Quiet.
Everyone fell silent.
One by one, they digested the shocking news brought by Van Augur.
A ship, with no one controlling it, yet sailing incredibly fast—so fast that it was impossible to catch up.
What was going on??
It was completely incomprehensible.
"Amazing, truly mysterious," Kalina was the first to react. Her stunningly beautiful, fair face showed astonishment as she murmured, "There's actually such a strange ship in this world. I've never heard of anything like it—it's utterly unbelievable."
Perona, floating in the air, nodded repeatedly, her delicate face filled with excitement as she giggled, "Interesting, this is way too fun~!"
"We have to find this ship. There must be secrets inside—Hya! Hya Hya Hya!"
Nojiko shook her head lightly and sighed, "It really does sound too bizarre. What kind of ship could it be?"
Nami clenched her small fists, her bright eyes sparkling as she grinned and said, "Treasure. That ship must hold unimaginable wealth."
Maddy watched them, smoothing her pale golden hair with a wry smile.
"Hearing this story gives me chills. It's too eerie and mysterious."
Sweet Queen shrugged her slender shoulders helplessly. "Who wouldn't feel that way? It sounds downright sinister."
For these women, the story was intriguing, even a little frightening.
But for the men, it was a different story.
At first, they too were surprised and curious. But after calming down, they quickly lost interest.
"And here I thought it was something good. It's just a ship—what's the big deal?" Jesus Burgess scoffed, completely dismissive of the matter.
Gin nodded indifferently. "Even if there's something unusual about it, it's still just a ship. Not worth discussing."
Trafalgar Law, still as aloof as ever with his sword Kikoku resting on his shoulder, remarked, "The sea is full of strange and bizarre things. There's really nothing to be surprised about."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Lafitte said smoothly, adjusting his cane with a refined gesture. "If we can find it, then of course we should take a look. But if we don't come across it, it's no big deal. After all, treasure doesn't hold much appeal for us anymore."
At that moment, Cross, standing with his arms crossed, spoke calmly. "We'll spend a few more days sailing around the East Blue."
Having already wasted some time here, Cross had no intention of lingering any longer. He turned and walked straight toward the training room.
Seeing Cross leave, the women quickly lost interest in staying behind as well. They followed him, chatting and laughing as they went.
"The captain's gone to train. I should step up my game too."
Gin glanced at Cross's retreating figure, his dark face hardening with determination as he strode off to begin his own training.
Burgess clapped Van Augur on the shoulder and laughed heartily. "You know, even though you're a cocky bastard who shot down the ship's Den Den Mushi, your marksmanship is seriously impressive."
"In all my years, I've never seen a better shot than you. Wehahahaha…!"
Doc Q, lying on his chair, grinned oddly. "What's so impressive? Born in the East Blue, he's never even heard of Haki."
Law shot Van Augur a glance and said coolly, "If he knew Armament Haki and could coat his bullets with it, a natural-type like you would be dead in an instant."
With that, he ignored them and went off to train as well.
Hawkins put away his cards and said in a low voice, "No matter how accurate his shots are, without Haki, he's not that strong."
Walking away, he added steadily, "But if he did learn Haki, combined with his marksmanship, he'd be a real force."
Haki??
Van Augur, utterly baffled by their words, had no idea what they were talking about.
Now, only Lafitte remained. He was the only one Van Augur could ask—this theatrically dressed little man in white.
His usually stern face showed rare curiosity as he asked, puzzled, "What is this… Haki?"
"We'll get to that later. First, there's a procedure for new members."
Lafitte twirled his cane and smiled amiably. "Van Augur, welcome to the Cross Guild."
"I am the vice-captain of this crew—Lafitte!"
Before Lafitte could continue, Burgess's booming voice cut in.
"Lafitte, can you not flaunt your vice-captain status every damn time? I'm sick of hearing it!" Burgess glared at Lafitte, exasperated. "Every time a new member joins, you have to announce it like it's some grand title. Doesn't it get old?"
Doc Q, still lying on his chair, grinned weirdly. "Let him brag. His days are numbered anyway."
"I'm getting more familiar with my Gas-Gas Fruit abilities. Heh, the vice-captain position will be mine soon."
Law looked at Hawkins and said coldly, "I think it's about time we made our move. I'm planning to challenge them."
Hawkins, in the middle of training his Observation Haki, replied in his usual lifeless tone, "Fine. Whenever."
Law didn't answer him. Instead, he turned to Lafitte, gripping his cursed sword Kikoku, and said coolly, "Lafitte, the crew's getting bigger."
"I propose we hold a division commander competition in a month."
"With more people, we need to establish ranks."
The moment Burgess heard this, his interest was instantly piqued. He roared with excitement.
"Hell yeah! It's about time we settled this with a fight!"
"But a month's too long. Let's just start tomorrow!"
"My blood's already boiling—Wehahahaha…!"
Doc Q shook his head at him and immediately objected, coughing. "No… I still need more time to develop my fruit. We have to wait."
Gin, throwing powerful punches in the air, said firmly,
"I agree with Trafalgar Law—one month is best."
"By then, my strength will have grown enough to at least take the third division commander spot."
"Give me three months, and the vice-captain position will be mine!"
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T/N:
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