The five kids felt like today was their lucky day because they had found two Devil Fruits!
Now, Ryuen, Nami, and Daisy had all gotten powers that suited them. Kuina wanted an animal-type fruit, but Nojiko didn't want one. So, the group decided to take the Veggie Fruit back, thinking Bellemere might want to eat it.
After washing off the day's sweat, the kids quickly drifted into sleep, dreaming of candy and ice cream.
The next morning, sunlight spilled over the island.
Everyone got up early, and after breakfast, little Nami packed up the tent into her pocket dimension. They were leaving Sixxis Island today. Nami had already recorded the island's climate, and only a small part of the map remained unfinished.
She planned to finish that part of the map this morning.
By around nine o'clock, Nami had completed the maps of Sixxis Island and its surrounding waters.
"Phew... Finally finished! It's so hot!" Nami let out a long sigh and stored the completed maps in her pocket dimension, pulling out some ice-cold juice for everyone.
They had already had several cups by now.
"It's so hot! No wonder nobody lives on this island," Kuina said, drinking her chilled juice.
"Can we leave now?" Daisy asked as she wiped the sweat from her collarbone. Every morning for the past couple of days, it seemed like she couldn't stop sweating. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
"Yes! Based on Xixis Island's location, Bear Paw Island is to the north. Ryuen, let's head out!" Nami said, pointing in the direction they needed to go.
"Alright, let's head out." Ryuen didn't waste any time. In this heat, the four girls were already close to their limit.
He walked a little farther away and suddenly transformed into his full beast form. After extinguishing the flames on his body, he said, "All set, hop on! Big brother will take you for a ride!"
"Hehe, big brother, here I come!"
The four girls quickly leaped onto Ryuen's back with light steps.
Ryuen took off, soaring into the sky with Nami and the others, leaving the scorching heat of Xixis Island behind.
"Wow, this breeze feels amazing! It was so hot on Xixis Island these past two days," one of the girls said, feeling instantly refreshed as they flew higher.
"Hold on tight! I'm going to speed up!" Ryuen called out to the group on his back.
"We're holding on tight!"
The girls instinctively leaned down, gripping Ryuen's feathers firmly.
Ryuen accelerated, heading toward Bear Paw Island. It wasn't far from Sixxis Island, and at his speed, they'd arrive in two or three hours.
Along the way, Nami kept an eye on the direction, occasionally telling Ryuen to adjust his course. By around noon, they finally spotted a small island.
"Ryuen, that should be it! We can land now!" Nami shouted, looking down at the island shaped like a bear's paw.
As Ryuen quickly descended, the group got a clear view of Bear Paw Island—it really did look like a massive bear paw!
Ryuen chose a hilltop with fewer trees as a landing spot and gently brought the four girls down.
After jumping off Ryuen's back, Nami and the others curiously surveyed the island. Once Ryuen returned to his human form, he joined them.
"Hmm... There are a lot of animals on this island, and one of them is pretty big, but I didn't sense any people around," Ryuen said, after using his observation ability to scan the area.
"Big? Could it be the Beast King?" Kuina's eyes lit up with excitement as she asked.
"Not sure yet. Nami, let's head over to where most of the animals are gathered," Ryuen suggested, pointing in a direction.
The four girls nodded and followed him toward the area he mentioned.
The island wasn't very large; from its highest point, you could see the entire island. Nami would be able to finish mapping it out quickly.
After walking for a while, the group saw a lot of birds, and they were in the middle of fighting a huge, strange bird!
Seeing this giant bird, Ryuen suddenly remembered—this was the place where Buggy had ended up after being blasted away when he lost the middle part of his body.
Back then, Buggy had been starving and tried to catch a large baby bird to eat it. But soon after, the baby's mother, the same giant bird Ryuen and the others were now looking at, showed up.
Buggy ended up being chased around by the big bird for quite a while.
If it weren't for Alvida showing up after eating the Smooth-Smooth Fruit to save him, Buggy, the future Emperor of the Sea, would have been stuck here.
"So it wasn't the Beast King~~~" Kuina was disappointed when she realized it was just a bird.
"Let's move on, Nami. You can start now," Ryuen said, turning to her.
"Got it!" Nami replied.
She opened the dimensional space, and the five kids quickly made their way to the highest point of the island through it.
"Wait for me here. I'll finish drawing soon," Nami said as she took out her tools from the dimensional space.
"No rush. Captain Gulachi and the others won't be heading back so soon anyway. It's already noon, so we can stay here overnight and return to Clover Island tomorrow," Ryuen said, glancing at the sky.
"Alright then, I'll get started!" Nami agreed and began measuring the terrain. Ryuen stayed by her side to help.
"Nojiko, Daisy, how about we go on an adventure somewhere else?" Kuina, feeling restless, suggested.
"Alright, let's go~~~"
The three girls excitedly set off together to explore the island!
Time passed as Nami filled out sheet after sheet of her map, while the three girls were busy chasing that giant bird.
"Hm?" Ryuen heard the Den Den Mushi ringing and quickly answered it.
Captain Gulachi's voice came through.
"Ryuen, the Celestial Dragons are coming to East Blue, and their target is Clover Island. Do you think it's because of the orange business?" Captain Gulachi asked nervously.
"Captain Gulachi, don't worry too much. If it's really about the orange business, the Celestial Dragons wouldn't come to East Blue personally. You can ask Minister Sabella to get in touch with the king. He might know something," Ryuen suggested.
"Got it. But you guys should come back soon. If it really is about the orange business, I'm afraid we won't be able to handle it," Captain Gulachi replied, though still sounding a bit uneasy.
"Understood. We'll handle it," Ryuen said, hanging up the call.
He began to think things over. "Celestial Dragons, huh? Maybe there's a way to use this to our advantage~~~~~"
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