The night flew by. The next morning, Rody was the first to get up. He trained a bit in his room until Nami woke up. Seeing that Nami was still tired, not physically but mentally, Rody felt a little guilty, so he apologized.
Nami, although a little dissatisfied, accepted Rody's apology. Of course, Rody had to promise to take her shopping when they arrived at the next island, to which Rody naturally agreed.
Finally, after cleaning up in their room's bathroom, the two went out and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast prepared by Carmen.
Naturally, Crocus was present at breakfast. After yesterday's party, he seemed to trust Rody's group more, despite Rody's bad reputation.
At that moment, Crocus realized that while Rody was a ruthless killer, all those who died at his hands were unfortunate people who messed with him, not innocents like those civilians.
...
Rody and his group were about to set sail when Crocus reached into his pockets and pulled out a Log Pose and an Eternal Pose that pointed directly in the direction of Alabasta.
SWISH
Crocus tossed the two items to Rody. Rody reached out and casually took them. He then gave them to Nami, who seemed very excited about these strange objects. It's worth noting that Nami had learned about the magic of these objects the night before after finishing playing with Rody, who explained how to navigate the Grand Line, so she wasn't completely ignorant.
Rody turned around, ready to board the ship under Crocus's watchful eye, but at that moment, he stopped, turned his head, and looked him in the eye. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "In the Devil's Triangle, there's a talking skeleton."
Crocus frowned. He didn't understand why Rody would say something that seemed irrelevant and out of place, so he asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's said that this talking skeleton sailed to the Grand Line with his companions. On one of their voyages, they encountered a small whale, which they became very good friends with."
....
Crocus opened his eyes in surprise and stammered. "Wait, you're saying wh-!"
Rody smiled slightly. "It depends on whether you believe it or not. This talking skeleton wasn't like this before. He was a human who ate the Yomi Yomi Fruit, which allowed him to live after death. But now, as a skeleton, he's currently trapped in the Devil's Triangle, still remembering the promise he and his companions made to the little whale."
"You even know that!" Crocus exclaimed in surprise. He never imagined Rody knew the history between the Rumbar Pirates and Laboon. You know, the Rumbar Pirates are older than the Roger Pirates, even older than the Pirates of the famous Sea Lord Rocks D Xebec
So it's impossible for Rody, a brat, to know about this. It doesn't make any sense. How could a young man know this? This made Crocus doubt life, and in his eyes, this boy became even more mysterious.
Rody walked toward the ship, waving his hand. "As I said, it's up to you whether you believe me or not, whatever, until we meet again. Goodbye, old man!"
Hearing this, Crocus came out of his amazement and murmured sadly, "So this is how it ended?" Crocus knew deep down that the Rumbar Pirates had likely met their end in the Grand Line, making it impossible for them to fulfill their promise with the whale Laboon. Over time, he lost hope for them, accepting their demise. At that time, the reason he sailed with Roger was undoubtedly to find news of the Rumbar Pirates. In the end, after years, he found nothing.
But what he never imagined was that, even after several years, he would receive news of the Rumbar Pirates. The most shocking thing was that one of them had turned into a skeleton. It sounded very fanciful. But as an expert who sailed to the end of the Grand Line, he didn't doubt Rody's words. After all, there were countless strange and mysterious things in this world. A Devil Fruit that allows you to live even after death isn't impossible.
At that moment, Crocus, seeing Rody and his group's backs walking away, asked loudly, "Hey, kid, are you really not interested in the treasure Roger left on the Final Island? As a thank you for informing me of those kids' whereabouts, I can tell you something about it."
"HAHAHA, forget it, treasures? I can get them if I want, I'm not interested in that!"
Crocus frowned and asked again strangely, "So, for a guy as powerful as you, what's your purpose in going out to sea? What do you want if it's not One Piece?"
Rody smiled slightly, stopped at the last step leading to the ship, turned his head, and looked at Crocus with ambition, making Crocus's body shudder. "There's only one thing worth getting." Rody stopped looking at Crocus and continued on his way while all his companions waited for him.
The atmosphere fell silent, and at that moment Rody continued:
"And that's the world!" With these last words charged with Haki, Rody's ship began to move away from the shore of the Twin Lighthouses.
