Leaving Little Garden
"GYAGYAGYA!!! It's been a while!"
Since there were no longer any enemies around, Yuna and the two giants immediately went back to drinking after the duo fought to yet another draw.
Luffy, on the other hand, seemed rather determined to consume more meat than the two giants and was on a good pace to actually do it.
"I'm sorry, mister Brogy, but when does the Log Pose reset on this island?"
"Mhh? The Log Pose? It takes around a year."
""A YEAR!?""
Hearing the answer, Nami and Vivi couldn't help but despair. After all, Vivi's kingdom was in danger, and they had no time to idle here for a whole year.
However, while the duo was despairing, Sanji arrived, his attention instantly drawn to the two giants who seemed to have entered some kind of drinking and eating contest with Yuna and Luffy, respectively.
Additionally, he could briefly glance some green hair walking around in the distance, while murmuring something about smelling alcohol, just to turn around and walk in a different direction. Naturally, Sanji ignored that.
"What happened here?"
"Ohh! You are here, Sanji! Quickly, cook for us! Shishishi, you can look forward to Sanji's cooking! He's an amazing cook!"
"KBABABABA!!! Very good!"
"GYAGYAGYA!!! WE NEED MORE BOOZE!!!"
Not entirely sure what was going on, Sanji prepared himself to cook when he noticed Nami and Vivi's distressed look.
"Nami, Vivi, is something wrong?"
"Sigh You could say so. The Log Pose will only reset after a full year, so we are stuck here."
"Hehe, no problem. After all, I have this!"
Happy that he could help, Sanji pulled out a Log Pose that had the word "Alabasta" written on it in bold letters. A Log Pose that always points at the same island. An Eternal Pose!
"AN ENTERNAL POSE!!! GREAT, SANJI!!! GOOD JOB!!!"
Realizing that the journey could continue, Vivi couldn't help but hug Sanji, resulting in his eyes turning into hearts.
Naturally, everyone was curious how Sanji managed to get his hands on it, so Sanji quickly told them what he experienced after going on a hunting contest with Zoro.
Basically, while walking through the jungle, he found a white building that seemed to be entirely made out of some white substance. Upon entering, Sanji quickly noticed the Eternal Pose sitting on a desk, so he decided to take it with him. He was a pirate, after all. If he wanted something, he would just take it.
Nami was briefly dumbfounded at how easy everything went, but she quickly realized what was going on.
"I see; that house must have been made by Mister 3. Since Baroque Works' main base is in Alabasta, it's only logical that every one of them has an Eternal Pose there."
Just like that, more time passed, and on the next day, everyone found themselves back on the Going Merry, ready to sail to the next island.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ALL THE BOOZE IS GONE!? WE HAD OVER 100 LITRES!!!"
Currently, Zoro was glaring at Yuna with crimson eyes while yelling at her after finding out that all the booze on the ship was gone. Worst of all, he didn't even manage to drink a single drop of it since he was too busy wandering all over the island, not once finding the place he wanted to go.
To tell the truth, the only reason why he made his way back to the Merry was that Nami asked Sanji to fetch him so they could continue their journey.
"Mah, on the good side, I didn't lose the drinking contest against the giants~"
"Giants? Drinking contest? What are you talking about?"
Ignoring the conversation between Yuna and Zoro, Nami focuses on the Eternal Pose to Alabast and smiles lightly.
'With this, we will be able to help Vivi save her country quicker.'
She felt a little light-headed but decided not to think too deeply about it, simply dismissing it as feeling a little under the weather.
The Going Merry continued sailing through the river flowing through Little Garden and, moments later, reached the exit to the sea, where, surprisingly, Brogy and Dorry were waiting with wide grins on their faces.
"Ohhh! Seems like these two came to see us off!"
While Luffy was getting excited, a frown appeared on Yuna's face, and she could easily tell that there was quite a tense atmosphere oozing out of the two giants.
"There is a reason why no one can leave this island."
