Looking at Kozuki Oden's family that had returned with Roger, everyone except Fang Yi seemed caught off guard. Some even showed hostility towards Kozuki Oden and his family.
After all, it was really mind - boggling to go from being enemies one moment to comrades the next.
Moreover, Kozuki Oden wasn't the only one who came. Along with him were his wife, Amatsuki Toki, and their two children, Kozuki Momonosuke and Kozuki Toko - a total of four people!
"Captain, does that mean... we'll be taking them with us on the rest of our journey?" Fang Yi looked at Roger and asked.
"Yeah, Fang Yi! Our guess was right. Oden can really read those ancient texts!" Roger was beaming with joy because with Kozuki Oden's help, he was one step closer to his dream.
"But... we still haven't found the remaining three Road - Poneglyphs!" Rayleigh frowned.
Searching for three Road - Poneglyphs in the vast ocean was no easy feat. They hadn't found a single Road - Poneglyph over the years, and they'd only managed to get one by taking it from Charlotte Linlin.
"Let's... start from the entrance of the Grand Line and go through it all again!" Roger said with a hearty laugh.
"Go through it all again?" Everyone was stunned by Roger's suggestion. According to the ship doctor, Crocus, Roger might not live for more than two years.
This meant they had to find the remaining three Road - Poneglyphs within that time, decipher the information on them, and then locate the Final Island!
"Yeah, we've searched the New World for so long without any leads. How about we calm down and start from the beginning? I'm sure we'll find some clues! If we still can't find all the Road - Poneglyphs this way, then it just means... I'm not good enough for it!" Roger said with a wide grin.
Fang Yi was in a dilemma at this moment. He knew where the remaining Road - Poneglyphs were and really wanted to tell Roger, but he couldn't explain how he knew.
It would seem too fishy if he suddenly knew something he hadn't known before.
"I support Captain Roger's idea!" As the vice - captain, Rayleigh was the first to back Roger up.
"As the navigator, it's my job to guide this pirate ship to wherever the captain wants it to go!" Jabba smiled faintly and stood behind Roger.
With Jabba and Rayleigh's support, the decision was made. After leaving behind a large amount of treasure and food as a token of gratitude, the Roger Pirates were ready to set sail.
Although Whitebeard was angry, he knew the matter was settled. So he told Marco and the others to return the food, but they kept the treasure.
Shortly after the Roger Pirates set sail, they discovered two stowaways - two samurai of Kozuki Oden, the Mink Tribe's Inuarashi and Nekomamushi!
Although they stowed away on the Oro Jackson, Roger didn't say much and let them stay on the ship. After all, he had already kept Amatsuki Toki and the two children, so having one more cat and one more dog wasn't a problem.
In fact, Roger even wanted to call out Wangzai to ask Inuarashi if he could communicate with Wangzai. But after being chased around with Wangzai biting his buttocks, he abandoned this idea.
Among those who came on board, besides Roger, the one who was happiest was Fang Yi. Originally, he could get six lottery tickets every day by clocking - in. Now, with the addition of Kozuki Oden, Nekomamushi, and Inuarashi, the number of lottery tickets he could get every day increased to nine. As long as there was one more person for him to clock - in, he could achieve ten consecutive draws every day.
Here, we have to mention Amatsuki Toki separately. Fang Yi clearly managed to clock - in with her once, but he couldn't do it again the next day.
Moreover, the lottery tickets he got from clocking - in on her were different from those he got from others. They were slightly yellow.
So Fang Yi specially kept the lottery tickets he got from clocking - in on Amatsuki Toki and planned to use them when he felt he was having good luck.
Together with the lottery tickets from her, he also kept the lottery tickets he got when he first successfully clocked - in on Kozuki Oden, Nekomamushi, and Inuarashi.
Lottery tickets obtained from the first - time clock - in are more likely to yield good rewards and are somewhat different from the regular ones, so Fang Yi was a bit reluctant to use them.
After the Roger Pirates set sail again, they headed towards the first half of the Grand Line. Before long, they reached Reverse Mountain again.
"Is this the starting point of the Grand Line? This mountain... is really spectacular!" Oden looked at Reverse Mountain and couldn't help but sigh.
"Let's rest here for a day! Crocus, you should go and see Laboon, shouldn't you?" Roger's expression didn't change at all. He didn't look like a man whose life was coming to an end.
