After thinking for a moment, Ankh decided to follow Gajeel and chase after those little brats.
Seeing this, Mirajane and Levy exchanged a glance, shrugged, and had no choice but to follow their respective boyfriends.
Wendy was left behind, scratching her head in confusion. She did not chase after them.
However, before long, two figures came charging toward her in a reckless rush.
Wendy was startled.
When she looked closely, she realized they were Sabertooth's Twin Dragons, Sting and Rogue.
Behind them were Lector and Yukino.
Rogue rushed up and grabbed Wendy by the shoulders, his eyes red as he asked urgently, "Have you seen Frosch?!"
"Eh?!"
"Calm down!"
Sting punched the rude guy away, and Yukino quickly explained the situation to Wendy.
That morning, Lector had taken Frosch out shopping. The two cats had gone out together, but Frosch had accidentally gotten lost.
Worse still, that adorable little cat happened to have absolutely no sense of direction!
So the panicked Rogue had dragged everyone out to search for the cat. They had asked many people along the way and traced him to this area.
Wendy frowned and thought about it, while Carla, who had a better memory, quickly answered, "I think I saw him earlier. He went that way!"
Carla pointed in a direction, and Rogue immediately charged off like a mad dog.
After Sting and Yukino apologized and thanked Wendy, they hurriedly followed him.
Lector did not forget to try chatting up the beautiful Carla.
And was decisively ignored by Carla.
Wendy, however, looked in that direction thoughtfully and muttered, "That's roughly the same direction Ankh-san and the others went. Hopefully, they'll run into Frosch…"
…
Meanwhile, in the complicated alleyways of Magnolia, an intense chase had already begun.
The four little ones had been "hunted" by Gajeel, Ankh, and the others, and in their panic, they scattered in different directions.
Naciel and Galena ran one way, while Grinju and Garell ran another.
Ankh and the others also split into two groups and continued chasing them down.
"Hey, why are you running?! Guilty conscience or what?"
Gajeel was a little surprised at how skillfully these brats used the terrain for parkour.
He opened his mouth and shouted toward the two in front.
Grinju was also quite confused at this point and asked Garell beside him, "Actually… Uncle Gajeel seems kind of right. Why are we running? We're not the ones who did anything wrong."
Garell vaulted over a wall and said irritably, "I already told you, this is the past. Don't do anything unnecessary!"
"But… stop!!"
Grinju was just about to say something when his gaze shifted ahead.
Seeing Ankh blocking their path at some unknown point, he hurriedly shouted.
Garell slammed on the brakes.
The two boys stood together, nervously looking at the two people surrounding them.
Ankh folded his arms and smiled. "Well? Explain yourselves. Why did you run the moment you saw us?"
"N-nothing. We just like exercising…"
Looking at the guy who had frightened him ever since he was little, Grinju could not help feeling his heart pound.
Gajeel, meanwhile, curled his lip and snorted. "Who're you trying to fool? Back on the street, you kept staring at us. What're you after?"
Grinju looked at Garell.
The eyes of both boys carried a hint of despair.
However, Garell soon seemed to realize something.
He cried out excitedly, then immediately lowered his voice and whispered, "I almost forgot. In this era, they're only two or three years older than us at most."
With his delicate lower lashes like Juvia's, Grinju's big eyes looked especially bright.
His tone carried expectation as he said experimentally, "So… we might not necessarily lose!"
"Exactly!"
Garell nodded firmly, and Grinju immediately felt his confidence swell.
"Charge!"
Gajeel stared blankly at the two boys, who had been timid just moments ago but were now rushing at them aggressively, and nearly laughed out loud.
Garell charged toward Gajeel with sharp eyes, "Take my punch!"
Bang!
Gajeel casually swung a fist, and when his fist collided with Garell's, a metallic clang rang out.
Then… Garell flew.
"Ow… ow, ow…"
Garell clutched his hand and twitched on the ground in pain, wailing pitifully.
"Iron-type magic, huh? Not bad."
Gajeel crouched beside Garell and could not help laughing. "Your technique's terrible, though, brat."
"Damn it… he's saying that again…"
Garell cursed miserably in his heart, while also hoping Grinju had succeeded on his side.
But when he turned his head…
That brat Grinju had already slipped away while Garell was busy punching Gajeel!
"You got no loyalty!"
Garell howled toward the sky in grief and fury.
Gajeel looked at Ankh in confusion and asked, "What's up with you?"
Ankh did not answer. His gaze was fixed straight on a spot across the street corner.
Over there, someone was sneaking into an alley.
White hair. Red eyes.
It was a handsome young boy who looked only a year or two older than Wendy.
And in his arms was Sabertooth's mascot, the adorable little cat Frosch!
For some reason, the moment Ankh saw that boy, the special sense inside him began beating nonstop.
That strange feeling grew even stronger…
Ankh frowned, hurriedly waved at Gajeel, then quickly followed after the boy, leaving Gajeel and Garell staring at each other.
On the other side, while the two-boy team had been defeated, the two girls, Naciel and Galena, were currently holding their breath and hiding inside a bamboo basket by the roadside, terrified of being discovered.
"Ta-da!"
Mirajane suddenly lifted the lid of the bamboo basket, frightening the two children inside so badly that they jumped.
"Hahaha… Why are you so scared? Did you need something from us earlier? Why did you suddenly run?"
"Um… um…"
Naciel stammered, unable to get a sentence out.
Galena, however, had a flash of inspiration and abruptly pointed behind Mirajane, shouting, "Auntie Mira, look! A flying saucer!"
Mirajane was not fooled into turning around.
Instead, she took several steps back in disbelief, fell to the ground, and murmured sadly to herself.
"A-Auntie…"
'Hm?'
'So that was what she cared about?'
Seeing this, Galena quickly grabbed Naciel and continued running.
"Don't run!"
Mirajane seemed a little upset now and rushed after them, intending to argue properly.
Galena could only helplessly say to Naciel, "Let's split up. Be careful."
"Okay!"
Naciel did not hesitate at all and mixed into the crowd of the shopping street as she ran off.
Galena continued weaving through the complicated side alleys.
…
Beside a food stall on the shopping street, Natsu and Happy were currently eating with their heads down, while Lucy sat across from them and stared speechlessly at the person and cat acting as if they had not eaten for three days.
"Honestly, we said we were going to work, so how did we end up eating again?" Lucy said helplessly.
Natsu laughed without caring. "You need to eat your fill before you can work hard!"
"Aye!"
Thud!
Just as Natsu and Happy were answering in perfect rhythm, Lucy suddenly felt a powerful force slam into her back and knock her over.
Natsu reacted quickly and caught her.
Then he immediately stared at the reckless person who had crashed into Lucy.
A… Pink-haired girl who looked absolutely desperate?