On the hill...
"What happened? I heard explosions!" Tobio came running, eyes wide.
"Just watch..." Branso said, pointing at the ruins of a castle.
From the smoke and rubble, a figure emerged.
"I was wondering why no one was coming," Eldraggo said.
"Now it's your turn."
Ling faced him calmly.
"You've really pissed me off now." Eldraggo's enraged.
The air grew heavy, thick with pressure as Eldraggo shout, a power concentrating in his throat.
"Here it comes!" the three brothers cried in unison.
"The same one who blew up our ship and easily destroyed the castle!" Branxo said in fear.
"RAAAAAHHHHH!"
Eldraggo roared, unleashing a concentrated beam of destruction.
But Ling didn't move.
Skip.
He vanished, and a second later reappeared at same place.
The blast engulfed the area in smoke. Shockwaves rippled out, shaking the hillside.
For a everyone, it seemed as if Ling had taken the attack head-on.
"That's a direct hit..." Tobio muttered, covering his eyes.
The brothers stared, confused.
"Why didn't he dodge?" Branso asked stunned.
Then, from the smoke, a figure stepped forward completely unharmed.
"Not bad," Ling said with a grin.
Without warning, he charged forward and drove his fist into Eldraggo's gut.
He was launched backward, crashing into a thick tree.
"You bastard!" Eldraggo stand up. Blood dripped from his lips.
With another enraged scream, he fired another beam.
Ling flickered out of the way with ease, appearing in front of him in the blink of an eye.
"You can take a beating, huh?" Ling smirked.
He aimed another punch, this time toward Eldraggo's face, but Eldraggo caught his fist mid-air.
"Oh?" Ling raised a brow, feigning surprise.
Eldraggo retaliated with a vicious kick, but Ling loosened his arm, slipped free, and leaned back just enough to avoid it.
Now it was Eldraggo's turn to attack.
With a growl, he lunged, swiping his clawed fingers.
Left.
Right.
Thrust.
Slash.
Jab.
Again and again.
Ling danced between them. Each thrust missed by mere inches.
It continued for a full minute, but Ling was untouchable.
Panting, Eldraggo finally began to slow down, sweat and rage from his face. He's exhausted.
"How dare you not play me!" he shouted.
Ling smiled, unfazed.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Eldraggo screamed, beam gathering once again in his throat.
"I'll stop playing..." Ling's voice lowered.
He raised his arm, hardening it with armament Haki.
"I'll meet your attack head-on."
Eldraggo released his roar beam just as Ling cocked his fist back.
Ling threw fifteen punches in an instant, each one colliding with the air, each strike creating a chain of miniature shockwaves that merged into a single one.
BOOOOM!
His explosion met the roar beam mid-air. For a second, they clashed, then Ling's shockwave split Eldraggo's beam clean in two, carving a path straight through it.
"He's so strong..." Tobio gasped, eyes wide in awe.
The four brothers were speechless as the wind rushed past them.
Ling, carried by his momentum, his fist meeting Eldraggo's jaw.
CRACK!
Eldraggo was launched across the island, tearing a trench in the ground as he fly, finally crashing into the sea.
A long groove marked the path of Ling's attack running from his feet all the way to the sea.
Branso, Branxo, and the others stared at the mark in the ground with their jaws slack.
They sprinted toward him.
"That was awesome!" Branxo shouted, eyes sparkling.
Ling turned to them, as if nothing happened.
"Oh, so you're the brother those two were talking about?"
"Well, it's time to find Woonan!"
"Wait!"
A faint voice came from behind.
"Hih!" The three brothers immediately hid behind Ling.
"Oh? So you survived my attack," Ling said, grinning.
Golass stumbled into view, battered and barely standing.
"Why didn't you finish me off?" he asked hoarsely.
Ling tilted his head.
"I saw everything!"
Golass glancing at the long scar in the ground where Eldraggo had been launched into the sea.
"You said you'd use your full strength against me… so why didn't you kill me?"
Ling stared at him, unreadable for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"I like you. Join my crew."
"W-What?" Golass blinked, confused.
"Why?"
Ling was silent for a second.
"If you want to join me, there's a small boat docked near your captain's old ship. Wait for me there."
He turned to leave, but paused again.
"But if you'd rather not… you can take your old captain's ship and leave."
"Let's go," he said to the brothers, walking away without waiting for an answer.
Though clearly puzzled, especially Branxo, the three brothers said nothing and followed.
Tobio caught up but remained quiet.
"Why so quiet, kid?" Ling asked as they walked.