"You defended our honor and shared your booze with us, so we will help you out."
"Haa~ Those are the bastards that helped drink away all the booze!?"
Hearing that these two were partially responsible for drinking all his booze, Zoro wanted to go a few rounds with them but was quickly stopped by Nami bonking the back of his head.
"We will not allow any enemies to trample on our friends' pride."
"So, no matter what happens, sail in a straight line."
"Okay! We'll sail in a straight line!"
Easily trusting the words of Brogy and Dorry, Luffy instantly agreed to what they asked the Straw Hats to do.
"W-What the hell is that!?"
Distracted by the giants' mysterious words, no one had noticed until now that the ocean in front of the Going Merry seemed to be stirring. Only when everyone heard Nami's question did their gaze land in front of the Merry.
Suddenly, a colossal fish emerged from the ocean, easily matching Laboon in size, perhaps even surpassing him.
"Shit, what kind of monster is that!? Usopp, turn the ship; we need to dodge it!"
"No, Brogy and Dorry said to sail straight ahead. Isn't that right, Luffy?"
"Oh!"
"Y-Yuna, do something! Can't you convince these idiots not to sail into our death!?"
Yuna was a little happy that Nami's first thought was asking her for help, but in the end, she could only shake her head with a wry smile on her face.
"Yeah, no. Do you seriously think I can convince Luffy of something after he made up his mind?"
Hearing Yuna's words, Nami could only despair as she realized that it was basically impossible to change her stubborn captain's opinion. However, some hope returned to her eyes as Yuna continued talking.
"That being said, I believe those two giants are trustworthy, but despite that, it wouldn't hurt to prepare something to get out of here as well."
Before Nami could comment on Yuna's words, Yuna raised her hands and seemingly grabbed the air. However, instead of grabbing the air, the hilt of a sword appeared in her hands, which quickly turned into a massive sword that was larger than Yuna herself.
Seeing that sword, Zoro instinctively took hold of his own, feeling a lot of pressure from Yuna's newly formed weapon.
'What's this sword? The pressure I can feel from her just taking a stance with it is insane. Did she seriously create that with her ice?'
Although Zoro was by no means an expert on swords, he could at least tell with his sharp instincts that Yuna's sword was dangerous. Very dangerous. Possibly even surpassing the danger he felt from Mihawk's sword a while ago.
Unaware of Zoro's thoughts, Yuna took a deep breath, and following that, some ice gathered on the ship's deck while the pressure she was oozing increased even further.
"Nami, if I have to act, I'll probably stay unconscious for a day or two, so please take care of my body."
"Eh?"
Naturally, Nami was surprised by Yuna's words, but before she could comment on them, Yuna took another deep breath as her eyes sharpened. By now, the Going Merry was already pretty deep inside the giant fish's mouth, so she decided to act.
"[Ice Sword Combination Style...]"
The whole ship seemed to shake while Yuna was preparing her attack, but before she could do anything, a slight smile appeared on her face as she lowered her weapon, making her weapon melt back into water.
"As expected, those two are trustworthy."
"Y-Yuna, what do you m..."
BOOOOM
Before Nami could ask what Yuna was talking about, a huge shockwave engulfed the giant fish, blasting a hole into its body and consequently pushing the Going Merry through the fish's body, allowing the ship to escape its stomach.
Seeing that she wouldn't have to make a move, Yuna smiled in approval of the two giants' strength and wiped a little blood away from the corner of her mouth.
"Yuna, what were you about to do?"
Noticing Yuna wiöing away some blood from her lips, combined with the pressure he just felt, Zoro couldn't help but be curious about what Yuna had planned to do.
"Well, I was about to use an attack that my current body can't handle, slightly damaging it in the process and consequently knocking me out for a while. Luckily, the giants kept their promise and helped us out with the giant fish situation."
"Y-Yuna, are you really fine!? What do you mean by 'damaging your body'!? Are you really fine!?"
