Two Years

Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.

"You want more money?"

Sengoku stared at the budget list on the table, his temples throbbing.

Branch expansion, warship refitting, Sea Train escort... any one of these can take a big bite out of the navy's coffers.

Those above are finding all sorts of ways to cut funding, and Ron has brought back another troublemaker; there are expenses everywhere.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Ron strode in.

"Old man, do you want to get rich?"

Tell me how much you plan to spend this time.

"It's not about spending, it's about making money."

Ron pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone unusually serious.

"A while ago, I went to a Sky Island and found a City of Gold. The entire ancient city was buried in the clouds, and gold was embedded everywhere."

The hand holding the brush in the Sengoku suddenly stopped.

"How many?"

"I haven't weighed it. But if it were actually put into use, it might take the navy hundreds of years' worth of military spending to finish it."

Bang!

Sengoku suddenly stood up, his knee hitting the table so hard it shook.

"Several hundred years?!"

"Don't rush to call someone to move it."

Ron quickly waved his hand. "That's someone else's ancestral land."

Sengoku calmed down and sat back down in his chair.

So you didn't take a single one?

"We haven't even finalized the deal with the person, what are we going to take?"

"Then why don't you talk to me for hundreds of years?!"

"Let me make you happy first."

"Roll!"

"Don't cut those items from the books yet."

Ron walked to the door and then turned back. "Branch loses one less ship, there will be a few more groups of pirates at sea who dare to rob the village."

Do I need you to teach me?

Ron smiled and closed the door.

Sengoku held his pen and stared at the budget list on the table for a long time.

In the end, I put the pen aside.

Let's wait and see...

The gold mine is nowhere to be seen yet, but we can't just leave those Branches standing still.

Several more scorch marks from lightning strikes have appeared on the walls of the Marineford training ground.

During this time, Zephyr made Enel suffer quite a bit.

Hearing Zephyr call to stop, he knew to take the electricity back first.

As for Haki...

At least now, when he gets punched, he knows to protect his face first.

1511 of the Sea Circle Calendar, East Blue.

"Hand over the food!"

Red-Leg Zeff and his Cook Pirates intercepted a passenger ship. Just as he was about to order his men to move things, a blond brat rushed out wielding a kitchen knife.

"Want to steal my food? You'll have to get past me first!"

"Chef?"

Zeff glanced at him. "You can't even hold a knife properly, kid. Go back to the kitchen!"

Sanji lunged forward in anger, but before he could even touch anyone, the sea suddenly turned black.

A fierce wind whipped up huge waves that capsized the passenger ship, Sanji screamed as he fell into the water.

Zeff cursed and then jumped down.

When they woke up again, they found themselves washed ashore on a barren reef island.

There was no food or fresh water on the island.

Fortunately, it rained occasionally, and the two of them could only barely survive by catching the rainwater.

Zeff tossed the only food bag to Sanji, then grabbed the other bulging bag and headed to the other side of the island.

"You brat, mind your own business!"

Ten days.

Thirty days.

Hunger made the days seem exceptionally long.

Sanji would lie on the rocks every day, gazing out to sea, and shout at the sight of any dark spot until he realized it was just a piece of driftwood that had drifted ashore.

Day 70.

Sanji was so hungry he could barely stand.

He dragged the cleaver, inching his way toward Zeff.

"You old geezer! Can I have some of your bag of food?"

The knife tip pried open the bag, and gold coins tumbled out with a clatter.

The whole bag was full of treasure.

Sanji was stunned.

"What... it's all money?"

He suddenly looked up.

Zeff was so thin he was almost unrecognizable; one of his trouser legs hung loosely, the tear in which was wrapped with tattered cloth.

"You old geezer..."

Sanji's voice trembled.

"So what did you eat during those seventy days?"

Zeff did not answer.

Sanji glanced at his empty food bag, then at the gold coins scattered on the ground, his knees buckled, and he knelt down.

Why... why did you give me all the food?

"It's so noisy."

Zeff gazed at the sea, his voice hoarse. "Didn't you keep saying you wanted to find All Blue?"

"So what..."

"Then let's go find it while we're alive. I tried to find it before, but I never succeeded."

Sanji frantically wiped his eyes, but tears still streamed down his face.

On the eighty-fifth day, the rescue ship finally found them.

Later, a newly opened floating restaurant, Baratie, appeared in the East Blue.

"You brat! You dare serve vegetables to the guests like that?!"

"Shut up, you noisy old man!"

"Redo it!"

"Knew!!"

Cocoyasi Village, 1512 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

Bellemere was counting the change he'd earned from selling oranges, his brow furrowed deeply.

"I'll have to be careful with my spending this month..."

"Mom, look!"

Nami rushed in, holding up a piece of paper.

Bellemere initially thought it was just graffiti, but was stunned when she took it.

The curves of the coastline, the location of the reefs, and even the path by the pier are all drawn with remarkable accuracy and proportion.

