Everyone excitedly rushed over, wanting to see what good things were inside the treasure chest.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
One after another, they all fell into the pit dug earlier.
Some stepped on the edge of the pit, some were pushed from behind, and some tried to jump across but slipped; the scene was comparable to falling dominoes—one fell, and the whole row followed.
Riyao, Mirajane, and Lisanna sat on lounge chairs, watching Virgo standing alone in the middle of the beach, surrounded by a circle of rising and falling wails. The three were laughing so hard they couldn't stand straight.
Mirajane leaned on Riyao's back, her whole body trembling with laughter, her long silver hair tickling Riyao's neck: "Hahaha... digging a pit and falling into it themselves, these idiots..."
Riyao propped his hands on his knees, laughing until he hiccuped, tears streaming down his face: "Who do you think... hic... will climb out first... hic..."
Lisanna simply lay on the beach, clutching her stomach with both hands, giggling non-stop, her mole ears twitching.
Before they could climb out, Makarov arrived first.
A short figure appeared at the beach entrance, followed by several residents with helpless expressions.
Makarov looked at the devastated beach before him, took a deep breath, and then roared at the beach: "What are you doing?! People have already complained to me!"
At this moment, the beach was full of holes and bumps, with not a single good spot left. It looked like it had been bombarded by a meteor shower three times, plowed twice, and then stepped on by a giant.
Most of the members who were currently climbing up silently retreated back to the bottom of the pits upon hearing Makarov's roar.
Why only most members? Because Erza felt very ashamed of falling into the pit and didn't want to come out for the time being. She crouched at the bottom of the pit, hugging her knees, her red hair hanging down to cover half her face, the tips of her ears so red they looked like they might drip blood.
Natsu jumped out of the pit, feet landing on the ground, excitedly waving his fists: "Hahahaha! I'm the first one to climb out!"
A few more heads popped out from different pits, cautiously observing the surroundings, only daring to climb out after confirming that Makarov's anger wasn't directed at them.
Makarov's body suddenly expanded, turning into a giant in the blink of an eye, looking down at Natsu from above.
A huge fist descended from the sky, accurately smashing onto Natsu's head, making him see stars, and then he was picked up like a chick and tossed aside.
"The first one to climb out? You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you!"
Then Makarov bent down, reaching into the pits with his huge fingers like he was digging out crab holes, pulling the members out one by one and tossing them aside by their back collars.
As everyone knows, Gray likes to go shirtless... so Makarov pulled him out by grabbing his boxers.
It must be said, it was indeed the whitest part.
Gray covered his face with both hands, trying to maintain his last bit of dignity, but the boxers held by Makarov were already in a precarious state, his two legs kicking helplessly in the air.
Erza was very smart; she quietly used Requip at the bottom of the pit, changing directly into a Happy mascot suit. When Makarov pulled her out, she even mimicked Happy, raising two furry cat paws: "Aye!"
Makarov's hand shook, almost flinging her away.
Mirajane and Lisanna never stopped laughing. As a professionally trained Mage, Riyao was also laughing uncontrollably. The three of them leaned against each other, swaying with laughter.
A crowd of Fairy Tail members sat kneeling in a row on the beach, looking exactly like a group of elementary school students being punished by their teacher.
Makarov returned to his normal size and paced in front of them with his hands behind his back, his mustache twitching with anger: "Look at how you've dug up the beach! Now, you will fill the beach back in for me! No magic allowed!"
Everyone miserably took up shovels and began to fill the pits, each one dejected like frost-bitten eggplants.
Riyao, the other two, and Virgo stood beside Makarov, watching leisurely. Lisanna hid guiltily behind Riyao; after all, she had dug many holes too, she just happened to have the luck not to fall in.
Makarov took the large chest from Virgo's arms, rubbing his small hands together, his eyes sparkling with greedy light: "Hehehe, let this old man see what treasures are inside."
Lucy, who was buried in shoveling sand, heard this and suddenly raised her head, shouting loudly: "Master! That was... my Virgo who dug that up!"
Makarov, whose hands were already on the treasure chest, gave an awkward smile, retracting his hands and then reaching out again several times: "I'm just checking it for you, just checking it for you."
The moment the chest was opened, a brilliant golden light burst out, making everyone squint their eyes.
Ooh! A Golden Legend.
The members who were filling the pits dropped their shovels and ran over to watch, their heads crowding together to look into the chest.
Inside the chest was a glowing crystal ball and a Recording Crystal Ball. The golden light was emitted by the illumination crystal ball, dyeing the entire beach golden.
There was a small note stuck to the Recording Crystal Ball, with two words crookedly written on it: "Fire Dragon".
Natsu immediately got excited, his eyes shining like two suns, jumping up and shouting: "Whoa! Quick, see if it's from Igneel!"
Makarov put it away, stuffing it into his robe, and looked at the beach that had been dug beyond recognition: "We'll watch it when we get back to the guild. Hurry up and fill the pits."
The pit-filling progress accelerated...
