Chapter 172: Destination—Fish-man Island
On the sea near Twin Cape, the Oro Jackson was currently anchored.
This was Tom's masterpiece, crafted entirely from Treasure Tree Adam, and its current owner was none other than Gol D. Roger.
This ship had sailed with the Roger Pirates for many years, its traces left across almost every sea in the world.
And the reason this ship appeared here was very simple: Roger intended to embark on a new voyage.
"Are you sure you still want to sail? Given your physical condition, you probably only have three to four years left. If you continue engaging in high-intensity battles without proper adjustment, I'm afraid it will be even shorter."
"It's exactly because I know my time is running out that I must continue sailing... Crocus, come help me! If you come aboard, I'll definitely be able to sail much farther!"
In the broadest sense of circumnavigating the Grand Line, Roger had already accomplished that goal. Eleven years ago, the Roger Pirates had already reached the other side of the Red Line.
On Lodestar Island, the final island pointed to by the Log Pose, the magnetic needles would become completely chaotic, utterly incapable of guiding them any further.
That was not the final island. Roger understood this, and in order to reach that true final island, he had been constantly gathering more intelligence.
However, before his dream could be realized, his body had already started sounding the alarm. This made Roger realize that this was highly likely his final chance.
Other doctors were helpless regarding Roger's condition. It was only here with Crocus that he found a plan to somewhat curb the illness. Therefore, Roger had the idea to invite him aboard.
"Continuing the voyage... You guys will pass through Fish-man Island, right?"
"Of course. If we're sailing the Grand Line again... that's a mandatory stop. For pirates, Fish-man Island is a checkpoint you simply cannot bypass."
Roger had already selectively forgotten the existence of the Golden Lion. In his eyes, pirates who didn't sail through Fish-man Island were inherently missing a lot in their seafaring careers.
"In that case... I'll set out with you guys. But I can't guarantee I'll travel the entire journey with you; I might disembark at Fish-man Island."
"Hm? Is Fish-man Island that important to you?"
Before Roger could even voice the persuasive arguments he had prepared, Crocus agreed to his request. This was completely unexpected; he had prepared a lot of rhetoric just to get him on the ship.
"Look at this."
Crocus pulled out a nearby newspaper and a wanted poster, along with some newspapers from decades ago. Even though they had been properly stored, the paper had long yellowed. Roger could naturally sense their age.
"The Rumbar Pirates... I think I heard that name right around the time I first set out to sea..."
"Laboon—the giant island whale outside—is actually a crewmate of the Rumbar Pirates. Back then, because the Grand Line was too dangerous, the Rumbar Pirates left Laboon here and entrusted me to look after him.
"Originally, they promised to return and reunite with Laboon after a few years once they finished circumnavigating the Grand Line. But not long after the Rumbar Pirates entered the Grand Line, all news of them completely vanished..."
"..."
Roger didn't say anything. He had sailed the Grand Line for a long time, traveling back and forth who knows how many times. He knew the perils of the Grand Line; for the weak, it was an inescapable hell.
Losing contact generally meant complete annihilation.
"Although the hope is slim, perhaps... they are just trapped on some island unable to leave. I want to go look for traces of them. And also, there's this person."
Crocus pulled out the most recent newspaper. Because of various reasons, there was considerable coverage of Nereus lately, and even his guards had the chance to be featured in the photos.
"This... this skeleton looks very much like that friend of mine from before. He seems to be a guard of the Ryugu Kingdom, which is why I want to go to Fish-man Island and check."
"Oh, that guy Nereus has been playing King these past few years. With his personality, if he ran into those people, he might have actually lent a hand."
Roger inherently wanted to invite Crocus aboard, so he naturally wouldn't refuse him. Chatting like this also served to deepen their mutual understanding.
"Welcome aboard, Crocus, my crewmate!"
"We are merely cooperating right now; we can't be considered crewmates yet."
"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Since we're sailing on the same ship, then naturally we are crewmates!"
Roger valued his crewmates immensely. If anyone else insulted his crewmates, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe out a nation's army.
"By the way, let's keep my illness a secret from the others for now. Don't let a third person..."
Having finished forcefully establishing their companionship, Roger began to instruct Crocus, not wanting his illness to affect subsequent matters.
By the window, Scopper Gaban's figure appeared.
"Don't let more people..."
The figures of several other crewmates also appeared in Roger's line of sight. He wasn't suffering from paranoia, so he didn't keep his Observation Haki active twenty-four hours a day, thus failing to notice them.
This final time, Roger didn't speak immediately. Instead, he activated his Observation Haki, carefully sensing the surroundings to ensure no one else was nearby, before finally finishing his sentence.
"...Don't let anyone else know!"
Roger's condition brought immense sorrow to many. Even though Roger himself laughed it off, saying it didn't matter, the atmosphere at Twin Cape nearly turned into a memorial service, giving Roger a massive headache.
Crocus, meanwhile, was giving Laboon some final instructions.
"I will go find traces of the Rumbar Pirates. You must stay here and behave. Don't hurt yourself, understand?"
"Bwoooo..."
Amidst Laboon's whale song, the Oro Jackson set sail once again.
Meanwhile, at Crocus's destination, Fish-man Island, Nereus paid no mind to such matters. He was currently in the Ryugu Palace, taking care of his daughter.
But it wasn't Nanamo. It was his and Amphelite's child—Chloe.
This was also something that had happened over the past few years. Now, the child was already several months old.
The small pair of wings on her back had already grown light black feathers. A few days ago, flames had also ignited on her back. Judging by her skin tone and appearance, the Lunarian bloodline was more dominant.
However, she simultaneously possessed the ability to breathe underwater. As for what specific fish species' traits she had inherited, it was still unconfirmed.
Accurately speaking, due to the randomness of Fish-man and Merfolk genetics, it wasn't even certain whether Chloe was a Fish-man hybrid or a Merfolk hybrid.
"I say, Old Man, how did you determine back then that I wasn't a Merfolk hybrid? I remember that children between Merfolk and Humans don't have fish tails either."
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you