In truth, if Shin were alone, getting lost at sea wouldn't pose a significant problem.
This wasn't the New World. While the weather in the first half of the Grand Line could be harsh, it was far less chaotic than the meteorological disasters of the New World.
With Shin's strength, even drifting aimlessly on the ocean wouldn't threaten him. If hungry, he could hunt Sea Kings. If thirsty, he could use Water Release to condense fresh water.
Even if he refrained from eating or drinking, Shin could endure for months. The physique of people in this world was far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Take Red-Leg Zeff, who survived for months while stranded on a desolate island, or the battle between Akainu and Aokiji, where the two fought nonstop for ten days and nights without food, drink, or rest. These feats underscored the extraordinary resilience of the people in this world.
However, the problem was not Shin himself. Inside his dark dimension, a large group of slaves remained confined.
Though Shin's body was formidable, the same couldn't be said for these slaves. Most bore injuries, both old and new. They had endured months of abuse and neglect, leaving many on the brink of death.
Fortunately, Shin had capable subordinates.
Violet and the others had remained in the dark dimension until Shin released them. As soon as they emerged, Ulti, Page One, and Kyros stood on guard, their senses sharp.
"Where's the enemy?!" Ulti barked. "Show me the enemy!"
"There's no enemy. We've escaped," Shin replied, rolling his eyes.
To be honest, Shin had noticed a growing issue: the strength gap between himself and his crew had become unmanageably wide.
Bluntly put, aside from Charlotte Pudding with her Memory-Memory fruit and Violet with her Glare-Glare Fruit, the rest of his crew had little utility.
In battles involving Shin, his crew could hardly survive the aftermath, let alone participate.
He had recruited Page One and Ulti mainly for their navigation skills, while Kyros had been brought along as part of the deal in Dressrosa. Now, Shin was seriously considering how to settle them.
For now, this thought was pushed aside. His immediate priority was finding an inhabited island.
Shin observed Violet and the others and noticed they were slightly injured—remnants of their encounter earlier.
He treated them with Medical Ninjutsu, then asked Violet, "Can you figure out where we are?"
Violet shook her head. "I've never been to the first half of the Grand Line, so I can't say for sure."
"Can you locate the nearest island?" Shin pressed.
"That I can do! About 300 kilometers away, there's an island. But it doesn't seem very populated. It looks like it's inhabited by a group of indigenous people."
"Good enough," Shin nodded. "We'll head there. We need a place to settle these slaves for now."
Shin transformed into a massive dragon, enveloped Violet and the others in flames clouds, and flew toward the island.
With Violet as a guide, reaching their destination didn't take long.
"It really is an indigenous tribe," Shin said, observing the island below. A group of dark-skinned natives knelt before him, bowing and chanting fervently.
Their reverence stemmed not from anything Shin had done but simply from his dramatic entrance. Seeing a giant dragon transform into a man had convinced them he was some sort of deity.
The fragmented development of civilization in the One Piece world created this phenomenon. Because 95% of the planet was ocean, and all nations were island nations, civilization developed in isolation.
On the Grand Line, this led to peculiar extremes. One could encounter islands like Karakuri Island, with near-futuristic technology, or primitive tribes with no exposure to modern advancements.
For Shin, this isolation was convenient. Such remote islands were often ignored by the World Government and the Marines.
He opened the dark dimension, releasing nearly 10,000 slaves. They stumbled out, their expressions a mix of fear and confusion.
To these slaves, their imprisonment in the dark space was a nightmarish blur. They had been herded in, endured an endless void, and then emerged into the light again. The gap between these events was a blank slate.
Shin didn't bother explaining much. He left Violet and Kyros to calm and reassure the group while focusing on healing.
The slaves had suffered severe abuse at the hands of the Celestial Dragons. Many were malnourished, diseased, or on the verge of death. Some required treatments only Shin's advanced Medical Ninjutsu and powers of the Munch-Munch fruit could provide.
Even with his unparalleled medical skills, it took Shin several days to heal every single slave.
Yet these slaves were far from helpless. The Celestial Dragons, for all their cruelty, had chosen them for specific reasons. Many were from rare races, skilled craftsmen, or former pirates of notable strength.
Once healed, the group proved remarkably self-sufficient. On their own, they began transforming the deserted island.
Former pirates hunted on land and sea, expert craftsmen planned and built structures, and a few skilled in agriculture cultivated crops. Even a group of Tontatta dwarves lent their abilities to the effort.
The island transitioned from a barren refuge to a thriving settlement in just a few months.
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