Seeing the concern on Nami's face and hearing it in her voice, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle while poking Nami's pouting cheeks.
"Mah, no worries~ As I said, at worst, I would have only stayed unconscious for a little while without any permanent damage to my body. No need to worry; I'm pretty tough."
Although Nami was still a little skeptical, especially when she saw Yuna wipe away a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, she decided not to pester Yuna any further. If she claimed she was fine, then she should be fine, right?
However, while Nami decided to continue navigating the Merry, Yuna frowned as her gaze landed on Nami. She could feel like something was off about her.
"Nami, wait a moment. How are you feeling? Is everything alright?"
As she spoke, Yuna approached Nami and put her hand on her forehead, feeling her temperature.
Initially, Nami assumed that Yuna wanted to play another trick to get closer to her, but seeing the concern on Yuna's face, she dismissed that notion.
"I'm fine, just a little tired. I guess going from a tropical island back to more tame weather exhausted me a little."
Feeling that Nami's forehead had a normal temperature, Yuna accepted her words with a hum, but she still cautioned Nami not to overdo it. However, Yuna wasn't certain why she felt like something was wrong with Nami's condition.
"Alright, your temperature is normal as well, but please tell me if you are feeling unwell."
Although Nami was confused by Yuna's sudden change in attitude, seeing the genuine concern in her eyes, Nami smiled happily before nodding her head and focusing her eyes on the freshly acquired Eternal Pose to Aaabasta.
Around an hour passed, and Yuna opened her eyes as she woke up from meditating next to Merry's mast with a frown on her face. Her eyes instantly zeroed in on Nami, whose face was currently a little flushed while she was breathing somewhat heavily.
'Sigh This silly little girl.'
Vanishing from her position, Yuna appeared next to Nami and snatched the Eternal Pose out of her hand.
"Yuna, what..."
Pop
Before Nami could say anything else, Yuna lightly hit the top of her head with a rolled-up newspaper, resulting in Nami glaring at her with a pout.
"Why did you do that!?"
"Bad girl. Didn't I tell you to say when you're not feeling well?"
"I'm feeling f..."
Pop
Yet again, the rolled-up newspaper descended on Nami's head, interrupting her words.
"No, you are not. Your face is flushed, your temperature is a little high, and your breathing is labored. I'll navigate for a while, and you will go to bed and rest."
"Yuna, I..."
Snap
Before Nami could continue arguing, Yuna snapped her fingers, causing Sanji to appear next to the duo instantly.
"Sanji, Nami is sick. Please have Vivi escort her to bed and cook something healthy for her."
Initially, Sanji wanted to fawn over Yuna and Nami, but the moment he heard that Nami was sick, his playboy attitude vanished instantly.
He gave Nami a concerned look, and seeing her flushed face, Sanji took her hand and tried to pull her away gently.
Seeing that even Sanji took the situation seriously, Nami sighed in defeat and allowed herself to be escorted away.
Meanwhile, seeing the situation, Luffy couldn't help but frown and approach Yuna, his concern clearly visible.
"What's wrong with Nami? Will she be fine?"
"No idea. I'm not a doctor, after all. However, we'll figure something out, so no worries. The best option would be finding a doctor as quickly as possible."
"A doctor, huh? Mhhhhhhh..."
'No way! Is he going to...'
[There is no way.]
"I think having a doctor on the ship would be a good idea. Let's look for a doctor to be our next crew member!"
'He did it!'
[Seems like seeing one of his friends in danger has temporarily increased his intelligence.]
"Ah, but I still want a musician."
[... somewhat.]
'Better little than nothing, hehe. Anyway, time to figure out how to navigate a ship.'
[You are really going in blind, aren't you?]
'Well, I've seen Nami do it for a few days, so I'll figure something out.'
[Seems like this third life of yours will end rather early.]
'Mah, don't be so pessimistic, Kurama. I'll figure it out like I always do.'
[Sigh There really is no other choice, huh.]
'Ohh! Let's sail!'