The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

Sea Circle Calendar 1529, May 5.

Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village, docks.

A three-masted sailing ship lay quietly anchored offshore. A black pirate flag flew from the top of its main mast, bearing a white skull with a pair of crossed swords behind it. Two diagonal black-and-red stripes ran across the skull's left eye socket.

Dawn, clad in a transparent combat suit, landed lightly on shore. Makino's tavern stood quietly before him.

After learning that Higuma's Bandits were active nearby, and that Higuma himself had a bounty of 8 million Beli, he had hurried here to witness this famous scene.

The wooden door, repaired at lightning speed by Master Gangyou, opened at the touch of a transparent finger, revealing the scene inside the tavern:

Before the bar, the Mountain Bandit King Higuma tapped the countertop with his thick fingers, his face full of impatience.

"We're mountain bandits. We didn't come here to wreck the place today. Sell us ten barrels of liquor."

Makino barely maintained a polite smile, her slender fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of her apron.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we just sold out of liquor today."

As the two spoke, the black-haired little boy nearby stood on tiptoe, stretching his tiny arm as hard as he could. At last, his fingertips touched the fruit covered in spiral patterns.

Luffy's eyes shone with a child's unique curiosity and stubbornness, utterly unaware that what he held in his hands was a turning point in history.

Dawn did not stop him. He silently moved into the deepest shadows of the corner and took out a miniature Camera Den Den Mushi from inside his combat suit.

He made no deliberate effort to hide his presence. Yasopp, having sensed something, already had his fingers resting on his gun grip, veins faintly bulging on