After all the various crews had exchanged pleasantries aboard their respective ships, Dragon looked at Kuma, who had been gently dragged aboard by little Bonney without fully understanding what was happening, and let out a soft sigh.
Now that the smoke of war had finally cleared, Kuma had once again fallen back into his programmed state, standing there with his usual expressionless demeanor. Surprisingly, even in this condition, he still patiently listened to everything Bonney said to him, though his responses remained minimal.
More importantly, Bonney had discovered Luffy's current location written in a small book that Kuma carried with him. It seemed this had been part of Kuma's action plan from the very beginning—a father's way of ensuring his daughter could help reunite the scattered crew.
Through Bonney's detailed explanation, Dragon began to roughly understand why Kuma had maintained virtually no contact with the Revolutionary Army over the past few years. While Dragon still couldn't figure out exactly what kind of arrangement Kuma had made with Dr. Vegapunk and the World Government, the good news was that he and Vegapunk were old acquaintances. This meant he might be able to find an opportunity to learn more about the situation indirectly in the future.
It was precisely because she'd learned about Dragon's connection to Vegapunk that Bonney, after obtaining permission from Jerry and the others, had decided to follow the Revolutionary Army's ship to the New World. She wanted to try contacting Vegapunk secretly to find a way to restore her father to his original self.
At this moment, sensing that they were about to part ways, Carrot and Carina were whispering with Bonney near the ship's railing, their voices carrying a mixture of excitement and sadness at the upcoming separation.
Not long after, the Revolutionary Army ships began their departure first. The fleet sailed farther and farther away, gradually disappearing beyond the horizon as the sun began to set, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red.
"What about you guys? What are your plans?" Deuce withdrew his gaze from the distant ships and turned to ask the Straw Hat Pirates, genuine curiosity in his voice.
Hearing this question, Sanji, who had been in the middle of arguing with Zoro about something trivial, suddenly got that familiar dreamy look in his eyes with little hearts practically floating around his head. "Hey, is there any need to ask? Our target is obviously heaven itself... No wait, I mean Amazon Lily, of course!"
"Hah, you're such a perverted curly-brow," Zoro's contemptuous and mocking words immediately snapped Sanji back to reality.
As Nami and the others held their foreheads in exasperation at their crewmates' predictable antics, Sanji roared in indignation, "Green moss head! Are you looking for a fight? We all know where Luffy is! Where else would we go except to find him?"
Zoro sneered and crossed his arms. "Tsk, are you so obsessed with women that you've gone selectively deaf? Didn't you hear them say we need to head south into the Calm Belt first? That's no joke."
When Zoro said this, Nami and the others froze in genuine shock.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is this really Zoro?!" Usopp shouted dramatically, pointing at the swordsman with wide eyes. "How can he actually have a sense of direction for once?!"
Chopper somehow produced a small cross from his medical bag and held it high in front of Zoro like he was warding off evil spirits. "Monster! Show your true form right now!"
Seeing everyone making such a fuss—and noticing that even Jerry and his crew were looking at him like they'd witnessed some kind of miracle—Zoro felt speechless, a vein throbbing visibly on his forehead. "Oi! What's with all the drama?!"
At this moment, Robin's calm and measured voice suddenly cut through the commotion: "There's actually a simple way to confirm whether this is really Zoro or not."
She maintained a perfectly serious expression on her face, but the mischievous glint in her eyes was unmistakable to anyone paying attention.
Despite her obvious amusement, Nami and the others stopped their theatrical reactions, suppressed their laughter, and asked with barely contained anticipation, "What method?"
Robin smiled slightly, clearly enjoying herself. "It's quite simple, really. Just have him point out which direction we came from, then ask him to walk ten steps in that exact direction."
"Hey! Who do you think you're looking down on?!" Zoro roared indignantly. Without hesitation, he raised his finger and pointed confidently in what he believed to be the correct direction, then took a determined step forward. "See? Easy!"
As expected by everyone watching, he started to deviate from his intended path after just three steps. By the fifth step, he was walking in the complete opposite direction from where he'd originally pointed. But Zoro remained completely oblivious to this development, instead holding his head high and snorting disdainfully at Sanji as if he'd just proven some great point.
Seeing this predictable display, Sanji burst into merciless laughter. "Pffft! Hahaha! Green moss head, why don't you open your eyes and look at the direction you're facing now? See if it's even remotely close to where you pointed before—though that wasn't right either!"
Finally registering their reactions, Zoro stopped walking and looked around at his current position with growing confusion.
After a long moment of visible internal struggle, he fell into deep, serious thought, muttering to himself with complete conviction, "This can't be wrong! Everyone else must be under some kind of illusion or something."
Upon hearing Zoro's completely serious assessment of the situation, no one could hold back their laughter anymore. The sound of their collective mirth echoed across the water, even drawing amused chuckles from Jerry's crew nearby.
Just like that, amidst the laughter and joy, Zoro had easily and definitively proven his identity beyond any shadow of doubt.
After the laughter died down, however, the Straw Hat Pirates quickly fell into a more somber silence. The reality of their situation was starting to sink in.
Because here on the vast, unpredictable ocean of the Grand Line, even Nami with all her navigational skills wouldn't be able to determine precise directions without proper equipment and reference points. And that wasn't even considering the real challenge ahead—in order to reach Luffy, they would have to break into the Sea Kings' nesting grounds in the dangerous Calm Belt.
Most crucially, none of them knew the exact location of Amazon Lily. Setting off without that vital information would be not just useless, but potentially suicidal.
Recognizing their predicament, they quickly turned their hopeful gazes toward Jerry and his crew, silently hoping for some assistance or at least helpful advice.
Noticing their expectant looks, Deuce scratched his head thoughtfully. "The location of Amazon Lily... I really don't have that information on hand. Does anyone else know?"
He glanced around at his crewmates and saw Cavendish examining his reflection in his sword blade, Brook adjusting his afro, and Carina shaking her head apologetically. Meanwhile, Carrot tilted her head to one side, her big, bright eyes blinking with an expression of complete confusion.
However, when they noticed that Skull—who had already put his distinctive skull mask back on—was stroking his chin with a distinctly thoughtful expression, Nami and the others' eyes immediately lit up with renewed hope.
"Well..." Under everyone's expectant and increasingly desperate gazes, Skull spoke slowly, "I vaguely remember that there's someone who should definitely know, but I'm not entirely certain about the details."
Then, just as their hopes began to rise, he added with characteristic caution, "How about we ask our amazing captain Jerry first?"
Jerry, who had been seemingly lost in contemplation while gazing at the star-filled night sky, responded without turning around, his voice carrying its usual casual confidence. "Skull, be more confident in yourself. You know everything there is to know. Just tell them to go ask the owner of that rip-off bar."
Skull nodded with visible relief at having his memory confirmed. "That's right. Shakky's Rip-off Bar on the Sabaody Archipelago will have exactly the information you need."
"Is that so?" Deuce's eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement as a new possibility occurred to him. "Hey, how about we head there too? There must be tons of incredible material and inspiration waiting for me to discover on Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt!" His voice grew louder and more animated as he spoke, the writer in him clearly thrilled by the prospect of documenting such a legendary and mysterious place.
"Sure, go ahead," Jerry replied with the same casual tone, still not turning from his contemplation of the night sky.
Just like that, the Black Star Pirates decided the destination of their next voyage with just a few words.