"Speaking of which, your mood has been low ever since you arrived on this island."
Hawkeye glanced at the girl across from him, "It's strange, his reputation has obviously increased, you should be happy like last time, right?"
"I, I am really happy for Lord Shano, but, but…"
Tashigi, having had her feelings seen through, lowered her head somewhat gloomily, "Lord Shano's pace is really too fast, it makes me feel I'm increasingly distant from him."
"..."
Hawkeye silently watched the girl before him, offering no words of comfort.
In his view, Tashigi's talent in Sword Dao was only fair, far inferior to the swordswoman who looked similar to Shano.
Yet, Tashigi's obsessive immersion in Sword Dao and the focused state she exhibited during sword training indeed garnered his admiration.
What a pity.
Hawkeye gently shook his head, withdrawing his gaze indifferently.
If this kid had been under his guidance all along, she might have achieved something in the Sword Dao.
But the agreement was clear; he was only to provide temporary guidance until they met Shano, and then part ways with Tashigi.
Now, Shano was about to arrive on the island.
Their destiny was coming to an end.
Why should he worry about a passerby he met by chance?
...…
Meanwhile.
On the Endgame.
Shano pushed open the door of the training room and walked out, rubbing his sore fists somewhat dejectedly.
"Still haven't grasped the Supreme King Entanglement."
He sighed somewhat wistfully.
During the sparring with Garp, he paid special attention to the way Garp used Supreme King Entanglement, memorizing it thoroughly.
This move had become a crucial skill for finalists everywhere; getting the chance to learn it meant he certainly had to try.
Yet, unfortunately…
"Turns out it's not that simple."
He glanced at the training room's historical texts, shaking his head.
Ever since separating from Garp the day before yesterday, he'd been rigorously training, trying various methods, but Supreme King still couldn't apply to tangible attacks.
This was somewhat expected.
Shano was slightly regretful at most but not disheartened.
After all, he'd only awakened Supreme King two months ago.
This kind of top-notch combat skill is mastered by only a few old men worldwide; it's hardly easy to grasp.
Even Luffy, under Rayleigh's careful guidance, took two years without mastering it.
And as for Yamato? Her easy mastery in youth was all thanks to Kaido's day-to-day rigorous instruction.
The road is long; I can't be too hasty!
Shano comforted himself thusly.
However, his efforts weren't entirely fruitless; in fact, he gained a lot.
This time Garp engaged him with full strength, incomparable to their playful spar on Korbo Mountain Range.
The old man's displayed profound control over Armament Haki, especially the technique of continuously compressing and intensifying its external strength, enlightened him greatly.
In the future, focusing on this aspect and practicing more with the help of historical texts.
He believed it wouldn't take long before his Armament Haki strength would reach another level.
"Phew…"
He stretched, casting aside distracting thoughts, and wandered onto the deck.
He happened to see Nami excitedly holding up a newspaper, calling out everywhere: "Hey! Everyone! Come and see, our new bounty is out!"
"Newspaper you just bought?"
Shano raised his brows, stepping over.
"Big bro!" Nami's eyes lit up immediately upon seeing him, "Look quickly! The front page is all about you, your bounty has already increased to a billion Belly!"
A billion?
Shano glanced at the front-page picture, chuckling lightly.
Looks like the World Government really got provoked this time, thoroughly embarrassed.
This bounty, even in the New World, probably only falls short of the top vice commanders of major Royal Teams: King, Katakuri, Marco, and Beckman.
Among the new generation, it directly cuts off others, leading by far.
"What about the others?" he casually asked, "Did theirs increase too? And you, has the Navy Headquarters resolved the misunderstanding about Ah Yin?"
"I, I haven't looked at the rest yet." Nami muttered quietly, "Wasn't I waiting for you, my bro, and everyone else to come together before talking about it."
"Everyone's here now." Nojiko hugged the Glutinous Rice Cake, smiling, "You can read it out loud to everyone."
She patted the little head of the Glutinous Rice Cake; yesterday at breakfast, everyone finally noticed the change in this little guy.
The originally snow-white little rice ball turned light yellow, even grew a tail; this growth direction is quite strange.
Could it be that it's been staying in Alabasta too long, discolored by the scorching desert sun?
This was everyone's initial judgment, but fortunately, the Glutinous Rice Cake remained adorable, and the fluffy new tail made it even more fun to touch, firmly maintaining its position as the crew's darling.
"Alright, I'll look at the back… No, no, I'll wait!"
Nami suddenly gritted her teeth, tossing the newspaper to Smoker, "Smoker, you read it; I'll just listen."
"Hmm?"
Smoker instinctively caught the newspaper, glancing at her inexplicably.
Clearly, the past few days, every time the newspaper arrived, Nami would snatch it up and sneak a peek.
But now that the new warrant's actually released, she's hesitated?
"You're too concerned about this." He shook his head, flipping open the newspaper.
"Who, who's concerned!" Nami stiffened her neck in denial.
"..." Smoker ignored her, scanning the report behind, matching the warrants, clicking his tongue, "Hey, Kuina, your bounty increased quite a bit, distancing yourself from everyone else suddenly."
"How much?" Kuina was wiping her Wado Ichimonji, glancing over upon hearing this.
"Endgame Rain-Slaying Sword Master Kuina, according to the latest intel, has officially assumed the position of Deputy Captain for the Endgame Pirates, bounty increased to 200 million Belly…"
Smoker grinned as he read this, "In short, besides Boss Shano, you're the first to break through 200 million Belly, quite rare in Paradise's first half."
Kuina nodded slightly, continuing to wipe her sword, unknown whether satisfied or dissatisfied with the bounty.
"What about me?" Nojiko asked curiously.
"You're right behind Kuina, also among those whose bounties changed the most."
Smoker drew out a bounty order and handed it over, "Your title's changed too, now it's Frosty Fist Nojiko, Snow-Snow Fruit Ability User, bounty 130 million Belly."
It directly doubled!
Nojiko's eyes brightened, happily accepting the warrant; previously, aside from Nami, she was consistently bottom-ranking on the ship!
"What about me, what about me!"
Nami ultimately couldn't resist, impatiently asking.
"Next is Ah Yin, no change in bounty."
Smoker mentioned this in surprise, "Seems Navy Headquarters did learn that the flames weren't Ah Yin's ability, I'll check the rest… Hmm, Zeff the old man, and myself… This last one must be yours, bounty is…"
Nami held her breath.
"A hundred million Belly!"
"How, how much!" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Congratulations!" Smoker shrugged, pulling out this final warrant, "The Flame-Flame Fruit's ability no longer belongs to Ah Yin, ah, wait!"
He suddenly stopped with an expression of shock.
And everyone else looking at this warrant was similarly stunned, exchanging puzzled glances.
Only to see on the photo…
It was indeed Nami, but only the lower half of her head was showing, while the main part was a white glutinous rice ball, lying on top of her head, grinning adorably at the camera.
Below the text read—
[Flaming White Team·Glutinous Rice Cake, Bounty 100 million Belly!]
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PS: Since release, I haven't asked for monthly tickets; after midnight tonight, starting the monthly ticket double event at Qidian, voting for monthly tickets automatically doubles.
Here's a humble request for everyone; by the way, although there's only one update per day, the word count isn't small. At most, 7-8 thousand, and at least 5 thousand, equivalent to two to three updates.