Scratching his head as he recalled the scene when they'd first designed their new flag, Deuce frowned slightly and tried to explain the unusual design.
"Well... Jerry said the hairstyle was meant to commemorate our former captain, Ace. As for the overalls and that pose, he claimed it represents how 'working people aren't afraid of hardship and bravely move forward.'"
Deuce's tone suggested he didn't entirely understand the symbolism either, but this was how Jerry had explained it when pressed for details. Generally speaking, the specific meaning of a pirate flag was up to the captain's discretion, and most crews didn't question their leader's artistic choices too deeply.
Carina had asked about the flag pattern out of simple curiosity, but the explanation only raised more questions in her mind. She glanced around the deck, noticing something else that struck her as odd.
"Wait," she said, looking toward the empty helm area and then back at their steadily moving ship. "Doesn't your ship need someone to steer it?"
"Oh, that's simple!" Skull replied with obvious pride in his captain's abilities. "Boss Jerry can manipulate seawater directly. He uses the ocean currents to carry us forward wherever we want to go."
"He can manipulate seawater?" Carina's eyes widened in disbelief. "That has to be an exaggeration!"
After hearing Skull's casual explanation, she grabbed her head in both hands, her expression one of pure dismay. How am I supposed to escape if this perverted captain is that powerful? she thought desperately.
"Hey," Jerry called out from his fishing spot by the ship's rail, having noticed her expression. "Have you been thinking something rude about me?"
He stood up and stretched, giving her a knowing look. "Go get breakfast started. And don't worry—I told you already, I'm not going to kill you."
Carina stuck her tongue out at him childishly before heading toward the galley, muttering under her breath about unreasonable pirates and their impossible abilities.
After breakfast, as the morning sun climbed higher into the sky, Jerry approached Deuce, who was sitting at a small table with his journal spread open before him.
"Deuce, do we have any particular destination in mind?" Jerry asked.
But the doctor-author seemed completely absorbed in his writing, his pen moving rapidly across the page as he scribbled notes and sketches. He didn't appear to have heard the question at all.
Curious about what could capture Deuce's attention so completely, Jerry moved closer to peer over his shoulder at the journal's contents.
"Ah, the giant golden ship, so brilliant it nearly blinded my eyes with its radiance..." Jerry began reading aloud in a dramatic voice. "The dark, humid passages filled with gold dust falling like rain, reminding me of those rainy days from my youth..."
"That was during the rainy season when I turned seventeen, when we..." Jerry continued, but paused as he noticed the writing style becoming more restrained. "Hey Deuce, let me see more. Your writing is actually much more normal now than—"
SNAP! The journal slammed shut as Deuce whirled around, clutching the book protectively against his chest.
"Of course it's more normal! This is my preliminary draft for proper publication!" Deuce protested, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Don't read my personal notes out loud like that!"
Jerry blinked innocently and made an apologetic gesture with his hands. "Sorry, bad habit. I like to read things aloud when I'm concentrating. I'll try to change that."
"Try to change it? Let me tell you something, Jerry—you've officially caught my attention now. I'll be watching out for you next time." Deuce's expression was stern, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I know you have this habit with newspapers too, but knowing about it and accepting it are two different things. One day you might accidentally read something that gets us all exiled to the moon!"
Carina, who had been lounging in a sunny spot on the deck after finishing her cooking duties, perked up at the commotion. "Wait, were you just reading his personal journal? What was it about?"
"Boss Deuce is working on material for his adventure novel," Skull explained, looking up from where he was carefully organizing some of his collected treasures. "He wants to become the world's greatest adventure novelist someday."
"That's amazing!" Carina exclaimed, genuinely impressed. "What about you? What's your dream?"
"Me?" Skull beamed with pride. "I'm going to become the world's greatest collector and intelligence specialist. I want to build a network that spans every sea and connects every island."
"Both of those sound incredible," Carina said, then pointed casually at Jerry. "What about him? What's his big dream?"
"Boss Jerry?" Skull considered the question seriously. "I think he wants to become the world's greatest fisherman, right?"
"A... fisherman?" Carina stared at Jerry with obvious disappointment. "The contrast is pretty stark there. As expected, he's kind of lame."
Jerry, who had returned to his fishing spot, suddenly spun around with an expression of wounded pride. "What's wrong with being a fisherman? I'll have you know that among my fellow fishing enthusiasts, there are legends who could climb the treacherous peaks of Mount Godwin-Austen!"
