"Of course."
Kuina's face remained calm, "My Observation Haki, although not as strong as Lord Shano's, able to easily cover even a large city like Water Capital, can still easily detect any commotion on a small island like Klaykan Island."
You're too modest, Deputy Captain Kuina!
To be able to roughly grasp the situation deep in the forest from such a distance.
The level of mastery of Observation Haki is terrifying, far above mine!
The faint pride that had just risen in Jack's heart immediately faded away, and he looked at Kuina with awe.
The Young Swordswoman also gracefully stood up, vaulted over the railing, and gently pushed open the castle's main door:
"Let's go inside. Lord Shano contacted me with a Radio Snail last night, gave me some instructions. I'll hold a meeting during breakfast to share them with everyone."
"Yes, Deputy Captain!"
Before long,
Robin also returned, and all the crew members lined up at both sides of the long table, all present, except for the figure at the main seat.
"Deputy Captain, did you say Lord Shano contacted you with a Radio Snail?" Jack couldn't help asking, "Is he still in underwater retreat?"
From the day they landed on Klaykan Island, it had been exactly 70 days of seclusion.
In the first 40 days, Lord Shano was just like the other crew members, staying on the island for food, housing, and training, and would spend about two hours a day guiding the crew.
In the next 30 days, exactly a month ago, Lord Shano seemed to have mastered several new techniques and began to focus on enhancing his body.
The ordinary environment could no longer provide pressure.
So Lord Shano simply took the historical text, along with plenty of fresh water and food, and went nearly 10,000 meters deep into the sea, eating, drinking, sleeping, and everything else there.
He entrusted Kuina with the responsibility of supervising and guiding the crew in their training.
This way, he could use the great pressure of the deep sea to hone his body and could go all out without any disturbances.
But, a whole month's retreat is terrifying, isn't it?
Living in the dark sea depths, Jack shivered just thinking about it, even as a Fishman, he couldn't withstand it.
"Yes."
Kuina sat closest to the vacant main seat, picked up the knife and fork, and remarked:
"But it should be ending soon. Lord Shano's estimate is that he will emerge tomorrow. In other words, we will be departing from this island at the latest by tomorrow night, which is why I am holding this meeting."
She turned to Nami, "The Log Pose is fully charged with magnetic force, right?"
"Yeah, it's been ready, Kuina-sis." Nami said with a mischievous smile, showing the glass sphere on her fair wrist, "It was fully charged about ten days ago."
Compared to 70 days ago, she had developed some signs of muscle from her training. Although she wasn't yet qualified to cultivate Haki, she had put in some effort into Body Techniques.
Upon which, her overall basic attributes had improved significantly, having learned "Soru" and "Moonwalk" from the Rokushiki.
"Very good."
Kuina nodded and looked to her right, "Smoker."
"So, it's indeed departing in these few days, my intuition was right, it seems."
Smoker, having nearly finished eating, casually put down the Iceberg notes in his hand and leisurely lit two cigars, "I understand what you mean, don't worry. Yesterday, I took the time to do a full inspection of the Endgame."
Having mastered Dual-Colored Haki long ago, however, being stuck in a place like the East Sea dulled it a bit. During these two months, following Kuina's training brought back his ease with it.
The rest of his free time was essentially spent delving into the Shipwright's Notes left by Iceberg.
Two months went by quickly, and now he had completely transformed from someone inexperienced to a reliable boatman.
Bam!
A fist mercilessly struck his head.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Smoker covered his head with three bulges, tears almost flowing, turning angrily, "What was that for, Nojiko!"
"What do you think? Don't smoke at the dining table, remember?" Nojiko bared her teeth and roared.
Wasn't it just a moment of pride that made him instinctively do what he was used to... Smoker couldn't refute and obediently extinguished his cigarette but touched the bump on his head feeling somewhat aggrieved.
The hit was a bit too heavy, more like a female Tyrannosaurus; her Fist Technique and power have improved a lot during this time.
She's even mastered Observation Haki, and with the increasingly adept Snow-Snow Fruit ability, he wondered who would win if they were to fight now...
"Old Zeff was more mindful of his strength when he kicked me."
Smoker muttered and suddenly noticed that the seat beside him was empty, raising his head puzzled, "Huh, where's old Zeff? He was just next to me."
"Probably went to the kitchen to get some strawberry milk for Nuomi." Nami shrugged.
"Oh..." Smoker nodded but suddenly widened his eyes, "For whom?"
Nuomi?
Shouldn't it be for Ah Yin?
When did that little furball start liking strawberry milk too?
"See! You've been so engrossed in the books these days that you haven't even noticed Nuomi has evolved again."
An elderly voice spoke as Zeff returned carrying a large bowl of strawberry milk, setting it under the furthest chair, followed by a white dog with a gold collar.
[Image]
As soon as the milk bowl was placed down, the white dog excitedly barked and jumped over to drink heartily.
"This is Nuomi?!!!"
Smoker's mouth gaped open, "Evolved again... but it evolved from a cat to a dog?"
"It's amazing, isn't it?"
Nami squatted down, petting the small dog's head, "Anyway, it's cute no matter what! Maybe one day it could evolve into all sorts of species, even into something human-like!"
"Human? That's impossible."
Smoker was speechless at Nami's thought process and looked at the little dog, pondering as he touched his chin, "So, now there are two dogs on the ship that like strawberry milk..."
Thud!
Before finishing, he was swept away, sent crashing into the wall.
Out of nowhere, Ah Yin appeared behind his chair, retracting his claws with an unhappy look.
What two dogs!
I'm the Wolf King, a wolf!
"Hiss...Why has your strength increased this much too!"
Grimacing in pain, Smoker managed to crawl up, about to speak but suddenly saw Kuina push her chair away, stand up, and look towards the distant sky with a grave expression.
"What's wrong, Kuina-sis?"
Nami noticed as well and quickly asked.
"Something is coming in this direction, and it's very fast."
"Getting closer and closer; it's heading straight for this island!"
Kuina's face was icy, her right hand resting on Wado Ichimonji's hilt, and she was the first to rush out, with the others quickly following suit after exchanging glances.
A black shadow was rapidly closing in from the distant sky. It seemed to be a large figure, holding something protectively with its arms.
Before they could discern it clearly, the shadow drew an arc and crashed heavily into the clearing in front of the castle, kicking up smoke and dust.
Boom——!
The ground trembled, and once the dust settled, everyone finally saw the appearance of the newcomer.
A burly man wearing a Bear Ear Hat, covered in slicing wounds, bleeding incessantly.
He seemed to have lost consciousness long ago, lying there motionless, while in his arms was a small figure in a green dress.
"Please, please help us!"
Seeing people gather around, the little girl raised her tear-streaked face, her voice trembling, "Whoever you are, can you please help Mr. Kuma? That demon, that demon is almost..."
Before she finished, an eerie laughter echoed from the sky.
"Hehehehe... Running pretty fast, big guy!"
The pink-feathered coat flapped wildly in the wind as Doflamingo descended from the sky, walking on transparent threads, his mouth curling into a manic grin:
"Too bad, with the threads I set upon you long ago, escaping my tracking isn't possible. Here shall be your burial ground!"