Chapter 459: Five Years
Chapter 459: Five Years
The days after Hancock boarded the ship were much more cheerful than before.
The tacit understanding between Robin and Feng Ye was too great. While it brought Feng Ye a peaceful environment, it also made the atmosphere too tranquil.
Robin was a lover of tranquility, and though Feng Ye enjoyed it as well, his preference for quiet wasn't as strong as Robin's, occupying only about seven out of ten.
So Hancock's arrival injected new vitality into the calm, giving Feng Ye a different feel from before and making him feel that including Hancock in their travels had been the right choice.
There was an unusual harmony between Hancock and Robin.
Of course, that was only on the surface.
Fearing that they might incur Feng Ye's displeasure, neither Hancock nor Robin would display any signs of disharmony in front of him, but they were always up to little tricks behind his back.
Normally, Hancock would be at a significant disadvantage against Robin, but the result was the complete opposite.
On the one hand, Robin's strength exceeded Hancock's slightly due to having access to Feng Ye's chakra, and on the other hand, Robin's Hana Hana no Mi was far superior to Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi when it came to these little tricks.
Aside from enhancing her charm and turning people to stone, the Mero Mero no Mi didn't have much other use.
In comparison, Robin's Hana Hana no Mi, true to its name, allowed her to perform all sorts of flashy maneuvers, such as creating clones of herself—a capability entirely different from a shadow clone.
The clones created by the Hana Hana no Mi shared the same sensations as the original body, and with Robin's formidable cognitive abilities, she could manage to be in two or even three places at once, simultaneously controlling both her original body and the clones.
The original body could cook in the kitchen while the clone remained by Feng Ye's side, awaiting his every command, or vice versa—one clone could cook, another could read, and the original body could stay by Feng Ye.
Just by being able to stay by Feng Ye's side at all times while still performing her maid duties, she had already surpassed Hancock, and it was something he couldn't imitate.
However, Hancock wasn't one to admit defeat easily.
Upon realizing that she couldn't compete with Robin in these areas, she shifted her focus to refinement.
Although Robin could manage to be in the kitchen cooking while staying by Feng Ye's side, her divided attention would inevitably lead to less meticulous cooking. This was where Hancock excelled, and the dishes she prepared were much more delectable.
And so, following Robin's example, Hancock took on the primary responsibility of cooking.
Of course, Feng Ye would occasionally cook as well. Due to his natural talent, he needed only a little guidance, and his culinary skills were not far behind those of Hancock and Robin. Moreover, he could infuse natural energy into the dishes, enhancing their flavor and texture far beyond their ordinary state.
When he cooked, Robin and Hancock would assist him from the sidelines, but if only one of them was present, they would occasionally indulge in excessive behavior like sneaking a taste.
Feng Ye didn't mind, though.
This minor energy loss had virtually no impact on him.
Moreover, considering the need to maintain balance between Hancock and Robin to keep life interesting, he balanced the energy he gave them, allowing Hancock's strength to grow to a level comparable to Robin's.
However, due to innate talent, Hancock could still improve further and would surpass Robin from time to time, prompting Feng Ye to give Robin extra lessons to maintain the equilibrium.
The darkest thing Robin had ever done was to use her Hana Hana no Mi ability to create a clone of herself to go read a book next to Hancock, while her real body stayed by Feng Ye's side for a 'make-up lesson'.
Even Feng Ye was left dumbfounded.
He gazed through the wall, watching as Robin's Hana Hana clone, her cheeks tinged with a hint of rouge, casually strolled onto the outer deck with a book in hand. She gracefully sat down in a wicker chair not far from Hancock and began to read, her movements so transfixed that they momentarily paused.
To avoid displeasing Feng Ye, Hancock and Robin never openly clashed, but these little antics persisted endlessly. Even after half a year, when both realized they couldn't monopolize Feng Ye's attention alone, their frequency began to decrease, but they never entirely vanished.
Time flew by.
During their travels, new joys were discovered daily, allowing Feng Ye to maintain an excellent state of being as they journeyed from the East Blue Sea to the West Blue Sea and finally, the North Blue Sea.
The journey across the four seas took four years.
Not much happened during those four years, and the world remained relatively calm. The balance in the New World was maintained, and the samurai of Wano Country, along with the forces from the islands that had pledged allegiance to Feng Ye, abided by his constraints and refrained from external invasions.
With Whitebeard, the Explorer, and Red Hair, the three Yonko, firmly holding their ground and refraining from expansion, the only remaining Big Mom was also reluctant to engage in conflict with the others.
In actuality, after obtaining Jin and Queen, the strength of Big Mom's pirate crew had swelled immensely, rivaling that of Whitebeard's crew.
What stopped her from expanding outward and kept her content with defending her territory was the knowledge she gained from Queen about Feng Ye's defeat of Kaido of the Beasts.
The process of his victory deeply moved her, leading her to believe that people should refrain from conflict and maintain the peaceful status quo.
And so, the situation in the New World remained unusually harmonious.
It is worth mentioning that the Navy Headquarters underwent a reorganization, with Yellow Monkey, Blue Pheasant, and Purple Rabbit being promoted to the rank of Navy Headquarters Admiral, while the previous admiral, Sengoku, assumed the position of Navy Marshal.
The Navy attempted several attacks on the Red Hair Pirates and Big Mom Pirates but ultimately retreated, daunted by the overwhelming strength of the two pirate crews.
In the seventeenth year of the Great Pirate Era,
Five years before Luffy set sail in the original story, the Ohara completed its voyage across the four seas.
Although the four blues were vast, and most of the islands were not visited, only a small fraction of unique islands were explored. Nonetheless, a large number of books were collected from various islands across the East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, and North Blue.
The entire library had long been filled to capacity, so Feng Ye set up a barrier inside, transferring most of the books into it, thus maintaining order within the library.
It was also during this year
That the Ohara, having completed its journey across the four blues, sailed into the Grand Line once more, passing by Reverse Mountain. It had been exactly five years since Feng Ye left Wano Country for the East Blue.
(End of Chapter)
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