No matter what excuses Jerry tried to make, after handing over the bulging backpack, Carina was already busy keeping meticulous track of their financial arrangements. Jerry couldn't help but feel like he had just lost a hundred million Berries in some kind of elaborate accounting scheme.
Touching his chin thoughtfully, he seemed determined to make one more attempt at negotiation.
"How about this compromise: I'll let you keep this bag for now, and when I manage to fill two bags with treasure, I'll give one back to Banshee to settle her portion of the debt."
"Shoo, shoo, shoo! Don't bother me with your creative mathematics," Carina replied dismissively, waving her small hand as if shooing away an annoying mosquito. She looked up at the sky with obvious satisfaction and completely ignored his desperate bargaining attempts.
"We're operating on a strictly cash-in-person basis from now on. We're not responsible for any losses that may have occurred during previous transactions."
Feeling utterly helpless, Jerry stopped trying to argue the point. He reflected that based on his generally casual attitude toward money, he should probably have been a wealthy man by now, although he had never actually experienced a shortage of funds for daily expenses.
He was confident that he wouldn't owe Carina for very long anyway. Besides, he still had all those resources that Tesoro had provided before their departure, though he had kept them stored in his system space and had no immediate plans to use them for routine expenses.
The two groups waved farewell to each other from their respective ships and soon parted ways on the open sea, heading toward their different destinations.
After glancing at both the sky and the ocean to get his bearings, Jerry turned to observe Deuce and the others, who were still enthusiastically bragging to Ace about their various adventures and experiences since the Spade Pirates had disbanded.
Once their animated conversation had reached a natural pause, Jerry patted Deuce on the shoulder and made an announcement.
"Deuce, we're heading back to the first half of the Grand Line. Check our heading and plot a course, would you?"
"Sure thing! Are you going somewhere specific, or do you just want to get back to Paradise?" Deuce asked, already planning to head into the cabin to retrieve his navigation tools and charts.
After all, they had been drifting somewhat randomly through the New World for quite some time, with little need for precise navigation or directional instruments.
Upon hearing this question, Jerry began outlining the general itinerary he had been considering for their next adventures.
"My idea is to make our first stop at Water 7 and commission someone to help us build our own proper ship," he explained. "This ship we're currently using doesn't quite meet our crew's needs anymore."
"Ah, you're absolutely right," Deuce agreed readily. "The ship we borrowed is definitely not adequate for our current situation and crew size."
"Exactly. After we get a new ship built, I want to take everyone to visit the romantic and mysterious Shandora."
"Shandora? What kind of place is that?" Deuce asked with obvious curiosity.
It wasn't just Deuce who seemed intrigued by this unfamiliar destination. Everyone on deck was now paying attention, so Jerry decided it would be better to remain somewhat vague for now. There was no point in trying to explain everything when it would be far more impressive to simply show them the place in person.
"I heard about this incredible location just recently," he said with deliberate mysteriousness. "I can guarantee that you'll all find it absolutely fascinating."
"Oh! Brother Jerry, is it a place with lots and lots of different carrots?" Carrot asked with obvious excitement, her ears perking up at the mention of somewhere potentially romantic.
"Or are there numerous skeleton artifacts and historical items left behind by ancient pirates?" Skull added eagerly, his collector instincts immediately activated.
"Well... I think there should be plenty of both, actually," Jerry replied with some uncertainty. "You'll just have to wait and see when we get there."
Jerry had originally assumed that the location was novel and interesting enough that it would naturally appeal to everyone's sense of adventure. However, he found himself somewhat confused by the specific questions from Carrot and Skull, and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond appropriately. He found himself wondering whether there might actually be golden carrots and ancient skulls at their destination.
In truth, Jerry had suddenly remembered Shandora after being financially cornered by Carina's aggressive accounting methods. He seemed to recall that the ancient city contained substantial amounts of readily available gold, and since the treasure wasn't being used for anything productive anyway, he figured they might as well go collect some of it.
Seeing that Jerry wasn't willing to provide more detailed explanations, everyone's curiosity was thoroughly aroused, but they could only set aside their questions for the time being and wait for answers.
Thinking of another important topic, Deuce turned around to address their newly rejoined crewmate directly.
"What about you, Ace? Where would you like to visit? You mentioned before that you had some places in mind, but you never gave us any details."
"Me?" Ace replied, turning his head to gaze toward the distant horizon. "I want to go to the South Blue. There's an island there that I'd like to see again."
"The South Blue? That's perfect—we'll be traveling through all four seas eventually, so we'll definitely make it there," Jerry assured him.
"There's no particular rush," Ace said with a casual shrug. "We can just stop by whenever it's convenient along the way."
"All right then! Let's get moving. Deuce, set our course in the right direction."
"Just give me a moment to get everything sorted out."
