Fairy Tail: This Healing Mage's hits hurt so much!

"Gildars! You bastard, give me back my fish!"

Sunburst gripped Gildarts' neck tightly from behind, his arms tightening, and he hung on Gildarts' back.

Gildarts' face turned red from being choked, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he reached out to pat Sunshine's arm, the force not strong, more like soothing a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Let go first... You can't afford to pay for strangling him."

Instead of loosening up, Riyao tightened his grip even more, his teeth grinding together.

"You're kidding me! Those were dream pearl fish! And you just stewed them all!"

Gildarts picked up the bowl with his other hand, slowly took another sip of fish soup, swallowed with satisfaction, and deliberately smacked his lips.

"Yes, it tastes really good, very fresh."

Sunlight was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged, and he suddenly pulled his arm back, almost knocking Gildarts over.

Lucy stood to the side, looking at the Sunbeam hanging on Gildarts' back, then at the disheveled yet imposing man, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? You two know each other?!"

Mirajane casually smoothed her disheveled hair with her hand, her movements unhurried and her tone equally leisurely.

"He's Gildarts, a senior member of our guild and an S-rank mage. Remember the Fairy Civil War?"

She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Weren't we discussing who was the strongest guild back then? If Gildarts had been in the guild at the time, there wouldn't have been that discussion."

Lucy gasped in surprise, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor. Her gaze swept over Gildarts's stubble-faced features several times, her expression one of utter disbelief.

"Ah, the guild's strongest mage is this scruffy old man?!"

Sunburst loosened his grip on Gildarts's neck, and Gildarts slid off his back, laughing so hard he was doubled over, slapping his thighs, laughing until tears were almost streaming down his face.

"Did you hear that, Gildarts? They called you a slovenly old man! Hahahaha!"

Gildarts wasn't annoyed. He touched his prickly stubble, grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and laughed openly.

"Hahaha, I really haven't showered in a long time, I smelled terrible."

Riyao was laughing for a moment when he twitched his nose, as if he had actually smelled something. His smile froze instantly, and he jumped back two steps in disgust, frantically brushing off non-existent dust from his body as if he had just touched something dirty.

"Ugh, you didn't even take a shower! When we get back, Kana will be so disgusted with you!"

Gildarts scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed, but a smile still lingered on his lips, and his voice carried an undisguised expectation and tenderness.

"I was just thinking about getting back to the guild to see Kana, so I didn't have time to take a shower."

Riyao rolled his eyes, but didn't mince words.

"Alright, alright, looking after your daughter is the priority. You really live up to your reputation as a slovenly old man."

While the two were chatting, the aroma of the fish soup was so irresistible that everyone simply sat down around it and each took a bowl to drink the soup.

Natsu sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the bowl in both hands, and gulped down a large mouthful. It was so hot that he grimaced but couldn't bear to spit it out. He breathed on it and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Kildarts! Fight me later!"

Gildarts held the bowl, slowly blew on the steam from the soup noodles, glanced at Natsu with disdain, not even giving him a proper look, and spoke as casually as if he were shooing away a buzzing fly.

"You can't even beat Sunrise, and you want to fight me? Forget it."

Natsu almost dropped the bowl, then jumped to his feet, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and veins throbbing on his forehead.

"I can beat them! Sunrise, come and fight me!"

He turned and shouted at Riyao, his eyes burning with an indomitable spirit.

Riyao slowly took a sip of soup, hiding the smile on his lips with the rim of the bowl, and spoke in a lazy tone, mimicking Gildarts.

"You can't even beat Erza, and you want to fight me? Forget it."

Erza was drinking soup from her bowl when she heard this, she paused, the rim of the bowl pressed against her lower lip, her brows slowly furrowed, and her expression became displeased.

"Hey, what do you mean you can't even beat me? Am I that weak?"

Riyao finally looked up, winked at her, and grinned in a way that made him look incredibly smug.

"Anyway, they're weaker than me."

Erza put the bowl down and stood up. Her armor reflected a cold metallic luster in the morning light. One hand was already on the hilt of her sword, her chin was slightly raised, and her eyes were as sharp as a drawn sword.

"Come and spar with me! Let's see who's weaker!"

"If you want to bully my Riyao, ask me first if I'll allow it!"

Mirajane also put down her bowl, stood up unhurriedly, crossed her arms, and a dangerous smile appeared on her lips. Her tone was light and airy, yet carried an undeniable domineering air as she confronted Erza head-on.

The air between the two seemed to freeze instantly, and a visible sense of oppression spread from them.

Lucy sat between the two of them, holding a bowl, huddled up and trembling. The fish soup in the bowl was shaking so badly that it almost spilled.

She glanced at Erza on the left and Mirajane on the right, her lips twitching.

Erza and Mirajane didn't say another word. They turned around and walked towards the sea one after the other, their steps steady and their auras powerful.

The crowd followed to see what was going on.

Natsu clung to Riyo's leg, refusing to let go, acting like a clingy big dog, his face rubbing against Riyo's trousers until they were covered in the smell of fish soup.

"Fight me, just one fight, just one fight!"

Annoyed to no end, Sunrise shook his legs twice but couldn't shake them off. He sighed helplessly and reached out to tap Natsu on the head.

"Alright, alright, let go. If you're going to hit me, then hit me, but don't rub my pants."

Natsu instantly released his grip, jumped up, his eyes shining with excitement, and his fist was already engulfed in orange flames.

Sunrise stood up, patted the sand off his pants, glanced at Gray who was drinking soup from a bowl next to him, and beckoned to him with his finger.

"Grey, you come too. You seem to want to fight as well, so why don't you join us?"

Gray ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, the muscles clearly defined in the morning light, a cool smile playing on his lips.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Natsu instantly bristled, glaring at Gray, flames crackling on his fists.

"Hey, I don't want to work with that ice-cold face!"

Gray glared back, gathering icy blue magic in his hands, and let out a cold snort.

"Huh? Who wants to work with you? Don't flatter yourself."

Sunburst merely activated the Hundred Tactics Formation; golden patterns spread from his heart, outlining armlet patterns along his arms, and magic surged throughout his body.

He stomped his foot on the ground, sending sand flying like rain, and shot towards the two arguing people like an arrow, leaving a trail of afterimages on the beach.

"If you two fight again and I beat you to a pulp, don't cry!"

Natsu and Gray's expressions changed simultaneously, their arguing abruptly stopped, and they instinctively dodged, bouncing to the left and right. Sunburst's fist whistled through the middle of them, the dust kicked up by the punch hitting their faces.

The others found a good spot on the beach to sit down, and even Kyldas held his bowl and watched with great interest, occasionally taking a sip of fish soup.

Wendy stood alone at the camp, looking at the empty fish soup in the iron pot, then at the crowd fighting fiercely in the distance. Her little face was full of helplessness, and her shoulders slumped.

"We still need to keep catching fish..."