"You said those two names... They sound kind of familiar." Lina furrowed his brow and murmured.
"You've heard this story before?"
At that, Vivi and the others all turned to look at him.
Lina waved a hand and continued, "Ah, no. I might've heard a thing or two somewhere, but I don't remember."
He'd been living in this world for two and a half years. Ever since he'd gone out to sea, he'd traveled all over. It was entirely possible he'd heard something somewhere and simply forgotten.
No one thought much of it. Lina often knew all sorts of things about the sea, and Nami had long since gotten used to it.
Vivi continued her story.
Legend had it that long ago, a massive rift split the land in two, and many tribes lived on either side.
The west was called [Geri] and had quite a few oases, while the east was almost entirely barren.
There was little fresh water or food, and the land was crawling with ferocious beasts and birds of prey. The desert was full of danger.
Life was incredibly difficult for the people there, but the harsh environment didn't defeat them. Instead, it forged their powerful physiques and gave rise to countless brave, battle-hardened warriors.
With so few resources on the barren land, even warriors who hunted beasts struggled to gather enough supplies. Naturally, another means of obtaining them emerged.
—Pillage.
Tribal conflicts were particularly frequent in the east. In those days, the entire region spent year after year engulfed in war and bloodshed.
Yet there was one thing no one could obtain by force, no matter how hard they fought.
Water!
People from the eastern tribes began to step forward, calling for an end to the fighting and proposing that they cross the great rift