Morning.
The sky was clear and vast.
A warm spring breeze blew gently across the sea with the ocean currents.
The Pseudo Merry was sailing with the wind, its sails full.
On both sides of the ship, schools of fish swam quickly alongside, heading forward.
Some lively fish even leaped out of the water from time to time, splashing waves.
The splashes glittered with colorful hues under the morning sun.
Around the ship, seabirds swarmed in the sky, hunting.
Since setting sail, Kong Tai and the others hadn't seen so many seabirds.
This phenomenon indicated that they were likely not far from land.
A few days prior, after dining at the Baratie sea restaurant and stocking up on supplies for several days, they had set sail again.
Zepp hadn't mentioned Sanji, nor had Kong Tai asked.
The Pseudo Merry.
Kong Tai was lying on the sheep's head at the bow, basking in the sun.
Guina, on the other hand, sat in a deck chair at the bow, reading a newspaper and a sea chart.
They were specifically heading towards the Goro Isles, the territory of the Arlong Pirates and the home island of Nami's Cocoyasi Village.
To get to the Goro Isles, Kong Tai had specifically asked Old Man Zepp for the navigational chart with the coordinates.
Otherwise, with the East Blue being so vast, he wouldn't have been able to find the Goro Isles so quickly without a chart.
"Hey, Kong Tai, why are we going to the Goro Isles?"
"Is there anything special there?"
Guina looked up at Kong Tai, who was lying on the sheep's head, and asked the question she had wanted to ask since the Baratie.
Their original plan was to head directly to Loguetown, but at the Baratie, Kong Tai suddenly changed his mind and decided to go to the Goro Isles first.
Kong Tai opened his eyes and stared at the sun, speaking slowly, "It's nothing much. I just heard there's a dragon there, and I want to see it."
"A dragon?"
Guina was startled for a moment, then said, "You mean the Arlong Pirates!"
"Yes! That's right!"
"But that has nothing to do with us!"
Kong Tai paused, looking at the black and white seagulls that flew by from time to time, and said with a slightly somber tone.
"The main reason is that this dragon not only oppresses the villages around its territory, but it's also deceiving an innocent girl."
"A girl?"
Guina suddenly stood up and exclaimed.
Kong Tai realized he might have said something he shouldn't have, and tried to speak calmly.
"Yes, a girl. Don't you know that dragon legends are always accompanied by girls?"
"Is that so?"
Guina stared at him, confused.
"Yes."
Kong Tai's voice was more firm than ever.
Guina looked at Kong Tai with suspicion for a while before saying.
"Just say you want to defeat the dragon, save the village there, and be a hero. Isn't that simple?"
"Why make it so complicated?"
Guina lowered her head and thought for a moment, her calm eyes suddenly shining.
"Mmm! A beautiful girl who defeats dragons, that must be really cool!"
She looked up, staring ahead excitedly, and said loudly.
"I've decided."
"Decided what?"
"I've decided that I will defeat Arlong."
Guina turned to Kong Tai and said firmly.
"Good, good, good. Our dragon-slaying maiden Guina will surely leave behind her own legend."
Guina tilted her head slightly, a proud expression on her face.
Seeing that Guina was no longer pressing about the girl, Kong Tai secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He almost let it slip.
He had suddenly remembered Nami, and then thought about the dozens of villages in Arlong's territory still suffering under oppression. This was why he had suddenly changed course and headed straight for the Goro Isles.
If he didn't intervene this time, those villages would have to wait another two years until Monkey D. Luffy set sail for them to be rescued.
How many family tragedies would occur in those two years?
He couldn't manage what he didn't know, but since he did know, he had to manage it.
This was a sense of justice ingrained in his bones, a sense he had developed from growing up under the red flag in his previous life, and it was unchangeable.
Moreover, for him, destroying the Arlong Pirates would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Since it was easy and aligned with his sense of justice, he definitely had to do it.
In fact, he wasn't wrong; he was truly a righteous companion. Of course, he wasn't a saint; he wouldn't let any evildoer he encountered go free.
Evil is evil. He didn't believe in "laying down one's butcher knife and becoming a Buddha instantly." If those who had done evil could all become Buddhas, then what about the people they had harmed?
Whose grievances would be resolved, whose debts would be repaid?
So, since they had encountered him, they could only all go to hell for repentance.
...
As more and more seabirds joined the flock flying alongside them, a long coastline gradually appeared ahead.
As the distance to the coastline shortened, Kong Tai could already smell the faint scent of earth.
He took a deep breath, sat up straight, crossed his legs, and spun on the sheep's head, facing the coastline ahead. He scanned it intently.
"Hmm!"
He noticed that on this side, he couldn't see the entrance to the Arlong Pirates' base.
If he remembered correctly, the Arlong Pirates' base was built by the sea.
He turned around, jumped off the sheep's head, and shouted to the steering room behind him, "A Tao, adjust the direction. Let's search around the island and see if we can find the entrance to the Arlong Pirates."
"Understood!"
A Tao, who was sitting in a daze in the steering room, quickly stood up and replied loudly to the outside.
He walked to the helm, first put the cigarette he had been holding between his fingers into his mouth, then grasped the helm with both hands and forcefully pulled it to the left.
The Pseudo Merry immediately turned to the left.
Just then, A Hua walked out of the kitchen, holding a wanted poster.
He slowly walked to the bow, looked at Kong Tai, and pushed his glasses up, his eyes flashing.
"As expected, Kong Tai's target is the Arlong Pirates."
Kong Tai looked at A Hua, who was walking over, and motioned for him to give the wanted poster to Guina.
"Guina, take a look! After all, this is the opponent you'll be facing. Before you become a great swordmaster, don't underestimate any opponent."
"Yes, I know."
Guina took the wanted poster from A Hua and began to read it.
"So the members of the Arlong Pirates are all fish-men!" she exclaimed, looking at Arlong's wanted poster.
Then, she said with a hint of disgust.
"They look so ugly."
"Don't be fooled by their appearance. They are new humans, combining the characteristics of fish and humans. Their strength is greater than that of ordinary humans, and it doubles when fighting in water."
Kong Tai explained to Guina, combining the information he knew.
"Six years ago, the Fish-Man Pirates of the Grand Line disbanded, and Arlong was one of them."
"Later, he formed his own Arlong Pirates, came to the East Blue from the Grand Line, and ruled the Goro Isles."
"Why do you know so much?"
Guina asked Kong Tai, looking at him doubtfully.
"Me? I read newspapers and some strange books every day!"
"That makes sense. I never saw you without a book in your hand when we were kids."
Guina nodded, recalling the past, and was about to continue looking at the wanted poster in her hand.
"Hmm!"
At that moment, she suddenly turned her head, looking strangely at A Hua and the other two, who were all standing at the bow.
"You three... what's wrong?"