"Noah, you bastard, come back here?!!"
"NIHAHAHA!"
Noah laughed loudly. His cheerful laugh was heard by Smoker, increasing his anger and frustration.
Smoker wanted to go after them, but the ship was still being prepared and he couldn't set sail in time.
The marines were still unconscious because of the Conqueror's Haki manifested by Noah, only a few who came later were helping with the ship.
Tashigi had also woken up. The first thing she did was look for her sword, Shigure, but she couldn't find it.
When she saw the note beside her and read it, and heard Smoker's shout, she went to the edge of the sea and shouted loudly: "Noah, give me back my sword!"
"I'll wait for you two in Alabasta. If you go there, you can get your weapons back!" Noah shouted back: "I'll even give you a bonus gift~!"
As soon as Noah's voice stopped echoing, they witnessed something unprecedented: giant white wings appeared on the sides of the Black Pearl, and the ship, which should weigh tons, began to rise from the water — soon, it was flying.
"What is that?"
"The legend about the ghost ship flying through the sky in East Blue is real and... It was Noah's ship from the start?"
"If they managed to leave, that means Captain Smoker and Superintendent Tashigi lost..."
"Damn..."
"If you think it's a shame, why are you smiling?"
"I'm not smiling, you are... Ah, shut up!"
"Okay, you bastards, shut up!" Smoker shouted.
--
--
[POV – Noah]
"Hahaha."
On the ship, I laughed while looking at Loguetown.
Seeing Smoker frustrated while having to watch us leave was actually pretty fun.
"Noah, I feel like sometimes you have a knack for being a villain." Nami told me.
"Me?" I pointed at myself in disbelief: "Aren't I just doing them a favor, like, indirectly letting them chase me to Alabasta and taking a few vacation days?"
"Vacation days, huh..." Her lower lip curled up while her eyes narrowed.
Nami gave me a look like she could see right through me. I felt naked in front of her – Not in a good way.
"Poor Tashigi, lost a sword duel she's so proud of to a cruel man and even had her sword stolen. Sigh, I hope she doesn't cry too much~" Nojiko said with an intriguing smile as if she was enjoying the unfolding events.
Sometimes, I get the feeling she likes to watch the chaos unfold while she just stands by, observing.
"But Noah, aren't you afraid the navy will surround us in Alabasta?" Nami asked, saying: "After all, you said you were going to wait for them there."
"Do they have a ship that flies?" I asked.
"No, but there are a lot of them." Nami replied.
"Yes, a lot." I nodded: "And how many of them can fly and be any real threat to us?"
"Okay, I get your point." She stopped talking about it, but surprised me with a punch.
I caught her hand before it hit me.
"Why are you attacking me?" I asked.
"Just going with the flow." She answered.
"... Next time, I'll go with the flow too." I let go of her hand.
She huffed and ignored me.
Then she told Pegasus and Mater: "Turn to port and keep going forward."
"Right away, Namin." Mater replied.
The direction changed thanks to Mater's cooperation, but mainly Pegasus'.
"By the way, is there still any takoyaki?" I asked, touching my belly.
"No, but there's still plenty left to make." Nojiko offered: "Want me to make it?"
"It's okay, I'll make it myself." I said.
"Haha, Nojiko, you got rejected~" Nami laughed.
"Right? My heart is broken~" Even though she said that, she spoke in such a gentle tone and was still smiling that no one took it seriously.
Even hearing that, I pretended not to hear.
Nojiko is a good cook, but terrible at making takoyaki. It's safer if I make it myself.
Going to the pantry, I went to the frozen block of ice that contained the remains of the Giant King Squid.
...
When I finished making the takoyaki, the ones who had seemed uninterested — Nami, Nojiko, and Merida — joined me when it was time to eat.
"Huh? You're hungry too, Pegasus." I threw one toward the horse head that appeared from the ship's wall.
"I have to say, no matter how many times I see this, I still find it bizarre." Merida said as she looked at Pegasus.
"I feel the same." Nami said, bringing a skewer with takoyaki to her mouth.
Just above Pegasus's head, a pair of eyes appeared.
Even without a mouth, we still heard Mater's voice saying: "You all make it sound so good, sir. I hope that one day I'll be able to eat too."
"Can't you take control of Pegasus's body and eat?" Nami asked.
"I tried, but I couldn't. The only form I can fully share is the ship." Mater replied.
"If I think of a way, I'll make it so that you can eat." I promised.
"Well dang, I can't wait for that day." Mater's voice sounded excited.
...
After almost an hour of flying, Pegasus started to get tired.
The ship began to descend until it landed on the water.
The beautiful white wings of Pegasus were retracted, and Mater took full control of the ship while Pegasus went to rest.
"Good job, Pegasus." I said to the 'horse' lying at the bow of the ship.
"Neigh~"
Even tired, Pegasus still neighed cheerfully.
Pegasus didn't need to manifest in a physical form, but liked to do so while Mater controlled the ship.
Although he couldn't leave the ship, Pegasus could still roam freely on it.
[+3 GP!]
