As his hand touched the doorframe, he looked back.
"Mr. Tom, our family owes you a favor."
"We will repay it."
He stepped out of the shipyard beneath the waterway, and the daylight outside pierced the gloom.
Behind him, the boys' hushed argument drifted faintly over-"We could have asked for more..."
"Master is too stubborn!"
-and that deep "Tah-ha-ha-ha" laugh rippled through the damp air.
Rossi shook his head.
Perhaps this was a particular kind of... stubbornness unique to those who stood at the pinnacle of their field?
"The world's greatest shipwright..."
Someone like him should not meet his end at the hands of trash like Spandine.
Several days later.
The air at Dock One carried the scent of wood shavings and sea salt.
"Once you reach the New World, you have to visit Zou!"
The Minotaur Warrior Rody slung his arm heavily around Rossi's shoulders, his enormous head rubbing affectionately against Rossi's left cheek.
His stiff mane scraped against Rossi's skin with a soft rasp.
Had Armament Haki not already been flowing beneath his skin, the sensation would probably have been hard to bear.
Trebol's red, swollen cheek beside him was proof enough. He was rubbing the side of his face with a grimace.
"Rossi... thank you for looking after us along the way."
At the edge of the dock, a patch of warm, soft fur brushed Rossi's right cheek.
"If you run into trouble, make sure you let us know."
"We will."
Rossi folded the thin sheet of paper and tucked it deep into his pocket. "Once we cross the Red Line, we'll come find you on the elephant's back."
An island without a magnetic bearing could only be reached by following a Vivre Card.
For the Mink Tribe, handing over that paper was almost entrusting someone