"Hmm...how did he recognize Heracross? Aren't these rhinoceros beetles all the same?"
Watching Luffy and Heracross's somewhat bizarre reunion, Usopp pondered another question.
Luffy might not remember names and appearances clearly; he usually recognizes people by special features, like Usopp's nose, Zoro's hair and earrings, Sanji's eyebrows.
Yet he can pick Heracross out of a group of identical ones.
"No, the difference is quite obvious. The horn and the shell patterns of big rhinoceros beetles are different; if you look closely, you can tell them apart."
"And their preferences are different too; they're quite picky about oranges."
Usopp's words elicited a rebuttal from Nami and Nojiko. In their view, recognizing individual Heracross was also not difficult.
"That's because you've spent too much time with them, right? What do you think, Zoro, Sanji?"
"I don't care, it's no big deal."
"Whatever Miss Nami and Miss Nojiko say is right~"
One was indifferent, the other was lovestruck, making Usopp once again question why he was on this ship in the first place.
"Heracross?"
"What are you talking about, Heracross? Aren't we teammates? Your friends are my friends, how could I miss out on a fight?"
Luffy's thinking was simple; he never considered many consequences. If someone was his friend and comrade, he would help them unconditionally.
Luffy and Heracross chatted enthusiastically, while Nami and Nojiko got scolded harshly by Belle-Mere, who saw their silent infiltration into enemy territory as seeking death.
If Mouse's collusion with pirates to harm civilians were discovered, it would result in a devastating blow. To keep this secret, Mouse would definitely do anything.
"We were so close; we almost found evidence against him."
"Don't be foolish, that kind of thing is impossible to find. Would you really keep evidence of your own dealings with pirates? Even if there were any, he'd have destroyed it long ago.
This is difficult to handle. Even if those pirates identify him, it's useless; the Navy wouldn't believe pirates."
Ajian didn't persuade Belle-Mere, either. Though not related by blood, he had long regarded these two sisters as his own daughters, and couldn't understand their adventurous actions.
"But didn't you say earlier there was evidence this time..."
"We wanted to see if we could find evidence against him from those pirates..."
Boom!
An explosion interrupted Belle-Mere again as Buggy and his crew attacked once more.
But this time was different from before because Luffy made a simple decision.
"Alright, I get it. As long as I send all these guys flying, there won't be a problem, right?"
Clenching his fists, Luffy led the way out of the mine cave to settle this trouble for Heracross before continuing his voyage.
...
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
Using his rubber body, Luffy bounced Buggy's cannonball back, causing heavy casualties among his men, while Zoro and Sanji defeated his subordinates.
Though the Chop-Chop Fruit helped Buggy avoid many attacks, after one split, he realized his body was missing a part, which had ended up in Heracross's hands.
"You damn rhinoceros beetle! Give me back my body, you bastard!"
Heracross paid no mind to Buggy's yelling, and instead flew away with his body part, helping other Heracross understand how to deal with this enemy.
In the fight that followed, Buggy's body kept reducing.
Each time his body was knocked away, it was taken by other Heracross, preventing him from recovering, until he was left as a tiny Buggy sent flying by a punch, becoming a star in the sky, destination unknown.
But as he was sent flying, the special Buggy Bombs he launched caused significant explosions, allowing some pirates to escape in the chaos, while most were caught by the Mining Protection Team.
Despite not gathering any crucial evidence, they still resolved to report Mouse's actions upwards.
The gold mine temporarily calmed down, and Buggy being defeated would be enough to intimidate other pirates in the East Sea.
Due to the encounter at Branch 16, Nami also boarded the Merry. Her dream was to create world nautical charts, destined to set sail someday, and this was just the opportunity.
She also prepared a new complaint letter to report Mouse's vile conduct in Log Town.
Surprisingly, Luffy wasn't the happiest about her boarding, but Heracross was, as the ship finally had a proper navigator, no longer needing Zoro's compass and removing the worry of an accidental maritime disaster.
Despite Belle-Mere and Ajian's mixed feelings, they ultimately respected Nami's choice.
After events at Cocoyasi concluded, the Merry sailed anew with a formal navigator.
As a reward for defeating Buggy, Luffy took the nautical chart from Buggy's ship leading to the Grand Line, giving the Straw Hat Pirates a clear direction forward.
But before entering the Grand Line, they coincidentally encountered a girl named Apisu and met a Thousand-Year Dragon known as Dragon Grandfather, deciding to help it reach Dragon Cave.
...
"Ferren, is this the place?"
"Yes, this is it, where our Thousand-Year Dragons gather. Seems like we arrived pretty early."
Above the clouds, Yamato and company finally reached the destination – the gathering place of the Thousand-Year Dragons.
After circling in the sky a few times, Ferren didn't sense other Thousand-Year Dragons, but descending through the clouds revealed an unexpected sight.
Yamato didn't see Ferren's Dragon Island; instead, there were several warships.
"Have the Navy discovered our destination and decided to ambush us?"
Seeing the ships below, Yamato drew a rather unique conclusion.
"How could that be! It's just the three of us here; who could have tipped off the Navy...wait, why are you looking at me like that?"
Being stared at by Yamato, Ulti suddenly felt something was off.
"Is there a possibility that you, Ulti, were bored and deliberately informed the Navy, leading them here ahead?"
"Be reasonable! Who would do such a boring thing! Among us, you're the most likely to do this! Also, don't call me by those corny nicknames!"