A Question of Timing

"Whoa! So many flying fish, meow!"

Klee Meow stood on Xie Wen's shoulders, her little paws resting on his head as she laughed merrily into the sea breeze.

Not far from their raft, flying fish burst out of the water one after another, gliding over the sea.

At first, they had been heading in different directions, but after encountering Xie Wen and the others, the flying fish swiftly changed course and kept pace beside the raft, neither too close nor too far away... They probably saw the raft as a racing opponent, or something along those lines.

Watching the flying fish, Xie Wen couldn't help giving them a pitying look, while Sanji Meow deftly took a grill out of his bag, along with an assortment of seasoning bottles and jars.

After cheering for a while, Klee Meow, sprawled over Xie Wen's head, pulled something round and adorably shaped out of her backpack... a bomb.

"Heave-ho!"

Klee Meow tossed the bomb at the flying fish courting death. With a bang, a whole swath of stunned flying fish suddenly floated on the surface.

At first, Klee Meow's bombs had blasted them straight into "Klee Grilled Fish," but after tasting Sanji Meow's cooking, she had immediately upgraded her fishing bombs.

After dismantling and studying the Sonic Bomb in Xie Wen's possession, Klee Meow could now stun fish with her fishing bombs without compromising the quality of their flesh.

Xie Wen, who had known exactly how this would end, took a long-handled fishing net out of his own bag as Klee Meow pulled out her bomb. He scooped up all the stunned flying fish and handed them to the already-prepared Sanji Meow. Before long, the aroma of grilled fish drifted across the raft.

After finishing the grilled fish, both cats settled into Xie Wen's arms and enjoyed being petted.

As Xie Wen stroked the cats in his arms, he narrowed his eyes and gazed at the distant horizon.

They had been drifting at sea for several days now. Although their bags still held plenty of fresh water and food, and the two cats kept him from getting bored, failing to encounter a single island or ship still left Xie Wen somewhat irritated and uneasy.

Fortunately, they hadn't run into any bad weather over the past few days. Even the one rainy day they had encountered hadn't amounted to a downpour. The wind and waves had been mild, and it hadn't lasted long, either. Xie Wen had barely had time to get nervous before the wind and rain gradually subsided...

Judging by that, they probably weren't on the Grand Line. He just didn't know which of the Four Seas they were in.

While Xie Wen was lost in thought, the two little cats dozing in his arms suddenly pricked up their ears, then raised their heads together to look at the sky.

"What is it?"

Xie Wen followed their gaze and saw an enormous seagull flying toward their raft. Strangely enough, it wore a white sailor's cap, with a small dark bag hanging from its neck and a large, light-colored rectangular bag slung at its side.

"A News Coo..."

Having read the manga, Xie Wen was no stranger to these unusual birds. And a newspaper from the News Coo was exactly what he needed, given his current lack of information.

The problem was...

He didn't have a single Beli.

As for killing the bird and stealing its newspaper, the idea never even crossed Xie Wen's mind.

He would have to be out of his mind to offend this world's media mogul over a newspaper worth a hundred Beli.

But he really did need a newspaper to learn about the current situation...

While Xie Wen was agonizing over what to do, the News Coo flapped down onto their mast and eyed the two cats in his arms warily.

Xie Wen looked down and saw two pairs of eager eyes. Even their tails had begun swishing. He hurriedly stopped them. "You can't eat this one."

"Squawk!"

So I wasn't imagining it! Startled, the News Coo on the mast gave an indignant cry and flapped its wings, ready to make an escape.

Although the human had stopped those two cat Minks, who knew whether they might launch a surprise attack? Selling a newspaper wasn't worth risking its life.

"Wait! Hold on!"

Seeing the News Coo about to leave, Xie Wen hurriedly called out to stop it and shifted both cats behind him.

The News Coo still had a solid sense of professional duty. Though wary of the two cat Minks, it hesitated when it saw Xie Wen shielding them behind him, then chose to stay.

With no money in hand, Xie Wen wasn't in a hurry to bring up buying a newspaper. First, he took a small dried fish that Sanji Meow had cured out of his bag and tossed it to the News Coo on the mast.

The News Coo caught the dried fish in its beak, tilted its neck back, and swallowed it whole.

"Squawk!"

The News Coo gave a happy cry, clearly pleased with the dried fish.

Xie Wen took out a few more dried fish and waved them at the News Coo. "Could I trade you some dried fish for a newspaper? We can negotiate how many."

This was the solution Xie Wen had come up with-the age-old practice of bartering.

"Squawk..."

The News Coo tilted its head, looking troubled.

It had never encountered a situation like this before. Even when people were shipwrecked and had no Beli on them, they weren't in a hurry to get a newspaper, much less exchange precious food for one.

Only someone like Xie Wen, who knew absolutely nothing about the current era or situation yet had no shortage of food and drink, would make such a losing trade.

In the end, the News Coo surrendered to its appetite and let Xie Wen exchange ten small dried fish for a newspaper.

Unfolding the newspaper, Xie Wen first checked the date-

Sea Circle Calendar, year 1515. There was no month or day, but that didn't matter to Xie Wen. The year alone was enough.

But... what year did the story start again?

Without a photographic memory, Xie Wen couldn't remember details like the exact year, so even knowing the date left him none the wiser.

Forget it. Let's see if I can pull any useful information out of the news.

His gaze shifted to the front-page headline...

"Clash between the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates-and it was all because of him..."

Xie Wen: "..."

Sure enough, no matter the world, people in the media loved their clickbait headlines.

After mentally complaining about the headline, Xie Wen turned to the article itself.

The contents weren't particularly remarkable. It simply gave a rough account of the cause, course, and outcome of the clash between the two pirate crews. If the parties involved hadn't been the Beasts Pirates and Whitebeard, this story would never have qualified for the front-page headline.

Still, Xie Wen gleaned two important pieces of information from it.

First, Whitebeard was still alive, and the Summit War hadn't happened yet.

Second, the article referred to the Beasts Pirates and Whitebeard either by their nicknames or as "great pirates of the New World." Not once did it use "Four Emperors," "Emperor of the Sea," or any related term.

So...

I arrived pretty early in the timeline?

Luffy definitely hadn't set sail yet, and since Klee Meow had eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace probably hadn't set sail either, or had only just done so. Still, Xie Wen had no idea exactly where he was in the timeline.

But knowing that much was enough. At least he still had time to get his hands on Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu.

After reading the front-page headline, Xie Wen flipped through the other sections. There wasn't much useful information, though. At most, they indirectly confirmed that the title "Four Emperors" hadn't caught on yet.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea system was already in place, however, since one news item mentioned Jinbe, Knight of the Sea.

"Looks like nothing major has happened lately..."

After carefully reading even the advertisements tucked into the corners, Xie Wen folded the newspaper and smacked his lips in frustration.

Although a relatively peaceful situation was a good thing for most people, it wasn't so good for Xie Wen, who wanted to gather more information.

Fortunately, he had also just asked the News Coo where the nearest land was, and it had been kind enough to tell him...

Yep, it was in the direction Klee Meow had pointed out when they first set sail.

This book will enter its first round of recommendations tomorrow. Please vote and leave plenty of comments to help boost the cats' performance!