Looking at Ah Hua, looking at this small boat that carried all of them.
Looking at Kong Tai, basking in the sun at the bow of the ship, looking at Robin, reading a book, looking at Gui Na, who had placed her sword on her knees and was sitting cross-legged in the practice room by the stern mast, cultivating, looking at Indigo, who was researching something in the orange grove, and the afro-haired skeleton who had been standing alone by the ship since early morning, playing cheerful music.
All of this made the young giant's heart, which had been slightly uneasy due to his first time at sea, gradually calm down.
The sea was vast, and the undulating hull of the ship did not offer the same stability as land. However, the exploration of the unknown filled the young giant's heart with anticipation.
Unlike the monotonous Elbaf, unlike a boring, lifeless, and decaying existence, he was now a frog that had leaped out of the well, yearning for a more expansive, passionate, and exciting life.
As if sensing the change in the young giant's mindset, Kong Tai, who was lying on the recliner at the bow, involuntarily revealed a gentle smile.
Moro had decided to join them on their voyage the night before they set sail.
Elbaf was too small; as long as Moro could fully grasp the power of his body, he could become the strongest in Elbaf, including royalty.
Therefore, after a few days of contemplation, he unhesitatingly followed Kong Tai, whom he regarded as a strong individual comparable to a god.
Kong Tai welcomed Moro's addition.
After all, the vastness of the sea meant that voyages would be quite dull. Having an extra person would make everyone more active and less listless.
Liveliness was, after all, human nature.
And Kong Tai and the others were not people who enjoyed solitude; naturally, the more people, the better!
Although the Thousand Sunny was a bit small compared to Moro, so small that he didn't even have a room and could only sleep on the deck, none of this mattered in the face of adventure.
...
Two days later.
On the foggy sea, a two-masted sailing ship, breaking through the waves, sailed through a sea that had already become foggy by sunset.
Gazing at the black silhouette ahead, with its orange-yellow spire peeking out against the setting sun, A'luo excitedly lowered his telescope, leaned on the railing, and shouted loudly below, "Island sighted to the right front."
"Is it Eregia?"
At the bow, Ah Hua leaned his back against the railing and looked up at A'luo, asking.
"It should be," A'luo slid down the mast to the deck below and then quickly walked towards the bow, saying as he walked, "I remember there shouldn't be any other islands on our route."
"Mmm..."
As soon as he stepped onto the deck at the bow, A'luo suddenly stopped. He looked up at the island ahead and asked doubtfully, "Do you hear that? Is that singing?"
"Indeed, there is singing, and it's a woman's voice."
Ah Hua nodded, cupped his hand to his ear, and amplified it, "The voice is so pleasant, and the song is beautiful, as if an elf is singing."
"Yohohoho!!" Brook's eyes lit up upon hearing the singing, and he laughed heartily, "It seems the City of Music hasn't completely become history; isn't someone here?"
"Although the voice sounds young, the singing is incredibly beautiful, as if a god is forcibly feeding me, what a wonderful voice!"
Although he hadn't paid much attention initially, hearing such beautiful singing here filled him, as a musician, with anticipation for the journey ahead.
Breaking through the clouds, a giant stage resembling a human ribcage appeared before everyone's eyes. Looking at the huge curved domes on both sides of the stage, Kong Tai's eyes showed a hint of doubt.
He remembered that in the trailer for "Red-Haired Diva" that he had watched in his previous life, these rib-like domes were transparent crystal.
But now, they were all stone, nothing special.
Following the singing, the group found the singer on the beach to the right of the giant stage.
A girl, a girl no older than Kong Tai and the others.
Currently, the girl was sitting on a large rock protruding from the beach, hugging her knees, her head bowed, singing loudly.
It was as if she had entered another world, completely oblivious to the arrival of the Thousand Sunny, unaffected in the slightest.
It wasn't until the Thousand Sunny sailed into the shallow waters in front of her and stopped, blocking the setting sun that shone on her and blocking the warmth of the sun, that the singing abruptly ceased.
The girl looked up, revealing a beautiful face with one eye covered by her white hair on the left.
The girl was very pretty, but both her attire and the light in her eyes conveyed a sense of desolation.
While singing, the group hadn't noticed anything unusual; although there was longing and resentment, when heard, it was merely considered as inherent emotions in the song. But upon seeing the girl, everyone realized that these were not the emotions of the song itself, but the girl's emotions.
"Pirates... Pirates?"
The girl stared at Kong Tai and the others standing at the ship's side, looking at her. There was no fear of strangers in her eyes, nor was there any joy.
At this moment, the girl gave Kong Tai and the others the feeling of someone who had just experienced a major life change and was lost about the future.
"We're not pirates, we're an adventure group."
Hearing the girl say this, A'tao, who had fully accepted that he was an adventurer and not a pirate, put down his cigarette and corrected the girl, "Although everyone thinks we're pirates, we don't think so ourselves."
"Is there a difference?"
The girl stared at A'tao expressionlessly.
"Yes!"
A'tao answered without hesitation, "We only seek to see a wider world, experience more magnificent events, and travel the entire world. We do not kill or plunder, nor do we slaughter the innocent, and we certainly don't destroy islands or towns on a whim. Of course, we're different from pirates."
"I understand," the girl nodded. "Just like the Red-Haired Pirates."
"Oh, right," as if remembering something, the girl looked up at everyone, a hint of an inexplicable gleam in her despondent eyes. "You've come from outside, so you must have heard of the Red-Haired Pirates!"
"The Red-Haired Pirates? Of course, we've heard of them. Not only have we heard of them, but we've also seen them!"
A'tao took a deep drag from his cigarette and asked curiously, "Why? Do you know the Red-Haired Pirates?"
"I know them, of course I know them. Shanks is my father."
"Father???"
As the girl finished speaking, everyone on the ship who knew Shanks stared in astonishment at the girl who had already stood up below.
"If that guy has such a big daughter, how could he let you stay here alone?"
Clearly, Ah Hua and the others didn't believe the girl below was Shanks's daughter.
However, the girl offered no explanation for their questions.
Now, in her mind, anyone who knew the Red-Haired Pirates and Shanks could not be a pirate.
And she, towards pirates...
Felt only a deep-seated disgust!