Luna remembered an old saying from her previous life: "The higher you stand, the farther you see." She wanted to see now whether the Straw Hat Pirates had arrived, or perhaps if the going merry was anchored near the shore.
After all, if the going merry was here, then the Straw Hat Pirates must certainly be here.
Furthermore, trying to find specific people within the town from such a high vantage point was truly demanding the impossible.
The going merry, however, was much larger, and she only needed to look at the intersection of the island and the sea.
Therefore, rather than searching for the Straw Hat Pirates, it was better to look directly for the going merry.
But soon, Luna felt confused, because she looked around and found no trace of the going merry.
Still unwilling to give up, she looked twice more, but the result was the same; she simply couldn't find it.
"Could it be that the Straw Hat Pirates haven't arrived yet?" Luna muttered, frowning slightly after confirming her observation repeatedly.
Suddenly, Luna remembered something: if she recalled correctly, the Straw Hat Pirates definitely arrived at Jaya Island during the day, specifically before noon, on this island overrun by pirates—though in the eyes of the current Pink Hat Pirates, it was merely an ordinary pirate-infested island.
She also remembered correctly that Zoro, Luffy, and Nami specifically went to a certain bar around noon, where they met Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach, who was heading in the exact opposite direction from Luffy.
Then they encountered those trash pirates who had no dreams, as well as a mongrel lackey of Doflamingo, someone like the Spring Man Bellamy.
In any case, that time frame around noon should be accurate.
The Straw Hat Pirates would arrive soon.
She believed that the Straw Hat Pirates should arrive on this very day.
After all, the Blackbeard Pirates were only staying here for a short period, no more than a day.
Since Blackbeard and his crew were already here, Luffy and his companions should be arriving shortly too.
And simultaneously, precisely because she thought of this.
Luna immediately used the communication device to contact The Girls, sending a message in the group chat.
"Everyone, while operating on Jaya Island this time, do not proactively cause trouble, unless someone provokes us first.
Also, if the person who comes to provoke you is a Spring-Spring Fruit user named Bellamy, give him a severe beating, no matter what he says."
When Luna said this, she wore a thoroughly cold smile.
Having watched the Pirate King anime, she still felt deeply annoyed by this piece of trash—even though he would later be redeemed—and decided that a beating was the best course of action.
No, trash is destined to be thrown into the garbage can, at least once.
"Understood."
"I know."
"A piece of cake."
"OK."
Although The Girls found it somewhat baffling—why had a 'must-be-beaten' order been suddenly issued for a specific individual?
But since Luna had said so, they figured he must just be an insignificant little grasshopper, so beating him up was fine.
Hadn't they beaten and killed enough pirates or Bounty Hunters along the way?
They had even taken on Marines.
One Bellamy wouldn't make much difference.
The Girls received the message via communication, replied one after another, and then continued with their own activities.
Seeing that The Girls had all responded, Luna hung up the communication.
Suddenly, however, she spotted a small, two-masted sailboat appearing on the distant sea.
She was momentarily stunned, but when she took out a telescope from her storage ring and looked through it, she immediately saw the ship clearly.
The pirate flag on it had a straw hat on the skull, and the figurehead was a sheep's head.
It was obvious: this ship was the going merry, belonging to its owners, the Straw Hat Pirates.
"They finally arrived," Luna chuckled.
After thinking for a moment, Luna flew directly down into the town.
Like The Girls, she hadn't been on land for a long time, so naturally, she intended to have some fun this time.
Unbeknownst to Luna, some of The Girls under her command had already encountered members of the Blackbeard Pirates, or rather, were in the process of encountering them.
First up were Nojiko, Carmen, and Kaya.
"This pot is good.
I'll take it, Boss."
Seeing a high-quality frying pan that perfectly suited her needs, Carmen smiled with satisfaction and immediately told the vendor.
Spending a small sum, Carmen bought it right away.
The price the vendor offered was reasonable, especially since Carmen was very familiar with the costs of kitchenware, seasonings, and food.
She felt the price was decent, which is why she bought it.
However, every crew member of the Pink Hat Pirates had plenty of money on them.
When they disembarked earlier, each person had brought nearly 10 million Berries.
A single frying pan was merely pocket change for Carmen.
After discreetly storing the frying pan, Carmen met up with Nojiko, who had bought some perfume, and Kaya, who had purchased some medicinal herbs.
The three chatted happily as they continued walking along the street.
Their beauty attracted many people, especially greedy pirates, but the three women had already demonstrated their strength by taking care of one trash pirate who hadn't known his place.
This had happened not long ago, leaving not even ashes behind, right on this very street, frightening many people nearby.
Knowing that Nojiko and the other two women were not to be trifled with and were certainly not the mere 'vases' they appeared to be, many pirates, struck by fear, immediately abandoned their disgusting and greedy intentions.
The three women continued walking, but suddenly, a sickly-looking horse approached from the side, carrying a person who seemed to be critically ill.
