At Sea

At noon, somewhere in the East Sea.

The azure sky met the deep-blue sea. The sea breeze swept past, stirring wave after wave across the blue water and painting a magnificent scene.

Two three-masted sailing ships raised their sails and cruised side by side through the azure expanse.

One was the Red-Haired Pirates' ship. The other was an abandoned vessel the Ganan Remnants had found in the ruins of a port in the Kingdom of Jacob.

When they heard that Yelena planned to move them off the island, they raised no objections.

More than two hundred people boarded the ships without complaint and followed the Red-Haired Pirates away, in search of a suitable place to settle.

"..."

"What?"

"You're only ten?!"

An incredulous voice rang out across the deck of the Red Force, carrying far into the distance on the sea breeze.

Louis slowly turned his head and casually replied, "Yeah, that's right."

Around him, the Red-Haired Pirates looked at Louis's two-meter frame, the corners of their mouths twitching.

"What ten-year-old kid grows to be two meters tall?"

Even Shanks couldn't help freezing briefly at the news. Only after taking a closer look at Louis's somewhat round face did he laugh awkwardly.

"Haha..."

"I thought you were only a little younger than Yelena..."

Nearby, Yelena and Uta also gave Louis strange looks.

Yelena had just learned that Louis, who was far stronger than her, was nearly five years younger.

Uta, meanwhile, hadn't expected Louis to be about her age, only a year or two older.

Then Shanks couldn't help asking, "You're only ten. Why would they let you go out?"

"Don't they even have someone accompanying you?"

Louis gave Shanks a disdainful look. "I came out to train and get stronger. If an adult came along, wouldn't it just be a trip?"

"..."

Shanks was at a loss for words. He was suddenly very glad he'd talked Louis out of entering the New World.

Even if Louis's strength might be enough to scrape by in the New World, with the mind of a ten-year-old, who knew what he might be corrupted into?

A moment later, Shanks laughed awkwardly. "In that case, you can stay aboard our ship while Yelena undergoes treatment over the next two years!"

Shanks didn't expect to turn Louis into a good person. He only hoped Louis wouldn't encounter the cruel side of the world too soon and become a cold-blooded monster like Charlotte Linlin or Beast Kaido, who treated human lives as worthless.

If Louis were caught by those monsters in the New World, they would shape him into whatever they wanted, given his age.

So Shanks planned to broaden Louis's view of the world and help him develop ideas of his own, making his mind and will strong enough to withstand the world.

That way, he could sail the seas without being corrupted and reduced to one of those scum who acted on nothing but their desires.

However, Louis's expression changed when he heard Shanks.

"Two years?" He instinctively looked over at Hongou, who was preparing various medicines nearby.

Yelena also looked bewildered when she heard that.

Hongou paused what he was doing and replied solemnly, "Yes. Given Yelena's condition, surgery is no longer an option. We can only treat her conservatively with medication, and she'll need your help during that time."

Louis glanced at Yelena, then pressed him. "Are you sure you can cure her?"

If not, Louis would have to make other plans and go to the Drum Kingdom to find Dr. Kureha.

"Of course," Hongou said.

He explained that conservative treatment was meant to ensure Yelena wouldn't be left with any aftereffects or weaknesses.

Yelena breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't doubt Hongou's words.

She knew her own condition. Not long ago, she could have died at any moment. Being cured at all was already fortunate, so a longer treatment period was only reasonable.

It was just that...

"I'm sorry you'll have to put things on hold for a while." Yelena faced Louis, her expression tinged with guilt.

Louis waved a hand. "It's no big deal. It's only a year or two."

Back in Bar, he'd heard his people say that the Lunarians planned to spend a century or two rebuilding their population on Sky Island, in the Calm Belt, and elsewhere before launching a counterattack.

Louis could wait a year or two.

Besides, he could still grow stronger in the East Sea. He would simply have fewer chances to fight powerful opponents.

Before long, Yelena seemed to think of something and asked Hongou, "Can I still train during the treatment?"

Hongou thought it over, then gave her the cautious answer. "For the next six months, you should take it easy. You can think about how to use your Devil Fruit abilities."

"..."

Yelena's expression darkened, and she nodded helplessly. After boarding the ship, she'd heard Shanks say that many powerful people roamed the seas, and that no one could survive out there without great strength.

Even he couldn't claim to have reached the very top.

In the waters near the edge of the world, many monsters with the destructive power of natural disasters held sway.

Those words had made a deep impression on Yelena.

Her instincts were sharp. Though Shanks seemed kind and sunny, his presence weighed on her like a mountain. He was so powerful that she couldn't hope to match him.

And the beings stronger than Shanks...

Yelena couldn't begin to imagine what kind of might they possessed.

A question rose in her mind: Could beings like that really be considered human?

The subject was soon dropped.

With the Red-Haired Pirates' unusual energy, the idle crew started chanting for Uta to sing a song to welcome Louis and Yelena.

"Uta, sing us one!"

"It's been days since we last heard Uta sing!"

"It'll be perfect for welcoming Louis and Yelena!"

As they spoke, the energetic crew began hauling wooden crates over from every corner to build a stage.

Their practiced movements left Louis gawking.

It was obvious they'd done this plenty of times before.

Lucky Roo, a round-bodied man dressed in green, took a bite from the large bone-in meat in his hand, then smiled cheerfully at the bewildered Yelena.

"Uta's the best musician in the Red-Haired Pirates!"

"Her singing is worth ten billion Beli!"

"..." Yelena still didn't understand. She didn't even know what a musician was.

She'd never heard of such things in the first dozen years of her life.

Just then, Yasopp paused while pushing a crate and grumbled at Lucky Roo, "Idiot! You can't measure Uta's singing in Beli!"

At that moment, Yelena interrupted them, looking utterly confused. "Um..."

"What's a musician? What's singing?"

"..." The crew fell silent and looked at one another.