After the banquet.
The "Gale" floated quietly by the cliff. Ulti stood before the group, her expression reluctant. Her large eyes were filled with tears, and she spoke in a choked voice.
"Everyone, I'm sorry. I really can't bring myself to leave my beloved little brother and the others in the pirate crew who need looking after, so I can't travel the world with you."
"Is that so..."
Although he had anticipated this outcome, Leno was very understanding of Ulti's situation.
"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I... I..."
"Ulti..."
Watching Ulti cry her eyes out, Nami, Chopper, and the others also had their eyes well up as they stared at her.
"I just hope that after you've traveled the world, you'll still remember that you had a friend like me..."
"Waaa..."
Leno slowly walked forward, gently pulling Ulti into his arms and patting her back.
"You will always be our friend. We will come back to see you in the future."
"Mhm, mhm~"
Nami, Nojiko, and the others also stepped forward one by one to hug Ulti and say their goodbyes.
As the "Gale" slowly rose into the air, it quickly flew away amidst Ulti's teary eyes. From a distance, they could still see Ulti waving at them from the cliff's edge. Everyone on the ship felt a pang of sadness.
"Now, now, Ulti's situation is different from ours, after all. Her family and partners are all in the pirate crew. We have to understand her," Leno said, comforting the downcast girls. Changing the subject, he suddenly spoke mysteriously.
"However, just because she's not boarding the ship now doesn't mean she won't in the future."
"Huh? You big dummy, what's that supposed to mean?"
Nami, who reacted instantly, grabbed Leno and wouldn't stop asking. The others also looked at him with questioning eyes.
"Well, you'll find out in the future."
He couldn't just tell them that Kaido would be defeated by Nika in the future and that the Beasts Pirates would be destroyed. Even if he said it, would they believe him? They'd probably just call him a 'lunatic' again.
"Tch~ Always being mysterious!"
Seeing that Leno refused to say, Nami punched him in frustration.
Robin, at the side, however, looked at Leno thoughtfully. After a series of events, she had some guesses about the signs Leno was showing. 'Since Leno said so, he must know something that others don't.' But she wouldn't press him for details. After all, everyone has their own secrets.
"Hey, sis, if you really can't bear to part, why don't you just go with them? You're not acting like yourself right now," Page One couldn't help but say, seeing Ulti still staring blankly from the cliff's edge long after the ship had disappeared.
Ulti snapped back to her senses, jerked her head around to stare at Page One, her fists clenched and cracking as she walked slowly towards him.
"Hmm?! Pei-chan~, have you been getting a little carried away lately without your sister's 'education of love'?¹³"
Page One's expression stiffened. Seeing his sister's fierce eyes as she slowly approached, he put his hands over his head and slowly squatted down.
"Not the face…"
Before long, Page One's miserable howls echoed from the cliff's edge. The screams were truly heartbreaking to hear.
On the "Gale," Leno was lying on the ox figurehead at the bow, comfortably enjoying the sea breeze. Suddenly, he remembered something. His body instantly froze, and he mechanically turned his head.
"Um... how... how are we going to get back?"
"Huh?!"
Hearing this, everyone's expression turned to panic. They had been so caught up in their sadness that they were already halfway on their journey before they remembered: how were they supposed to get back to the Four Blues?
"What are we going to do? Are we just going to drift aimlessly at sea?"
"This... this..."
At this moment, Nami suddenly gave a pretentious cough.
"Ahem... who is the best navigator in the world?"
"Nami~!"
Chopper's face was full of excitement. Looking at the proudly standing Nami, he felt as if she were radiating a dazzling light.
"Ah~ so dazzling!"
"Hmph hmph~ Before we even set off, I got an Eternal Pose for an island on the edge of the Calm Belt from Ulti's brother."
"Seeing how careless all of you are… Face it—without the world's greatest navigator, you're all hopeless," Nami said, proudly lifting her snow-white chin and glancing condescendingly at everyone.
"Awesome~ As expected of Nami."
"You're so reliable, Navigator Nami."
Carmen and Robin praised Nami one after another. Yamato was even more exaggerated, stepping forward to pull Nami into a hug and burying her face in her chest.
"Nami, you're amazing! So reliable! Hahaha..."
"Cough, cough... Yamato, put me down! I can't breathe."
Nami, who had been so proud just a moment ago, now looked completely disheveled, especially when she saw Yamato's exaggerated size. She immediately felt dejected.
'Why, why are all of theirs so big?'
She looked down at her own chest, feeling a bit desperate. 'Why isn't Carmen's food supplement working?'
"Hey, Nami, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and set the course."
Leno's annoying urging came, and Nami shot him an angry glare.
"I know, I know! What's the rush? Hmph~ you big oaf."
"?????"
Leno, having been scolded, looked completely baffled. 'Why did she suddenly get angry? Could it be... that time of the month came early?' (T/N: WTFFFF hahahahaha Got me off guard!!!)
Thinking of this, Leno stared at Nami's delicate body, looking her up and down with a strange expression.
"What are you looking at? You bastard, hurry up and help."
"Yes, yes, I'm coming, I'm coming."
'It must be early. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in such a bad mood.'
After that, everyone on the voyage found something to do and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Robin dove into the study to research the materials brought from Wano. Nami was in her workshop drawing sea charts. Chopper was in the infirmary studying the medicinal herbs from Wano, and Carmen was in the kitchen researching new recipes. Nojiko and Kuina went to the training room together.
Leno lay on the ox figurehead, bored out of his mind. 'It seems like I'm the only one with nothing to do.' Just then, he heard Yamato's excited cheers.
For Yamato, who was on her first voyage, everything was full of wonder. Even with the calm seas, she ran around tirelessly, marveling at the vastness of the ocean, the height of the sky, and the comfort of the sea breeze.
Watching the energetic Yamato, Leno couldn't help but recall his own first time at sea. 'Better not. I was always in such a hurry back then; I wasn't in the mood for anything. All I could think about was which opportunities were still there and which treasures hadn't been taken.'
Thinking back on his busy past, he realized it was all for the carefree life he had now. Leno felt very fortunate. 'Luckily, I prepared in advance. I'm now fully prepared.'
As he thought, he unknowingly fell asleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Leno was woken by Yamato's surprised shout.
"Leno, look! There's an island ahead!"
She pulled the sleepy-eyed Leno to the railing, her excitement palpable. After seeing the same unchanging scenery for so long, the sudden appearance of land was undoubtedly a huge impact, especially for a rookie like Yamato who had just gone to the sea. She shouted out loud, and soon, the others on the ship also came to the deck one by one.
"Mhm~ The Calm Belt is right ahead."
T/n:
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