Everyone watched in silence as the sands atop Vivi's palms slowly swirled up into a bird-like shape.
Amazed and lost by how the sands acted upon her commands, Vivi seemed to have lost herself in a trance. As she moved her arms up and down, the bird made out of the sands mimicked her action, gliding around the room under everyone's eyes.
"This has to be the Sand Sand fruit." Rowan stated in bewilderness. After all, he personally fought Crocodile to bitter end just a few days ago.
"I mean, it's pretty fitting." Carina replied on Rowan's right, with her widened eyes still locked onto the sand bird that flew around, "The desert princess with the power to maneuver the sand."
"We were just having a dessert." Nami spoke to Rowan with her arms crossed, "Then Vivi suddenly frowned, saying that she thinks the fruit is rotten. Afterwards, before we realized, her arms turned into the sands."
Sighting Rowan, Nojiko waved as she approached him, "It's kind of a letdown that Vivi got the fruit out of all of us, but I can't deny the fact that she was the one who deserved it the most."
'The appearance of devil fruit is just so random.' Rowan thought in a cold sweat, 'My devil fruit was purely accidental as well. If same thing happens to me again, I would be dead—it looks like we have to be more cautious of fruit intake.'
Subsequently, the rest of the Grimheart pirates arrived on the site, and each one of them, except Robin, froze in shock, just as how Rowan and Carina did.
"Crocodile's power... how ironic." Robin chuckled, "The ability used to destroy the whole Yuba, is now used to protect the whole kingdom."
"You gotta be kidding me, right?" Dan muttered with a twitch in his eye, "They say that the devil fruits are rare... but half of the people I know, all of them have one!!"
"I agree, my friend." Cavendish shook his head in disappointment, "When shall my fateful time arrive? All I know is that it isn't anytime soon."
"Hmph, quite impressive," Carmen acknowledged the sand bird that became increasingly defined as it continued to fly around, "however, it cannot compare to... my flame..." She stopped speaking, as her mind replayed how she was overwhelmed by Crocodile's attack before.
*Creak* Suddenly, the door of the room opened, and Alfred walked in with Farul next to him, before he too stopped with a mildly surprised expression, as he sighted Vivi's sand control.
"Oh? How interesting." Alfred nodded his head, before walking up to Carina, and took out an Eternal Pose from his inner vest, "Here you go, mademoiselle Carina. It took me a while to find one, but here it is, the Eternal Pose of Spriggins."
"Spriggins?" Rowan raised his eyebrow as he gazed at Carina questioningly.
"Few days ago, while you were busy with Poneglyph and other important matters, Alfred and I conducted some research in the royal library." Carina explained, as she turned to Rowan after receiving the Eternal Pose from Alfred.
"We found an old journal by a man named 'Goldtooth' Henry. In his description, there is an island named Spriggins, where the ocean streams are able to travel in an upward direction, through a large capillary action provided by a giant plant. With more study, we deduced that Spriggins must be the island that Urouge was speaking of." Carina said as she peered into the Eternal Pose, looking at the still needle that lied in the middle.
"Capillary action?" Rowan tilted his head in confusion, "Correct me if I am wrong, but judging from your words, I assume that the giant plant is like a tube that sucks the water to the top."
"Exactly." Carina nodded as she put the Eternal Pose into the purse on her waist, "Additionally, in order to successfully sail through such a route, I heard that we need to coat our ship with a particular substance, since we are going to be sailing 'in' the water."
"Like a waterproof, I see." Rowan remarked as he placed his hand under his chin. "Doesn't apply to us though."
"Spriggins?" Nami spoke up with curiosity, "From what I've learnt, one after Sandy island was Maple island, not Spriggins. If it was Jaya, I would've understood, but Spriggins? It's the first time I heard of it."
Hearing Nami's question, Carina snorted in mockery and didn't bother to explain, much to Nami's dismay.
Nojiko, who stood on Nami's side, sweatdropped upon sighting the childish rivalry between the two.
"We aren't necessarily following the Log Pose. What we are trying to do right now, is to reach this sky island that we've never seen before. It may sound unreal, but we personally witnessed the friends who came from up there." Rowan explained in Carina's stead. 'Although there is no guarantee if the sky is what
Nami nodded as she intently listened to Rowan's explanation.
