Plenty of Time

This casino was huge, making it extremely difficult to find someone, and even harder to find someone who wanted to avoid them—even with four people searching.

As they walked, Shanks suddenly vanished, probably off somewhere gambling with his chips.

After making a full round, the group still hadn't spotted Rayleigh. Shanks, on the other hand, had somehow turned his ten chips into a pile so big he could barely hold it, with a few threatening to drop at any moment.

"Shanks, you're pretty impressive—winning that much."

Shirakawa's eyes lit up. He hadn't realized Shanks had such a high level of skill in gambling.

"I don't really know how it happened. I just placed a few bets randomly, and before I knew it, I had this much." Shanks gave an embarrassed smile.

"Shanks, all that money you won came from my chips, so the money you won is mine too."

Buggy saw he couldn't let Shanks off that easily and had to find a reason to claim that cash.

"No way. I won this money, so it's only right that it's mine."

With that, Shanks tossed a ten-thousand Berry chip to Buggy.

"No, that money is still mine."

Buggy snatched the chips out of the air with quick reflexes, but his eyes were still greedy for the rest in Shanks's arms.

"Alright, you two, stop arguing. Since we didn't find the First Mate here, we should move on to another place."

Shirakawa cut off the two who were about to keep bickering.

"As for these chips, let's just cash them in for Berry and split them three ways. How about that?"

"No."

The moment Shirakawa finished speaking, both Shanks and Buggy shot him down.

"I worked hard to win this. How can I just split it up like that?"

Shanks thought to himself. He didn't care much about money, but he wasn't about to give his own cash away for nothing—especially when Shirakawa hadn't lifted a finger.

As for Buggy, there was no way he'd agree. Every extra person sharing the money felt like a loss to him.

"Oh? What are you four doing here?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Shirakawa turned around and saw the very man they'd been searching for—the First Mate, Rayleigh.

"Don't tell me you're into this too, Shirakawa?" Rayleigh sidled up to him with a sly grin.

"What are you thinking? We came to find you."

"Looking for me? Don't tell me you got into some trouble and want me to clean up your mess."

"What trouble? We're here to talk about something serious."

"Oh, serious business? No rush then. We can talk later. Let me play a few rounds first."

With that, Rayleigh walked over to Shanks and took all the chips from him, not even sparing the ten in Buggy's hand.

"Perfect, that saves me the cost of my booze."

Cradling the chips from both Shanks and Buggy, Rayleigh felt pretty pleased with himself.

"Forget it. We've already wasted this much time; a little more won't hurt."

Shirakawa shook his head helplessly and followed behind Rayleigh. He wanted to see how this game was played.

He had to admit—whether it was Rayleigh's lack of skill or just bad luck, Shirakawa never saw him win a single round. Before he even figured out the rules, the chips in front of Rayleigh were already gone.

At least a million Berry, easily.

"Could he be the big fat sheep of the Pirate King's world?"

"Alright, what did you want to talk about?"

Once the chips were all lost, Rayleigh's interest fizzled out.

"First Mate, we just found out that it'll take three years for the Log Pose to record the magnetic field of the next island."

"Oh." Rayleigh walked to the bar, ordered a drink, and took a hearty gulp.

"First Mate, aren't you worried?"

Seeing Rayleigh calmly sipping his drink, Shirakawa asked him.

"What's the use of worrying? We still have to wait. Besides, we set sail for freedom—to go wherever we want, not to fixate on one place. And in the end, there's always a way."

"So you're saying we just sit around and wait here?"

"That's not what I mean. Do whatever you want. Just don't be missing when it's time to leave."

"Then how do we leave if the Log Pose isn't full?"

"How should I know? Let's see if the Captain has a plan."

Rayleigh said nonchalantly. Shirakawa figured it was better to just get straight to the point.

"First Mate, we know where to find an Eternal Pose for the next island."

"Oh? You actually know?" This time, Rayleigh's expression shifted slightly, carrying a hint of surprise.

"Yeah, it's in the Kingdom of Mol's warehouse."

Rayleigh looked at Kaiser Lynn, who gave a slight nod, acknowledging what Shirakawa had said.

"Mm, that makes sense. It's perfectly normal for a country's royal family to have something like that."

"But the thing we want—he must have set some conditions, right?"

Rayleigh thought for a moment and grasped the essence of the matter.

"I need you to escort me back to my country, and in return, the reward is the Eternal Pose."

"Sounds pretty good."

"So you agree?" Kaiser Lynn said in surprise, seeing that Rayleigh hadn't refused.

"No." Rayleigh shook his head. "I'm not going, anyway."

"You say you're not going, but you didn't say they won't go, did you?"

"Mm. If they're willing to take your job, I can't do anything about it."

"That's great! Shirakawa, you'll escort me back to my country, right?" Kaiser Lynn turned around, looking at Shirakawa with pitiful eyes, like a kitten abandoned by its owner.

Hearing this, Shirakawa fell into thought. Kaiser Lynn was no relation to him—saving her twice should have been more than enough. But just leaving her to fend for herself now? He couldn't do that either. He was soft-hearted at the moment.

If it really turned out that he abandoned Kaiser Lynn here and she got captured, he figured he'd remember it for the rest of his life. It might even become a mental demon.

"I think you guys should go," Rayleigh said, noticing Shirakawa's hesitation.

"How so?" Shirakawa's eyes lit up at Rayleigh's suggestion.

"If I'm not mistaken, heading to her country should take you through a battlefield. And for you, a battlefield is the best training ground."

"A battlefield? No way I'm going." The moment he heard "battlefield," Buggy immediately chickened out.

"Shut up! No one asked you to speak!" Seeing that Rayleigh was already supporting Shirakawa in escorting her, Kaiser Lynn quickly shut Buggy up. She didn't want his words to influence Shirakawa's judgment.

"Alright, I think it's worth going."

"I think so too." After Shirakawa spoke, Shanks chimed in. He also wanted to train and grow stronger.

"How long will you guys be staying on this island?" Shirakawa asked Rayleigh.

"Who knows? This island's pretty big. Probably about half a year. Maybe you'll even run into some of our crewmates along the way."

"Why?"

"Well, there are some real fighters on the ship. The others can't just stay in one city forever. With this many cities, we've got to visit a few, right? Otherwise, we'd have come to this island for nothing."

"That's true. Whenever we hit a big island, we stay for a really long time. Almost everyone explores most of the island before we set sail again," Shanks added, following Rayleigh's lead.

"In that case, there's no need for us to rush."

Come to think of it, Roger had been at sea for several years already, but Luffy had reached the boundary between the Grand Line and the New World—Sabaody Archipelago—in less than a year. That just showed how much slower the Roger Pirates sailed compared to other crews.