Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
August 14, x790.
"So, you have two choices after doing what you did a few days ago." Mavis said in a cheerful, upbeat tone.
Hearing what Mavis said, Nagato and Konan exchanged glances, carrying out a conversation without exchanging words. However, that did not last very long, as Mavis had no intention of letting them think for too long.
"The first option, which is the most obvious, is that we'll turn you over to the Magic Council." Mavis continued. "Though, since you haven't done much, I doubt you'll be imprisoned for too long. I mean, they'll probably pity you for doing something as stupid as attacking the home of the strongest member of the Ten Wizard Saints."
Nagato and Konan's eyes widened to a comical degree when they heard that. They then both snapped their heads up and to the side to look at Alfonzo, who was standing to Mavis' right with shock in their eyes.
Alfonzo, on the other hand, only waved at them with a wide smile on his face.
"He... He's one of the Gods of Ishgar?" Nagato asked, stumbling to ask his question.
"Yup! You better fuckin' believe it!" Alfonzo said playfully. "It's not really well-known outside of certain circles, though."
"If that trial didn't happen, every faction on the continent would have probably already known, though." Elicia added with a smile. "Good thing the council is made up of former guild masters now, huh?"
"I doubt Gramps would agree, though." Alfonzo said with a shrug.
"That's enough, Alfonzo, Elicia." Mavis said gently. "You two can talk about maki's suffering later. For now, we have business to discuss."
"'Kay~~~~!" Elicia said cheerfully.
Alfonzo, on the other hand, only shrugged his shoulders. Yet, Mavis did not immediately get back to talking about the matter at hand. Instead, she lowered her head and began rubbing her chin with a contemplative expression on her face.
"Actually, don't you think now would be a good time for Maki to retire?" Mavis asked, sounding as if she were talking to herself, rather than the rest of those present in the room. "I mean, he's over ninety already. Ninety-four, I think. That's definitely old enough for retirement, isn't it?"
Mavis' utterance drew all the attention to where she was going with this. And though they did not say anything, the interest shining in the eyes of the Fairy Tail wizards, namely, Alfonzo, Elicia, Irene, and Jiraiya, could not be hidden.
"Ur's still young, though." Mavis continued. "I think she should be his replacement. We still need two members on the Council, after all. But the question is, if Maki retires, he'll probably be taken off the Ten Wizard Saint's roster. And I doubt they'd let us get another wizard into their ranks with Alfonzo already sitting at number one..."
While Mavis continued to mutter her considerations, Alfonzo, Elicia, Irene, and Jiraiya began to shudder. At the same time, they felt a pang of sympathy for Ur, who was currently at home drinking away her sorrows after Mavis not only took away all her points but put her in a deficit of the same amount.
"Hey, Fonzie." Elicia whispered while leaning close to Alfonzo, who was looking at Mavis with a stream of cold sweat dripping down his back. "I know we never planned to do so, but I think it would be a bad idea to piss off Master mavis."
"Yeah…" Alfonzo replied somberly as he nodded his head. "I almost feel bad for Ur. She's already got to deal with everyone looking at her funny for not being able to trade in her points. And now, there's a good chance she's gonna be the newest member of the Magic Council."
Elicia nodded her head in return as she turned back to look at the plotting guild master.
Like Ur, Jiraiya was also shivering in fear after hearing Mavis' mutters. Irene, on the other hand, was shuddering for a different reason. Her shudder was one of pure ecstasy. The sadistic revenge Mavis had planned for Ur was breath taking, and she loved every second of what was going on.
"Um… You said there were two options for us, right?" Nagato said, sounding a little confused at how deeply Mavis fell into her thoughts after telling everyone it was time to get back on track. "So, are you gonna tell us what the second one is."
Hearing that, Mavis immediately snapped out of her thoughts. Then, she looked around at all the people in the room, noting that Alfonzo, Elicia, and Jiraiya all looked a bit scared while Irene looked as if she was ready to climax. Nagato and Konan, on the other hand, were thoroughly confused at the moment.
