" Luo Chen, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you for so long..."
Nayako ran excitedly towards him and Impact into his arms.
"Alright, alright, I'm here now. I told you I'm really strong, you know. I've chased all those pirates away. Let's go home..."
Although he saw Nayako rushing towards him with excitement and joy, he could clearly feel the little girl in his arms trembling slightly.
This was the fear and unease that had been building up inside her, and now that she was finally saved, her emotions burst forth in Luo Chen's arms. Her tears soaked his chest, and Luo Chen couldn't help but pat her back to comfort her.
"Yeah!! Going home..."
Nayako nodded heavily in his arms in response.
"Hey, Nayako, let's go!!"
After a short while, seeing that Nayako in his arms seemed to have calmed down, Luo Chen couldn't help but pat her pink back to remind her.
but...
Luo Chen's ears twitched, and a soft, faint breathing sound reached him, making him both amused and exasperated. It turned out that in the midst of her emotional rollercoaster, Nayako had fallen asleep in his arms, murmuring softly in her sleep. He had no choice but to carry her back to her residence, the little wooden house.
Meanwhile, Lulith, Violet, and the other two, who had separated from Phil and the other two and were following the instructions on the Vivre Card to meet Luo Chen, finally arrived in the sea area near the island.
"This is it, the location indicated by the captain's Vivre Card..."
Lulith opened her palm and saw the small piece of paper floating on it, and said excitedly.
"Well, we've finally arrived. We've been sailing for three days following the instructions on the Vivre Card. Are we finally going to see him? I'm really looking forward to it!!"
Wearing a cheongsam and a bright red flower in her hair, the beautiful and charming Violet walked over, gazing at the nameless island in front of her with a smile on her face.
"Two beautiful ladies, shall I go and prepare a delicious and sumptuous dinner to celebrate?!"
Carrying a long staff, dressed in a white chef's uniform, and holding two large ladles, Monbuma stood at the door and offered her advice to the two.
"Well, then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Monbuma..."
Please help me!!
After a long trek, the two were also feeling a bit hungry. Seeing that Monbuma had said so, they understood and replied.
"Leave it all to me. It's not my job as a chef to let those two beautiful ladies suffer from indigestion!"
After receiving their reply, Monbuma patted her chest and vouched for them before going into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.
Flames were lit, wisps of smoke rose slowly, and the aroma of food filled the air.
"Hmm!! This is..."
In a small wooden cabin on the island, Luo Chen, who had been watching over the sleeping Nayako and was also starting to doze off in his chair, suddenly Observation Haki something and immediately stood up from his stool, looking outside in surprise at the direction from which Lulith and the others had arrived.
"Could it be them? But why are there only three people left on that ship? Where did the others go?"
Luo Chen focused his mind, concentrating his Observation Haki to sense that area. He accurately detected the auras of the three people in the direction from which Lulith and the others were coming. After confirming that they were correct, he became puzzled.
"Forget it, let's go take a look first and confirm it ourselves!"
Luo Chen thought about it for a while but still couldn't figure it out, so he decided to go and personally confirm and ask them in order to get the answer he wanted.
After thinking it over, he got up from the chair and headed towards the door. Just as Luo Chen's foot stepped across the threshold, a soft moan came from the small wooden bed, and then...
" Luo Chen, are you leaving?"
As the sound of humming in her sleep began, Nayako slowly woke up in bed. Seeing Luo Chen's hurried departure, she had a bad feeling and immediately became nervous, pitifully asking him what was wrong.
"Uh... Nayako, I..."
Luo Chen was about to say that he was just going out for a walk, but then he remembered that his companion had come to pick him up, so he hesitated and didn't know how to bring it up with her.
"Can you take me with you? I... I won't cause you any trouble. I'm also very useful; I can help treat your wounds, and... and..."
Seeing Luo Chen's expression, Nayako became even more certain of her thoughts. Afraid that he would abandon her and leave, she immediately spoke nervously, then looked intently at Luo Chen with her large, watery eyes, as if she would burst into tears at any moment if he didn't agree, hoping to get a positive answer from him.
"Well... alright, I'll take you there with me!"
Luo Chen was initially hesitant, but seeing Nayako's red-rimmed eyes and the tears about to fall, he immediately changed his mind.
"Um!!"
Finally receiving his affirmative answer, Nayako nodded vigorously, jumped off the bed, hopped over to him, and looked at him with a smile.
"Uh... come on, get on my back. Walking is too slow, let's just rush there like this..."
Luo Chen squatted down, his back to her, and said.
"Good!!"
Nayako had no defenses against Luo Chen and jumped onto him, only to be caught by Luo Chen's arms.
Swoosh...
Then, with his thighs slightly bent, he suddenly pushed off, his body disappearing from the spot, and he sped off towards the Extreme Speed of the island.
On the ship, in the dining room, Lulith and Violet sat at the long table, each fork piercing a slice of meat, which they elegantly savored, before praising the chef Monbuma, who had prepared it.
"Mmm, Monbuma, your cooking skills are still so superb! We're so grateful the captain recruited you; otherwise, we wouldn't be able to enjoy such delicious meals every day. Thank you!!"
"Thank you for your praise, it is my honor!"
Hearing Lulith's praise of him from the cooking table not far from them, Monbuma put down his ladle, turned around, and replied with a happy expression.
After saying that, Lulith continued to reach for the plate with her fork.
Unlike her, Violet quietly savored the food on her plate, but the joy and satisfaction on her face expressed her approval of Monbuma's cooking.
Swoosh...
clatter!!
"Um!!"
At that moment, Monbuma, who was cooking, twitched his ears, stopped what he was doing, and looked out the door. His unusual movement startled the other two.
"What's wrong, Monbuma?"
"What happened, Mr. Monbuma?!"
"Lulith and Violet asked him."
"Hmm, I think I just heard a sound. Did something come aboard the deck?"
Monbuma nodded slightly in response.
"Someone?? Impossible! This looks like a deserted island. Besides the captain, there are other people here, and they even managed to get onto our ship?!"
Lulith was somewhat skeptical.
"No, my ears are incredibly sharp. Nothing on this ship escapes my notice. It seems some uninvited guest has intruded..."
Monbuma shook his head and said that he then took off the chef's apron from his chest and pulled out the steel rod from his back, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"Let's go out and take a look first!"
At this moment, Violet spoke up at the opportune moment.
"Okay, let's go out and take a look together..."
Seeing Monbuma's unusually serious expression, Lulith knew that his perception might be correct, and agreed.
Immediately, the three of them, with solemn expressions and serious demeanor, walked out together.