At Aokiji's shout, a short figure emerged from the felt tent.
His face was aged, and a thick white beard grew from his chin. Looking up at Aokiji, he asked, "Um... is everything all right now, Marine lad?"
"Huh? This old man..."
Luffy looked at the figure who had come out, then at Aokiji, scratching his head in confusion. "Why isn't he as tall as you?"
Aokiji: "..."
"That Marine guy is just naturally tall!" Usopp shouted irritably.
As everyone watched the short old man continuously pull things out of the felt tent, Aokiji began chatting with them without any reservations.
It turned out that after arriving on the island, he had found this old man, who was afraid of heights and had spent ten years on stilts without coming down. He had rescued him along the way.
Long Ring Long Land consisted of ten small islands. Due to geographical factors, the residents here had a habit of migrating, moving to the next island every so often.
Everyone else had left, while the old man on stilts had remained on this island for ten years. Only his beloved horse, Sherry, whose neck resembled a giraffe's, had stayed here waiting for him.
Before long, the old man had moved all his supplies out of the house. Finally, he packed up even the felt tent and piled everything onto a crudely made cart of wooden stakes, with the reins looped around the white horse Sherry.
"Um... Marine lad, I've prepared everything like you said, but..."
The old man on stilts looked up at Aokiji and opened his wrinkled mouth. "How are you going to send me there? It looks like you only have that."
The old man raised his short arm and pointed at the bicycle lying on the ground.
"Well~, don't