Five o'clock in the evening was the agreed time for everyone to gather.
The location was set at the center square of the town.
Under the afterglow of the sunset, Robin walked out of the museum with a book in her arms, her steps light, and a satisfied smile on her lips.
It was very quiet, no one disturbed her the whole time, and there were very few people in the museum, allowing her to spend a fulfilling and beautiful afternoon.
Such a life was almost a luxury for her in the past.
But ever since she joined the Endgame Adventurer Group, it became the norm... Robin squinted her eyes at the sky, remembering that day on the turtle's back, when the boy laughed and reached out to her, the sunset seemed to be the same warm orange-red.
Why do I keep thinking of that day? She laughed silently, shaking the thought out of her mind.
As soon as she reached the center square, she heard Nami's tearful voice—
"Waaah!"
"Why! Why am I the only one who's so unlucky!!!"
Robin looked over in surprise and saw Nami lying on Shano's shoulder, crying sorrowfully, her short orange hair trembling with sobs:
"Clearly, Kuina is sitting by the fountain, and they don't dare to look at her, Nojiko is upstairs on the second floor drinking coffee, and barely anyone goes to her, yet every single Pirate on the island has come to me!"
"It's really too much."
Shano gently patted her back, looking serious, as if united against the enemy.
But after Robin moved to the side, she clearly noticed the captain's mouth twitching, evidently struggling to hold back laughter, about to lose it.
What's going on?
Her curiosity was piqued, and she lowered her voice, quietly asking Nojiko who was sitting on the bench beside her.
Nojiko was also trying hard to hold back her laughter, and upon hearing the question, leaned closer to Robin, explaining in a whisper.
"Brother, do you know the insulting things they said?"
Nami hadn't noticed Robin approaching and suddenly sat up, mimicking the Pirates' rude tone:
"That's right! It's her! The eighty thousand Belly mascot!"
"Remember to be gentle, give her a break, she's Shano's sister, she's not to be offended!"
"Don't offend my butt! All coming to me is already offending me, okay!"
She grew more agitated, sparks flying from her hair, "And dare to say I'm the mascot, what's wrong with eighty thousand Belly! Does eighty thousand Belly eat their rice!"
"Definitely too much."
Having listened to the whole story, Robin couldn't help but laugh lightly:
"But it's not necessary to be so sad, Nami, if you think about it, isn't this a perfect opportunity to showcase your real ability and also give this group a good beating to vent your anger."
"I really wish it were that way!!!"
Nami was more annoyed, looking around, "Where's that little brat, was right here just now."
"Meow?"
A fluffy light yellow bundle popped out from above her head, Glutinous Rice Cake blinked its round eyes, tilted its head, and looked down at Nami.
Looking for me?
"How are you so fat but can hide in my hair!"
Nami grabbed it down and rubbed its round face hard, "It's all your fault you know! I was ready to fight, then you had to jump out, and the entire cowardly bunch got scared away as soon as you opened your mouth!"
"Even shouting something about that monster going to set everyone on fire..."
"Meow!"
Glutinous Rice Cake proudly raised its tail, its little expression extremely conceited.
See, I'm amazing, aren't I!
"Amazing my butt! You're bluffing, do you know that!"
Nami, exasperated, started a fierce beating, "Before you return the bounty to me, don't expect me to bring you shopping next time, and forget fighting, just stop resting on my head all the time!!"
"Meow..."
Nuomi, with dizzy eyes, fell backward, with several smoking bumps on its head.
Watching this familiar scene.
Everyone laughed, the square filled with cheerful air.
"Everyone is here."
After Nami finished venting and others finished laughing, Shano pulled his face into seriousness, lightly coughed, and spoke up:
"I've reserved a spot at the most famous restaurant in the north of the city, let's all have a good meal together and drink heartily!"
"At night, there shouldn't be any more Pirates coming to disturb us, just relax and rest well tonight, and when we wake up tomorrow morning, we'll set sail and head to the next destination."
"Eh?"
This shocked Nami, "Leaving tomorrow morning?"
"Why, reluctant to leave here?"
Nojiko giggled, "No way, someone was just complaining that shopping on this island wasn't fun at all."
"It's got nothing to do with that!"
Nami glared disapprovingly at her sister, lifting her fair, slender wrist, "It's the Log Pose. If we leave tomorrow morning, the magnetic force won't be fully charged yet."
After all, she's a professional navigator.
When everyone split up in the morning, the first thing she did was confirm how long it would take for the Log Pose to charge the magnetic force on this island.
After a few inquiries, the answer she received was that it would take a full five days.
"That's typically the case, but it's not needed for this island."
Shano reached out and pinched Nami's cheek, "A usually sharp person, are you crying dumb this time, forgetting what we saw on the tower this morning?"
"Huh?"
Nami was first taken aback, then her eyes lit up, "Oh right! The sea train! We can follow the sea train tracks directly to the next island!"
"Bingo."
Shano snapped his fingers.
Currently, the sea train has a total of five stops, connecting five islands.
From south to north, they are Carnival City, City of Gastronomy, Spring Queen City, Water Seven, and Judicial Island.
Shano and his crew are currently at the second stop.
The next stop is the Spring Queen City, known for its annual grand carnival and thriving underground industry, "San Pobla."
Shano didn't actually have much of an impression of this city.
Because in the original manga, it never appeared in the main story, only mentioned in the cover story series.
After CP9 was wanted by the World Government, they used it as a hideout, living incognito for a period, each showcasing their abilities in various ways to accumulate medical expenses for Rob Lucci.
"Actually, we could also just take the train to the next stop."
Shano chuckled, "I guess none of you have experienced it either. I, for one, want to ride it. How about you guys?"
"Me, me, me!" Nami was the first to raise her right hand high, "I want to ride it once and see what it feels like!"
"Me too." Nojiko nodded.
The reactions of the rest were pretty similar. Obviously, everyone was quite interested in this new curiosity that only began trials on the Grand Line a few years back.
"This is a tough decision..." Shano rubbed his chin.
Everyone wants to ride the sea train.
So who's going to sail the ship?
Everyone looked at each other, and their gazes gradually shifted in the same direction.
Arf?
Ah Yin widened its eyes, looking at the group in disbelief.
Me, sail the ship?
Seriously?
"Just kidding, that surely won't work."
Shano laughed and rubbed its head:
"Forget it, let's have dinner first. Tomorrow morning, we'll draw lots. Half will sail, the other half will ride the train. There'll be another chance to ride later, and we can switch then."
This was indeed a fair suggestion, and everyone nodded in agreement without any objections.
The streetlights came on.
Everyone followed Shano, heading towards the restaurant where they had reserved a spot on the north side.
As they walked, they passed through a garden, and the environment was quite serene.
On the benches by the roadside, lovers could occasionally be seen whispering to each other, faint floral scents drifting in the air.
But one bench was rather special.
A tall, scruffy man lay there, sleeping in a very inelegant position, his head covered with a white coat.
They hadn't thought much of it and were about to walk past, but the man's snoring stopped at this moment.
"Ah la la, such a lively crowd..."
A lazy voice came from behind.
The rest didn't react much, but Shano, Robin, and Smoker stopped simultaneously, their expressions changing slightly as they turned their heads.
"Quite the reunion, isn't it?"
Aokiji draped the coat over his shoulders, took off his eye mask, yawned with sleepy eyes, and spoke calmly, "What a coincidence to meet you all here."
——————
PS: Got delayed due to something today, started writing later than usual, so couldn't make it in time. Here's a short update, will continue writing, but the longer one will probably be done by midnight. You can check back tomorrow.