"Who is it?!"
Everyone looked utterly bewildered.
"Qi Yan?!"
Lucy asked cautiously, barely daring to confirm, as Qi Yan's appearance had changed too drastically; he looked like a completely different person.
"Yes, it's me."
"It's time to deal with you scum and trash."
Qi Yan was about to make his move when a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle.
"Qi Yan… Ugh, ugh~~~!"
"Just a moment, I'll take care of these guys in three seconds. Also, stand back, don't throw up on me!"
"No! These bastards are impersonating Fairy Tail… I want to beat them to a pulp myself! …Ugh, ugh…"
Qi Yan heard Natsu and thought it made sense. They had to go back anyway, and since the other party was impersonating Natsu, it was only right for Natsu to handle it.
"Alright!"
Whoosh— — — —!!
Flames erupted from Qi Yan's feet, burning a hole in the deck. The flames then entered the cabin through the hole, burst through the stern, as if a rocket booster had been attached to the ship's rear.
"Hold on tight!"
Qi Yan reminded Lucy.
"???"
Lucy was a bit bewildered, not understanding what Qi Yan meant, but she quickly figured it out.
Bang— — — —!
A powerful thrust appeared, causing almost everyone to lose their balance and fall backward.
"Aaaahhhhhh!" …Then the entire ship executed a massive drift, and everyone tumbled to the other side.
"Aaaahhhhhh!!" …Finally, it accelerated and charged towards Hargeon Port, sending everyone sprawling.
Soon, the ship directly crashed onto the port's beach, stranding itself there.
"Wh… What's happening?!"
"The ship crashed into the port!!"
At this moment, the people at the port also ran out to see what was going on.
The girls on the ship who had been drugged now woke up, screaming and scattering.
"Finally… it's not… swaying anymore."
Natsu slowly stood up.
"N-No good… Mr. Salamander, we're back at the port, and those girls have all escaped."
"What?!"
Lucy was overjoyed to hear this: "Excellent! When the army arrives, you'll all be finished!"
"Kid, look at the mess you've made!"
Salamander glared at Qi Yan through gritted teeth. His ship was destroyed, his business ruined, and he might even face pursuit from the Magic Council.
Qi Yan, however, smiled indifferently: "Well~! No need to thank me, I just love doing good deeds."
Salamander retorted: "I wasn't praising you!!"
Natsu stood up, took off his jacket, and stared at Salamander: "Are you a Mage from Fairy Tail?"
"Huh? At a time like this, you're still talking about that? So what if I am? So what if I'm not?"
"Come over here and show me! I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail!! I've never seen anyone like you!!"
"What?!"
Lucy was utterly shocked: "Fairy Tail?! Natsu is actually a Mage from Fairy Tail?! If Natsu is a Mage from Fairy Tail, then Qi Yan…"
Lucy suddenly remembered what Qi Yan had said earlier. No wonder Qi Yan was so certain that Salamander was an imposter, because he himself was a Mage from Fairy Tail, and naturally knew the other person was faking it.
"Look at that emblem!!"
"Mr. Bora, this is the real deal!!"
"Stu… Stupid! Don't call me by my real name!!"
Salamander, no, Bora, grew nervous upon hearing this. Wouldn't his identity be exposed then?
"Bora, Bora of the Red Earth, the one expelled from the Mage Guild 'Titan's Nose' several years ago."
Happy usually kept an eye on information in the magic world.
"I heard about this; he was expelled for frequently using magic to steal. I didn't expect him to become a human trafficker now."
When Lucy was at home, she paid even more attention to Sorcerer Weekly, which recorded all the major and minor events in the magic world.
Natsu gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead: "I don't care if you're good or bad, but impersonating Fairy Tail is unforgivable!"
Compared to Qi Yan, who had only joined half a year ago, Natsu had been with Fairy Tail since childhood and had a very deep emotional connection to it. For someone to impersonate Fairy Tail's name to engage in human trafficking was simply tarnishing Fairy Tail's reputation.
"Hmph!! You brat, shut up!!"
"Red Lotus Typhoon!!"
Bora raised his hand and unleashed a violent ball of flame at Natsu, completely enveloping his body.
"Natsu!"
Lucy was about to rush forward to help but was stopped by Happy.
"Hmph! I don't believe you can survive after being hit by my fire magic."
"Tastes terrible."
Natsu's voice came from within the flames, causing Bora's expression to stiffen.
Immediately after, everyone witnessed an even more horrifying sight.
"What is this? Are you really a Fire Mage? This is the first time I've eaten such terrible-tasting fire. Compared to Qi Yan's fire, your flames taste far worse."
Natsu grabbed the flames with his palms and continuously fed them into his mouth, swallowing the flames mouthful by mouthful.
"What?!!!"
"Fire… He actually ate fire?!"
"Wh… What… Is this guy human?!"
Bora was so scared he was incoherent. It was one thing for his fire attacks to be ineffective against Qi Yan, but for someone to be able to eat his flames was just too absurd.
Happy proudly said: "Fire cannot harm Natsu."
Lucy was also sweating in fear: "I've never seen this kind of magic!!"
"After eating it, power surged through me! I won't hold back!!"
Natsu took a deep breath, gathering magic in his lungs.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
Natsu spewed a massive amount of flames from his mouth.
Boom— — — —!!
The entire ship exploded with a roar.
"Ugh, ah, ah, ah!!" …Numerous traffickers screamed as they were blown away.
At this moment, one of the traffickers recognized Natsu and trembled in fear: "This kid… Could it be… Mr. Bora!! I've seen this kid before!!"
"Cherry-red hair and a scarf like scales, it's definitely him!! This kid is… the real…"
"Salamander…"
Lucy also guessed Natsu's identity at this point. Natsu was the real Salamander.
"Remember this!! This is what a Fairy Tail Mage is like!!!"
Natsu, with flames wreathed around his fists, charged directly at the traffickers and the others.
"Ugh, ah, ah, ah!!"
"Wah, ah, ah, ah!!" …The screams of the traffickers immediately filled the air.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Bora immediately wanted to escape. Both the guy who couldn't be killed by bullets and the guy who could swallow flames were monsters.
He was alone, but they had two. Two fists couldn't contend with four hands; running away was not shameful.
Bora, with purple flames beneath his feet, flew into the distance.
He was immediately spotted by the sharp-eyed Lucy: "Oh no! That guy's trying to escape!!"
Qi Yan raised an eyebrow: "Escape? You offend Fairy Tail and still think you can escape? There's no such easy thing in this world."
Qi Yan's right arm transformed into flames, gathering power.
"Fire Fist!!!"