As Takeshi spoke, he was about to rush out. His stance startled everyone in the guild. They felt that he was really going to kill Natsu and the others.
Gray and Elfman quickly stopped Takeshi. One hugged Takeshi's waist and the other blocked his path.
"Takeshi… don't be impulsive. Don't be impulsive!"
"Yeah! Don't be impulsive! Their crime isn't punishable by death yet!"
Makarov also broke into a sweat when he heard Takeshi say that. He knew how persistent Takeshi was about S-Class Quests, but he wanted Takeshi to save people, not kill them.
Mirajane quickly said, "Wait! Natsu and the others secretly went to do the quest, and it wasn't officially accepted, so it doesn't count as taking an S-Class Quest. That is to say, you can still take this quest."
Takeshi stopped when he heard Mirajane's words. "Really?"
Mirajane nodded. "Of course, it's real."
Takeshi quickly said, "That's good. Master, I want to go on that S-Class Quest."
"Good. I approve."
[Ding! S-Class Quest accepted: Save Our Island!]
Seeing the system notification, Takeshi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If an S-Class Quest had been lost just like that, he wouldn't kill Natsu, but he would definitely give him a lesson he'd never forget.
Makarov said, "Takeshi, this quest is for you to complete. You must bring Natsu and the others back."
"Don't worry, Master, I will definitely bring them back alive. As for whether their body parts will be intact, I'm not sure. So, I'm off."
Takeshi gritted his teeth and left with a sinister smile. Although the quest was saved, Natsu stealing his quest couldn't be let off so easily.
Takeshi's words made everyone in the guild sweat for Natsu and the others.
Takeshi was usually very easy to talk to and had a good personality. They didn't expect his temper to change so drastically after an S-Class Quest was touched. This was too scary.
"Gray, you go with him. Keep an eye on Takeshi and don't let him cripple Natsu."
Makarov was still a little worried. Takeshi would definitely bring Natsu back, but if he really crippled Natsu and the others, that wouldn't be good.
"Understood."
Gray immediately agreed excitedly when he heard Makarov's words. He had long wanted to do an S-Class Quest, and even if he didn't need to do anything this time, he still wanted to go and see.
Elfman doing an S-Class Quest had made him incredibly envious.
—
Hargeon Port.
"Wow! It's so nostalgic. This is where we first met."
Looking at the familiar scenery, Lucy couldn't help but exclaim, "I remember this place was completely ruined by you back then. Now it has all recovered, and only Takeshi's fist mark remains on the cliff face."
Natsu asked curiously, "Wasn't that just a while ago? Is there any need to be so sentimental?"
"Let's find a boat to Galuna Island first."
As soon as Natsu heard Lucy mention a boat, he was startled and asked with a panicked expression, "Boat?! Can't we swim there?"
The Eisenwald incident a few days ago had left Natsu with lingering fears. He had never been on a vehicle for so long. The train was fine, he could barely endure it, but Erza's vehicle ride almost took his life.
Lucy looked speechless. "Isn't your idea the unreliable one?"
The two immediately went to the port to look for a boatman, but all the boatmen refused when they heard that they wanted to go to Galuna Island. The reputation of the Demon Isle made even pirates shy away.
Finally, a boatman said, "Although I don't know what you're going to do, there definitely won't be any boatmen going to that island. Even pirates have to go around that island."
"Ah? What should we do?"
Since all the boatmen refused to go, Lucy had no choice. Without a boat, she couldn't reach Galuna Island, and without completing the quest, she wouldn't get the key.
Natsu, on the other hand, became happy when he heard there were no boats going. "We can just swim there."
"Hey!"
The boatman couldn't help but say when he heard Natsu's words, "Swim there? Are you committing suicide? There are big sharks in here."
"I'm not afraid. I'll roast it into fish jerky and then eat it."
As Natsu spoke, he released flames from his hands.
The boatman's expression changed when he saw the flames in Natsu's hand, and he asked with some excitement, "Fire?! You… you are Mages?! Are you here to break the curse of that island?"
"Yes."
"Get on board."
"Really?!"
"Great."
The two cheered when they heard this and quickly boarded the boat.
The boat sailed towards Galuna Island.
"Ugh..."
As soon as Natsu got on the boat, he started to get seasick, feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit.
"I don't know why, but I'm starting to feel a little scared now."
Lucy was very excited when she first got on the boat, but now that she thought about it, she was going to do an S-Class Quest, an S-Class Quest where even an S-Class Mage could lose their life if they weren't careful.
Lucy asked, "Uncle, weren't you unwilling to sail just now? How come you're willing to sail after knowing we're Mages?"
The boatman explained, "My name is Bobo, and I used to be a resident of that island. I later escaped from that daunting little island."
Happy asked curiously, "Uncle, since you are a resident of that island, you must know what the curse is, right?"
"This is the curse…"
As the boatman spoke, he revealed his arm from under his cloak.
The three of them were startled when they saw this arm. What kind of arm was it?
The arm was covered in black carapace and had sharp claws, looking like a demon's arm.
"If you go to that small island, disaster will befall you. Can you really break that curse? That demon's curse?"
—
"They've been gone for three or four hours."
"Those idiots run quite fast."
Takeshi and Gray arrived at Hargeon Port and easily inquired about Natsu and the others' whereabouts. After all, people going to the Demon Isle were rarely seen in a year, and Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, one with pink hair, one with yellow hair, and a small blue cat, had too obvious features, so they naturally had an impression.
Gray asked, "What should we do if the boatmen here refuse to go to Galuna Island?"
When Gray had inquired about Natsu and the others, he had naturally also asked the boatmen if they could take them there, and as expected, they all refused.
"It doesn't matter. If they won't go, we'll go ourselves."
As Takeshi spoke, he used his Take Over Magic.
"Full Body Take Over. Ace."
Then, Takeshi's magic power depleted by a bit as a small boat materialized in front of him.
The small boat was not big. Rather than a small boat, it was more like a single-person speedboat. There were three flame jets at the back of the speedboat, the rearmost one responsible for propulsion, and the two on the sides responsible for changing direction.
Takeshi said, "Get on the boat, we're going to chase them."