Meanwhile, having gotten out of the fascination provided by her fruit ability, Vivi and the rest of the Twin Cats pirates too approached Rowan and the others with an interest.
"When are you leaving?" Nojiko asked Rowan with seriousness in her tone.
Rowan held up two fingers, "In two days. We stayed here much longer than we expected. A prolonged stay will not only hinder our sail, but bring trouble to this kingdom."
Upon hearing Rowan's claim, Nami and Nojiko's faces darkened in disappointment.
"So we are going to be separated again, huh." Nami muttered dejectedly. Calling via Den Den Mushi was not a plausible option either, especially when there was a risk of being eavesdropped on by the marines and the World Government.
Originally, Nami and Nojiko did consider following Rowan's crew for the upcoming sail. However, once they realized that Prominence 'sailed' through the sky, they knew that it would be impossible for them to keep up.
"Prior to our departure though, I do have something I need to teach you guys." Rowan spoke up seriously, although he too felt slightly down from seeing his friends in such a state, "And that includes you as well, Vivi."
"Which is?" Vivi asked in intrigue.
"Haki."
_________________
[Two days after]
Rowan and his crew were seen to be above the deck of Prominence, within the hidden underground port. On the platform that leads to the tunnel, Cobra, Vivi, the royal guards, and the Twin Cats pirates were all crowded.
"I'm personally concerned for the marines." Alfred said with a frown on his face, "It seems that they are quite blind in regards to assigning the bounties adequately."
In his hands was his own bounty poster, which simply stated,
"NEIGH~!!!!!!!" Farul cried in fury as his bounty poster, amounting only up to 100 Beli, lied in front of his forelegs. Steams rushed out of his nostrils and his teeth were gritted. He seemed very ferocious, judging by how the veins popped out of his muscular legs.
"234 million Beli? I am conflicted if I should be happy or not." Dan stated as he held onto his own bounty poster, "It's pretty high, but still lower than most of our crew... which shouldn't be the case. After all, I am the second-" Dan momentarily froze as he felt Carina's eyes piercing through him, "-third strongest here."
Cavendish, on the other hand, was jovially laughing with his sword pointed up to the sky, "Guahahaha!!!"
Rowan chuckled upon seeing Cavendish's reaction, "What's with your laugh?"
"Guahaha, I'm testing out the new laugh I invented! Truly the laugh fitting for the man of 305 million Beli! Guahahaha!!" Cavendish replied confidently, oblivious of Alfred and Farul, who were glaring at him for his boisterousness.
On the other hand, Carmen was seen holding her bounty poster in front of Carina haughtily, "310 million Beli! Who's the second in this crew- owwww, stop stop, I'm sorry, okay?!!" In midst of her words, Carmen had to stop from the pain, as Carina painfully pinched her earlobe with her Haki-imbued hand.
"If I bothered myself to be as flashy as you two, I would've got a bounty over 400 million Beli at least." Releasing Carmen's earlobe, which was now swollen in red, Carina pouted before shifting her gaze to Rowan's bounty poster, which had an abnormal amount of 850 million Beli written. "Now that's something, alright."
"Hm, it seems that there hasn't been a change in mine. Still the same 79 million Beli." Robin said calmly, as she was seen sitting down on a chair with her legs crossed, "Ufufu, I'm a bit annoyed to see mine well below almost everyone's."
"Now it feels as if we made some progressions over the past three years." Rowan stated with a grin, as he gazed at his lively crew members. "Anyway, is everything else good to go?"
Upon hearing Rowan's question, everyone nodded vibrantly, excited for their next journey on the sea.
"Destination set, enough supplies to last for more than a month, no apparent damage on the ship, and all crew members healthy to go!" Carina reported on behalf of everyone, as she playfully saluted with her right hand.
Seeing their agreements, Rowan jumped out from the Prominence and stood in front of the crowd on the platform.
"I suppose this is where we part." Cobra exclaimed with a gentle smile, "I hope your stay in Alubarna has been pleasant."
"It surely was." Rowan stated with a grin. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Rowan extended his right hand, to which Cobra grabbed and shook firmly.
"Next..." Releasing Cobra's hand, Rowan turned to Vivi, who was standing on Cobra's side. "Vivi. It's up to you in the end, but try and see if you will be able to awaken the Haki yourself. I've seen some insane combinations of Haki and devil fruit abilities from Crocodile before."
