Two months flew by in the blink of an eye. During these two months, Shirakawa never once stepped off Visalia Island. He rarely even left his own small cabin.
Over these two months, a major event had occurred out on the sea: the Silver Pirates had disbanded. Many people had already noticed the crew members beginning to operate independently.
Even the Jolly Roger on their original pirate ship had been taken down.
"The fall of a supernova." This was the underworld's evaluation of the Silver Pirates, and it was the consensus of pirate crews all over the world.
It was just a pity that their rise to prominence had been so fast, and their fall just as quick. It seemed that from the establishment of their crew to their ultimate demise, not even two full years had passed.
Kurokamu, on the other hand, went straight back to the North Blue. He intended to relocate his people from that desolate, uninhabited island, allowing them to settle on other islands, develop an economy, and prosper.
Jola first returned to his master, Orr, to continue his rigorous study of swordsmanship, determined to become even stronger.
"Don't be too sad. After all, aging, illness, and death are inevitable parts of life."
Orr wasn't surprised at all by Jola's return. A large part of why Jola had set sail in the first place was because of Shirakawa. Now that Shirakawa was dead, it was only natural for him to come back.
"Why should I be sad?" Jola retorted with a question of his own.
"Hm?" Orr was taken aback by Jola's response. He hadn't expected Jola to ask such a thing. Was he truly indifferent to Shirakawa's death?
"Are you not saddened by Shirakawa's passing?"
"Who told you the Captain was dead?" Jola shot Orr a sideways glance, then turned his head and silently resumed his sword practice.
"Could it be... Shirakawa isn't dead?" Orr finally caught on to what Jola was trying to say.
"That's right." The moment Jola finished speaking, he felt a heavy thwack on the back of his head, leaving him dizzy and seeing stars.
"You brat, you're going to be the death of this old man! If Shirakawa wasn't dead, why didn't you tell me? Do you know how long I spent worrying about you?"
Orr had originally intended to comfort Jola, but upon learning the truth, his anger flared up all at once.
"Master, you never asked."
"I never asked? Even if I didn't ask, couldn't you have taken the initiative to tell your master about something so major?"
"Hehe, I just figured I'd give you a surprise later," Jola said with a cheeky grin.
"A surprise? It's more of a heart attack! Wasting this old man's feelings for so long."
Orr said angrily, feeling as if he had just been played by his own child.
Jola knew he was in the wrong, so he walked over to Orr and began kneading his shoulders and patting his back to appease him.
"If Shirakawa isn't dead, then I imagine your pirate crew wouldn't disband so easily. Tell me, what exactly is Shirakawa's plan?"
Subsequently, Jola laid out Shirakawa's entire plan to Orr.
After listening to the plan, Orr fell silent for a moment before saying, "It seems your Captain is planning to bide his time in silence, only to shock the world with a single cry."
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I thought too," Jola agreed with an apologetic smile.
"It seems I'll need to put you through some special training. Come, let me see how much your strength has grown after being out at sea for so long."
"Alright." A fighting spirit emanated from Jola. Before he had set sail, Orr could defeat him with ease, but after tempering himself on the ocean for so long, Jola was brimming with confidence in his own abilities.
"I'm not the same person I used to be, Master. If you hold back and use the same strength you did back then, you might just be the one at a disadvantage."
"Hmph, I don't need you lecturing me on how to do things."
As for the original pirate ship of the Silver Pirates, it was now under Riddell's control, and Mute had teamed up with Riddell when the crew "disbanded."
However, Mute had left a while ago because he had met someone. This person was, like him, a member of the Longleg Tribe and possessed incredible leg-based martial arts—even Riddell was no match for him.
Mute intended to take the man as his master, and to his surprise, the man actually agreed.
This had Mute excited for a long time. He finally had the chance to grow stronger; when they all reunited in five years, he wouldn't have to drag anyone down anymore.
Salar had joined up with Abulo's family. Having become a pirate, it went without saying that he couldn't just return to his old restaurant and resume business as usual.
Adara had also taken an assassin as her master. Or rather, she hadn't sought the assassin out—the assassin had come to her.
The very first time she saw Adara, she was drawn in by Adara's special physique, believing her to be the perfect candidate to carry on her legacy.
Of course, Adara couldn't just become a disciple so rashly. Before officially taking her in, Salar had clashed with the assassin to test her. But even with the boost of his Speed Fruit, Salar was still outmatched.
However, it was precisely this fight that made the assassin want to take Salar on as a disciple as well. After all, in a certain sense, Salar's Speed Fruit was exactly what an assassin needed most.
But Salar refused. He had no interest in assassination. Compared to killing from the shadows, he preferred straightforward, head-on confrontations.
After settling Adara, Abulo and Lisa also left, temporarily leaving Salar behind to keep Adara company. After all, the development of Salar's Devil Fruit power relied mostly on his own creativity, so it didn't matter where he stayed.
Abulo's destination, meanwhile, was Jaba. He hoped to continue following Jaba to study and train, since the weapons Jaba used were quite similar to his own.
As for Lisa, it was the same wherever she went. Her knowledge of pharmacology was already considered to be among the top tier in the world.
Riddell had gone straight back to Little Garden. He intended to train his Devil Fruit abilities there, to transform into a true Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Naturally, Riddell had also explained Shirakawa's plan to the two giants, asking them to wait there for another five years. The two giants agreed.
They had already been waiting there for so long anyway; five more years was nothing.
As for Yuristin, he had become a wandering ranger. He planned to roam the world, challenge strong opponents, and increase his strength. If he could happen upon someone willing to mentor him along the way, that would be even better.
Just like Mihawk, perhaps the two of them would end up crossing paths somewhere, and maybe they'd even become the best of friends.
As for Shirakawa, he had spent these two months quietly accumulating and沉淀 himself, thoroughly sorting out the abilities of the "Silver King."
In summary, there were two main points. One was immutability—the ability of agelessness and immortality. The other was the manipulation of gravity. However, Shirakawa's grasp of utilizing gravity was still not quite mature.
Therefore, his primary focus during these two months had been practicing his gravity manipulation.
At this moment, a rapid knocking sound echoed from outside Shirakawa's door. Judging by the force of the knocks, it was likely Moor. It seemed there was an urgent matter at hand.
/-\
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