"Huh?"
Wyper's mouth fell open as he stared at the chief in disbelief.
A lot of people in the tribe liked Raki?
Why the hell didn't he, the Shandian warriors' leader, know that?
Had he somehow slipped into another world or something?
"Huh what?"
The chief smacked Wyper on the head in annoyance, then turned to Raki and said, "Don't you have something to do? Go take care of it. Don't leave the benefactor who helped the Shandians out in the cold."
Raki gave the chief a sweet smile and nodded. Then she turned to Aisa and said, "If you want to go see Arton and the others, then come on. Arton might even be willing to teach you how to train your Mantra."
"Really? Arton can help me train my Mantra?"
Aisa's eyes lit up immediately.
"Yep." Raki nodded proudly and said with a grin, "Actually, Arton calls Mantra Observation Haki. There's a proper, standardized way to train it. Someone like you, Aisa—someone who was born with Observation Haki—would definitely get even stronger if you learned the right training methods."
"That's great!"
Aisa grabbed Raki's hand and started pulling her toward the tent flap.
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go right now, Raki."
Raki smiled and nodded back. Then she shot Wyper one last glare before letting Aisa drag her out of the tent and off in the direction of where Arton had docked his pirate ship.
"Whew, they're finally gone."
The chief let out a long breath, looking far more relaxed all of a sudden.
"Chief, are there really that many people who like Raki?" Wyper asked, glancing at him.
"Of course not. With a personality like hers, she'd have a hard time finding anyone who likes her."
The chief shook his head.
"Then why'd you say that just now?"
Wyper's face twisted in confusion.
"Wyper, you really are an excellent warrior," the chief said with a sigh, "but when it comes to other things, there's still way too much you don't understand. If I hadn't said that just now, Raki probably would've pinned you to the ground and beaten the hell out of you."
Then he added, with all the gravity of a man speaking from experience, "Let me give you a piece of advice: generally speaking, girls do not like hearing someone say they're the kind of woman nobody would want. If you don't want Raki to think badly of you, then you'd better never say something like that again. Got it?"
Wyper scratched the back of his head.
He still didn't really understand what the chief was getting at.
Even so, he nodded.
The man in front of him was the chief—the wisest person among the Shandians today.
If the chief said it, then there had to be a reason for it.
"Doesn't look like you understood much of it."
The chief shook his head.
"Whatever. Just remember what I said. At the very least, it'll keep you from getting beaten up later for offending girls."
He patted Wyper on the shoulder, wearing the look of a seasoned veteran passing down hard-earned wisdom.
Then he made to leave the tent and head outside.
Arton had rung the Golden Bell. There was no way the Shandians would stay calm after hearing that.
And as chief, he still had things he needed to take care of.
Chapter 619: Ain Wants to Join In
Elsewhere…
At the spot on the White-White Sea where the Flameblade Pirates' ship was docked…
"Huh? That's—?!"
From the lookout, Ain spotted two familiar figures heading back this way and immediately waved and shouted, "Captain, Robin, you're back! Where is everyone else? Didn't they come back with you?"
By the time her voice fell, Arton and Robin had already reached the ship.
With a single leap, the two of them landed on deck.
Arton looked up at Ain as she jumped down from the lookout platform and said with a smile, "You know how much Nami loves treasure. Once the business with Enel was settled, she dragged everyone else off to go treasure hunting. They'll probably need a little more time before they get back."
Ain nodded in understanding. "That sounds exactly like Miss Nami."
Arton patted her on the shoulder. "Anyway, thanks for guarding the ship. We're planning to stay here for a while, so you can go relax and have fun on the sky island."
No matter how you looked at it, Skypiea was a great place to visit.
Ain acted calm, but Arton figured a young woman like her would still enjoy a place with scenery this beautiful.
So he had no intention of keeping Ain stuck on the ship the whole time without letting her explore Skypiea properly.
Ain was just about to nod—but then she noticed the way Robin was wrapped around Arton's arm, and her heart jumped.
"Um... if you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you two come back here to do?"
Blushing, Ain asked the question in a small, hesitant voice.
"You already guessed, didn't you?"
Seeing Ain's red face, Robin couldn't help smiling.
Not long ago, Ain and Robin had worked together to "deal with" Arton.
So Robin was certain Ain knew exactly what she wanted to do with him now.
"Then... can I join too?"
Ain took a deep breath and finally said it.
Arton had already accepted her, let her stay on the ship, and even promised that when the right power-template showed up later, he'd save it for her.
But she still hadn't received a template yet.
So if she wanted Arton to recognize her more fully, Ain felt she needed to let him get a better taste of her... talents.
"Ain's saying that, Captain. What do you think?"
Robin asked with a bright smile.
"When neither of you has any objection, what objection could I possibly have?"
After the "special training" from Conis and Raki, Arton was definitely carrying a bit of fatigue right now.
But there was no way he was about to fold in front of two beautiful girls like Ain and Robin.
"In that case, should we go to a cabin, or up to the lookout room?" Robin asked.
"The lookout," Arton said after rubbing his chin and nodding to himself. "Skypiea probably doesn't have any enemies left who'd show up at this point, but nothing's absolute. I still think somebody ought to stay in the lookout. That way, if anything unexpected really does happen, we'll notice it right away."
In this world of pirates, even the Five Elders could use one another like coordinates and teleport around in a way that was practically magic.
Just that alone was enough reason for Arton to stay cautious.