Treasure Hunt, Part Three

Everyone rushed over excitedly, eager to see what treasures were inside the chest.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

One by one, they all fell into the pit they had dug earlier.

Some people missed the edge of the pit, some were pushed from behind, and some tried to jump over but slipped. The scene was like a domino effect, with one falling and the whole row falling.

Riyao, Mirajane, and Lisanna sat on deck chairs, watching Virgo standing alone in the middle of the beach, surrounded by a chorus of wails. The three of them were laughing so hard they could hardly stand up straight.

Mirajane lay on Riyao's back, laughing so hard her whole body trembled, her long silver hair tickling Riyao's neck.

"Hahaha... they dug their own graves and jumped in themselves, these idiots..."

Riyao, hands on his knees, laughed until he hiccuped and tears streamed down his face.

"Who do you think... hiccup... will climb up first... hiccup..."

Lisanna simply lay down on the beach, clutching her stomach with both hands, giggling incessantly, her mole ears twitching.

They hadn't climbed up yet when Makarov arrived first.

A short figure appeared at the entrance to the beach, followed by several residents with helpless expressions.

Makarov looked at the devastated beach before him, took a deep breath, and then roared at the sand.

"What are you doing?! Someone has already complained to me!"

The beach was now full of potholes, with not a single good spot, as if it had been bombarded three times by a meteorite swarm, plowed twice, and then trampled by a giant.

Most of the members who were climbing up silently retreated back to the bottom of the pit after hearing Makarov's roar.

Why say the majority of members?

Erza is ashamed of falling into the pit and doesn't want to get out for the time being.

She squatted at the bottom of the pit, hugging her knees, her red hair hanging down to cover half her face, and the tips of her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

Natsu jumped out of the pit, landed on his feet, and excitedly waved his fist.

"Haha! I was the first one to climb out!"

Several other heads emerged from different pits, cautiously observing their surroundings before daring to climb out, making sure Makarov's anger hadn't reached them.

Makarov's body suddenly swelled, transforming into a giant in the blink of an eye, looking down at Natsu from above.

A giant fist descended from the sky, striking Natsu squarely on the head, making him see stars, before being picked up like a chick and tossed aside.

"You were the first one to climb out? You're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you!"

Then Makarov bent down, stretched out his huge fingers and dug into the pit, like digging out a crab hole, pulling out the members one by one, grabbing them by the back of their collars and throwing them aside.

As everyone knows, Gray likes to go shirtless... so Makarov dragged him out by his underwear.

To be honest, it really is the whitest part.

Gray covered his face with his hands, trying to preserve his last shred of dignity, but the underpants that Makarov was holding were in grave danger, and his legs kicked helplessly in the air.

Erza was quite clever; she secretly Requip at the bottom of the pit, putting on a Happy doll costume.

When Makarov pulled her out, she imitated Happy, raising her two furry paws and shouting, "Aye!"

Makarov's hand trembled, and he almost threw her off.

Mirajane and Lisanna couldn't stop laughing, Riyao, as a professionally trained mage, was also having a great time. The three of them leaned together crookedly, laughing so hard they almost fell over.

The Fairy Tail members knelt in a row on the beach, looking like a group of elementary school students being punished by their teacher.

Makarov returned to his normal size, pacing in front of them with his hands behind his back, his beard twitching with anger.

"Look what you've done to the beach! Now you'd better fill it back up for me! No magic allowed!"

The group reluctantly picked up their shovels and began filling in the holes, looking dejected and like wilted eggplants.

Riyao, his two companions, and Virgo stood next to Makarov, watching leisurely.

Lisanna hid guiltily behind Riyao; after all, she had dug quite a few holes, but was just lucky not to fall in.

Makarov took the large box from Virgo's arms, rubbing his little hands together, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"Hehehe, let this old man see what treasures are inside."

Lucy, who was busy shoveling sand, suddenly looked up and shouted, "President! That's what I... dug up by Virgo!"

Makarov, whose hand had already touched the treasure chest, gave an awkward smile, withdrew his hand, and then stretched it out again, repeating this several times.

"I'm just taking a look for you, that's all."

The moment the box was opened, a dazzling golden light burst forth, so bright that everyone squinted.

Oh! The Golden Legend.

The members who were filling the hole dropped their shovels and ran over to watch, all crowding together to peer into the box.

Inside the box was a glowing crystal ball and a recording crystal ball. The golden light was emitted from the crystal ball used for illumination, turning the entire beach golden.

A small note was stuck to the crystal ball containing two crookedly written words, "Fire Dragon".

Natsu immediately got excited, his eyes shining like two suns, and he jumped up and shouted.

"Oh! Quick, check if this is a message left by Igneel!"

Makarov put it away, tucked it into his pocket, and looked around at the beach that had been dug up beyond recognition.

"We'll check back at the guild; let's hurry and fill in the gaps."

The progress of filling in the gaps is accelerating...

