Hawk Eyes didn't understand, even after two years he still didn't understand; as long as you followed the Log Pose straight ahead, you would reach your destination, yet somehow Zoro just couldn't move straight?
He had already lost count of how many times he had swung his sword, but Zoro was like a bullheaded fool with his own strong opinions; no matter how Hawk Eyes planned the route, he would always veer off course.
Kuraigana Island was too remote. After the kingdom's downfall, it lost all fixed shipping routes. No merchant ships usually came near, otherwise Hawk Eyes would never have used this method.
[This company does not provide live-person courier services.]
The sign in Dragonite's hand had also become the symbol of the courier service. Dragonites are highly intelligent. Being capable enough to moonlight as a programmer, mastering a language was no difficulty for them, so on dispatch missions Dragonite always carried a sketchboard.
Recalling the sign Dragonite once showed him, Hawk Eyes felt that this company's services were not comprehensive enough. If Chubby Express Courier could deliver living people, he would have packed Zoro up and shipped him away.
But since he had to maintain his reputation and couldn't bring himself to personally escort him, he could only send him off like this.
Through Hawk Eyes' relentless effort, he finally got this hopelessly directionless idiot to Sabaody Archipelago. But as they drew closer, the surrounding sea grew more crowded with ships, and inevitably, something happened.
A pirate ship happened to appear near Hawk Eyes at the wrong time, and in the end, it became "prey of a Shichibukai."
If it were a merchant ship, Hawk Eyes might have thought twice, but a pirate ship—
For a legal pirate, attacking other pirates required no reason. As long as all witnesses were silenced, no one would know the true reason Hawk Eyes had struck these people down.
After some twists and turns, Zoro finally arrived at Sabaody Archipelago last, dripping wet.
But he still failed to reach the rendezvous point smoothly. Instead, he wandered around the island in circles, clashed with other pirates, and stirred up quite a commotion. Only then did he attract the attention of Luffy and the others, who brought back this final member.
"Moss-head, what the hell were you doing? Do you know how long you kept us waiting?"
"Huh? What's that got to do with me? If it weren't for those tsunamis that kept popping up out of nowhere on the way back, I would've been here ages ago.
But you…you look so pale. Can you even keep sailing like that? Careful you don't drop dead halfway."
The first thing these long-separated rivals did after two years was throw insults at each other.
"Hah? Even if you die, I won't. Where the hell did you spend the past two years? And what's with that eye?"
They were rivals. For Zoro to stand here alive, no matter how bitter those two years had been, meant he had endured. At this moment, Sanji was more concerned about what kind of environment Zoro had lived through during those two years.
For Sanji, the okama kingdom was nothing short of hell. No matter how suitable their techniques were for his training, a country without normal women was just too terrifying for him.
If Zoro's environment had been better than his, then that was truly rubbing salt in the wound.
"I trained with Hawk Eyes on an island full of baboons for two years. Just a minor injury during that time. You?"
By rights, an island with nothing but baboons wasn't exactly a pleasant place. But somehow, Sanji still felt it was unfair. He would rather face a troop of wild baboons than those okama.
"Sanji-kun and I spent two years in paradise. It was absolutely wonderful there, truly a dreamland for okama!"
"Don't lump me in with you! That place was hell!"
"Sanji-kun, if Tibany-chan hears you say that, he'll be heartbroken. He even traveled all the way here just to see us off."
Hearing Zoro's question, Bon Kurei cut in directly. But at the mention of Tibany's name, Sanji felt his heart stop. A back view killer* with long blond hair and a stubbled face appeared in his mind. [TN: It refers to someone—usually a woman—who looks very attractive or has a great figure when seen from behind, but whose face may not be as appealing when seen from the front.]
"Enough. Don't bring that up again. I don't want to remember any of it."
Clutching his chest, Sanji collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily for breath.
"Alright, you can take your time catching up later. The coating on the Sunny is complete. All of your crew has returned, so you can set sail anytime. But before you depart, there are some things you must understand."
Watching the noisy group, Rayleigh felt as though he had grown younger himself, but still steered the topic back to sailing.
"Normally, it would be better for you to discover these things on your own, but the seas are too dangerous now. Without some basic knowledge, you might not even make it past Fishman Island."
Seeing how serious Rayleigh was, the Straw Hats dropped their earlier casualness. Except for their captain, others sat on the chairs of the bar counter.
"After the Summit War, with Whitebeard's death, the balance of power among the Four Emperors shifted into a struggle between three, or more accurately, into a situation where the Beasts Pirates stand unrivaled.
Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Shanks all hold the title of Emperor of the Sea, but even among Emperors there are differences, and the Beasts Pirates are without a doubt the strongest of them."
"What about Ace and the others?"
The crew all listened intently to the intelligence, and with nothing else to do, Luffy came over too. According to Rayleigh, the Whitebeard Pirates had become as though forgotten by the world, which naturally confused Luffy.