"No, Roger. Choose a route! Let's start!" Crocus shook his head and refused.
Because he knew very well that Roger only had a little over a year left to live. If they didn't hurry up, it would be too late!
"Then let's take this route!" Roger pointed at a route on the map and said with a smile.
"Eh~ This is..." Shanks looked at the route Roger was pointing at in surprise. It showed that the first small island they would pass by was called "Whiskey Peak"!
"Hahaha... Since you've been there, let's take this route! This is what we call the guidance of destiny!" Roger laughed heartily.
No one objected to Roger's choice.
So the Oro Jackson set sail again, heading towards Whiskey Peak.
Along the way, they passed by Alabasta and reached the legendary former Golden Island, now the lawless areas of Jaya.
It was also here that they found that the log pose was pointing at the sky.
"It seems that our next destination is in the sky!" Roger looked up at the sky and said with a smile.
"Captain, stop joking. How could an island be in the sky? That's impossible!" Buggy shook his head, trying to dispel Roger's idea.
"If we really want to go up there... it seems that the rising ocean current we saw earlier is our only option!" Fang Yi frowned and said.
Although he knew that the future Straw Hat Pirates used the rising ocean current, and from the perspective of a navigator, it was indeed a way, he still couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy.
If they accidentally fell from up there, not to mention Roger and the others, Fang Yi himself would definitely bite the dust.
"Oh? The rising ocean current? Theoretically speaking, it could work, but there might be some risks in operation!" Hearing Fang Yi's words, Jabba stroked his chin and said.
Listening to the discussion between Fang Yi and Jabba, Buggy really felt a sense of despair. Flying up into the sky... was that a place for humans?
"Fang Taro, is it really possible to go up to the sky along that ocean current?" Kozuki Oden looked at Fang Yi in horror and asked.
"I've said it many times, don't call me Fang Taro!" Fang Yi's face darkened as he said.
Kozuki Oden's way of addressing him made Fang Yi think of that unlucky guy on Earth who sold sesame seed cakes and was then killed by his own wife.
"Okay, Fang Taro!" Kozuki Oden nodded seriously and replied.
This guy was always like this. He promised very well, but never corrected his ways and still did things his own way. Fang Yi was almost at his wits' end.
"Hahaha..."
Although they didn't know why Fang Yi was averse to Oden calling him Fang Taro, it didn't stop them from finding it interesting. Especially when they saw Fang Yi's helpless face, they found it even more amusing.
They also asked Oden if the word "Taro" had any other meanings. But Oden told them that it was just a way of address in his hometown, Wano Country, for the eldest child. For example, Shanks was called Red Jiro, and Buggy was called Buggy Saburo!
As for the relationship between the crew and Oden, shortly after Oden joined the ship, he won them over with a meal of oden.
Originally, as the Captain of the Second Battalion of the Whitebeard Pirates, he couldn't be a bad person. The Whitebeard Pirates weren't the kind of pirates who did all kinds of evil. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been on good terms with the Whitebeard Pirates.
However, there were still some differences between their Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates. In Fang Yi's view, the Roger Pirates were more like an adventure team than a pirate crew.
However, the Whitebeard Pirates were more straightforward and more like true pirates.
Although they were also a pirate crew that didn't do bad things, they were more skilled at robbing other pirates and looting unscrupulous merchant ships.
After staying in Jaya for some time, finally, with the cooperation of Fang Yi and Jabba, they calculated the possibility of the Oro Jackson riding the rising ocean current. Finally, Fang Yi also asked Rayleigh to attach wings to the Oro Jackson, similar to those on the future Going Merry, to help them reach Sky Island.
As it turned out, when they actually reached Sky Island, even Fang Yi found it incredible.
After all, the scenery here was completely different from that of the sea.
If it weren't for the lack of time, Fang Yi would have inquired about "Birka," the hometown of the future Thunder God Enel, because there was a quite powerful Devil Fruit there - the Logia - type Goro Goro no Mi.
If Fang Yi could get his hands on it, he could create a powerful fighter.
Unfortunately, due to Roger's health, they didn't stay on Sky Island for long.
Even Buggy's wish to take some Gin from here couldn't be fulfilled.
With Roger utilizing his ability to listen to all things, they quickly found the Gin bell hanging in the sky and the Poneglyph engraved on it.