"An Ancient Giant Bird!? Oi oi..." Leno's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"SKREEE!" Feeling provoked, the Ancient Giant Bird flapped its massive wings and lunged at him. Its talons swiped at his head with enough force to tear his skull open.
Leno's long blade, coated in Armament Haki, intercepted the strike. A metallic clang rang out as if steel had met steel. Snarling, the bird followed up—wing talons slashing from the sides, its razor beak stabbing down.
Seeing the chain of attacks crash toward him, Nojiko and Nami cried out, "Be careful!"
But before the assault could land, a booming thunderclap shook the air. A pillar of white lightning crashed down, blasting the bird's skull.
It shrieked in agony, collapsing to the ground. Trembling, it staggered back up, eyes burning with hatred as it prepared to strike again.
"Oh? Still not convinced? Then I'll beat you until you are!"
Scarlet arcs danced along Leno's blade as Conqueror's Haki poured out. The bird froze, its body trembling, fear filling its eyes. But before it could move, his black-and-red slash was already upon it.
Another scream tore through the air as the beast's massive body slammed into the palace ruins behind it, toppling stone with a thunderous crash.
Looking at the fallen bird, Leno turned. "Nojiko, think this meat's edible?"
"Should be. Let's have barbecue tonight," Nojiko said thoughtfully.
"Nami, you— never mind." He had wanted to call her over, but she was already rifling through rubble, muttering nonstop, "Treasury! Treasure!"
Ignoring the bird's pleading gaze, Leno severed its head and stowed the body.
"Leno, after dinner, help me stash these jewels and gold. Add it to the haul from before and I'll be the richest person in the world, hahaha!" Nami crowed.
Chewing on roast meat, Leno froze mid-bite. "Gold from before? Since when did I hand you gold?"
"Of course you did. Didn't you stash a ton in your inventory earlier?"
"Cough! Cough!" He nearly choked, face reddening. "That gold was mine! When did it become yours?!"
"What do you mean yours? I told you before we set sail—I handle the finances. All money on this ship is mine, including the gold in your inventory!"
"So that's why you trusted me to carry it—you were scheming from the start!" Leno groaned in disbelief.
Nojiko and Kuina covered their mouths, giggling as Nami ran circles around him.
"Kuina, how's your training?" In the last few days, Kuina had advanced her Armament Haki to high-level. Leno had passed her his Flowing Sakura insights, and she had been grinding them through combat.
"Feels like I've hit a bottleneck. Fighting more here won't help much."
"No rush. We've got time. Once you finish off that last beast tomorrow, this adventure's complete."
With plans set, they rested.
The next day, with the end of Kuina's fight, their month-long adventure came to a satisfying conclusion. The ship flew out of the Calm Belt and continued on its previous course.
Leno, lazing at the prow, was roused by Nami's urgent voice. She was gauging the compass, eyes locked on her compass.
"Leno, up! Pressure's dropping fast—a storm's coming. Charge full power, forty-five degrees left!"
In a blink, he was in the control room. He swung the bow and poured on thrust. The ship rocketed forward.
Looking at the black storm clouds surging behind, Leno wiped nonexistent sweat. 'Thank god for Nami. Last thing I want is to end up like Golden Lion, sucked into a storm. Nature isn't to be trifled with. Safety first.'
"Pressure's normal again—we're clear," Nami announced.
"Great!" The instant Leno's word left his mouth in the cockpit, he was already sprawled back on the deck chair.
"You lazy bum," Nami muttered.
"Hahahaha..." The deck filled with laughter.
Days drifted by. Three of them lazed like salted fish on the deck while Kuina kept at her Flowing Sakura "Ryuo" training.
"So boring," Leno sighed, rolling over.
"Can't you two learn from Kuina? Nojiko, have you broken into Swordmaster yet? Nami, has your Armament Haki advanced? Or do you just plan to rot here?"
His barrage froze both women in place.
They glanced at diligent Kuina, then at the lounging Leno, then groaned but stood up. Soon, the deck rang with steel and sweat. Leno smiled with satisfaction, closed his eyes, and dozed again.
"We're almost at the Oykot Kingdom. Better bring the ship down," Nami called.
"...Where?" Leno shot upright.
"Oykot Kingdom. What's wrong? Problem?" Nami asked.
"Nami, Nojiko—did Belle-Mère ever tell you about this kingdom?" His voice was grave, and Kuina looked over too.
"No. What's so special about it?" Nojiko asked.
Leno studied them for a long moment before speaking.
"Belle-Mère… found you two here. In Oykot Kingdom."
"What?!" they cried together.
The sisters' faces were stunned. Kuina's too showed surprise.
Seeing them silent, Kuina worried. "You two okay?"
"We're fine. Just… complicated feelings."
"Yeah. Never thought we'd return to the place we were born."
Years ago, pirates had invaded Oykot Kingdom, plunging it into chaos. Amid burning ruins and fleeing masses, Belle-Mère—then still a marine—had found the sisters and taken them home to raise.
"Your parents…"
"We only have Belle-Mère as our mother," Nami and Nojiko said firmly.
"...Alright then. Let's go take a look. Treat it like any other island."
Walking the streets, Nojiko searched the unfamiliar scenery for fragments of memory—fires, ruins, fleeing people. She shook off the fog of thought and followed the others into a shop.
Nojiko's memories were faint, but Nami had none—she had been too young.
Suddenly—
"Run! Pirates have landed!"
"Pirates! Run for your lives!"
The cries and pounding footsteps outside froze them in place just as they stepped into the store.