Korran opened his eyes, meeting Mihawk's gaze without flinching despite his weakness. "Because I don't want to be dead weight," he replied, his hoarse voice gaining strength. "On that island, I survived by doing the bare minimum. Here, with you… I want to earn my place. If I'm gonna die, might as well show what I'm worth." He gripped his dagger tighter, a spark of determination glinting in his dark eyes.
Perona blinked, thrown off by his answer, then groaned with exaggerated exasperation. "Heehee! Earn your place? You're just a nutcase who likes getting hurt!" she snapped, floating higher to hide a twinge of embarrassment. But she said nothing more, her ghosts settling around her.
Mihawk gave a slight nod, almost imperceptible. "Then keep proving it," he said simply, turning his attention back to the horizon.
Korran leaned against a plank to rest his battered body. Perona, after one last grumble, floated to the back, muttering insults under her breath while keeping a wary eye on the pirate. Her ghosts resumed their lazy dance, watching over the raft like spectral guards.
Hours passed, the night slowly giving way to a timid dawn. The first pink and orange hues appeared on the horizon, painting the ocean with warm reflections. Korran, now awake but silent, watched the sunrise with a pensive expression, his dagger resting on his knees. Mihawk adjusted the sail one final time, aligning the raft with the course set by the Eternal Log Pose in his pocket.
The dawn settled in gradually, its pink and orange glow blending with the deep purple of the fading night, casting shimmering reflections on the ocean.
Perona floated in a sulky posture, her umbrella folded on her knees, her ghosts swirling around her in a nonchalant ballet. She occasionally shot Korran venomous glares, her pursed lips betraying lingering irritation. The pirate, leaning against a plank in the center of the raft, gazed at the sunrise with a thoughtful look. His rusty dagger rested on his knees, his calloused hands placed over it. The bandage, reluctantly redone by Perona, was still bloodstained but seemed stable for now. His breathing, though still hoarse, had steadied, despite the exhaustion etched on his face.
Perona, unable to stay quiet for long, broke the stillness with an exaggerated sigh. "Heehee! Alright, he's awake, so I'm done playing nanny, right?" she said, her shrill voice laced with fake nonchalance. She floated higher, crossing her arms to fix Korran with a mix of suspicion and disdain. "But I'm warning you, if you start showing off again and get yourself half-eaten, I'm letting you die this time!"
Korran turned his head slightly toward her, a tired smile cracking his chapped lips. "Don't worry, princess," he replied, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of irony. "I'm not planning to do that again anytime soon." He tapped his dagger with his fingertips, an almost absentminded gesture, before looking back at the horizon, as if the topic didn't warrant further discussion.
Perona frowned, clearly annoyed by the nickname. "Heehee! Stop calling me that, you filthy creep!" she protested, snapping her umbrella open sharply to punctuate her anger. "You're lucky Mihawk didn't let you drown, because I wouldn't have done a thing for you!" Her ghosts spun faster around her, mimicking her indignation, but a slight flush on her cheeks betrayed an embarrassment she refused to admit.
Mihawk, as usual, ignored the exchange, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
A faint rumble in the distance suddenly caught Korran's attention. He looked up, squinting to scan the horizon, his hand instinctively tightening on his dagger. "We're getting close," he murmured, his voice low but alert. "The waves… they're changing." He sat up straighter, wincing from the pain in his leg, but his gaze stayed locked on a distant point.
Mihawk gave a slight nod, confirming his observation without a word. He adjusted the sail with heightened precision, his fingers sliding over the rope to steady the raft as the waves indeed grew more erratic, a sign that the Sabaody Archipelago wasn't far off. The Eternal Log Pose in his pocket hummed faintly.
Perona, intrigued despite herself, floated to the front to take a look. "Heehee! Finally!" she exclaimed, her tone swinging between excitement and annoyance. "I'm sick of this lousy raft and the smell of salt everywhere! I hope there's cute stuff at Sabaody, because I deserve a reward after all this!" She crossed her arms, her ghosts dancing around her as if endorsing her whim.