"Well, I'm not really that much of a fighter when compared to ones like you and Crocodile, but..." Vivi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "I will definitely give it a try."
"And finally, you guys." After giving Vivi a nod, Rowan turned to Nojiko, Nami, and the rest of their crew members.
"Remember what I told you. If the marines and bounty hunters are to be after me and my crew, travelling according to the direction guided by the Log Pose may not be a safe option. Additionally, many of the pirates in the New World are said to possess the capability to use Haki; it won't be a bad idea to ensure that you are prepared beforehand." Rowan said with a serious tone, earning nods from Nojiko and the other Twin Cats pirates.
On the other hand, Nami seemed to be irritated for some reason, with her visage in a frown and her eyes following Rowan with a wistful gaze.
"Don't worry, Rowan. We aren't necessarily aiming to enter the New World anyway." Nojiko said confidently, "We came here prepared! After all, unlike you and your crew, we sailed in the East Blue for three years beforehand."
"Well, I know that you guys are capable." Rowan laughed lightly, and turned around, about to leave, "Take care everyone, until our paths cross again."
After the final words, Rowan was about to jump back to Prominence, until,
"Rowan, wait!" Nami suddenly called out and rushed to Rowan, causing him to stop questioningly.
"What is it, Nami-"
Suddenly, Rowan felt a peck on his cheek, rendering him mildly surprised.
"Hehe, the next time we meet, it will be something more than just this." Nami winked and stuck her tongue out in a cute manner, before hurriedly running back. Nojiko and the rest of the crew were trying their hardest not to burst out in a laughter, much to Nami's embarrassment.
Rowan stood frozen on the spot momentarily; it was the first time he ever got a peck from a girl, including his previous life. He saw something much more in various movies, and yet, a simple peck was enough to make his heart beat faster. Nonetheless, Rowan quickly woke himself up from a trance by shaking his head, and jumped back to Prominence.
When he landed on the deck, he was greeted with his crew members staring at him with amused eyes.
"What?" Rowan asked in a mix of confusion and embarrassment.
Alfred chuckled as his glasses flashed, "Nothing captain Rowan. It's just that... you seem so pure."
"Do you need me to tell you about birds and bees?" Dan wiggled his eyebrows with a knowing smile.
Rowan grew a tick mark on forehead and pointed a thumb towards Cavendish with a strained smile, "...Teach that to him, not me."
"Huh? What about birds and bees? Nothing wrong with it." Cavendish tilted his head.
Dan's eyes widened in surprise, as he slowly shook his head in disbelief, "What?! You got to be kidding me. You said that everyone wanted to marry you back in your kingdom, and yet..."
As Dan stared at Cavendish sympathetically, Carina, Carmen, and Robin were seen to have distanced themselves from Dan in disgust.
*Clap* *Clap* Watching how the crew members got themselves distracted, Rowan clapped his hands to earn their attention.
"Let's not get ourselves overly distracted. It's time for us to depart." Rowan commanded with a hint of excitement. "Pull up the anchor and spread the sails. We are leaving immediately!"
"Aye aye, captain!" With Cavendish's jovial reply being a cue, everyone immediately complied to Rowan's words and began to carry out the orders, except for Carina.
Carina was seen to be staring at Rowan with narrowed eyes, with her arms crossed in annoyance.
"What?" Rowan asked in confusion, and before he realized, he received a peck on his cheek from Carina.
"There," Carina broke out a grin, "it seemed a little dirty there, so I cleaned it for you."
Rowan found himself chuckling in response.
Nonetheless, Prominence began to move out of its position. Briefly gathering atop the deck, Rowan and his crew members all waved at the crowd, who simultaneously waved back.
Carina and Nami were seen to be glaring at each other comically until the end, as Prominence reached the end of the cave. The section underneath them began to rise, bringing Prominence back to the outside sea.
"Haa," Upon facing the vast sea in front of them yet again, Rowan took a deep breath in and held his arms wide open, "feels good to be back outside."
With their shocking re-emergence in Alabasta, the Grimheart pirates, whose total bounty now amounts to 1,970,000,100 Beli, was about to begin the next chapter of their adventure!