Seeing Issho dart out, Jinbe, Jinbe had been eager to try, immediately lost interest.
He pursed his large lips in frustration.
"With Brother Yixiao's Observation Haki, using it to find people is practically cheating, isn't it?"
"So what? Hehehehe, this is just a game, isn't it? And the game won't be decided until the very end!"
Shiryu burst out of the sea with a loud laugh, running directly across the water towards the island that Sivins had pointed to.
Seeing this, Jinbe took a deep breath and then jumped into the sea.
In the blink of an eye, he shot out like a torpedo at a speed even faster than Shirahoshi.
Apart from those five, everyone else remained standing still.
Looking at them, Gawain smiled.
"Alright, with Rayleigh and the other four willing to help, as long as Tonjit is still alive, he will definitely be found."
As for us, haha, how about we make a bet?
"Let's bet on when they'll bring Tonjit back!"
"Sure, sir!"
Gion immediately became interested. "If you mention gambling to me, I'll get really excited."
So she pursed her lips and guessed.
"I bet two hours, at Yi Xiao's speed, two hours is enough for him to make three or four round trips!"
"About an hour and a half!"
Hancock, standing to the side, raised her head disdainfully.
"Issou's Observation Haki way better than yours, Rabbit. I bet he'll bring that guy named Tonjit back in an hour and a half!"
Are you trying to argue with me?!
Gion glared angrily at Hancock.
Hancock responded with a cold expression.
"So what? You're just an old woman who hasn't made any progress at all!"
Even I've been improving my leg strength lately, but you...
Hehe, you've probably reached your limit, old rabbit!
As soon as the words were spoken, the two women's eyes met instantly, and without prior arrangement, they walked directly into the distance.
Soon after, the sounds of battle erupted.
All the long, slender animals on the Long Ring Long Land where Gawain was located avoided Hancock and her group and ran to the area where Gawain was...
Hearing the sounds of the two women fighting, Gawain shook his head helplessly.
Let them fight. Fighting occasionally is always good for improving one's skills. Sigh...
Gawain let out a deep breath and casually picked up a dachshund.
While stroking the head of the hamster, Gawain waved to Chief Sivins.
"Sivins, while we wait for everyone to search for Tonjit, let's talk about something serious."
As soon as he finished speaking, the utterly shocked Sivins suddenly turned his head stiffly.
He pointed to the spot in the distance where the group had disappeared.
"He... they... they flew away!!!"
"Well..."
Gawain's expression stiffened; it seemed the clan chief hadn't heard him.
Gawain let out a breath and waved to Sivins again.
"Hey, Sivins, don't worry about the details, come and sit down."
"But they flew! They could even run on the sea, so fast!"
Sivins showed no sign of calming down; he couldn't even hear Gawain's words anymore.
He excitedly shouted that they had flown away, and then frantically ran towards his tribe.
Not long after, news came from the distant nomadic tribes...
"Honey, come quick and see God with me, they've flown away!"
Such a sound...
Gawain, too, only now discovered that there really is a myth about God in One Piece.
On second thought, just three months ago, Kuma was still holding a Bible...
In short, watching Sivins disappear in excitement, Gawain sighed. This was the first person he had ever encountered who ignored him.
Moreover, he couldn't blame that person.
Meanwhile, in the distant sky, Yixiao left Rayleigh far behind.
Before long, Yixiao arrived at another Long Ring Long Land.
As she floated in the sky above, she smiled and pondered for a moment.
According to Sivins, the Tonjit had separated from them seven years ago.
In the year they separated, the Sivins tribe was facing its tradition of relocation every three years.
Therefore, that Tonjit should be on the third Long Ring Long Land in addition to the two islands.
However, thinking of this, Yi Xiao couldn't help but stop what he was doing, because he couldn't help but think of it.
What if that Tonjit himself stepped off the stilts and then began to follow in the footsteps of his tribe's migration?
With that thought in mind, Yi Xiao calmly navigated the Long Ring Long Land before him, continuously exploring it with his Observation Haki.
Just as he was halfway through his exploration, Rayleigh whizzed past him from behind.
"So you're betting that the Tonjit has caught up with your tribe, is that right, Brother Yixiao?"
"Indeed!"
Yi Xiao nodded.
"I believe that no normal person would stay on stilts for too long."
In that case, once he gets off the stilts, he will most likely take advantage of the annual low tide to catch up with his people.
Therefore, I don't think that Tonjit will continue to stay on the island where they separated.
