As soon as Lucas pushed open the door, he bumped into Yadoya, who was carrying breakfast.
The moment the young girl looked up, the tray in her hands swayed violently, and the milk nearly spilled.
She stared at Lucas blankly, her eyes wide:
“G-Good morning, Lucas…
Huh?
Why do I feel like you’ve…
turned into a different person?”
Overnight, the man before her had shed the innocence of youth, replaced by a gloomy and lethal sense of wicked charm.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Lucas wore a gentle smile, perfectly masking that sinister aura.
“It must be your imagination; I don’t feel like I’ve changed at all.”
Yadoya pursed her lips, her small hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
After hesitating for a long time, she asked in a low voice:
“When…
do you plan on leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning.
Can you tell me where the compass shop and the shipyard are in town?”
“Wait here for a second!”
Yadoya turned and trotted back to her room.
A moment later, she ran back with a piece of paper with wet ink, on which a simple map was drawn in a childish hand.
“Thanks.”
Lucas took the map, his fingertips accidentally brushing against her fingers.
Yadoya pulled her hand back as if electrocuted, her cheeks flushing instantly.
Following the map’s directions, he navigated the winding streets and quickly found the inconspicuous compass shop.
Without a compass, it is impossible to sail on the Grand Line.
The compass he had brought from the Country of Wild had long since gone missing when the island was smashed into the ocean.
“Boss, do you have any Eternal Poses for sale?”
Behind the counter, an old man with a bald spot was dozing off.
Hearing the voice, he jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and shook his head regretfully:
“Sorry, young man, but those Eternal Poses are extremely expensive.
Not many ships come to this crappy place in a year, so who would stock that kind of merchandise?”
“How long does it take to sail to the nearest island under normal conditions?”
“For a civilian merchant ship, it takes half a month with favorable winds and currents.”
The old man sighed.
“It’s weird, really.
We’re the only island for hundreds of nautical miles around.”
Lucas was stunned on the spot.
He had drifted to such a remote place.
It was quite an achievement that the pirate crew from before could even find this place.
He suppressed his surprise, used the Berries he had scavenged from the pirates to buy three of the best-quality Log Poses, and turned to leave the shop.
The shipyard was at the far east end of the town.
Before he even got close, he heard the clamor of a group of shipwrights.
“It’s an abandoned pirate ship that’s been docked here for nearly a week.”
“Let’s scrap it.
Break it down into planks and sell it as scrap; we can at least get a few bottles of booze out of it.”
“Sounds good to me, saves space.”
Several shirtless shipwrights, holding axes and saws, were circling a medium-sized sailing ship and pointing at it, clearly about to start working.
“Wait!
Don’t take it apart!”
Lucas dashed over in a single bound.
“How about you sell this ship to me?”
The shipwrights were stunned and turned to look at him.
A middle-aged man wearing a silk vest and sporting a beer belly pushed through the crowd.
He was the owner of the shipyard.
He looked Lucas up and down, then waved his hand to stop the shipwrights:
“How much are you offering?”
Lucas didn’t waste words.
He poured all the remaining Berries he had into a money bag and tossed it over.
The bag arched through the air, and the owner caught it steadily.
He weighed it, opened it, and counted the contents.
His face instantly broke into a sycophantic smile:
“Enough, enough!
More than enough!
This ship is yours from now on!”
Lucas nodded slightly.
He could have just taken it by force; with his current strength, everyone in the shipyard combined wouldn’t be enough to fight him with one hand.
But in the end, he didn’t do that.
Perhaps it was the teachings of Sister Eos, or the influence of Gion and Yamato, but he still held onto one final bottom line—do not bully innocent civilians.
Of course, if the other party were criminals, that would be a different story.
He jumped onto the ship and carefully inspected it.
Although the ship looked dilapidated, the hull was intact, and the power system had no issues.
The cabin was still stocked with plenty of flour, dried meat, and fresh water, and there were even a few stray Den Den Mushi, two of which were equipped with communication devices.
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.
The problems of supplies and communication had been solved all at once.
He sailed the ship to the town’s only official dock, parked it, and returned to the inn.
The night was deep and quiet.
The entire Torrance Town had fallen into a deep sleep, with only the sound of waves crashing against the reefs echoing in his ears.
Lucas tiptoed out of his room and made his way to the inn’s storage room.
He picked up the Den Den Mushi with the communication device and dialed a number.
“Brrr, brrr, brrr—” The Den Den Mushi rang only twice before it was abruptly answered.
“Lucas?!”
The voice simulated by the Den Den Mushi was filled with obvious panic and tears.
“Are you okay?
Are you hurt?
The Marine surveillance ship reported that an unprecedented tsunami occurred in the Country of Wild, and the entire island was almost submerged!
I’ve called you hundreds of times, but I couldn’t get through!
I was going crazy!”
Listening to the rapid-fire questions and concern from the other end of the line, Lucas’s fingers tightened slightly around the Den Den Mushi.
He was silent for a few seconds, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible:
“I’m fine.
I lost my previous Den Den Mushi.
Sorry to have made you worry.”
“It’s good that you’re okay…
It’s good that you’re okay…”
Gion repeated over and over on the other end.
After a while, her emotions calmed down, and she asked in a low voice:
“Is there something you need, calling me?”
“Yes.
If possible, help me gather information on all the affiliated pirate crews of the Flying Pirates, the more detailed, the better.”
The other end of the line fell into instant silence.
It took a full half-minute before Gion’s voice sounded again:
“I understand.
You must be careful.
Golden Lion is a complete madman; he’s not like other pirates.”
“I know.”
“I won’t risk my life lightly.
Goodnight, get some rest.”
“Click.” The Den Den Mushi’s eyes slowly closed.
Lucas stood by the window, gazing at the pitch-black sea outside.
Moonlight spilled onto his face, one half bright, the other dark.
In his eyes, there was no trace of sleepiness, only a cold, bone-chilling intent to kill.
He was well aware of the gap between himself and that legendary pirate.
A head-on collision would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
However, refining the “IQ” drug required precise equipment, and equipment required a massive amount of Berries.
The Flying Pirates had been silent for over a decade; they couldn’t sustain their research by just drinking the northwest wind.
Those affiliated pirate crews were Golden Lion’s main source of funding.
Lucas’s target was them.