On the azure sea, a ship cut through the waves.
This ship was whimsically named [The Ellie]. It was also a ship destined to be abandoned at sea.
Currently, The Ellie was set by Kuro to sail autonomously toward open seas. So with favorable sea conditions, he didn't need to stay in the captain's cabin constantly and could move freely.
Moreover, even if he left the captain's cabin, the nervously vigilant Nique would take over navigation.
Three days had passed since The Ellie left port. So far, the journey had been smooth.
Over these three days, Tonpa had gotten very familiar with the new team members.
Having been a Rookie Killer for decades, he was naturally skilled at socializing. Moreover, during his self-introduction to new members, he even included details about his Nen Ability.
This was a gesture of trust through complete honesty and also trust in Law's selection of team members.
This approach not only helped everyone get acquainted faster but also reminded Law of something.
Team members were all selected by him, so he knew each member's general abilities, but the others didn't.
For example, Biscuit knew Law's, Tonpa's, even Buhara's abilities, but not Knov's, Shiro's, or even Stargie's abilities.
Conversely, it was the same for Stargie and the others.
Their destination was the Dark Continent. Team coordination was crucial. Cultivating synergy in advance was certainly too late now, but at least they needed to know each other thoroughly.
Thus, last night, Law organized a small self-introduction session, having everyone disclose their Nen Ability's effects.
As the initiator, Law first detailed his God Hand ability, even revealing his mastery over all Nen types.
With him setting the example, everyone introduced their abilities.
Thus, the team's preliminary framework took shape.
The fourth day of the voyage. Sunlight scorched, weather good.
On the deck, Law held a fishing rod, line cast far and long.
Splash!
Suddenly, a spray of water erupted on the sea surface.
The leopard-shaped Kuro emerged from the spray, holding a shark several times his size, shaped like an anchor.
Law glanced at the shark with anchor-shaped teeth, then sharply pulled the fishing rod back, yanking Kuro from a distance directly onto the deck.
With 100% proficiency in Emission Nen characteristics covering the rod and line, there was no worry of breaking no matter how rough the handling.
"C-grade, barely passes."
"This guy's only C-grade?"
Kuro was stunned, casually tossing the anchor shark aside.
"Right, and it's C-minus."
"Damn, I thought it was at least B-grade!"
Kuro was disappointed, then without Law needing to say, jumped back into the sea. His hind legs seemed to transform into propellers, diving toward the depths.
Nearby, Tonpa kicked the anchor shark toward Buhara, licking his lips. "I'm not as picky as Law."
"Hehe."
Buhara, barehanded, hugged the over-thousand-pound anchor shark and headed to the kitchen.
Nique looked at Buhara carrying the shark away, then at the unsettled white spray on the sea surface, muttering, "If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe a cat could be so happy being bait."
Muttering, he thought of how he was usually looked down upon by this black cat, feeling pathetic.
'Why... does a black cat happily being bait have both higher status and strength than me?'
Nique looked up at the sky, a lonely expression on his face.
This called for a cigarette.
Then, a cigarette really flew over, unaffected by the sea breeze, landing right on his chest.
Nique instinctively grabbed the finely crafted cigarette, momentarily stunned.
'Where did this cigarette come from?'
At that moment, Shiro, with his vermilion pipe, walked over, took out a lighter, and held it before Nique, seriously saying, "Your lonely look makes me want to offer you a smoke."
"..."
Nique silently looked at Shiro.
"Lighter fluid is expensive. Hurry up." Shiro gestured toward the lighter's flame with his mouth.
"..."
Nique's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly as he brought the filter toward the flame.
"You're holding it wrong..."
Knov stood beside Law. He glanced at Nique, silently pushing up his glasses.
He thought: 'Stay serious. Can't laugh.'
Not far away, Biscuit wore sunglasses and a swimsuit, lazily sunbathing on a chair.
Bruna floated nearby, using her tentacles to massage Biscuit. Cookie, usually responsible for massages, was rarely idle, also sunbathing with Biscuit.
On another chair nearby, Stargie was also there, but dressed normally, reading a document.
That book was recommended to her by Bruna. After struggling through it, the only benefit was learning a bit of a foreign language.
Currently, Bruna was the weakest in the entire team, without exception.
However, her ability was also the most unique in the team, without exception.
Having been on the Dark Continent for years, Law knew many ancient humans still struggled to survive there, along with many intelligent non-human races.
Each race had its own language. Bruhna was the best translator. With her, if they encountered intelligent races, they had the means to communicate.
Time passed slowly.
Most of the day went by quickly, approaching the evening of the fourth day.
The sky was still bright. Over a dozen dishes were on the deck… an all-fish banquet.
Steamed, braised, stewed, sashimi...
Ingredients provided by Kuro, cooking left to Buhara.
All fish, monotonous, yet Buhara managed to make the all-fish banquet elaborate, putting great effort into presentation.
This was somewhat challenging for him, showing he valued every cooking opportunity for the team.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks, the atmosphere lively.
Suddenly, Law summoned his God Hand book.
His abrupt action immediately drew everyone's attention.
"What's wrong?" Biscuit asked.
"The turtle is nearby."
Law replied, opening the book to a specific page.
In the center of the white page was a pale green, unidentified piece of flesh.
Law slightly sensed the distance, then pointed at the flesh.
Immediately, the deck shook violently… no, the entire sea surface shook.
For a moment, except for Law, everyone was startled.
"Earthquake?" Nique stammered.
Boom!
Far ahead of The Ellie, a large area of sea surface bulged, like a massive island slowly emerging from the sea.
Countless water sprays fell like fountains. As the colossal entity broke the surface, towering waves spread outward.
Even from a distance, the intense disturbance made The Ellie struggle to stay balanced.
Clatter.
Nique watched the behemoth emerging from the sea, his bowl and chopsticks slipping from his hands in speechless shock, shattering on the deck.
Knov, Shiro, and Buhara looked dumbfounded, while Stargie appeared relatively calm.
"Haven't seen the turtle in a long time. Kind of miss it." Tonpa stood up, hands forming binoculars, looking at the turtle with its snake-like neck on the sea surface.
"That... that's the turtle?"
Shiro almost dropped his pipe. Though he heard Law mention a turtle, he never imagined the so-called turtle was two sizes larger than the B.W.
Looking out, the turtle's neck resembled a giraffe's. Semi-transparent, crystal-like pale green shells covered most of its body. The orange-red evening sunlight fell on the shell, reflecting brilliant colors.
Looking closely, one could even see various moving tissues inside the turtle's body through the semi-transparent shell.
And beneath the unseen sea surface, the turtle's limbs were paddle-shaped, but more like enormous wings.