Chapter 139: A Chance Encounter with Aokiji [First Update]

Five in the evening was the time everyone had agreed to meet.

The location was set at the town's central square.

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, Robin emerged from the museum with a book tucked under her arm, her steps light and a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

It had been very quiet; no one had disturbed her the entire time, and with hardly anyone else in the museum, she had spent a fulfilling and wonderful afternoon.

For the her of the past, such a life would have been nothing short of a luxury.

But ever since joining the Curtain Fallers adventure team, it had become the norm... Robin squinted at the sky, recalling that day on the turtle's back, when the youth had laughed heartily and reached out his hand to her; it seemed the setting sun had been this same warm orange-red back then too.

Why do I keep thinking about that day? she chuckled wryly, shaking the thoughts from her mind.

As soon as she arrived at the central square, she heard Nami's voice, thick with tears—

"Waaah-waaah!"

"Why! Why am I the only one so unlucky!!!"

Robin looked over in surprise to see Nami sobbing heartbrokenly against Siano's shoulder, her short orange hair trembling with each sniffle:

"Sister Sister Guyina was clearly sitting over by the fountain, and they didn't even dare to glance her way; Nojiko was up on the second floor above me drinking coffee, and hardly anyone went to find her either, yet every single pirate on this island, one by one, all came running to me!"

"That is indeed too much."

Siano gently patted her back, his expression serious, as if sharing her indignation.

But when Robin moved to the side, she clearly noticed that her captain's mouth was twitching; obviously, he was struggling hard to hold back laughter and was on the verge of losing control.

What is going on?

Curiosity stirred within her, and she lowered her voice to quietly ask Nojiko, who was sitting on a nearby bench.

Nojiko was also trying hard to suppress her laughter; upon hearing the question, she leaned close to Robin and whispered an explanation into her ear.

"Brother, do you know what hurtful things they said?"

Nami, not having noticed Robin approach, suddenly straightened up and mimicked the rough tones of the pirates:

"That's right! It's her! She's that eighty-thousand-Berry mascot!"

"Remember to go easy on her and give her some leeway; this is my lord Siano's sister, we can't offend her!"

"Can't offend my ass! The fact that they all came after me is already offending me, got it!"

Growing more agitated as she spoke, sparks practically flying from her hair, she shouted, "And they dare call me a mascot! So what if it's eighty thousand Berries! Did eighty thousand Berries eat their family's rice or something!"

"Indeed, too much."

Having now heard the full story, Robin could not help but find it amusing either, and she smiled lightly as she said:

"But there's no need to be so sad, Nami; if you think about it from another angle, isn't this a perfect opportunity to show your true abilities, plus you can beat the hell out of this bunch to vent your anger."

"If only that were actually possible!!!"

Nami, even more irritated, scanned the area, "Where is that little rascal? He was clearly just over here a moment ago."

"Meow?"

A fluffy, pale yellow dumpling popped out from atop her head; Mochi blinked its big round eyes, tilted its head, and looked down at Nami.

Looking for me?

"You're so fat, how did you even manage to hide inside my hair!"

Nami yanked it down and vigorously rubbed its round cheeks, "It's all your fault, you know! I was just about to make my move, but you had to jump out, and the moment you opened your mouth, those cowards all got scared and ran away!"

"Screaming things like, 'Oh no, that monster is going to set us all on fire'..."

"Meow!"

Mochi proudly lifted its tail, its little expression brimming with arrogance.

See? Aren't I amazing!

"Amazing my foot! That's just borrowing the tiger's might to intimidate the fox, you know!"

Furious, Nami launched into a beating, "Until you pay back my bounty, don't even think about me taking you shopping next time, and forget about joining fights too; in short, stop always lounging on top of my head for no reason!!"

"Meow..."

Mochi's eyes spun in dizziness as it toppled backward, several steaming bumps now protruding from its head.

Watching this familiar scene,

everyone burst into laughter, and the square was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"Looks like everyone is here."

Once Nami had vented enough and everyone had finished laughing, Siano composed his face again, cleared his throat lightly, and spoke:

"I've already reserved a table at the most famous restaurant in the north of the city; later, we'll all gather for a good meal and drink to our hearts' content!"

