"What's with all of you? Is there still something else going on?"
Seeing the troubled looks on Nami, Nojiko, Carina, and the others, Arton couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Logically, after he finished speaking, everyone should've gone off to do their own thing.
So why was everyone still standing there like they had no intention of moving?
What Arton didn't know was that Nami and the others were worried he might absentmindedly write the Flameblade Pirates' next destination—Enies Lobby—into his sailing diary.
That was Enies Lobby, after all, a place not far from Marine Headquarters.
If Arton accidentally wrote in the sailing diary that they were heading there next, then women like Gion who held diary copies would definitely react fast.
By the time they actually reached Enies Lobby, there might already be a huge number of Marines—and possibly even World Government agents—waiting for them there.
After all, Enies Lobby belonged to the World Government.
So it wouldn't be strange at all if the World Government sent extra people there.
To keep Arton from recording anything like that in his diary, Nami and the others felt they needed to stay on guard around him, ready to sacrifice a little something of their own if necessary to distract him.
That said, calling it a "sacrifice" wasn't really accurate anymore.
For the current members of the Flameblade Pirates, they honestly didn't mind that much.
Some of them were even pretty happy to show Arton everything they had.
"Captain Arton, could you let me stay by your side for a while?"
Tashigi suddenly stood up and said it directly.
At those words, Arton, Nami, Carina, and the others all turned to look at her.
"Since we're going to rescue Senior Hina, I'd like to talk with you more. You know... I used to be a Marine too. If you want, I can tell you more about her."
As Tashigi spoke, she also glanced at the other members of the Flameblade Pirates.
The moment Nami and the others caught that look, they immediately understood what she meant.
Tashigi was volunteering to take on the responsibility of keeping Arton distracted.
And from her angle, it did make sense.
She used to be a Marine, and she had a good relationship with Hina.
So having her stay by Arton's side for a while under that excuse was completely reasonable.
That said, if only one person took on that responsibility, Nami and the others still didn't feel safe.
After all, a person's attention only went so far, and Arton could be way too unpredictable sometimes.
No one knew whether he might suddenly open his sailing diary and start recording things on impulse before Tashigi even had a chance to stop him.
Right then, Ain stood up too.
"If it's about Senior Hina, I can talk to Captain about her as well. Captain Arton, since you want to rescue Senior Hina from Enies Lobby, you must also have the idea of inviting her to join the Flameblade Pirates, right? In that case, knowing more about her might help you persuade her."
After saying that, Ain—just like Tashigi—glanced at Nami, Carina, and the others.
Everyone understood the signal she was sending.
With two people watching Arton instead of one, they felt a little more at ease.
And from Ain's position, it also made perfect sense for her to stay by Arton's side for Hina's sake.
"Tashigi, Ain, I don't object to you talking to me about Hina. But why are you all so sure I want to invite her?"
Arton asked in confusion.
"Isn't it obvious?"
Uta stood up with a grin.
"A cute girl like Senior Hina? Captain, you definitely like her. If you weren't the type who dislikes forcing people to come aboard, you probably would've invited her already."
At that, everyone present nodded without even thinking about it.
"Come on, now. How can you talk about your captain like that? It's not like I stop in my tracks every time I see a pretty girl."
Arton smacked his own chest and said it loudly.
Come on—back then, when Gion had tried to invite him into the Marines, he had firmly turned her down.
He'd even attacked her and temporarily taken away her ability to move.
Yes, Gion was one of the women from his works.
Yes, he had created plenty of stories and scenes using her as inspiration.
But that didn't mean he absolutely had to become her companion.
Robin and Ain were the same way.
If the two of them hadn't shown enough sincerity, Arton never would've invited them aboard or let them become members of the Flameblade Pirates.
"That may be true, but if the chance presents itself, you'd still invite Hina, wouldn't you?"
Nojiko asked with a smile.
"…I won't deny that."
After a brief silence, Arton finally admitted it.
