Getting Ready for Egghead

(Brothers, the previous chapter has been fixed. Go back and read it again—it combines two chapters into one, so it's long!)

Three days passed in a flash.

This time, Swain didn't let Hancock see him off with great fanfare.

He left a short letter and hurried away.

Before leaving, he asked a guard for a Den Den Mushi. The guard gave him one without asking why, a teasing glint in his eyes.

Swain thought nothing of it and sailed off in a small boat.

Once he was far enough from Amazon Lily that he felt no one could listen in, he called Luo. "Luo!"

Luo answered as soon as he heard his voice. "When are you coming back, boss?"

Luo sounded like an aggrieved spouse. Swain felt a little sheepish. "I'm afraid I won't be back for a while yet."

"What?!" Luo's voice rose.

With Swain leaving everything in his hands again, Luo would have a lot more day-to-day work to handle.

"How long will you be gone this time? Give me a definite answer." Luo sounded helpless, but he had no choice but to accept it.

"About two weeks."

"All right. I'll take care of things on the island."

"Sorry for the trouble."

"There's no need to say that, boss. It's my job. There's one more thing: some of our fighters tend to get lost when they sail. We're badly short of navigators, so I was thinking of having Bepo join us?"

Swain answered without hesitation. "Bring back all your old companions. They can help you manage things."

He knew his other senior officers weren't suited to the job.

Norton loved drinking. He spent every day visiting taverns and challenging patrons to drinking contests, rarely returning before he was drunk.

Issho loved gambling. He showed some restraint, but he