Back at the guild, Natsu had a strange blush on his face, and he was so excited that he danced around, clinging to Makarov's clothes and refusing to let go.

"Grandpa, quickly release it and take a look. It must be a message left by Igneel!"

The others were also excited, forming a circle, eager to see the legendary dragon.

Riyao was already grinning from ear to ear, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

Mirajane looked at Riyao, who was laughing so hard, and sighed helplessly. She probably already guessed what was inside.

Makarov placed the recording crystal ball on the table, adjusted its angle, and the crystal ball began to hum as it started playing the projection.

To everyone's eager anticipation, the screen that played was actually the Fairy Tail guild lobby.

Natsu shouted in disappointment, looking completely deflated.

"What? It's not Igneel."

In the scene, a Little Natsu appeared, his pink hedgehog-like hair even more frizzy than it is now, and he only reached the height of a table leg.

He crept stealthily along the wall, his little feet making no sound on the floor, and stealthily made his way toward Makarov's office.

Little Gray and Cana crouched in the corner, watching Little Natsu sneak into the chairman's office in a blatant act. The two looked at each other, speechless.

After a while, Little Natsu came out carrying a bottle bigger than his head, walking unsteadily and almost tripping over the threshold.

The three little ones got together to try drinking, Little Erza suddenly appeared out of nowhere and joined in.

Little Natsu tilted his head back and took a big gulp, then rolled his eyes and fell asleep on the spot, his little body slapping down on the ground with a loud snoring.

The other three looked at Little Natsu, who fell asleep instantly, and laughed at him, saying he was such a loser.

Little Erza got more and more tipsy, her little face flushed, and she pulled out her longsword and started acting crazy.

She slashed her sword between Gray's legs, the blade whistling past the seam of his trousers. Little Gray retreated in terror, not forgetting to reach out and pull away Little Natsu, who was fast asleep on the ground.

Little Erza brandished her longsword, standing on the table with an air of supreme authority, her red hair flying in the air.

She chopped all the tables and benches around her into pieces, sending wood chips flying everywhere, and then chased Little Gray all over the hall.

Little Gray dragged Little Natsu along with one hand and held up his pants that were about to fall down with the other. The guild was in chaos, and the other members ran away with their heads in their hands.

Just then, Little Riyao walked in from off-screen and calmly waved to Little Gray to run this way.

Little Gray dragged Little Natsu away and charged forward, with Little Erza chasing after them. Just as Little Riyao passed by Little Erza, Little Riyao delivered a beautiful chop to the back of Little Erza's neck.

Little Erza's eyes instantly lost focus, her body went limp, and she fell into a sweet sleep.

That's the end of the video.

The guild members were so trying to suppress their laughter that their shoulders were shaking. Some covered their mouths, some bit their lips, and some simply buried their faces under the table.

Erza's face was so red it was practically steaming, her whole face looked like a boiled crab, and steam was even faintly rising from the top of her head.

She covered her face with her hands, and the skin peeking out from between her fingers was burning red.

Lucy covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter, but she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.

"Gray, why didn't you abandon Natsu and run away? Erza seemed to be after you."

Gray scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"I didn't think too much about it at the time; I just thought I could Natsu as a shield."

He paused, then added.

"Besides, Natsu is asleep; it wouldn't be good to leave him alone."

Makarov shed tears, his beard trembling.

"That's a bottle of wine I've treasured for years, I couldn't bear to drink it, and this brat ruined it..."

Levy pushed up her glasses, and a glint of light flashed from the lenses.

"Judging from the angle at which Brother Riyao appeared, he clearly came out from behind the crystal ball, therefore! The photographer was Brother Riyao!"

Everyone turned to look at Riyao.

Riyao rubbed his face, which had stiffened from smiling, and looked completely at ease.

"It's me."

Lucy was very curious.

What does the number 12 on the treasure map mean? And what is the Fire Dragon in the crystal ball?

Riyao shook his finger, looking inscrutable.

"The 12 refers to the 12 dark secrets I've buried, and the Fire Dragon refers to Natsu —the bloodshed caused by Natsu stealing alcohol."

He held up his fingers and began to count them one by one.

"These 12 are all different people's dark histories. You know about the Fire Dragon, right? There's also Ice Cube, Cards, Knight, Old Man, Blue Hair, Lightning, Words, Animals, Celestial Spirits, Guns, and Gears. The related treasure maps are in the guild."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the guild hall.

Many people felt that those entries were related to them, their expressions changed, and they began frantically searching for the treasure map.

After saying that, Riyao grabbed Mirajane's wrist and ran outside, his steps quick, not forgetting to turn back and wave to the crowd.

"I'm off now, you guys keep looking!"

Mirajane was dragged along by him, her long silver hair fluttering behind her, and she smiled helplessly.

"You..."

Lisanna followed suit, and the three of them disappeared in a flash from the guild entrance.

A roar of anger came from behind, "Riyao! Stop right there!!"