Chapter 82: Arriving at the Destination
Ian looked at Roland Gale as if he were an alien.
If anyone else had pulled out this Eternal Pose, Ian wouldn't have found it strange. But Roland Gale of all people...
Ian had always thought of this guy as a minor noble who had never left the Goa Kingdom, had never seen pirates, had never witnessed the dangers of the sea, and believed the whole world was as noble-centric as the Goa Kingdom. He had a narrow worldview, seemed arrogant but was actually cowardly and timid. For someone like that to pull out an Eternal Pose used only on the Grand Line was truly baffling.
Bill and Crocus also found it awkward. They had just been saying how precious Eternal Poses were, and then someone nearby pulled one out. It felt a bit like a slap in the face, but they didn't mind and nodded in response to Roland Gale's question: "Yes, this is an Eternal Pose pointing to Alabasta."
"Is that so?" Roland Gale carefully retrieved the Eternal Pose, holding it and rubbing it in his hands. "I've heard that Alabasta is one of the few ancient civilized kingdoms on the Grand Line. Is that true?"
"Yes, Alabasta has been established for a very long time!" Crocus nodded.
Ian didn't have any designs on Roland Gale's Eternal Pose. He was just curious and asked, "Why do you have an Eternal Pose for Alabasta?"
"It was passed down from my ancestors!" Roland Gale replied. "I heard that over a hundred years ago, our family was a branch of the Alabasta royal family. But for some reason, we suddenly left Alabasta and settled in the East Blue..."
As he spoke, Roland Gale's face flushed slightly, as if he were a bit excited.
Ian immediately saw through him and said with some sarcasm, "You brought this Eternal Pose to the Grand Line, don't tell me you're hoping to find a way back to Alabasta, claim kinship, and become a high-ranking noble?"
Roland Gale stared at Ian in shock: "You... how did you know?"
Ian couldn't help but roll his eyes. Did he even need to ask? A noble reduced to following a merchant convoy to the Grand Line—judging by his status, he was probably in an awkward position among the nobles of the Goa Kingdom, or perhaps he had already fallen into decline. Once you saw that, Roland Gale's intentions were easy to guess. He was just looking at the records left by his ancestors, wanting to take a gamble in Alabasta. A royal branch family! If he succeeded in claiming kinship, he could immediately turn things around and become a great noble, far better than continuing to decline in the Goa Kingdom!
Ian didn't answer his question but instead asked him back, "Have you thought about how you're going to get to Alabasta?"
"By ship!" Roland Gale said. "Just sail following the Eternal Pose, right?"
As soon as he said that, Ian and Bill couldn't help but shake their heads. What a naive idea! A noble with no combat ability, thinking he could brave the Grand Line with just a pistol?
These so-called nobles had a way of thinking different from normal people, so Ian didn't bother to keep chatting with Roland Gale. Instead, he focused his attention on Crocus. He remembered that this lighthouse keeper at Reverse Mountain had once served as a ship doctor on Gol D. Roger's pirate ship for a time. That meant this old man should have good medical skills.
So, Ian wanted to ask Crocus if he had any method to treat Kuina.
But Ian couldn't just ask directly; he had to steer the conversation in that direction first. Fortunately, Bill was there, puffing on his pipe and suddenly coughing. Crocus, as an old friend of Bill's, naturally showed concern for his health. Taking this opportunity, Ian finally asked, "Old man, from the way you talk, it sounds like you know a bit about medicine?"
Crocus naturally nodded. From there, things were easy. Ian pretended to be surprised and told him about Kuina's situation, seeking Crocus's advice.
Crocus tugged at his beard and pondered for a long time before speaking: "I haven't seen the patient, so I'm not entirely sure. Based on what you've said, the reasons for her coma could be many. I don't have a good solution either. However, I can prescribe some herbal remedies to help regulate her body, which might provide some support in stimulating her to wake up."
That was already more than Ian had hoped for. Ivankov had once told him that pure medicine wouldn't do much for Kuina. Taken the other way, that meant it might have a slight effect. Given Crocus's age and experience, the prescriptions he wrote for regulating the body should be better than those from doctors in the East Blue, right?
Crocus didn't delay. He found paper and a pen and wrote down a prescription for Ian.
But after getting the prescription, Ian was stumped. They had already crossed Reverse Mountain. How was he supposed to send the prescription back to Shimotsuki Village?
