Staring at the magical fish bait in Fang Yi's hand, Shanks hesitated.
The time Fang Yi had accidentally lured a Sea King–class Island-Eating Goldfish, no one on the ship blamed him. Many thought it had been quite the exciting adventure.
But now, Shanks understood the complex feelings Fang Yi must've had.
If he used the bait again and attracted another terrifying creature, it might not just be dangerous—it could completely wipe out Whiskey Peaks.
Still, if it only attracted a sea beast or even a small Sea King, they could handle it. With Jaba and Fang Yi on board, there wouldn't be much danger, and they'd solve their food problem too.
Thankfully, Shanks wasn't someone who wavered for long. Gritting his teeth, he accepted the bait from Fang Yi and ran to the other side of Whiskey Peaks to use it.
"Brother Shanks will be okay, right?" Xiao Ya, standing at the base of the mountain, looked at Fang Yi with worry in her eyes.
"Don't worry. It shouldn't be a big deal," Fang Yi replied with a calm smile.
He figured that at most, the bait might attract Laboon or one of those giant goldfish-like sea beasts Luffy had encountered.
That level of danger was manageable, as long as it wasn't the Island-Eating Goldfish, they'd be fine.
Sure enough, not long after, a gigantic, octopus-like sea beast emerged from the sea, causing quite the stir.
"It's… It's a sea monster! Run!!"
The residents of Whiskey Peaks who'd come to watch the commotion panicked when they saw the enormous creature.
"Brother Shanks, run!!" Xiao Ya, about to flee, still remembered Shanks by the shoreline and shouted in alarm.
But instead of panic, Shanks was thrilled.
"Hahaha! Jaba! Yi-ge! Look—our dinner's here!" he shouted excitedly.
Fang Yi chuckled, raised his Solar Bow, and glanced at Jaba. "Teacher, shall I take care of it?"
Jaba smiled and nodded. Judging by the creature's size, it would be more than enough to feed the crew—and still leave a large portion for the locals.
With permission given, Fang Yi lifted his bow and drew an arrow.
FWIP!
From the foot of the mountain to the shore was just a few hundred meters. That was nothing for Fang Yi. Especially with the sea beast being so large, there was no chance he'd miss.
CRACK!
An arrow infused with ice energy pierced the sea beast's head, instantly freezing the wound and rendering the creature lifeless.
"Ha! Got it!" Shanks whooped, then grabbed a rope and jumped into the sea.
The residents, who had been ready to flee, were now dumbfounded. A child-sized boy had taken down a monster with a single arrow. Their jaws dropped in unison.
With everyone's help, they dragged the giant octopus ashore.
"Wow… Brother Shanks, I didn't know Brother Fang Yi was that strong! Are you that strong, too?" Xiao Ya asked curiously, sticking close to Shanks.
"I'm not as strong as Yi-ge," Shanks said honestly, shaking his head.
But seeing her disappointed expression, he added with a grin, "Still, I could probably handle a creature like that on my own, too."
"Really? I knew it! Brother Shanks is amazing too!" Xiao Ya cheered happily, nearly jumping up and down.
To her, Shanks was the kindest and most approachable.
After the sea beast was fully butchered, Jaba left most of the meat to the villagers, just as Shanks had hoped when he risked using the bait.
"Thank you all so much!" the elderly village chief clasped Jaba's hands, teary-eyed and reluctant to part.
"It's alright, Chief. We won't stay long," Jaba said with a kind smile. "But you're constantly harassed by pirates… maybe consider contacting the Navy or World Government for help. If a Marine base were set up here, things would improve a lot."
To Fang Yi, it was a strange thing to hear—from a pirate, no less.
A pirate telling people how to deal with pirates? Weird.
But after spending so much time with the Roger Pirates, Fang Yi was used to this kind of contradiction. At times, the crew didn't even feel like pirates at all—they were more like adventurers.
