One Piece: The Arm of Fate

"Farewell, Brother Shano! You guys too!"

"Take care out there!"

The booming voices of Dorry and Brogy echoed across the sea as the two giants waved goodbye from the shore, their massive figures casting long shadows under the setting sun.

"Goodbye, Giant Uncles!!!"

The crew crowded along the ship's rail, shouting at the top of their lungs.

Nami and Nojiko were teary-eyed, and even Kuina's eyes were slightly red.

Although they hadn't known the two giants for long, everyone had grown fond of the simple, honest, and straightforward pair during their days together.

Soon enough…

The island's silhouette blurred in the twilight.

The figures of Dorry and Brogy also shrank into two tiny black dots in the distance, yet they still tirelessly waved their arms.

"Huh?"

Zeff's puzzled voice came from nearby. "Strange, we've sailed out this far, but there's still no sign of that Island-Eater Goldfish?"

Only then did Shano pull his gaze back and look toward the sea ahead, raising an eyebrow.

Yeah, where's the fish?

That enormous goldfish?

He had been planning to try out his newly learned "Elbaf Spear" on the legendary beast and test the results of his training.

But right now, the sea ahead was eerily calm.

When Luffy left Little Garden, he was immediately targeted by the goldfish—but the Curtain Call was way bigger than the Merry.

So this fish really knows how to pick its battles?

How very tactful.

Shano shook his head in mild disappointment, then turned to his system panel, where two new info logs popped up:

[You sacrificed a strand of Blue Ogre Dorry's beard and gained 2000 points.]

[You sacrificed the belt buckle of Red Ogre Brogy and gained 2000 points.]

Both were items that had dropped during training in recent days—Shano had simply picked them up and tossed them into the offering.

They were literally picked off the ground this time.

A total of 4000 points—quite the haul, bringing his total back up to 41,000.

Of course, if he had sacrificed the century-old weapons of the two, the rewards would've been even higher.

But that'd be pretty low—after all, the ogres had helped him a great deal and were genuinely good-hearted folks. Shano couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Big bro, where are we going next?" Nami asked.

Nuomizi was curled up comfortably in her arms, snoozing away. The little furball seemed to like the citrusy scent on her, and had been clinging to her a lot lately.

On Nami's slender, fair wrist were two watch-like pointers.

One was a permanent Log Pose to Alabasta.

Shano had looted that from Crocodile's corpse on Whisky Peak.

The other was a regular Log Pose.

But it wasn't the one Nami had originally been using.

During their time on Little Garden, while Shano was busy with giant training, the others had explored the island inside and out.

They saw all kinds of rare, ancient creatures—an eye-opening experience.

In one of the winding river paths, they even discovered some old shipwreck remains, likely from who-knows-how-many years ago.

The corpses had long since rotted into skeletons, and there wasn't much valuable treasure left—but they did find a few undamaged Log Poses.

Fully charged.

Nami was thrilled, and immediately swapped her old Log Pose for one of the new ones.

The original one had been taking forever to gather magnetic charge on Little Garden—who knew how long it'd take to be usable?

But with this new Log Pose, Curtain Call now had two options: head directly to Alabasta, or follow the standard route to the next island in the Grand Line.

"A fork in the road, huh?"

Shano rubbed his chin in thought.

The rest of the crew fell silent, awaiting his decision.

Choosing a sailing route was the captain's right. The crew had no say in it—everyone on this sea knew and respected that.

"Let's go to the next island."

Shano smiled and made his decision quickly.

Unknown adventures were always more alluring. And with a permanent pointer, they could visit Alabasta anytime.

But the next island after Little Garden—if they didn't go now, the Log Pose would reset upon arrival in Alabasta, and the chance would be gone for good.

…

Three days later.

A strangely shaped island appeared on the distant horizon.

Everyone gathered at the bow, curiously checking it out.

As they got closer, a large stone marker at the dock came into view, bearing the inscription:

"Welcome to Thor Island."

"Thor Island… So this is the next stop, huh?"

Smoker seemed a bit surprised.

"You've been here before?" Kuina asked as she jumped down from the open-air dojo on the second deck, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"No."

Smoker, with his cigar in mouth, recalled, "But a few years ago, a friend of mine was assigned here on a mission. When he returned, he told me a lot about this island."

"This island is actually a twin-island setup. The northern island is a booming city, full of entertainment—there's even a huge amusement park. It's packed with tourists during the busy season."

He pointed into the distance. The crew followed his gaze and saw a giant Ferris wheel faintly in the far-off skyline.

"The southern island—where we're about to land—is a peaceful countryside, full of natural beauty."

"Come spring, the cherry blossoms are everywhere. It doesn't have much in terms of entertainment, but for those seeking tranquility, it's a great place to relax."

"The two islands are connected by a naturally formed stone bridge. So from above, the whole twin island looks pretty interesting."

He puffed his chest and pointed to his own chest, saying,

"If you look from the sky, it looks just like a 36F bra."

"…What kind of analogy is that?!"

"So crude!"

"You idiot smoker! Use a different comparison!"

The three girls angrily hurled their drink cups at him.

"Ah! Sorry!"

Smoker scrambled to dodge, face turning bright red. "It's just… Tina—that friend I mentioned earlier—she was the one who said that back then. I just… copied her words without thinking…"

"You even copied the gesture, moron!" Kuina roared with fangs bared. "That kind of phrasing… Hey, I bet this Tina girl likes you, huh? Totally does, right?!"

"She does?"

Smoker looked puzzled.

No way, right? All he remembered from boot camp days was how Tina would pick on him for no reason.

Who treats someone they like like that?

Shano sighed and gave his shoulder a pat.

Sigh… A thirty-year-old emotionally clueless block of steel…

"Alright, let's land on this southern island."

As the harbor neared, the pink-and-white cherry blossom petals drifting on the breeze reminded Shano of his first journey to sea—his adventure on Shallow Sakura Island.