Chapter 337: The Time for Farewell (Part 2)
Wendy looked up, confused, and asked, "Why is there a ship falling from the sky?"
"Is it because of the water spout we saw earlier?" Robin bent down to pick up a broken piece of wood, inspecting it carefully before shaking her head, "No, from the wood, this ship must be at least a hundred years old."
"A ship that's been neglected for years still drifting on the Grand Line seems very unusual."
"Ah—!" Perona suddenly remembered, "Could there be an island in the sky? I remember Captain Eric and the others went to an island in the sky!"
"I think it's an island in the sky too," Akame nodded, "There's a punishment in the sky islands called [Cloud Drifting], where people and ships are left drifting on the island's clouds, and this ship probably drifted on the 'Sea Clouds' until it fell off the edge."
"Oh?" Robin was taken aback, then looked up, "Is there a sky island up there?"
"Gold, gold... you can build your own castle..." Perona began planning excitedly about how to use the money to build her dream.
Eric and Chiron also returned to the deck with the items they had gathered from the broken exploration ship.
Robin flipped through the sailing journal, "This ship is the Saint Calis, an exploration ship from the Calis Kingdom of the West Sea. It set sail from the port in the year 1386 of the Sea Calendar, and after many hardships, it reached high altitude. Out of the hundred plus crew members, only thirteen survived."
"Wow!" Someone gasped softly.
Robin continued, "Due to a huge loss of supplies, the crew endured hunger for three days before finally reaching an island in the sky called Kana. Some of the crew couldn't bear the pain of hunger and committed robbery, and as punishment, they were subjected to [Cloud Drifting]. We drifted on the Sea Clouds... drifting..."
Robin closed the old sailing journal, "That's all the content."
"Do you want to visit the sky island?" Eric scanned the crowd with his gaze and smiled, "Seems like I don't need to answer that."
"Oh!" Many cheered happily.
"Ha—" Kurei exhaled a puff of smoke, "I'll pass."
"Eh—!" Perona's tone was filled with dissatisfaction as she walked up to Kurei, "Uncle, why?"
"Because my journey ends here," Kurei tilted his head back, preventing himself from looking at Perona and hiding the look in his eyes.
"Eh?!" More members gasped in surprise.
Only Eric, Akame, Chiron, and Da Vinci, who understood the situation, watched Kurei in silence.
"Captain Eric!" Perona hurriedly turned to Eric, "Aren't you going to stop Uncle Kurei?"
"Have you decided?" Eric didn't answer Perona's question but looked at Kurei seriously.
"Yeah..." Kurei scratched his nose with the hand holding the cigarette, his voice forced to remain calm but betraying a hint of a quiver. His clear words mixed with a slight nasal tone as they came out of his mouth:
"The next island is where I'll disembark. The journey I've shared with you all ends here…"
"Uncle Kurei!" Perona, who had been through hardships with him, jumped up angrily, grabbing his collar and hanging on him, "Why? Why leave the Dawn Pirates?!"
"…" Kurei closed his eyes, a glimmer of light escaping from the corner of his eyes. Perona's movements immediately stopped.
"Calm down," Eric grabbed the back of Perona's collar and lifted her up.
"Damn!" Perona flailed her limbs in midair.
"Miss Perona, please calm down," Yotsuba whispered, "Listen to what Captain Eric and Uncle Kurei have to say."
"I know my limits," Kurei crushed the lit cigarette in his hand, trying to sound relaxed as he spoke, "Since entering the New World and witnessing the Seven Warlords like Doflamingo, the Four Emperors like Big Mom, and even the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, I realized that the New World is truly a place filled with monsters."
"Someone like me, an ordinary person, cannot contend with them…"
"Uncle, you're not an ordinary person!" Perona retorted loudly, "You protected me back then, making sure I wasn't hurt!"
"Ha..." Kurei chuckled, "Though you think highly of me, I'm just an ordinary man."
"I'm just an ordinary man who ran away from the Montblanc family and became a pirate," Kurei shook his head, "The reason I became a pirate was simple; I just wanted to escape the curse of Nolan."
"If it weren't for Captain Eric, taking me to the sky island, seeing the true land of gold, Shandora, I probably would still be on Jaya Island, diving into the dark cold sea day after day to salvage gold."
"My duel with Nolan has ended. I've witnessed the fall of legendary pirates on the Grand Line, and seen the legendary Whitebeard in the New World. The vast journey has left me with no regrets..."
