Gajeel leads the initial strike against Fairy Tail, using guerrilla tactics, by compromising the Fairy Tail Guildhall with large iron pillars that protrude throughout the building, destroying the Guildhall's foundation. As a mark of strength, he makes an example of Fairy Tail's own Team Shadow Gear and pins them to a tree (in a crucifixion style), inscribing the Phantom Lord mark onto their torsos, signifying who the perpetrating guild was. This act ultimately provokes Makarov to declare war on Phantom Lord.