"As for tonight, no pirates should dare to disturb us anymore, so just relax and rest to your heart's content; tomorrow morning, after we wake up, we'll set sail again and head to our next destination."

"Eh?"

This time it was Nami's turn to be surprised, "Leaving tomorrow morning?"

"What, can't bear to leave this place?"

Nojiko said with a grin, "No way, wasn't someone just crying and complaining that shopping on this island wasn't fun at all?"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

Nami glared dissatisfiedly at her sister and raised her fair, slender wrist, "It's the Log Pose; if we leave tomorrow morning, the magnetic field won't be fully charged yet."

She was, after all, a professional navigator.

When the group had split up in the morning, the first thing she had done was confirm how much time was needed to record this island's magnetic field.

After asking around several times, the answer she received was that it would take a full five days.

"Under normal circumstances, that would be true, but for this island, it's not necessary."

Siano reached out and pinched Nami's cheek, "Usually such a sharp person; did crying make you stupid this time, forgetting what we saw up in the tower this morning?"

"Eh?"

Nami first froze, then her eyes lit up. "That's right! The Sea Train! We can follow the Sea Train's tracks directly to the next island!"

"Bingo."

Siano snapped his fingers.

Currently, the Sea Train had a total of five stops, connecting five islands.

From south to north, they were Carnival City, Gourmet City, Queen of Spring City, Water Seven, and Enies Lobby.

Siano and his group were currently at this second stop.

And the next stop was Queen of Spring City, "St. Poplar," famous for its annual grand carnival and its developed underground industries.

Siano actually didn't have much impression of this city.

Because this city had never appeared in the main story of the original manga, only being mentioned in the cover page serials.

After the CP9 group was wanted by the World Government, they used it as a foothold, hiding their identities in the city for a while, each displaying their talents and using various methods to save up medical expenses for Rob Lucci.

"Actually, we could also just take the train directly to the next station."

Siano added with a smile, "I assume none of you have experienced it before? I, for one, want to try riding it. What about you?"

"Me, me, me!" Nami was the first to raise her hand high. "I also want to ride it once and see what it feels like!"

"Me too." Nojiko also nodded.

The reactions of the others were much the same; clearly, everyone was very interested in this fresh novelty that had only started pilot operations in the Grand Line a few years ago.

"This makes things difficult..." Siano pinched his chin.

Everyone wanted to ride the Sea Train.

So who would steer the ship?

Everyone looked at each other, their gazes gradually turning toward the same direction.

"Awooo?"

Gin widened his eyes, looking at this bunch of people in disbelief.

I'm steering the ship?

For real?

"Just kidding, that definitely won't work."

Siano laughed and rubbed its head:

"Never mind, let's go eat dinner first. Tomorrow morning we'll draw lots; half the group goes by ship, half by train. Anyway, there will be more chances to ride the train later, so we can just rotate then."

This was indeed a fair idea; everyone nodded, having no objections to it.

The streetlights on the road lit up.

The crowd followed Siano, heading toward the restaurant on the north side where they had reserved seats.

Walking along, they happened to pass through a garden; the environment was quite serene and secluded.

On the benches along the path, lovers could occasionally be seen snuggling together and whispering softly, while a faint floral fragrance drifted through the air.

Only one of the benches was somewhat special.

A tall, scruffy man was lying there fast asleep in a very undignified posture, with a white coat draped over his head.

The group originally paid it no mind and walked past as usual, but the man's snoring happened to stop at that very moment.

"Ah la la, how lively..."

A lazy voice sounded from behind their ears.

While the others hadn't reacted yet, Siano, Robin, and Smoker all halted their steps simultaneously, their expressions changing slightly as they turned around.

"There are certainly many familiar faces."

Aokiji put on his coat, removed his sleep mask, yawned with sleepy eyes, and spoke calmly, "What a coincidence, everyone. To think we would meet you here."

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PS: Something came up today and delayed me; I started writing quite late, so I couldn't make the scheduled time. I'm posting this shorter update first. I'll continue writing; there will be another, longer update, but it probably won't be finished until early morning. Everyone can read it tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)