After they finished their planning discussion and Deuce had determined their proper heading, Jerry began manipulating the ocean currents to propel their ship forward more efficiently.
To return to the first half of the Grand Line from their current position, they would need to traverse the entire Red Line, which meant their only option was to pass through Fishman Island before continuing their voyage back to Paradise.
Fortunately, their current location wasn't too far from Fishman Island, and they were positioned in one of the New World sea areas that was relatively close to the boundary between the two halves of the Grand Line.
As their ship began moving steadily forward, Ace looked up at the sun and touched his stomach with obvious hunger.
"I'm getting pretty hungry. Why don't we have something to eat before we get too far along?"
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Jerry agreed. "Carina, it's time for you to earn your keep as our cook."
"Hmph! Why don't you go do it yourself instead of just ordering people around all the time?" Carina replied with obvious irritation.
"Didn't we agree from the very beginning that food preparation would be your responsibility?" Jerry reminded her with a grin.
Since none of them had eaten anything since early that morning, and considering that Carina had just finished her argument with Jerry, she was feeling quite hungry herself. Despite her complaints, she hurried into the kitchen to begin preparing their meal.
Within a relatively short time, she had arranged a large variety of different foods on serving trays and brought them out to the deck.
"Wow! Miss Carina, are you actually a professional cook?" Ace asked with obvious amazement, practically drooling as he looked at the delicious-looking spread on the serving cart.
Before Carina, who seemed momentarily stunned by the compliment, could respond to Ace's question, Skull jumped in to provide an explanation.
"Oh, haha! Boss Ace, actually everything has been purchased in advance and stored in Jerry's magic pocket," he revealed cheerfully. "Carina just needs to organize everything and heat up the items that are supposed to be served warm."
The "magic pocket" was, of course, Skull's casual reference to Jerry's system storage space, though Jerry had never bothered to correct anyone's assumptions about how his abilities worked.
In order to ensure that everyone could enjoy quality meals even while traveling, they had developed a routine of purchasing substantial amounts of food in advance every time they visited a new island or port.
Jerry would store everything in his system space, then retrieve appropriate portions each morning and bring them to the kitchen for Carina to arrange and process before serving.
"Really? Well, that's still quite impressive," Ace replied generously.
He had never been the type to look down on anyone who could provide him with good food, regardless of how much actual cooking was involved in the process.
The ship continued sailing steadily toward their next destination as the morning progressed. The sunlight was as soft and gentle as silk, illuminating the ocean surface and creating countless sparkling reflections that brought warmth and beauty to their new day of adventure.
Jerry took his usual position sitting on the side of the ship, watching the ocean pass by and fish. Behind him, Ace, Deuce, and Skull were engaged in various physical exercises on the deck, working to maintain and improve their combat abilities. Meanwhile, Carrot and Kotatsu were chasing each other playfully around Carina, who was trying to clean up after their meal.
Their ship moved forward at a leisurely pace through the calm waters, and suddenly, in the distance, several ship silhouettes became visible through the sea fog that had not yet completely dissipated from the early morning.
"Hmm? Those look like... warships?" Jerry said, looking up as his enhanced senses detected something unusual ahead of them.
The shadows were indeed gradually becoming clearer, revealing themselves to be several Marine ships. At the same moment, it became obvious that the other ships had also spotted their distinctive pirate flag.
Attracted by Jerry's observation, everyone turned to look in the same direction, with Carrot even producing a telescope to get a better view of the approaching ships.
After confirming that they were indeed facing warships and noting that the Marine ships had already changed course to head directly toward them, Deuce immediately shouted out a warning:
"Jerry, turn the ship quickly! There must be a Marine branch base somewhere along our planned route. Since we're heading straight toward them, we should change course and take a detour around the area."
"You're right," Jerry replied, touching his forehead thoughtfully. "A New World Marine branch positioned along our route... This area must be close to the Red Line."
"That's exactly right! Stop analyzing the situation and let's get out of here first!" Deuce urged impatiently.
"All right, everyone hold on tight," Jerry announced to the crew.
From the very day they had first set sail together, their group's philosophy had been to avoid unnecessary confrontations with Marine forces whenever possible, and Jerry was in complete agreement with this approach.
Although there were certainly corrupt and evil individuals throughout the world—among both Marines and pirates alike—relatively speaking, there were still many soldiers in the Marine, especially at the lower ranks, who were genuinely just and honorable people.
These ordinary sailors were often completely unaware of the questionable motivations and dirty dealings of their superior officers. They had joined for various personal reasons, or simply because they sincerely wanted to fight for world peace and protect innocent civilians from harm.
Therefore, unless he found himself forced into a desperate situation with no other alternatives, Jerry generally preferred not to attack Marine personnel indiscriminately. Of course, the middle and high-ranking officers of the Marines were a different matter entirely, but even then, his response would depend on the specific circumstances and the character of the individuals involved.