarov let out a single tear as he closed the letter and placed it in his coat.

"The guild will miss you terribly." Makarov uttered as Natsu gave him a small nod of acknowledgment. Oh yes, we are about ten minutes away from Hargeon port."

"Okay, let me pack up." Natsu said as Makarov left his room and went to Gray's room to tell him the same. Once they reached Hargeon port, they hopped out of the boat and went to the train station, where they waited for the final train to Magnolia Town.

"How are we going to explain all these injuries we got?" Gray asked as he pointed at how beat up both he and Natsu were.

"I've already thought of that." Makarov answered as he rummaged through his coat until he pulled out the newest edition of Sorcerer Weekly and showed it to them, "I'm just going to tell them that I wanted to be the very first to pick up the latest edition."

"You really are a perverted old man, aren't ya?" Natsu sighed, "But that still doesn't explain how we got this injured."

"Oh, you'll soon find out that I have a reason for that as well," Makarov said. While they couldn't feel it, he could sense a monstrous amount of magic slowly making its way toward Magnolia Town.