Early in the morning, the sun shone brightly beneath a cloudless sky.
A gentle breeze swept through Syrup Village’s harbor, causing the flag of the Golden Hind to flutter in the wind.
Its pirate flag did nothing to frighten the people who had come to see Zhuyun and the others off.
“Big Sister Tsunade, thank you for curing my illness!
Big Brother Zhuyun, thank you for bringing Big Sister Tsunade to treat me!”
Kaya cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the ship.
She was clearly much more energetic than before.
“Thank you for saving Mom!
Thank you so much!”
The long-nosed Usopp also shouted after Kaya.
“Thank you for all your help.
We are truly grateful.”
Kaya’s father stood on the shore, sincerely expressing his gratitude.
“We’ve already received your payment.
Two hundred and thirty million berries, along with food, alcohol, medical supplies, books, and various other resources.”
Zhuyun was especially pleased with the large haul of supplies.
“You really are Syrup Village’s richest man.”
“And thank you for giving us Kuro’s bounty as well.
Given our identities, it isn’t convenient for us to go to the Marines to claim the reward ourselves.”
“That’s nothing.
Compared to what you’ve done for us, what I’ve given you is hardly anything.”
“All right, that’s enough for now.
It’s time for us to leave.
A new adventure is waiting for us.”
Zhuyun smiled.
“Until we meet again.”
As he spoke, the Golden Hind slowly sailed out toward the open sea.
***
A week after the Golden Hind left Syrup Village, a pirate ship with a dragon-shaped figurehead quietly arrived at a secluded area near the village.
This ship was extremely famous throughout the sea.
It was the Red Force.
“Yasopp, we’ve arrived in your hometown.
Aren’t you really going to see your wife and child?
At least talk to them?”
Red-Haired Shanks looked at Yasopp beside him.
“Hahaha.
I’m afraid that if I see them, I won’t be able to bring myself to leave.”
Yasopp laughed, his gaze fixed in the direction of his home.
“I’ll just take a look at them from a distance.”
“All right.
Everyone, wait here for me.”
With that, Yasopp jumped off the ship and headed toward his home.
At Usopp’s house, smoke slowly rose from the chimney.
“Mom, you’re still not completely recovered.
Let me cook.
You should rest.”
Usopp wanted his mother to get more rest and kept urging Banchina to sit down.
“I’m fine, Usopp.
After Doctor Tsunade treated me, I can feel that I’m much better.
Besides, staying in bed all the time isn’t good for recovery either.”
“But, Mom, you almost died from your illness.
Please get some more rest.”
“!”
“Bang!”
Yasopp, who had been standing outside the door, heard that his wife had almost died.
He hurriedly pushed the door open and stared at Banchina.
“What happened?
Honey, what do you mean you almost died?”
Yasopp rushed over and gently grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Yasopp!”
“Dad!”
Banchina and Usopp stared wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of Yasopp.
***
“So that’s what happened.
Zhuyun and his companions saved you.”
After hearing the story from Usopp and Banchina, Yasopp finally understood what had happened.
“I’m sorry.
When you needed me most, I wasn’t here.”
Yasopp looked at Banchina, tears welling up in his eyes.
If anything had happened to her, he would have been devastated.
“It’s all right, dear.”
“Yasopp, wait here.
I want to stay and spend more time with you and our child.”
Yasopp wiped his eyes.
“I’ll go tell the captain and ask him to keep the ship here for a while longer.”
With that, Yasopp hurried back toward where the Red Force was anchored.
***
“I see.
So it was Zhuyun and his companions.”
Shanks sighed.
“If we encounter them on the sea in the future, we should make sure to thank them properly.”
“Since that’s the case, we’ll stay here a little longer.
Yasopp, go spend some time with your wife and child.”
“Thank you, Captain.
I’ll go right away.”
Yasopp jumped off the ship and quickly headed home.
***
“Faster!
Faster!
Pick up the speed!”
“Hard to port!
Come on, hard to port!”
“Do you want to die?
Fire the cannons!”
An enraged Don Krieg punched one of the pirates, sending him crashing onto the ship’s deck.
Krieg was panicking.
He had originally spotted a seemingly excellent ship at sea and intended to seize it for himself.
But the moment he threatened the ship, it fired laser beams at him.
Those were actual lasers.
If Krieg hadn’t reacted quickly and jumped onto another ship, he would have been reduced to fragments alongside his destroyed pirate ship.
Although he coveted the Golden Hind’s ability to fire lasers, fear outweighed his greed.
What followed was a desperate flight.
One after another, his ships were destroyed by the laser beams, and he was already beginning to despair.
Then he spotted a large fleet in the distance.
It was his fleet.
Earlier, he had only taken a small portion of his forces with him, leaving most of the fleet under the command of his combat commander, Gin.
Now that he had spotted the fleet, he desperately ordered his crew to reunite with them.
The Golden Hind slowed down.
The three people aboard silently watched as the ships regrouped.
“Hahahaha!
We’ve reunited!
We’ve reunited!”
Tears of excitement streamed down Krieg’s face.
Of the five ships he had originally brought with him, only one remained.
His excitement quickly turned into anger.
“We can’t let them escape.
I still have fifteen pirate ships.”
“Even if their ship has powerful firepower, there’s only one of them.
Victory will be mine.”
Krieg clenched his fists and thought confidently.