Meanwhile, the strongest group on this sea dispersed.
Each was carrying their own thoughts.
Akainu seethed with anger. He wanted to end Shun's life.
Kizaru was happy. He was glad to not have to work.
Aokiji was relieved. He was glad not to fight another one of his senior's grandson. He was tired of such matchups.
—
Meanwhile in Sengoku's office.
Garp and Sengoku were having a blast.
Tsuru spent her time talking with Nojiko.
'So she likes taking care of young girls?' Shun thought. He had never really seen this old woman do anything like this in the original story.
Nearby, Sengoku's thoughts were cheerful. 'I was really dumb to stress over this crazy brat. Just let him deal with the Five Elders from now on.' He smiled. Even when the Marines killed Whitebeard, he wasn't this happy.
Shun noticed the old man's gaze. It had changed toward him. He decided to change the topic.
"Well, that was a smart decision by them." Shun paused. "I wouldn't wanna fight me neither," he said with a hint of amusement.
"Hahaha, you're right!" Garp agreed casually. He knew both of Shun's stolen abilities from first-hand experience. So he agreed one hundred percent.
"Well, then we'll go back to our honeymoon trip," Shun said. He gently took Nojiko's hand. This caused her to blush under Tsuru's gaze.
Tsuru just sighed. But she had a small smile. She had kind of liked Nojiko's straightforward personality after speaking with her.
"Wait, did you eat breakfast?" Sengoku asked in a hurry. "I'll have someone prepare something." After all, this brat could disappear in an instant.
"It's fine. We ate." Shun waved. "Call me if there is a serious accident. Bye."
Nojiko bowed diligently towards the three elders. After all they seemed to be her in-laws?
Then, they disappeared in a blink.
POP-!
Silence followed.
"…"
"Should we celebrate today with some drink?" Garp suggested. He was expecting a rejection.
"Yeah." To his surprise, Sengoku agreed.
Tsuru left without a word.
—
Meanwhile, Shun and Nojiko arrived in the sky. They were near where they had left the Gran Tesoro. The moving country had traveled on, so they were a bit behind its previous position.
"That old man's attitude completely changed, huh?" Shun muttered with amusement.
"Yeah…" Nojiko said. Then she added, "Will people really trust that crazy plan of yours in the newspaper?" She asked curiously.
"Hm? It doesn't matter if people trust it or not." Shun shook his head. "It's the reality the World Government announced. Regular people will believe it. However, anyone with an average brain could see the meaning hidden behind the news," he patiently explained.
"Well, let's go eat breakfast. I declined that old man's invite because no way their food is better than the Gran Tesoro's." Shun had a great opinion of the food and entertainment in this government-acknowledged moving country.
"By the way, how do you feel?" Shun asked. The serious talk was done.
"About what?" Nojiko asked.
"About being here. It's the New World." Shun looked at her. "The part of the sea Nami and her crew couldn't even get to. Not before being brutally beaten and torn apart." Shun decided to tell her the truths from now on.
"What?!" Nojiko was surprised. "This is the legendary Grand Line?!" In the East Blue, if you'd been to the Grand Line for a day, you were the talk of the town. A celebrity in the countryside.
"As I said, it's the second half of the Grand Line. It's way more dangerous than Paradise, which is the first half," Shun explained.
"It's that dangerous?"
"Well, an easy comparison would be…" Shun considered. "The fish-men that ruled over your village and neighboring villages? They are considered prey here. They're a famous product for the slave merchants." He dropped the bomb.
After that, he explained some more things to her. They then quietly ate breakfast in the Hotel Leoro restaurant.
Shun was planning to tell her the whole truth.
—
Once they were done, Shun spoke.
"Let's go to a sky island."
Nojiko just nodded.
'Not like my opinion matters.' Unknowingly, she started to sulk.
Shun had a small smile. Then, with a POP-!, they disappeared.
They reappeared in Weatheria.
The weather was sunny and clear.
But suddenly, a dark cloud arrived. It started pouring rain. This cloud didn't seem natural.
'Nami's training, huh?' Shun thought. He placed a faint, shield-like magic around them. It used his repelling power as a core.
Rain dropped on them, but they didn't get wet. The water slid right off the invisible barrier.
"This?!" Nojiko was surprised by the magical sight.
"You're being surprised a lot today," Shun remarked with a small smile.
"That might be because of where I'm from," Nojiko replied with a shrug.
When she realized it was actually a sky island, Nojiko was excited. But now wasn't the time for that.
"Nami?" Nojiko muttered. She noticed an orange head holding some blue weapon, training in the distance.
"What's the meaning of this?" Nojiko asked with a bit of anger. "You promised not to chase Nami!" 'Was this bastard lying to me?' she thought.
"Well, let's go meet her first." Shun remained calm. "I didn't lie about anything. I might've played around the words, though." He shrugged.
"Shun!" Nami noticed them and walked over. But her steps became slower. "Nojiko… as expected from the newspaper. You guys are together…" She glared at Shun, waiting for an explanation.
"Well, I'll let you sisters catch up first. I'll be back soon!" Shun said quickly. "I'll explain everything when I'm back." Then he disappeared, searching for Robin.
"Wait! You bastard!" The two sisters shouted the same sentence in unison.
'As expected of sisters,' Shun thought, already gone.
The two sisters were left alone. Nami invited her to a nearby house. It was built by Shun's Arc of Embodiment. It was a simple house that resembled their old home in Cocoyasi Village.
The two talked. They shared what had happened with Shun. They shared their own experiences.
"So this bastard lied about me hiding away to lure you?!" Nami was furious.
"Well, aren't you hiding here and training?" An annoying voice suddenly joined their conversation. Shun was back, accompanied by a slightly red-faced Robin.
What the two were doing before coming here… I guess we'll never know.
"Shun! I can't believe you'd do this behind my back!" Nami's furious voice shouted at him
"Calm down. I can explain." Shun waited for her to calm down a bit. Then he started his usual bullshittery. "I didn't want to ruin your training. And I wanted Nojiko to see the world." His reasoning sounded ridiculous, yet held a grain of truth.
Seeing it was working, Shun spoke again. "Don't you want your sister to see the world? To enjoy the adventures you had?" He expertly made it look like Nami was the bad one.
"T-That's not it…" Nami said in a low voice.
Robin, who was watching from the side, was speechless at this villain's way with words.
Shun looked at Nojiko. "I said Nami went into hiding. But I didn't say I didn't know where she was."
Silence.
Seeing the two quiet, Shun sighed with relief.
"Well, it's all good if you guys understood my honesty and goodwill." Shun smiled with false benevolence. "We can forget about all the unnecessary details and enjoy our lives together."
More silence.
"Do you really think you'll get away with it?" Nami, who had been silent, finally opened her mouth. An evil smile played on her lips.
After that, a strange sight unfolded. A Navy Admiral was getting beaten by two regular women.
Shun had to spend a long time to comfort them afterwards.
Nami and Nojiko didn't say it aloud. But they were a bit grateful to Shun for making them meet each other again.
After all, they hadn't seen each other for almost a year.