Law could resort to stowing away to reach the Dark Continent, but Ging could not. So if Ging wanted to go to the Dark Continent through legitimate means, he had to board the B.W. giant ship prepared by the Kakin Empire, capable of carrying two hundred thousand people.
Because this was the official route.
From the intelligence Law had gathered, the Kakin Empire had officially become a member of the V6. At the same time, Kakin agreed to the conditions set by the V5, changing the B.W.'s destination to a massive landmass in the Far Ocean Boundary.
The so-called Far Ocean Boundary is the demarcation between the world map's seas and the Dark Waters. There were many uninhabited landmasses there, and the V6's approach was to define these landmasses as the Dark Continent.
It gave a strong sense of manipulating the masses, holding them in the palm of one's hand.
As long as the V6 didn't reveal the truth, when the B.W. landed on some continent in the Far Ocean Boundary, in the eyes of the public, that would be the so-called Dark Continent.
The reason Kakin agreed to these terms was likely that the Kakin King had never intended to explore the Dark Continent from the start.
What he wanted was only the fame of a pioneer who would be remembered in history.
That being said, under the premise that Kakin accepted these conditions, when the B.W. landed on the imaginary continent, Beyond would depart from there, heading directly for the Dark Continent.
As for the Hunter Association, Law already knew the outcome of that commission. With the Association's unilaterally passive approach, they earned the V5's disappointment.
Regarding these matters, Law at most kept himself informed but wouldn't interfere or intervene.
He kept thinking: if he rendezvoused with Ging on the imaginary continent and then directly took Ging to the Dark Continent, in name, that wouldn't violate the agreement at all, would it?
Because the B.W.'s set destination was the Dark Continent. Since the V6 defined the imaginary continent as the Dark Continent, then the real Dark Continent was still the Dark Continent. The two didn't conflict.
Nevertheless, Law and Ging still hadn't decided on the rendezvous point.
Should it be on the imaginary continent, or somewhere farther away?
In any case, it was impossible for Law to board the B.W., but Ging had to go.
Initially, Law thought that ship carrying two hundred thousand people might become another Titanic. Now it seemed it would likely arrive safely at the imaginary continent.
Anyway, he didn't have to worry about how to get to the Dark Continent, nor about whether he could pick up Ging.
Because he brought back a turtle from the Dark Continent.
That turtle had lived for a very long time.
It could hold its breath underwater for extended periods and also fly in the sky.
It was a very reliable turtle, capable of carrying Law back and forth between the Dark Continent and the Six Continents.
If there were drawbacks, there were probably two.
First, compared to transportation like airplanes, it swam slowly and flew slowly.
Second, it only provided Law with one round-trip 'ticket'.
The first drawback wasn't a big deal, but the second was something Law had never been able to rectify.
If possible, he truly wished the 'ticket' he got from the turtle was unlimited. Unfortunately, there was no 'if'.
According to the turtle's own words: 'I am stubborn. What I say, I mean.'
In other words, the turtle could only take Law and his companions to the Dark Continent. After that, no matter what happened, the turtle would not take them away from the Dark Continent or back to the Six Continents.
'One more month.'
On this evening, Law woke up under Cookie's massage.
Biscuit was sitting on the sofa in the room. Seeing Law wake up, she recalled Cookie and closed the magazine she was reading.
From the moment Law came to her, she knew he had entered that state where his Aura Nodes were forcibly closed again.
She remembered the last time was in the Chariots' territory… it left a deep impression.
'This time, who knows how much Law can improve,' She thought while tossing a nearby bath towel towards him, "Take a shower first. Ging is waiting for you. Also, if you don't give Machi a reasonable explanation soon, Cookie might be forced to become a third party."
Law caught the towel and gave Biscuit a wry smile, thinking her comment was rather exaggerated.
"I know you don't want to take Machi to the Dark Continent, but some things need to be clarified sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it gets more tangled," Biscuit said as she headed towards the door, waving a hand behind her back.
The first part was a joke, but the latter was her sincere advice.
Law didn't say anything, quietly watching Biscuit leave before going into the bathroom to shower.
A while later, he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He saw Ging already sitting on the sofa, similar to Biscuit, reading a book while waiting.
The book Ging was reading was L. Hunter, the one Law had published.
'How many days had it been? Who knows how many times Ging had read it? He was still reading it now? Or was he studying it?'
Seeing Law emerge from the bathroom, Ging put the book down and said, "I got the qualification."
"Is that so? Then I'll see you off when you board the ship on the day of the Departure Ceremony," Law said, drying his hair. When it was mostly dry, he casually tossed the towel aside and went to the fridge for a cold drink.
"So how are you going to pick me up then?" Ging asked.
"We'll come pick you up by turtle," Law replied.
"I'll take your word for it for now."
Ging nodded slightly, then said, "There's a piece of intelligence you might not know about yet?"
"What intelligence?"
"The princes of the Kakin Empire are recruiting capable individuals."
"And?"
"What motive do you think the princes have for choosing to recruit talents at this particular time?"
Law thought for a moment. "Regicide to ascend the throne?"
Ging was taken aback, then smiled wryly. "Not that extreme. I believe King Nasubi intends to decide the heir during the voyage."
"What does that have to do with us?"
"The implications could be significant or minor. Don't forget, there's a Departure Ceremony, and there will be a Landing Ceremony. That time might be a very sensitive critical period. So when you come to pick me up, it's best to keep a low profile."
Honestly, Law didn't really care about those things, but since Ging mentioned it, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Beep. Beep.
The sound of a phone notification echoed in the room.
Law glanced at his phone on the bedside table, walked over, picked it up, looked at the message content, frowned slightly, then placed the phone back on the table.
Ging saw Law's slight frown and asked curiously, "Who sent you the message?"
He was being relatively polite, only asking about the sender, not the content.
"My apprentice," Law replied.
"Oh, that promising young man named Kurapika," Ging realized.
"Yes, him."
As he spoke, Law walked to the window, looking at the night view below.
How should he... resolve some troublesome matters?
Ging watched Law standing by the window, suppressing his curiosity and not pressing further.
…
One month later, the Eve Festival of the Departure Ceremony arrived.
Literally meaning, it was the day before the Departure Ceremony, considered part of the ritual.
On this day, the entire Kakin Empire celebrated together.
Since King Nasubi ascended the throne, only on this day was his prestige at its absolute peak.
The sound of helicopter rotors constantly hovered in the air, yet even that couldn't drown out the host's impassioned, powerful voice.
Countless people gathered in the square before the stage. On the giant screen behind the stage, footage of the port was being broadcast.
There, docked, was a massive black ship, shaped externally like a whale… the B.W., prepared by the Kakin Empire for this voyage.
If one had to compare the B.W. to something, it would be Laboon from One Piece.
But in reality, the B.W. was even larger than Laboon.
After all, it was a ship capable of carrying two hundred thousand people.