The sea was choppy.
The weather, unpredictable.
At times heavy rain poured down; other times fierce winds raged.
Sometimes snow fell, sometimes huge chunks of hail.
And then, without warning, scorching heat turned the air into a desert — the sea itself seemed to boil.
Massive magnetic rocks floated through the sky, dragging ships off their courses.
Everything was uncertain, changing, dangerous.
This was the second half of the Grand Line — the New World!
Suddenly—
Clatter!
The sea's surface swelled up in a massive wave before a gigantic ship burst through from below.
After more than half a year, Fairy Tail had finally entered the New World!
"That's it! Little Shirahoshi is now a member of our Fairy Tail!"
Mirajane smiled as she pressed the large Fairy Tail emblem onto Shirahoshi's right abdomen.
"I'm… I'm part of Fairy Tail too!"
Shirahoshi's eyes shone brightly, full of joy and excitement.
The fear and anxiety of leaving Fish-Man Island vanished the moment the Fairy Tail mark was branded upon her skin.
"It's too early to celebrate, Shirahoshi-chan," Nami grinned mysteriously. "After tonight's sleep, there's an even bigger surprise waiting for you!"
"A bigger… surprise?" Shirahoshi blinked, puzzled. "What kind of surprise?"
"Secret~," Vivi teased with a gentle smile.
"Come on, sisters, just tell me!" Shirahoshi pleaded playfully.
"You'll find out after you sleep, Shirahoshi," Kalifa said calmly.
By now, she had already learned Fairy Tail's greatest secret—
the true source of the guild's power.
But… she would guard that secret forever, never revealing it to anyone outside Fairy Tail.
"Really? Then I'll go to bed right now!" Shirahoshi said eagerly.
"Then come with me," Mira said with a smile, leading her toward the largest room on the ship.
"Good night~"
To everyone's surprise, Shirahoshi fell asleep almost instantly.
Not long after, a shadow appeared in the sky.
"Wahaha! Hahahaha!"
A loud laugh echoed with the wind as Birdman Morgans descended.
"Welcome, Chairman Sugisawa Yuuto, and everyone from Fairy Tail, to the New World!" Morgans said grandly. "That Sabaody incident was truly sensational! I only regret not being there to witness it myself!"
He sighed dramatically, then added, "And just days ago on Fish-Man Island—ah, Fairy Tail's activities have been quite the hot topic lately! I should have followed your adventures the whole way!"
"Alright, alright, you didn't come all the way here just to talk nonsense," Nami said impatiently.
"Wahaha, of course not!" Morgans chuckled, untying the enormous sack on his back.
"These are all the commissions that have piled up across the New World. Please take a look, Chairman Sugisawa!"
After handing over the stack of requests, Morgans didn't stay long.
He had to prepare his next big news coverages — events like the Dressrosa incident, the Hive Island conflict, and the downfall of major dark forces that were soon to shake the world.
Meanwhile, the women of Fairy Tail were already sorting through the mountain of requests.
From Sabaody to Fish-Man Island, they had been on vacation for weeks.
Now that missions were finally piling up again, everyone was eager to get back to work.
Sugisawa Yuuto wasn't idle either.
His sharp eyes scanned the stack, his hands moving quickly as he pulled out over a dozen commissions.
They all had one thing in common —
each one was about missing children.
And not just from Yuuto's pile.
Urrutia and Bonney had also found more than a dozen similar requests.
"So many missing kids, all sent to us... How many could there be?" Mirajane asked gravely.
"Human trafficking in the New World is far worse than in the first half of the Grand Line," Erza said firmly. "We can't turn a blind eye to this."
"This matter seems… different," Sugisawa Yuuto said, taking all the child-related commissions.
As a traveler from another world, he knew the truth —
this wasn't ordinary human trafficking.
It was a joint operation between the Marines and corrupt scientists,
using children as test subjects for human enlargement experiments.
The site of the experiments: Punk Hazard, one of the original islands of the New World!
Punk Hazard had once been an island under direct control of the World Government — one of the research bases of the legendary scientist Vegapunk, a genius said to be five hundred years ahead of his time.
But two years ago, a catastrophe occurred.
