User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 423: Do It All for Love, Review and Commentary/@comment-24039250-20150309235455/@comment-11721917-20150310073150

It was explained that the Pacifistas didn't get an upgrade and that's why the one-shots are justifiable. But in this case? At least Bluenote must have gotten stronger over the eight years, even if he's not at Gildarts-level anymore.