Three days later, on the sea near Amazon Lily.
"Whoosh—"
A massive Bear Paw Gas enveloped iser and the other two, propelling them at incredible speed through the air.
Any obstacles they encountered along the way were instantly repelled by the gas—even Sea Kings that lunged to bite them were flung aside.
Inside the enormous gas bubble, Luffy and rry, exhausted from fatigue and fright, were sprawled on iser, fast asleep.
But iser, held tightly by the two of them, remained wide awake the entire ti.
Until he knew exactly where they would land, he couldn't afford to sleep.
"We've been flying for three days and nights..." iser muttered with a frown. "Where exactly is our destination?"
"And what the hell is Kuma's deal?"
Right now, iser was filled with confusion.
He didn't understand why Kuma had sent them flying from Sabaody Archipelago.
From the looks of it, Kuma clearly had no intention of killing them—after all, if he really wanted them dead, he could've just launched them straight into the hands of a Marine Admiral. There was no need to send them flying this far.
So did that an Kuma was trying to save them?
But why?
What reason could he possibly have?
Could it be that soone in the Straw Hat Pirates had so special connection with Kuma?
If that was the case... then why had Kuma tried to kill them back at the Devil's Triangle Ship Graveyard?
iser didn't get it. He truly didn't.
"Wait a minute..."
iser suddenly rembered sothing—before they left the Devil's Triangle, Kuma had seemingly helped Luffy by "repelling" his injuries away.
If Kuma had really intended to kill them, there would've been no reason to do that.
Not to ntion, Kuma had said several cryptic things that almost sounded like he was giving them a chance...
Sothing was off. Definitely off!
"I'll have to ask him properly the next ti we et."
Just then, iser noticed an island rapidly approaching and felt the Bear Paw Gas descending swiftly.
"Finally, the destination!" iser thought with relief.
Three days... a full three days!
Luffy and rry had slept soundly the whole ti, while he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep!
As for why iser hadn't popped the bubble mid-flight—he needed to know their final landing spot. Whether it was the open sea or an island would give him a rough idea of their other crewmates' situation.
"Thud—"
The next mont, the Bear Paw landed, blasting a paw-shaped crater into the ground.
The instant they touched down, iser grabbed the two clinging to him and leaped out.
"Huh?"
"What's going on? Is it morning already?"
"Sanji, I want food!"
iser: "..."
Listening to Luffy and rry's drowsy mumbling, iser twitched his lips. "Did you two forget what happened?"
As he spoke, he tossed Luffy onto the ground.
"Thud—"
The impact jolted Luffy awake instantly.
"iser!!"
The mont iser ca into view, the scene from three days ago instantly flashed through Luffy's mind.
"Zoro and the others... were sent flying one after another..."
"Don't worry, there shouldn't be any danger to their lives," iser reassured him.
As he spoke, iser pointed to the Bear Paw marks on the ground: "The force generated upon landing isn't strong enough to kill anyone."
iser could sense it—the power was incredibly gentle, almost as if... Kuma had deliberately done this to prevent them from getting hurt.
But this only made iser even more curious. Why would that guy Kuma do such a thing?
At this mont, the image of Kuma's final appearance surfaced in iser's mind.
("This will be the last ti we et... Farewell!")
Why... would he say sothing like that?
"No danger to their lives?!"
Luffy imdiately sighed in relief. As long as they were safe.
He had truly been afraid his friends might die for no reason—that would have driven him to despair.
"Does that an... that big guy was actually saving us?" rry looked up at iser and asked.
"From the current situation, yes."
"But why?"
"I don't know either." iser shook his head. "We'll just have to ask him the next ti we et."
He, too, wanted to understand the other's motives.
"Kuma was saving us...?"
Luffy froze for a mont before adjusting his hat. "So he's a good guy after all..."
"Most likely." iser nodded. "Back in the Devil's Triangle, he probably let us go on purpose too."
Otherwise, Kuma could have easily flung Zoro and the others into the sea to drown!
