After leaving the intoxicating extravagance of the Golden City, the aftereffects of that "paradise" trip gradually began to show over the following days.
The most obvious symptom was restlessness.
A kind of idle restlessness that made it impossible to focus on anything.
As a result, recently the entire adventurer crew—from the captain down to the last crew member—had been wrapped in an atmosphere of pure laziness.
Leno had already been mentally prepared for this situation. After all, he had experienced it before.
His response was just as lazy—one sentence summed it up: let it be and leave everything to time.
Thus, when it came to searching for the Whitebeard Pirates, no one showed much enthusiasm. The Gale simply drifted leisurely across the sea.
It was another bright and sunny day. The weather was hot, and the sea breeze blowing toward them made breathing feel slightly stifling.
On the deck, led by their captain Leno, the crew collectively lay motionless beneath a sun umbrella like a pile of corpses.
Meanwhile, Kaya—the crew's humanoid walking air conditioner—had, at everyone's request, transformed into her Ice Snow Woman form to provide cool air for those resting under the umbrella.
They even called it helping her develop her fruit ability.
The adventurers' philosophy of "enjoyment" had truly been practiced to its fullest by this group.
At the bow of the ship, Nami confirmed their course using intelligence delivered by a News Coo. As soon as she finished, she eagerly slipped under the sun umbrella.
Sitting on a recliner beside Leno, she casually grabbed a chilled drink nearby and gulped it down before lazily speaking.
"Hey, Baka. We're getting closer and closer to the Whitebeard Pirates. We'll probably run into them in a few days. Do you have any plans?"
"Hm?" Leno lifted his sunglasses slightly, stretched, and replied in a sluggish tone, "No plans. We'll just go straight to them."
"…That's Whitebeard—the strongest man in the world. Shouldn't we prepare something?"
"Prepare what? We're not going there to fight."
Leno grabbed a pear from the fruit tray and continued speaking while eating.
"Besides, even if we do end up fighting, against an old man like that, your captain would handle it easily."
"Tch. Keep bragging. He's still called the strongest man in the world. It can't be as easy as you say."
"Sigh… you wouldn't understand."
After finishing the fruit in a few bites, Leno shook his head helplessly and leaned back into the recliner again.
He wasn't worried about what Nami was concerned about.
Whitebeard had indeed been powerful in his youth. But now he was over seventy and riddled with injuries—how could he still be the strongest?
Leno clearly remembered that during the Marineford War, the so-called strongest man couldn't even use Haki anymore.
Whether it was the side effects of his Devil Fruit or too many hidden injuries, even Rayleigh—who was older than him—was still lively and energetic.
In short, in Leno's view, Whitebeard was still dangerous—but not that dangerous.
Seeing that Leno couldn't even be bothered to say another word, Nami angrily kicked him and glared fiercely.
"You stupid idiot. You're lazy beyond belief! I swear, if this keeps—"
"Everyone! There's a ship approaching us ahead!"
Before Nami could finish complaining, Vivi's warning came from the lookout tower.
In this scorching weather, only this desert princess could still maintain proper energy.
Of course, the room in the lookout tower was fully equipped. Leno would never allow his crew to suffer unnecessarily.
But even after Vivi shouted, there was still no movement on the deck. She thought everyone had fallen asleep.
So she shouted again.
"Everyone, the ship ahead is getting close!"
"Vivi, you don't need to shout. We already know!"
Nami poked her head out from beneath the sun umbrella and waved toward Vivi above.
She turned to glance at the others still lying there like corpses and rolled her eyes speechlessly.
"I mean seriously—do any of you have a sense of danger? At a time like this you're still slacking?"
"Ah… it's too hot outside. I can't handle it."
Hearing the accusation, Chopper turned over awkwardly with his back facing Nami, adopting the strategy of 'out of sight, out of mind.'
Robin, Kuina, and the others lifted their eyelids slightly. Seeing that their captain still hadn't moved, they continued lying comfortably in their recliners.
Seeing this scene, Nami stormed over to Leno, grabbed him, and yanked him up.
"You stupid idiot! It's all your fault! Look how badly you've corrupted everyone!"
"?!!!"
Leno pointed at himself, eyes wide as he stared at Nami in disbelief.
"Me? I corrupted them? Are you serious?!"
"Isn't this just their true nature?"
"Stop talking nonsense and go check what's happening at the bow!"
Nami impatiently shoved Leno out from under the umbrella, then immediately took the chance to lie down on the recliner he had just vacated.
She had spent the entire journey checking the course and observing the weather. It was finally her turn to relax.
The pitiful captain Leno was kicked out in confusion and wandered groggily to the bow.
But when he saw the figure standing on the approaching ship, his eyes suddenly lit up.
The visitor was Stussy—the woman Leno had previously gotten under his control. He hadn't expected news to come this quickly.
A moment later, Stussy arrived on the deck of the Gale carrying an enormous metal case.
After setting the case down, she gave Leno a polite bow and said with a charming smile,
"Ara~ Lord Leno, to think you personally came to receive me. I'm truly honored."
She patted the large case beside her and continued.
"This is the item you requested. I hope you won't go back on your word."
Although Leno had already guessed what was inside, he couldn't hide the excitement on his face.
He examined the metal box while casually waving his hand.
"Don't worry. I always keep my promises."
Turning back to Stussy, he asked,
"How do you open this thing?"
He was already impatient to see the legendary Mother Flame.
If he weren't worried about damaging what was inside, he would have simply split the box open with a sword.
Stussy smiled slightly and placed her hand on a small screen in the center of the box.
After a moment of electronic scanning, a mechanical voice sounded.
"Ding. Please enter password."
While Leno was inspecting the high-tech box, the crew beneath the sun umbrella had also gathered around.
They already knew about the deal between Leno and Stussy.
Everyone was extremely curious about the legendary object and didn't want to miss the chance to see it.
After Stussy finished a series of operations, a sharp hiss sounded.
The sealed metal walls of the case slowly opened like blooming petals.
Inside was a circular transparent container.
At its center burned a cluster of golden flames.
The crew observed it for a moment but couldn't figure out anything special.
So they turned to Stussy with puzzled expressions.
"So this is that… Mother Flame?"
"Yes~ This is the 'Eternal Fire' that Lord Leno requested."
...
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