Clatter, clatter!
Several ropes fell to the ground.
Thud, thud, thud!!
The blond middle-aged man and his eight brothers knelt simultaneously, kowtowing desperately toward Goku and Nami.
"Thank you! Thank you! We'll remember your kindness for the rest of our lives!"
Nami crossed her arms and curled her lip.
"There's no need to thank us. Just remember what you said—stop being pirates, stop doing bad things, and go back to live an honest life with your families."
After the tearful scene from the blond man and the others, the duo realized these were just ordinary people who hadn't fully transformed into pirates yet.
Fueled by a so-called dream and blessed with sheer luck, they had managed to reach this place with ease.
Since they were so sincere in admitting their mistakes and clearly intended to change, there was no harm in letting them go now.
After all, since these people didn't have bounties, they would have had to release them eventually anyway; they were just moving up the timeline.
"Don't worry! We wouldn't become pirates again even if it killed us!"
The blond man and his brothers scrambled up from the ground, shaking their heads like rattles.
They had originally set out on a whim of passion. Their smooth journey so far had given them a false sense of confidence, making them believe that traveling the world as pirates was a simple matter.
It wasn't until they encountered Goku and were easily taken down by a child that they realized how terrifying the Grand Line truly was!
If even a child had the strength to defeat them all, what was the point in continuing?
Instead of stubbornly chasing a dream and dying, shouldn't they just go home?
They had survived this time because they met the kind Goku and Nami, but what about next time? Next time, their bones might have already been tossed into the sea.
The thought made them shiver, waking them from their delusion of easy success. They ruthlessly snuffed out their youthful dreams, never wanting to look back.
"To hell with being pirates! Let whoever wants to do it do it!"
The blond man grabbed a bucket of paint from the cabin and splashed it onto his ship's Jolly Roger.
In an instant, the pirate flag was completely obscured.
"Hey! Nami-san! Goku! Are you finished? Come eat while it's hot!"
Sanji shouted to them from Twin Cape, standing behind a massive spread of freshly prepared delicacies.
"Coming, coming!"
Nami called back, preparing to cross back to the Dream Chaser and jump onto Twin Cape, as the blond man's ship was currently docked behind theirs.
"Um, excuse me, could we..."
The blond man swallowed hard, stepping forward under the longing gazes of his brothers to look at Nami hesitantly.
Nami already guessed what he wanted to say before he could finish. "You're all hungry, right? Come eat with us then. Sanji's a great cook; you're in for a treat."
They had mentioned earlier that they tried to rob them because their supplies had run out, so they were likely starving.
Since they chose to forgive them and hoped they would return home reformed, they couldn't just watch them starve—at least not while they had the means to feed them here.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The blond man's eyes reddened, and he looked ready to cry again.
Nami waved him off dismissively. "Enough, enough! Stop crying. You're a grown man, act like one!"
Goku also grinned, hands behind his head. "Yeah, yeah, let's go eat! I'm not even full yet!"
Everyone returned to Twin Cape. Seeing the pirates join the meal, Sanji didn't say much; he simply served nine extra bowls of rice, earning a chorus of thanks from the blond man's group.
Crocus didn't say anything either. Since Goku and the others had agreed to let them eat, why would he interfere? However, his evaluation of the group rose silently in his heart.
And so, the group ate in silence.
After a while, as one of the blond man's brothers reached for some food, Nami's eyes suddenly narrowed when she noticed something on his wrist.
"Hey, why does that compass on your wrist look so strange?"
She pointed to a compass encased in a glass sphere. She had never seen one like it before.
"Oh, this is a Log Pose. I heard that you need to use this to navigate once you enter the Grand Line." The man paused, then quickly explained.
"Right, right. They say the magnetic fields in the Grand Line are chaotic. Only a Log Pose can guide voyagers to the next island without getting lost," the blond man added.
They had learned this from the treasure left behind by that pirate, with the information about the Log Pose coming from a pirate's journal.
"A Log Pose? I didn't even know such a thing existed."
Nami's jaw dropped in shock.
She quickly lifted her wrist and opened the cover of her own compass, only to see the needle spinning erratically like it had lost its soul, completely unable to point in a stable direction.
"The magnetic field here is actually that messed up?"
She stared dumbfoundedly at the completely useless compass.
"Didn't you look into any of this before coming to the Grand Line?" Crocus shook his head while chewing on some meat.
"Ahaha, we really didn't know. Old man, you must know a lot about this, right? Could you explain it to me?" Nami rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly.
Although she knew the Grand Line was extraordinary, she lacked specific data. She had assumed the basic conditions were similar to the East Blue, just more dangerous.
She never imagined a normal compass would be useless here.
"Well, I'll tell you about it then."
Crocus didn't hold back. For the next while, he explained the basic sea conditions of the Grand Line, how to use a Log Pose, and other essential details to Nami.
"I see. So, from here on, we have to choose a route using the Log Pose, and at every island, we must wait for it to record the magnetic pull before we can move on to the next..."
Nami murmured thoughtfully.
Then a look of distress crossed her face. "But we don't have a Log Pose on us."
She hadn't even known they existed, so naturally, she didn't have one.
Crocus's eyes flashed. He was about to offer one of his own when the blond man, who had been listening quietly, stepped forward. He pulled over his brother wearing the device and said:
"If you don't mind, please take our Log Pose. We're planning to return to the South Blue anyway and never step foot in the Grand Line again."
His brother was quick on the uptake, unfastening the Log Pose and handing it to Nami as the blond man spoke.
"Oh my! I couldn't possibly!"
Nami clapped her hands with a bright smile. Though she said she was embarrassed, her hands moved quickly, taking the Log Pose and strapping it onto her wrist immediately.
"You saved our lives. This is the least we can do," the blond man said sincerely.
He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a yellowed journal, handing it to Nami as well.
"And this. It's a diary written by a pirate who once visited the Grand Line. It records some of the conditions here; it should be helpful."
Now a pro at this, Nami took the journal even more smoothly, gave it a quick glance, and tucked it into her bosom with a satisfied grin.
"Then thank you very much!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]