One hour later.
Everyone stood at the bow of the ship, staring in awe at the bizarrely shaped island before them.
They had been swept here by the ocean currents, and it seemed this island was the center of the Whirlpool Current.
The outer perimeter of the island wasn't particularly special—lush vegetation with scattered coconut trees.
But at the center of the island, a massive stone mountain rose from the ground, resembling the trunk of an ancient tree or a towering ant nest, with numerous diamond-shaped entrances densely packed at its base.
The entire structure was hundreds of meters tall, piercing the clouds, a truly magnificent sight.
"Where on earth have we ended up?" Xiano muttered, bewildered. "Is this still the East Blue?"
"Even I've never heard of such a place in the East Blue," Zeff shook his head in amazement. "But then again, the sea is vast. Apart from the heavily trafficked routes, there are plenty of remote islands like this that few know about."
"Let's just go ashore and explore!" Nojiko, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement, spreading her arms to embrace the sea breeze. "Come on, brother! A place like this might just hide some treasure buried centuries ago!"
Xiano nodded. He shared the same curiosity about the island, and the blip on the radar had turned from green to yellow as they approached.
This meant his luck was holding—the Devil Fruit wasn't drifting somewhere on the ocean's surface but was most likely on this island…
"I still need to figure out how to escape this Whirlpool Current. We'll need to understand its pattern to get out…" Kuina frowned, surrounded by a pile of thick books she was flipping through. "Why don't you guys go ahead? I'll stay here and keep watch over the ship."
"Oh, come on, we've got plenty of food. It's not like we're short on time," Nojiko insisted, pulling her up and linking arms with her. "Let's go, let's go! Exploring together is way more fun. And as for guarding the ship, do we really need you? Right, Agin?"
Agin, who had been stealthily gnawing at the wings of the ship's figurehead, quickly turned around, using his body to block the damage, and nodded vigorously, tongue lolling.
"But…" Kuina shot a pleading look at Xiano, who simply grinned and gestured for Nojiko to keep pushing.
He understood Kuina's thoughts—she was clearly just as curious and wanted to explore the island.
But the Master Swordsman girl was too earnest, feeling guilty for steering the ship off course and wanting to make up for it.
In situations like this, it was even more important not to leave her alone, wallowing in self-blame.
Kuina was "reluctantly" dragged ashore, and Xiano tossed a warning to Agin, "If I come back and find those wings missing, I'll stick them on you," before disembarking and leading the group toward the ant nest-like entrance at the island's center.
He took the lead, clearing the path.
The thorny jungle was no obstacle—the sharp spines scratching his skin felt like mere tickles as he forged a trail through the dense vegetation.
…
About half an hour later, the group successfully entered the interior of the ant nest-like stone mountain.
The space inside was even more expansive than expected, as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out. Not long after they entered, sunlight streamed in, revealing a massive ship hundreds of meters long, leaving everyone utterly astonished.
Inside this stone mountain, there was actually a ship? And such a massive one at that?
It was impossible to tell how many years this ship had been stranded here. The mast was broken, leaving only the base, and the wooden hull had long since decayed, as if a strong gust of wind could blow it away.
"I'll go take a look."
With a swift motion, Xiano stepped onto the dragon-shaped figurehead using Moon Walk. As he surveyed the surroundings, he noticed several other similarly massive ships in the distance, all severely damaged, as if they had all endured a brutal battle.
Standing among them, he felt as small as an ant.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he noticed a rusted, broken giant sword embedded beneath the figurehead. It was about twenty to thirty meters long. Even with his strength, it took some effort to pull it out with one hand.
"This kind of ship doesn't seem like it was meant for humans. It's more like something the giants would use."
The others followed onto the ship. Kuina looked up at the giant sword in Xiano's hand and recalled something from her past. "I once read about it in one of my father's books. Many years ago, the Giant Warrior Pirates from Elbaf were once dominant in the Grand Line, their reputation widespread."
"Legend has it that their ships were like this—massive in size. But for some reason, they suddenly vanished without a trace…"
"That's mainly because the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates inexplicably started fighting each other, and they've been at it for over a hundred years."
