Is this… Gatomon?
Xiano widened his eyes, scrutinizing the elegant-looking feline before him from head to tail. "You evolved again so soon? And you can talk now?"
"Hehe, pretty impressive, right? Half of it's thanks to the reward you gave me last time, and the other half is obviously because I worked super hard!"
Gatomon tossed her head proudly. "Actually, I finished evolving this morning. I wanted to tell you right away, but you were training so seriously that I didn't want to interrupt…"
Xiano squinted skeptically.
Worked hard? Yeah, right. All you do is eat and sleep all day. At least Agin gets thrown into the sea occasionally—that counts as exercise.
This little rascal's shameless attitude is exactly like Nami's.
Probably because she's been sleeping on Nami's head since she was a kitten—bad influence, no doubt.
Xiano instinctively glanced at Nami, only to find her gaping in shock, seemingly just noticing Nuomici's evolution.
"Whaaaaat?!"
She grabbed her orange bob in frustration. "You actually evolved again?! When will my reputation ever recover? Ugh… Tell me! Will you evolve again after this? Will you? Will you?!"
"Well~"
Gatomon tilted her head, instinctively glancing at Xiano first. After he gave her a subtle wink, she turned back with an innocent smile.
"Don't worry, Nami. Probably not."
"That's a relief."
Nami exhaled slightly, but the thought of her next bounty poster potentially labeling her as someone who even eats pet dogs made her slump in despair again.
Nojiko and Kuina patted her shoulders sympathetically, while Robin, watching their shoulders tremble silently from behind, chuckled softly and took a sip of coffee.
"Let's get back to business, Nuomici."
Robin turned to Gatomon with interest. "You were saying you actually found Rocks' treasure?"
The moment she said this, everyone snapped back to attention, their eyes locking onto Gatomon.
Ordinary treasure might not excite them much, but something left by Rocks? That was undeniably tempting.
Who cares about treasure? My reputation is way more important… Only Nami remained slumped, cheek propped on her hand, still sulking.
"That's right, Big Sis Robin!"
Gatomon puffed out her chest, her tail wagging left and right excitedly.
"After evolving, my sense of smell and perception improved a ton! I got bored watching Master train this morning, so I wandered around the island—and suddenly, I caught this really unique scent!"
Yeah, right. I didn't smell anything. Agin, sprawled on the deck, shot her a skeptical glance and smirked.
Unaware of Agin's reaction, Gatomon continued,
"I followed the scent and found a super hidden crack at the base of the cliff. It was pitch-black inside, but my night vision is amazing now—I spotted this rusty old metal box right away! It's been sitting there for years, and it's got a big 'R' carved on it!"
"R…"
Robin pondered thoughtfully, "Rocks? It seems there's a real possibility this could be something left behind by Rocks."
"No need to speculate," Xiano grinned. "Let's just go and see for ourselves. Come on, Mochi, lead the way!"
...
Ten minutes later.
At the base of the black rocky peak in the center of Thunder God Island.
Everyone had gathered, all eager except for Nami, who looked listless.
"This is the place!" Gatomon pointed at the crack in the rock wall, almost completely covered in moss. "The scent is coming from inside, but the rock here is too hard. I couldn't figure out how to get down."
"So hidden... No wonder so many Pirates searched but found nothing..." Robin leaned in closer but saw nothing. Without Gatomon pointing it out, they would never have noticed.
"I'll handle it."
Without hesitation, Jack swung his fist, coating it in Armament Haki, and smashed it into the rock wall!
BOOM!
Debris flew as the crack was forcibly widened into a large opening. Jack went in first, using his hands like excavators to dig through the rock layers, leading everyone to the treasure chest.
"Nami," Xiano called.
"I know."
Nami sighed and snapped her fingers weakly. Flames instantly ignited above her head, illuminating the dark depths of the cave.
"No lock?"
Robin noticed the anomaly first, her brow furrowing slightly. "It looks like it's already been opened..."
"Eh?" Nojiko's face fell. "So it's just an empty chest? What a waste of time..."
"No."
Xiano narrowed his eyes suddenly. "It's not empty. There's a living presence inside, though it's very faint."
So faint it was almost imperceptible—even Katakuri's Observation Haki hadn't detected it earlier on the island.
Xiano stepped forward, gently pushing Robin back and signaling the others to retreat slightly. Then, cautiously, he reached out with his right hand toward the lid.
