"Alright, I'm just here to enjoy myself for a few days. You don't need to make such a fuss. My warship will stay here for the time being; if I need anything, I'll give you a call." Rowan said, looking at the over-eager Toller.
"Yes, sir!" Vice Admiral Toller responded instantly.
"Sigh... this kid." Seeing Toller still acting like a nervous recruit, Rowan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Suddenly, a piercing shriek came from above.
Everyone looked up to see Luffy plummeting from the sky. The resin bubble he had been riding had drifted too high, and lacking the humid air near the ground, it had popped. With a thunderous thud, he face-planted directly into the soft grass.
Looking at Luffy, who was now buried head-first in the dirt, the group remained speechless.
Before Luffy could even pull himself out, Rowan grabbed him by the leg and yanked him upright. "You brat, can't you behave for once? You're a grown man, stop playing around like a toddler!"
Gave Luffy a stern glare, Rowan shook his head and pulled out his large tobacco pipe, bringing it to his lips.
"Alright, the ship is settled. It's time to head out for a feast."
"Huh? A feast?!"
Hearing the word "feast," Luffy performed a perfect "carp skip" to flip onto his feet. He looked at Rowan excitedly. "Great-Grandpa, what kind of feast are we having?"
Seeing Luffy's impatient face, Rowan shook his head and gave the boy a light thwack on the head with his pipe. "You're only this motivated when it comes to food! You'll find out when we get there."
It is said that food is the first necessity of the people. Although he had transmigrated into the world of One Piece, eating remained one of Rowan's greatest passions. One of the main reasons he chose Sabaody was because there was a tavern here that suited his palate perfectly.
Of course, Rowan didn't know at that moment...
In that very tavern, amidst the bustling crowd, there was a man he was quite familiar with, currently placing an order.
"Boss, an order of seafood fried noodles, and two jars of your finest ale."
Inside the tavern named "The Raging Bull," an old man with long white hair sat down. In a world of giants and monsters, he wasn't particularly muscular—one might even call him lean. After ordering, he found a quiet corner and sat with his back to the other customers.
Adjusting his slightly wavy hair, the man—now a coating mechanic by trade—looked curiously around the noisy hall and muttered to himself, "Strange. Why do I have this feeling of unease today?"
Through his round-framed glasses, a jagged vertical scar could be seen over his right eye. But seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the old man eventually shook his head.
"Forget it. I've been out of the game for so many years; surely no troublesome characters would come looking for me now?"
The Sabaody Archipelago.
Though called an archipelago, each "island" is actually a massive root of a world-class mangrove tree known as the "Yarukiman Mangrove." There are 79 of these trees in total. To make navigation easier, each tree is branded with a number.
Rowan was currently at Grove 65. While each island isn't huge, 79 of them clustered together cover a vast area—so vast that neither the World Government nor the Navy can maintain total control. Only Groves 60 through 69 are under strict Government jurisdiction.
Because of its unique location as the final stop of the first half of the Grand Line, it serves as a bottleneck. To reach the New World, one must either abandon their ship and cross via the Holy Land Mary Geoise (with Government permission) or dive 10,000 meters to Fish-Man Island. For pirates, the latter is the only choice.
This results in a chaotic mix of Marines, civilians, and lawless pirates. The further one gets from Grove 60, the worse the security. Groves 1 through 29 are known as the "Lawless Zone."
Rowan's destination, the tavern, was located in Grove 26—right in the heart of the Lawless Zone. Due to the distance, Rowan had splurged on a "Bonbon" bubble bike. He had plenty of cash now, thanks to the pirate loot Luffy had "confiscated" under Zephyr's nose.
About an hour and a half later, at Grove 34...
Luffy was sprawled over the edge of the bubble car, his tongue hanging out as he watched the scenery blur past with a look of utter boredom. Every time they passed a restaurant, his eyes would light up. Whenever the scent of food wafted by, his stomach let out a thunderous growl of protest.
"Great-Grandpa... when are we actually going to eat that feast..." Luffy moaned, looking as if he hadn't eaten in five days, despite having gorged himself at the Marine canteen just an hour ago.
"Master Rowan, are you sure we're going the right way? I feel like we should have turned back there." On the other side, Zoro sat with his three swords in his arms, pointing with a serious face in the exact opposite direction of Rowan's map.
"You two! One's a glutton, the other's a human compass failure! Can't you both just be quiet for a minute?!"
Rowan raised his pipe and gave both of them a sharp crack on the skull. Since they passed lunchtime, Luffy had been whining like a mosquito, and now Zoro was solemnly trying to lead them into a dead end. Did they think he had spent decades at the Navy Headquarters for nothing?
"Ow! Great-Grandpa, why did you hit me again! It hurts!" Luffy rubbed his head in mourning. Zoro, despite the bump on his head, remained stoic, his eyes fixed on the direction he had pointed. He was internally convinced his way was right. This confidence was born of his sixth sense—a sense that Zoro believed was infallible when it came to directions.
In Zoro's mind, if they had followed him, they'd be drinking ale and eating meat already.
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