"You'd better not eat the meat on that plate."
At the dining table.
Everyone kept glancing at Kureha, who had turned into a little girl, especially Bear Cub, who stared at her between every bite.
Kureha rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Only Chopper, who had just arrived, was clueless. He eyed a plate of delicious-looking meat with longing when Moses spoke up again, looking at him:
"You can't eat that meat."
Hearing this,
Chopper's deer ears drooped, feeling wronged and confused as to why others could eat it but he couldn't.
Moses rolled his eyes without explaining.
At that moment, Perona blinked curiously at the newcomer joining them at the table, then glanced at the tasty dish of bamboo shoots stir-fried with venison:
"Hmm, Moses is right. You really shouldn't eat it, or you might be traumatized for life."
Robin also looked at him and said calmly, "Listen to them. It's best if you don't eat it."
"Why?"
Chopper pouted pitifully at the three of them.
Bear Cub glanced at Chopper, then at the stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat on the table, drooling uncontrollably.
His throat gulped audibly.
At the nearby table, Crow Dabao and his family of seven also turned their heads. Crow Dabao couldn't stop cackling weirdly.
He pecked at a piece of meat from the bamboo shoot stir-fry, tilted his head back, chewed twice, and swallowed.
Chopper felt utterly isolated but couldn't figure out what he'd done to offend them.
Tearfully, he turned to Kureha, hoping for a different answer from the last human who hadn't spoken yet.
Finally, Kureha sighed and placed a piece of lobster meat from her own plate into Chopper's bowl:
"Ignore them. Listen to them and just eat other meats."
"Oh!" His eyes lit up, and Chopper instantly forgot the earlier incident, happily devouring the lobster meat.
Kureha glared at Moses while rolling her eyes. "I don't recall teaching you such a twisted sense of humor.
If you're going to raise him, then dishes like this shouldn't appear on the table anymore. If you want to eat it, go somewhere else."
Kureha didn't outright forbid Moses from eating such meat—after all, a pet could never compare to her own child.
Even if the pet was unusually clever.
Moses pursed his lips but didn't argue, simply nodding in agreement. "Fine, it's just that one deer. Wasting it would be a shame. Let's drop it and move on."
And so, the matter was settled.
After the meal,
Moses took some money and went with Perona and Crow Dabao to the island to stock up on supplies—drinking water, alcohol, fruits, dried goods, rice, flour, oil, and other essentials.
They also needed Log Poses, Eternal Poses, nautical charts, and similar necessities.
In the blink of an eye,
two days later.
Moses and Perona rode Bear Cub to the port town, stopping at a dock.
Before them was an ordinary small sailboat, about twelve meters long and five meters wide, with a grayish-brown hull.
The figurehead was a panda's head.
This was why they had to wait two days.
Moses casually named the sailboat Brave Little Bear.
After all, a little ceremony never hurt.
After paying the remaining balance to the shipyard owner,
Moses stood on the dock, holding a bottle of rum.
"Since when do you drink, Moses?" Perona asked curiously. "Did Dorell Big Sister teach you?"
Moses twitched at the corner of his eye, glancing sideways at Perona. "What did you just call Doctorine?"
"Big sis?" Perona looked puzzled. "She's a kid now, right? She told me to call her that. I wanted to call her 'boss lady,' but she didn't agree."
A strange expression crossed Moses' face as he looked at the bottle of alcohol in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the bottle spun in a parabolic arc before smashing with a loud "bang" against the face of the panda figurehead on the bow.
The glass shattered into pieces, and the alcohol soaked the prow.
"Eek!" Perona let out a cute yelp, startled, and looked at Moses in confusion. "Why did you throw the bottle?"
Then it dawned on her, and she covered her mouth with a giggle. "Hahaha, Moses, are you mad because we're not on the same generational level? So petty, hehehe!"
Moses rolled his eyes at her. "Don't you know? This is the ship's christening ceremony."
"Christening ceremony? What's that?"
Moses looked at the clueless Perona and flicked her forehead. Patting her back, he glanced at Bear Cub, who was sulking after the panda figurehead got hit, signaling it was time to board. Then he began telling them a little story.
Legend had it that if the bottle didn't break or fall into the sea during the christening, the ship would be doomed.
Yeah, that's how it went.
Perona followed closely behind Moses, listening to the story, though she didn't seem convinced. "Are you scared or something?"
Moses led Perona and Bear Cub onto the ship.
The helm was inside the cabin, where Crow Dabao was waiting. By now, Kureha and Robin had already entered, and daily supplies were being loaded.