"H-How could this happen..." Perona's voice cracked with tears, a sad expression clouding her face as her eyes filled with glistening tears.
"This isn't anything to worry about," Kurei placed his large hand on Perona's head, "I just want to stay here and have a journey of my own."
Then he lifted his head and looked at Eric, "I hope you all continue your journey. Don't let me hold you back. Your goal shouldn't stop here, right? Captain Eric!"
"Hmph… of course." Eric smiled warmly, "We're heading to Jaya Island…"
"No need." Kurei declined Eric's suggestion, "Just drop me off at the next island. I'll figure out a way to get to Jaya Island."
"I was once a member of the Four Emperors' Dawn Pirates, this little problem won't stop me," Kurei showed a wide grin, trying to appear cheerful, but Eric could tell that his inner feelings weren't as calm as he let on.
After three years together, how could parting not be sad? But, parting between men doesn't need any tears, just the sharing of dreams, and then making them come true!
The Unyielding plowed through the waves, the deep blue sea shattered into white foam by the ship's propellers, as though the journey wasn't a path, but a direction toward a fork in fate.
Along the way, the usually lively atmosphere was gone, replaced by a somber mood that brewed in the hearts of the crew.
Perona, unwilling to leave Kurei, stayed by his side, and her best friend, Porche, stayed with her.
Known as the man who didn't understand people's hearts, Arthur Pendragon understood the surrounding signals and slowed the ship to match the speed of a normal sailing ship. After a week of sailing, they finally arrived at the next island, Konaston.
In the secret space opened by Porche, Kurei packed his belongings, preparing for his final farewell:
"Your stories will continue for a long time, and I will learn about your news from the papers."
"Hmph—" After a few days of easing, Perona regained her energy, placing her right hand proudly on her chest, "Uncle Kurei, from now on, you can only read about Princess Phantom's news in the papers!"
"Please wipe off the tears and snot," Artoria pointed out unkindly, "You look so messy!"
"Ugh!" Perona cried out, attempting to jump into Artoria's arms and smear the liquid on her clothes, only to be stopped by a pitch-black holy sword.
"Captain Eric, I'm looking forward to the moment you overthrow the World Government."
"Ha!" Eric laughed heartily, "I will definitely make it happen!"
"Sorry—Captain…" Kurei set down his bag, unable to hold back the tears. Shimmering tears fell from his eyes, "Thank you for your care for two years and seven months! Crew member Kurei is disembarking today!"
"Ugh…" Eric sniffed loudly, fighting back his tears and holding Kurei tightly.
Unfortunately, with Eric being just over 1.8 meters tall and Kurei standing at 2.4 meters, it looked strangely like a petite girlfriend hugging her boyfriend's chest.
"Ha!" Esdeath laughed at an inopportune moment, her laughter spreading to the others, who couldn't help but laugh too.
"?!" Eric turned, his face confused, expressing what could only be described as a "Black Guy Question.jpg" expression.
How did this sad scene turn into the laughter we hear now?
Kurumi pulled Eric aside, whispering into his ear and explaining, leaving Eric speechless.
"Very well, just like that!" Kurei laughed loudly, "This young crew needs this kind of joyful atmosphere, dullness doesn't suit the Dawn Pirates!"
Kurei picked up his bag from the deck, throwing it over his back, "Well, I'll see you all again someday..."
"Wait," Eric stopped Kurei, "The crew leaves, and the captain can't not show something. Look—"
Eric pulled off a cover to reveal something shiny inside.
"Wow..." Perona barely whispered the word before trailing off, showing a look of disdain with the others.
It was a life-sized golden statue, a golden likeness of Eric made by Eric himself as a mold.
Electro-smelting technology, using high-pressure electricity to create a large amount of heat to melt the gold, then shaping it into whatever form he desired, and with Eric's fine control of lightning, even the hair was lifelike, as if it would move with a gust of wind.
The arrogant grin, the domineering expression, the overbearing movement...
"No, I don't need this." Kurei stepped back, raising both hands to refuse.
"Why?!" Eric said in confusion, "It looks exactly like me!"
"That's exactly why I don't want it!" Kurei roared, "It's too big to carry!"
"I see..." Eric reached toward the golden statue, "Electro-smelting!"
The head of the statue immediately melted into liquid due to the high temperature, and under Eric's control, it solidified into a figurine-sized gold figure.
"So, why does it still have this expression?!" Perona groaned, "This expression is so annoying!"
