As the Redflower Pirates continued sailing towards RedSand Island, they were all anticipating a specific event, as were all the other pirates currently sailing the Second Ocean.

Eventually, that event arrived.

DING!

DING!

DING!

Three dull rings echoed throughout the entirety of the seas. They could be heard by every sailor currently within the Second Ocean.

With the sound, the skies slightly darkened, although the sun was still high above.

At this moment, crews began to push their ships faster in order to rush towards the safety of the land.

This was because this event was the opening of the gate to the Third Ocean. This gate would remain open for 24 hours, allowing those who wished to pass into the Third Ocean to try their luck. It would also allow those who wished to return to the Second Ocean to try their luck too, but this was ultimately much harder.

By the time RedSand Island was in sight of the Redflower Pirates, the sea had already become extremely troubled.

They wasted no time docking their ship on the beach, alongside a bunch of other ships, one of which they assumed had carried Roseus there.

Once off the ship, they climbed a sand dune, which gave them the chance to overlook a bustling town made entirely from sandstone.

The town was mostly inhabited by dark-skinned islanders, as well as a few foreign merchants who were there to trade with the natives. As for pirates, there was no sign of any.

It seemed that the Alzabe presence scared off most pirates from entering the Southern Sunny Sea islands.

If not for Zaliah, the Redflowers would have felt the same.

It was because of this Ceremonialist that the crew were allowed to even step foot into the town.

At first, they were given harsh looks by those around them, but when they noticed the white-haired woman with numerous trinkets and jewellery adorning her body, those looks immediately changed to ones of respect.

Many of the townspeople had previously received preachings from Zaliah about their sea god, Yazu.

Some people even bowed when passing.

...

Eventually, they arrived at a tavern, where similar respect was shown to them.

Zaliah explained to the tavern keeper that they were looking for a place to stay, but more importantly, were looking for their captain, Roseus.

The tavern keeper pointed out that the man had arrived at that exact tavern and was currently staying in one of its rooms. However, once the Third Ocean gates opened, he had headed out.

The crew were all filled with relief. They knew that if they waited there, they would soon be reunited with their captain.

So, they ordered themselves a meal and settled down in the rooms neighbouring Roseus’ own room.

Then, they waited for their captain’s return.

What they couldn’t see was that a small thundercloud had suddenly appeared above the usually sunny island.

...

Roseus stood on the shore of a beach, staring out at the troubled seas.

Ever since using his skill, Whispering Winds, to determine that his crew were heading towards him, he had been able to settle himself down.

He heard them speaking his name in the distance. He couldn’t hear what they were saying about him, only that the voices were recognisable and slowly heading towards him.

Once he found a room in a tavern, he enquired about the Fresh Bounty Weekly.

Luckily, RedSand Island had received their newspaper for the week, and Roseus was able to see what the world was saying about him and his crew.

His bounty had reached 17,500H. Slowly, he was becoming more notorious.

The rest of his crew had all also had their bounties increased by 1,000H. The names of all his crew were now known to the world, except for Zaliah, as nobody knew she had joined them yet.

The total bounty of the entire Redflower crew was now over 100,000H. The amount was a lot to take in.

However, Roseus only found himself thinking about figures such as his father, a man whose bounty alone was 170,000H, and a woman like Stellar, whose bounty as a Second Mate was 135,000H.

There was still such a large gap between them.

There was still so much Roseus had to do if he wished to catch up to his father.

Because of this, he currently stood on the shore of the beach and carefully stepped out into the water.

His plan was to submerge himself in hopes of attracting creatures to him using his father’s hat and his skill, Hunting Diver.

Despite gaining great strength in both of his systems, Roseus had made a greater sacrifice during the battle against the navy.

He had lost the Greycloud Longsword and also the Monochrome .38 Special.

Over time, he had discovered how useful treasures could be. Oftentimes, they would determine the outcome of a battle.

So for this reason, he knew that he needed to find replacements for these items. Ones that could help him bridge the gap between himself and someone who was a rank or even two above him, without having to constantly rely on the powers of Rai’zac’s storm.

He planned on staying out here for as long as it would take. He could afford to, now that he knew his crew was safe.

Roseus tied his father’s hat to his head with a piece of seaweed, held his father’s cutlass in his hand, and submerged himself into the water.

He felt danger approaching him, and once he did, he quickly hurried back to the shore and waited.

He stared out into the water he had just submerged himself in and watched as three creatures broke through the surface and stepped onto the sandy beach.

Roseus’s eyes went wide. He had never seen these creatures before.

They resembled ghouls draped in torn black rags. Their skin was crisp black, as though burned by the sun, and attached to their heads like hair were long dangling chains that scraped along the ground behind them, making it impossible for them to hold their heads up and forcing them to move in an uncomfortable position.