"Ace? He must have grown quite a bit. Right now, the Whitebeard Pirates are still considered a fairly strong force in the New World, but they're not enough to contend with the true monsters at the top.
Other than that, the genius scientist Vegapunk was killed by a senior officer of the Beasts Pirates. The exact reason is unknown, but judging by the news reports, it seemed to be some deep-seated blood feud.
On the Marine side, through the World Military Draft, they've replenished their ranks with a massive number of soldiers, and even gained two new Admiral-level monsters.
Of the original three Admirals, only Kizaru still holds his seat. Akainu and Kuzan fought a great battle; Akainu won and became Fleet Admiral of the Marines, while the defeated Kuzan joined the Beasts Pirates and became a pirate."
The Marines didn't publicly announce this, but Kuzan joining the Beasts Pirates was no longer a secret; anyone with some connections knew about it.
One by one, Rayleigh recounted major events, and with each one, the Straw Hats' jaws dropped wider.
Their information network had been lacking before, and they'd only heard fragments. Franky knew Vegapunk was dead, Brook knew Beasts Fruits were flourishing.
But now, hearing everything together, they realized just how complicated things had become. Directly or indirectly, all these events had some connection to the Beasts Pirates.
"L-Luffy, actually… these past two years, my illness never fully healed. I've got a sickness that will kill me the moment I enter the New World!"
Having been chased by carnivorous plants, chased by Beautifly, and having endured harsh training on the island, Usopp had thought he'd grown stronger. But under the baptism of this flood of intelligence, his old cowardice flared up again.
The cowardly trio clung to each other once more. The others showed less reaction, but the sheer weight of information was reshaping their worldview. In just two years, the world had become far more dangerous.
But no matter what, their plan to set sail did not change. With a lot of complex emotions, the Straw Hat Pirates embarked on their journey toward the New World.
"Do you really think they can manage it?"
Watching as the Sunny submerged, Shakky blew out a ring of smoke. As a sort of information broker in Sabaody Archipelago, she was well aware of how much the seas had changed in these two years.
Simply training and growth in battle were clearly two different things. To grow enough in just two years to be able to fight those top-tier monsters was by no means an easy task.
"Who knows? But isn't adventure a challenge precisely because of the unknown? The young ones must grow, and that can only depend on themselves."
With nothing strange interfering with their voyage, Luffy's journey went unusually smoothly.
The New Fish-Man Pirates had long since disappeared, and no trouble arose on Fishman Island. Luffy could be said to have reached Fishman Island in complete safety, and at the entrance, he saw the pirate flag of the Beasts Pirates hanging high.
At the same time, Chopper took out a strip of black cloth and handed it to Sanji.
"Sanji, for the sake of your life, you'd better cover your eyes."
"No way! I finally made it here, and it would be a huge waste not to see the beautiful mermaid sisters here!
"But your body… If you see Mermaids, you might lose too much blood and die! Your blood type is rare, it won't be easy to replace!"
"Chopper, this is a man's dream. Even if I die here, I won't cover my eyes! Besides, I'm ready this time. That… situation will absolutely not happen again."
Yearning, passion, and different thoughts in their hearts, the Straw Hats entered Fishman Island. But upon entering, what they saw weren't warm Mermaids, but a battle.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
The roar of machine-gun fire filled the air, bullet casings scattered all over the ground. At this moment on Fishman Island, the surface had turned into a vast swamp. At the edge of the swamp, a revolving machine gun emerged from Caribou's stomach, spewing firepower.
"Wet-Haired" Caribou, captain of the Caribou Pirates, with a bounty of 210 million berries, was this year's Super Rookie. Because of his penchant for slaughtering Marines, he was on the Marines' list of dangerous individuals.
With no fake Straw Hats to entangle him, Caribou had even arrived at Fishman Island ahead of Luffy and the others. Attracted by the profits Mermaids represented, he began using his abilities to capture them.
The Beasts Pirates' flag was a deterrent, one that could scare off 99% of enemies, but there would always be those willing to take risks for profit.
Caribou was the user of Logia-type Swamp Swamp Fruit. Relying on his Logia powers, he was nearly unmatched in the first half of the Grand Line. At this moment, his confidence was at its peak, and naturally, he would not stop just because of a flag.
The swamp covering the ground was actually an extension of his body. He was trying to use it to restrict his enemies. But it didn't seem effective at all. Even after his gun's bullets ran dry, the figure in the smoke hadn't fallen. Instead, an impatient voice came through.
"Too slow. Does it really take this long to find the identity of one pirate?"
"Bo-Boss Sasaki, please wait just a moment longer. We spend most of our time carrying out missions in the New World, so we know little about rookies in the first half."
At his side, a pirate holding a thick stack of bounty posters was still searching for the information. But before he could find anything, a man with hair styled like a chameleon charged forward wielding a shovel, swinging it down at Sasaki's head.
Crack!
The shovel snapped in two. Only then did Sasaki's underling finally locate the information of the two men.
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