"Beep beep beep."
"Ah da da da da...!" Electricity ran through Perona's body, making her bones flicker under the lightning, as her upper and lower teeth clashed together, sending a ringing "da da" sound out of her mouth amidst the chaos.
Eric shrugged, "Electrocuting live people, always entertaining."
Porche carefully poked at Perona's scorched body with a branch.
Perona suddenly jumped up, "Stop poking!"
"So there's nothing wrong?" Porche sighed in relief.
"Do you want me to have something wrong?!" Perona yelled.
Akame: "Such a powerful retort, seems like her body is fine."
"You should trust my control precision." Eric said proudly, "Not to brag, but since Perona is so tough, I've already mastered how to punish her with the right intensity!"
"Is this something worth bragging about?!" The retort seemed to drain all of Perona's energy. She pulled out her beloved doll and reluctantly handed it to Kurei, "Hmph, I need a new doll."
"Since everyone is giving out souvenirs, I'll give you an artwork..." Deidara said, as the mouth in his palm wriggled, spitting out a round clay figure.
Everyone took a step back.
"It won't explode now!" Deidara loudly explained, "In case of danger, just throw it, the explosion range is ten meters, be careful. Hmm."
"Thank you." Kurei carefully put it away. The grenade had no safety pin.
Scáthach 's Akame blazed with a crimson light, "Here's a suggestion, take the flight to Sasuo in ten days."
"Thank you very much."
The others either gave Kurei a gift or bid him farewell. Within a short time, his carrying bag turned into a large bundle.
Kurei slung the unusually heavy bag over his shoulder and said his farewells, "I'll cheer for you on the Grand Line!"
Eric waved and shouted, "I'll leave some gold in Shandora! Remember to pick it up at Angel Island!"
"Alright!" A brief reply came, and Kurei leaped through the air gate opened by Porche.
"Why so high?!" A stunned voice came from the other side of the air gate.
"…"
Everyone fell silent and turned to look at Wendy.
Under everyone's gaze, Wendy's face turned bright red, her voice growing smaller, "I didn't mean to make the ship float so high…"
"He's fine." Eric used [Mind Net] to sense Kurei's presence, "He's still our comrade, and he won't get hurt over something small."
Wendy, Yotsuba, and Perona all relaxed.
"Well then, we should head to the sky island." Eric looked up, "Let's go!"
In the distance, Kakuzu sat on the back of a tall pirate, flipping through the bounty notices in his hands. "Found him, this guy has a bounty of 80 million Berries, 'Guillotine' Dreyer. Hand over half of the bounty, that's 40 million."
Saying this, Kakuzu took out a pen and made a note in his notebook.
Ulquiorra, uninterested in money, only followed Eric's orders, hunting down those evil pirate crews.
"And these guys?" He turned to look at Dreyer's subordinates, who stood trembling, gripping their weapons with shaky hands.
"Except for his brother 'Flying Axe' Drevan, who has a bounty of 60 million, the others have no bounty."
"You killed my brother... I'll make you pay!" Drevan spun his double axes rapidly and threw them. The spinning axes cut through the air, gleaming with cold light, heading straight for their necks.
"Clang, clang!" The crisp sound of impact echoed as Ulquiorra and Kakuzu stood motionless.
Only the color at Kakuzu's neck slowly shifted from black back to flesh tone.
"What...!" Drevan stood frozen in panic. His axes, always deadly, had never been blocked like this before.
"Too weak, and your weapons aren't enough," Ulquiorra evaluated coldly, "With your strength, you have no chance against me."
"Damn it!" Drevan pulled out a third axe from his waist.
A green glow gathered at Ulquiorra's fingertips.
Kakuzu reminded him, "Leave the corpse intact, or the Navy Headquarters won't acknowledge it."
"I know." With a calm voice, Ulquiorra unleashed his attack.
The green Cero obliterated Drevan's axe and his subordinates.
"...!" Drevan was frozen, unable to comprehend what just happened.
"Thud!" A pale hand pierced his chest, leaving a dark hole.
"You've already got a hole in your chest, but still want to make more?"
"Guess I'm used to it."
"Tch, is the captain also hunting bounty criminals?" Kakuzu frowned as he looked at the newspaper, "Who's stealing their own business?"
"There are too many pirates, we can't kill them all." Ulquiorra said, "Just now, Captain Eric contacted me. We'll meet in the Bermuda Triangle in two months."
(END CHAPTER)
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