Their business in Whiskey Peak was finished.
They had recruited a doctor, Scura, and restocked their water and alcohol. The Log Pose had also finished setting. There was no longer any reason to remain on the island.
"Do you have any regrets about leaving this place?" Kanata asked.
"None," Scura cut back sharply.
Even though he was born and raised on the island, the lack of anyone who understood him meant he held no special attachment to it. Come to think of it, outside the Grand Line, Devil Fruit users were treated like monsters. If it was a similar situation on this island at the entrance, then Scura, who sought to treat them, would be considered a heretic. In that sense, he was certainly an eccentric.
"I was planning to leave the island eventually anyway. This just sped things up."
"You were planning to go to sea?"
"Of course. My research would never have progressed if I stayed on that island. Besides, because of their prejudice against Devil Fruit users, I was treated the same way. That kind of foolishness is incurable."
Scura himself was not a Devil Fruit user, but it was easy to imagine that talking about wanting to "cure" monsters would not have earned him any favor with the locals. Kanata understood this, having received similar treatment herself. Being shunned as a monster came with many disadvantages. Of course, she had managed to run her business successfully despite those drawbacks.
"I haven't mentioned this, but we… or rather, I, am a wanted criminal. I'm being pursued by Marine Headquarters."
"What? You're only telling me this now? I want nothing to do with fighting. I've never been in a fight in my entire life."
"I figured as much. You just need to focus on being a doctor. We have others who can handle the fighting."
But Scura was the only one who could provide medical treatment. Kanata and Junci could perform basic first aid, but having a professional handle any serious procedures was a different level of security. Considering they were currently being chased by Marine vice admirals and admirals, they would likely have plenty of opportunities to get injured.
The secret to a good life was delegating tasks to others, especially when it came to specialized professions.
"Still, your face seems to be quite well known. At this rate, it might not be long before word gets out that we've entered the Grand Line."
"That town was a special case. The whole place is set up to gather information on wanted criminals quickly."
"Then again, I'm also surprised you didn't recognize a face that was plastered all over the newspapers," Kanata retorted.
It was true that being recognized had many downsides. However, Kanata was the only one whose face was widely known, so it wasn't impossible to get by with a disguise. In the worst-case scenario, she could stay on the ship, but she wanted to avoid that. She had no intention of living a boring life just because she was on the run. Kanata's style was to fight when she had to fight.
"Alright, let's set sail. It probably won't be as rough as the first sea, but everyone stay sharp."
☆
After a voyage of several days, the ship arrived safely at Little Garden.
Unlike Whiskey Peak, this island showed no signs of human habitation. Furthermore, the rivers were too narrow, leaving them no choice but to moor the ship on the coast. If people lived here, they could ask how long it would take for the Log Pose to set, but the chances of that seemed slim.
It was a primeval island, a jungle teeming with nature and dinosaurs visible in the distance. Due to the difficulty of sea travel, it had no contact with other islands, its civilization never developing. While there were surely many rare things to be found, it was unlikely they would gather any information, let alone food.
"For now, let's scout the island."
"Yeah. We'd be lucky to find anyone living here, but I'm not getting my hopes up."
Georges looked at the island with a cigarette in his mouth. The trees blocked his view even with binoculars, but he could clearly see the volcano in the center of the island.
The discussion turned to who would go on the exploration party, and this time, they decided to send the three Devil Fruit users: Kanata, Feiyun, and Samuel.
"Uwahahaha!! An adventure! I love it!"
"It'd be great if we find people… but even if not, as long as we can communicate with something."
"Can't you tell with your Observation Haki?" Feiyun asked.
"This island is quite large. There are two particularly strong presences, but there's no guarantee they're human."
Using herself as a reference point, Kanata could sense how strong something was and its approximate distance, but she couldn't determine what kind of creature it was. That was the nature of Observation Haki. Perhaps a user who had trained it to an extraordinary degree could perceive such details, but she didn't need that level of skill at the moment.
Carrying bento boxes and a small Transponder Snail for communication, the three set out. The inability to use a compass was a subtle nuisance, but they would have to manage. She instructed those remaining on the ship to prepare a camp on the beach, as today's exploration was only meant to be a brief survey.
"With rare plants and rare animals, there might also be rare diseases. I want to keep skin exposure to a minimum if possible."
