At noon, the sun blazed brightly overhead.
A thousand-meter-long giant shark once again towed the Wind Rider through the Calm Belt.
From the East Blue, they returned to the Grand Line.
On deck, Uta gazed out at the sea, mesmerized by the magnificent scenery.
Nojiko was the same. Both of them were filled with curiosity about the journey ahead.
"It feels like a dream," Nojiko whispered softly, her heart full of wonder.
The experiences of the past two days had been overwhelming.
First, she was rescued by Caelan in Cocoyasi Village. Then she boarded the ship and witnessed Caelan's terrifying power as he destroyed both the Demon King of Songs and the Golden Lion.
Finally, she even attended a banquet alongside a Yonko crew.
Everything was completely new to her.
But compared to everyone else on the ship, she couldn't help but feel a little useless.
"Sis, what are you thinking about?" Nami hugged Nojiko and asked gently.
She was genuinely happy to have her sister on board. From now on, the people closest to her were together, and there was nothing more reassuring.
"I was just thinking… if I'll be a burden to you all," Nojiko said with a strained smile.
"Don't be silly! Two and a half months ago, I was way behind where you are now!"
"As long as you train with us, you'll catch up in no time!"
Nami patted Nojiko on the shoulder and spoke seriously.
She didn't mention "taking care" of Nojiko. That would've felt condescending toward her sister.
She believed that with her sister's determination, and with Caelan's generous teaching of his crew, Nojiko would catch up soon.
"Right!" Nojiko nodded firmly, eyes full of determination.
"Well said. Nami really gets me."
Caelan walked over with a smile and gave Nami a proud pat on the shoulder.
Then he turned to Nojiko.
"But if you really want to catch up, hard work alone isn't enough."
Under Nojiko's shocked gaze, Caelan handed her a strange Devil Fruit.
Even though she'd never left Cocoyasi Village, she knew that this was a rare treasure of the sea—easily worth hundreds of millions of Berries.
"No way. I just joined. I can't accept something so valuable!"
Nojiko quickly waved her hands, embarrassed to accept such a gift without having contributed anything yet.
"Eat it, and you can keep up with us. If you don't eat it, I'll throw you overboard."
Caelan joked casually, a relaxed smile on his face.
Nojiko held the fruit in her hands, still visibly hesitant.
"Sis, just eat it! Caelan gave me mine too. You can repay him later!"
Nami urged her, almost stuffing the fruit into her mouth.
"…Alright!"
Nojiko nodded hard. Without further hesitation, she took a big bite.
Everyone aboard the Wind Rider gathered around to see the new sister's ability.
Then, to everyone's amazement, Nojiko began to float in the air.
With a flick of her finger, the chair she touched also floated beside her.
"So this is a Devil Fruit… it's amazing!"
Nojiko was filled with wonder as she tested her new ability.
"Caelan, what Devil Fruit did you give my sister?"
Nami poked Caelan in the waist, a little curious.
She hadn't asked earlier because she trusted that Caelan would never give his own people anything useless.
He had sold the Bubble Fruit and Giraffe Fruit they previously found. And the better ones, taken from the Celestial Dragons, were divided among the crew.
"That's the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit."
Caelan said casually, smiling.
"What!?"
"Didn't the Golden Lion die? How do you have his Devil Fruit?"
All the girls exclaimed in shock, completely unable to believe it.
"When a Devil Fruit user dies, the ability attaches itself to the nearest regular fruit."
"I woke up this morning and found it on the fruit plate next to my bed. Maybe I just got lucky."
Caelan chuckled, looking a little smug.
"There are records about that in books… but your luck is insane!"
Robin muttered, clearly amazed.
The others nodded in agreement, stunned by how lucky Caelan was.
The odds of something like that happening were like a random pirate in a remote village stumbling upon the inheritance of a legendary swordsman and becoming a master overnight.
Stuff like that only happens in fairytales and heroic epics.
"Of course. I've always had good luck."
In truth, even Caelan himself found it unbelievable.
When he woke up and looked at the fruit bowl beside his bed, he spotted an apple that had turned gray and was covered in swirling patterns.
With the Devil Fruit encyclopedia he had taken from the Celestial Dragons, he confirmed it was the Float-Float Fruit.
He had just obtained the Heroic Spirit template of Lancer Karna, which supposedly came with D-rank luck—something that didn't suit him at all.
Lancers were famously unlucky and always died in absurd ways.
He had been a little worried at first, but now it seemed the "Luck A" on his system interface wasn't just false advertising.
From this day forward, he was a "Luck A Lancer!"
"Nami, you don't have to worry about your sister falling behind anymore."
"As a legendary pirate, the Golden Lion's bounty was largely because of that fruit. Anyone who eats it has at least the potential to become an admiral-level powerhouse."
Kalifa looked at Nojiko with open envy in her eyes.
As a former CP9 agent, she was very aware of just how powerful the Float-Float Fruit was.
At this moment, Nojiko also understood how precious the treasure Caelan had given her truly was.
This was the Devil Fruit power of the legendary Golden Lion, a pirate who had once wreaked havoc across the East Blue and remained untouchable by the Marines.
"Thank you, Caelan!"
Nojiko bowed deeply. She was moved by how Caelan had saved her life twice and trusted her so deeply.
"You're welcome. Now that you're on my ship, you better treat me well from now on."
Caelan patted Nojiko's shoulder and said casually.
"Yes! I will!"
Nojiko nodded vigorously, filled with resolve.
She had heard that Caelan liked beautiful women. Maybe she still had a chance to catch his eye.
Judging by how things were going, it wasn't impossible.
"Looks like I really followed the right captain…"
Uta smiled in relief, seeing how generous Caelan was even to newcomers.
Kalifa shot Caelan a resentful glance.
Now it was her turn to be left behind.
"Don't worry. Yours is coming soon."
Caelan patted Kalifa on the shoulder reassuringly.
So far, every woman aboard the Wind Rider had obtained a powerful Devil Fruit—except Kalifa.
Of course, Caelan wouldn't forget his devoted little secretary.
On Punk Hazard, Vegapunk had created a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit based on the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.
That was exactly what Caelan had his sights on.
In Oda's original work, this was the same as Kaido's original fruit.
Rather than letting Momonosuke eat it, it was better to give it to someone on his own crew.
(To be continued.)