Arrival at Ohara

Dawn pressed his advantage, using his left hand to absorb the surrounding air and store it in Subspace. Through Subspace's properties, he instantly compressed it, then fired it out through his right hand.

"Compressed Air Gatling!"

Boom boom boom boom—!!!

Invisible yet terrifyingly powerful Air Cannons battered the Frog Sea King, which had yet to steady itself, at an extremely rapid rate.

Wherever the Air Cannons passed, deep trenches were plowed across the sea. When they struck the massive beast's body, they triggered relentless explosions, while surging shockwaves rolled outward and swept up a skyful of mist.

As the echoes of the explosions gradually faded and the water mist slowly settled, restoring some calm to the sea, the Frog Sea King was already floating belly-up on the surface, completely devoid of life.

Half an hour later, on the deck.

Under Stella's resentful little stare, Dawn carried several mountain-like chunks of the Sea King's finest meat, which had been cut apart, back onto the deck.

A thick smell of blood filled the air, yet compared to the immense life energy radiating from the Sea King's flesh, that odor seemed almost insignificant.

Stella, who had grown accustomed to maintaining her beast form ever since gaining her ability, slapped the soaked deck with her paw and snapped, "Are you trying to tear this ship apart completely?! If this keeps up, how are we supposed to keep sailing?!"

Dawn casually dusted off his hands as though there were dirt on them and looked at the pile of meat.

"We're almost in the West Blue anyway. This junk boat is nearly at its limit too. Once we get ashore, we'll find a port and rob another... no, borrow a sturdier sailing ship."

He deliberately switched to a slightly more civilized-sounding word.

Stella was momentarily speechless with anger. In truth, she wanted to say that she could not bear to part with this ship she had lived on with Dawn for several months.

She had originally been nothing more than a lowly slave with no control over her fate. After Dawn bought her, she had thought she had merely escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's maw, destined for a bleak life as someone's plaything.

Yet she had never expected that this man, who constantly claimed he had bought her to be his wife, had done no more than verbally tease her most of the time after that one occasion when he had nearly acted on his intentions. Or, like just now, he would get handsy, but he had never truly crossed that final line.

She could not understand why he seemed to deliberately maintain a certain restraint while displaying both formidable strength and... such roguish behavior.

What confused her even more—and secretly stirred her heart—was that although Dawn never mentioned the embarrassment of that day again, the way he treated her was nothing like how a master treated a slave. Instead, it was like how a... well, somewhat mischievous but generally competent husband treated his shy wife.

This feeling of being respected and cared for was something she had experienced for the first time in her life. It made her understand the taste of "happiness."

At one point, she had even secretly pretended to be ill to test him. Yet Dawn had believed her without the slightest thought of taking advantage of her vulnerability. He had merely cared for her clumsily yet attentively, and the worry in his eyes had been genuine.

After all those complicated, indescribable emotions piled up, what she felt for Dawn was no longer simple gratitude or fear.

Having never known such matters, she found it difficult to define those feelings precisely. But she knew clearly that at the thought of abandoning this battered ship, filled with memories of their life together, a deep reluctance gripped her heart.

She took a deep breath, her nine white tails swaying slightly with agitation.

"Anyway, I won't let you throw this ship away!"

Dawn raised an eyebrow. Looking at the little fox's somewhat excessive reaction, he seemed to understand something, and a teasing smile curled across his lips.

"Oh? Don't tell me... you can't bear to part with this junk boat? Don't worry, Stella. Out with the old, in with the new. Besides..."

"As long as you're with me, anywhere is home."

Pfft—!

It was as if she could hear the blood rushing to her head. Stella felt her cheeks instantly turn scorching hot. Even her white fur seemed to take on a pink tint, and faint steam appeared to rise from her head.

He actually... actually saw right through her! And that last line... that was completely unfair!

"W-What are you saying all of a sudden?! Have you no shame?!"

With a thoroughly flustered expression, Stella threw out those incoherent words. No longer daring to look into Dawn's smiling eyes, she spun around and fled back into the cabin like a startled rabbit, slamming the door shut behind her.

Once that lovely white figure disappeared from sight, Dawn's smile widened with the smug satisfaction of a scheme succeeding.

After that day, he had thought it over carefully. He had indeed acted too hastily then. He did not have the absurd trait of some Sun God, who could turn certain people into diehard loyalists in a short time. It was better to play it safe.

He knew that certain seeds had already been deeply planted. All they needed was the right time to bloom and bear fruit.

More than a month later.

Sea Circle Calendar 1518, January.

West Blue, Ohara, waters near the northwestern coast.

A steamship even more battered than before creaked as it sailed, as though it might fall apart the next second. Like a ghost ship from a story, it struggled across the sparkling sea.

It had completed a nearly impossible journey, crossing the Calm Belt and reaching the destination of this voyage.

