The starting point of the Grand Line—Twin Cape.
To speed things up, the Dream Exploration Team had spent over a month traveling through the second route before returning here.
"Crocus isn't here? Don't tell me he got into trouble in the Florian Triangle…" Ryuen muttered, surprised as he looked at the empty house beneath the lighthouse.
"It's very possible. That place is a Warlord's territory, after all," Nojiko agreed, thinking Crocus might have run into some trouble.
"Who's Crocus?" Robin asked, a bit confused.
"Hm…"
"Crocus was the doctor of the Roger Pirates. He's also the lighthouse keeper here," Nojiko explained.
"He was the Pirate King's doctor? That's so cool!" Sugar said, clearly impressed.
Robin was also surprised. Only Reina, the little one, didn't seem to care—she had no real impression of the Pirate King.
"So, should we go rescue him?" Sugar asked.
"No need. We only had a simple deal before. We're not that close," Ryuen said casually.
"In that case, let's rest here for a day and then head to the next island," Nami said softly.
No one had any objections. After going ashore, they spent the night on an open field.
*Whoosh...*
*Boom!!!*
The next morning, before the crew had even woken up, the sound of explosions from cannon fire echoed through the air.
Ryuen stepped out of the tent and saw Kuina staring at the sea not far ahead. So it was two pirate crews, fresh to the Grand Line, fighting each other?
Hogg checked the Dream to make sure there was no damage before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Damn it, these idiots are ruining my sleep," Daisy grumbled angrily.
They had a feast last night that went on until late, so no one had gotten up in the morning.
"Shige!!!"
"Captain, look! It's the Dream Exploration Team!"
"Nani?!"
"Waaah… It's really them! Our idols!"
"Hey!"
"Lales, stop fighting for now!"
"You bastard! Lavis, you think you can just call for a truce and that's it? Where's my dignity as your older brother?!"
"It's the Dream Exploration Team! Our idols!"
"Nani!!!"
Lales' face changed instantly when he heard that. He turned his head quickly, and when he saw the dozen or so figures on shore, his expression shifted to shock and excitement.
"Captain, it's really them! Look!"
At that moment, both pirate crews completely stopped fighting, all of their attention now focused on the group standing on the shore.
The shouting from these pirates made the Dream Team's expressions turn strange.
Just moments ago, they had been thinking about wiping out these two pirate groups, only to realize that the pirates were actually fans of theirs...
Well, this was awkward...
Noticing that the Dream Team was staring at them, the pirates looked extremely embarrassed.
"This is all your fault, Lavis! If it weren't for you—"
"Shut up, Lales! Like you're completely innocent?!" Lavis interrupted before Lales could even finish.
"So they're actually brothers…" Robin said, a little surprised.
"Um… Respected members of the Dream Team, we…" Lales, ignoring Lavis, nervously tried to greet them.
"Alright, just get out of here," Ryuen said impatiently. "If you want an easier route to Sabaody Archipelago, take the Erguotou Peak path."
"Waaah…"
"Captain Ryuen spoke to me! I'm so happy…"
"He even gave us directions…"
"They really are as kind as the legends say. We're so lucky~~~"
"Thank you, great members of the Dream Team!"
"Thank you, Captain Ryuen, for showing us the way!"
A bunch of them wanted to get closer to the Dream Team, but being this near to their idols was already overwhelming enough for them.
So, though reluctant, they left Twin Cape.
…
"Damn, did we just run into some die-hard fans?" Ryuen said, still stunned.
"Ufufufu~ It's a little scary, isn't it?" Robin chuckled.
"When we enter the New World, do you think we'll run into situations like this even more often?" Kuina asked, frowning.
"Probably. If pirates who just entered the Grand Line are already like this, I can't imagine how crazy the ones in the New World must be…" Nojiko said softly.
"Ugh…"
"Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps." Ryuen shuddered and quickly rubbed his arms.
"We should get going," Hogg said.
The others nodded and started packing up their tents and camping gear, storing everything in Nami's alternate space.
The Dream Explorer quickly left Twin Cape.
Ever since Morgans published ten consecutive days of reports exposing the corruption of the Celestial Dragons a month ago, the World Government's attention had shifted away from the Marines and the Dream Exploration Team.
But Morgans' World Economy News agency was now in serious danger.
However, since he had already moved to Skypiea, the World Government had been searching for his headquarters instead.
The Dream Exploration Team planned to take advantage of this time to complete their map of the first half of the Grand Line as quickly as possible.
~~~~~~
Six months passed in a flurry of work.
The Dream Exploration Team returned to Sabaody Archipelago. In half a year, they had traveled every route in the first half of the Grand Line!
Now, it was the year 1520 of the Sea Calendar.
"Hahaha~~~"
"Garp must be furious right now. Ace has set sail, and Luffy has too—he's even become a pirate!" Daisy lay on a beach chair in a villa, laughing as she read the news.
"Luffy set sail? Let me see!" Ryuen was excited. His long-awaited plan for revenge was finally coming together.
Even the rest of the Dream Team was interested.
Back then, Garp had sworn up and down that Luffy would definitely join the Marines. Now, they couldn't wait to see the look on his face.
"Whoa, they've already reached Jaya…" Ryuen said in surprise as he read the news.
"Kuina, your childhood friend is on Luffy's ship. And Sanji—he actually went to sea? I didn't expect that," Nojiko said in surprise.
"Ryuen, look at this guy. I remember we sank his ship when we were kids," Nami said, pointing at a photo at the bottom of the newspaper.
"The Black Cat Pirates… Captain Kuro? I never thought he'd end up joining Luffy's crew." Ryuen stared at Kuro's picture, a sharp glint in his eyes.
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