"Now that we're already here, what reason do you have not to take us with you!"
Salin, sitting cross-legged on the ground, still habitually placed her hands on her hips, looking every bit the big sister figure, her tone carrying an air of finality.
"Big Sis Salin, we're not going on a vacation," Law said, his peripheral glance catching Machi's silence.
Salin said seriously, "Of course I know that. And I'm very interested in the Dark Continent. Isn't that reason enough? Or are you planning to leave us here? Don't forget, the people on the coastline already see us as enemies. If you feel comfortable leaving us, then just go."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Law rubbed his brow. Ultimately, Salin wasn't easy to fool… every sentence hit the mark.
If they hadn't been exposed before, he would have been perfectly comfortable leaving Machi and the others on the fictional continent. With their abilities, how could there be any danger?
But now it was different. The previous battle with Kakin clearly made Machi and the others enemies of Kakin, not to mention they were already wanted criminals.
Biscuit, noticing Law's dilemma, immediately interjected, "Regarding the risks of the Dark Continent, I don't think we need to elaborate further. In fact, even if Law doesn't want you to join the team, as long as over half of our team members believe you are qualified to join, you can still enter."
"Therefore..."
Biscuit extended her hand, slowly turning it palm up, and said calmly, "If you want to join the team, you must make us believe you have the qualifications."
"Let's be realistic. I don't want any dead weight in the team, so I agree with what Biscuit said," Shiro said nonchalantly, lightly tapping his pipe on the ground.
Thwack!
Biscuit slapped Shiro away with a cold hand.
Ging looked sympathetically at Shiro, who had planted face-first into the ground, then turned to Salin and Machi, saying, "As Biscuit said, as long as you have the capability, you don't need Law's approval to join the team."
As he spoke, he glanced casually at Law, whose forehead was now adorned with several dark lines.
'This was a step down for him… it was up to him to take it or not,' Ging thought.
"Oh, that works best then."
Salin clapped her hands on her knees and declared boldly, "My specialty is ancient texts. I basically understand every language currently in use in the world, and I also have deep research knowledge of ancient scripts."
"I've read Law's [L. Hunter] and [Journey to the New World]. Although I haven't seen the ancient human ruins from [L. Hunter] or the ancient labyrinth ruins from [New Continent Travelogue] with my own eyes, every ancient script has its traces."
"If I'm with you, then even if we find ancient ruins later, we won't be completely clueless."
"As for combat ability, I can't compare to this guy Law, but I'm not some pushover who can be knocked down by a gust of wind."
"An ancient linguist..." Ging's eyes lit up, and he subtly tested, "Sa ge hu gu lu, pi la bu la."
This was the language of a small nation called Rousa from five hundred years ago, now almost completely lost to history, not even qualified to be included in language databases.
However, there were still a few descendants of Rousa on the Six Continents who insisted on using the Rousa language.
This was a very obscure and niche language, so even linguistic experts might not know it.
"Tutu Lace Yobu, Aikaki Giggle Giggle." Salin responded to Ging's words in Rousan without any pressure.
A glint of interest flashed in Ging's eyes, and he continued, " Yelaw is shameless, Mayalu."
"Paheleikayomakayolei."
Ging exclaimed in admiration, "Impressive, you even know Rousan."
"You're not bad either," Salin stared at Ging. She was actually more surprised than him.
"Haha, I learned Rousan for a specific reason. Using it to test you just now was actually to give you a hard time. I just didn't expect you to actually understand Rousan… it really surprised me," Ging candidly admitted.
Salin snorted coldly and looked at Biscuit, asking, "So, does that count as qualified?"
Biscuit looked at Ging, who gave a slight nod.
Salin's expertise in ancient texts was likely not inferior to that of the Zodiac's Rabbit, Pyon. If ancient human ruins were found on the Dark Continent, it might reduce the difficulty of exploration.
"Big Sis Salin's abilities indeed meet the standards for joining the team," Law, who seemed forgotten, suddenly said.
For a moment, everyone, including Machi, looked at Law.
Facing everyone's gaze, Law looked at Machi and said calmly, "But you can't. Including Uvogin and Nobunaga."
Seeing the young couple Law and Machi locking horns, Ging and Biscuit consciously shut their mouths. This was not the time for them to get involved.
Stargie and Knov sat there like spectators and naturally didn't offer any opinions either.
Being bluntly told she couldn't join didn't anger Machi. She calmly retorted, "Why not? If there are support members in a team, then there must necessarily be defense members. I believe my strength is sufficient to serve as a defense member."
"If you think my strength isn't enough to protect the support members, then let's fight."
"Uvogin and Nobunaga's strength isn't weaker than mine. I'm sure they'd be willing too."
Law: "..."
He had almost forgotten that Machi came from the Phantom Troupe, and under Chrollo's leadership, the Troupe had a set of team standards, such as the role of each member, including main combatants, support personnel...
So it wasn't strange at all for her to choose this angle of attack now.
But how could he possibly put on a domestic violence show in front of everyone?
Machi, however, stood up, releasing her Aura around her, and said calmly, "Come on. The judgment criteria can be decided by others. You just need to fight me."
"Haha."
Ging suddenly laughed.
Law immediately glared at him.
Ging raised an eyebrow, his gaze seeming to say: 'I gave you a way out, but you refused to take it. Now look what happened.'
Law sighed inwardly, looked up at the expressionless Machi, who was already prepared for battle, rubbed his brow, and said, "You win."
"But I'm not happy about it at all," Machi said coldly.
Law remained silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. Sometimes, please think from my perspective."
Machi said, "I thought that line should be mine."
Law was left speechless.
Looking at the silent Law, Machi said calmly, "I've said it before. Wherever you are, I'll be there. In life, I'm yours, and in death, I'm your ghost. Why do you think I can't love what you love?"
"If you like adventure, then I'll like it too!"
"If you are fascinated by the Dark Continent, then I'll be fascinated by it too!"
The scene fell quiet.
These words, which should have been embarrassing, were spoken by Machi without a trace of shyness, sounding more like a declaration.
Shiro, his face swollen, quietly moved closer and murmured, "Good thing I'm already married."
Not far away, Hakuro watched this scene, then looked up at the sky, his face full of loneliness.
"I... am superfluous."
"In that case, why did you let me come out?"