"Right." Mavis said, her usual smile coming back. "I can think about that later. Let's get back to the matter at hand."
*Cough!*
Mavis then coughed into her hand, giving herself a moment to get her thoughts in order. Then, she looked at Nagato and Konan with a serious expression, causing the two shinobi to straighten their backs instinctively.
"The other option is that you can work for us." Mavis said in a solemn tone. She then raised a hand before either Nagato or Konan could ask her any questions. "What I mean by that is that you can go back to the Village Hidden in the Rain and turn its shinobi force into a Fairy Tail Branch Guild."
Not only Nagato and Konan, but even Alfonzo, Elicia, and Jiraiya were dumbfounded by what they heard. Meanwhile, Irene was completely lost in her own sadistic fantasies.
"Master Mavis are you serious about that?" Jiraiya asked in an almost frantic tone.
Despite the questioning tone, anyone looking at Jiraiya could see that he was over the moon at that suggestion. As previously mentioned, Jiraiya could be rather lenient when it comes to those he holds dear. Though, he is nowhere as bad as Hiruzen, as he is willing to act when he deems there is no hope for his friends to turn back to the right path.
Alfonzo and Elicia, after giving it some thought, felt that it was a great idea. Especially when you consider just how skilled Konan was. Though, in either of them could remember how good Nagato was without his Rinnegan. But if you could get Kakuzu to turn over a new leaf, as well, then they would have a pretty solid foundation.
As for Kisame, he was quite loyal to Pain, or rather Nagato. So, there was a good chance that he would be willing to join the branch guild, as well. The only problem was…
"And that's why Master Mavis is the greatest Strategist Fairy Tail has ever seen." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Neither Konan nor Kakuzu has an active bounty. So, making them legal wizards should be no issue. As for Nagato, Pain has a bounty, but Nagato himself doesn't. And no one knows what the real you looks like, right?"
As he asked his last question, Alfonzo turned his attention to Nagato, who started to shudder in fear once again after meeting eyes with Alfonzo, who completely overwhelmed him.
"Ri-Right." Nagato replied. "I've never shown my true face since the day I killed Hanzo. Not even most of the shinobi in the Village Hidden in the Rain know exactly who I am."
*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*
"That's good." Elicia said cheerfully while clapping her hands happily. "Because I'd hate to have to put the two of you in prison. Even though you've done a lot of bad things, in the end, you were being manipulated. And although I think you should still pay for your crimes, it would be better to have you atone then waste away in a jail cell."
"That was exactly what I was thinking." Mavis said, giving both Alfonzo and Elicia a nod of appreciation. It's nice to have members of the guild whose brains aren't made of muscle, too."
In response, both Alfonzo and Elicia smiled at Mavis' praise. At the same time, the happiness in Jiraiya's eyes and expression could not be hidden any worse if he tried. Irene, on the other hand… Well… she had checked out quite some time ago.
As for Nagato and Konan, they once again exchanged glances, carrying on a conversation that only they knew the contents of.
"Well?" Mavis asked, the anticipation in her tone palpable.
"We'll accept." Nagato said, not surprising anyone who was paying enough attention to hear his response.
"Good choice." Mavis replied with a nod. "Then, the only thing we'll need to do is make sure you get healed up. Those eyes really did a number on your body. After that, we'll have to have you go through some rehab. All the while, we'll discuss the finer details when you're done with the treatment."
With that, the conversation continued with Alfonzo and Irene, once she came back to her senses, throwing in suggestions for a successful international branch guild expansion.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was sitting in another medical room while Porlyusica checked Itachi's condition. Though, after being treated by Porlyusica several times over the last couple of years, Sasuke, who wanted to ask her about his brother's condition, remained silent, as he knew better than to speak while she was working.