The sails were raised, and soon, under Kureha's guidance, Bear Cub took control of the helm. The ship began to leave the dock, sailing away from the island.
Kureha knew navigation—at the very least, sailing through Paradise without incident wouldn't be a problem.
Once they left Drum Island, Robin took over the ship's controls. Using her Flower-Flower Fruit abilities to steer ensured smooth sailing.
Over a year of training, daily medicinal meals, and hunting trips—sometimes with Moses, sometimes with the others—had provided ample nutrition from all kinds of meat and fish.
Long-term physical nourishment, combined with rigorous training, had laid a solid foundation for both Robin and Perona under Moses' guidance.
Moses and his crew had departed,
but Drum Island was now simmering with undercurrents. Over the past two days, the corpses of the king's heirs had been discovered in the snowy forest. No one knew who was responsible. The Old King, enraged, had dropped dead on the spot.
Instantly, the atmosphere among the kingdom's upper echelons grew sinister.
...
Five days later.
The endless sea.
Azure and pristine.
A single-masted ship with a panda figurehead sailed swiftly along the ocean currents.
"Caw caw~" "Screech~" "Squawk~"
Dozens of white-necked crows circled and danced a hundred meters above the ship.
At times, only one remained; at others, they multiplied from a single bird.
It was eerie.
Like ghostly shadows.
Combined with their hoarse, piercing cries, it was downright unsettling.
At the ship's railing,
Moses sat with a fishing rod, watching the float bob with the waves stirred by the vessel.
Moses gazed quietly at the sea, sensing the now exceptionally clear fluctuations of Breath frequency that belonged uniquely to the ocean.
The Breath frequency of water.
Boundlessly vast.
Limitless and infinite.
「Disguise」
Moses synchronized his own Breath frequency fluctuations with those of the sea beneath the boat, sensing the moisture around his body growing denser.
In his left hand, he held a fishing rod.
In his right, the Cold Dew Short Sword sliced through the air, droplets of dew flicking off the blade only to be split in two by its edge.
Fishing while practicing his swordplay, Moses didn't find it boring at all.
It was like playing Fruit Ninja—except without the bombs that could blow up the screen.
As time passed, the gathering moisture made the air around him unusually damp.
"Hahaha, Moses, did you catch anything?"
Perona came running over in her little leather shoes, her steps tapping rapidly against the deck. She waved a hand through the air around Moses—it was like standing near a waterfall, the humidity thick around them.
"Almost."
Moses stopped swinging his sword, halting the gathering moisture. As the boat moved forward, the dampness around them lessened.
Then, he felt a tug on the fishing rod.
His eyes lit up instantly.
"Got one?"
He gripped the rod with both hands, engaging in a tug-of-war with the fish below.
Loosening, tightening.
Wearing it down, steadily reeling in the line—then with one strong pull, a meter-long fish with a pair of tiny curved horns was yanked from the sea.
Its yellowish-brown scales, glistening with seawater, shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
The horned fish arced over Moses' head and landed heavily on the deck, its mouth gaping as it flopped wildly.
"Wow~ It's huge! And it has horns?" Perona exclaimed in amazement, staring at the fish—it was nearly as big as her.
Seeing this, Moses handed her the baseball bat leaning against the railing.
"Knock it out. Later, Bear Cub can grill it for you."
Perona took the bat, hefting the solid wood in her hands, a hungry grin tugging at her lips.
"It's so cute though… Should we really kill it?"
She watched the thrashing fish, timed her swing, and—thud—struck its head with a solid blow.
Seeing it still twitching, she delivered another whack.
Then the fish stopped moving.
Moses, who had turned to watch, twitched his lips. Not bad, this girl—she even knows to finish the job. Smiling, he played along:
"But doesn't it also look delicious?"
"Ehehe!" Perona's cheeks flushed slightly as she averted her gaze, puffing out her cheeks.
"I was just listening to you! You're the one who said you wanted grilled fish!"
"I helped you out, and now you're teasing me?"
Moses chuckled at the tsundere girl. "Peipei, you're drooling."
"Huh?" Perona hastily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then flushed redder, glaring at him. "I wasn't! You liar!"
He called out to Crow Dabao circling overhead, and within seconds, the bird swooped down.
Landing on the deck with practiced ease, he swiftly stored away the sea cow fish.
Flying over to Moses' side, he tilted his head and extended a wing to point toward the direction beyond the ship's railing:
"Mei, there's a pirate ship approaching over there. Should we flee or fight?"
