CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: PATCHING THE LIE

The big sailing ship’s speed couldn’t be compared to the sloop’s at all.

After all, one mainsail and a single headsail can’t match three mainsails and nine jibs.

Plus Karl towed the ship for an hour or two every day; during that time the three-master moved as if the wind had doubled, its speed more than doubling.

In barely two days, Karl’s three-masted ship reached Long Ring Long Land.

While waiting a few days for the Log Pose to set, they were tormented—like all first-timers—by the locals’ endlessly drawn-out way of speaking.

They were so worn out they couldn’t be bothered to talk to the islanders afterward.

They also watched a Davy-Back-Fight.

That’s right—the so-called "crew-snatching grand battle," the Davy-Back-Fight.

As a side note, one of the leads was the "Silver Fox" Foxy, who had eaten the Paramecia-type Slow-Slow Fruit.

It’s said he notched a 920-match undefeated streak in Davy-Back games—at one win per day that’s over two years.

Obviously, you don’t find opponents every single day.

With three years still left before that tale, Foxy had only just begun his streak.

With Foxy’s bounty under thirty million, Karl figured a rules-type fruit like the Slow-Slow was better wasted on a weakling than eaten by a powerhouse, so he didn’t make a move.

Once the Log Pose was full, they set out again.

"By the way, why are we moving backward along this route instead of forward?"

On deck, Perona asked as if the thought had just struck her: "Aren’t we aiming for the New World?"

Carina and Nami both blinked at that.

Nami looked at Karl lounging on a beanbag. "Yeah, Karl—why backtrack? Is there something on this route you care about?"

"Yeah..."

Karl nodded and lied without a twitch: "The night I went to ’borrow’ the Navy’s Rokushiki, I overheard some lackeys of the Holy Land Mary Geoise talking—intel that’s very good news for me."

"Intel?" The three stared at him.

"That intel is..."

Karl drew it out on purpose, then dropped three words: "City of Gold!"

"City of Gold?!"

The three reacted differently.

Perona, the homebody, looked blank.

Nami’s eyes turned into $ signs, sparkling.

She didn’t know the place, but "gold" said enough.

Only Carina felt she’d heard those three words somewhere.

Well-read as she was, she rifled her mental library, then asked, unsure, "You mean the City of Gold from Noland the Liar?"

"No idea..."

Karl shook his head. "All I know is, there’s a group searching near Jaya Island. They suspect the City of Gold is on a Sky Island."

Given their limited experience—and all the bizarre islands they had seen—plus using Mary Geoise as cover, Karl wasn’t worried they’d doubt Sky Island’s existence.

"Sky Island... an island floating in the sky?" Nami instantly started dreaming.

"Does a place like that really exist?" Perona’s face was full of wonder.

"Jaya... I don’t think that’s on this route—wait..."

Of the three, Carina stayed the calmest. To confirm her hunch she pulled the route chart she’d bought on Water 7 from inside her geography book, scanned it, then nodded. "Right. There’s a rumor on this route related to Sky Island."

"They say that after leaving St. Ting Island you pass a stretch of sea where, for a while, the Log Pose points to the sky. Since a Log Pose responds to an island’s magnetism, many suspect there’s an island above—that’s how the Sky Island rumor started."

"But no one has proved it. Over time it turned into a legend—and a punchline on nearby islands. Most people say it doesn’t exist, so believers get laughed at."

Carina pinched her chin. "Those Mary Geoise lackeys think the City of Gold is up there? Then maybe Sky Island is real."

"So what now?"

Pleased with how much she’d deduced, Karl kept a casual face. "When we reach that sea, Little White and I will fly up and check. We’ll see whether Sky Island exists."

"Right!"

Their eyes lit up.

Carina looked at Karl with quiet pride. "Not bad—you planned this early, which is why you’ve had me backtrack, huh?"

"Of course. I was going to surprise you," Karl said with a smug grin.

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