Chapter 108: Hina, Oh, Hina
"Goodbye, little brother Shane! And everyone else!"
"Take care!"
Dorry and Brogy's booming voices echoed across the sea. The two giants stood on the shore, waving goodbye, their massive bodies casting long shadows in the setting sun.
"Goodbye, giant uncles!!!"
The crew also crowded the ship's railing, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Nami and Nojiko had tears in their eyes, and even Kuina's eyes were a little red.
Although they hadn't known them for long, after spending a few days together, everyone had grown to love these two straightforward, simple-hearted, and adorable giants.
Soon, the island's silhouette grew hazy in the twilight.
Dorry and Brogy's figures also shrank with the distance, eventually becoming two small black dots on the horizon, yet they continued to wave their arms tirelessly.
"Huh?"
A puzzled voice came from the side. It was Zeff. "That's strange. We've sailed so far, but we still haven't seen that Island-Eater goldfish."
Shane finally tore his gaze away and looked at the sea ahead, raising an eyebrow.
Yeah, where's my fish?
Where's that big fish?
He had originally planned to use his newly learned "Spear of Elbaf" to test the results of his training on the legendary beast.
But the sea was unusually calm.
Luffy had been targeted by the Island-Eater the moment he left Little Garden, and The Curtain Call was much larger than the Going Merry.
It knows how to pick its battles, huh? How considerate.
He shook his head in disappointment, then turned to the System panel, at the two latest notifications.
[You have sacrificed a strand of Dorry the Blue Ogre's beard and received 2000 points.]
[You have sacrificed Brogy the Red Ogre's belt buckle and received 2000 points.]
These were the "equipment drops" from their training sessions over the past few days, which Shane had casually picked up and sacrificed.
And this time, he had literally just picked them up off the ground.
A total of four thousand points. A very generous amount, bringing his total back to forty-one thousand.
Of course, if he had sacrificed the weapons that had been with the two of them for a hundred years, he would have gotten a lot more.
But that would have been too cruel. The Blue and Red Ogres had just done him a huge favor, and they were two simple, honest guys. Shane just couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Big Bro, where are we going next?" Nami asked.
The little mochi-like creature was napping contentedly in her arms. The little guy seemed to have taken a liking to Nami's citrus scent and had been clinging to her for the past few days.
And on Nami's slender, pale wrist were two watch-like pointers.
One was an Eternal Pose for Alabasta.
Shane had "sheared" it from Crocodile's corpse on Whiskey Peak.
The other was a regular Log Pose.
But it wasn't the one Nami had been wearing at first.
While Shane had been busy training with the giants on Little Garden, Nami and the others had been bored and had decided to explore the entire island.
Not only had they seen many strange and ancient creatures, a real eye-opener, but they had also found the wreckage of some long-sunken ships in the winding rivers.
The bodies on the ships had long since rotted into skeletons, and there was no valuable treasure. But they had found a few undamaged Log Poses.
They were already fully charged with the island's magnetic field.
Nami was overjoyed and immediately swapped out her old Log Pose for the new one.
The old pointer was charging very, very slowly on Little Garden. Who knew how long it would have taken to fully charge?
And with this new pointer, The Curtain Call now had a choice: either go straight to Alabasta or follow the Log Pose to the next stop on this route.
"So it's a choice between two?" Shane stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The others also fell silent, waiting for his decision.
Choosing the route was the captain's right; the crew had no say in the matter. Everyone who set sail knew that.
"Let's go to the next stop!"
Shane smiled, having made his decision quickly.
An unknown adventure was always more appealing. And anyway, with the Eternal Pose, they could go to Alabasta anytime.
But if they didn't go to the next stop on this route now, by the time they got to Alabasta, the magnetic field would reset, and they wouldn't have a chance to go back.
…
Three days later, an island with a rather peculiar shape appeared on the horizon.
The crew gathered at the bow, curiously observing it.
As they got closer, they could see a stone monument at the docks, with the words "Welcome to Thor Island" written on it.
"Thor Island… so this is the next stop?" Smoker said, a little surprised.
"Have you been here before?" Kuina asked, jumping down from the open-air dojo on the second floor and wiping the sweat from her brow with a towel.
"No," Smoker said, a cigar between his teeth, a nostalgic look in his eyes. "But a few years ago, a colleague and friend of mine was on a mission here. When she got back, she told me a lot about this island."
"This island is actually a twin island. The north island is a bustling town with all kinds of entertainment, including a large amusement park. During the peak season, it's packed with tourists."
He pointed into the distance. The crew followed his gaze and could indeed faintly see a giant Ferris wheel.
"And the south island, where we're about to land, is a beautiful and tranquil countryside."
"In the spring, it's covered in cherry blossoms. Compared to the bustling north island, it doesn't have much in the way of entertainment, but for those seeking inner peace, it's a great place to vacation and relax."
"The two islands are connected by a natural stone bridge, so the shape of the entire twin island is quite interesting."
He suddenly puffed out his chest and pointed to it. "If you look at it from above, it looks like a 36F bra."
"A bra?!"
"How crude!"
"You idiot smoker, find a better comparison!"
The three girls were all flustered and began to throw their drink cups at him.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Smoker realized what he had said and dodged awkwardly, his face flushing red. "That's Hina… the friend I was just talking about. That's what she said at the time. I was just talking, and I subconsciously just repeated her words…"
"You didn't have to copy her actions too, you idiot!" Kuina roared, baring her teeth. "That kind of gesture… hey, that Hina must be interested in you, right? She must be!"
"Is she?" Smoker asked, bewildered.
How could that be? All he remembered from their rookie days was Hina constantly bullying him.
Who would do that to someone they liked?
Shane sighed and patted him on the shoulder.
Tsk, a thirty-year-old, dense-as-a-rock guy…
"Let's go. We'll land on the south island," Shane said, looking at the approaching docks. The pink and white cherry blossom petals were already drifting in the wind, and for some reason, it reminded him of his first time setting sail, on Cherry Blossom Island.
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