The Machamp carried two crates on their shoulders, while their lower arms held two more large boxes, continuously transporting supplies onto Kuja.
Not far from where Amazon Lily had landed, there was also a much smaller island, lush with greenery, where several clear springs continuously flowed into the sea.
That was a place where freshwater gathered. After another tremor, Amazon Lily finally stabilized, and the people on the island began to notice some unusual sights.
"Granny Gloriosa! There's water in the river again, it's fresh water!"
The original stream had gradually dried up during the long process of transportation, but now new water was flowing through it again.
The island's water supply was not like a faucet where water could be sent out from a water plant just by turning a valve.
Gloriosa reached out and touched the newly flowing water. It felt icy cold, as if it had just surged up from underground.
"Strange… where is the water in this spring coming from?"
"Of course it's coming from the deep sea. The envoy our Lord sent earlier discovered a deep water vein here. Right after the island landed, they've been busy down below. It seems they've finally broken through now."
Misu was not with the female Machamp. Instead, she had come to the spring's source to check whether the water vein was flowing smoothly. This was also one of the tasks of her trip.
"Envoy?"
"Yes, the Lord's envoy. It should be coming out soon."
As soon as Misu finished speaking, the riverbed below began to tremble. Before long, a creature whose entire body shimmered with a crystalline luster drilled its way out.
Its crystal body sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight. Remaining droplets of water slowly dripped down, forming a rainbow nearby.
Crystal Onix—a variant of Onix. Because of its different living environment, crystal had replaced the rock that normally formed its body.
The change in its body structure also changed its weaknesses. Ordinary Onix feared water, but Crystal Onix did not. It even lived in water.
Conversely, flames that ordinary Onix did not fear had become a weakness for Crystal Onix. One gain inevitably meant one loss.
Because of its unique traits, Crystal Onix could move along the seabed, and even the rocks it created through its moves were made of crystal.
Just now it had drilled through the seabed rock layers underground, channeling the freshwater stored below into Kuja. Crystal walls formed the pipeline, and under pressure, the seawater below quickly filled into Kuja.
Although they were on the ocean, the presence of freshwater was not strange. After all, humans only lived on the surface of a planet, and beneath the ground existed countless unknown things far beyond human understanding.
If there were suitable fissures, special freshwater zones could also appear within the sea. Beneath such areas there would always be a powerful "fountain."
It could continuously spout a strong flow of freshwater. Once the gushing freshwater pushed aside the seawater and occupied a certain space, it formed a freshwater region completely different from the surrounding seawater.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, some seabeds had once been land. Numerous rivers and scattered lakes on that land created favorable conditions for underground aquifers to form, so some seabeds still stored freshwater resources.
During earlier exploration, they had happened to discover such an area, which made the arrangement here possible.
"Wow, what a beautiful snake!"
After drilling through the waterway, Crystal Onix did not burrow back underground. Instead, it came directly onto Kuja's surface, immediately attracting the attention of the nearby Kuja warriors.
Amazon Lily had a unique snake culture. The people who lived here already kept snakes as companions, and they also admired strength. Crystal Onix instantly stood out, both in strength and appearance.
A Kuja warrior curiously stretched out her arm toward Crystal Onix, but Gloriosa slapped it aside before she could touch it.
"Someone's watching. Don't be so frivolous."
Behind a beautiful appearance there might be deadly danger. Snakes with richer colors could have stronger venom. According to Misu, something capable of digging a waterway from the seabed to Kuja could hardly be harmless.
"It's alright, it's alright. This child likes you very much. It's quite a beauty-loving girl."
Misu reached out and patted the horn on Crystal Onix's head, while signaling to the Kuja that it posed no threat. At least, it wouldn't attack humans who treated it kindly.
"Ah, right. My name is Misu. Thanks to the Lord's care, I currently serve as a nun. If there's anything here that you don't understand, I can answer it for you. That's also part of my mission."
After explaining the existence of Crystal Onix, Misu revealed her signature smile and then looked toward Gloriosa.
Logically speaking, Hancock should have been the one in charge of this island. But seeing the way Hancock acted beside Olga, Misu understood that there was no need to consult her about anything.
If there were any requests, simply asking Olga to relay them would most likely make things much easier.
Instead, Gloriosa—the elder who seemed responsible for managing the island's various affairs—was the one who deserved special attention.
Listening to Misu's words, Gloriosa actually felt a sense of relief. She had once been the captain of the Kuja Pirates, and precisely because of that, she was unwilling to deal too much with pirates.