Eventually, Porlyusica finished her checkup. She then started taking notes on her findings. And when she finally put her pen down, Sasuke, in the politest tone he could muster, asked how Itachi was doing.
"Miss Porlyusica, will my brother be okay?" Sasuke asked while glancing at Itachi, who was currently unconscious.
"He'll be fine." Porlyusica replied in her usual grumpy tone.
Porlyusica then put down the clipboard she was using to take notes and glared at Sasuke.
"You've asked me the same question seventeen times in two days." Porlyusica said in an annoyed tone. She then reached behind her and pulled a broom out of nowhere while she continued to glare. "If you ask me again, I'll make it so that you actually have a reason to stay in this room with him. Hmph! That's why I hate humans."
Hearing Porlyusica's words in combination with the broom in her hand, Sasuke recoiled on instinct before lowering his head. Despite having the Mangekyō Sharingan, one that will not deteriorate his eyesight, Sasuke has never been able to dodge one of Porlyusica's broom attacks. And that fact has baffled him to no end.
"Yes, Ma'am." Sasuke replied while lowering his head in both fear and respect. "I had no intention of doubting you. It's just… He's my brother. The only family I have left. And I can't help but worry."
Seeing the sincerity in Sasuke's expression, Porlyusica's own expression softened slightly. She then propped the broom in her hands against the foot of Itachi's sick bed before turning towards the medical room's door.
"Like I said, he will be fine." Porlyusica replied as she started to leave the room. "The procedures he had to go through to fix his eye sight and take care of that lung disease only put his body under a lot of pressure. But after a few more days of rest, he should be back to his prime. Maybe even better. Especially since he's only twenty-two, or so. Technically, he should have already been in his prime. But the over use of those eyes of his never allowed him to get there in the first place."
"I see. And thank you very much." Sasuke replied while lowering his head once again.
Porlyusica did not stop when she heard Sasuke's words of thanks. She did, however, nod her head. Then, just as she stepped through the medical room's doors, she spoke one last time before she closed the door behind her.
"Unfortunately, I don't know what his future will hold after he heals." Porlyusica said quietly. "He has committed quite a few crimes. He's even an S-Class criminal wanted all over Ishgar."
Sasuke could not help but clench his fists at those words. Itachi had been an S-Class criminal ever since the day he massacred the rest of the Uchiha Clan. And even if he was doing it on the village's… no, Danzō's counterfeit orders, most people don't know that. And after so many years, even if the truth was revealed, no one would believe it.
"Brother, what should we do?" Sasuke asked himself once Porlyusica closed the door. "At this rate, you'll be hunted down regardless of what the truth is. You were only trying to stop a rebellion. Though, you were an idiot for listening to Danzō. The only reason he wanted the Uchiha gone was because he was an extremist and wanted to Sharingan for himself. If you had known what he did with them, you would have stormed back into the village just to kill him yourself."
"What do you mean, Sasuke?" Itachi, speaking in a raspy, tired voice, asked from the sick bed.
Immediately, Sasuke raised his head and stared in his brother's direction. However, despite having heard Itachi's voice, he could not tell if Itachi was awake, as he had not moved and the bandage wrapped around his eyes hid them from view.
"Big Brother… You're awake." Sasuke said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.
"I am." Itachi replied calmly. "More importantly, tell me about what Danzō did with our clan's eyes."
Snapping out of his surprise, Sasuke hesitated for a moment. But he eventually told Itachi everything he had heard from Alfonzo about Danzō and the Uchiha Massacre he used Itachi to carry out.
After he finished his retelling of events, Itachi immediately fell unconscious, the guilt of his actions on that day multiplying, the stress too much for him to bear at the moment.
Naturally, Sasuke panicked when that happened. So, he rushed out the room to find Porlyusica, only to receive several blows to the head with her broom after making too much of a ruckus.
She did go to check on Itachi after beating up Sasuke, though. So, there was that.