A tiny black speck appeared in the pale-blue sky, growing larger and larger as it plummeted straight toward the choppy sea stirred by ocean currents.
Bang—
The moment the pitch-black hull struck the water, it sent up two towering waves, each as high as half a mountain. The tattered sails swayed wildly in the biting sea wind.
The Terror Ghost rocked side to side several times before regaining its balance in the waves slapping back against its hull, then settled into a quiet rhythm, rising and falling with the swell.
Before long, a deep, muffled "moo" rumbled from beneath the water.
A sea beast patterned like a dairy cow surfaced, its two horns rubbing affectionately against the underside of the Terror Ghost.
Hachi, with his beak-like mouth as slender as a hummingbird's, poked his head up over the rail. All six of his sturdy arms rested on the railing.
He waved enthusiastically at the sea cow, MoMoo, who joyfully returned the greeting with another moo.
Buggy sat not far behind Hachi, slumped against the bulkhead, both hands gripping several ropes tied to the mast. He still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Even for someone like him—who often floated in midair using his Chop-Chop powers—two consecutive falls from the sky were just too much.
What baffled him even more was how Hachi had managed to be perfectly fine the moment the ship steadied itself.
Maybe it was because his mind was just too simple. The simpler you are, the easier it is to throw away your troubles.
"Hachi!" Buggy scrambled to his feet. When Hachi turned around, he kicked the unconscious Crocodile lying beside him. "Give me a hand and drag this guy to the captain."
"Okay."
Once again, the two each grabbed one of Crocodile's legs and hauled his rain- or seawater-soaked lower half toward Davy Jones, who was standing at the bow. A wide, wet trail was left across the deck in their wake.
Kuro, Alvida, and Mikita watched from nearby, their expressions all different.
Especially Mikita—seeing her former boss defeated by Davy Jones left nothing but fear and chill in her heart.
Thankfully, back on Cactus Island, she hadn't resisted too much. Otherwise, she might not have lived to see this moment. After all, even Crocodile couldn't protect himself now.
Davy Jones, once again feeding on fear, felt the surge of power. He clenched his fist, the Haki wrapped around it visibly growing stronger, and capable now of coating his staff as well.
The Terror Ghost benefited in turn.
As for another sudden teleportation like before—that wouldn't be happening again for the time being.
At that moment, Buggy and Hachi dragged Crocodile to his side.
When he turned, Buggy asked, "Captain, what should we do with him?"
"Lock him in the room in the lowest deck," Davy Jones ordered.
When Crocodile woke up, the Terror Ghost would tell him everything he needed to know.
Buggy spread his hands at Hachi helplessly, and together they dumped the "Shichibukai" into a cluttered storage room in the lowest part of the ship.
When they returned to the deck, Davy Jones was sitting on a barrel, smoking.
Alvida had a nautical chart spread out, arguing heatedly with Kuro.
Mikita, holding her parasol, tiptoed to peek over their shoulders.
"What we know," Alvida argued firmly, "is that the eternal log pose is useless now. It only points to the Kingdom of Arabasta."
"And the log pose's route is fixed from the start. But since we didn't stay in Arabasta long enough, it can't point us to the next island yet."
"To be safe, we should stay near Arabasta and wait for the log pose to set."
Every log pose's recorded route is fixed.
Their original route had been from Cactus Island to some unknown island, then from that island to Arabasta.
But after obtaining an eternal log pose pointing directly to Arabasta, they had skipped that unknown island entirely.
Now, they simply needed to dock in any nearby town and wait until the log pose recorded enough time to point toward the next unknown island.
Kuro, however, shook his head, unusually willing to join in the discussion:
"I disagree. I think we should set sail immediately. The Kingdom of Arabasta is a giant whirlpool—it'll soon draw the attention of the World Government and Marine Headquarters."
"If we don't leave now, we could face a blockade even larger than the Reverse Mountain battle."
Alvida glanced quickly at Davy Jones, but couldn't read his attitude from his expression. She muttered, "With the captain here, we don't need to fear the Marines."
"We're not afraid of a Marine blockade," Kuro said firmly, "but it would be a huge hassle. You saw the wording in the papers—the Marines were humiliated as useless. They definitely hate us to the bone."
Alvida looked in surprise at Kuro in his immaculate suit.
Since boarding, it was the first time he'd been this confrontational and invested in a decision.
She couldn't know the changes in his mindset along the way.
After realizing that the shell on his left chest had never threatened his life, he decided to make some changes.
Few pirates have never dreamed of reaching the end of the Grand Line. Kuro was no exception—he had simply let the East Blue grind down his spirit until nothing was left.
Now that he was here, why not go further?
When Alvida saw Buggy and Hachi join them, her tone softened and she pouted:
"But we can't just drift at sea. Without a log pose, and with the Grand Line's ever-changing currents…"
"For all we know, after a few days adrift, we could miss Fishman Island entirely and end up drifting back to Arabasta. That's entirely possible too."
"I actually know how to get to Fishman Island," Hachi raised one arm and waved, drawing everyone's attention.
"How?" Kuro adjusted his glasses.
Hachi explained, "The Grand Line's currents and weather are only chaotic on the surface. Hundreds of meters below, the sea is stable. That's how we fishmen traveled directly from Fishman Island to the East Blue."
Back in their Fishman Pirates days, they had a ship and sailed on the surface like normal pirates.
But for long distances—like from Fishman Island to the East Blue—the underwater route was far easier and more pleasant.
"You mean we should take the underwater route?" Kuro shook his head again. "Impossible. We're not like you. We can't breathe underwater."
He didn't mention Davy Jones—lumping him together with Hachi wouldn't be right.
Buggy rubbed his chin and agreed, "Yeah. If we were in Sabaody Archipelago, we could hire a coating craftsman to let the ship submerge. But right now, underwater travel's just not an option."
Hachi, having finally offered a suggestion, shrank back when so many shot it down, scratching the back of his head nervously.
At that moment, Davy Jones tapped his pipe against the barrel, drawing everyone's attention. "Hachi, if you can be sure of the direction and route, we can go underwater."
The crew stared at him in shock, then collectively went pale.
The captain's meaning—was he planning to abandon them, and swim to Fishman Island with Hachi?
It was, in truth, the best option for him.
But for the human crew, it was grim news.
They might have boarded for all sorts of reasons, but they had all come this far. Were they to slink back to the East Blue now?
Alvida's loyalty to Captain Davy Jones was beyond question.
Buggy might have his hundred-Buggy-Bomb deal, but he also wanted to return to the Grand Line—so their goals matched.
Kuro had just decided to change his ways.
And now the captain wanted to leave them behind?
They had fought the Marines head-on in the Reverse Mountain battle and captured a Shichibukai, not to mention the sensational newspaper coverage.
If they split here, the Marines and bounty hunters would hound them endlessly.
Without Davy Jones' protection, everyone knew how that story would end.
For a moment, the crew was silent.
Only Hachi and Mikita remained clueless about the tension, simply sensing that something felt off.
Davy Jones took in all their reactions with his grey-blue eyes, blew a smoke ring from the mouth hidden among his tentacles, and finally said slowly:
"What I mean is—we'll take the Terror Ghost and all dive together, sailing the route along the seafloor."
The crew looked up again, exchanging uneasy glances.
So the captain hadn't meant to split them up after all—he was simply choosing another path.
Given the strange nature of both the captain and the Terror Ghost, perhaps it really was possible for them to submerge.
As long as it wasn't like the old tales—dragging them to the bottom to drown them and turn them into drowned spirits—then they could work with that.
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