The man woke from shallow sleep to the sound of a Den Den Mushi ringing.
Aboard a ship gently rocking on the sea, he yawned lightly and picked up the receiver.
"Who is it?"
"Hey! You doing well? It's me!"
"...Oh, it's you. Unusual for you to make contact."
"That's because you never get in touch. I believe in letting people do their own thing, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried."
"...I see. Well, I'm doing fine."
"Good. Found anything interesting?"
"Interesting... I've heard some rumors about Sky Island, but I don't know if they're true."
"Bwahahaha!! Sky Island, huh?! Even the Marines haven't confirmed whether that's real! Hear rumors about it all the time, but some claim they've been there while others laugh it off as tall tales."
Which do you think it is? came the question. Still lying down, the man looked up at the sky through the window, pondering.
Large white clouds swam across the sky. Perhaps someone had built a country atop them—the legend of Sky Island.
The man murmured softly.
"...It'd be interesting if it existed."
"If you went to sea to broaden your horizons, wouldn't searching for things like that be worthwhile too?"
"True. But I'd rather observe how different countries function."
"I don't get that stuff... Well, do what you like. Honestly, I'd prefer if you came back to the Marines."
"For someone saying that, you didn't object when I said I was going traveling."
"It's a man's voyage—why would I interfere? Though I would've stopped you if you'd said you were becoming a pirate."
"Heh... I have no intention of becoming a pirate or returning to the Marines, at least not right now."
"I see. I'd rather not have to capture my own son if I can avoid it."
With that—saying he had work to do—the call ended.
The man set down the receiver, left his cabin, and looked up at the sky while breathing in the salt air.
Clear skies without a cloud. A beautiful blue expanse.
"...Another good wind today."
The man murmured softly, feeling the breeze caress his cheek.
The destination indicated by the Log Pose in his hand—Drum Kingdom.
☆
The Grand Line was capricious as ever today.
Just moments ago the weather had been pleasantly mild, now a massive storm raged.
Freezing waves they couldn't handle, trimming sails nearly torn by excessive winds—somehow the crew made it into the stable waters near Drum.
Though the cold penetrated to the bone, Kanata checked the compass without much concern.
"...Hm. Looks fine. The island should come into view soon."
Snow flurries drifted down, but the weather showed no signs of major deterioration. The wind was weak as they sailed straight toward Drum Kingdom.
Samuel and Georges, fishing rods purchased in Arabasta in hand, looked bored at the ship's edge.
"Not getting many bites..."
"Used to catch plenty back on Marx Island. Guess things are different everywhere."
"Doesn't seem like there's no fish, but they're not biting. Should we change the bait?"
While the two chatted while fishing, Kanata bought a newspaper from a News Coo and returned inside.
Spreading the newspaper in her quarters, she saw her name plastered large across it.
She'd become quite popular, though there was nothing to be done about it now. Killing a Celestial Dragon, escaping from Marine Vice Admiral Sengoku, staying hidden for a full year, then evading even Marine Admiral Zephyr when she reappeared.
Perfect material for the news outlets.
Still, running the same story day after day was exasperating. Weren't there any other topics?
"...Hm?"
"Kanata, got a minute?"
After a knock, Georges called out in a puzzled tone.
Didn't sound like the island had come into view. Opening the door, she wondered what was up.
"Something happen?"
"Well, it's... How do I put this—just come to the deck. Easier if you see for yourself."
Not quite understanding but figuring she just needed to go to the deck, she left the room with Georges.
Sensing with her Observation Haki, there was an oddly strong presence on deck... though it didn't seem like combat was happening.
Stepping onto the deck, the first thing she noticed was a giant man about five meters tall.
Even more distinctive—gills on his neck, a dorsal fin, red skin—the features of a Fish-Man.
"A Fish-Man, that's rare."
"Hm? Ah, you're this ship's captain?"
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"I'm Tiger. Fisher Tiger. I'm an adventurer."
Apparently, the recent storm had damaged his ship's rudder, so seeing this ship in the distance, he'd sought help.
With no pirate flag or pirate ship markings, he'd judged it safe.
He'd considered discrimination too, but figured drifting helplessly with an unusable rudder left him no choice, so he'd made contact.
To Tiger's words, Kanata answered without much thought.
"I don't mind. Come aboard. The island we're heading for is right there—if you want to repair your ship, procure parts there."
"Thanks... You don't discriminate against Fish-Men?"
"We have a giant aboard. Discriminating against everyone would be endless."
Though discrimination might be absent, distinctions remained. Body size differences made it unavoidable—nothing to be done about that.
Tiger's eyes widened as he murmured that he supposed so.
Discrimination against Fish-Men and merfolk ran deep. Until nearly two hundred years ago, these two races had been classified as "fish." Tiger himself had suffered much discrimination in his adventures.
Just the absence of that made for a vastly different atmosphere.
"But you swam through waters entering winter island climate?"
"Yeah, deep sea water's colder than this. This much is fine."
"I suppose so."
Still, these were winter island waters. Fine or not, they were cold.
It was lunchtime. Might as well invite him to eat and warm up, she suggested.
"...Is that all right?"
