Dragon froze where he stood after stepping off the ship.
Then he remembered why he had come and headed into town.
He looked at a middle-aged man lying in a deck chair beside the road.
"Hello, do you know where Norman Brian lives?"
The man in the deck chair sat up.
Fanning himself with his only remaining hand, he studied Dragon.
"Who are you? What do you want with him?"
Dragon replied.
"My name is Monkey D. Dragon. I'm a good friend of Brian's."
"He can't come home right now, so he asked me to deliver some things to his grandmother."
The man in the deck chair nodded.
"Oh, I see."
"Brian's place is in the northwest corner of the eastern side of town."
"There's a huge ginkgo tree in the yard."
"It really stands out. You'll spot it right away."
"Is young Brian doing well? He's been gone for over two years."
Dragon paused briefly.
"He's doing well, but his work keeps him from coming home."
"That's why he asked me to come here."
The man in the deck chair laughed.
"I see. Then off you go."
"Give Grandma Candice something to smile about."
Dragon nodded.
"All right, thank you."
He then headed in the direction the man had indicated.
Beneath his cloak, his grip tightened around the package... these were Brian's belongings, left behind after his death...
His thoughts seemed to return to that night several months earlier...
Several months earlier, on Jaya Island.
The second day of the manhunt.
"Move, move, move!"
"That criminal ran into this area and disappeared."
"Search!"
"One house each! Pick up the pace!"
"Don't overlook a single corner!"
From a rooftop, Dragon watched the soldiers searching below.
He turned into a gentle breeze and vanished.
He re-formed inside a house.
Whoosh-