Night gradually deepened.
The ship left the dock, departing from Shelly Island amidst a champagne salute from the Whale Shipbuilding Company.
"Next stop is Loguetown. It's not far, we should get there in four or five days at most. That Mr. Gandolft gave us enough food and fresh water to last ten days, more than enough for this leg of the journey."
Guina was studying the nautical chart, bending over it and pointing at various spots.
"Loguetown is the town closest to the entrance of Reverse Mountain in all of the East Blue. There's a Marine base stationed there, so the security is relatively stable. It can serve as our final stop in East Blue. Captain, once we replenish food and fresh water there, we can officially head for the Grand Line!"
She had been well-read since childhood and knew a lot about sailing, so before they found a professional navigator, she had taken the initiative to temporarily fill the role.
As for her lack of actual sailing experience, she could make up for it by learning from Zeff.
"Yeah, let's do that…"
Shano lay lazily on the back of Silver Wolf's figurehead. Beside him, A-Gin stared unhappily at the figurehead, baring its teeth at it from time to time.
Guina's "Captain" made Shano feel all warm and fuzzy.
Although he had already been called that even before setting sail for real…
Now that he actually owned a ship, being called that again just hit different.
He was getting more and more satisfied with the ship. The training room had higher specs than he expected, the bedrooms and hallways had a minimalist wooden style with a hint of bohemian decor — totally his vibe.
All it lacked was a good name.
The four of them had already discussed naming the ship together, but all the names they came up with fell short — Silver Wolf, Great Swordsman, Shimotsuki Coconut, Iron Fist...
The suggestions got more and more ridiculous, and Shano had almost named it The Flying Dutchman until he came to his senses. In the end, they all agreed to postpone the decision and think about it for a few more days.
"Hey, Nojiko."
Shano yawned and looked up at the mast. "You've been up there for over an hour. The novelty hasn't worn off yet? It's about time you came down to wash up and sleep."
"Eh? Don't be like that, let me watch a little longer, pleaaaase, big bro~!"
Nojiko acted all spoiled, just like when they were kids. It was her first time climbing the lookout of such a large ship, and everything looked so new and exciting.
Shano waved his hand helplessly, and Nojiko happily raised the monocular telescope again.
Some time passed when Nojiko suddenly let out a quiet "Hmm?"
"Big bro, I think there's a pirate ship over there? That Jolly Roger looks familiar…"
She frowned, trying hard to recall. "I think… it's the Black Cat Pirates?"
Black Cat?
Captain Kuro?!
More points coming to him on a silver platter?
Shano instantly sat up straight and gave his first order as a captain: "What are we waiting for? Hurry, steer the ship over!"
...
They really did steer over, only to find something was off.
The Black Cat Pirates' ship only had the front half remaining — it looked like it had been cleanly sliced in two by something.
The cut was smooth and flat. As for the missing rear half, who knew where it had drifted off to?
When they stepped onto the deck, they were met with corpses scattered everywhere and an overwhelming stench of blood.
Shano saw Kuro's upper half lying on a lounge chair beneath a parasol. His face still bore a look of horror, as if he'd seen something unbelievable right before he died.
"What the hell…"
Guina crouched near the edge of the clean cut, frowning deeply. "There's no mistake. This sharp, clean slice — it's definitely the work of a swordmaster's sword aura…"
But there were only three known swordmasters in the East Blue.
Herself, her father Koushirou… and Lord Shano.
So who was this unknown swordmaster that had suddenly appeared?
"Who knows."
Shano grinned. He didn't care who did it. For all he knew, maybe Kuro just had terrible luck and ran into Mihawk who was taking a leak at the bow of his ship or something.
While the others were off inspecting different areas, he hummed a cheerful tune and began looting like a pro.
Kuro's ten metal claws, Jango's hypnotic pocket watch…
Even the weapons from those two vaguely familiar cat-themed officers weren't spared. He stripped them all.
All in all, he gained a total of 1,000 points.
More than the Krieg Pirates even — his total points were back above 30,000.
"Big bro, we finished searching. There's not much treasure on the ship — mostly just cash. It adds up to around 50 million Berries."
Nojiko popped her head out of the cabin and reported while counting on her fingers, "With the funds we already had, that brings us to 80 million Berries."
Almost at the hundred-million mark already?
Shano nodded. The bounty money they'd gotten from the 77th branch, he had left that all for his family. He only brought a few dozen million with him.
Out at sea, opportunities were everywhere. As long as you had the strength, making money was no problem.
"There's also quite a bit of food left."
Zeff came out from the kitchen, looking delighted. "Heh, looks like these pirates had just restocked their food and booze and hadn't touched them yet. We've got enough to last a month!"
Points, treasure, food… this unexpected haul covered all the essentials.
And of course, there was one last thing they couldn't forget.
Shano waved and ordered, "Don't forget to take their heads with us. When we reach Loguetown, we'll turn them in to the Marines for the bounties!"
Food-wise, there was no need to resupply there anymore.
But regardless, Loguetown was a place he absolutely had to visit.
After all, there was still a big fat sheep there he hadn't gotten around to fleecing in years — just quietly waiting for him!
...
Five days later.
The four of them were gathered around the long table on the deck, staring at the map with bewildered expressions.
"Didn't we say we'd reach Loguetown in four or five days at most…" Shano rubbed his chin. "Why does this area look completely deserted, not even an island in sight?"
"..."
Guina leaned on the table, silent for a long time before she finally forced out an answer, "…It looks like we… went off course. Based on our current route, I think we're heading more in the direction of the Goa Kingdom…"
"What the heck?!"
Nojiko sneak-attacked Guina from behind, poking her hard in the waist. "You were all confident before, patting your chest and saying you could totally handle being the navigator! You didn't look like this then!"
"Plans can't keep up with changes, okay…"
Guina pouted, too ashamed to argue. She really had tried her best. For the first two days, things had gone smoothly with Zeff's help — course on track, everything under control.
But on the third day, a storm hit. Visibility dropped, wind directions went haywire.
By the time the storm ended, after lasting a whole day and night, they discovered they had veered far off the planned route.
"It's not your fault. Don't let it bother you. Anyway, let's correct the course and continue toward Loguetown. Won't delay us too much."
Shano comforted her with a smile and patted her shoulder. He didn't mind, but this did serve as a wake-up call.
In the East Blue, getting off course wasn't a big deal.
As long as it was caught early, they could rely on a compass to return to the original path quickly.
But what about once they entered the Grand Line?
There, the magnetic fields were chaotic, wind and currents unpredictable — compasses were useless. Only a Log Pose could guide the way. The risks were far greater than in the East Blue.
It was clear now — finding a reliable navigator had to become a top priority.
"Beep… beep…"
Just then, a notification sound rang in his ear. Shano froze for a second before realizing what it was — his eyes lit up in surprise.
It was…
The Devil Fruit detection radar — it finally responded?
BOOM!!
Almost at the same time, the ship suddenly jolted and started shaking violently. The group on deck staggered, nearly falling over.
"What's going on?!"
Shano closed the inventory interface and turned his head, shouting.
"It's a whirlpool current! And a massive one!!"
Guina rushed to the helm, desperately turning it back and forth to stabilize the ship. "It's dragging us toward something… Damn it! We haven't even reached the Grand Line yet — how are we already running into stuff like this?!"