Chapter 471: Yamato

Chapter 471: Yamato



Compared to King's speed, Queen was practically a lumbering oaf. As such, it took him several moments to finally reach the beach that King had just returned from.

There was no struggle that he could see beneath the gentle waves that lapped against the rocks and sand, even with his cybernetically enhanced vision. Nor did he see any unmoving humanoid shapes that he might reach out toward.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

What he did see was where his targets landed after he shot them down, and the short trail that led into the water. He grimaced in realization that the two young women had thrown themselves into the water, rather than it being himself who put them there. He also didn't appreciate King's shifting of the blame.

What he failed to take notice of, focused as he was on the water right in front of him, was the ship sailing over the horizon in the distance. Had he paid it any mind, he might have realized it wasn't one belonging to the Beast pirates.

By the time they did have their own ships scouring the water with Waiters ready to dive in, Cabernet and Yamato were long gone.

King and Queen glanced at each other nervously.

"Not it." "Not it!" Queen was just a half second too slow. "Damn it! I don't wanna be the one to tell him! He's been drinking again!"

"Too bad. You know the rules, and so do I," King admonished.

Queen grumbled under his breath. Maybe he could trick Jack into delivering the bad news instead?

...

The wind that Cabernet caught didn't lead her straight for the main island of Wano, but that was for the best. An unfamiliar ship in these waters would draw far too much attention. Besides, she wanted to get as much of a head start against any would be pursuers as possible. "You did say that you were a 'ship girl' before, but it is very strange to see with my own eyes..." Yamato had long since recovered from his brief dip in the water. "I presume you ate one of those strange fruits, and gained the ability to become a ship?"

"No!" Cabernet's wooden frame groaned in a way that seemed oddly cheerful. "It was the other way around! I'm a ship that has gained the ability to turn into a person!"

The metaphorical gears inside Yamato's skull ground to a halt as he tried and failed to make sense of that.

"Uh... that's very... interesting," Yamato managed to speak after an awkward silence.

"It certainly has been for me!" Cabernet replied. "Cherry told me that I'm 'unusually willful', even compared to other zoan type objects. She reckons that it's because of klabautermann; that is, the spirit that forms within a ship that is well cared for."

"So, ships are alive?" Yamato asked. "Even without a devil fruit, I mean."

"Apparently so! It can't just be because I have a human model zoan fruit, because my good buddy Merry is the same way and she's a ship sheep!" Cabernet almost cheered. "Isn't that just the neatest thing!"

Yamato gasped. "Is your captain...?"

"Monkey D. Luffy! Future king of the pirates!" Cabernet announced.

"No way!" Yamato was delighted. "Is he here now? Ace just would /not shut up about him, so

I want to see if all the bragging is accurate. Dahaha!"

"Well, Cherry's here now, so he should be here too-OH! Look over there!" Cabernet cried out.

Yamato didn't know which way was 'over there', but a bit of looking around and squinting had something catch his eye. "Is that a ship?"

"That's the Thousand Sunny! Luffy is almost certain to be here if the ship is here!" Cabernet

reasoned.

"... Is that one alive too?" Yamato asked.

"Not yet!" Cabernet spoke as if it was only a matter of time. "Maybe the Sunny will be a

dragon by the time we leave Wano?"

"A dragon? Kaido's the one with the dragon fruit, though?" Yamato asked.

"..." Cabernet didn't answer.

"Oh! I get it!" Yamato slapped his fist down into his other hand.

"Let's go over and check out the Thousand Sunny. Maybe somebody's guarding it and I can

introduce you!" Cabernet jerked as she abruptly changed direction.

Yamato looked forward to it. If Ace's kid brother was here, and Cabernet's less than subtle insinuation was to be believed, then Kaido's reign of terror over Wano was soon to come to an

end.