Who taught you that?

"Nobody's here. You'll remember it once you've seen it."

Nojiko leaned closer. "You even counted the rocks?"

"Of course! What if the ship crashes?"

Nami, hands on her hips, said smugly, "When I'm rich, I'm going to draw all the sea charts in the world!"

"Pay back the allowance you owe me first."

Bellemere laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Once I finish drawing the world map, I'll draw our Orange Grove on it too!"

Nojiko: "Then don't forget to draw me."

At night, Bellemere unfolded the map again, thinking of friends she had made in the navy.

"Should we ask someone to send this child to learn navigation?"

The Grand Line, the Water 7.

Ugh--!

The fourth Sea Train line officially opened to traffic, and the train whistle resounded throughout the platform.

Merchants scrambled to board the wagons, clutching their cargo crates, while shipwrights chatted excitedly about the new orders they had received. It was quite a lively scene.

"Mr. Tom! All four routes are working!"

Franky jumped around excitedly on the platform.

Iceburg couldn't help but scold him, "Don't block the passengers!"

"Ha ha!"

Tom watched the train smoothly cross the sea, his beard trembling with laughter.

"What men create should be proudly displayed to the world!"

He also held another document in his hand, in which the World Government officially pardoned his old crime of building Roger's ship because of his contribution to the construction of the Sea Train.

"Is everything really alright now?" Iceburg asked in a low voice.

"It's always a good thing that the document has been stamped."

Tom put away the documents and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't let this make you sloppy with your work!"

In his office on Enies Lobby, Spandam slammed documents all over the table.

"Damn it! That Fish-Man actually turned the tables?!"

His subordinate quickly reminded him, "Sir, the Sea Train is now of great importance, and Vice Admiral Ron is still..."

Spandam's anger froze instantly.

"Who's going to touch him?!"

He lowered his voice. "Continue investigating the Pluton Blueprints, but don't let anyone know it was me who arranged this!"

He didn't want to attract that scoundrel Ron just for a blueprint he'd never seen before.

On the same day, Tom received a secret letter from his fellow Fish-Men.

The letter stated that the Sun Pirates had recently rescued several groups of trafficked Fish-Man, but they had not yet found a stable evacuation route, making their situation very difficult.

After reading it, Tom slowly tucked the letter into his pocket.

"That Fisher Tiger guy..."

In the Revolutionary Army's secret training base, sweat soaked the wooden floor.

"Sabo, stop for a second."

The Fish-Man Hack led a young girl in.

"This is Koala, you'll train together from now on."

Sabo put down the stick, smiled, and extended his hand.

"Hello, my name is Sabo!"

Koala hesitated for a moment before gently touching his fingertips.

Do you know how to fight?

"Maybe... a little."

"Shall we practice?"

"May I?"

"Certainly!"

Hack looked at the two of them and nodded.

"Don't rush into anything. Starting tomorrow, Koala will learn Fish-Man Karate from me, and Sabo too."

Koala instinctively clenched her sleeves.

Hack didn't rush her; he simply handed her a short stick used for practice.

"Here, you don't have to be afraid of making mistakes."

"Good!"

That night, Sabo suddenly sat up from his dream.

He dreamt of three wine bowls clinking together, and the laughter of two boys nearby.

He opened his mouth to call out one of their names, but only managed to utter the word "Ai".

The remaining syllables were stuck in my throat, as if something was blocking it.

Sabo lay there with his eyes open until dawn.

Deep sea, Fish-Man Island.

Queen Otohime returned to the Ryugu Palace with a thick autograph book after finishing a signing speech.

"Dozens more people are willing to sign today!"

Neptune greeted him with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

"His Majesty!"

A soldier rushed in, his helmet askew.

"There's a badly damaged human-made vessel out at sea; it's drifted to the outer edge!"

"Shipwreck?"

Neptune stood up. "Send reinforcements immediately."

"But that ship... has the Celestial Dragons' insignia!"

Neptune's smile vanished instantly.

Otohime gently placed the autograph book on the table.

"Save the people first. Don't let the children near. Notify the guards to secure the Port."

Neptune glanced at her, said nothing more, and turned to give orders to the guards.

Outside Fish-Man Island, a wrecked ship is slowly drifting by.

The mast broke, water flooded the cabin, and sailors lay sprawled on the deck, not a single one responding.

As soon as the Fish-Man soldiers approached, a burst of angry shouts and curses erupted from inside the cabin.

"Where is everyone?! I'm starving! Aren't you going to serve me?!"

A green-haired man wearing a bubble hood stumbled out, paused for a moment upon seeing the rescuers, and then looked on with disgust.

"You slaves, how dare you keep me waiting for so long?!"

Several soldiers gripped their weapons tightly in an instant.

One of them recognized the face, and his voice changed.

"Don't move! He is..."

Donquixote, the Saint Mjosgard!