Chapter 21: Fun on the Stormy Sea
Hanafuda was still worried as he looked at Ragnar and Yamato.
"Are you really sure? I can go with you until you reach Onigashima safely."
He was clearly worried that someone might attack them on their way back. After all, Yamato and Ragnar were strong, but both were Devil Fruit users. And they had zero experience in naval combat.
Yamato waved dismissively.
"No need to worry. With me and Ragnar here, no one will be our match."
Ragnar's mouth twitched. Though he felt Yamato was being a bit too overconfident, he decided to talk with her later.
"Don't worry. I can fly, and Hayori isn't seriously injured. And as for naval combat, Toto and the others are there."
"On the open sea, it'll be almost impossible to find us. And in such a short amount of time, not many people will be available to catch us."
Hanafuda nodded.
"But there are the Marines—"
Before he could finish, Ragnar spoke.
"And as for the Marines, they won't go all out against us. The Gorosei aren't idiots. They won't go all out against us and anger the Beast Pirates."
"And certainly not against me, who controls all the Seastone and weapons produced in Wano. So even if they send someone to attack us, it won't be their elite forces."
Only then did Hanafuda sigh.
"Fine then. Please be safe, Young Master and Young Lady."
Ragnar and Yamato waved as both returned to their ship.
"Young Master."
Toto was already there, his fox-like face grinning from ear to ear.
"Good timing, Toto. Take those Devil Fruits and keep them safe, or that old man will send us to Impel Down himself."
Toto's mouth twitched.
"Don't worry, Young Master. I'll keep them safe."
After saying that, he dashed inside the ship.
Yamato shouted with both hands raised toward the sky.
"Back to Wano!"
The crew roared, matching her excitement as the ship left Hachinosu's port.
Ragnar grinned, but a strange feeling tugged at his heart.
He turned back toward Skull Mountain with a frown.
"Why am I feeling like something bad might happen?"
Yamato turned toward him.
"Oi! What are you spacing out for? Come and help adjust the sails."
Without waiting for his reply, she dragged him away.
Ragnar sighed as Hayori watched from the cabin, giggling.
Coco, beside her, also giggled.
"Only Lady Yamato can make Ragnar do work."
Hayori puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Humph! That bastard only listens to her."
Coco giggled.
"Fufufufufu... someone is jealous."
She raised her eyebrows mischievously.
Hayori glared at her as her hand reached for Ame-no-Habakiri.
"Say that again."
"Fufufufufu... intimidation isn't your thing, Lady Hayori."
Coco was completely unfazed.
Hayori gritted her teeth in frustration.
"You seem to be getting too cocky, huh?"
Coco suddenly had a bad feeling.
Before she could apologize, Hayori attacked her and started tickling her mercilessly.
"Hahahaha! Lady—Hahahaha! Hayori—please st-hahahaha-stop! I'm—hahaha—I'm sorry!!!!!!!"
Coco laughed uncontrollably as Hayori continued tickling her.
Hayori didn't stop.
Coco's eyes welled up with tears from laughter.
She was just a doctor. Her strength was nowhere near Hayori's.
"Haha-d-damn it! Hahaha! I-if you want to play like this—hahaha!"
Coco muttered between her laughter.
"Yamato-sama! Help meeeee!"
She shouted with all her strength.
Hayori's mouth twitched.
"Tsk... you want to call for reinforcements?"
Just then...
BANG!!
The cabin door burst open.
"Yamato-sama is here to save the day!"
Yamato announced loudly.
She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips in a cool pose.
Hayori's mouth twitched.
"You were waiting for this all along, weren't you?"
Yamato grinned.
Of course she had been waiting for the call to make a heroic entrance.
With her Observation Haki, it wasn't difficult to sense what was happening inside.
But of course, she wouldn't admit that outright.
"What are you talking about? I just came after hearing a powerless girl being bullied."
Ragnar and Toto stared at each other and sighed.
"Women are troublesome to deal with."
Toto muttered as he adjusted the sails.
Ragnar pulled on a rope.
"Well... can't argue with that."
Just then, both of them heard Yamato and Coco tackle Hayori as another tickling battle began.
The ship's crew, along with Toto and Ragnar, continued adjusting the ship.
Soon, Ragnar and Toto were sitting together, drinking orange juice.
Just then, Yamato walked over, grabbed Ragnar's half-empty glass, and drank from it without the slightest hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Ragnar looked at her.
"You girls done playing?"
His eye twitched in annoyance.
Toto nodded in agreement.
Both of them were annoyed.
The girls had been fooling around while he, Ragnar, and the entire crew had been busy working.
Yamato raised her chin proudly.
"Humph! Who was playing around? I went to help a powerless, weak girl."
She said it in such a righteous tone that she sounded like some great hero.
Toto and Ragnar rolled their eyes before saying in unison,
"Yeah, yeah. Oh, Great Yamato-sama, Hero of Justice. You will surely become the Marine King in the future."
