For several days in a row, Mieko drove his gliding board at high speed across the sea, moving strictly in the direction indicated by the Log Pose.
For the first two days, he still had jerky in his backpack to stave off hunger. But for the next two days, he could only sit directly on the gliding board to fish—quickly clean whatever he caught, then use a Flame Shell to roast it before eating. Luckily, the fresh water he'd prepared was still fairly plentiful.
That kind of life really was irritating.
If he wanted to rest, he could only curl up on the gliding board, all while staying alert at all times for Sea Kings nearby. If Mieko weren't the type who could endure loneliness, he'd probably have gone insane from boredom already.
On the boundless blue sea, a lone figure raced across the surface on a strange-looking gliding board. Wherever he passed, huge sprays of water burst upward—so fast it was shocking.
"Long Ring Long Land shouldn't be this far, right?" Mieko muttered while pushing onward, doubts piling up in his mind.
With the speed of his gliding board, it was several times faster than an ordinary ship. If it were a ship, it would've been sailing for about half a month by now. By all logic, he should've reached his destination long ago.
If it were anyone else daring to travel like this over the sea, they'd either be swallowed by Sea Kings or sea beasts, or they'd have already died of hunger or thirst.
"Hm? There seems to be a small island about fifty li to the left…" Mieko suddenly paused—because his Mantra sensed an island's presence, and he could even "hear" the voices of people talking on it clearly.
"This thing isn't actually broken, is it?" Mieko stared at the Log Pose on his wrist. No matter how he turned it, the needle stayed unwaveringly pointed southeast. His expression sank.
He didn't know where the Log Pose was really pointing… but it was definitely not Long Ring Long Land. Mieko never expected that a Log Pose that looked perfectly intact would mess with him like this—its direction function had completely failed!
"Damn it—this piece of trash nearly got me killed!" Mieko checked the distant island again with Mantra, then without hesitation yanked the Log Pose off his wrist. Boiling with anger, he crushed it in his hand, snapping it straight into fragments, and tossed the pieces into the sea.
"Splash, splash…" Mieko stamped down hard. The gliding board whipped into a sharp turn and shot left, as if it too were venting his frustration—carrying him in a furious dash toward the island dozens of li away…
On a small island about fifty li from this stretch of sea, little houses were arranged in tidy clusters. People moved through the streets in lively crowds. It barely counted as a bustling town—but it was lively enough.
"Catch her! She's the Devil Child—Nico Robin—worth seventy-nine million Beli!" A group of vicious-looking men with swords, blades, and muskets spread out through alleys at the far end of the street, searching everywhere while shouting nonstop, faces flushed with excitement.
"Devil Child? Grandpa, what are those bounty hunters yelling about?" On the street, a young man stared in surprise at the fierce men in the distance and asked the old man beside him, confused.
The old man leaned on his cane, glanced at the nasty-looking bounty hunters, and explained, "You don't even know the Devil Child? She's the girl who survived Ohara back then. The Marines put a bounty of seventy-nine million Beli on her when she was only eight years old. They even called her 'the Devil of Ohara'…"
"So that's how it is. Only eight years old and already worth that much—unbelievable!" The young man nodded. Watching the bounty hunters searching toward this direction, an inexplicable excitement rose in his chest. With a dreamy look, he muttered, "If I really could catch her, then…"
Smack!
Before he could finish, the old man's temper exploded. He snatched up his cane and whacked the young man's butt hard, his face full of rage. The cane kept swinging like he wanted to keep going.
"Huh?! Grandpa, why'd you hit me?!" The young man jumped back a few steps, rubbing his aching backside and protesting with a wronged expression. Getting clubbed for no reason—if it weren't his grandpa, he'd have wanted to hit back.
"You little bastard—with your pathetic skills, you want to be a bounty hunter? Don't get greedy and throw your life away like an idiot! The World Government has had a bounty on the Devil Child for over ten years and nobody's caught her. Use your toes to think—you'll know she's not easy to deal with…" The old man barked as he chased after him with the cane, clearly terrified his grandson would get blinded by money and actually try to capture the Devil Child. "If something happens to you, our family line ends right there, you little punk—see if I don't beat you to death…"
"Grandpa, stop hitting me! I'm not going!" the young man begged.
…
On the street, more than a dozen pedestrians hurriedly backed away, avoiding the few men who were sweeping the area with murderous faces, terrified of getting dragged into trouble.
Most bounty hunters lived with their tongues on the edge of a blade. Getting into fights over the slightest disagreement was common. No ordinary civilian wanted to provoke these desperate criminals for no reason.
"She's here! We found the Devil Child—quick—"
At that moment, on the small pier by the shore, a bounty hunter shouted at the top of his lungs.
But before he could finish—
Several hands suddenly, eerily, sprouted from his body and clamped around his throat, squeezing tight and twisting hard.
Crack!
Those strange arms instantly dissolved into flower petals, and the bounty hunter's eyes bulged as he toppled straight backward, scaring nearby pedestrians into screaming.
"Run! Someone's dead!"
"Chase her—don't let her get on the ship!"
"Move! We absolutely can't let the Devil Child escape!"
With a death on the spot… the ordinary townsfolk nearby panicked and fled in all directions. But the bounty hunters showed not the slightest fear. Instead, every one of them wore an enraged look, eyes blazing with a mix of greed and killing intent, as if something had whipped them into a frenzy. They roared threats as they surged toward the pier like tigers charging down a mountain.
"Devil Child? Now that's a coincidence…"
On the distant sea, water sprays exploded one after another. A figure stood casually on a strange-shaped gliding board with both hands behind his back, posture relaxed and confident. The corner of his mouth lifted into a meaningful smile.
(End of Chapter)
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