On the shore, Kuma lifted the fully healed Bonney into his arms and spun in circles, crying and laughing all at once.
"Thank goodness!"
"This is wonderful!"
Bonney's smile was pure as sunlight.
Any father with a daughter would have been moved by the scene. Some in the crowd even wiped at their eyes.
"Wahhh…"
Chopper burst into tears.
"Chopper, why are you crying?" Maya asked.
Chopper scrubbed his cheeks. "Idiot, I'm not crying— I don't even know why— I just want to cry!"
"I'm thinking about Dr. Hiriluk, doctor!"
Memories rushed back—the first meeting, the fistfights, the gift of a cherry blossom, those small, warm days.
"So good," Bepo murmured. Penguin and the others echoed him, all of them smiling.
Law stepped out, body leaden with fatigue. At the sight of the reunited "father and daughter," it felt like a gentle rain fell into his chest, washing away the weariness. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
"Feels good, doesn't it—seeing illness cured and families reunited?" Dr. Kureha tipped back a bottle of plum wine, took a long pull, and let loose a booming laugh.
"Doctoring, for a lifetime—this is the moment we chase, Chopper. This kind of joy can't be traded for anything else in the world."
"If that fool Hiriluk could see the kingdom now, it'd be exactly the spring he dreamed of!"
Up on the mast, Reiju sat with her chin in her hand, smiling softly, a touch of envy in her eyes. She envied Bonney for having a father like that.
Her own family lacked tenderness—fatherly love least of all.
How fortunate.
Robin watched with a faint, upturned smile, genuinely happy for Kuma and Bonney—then lowered the brim of her hat, hiding a quick flicker of jealousy.
Jin stood aside, arms loosely folded. Doing good really did fill a person with a quiet, genuine happiness.
"Interested in a trip to the West Blue?" he asked suddenly.
"Eh?" Robin blinked.
"Round-the-world voyage. Next stop, the West Blue."
"I'm very curious about Ohara."
The mountain of goods and trade items Jin had hauled back from the North Blue had already been stacked in newly built warehouses on Drum. From there, they would be shipped to Hannabal, the Land of Fire, and other buyers.
Yes, it added transport costs. But it trained the kingdom's fleets and tempered sailors and crew. The best of the island's newly drilled militia would be called up to serve as crew, earning a bounty of merit coupons.
Profits to be made. Enthusiasm ran high.
Jin's name, ever since the Hannabal affair, had spread among pirates through the first half of the Grand Line. The black dragon flag alone was enough to keep most raiders at bay.
After all, Hannabal—"the Free Island," a place that could shelter you from Marines—carried a certain weight across the seas. Out of sheer survival instinct, what ordinary pirate would pick a fight?
Three days later, Jin set sail again, destination: West Blue.
This time, he did not bring ordinary sailors. With Germa 66's clone army, he didn't lack for rank-and-file. Better to spread them across other ships to gain experience.
In truth, the devil carrier required little in the way of seamanship anyway.
Aboard were: Kuma, Law, Robin, the Germa 66 contingent, Wolfe, Maya, and the saber-toothed tiger.
After talking with the Heart Pirates, and after measuring Jin's overwhelming strength against his own shortcomings, Law made his decision—he would travel under Jin's banner for a time.
The pirate crew disbanded for three years. Penguin, Bepo, and the rest dispersed to the kingdom's merchant fleet to train and harden themselves for the Grand Line's storms. In three years, they would set out from Drum again.
At Twin Capes, Maya stood on the cliff and spoke with Laboon.
Seeing her again, the island whale was delighted. It caught a giant king-squid Sea King and presented it to her.
It now regarded Maya as a friend. When Chopper came someday, he would surely become one too.
Jin passed along Dr. Kureha's annotated review of Crocus's book. One look at the pages—covered in thick, red marks—and Crocus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Dr. Kureha is as strict as ever," he chuckled.
Jin smiled. "Her evaluation is very high. She says your surgical technique is overflowing with skill. The issues are a matter of detail. Fix those, and we can publish it—sell it across the world."
"Really?" Crocus's eyes lit. Joy burst out of him, then turned to curiosity. "You came back just to deliver a book?"
"Not only that," Jin said. "We're heading to the West Blue."
"The West Blue?" Crocus frowned. "To reach the West Blue, you have to pass Mary Geoise—or the Calm Belt in the New World. How will you get there from here?"
The world's geography was a strange puzzle. The Grand Line split the globe into east and west, the Red Line cut north and south, forming the Four Seas. The first half of the Grand Line had the East and South Blues on its flanks; the second half—the New World—had the North and West Blues.
Reverse Mountain and Mary Geoise were the two intersection points of the Grand Line and the Red Line.
Mary Geoise, seat of the Celestial Dragons, was the world's central hub, a nexus to the four seas and both halves of the Grand Line—truly the center of the world.
Reverse Mountain, though equally a junction, was strangely empty of inhabitants, serving as the entry point for ships from the Four Seas… and their exit as well.
What Crocus said was the truth for every ship bound for West Blue—besides the sky, there were only two ways.
Jin grinned. "We're going to swim up."
"Swim?" Crocus stared. Were they teasing an old man?
Before long, Crocodile and Daz Bonez arrived, bound for the West Blue as well. They would travel together.
Night fell.
A long, low horn sounded.
The devil carrier drove into the Red Line.
At the moment of contact, the prow turned to "earth," merging with the Red Line's mass. The bow lifted and climbed, fusing, as the soil itself began to move.
Then the massive hull adhered to the vertical wall of red rock and started to "sail" upward.
"Ah—"
Crocus and Laboon gaped together.
"A Devil Fruit ship?!"
"And a Logia to boot?!"
Crocus stood dumbstruck. He'd seen Devil Fruit–powered weapons, but a Devil Fruit ship—never, and certainly not a Logia-class ship.
Laboon suddenly raised that enormous head, perfectly straight.
"Hey, Laboon—" Crocus flinched, thinking the whale would charge the wall again, and hurried to stop him.
But Laboon simply lifted his voice in a vast whale-song, sending the ship off with a thunderous blessing.
Because of Maya, he was no longer alone.
"Magnificent," Crocus breathed, watching the carrier vanish into cloud and night.
Soon, the devil carrier reached the summit and leveled out.
"Incredible."
Law studied the roaring confluence of currents and knew with certainty that this was the crest of Reverse Mountain. It was hard to believe.
So this was how Jin had gone to the North Blue.
"Terrifying," Reiju whispered, shaken. Germa 66 needed at least three weeks to cross the Red Line. The devil carrier didn't even need a night?
And more startling still, this ship had revealed more than one Devil Fruit ability by now.
How?
Wasn't a single being limited to a single fruit?
Unless… because a warship was so vast, each part of it had "eaten" a different fruit—and together they formed the ship?
Robin had seen the feat once already, and even on a second viewing she couldn't help her wonder. The principles refused to make sense.
"Pluton," Crocodile thought, eyes on the torrent, "how would it compare to this?"
Daz Bonez' heart clenched. To think they had planned to burn this ship without any intelligence. No wonder they lost.
He was one of the few Crocodile truly trusted and had heard the tale of their defeat by Jin. He knew they were "partners" now.
Partnership was a polite word. Jin had given Crocodile face; Crocodile had given Jin the organization. In truth, it was a soft annexation.
This trip to the West Blue, Crocodile would recruit, contact kingdoms, and lay the groundwork for the Bounty Hunters' Guild.
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