Half an hour later, the Water Gods receded.
The gloomy gray sky seemed to have been washed clean, turning a brilliant blue once more. There was not a single cloud in sight, and a huge sun hung high overhead, shining down over all of Water 7.
The people in every household reopened their tightly shut doors and windows, then took out brooms and buckets to collect the highly concentrated sea salt left on their eaves after the Water Gods had passed.
As for standing water, there was no need to worry about that. Since its founding, Water 7 had endured the Water Gods' cleansing once every year. The buildings, canals, and sewers throughout the city had long since been built into an interconnected system, allowing accumulated water to drain away with ease.
On one of Water 7's streets.
Led by Ms. Kokoro, Flare walked down the street with Erza, Ayala, and the gorilla nanny Scarlet, who was serving as their bodyguard.
"Is this sea salt?"
Looking at the white crystals the people of Water 7 had gathered in their buckets, Flare, as a chef, was full of curiosity.
"Mm-hmm. It's the crystallization of the sea, highly concentrated sea salt. For a chef, it's an excellent seasoning."
Flare's eyes shone even brighter.
An older woman sweeping nearby recognized Kokoro. When she saw the stunningly beautiful Flare and the two adorable little girls beside her, she came over and asked, "Oh, Kokoro. Are these friends of yours? Young ladies, would you like to try some?"
"Huh? Is that all right?"
"Of course."
Kokoro knew what the woman had in mind, but she did not stop her. Seeing that, Flare reached out, dabbed a little sea salt with her finger, and touched it to the tip of her tongue. Her eyes instantly lit up.
"What a rich flavor."
Erza and Ayala also tried some out of curiosity.
"Ah... so salty... so salty..."
"It tastes different from ordinary salt."
Only then did the older woman reveal her true purpose.
"So, how about it? Would you like to buy some?"
"Huh? You're selling it?"
Kokoro spoke up then. "Of course. With this much sea salt, even a whole family couldn't finish it in a year, so most of it is sold to outsiders. It's also a way for everyone to earn a little extra income."
"That's wonderful. How much is it?"
"Well, the price is..."
While Flare was discussing the price with the older woman, not far away, around the corner of an alley, a man in a worn-out captain's coat watched them with several of his underlings. Two flintlocks and a large cutlass hung at his waist.
"Hey, I'm not seeing things, am I? That kid..."
"No mistake. That's the Sky Pirates' ship doctor, Kelmango Ayala."
In an instant, greed appeared on the faces of every small fry there, including the Pirate Captain himself.
"Captain, should we make a move? That's 1.08 billion Belly. Enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives."
"But that's someone from the Sky Pirates. Their captain is Fire Dragon Yemu, that monster."
"What's there to be afraid of? As long as we escape out to sea, the ocean's so huge. I don't believe he'll be able to find us."
At that moment, the Pirate Captain's face showed clear hesitation.
On one side was 1.08 billion Belly. On the other was being hunted down by the Sky Pirates.
While the Pirate Captain was still thinking, the underlings beside him had already lost patience and urged him on.
"Captain, what are you hesitating for? That's 1.08 billion Belly."
"If we don't act now, we won't get another chance."
"Let's gamble on it, Captain. With that 1.08 billion Belly, who cares about Roger's treasure anymore?"
In the end, that last sentence from the small fry made the Pirate Captain decide.
"I know. We'll..."
Before he could finish declaring his resolve, an extremely simple and honest voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Um, excuse me. Could you please move aside?"
"Huh?!"
The pirates hiding there were startled by the voice and nervously turned around. What they saw was an unbelievable creature.
"What is that... a bear... a panda?"
"A human...?"
That was right. Standing before the pirates was a man dressed in a fitted black outfit. He stood tall and straight, nearly two meters in height, with a large sword at each side of his waist like a bodyguard. His chest was bare, with two black stars marked across it. His body looked human, but his head was that of a panda.
Although the fellow looked bizarre, he was alone, so the pirates were not afraid.
But they had no interest in bothering with him. After all, a billion Belly was right in front of them. Yet when they turned back to look again, they discovered that their target was gone.
"She's... gone..."
"Damn it! Hurry up and find her!"
Only moments earlier, they had been hesitating out of fear, but now their courage seemed to have grown instead.
As luck would have it, the strange creature who had caused them to lose their target actually stepped forward without any sense of danger and asked, "Um, excuse me. What are you looking for?"
The captain, already furious, immediately pulled the flintlock from his waist. Just as he raised it, he cursed, "You bastard... I'll..."
Before he could finish, a flash of light passed before his eyes. The flintlock in his hand split cleanly in two, and half of it fell together with a corner of the captain's hat on his head.
In an instant, the Pirate Captain's heart went cold.
As the single-edged sword slid back into its sheath, the panda-man's incredibly honest voice rang out.
"I'm truly sorry. I hate it most when people point guns at me. As for the damage, I'm willing to compensate you."
The Pirate Captain stared at the polite creature before him, swallowed hard, and asked, "Who exactly are you?"
"Oh, me? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Stuart Wiggins, a panda-man who ate the Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Kuma Kuma no Mi, Ancient Zoan Species, Iron-Eating Beast Form. I look forward to getting along with you!"
"!!!"
All the pirates were shocked.
To be honest, they had never heard the name before, but the fact that he was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user was enough to make them hesitate.
"Let's go."
In the end, the Pirate Captain put on a vicious expression and wisely led his men away.
Not long after the pirates left, the panda-man named Wiggins looked toward a certain part of Water 7 and muttered to himself.
"So the Sky Pirates really are here."
After saying that, the panda-man set off after them.