The chest was incredibly heavy, made of some unknown material.
Even he had to exert a bit of effort to open it. An ordinary strong adult would likely need a dozen people working together just to lift it.
Creak~
The inside of the chest was revealed—completely empty except for a frail, white-haired boy curled up in the center.
He looked about fourteen or fifteen, his skin slightly darkened, his body tightly curled, eyes shut in deep slumber.
"This..."
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
"Rocks' treasure... is a person?"
"How is that possible? How old would he be? He doesn't look it at all!"
"Maybe he's a Devil Fruit user. This world is full of strange things..."
As they debated, the boy's eyelids suddenly twitched, then slowly opened.
He looked around dazedly before his gaze settled on Xiano at the front. His lips trembled slightly, as if trying to speak, but his parched mouth couldn't produce a sound.
"Water."
Xiano held out his hand without turning.
"Here, boss."
Jack immediately handed over an oversized canteen.
The boy clutched the canteen and gulped down several large mouthfuls before finally catching his breath. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, "Th... thank you..."
"Who are you?"
Xiano didn't mince words and got straight to the point, "Why were you in this chest?"
Yeah, how did I end up sleeping in a chest?
The boy's brain was clearly still in a daze. He stared blankly for a long while before finally piecing things together. With a sudden realization, he smacked his forehead and scrambled up in a hurry:
"Oh no! Grandpa's still waiting for me! I—I need to get back right away..."
The boy fumbled clumsily to climb out of the chest, but as soon as he stood up, his legs wobbled from weakness, nearly causing him to fall.
Xiano reached out to steady him, frowning as he said:
"Take it easy. In your current state, without a proper meal and some rest, you probably won't even make it off this island. We can help you, but shouldn't you at least answer my question first?"
"Uh..."
The white-haired boy hesitated for a moment. Aside from the white-haired guy with the cigar, none of these people seemed like bad guys. Scratching his head, he decided to answer honestly:
"Sir, my name is Chia. I'm a hunter from the Agatha Archipelago. A few days ago—or maybe over ten days? I don't know how long I've been asleep... Anyway, I came here to find something for my grandpa."
"That day, I put in a lot of effort to pry open this chest, but before I could find anything, the lid suddenly slammed shut, trapping me inside. I shouted until my voice gave out, but no one came to help. Eventually, I just... fell asleep without realizing it."
"What were you looking for that led you to Rocks' treasure chest?" Robin asked with a smile.
Rocks?
The boy looked utterly bewildered. He smacked his head hard, racking his brains to remember.
That name sounded vaguely familiar... Who was it again? Damn it, I should've paid more attention when the elders were telling stories!
"Tch, what a clueless brat, not even knowing who Rocks is..."
Nami crossed her arms, her expression dripping with disdain.
And you have the nerve to say that?
Xiano flicked her forehead in annoyance before turning back to the white-haired boy named Chia. "If you don't even know who Rocks is, how did you end up here?"
"It was my grandpa," Chia said, scratching his head again. "Many years ago, he followed a treasure map and found this place. He obtained a Sacred Object."
"That Sacred Object seemed to have a strange strength—it could drive away the beasts in the forest and the Sea Kings nearby, protecting our tribe and letting us live in peace for a long time."
"But then, a few months ago, some big-shot Pirate somehow found out about our Sacred Object and got greedy. He wanted to kill us all and take it for himself."
Chia gritted his teeth at this point. "That bastard kept pushing us further and further... Grandpa, as the chief, was desperate. He wanted to harness the strength within the Sacred Object to defend ourselves, but somehow, he fell into a coma and never woke up. Luckily, a kind soul later came and helped us drive off those Pirates, so we narrowly escaped disaster."
"But Grandpa's been unconscious this whole time, getting worse and worse. It looked like he wouldn't make it, and none of the tribe's priests could do anything about it."
"I couldn't take it anymore, so I stole the treasure map and snuck out to sea, hoping to find a solution inside this chest..."
The more he listened, the more this story sounded oddly familiar.
Xiano was deep in thought, staring at Chia who was gulping down water noisily. "What was the name of that great Pirate you mentioned?"
"Doffy... or Doflamingo or something. The name was long, but everyone just called him the Flamingo anyway."
Chia clenched his fists. "Everything started because of him. I can't beat him yet, but one day, I'll avenge Grandpa!"
"What about the person who saved you?"
"Ah, our savior's name was much easier to remember—Kuma!"
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