Dawn stood on the scarred deck and gazed into the distance. At the edge of his vision, the outline of an island gradually became clear. At its center stood the Tree of Knowledge, a colossal tree that seemed to hold up the heavens. Like a monument to civilization, it was awe-inspiring.

Stella had transformed into that snow-white Nine-Tailed Fox and stood quietly upon his broad shoulder. Her gem-like fox eyes were also fixed on the legendary tree, filled with curiosity.

After more than five months of travel and crossing the dangerous Calm Belt, they had finally reached their destination.

Over ten minutes later, the steamship let out a groan of relief and finally swayed its way onto a secluded shoal northwest of Ohara.

Dawn carried a canvas bag on his back and, with the Nine-Tailed Fox on his shoulder, lightly leaped onto the soft sand of the shore.

"Alright, we're here. I'm going to dismantle that ship and recycle the materials now. You don't object anymore, right?"

This time, Stella, in the form of a White Fox, no longer showed the resistance she had before. The past month of sailing and thinking had helped her understand many things.

What mattered had never been the ship itself, but the person aboard it and the time they had spent together. She had also vaguely figured out what that complicated feeling in her heart truly was, though a young girl's reserve still made it difficult for her to say it aloud.

She obediently nodded her little head.

"Mm, I don't object. It's about time... we got a more reliable ship."

Having received an affirmative answer, Dawn no longer hesitated. Turning to face the battered ship that carried several months of their memories, he used Kurouzu and stored it within Subspace.

After finishing all that, Dawn turned back and gently rubbed the little head of the Nine-Tailed Fox on his shoulder.

"Alright, put away the other eight tails. Nine tails are too conspicuous. We need to keep a low profile for now."

The Nine-Tailed Fox obediently nodded. With a thought, a puff of pink smoke exploded with a poof. Once the smoke dispersed, her nine magnificent, eye-catching tails had vanished, leaving only one fluffy white tail swaying gently behind her. She now looked like an ordinary but beautiful White Fox, no longer so shockingly extraordinary.

Stella, now in the form of an ordinary White Fox, raised her little head and looked at the smiling blond youth.

"Dawn, what do we do next?"

Dawn looked toward the Tree of Knowledge, his gaze deep as he replied calmly.

"Wait."

"Wait?"

Stella tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait for someone to come find us."

Dawn casually explained, an inscrutable smile at the corner of his lips.

"We don't have scholar credentials, so it would be difficult to enter the Tree of Knowledge's core areas openly. We can only use some... unconventional methods."

After explaining, he moved his mind. Some of the steamship parts that had just been absorbed into Subspace were selectively released—mainly the largest planks that most resembled hull wreckage, along with twisted metal components—scattered haphazardly along the shore.

After doing all that, he casually walked over to the largest plank, curled up his tall body, and lay down. He even deliberately tousled his long blond hair and smeared some sand and dust over his face, making himself look utterly exhausted and like a survivor of a disaster.

Watching his smooth series of actions, Stella became even more confused.

"Y-You... what are you doing?"

"Disguising myself."

Dawn answered succinctly.

"Disguising myself as a shipwreck survivor. Ohara's scholars are famous for their kindness and thirst for knowledge. They won't leave someone in distress to die."

He could naturally use his ability to turn invisible and sneak in, but his invisibility only made people unable to see him; it did not let him ignore physical volume or collisions. Within the Tree of Knowledge, where scholars gathered and people constantly came and went, the risk of exposure was too great.

It would be better to do the opposite and actively be "rescued."

More precisely, Dawn wanted to steal Saul's role in advance. He wanted to replace Saul in Robin's heart, and this shore happened to be a place Robin often visited.

In terms of probability, Robin was also the most likely person to discover him.

Of course, he would not tell Stella directly about such behavior as having his eye on both the bowl and the pot.

Most importantly, if he wanted to overthrow the World Government and deprive those lofty pigs of their privileged living conditions, Robin's knowledge was indispensable to Dawn.

The steamship wreckage dismantled by Subspace looked no different from debris destroyed by a tsunami. Combined with his carefully crafted bedraggled appearance, he was completely confident that he could fool them.

"Don't ask questions. Hurry, lie in my arms. Remember, we're now a master and pet who depend on each other. We've drifted at sea for a long time, finally saw land, only for our ship to be destroyed and leave us stranded."

Dawn winked at the White Fox.

Stella's fox face heated slightly. She obediently jumped into Dawn's arms, found a comfortable position, and curled up. She even took the initiative to rub her head against Dawn's chin, playing along with the act.

One man and one fox lay quietly amid the "wreckage" on Ohara's desolate coast. Golden sunlight spilled over Dawn's handsome yet deliberately weary face and Stella's flawless white fur, like a frozen oil painting.

TO BE CONTINUED