Because she herself had been a pirate and had seen countless pirates, she knew very well what that group was truly like.
You couldn't condemn them all with a single judgment, but finding a crew that bore the name of pirates yet behaved more like an adventuring group was not easy.
The Arceus Cult seemed to be part of the Beasts Pirates, yet they had their own unique side. Gloriosa found herself far more willing to deal with people like them.
Machamp were still transporting supplies. Gloriosa listened with great interest as Misu explained the situation here, while Hancock circled around Olga, completely lovestruck.
Boom! Boom!
At that moment, a tremor came from the distance. Two enormous Legendary giants appeared above the sea, and in the sky, a thick, long trunk parted the clouds as two hollow-looking giant eyes emerged.
However, that was only the surface appearance. Because the eye sockets were so deep, it was impossible to see the details from afar. Inside those deep sockets were actually a pair of beautiful gemstone-like pupils.
"S-so big! Can an elephant really grow that large?!"
"With that size… even Amazon Lily wouldn't be able to withstand its destruction…"
Among creatures in the sea, only Zunesha currently possessed such a size. Even Regigigas in its normal state seemed tiny in comparison.
Not to mention its normal state, even the size it had used earlier while transporting the New Fish-Man Island was insignificant before Zunesha.
Regigigas could become even larger, but it felt there was no need. That size earlier had already been more than enough for it.
Judging by size and strength, Zunesha could easily transport islands, but brute force alone wasn't enough for such a task. It required technique.
Destroying an island was easy for Zunesha, but taking one away with it was a completely different matter.
"Are all monsters in the New World like this…?"
"Isn't this place too dangerous…?"
Zunesha's size gave them an overwhelming sense of pressure. Even though the Kuja had lived in the New World for generations, they had never seen such a gigantic monster.
Before they could even figure out what was happening, Zunesha's trunk had already rested on the shore, and Setsuna's figure slid down from it.
"Sorry for the trouble. I've come to take these two little brats home. Thank you for taking care of them during this time."
"Duchess-sama."
"Duchess-sama, you've arrived."
Setsuna had come to Kuja together with Zou Island. The location where the island had been placed was already along Zunesha's route. In a sense, Zou Island was also part of the first island chain, except Zou Island could move, and the places it appeared were often much more unusual.
Setsuna picked up her children along the way, and Mandrell and Maylo also left Kuja with her, following Setsuna onto Zou Island's back.
Because of scheduling issues, Uta had also just said goodbye to them and taken the Dragonite Express back to Gran Tesoro. Meanwhile, Misu was still explaining the situation here to Gloriosa.
For a moment, the only people left idle on the island were Kaido and Shanks.
"Red Hair, this place is my territory now. So I'll ask you one last time, have you really made up your mind?"
"Of course. Didn't I tell you on the way here? So what about you, have you thought about it? Want to form an alliance with me?"
"Worororo. The pirate crews under your protection are so weak they're hardly worth looking at, but I acknowledge your strength. Your subordinates are a pretty good bunch too."
"But you should understand my objective. Our ideals are very different."
"Of course I know. But after you start the largest war, what will you do next?"
"Haven't thought about it. I'll deal with the guys in front of me first, then worry about the rest."
Kaido didn't even think before giving his answer.
"As expected, you really don't care about the affairs of your pirate crew at all. You just do whatever you want, don't you?"
"You don't seem particularly qualified to say that about me."
For a moment, the figures of Beckman, Lucky Roux and the others flashed through Shanks' mind. He suddenly realized he didn't really have a reason to refute Kaido's words.
When it came to acting on their own whims, none of the Emperors of the Sea were any better than the others. As long as someone handled the internal affairs, each of them would roam around doing whatever they pleased.
"Looks like I guessed right. I'm more curious about what made you decide to form an alliance with me."
"It's simple. I understand those people in the World Government better than you do.
The Revolutionary Army is active, and the pirates are stirring up chaos. Even if you don't want to fight, the World Government will act whenever they think the timing is right. No one can stay out of this turmoil. This sea doesn't need that kind of neutral party."
"Worororo. Then I suppose I should feel honored that someone like you is betting on me."
Buru buru buru—
"Hold on, let me take this call first."
Before Kaido could finish speaking, the Den Den Mushi on him began to ring. As he lifted the receiver, a familiar voice came from it.
"Mama~, Kaido! I hear you've found something quite extraordinary!"
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