"Goodbye, Shano! And everyone else!"
"Take care on your journey!"
Dorry and Broki's booming voices echoed across the sea, the two giants stood on the shore waving goodbye, their massive figures casting long shadows in the sunset.
"Goodbye, giant uncles!!!"
The crew also squeezed to the ship's rail, shouting hoarsely.
Nami and Nojiko were tearing up, and even Kuina's eyes were slightly red.
Though the time of knowing each other was short, everyone grew to like these two straightforward, charmingly clumsy big fellows over the days.
Quickly.
The island's outline grew blurry in the twilight haze.
Dorry and Broki's figures, too, as the distance stretched further, slowly turned into two small black dots in the view, yet they remained tirelessly waving their arms.
"Huh?"
Nearby, Zeff's puzzled voice came, "Strange, we've sailed out so far, why haven't we seen that Island-Eating Goldfish?"
Shano finally drew his gaze back, looking at the sea before the ship's bow, raising his eyebrows.
Indeed, where's my fish?
Such a huge fish, huh?
He originally planned to use his newly learned "Elbaf's Spear" to challenge this legendary beast, to test the results of his special training.
Yet the sea before him was surprisingly calm.
Luffy had just sailed out from Little Garden and was immediately targeted by the Island-Eating Goldfish, whereas the Endgame was much larger than Merry.
It's so considerate, seeing the situation before acting.
He shook his head a bit disappointedly, then turned to look at the system interface, at the latest two information streams.
[You sacrificed a tuft of Green Orge Dorry's long whisker, gaining 2000 points]
[You sacrificed Red Orge Broki's belt buckle, gaining 2000 points]
They were all gear busted during the days of special training, and Shano casually picked them up to sacrifice.
This time they truly were picked up from the ground.
A total of four thousand points, quite abundant, bringing his points back to forty-one thousand.
Of course, if he sacrificed the weapons that accompanied the two for hundreds of years, the points gained would've been much higher.
But that would be too unkind, the Green Orge and Red Orge had just helped him greatly, and they were two straightforward and honest people, Shano really couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Big Bro, where are we heading next?" Nami asked.
Nuomi was comfortably dozing in her arms, the little creature seemed to have taken a liking to the citrus scent on Nami, often sticking by her side these days.
And on Nami's slender and fair wrist, there were two wristwatch-style pointers.
One was an Eternal Pose leading to Alabasta.
This was something Shano had picked from Crocodile's corpse on Whiskey Peak.
The other was a regular Log Pose.
But not the one Nami originally wore on her wrist.
During the days spent on Little Garden, while Shano was busy training with the giants, Nami and the others were idle too, so they teamed up to explore the entire island.
Not only did they see many strange and ancient creatures, but also discovered some old shipwrecks in the winding rivers.
The corpses on the ships had long decayed into skeletons, with no valuable treasures left, but there were a few intact Log Poses.
The magnetic forces inside were already stored.
Nami was delighted, immediately replacing her old Log Pose with the new one she found.
The old Log Pose stored magnetic force at a very slow pace in Little Garden, God knows how long it would take to fill up.
With this new pointer, Endgame gained another option, to go straight to Alabasta or follow the Log Pose to the next stop on this route.
"A choice of two?"
Shano pinched his chin and pondered.
The others also quieted down, waiting for his decision.
Choosing the course is the captain's right, the crew cannot interfere, everyone embarking on the sea naturally has this understanding.
"Let's head to the next stop then!"
Shano smiled, quickly made his decision.
The unknown adventure always holds greater allure, after all, with the Eternal Pose, Alabasta can be visited anytime.
As for the next stop after Little Garden, if they don't go now, by the time they reach Alabasta, resetting the magnetism would mean losing the chance to go back.
...
Three days later.
An island with a slightly peculiar outline appeared on the distant horizon.
Everyone gathered curiously at the bow to observe.
As the distance closed, a stone monument stood at the dock with the words "Welcome to Thor Island" boldly written.
"Thor Island... so the next stop is here?"
Smoker was somewhat surprised.
"You've been here?" Kuina jumped down from the open-air Sword Dao court on the second floor, wiping sweat with a towel as she asked.
"No."
Smoker held a cigar, eyes showing recollection, "But a few years ago, I had a colleague friend, who came here on a mission, afterward, shared many stories about this island with me."
"This island is actually a twin island, the North Island is commercially thriving with towns rich in various entertainment industries, there's even a huge amusement park, and during peak seasons, it's packed with tourists."
He pointed far off into the distance, and as everyone followed his gaze, they could vaguely see a huge Ferris wheel.
"And the South Island, where we're about to land, is a serene and scenic rural area."
"In spring, cherry blossoms bloom everywhere, and compared to the bustling North Island, though lacking in entertainment options, for those seeking inner peace, it's also a great place for vacation and relaxation."
"The two islands are connected by a naturally formed stone bridge, making the shape of this entire twin island quite interesting."
He suddenly stood up straight, pointing at his chest, "From an aerial perspective, it looks like a 36F bra."
"What bra!"
"So vulgar!"
"Idiotic smoker, find a different analogy!"
The three girls responded with embarrassment and frustration, throwing their drink cups at him.
"Ah, sorry!"
Smoker then realized what he had been saying, dodging awkwardly with a flushed face, "That's Tina... the friend I mentioned earlier, that's how she described it back then, I unconsciously used her exact words..."
"No need to mimic her actions too, you fool!" Kuina snapped with a fierce shout, "With such hints... hey, that Tina must have a thing for you, yeah, definitely?"
"Do you think so?"
Smoker was bewildered.
How could that be, he only remembered that ever since boot camp, Tina always bullied him for no reason.
Who treats someone they like that way?
Shano sighed deeply, patting him on the shoulder.
Oh, you're such an oblivious steel-hearted man at thirty...
"Let's go, land on this South Island."
Shano looked at the increasingly close dock, pink and white cherry blossom petals were already blowing in the wind, reminding him inexplicably of his first time at sea, adventuring on Asakura Island.