This happened back when I was still making my way around the Four Blue.
…A small incident that occurred when I briefly returned to the Grand Line.
…No—calling it "small" really isn't accurate. It was actually a pretty major event.
"…There's nothing here at all…"
I'm not sure why, but the words slipped out on their own.
Hi there. Sue speaking. At the moment, I'm standing in the middle of the sea, nautical chart in hand, tilting my head in confusion.
If I haven't misread the map, there should be an island here. Not a large one, but still big enough to be properly marked on a chart.
It's supposed to be uninhabited, but with wildlife and a lake, making it a place ships occasionally stop by to resupply water and provisions.
And yet, all that stretches out before me is a calm expanse of ocean—remarkably calm, for the Grand Line.
The island that's clearly marked on the chart, the island that should be right here… is gone.
(…Well, that's the whole reason I came here, though.)
I'd returned to the Grand Line on a bit of personal business and happened to read an article in a local paper about an island that had suddenly vanished.
It was close enough that I figured I might as well take a look. And now that I'm here… there really is nothing.
I've never visited this place before, so the only proof that an island once existed here is the chart itself.
Still, the fact remains: the island is "not here." And beyond that, there's nothing else to see.
According to the reports, there's supposed to be nothing—and that's exactly what I'm looking at. Just sea, as far as the eye can see.
Which means there's nothing to investigate, nothing to report on. I suppose that's obvious enough, but still…
"I was hoping I might find something that looked like a clue, but there's really nothing at all… Guess there's nothing left to do."
There was no point lingering in the middle of the ocean. Staying put only increased the risk of being spotted by Sea Beasts or Sea Kings.
With a sigh, I decided to withdraw.
On the way back, we put in at a nearby island to take a short rest—and that's when something else strange happened.
This island… is the exact opposite of the previous one. The one that wasn't there.
This time, it's the other way around. An island that doesn't appear on the chart at all. According to the map, this should be open sea, yet here it is—an island that wasn't supposed to exist.
I only realized that after we'd already landed, which made it all the more unsettling.
At first, I wondered if the charts were inaccurate—if perhaps the "missing" island had always been here, and the records were simply wrong. Or maybe some sort of tectonic activity had shifted the island's position.
But the features of this island don't match the descriptions recorded for the vanished one, so it's probably an entirely different island.
It's possible the original island disappeared due to geological changes… but there's no way a brand-new island could form in such a short span of time.
So what, exactly, happened here…?
Ah—and there's one more thing.
It's unrelated to the mystery of the islands themselves, but something else happened after I arrived.
"D-damn it… she's strong…!"
"What is this woman…? Shit…!"
"I clearly told you no and turned you down. If you'd done that much, you should've backed off right there. Honestly, this is why pirates are such a nuisance… Why do so many of them think bothering other people is just part of the job?"
I looked down at the men who'd attacked me—and whom I'd just finished dealing with—and let out a tired sigh.
Needless to say, they were pirates. No idea which crew they belonged to.
I'd been wandering the island when they started pestering me, the way people do when they mistake harassment for flirting.
From the very beginning, their intentions were obvious. They kept staring at my body instead of my face, grinning in that slimy way, spreading out to surround me—subtle in theory, but painfully blatant in practice.
When they tried to forcibly "take me with them," I refused. That's when their mood turned ugly.
They grabbed my arm and tried to drag me off, so I fought back. That just made them snap.
…And that's how things ended up like this. Every last one of them beaten flat.
Honestly, this sort of thing isn't unusual. Getting approached for all the wrong reasons, then turning the tables—it happens often enough.
…That sounded a bit like I was bragging, didn't it.
"D-damn it…! Do you even know who we are?!"
"We're the Kitajima Pirates! You'll regret not just doing what you were told and letting us have our way! You'll wish you were dead!"
"Just you wait! We'll report this to the Captain and get our revenge! We'll make you wish you'd never been born!"
Wow. Such transparent small fry… And seriously, who is "Kitajima," anyway?
It sounds like a Japanese name, but then again, that's hardly unusual in this world. There are plenty of names like that—Sakazuki, Jinbe, and so on.
While I was mulling that over, I felt the air shift ever so slightly.
Instinctively, I sent my Weather Vane up into the sky.
I let it fly for a bit, reading the wind as it moved. …I see, I see.
"Well, whatever. More importantly—do you guys have a ship on this island? If you do, you might want to head back to it soon."
"Huh?"
They stared at me like I'd said something completely ridiculous, so I explained.
"Looks like a fairly decent-sized storm is on its way. Nothing severe enough to capsize a ship, probably—but more like a sudden squall. It should pass quickly, but it's going to be a real downpour. If you're caught outside, you'll get soaked."
With that, I turned on my heel and walked away.
I have no intention of getting drenched myself. I should get back to the ship.
Given the scale of it… heading out to sea today might not be a good idea. Better to secure the ship properly and wait for the storm to pass. If the rocking gets bad, I could always throw together a cardboard house to ride it out.
More importantly, the timing's awkward… Will we even be able to leave today?
If the storm lingers, it might be safer to stay on the island overnight and depart tomorrow.
Yeah. No need to force it. Night seas are dangerous, no matter how you look at it.
The only concern is whether those pirates might come back with reinforcements for revenge—but if they do, I'll just deal with them again.
---
Around the time Sue returned to her ship and began preparing to weather the storm…
On the opposite side of the island, the ship of the Kitajima Pirates—whom Sue had just driven off—sat at anchor.
"So you tried to assault a woman, got beaten for it, and now you want help with revenge? Don't come crying to me with something that pathetic, you idiots."
The one berating them was their Captain—a green-skinned Fish-Man pirate who looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"B-but Captain, that woman was insanely strong… She's definitely not ordinary!"
"Yeah! Letting her get away like that is a disgrace to us as pirates—"
"You're the ones who screwed up and embarrassed yourselves. Don't drag me into your mess. Besides, we don't have time for this. The navigator just reported that a fairly large rain cloud is heading this way."
The crew slumped, their hopes of revenge dashed. Then one of them seemed to remember something.
"…Come to think of it, that woman said a storm was coming."
"Yeah. At the time, I thought, 'What's she talking about? The weather's fine.' But… looks like she saw this coming."
"Oh? So she can predict the weather? That's a damn useful skill at sea… Impressive. I'd trade my idiot crew for someone like that."
"H-hey, Captain, that's going too far!"
"We won't embarrass ourselves like that again! Please, cut us some slack!"
"Enough. Drop it. Get back to your posts. The storm doesn't look too bad, so we should be fine. But tomorrow, we're going to meet that person. We can't afford to be disrespectful—especially with the ship's condition. Make sure everything's in perfect order. Maintenance, supplies, all of it."
"Aye, Captain!"
Barely fifteen minutes later—just as the navigator warned, and just as Sue had predicted—
A heavy rain began to fall, pounding against the deck with a deafening roar.
The pirates watched through the cabin windows, faces twisted in dismay. They may—or may not—have felt a tiny bit grateful to Sue for the warning.
…
At the very same moment.
High above the sky, far removed from the island that didn't appear on any map.
Hidden behind thick clouds, invisible from the ground… something massive was anchored there. A gigantic ship—or perhaps an island—something that looked like it could be either.
At its center, seated upon a chair like a golden throne, sat a large man, listening to a report from a subordinate dressed like a clown.
"..."
"... (Some kind of gesture)"
"...?"
"... (Another gesture)"
"...???"
"... (An increasingly desperate series of gestures)"
"...Huh? What?"
"By the way, about tomorrow's schedule—"
"YOU CAN TALK AFTER ALL?!"
…I was just about to ask.
To be continued...