"Look, right there."
Moses scanned the waterlogged sections of the surrounding rocks and quickly spotted clusters of oysters clinging to a reef.
Pointing, he said, "That's them. Pry open the shells, and you can eat them—the meat is incredibly tender and flavorful."
Crow Dabao immediately took flight, skimming over the sea's surface before using his sharp talons to snatch an oyster from the reef.
He soared into the sky and then dropped the oyster onto a rock below.
Crack!
The shell shattered on impact.
Moses watched as Crow Dabao swooped down, pinned the oyster with his claws, and used his sharp beak to pry it open, savoring the fresh seafood.
A palm-sized oyster was devoured in two bites.
Moses chuckled and asked, "How does it taste?"
"Gah—tender! Fresh! More!" Crow Dabao's eyes gleamed as he flew off to grab more oysters.
"Mei, you eat."
Before long, Crow Dabao returned with another cracked oyster, offering it to Moses.
"Thanks." Moses smiled, not refusing the gesture. He clamped the fishing rod between his legs, took the oyster, and popped it into his mouth.
The texture was soft and springy, the sweetness of the sea mingling with a faint brininess.
After finishing, Moses said, "Actually, they taste even better grilled. Go gather some dry wood. I'll head back to grab some seasonings, and we can have a proper oyster roast here."
Crow Dabao nodded and flew off. Moses secured the fishing rod in a crevice between the rocks before returning to the warship.
Soon, he had gathered everything from the kitchen: cooking oil, sesame oil, oyster sauce, minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped scallions, soy sauce for steamed fish, and diced onions.
He also brought a specialized grill grate.
Along the way, villagers pointed and whispered.
By the time he returned to the reef,
Crow Dabao had already prepared a pile of dry wood, stacked in a stone pit.
Moses arranged rocks into a fire pit, lit the wood, and soon, flames roared to life. He then searched the rocks for more oysters and edible shellfish.
Before long, he had collected a sizable haul. Using the shortsword Cold Dew, he pried open the oysters and rinsed them in clean seawater.
Half an hour later.
Luck was on their side—a fish had taken the bait. An unidentified sea fish, hefty at nearly eight pounds. Moses happily gutted and cleaned it.
With preparations complete and the wood reduced to glowing embers, smoke now minimal, Moses brushed oil onto the grill grate and placed the oysters—still in their left shells—on top.
He sprinkled the oyster meat with scallions, garlic, and other seasonings, drizzled on oyster sauce and sesame oil, and soon, the sizzling aroma of grilled oysters filled the air.
Done.
Unfazed by the heat, Moses quickly plucked one off the grill and set it before Crow Dabao.
"Dig in. Wait a bit if it's too hot."
He placed more grilled oysters between them and continued cooking.
The fish, now nicely seared on one side, was basted with sauce, flipped, and left to roast further.
"I knew I'd find you here. Little Moses."
Just then,
a familiar voice called out. Moses turned to look.
A girl of about fourteen or fifteen stood a dozen meters away, already blossoming into a striking young woman.
Over her white checkered shirt, she wore a red sleeveless jacket. Her straight, slightly plump legs were clad in light blue trousers with simple patterns.
On her feet were brown-black deerskin ankle boots.
Her exposed skin was fair and smooth.
Dark green hair was tied into a high ponytail at the back of her head.
A few loose strands framed her forehead, and her delicate, pretty face was currently pouting at him with clear displeasure.
Moses blinked, looking at the suddenly larger version of Makino with confusion. "How did you know I was here?"
"What do you think?" Makino huffed, cheeks puffing out as she walked over. Without a care for the dirt, she plopped down on the rock opposite Moses.
"Someone saw you carrying that iron grill for barbecuing. Mr. Garp's grandson went to the shore to catch fish. The whole port knows about it by now. My place isn't far from the docks, so I heard about it."
She crossed her arms. "And here you are, coming all this way without even visiting me. Just decided to have a picnic by yourself, huh? Do you even still consider me your sister?"
Her tone turned accusatory. "Why didn't you come the last few times Mr. Garp visited? Were you busy with something?"
Makino fired off a barrage of complaints at Moses.
What she didn't mention was that after hearing about Garp's ship arriving, she had gone out of her way to ask around.
