Aoliang Town, in the New World!
Dolingo and Momora were two members of the Roger Pirates.
Though they were only ordinary crew members, as members of the Roger Pirates, their strength was naturally nothing to scoff at.
The Roger Pirates were setting up a temporary base on a barren mountain outside Aoliang Town while they rested and refitted.
They planned to hold a banquet there, so Dolingo and Momora were responsible for going out to buy food and alcohol.
The two bought a large quantity of food and alcohol at Aoliang Town's market and transported it to the barren mountain outside town.
"Haha, Dolingo and the others are back! Now we can drink our fill."
"Exactly! The captain drank all the good booze on the ship. We couldn't drink our fill even if we wanted to."
"We can't let the captain drink it all by himself this time!"
"I want meat! It's been ages since I had a proper feast. Today, I'm going to eat until I'm full!"
Seeing Dolingo and Momora return with food and fine booze, the Roger Pirates cheered.
"Hahaha, we have good food and fine booze here, and we're just about to hold a banquet. Friend, you're welcome to join us if you don't mind!" Just then, Roger spoke to thin air.
At Roger's words, everyone stopped, their expressions turning wary.
Only Rayleigh and a few other exceptionally powerful members showed no surprise, as though they already knew something.
"I have some good home-brewed liquor here. Want a taste?" The effect of some fluctuation in the air vanished, slowly revealing a figure.
The newcomer looked seventeen or eighteen and held two wine jars. As he spoke, he tossed one of them to Roger.
After catching the jar, Roger tore off its seal and immediately began gulping it down, showing no fear at all that the liquor the stranger had brought might be poisoned.
"Good stuff! Haha, I've drunk so much booze, but this is the most fragrant liquor I've ever tasted. Did you brew it yourself? Do you have any more?" After taking several great gulps, Roger spoke with a greedy look on his face.
"I only have two jars on me right now, but since I brew it myself, naturally, I can make more with a little time!" the newcomer said, tossing the remaining jar to Roger.
Roger caught the jar and handed it to Rayleigh beside him. Rayleigh opened it and poured a bowl for everyone in the crew.
"Good stuff!"
"It really smells amazing! This is the first time I've had liquor this good!"
"And it's extremely fragrant and mellow. It's been aged for a while, hasn't it?"
"After drinking something this good, what am I supposed to do if I can't stomach any other booze?"
"Then give all your booze to me from now on."
"No way!"
Everyone took a great gulp of the liquor Rayleigh had poured, looks of delighted surprise appearing on their faces.
"Young man, you went out of your way to find us and brought us such fine liquor. Is there something you want?" Roger took another sip, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"The liquor is just a greeting gift, and a way to introduce my specialty while I'm at it. My name is Zesi, and I'm seventeen this year. Does your crew need a brewer?" the newcomer asked with a smile.
The newcomer was none other than Zesi.
After the Big Mom incident, Zesi had reached an agreement with Perospero.
From then on, Zesi's father, Wenlai Kate, became a supplier of raw ingredients for Totto Land's desserts, dealing directly with Perospero.
Not long afterward, Zesi quietly set out to sea alone.
After setting sail, Zesi had originally wanted to establish his own pirate crew right away and make his way through the New World.
But after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.
Although his strength had improved considerably over the past few years thanks to his training with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit,
as his fight against Perospero had shown, he could already be considered far from weak.
But compared with the New World's top-tier great pirates, he still fell far short.
The New World was teeming with powerful figures at the time.
Leaving aside Roger, the Red Count, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and the like,
even against great pirates such as Captain John, World, Ochoku, and Silver Axe, Zesi's current strength was insufficient to contend with them.
Moreover, Zesi still had one enormous weakness: he relied too heavily on his Devil Fruit.
Not only did he lack combat experience, he had not even mastered Haki.
In the Four Blues or the first half of the Grand Line, these things would not have been much of a problem.
But in the New World, with its harsh conditions and countless powerful figures, it would be easy for others to target him and scheme against him.
Not to mention that the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power was itself a double-edged sword.
Although years of constant vibration training and adaptation using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had allowed Zesi to adapt to its recoil damage to a certain extent,
using overly powerful Tremor-Tremor Fruit abilities would still cause tremendous damage to his body.
So, after careful consideration, he decided to join a powerful pirate crew and learn Haki.
Among all the pirate crews in the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates were also a good choice.
But Zesi intended to establish his own pirate crew in the future.
Moreover, the Whitebeard Pirates generally recruited orphans, and joining them also meant calling Whitebeard Pops.
Then there was the fact that Roger would become the Pirate King in the future.
After becoming the Pirate King, he would disband his crew, and Zesi could then leave and establish his own pirate crew.
Furthermore, Roger, Rayleigh, and others in the Roger Pirates were all masters of Haki.
Following them would make it easier to learn Haki.
Moreover, when Roger became the Pirate King in the future, he would gain unimaginable prestige among pirates.
If Zesi went out to establish his own pirate crew later, simply saying that he had once been a member of the Pirate King's crew would make recruiting crewmates easier.
So, after setting sail, Zesi had sought information on the Roger Pirates' whereabouts and finally found this place.
"A brewer? We absolutely need one!" Roger said, his eyes lighting up.
"Come aboard our ship, Zesi! I won't be able to live if I can't drink this liquor anymore!"
"Welcome to the Roger Pirates, Zesi! By the way, when are you going to start brewing? I can't wait!"
"Is there anything you need to prepare for brewing? I can help!"
"I'll help too! Haha, that way, I'll be the first to taste it when it's ready!"
Pirates, or rather, seafarers and marines-anyone who went to sea was a drinker.
So when they heard that Zesi was a brewer who could make liquor as fine as what they had just tasted, and that he wanted to join their ship, they could not have asked for anything better.
Their eyes shone, gleaming brightly, and they unanimously approved Zesi joining the ship.
And just like that, Zesi joined the Roger Pirates.