Chapter 7: The Kingdom of Sorbet

"This road was opened by me, these trees were planted by me..."

Renji had chosen a medium-sized ship and was trying to persuade the people inside to willingly hand over control of the pirate ship.

He had been shouting for a while now, but there was no response from the ship.

"Since you're not saying anything, I'll take it as your agreement!"

Holding the baby, Renji was as happy as a 160-pound child. Finally, he had found a good ship.

Once inside the pirate ship, Renji was at a loss. How exactly did one sail a ship?

He had only ever ridden a bicycle in his life...

Renji slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering the movies he had watched. "That's right, hoist the sails and set sail..."

No sooner said than done, he walked straight to the mast.

Looking at the sail in front of him, well, he had no idea how to handle this thing either.

"..."

Outside the pirate ship.

Three people stood in front of the ship.

"Are you sure it's here?"

Ginny opened her palm, and the Vivre Card was still inching forward.

It seemed this was the place.

The three of them fell into deep thought.

They exchanged glances. "It seems he was captured by pirates..."

Ivankov: "What should we do?"

Kuma couldn't wait any longer. "Let's just charge in. If we're fast enough, the people inside won't have time to react..."

Ginny shook her head in denial and retracted her look of disbelief. "I think it's better to be cautious."

Having given up on sailing the ship himself, Renji leaned against the railing, pondering whether to kindly invite a pirate friend. He saw the three of them brainstorming outside.

"Yo! Long time no see, you three."

The sudden voice startled the three outside, and they glared at him in anger.

"You weren't captured? Or did you join the pirates?"

First, they were surprised, then a hint of doubt crept into their minds.

Renji was puzzled. When had he joined the pirates? He didn't even know about it...

Remembering he was still on the pirate ship, he suddenly understood and patted the railing.

"I borrowed this thing."

You could borrow something like this? Pirates relied on their ships for survival. Why would they lend it to someone else?

Renji looked completely serious. "I 'asked' them three times, and they didn't respond, so I took it as their agreement. Anyway, it was just sitting here."

"That... kind of makes sense..." Kuma looked confused.

Ginny and Ivankov exchanged glances, both sweating a little. They hadn't noticed before how good Renji was at telling dry jokes.

"Haha, just kidding. Did you finish what you needed to do?"

Having been tense for so long, Renji felt relaxed now that he had friends to chat with.

"We saved everyone we could, but..."

Renji, holding the baby, walked down the ship. "No 'buts.' We did our best. Even if the result isn't perfect, it's the best we could do."

He noticed the three of them pointing at him, their eyes wide with shock. He was a bit confused.

He touched his face, which was still covered in dust, but that's how he had looked when he first met them.

To survive in this unfamiliar place, the first step was to hide his overly attractive face.

"You already have a child?!!"

Clearly, all three of them were thinking the same thing.

Renji stroked the baby's cheek. The feeling was amazing; he couldn't stop.

"This little one crawled out of a treasure chest."

Then, he told them everything that had happened after he encountered Charlotte Linlin.

With so many people on the island, who knew if someone lucky had witnessed those events? Besides, the island was under surveillance by Den Den Mushi.

"This little one is so cute!" Ginny reached out to play with the baby, utterly charmed and wishing she could snatch it and hold it herself.

"..."

"Let's not talk about that. Are you planning to leave here?" Renji asked.

Ivankov nodded. "Now that we've found you, we can go. We've done everything we could."

"Where are you going?" Ivankov looked at Renji. The three of them had already decided to act together, but now it was up to Renji.

"I'll go with you."

Renji didn't hesitate. In this world, he was alone, so it didn't matter where he went.

"In that case, let's stand together and hold hands," Ginny suggested.

Kuma's Devil Fruit ability allowed him to repel anything, and he could also use it for long-distance teleportation. Holding hands would allow them to teleport together.

"Get ready. Our journey is about to begin."

Kuma grabbed Ginny's hand with his left hand, then looked at the paw pad on his palm and slapped himself. The four of them instantly disappeared.

As they flew through the sky, Renji suddenly heard a voice.

[Ding!]

[Task completed]

[Rewards have been issued. Please continue to work hard]

[...]

...

West Blue.

The Kingdom of Sorbet.

Sorbet was originally the name of a type of ice cream.

The roofs of the buildings in this kingdom were shaped like ice cream cones.

The people here loved ice cream, which was Renji's first impression upon arriving. But after seeing it so much, it became ordinary.

The Kingdom of Sorbet was a member of the World Government, meaning it was almost never troubled by pirates. The people's lives were relatively stable.

Now, they had been living on the island for almost a week.

"The wind is still quite noisy today."

Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Renji had a look of realization.

Ivankov glanced over. "It seems they don't plan to reveal anything other than the 'Marine Hero Garp.'"

"That's just how things are. The world is what those people want it to be," Ginny said, as if she had expected this.

"But it's still a pity. I really wanted to know what happened after we left."

Kuma was still praying solemnly.

"What are you thinking about, Kuma?" Ivankov asked, puzzled.

Kuma clasped his hands together. "I'm wondering if there are still many people waiting to be saved."

"Don't talk nonsense. You saved countless people in that chaos," Ivankov said with a smile.

"That's right," Ginny chimed in. "Kuma, you're amazing. Everyone was crying and thanking you. (Including me.)"

"Your home was a church. With your will to 'save others,' you can definitely save more people," Ivankov encouraged.

Renji patted Kuma's shoulder. "We all believe in you because you're kinder than all of us."

Then his tone shifted. "I hope you remember that kindness is for friends. If you treat everyone the same, it could lead to bad outcomes."

"Kindness to enemies is cruelty to your own people. What you give to others can become a blade that hurts your comrades."

Ivankov was excited and immediately took out a small notebook, jotting down these words.

The notebook was already filled with dense writing and was almost full.

Renji was speechless. This guy was at it again. These were just normal words, but that big face was so excited.

"Today's the day you set sail, right?" Renji sighed. He didn't like farewells, but many things were unavoidable.

Although he wasn't a fan of Ivankov's fashion sense, having such a friend was still very enjoyable.

"That's right. Be happy for me, my friends. Take care, and I won't forget you."

Ivankov shouldered his backpack, ready to depart.

"Let's see you off..."