On the other side of Jaya Island, at Cricket's house,
everyone gathered for a feast!
"Ah, the sake tastes so good today." Cricket chugged a bottle of sake.
"Come, come, everyone, eat as much as you like, there's plenty more." Sanji enthusiastically served the dishes.
Luffy devoured meat, replenishing his vitality!
Zoro and Chopper clinked their glasses.
Nami sipped her juice, thinking about tomorrow.
Robin elegantly drank red wine while reading a newspaper.
Meanwhile, Usopp sprinkled chili sauce on the ape's food and was chased around the house by the ape!
...Suddenly, Cricket approached Robin, startling her.
"In the right eye of the skull, I saw gold..."
Everyone immediately fell silent!
"These were the words Nolan wrote with tears in his eyes before his death: 'In the right eye of the skull, I saw gold.'"
Nolan was executed that very day. But after coming to Jaya, I still couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence.
What is in the right eye of the skull? Was he referring to an ancient city? Or was he metaphorically facing his own death?
Unfortunately, the blank pages that followed contained no further words!
That's why we dived to the bottom of the sea to search,
because our dream lies at the bottom of the sea!" Cricket roared, then took a huge gulp of sake.
"We're going to fly into the sky!" Luffy stuffed a handful of dried saury into his mouth.
"Luffy, if you eat so much, can you still fly?" Usopp teased.
"Hahahahaha!"
A happy and lively atmosphere filled the small house.
...This is the logbook entry for May 1st, 1122, the day we arrived at Jaya Island.
Upon reaching the island, we heard the wonderful chirping of birds in the jungle and the sound of a very, very large bell!
It was a huge golden bell made of pure gold!
Its chimes echoed across the land and resounded through the sky!
It was as if the ancient city of yesteryear was boasting of its former prosperity. Witnessing a civilization nurtured by the vast ocean for so long,
ultimately unable to withstand the impermanence of the world, the changing of the seas into mulberry fields!
It made us, who had lived for decades and felt indifferent to everything, feel an unspeakable heaviness in our hearts.
We stood there motionless until the bell stopped ringing!
Ah ah ah!" Cricket's expression was agitated.
"What's wrong, old man? Do you really like Nolan?" Usopp had a punchable expression.
"Look at this!" Cricket pulled out a small golden bell.
"How is this bell huge?" Usopp asked, confused.
"Nolan was certainly not talking about this; this is just a bell-shaped ingot. We found three of them at the bottom of the sea!" Cricket said.
"And about the wonderful bird calls mentioned in the prologue!" Cricket pulled out a golden bird.
"This bird is called a Southbird, and it still lives on Jaya Island today," Cricket said calmly, then his expression suddenly changed, and he roared, "Damn it, go to the southern forest now and find this Southbird!"
"Catch a bird? Why?" Everyone was confused.
"Listen, tomorrow you'll be riding an upward-flowing Knock Up Stream, and its location is directly south of this cape! Do you know how to get there?" (Cricket)
"So, we need a Southbird to guide us?" Luffy chuckled.
"That's right. Whether on vast land or in a chaotic ocean, its body can always point in the correct direction!
In short, without this bird, nothing else matters!" Cricket said firmly.
Everyone left the small house.
"We're going to make some modifications to your ship! You go and catch that Southbird for me!" Cricket said, "Come to think of it, there's no time for a banquet tonight!"
"You're just saying that now!" Usopp was furious.
"Alright, let's go catch the bird!" Luffy stretched his arm, leaping through the jungle like a monkey.
"Luffy, wait for us!" Nami chased after him, but it was already too late!
Everyone delved deeper into the jungle, looking at the pitch-black path.
"Damn it, why does it have to be at night! I have a feeling there's something extremely terrifying in there!" Usopp looked terrified.
"Speaking of which, where's that bird?" Zoro asked.
"Who knows! If we knew where it was, would we all be out here?" Nami snapped.
"Currently, we only know the bird's call and appearance. Finding it in this jungle is like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Robin analyzed.
"That old man said the Southbird's sound is unique. How unique?" Sanji looked confused.
"Jiu~" Several sounds came from the forest.
"That's it!" Everyone was startled.
"Let's split into two groups!" Zoro said, wanting to go alone.
