The dull hours at sea became a little more bearable thanks to the training of some rare beasts.
Jango practiced dancing, Mohji trained the rare beasts, Kaya studied medical books, Nami drew sea charts, Rika played with the little beasts, and Rim cooked.
Meanwhile, Moya had dragged Buggy, the acrobat Cabaji, Siamese cat Sham, and spotted cat Buchi off to train.
Inside the ship's training room, Buggy's miserable howls rang out as the four of them surrounded Moya.
Moya kept changing positions with "Enhanced Fast Slide: Silent Instant Slide."
Though Moya had yet to awaken Haki, his physique had undergone a qualitative change. Buggy was the first to receive Moya's special attention and was sent flying.
Moya sent the others flying one after another, then sternly ordered them to train harder.
Using the newly developed "Damage Slide" ability of the Slip-Slip Fruit to ease some of their injuries, Moya began his own training.
Blindfolded, Moya held an iron sword. "Slide Ground." He activated the Slip-Slip Fruit through the soles of his feet, no longer needing to touch the ground with his hands.
Sensing the slightest changes on the "Glazed Ground," he used "Silent Instant Slash." A tiny insect had barely taken off from the ground when Moya cut it in two.
It looked a lot like the flashy version of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God Instant Slash.
Moya hadn't awakened Observation Haki yet, but by combining it with the Slip-Slip Fruit, he had managed to figure out a few things.
"Captain, there's an island ahead. Lady Nami told me to let you know!" one of the underlings ran over to report.
"Got it! Buggy, Cabaji, Sham, Buchi, come with me!" Moya ordered.
The Yanhuang pulled alongside the shore, and everyone disembarked onto the island. It was clearly inhabited.
"Form teams of three. Spread out and gather information," Moya ordered.
Everyone split up in different directions. Before long, one of them returned with an extremely excited expression.
"Captain, this is just an ordinary little island. There aren't many people here, but I heard a local legend: the great pirate Woonan once hid nearby with a huge stash of gold."
"The great pirate Woonan? Ahhh! A golden treasure! I'm going to find it!"
Nami and Buggy's eyes lit up, and they were beside themselves with excitement.
"Woonan, huh? This must be the story from the movie One Piece: The Adventure of Woonan. I can't believe I've strayed so far from the original route Luffy took.
"Haha, but that's not a bad thing. I have the advantage of knowing what's coming. Though there's a tricky character here: El Drago and his Oto Oto no Mi. He'd also make a good crew member!"
Moya's eyes lit up too.
With my guidance, the Oto Oto no Mi could reach even greater heights. He'd make a good gunner, too. Once he had his Sonic Cannon, no ship would dare come near!
Moya had already decided that this "crew member" was his.
Still, to avoid unnecessary casualties and get the greatest reward at the lowest cost, he needed to make some arrangements.
Moya quickly called a meeting with the officers and squad leaders, explained the battle that was about to come, and assigned everyone their roles.
The crew had grown somewhat used to Moya's uncanny foresight.
To avoid dampening Nami and Buggy's enthusiasm, Moya didn't tell them that Woonan's treasure contained no gold.
After assigning the tasks, Moya's adventure group waited for El Drago to show up so they could defeat him and seize the "treasure."
Perhaps the timing was off. That day, Moya's group didn't see their opponents, and Nami and Buggy couldn't wait any longer. They went off to look for the "treasure."
Moya had no choice. They couldn't wait around forever, and if the butterfly effect had grown too strong, he couldn't be sure what might happen.
So he went with Nami and the others to search for the so-called "treasure," hoping they'd run into El Drago's group along the way.
They didn't meet Tobio, the boy who dreamed of becoming one of Woonan's followers in the story, either. All they could do was search the nearby islands.
Moya stared blankly out at the sea. He didn't want to go looking for Woonan's nonexistent treasure with Nami and the others. He just wanted to find El Drago, defeat him, and bring him into the crew!
A speck appeared in the distance. Moya immediately perked up, hoping it was El Drago's ship, and ordered everyone to stand guard.
Elsewhere, El Drago had already found the map to Woonan's treasure and was heading for the island where it was hidden. The swordsman Golass beside him spoke up.
"Captain, there seem to be three ships ahead. They're flying neither Marine nor pirate flags."
"Then sink them and take everything they have! I won't allow anyone to lay eyes on my treasure!" El Drago said viciously.
Then El Drago opened his mouth. Light flared inside, and a Sonic Laser Cannon blasted toward Moya's ship.
Moya was still wondering if the ship ahead belonged to El Drago when he saw a glint from its deck. It grew brighter and brighter, then shot straight toward them.
"Holy shit!"
Moya swore. He was sure that El Drago was on the ship ahead! But the attack had come way too fast!
The ship couldn't dodge in time. Seeing the terrified faces of his crewmates, Moya gritted his teeth and leaped into the air, fury rising in his heart.
Maximum Defense Absolute Slide Shield.
The golden sonic blast, crackling with lightning, slammed into Moya's transparent shield and instantly slid off to the side, passing just beside the Yanhuang.
The laser cannon struck the sea behind them, sending up an enormous explosion of water.
The force threw Moya against the mast. He spat out a large mouthful of blood and struggled to his feet.
It was the first time Moya had taken such a powerful hit. Since eating the Devil Fruit, he had never been so badly injured.
If his physique hadn't grown stronger lately, that blow would have killed him!
"Captain! Captain! Are you all right?"
The crew anxiously asked about their captain's injuries.
Rika was sobbing uncontrollably, crying, "Brother Moya, please be okay!"
Nami and Kaya were also so worried that tears welled in their eyes.
Moya fought through the pain. A hint of viciousness flashed across his face as he said coldly,
"Retreat to the island at once. We don't have any long-range attacks, so we can't hit him at sea!"
Moya's crew sped toward the nearest island.
Meanwhile, Golass reported to El Drago through a telescope.
"Captain, it looks like they blocked your attack and are trying to run. Their captain seems badly injured, though."
"What a stupid thing to say! Golass, who in these seas could withstand my sonic blast? Hahaha!" El Drago said arrogantly.
"Then, Captain, should we go after them?" Golass asked.
"Of course! Wipe them out and clear the way to the treasure. And while we're at it, take everything they have!"
With that, El Drago ordered the pursuit.
The chase lasted for over an hour. Moya's adventure group finally reached the nearest island and began to disembark.
"Abandon ship! Everyone, get onto the island!" Moya ordered, calm and resolute.
"Captain, I'll stay behind to protect the Yanhuang! It's our home!" Dis said anxiously.
"Trust me! It'll be fine! That enemy is a crew member I've already picked out, and he'll be your crewmate, too. If he dares damage our ship, I'll tear him a new one."
Moya's confident expression stood out against his slightly pale, handsome face.
"Captain..." Dis looked at Moya's confident expression.
"Captain, you have to keep your word. Otherwise, I'll never forgive myself!"
"Of course. I never do anything unless I'm sure I can pull it off. Come on, let's get on the island!"
Moya led the entire crew onto the island.
On El Drago's ship, Golass asked, "Captain, they abandoned ship and went ashore. Should we destroy their ship?"
"It's already our property, so why would we destroy it? Golass, have you practiced swordsmanship so much that it's made you stupid?"
El Drago gave Golass a contemptuous look.
"..." Golass clenched his fist, then relaxed it, and gave a self-mocking smile.
He was nothing but a "pirate" who had abandoned a swordsman's dignity for money.
"Men, get on the island and wipe out those losers!"
El Drago ordered his underlings, laughing as they pursued their poor prey.
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