"As if our guild is nothing but a bunch of old, weak, injured leftovers they can bully however they want."
Kiko, the golden haired, wheat skinned girl with a round face and an adorable cat hat, stepped forward and shouted in dissatisfaction,
"Do not look down on us."
"If Phantom Lord had not attacked in the middle of the night, we would have taken that guy down already."
"That is right."
"Who the hell are you calling old, weak, sick, and crippled?"
"I am still in the prime of my life."
"To hell with Phantom Lord."
"Once we really fight, just watch how I crush them."
The whole room erupted in outrage.
No one was willing to admit that they were part of the "old, weak, sick, and crippled" crowd Kabe had just described.
"That is right, none of you are old, weak, sick, or crippled."
"And I am not some spineless coward who gets slapped and stays silent either."
Kabe's voice suddenly rose, crushing every other sound in the room.
"We can tolerate people looking down on us."
"We can tolerate being called a guild full of reckless troublemakers."
"Those kinds of rumors and insults, we have never cared about."
His eyes swept across the room, burning.
"But now, Phantom Lord has destroyed our guild."
"Destroyed our home."
"They even dared break into our girls' dorm and hurt our comrade."
"Now tell me, loudly, what does that count as?"
"A declaration of war!"
Every single voice in the room roared back as one.
"That is right."
"Any act that dares harm our comrades is the same as a declaration of war."
"Now, I, Kabe, in the name of a Fairy Tail S Class mage, declare this: everyone is to prepare for battle."
"The hundred year grudge between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord will be settled once and for all in this war."
"OHHHHHH!"
This was what everyone had been waiting for, for someone with enough weight to say it aloud.
Kabe had given them exactly that.
With those words, Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were officially at war.
Even old hands like Macao and Wakaba, men who usually acted the most seasoned, found their blood boiling under Kabe's speech.
In the crowd, Laki excitedly grabbed Cana's arm and shook it hard.
"Did you see that?"
"Did you see that?"
"My man is way too cool."
"Yes, yes, I saw it all."
Cana looked utterly helpless, unable to stand Laki's infuriatingly enviable display any longer.
After shoving the clingy woman away, she stepped up to Kabe and asked seriously,
"Listen, should we tell the master about the decision to start a war?"
"Because we did not want him worrying, we still have not contacted him."
"Of course this kind of thing has to be told to the master."
Kabe nodded as if it were obvious.
He was certain Makarov would support this decision the moment he learned what had happened to Juvia.
"Not only do we need to contact the master, we also need to notify every guild mage still out on missions."
"One, to warn them to stay alert for Phantom Lord members while they are outside."
"Two, to have the ones closest return to the guild or gather nearby..."
His eyes narrowed.
"At the same time, we hit the Phantom Lord branch closest to Magnolia first."
"We tear that place down and say hello properly."
Once the orders were given, everyone sprang into action.
Some started reaching out to absent members.
Some began restocking magic items and preparing equipment.
Erza personally went to explain everything to the master.
Meanwhile, Kabe picked up a communication lacrima and contacted Laxus, who was away on a job.
The moment Laxus' spiky haired face appeared in the crystal, Kabe spoke in the shortest, clearest way possible.
"The guild and a newly joined comrade were attacked by Phantom Lord."
On the other side, the faint smile that had been on Laxus' face vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, ugly expression.
"Do not tell me the old man is planning to do nothing."
"The old man is not here."
"I already gave the order."
"We are going to war with Phantom Lord."
Hearing that, Laxus' expression eased just a little.
"...What do you need me to do?"
"Whatever you want."
"Do it however you want."
"I am only informing you."
"Hmph."
"Good."
"Because I had no intention of taking orders from you anyway."
Somewhere deep in a forest, Laxus cut off the communication at once.
He grabbed his shoulder bag and turned to the three companions traveling with him on the mission.
"We are leaving."
"Thunder God Tribe, come with me to the nearest city where one of Phantom Lord's branches is stationed."
"It is time to collect their debt."
At his command, Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow all rose to their feet.
Having heard the entire exchange, all three wore solemn expressions, killing intent pouring off them.
...
Far away in a small northern town, Natsu also received the mass magic message Mira had sent out.
"What?"
"Phantom Lord attacked a newcomer in the guild?"
"Kabe already decided we are going to war with Phantom Lord?!"
"Damn it, how could something like this happen without me?"
"I am going to beat every bastard who hurt my comrades into the ground!"
The moment he finished shouting, Natsu abandoned the task he was just about to complete and immediately sprinted back toward the guild with Happy.
He completely ignored Kabe's order for members farther away to stay on their missions.