About half an hour after descending Reverse Mountain, an island came into view before Shirakawa and his crew.
"If the map markings are accurate, the town ahead is the closest settlement to the Grand Line in the North Blue. It's called Laye Town," Riddle said, holding a map and looking toward the island.
Hearing Riddle's vague answer, Shirakawa figured he really needed to find a navigator. Otherwise, Riddle might lead them astray one of these days.
"It's so lively up ahead." As they drew nearer, Shirakawa and the others got a clearer look at the situation around the island.
"This might be the most ships I've seen since the Edd War."
He was right. The island was surrounded by vessels, pirate ships, merchant ships, and ships belonging to all sorts of organizations and factions.
"Captain, you were at the Edd War?" Riddle asked in surprise. Among pirates these days, almost everyone knew about the Edd War.
The newspapers had never described the Edd War in detail. They only wrote that it was the fiercest battle in pirate history, with hundreds of pirate ships involved, and that the sky itself had been shattered in the fighting.
"Of course. Back then I was an apprentice aboard the Roger Pirates and happened to witness the Edd War from start to finish."
"So were the newspaper reports about that battle true? Were there really over a hundred pirate ships?"
At Riddle's question, the others all perked up their ears, deeply interested. They had seen those reports too.
"The reports were about seventy or eighty percent true. Saying the sky shattered is a bit of an exaggeration, but there really were over a hundred pirate ships. After all, the Golden Lion held the title of Admiral of the Pirate Fleet."
"When are we going to be able to take part in a battle of that scale?" Riddle said enviously.
"That's still a long way off for you guys. Even I could barely get involved in that battle. Most of the time, I felt like a mere spectator."
"What? Even you couldn't get involved, Captain?" Riddle was stunned, Jorah was stunned, and the other two were just as shocked.
Seeing their expressions, Shirakawa realized they had misunderstood something.
"Uh, back then I was just a swordsman who had barely stepped into the level of Sword Master. My strength wasn't anywhere near what it is now, so naturally I wasn't qualified to take part in that fight."
"Oh, so that's how it was. You scared us!" Hearing Shirakawa's explanation, Jorah and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Jorah especially, having witnessed Shirakawa's full power, understood that if even the captain's current level of strength couldn't earn him a place in that battle, then the Edd War must have been unbelievably terrifying.
"Then Captain, tell us about that battle. Let us get a glimpse of the world of the strong."
"Forget it. You can explore that world for yourselves, slowly. I'm afraid if I tell you, I'll crush your confidence, especially yours, Jorah."
"Me? What do you mean?" Jorah asked, confused at being singled out.
"I recall you have a senior brother. Mihawk, right?"
"Yeah, what about him?" Could this have something to do with his senior brother? Jorah still didn't understand.
"I've never seen what your senior brother looks like, but I heard your master describe him. He has eyes like a hawk and supposedly was born to wield a sword. Do you think you can surpass him?"
"Of course I can. My senior brother is incredibly talented, but I work hard too. I'm still a little behind now, but I'll definitely surpass him someday."
"Hard work?" Shirakawa let out a scoff.
Jorah was exactly like his own past self, often filled with a brief flash of passion that quickly burned out and left him slipping back into laziness.
"Right now, besides me, you're probably the laziest person on this ship. I'm strong, so I've earned the right to be lazy. Do you have that right?"
Hearing that, Jorah thought it over carefully. It really did seem that way.
When he trained under his master, his master had disciplined and supervised him. If he slacked off, he'd face even harsher training.
But after leaving his master, he felt as if he'd stepped into a world of freedom with no one left to discipline him.
"I brought you aboard this ship because I wanted a reliable partner, not someone who only knows how to laze around and settle for the status quo."
Shirakawa hadn't meant to say all this, but somehow the words slipped out before he could stop them.
"I know a person's nature is hard to change, but I still hope you can try your best. Change at least a little."
"Don't worry, Captain. I'll definitely train harder from now on."
Just then, the Silver Pirates' ship reached the shore. Shirakawa had nothing more to say. Having just scolded a crewmate, they both needed some time to cool off.
Shirakawa was the first to disembark.
"I've never seen the Captain so stern before," Riddle said, a little spooked as he watched Shirakawa's back.
"It's all because of you." At the sound of Riddle's voice, Salar walked over and spoke to him before heading off the ship.
"How is it because of me?" Riddle was baffled.
"If you hadn't brought up the Edd War, this probably wouldn't have happened."
That was Eurystine's explanation to Salar.
"Hey, I wasn't the one who brought it up. The Captain did."
Riddle was sure his memory wasn't wrong. The Captain's exact words had been, "This might be the most ships I've seen since the Edd War."
"The Captain did say that, true. But you shouldn't have followed up on it. You're the one who insisted on hearing the details."
"Hey, you ungrateful bastards! When I brought it up, you were all super interested too. Now you're shoving all the blame onto me. I think you two deserve Zoan-type Devil Fruits more than I do."
Riddle shouted at the two departing figures. Only then did he realize there was still one more person on the ship.
He turned his head and found Jorah looking at him with a calm expression.
"Jorah, I didn't mean it. I didn't expect the Captain to react like that." With only the two of them left on the ship, no one was around to stop Jorah from hitting him, so Riddle wisely backed down.
"It's fine. I understand the Captain. Maybe I really have been slacking off."
He was the very first person Shirakawa had recruited into the Silver Pirates. They had even discussed the crew's name and the jolly roger together. But after all this time aboard, his strength hadn't noticeably improved. Maybe the Captain really was disappointed in him.
After getting off the ship, Shirakawa felt some regret. He wondered if he had been too harsh. But if Jorah kept going like this, these words would have to be said sooner or later anyway.
And just as Jorah realized, he was Shirakawa's very first crewmate. The emotional bond and the expectations Shirakawa held for him were greater than for the others.
"Forget it. I'll apologize to him another time. For now, let's just explore this place properly." Shirakawa tried to distract himself by taking in the surrounding sights.
/-\
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