Crocus saw his dilemma, smiled, and said, "Don't worry. I have a fax machine here! You just need to contact a friend in the East Blue, and you can fax the prescription over."
Ian knew what a fax machine was. In this world, because of Den Den Mushi, people had developed fax machines for use with them. It was an external attachment that, when mounted on the shell of a Den Den Mushi, could transmit photos and documents over long distances. That was how the Marines got wanted posters for pirates from all over the world. Each branch would fax photos of wanted pirates to headquarters, have wanted posters made, and then fax them back to the branches.
Ian hadn't expected Crocus to have a fax machine here. Since he had his own Den Den Mushi, he could now send the prescription back.
But who should he contact? To fax a document, he needed someone on the receiving end. After thinking it over, Ian swallowed his pride and contacted Smoker.
Although Smoker had kicked him out of Loguetown, Ian knew that Smoker was actually someone you could be friends with. Sure enough, when Ian contacted him, Smoker was cold and said very little, but before hanging up on Ian, he said, "Send it over!"
Under Crocus's guidance, Ian mounted the fax machine on his Den Den Mushi and placed the prescription in front of it. The Den Den Mushi's big eyes drooped down, staring at the prescription, and then the fax machine emitted a series of beeping sounds. The transmission was completed quickly.
The faxed prescription still needed to be sent by mail, so Ian asked Smoker to forward it to Johnny and Yosaku. Ian had previously told Johnny and Yosaku his hometown address in case he needed to send things back, so they could help mail it to Shimotsuki Village.
From this perspective, Ian's identity as a bounty hunter had been very useful. If Ian were a pirate, Smoker wouldn't have helped him at all and wouldn't even have acknowledged him.
After spending an entire afternoon at Reverse Mountain, Ian's ship was finally repaired. The broken part of the mast had been reinforced with iron plates, so it would be fine for the short term.
The merchant convoy set sail again, and Ian and Bill waved goodbye to Crocus on the shore.
Before leaving, Laboon surfaced again and began to cry out toward Reverse Mountain. Ian finally got to see its appearance. Its massive body was like a small mountain, which amazed him.
Although he hadn't interacted with Laboon, Ian had no regrets. The ship left Reverse Mountain behind.
Once they truly entered the Grand Line, Ian witnessed firsthand what it meant to have wildly changing weather. While sailing, one second it could be so hot it made you sweat, and the next, a cold wind carrying snowflakes would blow. The sun could be blazing one moment, and then a storm might hit immediately after.
This capricious weather wore the convoy down. After three days of sailing, many of the weaker sailors had fallen ill.
Fortunately, it seemed the convoy had used up all its bad luck at the entrance of Reverse Mountain. Aside from encountering a group of low-level pirates, whom Ian and the other hired guards easily dealt with, they faced no other dangers along the way.
On the evening of the third day, Ian noticed that the erratic weather changes had improved and seemed to have stabilized.
At the same time, a faint fragrance drifted in the sea breeze.
Ian sniffed and asked Bill, "What's that smell? Where's it coming from?"
Bill was in a good mood and winked at Ian. "Take a guess!"
"Are we about to reach our destination?" Ian suddenly remembered that on the Grand Line, if the weather stabilized, it meant they were approaching an island.
"Haha, that's right!" Bill laughed loudly. "This trip has been really smooth."
As the ship moved forward, the fragrance in the air grew stronger. This time, Ian finally identified what it was—it smelled like grilled meat.
He wasn't the only one. Others on the ship also smelled it. The rich aroma of grilled meat had drifted out to sea, making Ian and the sailors drool uncontrollably.
"How strange!" Ian swallowed his saliva and said to Bill, "Is someone grilling meat on the island? How is the smell so strong?"
"It's not someone grilling meat on the island!" Bill explained with a smile. "It's the whole island that's grilling meat!"
Before Ian could ask, the outline of an island appeared ahead. The moment the ship broke through the mist and they saw the island, the smell of grilled meat seemed to reach its peak, powerfully assaulting everyone's sense of smell.
This caused many people's stomachs to growl loudly. Even Ian felt the same way, his stomach growling from the stimulation of the aroma.
"Everyone, we've arrived at our destination!" Bill pointed at the island ahead and announced loudly to the crowd. "One of the seven starting islands of the Grand Line, Bibi Co Island! The famous Barbecue City! After we disembark, everyone, eat to your heart's content!"
With those words, cheers erupted from all the ships in the convoy.