Chapter 142: Off Course

"What on earth happened? Surely no bounty hunter has set their sights on Whitebeard's head, right?"

The commotion aboard the Moby Dick naturally caught Qiubai's attention. After all, the explosion had even produced smoke, but he was merely joking.

"Although I have no idea what's going on over on Whitebeard's side, our own ship is about to sink!" Law shouted from above.

He had finally recovered from the shock of Doflamingo's surprise attack.

Amidst loud creaking noises, the ship had listed heavily to one side due to taking on water.

"In times like this, am I really the only one who can be relied upon?" Qiubai muttered to himself...

Rather than worrying about how Whitebeard was faring, his own situation was clearly more urgent. Without a second thought, Qiubai turned and bolted down into the hull.

Among all the people on board, he was the only one capable of carrying out this kind of repair work. If anyone else were to immerse themselves in seawater, um...

In short, there was an urgent need to patch the breach caused by Doflamingo; if any more water got in, the ship would genuinely capsize.

Of course, Qiubai was not a professional after all, and the most he could do was apply temporary measures akin to slapping a plaster on the ship.

He dismantled the wooden paneling from the superstructure, then dashed down into the hold and patched things up haphazardly... Achieving a complete seal was out of the question, and seawater still seeped through the gaps, but after scrambling around for over an hour, the situation was at least brought under control.

"It looks like we'll need to find somewhere to dock temporarily."

Climbing back up to the upper deck, Qiubai peered over the gunwale. Although he couldn't see the state of the hull below, the ship certainly couldn't hold out for much longer in this condition.

Heading straight for Fafnir was entirely out of the question now. First and foremost, they had to find a place to repair the vessel.

"Bepo, set a course according to the Log Pose."

Though he had no clear idea which island was closest, following the needle was always the right move.

"But... what if it's an uninhabited island?" Bepo asked in return. No one could guarantee whether the next island would be inhabited or not. Furthermore, there wasn't a shipwright on board; to properly repair the devastation left by Doflamingo, a proper shipyard was truly necessary.

"You're overthinking it... We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Qiubai said. For the time being, he didn't want to abandon a vessel that could be considered a symbol of Doflamingo.

"..."

That was indeed the case; preventing the ship from capsizing was the priority, so Bepo obediently altered the course.

......

After tossing and turning for three days, Qiubai and his group finally arrived at the next island.

Fortunately, it was not the sort of barren rock devoid of even birds; both a port and a city were present.

The pirate ship sailed directly into the port's shipyard for repairs, and the group decided to split up into two teams: Ain, Bepo, and Law would wait at the yard, while Qiubai and Monet went to resupply.

"The Rumbar Kingdom... It seems that is the name of this country." Monet closed a notebook and spoke to Qiubai.

Due to the unique environment of the New World, this nation, much like Dressrosa before it, possessed the unique structure of a single city serving as the entire country—the state was the capital, and the capital was the state.

"Rumbar?"

The country's name sounded vaguely familiar, but Qiubai didn't pay it much mind.

"Resupplies... what do we need?" Monet asked again.

"Food, fresh water, and things like that, but first should be... books, I suppose," Qiubai replied.

"Books?"

Monet shot Qiubai a suspicious look. Well, no matter how one looked at it, he didn't seem like the type of person who loved studying and reading... and in reality, that was entirely true. He had spent two lifetimes as an academic slacker, and he intended to continue refining his skills on that very path.

"Um, I sense a profound lack of trust here. Is it really that strange for me to want to read?" Qiubai turned his head, having just felt a distinct sense of moral superiority directed at him.

"Heh-heh-oh, no. It's just difficult to associate you with the act of reading."

"..." Qiubai was left speechless. After a moment of reflection, he realized Monet was probably right.

"It seems the events of Dressrosa have already started spreading." Eager to conceal his slacker tendencies, Qiubai deftly changed the subject.

"Yes. King Riku's previous policies not only benefited Dressrosa, but the surrounding countries also managed to maintain peace because of them. However, following the recent upheaval, the entire sea surrounding Dressrosa will likely be thrown into turmoil," Monet said.

Doflamingo's actions would naturally trigger a chain reaction. His intention all along had been to turn Dressrosa into his stronghold and the central hub of the underworld. As long as he could maintain his operations in that country for the long term, it would become a distribution center for all sorts of illegal goods that couldn't be traded openly. Doflamingo was like a spider, gradually weaving a vast web with Dressrosa as its center, resting right at the heart of it.

With an arms dealer and war broker who desperately wanted the world to fall into chaos as a neighbor, would the surrounding nations derive any benefits?

Of course not. On the contrary, they would be the first to bear the brunt of the disastrous consequences caused by Doflamingo.

"I just didn't expect him to ascend so swiftly and openly as the new king. King Riku's past kindnesses were utterly forgotten by his subjects in the blink of an eye. But human nature has always been thus... Here we are."

Chatting along the way, the two of them eventually found a bookstore.

Since Doflamingo's ship still contained a portion of funds that hadn't been transferred yet, Qiubai didn't need to go through his "standard procedure" for this shopping trip. He was a wealthy man now... In the past, he always had to sell swords for cash first.

"Customer, what can I help you find? Navigation charts? We have the best-selling World Government revised editions right here..." The shopkeeper greeted them with enthusiastic recommendations.

Monet, however, shook her head with a smile. "No need, we'll just look around ourselves."

She said this because Qiubai had already marched right past the counter and plunged straight into the shelves.

As for navigation charts... those weren't necessary. Leaving the Four Blues aside, the charts sold commercially throughout the Grand Line and even the New World were entirely untrustworthy. If one actually bought such a thing, they might well be swallowed by some natural disaster in a marked "safe zone."

Upon entering the bookstore, Qiubai's browsing speed was remarkably fast. After all, he only looked at the titles, not the contents.

He picked out volumes with subtly unified and bizarre themes, such as *The Wanderings of Senju Rize*, *Uchiha Feng Gong's 180 Days in the Grand Line*, and *An Illustrated Guide to Land Creatures*.

In no time at all, he had gathered a huge pile of such works.

"...Children's books?" Monet once again began to doubt Qiubai's aesthetic tastes. What was enjoyable about these illustrated picture books?

"Well... you have to nurture the spirit of adventure from a young age, you see."

Qiubai continued his selection, though he seemed to have given a rather peculiar explanation.