Getting Acquainted

"All right, Annie, can you take your big brother out now?" Locke asked again as he looked at the delighted Annie.

"Not yet. This is Big Brother's dream to begin with. Normally, he could wake up whenever he wanted, but Big Brother's injuries are too severe, so it'll still take some time before he wakes up!" Annie replied.

"I see!" Hearing Annie's words, Locke understood that his body was too badly injured for him to wake up right now.

Since that was the case, Locke did not force the issue. Instead, he took Annie, the little girl who was extremely interested in the city, to the amusement park. As for matters outside, Locke trusted that Carmen and Yun Zhannan would handle them well.

When Locke woke again, the scene before him was no longer the room from his previous life, but a spacious ship's cabin. Just like when he woke after being injured last time, Carmen was still sitting beside the bed. This time, however, she was not asleep. She was carefully tucking the blanket around Locke.

"You're awake?" Carmen said gently as she looked at Locke.

"Mm!" Locke nodded and tried to sit up, but Carmen immediately pressed him back down.

"Your injuries need time to heal. Lie still for now. I'll get you something to eat." With that, Carmen rose and went outside.

Soon, Carmen returned with a bowl of porridge and carefully fed Locke. This time, without Zoro acting as a third wheel, the scene was quite warm.

"Where are we now?" Locke asked after finishing his heartwarming recovery meal.

"We're on that slave ship."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. Just one night."

"Can you tell me what happened here? And where's Yun Zhannan?"

When Carmen heard Locke ask about Yun Zhannan and what had happened, she first glanced toward a corner of the cabin. Someone else was lying on a bed there, just like her. How had she failed to notice? If that was not Yun Zhannan, then who was it?

After that glance, Carmen began telling Locke what had happened: how she had secretly boarded the ship, how she had freed all the slaves, and how she had led the slaves in defeating the crew aboard the ship.

"By the way, how did I get onto this ship?" Locke asked again after hearing Carmen's explanation.

"Do you remember the three people we saw back then?"

"Of course. What about them? Didn't they run away?"

"I don't know whether they ran away or not. I only know that the three of them carried you back, and they treated your injuries."

"Oh? There was a doctor among them?"

"There really was one."

Hearing that, Locke fell into thought. Could he invite those three onto his ship? After all, all three were Devil Fruit users, and one of them was a doctor his ship desperately needed.

"Can you call them over? I want to talk to them!"

"Hmph! You wake up and immediately start ordering people around." Though Carmen said that, she still slowly walked out of the cabin to fetch the three of them.

Very soon, Carmen hurried back with a tense expression. "I don't know if they're asleep or unconscious, but they keep muttering things like, 'Please spare me!' I can't wake them no matter what I do."

"Asleep? And you can't wake them?" The moment Locke heard that, he thought of Annie.

"Annie! Are you here? Come out for a moment!" Locke called out into the surroundings.

Though Locke could not be certain Annie was behind it, on this ship, Annie was the only one capable of doing something like this without anyone noticing. So, Locke tried calling out.

"Annie? Who's Annie? There's no one around us!" Carmen asked strangely as she watched Locke suddenly call for someone named Annie.

"Big Brother, what did you call Annie for?" Before Locke could answer, a little girl glowing with a faint blue radiance appeared beside Carmen.

"Ah! A ghost!" Carmen screamed at Annie's sudden appearance, then leaped onto the bed and turned Locke sideways, using him as a shield in front of her.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Locke was already covered in injuries, and Carmen's actions made him grit his teeth in agony.

"G-ghost..." Carmen was so frightened that her voice trembled. She did not notice what Locke was saying at all.

"All right, don't be scared. She isn't a ghost! She's Annie, who ate the Ghost Fruit—our new crewmate." With no other choice, Locke endured the pain, turned around, and pulled Carmen into his arms to comfort her.

"She really isn't a ghost?" Carmen cautiously raised her head from Locke's arms and asked.

"Annie, come say hello to Sister Carmen!" Locke said helplessly to Annie.

"Hello, Sister Carmen! I'm Annie, and I'm eight years old!" As she spoke, Annie floated up so Carmen could see her clearly.

"She's... she's... she's flying!" This time, Carmen was so frightened by the sight of Annie floating that she fainted outright.

However, Locke noticed Carmen's constantly trembling eyelashes and realized she was merely pretending to be unconscious. He did not expose her.

"Big Brother, does Sister Carmen not like Annie?" Annie said aggrievedly.

"How could that be? Annie is so cute. Sister Carmen is just too tired and fell asleep, that's all." Locke comforted Annie as she looked like she was about to cry.

"Really?"

"Of course." Locke nodded firmly.

"Then I'm going into Sister Carmen's dream to play with her." Annie said as she prepared to enter Carmen's dream.

"Not yet. I still have something to ask you!" Locke hurriedly stopped her. If Annie went over and discovered Carmen was only pretending to be unconscious, how heartbroken would she be?

"What does Big Brother want to ask?" Annie looked at Locke.

"Were you the one who dragged those three people outside into a dream?"

"Yes! Since the three of them ate the Divine Tree's fruit, they should be this generation's Divine Tree Guardians. I'm teaching them the duties of a Divine Tree Guardian." Annie nodded adorably.

"What duties?" Locke asked curiously.

"Of course, the duty to protect the Divine Tree—which means protecting Big Brother!"

"What? Protect me?" Locke was astonished.

"That's right! Since Big Brother ate the Divine Tree Crystal, from now on, Big Brother is the Divine Tree. Protecting the Divine Tree means protecting Big Brother."

"That won't be necessary, will it?"

"How can it be unnecessary? Anyone who eats the Divine Tree Fruit must protect the Divine Tree," Annie insisted.

"Then can you let them out first? Let Big Brother talk to them, okay?" Seeing Annie's determined little eyes, Locke could only put it that way.

"No. They haven't agreed to protect the Divine Tree yet!" Annie refused.

"Let them out first. After Big Brother finishes talking with them, you can keep teaching them."

"All right!" Annie felt that Big Brother was right. Once they finished talking to Big Brother, she could continue teaching them.