Xiano shook his head in disbelief and casually thrust the giant sword back into its place. "They're still fighting to this day, on an island in the Grand Line called Little Garden."
"Little Garden?"
Zeff was taken aback. "I've heard that name before when I was exploring the Grand Line. But I heard that there are island-sized goldfish there that devour passing ships, so I deliberately chose other routes to avoid it. So, there are still giants from a century ago on that island?"
"Should we change our course and go take a look?"
Nojiko's eyes lit up. "I've never seen a living giant before. Don't you want to see them with your own eyes, Zeff?"
"Of course I do! What's the point of taking the same route again?"
Zeff laughed heartily.
His current strength surpassed even his peak years, and with Xiano, a complete monster, as their Captain, what was there to fear from giant goldfish or giants?
"Let's go!"
Xiano made the decision immediately. He was purely curious about how much the oversized wool from those legendary giants would be worth.
"But let's focus on the present first. Everyone, spread out and search around. A place as mysterious as this might just hold treasures from a century ago."
"Yes, Captain!"
…
The group began their search.
Unknowingly, several hours passed. These giant ships were indeed too massive for humans, making the search quite time-consuming and laborious.
However, they each made some discoveries along the way.
Zeff headed straight for the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find some well-preserved strong liquor.
Kuina unearthed many peculiar books and carefully bundled them up.
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Xiano was the busiest of all. He went through each crew member's room, searching for Devil Fruits while testing every item he came across—
"This one can't be sacrificed, and that one can't be sacrificed either. How annoying. This ship is so useless. Couldn't it have been Loki's old flagship or something?"
On the other side.
"Whew!"
Nojiko carried a treasure chest on one shoulder, her left hand gripping the edge of a hole as she climbed back onto the deck from the lower hold. She tossed the chest onto the ground.
"Now there's enough light."
She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It was hidden so deep, I almost missed it. Looks like whatever's inside must be valuable!"
Screech!
An ugly, monstrous bird with a wingspan of four to five meters suddenly flew in from nowhere, its beak wide open, ready to swallow the treasure chest whole.
"Get lost, you freak!" Nojiko raised her fist menacingly. "I found this first!"
The bird ignored her and continued its approach, but midway, it seemed to notice something. Its eyes widened in fear, and it turned around, flapping its wings to flee.
"That's more like it."
Nojiko thought she had scared it off and grinned as she watched the bird fly away.
She then put on her Metal Gauntlets and, with a single punch, easily shattered the copper lock on the treasure chest.
She lifted the lid, but to her disappointment, there were no glittering treasures inside—just a uniquely shaped fruit.
It looked somewhat like a pineapple but was orange-red in color, covered in spiral patterns that resembled Flames...
"What is this?"
Nojiko held it up to her eyes, feeling more and more familiar with it.
She immediately turned her head and shouted, "Bro! Where are you? Come check this out! Is this a Devil Fruit?!!!"
"A Devil Fruit?"
Xiano's surprised voice came from afar. "You have it? Stay put, I'll be right there!"
"Okay!"
Nojiko, aware of the value of a Devil Fruit, obediently sat down, holding the fruit and waiting.
The next second, her ears twitched as she faintly heard the sound of something cutting through the air from far behind her to the right. But Xiano's voice hadn't come from that direction...
Was there someone else here?
Nojiko immediately became alert, standing up and turning around, only to see a giant silver wolf bounding toward her with excitement—
"Wait, Agin!" She quickly moved the fruit behind her back. "You can't just eat this!"
"Awoo!"
Agin glanced at the fruit, then disdainfully turned its head away. It wasn't a strawberry, so it wasn't interested!
Nojiko realized she had misunderstood Agin's intentions. So why was it so excited?
"Looks like that freak bird was scared off by you! But Agin, why did you leave the shore and come here? Do you have some good news to tell me?"
She looked at Agin curiously.
"Awoo!"
Agin nodded vigorously, grinning and gesturing with its snout toward something behind Nojiko.
Behind me?
Nojiko turned her head in confusion but saw no one there.
Completely unaware, a slender figure with orange hair had already sneaked up to her feet, moving into her blind spot. The figure then reached out triumphantly toward the Devil Fruit in her hand...
(End of chapter)