Everyone in the guild fell silent at this moment.
Natsu and Takeshi exchanged glances.
Natsu's body instinctively told him that the opponent was terrifyingly powerful, but the more terrifying it was, the more excited he became.
Whoosh!
Flames ignited on Natsu's hands, and he took a fighting stance.
"Great! This way, I can use my full power without any reservations."
"Begin!"
Makarov announced the start.
"Waaah!"
Natsu stomped his foot and rushed towards Takeshi, his claw-like hands wreathed in flames, swinging at Takeshi. Takeshi seemed to not react, still standing in place with his hands in his pockets.
Just when many thought the outcome was decided...
Swish!
Takeshi's body suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind Natsu in the next instant, kicking him in the back.
"Ugh!"
Natsu was kicked off balance and tumbled forward.
"So fast!"
"Is that Teleportation Magic?"
In everyone's eyes, Takeshi appeared behind Natsu as if he had teleported.
Makarov shook his head. "No, it's not teleportation, but an extremely sophisticated high-speed movement technique. Because the speed is too great, it looks almost like teleportation."
Makarov was extremely shocked. Takeshi was too fast, he could only barely make out a trace of an afterimage to deduce that it wasn't teleportation, as teleportation leaves no trajectory whatsoever.
"What?!"
Jet was greatly astonished. His magic, High Speed, made him the fastest runner in Fairy Tail. But Takeshi was actually even faster than him, that was too abnormal.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu quickly got up, his fists wreathed in flames, attacking Takeshi.
Takeshi raised his left palm.
Clap!
Natsu's fist struck Takeshi's palm.
Everyone thought Takeshi might be knocked flying, but then another astonishing scene unfolded: Takeshi stood firmly in place, unmoving.
"He blocked it?!"
They had all witnessed the power of Natsu's Iron Fist, it could easily shatter even stone. Such immense power was actually firmly blocked by Takeshi with just his palm. Is this guy a monster?
Takeshi gripped Natsu's fist, then swung him with force.
Whoosh—!
Natsu's body flew out uncontrollably.
"Waaah!"
Crack!
Natsu crashed through a rock.
He quickly got up, and took a deep breath, his chest swelling as he gathered magic power in his throat.
Takeshi pointed his index finger at Natsu, and a vibrant green spirit pressure continuously condensed, forming a high-density, vibrant green energy sphere.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Hooosh—!
A terrifying storm of flames rushed towards Takeshi.
Cero!
Ohm—!
Whoosh!
A beam of vibrant green energy shot from Takeshi's finger, meeting the roar.
Boom!
The crimson flame storm and the vibrant green Cero collided, and the impact of the two powerful energies instantly created a terrifying shockwave.
"Waaah!"
The shockwave spread outwards, causing many in the guild to involuntarily scream, and some were even blown away by the impact.
After a short while, the shockwave slowly subsided.
In the middle of Takeshi and Natsu, a huge crater appeared, the destruction caused by the collision of the two energies.
Takeshi seemed completely unharmed, but Natsu was injured and couldn't support himself, collapsing to the ground.
In the previous energy clash, Takeshi clearly had the upper hand.
"The match is decided! Winner! Takeshi!"
Makarov loudly announced Takeshi's victory, feeling very surprised himself.
He hadn't expected Takeshi's strength to be so immense. From his appearance, Takeshi looked no different from an ordinary person who hadn't trained much. But after using Take Over Magic, he seemed like a completely different person, calm and cool, clearly a seasoned warrior.
"The rookie actually won?!"
"He actually defeated Natsu."
"His strength is too great. This is already the power of an S-Class Mage, isn't it?"
"Absolutely! Only an S-Class Mage could defeat Natsu."
"What a monster!"
Hearing Makarov announce Takeshi's victory, the guild members finally came to their senses, realizing that the new guy had won.
Although most of them lost their bets, everyone was incredibly excited. The guild had gained another S-Class powerhouse, which was definitely a huge blessing.
Takeshi breathed a sigh of relief. He released his transformation, and returned to his original appearance. His magic power was already at rock bottom. If he hadn't ended the battle quickly, he would surely have been the one to lose.
But at this moment, he was very excited. He had defeated Natsu, the protagonist. This victory gave him immense confidence.
Takeshi walked up to Natsu, extended his hand, and pulled Natsu up.
Although Natsu had lost his fighting capability, his injuries were not severe, and he could still continue fighting. However, such a fight would be somewhat unsightly.
Takeshi had suppressed Natsu throughout the entire battle in terms of speed, strength, and attack power. Natsu couldn't think of a way to win, so he no longer struggled and simply fell to the ground, admitting defeat.
"You're really strong. Just like Erza, that monster. Next time, I want to have a decisive battle with you."
Despite losing, Natsu was not disheartened in the slightest. He merely had one more opponent to surpass, which further ignited his fighting spirit.
"Alright." Takeshi nodded.
Although he won this time, it was actually a very close call. He didn't want to lose to anyone, even Natsu, the male protagonist.
Everyone in the guild returned inside, all excitedly discussing the battle they had just witnessed.
Cana happily counted her money. Her week's drinking money was secured. If she had known Takeshi was so powerful, she wouldn't have spoken up. That way, she could have earned even more.
"What should I do? There's another monster. When will I become an S-Class Mage? The path for me to become S-Class is too rough." Elfman groaned, scratching his head in distress.
Everyone in Fairy Tail was a monster: Erza, Mirajane, Mystogan. He had just barely managed to outlast these few to become S-Class, and now there was another one, Takeshi.
Gray retorted, "You talk as if you would become an S-Class Mage if Takeshi hadn't come. The truth is, you still haven't even qualified to participate."
Takeshi was indeed a monster, and there was a high possibility of him becoming a new S-Class Mage.
But as long as one avoided Takeshi, wouldn't it be fine? At most, it would just be delayed by a year.
Cana's face stiffened upon hearing this. She had qualified to take the S-Class Mage promotion exam for three consecutive years.
In the first year, she encountered Erza and was eliminated. In the second year, she encountered Mirajane and was again eliminated. In the third year, she had a relatively easy time. She was eliminated without even seeing her opponent, Mystogan.
This year, Takeshi had arrived. She had watched Takeshi's battle from start to finish. Facing him, she might lose even more decisively than against those three opponents.
Did she have to wait another year?
Thinking of this, her mood soured.