[Traveling via Sea Train - WC]


It had been a very long time since she last took a vacation. Well, technically she wasn't on a vacation. But the less she thought of this trip as a mission, the better. She was not an officer at this time. She wasn't even a Marine. Dressed in a purple cheongsam with her hair styled in drill curls and loops, she was merely a traveler from the Kano Country wandering around the Grand Line testing her strength against the best that the world had to offer. This train station was merely one of many stops on her journey to attain greater heights. The train was leaving soon though so she had to cut short her browsing of souvenirs being sold at the station. Her next stop was the last one. And even she didn't know what awaited her there.

She didn't have any companions with her. She was traveling alone with nothing but a small purse. Anything she would need, she would purchase at her destination. As she walked around the station heading back to her car, once or twice, a book on display in one of the side stalls caught her eye. She liked books. A certain influential man in her life taught her the joys of reading and she appreciated them just as much as she did games and fighting. But alas where she was going, it wasn't going to be very safe for things as fragile as books. She would have to come back for them another time. She smiled at the stall owner as she passed by and proceeded on her way.

She politely greeted the conductor as she stepped on board and found that there were quite a number of people seated already. Her ticket was for a private cabin somewhere up ahead in one of the cars near the front. To be honest she could have boarded there right away, but she wanted to catch a glimpse of the other cars. Believe it or not, this was her first time on the Sea Train. Partly for her own amusement and partly for information, she would casually stroll through the cars, occasionally smiling back at other guests and train personnel who made eye contact with her. Meanwhile, at the back of her head, she was memorizing places and faces. Knowledge was power.

She eventually reached the dining car for VIP guests. This was right before the cars where the private cabins were located. There were a few guests there too having a light lunch and she was pleasantly surprised to see some faces she knew. No they weren't people she was acquainted with personally. But they were big names that anyone paying attention to the news would probably recognize rather easily. Keeping tabs on famous people was another one of her small hobbies. She was especially interested in those who were famous for their strength. They could be future associates, rivals, or even enemies. It was interesting though knowing that "they" were on this same train. Perhaps they had the same destination as her. She would find out soon enough when they arrived.

She finally reached her private cabin and quietly entered. It was fairly spacious. Officially it was a room that could accommodate four so that was expected. The extra space was made even more apparent by her lack of luggage. It wasn't really a long trip so she packed very light. It wasn't that unusual for VIPs to book cabins like this by themselves either. She got lucky they allowed it, probably as part of her cover. It was also better if she didn't share a cabin with others just in case. On a trip like this, the less she had to worry about others, the better. If the folks recruiting in Sabaody knew what they were doing, then hopefully everyone there could take care of themselves.

Before long, she heard the bells and whistles signaling that the train was about to depart. Outside her window, a few people were waving goodbye presumably to passengers they knew on the train. As she turned her head facing the glass, she could see a bit of her reflection on it. She knew it, but it wasn't her face. It was still pretty amazing to her how much change a little makeup and styling could make. Things were about to get rough from here on out. She would take this time to relax and enjoy the scenery. As the train began to move and the sight of the station disappeared and got replaced by the open ocean, she thought about how she would use this opportunity to bounce back from previous failures. She was going to succeed. There was no other outcome.

[Exit - Travel to Sabaody Archipelago]
Paying: 2,000,000 Beli