Jotaro opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, his brain in a daze.
He held his head and slowly sat up, examining his surroundings.
"Where is this…"
The pale golden morning light shone through the curtains, casting mottled light and shadow within the room. In his ears, there was only the cheerful, crisp chirping of sea birds.
It seemed like he was on an island…
Looking at the simply bandaged wounds on his body, Jotaro furrowed his ink-like brows.
Not long after Hawkeye left, he lost consciousness. What happened after that, he had no idea.
This was definitely the toughest battle he had ever experienced.
He had brushed past death several times; only he knew the danger involved.
Although he caught Hawkeye's flaw and defeated him, the injuries he suffered were far more severe than Hawkeye's.
Pa…
Nojiko's apricot eyes widened in shock, and she didn't even notice the teacup falling to the ground.
"You… you're awake?"
She looked utterly in disbelief.
Last night, when she bandaged Jotaro's wounds, she knew better than anyone how serious his injuries were.
There were at least ten fatal wounds.
If Jotaro hadn't still been breathing, she would've thought about burying him beneath her family's orange grove.
After rescuing Jotaro, she felt extremely uneasy inside.
Cocoyashi Village was under the control of Arlong's pirate crew, and every person had to pay a head tax.
Every now and then, Arlong's crew would come to inspect the village.
If they found an extra person on the island, even if Jotaro's injuries healed, his situation would still be extremely dangerous.
His injuries were so serious that she secretly estimated it would take at least half a year for him to fully recover.
And during that half year, avoiding the fishmen's detection while hiding an outsider on the island, the difficulty could be imagined.
Just when she was worrying about this, after just one night, the heavily injured Jotaro was actually already able to get out of bed and walk.
"Are you alright? The wounds on your body are still bleeding…"
Nojiko covered her mouth as she looked at the wounds on him, which were spurting blood.
"You better not move around. The wounds that were hard to heal have been torn open by you again."
"It's nothing." Jotaro responded indifferently.
'Mere fatal injuries!'
Noticing that there was another blue-haired, curvy woman in the room, Jotaro asked, "Woman, where is this place?"
"This is my home, of course!"
Seeing that he didn't listen to her advice, Nojiko answered somewhat annoyed.
"I understand. What I mean is, what is the name of this island?"
"The Conomi Islands…"
On the sea chart left by Nezumi, this island was marked prominently, so Jotaro had some impression of the name.
Seeing Jotaro standing there deep in thought without moving, and the bandages on his body already dyed red with blood, Nojiko urged him, "Alright, hurry back to bed. Can you stop making trouble for me?"
The longer Jotaro stayed here, the higher the risk of being discovered by the fishmen.
Naturally, Nojiko hoped he could recover as soon as possible and then leave this dangerous island.
However, Jotaro didn't seem to understand her good intentions.
The wounds kept bleeding, and normal methods couldn't stop it at all. Covering her head, Nojiko sighed helplessly, "No way, I still have to take you to see a doctor."
Jotaro came back to his senses at this time.
"No need. I can stop the bleeding myself."
He only needed to use Ripple energy, and he could easily seal the bleeding wounds. Not only that, Ripple could even accelerate the healing process.
However, the wounds cut by Hawkeye were too deep, and Ripple couldn't make them heal in a short time.
Watching as the blood spurted less and less until it slowly disappeared, Nojiko looked as if she had seen a ghost.
Ignoring her shock, Jotaro continued asking, "Where did you find me?"
The place where he fought Hawkeye was far from this island.
He was seriously injured at sea, and in such a dangerous sea, the scent of blood would attract a large number of predators.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for the ocean currents to have carried him to this island.
Jotaro was certain it was Sea Kings that brought him here.
The Sea Kings should still be lingering near the island.
"Right by the coast outside Cocoyashi Village." Nojiko answered impatiently, "Alright, alright, stop asking so many questions."
"Your top priority is to heal your wounds quickly, then leave this island. That's best for both of us."
"Nojiko! Are you home?"
A middle-aged man's voice suddenly came from outside the house.
"Genzo?" Nojiko made a shushing gesture toward Jotaro, reminding him, "I saved you secretly. The others in the village don't know. You must not reveal yourself."
The more people who knew about him on the island, the higher the risk of Jotaro being exposed.
Moreover, even someone as kind as Genzo might, out of concern for Nojiko, disapprove of her sheltering a stranger with unknown background.
Jotaro said nothing.
Nojiko's various actions made him feel that this island was somewhat unusual.
He turned slightly and, through the gap in the window, saw a scar-faced man wearing a windmill hat slowly approaching the house.
Nojiko opened the door and saw Genzo frowning deeply, his expression heavy. She asked, puzzled, "Genzo? What's wrong?"
Genzo sighed heavily.
"Nojiko, Gosa Town couldn't pay the protection money, and… Arlong and his crew destroyed the entire town!"
"What!?" Nojiko cried out in surprise.
Gosa Town was close to Cocoyashi Village, the two were neighbors and had a very close relationship.
Now that this good neighbor was destroyed by Arlong's crew, as a villager of Cocoyashi, she felt very upset.
Genzo clenched his fists tightly, his hands trembling.
"They ravaged the place and slaughtered many innocent people. Many were displaced and forcibly driven off the island."
"And even worse, Arlong forbade us from helping them!"
"If they discover that we secretly helped people from Gosa Town, Cocoyashi Village will meet the same fate!"
Nojiko's brows stood up, her pretty face flushed red with anger.
"How could this happen! Are we supposed to just watch them die?"
She grabbed Genzo's arm, asking anxiously, "We can't sit by and do nothing. Genzo, you must have a way, right?"
Genzo sighed and revealed a relieved smile.
"As expected of Bellemere's daughter."
Then he turned serious again, "Many people from Gosa Town are seriously injured. If we don't help them, they'll have no chance to survive. Of course we can't turn a blind eye."
He suddenly said in a low voice, "I secretly relocated the refugees to a hidden cave. A doctor has arrived and is treating them. But there are too many wounded, and we're short on manpower…"
Jotaro stood by the window and watched the man's departing figure through the crack.
Nojiko quickly returned to the house and hurriedly rummaged around.
She held a medical kit stuffed full and walked up to Jotaro, instructing him, "I have something I need to take care of. Don't you dare run around."
Jotaro's gaze flickered as he looked away from the medical kit and asked, "What's wrong? This island doesn't seem too peaceful…"
Nojiko stayed silent for a while, then sighed.
"These things don't concern you. Just remember what I said, don't go wandering around."
With that, she grabbed the medical kit and hurried out in the direction Genzo had gone.
"Yare yare daze…"
Jotaro shook his head and slowly stood up.
He wasn't someone who followed orders obediently, nor did he like to owe others favors.
Not long after Nojiko left, he swaggered out of the house and followed behind her.
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