Olga came hopping over, holding a flower made from cloud shellfish in her hands. It looked extremely rough, and there was no hiding the fact that it was clearly handmade by Olga herself.
"Look! Dad taught me how to make this!" She stood on her tiptoes and offered the flower to Rhett like a treasured gift.
Rhett snapped back to the present and took the "delicate" craft, gently rubbing the patterns on the petals with his fingertips.
Rhett was not the kind of adult who ruins the fun. "Not bad, Olga. This is a lot better than the crooked one you made last time. Our Olga is really impressive."
Olga puffed out her little chest proudly. "Dad says my craftsmanship is already good enough to sell in the Blue Sea!"
"Oh? Really? When you go sell flowers in the Blue Sea, mention my name. Advertise it like this: 'If you don't like it, big brother will come ask you about its flaws.' They definitely won't have the heart to criticize it to your face. Then come back and tell me what they say, and you can improve." Rhett said this to Olga with a completely serious expression.
Olga, with her innocent look, had lived for many years but was completely out of touch with the world. Her heart was still that of a child.
"Brother Rhett, you have to ask very carefully, okay? I'll work hard to improve."
"Pinkie promise."
"Pinkie promise."
After making the promise, Rhett turned his gaze toward the doctor, who was walking over from the direction of the laboratory. This once haggard scientist was now full of energy. Although there were still some ink stains on his glasses, the light in his eyes was far brighter than before.
"The shellfish technology of Sky Island has more potential than I ever imagined," the doctor said, pushing up his glasses, unable to hide his excitement. "Captain Rhett, would you like to see the defense system I've modified?"
Rhett smiled slightly. "I'd be delighted, Doctor."
The three of them walked along the winding cloud path to the observation deck at the edge of Sky Island. The doctor pressed a lever, and hidden cannons slowly rose from the clouds. Rows upon rows of exhaust shellfish arrays gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the morning light.
It felt like a war fortress. Wow! So cool!
"These impact shellfish have been improved," the doctor explained, pointing at the cannons. "They can fire compressed air at three times the speed of sound, with a range covering the entire sky area." He pointed toward the clouds in the distance. "Over there, I've also installed heat sensor nets. Any intruder will trigger an alarm."
Olga couldn't wait to add, "Dad also invented this!" She pressed another button, and several miniature airships emerged from the clouds, their hulls embedded with video shellfish. "Reconnaissance airships! They can monitor the entire sky over Sky Island!"
Rhett watched this father-daughter duo working together in perfect sync. Olga gestured excitedly while the doctor occasionally bent down to adjust the angle of the airships for her. The sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a warm glow over them.
Rhett looked at the happy father and daughter, and memories belonging solely to the Roger Pirates began to surface from deep within his mind.
Roger crouched on the deck, personally teaching Shanks how to adjust the navigational instruments while Buggy messed around beside them. Rhett leaned against the mast with his arms crossed, a contemptuous smile on his lips. "Captain, if you keep spoiling them, these two brats are going to tear the ship apart one day."
"Kuhahaha!" Roger laughed heartily as he picked up both kids. "Rhett, didn't you also chop up my helm when you were learning the sword?"
"Besides, when you were practicing with the Black Tide Greatsword on the beach as a kid, I didn't charge you for fishing you out of the water."
"You can have the Oro Jackson! It's probably worth quite a bit."
"I'm giving this to you. And you're going to be an uncle..." Roger stuffed the log pose into Rhett's hands. "I want you to take Rouge to Garp after I'm locked up. I'll also ask him to take care of her. She's on Baterilla Island in the South Blue. Rouge... their mother, will find a way to protect them."
"Take care of my hot-headed little brother for me if you get the chance."
The blood mist suddenly exploded in his palm. Rhett clenched his fist tightly. A feeling of a wanderer returning home filled Rhett's heart because he knew that someone in Windmill Village was waiting for him to come home.
"Lord Rhett?" Olga tilted her head in confusion. "What's wrong with you?"
"...Nothing." He rubbed her blonde hair, but his gaze drifted into the distance.
The mist transmitted his message to the crew.
"Everyone, gather in the main hall. I have some things to go over."
Rhett stood in the center of the main hall, his gaze sweeping over the gathered crew members.
"I'm going back to the East Blue," Rhett said directly. "I've been away for many years. It's time to go home and stay for a while."
Tesoro played with his gold ring, his other hand naturally resting on Stella's shoulder. "Stella and I happen to need to go to Water Seven to discuss some business."
He looked down at Stella beside him. "Honey, didn't you say that place is great for a vacation? Just the two of us."
Stella's cheeks flushed slightly, still trying to save face. "The shellfish products from Sky Island are very popular in the Blue Sea. We can take this opportunity to expand the market."
Their hands had somehow already intertwined, their fingers locked together. The two gold rings glinted in the sunlight.
Woof, burp. I'm full.
Rhett frowned at the sight, feeling as if a knife had been stabbed into his heart. A true blue single man...
Rhett's mouth twitched. He needed to ease up. "Enel, what are your plans?"
As soon as he asked, Rhett wanted to slap himself. Why did he never learn? Of all people to ask, why not Moria, Perona, or Laboon? Any of them would have been better than Enel.
From the corner came a "crack"—Enel had snapped his fork in half.
Rhett knew he was done for. He was going to have to eat more of this.
Enel's face visibly turned red, the redness reaching the very tips of his ears. "Boring! Th-Th-This God is...!"
"Heheh."
Since he was already there,
Rhett leaned in with a ridiculous face. "Take a deep breath. Don't be nervous. Come on, breathe. You were saying...?"
"Um..." the timid navigator Lena said, twisting the hem of her skirt, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Mr. Enel... would you... would you like to also buy some fruits that aren't available on Sky Island... like..."
"Hmph!" Enel turned his face away, but he was quietly listening and memorizing the few fruits Lena liked. "S-Since you're asking so sincerely..."
Did you all forget I'm standing right here?!
In his heart, Rhett had already slapped himself into a pig head. He knew he shouldn't have stuck his nose in. Now, he had to take it all in up close without missing a single bite of this lovey-dovey stuff.
What, am I hungry? Oh, I see. You're afraid I won't get enough to eat, is that it?!
Moria's shadow twisted into a heart shape on the floor. "Hihihihi... Young love is so nice~"
Perona floated in mid-air, hugging her Kumashi plushie. "Lord Moria! Let's go collect some cloud shellfish with Olga!"
"Yo-hohoho~" Laboon slapped the floor with his fin in agreement.
Olga's eyes sparkled. "I can make cloud shellfish necklaces for everyone!"
The doctor pushed up his glasses. "This happens to give me a chance to test the newly improved video shellfish..."
As the launch boat was about to depart, Lena ran up to Rhett, carrying a huge stack of navigational supplies, completely out of breath.