Twenty-odd minutes later, Carina and Nami hauled the bulging burlap sack back aboard.
Yami sat on the rail with a fishing rod he'd found who-knows-where, quietly angling.
Seeing the two return, he stowed the rod and asked—knowing the answer—"Can either of you handle a ship this size?"
"I can!"
Nami raised her hand. "I'm a navigator, and I've helmsman experience."
"A navigator? That's perfect."
Yami put on a pleasantly surprised look. "Then do you know how to get to Sixis Island?"
"Sixis Island? That name sounds so familiar…" Nami frowned, pinching her chin.
Beside her, Carina arched a brow. "Sixis Island—the famous 'deserted desert island,' right?"
"Oh, right, right… I remember now."
"Good. Since you both know it."
The ever-"aloof powerhouse" finally let a smile show. "Then please take me to Sixis Island."
"No problem."
At that smile, the pressure in their chests eased, and they nodded without hesitation.
Nami in particular felt a lift.
So he wasn't that hard to deal with after all.
His navigation seemed ordinary, like Carina's.
Which only made her more valuable in his eyes.
If she could cling to this man's leg, wouldn't a hundred million beli be easy?
He could strip Devil Fruits; just the fruit he took from Mad Treasure would fetch at least a hundred million on the black market.
That terrifying strength she'd only seen in Arlong, who could hoist a house.
With his help, she might not even need the full hundred million to save her village.
Brimming with motivation, Nami took the initiative to raise anchor and set sail from the uninhabited island.
"Master, are we going to Sixis Island to rescue someone?"
Carina came up to make conversation.
Sixis Island was called a desert island not because every inch was sand—but close.
Its surrounding sea had a climate unlike nearby waters.
Ships that strayed into it had a far higher chance of wrecking than elsewhere.
A wreck was one thing—the terror was drifting onto Sixis.
No animals. No food. No water.
Anyone cast ashore there starved or fell ill and died.
Hence, the "deserted desert island."
So why go there willingly?
Aside from a rescue, Carina saw no other reason.
"No. I'm going to find a Devil Fruit."
Yami appreciated the girl and had decided to cultivate her and Nami into his left and right hands.
So he didn't hide it. "I picked up intel that the Logia Flame-Flame Fruit might be on Sixis. I don't know if it's true, but I'm going to look."
"A Logia Devil Fruit?"
Since he was so open, Carina's eyes brightened, and she pressed her luck. "Master, you said Logia Dark-Dark and Paramecia Door-Door and Glare-Glare before—are sea's secret treasures classified?"
"Correct. Three main types."
Yami nodded, undisguised appreciation in his gaze. "What are your names?"
"I'm Carina, and she's Nami."
Carina introduced them both, eyes expectant.
"Nice names."
Yami didn't keep them in suspense. "Devil Fruits come in three classes: Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan.
"As the names suggest, Logias grant control over forces of nature—for example, the Ice-Ice Fruit commands ice and can freeze anything; my Dark-Dark is the power of darkness.
"Paramecia users gain special abilities—like the man earlier, whose fruit was the Paramecia Chain-Chain, letting chains extend from any part of his body and be controlled at will; my Door-Door opens doors anywhere, even in the air, to pass freely.
"Zoans, as the name says, let a user transform into a given animal."
"So that's how it is."
Understanding dawned. Carina's worldview finally stepped beyond the mundane into the superhuman.
The East Blue was called the weakest sea for a reason.
Its overall strength was low, and even Devil Fruits were only legends of 'sea's treasures.'
Ordinarily, Carina would only learn this gradually after entering the Grand Line.
Seeing it early was good for a quick, clever girl.
But Yami seemed unsatisfied with the look on her face and tossed another log on the fire. "By the way, in this world, each person can only eat one Devil Fruit."
"So that's—huh?!!"
Carina nodded automatically—then her jaw dropped and she snapped her gaze up to Yami, eyes widening by the second as her mouth slowly fell open.
Seeing the dumbstruck look, Yami was finally satisfied. He pinched her cheek lightly, turned back to the rail, and flicked his line out again.
Only after a long moment did Carina come back to herself.
She drew a steadying breath, trying to calm the tremble in her body and the excitement in her chest.
Seizing Devil Fruits—Master's unique ability.
Each person can only eat one Devil Fruit.
If she knew only the first, she'd think Yami nothing more than a golden thigh to cling to.
If she knew only the second, she'd accept it as one of the world's rules like everyone else.
But both together shattered her worldview again.
If what Yami said was true, then wasn't her Master someone who broke the world's rules?
More than a golden thigh—
He was the man with the greatest potential in the world, a walking treasure.
If his secret went public, it would shake the world.
Such an earthshaking secret—and now she knew it.
Her excitement came with a wave of wanting to cry.
She was in too deep to leave now.
All because she ran her mouth!
Resigned to dragging Nami into the same pit with her, Carina passed along the intel she'd just gathered—Yami's secret and all.
A moment later, another hiss of breath came from the helm.
With keen hearing, Yami listened to the girls' exchange and felt their frequent glances his way. The corners of his mouth lifted, and his mood was very good.
The loneliness of sailing alone was finally over.