If I really can't find him, then I suppose Mr. Tonjit has already collapsed on the road!
After saying that, Yixiao continued to seriously explore the island beneath her feet.
Rayleigh waved his hand at Yixiao.
"Then you keep looking, I'll just keep walking forward, haha."
I think anyone who enjoys being on stilts so high that you can't even see a person can't be considered normal, haha!
Amidst the laughter, Rayleigh shrugged and continued his ascent towards the distant Long Ring Long Land.
After that, Shirahoshi, Shirahoshi Shiryu Jinbe arrived at Issho's island.
However, by the time they arrived, Yixiao had already finished exploring and left the island.
Thus, Jinbe and his two companions also experienced a conflict with Issho and Rayleigh.
Jinbe and Shiryu felt that Tonjit might be on the island right in front of them.
Meanwhile, Shirahoshi muttered to herself, "Why can't he live on stilts forever?" as she continued swimming away into the distance.
So... half an hour later...
While Jinbe and Shiryu explored the first island, Issho explored the second.
Rayleigh and Shirahoshi discovered the two towering stilts that reached into the clouds on the third island!
Rayleigh looked up, bewildered.
"This... this stilt is still moving slowly, so there are actually people on it!"
Wow!
Shirahoshi, standing to the side, opened her arms wide.
"I guessed right! People who truly love stilts, of course, have to live on stilts year after year, haha!"
As he spoke, Shirahoshi tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and shouted at the two bamboo stalks that couldn't see him at all.
"Hey, you upstairs, are you Tonjit?!"
Unfortunately, even after Shirahoshi shouted for a long time, no sound came from the stilts.
Seeing this, Rayleigh smiled and shook his head.
"These two bamboo poles are almost 1,400 meters long, and the wind must be very strong, so he probably can't hear us."
I'll go up and check on him!
With that, Rayleigh used Geppo to ascend rapidly into the clouds.
A moment later, Rayleigh finally saw an old man dressed in tattered nomadic-style clothing, with a thin frame, a thick beard and hair, and an extremely dirty face.
The old man also saw Rayleigh, and seeing Rayleigh's slippers floating on air, he was so frightened that he fell backward.
This time, he actually flipped over on his stilts.
Amidst the old man's screams, Rayleigh rushed over, grabbed the old man's clothes, and carried him back to the grass.
Seeing that Tonjit's expression of fear lingered, Shirahoshi excitedly shouted to the old man.
"Hello, sir, are you Mr. Tonjit, a member of the Sivins clan?"
"Why?!!"
Hearing Shirahoshi's sweet voice, Tonjit let out a long sigh of relief.
"Ah, so I haven't fallen into hell after all. With such a beautiful angel escorting me, I must be going to heaven..."
"Cough cough!"
Rayleigh, carrying the Tonjit, coughed twice in frustration.
"Hey, do I really look like a devil who transports souls from hell?"
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Upon hearing Rayleigh's voice, Tonjit stared blankly at Rayleigh, then screamed Tonjit promptly fainted...
Soon after, Shirahoshi, Rayleigh, and a dejected Issho together placed the unconscious Tonjit on the ground in front of Gawain.
Seeing this, Gawain squatted down and patted Tonjit on the forehead.
"Aaaaaah!"
Amidst screams, Tonjit fully awoke, and the old man was finally reunited with his incredibly excited tribesmen.
As the conversation continued, Gawain and his group finally learned why Tonjit was on the stilts!
After reuniting with his family, Tonjit approached Gawain and his group with a face full of gratitude and said with emotion.
"Thanks to you all, you actually saved me!"
That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying!
Originally, I planned to challenge the tribe's record for the tallest stilts, so I made super long stilts and climbed up them.
But it wasn't until I climbed up that I realized I actually have a very severe fear of heights!
That's fucking terrifying!!!
At this point, Tonjit wiped the sweat from his brow.
"God knows how I survived!"
Most importantly, the stilted bamboo is still growing.
It was already high enough, but as the stilts grew higher and higher, I became even more afraid to go down!
"That really... that really scared this old man to death..."
Upon hearing this, Gawain and his group were utterly dumbfounded. It turned out that the reason why you stayed on the stilts and wouldn't come down wasn't because you loved it, but because you had acrophobia and were too scared to climb down!
Meanwhile, Tonjit continued.
"If it weren't for the many very tall fruit trees on the Long Ring Long Land, where at least some fruit would still be growing, then..."
Then I really won't be able to live anymore, sob sob sob!