Because of Vegapunk's subordinate — the mad scientist Caesar Clown —
a massive toxic gas leak caused an environmental disaster.
The island was declared uninhabitable and abandoned.
However, unknown to the Marines or the Government,
Caesar Clown secretly returned to Punk Hazard, clearing away the poisonous gas and posing as a savior to the paralyzed survivors left behind.
From there, Caesar resumed his twisted experiments — producing artificial Devil Fruit SMILE materials, and collaborating directly with Kaido of the Beasts through Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai.
At the same time, with funding from Big Mom, he began research into human gigantification.
After countless failed attempts using adults,
Caesar shifted his focus to children —
and that was why Fairy Tail had received so many missing-child requests.
Of course, Sugisawa Yuuto accepted these missions —
but not just for that reason.
His main goal was to recruit a new ally waiting on Punk Hazard.
A few days ago, after completing the Fish-Man Island quest, Fairy Tail's guild level had risen to 7.
And with that, Yuuto had earned the right to summon another companion from the Fairy Tail world.
That new ally was on Punk Hazard.
"President, please let us go with you on this mission!" Bonney pleaded.
"I'm also worried about those missing children," Urrutia added with a frown.
"Alright, you two can come," Yuuto nodded.
But before he could announce their departure—
"President! President!"
Shirahoshi's excited voice called from upstairs.
She had awakened her magic.
"President! Everyone! What is this power? Is it really… magic?" Shirahoshi asked, eyes wide with wonder.
"Of course it is!" Nami said proudly.
"See? We told you there'd be a surprise!" Vivi said with a grin.
"Mmm!" Shirahoshi nodded vigorously, beaming.
"So, Shirahoshi, what kind of magic did you awaken?" Erza asked curiously.
"My magic is…"
As Shirahoshi focused her thoughts, light flared around her and her form began to change.
"I know that one!" Wendy gasped. "That's the Star Spirit Armor of Aquarius, the Celestial Water Bearer!"
"Aquarius is a mermaid too — the perfect match for Shirahoshi!" Mirajane said warmly.
"That's wonderful, Shirahoshi!"
"We're all Celestial Mages now!"
"Please teach us sometime!"
Nami, Vivi, and Kalifa chimed in cheerfully.
"Alright then," Yuuto said, "Nami, you and the others help Shirahoshi get familiar with her new powers. Urrutia and I will head out first."
After that, Yuuto took the two girls and set off on their mission.
Hours later, Shirahoshi had nearly mastered the power of the Aquarius Spirit Cloth.
Because she was a mermaid, her compatibility with Aquarius was outstanding.
When they returned to the ship, Robin and Kalifa had already sorted and categorized all the commissions.
"What's wrong, Erza?" Nami and Vivi asked, noticing Erza's furrowed brow.
"It's this commission," Erza said gravely, pointing to a document set aside on the table.
"'Suppress Shichibukai Doflamingo'? What's wrong with that?" Nami frowned. "Isn't he one of our targets anyway? That scheming bastard deserves payback!"
"Yes, but… after reading the details, I can't calm down at all," Erza replied, her voice low.
"What's special about it?" Vivi leaned closer.
On the commission sheet, the words chilled them both:
Eight years ago, Doflamingo violently seized Dressrosa!
All of the toys in that country are actually humans—robbed of their memories and existence!
Nami and Vivi's eyes widened in shock.
Now they understood the source of Erza's unease.
After witnessing such cruelty, how could Fairy Tail — a guild built on justice — remain still?
"Dressrosa… I know that country," Vivi whispered. "Its king, King Riku, was close to my father. Then, suddenly, a coup… Father always said King Riku would never betray his people. So it was Doflamingo's doing all along. Just like what happened to Alabasta…!"
Tears welled in her eyes as her fists clenched.
She knew exactly what it felt like to have one's homeland corrupted by the Shichibukai.
"Doflamingo… what a vile man!" Nami spat.
"Erza," Mirajane said, "I already contacted the president. He agreed — we'll accept this commission."
"That's wonderful!"
The Fairy Tail girls' eyes burned with determination.
Once again, Fairy Tail set sail—
their next destination: Dressrosa.