Mirajane had been extremely upset the entire way back because Erza had told her that she had won, though Mirajane refused to believe it.
But the moment she returned to the guild, she heard everyone saying Erza had won, forcing her to accept that cruel reality.
Because that meant she was weaker than Erza, and she could not accept that.
Mirajane immediately went to find Ye Yang, grabbed his clothes, and shook him nonstop.
"Why did she win?! Ahhh!!!"
"Help! Help! Somebody save me!"
The guild members paid them no mind, watching the two of them fool around.
After the banquet ended, Ye Yang returned home as well.
"System, open the panel."
[Ding! System panel successfully opened.] [Host: Ye Yang] [Age: 13] [Template: Borsalino 60%] [Abilities: Advanced Armament Haki, Advanced Observation Haki, Proficient Glint-Glint Fruit, Advanced Navy Six Styles, Swordmaster.] [Money: 51,542,726J] [100,000,000J required to unlock the next stage of the Borsalino template.] [Backpack: Evolution Fruit ×1 (usable once the template reaches 100%)]
"It's already close to halfway. Four years from now will be when the story begins. By then, I really won't have time to take on any commissions."
"I need to earn as much money as possible over these four years. I wonder how much the next stage will cost."
Time flew by, and four years passed in the blink of an eye. During the second year, Mirajane finally became an S-Class Mage as she had wished.
Ye Yang remembered that the year after Mirajane became an S-Class Mage, she would take her younger brother and sister on an S-Class Beast King mission. So, from time to time, Ye Yang checked to see whether any Beast King commissions had been posted.
But even so, the gears of fate continued to turn. While Ye Yang was away on a mission, the Beast King commission was taken by Mirajane as expected. By the time Ye Yang returned to the guild, it was already too late.
Due to the shadow in her heart, Mirajane could no longer use magic power. Elfman shed the cowardly watermelon-head look of the past and became a muscular man who constantly shouted about being a man.
Elfman also began physical training alongside San Mao and Er Gou, and Ye Yang passed the Six Styles on to him.
That same year, Mystogan, a prince from Another World, joined Fairy Tail and became that year's S-Class Mage.
After training for several years, Er Gou and San Mao had completely mastered the Six Styles and developed their own derivative techniques. Their strength improved rapidly, but their physical abilities had also reached the limits of humanity.
In this world dominated by magic, physical training naturally had its limits. Only through the stimulation of Ye Yang's Medicinal Bath did the two gain strength that surpassed those limits.
But compared to Natsu's dragon-like constitution, they were nowhere close.
Year X784
Harujion Port Train Station
"Natsu, it's time to get off."
"Σ_(???"∠) Blegh... Let... let me catch my breath..."
The somewhat flustered conductor beside him asked with concern, "Sir, are you all right?"
"Love~"
"Don't worry. It's just his old problem acting up."
"Wuu—!!"
"Σ(?д?|||)??"
"Help me, Happy~"
Happy stared in shock as Natsu was carried away by the train once again.
Meanwhile, Ye Yang had completed all of this year's mission quotas and returned to Harujion Port.
"Haah..."
"I'm exhausted, exhausted. That Ten-Year Mission really took up a lot of time. I have no idea why Uncle would want to take on a 100-Year Task."
Ye Yang had barely raised his head when he spotted a little blue cat flying through the sky.
"Happy?"
"Why are those two here?"
"Forget it, I won't bother with them. I'm hungry. I need to find something to eat, or I'll be letting my stomach down. My appetite has been getting bigger and bigger lately."
Just as Ye Yang headed toward a restaurant, he saw a curvaceous girl storm out of a magic item shop.
"Hm? She looks familiar somehow."
"Forget it. Food comes first."
Still, his gaze followed the direction in which the girl left.
"Great figure."
Meanwhile, the clock of fate turned, and the boy and girl met just like that.
To thank the boy, the girl took him and the cat to a restaurant for a meal.
The moment the two and the cat entered, they saw everyone staring ahead in shock.
The table in front of them was piled high with plates, like a mountain.
And the person eating was still continuously stuffing himself with the food remaining on another mountain of plates.
Natsu and Happy recognized him at once.
They shouted excitedly, "Ye Yang!"
"Boss!"
Lucy blinked. "Boss?"
"Did you run into someone you know?"
Happy said, "Love! Boss is my favorite! When I'm with him, there's endless food to eat."
Natsu nodded in agreement. "That's right, that's right! And you don't even have to pay."
Hearing someone call him, Ye Yang stopped eating, raised his head, and saw Happy and Natsu.
"You're here. I thought I'd seen wrong at the station."
"Boss! Another twenty servings!"
The two humans and one cat then began a frenzied eating spree, leaving Lucy so embarrassed she could die.
Is this guy really human? Eating like that, won't his stomach burst?!
Ye Yang looked at Natsu and asked, "Who's this?"
"Oh, oh, her name's Luoyiz!"
"ヽ(｀д′)ノ It's Lucy!!"
Ye Yang stared at Lucy in surprise. "You're Lucy?!"
Lucy immediately struck a smug pose. "You know me?! I can't believe I already have fans after being out here for such a short time!"
Ye Yang calmly shook his head. "No, no. You're overthinking it. I don't know you at all."
Bang! Lucy was utterly speechless and slammed her forehead directly onto the table.
Then why did you act like you knew me?
"Haha, Natsu, your friend is really interesting."
Still eating, Natsu did not hear what Lucy said at all and answered perfunctorily, "Yeah, yeah."
After filling his stomach, Ye Yang asked, "Natsu, why did you come here?"
Lucy immediately said, "I think he was looking for someone."
Natsu stopped eating and said, "I heard someone called the Fire Dragon showed up here, so I came to see whether it was Igneel."
"Who knew I'd just mistaken the wrong person for him :-(."
Lucy asked doubtfully, "Huh? Someone who looks like a Fire Dragon? What would that even look like?"
Natsu explained, "Igneel isn't a person. He's a real, genuine dragon."
Σ( ° △ °|||)︴Lucy said, "But how could a Fire Dragon appear in a town? And are there really dragons in this world?!"
Only then did Natsu and Happy realize that if a Fire Dragon openly appeared in town, it would cause complete chaos.
They instantly understood that the information had been fake.
Ye Yang looked at the two dimwits and immediately laughed. "Hahaha, you two really are as scatterbrained as ever."
Before you continue