Arashi glanced at the tense standoff between the Hawkins Pirates and the Marines led by Drake, then nodded to Perona and Robin.
"Let's go."
The moment Arashi led Robin and Perona away, battle erupted behind them.
"Arashi..."
Listening to the sounds of fighting breaking out behind them, Perona asked curiously,
"That Marine didn't seem to recognize Robin at all!"
"That's perfectly normal."
Arashi smiled and explained,
"Robin's bounty was issued when she was only eight years old, and it hasn't increased since then. More importantly, she's spent all these years in the underworld of the West Blue. So for most people, their impression of Robin is limited to the photo from her childhood wanted poster."
He paused briefly.
"Robin's grown up completely since then. It's normal that they didn't recognize her. Of course, the biggest reason is that this is the North Blue, not the West Blue."
After a moment, Arashi suddenly turned toward Robin and asked,
"Isn't that right, Robin? You've really changed since you were little."
Walking quietly beside him, Robin blinked her beautiful eyes before silently nodding.
At the same time, her cheeks gradually turned red because of Arashi's comment.
"I kind of want to see what Robin looked like on her wanted poster."
Perona tilted her head.
"Oh right, Arashi, will I change that much when I grow up too?"
Completely ignoring the increasingly intense battle behind them, the three chatted and laughed as they headed toward the harbor.
Soon afterward, they boarded the Traveler, raised the sails, and set off for Swallow Island.
Just as the Traveler departed Joy Town's harbor, Hawkins, who had no desire to continue entangling himself with Drake, also ordered his crew to begin a strategic retreat.
Faced with the retreating Hawkins Pirates, Drake could only watch in frustration.
Although he could keep Hawkins occupied personally, the Marines under his command simply lacked the ability to stop the Hawkins Pirates from breaking through.
Once his crew had withdrawn, Hawkins decisively abandoned the fight and swiftly left Joy Town.
Naturally, Drake wasn't willing to let Hawkins escape so easily.
As soon as Hawkins retreated, Drake transformed into his Allosaurus form and began chasing after him in a rather amusingly awkward manner.
However, by the time he reached the harbor, every member of the Hawkins Pirates had already boarded their ship and sailed away.
Seeing this, Drake didn't hesitate.
He immediately reverted to human form, jumped aboard his warship, and ordered pursuit.
Before long, the Hawkins Pirates' ship caught up to the Traveler.
Standing on deck, Hawkins stepped forward when he spotted Arashi.
"Mr. Arashi!"
he called out.
"My name is Basil Hawkins. If fate permits, we'll meet again!"
Before Arashi could respond, Drake's warship arrived in pursuit and immediately unleashed a barrage of cannon fire at the pirate vessel.
Left with no choice, Hawkins accelerated and deliberately widened the distance between his ship and the Traveler to avoid having Drake's artillery accidentally hit Arashi's vessel.
Not long afterward, the warship drew alongside the Traveler.
Standing aboard the warship, Drake waved energetically at Arashi.
"Mr. Arashi! The cannon fire didn't affect you, did it?"
"No, no!"
Arashi waved back somewhat absentmindedly.
"Good luck out there!"
"Hahaha! This time he's definitely not getting away!"
Drake laughed heartily before waving again.
"If fate permits, I'll treat you to a drink next time, Mr. Arashi!"
He then added,
"I've got to continue pursuing the Hawkins Pirates. Until we meet again, Mr. Arashi!"
"Alright, good luck!"
"Goodbye."
After bidding farewell to Arashi, Drake immediately ordered his warship to accelerate and continue chasing after the Hawkins Pirates.
Standing beside Arashi, Perona stared blankly at the pirate ship and warship disappearing into the distance.
Her delicate face was filled with confusion.
"Arashi, these pirates and Marines are kind of funny."
Then she tilted her head.
"And why do they all call you Mr. Arashi? Are they all your friends?"
"I have no idea."
Arashi shrugged and smiled.
"Maybe it's because of my charisma."
He genuinely had no clue what was going on.
Drake's attitude was understandable.
Between Garp's endless praise at Marine Headquarters and the fact that Arashi had paid for his drinks earlier, Drake treating him politely made sense.
But Hawkins?
The man had knelt, apologized, and repeatedly addressed him as "Mr. Arashi."
What exactly was going on?
Could it be that Hawkins's tarot reading had somehow concluded that he needed to treat Arashi with the utmost respect?
Wasn't that a little too mystical?
Before long, both Hawkins's pirate ship and Drake's warship vanished into the vast sea.
Meanwhile, the Traveler entered the waters surrounding Swallow Island.
On Swallow Island, Trafalgar Law, along with Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi, had already completed the repairs to Old Wolf's workshop.
The four sat in a row outside the building, all staring toward the sea.
After a long silence, Law suddenly withdrew his gaze.
"I've decided."
His expression was firm.
"I want to become Mr. Arashi's disciple."
The sudden declaration caused Bepo and the others to blink in delayed confusion.
Then all three spoke at once.
"Captain, we support you!"
Law was momentarily stunned by their unanimous agreement.
Then he shook his head helplessly.
"So all of you want me to become Mr. Arashi's disciple too, huh?"
"I just feel like Mr. Arashi isn't a bad person."
Bepo jumped to his feet excitedly.
"And if Mr. Arashi could help me find a female bear, that would be even better!"
Penguin immediately covered his face with one hand.
"Bepo... can you think about anything other than female bears?"
"S-Sorry!"
Bepo quickly lowered his head.
"I shouldn't have been thinking about female bears at a time like this. I'm sorry!"
"Oh!"
Suddenly, Shachi sprang to his feet.
"It's the Traveler!"
Looking toward the sea, he excitedly shouted,
"Mr. Arashi and the others are back!"
"Let's go."
Law had already spotted the Traveler slowly entering Swallow Island's bay.
Having made up his mind, he didn't hesitate.
Carrying his nodachi over his shoulder, he quickly headed toward the shore.
By the time the four arrived at the bay, the Traveler had already docked steadily.
Looking at Arashi standing on the deck, Law took a deep breath.
Then he stepped forward, faced Arashi directly, and dropped to both knees with a thud.
With a serious expression, he declared,
"Mr. Arashi, please accept me as your disciple. I want to become stronger. I want to avenge my benefactor!"
Before Arashi could even react, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi also knelt down in perfect unison.
"Mr. Arashi!"
they shouted together.
"Please accept us as well!"
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