Leaving for Now

"You really gave it your all." Robin bandaged Li Ziming's wounds, then maliciously poked one of them.

"Hey, hey, that hurts." Li Ziming rolled his eyes irritably. "And everyone's fighting. I don't want to be the only one lying in bed like this."

"All right, you did well." Robin had no choice but to praise Li Ziming. "Your fight with the priest was impressive. How did it feel?"

"The Dials and Mantra. Other than that, there wasn't much." Li Ziming shrugged. "The key was how they used all those different Dials. Used properly, different Dials can be incredibly convenient in battle. Things like Impact Dials and Heat Dials counter my abilities too much. And that ability called Mantra... I feel strangely familiar with it."

"Familiar?" Robin said. "I think it's probably Observation Haki from our world."

"Indeed, but by familiar, I mean I feel like I might know how to use it too. Yet when I trained before, I didn't sense Observation Haki at all." Li Ziming rubbed his head in frustration. "Fighting on Sky Island restricts my abilities too much. If I can master Observation Haki, it'll greatly improve my strength."

"So how are you planning to learn it?" Robin asked curiously. "You're not thinking of asking those priests to teach you, are you?"

"Not quite. It seems some Shandia also possess Mantra, so I want to see whether I can get their help. Though it'll be difficult." Li Ziming spoke helplessly.

"So you're going to find the Shandia now?" Robin placed a hand over Li Ziming's wound. "You haven't recovered yet."

"I know. We can talk about that later." Li Ziming shrugged.

"If that's the case, I've made some discoveries about this island." Robin took out two maps.

"Jaya is actually Sky Island?" Li Ziming said with a smile, making Robin freeze.

"You already knew?" Robin gave Li Ziming a helpless look. "I really don't know what you don't know."

"It smells so good." Rather than answering Robin, Li Ziming sniffed the air. "Sanji's cooking, right? How about helping me outside?" Li Ziming held out his hand to Robin.

Robin gave Li Ziming a helpless look, then let him lean against her.

"It smells wonderful." Li Ziming smiled. Robin suddenly had the urge to throw him straight onto the ground, but considering his injuries, she gave up on that idea.

"Ziming, you're better!" Luffy chewed on some unidentifiable meat as he happily watched Li Ziming come out.

"Yeah, I heard you defeated a priest. That's amazing, Captain." Li Ziming sat beside the large pot. "What's Sanji making?"

"Stone stew. You haven't recovered yet, so should I make you something lighter?" Considering Li Ziming's condition, Sanji had heard Chopper describe his battle and had already regarded him as a companion.

"No need." Li Ziming shook his head. "If I can only smell such delicious stew without eating it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"Ha!" As a chef, Sanji loved hearing someone praise his cooking. "It'll be ready soon. I'll serve you a huge bowl!"

"Then thank you." Li Ziming smiled and nodded.

"Ziming, we're going to look for gold. Want to come?" Luffy asked.

"Gold?" Li Ziming thought for a moment. "If it's gold, I have two pieces of information for you."

"No need, we already know." Nami proudly pulled out two maps and pointed to the skull's right eye. "There's a huge amount of gold in the skull's right eye!"

"Not only that." Li Ziming's words surprised everyone. "Besides the skull's right eye, there's a giant snake on this Sky Island. There's a huge amount of gold in its stomach, and there's also Enel's ark."

"An ark?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"An ark. It's a ship Enel built. It runs on lightning and is made entirely of gold." Li Ziming looked up at the sky, vaguely sensing something.

"Did he notice me?" Enel sat upon his divine throne, sensing Li Ziming's gaze, though it only lasted an instant. What an interesting blue sea man. But if their goal is gold, should I play a game with them?

"What is it?" Robin asked. Li Ziming's movement just now had seemed rather abrupt.

"Nothing." Li Ziming shook his head. "Those are the other two places I know of that have large amounts of gold. If you want gold, you can check them out too."

"Then let's split into groups!" Luffy shouted smugly. "We'll divide into three groups, and then we can get all the gold!"

"But that so-called god must be hard to deal with, right?" Usopp was filled with fear. "Can we really handle someone like that?"

"It'll be fine. Our captain is incredibly strong." Li Ziming had great confidence in Luffy.

"That's right! I'll send that guy flying, then take all the gold back!" Luffy said proudly as he ate.

"Oh, right." Li Ziming seemed to remember something. "Take a look at these Dials and see what you need. The most important ones are for Nami, Usopp, and Chopper." Li Ziming took out three Dials. "I took these from that priest, Shura. They're a Heat Dial, Flame Dial, and Impact Dial. We might need them while searching for gold."

"I'm curious about Dials, but give them to someone else." Usopp waved his hand. "I've decided to stay behind! I absolutely won't let anyone hurt the Going Merry again!"

