Swallowed by the waves. The last memory was a whirlpool. Sound of the oar snapping. Impact of the deck shattering. And then——dark. Cold. The sea bottom. Luka D Taiga felt the weight of their body before consciousness returned. A blanket. Not a quilt. A blanket. A bed. Not a hard floor. The smell of salt mixed with wood. Eyes opened. Wooden ceiling. Light from the window came at an afternoon angle. Tried to sit up. The entire body screamed. "[cold]You shouldn't get up. Your ribs might be fractured." A voice. A girl sitting in a chair spoke without lifting her eyes from a sea chart. Silver hair tied back in a single knot. Sun-darkened thin fingers holding a pen. A small compass pendant glowed at her neck. Taiga slowly looked at that face. Seventeen years old——didn't look it at all. Clear blue eyes fixed on the chart. There was a quietness about her, like she was looking at something far away. "……Did you save me?" The girl turned a page of the chart. There was a slight pause before she answered. "[serious]The Elgrim Strait——the waterway spreading between Porto Neira and Karabina Port Town, with abnormally violent currents——taking a small boat out there is suicide. Even I, who know the exact positions of all the whirlpools, need half a day to pass through." That said, she returned to the chart. Taiga looked at the ceiling. Karabina Port Town. A port town of 12,000 people on the Log Pose route in the first half of the Grand Line. The Navy's 7th G Branch was here too. This much was according to plan. The problem was——being nearly penniless now. The blanket shifted. When Taiga tried to sit up, burn scars running from the left arm across the chest became exposed. Keloid-twisted skin visible clearly under the midday light. Reina's hand stopped. The pen stopped. For just one moment——just one moment, her eyes turned toward Taiga's left arm. Her face looked like something had pierced her. Then immediately back to the chart. Taiga noticed. But said nothing. Reina said nothing either. For a while, only the sound of waves flowed through the room. --- "Guide me to Porto Neira." Taiga cut straight to the point. Reina's pen stops. This time not just a moment. Slowly she raised her face and looked at Taiga. "[serious]The Barossa Company——a weapons merchant network controlling the underworld of the first half of the Grand Line——their headquarters. Officially a legitimate trading company, but they sell weapons and information to pirates, the Navy, and the Revolutionary Army alike. If an amateur walks in there, there's no guarantee you'll come back alive." "I know." "[serious]You know and still go?" "I have a lead on someone who can become a crew member. It's in Porto Neira." Reina watched Taiga quietly. Not lying. But why there's a lead in Porto Neira——couldn't explain that. Couldn't say they had knowledge of the future. Taiga's words faltered. Eyes dropped. Reina was watching. Not the words——the eyes. Not the eyes of someone lying. The eyes of someone desperately protecting something. The reason couldn't be explained because there were circumstances that couldn't be shared. Reina folded the chart. "[serious]I'll guide you on the route only. Once we reach the island, I stay with the ship. That's the condition." Taiga looked at her, slightly surprised. "……Why?" "[cold]My judgment. Don't ask the reason." Short. That was all. Reina stood and headed toward the door. "[gentle]Wave Sound Inn——this lodging is 5,000 Berries per night with meals. I'll pay for tonight. We set sail at dawn tomorrow. Gather information by then. Be careful." The door closed. --- The first floor of Wave Sound Inn filled with people as evening came. Fishermen. Merchants. Passing sailors. Behind the counter, the proprietress Pola——a sturdy woman in her sixties——silently made fish soup. The smell reached the stomach. Taiga sat at a random table and ordered cheap ale. Reina sat diagonally across and drank soup. A tavern was fastest for gathering Grand Line information. Taiga knew that. Ears open, picking up surrounding conversations. World Government and Navy movements. Talk of the Four Emperors. Route information for the first half of the Grand Line. Luffy was sailing through early Grand Line. Ace was on Whitebeard's ship. The world was still peaceful. But——the countdown had already started. Two and a half years until the Banaro Island duel. Three years until the Marineford Summit War. Taiga took a sip of ale. Bitter. But this was fine for now. At the next table, an old sailor tilted his drink while talking. "……There's been a strange rumor lately." A companion nodded along. "Apparently someone's been chasing rumors of a man who knows the future. Some guy named Dial or something……" ——Taiga's hand stopped. The ale glass froze on the table. (Dial) Slang meaning clock face. The epicenter of rumors through information brokers in the underworld. "A man who knows the future"——that was Taiga themself. Which meant——someone other than Taiga was pursuing them. Something cold crawled from the back of the neck down the spine. Who. For what. How much do they know. The old sailor's story continued, but the content no longer entered the mind. Rumors spreading through the first half of the Grand Line. Talk that the Barossa Company was selling that information. ——Every move made, someone counters. That possibility suddenly had the weight of reality. "[cold]Your complexion changed." Reina's voice struck quietly. She stopped drinking soup. Looking at Taiga. Blue eyes straight on. "Do you know something about what they just said?" Taiga set down the glass. "Nothing." "[serious]That's a lie." No hesitation whatsoever. Simply stated it. Taiga looked at Reina. Reina looked at Taiga. "……There are things I can't say. That's all." A pause. Reina returned her gaze to the soup. "[gentle]I see. ……Be careful." That was all. Didn't press further. But——"Be careful" sounded warmer than expected. --- Left for the port before dawn. Reina's pilot ship was smaller than expected. But well-maintained. The deck was clean as polished. Sail seams. Rope knots——everything managed with care. Set sail. The Elgrim Strait's dawn was thick with fog. Gray mist hung low across the 30km-wide waterway. Every time a rock formation's shadow floated from the fog, Taiga instinctively braced. But——Reina didn't flinch. The hand on the helm didn't waver. Eyes fixed on one point, never moving. When a whirlpool came from the right, the helm turned left. Timing calculated. The wave cut. Dodging rocks by a hair's breadth. Expression unchanged. "……Amazing skill." Muttered without thinking. Reina spoke without turning from the front. "[serious]Of course. I lost my brother here." Nothing more was said. Taiga didn't ask. The two stood side by side, watching the sea. Fog gradually cleared. The horizon appeared in the distance. After a while, Taiga spoke. "Why do you do dangerous route guidance in a place like this?" Reina didn't answer immediately. Adjusted the helm angle slightly, then spoke. "[serious]So I stop being afraid of this strait." Taiga said nothing after hearing that. ——Understood somehow. Facing a frightening place repeatedly. Returning to a lost place again and again. Knowing that wasn't weakness but their own way of fighting. Taiga had Ace. That scene wouldn't leave the mind. Nights when it returned, many times. But——that's why they came back. Because it was frightening, they came to face it again. Reina spoke without turning from the front. "[gentle]Did you lose something too?" Taiga was silent for a moment, then answered. "Haven't lost it yet. ……So I came to stop it." Reina said nothing. But——Taiga felt Reina's profile soften slightly. The compass pendant swayed gently, catching the morning light. The fog cleared. Beyond the horizon, a thick band of fog appeared. The special fog surrounding Porto Neira. Impossible to approach without a permanent magnet. Port tax was 500,000 Berries per ship——nearly Taiga's entire fortune. The fog-covered island. Barossa Company's surveillance spread everywhere. "[serious]We're arriving. ……Be careful." The usual phrase sounded at a slightly different temperature today. Taiga faced forward. The island's outline floated in the fog.