"In that case, let Ain and Tashigi stay by your side for a while. Maybe they'll spark some inspiration and help you successfully invite her."
Nojiko smiled.
"Since we're going all the way to Enies Lobby, we can't exactly come back empty-handed. If there's treasure, we take the treasure. If there's a person, we take the person."
Making a money-grabbing gesture with her hands, Nami chimed in.
"…Well, that's not wrong."
Arton nodded, then swept his gaze across everyone and asked suspiciously, "But why do I get the feeling all of you really want Hina to join the Flameblade Pirates? Is that just my imagination? Is she really that popular with you all?"
Everyone smiled.
"You could say that."
In truth, most of them didn't really care whether Hina joined the Flameblade Pirates or not.
Either outcome was fine.
But if saying this would convince Arton to keep Ain and Tashigi by his side, then saying it was perfectly worth it.
"Strange... This all feels a little strange. But fine, let's do it that way."
Arton nodded and muttered to himself.
When the subject turned to gaining a companion on the trip to Enies Lobby, Arton couldn't help thinking of Kalifa—the blonde secretary-type beauty in fishnets and glasses.
Honestly, Kalifa matched his tastes in a lot of ways.
If possible, Arton would have loved to invite her to become one of his companions too.
For a brief moment, he even had the urge to detour to Water 7 first and go look for her.
But that thought only lasted an instant.
Putting aside the fact that Kalifa was still in the middle of her mission and might not pay him any attention at all—
or, more likely, would only deal with him as an enemy—
there was still Hina.
Hina was at Enies Lobby, and there was no telling when they might start putting her on trial.
If possible, Arton wanted to get her out as soon as he could.
After all, they had already lost some time in Skypiea.
If they wasted more time in Water 7 because of Kalifa, Hina might wind up getting shipped off to Impel Down.
It wasn't that Arton thought he lacked the ability to go to Impel Down.
But if possible, he wanted to rescue Hina in the easier way.
That would keep the risk lower too.
As for what choice Hina would make after being rescued, that would be up to Hina herself.
"Come on, Ain, Tashigi. Weren't you two supposed to tell me more about Hina? Let's head up to the deck and talk while we enjoy the sea breeze."
Arton waved the two of them over and turned toward the deck.
"I'm leaving him to you two," Nami said to them with a smile.
"Don't worry, everyone," Ain said.
"I'll do what I'm supposed to do," Tashigi added with a firm nod.
Then the two of them quickly followed after Arton, almost as if they were afraid he might start recording something in his diary at any second.
And the moment both of them noticed that fresh lines had actually started appearing in their diary copies, Ain and Tashigi exchanged a glance, then silently moved to Arton's left and right sides, each taking one of his arms and pressing it into her chest.
"What's gotten into you two?"
With both arms suddenly captured, Arton looked at them in confusion.
"Nothing. We just suddenly felt like walking with you like this, Captain Arton," Tashigi said.
"M-Me too."
Ain pressed her lips together, nodded, and answered with a flushed face.
"You two are acting kind of strange... but whatever."
Arton shrugged casually and didn't bother saying more about their odd behavior.
Then he lowered his head and focused on his diary system panel.
[Sailing Diary:]
[The trip to Skypiea is over. Next, we'll head to—]
[Damn, did Ain's chest get bigger again?]
[Tashigi's seems the same way.]
[My hands are sinking right into them!]
[Photo: Ain's chest.]
[Photo: Tashigi's chest.]
The instant Ain and Tashigi saw what Arton had written in the diary, both girls blushed bright red.
At the same time, though, they both let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Earlier, Arton had clearly been about to reveal their next destination.
Thank God they had moved fast enough.
Otherwise, he really would've leaked the information.
Meanwhile, back in the dining room, after seeing the latest diary entry, Nami, Nojiko, and the others exchanged glances.
Just like Ain and Tashigi, they all felt their decision had been the right one.
Thank God.
Otherwise, the upcoming trip to Enies Lobby really would've gotten a lot more troublesome.