The moment they set sail again, Robin could hardly wait to begin deciphering the Poneglyphs.
And as soon as she finished interpreting the ancient text, she immediately handed her notebook to the ship's navigator so she could determine the exact location of the Final Island.
At that moment, everyone sat in a circle, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on Nami as she scribbled and calculated across the table.
Yamato, who had been fidgeting impatiently at the side, was the first to crack. Her eyes sparkled as she asked eagerly,
"So, Nami? Still haven't figured out where it is yet?"
"Yamato, don't rush her. Once Nami finishes the calculations, we'll know."
Beside her, Vivi looked at her with amused fondness and gently soothed her in a soft voice.
Yamato didn't look like someone who cared much about treasure anyway. She was probably just curious and excited about that so-called 'legendary island.'
Thankfully, no one had to wait too long. Nami finally set down her ruler and pen, then looked up at everyone with a face full of delight and announced,
"Everyone, I've confirmed the location of the Final Island!"
"YEAH!!!"
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone shot to their feet and erupted into excited cheers.
They hugged one another in pairs, celebrating the glorious moment as if they had already found the Final Island itself.
And honestly, no one could blame them for being this happy.
After eight hundred years, they were about to become the second group in history to reach the Final Island.
That was absolutely worth celebrating.
But just as the atmosphere of joy and excitement reached its peak, Leno's voice drifted over from the distance like a bucket of cold water.
"The Final Island is still ridiculously far away from us. What are you all celebrating for? Anyone who didn't know better would think you've already arrived."
"Uh..."
All the laughter and cheering came to a dead stop.
Everyone awkwardly turned to look at Nami again, hoping this beautiful navigator would now point out the road ahead.
Standing there, Nami rubbed her forehead speechlessly.
She had been planning to explain everything in detail just now.
But no one had given her the chance. They had all been too busy celebrating like idiots.
One hand on her hip, she tapped the map board with the other and said helplessly,
"The big idiot is right. Judging from the coordinates, those four islands are all located at the very end of the New World. We still have a very long way to go."
"Ah, I thought it was something serious." Yamato slapped the table and waved it off nonchalantly, saying as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "So what if it's far? If we keep sailing, we'll run into it eventually, right?"
"Exactly. That's what I was trying to say."
Leno stood up and slowly walked toward the group, his tone turning serious as he reminded them,
"If reaching the Final Island is only a matter of time, then we should just keep sailing and continue our journey step by step. There's no need to spend extra energy obsessing over it."
Then he looked at everyone and smiled.
"Of course, everyone having fun is what matters most."
"Hmph."
The girls all rolled their eyes.
Nami gave a light snort and said irritably,
"You said a whole lot of nothing."
Beside her, Robin covered her mouth and laughed softly. Then she moved to Leno's side and wrapped herself around his arm before asking gently,
"Leno... from the way you were talking just now, why do I get the feeling you already knew where the Final Island was?"
"Cough, cough—"
Leno nearly choked on his own saliva.
He lowered his head and looked at Robin in surprise.
"How would I know that? I was just saying it casually."
They were currently in the middle stretch of the New World. No matter where the Final Island was, it was obviously still far from here.
If he had really known where it was all along, why would he have gone through so much trouble?
This woman really did overthink things.
Did she seriously believe he knew everything?
Robin looked up at him with a smile that clearly meant more than it seemed.
"Oh? Reeeally?"
After hearing their exchange, everyone else also snapped out of it and turned suspicious eyes toward Leno.
Their unreliable captain always seemed to possess this bizarre kind of foresight in the strangest moments.
Could this be another one of those times?
With so many huge, suspicious eyes staring at him, Leno could only laugh helplessly in the end.
"Now that we've already confirmed the location of the Final Island, does it even matter whether I knew or not?"
"Hmph."
Robin thought about it and had to admit that was true.
So she immediately let go of his arm, turned around, and walked off without the slightest hesitation.
Feeling the sudden loss of that soft warmth against his arm, Leno's mouth twitched.
That was way too realistic.
Use him and toss him aside?
What a heartless woman.
Thanks to Leno's interruption, everyone's excitement gradually calmed down, and they finally started thinking seriously about what route they should take next.
Nojiko returned to the table, tilted her head, and asked softly,
"Alo, how should we plan our route from here?"
"Hmm..."
Leno casually accepted the drink Mikita handed him, frowned in thought for a moment, and then said,
"Let's head back to Wano Country first and retrieve Pluton. Better to take it out now than regret it later if trouble shows up and we don't have time."
Back when they first went to Wano Country, his mind hadn't even gone in that direction.
But now that they had the ignition source, they had no choice but to make another trip.
It was a precaution.
A hidden trump card prepared in advance, just in case.
"Wano Country?!"
The moment Yamato heard that, her eyes lit up instantly. In a flash, she appeared right in front of them and said excitedly,
"Perfect! This time, I'm definitely going to beat Kaido!"
"Hey, hey, Yamato..." Carmen, who was in the middle of handing out drinks to everyone, looked at her in surprise. "Don't tell me you're still holding onto the idea of opening up Wano Country?"
She still remembered how Yamato used to go on and on about bringing justice to Wano Country.
Which made her curious just how much this girl had changed over the course of the journey.
The others also turned to look.
Everyone wanted to hear what Yamato thought now.
The others also looked over, curious to hear Yamato's current thoughts. Facing their inquisitive gazes, Yamato unexpectedly became a bit fidgety, seemingly feeling that her former self had been quite naive.
Scratching the back of her head, she gave an embarrassed laugh before stammering,
"I-I'm not thinking that far anymore. I just want to beat Kaido and prove that the way he treated me back then was wrong!"
"As for opening up Wano Country..."
She paused, glanced at everyone, and then continued,
"After I defeat Kaido, whether Wano opens its borders or not... I'll leave that decision to Wano itself."
She no longer knew for certain whether opening the country would truly be good or bad.
After experiencing so much alongside Leno and the others, after seeing the cruel side of the world with her own eyes, she was no longer sure that opening Wano was necessarily the right answer.
Besides, opening a country wasn't something you could accomplish just by shouting a slogan.
There were too many interests and consequences tied to it.
If she rushed into it like before, she might end up dragging her companions into a mess that had nothing to do with them.
Paying such a huge price for a bunch of strangers?
Not worth it.
Just like Leno had once said:
"Respect other people's fate. Give up on trying to save everyone."