Chapter 201: Trip, Trust and Thanks

Chapter 201: Trip, Trust and Thanks

__________ POV Narration __________

Enel and Bonney didn't stick around Sphinx Island for long.

Enel did raise the question of moving Sphinx to the Sky Islands, arguing that the Government could still target him in the same way they did Baltigo.

But Whitebeard wasn't all that keen on moving to his hometown.

It was understandable... Although a bit disappointing.

Even if Whitebeard's influence was going to calm things down a bit in his territories, he was still technically in danger.

Newgate figured that if the government hadn't made a move yet, then they surely weren't going to anytime soon.

Even now, there were fewer and fewer signs of their movements in the world of Pirates, they seemed to now be completely focused on quelling the worldwide rebellion that Morgans was still fueling.

So, Whitebeard thought that it was safe enough to just remain where he was.

And so, the Sky King left with Bonney, his mind still filled with thoughts of the situation in the world at large.

Now that Kaido was no longer in the picture, Enel could safely assume that the government was going to slowly retract its support from Buggy... Unless they still wanted to control him for some reason?

There were way too many variables at play. Way too many scenarios that could play out.

Even the creation of Cross Guild was still in question, the Warlord System was somehow not yet disbanded.

Crocodile and Mihawk were also still loose cannons, and Enel knew that he needed to approach Mihawk personally at some point for recruitment...

Unless he delegated that task to Shanks? The two of them were old-time rivals/friends... The Red-Haired Emperor was surely the man for the job.

'I'll tell Garp to contact him when I get back...' The Emperor could only sigh as he rubbed the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Bonney was just laying by his side, on a thin metallic beach chair, playing with her hair and thinking about her time on the Sphinx Island...

She had always respected Whitebeard, she knew him as a good man, one of the few agreeable people that actually held a lot of power on the world scale.

She was happy to have made it in time in order to heal him, she didn't even need Enel to motivate her to do it in any other way.

To her, few people deserved to retain their former strength and youth, and Whitebeard was certainly one of them.

Normally, she would always be careful about who she used her powers around... She always had to be cautious, after all, some people weren't all that 'benevolent'. It was rare to find people not out to take advantage of her abilities.

Shiki was more of a question mark to her, even after so much time spent near him.

The Golden Lion just had a way of confusing people around him, even when he wasn't as senile... Truth be told, it almost felt like nothing had changed in that department...

Regardless, he was pretty much harmless. He was immensely helpful, and clearly out to bite the throats of the World Government.

Without him, it likely would've been impossible for an army that large to gather unnoticed...

There were also the marines she had brought back... Sengoku and Garp. They were both powerful, frighteningly so.

While Garp was in a league of his own, Sengoku himself was not that much weaker, even having an advantage over Garp when it came to durability.

Their characters were also good. They were among the few marines Bonney had actually come to like... Well, now that they had distanced themselves from the world government, she didn't quite hate any of them.

'His fruit has the possibility of surpassing all of us. A 'God-Fruit' if you will...

But a fruit isn't anything special if its user is a waste of breath. Garp's training may be gruelling, but it's necessary.'

Whitebeard seemed to ponder on Francsico's words for a while before he shook his head once more.

"... I'm guessing Shiki didn't collect it? Well, not that he would've been able to open it, but at least he could've tried..."

"Honestly? Shiki was never the brightest bulb... He's nice, but he may have either forgotten about it or just thought it was a waste of time since he didn't have any assurance of being able to open it..."

Francisco shook his head and took one more step towards the shore, where a small boat was already prepared for him.

"... It really could go either way..." Whitebeard scowled a bit as he remembered Shiki's demeanour whenever they went drinking in the past.

"Regardless, I'm going there first... Then I'll be looking for John's body..." Francisco smiled a bit as he remembered one of his other objectives, retrieving John's body and returning it to John's Town.

"That greedy idiot? Cut ties with him long ago, forgot about him completely..." Whitebeard shook his head and slowly turned his head and looked towards Vista's grave.

"You know... I don't think he would mind if you kept one of his swords for now... At least until you find one good enough for you..."

"... I'd rather not take one of your son's most prized possessions, those blades will remain here from now on. Besides... I'll be taking 'that'..." Francisco was somewhat flattered by Whitebeard's suggestion.

But he didn't like the idea of stealing a swordsman's possession. Taking a sword from a swordsman's grave was the same as prying it out of their cold hands... It was disrespectful.

Whitebeard understood that, but at the same time, he knew that it wouldn't have been something Vista would've been against.

At the end of the day, Francisco did save Whitebeard's life, as well as the lives of the rest of the island's residents.

"I guess that thing would be there, huh?... Suit yourself, but also beware of the dangers it poses... Though someone with your willpower shouldn't have any trouble." Whitebeard just shook his head once more and headed back towards the town.

Francisco just stepped on his boat and pushed away from the shore with a paddle.

"BYEEE! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!" "HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY!" "PLEASE COME VISIT US AGAIN!" "DRINK WITH US MORE NEXT TIME!"

Francisco turned his head in confusion. His eyes widened slightly as he gazed at the shores behind him.

Gathered there were the residents of Sphinx Island, all waving their hands and saying their goodbyes as the swordsman's boat got further away from the island.

The swordsman was a bit startled at first, but that startled expression was quickly replaced by a warm smile.

He waved back to the crowd as his boat continued drifting further away from the island.

'... Being appreciated by people feels a lot better than being feared... Who would've thought?'

Francisco just shook his head, a smile still present on his face as he started rowing faster and faster, his energy renewed.

'Onwards to God Valley!'

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