Since yesterday, Robin had a new little pet by her side. It could serve tea, massage her back, and even practice martial arts. Rosen couldn't help but feel a mix of envy and regret. If he had known this little creature would be so obedient, he would have kept it for himself. During his morning exercise routine, the little sea cow quietly tried to mimic Rosen's movements. Every time it noticed him glance over, it would hurriedly bow.
Although no one knew when the sea cow had secretly boarded the ship, it had been hiding for several days before finally appearing, driven by hunger. Late at night, it ventured out in search of food and was spotted. The sight of it would have caused a commotion, so the clever little sea cow knocked out the person who discovered it. Its lower body resembled a tail, and as it moved, its little form naturally swayed from side to side, making it appear almost ethereal.
However, this behavior gave rise to rumors among the crew, with some even speculating that it was a "ghost." Afterward, the sea cow, fearing it would be discovered, hid in the ammunition room. Unfortunately, a search party still came looking for it. In a burst of confusion and fighting spirit, it knocked out everyone who entered the ammunition room until Rosen found it. After several days without food, the little sea cow fainted from hunger. Robin took it back to her room, feeding it bite by bite, rescuing it from its weakened state, which led the sea cow to develop deep gratitude toward Robin.
From then on, all of its actions were driven by that gratitude.
"Mr. 5, go spar with the little sea cow, but don't use your abilities," Rosen suddenly ordered Mr. 5, who was currently training.
"Fight this little thing? Are you serious?" Mr. 5 was reluctant. Although the sea cow had knocked out several of the crew members, Mr. 5 didn't really take it seriously. After all, he was a seasoned bounty hunter with a bounty of tens of millions. But since Rosen had ordered it, Mr. 5 reluctantly agreed, planning to teach the little sea cow a lesson and relieve some of his own frustration.
"Come here," Rosen called the little sea cow, who was practicing lifting weights. He was curious how such a small creature could handle the heavy equipment they used for daily training. This is why Rosen wanted to test the sea cow's strength now that it wasn't hungry.
"Hei shoo~" The little sea cow gave a quick bow and made a sound that seemed to say "hei shoo," though Rosen couldn't quite understand its meaning. He pointed to Mr. 5, clenched his fist, and threw a punch in the air, signaling, "Go ahead, beat him up."
"Pa-pa!" The little sea cow straightened up, clapping its front limbs together loudly as if promising to obey.
Whoosh! The moment Mr. 5 moved, a flash of green lightning suddenly appeared under his abdomen. Mr. 5 was bewildered, thinking, "Where did that little thing go?"
Boom! The little sea cow tightened its front limbs, formed them into a fist, and struck Mr. 5 in the stomach with a single powerful punch. The immense force caved in Mr. 5's stomach, and he collapsed, his eyes rolling back and foam spilling from his mouth. He was knocked back and slammed into the wall, his neck slumping as he lost consciousness.
It was a one-hit knockout! Even though Mr. 5 had been careless and didn't use his Devil Fruit abilities, his combat strength alone would have been enough to defeat dozens or even hundreds of ordinary people. Yet here, he was knocked out cold by a single punch from a sea cow. The impact was quite a surprise for both Rosen and Bones.
Rosen remained unfazed, remembering the kung fu sea cow that once displayed such dominance. He took a deep puff of his cigar and smiled, "Interesting little thing."
"This?!" Bones, although familiar with the martial arts sea cow, had never seen one this strong before.
"You try it," Rosen said, his curiosity piqued.
Bones, intrigued, nodded and initiated an attack. However, the little sea cow's speed was incredible, and it easily dodged Bones' strikes. Then, it counterattacked with its own rapid, powerful punches that seemed like hammers hitting steel. Though the sea cow's punches were immensely powerful, they couldn't break Bones' steel-like defense.
Still, Bones struggled to land a hit on the little sea cow, whose speed made it nearly impossible to catch. It darted around like a streak of lightning zipping through the air. But as time passed, the sea cow eventually succumbed to Bones' experience. Once Bones adapted to its speed and found an opening, a single blow was all it took to win the fight.
It was fortunate, too, because if a little sea cow could actually go toe-to-toe with Bones, the strongest fighter under Rosen's command, it would be too much to handle.
"Is the fight over yet?" Robin, who rarely came to the training area, stood at the door, waving at the little sea cow. The little sea cow hesitated for a moment before looking up at Rosen. After receiving his approval, it trotted over to Robin.
Robin crouched down, scooping the little sea cow into her arms. She turned to Rosen and said, "We're almost at the wine capital. The crew is ready, but I do hope there won't be too much trouble this time."
Normally, Robin wouldn't speak this casually; doing so would seem disrespectful and could even offend Crocodile. But after spending so much time with him, Robin had realized that Crocodile had become much easier to get along with and had changed his ways. Gradually, she began to accept this transformation in him, which led her to speak up with concern.
"I wasn't planning on causing trouble. I want to take a leisurely stroll on the island," Rosen replied nonchalantly, smoke swirling around his face. "The sea is beautiful, but without people, it feels a bit empty. As for whether trouble will find us… that's hard to say."
Robin didn't press the issue further. After all, the last time's events hadn't truly been settled. She couldn't predict if the people from Bordeaux Winery would still have the guts to provoke a Shichibukai again.
"By the way, give every crew member 500,000 Berries. Let them relax and spend some money where needed," Rosen added, having not been involved with the crew's affairs during this week-long journey. Their food, lodging, and everything else were fully covered, so he didn't want to skimp on them.
"500,000 Berries?!" Robin was a bit surprised. Normally, 500,000 Berries would be the cost of a short trip to the island, not too big of an expenditure. But in the past, some captains wouldn't even give that much; at best, they'd offer only 100,000 or 200,000 Berries. The sum seemed unusually generous.
That's because the crew members all had their own savings. Even though they were part of Rosen's crew, they still had their own private stashes, and treasures from plundering would be shared based on their contributions.
"I thought 500,000 might not be enough," Rosen said, pondering. "But I don't think I can give much more right now. The treasure vault probably doesn't even have more than 800 million Berries in total. If necessary, we can always make up for it later."
"It's not too little, it's more than enough. But since the new ship is setting sail, it's a good gesture," Robin replied. "But, BOSS, I get a share too, right?"
"Mm, take 2 million Berries. Use it to learn more about the Sky Island. If there are no other surprises, our next destination will be researching how to reach it," Rosen said, nodding.
"Sky Island? You mean an island in the sky?" Robin asked, remembering that Rosen had mentioned this before, saying it was where the history text was hidden.
"That's right. You'll understand more when we get there," Rosen replied, gazing out as the ship drew closer to a distant island.
After a week of sailing, nothing much had happened, except for the little sea cow's surprise. Rosen was starting to miss solid ground and the presence of people.
"The log pose should be fully charged soon, just three more days. It'll be quick," Robin said, her anticipation growing.
A rich, intoxicating scent of wine filled the air as the ship neared the port of the wine capital. The crew members with a taste for alcohol were immediately stirred, while Rosen, unaffected by the scent, found it pleasantly fragrant. This wine capital seemed quite charming.
While the scent didn't travel for hundreds of miles, it certainly lingered well beyond ten miles. If one stayed around long enough, it felt like a gentle buzz was beginning to take hold.
"Pirate ship!" But just as Rosen's ship, *Dawn*, drew close, screams rang out from the port workers nearby, and soon the Marines were alerted.
(End of Chapter)