They walked through the quiet forest, seeing no one, gradually approaching their destination: the island's tallest mountain, a barren peak of red earth stripped of greenery.
Iwakura pressed on silently toward it.
Curious, Luffy decided to ask.
Why was he so confident in his movements? His actions alone showed certainty, but perhaps boredom prompted the question. Luffy's voice carried no wariness.
"Hey, old man, have you been to this island before?"
"First time. But I've seen it from afar."
"Hmm. Why'd you bring us along? We might steal the gold and run."
"If that's what happens, so be it. I'm not interested in the gold."
Luffy crossed his hands behind his head.
It was rare to hear someone uninterested in gold. Even Nami, who called herself a coward, would light up at the mention of treasure and vow to claim it. Iwakura's words seemed genuine.
The story about being Woonan's childhood friend appeared true.
Tobio still couldn't quite believe it, but Luffy and the others didn't doubt him—they figured such things happened. After all, they'd had experiences that would shock outsiders: Luffy spending his childhood with Red-Haired Shanks, and Usopp's father being in Shanks' crew. With tales that big, they weren't ones to question.
Now Usopp addressed Iwakura.
"But hey, old man, didn't you have chances before we met? Those pirates only came recently, and if you knew where to go, even more so."
"I needed time to think... I couldn't make up my mind until now."
"And yet you brought us along?"
"Can't afford to get attacked by pirates."
"We're the ones who can't afford that!"
Usopp muttered with a grimace, but his feet didn't stop. Iwakura kept advancing.
There must be complicated circumstances.
He wasn't elaborating, so the details remained unclear.
His demeanor suggested he wasn't keen on talking, so oddly, no one pressed him.
"Ah, whatever. I'm just excited about the gold."
"You're way too carefree. Does the gold even exist?"
"If it doesn't, this is all for nothing. We're making sure it does."
"You're being reckless too..."
Nami's voice cut in from behind the two, brimming with determination, causing Usopp to slump his shoulders wearily.
At that moment, the Baby Den Den Mushi in Nami's pocket started ringing.
Realizing it was contact from Kiri, Luffy and Usopp turned to her. She pulled it out and handed it to Luffy—figuring the captain should handle the call, at least nominally.
"It's probably Kiri."
"Maybe they found the whale statue."
The call connected.
Kiri's voice emerged from the wide-eyed Baby Den Den Mushi's mouth.
"This is Kiri. Over."
"I'm Luffy, the man who'll be King of the Pirates."
"I know. We checked the whale statue. The tail wasn't pointing east after all."
"So where do we go?"
"From the statue, it's north—to the tallest mountain. The tail curves that way, probably pointing there. The treasure's likely at that spot."
"Oh. Hey, Kiri, we're already heading there."
"What do you mean?"
Usopp answered Kiri's question.
Things hadn't gone as planned, but it seemed to have worked out.
"Turns out the oden stand old man was Woonan's childhood friend. Said Woonan had a habit of hiding treasure in high places. So he just started moving on his own."
"I see. Well, if you're heading to the destination, that's fine."
"What about you guys and the pirates? Did you take 'em down?"
"None over here. Doesn't look like any around, either. Kinda doubtful if they're really here."
"Then join up with us. We don't know the pirates' scale—"
"Nah, we'll check out the nearby castle. Might be treasure sleeping there."
"What!?"
Usopp's safety-minded suggestion was flatly rejected.
Anxiety flaring again, Usopp raised his voice unconsciously. But Nami, spurred by the word "treasure," quickened her pace, shoving Usopp aside.
"Think about it, Kiri. Like I said before, we're only six people—better not split our forces. Listen, one more time: Everyone rendezvous now and—"
"No, no need to rendezvous. Go ahead to the castle and search for treasure. But Kiri, you know about the shares, right?"
"Yeah. I'll search thoroughly. Leave your side to you."
"Same for the gold."
"Got it."
Luffy spoke up again.
Usopp was still fretting anxiously, but Luffy ignored the commotion, and Kiri handled him with familiar ease.
"Any problems?"
"None. You?"
"We're good. If you find enemies, go wild. Leave Usopp and Nami to me."
"Haha, roger. I'll tell the other two."
The call ended, and the Baby Den Den Mushi dozed off.
Luffy handed it back to Nami with a grin.
"So, we're going it alone."
"Ugh, no reinforcements after all..."
"It's fine. I'm strong—I won't lose to anyone."
"There's a limit to everything. We don't know who we're up against."
"We've left the forest. This is it."
Iwakura, walking ahead, halted. They'd finally emerged from the woods at the mountain's base. But it looked more like a massive rock wall than a mountain.
It was tall—far too steep to climb easily.
They'd arrived, but how to ascend?
The group paused, gazing up at the wall.
"So, where do we climb from?"
"Leave it to me. I'll get us up in one go."
With that, Luffy stepped forward, twirling his right arm while eyeing the summit.
His rubber arm stretched dramatically.
It didn't reach the top but grabbed a midway rock. Using that as leverage, he'd leap to the peak in seconds. Luffy glanced back at the others. But Nami and Usopp shook their heads in denial, while Iwakura and Tobio gaped at the bizarre sight.