"I'll stay behind too." Nami wanted to go, but it was simply too dangerous. She had no way to ensure her own safety. This was the first time Nami hated her own weakness so much.

"I don't want one either. Leave them all on the ship. If someone comes, the ship could be in danger too." Chopper spoke up. "And I'll be with everyone, so it'll be fine!"

"Then I'll leave these three Dials on the ship." Li Ziming handed the Dials to Usopp.

"But what exactly do these Dials do?" Usopp asked in confusion. "Aren't they just everyday items used by Sky Island people?"

"That is not the case. Allow this old man to explain the matter of Dials." Gan Fall emerged wearing a robe, and then began a lesson on how to use Dials.

Quite a few people showed curiosity toward the Dials, but someone kept their attention on Li Ziming. "Ziming, are you going to search for gold with us too?" Zoro looked at Li Ziming. "Your injuries haven't healed."

"No, I'm not going to search for gold." Li Ziming shook his head. "Of course, I won't be staying behind on the ship either. I want to do some training."

"Training?" Fighting spirit appeared in Zoro's eyes. "Is there somewhere suitable for training on this island?"

"I don't know about that. But Zoro, you should know that the priests on this island can use an ability called Mantra. In our world, that ability is called Observation Haki. This time, I want to see whether I can train myself to use Observation Haki." Li Ziming explained his plan. "My abilities are too heavily restricted on this island, so I urgently need to increase my combat strength."

Zoro looked at the Dials, then recalled that Li Ziming's fighting style mainly relied on the heat and shockwaves created by explosions. He immediately understood Li Ziming's reasoning. "Then be careful out there alone."

"Don't worry. I'm not ready to end my journey here yet. Besides, keeping up with a captain like this is rather addictive." Li Ziming said with a smile.

"Come on!" Zoro raised his cup.

"Cheers!" Li Ziming returned the gesture with a smile.

The next day, Li Ziming woke up early. On one hand, he did not want to say farewell to the others. On the other, he wanted to meet the legendary ship spirit.

Clang, clang! The sound of a small hammer striking something rang out.

"Your ship repair skills are really terrible. Are you sure this is okay for you?" Li Ziming's voice clearly startled the other party. A small figure dropped its hammer and vanished from the spot.

"Can't we meet? And if you repair it like this, you'll only suffer greater harm, won't you?" Li Ziming looked helplessly at the horribly damaged mast, picked up the hammer from the ground, and began tapping away.

"How did you find me?" The small figure peeked out curiously.

"If I said it was intuition, would you believe me?" Li Ziming looked amusedly at the figure before him. "Hello, Going Merry."

"My name isn't Going Merry." The small figure seemed dissatisfied with that name. "That's only my builder's name. I'll definitely have a truly great name someday!"

"How about Sunny?" Li Ziming said with a smile. "It suits your color." Li Ziming sat beside the ship spirit and reached out to rub its golden hair.

"No, it has no Haki at all!" The ship spirit rejected Li Ziming's suggestion. "I want a name that sounds incredibly domineering, tall, and mighty!"

"Tall and mighty?" Names like Gundam and Ultraman flashed through Li Ziming's mind.

"It should preferably be the name of someone famous on the sea!" The ship spirit knew that the person before it seemed to know many things, so perhaps he could give it a good name.

"Oars?" Li Ziming thought of the giant's name. "That name belongs to the tallest guy in the world. Even giants look like children before him."

"Oars... but it doesn't sound domineering at all." The ship spirit seemed somewhat disappointed.

"How many names sound domineering these days?" Li Ziming said with amusement. "Most famous people are known by their titles, like Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Fire Fist, the Marine Hero, and so on."

"Whitebeard?" The ship spirit seemed very interested in that name. "Who is that? It sounds so different from those other titles."

"Different?" Li Ziming smiled. "He's the strongest man on the sea. On the ocean, his name represents invincibility."

"Hm?" The ship spirit's eyes lit up. "Then can I be called Whitebeard?"

"Hm?" Li Ziming looked at it. "Whitebeard is a remnant of an era. He might leave at any time. Calling yourself that isn't very auspicious..." Seeing the ship spirit's sorrowful eyes, Li Ziming swallowed the rest of his words and placed a hand on its head. "How about Edward? That's Whitebeard's real name."

"Okay!" The ship spirit nodded excitedly.

"Who's there?!" Usopp's voice suddenly rang out. "A ghost!"

"Looks like everyone's waking up. I should get going too." Li Ziming stood up.

"Then I'll disappear for now too." Edward's entire body vanished from the ship.

Li Ziming left using Geppo. "There's still some distance to Water 7. It seems I'll need to find a way to repair the Going Merry, or figure out how to transfer a ship spirit from one ship to another."