That would be difficult for Feiyun and Samuel, though Kanata would be fine. Exploration gear in a hot, humid jungle was physically draining. Of course, she had chosen a giant and a Zoan-type user precisely for that reason.
Ignoring her advice, Samuel rolled up his long sleeves, exposing his arms. Kanata let out a sigh. There was no point in telling him again if he wasn't going to listen. Feiyun, on the other hand, was properly dressed.
"Hey Boss, you think we can eat that fruit over there?"
"Are you seriously thinking of eating a fruit with such a poisonous color?"
"The Devil Fruit looked kinda like that, didn't it? We won't know till we try. Feiyun, grab one for me!"
"This one?"
Feiyun plucked a round, purple fruit from a tall tree and handed it to Samuel. It looked obviously poisonous, but he was about to take a bite without a care in the world before Kanata stopped him at the last second.
A vein throbbed on her forehead as she clamped an iron claw on Samuel's face. As a sickening crunching sound emanated from his skull, she whispered in his ear, "Don't make more work for me."
"…S-Shorry…"
Even after she let go, Samuel writhed in pain for a while. Once he recovered, he reluctantly threw the purple fruit away. If it looked edible, they could have taken it back to study, but they didn't even know how long they would be staying. Anything that seemed time-consuming should be put off for later.
Kicking away the occasional dinosaur, the three of them pushed deeper into the jungle.
"We must have walked quite a distance, but we haven't reached the other side."
"Wouldn't it have been faster to circle the island by sea?"
"Only if we were just scouting the exterior."
In any case, the coastline hadn't seemed inhabited. Her Observation Haki hadn't detected any people, so she had decided it would be more productive to investigate the interior. Between the distant volcano and the dinosaurs roaming freely, this island was a harsh environment for humans to live in.
As they neared the island's center, Kanata and Feiyun stopped in their tracks.
"What's wrong, Boss?"
"…Who goes there?"
Kanata turned to the side, assuming a combat stance. Feiyun followed suit, clenching her fists. But their target appeared without a hint of concern.
He was a man wearing a worn-out sword and helmet, with a characteristically long beard. But his most striking feature was that he was a giant, a full head taller than even Feiyun.
As the three prepared for a fight, the man raised his sword high.
"I am the strongest warrior of Elbaf, Dorry!! Gegyagyagyagya!! Welcome, humans. It's been a while since I've had guests. I shall welcome you!!"
Kanata and Samuel's eyes widened at Dorry's introduction. Deciding for the moment that he wasn't an enemy, they lowered their guard. Feiyun, however, was staring at Dorry with sparkling eyes.
"D-Dorry?! You mean, from the Giant Warrior Pirates?!"
"What, you know of me?"
"O-Of course! I'm from an Elbaf village, too!"
To the giants of Elbaf, the Giant Warrior Pirates were legends. They were pirates who had once terrorized the seas of the world, shaking it to its core. This was one of their two captains, Dorry the "Blue Ogre."
They were active sixty-six years ago, but many of their former crew members had returned to Elbaf. And given the long lifespan of giants, sixty-six years was not a significant amount of time. For Feiyun, however, it was an event from before she was born.
"Gegyagyagyagya!! Is that so, you're from Elbaf! What a rare occurrence!!"
True to his word of welcome, Dorry turned his back and gestured for them to follow. Along the way, he felled a plesiosaur with a single stroke of his sword, carried it back, and expertly butchered the meat before putting it on a fire. Apparently, it was delicious roasted whole.
Kanata and Samuel didn't know much about Dorry, but to someone from Elbaf, he was a living legend. Feiyun looked at him with admiration as she asked him several questions, and the others listened quietly.
"I see, so you were chased by the Navy and came to the Grand Line."
"That's right. How long does it take for the Log Pose to set on this island?"
"One year."
Hearing this stated so casually, Kanata couldn't help but spit out the water she was drinking.
"A year?! It takes that long…?"
"You see the bones of little humans scattered around, don't you? Most of the people who come to this island die before their Log Pose can set."
A year might pass in a flash for a giant, but for a normal human, it was a very long time.
Some starved.
Some became food for dinosaurs.
And some died because they attacked Dorry or the other giant.
