One Piece: The Arm of Fate

Five o'clock in the evening was the time everyone had agreed to meet.

The meeting place was set in the central square of the town.

Under the warm afterglow of the setting sun, Robin walked out of the museum with a book under her arm, her steps light and a satisfied smile on her lips.

It had been a quiet and peaceful afternoon. No one had disturbed her, and there were very few people in the museum, allowing her to spend a fulfilling and wonderful time.

This kind of life had once been a luxury to her.

But ever since joining the Fallen Adventure Group, it had become a regular part of her life...

Robin squinted at the sky, recalling that day on the turtle's back—when the boy laughed and reached out his hand to her. The sunset then had also been this same warm orange-red.

Why do I always think of that day? She chuckled softly and cast the thoughts aside.

As soon as she arrived at the central square, she heard Nami's wailing voice—

"Wuwuwawa!"

"Why! Why am I the only one so unlucky!!!"

Robin looked over in surprise and saw Nami lying on Shano's shoulder, crying miserably. Her short orange hair was trembling from her sobs:

"Kuina was just sitting by the fountain over there, and those guys didn't even dare to look at her. Nokiko was drinking coffee on the second floor above me, and barely anyone went to bother her either. But all the pirates on the island came straight at me one after another!"

"It's just too much."

Shano gently patted her back, his face serious, as if standing united against a common enemy.

But when Robin looked from the side, she clearly noticed that the corners of her captain's mouth were twitching—he was clearly struggling to hold in his laughter and about to give up.

What exactly happened?

Robin's curiosity was piqued. She leaned down and quietly asked Nokiko, who was sitting on a bench nearby.

Nokiko was also trying hard to suppress laughter. When Robin asked, he leaned over and whispered the explanation.

"Brother, do you know what other hurtful things they said to me?!"

Nami hadn't noticed Robin's arrival and suddenly sat up straight, mimicking the rude tone of the pirates:

"That's right! It's her! The mascot worth 80,000 Baileys!"

"Remember to be gentle and give her some mercy. She's Lord Shano's sister—don't offend her!"

"Don't offend the hell! You're already offending me just by coming to me, okay?!"

She became more and more agitated. Sparks began to fly from her hair.

"You dare say I'm a mascot? What's wrong with 80,000 Baileys, huh? Did 80,000 Baileys eat your rice?!"

"You guys are seriously too much!"

After hearing the whole story, Robin couldn't help laughing.

"But there's no need to be so upset, Nami. If you think about it from another perspective, isn't this a perfect opportunity to show your true strength? You could beat them up and vent your anger at the same time."

"If only it were that simple!!!"

Nami grew even more frustrated and looked around.

"Where's that little brat? He was here just now."

"Meow?"

A fluffy yellowish ball popped out from atop her head. Nuomici blinked his big, round eyes and tilted his head down at Nami.

Looking for me?

"You're so fat, how are you even hiding in my hair?!"

Nami grabbed him and aggressively rubbed his round face.

"It's all your fault, don't you know?! I was all ready to fight back, but you just had to jump out! The moment you opened your mouth, all those cowards got scared off!"

"And you even yelled that you were going to burn everyone down…"

"Meow!"

Nuomici raised his tail triumphantly, his expression proud and smug.

See that? I'm amazing, right?

"You're so amazing?! You're just borrowing someone else's strength, don't you get that?!"

Nami was furious and started beating him up.

"Until you return the bounty to me, don't even think about coming shopping with me again! And forget about fighting with me! From now on, don't randomly lie on my head whenever you want!!"

"Meow…"

Nuomici rolled backwards, his eyes spinning, with several smoky bumps on his head.

Seeing this familiar scene—

Everyone burst out laughing, and the square was soon filled with a cheerful and relaxed atmosphere.

"Looks like everyone's here."

After Nami had almost vented all her frustration and the laughter had settled, Shano straightened up, cleared his throat with a light cough, and said:

"I already booked a table at the most famous restaurant in the northern part of the city. Let's enjoy a proper meal and some drinks together tonight!"

"No pirate should dare disturb us anymore. Just relax and get some good rest. When we wake up tomorrow morning, we'll set sail for the next stop."

"Huh?"

This time, it was Nami's turn to be surprised. "We're leaving tomorrow morning?"

"What, are you too attached to this place to leave?"

Nokiko smiled and said, "No way. Wasn't someone just crying about how boring it was to go shopping on this island?"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

Nami glared at her sister in annoyance and raised her fair, slender wrist. "It's the recording pointer. If we leave tomorrow morning, the magnetic field hasn't fully charged yet."

She was a professional navigator.

When everyone split up in the morning, the first thing she did was determine the recording time for the island's magnetic field.

After asking around several times, the answer she got was that it would take five full days.

"That's true normally, but not for this island."

Shano reached out and pinched Nami's cheek. "You're usually so smart—did crying make you forget what we saw from the tower this morning?"

"Huh?"

Nami was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "That's right! The sea train! We can follow its tracks directly to the next island!"

"Bingo."

Shano snapped his fingers.

The current sea train line had five stations in total, connecting five different islands.

From south to north: Carnival City, Food City, Spring Queen City, Water Seven, and Enies Lobby.

Shano and his crew were currently at the second stop—Food City.

Their next destination was Spring Queen City, Santa Pobla, known for its grand annual carnival and well-developed underground economy.

Shano didn't actually remember much about this city.

Because it had never appeared in the main story of the original manga—only briefly mentioned in a cover arc.

After CP9 was declared wanted by the World Government, they used that city as a hideout for a while, disguising themselves and performing various jobs to cover Rob Lucci's medical expenses.

"Actually, you can just take the train directly to the next island."

Shano smiled. "I'm guessing most of you haven't experienced that before. I'm definitely going to ride it at least once. What about you all?"

"Me, me, me!" Nami raised her right hand immediately. "I want to try it too and see what it feels like!"

"Me too," Nokiko nodded.

Everyone else had similar reactions. Clearly, they were all interested in this new form of transportation, which had only been piloted in the Grand Line in recent years.

"This might be a problem..." Shano stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Everyone wanted to take the sea train.

So then, who was going to pilot the ship?

Everyone looked at each other, and their gazes slowly converged in one direction.

Awoo?

Ah Yin widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the group.

Me? You want me to drive the ship?

"For real?"

"Just kidding. That definitely won't work."

Shano chuckled and rubbed Ah Yin's head.

"Forget it. Let's go eat first. We'll draw lots tomorrow morning. Half will ride the boat, half will take the train. There'll be more opportunities to ride the sea train later, so we can switch up again then."

That did sound like a fair plan. Everyone nodded in agreement.

As the streetlights lit up, the group followed Shano toward the restaurant they had reserved on the north side of the city.

On the way, they passed through a small garden. The area was quiet and peaceful.

On benches along the path, couples leaned against each other and whispered sweet nothings. The air was filled with the faint scent of flowers.

But one bench was different.

A tall, sloppy-looking man was sprawled across it, sleeping in a completely ungraceful position, with a white coat draped over his head.

At first, no one paid him any mind and simply walked past him.

But just then, the man's loud snoring suddenly stopped.

"Ah... la la, it's really lively around here..."

A lazy voice came from behind.

The others hadn't reacted yet, but Shano, Robin, and Smoker froze instantly. Their expressions shifted slightly, and they turned around at the same time.

"So many familiar faces here."

Aokiji pulled on his coat, removed his eye mask, yawned lazily, and calmly said:

"What a coincidence, everyone. Fancy meeting you all here."