"It's about time for my entrance. Uncle Varro, I'm heading out first. Please keep the sound jar safe for me."
After a quick farewell, Kurosaki dashed to a deserted corner to prepare. He drew a slow breath, expression focused and steady, and set his mind completely on one thing.
Releasing Unohana's Shikai.
...
"Why did the music suddenly change?"
The rock music playing over Magnolia shifted without warning into a track no one here had ever heard before. It was still rock, but the melody was unfamiliar and strangely magnetic, snapping everyone's attention toward the sky.
Laxus froze too.
Above the parade float, a soft white glow appeared, gentle in color yet carrying an oppressive weight. It spread quickly and enveloped him. He lifted his head, staring at the source of the light.
"That's a spiritual pressure array. Who is it?" Makarov stared upward at the shining white circle in the air. Inside it, a dense and pure force churned quietly, without a trace of violence.
The instant he felt it, Makarov's entire body tensed. His magic power surged like a tide, climbing instinctively into a combat-ready state.
This wasn't just strong.
It was beyond anything he had ever sensed from a mage. Even if he compared it to the strongest among the Ten Wizard Saints, he doubted anyone could release something this vast and this clean. The pressure in it was subtle, but it still pressed on his instincts, forcing him to prepare as if facing a threat.
Just as the crowd stood stunned, Kurosaki's voice rose with the music, calm and clear.
A release phrase that rang across the entire district like a bell.
"Drink, Minazuki!"
The moment the words fell, a jade-white short blade shot out of the spiritual pressure array like lightning.
Then, in midair, it changed.
In a blink, the short blade expanded into a flying-fish-like spirit more than four meters long, luminous white with a faint blush of pink, beautiful enough to feel unreal.
This was Minazuki's Shikai form.
Soft white light surrounded the giant spirit, yet the pressure hidden inside that glow made people's hearts tighten.
The flying fish beat its wings gently, and countless tiny points of spiritual pressure drifted down like snow. They fell across the parade crowd and the Fairy Tail members alike.
Instantly, warmth surged through everyone's bodies.
Fatigue vanished as if it had never existed.
Kurosaki stood firmly on top of Minazuki's head, wrapped in a layer of spiritual pressure that was both gentle and overwhelmingly strong. A white cloak snapped loudly in the night wind. Above his head and across his chest, red points of light formed from spiritual pressure shone like stars.
Under everyone's gaze, he descended slowly, landing above the parade float.
It was far more shocking than any "armor entrance" he had originally imagined.
Minazuki's spirit radiated a holy, mysterious glow. Against the fireworks exploding across the night sky and the driving rock music, the scene seized every eye in Magnolia.
For a moment, the whole city fell into stunned silence.
Then, cheers erupted like thunder.
Makarov's taut nerves loosened instantly.
He had never seen a flying-fish spirit like this, but his sensitivity to that "spiritual pressure" signature left no doubt.
It was Kurosaki.
And that realization slammed into him harder than the spectacle itself.
He had never imagined Kurosaki's "ability" could reach this level. The strength of that spiritual pressure went far beyond every estimate Makarov had made. Somewhere deep down, a sliver of wariness even formed.
Only now did he truly understand.
Kurosaki's power was more terrifying than any mage's magic.
Kurosaki steadied Minazuki and moved both hands slightly, guiding spiritual pressure with careful control.
Minazuki's giant wings fanned once.
In the next instant, countless white beams of spiritual pressure shot into the sky like arrows, striking the fireworks as they bloomed.
The beams and fireworks intertwined, illuminating all of Magnolia.
The truly unbelievable part was this.
The spiritual pressure beams didn't shatter the fireworks.
Instead, it was like they breathed new life into them, making the lights brighter and extending how long they lasted.
That was precision control in Shikai.
Power that could be turned into a shock strong enough to crush everything, yet also controlled so softly, so perfectly, that it could enhance something fragile without destroying it.
That kind of mastery really did feel unmatched in Fairy Tail's world.
When the display ended, Kurosaki willed it.
The Shikai released.
Minazuki collapsed into a dazzling white streak, shrinking rapidly until it condensed back into the jade-white short blade and returned into him.
Then Kurosaki jumped lightly down onto the parade float where Laxus was.
For the tourists and townspeople, everything they'd just seen felt unreal. A giant flying-fish spirit, pure white light, and a power that felt both sacred and overwhelming.
They had never seen anything like it.
The street filled with excited chatter, debates, and disbelief.
"What is that music?" Laxus leaned close to Kurosaki at once, eyes wide with curiosity and shock. "How come nobody told me about it? I checked the program list. This song isn't even on it."
He could feel it, too. Even the light points brushing him had made his magic power feel fuller, like something had quietly reinforced him.
"I'll explain later," Kurosaki said simply.
Then he lay flat on the float like he'd just clocked out.
He didn't consider himself artistic, and to him, what he'd just done already counted as an overachievement. It matched the parade's happy atmosphere perfectly, and he had shown Unohana's power without exposing the truly destructive side.
Because if Unohana's destructive force ever fully surfaced, Magnolia itself could be wiped out in an instant.
"Hey." Kurosaki lounged on the float, glancing at Laxus, who was still caught up in the excitement as he hammered away at the drums. "So? Did you spot Grandpa?"
"Not yet." Laxus answered, still scanning instinctively. "There are way too many people. I can't see him anywhere. Wait!"
Before the sentence finished, Laxus jumped up from the drum chair, sprinted to the very front of the float, and raised his hand high.
His index finger pointed straight into the sky.
Grandpa, you said you'd see it, right?
Laxus repeated it silently to himself.