Enel sat on the deck with his arms crossed, casting an arrogant, sideways glance at the Marines who were staring at him with strange expressions. He promptly closed his eyes.
These Blue Sea dwellers who have never seen a God...
With his eyes shut, Enel listened as Rowan spoke into a Den Den Mushi nearby.
"You brats! Once you've settled things, get your butts back here immediately! Do you hear me?!" Rowan bellowed into the receiver.
The Den Den Mushi had taken on the appearance of a small snail wearing a straw hat. The crew instantly knew who was on the other end.
"Great-Grandpa! We're still having a banquet! Although there are only three of us, ahahaha! I met an interesting person! Oh, wait, no, an interesting skeleton! He talks, he sings..."
It was Luffy's voice.
"You idiot! You don't even know what that thing is!" Zoro's irritated voice cut in.
Rowan let out a soft chuckle. "An interesting skeleton, eh..."
Rowan naturally knew exactly what kind of "thing" Luffy was talking about. Judging by Zoro's tone, they had likely just crossed paths. That fellow... he was a swordsman too, wasn't he?
"Luffy, Zoro." Rowan's voice dropped into a serious register, and the arguing on the other end ceased instantly. "That skeleton—bring him back to me!"
"Huh?! Master... but—!" "Got it!" Click. Beep... beep...
Rowan tucked away the Den Den Mushi, knowing Luffy had been the one to hang up.
"You moron, do you even know what that is? And why does Master want us to bring back a suspicious-looking skeleton?"
Zoro sat to the side, clutching his swords, looking thoroughly perplexed.
"Zoro-san..." A finger consisting of nothing but white bone poked Zoro's shoulder. "I've already introduced myself. My name is Brook! I'm a musician. Thank you."
"Hey! Brook, don't mind that guy! Great-Grandpa said I should bring you back!" Luffy said excitedly.
Brook adjusted the top hat on his skull and spoke solemnly. "Luffy-san, might I ask who your Great-Grandpa is? The voice I just heard over the snail... it sounded a bit familiar! Although, I don't have ears to hear with! Yohohoho!"
Brook's skeletal jaw unhinged as he let out his peculiar laugh.
"He's Marine Vice Admiral Rowan."
"What?! Marine Vice Admiral?! Mr. Rowan?!"
Brook began running laps around the deck in a frenzy. "It's actually Mr. Rowan! Although I am a pirate, I heard of Mr. Rowan's great name as the Marine Godfather a long, long time ago... If I remember correctly... Mr. Rowan should be over a hundred years old by now! Heavens, shouldn't he have retired ages ago? An old bag of bones still serving as a Marine?! Does Mr. Rowan want to see me? My heart is thumping with excitement! Although, I don't have a heart to go thump-thump! Yohohoho!"
Brook continued to run and mutter to himself, revealing himself to be quite the chatterbox.
"Hahaha! You really are hilarious!" Luffy laughed, clutching his stomach.
Zoro stood up. "If it's Master's orders, I have to follow them. But we've already lost Rear Admiral Kameji's ship. The most important thing right now is figuring out how to get back!"
Squinting against the blazing sun, Zoro walked to the prow and scanned the horizon. Luffy jumped up beside him and did the same. Brook joined them, looking out at the vast sea and the burning sun with a sense of deep nostalgia.
"I think it's that way!" "That way!"
Luffy and Zoro spoke at the same time, but they were pointing in diametrically opposite directions.
"Yohohoho!" Brook watched them and burst into laughter. "Zoro-san, Luffy-san, you two are truly wonderful. I haven't been this happy in years!"
Luffy and Zoro ignored him and began shouting at each other, both insisting their direction was the correct path back to Marine Headquarters.
"Separated..."
After Rowan put away the Den Den Mushi, he received a call from Kameji. It turned out that after the fleet had dealt with Gekko Moria, they had lost track of Zoro and Luffy's small scout vessel.
Kameji hadn't encountered Brook, so the duo must have met the skeleton after getting lost.
"Those two brats really are a handful. Kameji, if you can't find them, return to Headquarters and report first. I'm near the Florian Triangle; I'll look for them personally."
Kameji felt a wave of trepidation. Being separated at sea usually meant drifting further and further apart. He felt deeply ashamed that the Vice Admiral had to handle his "mess."
"Rear Admiral, should we...?" "Turn the ship around. Back to Headquarters!" "Yes, sir!"
As Kameji's ship departed, Rowan steered his own vessel into the heart of the former Florian Triangle. The fog had lifted, leaving a clear, sunny sky. Rowan sat on the deck and closed his eyes.
"Observation Haki..."
At his current level, Rowan's Haki could perceive familiar auras across dozens of kilometers. He searched the area thoroughly, but found no trace of Zoro or Luffy. They were no longer in the vicinity.
Even in the first half of the Grand Line, sailing without a navigator—or worse, with people who couldn't read a compass—meant being utterly at the mercy of the currents.
"Two real headaches, those two," Rowan muttered, staring at the endless horizon.
"Old man, where exactly are you taking me? These Blue Sea people are so ignorant." Enel sat nearby, looking annoyed at the Marines who had been pestering him with questions about the Sky Island.
Rowan turned to him. "I need to find two bratty disciples first. Once I've found them, I'll explain everything."
"Hmph." Enel gave a disdainful snort and closed his eyes again.
Rowan continued to push his powerful Haki outward, searching for any ripple in the sea, but it was to no avail. It seemed Zoro and Luffy—those two "directionally challenged" idiots—had drifted far beyond his current range.