Hearing Rody's ambitious words, Crocus's body trembled, and Rody's figure unconsciously overlapped with the image of another man with the same ambition.
...
"The world, huh?" Crocus muttered softly. "I hope you don't end up like that guy." With that last murmur, Crocus headed inside his lighthouse to pack his things. After all, now that he had a lead on the Rumbar Pirates, he had to check if it was true. As for Rody lying to him, Crocus didn't believe it at all. After all, a person as strong as Rody had nothing to gain by lying to him. Furthermore, in that moment of interaction, the impression Rody gave him wasn't that of someone making jokes.
ONE DAY LATER, AFTERNOON, UNKNOWN AREA OF THE GRAND LINE
SHIP'S DINING ROOM
"Captain, good afternoon x2," Leo and José greeted Rody in unison when they saw that Rody had finished his training and arrived at the dining room.
"Mr. Rody, I hope your training was fruitful!" added Sebas Tian with a slight bow.
"Hmm, well, enough with greetings. Tell Carmen to stop working and come eat with us," Rody said, nodding with a smile.
"Okay, Captain, I'll call Chief Carmen right away," José shouted as he ran straight to the galley.
Rody was in a very good mood. His Armament Haki had progressed considerably. He had further enhanced his Haki output, increasing its range. Now he could practically do whatever he wanted with it, such as extending it like the Marine Admirals did at Marineford as a form of protection, or launching attacks without touching the enemy. Although he could do so before, this time it was with a longer range, so he was in a very good mood.
Seeing the table with the sumptuous meal prepared by Carmen, Rody's mood grew even better. He took the food and savored it delicately.
"Leo, José, come out quickly! Come and see, it's snowing!" "Captain, come too. It's snowing outside!" Hearing Bumblebee's shout, José, who had finished calling Carmen and had begun eating with Leo, both of them, upon hearing Bumblebee's words, finished the rice in their bowls in a few bites and ran outside with excited faces.
"Ahhhh, these two are fools!" Carmen frowned and sighed, dissatisfied with the haste with which her two disciples finished their meal.
"Well, don't blame them, Ms. Carme. The weather on the Grand Line is as magical as they say. Yesterday the sun was like the summers in the East Blue, extremely warm and comfortable, but now it's so cold it feels like winter, and it's even snowing!" Sebas sighed as he poured Rody a glass of juice.
"Mmm, well, it certainly is magical," he replied in a nonchalant tone, looking with interest at the two people and the talking motorcycle playing in the snow on the bow of the ship.
"Damn, it's so cold! Rody, we should have bought more winter clothes. Besides, it's just like you said. Look at the compass I used to navigate the East Blue; it seems to be broken," Nami said, her nose red, dissatisfied. She placed her favorite compass on the table to demonstrate her point. At that moment, everyone looked at Nami's compass and noticed that the arrow was moving wildly, pointing nowhere in particular.
"Oh, the compass... it's broken!" Carmen exclaimed, panicking. What would become of them now? Wouldn't they be shipwrecked just a few days after beginning their adventure on the Grand Line? At the thought, Carmen's face paled with fear, to the point of looking like a ghost.
....
Seeing Carmen's exaggerated expression, Rody was speechless. He sighed helplessly and said while eating, "Nami, explain it to her."
Nami nodded and began to explain in a soft voice as she sat down to eat: "Carmen, don't worry. It's not that the compass is broken or doesn't work, it's just that the way we navigate the Grand Line is different from the other four seas!"
"Oh, is that so, Nami?" Carmen sighed, calming down at Nami's comforting words.
"Yes, Carmen, let me explain." Hearing Nami's words, Carmen pricked up her ears and prepared to listen to Nami's explanation.
"You see, the islands in the Grand Line, and the entire Grand Line in general, are extremely chaotic. The magnetic fields are extremely abnormal, making it impossible for ordinary compasses to navigate the Grand Line. This isn't the only problem. The wind, the sky, the waves, and the clouds of the Grand Line are impermanent and can't be relied upon. As you saw, one day it can be sunny, and another day it can be cold and snowy, like today.
"Ah, I see. But if it's as chaotic as you say, how do you navigate the Grand Line?" Carmen asked curiously.