But he hadn't done that... which led iser to conclude that Kuma likely never intended to kill them from the start.
"I see... Got it."
Luffy didn't understand the reason behind Kuma's actions, but since he was a good guy, he decided to forgive him.
After a mont's thought, Luffy took out Rayleigh's Vivrecard and placed it on his palm to observe.
Soon, the Vivrecard began moving slowly.
"Look! This Vivrecard really moves!"
"Idiot, of course it moves!" iser said irritably. "How else would we find the ship?"
Luffy didn't mind, just grinning foolishly.
With this, they could all regroup—how could he not be happy?
As for Zoro and the others?
While treating Hachi at Grove 1, Sanji had already distributed the Vivrecards.
"Growl..."
"Growl..."
Two stomach rumbles sounded as rry and Luffy clutched their bellies simultaneously.
"Hungry..."
Snap—
Just then, the sound of a broken twig caught the trio's attention.
Turning instinctively, they imdiately spotted a massive wild boar erging, glaring at them fiercely.
"at!"
The mont he saw it, Luffy's face lit up with excitent.
This was free at delivered right to them!
Wild Boar: ???
The boar stared at Luffy in confusion. Why wasn't this human afraid of it at all?
In the next instant, its expression changed.
Because... not far away, three humans were giving it greedy smiles, as if they wanted to devour it alive!!
This discovery triggered an instinctive fear in it.
But before it could escape, Luffy's fist ca flying in, knocking the wild boar out with a single punch.
"Tch, what's this?"
"Free ga delivered right to us?" iser remarked.
He had originally planned to take out the Sea Kings at stored in the Sealing Scroll for three days and prepare it, but now a wild boar had co to them. Their luck was really good.
"Quick, iser, let's roast and eat it!" Luffy said excitedly.
"Alright, let handle it first."
After saying that, iser carried the boar to the side, took out his Grass Sword, and began processing it.
Once done, he used the Water Release Technique to rinse it thoroughly, making sure it was completely clean.
Returning to the other two, he chopped so wood and started a fire for roasting.
"rry, pass the seasoning."
"Okay~"
After handing the seasoning to iser, Little rry propped her chin on her hands and sat on a log with Luffy, quietly waiting for iser to finish roasting the at.
Soon, as ti passed, the aroma of the at gradually filled the air.
"Ah~"
"So fragrant~"
Luffy drooled.
The next mont, Luffy reached out toward the boar at, ready to take a bite.
Slap~
iser smacked Luffy's hand away and said, "What's the rush? It's not fully cooked yet."
After a pause, he pointed at rry and added, "Your stomach can handle raw food just fine, but rry might not be able to."
They still didn't know where they were or what might happen next. What if soone got food poisoning?
Luffy blinked, glanced at rry, then nodded obediently. "Got it."
That made sense—rry was still too young, after all.
"Alright, let's discuss what to do next," iser said while turning the spit. "We've probably been flying for three days and nights. The others should be in a similar situation."
"Three days and nights?"
rry was stunned. Had they really been flying that long?
No wonder they were so hungry...
anwhile, Luffy declared without hesitation, "Of course, we'll head back to Sabaody Archipelago to regroup with the crew!"
"I'm sure everyone else is thinking the sa."
With the Vivrecard in hand, they would eventually reunite—and Luffy believed it wouldn't take too long!
"Fine. Later, I'll check deeper into this island," iser said. "If there are people here, we'll find a way to get a ship."
"Why get a ship?" rry asked, puzzled. "I can just summon the Thousand Sunny."
Her ability allowed her to summon the ship anyti. Why bother getting another one here?
Luffy also looked at iser in confusion, unsure why he suggested that.
"Did you two forget what we asked Rayleigh to do?" iser said exasperatedly. "If Rayleigh has already finished the Coating, summoning the ship here would just waste all that effort."
"Why?"
iser:
Looking at these two guys with eyes full of curiosity, iser covered his forehead in exasperation.
