After learning about the existence of the Road - Poneglyph, the primary goal of the Roger Pirates now is to find someone who can decipher the ancient texts.
On the ship of the Whitebeard Pirates, the samurai from Wano Country has become their top target.
"Roger! We've found out the whereabouts of the Whitebeard Pirates! They're right here. It's said they've been staying there for several days. There must be something going on. If we hurry over, we might run into them!" Rayleigh handed the intelligence Shakky gave him to Captain Roger and said with a smile.
"Great! Then let's set off! Head towards the target!" After learning the whereabouts of the Whitebeard Pirates, Roger couldn't wait any longer. He felt that he was getting closer and closer to the Final Island.
While the Roger Pirates were rushing towards the location of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fang Yi noticed that something seemed to have happened between Buggy and Shanks. In the past few days, Buggy had been looking at Shanks in a very strange way, with anger mixed with a hint of sadness.
As for Shanks, he seemed to be avoiding Buggy on purpose.
"Shanks, what's going on between you and Buggy recently? Is there some misunderstanding? We're mates who can have each other's backs. If there's a misunderstanding, it must be resolved as soon as possible!" Unable to stand it anymore, Fang Yi found Shanks and started to act as a counselor.
"Brother Fang..." Shanks opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then fell silent.
"What? Can't you tell me?" Fang Yi sat down on the ground, then patted the empty space beside him, signaling Shanks to sit down, and said, "Don't worry, I'll help you solve it!"
Shanks gave a bitter smile and replied, "This matter is probably not easy to solve!"
Just as Fang Yi had guessed, the Devil Fruit Buggy ate that day was actually an ordinary fruit he had switched.
The next day, when he was about to hide the Devil Fruit and a treasure map, Shanks accidentally caught sight of him. In a hurry, Buggy stuffed the Devil Fruit into his mouth and ended up swallowing it accidentally.
In addition to eating the Devil Fruit, a treasure map that Buggy stole from the BIG MOM Pirates accidentally flew out of the ship because of his nervousness. In a rush, Buggy jumped into the sea to retrieve the treasure map, only to find that all his strength had disappeared after he fell into the sea and he couldn't swim at all.
Although Shanks finally rescued Buggy, Buggy blamed Shanks. He thought that if it weren't for Shanks, he wouldn't have really eaten the Devil Fruit, nor would he have lost the treasure map.
That treasure map, which was kept together with the Devil Fruit and a letter about the Road - Poneglyph, was what Buggy had been eagerly anticipating. He planned to retrieve it later when he had time, but now it was all lost.
Especially after eating the Devil Fruit, he could no longer swim, which meant that all the huge treasures at the bottom of the sea were out of his reach.
Since the last time the Roger Pirates were blown out by a fart from the Island - Devouring Goldfish, Buggy discovered that the place with the most treasures was not on some small island, but at the bottom of the endless sea.
He always fantasized that one day he could get all these treasures in his hands. However, now this dream was shattered, and the culprit was that bastard Shanks.
That's why later on, Buggy would always look at Shanks with anger in his eyes. Whenever Shanks said or did something, Buggy would definitely oppose him without hesitation.
After hearing what Shanks said, Fang Yi patted Shanks on the shoulder while laughing so hard that tears were welling up.
"Puhahaha... That Buggy guy... actually ate a Devil Fruit?" Fang Yi wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and asked.
Shanks looked embarrassed. He nodded and said, "Brother Yi, stop laughing. I don't know what to do about this!"
"It's okay! Devil Fruits are indeed a bit of a letdown for people like us who want to become strong. But for Buggy, it's a good choice! At least he has the ability to fight now. By the way, what kind of fruit did he eat?" Fang Yi shook his head and said, "As for that treasure map... Can't you just make it up to him with another one next time?"
Shanks hesitated for a moment and asked, "But Buggy also wants to become a strong man! Now that he can't swim, how can he be a pirate in the future? As for the fruit... I'm not sure. He didn't tell me!"
"Hahaha... You're not Buggy. How do you know what he wants? Believe me, Buggy likes treasures more than becoming a strong man! And so what if he's a Devil Fruit user? Isn't Barrett also a Devil Fruit user? Didn't he become a pirate? And a powerful one at that! So as long as you give him a treasure map, he'll forgive you!" Fang Yi said with a smile.
While Fang Yi was comforting Shanks, due to the increasing number of people in the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard decided to divide the crew on the ship into squads and select Captains for easier management.
"Hey? I don't want to!" Kozuki Oden, the Captain of the Second Battalion personally appointed by Whitebeard, said with a look of disgust. "I don't want to be any Captain! All I want is an exciting adventure!"
"Bang!" Whitebeard punched Oden on the head, directly causing a bump to swell up on his head. He said, "You bastard, take on the responsibility!"
In the end, under Whitebeard's coercion, Oden reluctantly accepted the position of the Captain of the Second Battalion of the Whitebeard Pirates.
