“That came out sounding strange.”
Rocks was unimpressed with himself.
He was a perfectly upstanding person.
What special preferences was she even implying?
“I was recognizing talent.
And preparing for the voyage.” He explained: “You know how important a navigator is.
Someone that capable doesn’t come along often.
You lock them in early.
Age doesn’t factor into it.”
Kuina said nothing.
She had always known Rocks was confident and bold.
She hadn’t realized bold extended this far.
He was seriously planning to hand the fate of their ship to a fifteen-year-old girl?
Impressive, in a terrifying way.
Navigators got better with experience, and experience came with age.
Young navigators weren’t trusted with much under normal circumstances, let alone one who was fifteen.
The only person who would actually commit to that decision was Rocks.
But she trusted his judgment.
He was a year younger than her, and somehow she still trusted his word more than most.
She asked: “You mentioned a hundred million Berries or saving her village.
Is there a specific reason for those terms?”
Rocks went over what he remembered of the story.
“Her village is under occupation by a crew of Fish-Man pirates.
Either pay a ransom to buy it back, or take out the pirates.”
“Pirates.”
Kuina knew exactly what pirates were capable of.
She had dealt with more than a few herself.
They would do anything.
“I’ve heard Fish-Men have physical strength roughly ten times that of a human on average,” she said.
“Are you confident?”
A hundred million Berries was out of reach.
That left only the option of fighting the Fish-Man crew.
She already knew Rocks wouldn’t choose otherwise.
The only real question was how strong that crew was.
She had never been to sea before now, but she knew enough about Fish-Men.
Ten times human strength was the standard figure people cited.
“I haven’t had many real fights, so my read on my own strength isn’t precise.” Rocks thought about it for a second, then said with easy confidence: “But confident?
Yes.
A crew of Fish-Men shouldn’t be a problem.”
Part of why he’d wanted to spar with Koushirou was exactly this: to get a clearer sense of where his strength actually sat.
This sea was dangerous, and it was full of powerful people.
Knowing his own level let him make better decisions about what to take on and what to avoid.
He was confident, not arrogant.
The caution was there.
Old Dick had said he could walk through the East Blue without much to worry about. New chapters come out on g.com first.
The old man’s personal strength wasn’t remarkable, but his eye was sharp.
He’d been on the Rocks Pirates’ ship once, even if all he did was mop floors.
Rocks trusted that eye.
The Arlong Pirates weren’t something he took seriously as a threat.
If he couldn’t handle them, he had no business being out here at all.
He might as well sail home and wait for the Hollow to consume him.
Kuina didn’t press it further.
“Then let’s go pick up our navigator.
With her on board we’ll be able to go a lot further.”
“Where is her village?”
“Cocoyasi Village.
Part of the Conomi Islands.”
Rocks had memorized some charts of the nearby island clusters before setting out.
He had a rough sense of where Cocoyasi was.
“There’s one problem, though.”
He looked around again at the open water and spread his hands.
“We’re lost.
We don’t know our position.
Having a chart doesn’t help if you don’t know where you are on it.”
Kuina had no answer for that.
“Find an island to land on first.
Once we know where we are, we can set a course for the Conomi Islands.”
Rocks nodded.
“That’s about all we can do.”
One day.
Two days.
Three.
For three days their little sailboat kept drifting.
Not an island in sight.
Not even a bird.
On deck.
Kuina had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was running through her sword forms with the Wado Ichimonji, each movement precise and beautiful and laced with genuine killing intent.
She stopped when she saw Rocks descend from the sky, stepping lightly down through the air to land on the deck.
Her expression was serious.
“If we don’t find an island or a ship soon, we are actually going to starve out here.
We have one day of food left.”
“I just spotted a black dot from up there.
Could be an island, could be a ship.”
Rocks picked up a cup of water from the table and took a long drink, then smiled.
“Either way, we’re getting out of this.”
Observation Haki cost energy to maintain continuously, so Rocks wasn’t keeping it active at all times.
Instead he’d been using Sonido to ascend into the sky, where the wider vantage point let him scan for land or vessels.
Today it had paid off.
A small black point against the blue.
“Which direction?
“Not far.
Take the helm and turn right.
Bring in the sails while you’re at it.”
Rocks called back to her, then moved to the stern in a single blur.
Once Kuina had turned the wheel and secured the sails, Rocks lifted his right foot and stamped it down.
With a deep boom, the stern of the ship dropped under his force.
The water itself indented below the impact point.
Then a wave of momentum erupted outward and the little sailboat surged forward, shooting toward the distant black speck at speed.
Elsewhere.
Not far away, on the same stretch of water.
A large vessel cut across the sea.
From its mast flew a black flag, the skull and crossbones snapping in the wind.
What made it stand out from any other Jolly Roger was the skull’s nose, a bold red circle.
A clown skull.
A pirate ship.
“Huh?
What’s that?”
The lookout in the crow’s nest had his spyglass trained on the surrounding water when he caught the little sailboat tearing toward them at remarkable speed.
He blinked.
“Captain Buggy!
We’ve got a situation!”
He leaned over the edge and shouted down: “Six o’clock!
One ship, closing fast!
It’s coming straight at us!”
“Wh-what?!”
Down on deck.
The clown-faced man dozing in his seat came awake with a start.
His body involuntarily split into pieces.
Buggy’s detached head swiveled urgently toward the crow’s nest, his voice climbing with anxiety.
“Is it-is it the Navy?!”
“Not the Navy, not pirates either!
Just a small, fairly beat-up looking sailboat!”
“Useless!”
Buggy let out a breath and started pulling himself back together, already yelling at the lookout.
“If it’s not the Navy, why are you screaming?!
You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“I-I didn’t mean to, Captain Buggy…”
The lookout’s voice dropped.
Their captain’s temper was not something to provoke.
One wrong word and he’d snap.
Seeing that Buggy wasn’t about to explode, the lookout continued: “It’s just…
the ship is strange.
No sails up, but it’s moving fast.
Very fast.”
“And it’s nearly on us.
It’s definitely heading this way.”