Makarov roared, "Laxus, you knew that was Happy! Why didn't you stop him?!"
"Tch, how was I supposed to know that was Happy?"
"Then hurry up and bring Natsu and the others back!"
"There's no one in the guild besides you who can bring him back!"
Laxus refused outright. "No thanks. I have a job to do later. Find someone else."
"Old Man, I remember that guild members who privately accept S-Class Requests are expelled from the guild, right?"
Just then, Ye Yang slowly walked in from outside.
"What's going on? Why are you all making such a racket this early in the morning? Did you make Old Man angry again, Laxus?"
A bolt of lightning instantly struck down. Ye Yang slightly leaned to the side, and the floor exploded apart.
"Close one, close one. That almost hit me. Just a little closer."
Laxus shot Ye Yang an annoyed look, snorted coldly, and left.
The moment Makarov saw Ye Yang, he hurriedly said, "Brat, you came at the right time! Hurry up and bring Natsu and the others back!"
Ye Yang looked at Makarov in confusion. "What? Why am I supposed to chase after him first thing in the morning? What did Natsu do?"
"That little bastard had Happy steal an S-Class Request from the second floor. He's gone off to do an S-Class Mission!"
"Hahahaha, so he finally did it? I thought he would've done it sooner."
Seeing Ye Yang still laughing, Makarov became even angrier. "What are you standing around for? Get going already!"
"Yes, yes. By the way, which request did he take?"
"Garna Island. A request concerning Demon Island."
"So we're heading out to sea?"
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
"Of course there is. I can't swim."
The moment everyone heard Ye Yang say that he could not swim, they were all stunned.
"Ha—?!"
"Brat, how are you this old and still unable to swim?!"
"No, no, to be precise, I can't swim in the sea."
(〝▼皿▼) "What's the difference?!"
"The difference is huge."
"When have you ever seen me accept a request that required crossing the sea?"
That was right. After obtaining this template, Ye Yang had tested the Devil Fruit's weakness to seawater. The moment he touched seawater, his whole body went limp.
Makarov thought about it and realized it was true. Every request Ye Yang had accepted was within the country. Even when the destination was far away, he had always taken a route around the sea.
"Brat, why didn't you tell us earlier that you can't swim?!"
"Why would I tell anyone about my weakness?!"
Seeing that Ye Yang was not joking, Makarov had never imagined that Ye Yang would be afraid of seawater. He immediately said, "Gray, go with Ye Yang."
Gray immediately refused.
"Huh? Why do I have to go?"
Just as Gray was about to say something else, he noticed Ye Yang giving him a look. Although Gray did not understand, he immediately changed his tune.
"If I don't go, then no one can. Old Man, I shall shoulder this responsibility without hesitation."
Makarov nodded in satisfaction.
Soon afterward, Ye Yang and Gray left the guild.
On the way, Gray asked, "Ye Yang, why did you want me to come along?"
"Of course, it's to let you experience an S-Class Mission. If Natsu gets to experience an S-Class Mission before you do, you'll definitely feel unbalanced. Old Man doesn't want guild members secretly accepting S-Class Requests again."
"You mean?"
"That's exactly what I mean. Old Man just can't stand seeing me idle. He's basically having me complete this mission and teach that idiot Natsu a lesson while I'm at it."
The scene shifted.
Ye Yang and Gray had already arrived at Harujion Port. They asked several boat owners, but none were willing to sail to that Cursed Island.
Gray asked, "What do we do? No one is willing to put out to sea."
Ye Yang rolled his eyes at Gray.
"If they won't go, can't we go ourselves? What do you think your Modeling Magic is for?"
"Right! How did I not think of that?"
At once, Gray used Modeling Magic, and a small ice boat appeared before them.
Ye Yang spread his hands and sat there like a lord, while Gray worked hard at rowing the two oars.
Before long, Gray began to complain.
"I say, can't you help row too? If I'm doing this alone, when are we ever going to get there?"
Ye Yang's eyes shifted.
"Gray, didn't you say before that you wanted to train with San Mao and the others? Since there's nothing to do right now, let me talk to you about it."
Gray was instantly motivated when he heard that.
After glancing at Gray, Ye Yang said, "You said Modeling Magic is the freest kind of magic."
"Yeah, that's right."
"But you can't ignore the essence of ice. There are many kinds of Modeling Magic—Ice Modeling, Light Modeling, Earth Modeling, and so on."
"Although they all belong to the modeling category, they possess completely different abilities. Take your ice, for example."
"You only think about turning it into anything you want, yet you've overlooked ice's essential Extreme Cold, just like Natsu's extreme heat."
"For instance, you create an ice cage to trap an enemy, but that only traps them."
"That's no different from locking someone in a prison. But the reason people fear prisons is not merely because they restrict freedom, but because of the torture inside them."
Gray pondered for a moment and seemed to understand something.
"You mean I should add freezing properties to my models."
"That's right. That is the most direct property ice gives you."
"Just like this ice boat. You're only maintaining it so it doesn't melt. If that's all it does, then it will forever be nothing more than a boat."
"But if you add the power of freezing, then this boat can freeze the sea for you."
"Even in this world of magic, ice is more than just ice. When a mage gives ice his own will, then ice becomes more than just ice."
"Of course, that's not something you can reach yet. You need to comprehend it yourself."
"Ice imbued with will?"
Gray suddenly thought of his teacher.
Ye Yang watched as Gray suddenly stopped rowing. He kept waving a hand in front of Gray's eyes.
Slap! Ye Yang directly smacked him across the face.
Gray instantly snapped back to his senses.
"Did you just hit me?"
"I didn't."
"Then why does my face feel kind of numb?"
"Oh, a fish just leaped out of the water and slapped you with its tail."
"Really?"
"Come on, don't worry about such minor details."
"After telling you all that, it would be better to show you with your own eyes."
As he spoke, Ye Yang gathered light together. A large amount of light energy was immediately condensed into a little boy the size of a fist.
"Look, this is an object I made with Light Modeling. Something this simple shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Gray slowly nodded.
Then Ye Yang directly hurled the little boy in his hand far behind them.
Splash.
Before you continue