"Travel's better with company. You're an adventurer, right? Tell us some travel stories."
The ship already had giants and Minks aboard. Discrimination was pointless now. With someone like Samuel who could take beast-human form with his Devil Fruit ability, she had no intention of judging by appearances.
Even ordinary humans could be quite conspicuous with flashy tattoos.
"...I'm grateful."
Tiger said only that and followed Kanata into the dining hall.
☆
Before long, the ship reached Drum Kingdom.
Being wanted criminals meant no helping it, but they decided to anchor somewhere hidden from view, away from the port.
There was a port at the inlet, but having Kanata's or Feiyun's faces spotted would cause trouble.
After explaining this to Tiger, they parted ways near the kingdom. Having towed his ship along, once they reached the outer area he could use oars or whatever to reach the port.
"You really saved me this time. Meeting you all on this vast sea can only be called good luck."
"You exaggerate... We got to hear interesting stories in a short time. You'll be on the island a while, right? Maybe we'll meet again."
"Yeah, let me buy you a meal then!"
"Heh... Better not—we have a giant. One wallet won't be enough."
Seeing Tiger's ship off, Kanata's crew dropped anchor in a location away from the port.
They'd already decided on their course of action. While Skura waited impatiently, fully prepared, they sent Samuel, Georges, Zen, and two others down from the ship.
These six hadn't had their faces exposed to the Government yet. Knowing short-term medical study was impossible, they'd use this location as a base while Kanata's group left the island. Everyone except Skura was for escort and supply procurement.
They'd occasionally return to this spot to resupply and report progress.
They wanted to avoid Den Den Mushi communication when possible due to Marine interception risks.
"We'll return in three days. Think about how long you need to stay by then."
"Yeah, you make sure the Marines don't find you either."
"Can't say much about that. It's up to luck."
"I'll try to finish learning as quickly as possible. The ship's doctor can't be away from the ship long-term."
"Please do. Staying in one place too long makes the Marines troublesome."
A major search would likely begin soon. She didn't think their heading toward Drum Kingdom had been exposed, but if they never appeared at the next island indicated by the Log Pose after Arabasta, the Marines would start searching.
With both Zephyr and Sengoku among the current pursuit force, she wanted to avoid a head-on clash above all else.
Drum Kingdom was also a World Government member nation. Getting spotted carelessly meant engaging the Marines.
"Raise the sails! We're leaving Drum Kingdom and setting sail!"
With an Eternal Pose, they could head to Drum Kingdom no matter how far they went.
Worst case, Kanata would have to create footholds and run to the ship, but maneuvering to avoid that would be best.
Kuro leaned against the deck railing, gazing at Drum Kingdom and pouting sulkily.
"I wanted to go to Drum Kingdom too. Why can't I?"
"If we let you off, you'd wander around as you pleased. If you want to play in snow, do it on deck. We don't have the luxury of leaving you unsupervised on that island."
"Tch."
Since Kuro wandered wherever his curiosity led, carelessly letting him off the ship meant launching a major search.
With limited personnel available like now, they couldn't let him disembark. Having trouble finding him and fighting the Marines? No thanks.
If they were staying a few days for supplies, they could let him off with supervision, but...
"My face and Feiyun's are known, and since we're most likely to clash with the Marines, we have to leave either Junshi or Zen behind, but Junshi wants to fight. Zen stands out but is sufficient as a guard. Losing Skura now would be the biggest loss."
"Zephyr and Sengoku, huh? Think they'll call for more reinforcements besides them?"
"Depends on how dangerous they consider us. But they've botched it twice now. I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up next time with Buster Call-level forces."
In fact, Arabasta had been close to that level of force.
Six warships brought along, engaging alongside the three warships stationed in Arabasta in a pincer attack. Having sunk them all to buy time, next time they'd definitely come with even greater forces.
Committing forces piecemeal was foolish among foolish strategies, but for Kanata's crew, they were hanging by a thread.
Though there was also the optimistic view that with wanted posters marked "capture only," they wouldn't issue a Buster Call.
"If only David were more useful."
"Ugh... I think I'm at least somewhat strong."
"Can you take on a Commander? Without even properly using Haki, you can't face field officers."
"That's... with my Bomb-Bomb Fruit powers, somehow..."
"That won't work. Have you already forgotten getting beaten to a pulp by me barehanded?"
Being effortlessly rendered unconscious along with his entire crew, having supplies stolen and wandering Little Garden—he remembered it well.
For David too, it was a memory he couldn't forget even if he wanted to.
Fighting as he was now, at best he'd put up a good fight against a field officer.
"I'll handle Zephyr, and Junshi will take on Sengoku. I plan to create thick footholds so Feiyun can fight too, but it depends on how many subordinates Zephyr brings."
"Can Junshi handle it alone? Sengoku's the one who nearly killed you, right?"
"It's worrying, but there's no other option. His strength makes even the Darkness Fruit ability fairly meaningless."
"What about Feiyun?"
"The size difference might make up for some of it, but there's too big a gap in Armament Haki strength. Proper combat would be difficult."
Escape remained the only option for now.
She could only pray they wouldn't encounter the Marines until Skura finished his business.
***
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