Melbourne Island

The luxurious ship had been sailing across the vast ocean for over half a month.

The sea breeze kept filling its sails, and the ocean stretched as far as the eye could see.

Charlos held the nautical chart, turning it this way and that with his brows tightly furrowed.

"That's not right. There should be an island here. Why can't I find it? Where did it go?"

Nico Robin glanced up at the chart in his hands.

"You're holding it upside down."

Charlos hurriedly turned the chart around and studied it.

"Ah, that's better."

But after staring at it for another moment, he still looked utterly lost.

"Nope, I still can't make sense of it."

Robin stepped forward, took the chart, and examined it carefully before letting out a soft sigh.

"We've been going in the opposite direction."

Rukia immediately rushed over, her face full of panic.

"What? The opposite direction? Are you kidding me? What do we do now? We're running low on food. We only have enough for three days!"

Charlos helplessly picked his nose.

Nico Robin spoke calmly. "Don't worry. If we sail southeast, we should come across an island. There's a village there where we can restock."

Rukia let out a long breath and patted her chest.

"You scared me! I thought we were going to starve to death at sea."

Then she turned and glared fiercely at Charlos.

"This is all your fault!"

Charlos quickly looked away, deliberately changing the subject.

"Um... I'm getting a little hungry. Let's go have some meat."

Rukia snatched up a spatula and hurried forward to block his path.

"Meat? What meat? Are you trying to work me to death?"

"Th-then I'll find a way to catch some fish. Is that good enough, Rukia?"

Rukia planted her hands on her hips and urged him on. "Then hurry up."

Just then, Amira and Amina strolled over side by side. Amira raised a hand and lightly tapped Rukia on the head.

"You mustn't act like that."

Rukia grumbled indignantly. "Amira, he's the reason we're about to go hungry."

Amira soothed her gently. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Since he said he'd get us some fish, let's leave it to him."

Amina turned to Charlos and asked, "Charlos, how are you planning to catch them?"

Charlos grinned. "Hehe, leave it to me."

With that, he stripped off his clothes until he was wearing only his underpants.

Rukia hastily squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, "What are you doing? You pervert!"

Charlos looked exasperated. "Hey, how am I supposed to catch fish without going into the sea? I can't exactly jump in with my clothes on."

Rukia muttered, "Then do it where people can't see you next time."

"Tch."

The moment Charlos finished speaking, he flipped over and plunged into the sea.

A strong gust swept across the water, swelling the sails.

Nico Robin watched the billowing sails and said, "With wind like this, the ship's going to drift away pretty fast."

Amina's expression changed, and she cried out, "Oh no! Drop the anchor!"

Amira quickly caught her arm.

"We're nowhere near the shore. Why would you drop the anchor?"

Amina replied anxiously, "We can't let the ship drift away! If it goes too far, Charlos won't be able to find us."

Amira shook her head. "That won't work. The water's too deep here. The anchor won't reach the seabed."

Amina was so frantic that she didn't know what to do. "Then what can we do?"

Amira gazed at the surging sea, a hint of worry in her voice. "We can only pray that Charlos will be all right."

Charlos dove through the water, releasing a string of bubbles as he wondered, What kind of fish should I catch?

He looked around, and his gaze suddenly landed on a massive Sea King sleeping soundly in the distance.

Charlos silently swam toward it.

As though sensing the disturbance nearby, the Sea King abruptly opened its eyes, spread its enormous jaws, and charged at Charlos.

Facing the oncoming Sea King, Charlos coated his arm in Armament Haki, clenched his fist, and rushed straight at it.

Above the water, strong winds battered the luxurious ship, pushing it steadily forward. Before long, the gale finally began to die down.

Amira let out a long breath. "Whew, it finally stopped."

Nico Robin raised a hand and pointed toward the distant horizon.

"Look over there. There's an island."

Amina squinted into the distance. "Which island is it?"

Robin shook her head. "I'm not sure. We'll have to go ashore to find out."

Amira spoke slowly. "Stay here and keep watch. I'll go scout out that island."

With that, she spread her snowy-white wings and flew toward the distant island.

Amina stared out at the vast ocean, looking panicked as she murmured, "We're in trouble. What do we do? Charlos won't be able to find us now."

Nico Robin smiled faintly. "Don't worry. He isn't that far away."

Amina immediately asked, "How do you know?"

Robin waved the chart in her hand.

Amina looked astonished. "You can read that thing?"

Robin nodded. "I can. That's why I said he isn't far away."

Charlos emerged from the water beside the Sea King's floating corpse. He glanced around, and his brows suddenly knitted together.

"What the hell? Where's the ship? Did I swim too far? Damn it, what do I do now?"

Before he had even finished speaking, another enormous Sea King lunged at him.

Charlos gritted his teeth and scrambled onto the dead Sea King's body.

"What do you want? Looking for a fight?"

The shark-shaped Sea King opened its gaping jaws and lunged savagely at Charlos.

Armament Haki instantly coated Charlos's arm as he roared, "Come on!"

Meanwhile, Amira slowly descended onto the island.

The little village was quiet and peaceful. A farm woman was urging along the child beside her.

"Hurry up and pick them. Hurry! We need to finish harvesting the cherries early. It looks like it'll rain after today."

The child answered, "Okay, Mom."

Amira walked up and greeted them. "Hello."

The little boy looked up at Amira and asked curiously, "What's wrong, little girl?"

"I'm lost. Could you tell me what island this is?"

The woman looked Amira over with pity in her eyes. "You poor child. Were you shipwrecked?"

Amira looked at the woman and nodded lightly.

"Don't worry, child. Come along. Let me treat you to some cherry pie."

The little boy hurried over and chimed in excitedly, "Yeah, yeah! My mom makes the best cherry pie!"

Amira shook her head gently. "Oh, no, no. I just wanted to ask what island this is."

The woman smiled warmly, took a handful of bright red cherries from her bamboo basket, and offered them to Amira.

Amira instinctively reached out and accepted them.

"Try some. This is Melbourne Island. We grow lots of cherries here."

Amira nodded. "Mmm, these cherries are so sweet."

"Sweet, aren't they? Come inside and sit down, child. I'll make you some cherry pie."

The little boy hurried forward and reached for Amira's hand. Amira shifted slightly aside to avoid him. He could only tuck his hands behind his back, pouting as he pleaded, "Come on, come on! My mom's cherry pie is delicious. It really is!"

"No, thank you. My companions are still waiting for me on the ship."

Hearing this, the woman looked at Amira and smiled. "Oh, you have companions? Then bring them all over. You can all try some cherry pie together."

"All right."

With that, Amira turned and hurried away.

Watching her retreating figure, the little boy turned to the woman and said, "Mom, she's so pretty."

Bonk! A light fist tapped the little boy on the forehead.

"You're too young to be thinking about that! Stop getting distracted and finish picking the cherries."