Stonewood Island.
Screeeech—
A prolonged eagle cry echoed as the silver giant eagle soared through the azure sky. Cross sat firmly on the eagle's back, craning his neck to look at an island below. After checking the Eternal Pose, he confirmed to himself, "Looks like this is it!"
Stonewood Island isn't on any of the seven main routes in the first half of the Grand Line, so it requires a Eternal Pose to find; otherwise, it'd be incredibly difficult to locate.
From several hundred meters up, Cross immediately spotted a Marine warship, over fifty meters long, docked at the coast. Its towering three-masted sails were quite conspicuous, and many Marines were busy on the deck.
The warship seemed to be at a makeshift port; the wooden dock on the shore appeared very rudimentary, and a dozen or so wooden fishing boats were moored alongside the warship.
The island also featured a village nestled along the coast, built around the port. It had about three hundred structures, mostly wooden houses with only a few stone buildings. The residents walking outside were dressed in rough linen or animal hides, looking quite impoverished.
Apart from the village, the most recognizable feature was the 'stone forest' to the east. Hundreds of columnar rocks, some over a dozen meters tall, stood like ancient sentinels. Each stone pillar bore marks of wind and rain erosion, making it hard to tell if they were naturally formed or man-made wonders.
In any case, there were many similar 'stone forest' landscapes on this island, hence its name, Stonewood Island.
"Go down!"
After circling in the sky a few times with Cross on its back, the silver giant eagle, at Cross's signal, swooped down towards the warship below.
"What's that?"
"A bird?"
"A silver bird… and someone's riding it!"
"Is it an enemy? Alert!"
"…"
At this moment, the Marines on the warship's deck seemed to notice something. They all looked up at the sky and immediately saw a shining silver giant eagle glimmering in the sun, and a figure sitting on its back.
Thud—
The next second, the giant eagle landed, standing steadily in the middle of the warship's deck. Its metallic silver wings flapped, creating powerful, whistling air currents that spread outwards, almost knocking over the Marines on deck.
Cross leaped off the silver giant eagle's back, his left hand resting on the hilt of Kagehide at his waist. He naturally surveyed his surroundings and spoke in a clear voice, "Where's Gion?"
"Who are you?"
The Marines on the warship's deck quickly reacted, swarming forward and surrounding Cross with wary expressions. If Cross hadn't been wearing a Marine justice coat, which gave them pause, someone might have already attacked.
Creak~
Then, the captain's cabin door opened, and Gion emerged, wearing a pink jacket, brown capri pants, and black high heels, a faint smile on her face.
"Lower your weapons!"
Gion's pretty face was calm. She said in a deep voice, "This is Major Cross from Marine Headquarters. I specifically invited him to help!"
"Huh—Headquarters Major?!"
"The beautiful Gion-sama only invited a Major?!"
"This guy doesn't look old. Is he even an adult?"
"Becoming a Headquarters Major at such a young age, he must have some skill, right?!"
"…"
All the Marines present were stunned, their gazes toward Cross filled with doubt.
"Hey~ I'm not too late, am I, Captain Gion?"
Cross's gaze swept past the Marines on deck, looking at Gion by the captain's cabin door, and asked with a smile.
"As long as that monster hasn't appeared, you're not late!" Gion replied with a smile.
"Disperse!"
Then, Gion waved her hand, telling the Marines surrounding Cross to scatter. Although they doubted Cross's abilities, the Marines on deck still obeyed the order and broke their encirclement of Cross.
Immediately, Gion walked forward, scrutinizing Cross up and down. She then looked up at the sky, dissatisfied. "You came alone?"
"Are you blind?"
Cross rolled his eyes, raising his hand to stroke the cool feathers of the silver giant eagle beside him. The giant eagle obediently lowered its body, affectionately rubbing its head against him.
"…"
Gion's breath hitched as she looked at the silver giant eagle beside Cross in disbelief. The next second, anger flashed across Gion's pretty face, and she said fiercely, "Don't tell me you can search the entire Stonewood Island all by yourself!"
"Hahaha~ Don't be angry, I was just joking!"
Cross grinned, playfully winking at Gion. Then he said, "I was a bit impatient, so I came ahead to do some on-site investigation. Their speed is slower; they should arrive by evening!"
"Hmph! That's more like it!" Gion snorted, clearly annoyed.
"Let's go. My time is limited. First, take me to the village so I can understand the situation, then we can check out the surrounding terrain!" Cross said with a smile.
"So eager, huh?… Alright, follow me!"
Gion nodded, understanding Cross's importance to Marine Headquarters. She then led Cross towards the shore.
Moments later, the two walked along the gravel path in the village, followed by a dozen Marine soldiers. Along the way, the villagers greeted Gion and her group with great respect.
However, as they went deeper into the village, Cross noticed many signs of battle and some damaged houses.
"Look, these are the claw marks and footprints left by that monster!"
Cross followed the direction Gion pointed and found many deep claw marks and feline-like footprints on the ground. However, these footprints were all very large, each one bigger than Cross's face.
"That monster has never appeared during the day; it only comes out at night!" Gion said gravely, crossing her arms over her chest. "According to the villagers and Marines who encountered it, the monster is completely black, as large as an ox, with emerald vertical pupils and two tails. Its roar sounds like a mix of a cat and a tiger!"
"There are monsters like that in the world? It's not some kind of two-tailed black tiger, is it?" Cross asked, surprised, scratching his head.
Just then, an old man with white hair and beard, and a face full of wrinkles, walked over with the support of a small girl, leaning on a wooden cane.
"You must be the new Marine Admiral, esteemed Sir. Welcome!" The old man walked up to Cross and Gion, speaking quite eagerly.
"This is Village Chief Hodel, and his granddaughter, Tuya!" Gion introduced.
"I don't deserve the title of Admiral. I'm Major Amphitrite Cross. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Cross shook Village Chief Hodel's hand, his voice gentle.
"Pleasure is beside the point. I just want to ask when you can deal with that monster!" Village Chief Hodel stared intently at Cross, asking very directly.
"Uh~"
Cross opened his mouth, completely surprised by the old man's directness. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
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