Ice-Given Properties

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 flatly refused. "No thanks. I've got a job to do later. Find someone else."

"Old Man, I remember guild members who privately accept S-Class Requests are expelled from the guild, aren't they?"

Just then, Ye Yang slowly walked in from outside.

"What's going on? Why's everyone making such a racket so early in the morning? Did you make Old Man mad again, Laxus?"

A bolt of lightning instantly struck down. Ye Yang leaned slightly to the side, and the floor exploded apart.

"That was close, that was close. It nearly hit me—just barely."

Laxus shot Ye Yang an annoyed look, snorted, and left.

When Makarov saw Ye Yang, he hurriedly said, "Brat, you came at the perfect time. Hurry and bring Natsu and the others back!"

Ye Yang looked at Makarov in confusion. "What? Why am I chasing after him so early in the morning? What did Natsu do?"

"That little bastard had Happy sneak up to the second floor and steal an S-Class Request. Now he's gone off to do an S-Class Mission."

"Hahahaha, he finally did it? I thought he'd do it much sooner."

Seeing Ye Yang still laughing, Makarov grew 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 involving Demon Island."

"So we're heading out to sea?"

"That's right. Is there a problem?"

"Of course there's a problem. I can't swim."

The moment everyone heard Ye Yang say that he could not swim, they were all stunned.

"Ha—?!"

"You brat, how are you this old and still unable to swim?!"

"No, no. More precisely, I can't swim in the sea."

"What's the difference?!"

"The difference is huge."

"When have you ever seen me take 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 taken was within the country. Even when they were in distant places, he had always taken detours around the sea.

"You brat, why didn't you tell us earlier that you can't swim?!"

"Why would I tell other people about my weakness?!"

Seeing that Ye Yang did not seem to be joking, Makarov never would have imagined that Ye Yang was afraid of seawater. He immediately said, "Gray, go with Ye Yang."

Gray was immediately unwilling.

"Huh? Why should I go?"

Just as Gray was about to say something else, he noticed Ye Yang giving him a look. Though Gray did not understand, he promptly changed his tune.

"If I don't go, then no one can go. Old Man, I'll gladly take on this duty."

Makarov nodded in satisfaction.

Soon after, 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 so you can experience an S-Class Mission. If Natsu gets to experience an S-Class Mission before you do, you'll definitely feel dissatisfied. Old Man doesn't want guild members secretly taking S-Class Requests again."

"You mean...?"

"That's exactly what I mean. Old Man knows I can't sit still. He just wants me to complete this mission and teach that idiot Natsu a lesson while I'm at it."

Ye Yang and Gray had already arrived at Harujion Port. They asked several boat owners, but none of them were willing to sail to that Cursed Island.

Gray asked, "What do we do? No one is willing to head 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?"

Gray immediately used Modeling Magic, and a small ice boat appeared before them.

Ye Yang directly spread his hands and sat there like some lord, while Gray rowed the oars with all his strength.

Before long, Gray began to complain.

"Hey, can't you help me row? If I'm doing this alone, how long will it take 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 going on right now, let me talk to you about it."

The moment Gray heard that, he was instantly motivated.

Ye Yang glanced at Gray and said, "You said that Modeling Magic is the most flexible kind of magic."

"Yeah, that's right."

"But you can't overlook the essence of ice. There are many kinds of Modeling Magic to begin with: Ice Modeling, Light Modeling, Earth Modeling, and so on."

"Though they all fall under Modeling Magic, they possess different abilities. Take your ice, for example."

"You only think about shaping it into whatever you want, but you ignore ice's inherent Extreme Cold, just like Natsu's extreme heat."

"For example, if you use your ice to create a cage and trap an enemy, then all you've done is trap them."

"That's no different from locking someone in a prison. But the reason prisons are frightening is not merely because they restrict people's freedom—it's because of the torture within them."

After thinking for a moment, Gray seemed to understand something.

"You mean I should add freezing properties to my creations."

"That's right. It's the most direct property ice gives you."

"Just like this ice boat. You're only maintaining it to keep it from melting. If that's all it does, then it'll 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 wizard gives ice their own will, then ice becomes more than just ice."

"Of course, that isn't something you can grasp yet. You'll need to comprehend it for yourself."

"Ice imbued with will...?"

Gray suddenly thought of his teacher.

Ye Yang watched as Gray suddenly stopped rowing, then continuously waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Smack! Ye Yang slapped him across the face.

Gray instantly came to his senses.

"Did you just hit me?"

"I didn't."

"Then why does my face feel kind of numb?"

"Oh, a fish just flew out of the water and smacked you in the face with its tail."

"Really?"

"Oh, don't worry about such minor details."

"After telling you all that, it'd be better to let you see it for yourself."

As he spoke, Ye Yang gathered light together. A large amount of light energy immediately condensed into a little boy the size of a fist.

"Look, this is something I made with Light Modeling. Something this simple shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

Gray slowly nodded.

Then Ye Yang directly threw the little boy in his hand far behind them.

Splash.