Three days later, on the sea near Amazon Lily—
"Whoosh—"
A gigantic paw-shaped bubble carried Jin and the others through the sky at incredible speed.
Anything that got in its way was blasted aside by the strange force.
Even Sea Kings that tried to bite them were repelled instantly.
Inside the giant bubble, both Monkey D. Luffy and Merry had fallen asleep from exhaustion and fear, sprawled across Jin's body and snoring peacefully.
Only Jin remained awake the entire time.
Until he knew where they were heading, he couldn't allow himself to sleep.
"We've been flying for three days and three nights…"
Jin frowned.
"Just where exactly is the destination?"
"And what is Kuma trying to do?"
At this moment, his heart was full of confusion.
He couldn't understand why Bartholomew Kuma had sent them away from Sabaody.
From the current situation, Kuma clearly didn't intend to kill them.
After all—
If Kuma truly wanted them dead, he could've simply sent them directly in front of the Admirals.
There was no need to launch them this far away.
So…
Was Kuma trying to save them?
But why?
What reason could he possibly have?
Did someone within the Straw Hat crew have some special connection to Kuma?
If that were true—
Then why had Kuma acted like he wanted to kill them back at Thriller Bark?
Jin genuinely couldn't understand it.
"…Wait."
Suddenly, Jin remembered something.
Back before they left Thriller Bark, Kuma had used his power to push all of Luffy's pain and injuries out of his body.
If Kuma truly wanted them dead—
There would've been no reason to do that.
And combined with all the strange things Kuma kept saying…
It almost felt like he intentionally wanted to let them go.
"There's definitely something going on."
"Next time we meet, I'm definitely asking him directly."
At that moment, Jin noticed an island rapidly approaching.
At the same time, the paw bubble began descending quickly.
"We finally reached the destination!"
Relief appeared on Jin's face.
Three whole days.
Luffy and Merry slept comfortably the entire way—
Meanwhile, he hadn't closed his eyes once.
As for why Jin never burst the bubble midway—
He needed to know the final destination.
An island?
The middle of the sea?
That information could help him estimate what happened to the others.
BOOM.
The giant paw landed heavily on the ground, blasting out a massive paw-shaped crater.
The instant they touched down, Jin grabbed the two sleeping idiots attached to him and jumped out.
"…Hm?"
"Is it morning already?"
"Sanji, I want food…"
Jin: "..."
Hearing the nonsense muttered by the half-asleep pair, Jin's mouth twitched.
"Did you two already forget what happened?"
As he spoke, he tossed Luffy onto the ground.
THUD.
The impact immediately woke Luffy completely.
"Jin!!"
The memories from three days ago instantly flooded back into his mind.
"Zoro and the others…"
"One after another, they were sent flying away…"
"Relax," Jin comforted him.
"They probably aren't in danger."
As he spoke, he pointed at the giant paw print crater.
"The impact during landing wasn't strong enough to kill anyone."
Jin could feel it clearly—
The force had been surprisingly gentle.
Almost like Kuma intentionally protected them from injury.
Which only made Jin even more confused.
Why would Kuma do this?
At that moment, Kuma's final words resurfaced in Jin's mind.
("This will be our final meeting… Farewell.")
Why… had he said something like that?
"So the big guy really was saving us?" Merry asked softly.
"Based on everything so far, yes."
"But why?"
"I don't know."
Jin shook his head.
"I'll ask him next time we meet."
He desperately wanted answers too.
"Kuma was saving us…"
Luffy blinked.
Then he adjusted his straw hat.
"So he's actually a good guy…"
"Most likely," Jin nodded.
"Back at Thriller Bark, he probably let us go intentionally too."
Otherwise, Kuma could've easily sent Zoro and the others flying straight into the ocean to drown.
But he didn't.
Which meant—
Kuma likely never intended to kill them from the very beginning.
"I see…"
Luffy nodded seriously.
"Then I forgive him."
Simple.
Direct.
Very Luffy.
After thinking for a moment, Luffy took out the Vivre Card Rayleigh had given them.
The paper slowly began drifting in a specific direction.
"Look! It really moves!"
"Idiot, of course it moves," Jin replied helplessly.
"Otherwise how would we find the ship?"
Luffy only grinned stupidly.
With this thing—
They'd eventually reunite with everyone.
Of that, he had no doubt.
Grrrrr…
Grrrrr…
Two stomach growls echoed at the same time.
Luffy and Merry immediately clutched their bellies.
"I'm hungry…"
CRACK.
The sound of a branch snapping instantly drew their attention.
Turning around, they saw a massive wild boar emerge from the forest, glaring at them menacingly.
"MEAT!!"
The instant Luffy saw it, his eyes lit up with excitement.
