One hour later.
Everyone stood at the bow of the ship, staring blankly at the strange-looking island before them.
They had been swept here by the sea current—this island seemed to be the very center of the whirlpool.
The island's outer area wasn't particularly unusual: lush vegetation, scattered coconut trees.
But at the island's center rose an enormous stone mountain—like the trunk of a colossal ancient tree, or a gigantic ant nest stacked sky-high, with dense diamond-shaped entrances encircling its base.
It towered several hundred meters into the clouds—truly a spectacular sight.
"Where in the world have we ended up?" Shanu muttered in confusion. "Is this still the East Blue?"
"Even I have never heard of such a place in East Blue," Zeff said, shaking his head in awe. "But it's not surprising. The sea is vast—beyond the well-traveled sea routes, there are countless deserted islands no one knows of."
"Anyway, let's go check it out!"
Nojiko was brimming with excitement, spreading her arms to embrace the sea breeze. "Come on, bro! A place like this might be hiding some treasure buried centuries ago!"
Shanu nodded—he was just as curious. The radar's blinking light had changed from green to yellow as they approached the island.
And that meant luck was on his side—the Devil Fruit wasn't drifting somewhere at sea… it was most likely on this island.
"I still need to figure out how to break out of this whirlpool current… I have to study its pattern before we can leave…"
Kuina, wearing a pained expression, sat surrounded by thick books, flipping through them rapidly. "Why don't you go ahead? I'll stay and guard the ship."
"Oh come on, we have plenty of food. A little delay won't kill us."
Nojiko didn't give her a chance to refuse—she yanked Kuina up and linked arms with her. "Let's go, it's more fun to explore together! And guard the ship? We don't need you for that. Right, Gin?"
Gin, chewing sneakily on the figurehead's wings, perked up immediately at hearing her name. She whipped around, hiding the bite marks with her body, and nodded madly with her tongue flopping out.
"But…" Kuina looked to Shanu for help, but he only grinned and gestured for Nojiko to drag her faster.
He knew Kuina's thoughts well—she wanted to explore too, but was too responsible for her own good. She blamed herself for steering off course and felt she had to "make up for it."
And that was exactly why she shouldn't be left alone to stew in guilt.
Kuina was "reluctantly" dragged ashore. Shanu tossed a warning to Gin—"If those wings are gone when I get back, I'm sticking them on you"—then disembarked with the group and headed for the ant-nest-like entrances.
He walked in front, clearing the path.
Thorny bushes tore at his skin, but his body simply treated it like a light scratch. He bulldozed through a path with sheer physical toughness.
…
About half an hour later, the group entered the interior of the stone "ant nest."
Inside was far more spacious than expected—almost as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out. Not long after, sunlight poured in, revealing a colossal abandoned ship, several hundred meters long.
Everyone froze in shock.
A ship… inside the mountain? And such a massive ship?
It looked like it had been here for ages. Its masts were broken, the hull rotted and fragile—like a breath would reduce it to dust.
"I'll go take a look."
Shanu used Geppo to leap up to the dragon-shaped figurehead. Surveying the area, he saw several other giant ships in the distance—all severely damaged, as if they had been through a brutal battle.
Standing among them, he felt like an ant.
"Hm?"
He noticed a massive rusted greatsword embedded beneath the figurehead—over 20 meters long. Even with his strength, it took effort to pull it out with one hand.
"These ships don't look like they were built for humans… more like for giants."
The others climbed aboard as well. Kuina gazed up at the massive sword and recalled something. "I read in one of my father's books that long ago, the Giant Warrior Pirates from Elbaf roamed the Grand Line and were famous across the seas."
"It's said their ships were enormous like this… but for some unknown reason, they suddenly vanished."
"That's because the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates randomly got into a fight… and kept fighting for over a hundred years."
Shanu shook his head helplessly and slid the greatsword back in place. "They're still fighting to this day—on a Grand Line island called Little Garden."
"Little Garden?"
Zeff blinked. "I heard of it when I traveled the Grand Line. But I also heard about giant goldfish the size of islands that swallow passing ships near there, so I took another route. I didn't know giants from a hundred years ago still live there."
"Then should we go there on our way?" Nojiko's eyes sparkled. "I've never seen a living giant before! Zeff, don't you want to see one too?"
"Of course! Why take the same route again? Where's the fun in that?"
Zeff grinned widely.
His current strength surpassed his prime, and with a monster like Shanu as captain—why fear goldfish or giants?
"Then it's decided!" Shanu clapped. He was simply curious how much "EXP" those two legendary giants would be worth.
"But for now, let's focus on this place. Split up and search. A place like this may really have century-old treasure."
"Yes, Captain!"
…
They began their exploration.
Hours passed—these ships were enormous, so searching was exhausting.
But one by one, they each found something:
Zeff headed straight to the kitchens and joyfully discovered preserved liquor;
Kuina unearthed many strange old books and carefully tied them together;
Shanu was the busiest—going cabin to cabin, searching for the Devil Fruit while "testing" any valuable-looking items:
Nope, can't be sacrificed.
Not this one either.
Ugh, useless! Couldn't this ship at least belong to Loki or something…?
Meanwhile—
"Hah!"
Nojiko climbed back to the deck from the lower cabin, carrying a treasure chest on one shoulder. She dropped it onto the floor.
"Much better lighting here."
Wiping sweat from her brow, she grinned. "It was hidden so deep—I almost missed it! Must be something valuable!"
Screech!
A massive, ugly bird with a four-to-five-meter wingspan swooped down from nowhere, trying to swallow the chest whole.
"Get lost, you freak bird!" Nojiko raised her fist threateningly. "I found this first!"
The bird ignored her—but suddenly froze mid-flight as if noticing something, shrieked in fear, and fled.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Nojiko assumed she scared it off and proudly watched it leave.
She put on her metal gloves and smashed the chest's lock with one punch.
But when she opened the lid, there was no glittering treasure—just a strangely shaped fruit.
It resembled a pineapple, but orange-red in color, covered in swirling flame-like patterns…
"Huh?"
She lifted it closer. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.
Her eyes widened as she shouted, "BRO! Where are you?! Come check this! Is this a Devil Fruit or what?!?!"
"A Devil Fruit?"
Shanu's surprised voice echoed from afar. "You found it? Stay put—I'm coming!"
"Okay!"
Knowing how precious Devil Fruits were, Nojiko sat down obediently, holding it securely.
Then—her ears twitched. She heard a whooshing sound from the right, far behind her. But Shanu's voice had come from the left…
Someone else was here?
Nojiko instantly tensed and turned—only to see a large silver wolf leaping toward her happily.
"Wait—Gin!" She hid the fruit behind her. "You can't eat this!"
"Awoo!"
Gin glanced at the fruit with disdain and turned her head away—as if to say, "It's not a strawberry, why would I want it?"
Only then did Nojiko realize she misunderstood. But then… why was Gin so excited?
"So the weird bird got scared away by you, huh! But Gin, why aren't you watching the ship? Did you come to tell me something good?"
She looked at the wolf curiously.
"Awwooo!"
Gin nodded vigorously, grinning, then gestured behind Nojiko.
Behind me?
Nojiko turned around—seeing no one.
She didn't notice that a slender figure with orange hair had silently crept up behind her, staying in her blind spot, reaching gleefully toward the Devil Fruit in her hands…