"So you're after Octavia's daughter too?"
"What if I am? You planning to run back to your own territory like a good little girl?"
"Jihahahaha! Look at you, talking big now! Hell no—there's no way I'm going home quietly."
"Then it's just a race to see who gets there first. Mamahahaha...! Or maybe you'd rather I kill you first, Golden Lion?"
"Come and try it. I'll cut you down where you stand, Linlin."
"—That concludes the intercepted communication between the Golden Lion Shiki and Big Mom Charlotte Linlin."
"...So the Witch really is his daughter after all."
"Just what we needed—another headache."
"Either way, we need to maintain maximum alert and continue surveillance. Garp, proceed as planned—take Saint Homing and prepare to make contact with the Witch. Tsuru and Zephyr, stand by and be ready to move at a moment's notice."
"Ugh, seriously, why do I have to babysit a Celestial Dragon..."
"Because if I told you to stand by, you'd deploy anyway. Besides, you're the one who said you had business with the Witch."
"I'm not going on the same mission as you—you wreck the ship every single time."
"We've currently lost track of the Witch's location, but the moment we find her, move. Drag your feet and you'll run straight into the Golden Lion and Big Mom. If that happens, things will spiral completely out of control."
☆
A beach chair and parasol set up on the sand, Kanata reclined in comfort, reading the newspaper.
From time to time, she sipped a drink prepared by one of the Kamabakka Kingdom's finest chefs, listening to the gentle waves as her soundtrack for a quiet, peaceful moment.
"...Don't you think you're relaxing a little too much?"
"Unlike you lot, I don't have anything in particular to do."
Kanata answered Scotch's question without even glancing back.
While she was in full leisure mode, Scotch was covered in sand and sweat, utterly exhausted.
Seeing his miserable state, Kanata let out a small laugh. Scotch collapsed into a seated position with a heavy thud.
"Looks rough. The Newkama Kenpo instructors are pretty strong, right?"
"Maybe 'pretty strong' to you, but to me they're crazy strong!"
Scotch's current physique could be described as slightly overweight—the result of stress-eating, then training it off, then repeating the cycle.
The Newkama Kenpo instructors were all equivalent in skill to Navy Headquarters rear admirals. Anyone without serious ability wouldn't stand a chance.
Of course, the crew members capable of standing toe-to-toe with Navy admirals were training independently, so they hadn't sparred with the instructors.
"How many can you handle after two months?"
"About twenty at best. Jorge and I were pretty confident in our strength, but that's about our limit."
"What about Samuel?"
"Him? ...Maybe thirty or so. His fundamentals aren't that different from ours, but he's got his Devil Fruit ability. David's still only managing ten or so."
"David still has a ways to go. If he were younger, I'd push him harder."
"Hey! He's not that much older than me!"
Scotch protested reflexively at the implication that he was getting old.
Though he'd lived twice as long as Kanata, he was still only in his thirties. There should still be room for growth.
"Either way, we'll be leaving the Kamabakka Kingdom soon. It's not a bad place, but if we stay here, we'll never finish conquering the Grand Line."
"Now that's what I want to hear. Let's get out of here already."
Scotch jumped at the opportunity without hesitation. He clearly hadn't taken to this island at all.
Constantly being surrounded by okama had apparently gotten to him in various ways—understandable, really.
Kanata, who didn't care about such things at all, couldn't really relate.
"Where are we headed next?"
"We follow the Log Pose. Even if we don't know the destination, as long as we follow where it points, we'll eventually reach the end."
One way or another, they'd ultimately have to follow the Log Pose all the way to the final island. They could take some shortcuts, but there was no need to rush.
Kanata mentioned they'd set sail in two days. Scotch laughed, saying "That's sudden," before heading off to prepare his belongings.
Just as he left, Jorge arrived to take his place.
"Scotch told me—we're leaving this island in two days?"
"That's right. I told everyone to prepare for departure."
"I assume Ivankov is getting off here?"
"Yes. They only joined as a replacement ship doctor for Scra. Besides, Ivankov has duties as this country's queen."
Of course, if Ivankov wanted to continue sailing with them, there was no reason to stop them. But they'd said they would eventually spark a revolution in this world alongside Dragon.
For now, they probably preferred not to draw too much attention—that was their honest position.
None of the other crew members were staying behind either, so they should rest up properly and prepare for the voyage ahead.
"The Navy's apparently busy dealing with the Golden Lion and Big Mom right now, so we should take advantage and slip through the first half of the Grand Line while we can."
"Yeah... I have no idea why those two major pirates suddenly showed up in the first half, but I've had a bad feeling about it this whole time."
"I'd love to laugh it off as needless worry."
Since two pirates active in the second half of the Grand Line had suddenly appeared in the first half, there had to be some reason for it—that's what Kanata believed.
Jorge made a tired face. "Let's just hope it has nothing to do with us."
Neither of them knew what the two great pirates in the newspaper were truly after.
☆
"You're leaving already? How lonely, Witchy Girl."
"We're trying to conquer these seas. We can't stay in one place forever."
"Mmm-hfufufu. That's a big dream. I like it."
Two days later, as they finished preparing to set sail, Kanata and Ivankov exchanged their final farewells.
Though this wasn't goodbye forever, in this vast ocean, who knew when they'd meet again? They didn't want to leave with any regrets.
"Dragon! When Vanata eventually sparks a revolution in this world, I'm prepared to help with that cause! I'll be ready, so contact me anytime!"
"I appreciate that. The journey ahead follows the captain's will alone, but... if you watch the newspapers, you'll probably be able to tell if we're safe."
"That's true. With Vanata and the others, there'll be no shortage of headlines."