Kanata wiped her mouth, keenly feeling the difference in the scale of time between humans and giants.
"Well, luckily, we're not in a hurry. We don't have an Eternal Pose, so perhaps we'll stay here for a year to hide from the Marines."
"I do have an Eternal Pose."
"You do?"
"Aye. But its destination is our homeland, Elbaf. Myself and another man are dueling over it… Care to try and take it by force?" Dorry asked, a wide grin on his face.
In response, Kanata just shrugged. "Unfortunately, I have no intention of picking a fight with a captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates."
She could tell just by probing with her Observation Haki; Dorry and the other giant were incredibly strong. She had no desire to fight them. This was a matter to be discussed back at the ship, Kanata thought, as she took a bite of the dinosaur meat.
The plesiosaur meat was exceptionally delicious, and Samuel ate so much that he couldn't move.
☆
Meanwhile, back with Georges and the others waiting at the ship, the other giant—Brogy—had appeared.
"Gabababababa!! I am the strongest warrior of Elbaf, Brogy!! Guests, do you have any alcohol?!"
"He's huge… A full head and shoulders bigger than Feiyun. Do all giants grow this big?"
"Who knows. She can get ridiculously big even without growing… We have alcohol! We can share, but let's talk for a bit first!"
"Oh, I don't mind! That's an easy price to pay!"
Georges was intimidated, but Junci and Kuro were no longer surprised by the sight of a giant. Since they were planning to camp on the beach tonight, all the equipment had already been unloaded from the ship. They decided to talk there, but first, it was time to eat.
They agreed to exchange alcohol for information over lunch, and began roasting the meat of a Triceratops that Brogy had hunted in the jungle. Brogy carved it up with gusto, roasted it whole, and tore into the meat. Since it was difficult for a giant to cook for normal-sized humans, the ship's cook had to step in and show his skill, though there wasn't much skill involved in just roasting meat.
"Well now, this is tasty."
"Gababababa!! Right?! The meat of these dinosaurs is truly delicious!"
Brogy seemed to take a liking to Kuro, who wasn't intimidated by him, and spoke in a very cheerful mood. They, of course, also heard about the one-year wait for the Log Pose, but their only thought was that a whole year on the same island would get boring. The dinosaurs were a problem, but they were no great threat to the likes of Kanata and Junci. Securing food would be easy.
Securing drinking water would be done under Scura's direction, but the bigger issue was their limited supply of medicine in case of injury or illness.
"Prevention will be key. On a primeval island like this, there could be extinct infectious diseases. We'll need to be careful."
"We're supposed to be pirates, right? Can't we just attack ships that come to this island and take their medical supplies?"
"That would be difficult. Of the seven routes, how many people do you think choose Whiskey Peak and end up on this island?"
Many ships already vanished in this sea where common sense didn't apply. Any pirate with a modest bounty would likely be hunted down at Whiskey Peak. When you thought about it, the Grand Line was a truly severe sea. Without a minimum of luck, navigational skill, and strength, one couldn't even hope to advance.
"That's right. You lot are the first to come to this island in a long time," Brogy confirmed.
They knew from the start that this sea would not be an easy journey, but they had never expected to be held up like this on only the second island. But looking at it another way, an island that even the Marines rarely visited was the perfect place to hide.
"While we're at it, let's use this year on the island to train everyone to a minimum level of combat readiness."
"I guess so… I feel bad leaving all the fighting to you guys," Georges said.
"It's not just for fighting, it's so you can escape when you need to. Sometimes, mental preparation isn't enough. Some things have to be learned physically."
They could handle most enemies, but training everyone to a basic level of competence would help them avoid panicking in a retreat. Of course, with the exception of Scura, none of them were completely inexperienced in battle. This was in preparation for the Marine officers—from lieutenants to captains—they would inevitably have to face. Once you got past the rank of Commander, the level of strength jumped by an order of magnitude.
"We'll be training for a while. As we are now, both Kanata and I could be defeated helpless if we faced a Marine Admiral."
"Gabababa!! It's good to have ambition!"
Even without knowing the details, Brogy could understand their dire situation. As he ate his meat, he made a proposal.
"You're sharing alcohol I haven't had in a long time. As thanks, how about I become your training partner?"
With a hand axe in one hand, Brogy snorted.
***
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