"Did you check the bounty posters? Do you know who they are?"
Moses asked.
When it came to sailing the Grand Line, Moses had prepared thoroughly, even collecting a portion of the bounty posters for notorious pirates—especially those operating in these waters.
Crow Dabao's body rippled with waves, and moments later, three bounty posters enlarged before Moses' eyes.
Reaching out to take them, he examined the first one:
[Ogre Ashimi]
[Image.JPG]
[Bounty: 63,000,000 Belly]
[Status: DEAD OR ALIVE]
The photo depicted a burly man with bulging muscles, a vicious expression, jagged teeth, and a massive cleaver resting on his shoulder.
"A bounty of sixty-three million Belly—that's no small sum. Deducting the standard 30% cut, his head alone could fetch us forty-four million one hundred thousand Belly at the Marines. Hmm, this pirate crew has three wanted men, but the other two are practically worthless—barely a million Belly combined."
"Did Robin compile this?"
Moses asked.
Crow Dabao nodded. After spotting the pirates, he had sought out Robin, who used her Devil Fruit ability to grow an eye on his body. Within moments, she had identified and retrieved the three bounty posters.
"As expected of Robin. With the Hana Hana no Mi, she's a natural at intelligence work."
"Mei, those pirates are catching up," Crow Dabao interjected.
Glancing at Perona, Moses asked, "Peipei, want to join me in hunting pirates? People will probably die—well, them, not us. I'll give you five seconds to think about it."
As he spoke, his Observation Haki had already gauged the strength of their pursuers. The strongest among them was no weaker than himself.
Perona hesitated for only a few seconds before asking, "Will you be hunting pirates often from now on?"
"Yeah. We need to make money, after all."
"Then I'll go."
"Good. Merge your Spirit Body with mine—I'll take you along."
Perona exhaled in relief, nodding before her Spirit Body separated from her physical form. She watched as her body slumped toward Moses.
"Hurry up and catch me!"
Moses caught her body just as her shrunken Spirit Body darted into his chest.
A spatial ripple appeared.
Perona's body shrank further before Crow Dabao stored it away in the Castle Space.
Moses stowed his fishing rod and moved to the opposite side of the ship, observing the pirate vessel closing in. The deck was swarming with figures.
At the forefront stood the pirate captain—Ashimi himself.
Their ship was a fast-moving brigantine.
Within minutes, they had narrowed the gap to mere hundreds of meters.
Moses stared across the water, meeting the gaze of the pirates.
Ashimi studied the small vessel they were pursuing, his expression twisting into a grotesque grin as his jagged teeth glinted.
"Gyahahaha! Just a brat? Boys, bring him to me later. He looks tender—slurp~"
His crewmates cackled in unison, their eyes gleaming with a predatory green light.
"Of course, Captain! Just save us a bite too, won't ya?"
"That's right, that's right, hee-hahaha!"
"Exactly, we want it too."
Watching the commotion on the opposing ship, as the two vessels closed to within ten meters, Moses pushed off the railing with his foot and swiftly glided over to the bow of the pirate ship.
Gazing at the pirates five meters away, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Not bad quality."
His attention lingered on Ashimi at the forefront, whose level was rated at D+.
Moses' sudden arrival stunned the pirates.
Ashimi, noticing Moses sizing him up, felt an inexplicable unease creep into his heart.
Without further hesitation, Moses dashed forward, closing the distance to Ashimi in the blink of an eye.
Gripping a hand axe in his right hand, he swung it toward Ashimi's waist. Startled, Ashimi retreated slightly before his expression twisted with fury.
The machete in his right hand whistled through the air as he brought it down toward Moses' head.
Seeing this, Moses stomped heavily on the deck, propelling himself past Ashimi in a sudden burst of speed.
He weaved swiftly through the crowd of pirates, his axe rising and falling with precision, anticipating their every move.
Meanwhile, four Negative Spirits flitted around Moses, occasionally phasing through the pirates' bodies—especially those aiming guns from a distance.
Screams erupted one after another as sprays of blood splattered across the de
ck.
Behind him, Ashimi chased in a rage.
"Damn you, stop right there, you bastard!"
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PS: Bounty exchange for pirates.
*If the criminal is brought alive to Marine Headquarters, the full bounty will be awarded.
*If the criminal is already dead, 30% of the bounty will be forfeited, with the remainder distributed to the bounty hunter or other relevant parties who captured the criminal.
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