Another week passed as they waited.
At Leno's strong insistence, two jet vents were finally installed at the stern of the Gale.
Still, following Franky's usual style, cola stored in barrels was used as the power source.
Although it didn't quite meet Leno's expectations, the ship's instant acceleration was still impressive.
Sustained jet propulsion was out of the question for now. That would have to wait until they met Vegapunk someday.
During their time with the Franky Family, Leno also got to see the legendary "mermaid" Granny Kokoro.
Well… it was hard to put into words.
They ran into other CP9 members as well, but Leno didn't bother paying them any attention.
To their credit, they knew better than to provoke him.
Once the ship modifications were complete, all that remained was to wait for the Log Pose to fully charge before departure.
They had already explored everything worth seeing. Whenever he had nothing to do, Leno would spend entire days lazing around on deck, killing time.
Today, after lunch, Leno planned to head to the deck as usual to enjoy a bit of sunbathing.
Before he could even stand up, Nami's excited voice rang out.
"The record is full! The Log Pose is pointing to the next island!"
Everyone turned to look, only to see Nami holding up the Log Pose on her wrist and waving at them.
Yamato rushed straight to her side, practically dancing with excitement.
"So we can leave now? What kind of scenery will the next island have~"
Staring at the pointer on her wrist, Nami was filled with joy. She hadn't expected it to take this long to store magnetic energy in Water 7.
Just as everyone was celebrating their imminent departure, Granny Kokoro, who had been freeloading on the ship, suddenly chimed in.
"Do you kids know where the Log Pose is taking you?"
"I don't know. Where is it?" Nami looked closely at the pointer, then said in surprise, "Doesn't it feel like the needle is pointing downward?"
"Hahaha, of course it is. The next island is a paradise beneath the sea—Fish-Man Island!"
"..."
The moment Granny Kokoro finished speaking, the dining room fell into silence.
Fish-Man Island? That legendary undersea island with mermaids?
They were finally going there?
After a long pause, Nojiko was the first to react. Smiling, she looked at Leno.
"Fish-Man Island… is that the one Jinbe mentioned before?"
"That's right. That's the place."
They were finally nearing the Red Line. Leno couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental—their journey was almost halfway complete.
After Fish-Man Island, they would officially enter the New World and begin an entirely new adventure.
"Fish-Man Island is a famous spot on the Grand Line. They say it's full of beautiful mermaids."
"That's amazing! Just hearing about it sounds incredible~"
Yamato clapped excitedly, eyes shining, clearly unable to wait.
Nearby, Vivi, Uta, and the others were also listening, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
At that moment, Granny Kokoro shook her bottle and spoke up as a reminder.
"Don't get too happy just yet. That paradise isn't so easy to reach!"
Robin, who was sitting across from them, also spoke up. Resting her chin on one hand, her eyes gleamed thoughtfully.
"Whatever. We'll find out when we get there!"
After the excitement passed, Yamato obediently sat back down, sipping her drink with a carefree expression.
Who cared where the island was? They'd know once they arrived.
"The problem isn't where the island is," Granny Kokoro said as she slapped a stack of newspapers onto the table. "Take a look at this. Recent news."
"What?! Twenty ships vanished this month? Wh-What happened?"
After reading the paper, Nami was stunned, her eyes wide with shock.
She turned toward Granny Kokoro to ask more, but the old woman spoke first.
"The Devil's Triangle! It's a mandatory route to Fish-Man Island!"
"In that sea, over a hundred ships disappear every year!"
She paused, savoring their shocked expressions, then continued.
"They say some people have encountered those missing ships… but everyone aboard was gone. All that remained were ghosts!"
"G-Ghosts?! That's terrifying!!!"
Hearing about ghost ships, Chopper screamed and clung to Leno's leg, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Seeing how cowardly he was, Leno kicked his leg in disgust—but Chopper clung on even tighter.
"Do you think we'll run into living skeletons?" Yamato's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Yamato, what exactly is going on in your head?"
Even Carmen was speechless. Ghosts, you know? Aren't you scared at all?
That thought process was impossible to understand.
As she was thinking that, Nami's terrified scream rang out nearby.
"No! I don't want to encounter something that scary! What is going on in that sea anyway?!"
"Hahaha, who knows? Very few ships that enter that sea ever come out!"
Granny Kokoro seemed to be deliberately trying to scare them. She even pulled out a candle from who-knows-where to set the mood.
Her wrinkled old face slowly leaned toward the candle as her voice grew low.
"It's a dark sea shrouded in thick fog! You'd better be careful~"
With a scream, Nami dove straight into Nojiko's arms, earning an eye roll in return.
Wasn't that a bit much? She was clearly exaggerating on purpose.
That old hag was really nasty!
"Anyway, it's a terrifying sea. Make sure you're fully prepared before setting sail~"
"Ghost ships belonging to merchant vessels or pirates usually have legends about hidden treasure, don't they~"
Seeing how frightened Nami was, Robin spoke with a meaningful smile.
The others immediately focused their gazes on Nami, anticipation in their eyes.
As expected, Nami never disappointed when it came to her obsession with money.
The Nami who had just been trembling in Nojiko's arms immediately jumped up, fired with fighting spirit, and spoke loudly.
Seeing a teammate respond, Yamato the simpleton jumped out again, throwing an arm around Nami's shoulders like they were about to depart right away.
That's our Nami!
Glancing at the two grinning idiots, Leno gave Robin a thumbs-up.
You really know how to handle Nami.