Half a day later, Vic reached the deserted island where he had left his boat. His Geppo had improved a great deal: he could keep it up longer and move faster. He had not stopped in the Calm Belt to catch his breath, making the trip in one go. But the large bundle on his back had slowed him down a little, so it had still taken him half a day to get there.
Almost two months had passed, and the little boat was still there. Plenty of creatures had gathered beneath its hull, though, and there were plenty of bird droppings on it, too. Vic dragged the boat to the shore, and the sound of grumbling and cursing could be heard. By the time he came back, the boat had been cleaned.
After eating something on the island and recovering some strength, Vic took out his map and checked the direction of Laipe Island. He compared it with his compass to make sure, then tucked the compass into his shirt. By then, the sun had dried the boat's cabin. Vic pulled the boat to the shore, put his large bundle aboard, and resumed his plan of swimming while towing it. He could now swim almost as fast as a motorboat.
Vic resumed his physical training regimen as well. While on the island in the Calm Belt, he had not dared to dive, with Sea Kings everywhere, so he had put his underwater body training aside. Now he had picked it up again. After training on the island for almost two months and eating so much food rich in Primal Spirit, his body was much stronger than before.
He swam during the day and dived at night. Life was monotonous, but not dull. He saw plenty of merchant ships, pleasure boats, and pirate ships along the way. The arrogant pirates all sank into the sea. The people on the merchant ships and pleasure boats were amazed by Vic: he had a boat but towed it instead of riding in it, and he was so fast, too. What a weirdo. How could ordinary people like them know what Vic was thinking? Vic could not be bothered to explain, either. He was the one growing stronger, and they were the ones getting robbed.
A week later, in the waters off Laipe Island.
A cargo ship was unloading when a dockworker glanced at the distant sea and froze. The cigarette in his mouth fell onto the deck with a plop.
"Hey, Auston, put that down and get moving. Don't block the way, bastard!" A middle-aged man with a cloth wrapped around his head and a sleeveless white hemp shirt slapped him on the shoulder.
"A-Amos, look. Is that a person running on the sea, pulling a little boat?" Auston came to his senses, wiped his face, and grabbed Amos's hand, pointing it toward the distant sea.
"Has the heat fried your brain? Haha, how could anyone be on the sea... Holy shit, there really is someone running on the sea!" Amos shoved Auston aside and stared wide-eyed at the water.
"He's so fast. He'll be here any moment..." The others were drawn over by their cries and gathered at the ship's rail to watch, making the whole vessel tilt under their weight.
"Is that even a person?"
Vic felt offended.
"Is that a ghost pulling a boat? It's a ghost ship! How scary!"
A certain yellow monkey felt offended.
"That's a person, all right. He just has some kind of mechanism under his feet."
Everyone chattered at once, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Before long, the man had drawn close, and they saw that he really was a tall man wearing a leather cap. They fell silent, afraid of offending him and getting beaten up.
That man was Vic. Once he reached the coastal waters, he had stopped swimming. Running made him look a little cooler.
If you said running on the sea was bullshit, Vic would tell you, "I can fucking run in the air. What the hell is the sea? It's a fucking fart."
He wore a cap because he was afraid of getting a tan. Otherwise, the dockworkers would have recognized him for sure: Vic, the hero of Laipe Island.
Vic ran onto the dock, raised one leg, and stretched it out behind him. The boat came rushing in and struck the sole of his foot. His foot did not budge, and the boat stopped. The people on the cargo ship stared in shock, unable to say a word. Where had this powerhouse come from? They were getting a little scared. Should they call Vic, the hero of Laipe Island?
Vic stood on the dock and looked around. "It's just as it was when I left. Nothing's changed. Looks like Rebecca did a good job protecting this place. I'll reward her when I get back... Hmm, a piece of meat will do. Hehe!" he murmured.
Seeing that not much had changed, Vic pulled off his leather cap, walked over to a mooring post on the dock, and crouched down to tie the boat's rope to it.
Everyone on the cargo ship recognized Vic. He had only been gone four or five months, after all, and had not changed that much.
"Vic's back, haha!"
"Yeah, our hero Vic is back." This was an admirer.
"I just want to say, Vic is a god forever." He clasped his hands before his chest and looked at Vic with his head tilted slightly, his face full of admiration.
"Vic's gotten even stronger. He's practically a monster," someone said with a sigh, blowing out a puff of smoke.
"Let's hurry over and say hello. Why are you all talking so much?" A group gathered in front of Vic and greeted him warmly. Vic responded to each of them in turn.
"Vic, now that you're back, you're not leaving again, right?"
"I'll stay home for a few days, then leave. My training isn't over yet. I sneaked out, haha."
After chatting for a while, Vic smiled and greeted a healthy-looking old man in his seventies outside the crowd.
"Master Ba, I'm leaving my boat here for a few days. Please keep an eye on it for me."
"No problem. Leave it here as long as you like. Not even a nail will go missing," Master Ba replied with a smile.
Master Ba was the dock keeper, appointed by the town. He had retired from the Marines and had enlisted several years before even Old Man Garp. Though he was old, he was in excellent health, ran faster than young people, and could beat most of them in a fight.
He was a little lonely these days, with no family or relatives. When Vic had lived in town, he would occasionally bring him a few pounds of meat from wild beasts to eat with his drinks. Vic greatly respected the old man, who had devoted almost his entire life to the Marines, and Old Man Ba greatly admired Vic's character and abilities.
"All right, Master Ba. Come over to our house for a drink today. We've got good food," Vic invited him with a smile.
"All right. I'll have someone cover for me here when the time comes. You go home first. Maria and Rebecca have missed you terribly. They talk about you every day!" Old Master Ba said, his face creasing with a smile.
"All right, I'll head back now. See you tonight, Master Ba. See you all later." Vic said goodbye to everyone, then headed home with the large leather bag on his back.
"Go on home!"
"Stay home a few extra days!"
Everyone waved, then went back to unloading cargo, chatting and laughing, though the conversation kept circling back to Vic.
Old Man Ba was a little moved as well. "He's changed a lot. His bearing is different, and the glint that occasionally appears in his eyes is as sharp as a blade. He's become a swordsman, hasn't he? A swordsman not even fifteen years old. Tsk, tsk!" Old Man Ba was a man of experience; his many years in the Marines had not been for nothing.
People greeted Vic all along the way. They were a little surprised to see him return so suddenly with a large bag on his back, but they did not ask about it. They all held the island's hero in high regard. The town was still the same town, with no major changes, as peaceful and harmonious as ever.
Seeing all this, Vic felt that the efforts he and Rebecca had made over the past few years had been worthwhile. In this cruel world, people were either exploited by the World Government or robbed by pirates. Fate was so unpredictable, and its reins were always held by the strong. The weak could not control their own destinies. At least the island was still fairly peaceful for now. As long as Vic continued to grow stronger, he could intervene in more things he could not stand to see, and his heart would become clearer.
Vic returned home and found it just as it had been when he left: spotless, with everything neatly arranged. He knew someone had been helping him clean it regularly. The corners of his mouth lifted. He put down the large bag and prepared to go next door to see how the old lady was doing. As for Rebecca, he was not worried about her at all. She was a little fool who could eat and sleep just fine.