User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 238: At One Time, Review./@comment-5234862-20110612014054/@comment-1839664-20110612032724

If you have noticed, Mashima's story arc is generally quite shorter compared to most of the other manga artist's story arc. Even the longest arc that he has done, which is RAVE's chapter 179-232, only lasted about 53 chapters. In general, some of the battles are shortened due to the editor's request, but currently that's uncertain. Probably when volume 28 or 29 is released, he may comment on some of the battles, and how he originally intended to draw it. It's not a full guarantee, but with a few cliffhanging chapter endings with no actual revelation to the story (Laxus and the boy that stared at the sea), most likely he will explain something.