Arrival at Cocoyasi Village

Syrup Village, on the northern shore.

"Hey! Lott, are you sure you won't invite me to be your vice captain?"

Usopp looked at Lott, hope in his eyes.

Over the past few days, he had learned news of his father from Lott, and he had also learned that Lott and his crew were pirates who longed for freedom.

So he wanted to set sail with Lott too.

Lott walked over to Usopp and patted him lightly. "Kid, you're too young, and now isn't the best time for you to set sail. Someday, a boy wearing a straw hat will come and invite you to sea. He's your captain."

Usopp nodded. Over the past few days, he felt he had come to understand Lott. He thought Lott was practically a prophet, knowing so much about this world, just like a fortune-teller.

So he agreed wholeheartedly with Lott's words.

"We're off. Take good care of Kaya, and study that Sniper Manual I gave you. Don't let those good genes from Yasopp go to waste."

Hearing this, Kaya, who stood nearby, glanced at Lott with a slight blush. She was no longer as frail and sickly as she had been a few days ago. Lott had used the Electromagnetic Fruit's power to eliminate some abnormal electromagnetic waves inside her body.

Her health had therefore improved considerably, and it would only keep improving.

Watching the Skybreaker sail away, Usopp tightened his grip on the manual and thought, We'll definitely meet again. I hope we'll be able to help you then.

Aboard the Skybreaker.

"Let's welcome Kuro to the crew. Cheers!"

"Yeah!"

Although there weren't many people, the banquet still took quite some time.

[Ding. Partner Search Mission progress +1. Rewards obtained: Never-Breaking T-Shirt, Never-Breaking Shorts, Never-Breaking Slippers, System Space upgraded to 20 × 20, one billion Beli.]

Only upon hearing the system notification in his mind did Lott remember that he still had unused cards.

System, fuse all the cards!

[Ding. Fusion successful!]

Open my personal panel.

[Name: Lott;

Sex: male;

Age: 17.3 years;

Observation Haki: advanced (special type), Future Sight, sensing people's hearts;

Armament Haki: advanced;

Conqueror's Haki: intermediate;

Physical combat: advanced;

Electromagnetic Fruit development: advanced (no side effects).

Pirate ship Skybreaker: intermediate]

The Electromagnetic Fruit having no side effects probably meant immunity to Seastone and seawater.

Lott nodded, very satisfied. By his estimation, if he encountered Kizaru again with his current strength, he should be able to fight him to a draw, or even have a slight advantage.

Lott reached into System Space and took out another Devil Fruit. It was the Zoan Devil Fruit, Mythical Zoan Bird-Bird Fruit, Peng Form.

This fruit was clearly meant for Kuro. Considering Kuro's speed and weapons, he felt this fruit suited Kuro best.

"Kuro, this is for you." As he spoke, he tossed Kuro the Devil Fruit, which looked like a pile of crap.

Kuro caught the Devil Fruit and looked at Lott questioningly.

"This is the Zoan Bird-Bird Fruit, Peng Form. It's even a Mythical Zoan. It's practically tailor-made for you. For example..."

After listening to Lott's explanation, Kuro finally ate the Devil Fruit that looked like a lump of crap.

Then Lott handed Kuro a Haki training manual.

He believed that, with Kuro's intelligence, learning Haki should be easy.

Once all that was done, he adjusted the ship's heading and set course for Cocoyasi Village.

Lott slowly walked to the bow. Zoro was training in the lookout room, while Ling'er was working out in the Gravity Room.

Kuro was familiarizing himself with his newly acquired abilities.

After five days of sailing, the Skybreaker had approached the waters around Cocoyasi Village.

Bang!

Splash!

An enormous figure appeared in the sea ahead of the bow. Lott, who had been meditating there, slowly opened his eyes.

Taking a closer look at the monster before him, he smiled faintly. Wasn't this Momoo, the monster from Arlong Park?

Zoro and the other two, who had been training, now came over to Lott as well.

"Lott, is this tonight's dinner?" Ling'er asked curiously.

"Not so fast. Maybe it can be our boat hauler and pull the ship for us," Lott replied, shaking his head.

Then a red light flashed in his eyes, and an intensely oppressive aura surged toward the sea monster before him.

The sea monster Momoo, who had been baring his teeth a moment ago, instantly began trembling all over. Fear crept into his expression, and he was on the verge of tears.

He turned to flee into the distance.

"Wait!"

Momoo, who had just turned away, froze, then slowly turned back to face Lott, tears brimming in his eyes. He looked utterly aggrieved, his expression like that of a bullied child.

Looking at the sea monster before him, Lott couldn't help marveling at the wonders of the pirate world. Even a sea monster possessed such high intelligence.

"You know where Cocoyasi Village is, right? Take us there, and we'll let you go once we arrive."

The sea monster looked at Lott questioningly.

"Don't worry. We'll keep our word," Ling'er promised.

But when the sea monster saw the drool at the corner of Ling'er's mouth, he trembled even harder.

At the sight, Kuro could no longer hold back and burst out laughing.

"All right, hurry along!" Once Momoo had successfully towed the Skybreaker to the shore of Cocoyasi Village, Lott quickly sent him away.

With permission granted, Momoo plunged into the sea and swam into the distance as fast as he possibly could.

"Let's go take a look around the village." With that, Lott jumped off the ship and headed deeper into the village.

Seeing this, Zoro and the other two jumped off the ship after him.

The four had only just reached the village entrance when they stopped dead in their tracks.

The houses before them were built in a very strange way. Most were upside down, their roofs serving as their foundations.

The streets were crisscrossed with trenches, without a single person in sight. It was as though some natural disaster had struck, turning the place into a dead village.

Ling'er was frightened and clutched Lott's arm tightly, burying her little head deep in the gap between his arm and body.

Her voice trembled as she spoke. "L-Lott, are you sure our navigator is a normal human, and not some g-ghost or monster?"

Lott stroked Ling'er's head. He was deeply shocked himself. He had already found it incredible when he read the manga in his previous life.

Now that he was standing amid it all, the impact was incomparable.

He couldn't help thinking that merfolk's arm strength might be more than simply ten times that of humans.

Zoro spoke in disbelief as well. "Is this the village's architectural style? Why isn't anyone on the streets? Or did something terrifying happen here?"

Zoro's words frightened Ling'er even more. "Hey, hey, Moss Head, stop saying scary things like that."

Kuro calmly walked over to a house and examined where its roof met the ground.

Then he transformed into a giant peng and flew above the house to inspect it closely.

With a teleport, he appeared beside Lott.

Yes, it was teleportation, an effect granted by the Bird-Bird Fruit.

When the great peng rose with the wind, it could soar ninety thousand li straight into the sky. One could imagine how fast it was. Kuro's speed was now almost equal to Lott's.