This amount was not enough to purchase a ship with a sea stone hull, the cheapest of which cost around 50 million Beli, but it was enough to hire engineers who could start production.
The crew didn't linger on the judicial island for more than a few hours and continued on their way. Bill thought they were already quite close to the Lesser East Blue. Two weeks into their voyage, standing on the deck of the "Border Breaker," he saw a familiar island in the distance.
This wasn't supposed to be a long stop, he thought. They needed to resupply before crossing the Calm Belt into East Blue. From there, they planned to stop at Logue Town to acquire a Log Pose to Clock Island.
While reflecting on this, Bill placed his hands on the ship's railing and, looking towards the island, saw a dark shadow rising from the place he believed was Yoko's secret base.
Seeing where the shadow emerged, he squinted his eyes and looked closer. What was flying towards their ship was a very large beetle.
Reaching for his belt, Bill grabbed a hammer and began to wait.
"Should I shoot?" asked Fia.
Standing on the main deck, the crew watched as the massive beetle circled around them chaotically. Fia transformed her hand into a cannon and tracked the beetle's movements, waiting for Bill's orders.
The creature hadn't attacked yet, but for the past few minutes, it had been making false charges, drawing ever closer to the ship. Given that the beetle was bigger than a horse, they couldn't allow it to crash into the vessel, so Bill ordered, "When it attacks again, shoot near it, let's try to scare it off."
Fia nodded in understanding, and as the beetle began its charge again, she fired near it, missing by only a few centimeters. Unfortunately, instead of being frightened, the creature became enraged. Realizing that this time the beetle wouldn't stop, Bill leaped off the deck and instantly shouted, "Terra THUMP!"
Bill never intentionally came up with names for his moves; they just seemed to arrive at the right moment. This time, the sound of the impact spread instantly, and the beetle plunged into the water. Rising into the air with a Moon Step, Bill watched as the beetle resurfaced, looking at him with a damaged shell.
Floating on the water, the beetle quickly took off and headed back towards where Yoko's base was located.
Bill returned to the ship and ordered the crew to circle the island, while he set off after the beetle. The crew had a rough idea of the island's layout from a drawing he had made, and they agreed with the plan. Before leaving, he appointed Rans in charge.
Following the beetle, Bill landed on the top of a cliff and saw the beetle lying on a nest made of thin branches and green leaves. Bill didn't want to kill the creature if it wasn't necessary, so he decided to step forward to get a better look at the former hideout, when he suddenly heard rapid footsteps and a familiar, though slightly changed voice: "Boss?!"
Spotting a familiar girl with chestnut hair running towards the beetle in a panic, Bill was initially delighted to see her but then felt a slight embarrassment.
He immediately noticed she was wearing her father's Cloak of Justice, which, although dirty, wasn't particularly significant. But what was far more interesting was that she approached the beetle as if she knew it. This seemed risky, but Bill decided not to stop her, resolving to ask Captain Ryudo about it later.
The beetle continued to sleep despite Yoko jumping around it, and after a few moments, Bill asked, "Did you name this beetle?"
Turning abruptly, Bill smiled because he caught her by surprise. He expected such a reaction, but what happened next completely astonished him.
He could see the thoughts swirling in her eyes, and the longer she looked at him, the paler her face became.
After a few moments, he waved his hand and spoke again: "Hello, Yoko. I did say I'd come back. I saw this guy fly over to your hideout and thought it was worth checking out..." Pausing for a second, he continued, "Is everything alright?"
Yoko, still staring at him in shock, whispered, "B...B...Bill?"
Seeing the young girl react in such a way, Bill didn't need to be a genius to realize something was wrong. Squatting down, he asked again, "Yoko, what happened? You can talk to me... remember, I said I'd be here for you?"
Unknowingly saying perhaps the worst thing he could, he watched as the girl burst into tears and ran away, crying, "GO AWAY, BILL! GO AWAY!"
Watching the girl, who in another life could have been his sister, run into the caves, Bill's heart ached and a deep sadness appeared on his face. He didn't know what had happened, but he was determined to find out.
After hesitating a little, he decided to follow her.
Bill figured that Yoko must be around ten or eleven years old. While older kids and adults sometimes need personal space to calm down, younger children usually require emotional support, unless they're in a fit or behaving too stubbornly.
Trailing her through the labyrinthine cave system, the sounds of her footsteps and muffled sobs echoed off the walls and corridors, which were almost too narrow for him to pass through.