Yes, the Roger Pirates had robbed others, but mostly other pirates. They never went after merchant ships unless provoked.
After leaving Whiskey Peaks, they quickly returned to Twin Capes. To their surprise, the crew members left behind had already started a celebration, and they seamlessly joined in.
"Crocus has finished treating the captain—and he's agreed to join us as a crewmate on our next adventure!" someone explained.
That was the reason for the party, but Fang Yi was shocked.
"Wait… did my presence change something?" he wondered to himself.
In the original timeline, Roger had an incurable disease, and Crocus joined the crew to help delay its progress and search for Brook's old crew, the Rumbar Pirates.
But now, Crocus had healed Roger completely. That left Fang Yi both confused and hopeful.
Still, he couldn't deny it was a good thing.
If Roger could keep living, that was far better than sacrificing his life to kickstart the Great Pirate Era.
After a night of wild celebration, the Oro Jackson set sail the next morning.
This time, having already made the journey once, they didn't follow the standard route. Instead, they took the shortest possible straight-line course back into the New World.
Not long after they left, a stealth Navy scout ship approached the Twin Capes.
"Is the intel accurate? Are we sure Roger's crew came here? Could they have returned to the East Blue through Reverse Mountain?" the officer asked his soldier.
"No mistake, sir. We have eyewitnesses from Whiskey Peaks. It was members of the Roger Pirates. While they didn't spot Roger himself, they saw the sniper known as 'Phantom Archer Fang Yi' and the crew's number three man—Sparks Jaba," the soldier saluted.
"Good. Everyone, stay alert. This mission has Vice Admiral Garp's attention," the officer said grimly. "You've all heard of Garp, right? Don't let him down."
"Vice Admiral Garp? You mean the Marine Hero? I heard he even turned down the rank of Admiral—is that true?" the soldier asked, now visibly excited.
"Mind your business," the officer snapped. "Focus on the mission."
"Yes, sir! I'll alert the others immediately and tell them to stay on high alert for the Roger Pirates."
"Garp's intentions are none of our concern," the officer muttered to himself once the soldier left. "I wish I knew what he was thinking…"
But even after hours of searching, the scout ship found no trace of the Roger Pirates.
"Sir… do you think they went back to the East Blue?" a soldier asked again.
The officer hesitated, then gave the order:
"Contact the East Blue division. Have them monitor the area around Reverse Mountain. Also notify the other three seas—just in case."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and ran off.
The Navy didn't know that, after recruiting Crocus, the Roger Pirates were already heading back into the New World.
"Rayleigh… have you found any sign of Whitebeard's crew yet?" Roger asked from inside the ship's cabin.
"Don't rush, Roger," Rayleigh said gently, glancing at him with concern. "Once we're deeper into the New World, I'm sure we'll locate them."
"My friend… It's not that I'm impatient… It's that I'm running out of time," Roger said quietly, casting a look at Crocus, who was injecting him with medication.
"Dr. Crocus… is there no hope?" Rayleigh asked softly.
Crocus finished disinfecting and packing up his tools before shaking his head.
"Not from me. But you mentioned the Ope Ope no Mi—the Surgery Fruit. I've never encountered it myself, but if the legends are true, and it can perform the Perpetual Youth Operation, then maybe… maybe there is a chance."
"I don't know much about it either," Rayleigh admitted. "I've already asked Shakky to dig up any intel she can. Hopefully, she brings us good news."
As it turned out, just like in the original story, Roger truly did have an incurable disease. But Rayleigh feared that revealing it would hurt crew morale, so he and Crocus agreed to keep it a secret from everyone, including Fang Yi.
What Roger most wanted now was to find Whitebeard's crew, specifically to ask the samurai from Wano whether he could read the ancient script.
If the Poneglyphs held the key to Raftel, then it was critical to find someone who could decipher them. Because if even the Poneglyphs held no clues, Roger might die without ever uncovering the island's secret.
And so, the race against time continued…