A quarter of an hour later.
Mio returned to the shore, wiped the blood from his hands, and waved his right hand. The barrels of wine and drinks in the town were immediately replaced on the deck.
"Let's go to the next island. Tsk, we'll waste a few days again," Mio curled his lips and said.
"There's nothing we can do about it." Lilith smiled faintly.
"Yeah." Robin nodded. After all, it was the world of pirates. If you sailed a lot on the sea, you'd inevitably run into things like town massacres. If you didn't, you were simply lucky.
You had to understand—most pirates didn't hesitate when they razed a town. If you happened to be there, you'd likely die alongside the townsfolk.
"But speaking of it, that guy seems quite similar to Whitebeard. Could he really be Whitebeard's son?" Erica looked at Mio with curiosity and asked. "Apart from anything else, his beard and physical fitness are very similar to Whitebeard's."
"How would I know?" Mio rolled his eyes, though he too was curious. After instructing Bai Feng to continue sailing, he took out a Den Den Mushi and made a gossipy call.
Soon…
The Den Den Mushi connected.
"Why would you contact me? Is there something important?" Whitebeard's deep voice came from the Den Den Mushi, laced with curiosity.
"No, I just have a question." Mio asked with interest, "I just met an old woman—she had a beard like yours and claimed to be your son. So, I came to ask… do you actually have an illegitimate child out there?"
"Is it Miss Ba Jin?" Whitebeard laughed. "Hello, I didn't expect you to run into that one. And when did you become so gossipy?"
"Hahaha, it depends on who I'm gossiping about. If you really had an illegitimate child, that would be pretty big news, don't you think?" Mio grinned.
"That's true. But I've got no interest in that woman. Do you really think my standards are that low? Gurarara. Miss Bakin was just a fellow crew member from the Rocks Pirates. That ship had many strong people, but not everyone was a powerhouse. Some were cunning manipulators. Miss Bakin was one of them, though she didn't particularly stand out."
Hearing that, Mio nodded, not surprised, but still feigned disappointment. "That's a pity. I was hoping to dig up some major scoop."
"You brat, your tone's begging for a beating. I kind of want to smack you around." Whitebeard said, half-jokingly.
Mio's lips curved up. "If you want to fight, wait until I return to the New World. I don't have time right now."
"Oh? Red Hair said he wanted to go to the first half. Are you heading that way too?" Whitebeard asked, slightly surprised, assuming Mio's goal might be similar to Shanks's.
"I'm not interested in that. I just have some things to take care of."
"Then I'll wait until you return. I'm a little bored these days. When the time comes, find a good place so I can see your full strength," Whitebeard said with a hint of anticipation.
"Okay," Mio grinned and nodded, then hung up the Den Den Mushi.
After putting the Den Den Mushi away, Robin asked with a teasing smile, "Captain, is it true?"
"What are you thinking? Of course not." Mio rolled his eyes, rubbed Robin's head, and said, "It's not good to be this gossipy at your age."
"My development rate's pretty good. I may be young, but my body and mind have matured quite well, thank you," Robin pouted.
"Really?" Mio gave him a sideways glance and smirked. "If that's the case, then I guess you're going to stay flat forever."
Feeling Mio's gaze, Robin quickly crossed his arms over his chest, his face flushing red. "That's different! It's still growing—humph!"
After saying that, Robin turned and walked away.
Mio shook his head and laughed, then leaned back with a bottle of wine, letting the sea breeze wash over him. He couldn't help but lie down on the deck to rest.
The dull days were about to begin again.
Sometimes, being one of the top powerhouses on the sea actually took away a certain kind of freedom.
Because if you weren't strong enough to completely ignore the world's balance, you had to be careful. Every next move needed to be thought through to avoid drawing too much attention from the World Government.
If you weren't that powerful, you could do whatever you liked. Even if it caused a stir, the Government wouldn't consider you a threat.
Shaking his head, Mio dismissed the thought.
The ship continued to sail.
…
At the same time — First Half of the Grand Line
A ship glided across the sea—it was the Red Force, belonging to the Red Hair Pirates who had just departed from Sabaody Archipelago. They had made a short stop earlier, where Red Hair shared a drink with Rayleigh, an old friend he hadn't seen in years.
Now on the deck, Ben Beckman looked at Red Hair and asked, "Where are we going next? Even if we're just wandering, we still need a direction."
"Let's go to the East Blue first." Red Hair lowered the straw hat on his head, his voice deep and distant, filled with reminiscence.
Rogue Town…
It was time to return and see the place where his captain had been executed.
He missed the old captain a little. Only in Rogue Town could he feel Roger's lingering presence.
"Want my treasure? If you want it, then go to the sea to find it. I put it all there."
That line still echoed in his heart.
It reminded him of the courage his captain had—just like the moment he'd faced the Golden Lion's fleet.
"Captain Roger… I wonder if this current era is what you hoped for?" Red Hair murmured inwardly, the corners of his lips rising into an expectant smile.
He hoped that during this visit to the East Blue, he could find the one he was searching for.
Otherwise, it would be a waste of time.
This era was thrilling and terrifying.
But Red Hair could feel—something was missing.
The world lacked a person like Roger.
He wanted to see if he could find such a person.
After all, the straw hat on his head didn't belong to him.
He was merely its temporary keeper.
As his orders were issued—
The ship of one of the Four Emperors surged forward, heading straight for the East Blue.