"The bubbles will explode if they leave the environnt of Sabaody Archipelago, have you forgotten?" iser said helplessly.
If they went directly underwater, the bubbles wouldn't explode due to humidity changes.
But this wasn't underwater!
"We can just redo it later," Luffy scratched his head.
"You really don't respect others' hard work..."
Shaking his head, iser continued, "The coating can indeed be redone, but do you think we have that kind of ti?"
"What if the Marines target us as soon as we reach Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Do you think... the Marines would give us another three days to apply the coating?"
"Next ti, they might send three Marine Admirals at once to surround us!"
This ti, the Marines dispatched two Admirals simultaneously but still failed to capture them... That was practically slapping the Marines in the face!!
Next ti, they would undoubtedly send even more terrifying forces to hunt them down.
By then... would Kuma still co to help?
That was an unknown.
"I see..." Luffy scratched his head. "Then we really can't bring our ship over."
Little rry also understood iser's aning and didn't bring it up again.
"Actually, not using our ship has another advantage," iser said.
"What advantage?"
"At least we won't be targeted by others on the way back," iser explained. "Otherwise, the Marines might send Aokiji to hunt down the three of us."
He wasn't afraid of other Marines—his Water Release could easily sink their ships.
But Aokiji was different... That guy could freeze the ocean!
Against soone like Aokiji, his Water Release Technique was practically useless.
"Aokiji..."
At the thought of that ice-wielding guy, Luffy's face scrunched up.
When they had encountered him before, he had almost been killed.
If possible, he really didn't want to et that guy again.
"Ultimately, I'm still too weak..." Little rry covered her face. "I can't even help much."
"It's fine, take your ti."
iser patted the little one's head reassuringly. "No one starts out strong, right?"
This little one had only existed for a short while.
Even if counting from when Luffy and the others got the Going rry, it had only been a few months.
How strong could such a little one possibly be?
"I... I'll work hard to get stronger too!"
"Good!"
iser smiled, then lifted the massive wild boar and placed it on the wooden rack he had prepared earlier.
Using his Grass Sword, he sliced the boar at into manageable pieces for easier eating.
"Here, dig in!" iser gestured grandly. "No matter what you want to do, you have to eat first."
Listening to iser's words, Luffy—who had been lost in thought—nodded and imdiately took a big bite!
iser: "..."
That was certainly a wild way to eat.
Shaking his head, iser handed a smaller piece to rry and said, "Here, eat up."
"Eat more to grow taller!"
As soon as these words were spoken, rry's eyes instantly lit up.
"I want to grow tall!!"
After making her declaration, rry also began eating rapidly.
Under the efforts of the three, the at on the wooden rack quickly disappeared.
"Ah~"
"I'm full~"
Luffy, lying on the ground, said with satisfaction, "iser, the at you grilled is so delicious..."
"Yeah, yeah."
rry, also lying on the ground, echoed the sentint.
"Survival in the wild is sothing I'm quite good at," iser said with a chuckle.
Perhaps his cooking skills weren't on par with Sanji's, but at least the taste of what he made was decent.
See, these two were eating quite happily...
"Hmm?"
Noticing Luffy's gradually shrinking belly, a question mark popped up above iser's head.
"Wait, your digestion is that fast?"
Most of the wild boar at had gone into this guy's mouth, and his belly had been round and full. But now... it was already almost gone?
"Huh?"
Luffy said, "Is there a problem?"
His digestion had always been this fast.
Single-minded as ever, Luffy didn't see anything unusual about it.
iser: "..."
Looking at Luffy's innocent expression, iser fell into deep thought.
Maybe... this guy's stomach was also on a monster's level?
After so consideration, he concluded that Luffy must have so special ability to rapidly absorb energy from food.
That was a good thing.
"That's actually great, hahahaha!"
Luffy stood up, laughing heartily. "This way, it won't slow us down."
"Yeah, you're right."
Glancing around, iser said, "You two wait here in the forest. I'll go deeper in to check things out."