Korran smirked, amused by her comment. "Cute stuff?" he repeated, his hoarse voice tinged with mockery. "You hoping to find plushies among pirates and slavers? Good luck with that." He shook his head, resting his dagger on his knees with a tired sigh.
Perona shot him a glare. "Heehee! Shut up, you!" she retorted, floating closer to brandish her umbrella at him. "If I want plushies, I'll get them, and you've got no say in it!" Her Negative Hollows drifted toward Korran, hovering inches from his face like a comical threat, but he ignored them, too drained to respond.
He slowly turned his head toward Mihawk. "Tell me, Mihawk…" he began, his voice hoarse. "Now that you're no longer a Warlord, how do you plan to cross the Red Line? Last I checked, the only ways through are Mariejois or the deep sea via Fish-Man Island. And I'm guessing you're not planning to politely ask the Celestial Dragons for passage…"
Perona, who had been sorting through her ghosts like flipping through a magazine, froze at the question. Her eyes widened, the gravity of the issue hitting her. "Heehee! What?!" she cried, zooming toward Mihawk, her umbrella trembling with indignation. "Is that true?! Are we stuck here?! Mihawk, answer me right now! You've got a plan, right?! Heehee! Say you've got a plan!"
Mihawk, without taking his eyes off the horizon, let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh—a sound so rare that Perona and Korran exchanged stunned glances.
"You underestimate your captain," he said simply, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Perona spun around him, panicking. "Heehee! That's it?! 'Underestimate'?! What if the Marines attack us?! What if we have to dive without coating?! You know I hate water! And my dresses will—"
Korran cut her off with an irritated grunt, but his eyes stayed on Mihawk. "You've got something in mind."
Mihawk gave a barely perceptible nod. "The Red Line isn't an impenetrable fortress. Just another obstacle."
Suddenly, without warning, Mihawk yanked the sail sharply, turning the raft in an unexpected direction. The wood creaked under the strain, and the vessel veered off its original course toward Sabaody. Korran blinked, confused, while Perona shrieked, floating backward as if she'd seen a real ghost this time.
"Get ready, Korran," Mihawk said, his voice low. "You're in for a thrilling adventure before Sabaody." He adjusted the sail with cold precision, steadying the raft on its new path.
Korran frowned, lost. "What? An adventure?" he repeated, his hand tightening on his dagger. "We're not going to Sabaody? What's this about, Hawkeye?"
Perona, however, caught on instantly. Her eyes widened in horror, and she floated toward Mihawk with hysterical outrage. "Heehee! You're completely insane, Mihawk!" she screamed, her umbrella snapping open in a furious clap. "You're really going through the Calm Belt?! You want us to get eaten by Sea Kings or what?! You've lost your mind!" She crossed her arms, her cheeks puffed in a panicked pout.
Korran turned to her, even more confused. "The Calm Belt?" he asked, his hoarse voice betraying his ignorance. "What's that? Explain, princess, because I'm not following."
Perona groaned, floating closer to glare at him. "Heehee! You're such an ignorant idiot!" she snapped, pointing her umbrella at the horizon. "The Calm Belt is those dead zones around the Grand Line where there's not a breath of wind! Normal ships get stuck there, and it's crawling with Sea Kings! Even pirates avoid it, except lunatics like him!" She gestured dramatically at Mihawk, her ghosts mimicking her exasperation.
Korran blinked, processing the information, then, against all odds, a wild grin spread across his cracked lips. He stood slowly, leaning on his dagger to support his injured leg, and turned his gaze to Mihawk. "If that's the plan, I'm in, captain," he said, his hoarse voice thrumming with raw excitement.
Mihawk gave a slight nod. "The journey will take a bit longer. We're making a detour. But it'll be worth it."
Perona, still hovering, crossed her arms with an exaggerated groan. "Heehee! You're both crazy!" she muttered. "If we end up in a monster's stomach, I'll haunt you for eternity, I swear!" But despite her complaints, she didn't protest further, resigned to following this mad plan.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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