At the same time.
On the sea, not far from the Moby Dick.
A pirate ship was passing through the area.
The flag it flew was that of the Beast Pirates.
The lookout lowered his binoculars and shouted,
"I've just spotted Whitebeard's ship—the Moby Dick!"
"Are you crazy? What Whitebeard ship? That old thing is dead!"
A cold laugh rang out.
The man had a metal jaw, a tall and muscular build, a ponytail, and two braids.
Jack the Drought—one of the star officers of the Beast Pirates.
Bounty: 1 billion Berries!
"Yes… it's the Moby Dick," the lookout said cautiously. "Old Whitebeard is dead, but there are still many captains on that ship, and I saw Fire Fist Ace."
Another subordinate, the navigator, hurriedly added, "If we keep getting closer, we'll be discovered. We should change course."
"Huh?"
Jack opened his eyes and spoke with clear displeasure.
"Who do you think I am?! Don't change course!"
---
After several days of travel,
Fish-Man Island finally arrived at the Sun Sea.
Luffy manipulated the island, guiding it downward toward the ocean.
Outside the palace,
Neptune stood with the three princes, observing the scene below.
Two islands could be seen, not very far from each other.
"Is it here, Luffy?" Neptune asked curiously.
Luffy smiled. "From now on, this place will be called the Sun Sea Region."
The central location was, naturally, Elegia.
Although the island was full of ruins, it was, after all, a land without an owner—perfectly suited to become the Straw Hats' base camp.
With a little renovation, everything would be fine.
Neptune pondered.
The power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi really is convenient…
Nami suggested, "This isn't like the deep sea where you used to live. You'll have to deal with humans in the future. I think you could settle near Amazon Lily."
"No… please place Fish-Man Island on the opposite side of Elegia."
Neptune shook his head. For the sake of his people's feelings, he still couldn't have too much contact with humans.
In that case, it was better to place it as far away as possible.
At the very least, a little farther from Amazon Lily.
Luffy didn't mind and immediately controlled Fish-Man Island, flying it over Amazon Lily and beginning to position it according to Neptune's requirements.
Down below, on Amazon Lily—
Shakky stood by the window, watching an island flying through the sky.
"Hancock, Luffy came back with an island."
"Luffy?"
Hancock immediately stood up and walked to the window to look outside.
"That is…?"
"Fish-Man Island," Shakky said with a faint smile. "I've been there once before. Their current king is Neptune, right? Hancock, it seems we'll be neighbors in the future. Want to go say hello?"
Hearing this, Hancock frowned slightly.
She didn't want to say hello.
Neighbors? She had never had neighbors before.
Because she had always hated men—and still did.
Naturally, that included fish-men.
"Hmph… I'm not interested."
Shakky smiled, and suddenly, at the far edge of their vision, a dense fog rose from the sea, within which an enormous figure gradually appeared.
"That is… Zou?!"
Shakky looked stunned.
"Zou?" Hancock asked.
"I really wish you'd go out more. The world is big," Shakky sighed, explaining helplessly.
After hearing that, Hancock relaxed her brows and turned to leave.
"Zunesha, the Mink Tribe, or whatever—it doesn't interest me," Hancock scoffed.
Shakky didn't complain. It truly was pointless stubbornness.
Today's Amazon Lily was no longer an isolated island in the Calm Belt and should communicate more with the outside world.
That girl only thinks about Luffy!
---
Shortly after,
Luffy made some basic adjustments to Fish-Man Island, allowing the entire island to float gently upon the sea.
After completely resolving the resettlement issue, Luffy bid farewell to Neptune and the others.
Neptune was extremely reluctant to let Shirahoshi leave, but he didn't stop her.
"Elegia is right next door. If you want to see your daughter, you can come anytime."
"I understand you're taking Shirahoshi to protect her. I only hope that this power won't bring disaster to the world," Neptune sighed. "Thank you very much, Luffy!"
"No need to thank me… I'm sleepy."
After waving his hand, Luffy led everyone back to Elegia.
Upon returning to the port, his number one subordinate, Bartolomeo, immediately came to greet him.
"Lord Luffy, welcome back!"
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" Luffy asked.
"Everything's fine!"
Bartolomeo patted his chest, assuring him that nothing was wrong, then greeted the others as well.
Luffy nodded and led the group toward the castle.
As they walked through the city, the houses had been repaired, and many areas had been cleared.
"Mermaid Princess?"
Suddenly, on a rooftop by the street,
Rayleigh lay sunbathing, a jug in one hand and the other propping up his neck.
Seeing Luffy and the others return, he straightened up and said,
"You even brought one of the Ancient Weapons with you."
"Hey, Rayleigh, I was just about to look for you."
Luffy pointed at Zoro and said,
"Can you teach him swordsmanship?"
Hearing that, Rayleigh's gaze fell on Zoro, fixing on him immediately.
From his perception, he felt an extremely powerful aura coming from Zoro.
Zoro narrowed his eyes and immediately released his own Haki.
Then, the two Conquerors clashed.
Rayleigh laughed and said,
"Seriously… this is truly inspiring. I'll teach you!"
Zoro smiled.
"Please instruct me, Mr. Silvers Rayleigh!"
Ignoring the two of them, Luffy led the group back to the castle.
After being away for so long and finally returning, it truly felt like coming home.
Upon reaching the castle's living room, Nami collapsed onto the sofa like a puddle of mud.
Uta was in great spirits; during that time, she had enjoyed herself immensely.
Several days of nonstop performances had been held on Fish-Man Island.
"Luffy, where are we adventuring next?" she asked, her eyes shining.
She was brimming with energy.
Luffy gave her a blank look.
As for the next step… the wedding was still a long way off. Before that, they needed to find the next Road Poneglyph.
There was also another island that needed to be visited.
Moreover, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates still hadn't been summoned.
While he was thinking, the Den Den Mushi began to ring.
Puru puru—
After answering, Moria's voice came from the other end:
"Luffy…"
As soon as his name was spoken, Ace's voice followed immediately:
"Luffy! I've been looking for you! Where are you right now?"
(End of Chapter)