When she learned Moses had gone to the mayor's house, she rushed there, only to find out he'd gone fishing. But when she got to the shore, there was no sign of him.
Then, after returning home, she overheard villagers talking about how Garp's grandson had gone off to barbecue half an hour ago—which was why she finally tracked him down.
Why is it so hard just to see you?
At that thought, Makino shot Moses a sharp glare, her expression clearly unhappy, practically demanding he cheer her up.
Moses chuckled helplessly and handed her an oyster. "Plans change. I've been busy with some personal matters these past two years, so things got delayed."
Makino took the oyster, eyeing it curiously. "Can you tell me what you've been up to?"
As she spoke, she accepted a small scalpel from Moses and, following his gesture, used it to pry open the oyster and take a bite.
The moment she tasted it, her eyes lit up. Noticing the rich mix of ingredients inside, she grinned with satisfaction.
"Not bad, Moses. Didn't know you could barbecue too."
"Of course. Something simple like this is no problem for me." Moses shrugged. "It's nothing major—just picked up a skill, Forging."
"You became a blacksmith?" Makino blinked, tilting her head. "At your age, are you an apprentice or something?"
Moses gave her a strange look before sighing.
"If I'm already this small, who'd even take me as an apprentice?"
Makino froze, then nodded in realization. But soon, she frowned at him again.
"Are you lying to me again?"
"When have I ever lied?"
"You totally have! Last time, you said you were alone, and then your grandpa Mr. Garp showed up!"
"That was before we were close! Besides, I apologized afterward."
"Did you?" Makino tilted her head, skeptical. "If you had, I'd remember. I'm sure you didn't."
"Didn't I give you a deer before I left?" Moses countered. "That was both a return gift and an apology. Did I not say it?"
"You. Did. Not."
Makino enunciated each word, then suddenly laughed. "You didn't say a single word about it. You just went, 'This deer's for you as thanks,' and then left."
"Oh. Then I forgot. Consider it said now." Moses grinned.
Makino rolled her eyes, exasperated. "You can just do that? That apology sure took its sweet time."
Flipping the grilled fish over, Moses glanced at Makino and said, "Eat up! Go ahead, I'm still grilling more."
"Oh? Okay."
Makino dug in heartily, not holding back at all. Moses chuckled at her enthusiasm.
The two chatted and laughed as they ate oysters. When the fish was ready, Moses used a scalpel to divide it into three portions.
One for you, one for me, and one for it.
Whether by sheer luck or not, they soon hooked a lobster and a flat sea fish in succession, adding more variety to their seafood feast.
"Mei, is that... sea... worm?" Crow Dabao suddenly spoke up, one wing pointing toward a gap between two rocks about ten meters away where something squirmed in the wet sand. "Very... strange."
Moses looked over and saw a pink, elongated intestine-like creature wriggling in the damp sediment. "That's called a sandworm, also known as sea sausage. It's delicious—just like regular sausage."
Before he could finish, Crow Dabao flapped its wings and swooped over, clutching the worm tightly in its talons before flying back.
When it reached Moses, the crow released its grip, sending the worm flying toward him. Moses swiftly raised his scalpel.
The sandworm was impaled midair. Moses shot Crow Dabao an exasperated look, then stood up and walked to the shoreline. He slit open the worm along its digestive tract and rinsed out the sand inside with seawater.
After cleaning it, he coated it in oil and placed it on the grill. Meanwhile, Makino stared at Moses in amazement. "Moses, did that crow just talk? I've been meaning to ask—is it yours?"
A faint smile curled at Moses' lips as he met her gaze. "I was wondering when you'd finally ask. I noticed you couldn't stop staring at my crow earlier."
Makino blinked, then grinned. "Well, beautiful things naturally draw attention. This crow is so striking—it's only normal to be captivated."
At this, Crow Dabao let out a raucous laugh. It glanced at Moses first, its hoarse voice croaking, "Crow... not... your bird. Crow's... heart... belongs... to girl. Mei... just... boss."
Then it turned to scrutinize Makino, its beady eyes roaming up and down before making a "tsk tsk" sound. It rasped:
"Woman... Crow pretty... Crow know. But Crow... has family. Crow... has... wife and kids. You and Crow... no chance."
Seeing Makino's stunned expression, Crow Dabao cackled. "Woman... looks... nice. Too bad... is idiot. Caw caw caw~ Mei... also... no like... idiot. Caw caw caw."
