"The Great Pirate Woonan and the World's Best Oden Cook, huh?" Ling mumbled.
"What a great story, old man."
Ganzo smiled gently.
"Follow me... I think I know where Woonan is."
Ling and the others followed Ganzo as he led them out of the cave and around the mountain.
Behind it, an open area stretched out, and in the distance there was a cabin, hundreds of meters away.
Tobio was the first to reach it. He opened the door and stepped inside.
'I don't sense anyone here,' Ling thought.
"There's nothing here," Branso said.
"He's probably really … dead."
The three brothers already knew this. Ling felt it too. Ganzo can tell it too, but he still held some hope.
"It's empty..." Tobio checked every corner.
"Does Woonan really live here?"
"No chair, no desk... Just an old fireplace."
Branzo pressed on the fireplace. It moved.
"A basement!" Ling exclaimed.
"Hiding treasure somewhere near. That's just like him," Ganzo murmured.
"Woonan must be down there!" Tobio said with growing excitement.
They descended quickly.
"We're finally going to meet Woonan!" Tobio beamed.
A wooden door stood at the end of the stairway.
"We're here," Branxo said solemnly.
"Woonan's on the other side of this door…" Tobio mumbled.
"I'm opening it," Branxo said, slowly pushing the door open.
Tobio gasped.
Ganzo remained composed cause he had already expected this. He was just hoping he'd be wrong.
The three brothers were too wasn't shock.
Ling already knew.
He had used his Observation Haki earlier and sensed no one within a hundred meters.
There, sitting upright in a chair, still dressed in pirate attire, was the lifeless body of Woonan. In his hand, he held a folded piece of cloth.
"This... this…" Tobio stumbled back, then rushed forward in denial.
"No! That's not Woonan! He's somewhere else! He's not…!"
Ganzo approached and gently placed a hand on Tobio's back.
"Grandpa…"
"Oi! Something's on the wall!" Branzo said suddenly.
"Not just there, look around," Branso added.
"They're everywhere."
"There's no mistaking it. That's Woonan's handwriting," Ganzo confirmed.
Ling began reading out loud.
"To those who have come seeking gold, my name is Woonan, the man once known as the Great Gold Pirate.
But now, I am just a man waiting to die.
I have returned the gold to its original owners."
"Ehh?" Ling scratched his head.
He kept reading.
"I have fought... and I have achieved my childhood dream.
I built a mountain of gold unlike anything the world had ever seen.
But as I sat before it, I recalled what a man once said to me.
'Gold doesn't laugh. It might as well be a rock.'"
Ganzo's eyes welled with tears.
"He was right. Though I devoted my life to gold, it was never what I truly wanted. It was the adventure that came from searching for it."
Ling smiled softly.
'I guess we're kinda the same, huh, Woonan? I wish I could've met you.' He closed his eyes.
Branxo read the final part.
"There is no gold here anymore. But there is a treasure far more valuable.
It may be worthless to others, but to me, it's everything.
Please do not destroy this place. This is the resting place of my most important treasure."
Ganzo stepped forward and gently took the cloth from Woonan's hand.
He unfolded it.
It was the same old Jolly Roger, the one torn in the past to help save both their lives.
"Woonan…" Ganzo whispered.
Ling approached Tobio and patted his head.
"Your grandpa's an amazing man. He was the only one that great pirate trusted."
"One was a famous pirate. The other sells oden. But they had the same amount of pride."
"Grandpa…" Tobio ran and hugged Ganzo.
"I'm sorry!"
Ganzo patted his back.
"Live the way you want to, Tobio. I'll always be watching over you."
They returned outside.
"It's completely dark!" Branzo noted.
"Well, the sun was setting when we got here. Makes sense," Branso replied.
"I guess I will have to camp here tonight," Ling said.
"I'll head back to the beach, where my boat is docked," he added.
"I'll spend the night there."
"We'll follow," the three brothers said in unison.
"I could've made oden if I had my stall boat…" Ganzo said wistfully.
"Oh! That's great! I've got something in my boat!" Ling said, eyes lighting up.
"Let's go!"
Half an hour later, they arrived at the shore.
Ling noticed someone sitting on the boat.
"So you didn't leave," Ling said.
Golass stood up slowly.
"I've thought about it…"
He clenched his fists.
"Can you restore my pride?"
"What a dumbass," Ling muttered.
Golass looked confused.
"You're the only one who can restore it."
"I destroyed your sword, so that you can start fresh…"
"…Show me how you'll restore your pride as a swordsman."
Ling pulled out the food he'd been gifted by the villagers in Foosha Village.
Golass remained quiet.
"Oh, you've got a lot there!" Ganzo exclaimed.
"These'll be perfect for oden!"
"Then it's all yours?" Ling smiled.
While Ganzo cooked, Branzo and Branso approached Ling.
"There's no gold on this island at all," Branso said.
"We got all the treasure Eldraggo's stole from us. It's all yours."
"I promised I'd take back everything Eldraggo took and help you recover yours," Ling said, shaking his head.
"I don't need anything else."
"Since nothing was here, I will have nothing. That's all there is to it."
"But..." Branzo started.
Ling sighed.
"I didn't set out to sea to get everything I wanted handed to me."
Everyone turned to Ling.
"I want to find out what's out there, not know what I can find. If my journey was predictable, I wouldn't be a pirate."
'Though this would change eventually. But I have three years, before I began preparing again.' He thought.
Tobio's eyes widened.
"So cool…" he whispered.
The three brothers were speechless.
Ganzo watched Ling with a smile.
"What's your goal, boy?"
"To see the world… and eat every food I find," Ling said, grinning.
"You said this is your first day as a pirate, right? Then I'm honored you ate my cooking first," Ganzo said proudly.
Ling laughed.
Golass stood from the boat after sorting out his thoughts and kneeled before him.
"I, Golass, a swordsman with wounded pride, vow to follow you through high and low, to the end of your dream."
He brought out his bounty poster and tore it in half.
"I will reclaim my pride, dedicate my sword to protecting your dream, and stand beside you as someone worthy of your trust."
"So would you allow me to join your ship?"
Ling smiled.
"Nice to have you, Golass!"
Everyone watched in silence, touched by the moment.
Fifteen minutes later...
"It's done!" Ganzo called.
They all sat together and shared a meal.
"This is a party!" Ling declared.
"Wish we had some booze!"
"We've got some on Eldraggo's ship," Golass offered.
"Then go get it!" Ling grinned.
Golass returned shortly with a barrel and cups.
Ling poured drinks.
"For Golass, who's joined me on this journey! For the birth of the Chrono Pirates!" Ling raised his cup.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Chrono Pirates?" Tobio asked.
"Yep. That'll be our crew's name," Ling said with a sly smile.
"Why?"
"It's a secret," Ling said, tapping his nose.
"Well… it doesn't matter to me," Tobio said with a small smile.
"Why's everyone so quiet?" Ling shouted.
"C'mon! Sing with me! It's not a party without a song!"
"Yo ho ho ho… Yo ho ho ho…"
"Binkusu no Sake wo…" Ling sang.
"What a great song!" Tobio said.
"I've heard that somewhere… a few months ago, actually," Ganzo mused.
"Oh! It was that guy with the orange hat!" He remembered.
"Now that I think about it… he didn't pay after eating ten bowls of oden!"
Ling's eyes widened in shock.
'A few months ago? Orange hat? That screams of Ace!'