It wasn't that he didn't want to be a Captain. The main reason was that he didn't want to take on the responsibility. He left Wano Country to set sail on the sea just to experience the vastness of the ocean. If it were for power, it would have been better for him to stay in Wano Country because he was the only heir to the shogun of Wano Country and was considered a member of the royal family.
Amatsuki Toki, with her pregnant belly, happily congratulated her husband. She knew how powerful the Whitebeard Pirates were, so it was not bad for her husband to become the Captain of the Second Battalion.
Amatsuki Toki was the woman saved by Kozuki Oden. When Oden first set sail, Whitebeard didn't want him on the ship, so he set a test for him. Just as Kozuki Oden was about to complete the test, he found Amatsuki Toki calling for help. To save her, Kozuki Oden gave up the test. However, it was precisely because of this act that Whitebeard saw Kozuki Oden's kind - hearted nature and declared that he had passed the test.
From then on, Kozuki Oden and Amatsuki Toki boarded Whitebeard's pirate ship and got married. Now that Amatsuki Toki was pregnant and about to give birth, the Whitebeard Pirates had stayed on the current small island for over a week.
This was also the longest time they had ever stayed on a small island since the formation of the crew. Originally, Kozuki Oden thought they didn't need to stay here. They could continue sailing while waiting for the baby to be born. But Whitebeard and the others thought it was too dangerous, so they stayed on the island.
"Whitebeard, now that the division of the squads is over, let's keep moving forward!" After the division of the Whitebeard Pirates was completed, Kozuki Oden once again requested to continue sailing.
"But what about Toki's health..." Whitebeard hesitated for a moment and said.
Actually, he also felt like going on an adventure again. Staying in one place all the time wasn't his style. Moreover, Amatsuki Toki's body hadn't shown any signs of labor these days.
"Come on, let's keep sailing! I'm good, and there's a doctor on the ship. I'm sure it'll be all right!" Amatsuki Toki naturally knew what Kozuki Oden was thinking, so she stood up and said with a smile.
Hearing what Amatsuki Toki said, Whitebeard thought for a while and then nodded, saying, "Okay! Then prepare more supplies, especially things that the baby might need. After getting everything ready, we'll set off!"
"Yay! Let's roll!" Kozuki Oden was extremely happy when he heard that Whitebeard had agreed.
On the third day after the Whitebeard Pirates left the island, the Roger Pirates rushed to the island at full speed. But after learning that the Whitebeard Pirates had set sail three days ago, even Fang Yi could only sigh.
"Who would have thought that we rushed here with all our might but still missed the Whitebeard Pirates!" Rayleigh said with a bitter smile.
It was very difficult to find a pirate crew with no fixed territory in the vast sea.
"Captain... What should we do now?" Fang Yi looked at Roger worriedly and asked.
He was worried because he (Fang Yi) already knew about Roger's illness. Since he had suspected it before and Roger and the others must have shown some signs after spending a long time together, Fang Yi took the opportunity to privately ask Roger and Rayleigh on the way to find the Whitebeard Pirates.
After getting Roger's answer, Fang Yi's heart sank to the bottom. After years of getting along, he really regarded Roger and the crewmates on the ship as his family. He originally thought that he would definitely change the captain's fate and prevent him from getting the incurable disease. But before he even started, the result was already doomed.
This undoubtedly made Fang Yi utterly dejected. So all he could do now was to help Roger reach the Final Island as soon as possible.
He even thought that after finding Kozuki Oden, he would immediately tell Roger the whereabouts of the four Road - Poneglyphs. This way, a great deal of time could be saved, which could be used to search for the Ope Ope no Mi.
Fang Yi believed that as long as there was an Ope Ope no Mi user, Roger's life could definitely be saved.
Unfortunately, they got stuck right at the first step and hadn't even met Kozuki Oden.
"Now we can only search for the red Road - Poneglyphs while inquiring about the whereabouts of the Whitebeard Pirates!" Roger stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the distant sea and said softly.
"Mr. Rayleigh... Still no news about the Ope Ope no Mi?" Fang Yi came to Rayleigh's side and asked in a low voice.
"No!" Rayleigh shook his head, sighed and said, "Maybe, as you guessed, the World Government has already collected this fruit!"
"Considering the captain's current condition, the only thing I can think of is the Ope Ope no Mi! If even Crocus can't help, I really can't think of anyone else with medical skills who can." Fang Yi lowered his head and said.
Rayleigh nodded and said, "Don't worry. I've already asked Shakky to do her best to find out the whereabouts of the Ope Ope no Mi! As soon as it's found, she'll definitely inform me right away!"
Failing to catch up with the Whitebeard Pirates, Roger had no choice but to order the crew to rest on the island for a day. Since they had worked very hard during the chase, and the ship's navigation supplies were almost used up, they also needed to replenish them.