"Why not go together?" Luffy protested.
This guy iser actually planned to go on an adventure alone?!
"What if there's danger?" iser countered. "At least think about rry for once."
Who knew if Kuma had sent them straight to the New World?
If they were already in the territory of one of the Four Emperors... recklessly charging in would definitely get them attacked.
With his Mangekyō Sharingan, iser wouldn't be killed, but Luffy and rry weren't so lucky.
"rry..."
Luffy glanced at rry, who was still lying on the ground, and after a mont said, "Alright, I get it."
iser's reasoning successfully convinced Luffy.
As soone who deeply cared for his friends, Luffy didn't want anything to happen to rry.
After all... right now, these two were the only companions he had left.
rry blinked, then sat up from the ground. "Actually, I—"
"Alright, rry, you two wait here," iser said.
This little one had just gone through a life-and-death experience and must still be badly shaken.
So... it was better to let her stay sowhere safe.
Once he had scouted out the situation on this island, he'd co back for these two.
Of course, it would be even better if he could secure a boat.
Then they could head straight for Sabaody Archipelago and reunite with the rest of the crew!
"Got it!"
iser nodded, then activated the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
After iser left, Luffy sat down on a rock to rest.
"Nami and the others will make it safely to Sabaody Archipelago, right...?" rry murmured softly.
"Don't worry, Nami and the others aren't the type to die so easily," Luffy grinned, showing his teeth. "They'll definitely make it!"
His crewmates had the sa tenacious vitality as cockroaches—he was certain they'd reach Sabaody Archipelago safely!
"That's good to hear," rry sighed in relief.
She truly hoped all her friends would arrive at Sabaody Archipelago unhard so they could all head to the New World together!!
She just wondered how they were doing now...
They had iser on their side, but the others didn't have anyone like him...
At this thought, a trace of worry surfaced in rry's eyes.
Perhaps sensing rry's mood, Luffy suddenly jumped up and said, "rry, I'll take you to eat sothing good!"
"Oh?"
"What is it?"
rry asked curiously.
Luffy chuckled, ran ahead, and plucked a few strangely colored mushrooms. Turning back to rry, he said, "rry, these are Laughing Mushrooms!"
"After eating this, you won't feel sad anymore!"
With that, Luffy took a bite himself and imdiately burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"My mood... my mood instantly feels better!" Luffy laughed heartily.
rry's eyes lit up—was there really sothing so amazing in this world?
Thinking this, she quickly went to Luffy's side, took one of the Laughing Mushrooms, and took a bite.
Then...
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Luffy, I don't feel sad anymore either, HAHAHAHAHA!"
"See, I told you, HAHAHAHAHA!"
The area was soon filled with the sound of their laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
anwhile, elsewhere.
In the Calm Belt waters near Nine Serpent Island, a pirate ship flying the Nine Serpent Island Flag floated on the sea's surface.
Powered by external paddlewheels, the ship steadily advanced toward Nine Serpent Island.
With two massive Poisonous Sea Serpents escorting them, no Sea Kings dared to cause trouble.
"This ti was truly a great haul."
"HAHAHA, that's right!"
"I wonder when our next voyage will be..."
"That depends on what Empress decides."
"True enough."
Though the spoils weren't entirely theirs... even a portion was enough to let them live lavishly for a long ti.
Boa Sandersonia glanced toward the door, then turned to Boa Hancock and said, "Sister... we accepted the Marines' summons but aren't going to Marine Headquarters... Is that really alright?"
"And what of it?"
"If we don't go, will the World Governnt revoke Sister's title?" Boa Sandersonia also looked worried.
If they lost their status as Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea... they wouldn't be able to plunder legally anymore.
"No, they won't revoke this queen's title~" Hancock's lips curled into a smirk. "After all... this queen is far too beautiful."
"Whatever I do, I will be forgiven!"
"Oh!"
"Sister!!"
Sister was right—no matter what Sister did, she would always be forgiven!
Because... she was simply too beautiful!
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