“Lord Sacred Beast, it seems to be a bait. Someone wants to deliberately lure pirates to that island.”
Taking the bottle brought by Meowna and Wolff, Shayna examined its contents. Besides a sea chart of the area around the island, there was also an Eternal Pose tied to the bottle.
“Omatsuri Island is the only entertainment venue on the Grand Line. The island holds carnival parties every day, has abundant hot springs and beauty salons, and beautiful women from all over the world will accompany you through the night… Is this idiot fishing with a straight hook?”
Shayna read the note aloud. Women, treasures, food—the island seemed to have everything. And as soon as you land, you can enjoy it all. Adding to that the pirate among pirates among pirates, the provocative intent was very clear.
Such things weren’t uncommon on the Grand Line. Some bounty hunters would gather to create fake islands like Omatsuri Island, warmly welcoming pirates after attracting them before making their move once everyone was drunk.
“Meowna, Wolff, where did you find this?”
To Shayna, this kind of bait was foolish, yet every year countless pirates would take the bait. Some were naive, while others went with the intent to rob. As for their fate, it would depend on their own strength.
“I fished it out of the sea.”
“We were fishing, but big brother suddenly caught this strange thing.”
The siblings took turns describing the situation in detail. Though only three and a half years old, Mink children were not ordinary kids; they could easily knock down an average adult.
Meowna and Wolff were no exception. They hadn’t obtained any abilities yet, but they inherited some of their parents’ powers. Power of Aura was hard to develop, but the power of lightning was different. The electrical energy in their bodies was stronger than ordinary adult Minks.
Moreover, this was also due to their mother’s education. As one of the few third-generation Beasts Pirates, they had no worries about food or drink, but they were still taught some survival skills.
Setsuna’s education remained in traditional Mink style, where fishing in eruption rain was a basic survival skill.
Hence, the two already have fishing skills, with an even higher success rate than Page One. Sometimes, they even do electrofishing.
“Aunt Shayna, can we go to this island? A carnival sounds really fun.”
They couldn’t read well yet, but Shayna had read everything out loud. They didn’t care about Shayna’s comments and instead were interested in the party.
“Hold on. Omatsuri Island… Amalee! Is there such an island on our route?”
Shayna shouted. The deck was empty, but it didn’t mean everyone had disappeared; they just kept a certain distance. Orders could still be heard.
“No, boss, there’s no such island marked on the sea chart, and there is also no Log Pose pointing that way. It must be on a different route.”
After crossing the Reverse Mountain from the Four Seas, one could enter the Grand Line. However, the routes leading to the Sabaody Archipelago from the Grand Line were not singular but seven in total.
The islands on these routes have stronger magnetic fields. Relying solely on the Log Pose for navigation can lead to straying from the course, unless there’s a special Eternal Pose.
Sea charts held little significance on the Grand Line because it was quite hard to differentiate directions without a Log Pose. A rainy day could easily get you lost at sea. But sea charts weren’t entirely useless.
At the very least, they could tell what the next island is. Those who have just entered the Grand Line don’t have such a thing, but the Beasts Pirates are different. They are always searching for things, so they have their own markings for many islands.
“There isn’t… Lord Sacred Beast, should we change our course? This seems to be an unknown island.”
Islands not recorded on the map actually have higher priority for the Beasts Pirates. However, this wasn’t their planned route, and the final decision still lay with Arceus.
“Change course. If the kids want to go, let them have fun. Everyone on the ship can consider it a vacation.”
The journey to find the plates wasn’t always smooth. Finding a plate was great, but if they couldn’t, they’d just continue to the next target.
Sailing could be quite monotonous, and the pirates’ lives needed some variety. An island hosting parties sounded good, and as for whether it was bait, there doesn’t exist a fishing rod capable of catching Genesis.
“Understood, I’ll make the arrangements.”
Genesis, having received the order, began to change course. It might be a trap, but no one cared. The ship’s combat power was such that no scheme in the first half of the Grand Line posed any threat.
With the Thousand Arms’ flag fluttering in the wind, Genesis sailed towards the new destination.
……
The island wasn’t very far. In just a few days, a tropical island appeared on the horizon, and as they landed, Arceus sensed a familiar aura.
It wasn’t the aura of a plate but rather of a Pokémon he had created.
At that moment, the space before them twisted and a black hole appeared, from which Darkrai emerged.
“My lord, why are you here?”
“Just passing by. But why are you here? If I recall correctly, your last call was from North Blue, wasn’t it? How long has it been since then? Have you finished your exploration there? When I created you, I didn’t add any strange attributes, did I?”
“It’s a coincidence. I just arrived nearby and sensed a strange aura on the island, the aura of the dead. I think this place might be related to the entrance of that world.
But before I could investigate, I sensed your arrival.”
By ‘coincidence’, he meant he had no idea how he ended up here.
When traveling, Darkrai often used black holes, but the chaotic magnetic fields of this world frequently caused him to miscalculate his position. At least on the same island, Darkrai’s sense of direction was quite good.
“That’s really quite a coincidence. Let’s go take a look at what you’ve sensed.”
Shayna, you take the others and let them explore the island freely. We’ve been sailing for a while; let’s rest here for two days. Make sure to keep an eye on the kids.”
“I understand. Please, do as you wish. I will take good care of them.”
Arceus’ words clearly indicated that he hadn’t found what he was looking for. With Arceus’s arrangement in place, Shayna just had to follow it.
According to the map from the drift bottle, there should be other things on this island. Thus, Arceus and Darkrai headed towards the island’s center, while Shayna led the crew from Genesis into the island’s rainforest.
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