Episode 171

Naval Battle is the 171st episode of the Fairy Tail anime. It aired on March 2, 2013.

As Fairy Tail happily parties in a bar to celebrate their earlier victories, others all around Crocus contemplate the harsh realities of things they have witnessed on the third day, and those to come. Malice also lurks in Sabertooth, as, in the Naval Battle event the following day, Minerva succeeds in brutally attacking Lucy as a demonstration of her guilds power.

Summary
Following their successful third day in the Grand Magic Games, the Fairy Tail Mages all gather at a bar in Crocus to celebrate. Congratulating Erza, Cana, Laxus and Wendy on their outstanding performances, the guild drinks and has fun, Natsu getting scolded for starting a barrel surfing game, which, despite it ruining the bar, everyone ends up joining in on.

However, as Fairy Tail celebrate, others around Crocus think about their own issues, Sting from Sabertooth confiding in Lector that he believes he will be fighting Natsu the following day, and is excited. In the shower, Kagura contemplates the meaning of Jellal being in Fairy Tail, whilst from the balcony outside, Millianna wonders the same thing. When Risley tries to get her to speak about her troubles, Millianna states that there is nothing wrong, though tells Risley that they must try their hardest to win the Grand Magic Games for their guild. The man on the two woman's mind, Jellal, also thinks alone, walking through the streets as he remembers his identity being revealed earlier that day. All the while, in Mercurius, Yukino reports to her commander, addressing herself at "Sergeant".

The fourth day of the Grand Magic Games then gets into swing with the beginning of the event Naval Battle. Introducing Rabian as the guest commentator of the day, Chapati explains the rules of the event, where each competitor swims in a giant sphere of water and must try to knock the other players out without falling out themselves. When only two competitors remain, a five minute timer will be set, and, should one of the players fall out during this time, they will not receive second place, rather last.

When the game starts, each guild sends forth their competitors: Chelia, Jenny, Risley, Minerva, Juvia and Lucy make up the very much adored female portion of the players, whilst Rocker of Quatro Puppy is the only male, much to the crowds disliking. Once the event starts, Lucy hurriedly summons Aquarius right off the bat, hoping to take everyone out at once. However, Aquarius is countered by Juvia, who declares that she will not lose whilst in her own element, nor against her "love rival". As the two Fairy Tail Mages fight it out, Jenny uses the distraction to knock out Rocker, whilst the other woman begin to utilize their Magic to force each other out.

Seeing she is evenly matched, Aquarius decides to leave, almost costing Lucy her place in the game; the Celestial Spirit Mage just manages to summon Virgo and Aries to save her. Aries creates a wall of wool to absorb Juvia's magic while Virgo keeps Lucy out of the way. Wanting to demonstrate her power, Juvia releases a new spell she learned after having her Second Origin activated, turning to cast "Wings of Love" at her opponents, the attack springing forth a cluster of heart-filled currents, as Juvia openly declares her love for Gray. The attack proves to be a success, knocking out Chelia, Jenny and Risley all at once. Happy with herself, Juvia turns to see Gray's reaction, however, upon seeing him appalled by the stunt she pulled, Juvia quickly becomes depressed. Before she can move to do anything else however, the Water Mage suddenly finds herself outside of the sphere, falling to the ground and receiving third place whilst her team berates her for losing focus.

It is quickly revealed that Minerva was responsible for Juvia's fall, her team stating that with her Magic, she could have pushed everyone from the arena in a matter of seconds. With just Minerva and Lucy remaining, the special timer goes into play, and Minerva is quick to attack Lucy through the water, forming multiple circles of heated water that explode and hit her, damaging and burning her. Lucy tries to retaliate by grabbing her keys, but discovers that Minerva has also managed to take them from her. Now defenseless, Lucy can do nothing but receive blow after blow from Minerva, who, despite being able to, does not push Lucy fully from the sphere.

Asking Lucy to give up, Minerva moves to cast another spell, though Lucy, close to tears, states that she will do whatever need be to win the game, as, if she were to lose, she could never look her team-mates in the eyes after all they have sacrificed and achieved. Hearing this, Minerva suddenly ceases her attacks until the five minute timer runs out, though, rather than just ending the match, Minerva screams that Lucy should not look down on Sabertooth, and begins to attack her even more ferociously than before. As the crowd watch on, shocked, Minerva both attacks Lucy physically and with her Magic, and, even when Lucy is about to fall from the arena, warps her back to the center to continue her brutal treatment. Seeing that the Sabertooth woman is just trying to rough Lucy up, many members of the crowd and commentators begin to try and stop the game, and, after a short while, Mato officially calls the round to a halt, with Lucy barely conscious and therefore unable to continue playing. As Fairy Tail glare at the smirking Sabertooth, Minerva grabs Lucy and hoists her up and out of the sphere, dangling her like a trophy as the others rush to her aid.

Battles & Events

 * Naval Battle (started and concluded)

Magic used

 * Summoned the Water Bearer, Aquarius
 * Summoned the Maiden, Virgo
 * Summoned the Ram, Aries
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic
 * War God Magic

Spells used

 * Wool Cushion
 * Wool Cushion

Abilities used

 * Hand to Hand Combat
 * Multiple Summoning
 * Combination Defense

Items used

 * Celestial Spirit Gate Keys
 * Gate of the Water Bearer Key
 * Gate of the Maiden Key
 * Gate of the Ram Key

Manga & Anime Differences

 * Kagura is shown taking a shower in the anime while in the manga she was taking a bath.
 * A scene between Millianna and Risley was added in the anime, while it is absent in the manga.
 * In the manga, Aries saves Lucy by creating a cushion of wool to keep Lucy from exiting the sphere, in the anime, she creates a wool barrier to block Juvia's magic while Virgo keeps Lucy out of the way.
 * There is more conversation and cheers about the event from the audience in the anime.
 * In the manga Minerva beats up Lucy during the count down while in the anime she waits for it to end.
 * The battles between the contestants are expanded in the anime.
 * In the anime Cana and Gajeel talk about Minerva's intention to torture Lucy, while in the manga it were Gajeel and Laxus.