It hasn't been so bad being on this island; I've been able to think about myself, about my future. I can't say I've been in silence, since there are some chimpanzees bothering me. Every time they see me, they throw anything they have in their hands; it can be anything from a rock to feces.
It's very annoying.
Perhaps at first it was a little complicated, since I went three days without being able to drink water, as the water sources I found were all stagnant.
The idea of drinking blood from the animals I killed crossed my mind, but that can also cause illness.
Luckily, I managed to find the river's current that goes to the sea; it was underground, which is why I couldn't find it. I had to find the part where the source went to the underground route.
It's been three months since I arrived at this "wonderful" place.
During this time, I've managed to keep company with some creatures with a peculiar personality.
I made friends with a family of crows.
It all happened thanks to hunting; when I cooked and ate the meat of my prey, I always attracted the attention of other carnivorous animals.
Among them were the crows.
They were the only birds that came to my side to look for food, and also the only ones that didn't try to steal it by force.
For that reason, every time they came, I always gave them a portion of my lunch.
And so a great friendship began.
As time passed, they began to come to my side without needing to look for food; they came to keep me company. Occasionally, they brought precious stones as gifts; among them were rubies, sapphires, and diamonds. When I return to civilization, I will make a lot of money.
Among them, there was always one specific crow; I managed to recognize it because it had a unique voice compared to its companions.
I decided to call him Hunter, since he always brings me something when he comes, and if I ask him to bring me something, he does, so I know he understands what I'm saying when I talk to him.
Besides eating and talking to birds, I trained as much as I could. I didn't have much else to do.
I improved my strength, stamina, and agility through exercises I already knew and those in swordsmanship books.
Speaking of which book, I continued training and perfecting the sword style that suited me best.
I also tried to develop my observation haki, but I made very little progress.
I couldn't do it without looking around for too long, because the moment I let my guard down, a predator would attack.
But thanks to this, I was able to further develop my evasion skills; that way, I was able to further improve the technique I used with my father, which was to dodge an attack and position myself to attack him with a 180° vertical slash.
So far, I've managed to cut off the heads of some normal tigers.
I don't know if I could do it to a person, but I think I can do quite a bit of damage.
In this world, human physiques can be very peculiar.
When I have nothing to do, I walk along the beaches of the islands, looking for boats or ships passing by.
Funnily enough, when I walk along the beach, Hunter is always on my shoulder, accompanying me. I have to figure out if it's a man or a woman; I have no idea how to find out.
But back to the topic, it's a very special day, as I see a boat passing by, coming in my direction.
I started gesturing like crazy, raising my hands, jumping, and throwing my sword up. I was about to launch an energy blast upwards so they wouldn't think I was attacking them, but then I thought maybe they would think there was a confrontation going on and would turn back to sea.
As the object approached, I realized it was just a boat, and it wasn't as far away as I thought it was.
It was a small boat. Inside were two people, an adult man in his 40s and a girl about 15 or 16.
???: "Hey, are you okay, kid?" said the adult. Suddenly I forget I'm still just a kid.
I approached them slowly, being alert and paying attention to their actions and body language.
Dante: "Yeah, everything's fine here. I've been stranded for about three months."
???: "Three months?" the man said, confused. "Oh, I see; you must be from another boat."
I didn't understand what he meant at the time, and I think it showed on my face as he began to explain.
???: "You see, in this part of the sea, winds travel in various directions, so when they reach here, they deviate and change depending on the island they pass over, since we're in a cluster of islands, even if it doesn't show. Since each island has its own climate and biodiversity, the winds change both in direction and temperature, eventually causing storms and waterspouts, among other things," you begin, pointing to the sea, "but that only affects the sea around the cluster of islands; 'nothing' usually happens within them, which is why this area is an uninhabited place in Paradise and therefore forgotten."
At that moment, I relaxed, since I didn't see anything that indicated any bad intentions or malice, and my intuition isn't telling me anything at the moment.
Dante: "Sure, that makes sense. Before the ship I was on was destroyed, there was a violent storm."
The man nods at me.
???: "The only way to get through this place unscathed is to have a good ship or a lot of luck." Then he points to himself: "My name is Ruminoff Häyhä." Now he points to the girl who was with him: "And this is my daughter, Trinity Häyhä." He looks back at me: "We came from a fishing boat that was destroyed about three days ago outside the island cluster."
I looked at them both.
The man, Ruminoff Häyhä, was 1.89 meters tall, with light blue eyes and short navy blue hair. If only I could put it simply, how military he looked.
The girl, Trinity Häyhä, was, in a way, quite cute; she was 1.65 meters tall, with green eyes and long, hip-length, two-tone hair. Most of it was blonde, but the tips of her bangs and the hair from the middle of her back down were navy blue.
Dante: "Hi, I'm Dante, just Dante." Those crazy people left me alone, so there's no need to hide my first name, but without my last name, I don't want anyone to recognize it.
Ruminoff: "We were hoping to get survivors from our ship; it's been five days since we've been alone."
Dante: "So, in these five days, they've been tasked with searching for survivors and not leaving here."
Ruminoff: "Yes and no," he said. "You see, we have, but it's because we need to pass through an island to find one outside the cluster, thanks to this." At that moment, he shows me a log pose. "It was also thanks to this that we got here and were able to find you, since it pointed to this island."
Dante: "And how long does it have to reload before it points to another island?"
Ruminoff: "It only takes a day for it to be ready, at least on these islands." He looks at me. "Tell me, do you want to leave here with us? There's still some space for you to settle in."
Dante: "Yes, please," I say in an almost pleading tone; I can't imagine spending years here until my father and the others come to torture me.
He smiles at me.
Ruminoff: "Okay, I need you to gather water, food, and medicinal herbs. We didn't find any of that on the previous island. You know more or less where to find those necessities faster than we did. I'll be here with Trini, fixing the fishing rods we salvaged so we can fish in the open sea later."
It seemed like a good plan, and that's how it went until nightfall; I brought the things she asked for. It's worth mentioning that Hunter never left my side.
When I arrived, they already had a campfire and some fish.
Ruminoff: "Good one, Dante. I see you brought a lot of fruit."
Dante: "Well, it's mostly for the old man, right? If I bring a lot of meat, it'll be spoiled in a couple of days."
Ruminoff nods and looks back at the fish.
I decided to sit down, and at that moment, I felt myself being watched. I looked to the side, and it was Trinity; she was looking at Hunter.
Trinity: "Nice bird, does it have a name?"
Dante: "I named her Hunter, and I have no idea if she's male or female."
Hunter makes indecipherable sounds.
Trinity fixes her eyes on me.
Trinity: "How old are you?"
I looked at her.
Dante: "14, but I'll be 15 in a month and a half."
She looked at me smugly; my intuition tells me I'm not going to like what's coming.
Trinity: "I'm two years older than you, so why do you have to call me 'big sister' and do everything I ask?" she says with a big smile.
Well, I don't think she's pretty anymore; I'm surrounded by crazy women, none of them normal. In fact, she reminded me of Anna.
I ignored her, ate the fish, and went to sleep.
I can still hear her saying things to me, but I pretended to be deaf; all I wanted was for the day to be over and to get out of here as soon as possible.