"Mount Godwin-Austen?" Carina had never heard the name before.
"That's no easier than crossing the Red Line continent on foot," Jerry declared, his voice filled with reverence and longing. "The techniques required, the dedication needed... it's truly an art form beyond most people's comprehension."
Carina narrowed her eyes and studied his expression carefully. Something about his tone and the way his eyes gleamed suggested he wasn't being entirely serious.
"Really?" she said skeptically. "It sounds impressive, but looking at you right now, I feel like something's not quite right about this story."
"Hmph, how superficial," Jerry replied with mock disdain, turning back to his fishing line. "I'm too sophisticated to waste time explaining the finer points to someone who wouldn't understand anyway."
"You're the one who's superficial!" Carina shot back, settling back into her sunny spot.
The deck fell into comfortable quiet once again. Without any specific destination in mind, Jerry decided to let them wander freely for a while. He extended his senses into the surrounding water, feeling the natural flow of the ocean currents, then gently accelerated their movement to push the ship along at a more comfortable pace.
As they drifted through the morning, news coos began appearing overhead, dropping freshly printed newspapers across the seas. The headlines were dominated by reports of the incident at Gran Tesoro, which was hardly surprising given that it involved an attack on a Celestial Dragon.
Under direct orders from the World Nobles, CP0 had officially confirmed that Edward Weevil was the primary suspect in the assault on Saint Chagama. A massive manhunt was already underway, though Weevil and his mother Miss Bakkin had managed to escape the initial dragnet. The bounty on Weevil's head had been increased dramatically, and both Cipher Pol and the Marine were coordinating their pursuit efforts.
The reports also mentioned that "Leviathan" Jerry had been present at the scene of the incident, which attracted attention from various parties across the seas. The World Government's intelligence organizations would undoubtedly be conducting follow-up investigations, but with the Celestial Dragons' explicit focus on Weevil, Jerry was likely to avoid the worst of their scrutiny.
The Marine's on-site personnel, who hadn't directly witnessed Jerry's involvement in the attack, could only note his presence and maintain surveillance. Given that they were currently in the New World, where the Four Emperors' influence limited Marine control, immediate action was unlikely.
The Revolutionary Army had also taken notice of the incident. Any attack on the Celestial Dragons was of obvious interest to their cause, and they were undoubtedly trying to determine the exact sequence of events. However, their intelligence operatives had been evacuated along with the general public during the chaos, leaving them to rely on secondhand accounts and speculation.
The incident had prompted the Celestial Dragons to significantly increase their security measures when traveling. World Nobles everywhere were reportedly in a state of near-panic, fearing that civilians might be inspired to follow Weevil's example. They were pressuring the World Government to capture the criminals quickly and make a very public, very severe example of them.
Among the general population, reactions were mixed. Most people only dared to curse the Celestial Dragons and nobles in private conversations, never seriously considering open rebellion. The few criminals bold enough to see this as an opportunity for fame quickly abandoned their schemes after seeing the massive government response detailed in the news reports.
The outside world continued to buzz with activity and speculation, but aboard the Black Star Pirates' ship, life settled into a peaceful routine. Days passed quietly as they drifted through relatively calm waters, following ocean currents and enjoying the freedom of having no immediate destination.
It was during the early morning hours, several days after leaving Gran Tesoro, that Skull's voice suddenly shattered the pre-dawn quiet.
"Boss Jerry! Everyone, wake up! There's something massive in front of us!"
Jerry emerged from his cabin to find his crew gathered on deck, all staring into the thick fog that surrounded their ship. The morning mist was unusually dense, making it difficult to see more than a few dozen meters in any direction.
"What's got you so worked up, Skull?" Jerry asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Look ahead," Skull pointed with a trembling finger. "I got up to use the bathroom and saw this huge black shadow in the fog. It's... it's enormous!"
Jerry followed Skull's gaze and activated his Observation Haki to pierce through the concealing mist. What he sensed made him pause in surprise.
"Well," he said slowly, staring at the massive cylindrical shapes that emerged from the fog like ancient pillars, "those appear to be... elephant legs."
The limbs were truly colossal, each one easily the size of a large building. As more of the structure became visible through the lifting fog, the full scale of what they were seeing began to dawn on the crew.