If Luna were here, she would definitely recognize him.
The newcomer was the Blackbeard Pirates' doctor, Doc Q, one of the original four who followed Blackbeard, just like the previously mentioned Van Auger.
He was extremely ruthless, seemed to hide formidable strength, and was a dangerous individual who believed that everything was predetermined by fate.
Regarding his strength, even if he was hiding it, it was nothing in Luna's eyes.
Could he possibly be stronger than Nojiko and her companions, who possessed the strength of three Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals?
Whether due to drowsiness or something else, Doc Q suddenly fell off his pet horse, crashing heavily onto the ground, the pain forcing him to cry out.
"Ouch—!"
Nojiko and the other two were startled.
The kinder-hearted Kaya and Nojiko immediately stepped forward.
Seeing this, Carmen followed closely, and the three women helped Doc Q back onto his horse.
"Thank you, three Little girls.
As repayment, you can each take an apple from this basket and eat it."
Although Doc Q maintained his genuinely sick appearance, he still managed an ugly smile as he spoke, making it unclear whether he was truly grateful or... scheming?!
Or perhaps it was simply what he called, everything happening being predetermined by fate.
He didn't check to see if these apples contained explosives, after all, such things were merely petty tricks, useless in the face of absolute strength.
At first, Nojiko and her companions did not refuse Doc Q's kindness.
They immediately reached into the basket for an apple, but quickly, their Observation Haki transmitted a warning signal to them just as their hands were about to touch a fruit.
The three women frowned slightly, then each picked out a different apple that did not transmit any danger signal.
After thanking him again, they took a bite of their apples while continuing to walk.
This completely baffled Doc Q, because he could tell that the three Little girls were able to accurately pick the apples without explosives not through luck, but through sheer strength.
"I truly didn't expect to run into such a group of powerful girls here.
But why do they look a little familiar?"
Doc Q immediately said this.
At the same time, he realized that his so-called belief that all things were predetermined by fate, relying merely on the trick of mixing apples containing explosives with real apples, was truly just a petty trick.
For a moment, the fellow fell into contemplation, but he decided to try again.
After all, he had intended to throw away this basket of apples before leaving, so he might as well continue performing such small experiments.
Thus, very soon, he encountered a moss-head, a simpleton, and a greedy cat...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Deya and Shino Asada also encountered two other members of the Blackbeard Pirates: the sniper Van Auger, who had been mentioned before, and another, Lafitte, known as the Devil Sheriff, who possessed the ability to hypnotize and fly.
He used a handgun and a cane as weapons, wore a large black top hat, and dressed like a theatrical character.
He was Blackbeard's Navigator, as well as his strategist and diplomat.
He was someone who had seen large events.
If Luna were here, she would be very surprised, because according to her knowledge, shouldn't Lafitte be attending the Shichibukai meeting, trying to secure a position for Blackbeard?
However, Sengoku had rejected him on the grounds that Blackbeard was an unknown nobody he had never heard of, someone who couldn't possibly intimidate other pirates.
In fact, Lafitte's presence here now was somewhat related to Luna and the Pink Hat Pirates.
The Pink Hat Pirates had severely beaten the Marines several times, especially recently.
Blackbeard believed that Marineford was likely furious right now, particularly Akainu, whom he understood well to embody ruthless Absolute Justice.
If Lafitte went, he would likely face serious danger, so he refused Lafitte's offer to go.
Furthermore, he could actually guess the reason Sengoku gave, so it was better to wait until he was a pirate with a bounty over 100 million Berries.
This was why Lafitte was currently acting alongside Van Auger.
As for this encounter.
In fact, this time, Shino Asada and Deya had proactively sought them out.
Seeing the flintlock sniper rifle in Van Auger's hand, Shino Asada immediately recognized it.
The dead seabirds she had found on the sea previously were his doing.
Shino Asada, who had always wanted to experience the strength of a sniper in the Pirate World, instantly felt a surge of fighting spirit and stepped forward to challenge him.
Van Auger was also stunned.
The person in front of him was just a young girl, yet she emitted a distinct and powerful sniper's aura.
Her unique demeanor immediately piqued his interest, and it also served as a way to pass the boring time.
The two engaged in a sniper contest, a pure test of marksmanship.
The contest involved sniping 17 empty glass bottles that Lafitte and Deya had deliberately set up 500 meters away.
The goal was to see who could hit more, or, in other words, who would be the first to hit the ninth bottle.
After setting up the targets, Lafitte and Deya stood aside.
Neither of them were people who liked to cause trouble, and given Luna's instructions, Deya naturally complied.
Blackbeard had also emphasized that his crew should not go too far.
Lafitte could also sense Deya's extraordinary nature, so the two did not clash and simply watched the sniper duel unfold.
However, after exchanging glances, they still gave the verbal command to their respective partners, which was also heard by their partners' opponent.
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