The boar froze in confusion.
Why wasn't this human afraid of it?
Then—
Its expression changed.
Because the three humans were now staring at it with terrifyingly greedy smiles.
Like they wanted to eat it alive.
The boar immediately felt instinctive fear.
Unfortunately—
Before it could flee, Luffy's fist smashed into it and knocked it out instantly.
"…What is this?"
"Free delivery meat?"
Jin laughed.
He had originally planned to take some Sea King meat out of his storage scrolls.
Instead, dinner practically walked itself over.
Their luck really wasn't bad.
"Hurry, Jin! Let's roast it!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"Alright, let me process it first."
Jin dragged the giant boar aside and began cleaning it using the Kusanagi Sword.
Afterward, he washed it thoroughly with Water Release before carrying it back.
He chopped down several trees, started a fire, and began roasting the meat.
"Merry, hand me the seasoning."
"Okay~"
After passing over the spices, Merry sat beside Luffy on a log, both of them quietly waiting for the meat to finish cooking.
Before long—
The delicious aroma spread through the forest.
"Aaaaah…"
"It smells so good…"
Luffy drooled shamelessly.
The next second, he reached out immediately to grab a chunk.
SMACK.
Jin slapped his hand away.
"Relax. It's not fully cooked yet."
Then he pointed toward Merry.
"Your monster stomach might survive raw meat, but Merry probably can't."
They had no idea where they were.
Getting food poisoning now would be disastrous.
Luffy blinked.
Then glanced at Merry.
"…Got it."
Fair point.
Merry was still little.
"Now then," Jin said while rotating the spit,
"let's talk about what we do next."
"We flew for roughly three days and nights."
"The others probably traveled similar distances."
"Three days?!"
Merry looked shocked.
No wonder she was starving.
Meanwhile, Luffy immediately declared:
"Obviously we go back to Sabaody and reunite with everyone!"
"I bet they're all thinking the same thing."
With the Vivre Card—
They would definitely gather together again.
And Luffy believed it wouldn't take long.
"Alright," Jin nodded.
"Then I'll head deeper into the island and scout around."
"If people live here, we'll try to get a ship."
"Why do we need another ship?" Merry asked.
"I can summon the Thousand Sunny."
Luffy also looked confused.
"…Did you both forget what we asked Rayleigh to do?"
Jin sighed.
"If Rayleigh already finished coating the Sunny, summoning it here would be pointless."
"Why?"
Jin covered his face.
"The coating bubble explodes outside Sabaody's special environment, remember?"
If the ship entered underwater immediately, the coating would remain stable.
But here?
They weren't underwater.
"Can't we just coat it again later?" Luffy asked innocently.
"…You really don't respect other people's hard work."
Jin shook his head.
"Yes, it can be recoated."
"But do you think the Navy will give us another three days?"
"What if we're discovered the moment we return to Sabaody?"
"Next time, they might send THREE Admirals after us!"
This time, two Admirals failed to capture them.
That was basically a slap to the Navy's face.
Next time—
The response would absolutely be even more terrifying.
"…I see."
Luffy scratched his head.
"Yeah… then we definitely shouldn't summon the Sunny."
Merry also understood and stopped arguing.
"Actually, not using our ship has another advantage," Jin added.
"What advantage?"
"We're less likely to attract attention on the way back."
"Otherwise the Navy might send Aokiji specifically after us."
Regular Marines didn't scare him.
He could sink their ships easily with Water Release.
But Aokiji was different.
That man could freeze the ocean itself.
Against someone like him—
Water Release was nearly useless.
"Aokiji…"
Luffy immediately made a disgusted face.
Back then, he'd nearly been killed by that ice guy.
If possible—
He really didn't want to meet him again.
"…In the end, I'm still too weak."
Merry covered her face sadly.
"I couldn't help at all…"
"It's okay. Take it slow."
Jin gently rubbed her head.
"Nobody starts out strong."
Merry had only existed for a few months at most.
How powerful could she possibly be already?
"I-I'll work hard and become stronger too!"
"Good."
Jin smiled.
Then he placed the roasted boar onto a wooden stand and sliced it apart using the Kusanagi Sword.
"Alright."
"Eat up."
"No matter what we plan to do next, we need full stomachs first."
Luffy instantly lunged forward and bit directly into the meat.
Jin: "..."
What a barbaric way to eat.
After handing a smaller portion to Merry, Jin said,
"Eat more."
"You'll grow taller."
The instant she heard that, Merry's eyes sparkled brightly.
"I WANNA GET TALLER!!"
After making her declaration, she began devouring food rapidly too.
Before long, the giant boar disappeared completely under the trio's assault.