I frowned when I saw that as I sat beside Pegasus.
I opened my status and understood.
[Hercules (Hércules) - ★★★★★ (70%)]
After the assimilation of Hercules passed 20%, every 10% I was rewarded with 1 to 2 GP — with this being the first time I earned 3 GP.
This only happened with the assimilation of Hercules, which made me think it was because it's a 5-star card.
'18 GP...'
"Cri-Kee." I called him.
Jumping, a cricket came to me.
When he jumped onto my shoulder, I clicked on my GP and chose to buy 9 bronze scrolls, and right after, I chose to open all of them.
════════════════
[Cogsworth (Beauty and the Beast) - ★★☆]
[Jessie (Toy Story) - ★★☆]
[Magic Mirror Shard - (Snow White) - ★]
[Singing Shell - (The Little Mermaid) - ★★]
[Anna (Frozen) - ★★★]
[Olaf (Frozen) - ★★☆]
[Pascal (Tangled) - ★★☆]
[Magic Mirror Shard - (Snow White) - ★☆]
[Tinker Bell's Glow Vial - (Peter Pan) - ★★★]
════════════════
When I saw what I got, I understood something.
There must be at least 7 Disney worlds being reset.
Snow White must be because it reached its end, since I got a "Magic Mirror Shard," while the rest could be for 'N' reasons.
Picking up the Anna card from Frozen, I read it.
What I read was something I had already read something similar to in another card.
She was stuck in a reset loop within the first Frozen movie. Every time the story reached the scene where she sacrificed herself to save her sister, Elsa, and ended up frozen, the world would reset.
However, she kept all the memories from the previous loops and was forced to follow the same script up until that fateful moment, only for everything to start again.
'Another world that's having trouble progressing its story?' I thought.
There were still many things I didn't know.
Not to mention it's already been a year and a half since I received a single mission.
The first thing I did was use the two Magic Mirror Shard cards to evolve to [★★], and from shard it became: Piece of Magic Mirror.
Looking at the cards in my hands now, I feel like my luck wasn't bad.
"We're arriving at Reverse Mountain." Nami warned.
I put the cards in my pocket and stood up.
With a simple jump, I reached the top of the ship's sail.
Even without binoculars, I saw Reverse Mountain.
Well, how could I not? Before my eyes, even from a distance, there was a massive red mountain.
And I saw that near the mountain, it was raining heavily.
As we got closer, the rain reached us too.
"I don't need to explain how Reverse Mountain works a second time, right?" Nami asked.
"Nami, it's all good, we understand, and even if the worst happens, Pegasus can fly with the ship." Nojiko said with her usual smile.
"I know that very well, I just wanted to confirm, that's all." Nami spoke in a louder tone.
Nojiko shrugged, not caring.
"So this is Reverse Mountain." Merida looked dreamily.
Mater whistled: "Oh my! What a huge mountain, sir."
"Mater, retract the sails, please." Nami asked.
"Right away!"
In moments, the sails were retracted.
"I've seen this mountain before, but it'll be the first time I cross it." I admitted.
"You came here before?" Nami looked at me.
"Yes, with Pegasus." As soon as I said that, Pegasus, who was lying down, opened his eyes and neighed.
Getting up, he walked over to me.
Touching his mane, I said: "Buddy, be ready. If necessary, use your wings and fly with the ship, okay?"
"Neigh~" Pegasus neighed cheerfully and proudly in confirmation.
Suddenly, the speed of the Black Pearl increased. Or rather, we were being pulled.
"Mater, do you see the entrance?" Nami asked.
"It's hard to see with all this rain." Mater said: "But I believe I'm seeing a path between the mountains, sir."
As we got close enough, the entrance became more visible.
"Mater, you know what to do, right?" Nami asked.
"Yes, I'll start sliding~" Mater replied, using the power of the Sube Sube no Mi.
When Mater used the power of the Devil Fruit, the Black Pearl stopped being simply pulled.
On the sides of the ship, wheels appeared and Mater began to accelerate, and in moments, the ship started to climb.
"Nihuuul~!" I shouted as we went up.
Holding the hat on her head, Nami said: "Look! The summit, I can see the summit!"
"Yes, calm down, Nami." Nojiko said.
"But it's the top of the Red Line mountain, isn't it exciting?" She turned to Nojiko.
"Yes, you're right." Nojiko agreed.
When we reached the top, we were automatically redirected toward the Grand Line.
Just a moment ago we were climbing, now we were descending.
Everything happened so fast, it felt like a roller coaster.
"Hahaha, this is fun." I said: "Should we go back and do it again?"
"Noah, this isn't an amusement park!" Nami scolded me.
"But isn't it fun?" I asked with a wide smile.
"... Maybe?" Nami was almost convinced.
However, Merida killed the vibe by saying with a slightly pale face: "Better not..."
"What's wrong, Merida, are you scared?" I asked.
"I'll use my right to remain silent." She replied.
"Hahaha, I see." I stopped insisting.
When we descended more than halfway, I expected to see Laboon, but it didn't happen.
However, soon the mountain trembled a little, and I knew the reason.