And what I least expected was that none of my people came to my aid! Waaah, they actually abandoned me!
Hearing Tonjit's words, Sivins felt extremely wronged.
"Old Master Tonjit, we didn't know you were trapped up there!"
We called out to you, but you didn't answer. We thought you liked being on stilts!
"The wind was so strong up there, I couldn't hear anything! I was counting on you guys to find a way to get me down, but you just left without a word!"
"We didn't leave without a word. We left your Shelly with you, so that if you're willing to get off, you can ride Shelly and catch up with us!"
"Why?"
Upon hearing this, Tonjit collapsed in shock, looking at Gawain and his group with a look of utter despair.
A moment later, the old man knelt on the ground, sobbing and pleading with Gawain to save his Moa... (I'm writing this down...)
After the game time was over, Gawain and his group went back to their own lives.
The people of the Sivins tribe also boarded Gawain's ship and dispersed to all the surrounding Long Ring Long Land to begin building the lighthouse.
As for Tonjit's favorite horse, the old man himself went with the ship heading to the island and brought the horse, Shelly, back.
Through this incident, Gawain and his group gained complete acceptance from the nomadic people.
They stayed on the island for seventeen days, three days longer than planned.
The lighthouses on all ten islands were finally completed.
Thus, it was time for Gawain and his group to bid farewell to the island.
On this final night, Gawain hosted a banquet for everyone, and they also used the moonlight to test the lighthouse's effectiveness.
The lighthouse worked very well; even without the pigeons' guidance, people could see the faint light at night. This put Franky at ease, and he then arranged work for the people who remained on the island.
At the small meteorological observation station that has already been set up, the three scholars who remain will continuously record the hydrological changes in the Long Ring Long Land area. At the same time, they will also summarize the most common types of extreme weather events that occur near Long Ring Long Land.
Meanwhile, the artisans who remained on the ten islands had to work as lighthouse keepers while also exploring the seabed and mapping the structure of the Long Ring Mountain.
Once they have completed the structural drawings, they will send them to Franky by carrier pigeon. Franky will then use the drawings to create a complete design of the island chain in the Long Ring Long Land area.
As for the nomadic people on Long Ring Long Land, they have reached an agreement with Gawain to serve as temporary workers when the Long Ring Long Land chain railway officially starts construction.
Gawain would pay their wages in half Beli and half supplies, so that with a stable food source, they would no longer have to follow the tradition of changing islands every three years.
After all, the reason they kept changing islands was to avoid staying on one island for too long and consuming all the already scarce animals and edible plants on Long Ring Long Land.
Now that Gawain has promised to provide food for people and fodder for horses, they can finally rest easy.
For Gawain, accepting nomadic peoples is also a great thing. These indigenous people can not only work as laborers, but even after the island chain plan is completed, they can continue to develop animal husbandry and tourism.
They can also serve as tour guides, introducing the local customs and culture of Long Ring Long Land to the large number of tourists after the railway opens.
And Moa, a horse that is almost twenty meters tall...
It would probably have some market in Mary Geoise.
Even if the Celestial Dragon disdain riding them, they can still create a stir and sell them to nobles and kings of other kingdoms.
As for Uta, knowing this was her last night on Long Ring Long Land, she specially prepared two new songs.
One of the poems, titled "The Supremacy of the Strong," was written after she witnessed the clash Whitebeard Pirates and the Gawain Pirates.
Another song, "The Dachshund Song," was inspired by her arrival on Long Ring Long Land.
Having poured all her enthusiasm into the final banquet, Little Uta fell asleep exhausted. When she awoke again, she was standing on the railing of the Dark Bird Ship, bidding a reluctant farewell to the people who had come to see her off from Long Ring Long Land.
Hearing the simple, honest herders' plea for her to stay, Xiao Uta's tears welled up instantly.
The herders didn't have any particular thoughts about Gawain's departure, but they were truly reluctant to part with Uta, the songstress!
But as she cried, Uta suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
Because she suddenly saw that the Sivins patriarch on the distant shore was arguing with a seagull that was delivering a newspaper.
"Hey, seabird, come down here, okay? I really will pay you, I won't stew you!"
The more he said that, the more frightened the seagulls became, and they struggled and squawked as they tried to escape.
And so, amidst Uta's laughter, the Dark Bird Ship departed Long Ring Long Land for good.
After he left, Gawain Dark Bird Flag was raised on the lighthouses of all ten islands of Long Ring Long Land...