A birthday banquet.
The crew raised their glasses high to celebrate Shane's birthday.
Ginny grinned from ear to ear when she heard that.
"I swear I'll eat until I make Shane cry!"
Kuma also felt they ought to celebrate. Their journey so far had been far too nerve-racking.
"Then I'll make sure to take away that feeling of fullness!"
Enemies came one after another. They would often escape a powerful opponent only to encounter an even stronger one.
Even their years as slaves had not been as anxiety-filled as this.
But each time they escaped danger, they would discover when they next faced an enemy that they had already grown stronger.
The sense of security that strength brought felt quite good.
He still remembered why he had set out to sea.
Shane had said that the weak could not protect those weaker than themselves, but the strong could raise their blades against those stronger.
"Woohoo!"
Gourmet Island was filled with laughter and cheer.
"Urouge! Go find someone to coat the ship! Pick up a few of his tricks while you're at it."
Shane assigned the honest Urouge a task.
"No problem, Captain."
Urouge went off to work. Perhaps because of his recent increase in strength, he had also grown considerably taller.
The same was true of practically the entire Pirate Crew.
Even Olvia had surpassed her original height of 1.9 meters.
She had also developed a keen awareness of things like ocean currents and the weather, alongside her marksmanship training.
Her perception was improving rapidly, and she had become a competent sniper.
The others were growing stronger as well.
Even Moria was studying swordsmanship under Kaido.
Kuzan, another apprentice crew member, preferred training in Rokushiki under Shane, especially Violet Haki.
After all, it had emerged from Iron Fist, Black Arm,