A soft breeze moved across the sea, turning the water a pane of rippling jade.
Beehive Island shrank in the distance until it slipped behind the curve of the horizon.
Before crossing over, Dimon had almost never traveled by ship. A sailboat was a first. The novelty was not unpleasant.
"So where are we grabbing a Celestial Dragon?" Whitebeard asked, naginata in hand.
Rocks planted a boot on the figurehead and answered with swagger. "Mary Geoise, of course."
So the Holy Land after all.
Dimon shook his head. "There is a chance the Celestial Dragons leave the Holy Land now and then."
"Ideas, Dimon?" Stussy flipped open a compact and freshened her makeup, voice lazy and light.
Relaxed. Carefree.
It felt less like kidnapping world nobles and more like a pleasure cruise.
Dimon thought a moment. "They pay visits abroad from time to time."
"Without Intel, we could wander forever and never see one," Shiki said with a shrug.
"True," Dimon conceded, then added, "There is a place that is their garden, so to speak. You can see them often."
Everyone traded a glance and spoke at once.
"The Sabaody Archipelago."
Dimon nodded. "It is close to Mary Geoise. The ones cooped up in the Holy Land sometimes descend to play. We will meet one there."
Gloriosa frowned. "It is close, yes, but Sabaody is also close to Marineford. If the Rocks Pirates show themselves, the Marines will arrive in under half an hour."
Dimon pointed to himself. "I will go first alone. Once I spot a Celestial Dragon I will contact you. Then you come down like thunder, grab the target, and we run."
"Then that is the plan."
Rocks sat on the figurehead with his back to them. "Shiki, I am counting on you."
"Got it. I am taking a bigger cut of the ransom."
Shiki bared his teeth and slapped the deck. "Veins."
The Saber of Xebec jolted, rose from the surface, and climbed into the sky.
Dimon could not help the flicker of envy.
Paramecia, Float Float Fruit. Very useful.
Among the hundreds of Devil Fruits, it was one of his favorites.
Only a favorite, though. If he had to choose one to eat himself, he was not sure it would be this.
"I am a little seasick. Going below for a bit," he said, using the excuse to slip away.
The great cabin was spacious and well furnished.
Dimon poured himself water and sank into a sofa.
On the table lay a thick stack of wanted posters, all famous pirates.
He thumbed through them. Some faces he knew. Others were strangers.
"Come on, Dimon. Seasick?" Charlotte Linlin followed him in and dropped onto the sofa beside him. Seeing the posters in his hands, she said, "Those are Rocks' targets. He likes to use the Davy Back Fight to take crew from other pirates. Captains too."
It was a pirate game, founded by a great pirate named Davy Jones, Rocks' idol. The loser swore to Davy Jones to serve the winner for life.
Many in the crew, Whitebeard included, had been won that way.
Dimon set the posters down and glanced at Linlin. "I just want to rest. I am not seasick."
He had barely finished when she threw an arm around his shoulders like an old drinking buddy.
"You are too scrawny. A man cannot be this flimsy."
Dimon was speechless.
At nearly one meter eighty six, he had never been called flimsy until today.
Compared to Charlotte Linlin, though, flimsy fit.
"I am a normal human. You are not. You probably have a dash of giant blood."
"No idea. My parents were normal. They abandoned me when I was little."
She leaned in, voice sweet with temptation. "You said one bottle pours four cups. You served Kaido one. Three remain."
"What are you getting at?"
"Sleep with me and give me a cup. Good trade, right?" She smiled at the corner of her mouth.
Dimon pushed her face aside, a touch of distaste in his eyes.
It was not that he objected to getting frisky. This carriage was simply too large.
"Not interested."
"Why not?"
She gaped. "I am this pretty. Not worth a cup?"
"If the plan works you will drink all the same." Dimon offered a different deal. "Teach me Haki. As payment, I will give you a cup."
"Dea—"
Before the word could land, a figure popped up from behind the sofa.
"I can teach you too," Gloriosa said earnestly. "I used to captain the Kuja Pirates. Our tribe has a very systematic method for training Haki."
Linlin turned on the interloper, eyes flashing. "Glo-ri-o-sa."
"Shameless woman. I knew you would try to seduce him."
Gloriosa snorted, full of disdain. "Do not fall for her, Dimon. She pops out babies like popcorn."
"None of your business."
"Cannot stomach your lying."
"Fine. We can settle this with our fists."
"Who is afraid of who."
As the argument leaped from words to fists, Dimon rose without a sound and left.
Back on deck, he found Kaido.
"Teach me Haki and I will wipe your tab. Deal?"
"Ora ora. We are both apprentices. We should help each other, Dimon."
"Yes or no."
Ten days later, the Sabaody Archipelago.
Dimon wandered the streets.
They had arrived three days earlier. Rocks and the others still circled above. He alone had come down.
For three days he waited for a Celestial Dragon. Morning to night, nothing.
Sabaody was unusual, made up of seventy-nine ginormous Yarukiman Mangrove trees, each a numbered district. The roots formed the ground. Bubbles rose constantly from the earth and burst at a certain height.
Bubble culture was everywhere. Bubble amusement parks, bubble bikes, even houses built on bubbles.
District 24.
Something odd stirred down the street.
Pedestrians slipped to the sides and knelt, heads down. At the far end of the clearing road a group approached at a leisurely pace.
At their head walked a figure dressed in white like a man in a space suit, a clear bubble helm over his head.
Dimon's eyes lit. He stepped into a side alley and took out a Transponder Snail, dialing.
A moment later the line opened.
"Mosimosi. Dimon? This is Rocks."
"Rocks, good news. District 24 just spawned a Celestial Dragon."
He paused, then chuckled. "There is bad news too. Vice Admiral Garp is babysitting."
"Stay put. We are on our way."