Zoro bound the miserable Caribou with rope, circling him again and again, then threw him into a corner.
The group stared blankly at the schools of fish outside, while Sanji was lost in gazing at Nami and Robin.
Thanks to Bon Clay, although Sanji still had nosebleeds, they were within a controllable range and not life-threatening.
Nami put on a pink sweater and checked the log pose.
"Everyone… the temperature will drop soon, don't forget to wear your jackets on the ship."
Brook hugged himself, his body trembling. "Indeed… I also feel my skin is a bit cold… Ah… although I…"
"You're a skeleton so you don't have skin, right, right…" Chopper breathed on his paws, then looked up at Brook with blinking eyes.
Brook instantly deflated like a punctured ball, kneeling on the ground dejectedly.
"Chopper-kun… don't say that out loud… don't steal my lines… it's so hard for me to get a chance to appear."
"Is it very cold where we're going? Aren't we going to the deep sea?" Zoro, the "second idiot," blurted out unexpectedly.
Franky looked helplessly at these guys who lacked common sense.
"The water in the deep sea must be very cold… isn't bathwater hot on top and cold on the bottom?"
Luffy picked his nose, pondering. "Is that so… I really hate bathing."
Usopp looked to the side and tugged at Luffy's clothes.
"Hey, hey… Luffy…"
Luffy's eyes flickered a few times, then he turned and instantly saw Orochimaru's death ray, after which he chuckled and wiped his hands on Usopp's pants.
"Hahahahaha… I love bathing the most. ( ‧̣̥̇꒪່⍢꒪່ ) Come on, Usopp, let's go bathe together."
Usopp looked at his pants with a pained expression, constantly wiping them with tissues, and roared at Luffy with a furious face.
"Don't wipe your hands on other people's pants! Who taught you these manners?! It's filthy!"
Brook was still kneeling dejectedly on the ground, saying weakly.
"It's not just a temperature difference, you know…" Usopp looked at him helplessly. "How long are you going to be depressed?! It's just a few less lines!"
Brook pulled out an explanatory diagram from somewhere, holding it up for everyone.
"In the middle and lower layers of the sea, there is a huge, invisible current called the deep-sea current. Its flow direction is completely different from the surface current."
Usopp exclaimed, "So there are currents below currents, you know so much."
Brook's face flushed, and he laughed, "Yohoho." "After all, I've lived for a long time."
Franky also explained to everyone,
"Currents and currents must intersect; there are places where they diverge, places where they mix, some rising and some diving, like a giant dragon."
Brook explained from the side, "It is said that the deep-sea current flows very slowly. Once you dive to the bottom of the sea, it would take two thousand years to rise back to the sunlit surface."
Luffy and the others instantly exclaimed, "Two thousand years!!!"
Brook's face suddenly turned gloomy, "Therefore, various legends circulate about this dark, unknown current: monsters… curses… the spirits of the dead."
Chopper screamed in fright, "Will deep-sea monsters appear?!"
Nami looked speechlessly at the rowdy group. They were talking about serious matters… what was this all about?
"Monsters… I don't know about that, but I do know that we will be taking a descending current that dives from the surface into the deep, so we can reach the deep sea with its momentum."
Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper… stared blankly at the seawater outside the bubble, propping their faces with their arms.
"Deep layer" (´•ω•̥`)
"Surface layer" (∩ᄑ_メ)
"Descending current" ಠ︵ಠ
"Dive in" (ㅇㅅㅇ)
The four dazed individuals collectively held a cup of tea and took a sip.
◟꒰⁺᾽ऀืົཽˡ̼̮ऀืົཽ⁺꒱◞ "So you're saying there are mysterious currents, huh?"
Meanwhile, on the second deck, Orochimaru, wearing a feathered coat given by Doflamingo, sat side by side with Robin.
Orochimaru picked up a cup of black tea, took a light sip, and his gaze leisurely fell upon the few people below.
A hint of doubt arose in Robin's heart, and she asked softly, "Orochimaru, aren't you even a little curious about the bottom of the sea?"
Orochimaru gently blew on the hot tea in his hand, like a seasoned old Executive, taking a light sip? Only then did he slowly speak.
"Never seen it, nor curious about it. Professional matters should be discussed by professionals."
"I see."
Robin said no more; she felt that Orochimaru was acting up again, why was he being so scholarly?
So she casually picked up the half-read book on the table and continued reading.
Orochimaru's peripheral vision inadvertently caught the book's cover, and the hand holding the teacup suddenly froze.
"Robin… what are you reading…"
Robin's expression was calm, her hand movements continuous, as she calmly turned the pages.
"This is a new publication from Sabaody Archipelago, about the Straw Hat Pirate Crew's first mate's scandalous romance."
Orochimaru's expression instantly became somewhat subtle, his brow twitching.
"Robin, don't you think it's a bit inappropriate to read this in front of the person concerned…"
Robin didn't even raise her head, just focused on turning the pages.
"Is it? I actually think it's quite wonderfully written. I have many similar ones; would you like to see them?"
Orochimaru's mouth twitched slightly:
"Thank you, but there's no need…"
For a moment, silence fell between the two, with only the rustling of Robin's turning pages echoing in the air.
After a long time, not until Robin finished the book in her hand and naturally opened another one.
Orochimaru glanced at the new book's cover, and the veins on his temples involuntarily throbbed.
"Robin… what is this one?"
Robin looked up, saw Orochimaru's slightly strange expression, then shifted her gaze back to the cover, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"This book is called 'Young Master's Vicious Little Darling Wife,' and it's the hottest book on the black market right now.
Let me see… the author is Sugar, not Wan Jin You, seems to be a new author.
But it describes your personality as somewhat vicious, but it's okay, after all, it's just a novel, just for entertainment, it's quite interesting."
Orochimaru forced a stiff, unnatural smile, staring intently at the cover, which depicted a flamingo pressing down on a snake.
"Sugar, huh… I've noted it down. If I get the chance, I'll properly 'thank' her."
Robin saw Orochimaru's expression and chuckled.
"It's not that serious… it's not that serious… it seems the person who wrote this book should still be a child, it's all made-up stuff, why would you argue with a child?
However, for it to circulate so quickly on the black market, it must be that they have some… connections at home, maybe it's one of your fanatical fans."
Orochimaru didn't respond, continuing to drink his tea expressionlessly.
In Dressrosa, Sugar suddenly sneezed, and the sound startled a group of people nearby. Those ordinary family members looked at her, their faces full of concern.
"Sugar-sama, are you feeling alright? Or perhaps you shouldn't watch the fireworks today?"
"No! Let them off! Otherwise, I'll turn all of you into toys!"
Sugar lay on a beach chair, holding a bowl of grapes in both hands, leisurely sipping juice, and looked up at the dazzling fireworks in the sky, sighing, "This is the life."
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