"Here we go. Grab on!"
"No no no no!?"
"Don't be ridiculous! We don't know what'll happen!"
"Really? But this is faster."
"If we die, it's pointless!"
"Unlike you, we're not rubber!"
"Fine, whatever. So how do we climb?"
As Luffy retracted his arm, Tobio pointed in a certain direction.
"Hey, couldn't we climb from over there?"
"Oh? Where?"
Upon closer look, the rocky mountain had a narrow path barely wide enough for one person. It looked dangerous, but there were no other options. They'd have to take it.
Usopp and Nami's faces clouded over.
Jumping was risky, but walking seemed just as bad.
With no choice but to proceed, they both sighed and slumped their shoulders.
In contrast, Luffy looked thrilled.
"Ooh, there. Let's go!"
"Is there no other path?"
"Doesn't seem so— that'll do."
"Haaah... This is why adventures suck."
Luffy led the dejected pair along the narrow path.
Iwakura and Tobio followed.
The precarious trail could give way at any moment. The group advanced cautiously, but Luffy bounded ahead as usual, unfazed by the risk of falling.
Tension silenced them for a while.
They focused on walking for a few minutes, but as Tobio braced against the wall, he spoke to Iwakura.
"Grandpa, you were Woonan's childhood friend, right? This is the first I've heard of it."
"Yeah. From before he became a pirate."
"What was he like?"
"You want to know? Right, you admired Woonan."
"I wanna know too!"
Luffy, intrigued by Tobio and Iwakura's talk, joined in while walking backward. Usopp and Nami panicked at his risky stance, scolding him sharply, but he ignored them. Iwakura, unbothered, continued.
"I became an oden vendor because his dad was great at making it. He worked mining gold in the coal pits, but his oden was so good it always put smiles on his comrades' faces. I admired that and inherited the recipe."
"Huh. So you didn't start it yourself."
"I turned it into a business. But the flavor's just what I learned from his dad."
"What about Woonan?"
Tobio asked impatiently.
Iwakura was right behind him. Sensing the urgency, he calmly proceeded.
"Woonan didn't like his father much. Sweating day in and out, digging up tiny bits of gold—or nothing at all sometimes. Yet his dad and the others would eat oden and laugh. As a kid, Woonan rebelled against that. We used to play at making pirate flags together, but he turned that play into a real dream eventually."
"So you liked pirates too, old man?"
Iwakura nodded at Luffy's question.
It was true—he'd admired pirates as a child. But not anymore.
"When he set sail, he invited me along. But by then, I was set on starting my oden stand—to become the world's best. So I turned him down, we fought, and that was it."
"So you haven't seen him in years."
"Yeah. Heard he came to the East Blue, but never met up. Until today."
Iwakura's voice began to carry deep regret.
An emotion Tobio had never seen. Hearing that unfamiliar tone, he glanced back slightly.
Iwakura kept his eyes forward, perhaps lost in thought gazing at the summit.
"I've regretted it ever since. Splitting paths was inevitable, but not reconciling... I never had the chance. Now, I wish I could talk to him."
"And that's when pirates showed up on this island."
"Yeah. Pathetic, I know. And one more thing—he never ate my oden. No matter how many times I made it with the soul I learned from his dad, he refused. That's my only lingering regret."
Iwakura nodded at Nami's words too.
He must have agonized over it endlessly. His expression told the tale.
The conversation halted abruptly.
A heavy silence lingered for seconds as they climbed higher, the wind growing stronger. Bracing against being blown off, Luffy spoke with a smile.
"Maybe now he'd eat it—that's what you're thinking. But..."
"You can finally talk today. Woonan's here, right?"
"Even if he was, he's already..."
"Don't decide that on your own. We haven't found anything yet. Tobio, do you think Woonan's dead?"
"Huh? N-No, of course not!"
"See? Someone believes he's alive. Don't give up before we've seen anything."
Tobio had a vague idea of the circumstances. His response to Luffy was mere wishful thinking, and he sensed it. But Luffy probably knew that and said it was fine anyway.
Iwakura was momentarily speechless.
Deep down, he'd resigned himself. Was Luffy saying that wasn't okay?
Luffy kept walking forward, addressing him.
"Woonan probably wants to see you too. If you're friends, say what you need to, apologize if you want. We're almost at the top. You'll meet Woonan for sure!"
"Yeah..."
Iwakura gave a wry smile at the optimistic words, and Tobio smiled too.
It was simplistic thinking, but maybe that's what was needed. Though pushed by Luffy's grin, it didn't feel bad at all.
They climbed in silence for another few minutes.
Finally reaching the summit, they all stepped onto solid ground without a single fall. Usopp collapsed in relief, exhaling deeply; Nami's heart raced at the prospect of gold; Luffy and Tobio's eyes sparkled at the thought of meeting Woonan.
The first thing they saw atop was a small hut standing alone in the center.
"We made it!"
"Huh? Who the hell are you guys?"
And there stood a rugged pirate with a menacing build.
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