When everyone returned to the guild, Natsu had an inexplicable flush on his face and was dancing with excitement, clutching Makarov's hem and refusing to let go: "Old man, hurry up and play it, it must be a message left by Igneel!"
The others were also full of excitement, forming a circle, wanting to see the legendary dragon.
Riyao was already laughing so hard he couldn't close his mouth, his shoulders shaking. Mirajane looked at Riyao laughing like this and sighed with a helpless expression; she had probably already guessed what was inside.
Makarov placed the Recording Crystal Ball on the table and adjusted the angle. The crystal ball hummed and began to play a projection.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, the image that played was actually the Fairy Tail Guild hall.
Natsu shouted in disappointment, his whole being like a deflated ball: "What? It's not Igneel."
In the image, a little Natsu appeared, his pink spiky hair even wilder than it was now, his height only reaching the table legs.
He walked stealthily along the base of the wall, his little feet making no sound on the floor, sneaking toward Makarov's office with a shifty gaze.
Little Gray and little Cana were crouching in the corner, watching the stealthy little Natsu openly infiltrate the Master's office; the two looked at each other, both speechless.
After a while, little Natsu came out holding a wine bottle larger than his head, walking unsteadily and almost tripping over the threshold.
The three little ones gathered together to try the wine, and little Erza appeared from nowhere, joining them as well.
Little Natsu tilted his head back and took a large gulp, then his eyes rolled back, and he fell asleep on the spot, his little body flopping onto the floor with a loud snore.
The other three looked at the instantly asleep little Natsu, mocking him for being weak.
Little Erza got more and more tipsy, her little face flushed red, and she suddenly pulled out a long sword to start her drunken antics.
She slashed her sword between Gray's legs, the blade whistling past his pants seam. Little Gray retreated in terror, not forgetting to reach out and drag away the fast-asleep little Natsu lying on the ground.
Little Erza brandished her long sword, standing on a table with an air of being supreme in the world, her short red hair flying in the air.
She smashed all the surrounding tables and chairs into pieces, wood chips flying everywhere, and then chased little Gray all over the hall. Little Gray ran wildly while dragging little Natsu with one hand and holding up his falling boxers with the other; the guild was in chaos, and other members fled in all directions.
Just then, little Riyao walked into the frame from outside, calmly gesturing for little Gray to run this way.
Little Gray rushed over dragging little Natsu, and little Erza chased after them. The moment little Erza passed little Riyao, little Riyao delivered a beautiful hand-chop, landing accurately on little Erza's nape.
Little Erza's eyes instantly lost focus, and her body slumped down, falling into a sweet sleep.
The image ended there.
Everyone in the guild was suppressing their laughter, their shoulders shaking. Some covered their mouths, some bit their lips, and some simply buried their faces under the tables.
Erza's face was so red that white smoke was coming out; her whole face looked like a cooked crab, and steam even seemed to be rising from the top of her head. She covered her face with both hands, the skin visible through her fingers burning red.
Lucy covered her mouth trying to hold back laughter, but the corners of her mouth wouldn't stay down: "Gray, why didn't you leave Natsu and run back then? Erza seemed to be going after you."
Gray scratched his head with an embarrassed look: "I didn't think much at the time, I just thought I could use Natsu as a shield."
He paused and added: "Besides, Natsu was asleep, it wouldn't be right to leave him behind."
Makarov shed tears, his mustache trembling: "That was my wine that I'd kept for many years, I couldn't even bear to drink it myself, and it was ruined by these brats..."
Levy pushed her glasses, a light flashing across the lenses: "The angle where Riyao appeared just now was clearly from behind the crystal ball, so! The one filming was Riyao!"
Everyone looked at Riyao in unison.
Riyao rubbed his face which was stiff from laughing, and said calmly: "It was me."
Lucy was very curious: "What does the 12 on the treasure map mean? And what was the Fire Dragon on the crystal ball?"
Riyao wagged his finger with a look of profound mystery: "That 12 refers to the 12 pieces of dark history I buried outside. As for Fire Dragon, that's Natsu—the incident caused by Natsu stealing the wine."
He raised his fingers and began to count them one by one: "All 12 are dark histories of different people. You know about Fire Dragon, and then there's Ice Block, Cards, Knight, Old Man, Blue Hair, Lightning, Script, Animal, Celestial Spirit, Firearms, and Gears. The relevant treasure maps are right here in the guild."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the guild hall. Many people felt that those terms were related to them; their expressions changed, and they began to frantically search for the treasure maps.
After finishing his sentence, Riyao grabbed Mirajane's wrist and ran outside with fast steps, not forgetting to look back and wave to everyone: "I'm slipping away first, you guys take your time searching!"
Mirajane was pulled along by him, her long silver hair fluttering behind her as she laughed helplessly: "You..."
Lisanna also ran out after them, and the three of them disappeared from the guild entrance in a flash.
The roars of the crowd came from behind: "Riyao! Stand still for me!!!"