Yamato's mouth twitched as several veins bulged on her forehead.
"You bastards! Who wants to become some stupid Marine King?!"
She shouted, her teeth turning shark-like.
"Sorrrrryyyyyy!"
Ragnar and Toto shouted.
But Yamato's fist had already arrived.
BONK!
BONK!
In no time, both of them were lying on the floor with swollen faces.
"Showwwyyy..."
Even their apologies sounded weird.
Coco and Hayori shook their heads from the doorway.
"Tsk, tsk. You guys actually have the nerve to say something like that to Yamato."
Hayori said.
Coco laughed.
"Yamato-sama is the strongest after Lord Kaido, after all."
A fangirl-like admiration sparkled in her eyes.
Hearing that, Toto, who had been lying on the floor, immediately jumped to his feet.
"It's Ragnar who's the strongest after Lord Kaido!"
The same admiration sparkled in his eyes.
Toto and Coco looked at each other.
Crackle!
It almost seemed as if lightning flashed between them.
"It's Yamato-sama!"
"No! It's Ragnar!"
On the side, Ragnar's and Yamato's mouths twitched.
"Oi... why are you even comparing us without asking us?"
Hayori sighed as Coco and Toto kept arguing.
Ragnar and Yamato sighed.
Yamato quietly applied medicine to Ragnar's wounds, completely ignoring the two.
Just then...
Yamato, Ragnar, and Hayori froze.
Their Observation Haki screamed in warning.
In an instant, all three dashed outside.
Coco and Toto, who had been arguing, also froze.
Toto's expression changed immediately as he grabbed his mini Den Den Mushi.
"All crew, prepare for impact! Load the cannons and prepare for combat!"
After shouting the order, he ran toward the helm.
Coco also understood the situation and rushed toward her medical room.
On the deck, Ragnar and Yamato were the first to arrive.
Ragnar opened his mouth as a golden spear of energy gathered.
"Hyper Beam!"
Yamato cupped her hands before her mouth.
"Ice Dragon's ROAR!!!!!!"
An ice-blue magic circle formed before her as a freezing dragon's breath erupted from her mouth.
The Dragon's Roar and Hyper Beam collided with the incoming cannonballs.
Most of them froze solid.
The rest exploded in midair.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
"MUAHAHAHAHA! SOMEONE WANTS A FIGHT?!"
Yamato laughed, clearly excited for another battle.
Ragnar grabbed her shoulder.
"Hey! Don't do anything reckless. We're on the sea, and we don't even know who the enemy is."
Yamato pouted but stayed beside him.
Soon they saw the ship that had attacked them.
It was a three-masted pirate ship loaded with cannons.
A skull flag fluttered above it.
"Pirates?"
Yamato and Ragnar muttered together.
"Young Master, leave this to us!"
Toto's voice rang out.
Ragnar and Yamato paused.
Their ship tilted as its cannons were aimed toward the enemy vessel.
"Fire!"
Toto's command echoed through the Den Den Mushi.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The cannons roared.
The enemy ship answered with another volley.
Some cannonballs exploded in the sky.
Others crashed into the sea.
Huge waves splashed against both ships.
Yamato and Ragnar, who had been about to fly over and finish the enemies themselves, stopped.
They looked at each other.
Their eyes sparkled.
"Let's go, everyone!"
Both shouted excitedly.
The ship surged forward as cannons were rapidly loaded and fired while Toto skillfully maneuvered the vessel through the barrage.
"WOOOOHOOO!!"
Yamato and Ragnar shouted with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Their blood boiled with excitement.
This feeling of fighting in naval combat was completely different.
But it had its own unique thrill.
"Let's add some spice."
Ragnar said as his eyes glowed.
The sky darkened.
Thunderclouds gathered overhead.
The wind howled violently.
The calm sea became chaotic.
Massive waves rose and crashed as both ships continued firing their cannons at one another.
"WOOOOHOOO!!"
Yamato and Ragnar shouted joyfully.
Cannonballs exploded.
Massive explosions echoed across the sea.
Saltwater splashed over the deck.
Thunder roared endlessly across the heavens.
Hayori watched everything from the cabin while helping Toto steer the ship.
The chaotic sea...
The raging storm...
Yamato and Ragnar laughing openly on the deck as explosions echoed around them...
The moment etched itself deeply into her heart and memory.
Those two idiots laughed in the face of a storm and a rain of cannonballs.
They stood in the open without even a trace of fear, their arms around each other's shoulders.
It was a beautiful sight.
A dangerous...
Yet beautiful sight.
JOURNAL OF HAYORI
"That day, I kept staring at Ragnar and Yamato as they laughed on the deck without any fear while explosions and the sound of thunder echoed around them. It was my first battle at sea, yet even I couldn't stop the laughter that escaped my mouth. Rather than feeling fear, I was enjoying the battle. Yet what I didn't realize was that this battle against unknown pirates was only the beginning... as a man was already moving toward us with a pirate crew whose name shook the seas behind him..."