Moses' face darkened at the last remark. He grabbed Crow Dabao's beak and sighed. "You're not even drunk—why the nonsense? She was just complimenting you. Was the personal attack necessary?"
Crow Dabao shook its head but stopped struggling when it realized it couldn't break free. It glared at Makino as if itching to say more. Moses warned:
"I'll let go, but no more insults."
The crow nodded.
The moment Moses released its beak, Crow Dabao blurted, "Crow... noticed you... before. From sky... saw... Mei's... places... you went. Thought... was... coincidence... didn't care.
Hear... your words... just now.
Now... Crow knows. You... always... looking for Mei. Right?"
Listening to Crow Dabao's analysis, Moses smiled and looked at Makino. "You came looking for me earlier?"
Makino's face turned red with embarrassment. She hadn't expected to be exposed by a crow, let alone one that could talk.
And now it was being said right to her face.
A hint of panic flickered in Makino's heart, but only for a moment. She then smiled brightly at Moses and admitted openly:
"That's right, I did come looking for you before. After all, Moses, you're so interesting, and there aren't any peers my age in the village.
Either they're older than me, making it boring to hang out, or they're younger and still too childish. Compared to them, you're the most interesting—even though you're younger, you're not childish at all.
So when I heard Mr. Garp was back, I wondered if you'd come with him.
But who would've thought that even though Mr. Garp has returned several times over the past two years, you never showed up once.
I even asked Mr. Garp about it, and he said he had no idea what you were up to.
So, I decided that every time Mr. Garp came, I'd go ask him. I wanted to see if you'd keep your word. Just how many 'next times' did you mean by 'next time'?"
As she spoke, Makino shot Moses a resentful glare before continuing her rant:
"But who knew that this time, when you finally came, I couldn't find you for half the day? How can you be so hard to track down? Can't you just fish in one spot like a normal person?"
Moses blinked, watching Makino spill her grievances like a burst dam. He gave her a pitying look.
"You really have it rough, huh? Not even a single peer to talk to here. How pitiful. At least I have Doctorine, a Panda, and a whole family of crows."
Hearing Moses' words, Makino froze for a moment before her eyes filled with equal pity. She sighed and looked at him.
"Turns out you're even worse off than me. At least I have a whole village to talk to, while you only have an old lady, a bear, and some birds."
Moses' expression turned deadpan. "Old lady?"
Makino nodded. "Mr. Garp once said, 'That kid Moses lives up in the mountains with some reclusive old hag.'"
Moses winced at that but felt the need to clarify before the misunderstanding got out of hand.
A moment later.
Makino let out an awkward chuckle.
Her eyes sparkled with surprise—she hadn't expected Moses' so-called "old lady" to be like that.
Despite her advanced age, her physical condition and mental state were just like a young person's.
And then there was the Devil Fruit-eating chef, the miner Panda.
A whole family of talking crows.
Everything, absolutely everything, was completely different from what Mr. Garp had described. Moses' life sounded downright fascinating.
As expected, Mr. Garp was completely unreliable—he'd even slandered someone so casually.
Makino couldn't help but puff up her cheeks and take an angry bite of grilled fish. "Sorry."
Moses looked surprised. "What are you apologizing for?"
"Well, I did call your doctor an old hag."
"That's nothing. Some people where I'm from call her a witch or a damn hag."
"That's so mean of them."
"Eh, it's fine. Doctorine does charge a fortune for medical treatment. Besides, anyone who dares insult her gets beaten up."
"Beaten up?"
"Yeah, beaten up—like, 'kicking down walls' kind of beaten up."
"Moses, you're joking again, right? How could anyone kick down a wall? Haha... haha..."
Makino forced a laugh, but seeing Moses' calm expression, she had no choice but to settle down.
Rubbing her head in frustration, she sighed and looked at him. "Hey, Moses... have you ever wondered why the gap between people can be so huge?"
"I can't even break a wooden stake as thick as a fist, yet some people can punch through a stone wall with a single blow."
"Once, I saw it with my own eyes—it was terrifying. I even thought that wall must've been unstable."
"Why is the difference between people so vast? It's almost like we're two different species."
"Honestly, I'm lucky to have made it this far in one piece."