Ah, I don't know. I'm not liking the direction this arc is heading. It seems like Mashima threw this arc together on a whim without much thought. Well, I guess I don't have any basis for claiming it that way because it just started, but that's my early impression.
Though Mashima did throw in something curious for Natsu not being able to get through the barrier. Is he really over 80 years old? I just hope there isn't some lame reason why he can't get through.