"Mmm… mmm-mmm…"
At the dining table, Karin watched the child she had fished out of the barrel, who was now devouring the food ravenously, occasionally choking and gulping down large amounts of water before barely recovering.
"You don't have to be in such a hurry…"
After hauling the other person out of the barrel, Karin could now see that this was a little girl with long golden hair.
'Judging by her appearance, she shouldn't be older than seven. How did a child who should be coddled in her parents' arms end up adrift at sea, hiding in a barrel?'
Perhaps because she herself had once been such a rescued little girl, Karin felt an inexplicable fondness for the blonde girl in front of her.
Unfortunately, this fondness didn't last very long.
After eating and drinking her fill, the little girl first walked over very sincerely to thank Karin.
"Thank you, kind big sister…"
The next moment, an unusual situation occurred. The little girl, who had just been acting frail, immediately revealed an 'evil' smile, then quickly climbed onto Karin's back. At the same time, she pulled out a toy-like small dagger from somewhere and held it against Karin's neck.
"…But from now on, this ship belongs to me, Olga! I'm very grateful for your food, so don't worry. As long as you behave, I won't hurt you. I'll let you off the ship at the next island."
The little girl's speed couldn't exactly be called 'fast'. In front of Garuda, who possessed the talent of [Godspeed], it was almost no different from being stationary.
The reason Karin didn't put up any resistance was partly because she was shocked by the little girl's actions, and partly because the laughter of that idiot in her head had grown so loud it was starting to affect her concentration.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"TOO FUNNY!!"
"To actually… to actually be fooled by such a little thing!"
"And even taken hostage!"
"HAHAHA!"
Even though he was completely immobilized, Momoshiki still managed to let out huge peals of laughter. Especially after seeing Karin's expression… one moment full of warmth, the next looking as if she had swallowed a fly… he simply couldn't hold back anymore. Now, Momoshiki had gained a bit more humanity, a far cry from his original 'celestial being' image.
"Ha… I really… am too naive."
With a long sigh, Karin somewhat helplessly covered her face. She certainly wasn't afraid of being taken hostage by this little girl named Olga.
What made Karin cover her face was the fact that on her first 'solo' voyage, she had already fallen for someone's trick, deceived by such a crude method.
"Haha, you have to be wary of strangers at sea, you know? That's common sense."
Olga seemed to say whatever came to mind, and this fast-talking made Karin's face darken further.
"Hey… can you get off me now? You're wrinkling my clothes."
Karin said, utterly drained, her tone full of self-reproach.
"Hey, hey, hey! Haven't you figured out the situation yet?"
Olga waved her little dagger, shouting loudly.
"You're being caught hostagi by me! And you're still making demands?"
"It's 'held hostage'… never mind."
Karin wasn't in the mood to correct the little girl's illiteracy any further. Seeing that Olga had no intention of getting off on her own, and not wanting to resort to violence against a child of that age, she simply…
Crunch… crunch…
Olga widened her eyes, her red pupils staring unblinkingly at the dagger that Karin had casually crumpled into a scrap of iron. Then she opened and closed her empty hand a few times, as if still in disbelief.
"Huh?"
Karin didn't say anything, just quietly turned to look at her.
"Please forgive me!"
Watching the little girl decisively climb down and then immediately assume a perfect dogeza pose, Karin felt somewhat speechless at how quickly the girl's attitude had changed.
'She really knew how to adapt to circumstances, huh.'
"…Hmph, first confuse you with an apology, then when Elizabeth finds me, I can sneak away!"
Although unclear who the 'Elizabeth' the little girl mentioned was, Karin thought that since the other party talked about 'escaping' from her, it probably wasn't someone very formidable.
"Hey… you're saying out loud what you're thinking in your heart, you know? I can hear it."
"Oh!?"
'Why are you surprised about that…'
Karin was already feeling too exhausted to retort. Picking up the little girl from the ground, Karin unhesitatingly walked toward the deck of the Stranded Turtle.
"Hey… hey hey… what are you doing?"
Olga, watching Karin use the ship's ropes to bind her to the mast, loop after loop, finally began to feel scared.
'Was this woman planning to interrogate me right here?' Thinking this, Olga began to struggle with all her might. Unfortunately, her small frame was no match for Karin and couldn't make a ripple.
"For naughty children, some proper education is necessary."
Karin deliberately put on a 'darkened' expression, wanting to scare the little girl. But the girl's next words froze her movements mid-air.
"Who are you calling a child! I'm two hundred and six years old this year!"
'Hmm?'
Karin didn't have Naruto's Observation Haki that could see through people's hearts, but she did have the Uzumaki Clan's [Mind's Eye of the Kagura].
Even if it wasn't as precise, she could still basically discern the genuine emotions behind a person's words. Earlier, she had been caught off guard, so she hadn't used it.
Now, observing the little girl in the state of her Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Karin found that the other party showed no nervousness of lying when stating her age. It was as if she were stating a fact.
'But… over two hundred years old?' Karin looked at the little girl again, 'No matter how I looked, she was just a brat. Two hundred and six… it seemed only the 'six' part might be real. This Olga wasn't just in appearance… even her displayed personality and intelligence weren't much different from a six-year-old's… at most, she's a mischievous child. There were plenty of such kids on the sea.'
"Caw! Caw caw!"
Suddenly, a series of dense footsteps on water came from the sea, accompanied by sharp, strange cries. It sounded like crows, or maybe vultures. Upon hearing this sound, Olga's face immediately lit up with joy.
"Elizabeth! Come save me!!"
Karin looked in the direction of the sound and finally saw what the so-called 'Elizabeth' actually was. It was a large lizard with light green skin, a pair of intelligent big eyes, running across the sea at high speed. Olga took advantage of Karin turning her head to squirm like an eel, struggling to break free from the ropes. Karin could clearly sense the little girl's escape attempt, but she had no intention of stopping her. Only when Olga ran to the ship's side, ready to jump down, did Karin grab her by the back of her neck.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Your Elizabeth seems to be in trouble herself."
"What?!"
Olga followed Karin's pointing finger, craning her neck forward to look. Only then did she see that behind Elizabeth, a large ship that looked somewhat familiar to her was rapidly approaching.
The ship was shaped like a man-eating fish with a gem embedded in its head, and many ferocious-looking guys stood on its deck.
"Oh no! It's that treasure maniac! He's here for the [Pure Gold]! Hey! Woman! Turn the ship around quickly! They're a very dangerous bunch!"
Olga turned her head nervously to shout at Karin, only to meet Karin's thoughtful gaze.
"You said… [Pure Gold], right?"