"Ah…" Tobio hesitated, looking down.
"I saw how strong you are… One must be strong to join Woonan, right?"
Ling didn't reply at first.
"I don't think I'm worthy to join him," Tobio finally said.
Ling bent down and ruffled his hair.
"Then just become stronger," he said, smiling.
Branxo opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it.
"Since you made it here, that means you have Woonan's treasure map, right?" Ling asked Branxo.
Branso and Branzo's eyes widened.
"Yeah! Where'd you get the map?" Branso asked.
"I got it here…" Branxo pulled out a folded parchment from his pocket.
"I took it from Eldraggo. Come on, it must be in the center of the castle ruins!"
He led them to a large clearing.
"Here?" Ling asked, rolling his shoulder.
"Yep!" Branxo nodded.
Everyone stepped back as Ling punched the ground with all his might.
The earth cracked open, a deep crevice forming, but it revealed nothing.
"There's nothing here," Ling said, frowning.
"What?! Based on the riddle on the map and the whale statue, it should be right here!"
Branxo scratched his head in confusion.
"Give me the map," Branso said.
"And bring us to that whale statue you mentioned."
"Follow me…" Branxo led them up a nearby hill where a large whale statue stood facing the horizon.
"Read the riddle again," Branzo said.
Branso unfolded the map.
"The treasure sleeps… from the hills to the south, if the whale faces west, the tail points..."
"Isn't that too easy? It's east!" Ling said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. The tail's pointing east," Branxo replied.
Branzo circled around the statue. Then he suddenly gasped.
"Ohhh!"
"What is it?" Branso asked.
"Even though the tail points east, the tip doesn't!" Branzo crouched and examined the statue carefully.
Branxo went over to check. "He's right! The very tip is angled to the south!"
"It's pointing toward a mountain!" Branxo exclaimed.
"Lend me your telescope!" he said to Branso.
With the telescope in hand, he scanned the mountain range. "There's a cave!"
Ling's eyes lit up.
"Let's go!"
In a flash, he grabbed all four and sprinted toward the mountain. The brothers shouted in surprise, dizzy from the sudden movement.
When they reached the base of the steep cliff, Ling didn't slow down.
He jumped.
Moonwalk.
Tobio opened his eyes midair.
"We're… flying," he murmured.
'What's he doing here?' Ling thought, glancing at the cave entrance ahead.
In just a few seconds, they landed at the mouth of the cave.
"That was awesome…" Tobio gasped, still trying to process what just happened.
The three brothers looked around and down.
"We're so high up!"
"Grandpa?" Tobio called out suddenly.
From the shadows, an old man stepped forward.
"What are you all doing here?" Ganzo asked, surprised.
"We're following a treasure map," Ling said, standing at ease.
"I see… the treasure map." Ganzo sighed deeply.
"What about you, old man?" Ling asked.
"I'm resting before meeting with an old friend... Woonan."
"You knew Woonan?" Tobio asked.
Ganzo stared into the distance.
"He and I… were like brothers."
"It's a long story..." Ganzo looked at them.
Ling sat down near the entrance. The brothers followed suit, and Tobio joined them.
Noticing their intent, he couldn't stopped so he continued.
"We grew up in the same village," Ganzo began, voice low with nostalgia.
"His dream of finding gold… wasn't for the reasons most people think. His father spent his whole life searching for gold, and all he ever found was a nugget the size of a fingernail."
"He swore he wouldn't live like that, chasing after something and finding nothing. So he became a pirate."
Ganzo's hands clenched as he spoke.
"He even asked me to join him, but I refused. His father was the one who taught me to make oden. And I loved it. I decided to dedicate my life to making the world's best oden."
"We argued. Couldn't see eye to eye. And then... there was an accident. We fell off a cliff, both of us, hanging from a single branch wrapped with hiz jolly roger. But it couldn't hold us both."
Ganzo's voice caught in his throat.
"I let go… so he could live."
Tobio leaned forward.
"What happened after that?"
"A ship passed by," Ganzo said, smiling faintly.
"It was the first time such a miracle happened in our village. When I woke up days later, it was too late. Woonan was gone."
"We never saw each other again."
"Grandpa…" Tobio whispered, eyes wide.
"I have a feeling now…" Ganzo said softly.
"That if he were here, he'd eat my oden. The oden into which I've poured my whole life."
"The oden into which you've poured your life…" Tobio echoed, staring at him.
Ling stood up and stretched.
"Well then, let's not waste time beforeit gets cold."