Even though the newspapers hadn't reported that they'd defeated an admiral, their bounties were abnormally high.
Being near Kanata, who was something of a trouble magnet, would likely mean getting caught up in incidents and making big headlines frequently.
Even aside from that, knowing Kanata's strength meant trusting that they wouldn't die so easily.
"The island after the Kamabakka Kingdom is Fool Shout Island. It's a peaceful place, though I've heard there are pirates there recently."
"If they stand in our way, we'll just defeat them. Eventually, I'd like to take down the Golden Lion and Big Mom too."
They were formidable pirates who wouldn't go down easily. As things stood now, neither their forces' scale nor individual strength could match them.
But if they wanted to rule these seas, these were enemies they couldn't avoid.
"If it's Vanata and the crew, I'm sure you can do it. I can't follow you on that journey, but I'll be cheering you on from here!"
"We'll meet again. After I achieve my goal, I promised to help Dragon achieve his."
"If Vanata joins us, there's nothing more reassuring than that!"
They didn't know how far in the future that would be, but every journey eventually came to an end. Perhaps it was still too early to think about.
As they talked, the departure preparations finished. Jorge called out, "We can leave anytime."
"It's almost time. What about those okama over there?"
"Well..."
They both turned to look, seeing okama crying and reluctantly saying goodbye to Feiyun, who was leaving.
Some had tried to follow, but Scotch was desperately blocking them.
Feiyun's eyes darted around frantically until finally settling on Kanata with a look that said, "What should I do?"
"We're taking her with us. Our journey will be hard, but will you still follow?"
"÷〈ΨΘ×γ!!"
"Speak in words I can understand."
After calming down the sobbing okama who'd been speaking incomprehensibly, Kanata spoke to them again once they'd settled.
"Sniff... You're right. We're sad to part too, but we can't follow you. Please, come visit us again!"
"Yes! I'll definitely come play again!"
After somehow pacifying them, Scotch watched with an exhausted expression as Feiyun exchanged a few more words with the okama.
He'd been the one putting his body on the line the most.
Setting aside Newkama Kenpo instructor-class fighters, ordinary okama wouldn't be able to keep up with the journey ahead. They couldn't just thoughtlessly let them board.
"Then let's set sail. Raise the sails!"
The sails unfurled with a snap, catching the wind as they left the harbor.
Until they disappeared beyond the horizon, Ivankov and the others continued waving from the port.
☆
They reached Fool Shout Island in about four days.
They encountered no storms along the way, and the voyage ended smoothly.
It was a quiet island where people lived peaceful daily lives, with nothing notable except for some large cacti.
—Provided there wasn't a massive pirate ship in the harbor, that is.
"What're you punks? Merchants? If you value your lives, leave your cargo behind."
There seemed to be quite a few of them—the moment they docked, they were surrounded.
"Hmm," Kanata murmured, glancing at those surrounding them before speaking to Jorge standing beside her.
"What do you think? They seem reasonably capable."
"What do I think? ...Either way, we need to stay here a few days before heading to the next island, right? It's not like we have a choice."
"True. Let's crush them quickly and talk to the residents."
Though Kanata's crew sailed a galleon large enough for giants, the pirates' ship was even bigger. They must have considerable numbers.
But most seemed to be inland—not many were assigned to guard the harbor.
This level of opposition would be easy to suppress.
When the pirates saw Kanata disembark, they leered at her with lustful gazes, though a few made suspicious faces and started whispering among themselves.
"Hey, that face... could it be—"
"Yeah, probably... Hey! You—are you the Dragon-Slaying Witch?!"
"I've been called that. Having second thoughts now?"
"The Golden Lion Shiki, our boss, told us to contact him if we spotted you. Will you come quietly, or wait here until the boss arrives?"
Now it was Kanata who looked suspicious.
Based on what she'd heard, they were likely pirates under the Golden Lion's umbrella. If they were powerful enough to be based in the New World, their strength made sense.
But that wasn't the issue.
"What does the Golden Lion want with me?"
"We haven't been told the details. You've got two choices: wait here, or come with us to the boss."
"I'll pass on both. Even if you have business with me, I have none with you."
"...You realize you're talking about the Golden Lion, right?"
"Fine by me. If he comes, I'll kill him."
Kanata released her Conqueror's Haki, dropping the fodder like flies. The more capable ones who managed to resist were quickly taken down by Junxi and the others.
Junxi, who'd been excited about fighting worthy opponents from a Golden Lion-affiliated crew, looked disappointed as she beat them down.
In no time, they'd subdued everyone at the harbor and looted all the treasure and provisions from the pirates' ship.
They were pirates—no mercy was needed.
"The Golden Lion, huh... Feels like my bad feeling just came true in one shot."
"He said he had business with me. Whatever it is probably isn't good, so let's just ignore it."
Most likely it was recruitment, trying to scout promising talent.
She'd heard that pirates clashing in the New World were all scrambling to strengthen their forces. She never heard such stories about Roger, but when Kanata had met his crew, they were already full of formidable fighters. He was probably uninvolved in such matters.
"Seems like there are quite a few people inland too..."
She could sense their numbers, but couldn't distinguish between residents and pirates.
Given the ship's size, the number at the harbor was far too small. There had to be a significant force inland.
They'd tied up everyone from the harbor, but she pondered whether to leave them there.
"How about this, then?"
Kuro spread darkness from himself, gathering it beneath the pirates' feet and sinking them into it.
Into the inescapable darkness.
After swallowing them all whole, Kuro laughed. "That should do it." Jorge's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Scary... That guy's pretty ruthless too..."
"Then don't make him angry. We're heading inland. A few of you stay with the ship."
Kanata left Feiyun and a few others as ship guards before heading into the island's interior.
***
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