Chapter 26 – The Straw Hats
Ten days later.
The boundless ocean stretched to the horizon, its majestic waves a testament to nature's might.
Seagulls skimmed the surface, snatching wriggling fish as they flew.
Whoosh!
A shadow streaked through the water, scattering schools of fish in every direction.
"Still no ship or island?"
Dante Voss floated on the surface, exhaustion in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings.
After using the stone of translocation in Mary Geoise, he had been dumped right into this stretch of sea.
In a world mostly water, landing in the ocean was hardly surprising.
But he had been swimming for ten straight days—and he'd been fairly banged-up when he left Mary Geoise.
Now he was utterly spent, barely holding on.
If he didn't find land or a vessel soon, he'd have to invest points into Physique just to stay alive.
Otherwise his current attributes wouldn't carry him much further.
With that thought, Dante Voss kept paddling onward.
He hated the idea; with the bloodthirsty sword in hand, Physique could be raised without wasting slaughter points.
And he had another worry: more allocations might further reduce the slaughter points he earned.
Back in Mary Geoise, after boosting himself to face CP0, the guards that once gave 10 points now gave only five.
Keep it up and those soldiers might stop yielding any at all.
Unless absolutely necessary, he preferred not to raise his attributes; his current strength was already enough to handle most places.
As he swam, a massive silhouette rose from the depths.
Splash!
A grotesque fish burst through the surface.
Its head alone was the size of a small house.
Its eyes locked on Dante Voss, jaws slowly parting to reveal rows of fangs.
A Sea King—one of this world's specialties.
They usually haunted the Calm Belt, but a few strayed into normal waters to hunt.
This was one of them.
Dante Voss didn't even blink, simply swimming straight toward it.
He'd met plenty of these in the past ten days; eliminating them was effortless.
"Grrraah!"
The monster roared and lunged, jaws closing over Dante Voss and a wide swath of seawater.
Its maw was huge, swallowing everything in an instant.
Thinking it had won, the beast turned to leave—then its face contorted as its body split apart.
Dante Voss sheathed the bloodthirsty sword and swam on without a backward glance.
He hadn't wanted to kill it.
Sea Kings gave no slaughter points, and the sword couldn't even draw blood from them.
Their corpses were worthless; fighting them only wasted stamina.
Several more hours passed.
Dante Voss, drained, stared at the endless blue—he was nearing his limit.
If he kept swimming he'd have to raise his attributes.
Not just Physique—his Spirit needed a boost too, or he wouldn't last much longer.
Still, he had a lifeline.
Before leaving he'd amassed a large stash of slaughter points.
Even after the thousand spent on the stone of translocation, he still had over seven thousand—enough to reach safety.
And he was well stocked: plenty of food and water looted from Mary Geoise.
"Should I invest?"
Dante Voss hesitated.
Allocating points would strengthen him, but might cut the slaughter points he could earn in future.
Yet he was running on empty—without a boost he'd collapse.
His injuries were worsening; fatigue gnawed at both body and mind.
To recover he'd need hefty investments in Physique and Spirit.
A single point wouldn't cut it; only a major increase would pull him through.
While he wavered, his eyes caught a distant black speck—his gaze sharpened.
"A ship?"
Relief washed over him: after ten days he'd finally spotted a vessel.
New strength surged into his limbs and he shot toward it like a torpedo.
He closed the distance in moments, cutting through the water like a shark.
It was a small sloop.
At the prow stood a cute sheep figurehead; figures bustled on deck, and atop the mast a black pirate flag snapped in the wind.
"This is…?"
The familiar sight widened Dante Voss's eyes in disbelief.
Anyone who'd watched Pirate King would know this craft.
The going merry—the Straw Hats' first ship.
He hadn't expected the translocation to drop him beside the world's main characters. Fresh from Drum Island, the Straw Hats were now bound for the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta.
The deck was lively.
Cigarette in mouth, Sanji towered over Luffy and demanded, "Quit lying, Luffy—out with it!"
Luffy sat on the deck, guiltily looking away.
Sanji crouched, grabbed Luffy's cheeks, and twisted his face back around.
"Look at me—why d'you keep dodging my eyes?"
Luffy pried the cook's hands off, gaze darting, sweat beading as he pouted:
"I'm not lying! I really, truly don't know anything!"
Sanji narrowed his eyes, unconvinced.
"Then tell me: I split the food into eight portions to be sure we'd reach Alabasta, so why did every last scrap vanish overnight?"
Hearing that, Luffy's sweat flowed faster, his eyes roaming.
Sanji seized his chin again. "Don't bother resisting—you're terrible at hiding what you think."
Still Luffy refused to confess.
Sanji straightened and fired a sudden question: "Hey, you've got something on the corner of your mouth."
"Wha—?!"
Luffy's eyes bulged, mouth gaping.
"Crap, I forgot to wipe!"
He frantically scrubbed at his lips.
Sanji's face darkened—his trap had worked.
"So it was you!"
With a roar he delivered a kick that sent Luffy flying.
At the bow, Nami and Vivi watched the usual antics, long used to Luffy's food raids.
By the rail, Usopp, Chopper and Supersonic Duck quietly wolfed down the meat they'd just stolen, careful not to make a sound.
Meanwhile the last member—Zoro—slept peacefully against the ship's side.