Nami smiled and explained, "That's what I was getting at. Look, there's a special compass on the Grand Line that records the magnetism of each island and guides you along the Grand Line. It's called the Log Pose. Once you reach the Grand Line, this Log Pose is indispensable and extremely essential for navigating the Grand Line, but while it's extremely important, it can basically only be obtained on the Grand Line and is practically impossible to obtain outside of it."
"Ah, I see!" Carmen agreed, understanding the logic of navigating the Grand Line.
Nami nodded with a smile and looked at Rody fondly. "Luckily, Rody was able to obtain this Log Pose easily; otherwise, navigating the Grand Line would be extremely difficult." Sebastian rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, Lord Crocus gave Lord Rody two strange objects. Among those items should be the Log Pose you spoke of, right, Miss Nami?
Nami nodded with a smile and said with a giggle, "You're certainly not mistaken, Butler Sebas!" As she spoke, Nami showed her wrist, where she wore a Log Pose, like a bracelet pointing toward the first island of their journey.
Carmen approached and touched the Log Pose, her face full of interest.
After a few more explanations, Rody and the others continued enjoying the meal, chatting about various things.
"Wow, Bumblebee, you're really amazing!" Leo and José exclaimed in unison upon seeing the enormous figure made of snow.
Seeing the figure, even Nami and the others were pleasantly surprised.
The figure highlighted her helmet, which covered most of her head. It has an angular and symmetrical shape, with a faceplate that acts as a mouth mask and two lateral antennae protruding upward, giving it an extremely heroic appearance.
Its body, despite being made of snow, gleams with a metallic sheen, giving the figure an even more heroic appearance. In its hand, it holds a huge floating snow knife.
Seeing this figure, Rody frowned because it seemed extremely familiar. "Hey, isn't this Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots?"
Seeing the huge knife Optimus was holding, Rody frowned even more. He couldn't understand how Bumblebee, this somewhat idiotic boy, had managed to defy gravity.
At that moment, before the fanatical gaze of Leo and Jose, Bumblebee recounted Optimus Prime's exploits.
The Decepticons had taken Titanum Valley. We were few in number, the sky cracking with the roars of war. Many considered retreating... but not Optimus.
With a voice that echoed like thunder, he roared,
"As long as there's even a spark left, Cybertron will never fall."
And then he charged.
The ice cracked beneath his steps, his red and blue armor flashed in the rays of the setting sun, and every blow he struck was a promise kept: to protect life, no matter the cost.
I watched as a swarm of Decepticon drones surrounded him. Ten against one... and still, he stood his ground, fighting bravely to the bitter end.
When the last enemy fell and silence spread like a pall, he could barely stand. But he smiled. I asked him
"Was it worth it, Optimus?"
And he replied, softly,
"As long as you keep telling this story, Bee... it will always be worth it."
"Wow! Chief Optimus is really cool and brave!" "I'd like to be like him someday!" Leo said excitedly, amazed by Bumblebee's story.
"Hahaha, sure, but I'm braver!" Bumblebee said proudly.
Seeing Bumblebee boast, Leo and Jose rolled their eyes and ignored this boastful boy.
Nami also heard Bumblebee's story and turned to Rody and asked, "Rody, is this Optimus Prime as brave and bold as Bumblebee says?"
"Hmm, yes, he is!" Rody replied matter-of-factly. To be honest, he had only seen the Transformers movies and had no idea if there were comics or novels, so he didn't know what Optimus was like in that other material. But at least it can be said that Optimus in the movies was really how Bumblebee described him.
Rody took a sip of his juice and looked with interest at the Optimus snowman Bumblebee had made.
"I really want to meet this Optimus Prime. Does he look just like Bumblebee made him, or is he also a motorcycle?" Nami blinked curiously.
"Well, who knows," Rody answered sincerely this time. He certainly didn't understand how a car like Bumblebee could have turned into a motorcycle. If he summons Optimus, will it also be a motorcycle?
This thought filled Rody with curiosity. He smiled slightly and sincerely hoped that would happen.
"Rody, do you think we'll get a chance to meet?" Nami sat on Rody's lap, looked at him with her big eyes, and asked.
"Maybe there will be a chance."