"Aaaaah…"
"I'm full…"
Luffy collapsed onto the ground happily.
"Jin, your barbecue is amazing…"
"Yeah yeah," Merry agreed while lying beside him.
"I'm pretty good at wilderness survival," Jin laughed.
Maybe his cooking wasn't on Sanji's level—
But it still tasted pretty good.
At least these two idiots loved it.
"…Hm?"
Jin suddenly stared at Luffy's stomach.
It was already shrinking rapidly.
"…Wait."
"Your digestion speed is THAT insane?"
Most of the boar had gone straight into Luffy's stomach.
Yet he was already digesting it?!
"Huh?"
Luffy blinked.
"What's weird about that?"
His digestion had always been like this.
Simple-minded as ever, he genuinely didn't see the issue.
Jin fell silent.
Maybe…
Luffy's stomach was monster-level too.
After thinking about it carefully, Jin guessed Luffy possessed some special ability to absorb energy from food at absurd speed.
Honestly—
That was a good thing.
"Isn't this great though?!" Luffy laughed loudly while standing up.
"It means eating doesn't slow us down!"
"…Fair enough."
Jin glanced around the forest.
"You two stay here."
"I'll scout deeper into the island."
"Why not go together?" Luffy complained immediately.
Was Jin seriously planning to adventure alone?
"And what if there's danger?" Jin replied.
"At least think about Merry."
For all they knew—
They might've already been sent into the New World.
If this happened to be Yonko territory, barging in recklessly could get them attacked immediately.
Jin himself could survive thanks to his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Luffy and Merry could not.
Luffy glanced at Merry.
After thinking briefly, he nodded.
"…Okay."
Mentioning Merry successfully convinced him.
Luffy cared deeply about his friends.
Right now—
These two were the only companions beside him.
"Actually, I—"
Merry tried to speak.
But Jin interrupted gently.
"Stay here and wait for me."
Merry had just experienced near death.
She was definitely traumatized.
So for now—
Keeping her somewhere safe was best.
Once he understood the island's situation, he'd come back for them.
And if he could secure a ship immediately—
Even better.
Then they could head straight back to Sabaody and reunite with the others.
"Understood!"
Jin nodded.
Then he vanished instantly using the Body Flicker Technique.
After he left, Luffy sat on a nearby rock.
"Luffy…"
"You think Nami and the others can safely make it back to Sabaody too?" Merry asked quietly.
"Of course!"
Luffy grinned confidently.
"Nami and the others aren't the kind of people who die easily!"
"They'll definitely make it!"
His friends all had absurd survival instincts too.
He truly believed everyone would survive.
"That's good…"
Merry sighed in relief.
She desperately hoped everyone would reunite safely at Sabaody so they could finally enter the New World together.
Still…
Without Jin beside them, how were the others doing right now?
The thought filled her eyes with worry.
Noticing her mood, Luffy suddenly jumped up.
"Merry! I'll show you something awesome!"
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
Luffy grinned mischievously and picked several strangely colored mushrooms.
"Merry, these are Laugh Mushrooms!"
"If you eat them, you won't feel sad anymore!"
After saying that, he immediately stuffed one into his own mouth.
Then—
"Hahahahahaha!!"
"My mood instantly improved!!"
Merry's eyes lit up.
There was actually something this magical?
Without hesitation, she grabbed one and took a bite too.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Luffy, I really don't feel sad anymore! Hahahaha!"
"See?! I told you!"
The forest instantly filled with their laughter.
"Hahahahaha!!"
Meanwhile—
Elsewhere near the Calm Belt surrounding Amazon Lily—
A pirate ship carrying the flag of the Kuja Pirates drifted steadily across the sea.
Massive poisonous sea serpents pulled the ship forward.
With those giant snakes escorting them, no Sea Kings dared approach.
"This harvest was incredible."
"Hahaha, seriously!"
"Wonder when we'll sail again…"
"That depends on Snake Princess-sama."
"True."
Although the spoils didn't belong entirely to them, even a portion was enough for them to live comfortably for quite some time.
Boa Sandersonia glanced toward the cabin doors before looking at Boa Hancock.
"Sister… are we really okay ignoring the Navy summons?"
"And what exactly are they going to do about it?"
"If we refuse," Sandersonia asked worriedly,
"won't the World Government revoke your Warlord title?"
Without the Seven Warlords status—
They could no longer plunder legally.
"No."
Hancock raised her chin proudly.
"They would never dare revoke my title~"
"Because…"
"I am simply too beautiful."
"No matter what I do…"
"I'll always be forgiven."
"OOOOH!!"
"As expected of Sister-sama!!"
That's right.
No matter what Hancock did—
She would always be forgiven.
Because—
She was simply too beautiful.
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