101. Jaya Island

Drop Some power stones! If you like the chapter! It helps to keep me motivated to upload more!💎💎💎

---

No one expected that after just one night's rest, their course would deviate so far. It was too unrealistic to consider turning back.

They could only start searching for nearby ships as they continued forward.

"Where do you want to go?" Hancock asked quietly.

"Jaya Island!" Anos replied with a smile.

"That would take about a month to sail round-trip!"

Listening to Hancock talking to herself, Anos smiled slightly and suggested, "It might be better if you drop us off at a nearby location first. We've delayed you long enough, and we wouldn't want to impact the economic welfare of your kingdom any further."

"It's no problem, King Anos. Our Kingdom has enough provisions to last at least another half-month, so there's no immediate worry for us," Sonia added with a smile as she moved forward to speak with him.

"Your Majesty, if it's possible, we could even offer a payment to the Kuja Pirates to ferry us to our designated destination," Suzu proposed.

"No…" Anos began.

"This sounds like a good idea! We won't ask for much, just 500 million Beris!" Before Anos could respond, Marigold clapped a hand on Suzu's shoulder and announced.

The others had no say in the matter and could only stand by, watching.

"Sister, we promised we'd make it happen no matter what. If King Tru is willing to pay, we should be able to accept it, right?" Marigold asked Hancock.

Yet, she seemed lost in thought, staring blankly and barely listening to them.

Nevertheless, if Marigold and Sonia agreed to the arrangement, Hancock would have no objections.

The other members of the Kuja Pirates also seemed generally satisfied and unconcerned about the deal.

After spending a day and night with these men, the Kuja Pirates had let down their guard.

Having never been around men before, they found themselves unexpectedly fond of these representatives from the Tru Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, my team has scouted the area and found no ships within a 50-kilometer radius. Our options are to either head towards Enies Lobby, make our way to Amazon Lily, or take a detour to another location," Abona reported, leaping down from the upper deck and standing respectfully beside Anos.

"Alright, I understand," Anos replied, feeling somewhat resigned.

Unless they encountered merchant or other ships along the way, they had limited ways to disembark.

He briefly considered acquiring a ship from the system's inventory, though doing so abruptly would likely arouse suspicion.

Finally snapping out of her daze, Hancock declared, "Everyone, set the course for Jaya Island! We're heading out on the Grand Line to expand our experience!"

Hancock's sudden announcement left everyone stunned. The idea of a pirate crew ferrying a king such a long distance was unprecedented.

Even Sonia and her sister looked at Hancock with surprise, their eyes wide with disbelief.

They had proposed this earlier only in jest, but they hadn't imagined Hancock would agree.

The men from Tru Kingdom were equally shocked, wondering if they'd heard correctly.

Anos sighed and looked at Hancock, feeling a bit helpless. Given that they'd only just met, her willingness to go so far was astonishing.

"Are you truly willing to do this?" Anos asked, studying Hancock.

Smiling like a young girl, Hancock softly touched her index fingers together, saying shyly, "There's nothing urgent in our kingdom, and I just wanted to see what the Grand Line is like."

Listening to Hancock, Anos could only say, "Let's stop at Amazon Lily first; I have something for you."

"Oh? What is it?" Hancock asked, surprised.

"You'll see when we get there," Anos replied calmly.

The Kuja Pirates implicitly trusted Hancock's orders. If she chose to sail to Amazon Lily or even take them ashore, no one would object.

The ship pressed forward, the two sea kings pulling it along, clearly faster than when they relied solely on sails.

After receiving confirmation, the crew began preparing for another banquet. Still recovering from the last night's festivities, they dove into the celebrations once more, abandoning all restraint.

It was hard to tell who was the pirate between the two groups; both were equally uninhibited, with no one minding much what the others did.

Amid the revelry, Abona alone stood at the top, keeping a vigilant watch over the surroundings, his expression serious and focused, in contrast to the joyful atmosphere below.

As the crew plotted their course, the Kuja Pirates quickly hoisted the sails before the banquet began, relying on the sea kings to drive the ship forward.

With the sails down, the ship relied solely on the two immense sea kings for propulsion. Without the sails, their speed noticeably increased.

Within half a day, they entered the Calm Belt. The stillness of this region was unlike anything they'd imagined; true to its name, there was no wind at all.

A sailboat in the Calm Belt was nearly impossible to manoeuvre.

But the Calm Belt held more than just the absence of wind. Looking out over the water, they could see strange changes rippling through the sea.

----

For early access to advanced chapters and exclusive illustrations made by me, visit my P@treon:

P@treon/Iamxeno

Thank you so much for your support and for reading!