Vic activated his Observation Haki, focusing it around a five-meter radius around him. He wanted to understand what was going on with this hot spring and why it had such miraculous effects.
Vic descended the stone steps into the warm pool, found a spot against the wall, and carefully observed the changes in his body and the pool water. His body was completely invisible beneath the colorful water.
He discovered that something was being extracted from his body and dissolving into the spring water, while something from the spring water was also entering his body.
He could Life Return, and with the added benefit of Observation Haki, he could sense the subtle, slow changes. Barnett, however, was completely unaware of them, and Frodeku could only detect a minor anomaly, but couldn't pinpoint the specifics.
After careful observation, Vic finally identified what it was: the vital energy contained within a human body. A little vital energy might be insignificant to a young person, but for an elderly person, it could be fatal. Vic no longer believed that the hot spring was naturally formed; there must be a conspiracy involved. He activated his Observation Haki and scanned the entire island.
"You guys soak for a bit, I have something to take care of. If anything happens here, just handle it as you see fit." Vic's voice was very calm, as if he were going to relieve himself.
Vic said something to the two of them and then walked up the stone steps. He slowly emerged from the water, and the water droplets on his body were absorbed by his body. With each step, a piece of clothing appeared on his body. With another step, a cloak and a sword appeared on his body. To the astonishment of the others, he flew towards the back mountain.
Barnett and Frodeku were stunned by what they saw. They couldn't understand how Vic had done it; his clothes had appeared out of thin air. Was this also the effect of extreme speed? The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
" Frodeku, why did Vic fly away in such a hurry? What are you Future Sight?" Barnett asked Frodeku, who was soaking comfortably in the bubbling water.
"I couldn't see it. Perhaps that event occurred before my foreseeable future. I only saw the captain go into a dark space; that's all I could see."
Don't worry, the captain will be fine. Did you see that just now? How did the captain do that?
Frodeku was reluctant to move. Soaking in the hot spring was indeed very comfortable. He had been working hard on the pirate ship in the past, so it was normal for him to have some minor injuries. This time, he could take advantage of the magical hot spring to relax.
"I don't know either. This is the first time I've seen Vic dress like this. It's so cool, appearing out of nowhere! How did he do that?"
Barnett stroked his chin, deep in thought. Although he was highly intelligent, the underlying reasons were beyond his comprehension.
On the other side of the women's bathhouse, Rebecca and the other two also spotted Vic flying away. As Vic left, he used Secret Sound Transmission to transmit the same words to the minds of the two women.
" Vic hasn't even started going to the bar yet, where are they headed?"
Rebecca was in a bad mood. She had planned to fly to the men's bath area while the others were getting tipsy and soak with Vic, but now that the male lead was gone, her plan was ruined.
"He must have made some discovery. After all, his Observation Haki allows him to see specific scenes directly. With his strength, we have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"We should be the ones worried. None of us know Armament Haki. If a Logia Fruit user comes along, we'll be in trouble."
Wendy leaned lazily against a rock on the shore, a white towel covering her eyes, looking completely relaxed. Two round pink breasts appeared and disappeared in front of her amidst the waves of the hot spring.
The same scene unfolded on Rebecca's side. Ain looked at this person, then at that person, and finally looked down at her flat chest, sighing. Until her abilities were fully developed, she could only enjoy the pleasures of childhood.
"There aren't that many Logia. We've already encountered two before, we're not going to be unlucky enough to run into another one. You're not Barnett, that Karasu, so what you say is useless. Let's just enjoy ourselves now. Maybe Vic is just out there dealing with some trouble!"
She was present when she encountered the two Logia users earlier. Many people didn't even know that the Snow-Snow Devil Fruit User was a Devil Fruit user. When he was discovered, he was already a dismembered corpse. Because someone tipped him off, he did things very discreetly and had never been wanted, so his identity was never found out. All the people involved were killed by Vic.
"Hehe, I didn't expect Barnett to be such a Karasu. He's more handsome when he's not talking, a cool and aloof god. But now that he's been with us for a while, he's become more down-to-earth!" Wendy chuckled as she talked about Barnett. She and Rebecca would sometimes chat about men's topics.
Just as the two were talking about Barnett, Barnett was also chatting idly. Soaking in the hot spring was indeed very comfortable and relaxing, which made him interested in chatting.
" Barnett, I'm so lucky to have met the captain this time. He changed my life. If it had been some other navy officer who met me, I'd probably be heading to jail."
"For so long, I've lived amidst the ridicule of others. Only the captain saw my difference and accepted me regardless of what others thought. I'll never forget that day!" Frodeku's eyes were a little moist. He hadn't worn his glasses in the hot spring because white mist kept condensing on his eyes.
" Vic is indeed a man full of miracles. We went to sea once half a year ago when we were still in Recruit Camp."
That time was exceptionally dangerous; we almost suffered total annihilation. It was only thanks to Vic's heroic efforts that we were saved from several life-or-death crises.
From that moment on, I became determined to follow Vic. I wanted him to become the Supreme Commander of the Navy and bring true justice to this sea!
Barnett recalled that this was the first time Frodeku had ever heard of these things either.
His life before was chaotic; he hadn't even figured out how to live his own life, and he had absolutely no understanding of justice or anything like that. He just drifted through life, getting by without a clear direction.
However, after two months in the Navy, he had come to understand some things, but that did not stop him from resolutely following Vic.
"Hurry up and have some fun at the bar. It's rare to have such a leisurely time without pirates. I was the commander-in-chief when we went to sea before, and I was always on edge. After that voyage, I realized that without strength, even if you lead a warship, it's useless. You can't provide your crew with physical and mental safety!"
Barnett, speaking from experience, shared his own feelings with Frodeku, urging him to seize the moment and enjoy the moment.
"Oh no! Fire! The houses on the street have been set on fire by the pirates, and the fire is spreading. Everyone, don't stay inside the buildings..." Barnett had barely finished speaking when he heard the sound from the street, accompanied by a Karasu smell. His jinx was fully Awakening.
"Quick, let's get dressed and go check the situation!" Barnett urged Frodeku to rush out of the baths.
Actually, the bathhouse was the safest place after the fire, as it was open-air and had plenty of hot springs. However, they also had another identity: marines. They were out here for training and were about to take action against the pirates causing trouble.