"Okay, Miss Robin and Miss Nami will come with me!" Sanji's intentions were clear to everyone.
"Tch~!" Everyone mocked.
Ultimately, Zoro, Chopper, and Robin formed one group, and Sanji, Usopp, and Nami formed another, splitting into two paths.
..."First, we need to listen for its sound!" Sanji said calmly.
"Damn it, where did Luffy go? He just abandoned us like that. I'm going to punch him!" Nami was both scared and angry.
"It's alright, Nami-san, I'll protect you well!" Sanji was full of manly spirit.
"What about me?" Usopp looked expectant.
"Who cares about you?" Sanji said dismissively.
"Um, Nami, when did you catch that?" Usopp calmly pointed at a spider clinging to Nami's skirt.
"Ah! A spider!" Nami shrieked.
Sanji and Nami instantly moved to the nearby bushes, but unfortunately... spiders kept falling down.
"Ah!!!"
Nami and Sanji were both terrified.
"It's okay, I often dealt with them when I was a kid. As long as you don't provoke them, they won't hurt people?" Usopp carefully let a spider crawl onto his hand.
"Throw it away! We're scared!"
"So, you're not afraid of the moths and centipedes next to you?" Usopp asked, confused.
"Moths??"
"Centipedes??"
Suddenly, countless red eyes lit up.
"We are!!!" Sanji and Nami ran for their lives!
..."I think I heard screams?" Robin wondered.
Suddenly, Zoro drew his sword without hesitation.
"Swish~" A centipede as long as an arm was struck down.
"Don't just draw your sword casually, it's pitiful!" Robin spoke up for the centipede.
"Stop complaining, it provoked me first!" Zoro sheathed his sword, turned, and walked forward.
"Hey! Zoro, that's the way we just came from!" Chopper yelled.
Suddenly, the atmosphere around them quieted, and Zoro's face turned extremely dark.
...At the same time, strange things kept happening!
There were giant mantises!
There were numerous ladybugs!
And centipedes that weren't afraid of death!
They obeyed the Southbird's command,
to eliminate intruders in the forest!
"It's a slug! Sprinkle salt quickly!"
"If you dare, sting me!"
"It's a firefly, so beautiful! No, it's a cockroach!"
There were even pigs!
Everyone's scalp tingled.
"Jiu~ jiu~" The Southbird's calls echoed through the forest, but finding their location was no easy task!
...The moon hung high above the jungle.
Everyone gathered at the starting point.
"No use, let alone catching a bird, we didn't even see a single feather!" Zoro said calmly.
"We saw them, but we didn't catch them..." Usopp rubbed his head.
So, they couldn't catch what they saw, and they couldn't see what they could catch!
"Look, everyone! I caught it!"
Just then, Luffy, who had left alone, returned, holding a bird in his arms.
"Jiu~ jiu~" The Southbird chirped helplessly.
"Luffy!!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"Didn't you catch any?" Luffy asked, confused.
"Didn't even see a single feather!" Zoro complained.
"So, Zoro, you can't use Observation Haki?" Luffy said bluntly.
Everyone's eyes immediately lit up, then they gave Zoro resentful looks.
"Uh... ah..., alright! I forgot!" Zoro couldn't find a good excuse.
"Zoro~!!" Everyone roared.
...The Straw Hat Pirates walked out of the jungle.
Luffy held the Southbird, but he had a large bump on his head!
"Who told you to leave us and run off by yourself! Do you know how scared I was? Spiders, cockroaches, ladybugs, moths, centipedes...!" The more Nami spoke, the angrier she got, and the more wronged she felt.
No one dared to cross her.
..."Oh! You're back!" Cricket called out.
"Old man, we caught the bird!" Luffy shouted.
"Hey, your ship has also been modified! The rest is all up to fate!" Cricket said calmly.
"Hehe, we can definitely do it!" Luffy smiled determinedly.
"Alright, go to sleep! It's already late, and we have to go to Skypiea tomorrow, don't we?" Cricket replied.
Everyone returned to the house to rest.
"They're a bunch of crazy fools who would risk their lives for a dream!" Cricket sighed, then said to the gorillas and apes, "Overtime tonight, there must be no problems!"
"Yes!!"
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