On the Diwen Village fleet, once they set sail, Ash Thalos suddenly remembered that the Daly Three Brothers had not yet eaten their Devil Fruits. After some discussion, Ash discovered exactly what he had suspected.
There were three brothers but only two fruits, and none of them wanted any of their siblings to be left out. The eldest urged the younger two to eat first, the second told the oldest and youngest to eat first, and the third brother told both of his older siblings to go ahead. This went on in circles until finally the three of them agreed to wait until Ash acquired another fruit, so they could all consume them together.
Ash muttered under his breath, oh for goodness sake!
Fortunately, after this round trip, enough energy had finally accumulated to exceed one hundred, and Ash immediately crafted another Devil Fruit by hand.
At last, the Daly Three Brothers got their wish and consumed their fruits together.
The eldest, Jason, received the Zoan‑type Hito Hito no Mi, Model: [Mythical Beast with Nine Heads], granting him a form that was serpentine in nature and endowed him with control over both fire and water elements.
The second brother, Jella, received the Zoan‑type Tori Tori no Mi, Model: [Mythical Crane], a creature with the body of a crane and a human‑like face, granting him mastery of poison and fire elements.
The third brother, Jack, received the Zoan‑type [Bird Fruit, Model: Nine‑Headed Beast], granting him a powerful physical frame and the ability to manipulate spirit energy in combat.
It was worth noting that Jack's Devil Fruit did not provide elemental control in the conventional sense, aside from his impressive physical prowess and soul manipulation. However, after the system synthesized all the effects, Ash received an additional bonus of fifteen points to both physique and spirit from him. In other words, Jack's true strength lay in his overwhelming physical and spiritual potential.
This trio's combined manifestations seemed akin to the strength and unpredictability of combining the fiercest fighters in the world.
Hmm, Daly Jack… great things are expected in the future!
Seven ships pressed on through wind and waves for a full day and night, yet they were still a considerable distance from Small Garden.
Ash was genuinely bored of remaining idle, and after much pleading with the Village Chief, he finally received permission to act alone, though the chief offered uneasy warnings before letting him go.
Really, whether he had permission or not would not have prevented Ash from acting alone, but that feeling of being cared for warmed him.
After entrusting the Log Pose and Eternal Pose for Small Garden, Drum Kingdom, Alabasta Kingdom, and Jaya Island to Sali for safekeeping, Ash leaped into the air. He flew a great distance before leaving behind a brilliant trail of golden flames and rising currents, then vanished from sight.
Sali and the others understood that Ash's extra effort was to ensure his fiery aura would not accidentally harm the villagers or ships.
At the same time, they learned from Dicken and Pini that Ash's method of flight — a Fiery Tail trailing behind him — had begun when they first reached Reverse Mountain, and he had been using it with enthusiasm ever since.
After all, they had witnessed Ash's initial flight; originally, when Ash flew, he lacked this flamboyant fiery trail.
The group concluded that Ash's current behavior was simply a mix of caution and… showing off.
"Hmph, little brat!" Pini, Youki, Dicken, and the other two felt a pang of jealousy toward Ash, who was free to travel alone.
As for the Daly Three Brothers?
They were busy getting used to their newly acquired abilities with unrestrained excitement.
Three days later, in the Alabasta Kingdom.
At the Port City of Nanohana Wharf, Ash finally managed to purchase two sets of den den mushi as he had wanted.
Because he had been in such a hurry to return to Twin Capes before, Ash had only placed an order for the den den mushi and left, missing the opportunity to taste the desert delicacies again.
More than ten days had passed, and the thought of the legendary desert dishes at the Spice Bean Restaurant made Ash's mouth water.
"Mmm, it's decided! I'm going to eat a huge meal first!" he declared as he rushed inside the Spice Bean Restaurant.
While Ash dashed off to feast, elsewhere at the Marine Paradise G‑8 Base, Vice Admiral Tsuru once again received a den den mushi call from Sengoku.
"What? That young man appeared in Alabasta again?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked in surprise. "And he ran off to the same restaurant as last time for a big meal?"
Originally, based on the locations Ash had appeared along the way, they had predicted his next stop to be Long Ring Long Land.
Unexpectedly, that brat turned around and went back to the Alabasta Kingdom?
Are Alabasta's delicacies really that tempting?
"Yes, and I don't know which idiot reported this to Garp!" Sengoku's helpless voice came through the den den mushi. "Before I called you, that idiot called from the New World asking me to find out the restaurant name. He said that when he takes leave to go back and see his grandson, he absolutely must stop there for a huge meal…"
Ha, that's certainly his style, Vice Admiral Tsuru said, chuckling at the news.
After a brief laugh to ease their gloomy mood, Sengoku continued, "According to news from the North Blue Branch, since the last investigation trip to Diwen Village, the Marines recently landed on Diwen Island again only to find the island deserted."
"What?"
"Are you saying that young man might have relocated all the ordinary villagers himself to avoid implicating them because of his actions?" Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately grasped Sengoku's underlying meaning.
"Exactly. Petty Officer Ryan of North Blue Base 175 is very familiar with the people of Diwen Village. According to his report, two young adults were missing during the last investigation, which he dismissed at the time. But now, seeing the entire island empty, he recalled those details."
Vice Admiral Tsuru pondered, "So he didn't sail alone back then, but with at least three people?"
"I suppose so. Besides these two pieces of news, there are two more."
The sound of Sengoku flipping through documents came through the den den mushi, faintly accompanied by the crunching sound of a goat eating paper.
"What are they?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.
Sengoku replied, "News from the Front End of Paradise suggests that for the past half month or so, almost no new pirates have appeared on any of the sea routes in Paradise!"
"What!?" Vice Admiral Tsuru was taken aback.
"The other piece of news is that for the past week or so, masked mysterious figures have appeared almost daily in towns near Reverse Mountain across the Four Seas, purchasing large amounts of supplies."
"What is your conclusion?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.
"My guess is that the two people Ash initially took with him were scouts accompanying him to the Grand Line. While he traveled to Jaya Island, these two villagers completed their scouting mission. After that, they have been blocking the Twin Capes area, constantly hunting pirates while waiting for the entire Diwen Village to migrate."
"This also perfectly aligns with masked figures visiting Marine bases near Reverse Mountain in the Four Seas to exchange bounties."
"But if this is true, the strength of those Diwen Village youth is probably no joke!"
"Looking back at Petty Officer Ryan's report from North Blue Branch 175, his statement that they relied on the strength of the Diwen Village young adults to repel the Wolf‑Guzzling Pirate Group was not an exaggeration. On the contrary, it was likely heavy reliance."
Vice Admiral Tsuru said, "Regardless, we must find them and have a proper talk!"
"Since Ash appeared in Alabasta, he must be on his way back to Twin Capes. In that case, I will head there directly," Sengoku said.
"That's all we can do. I will have people constantly monitor Ash's whereabouts, trying to contact him as soon as possible, lest this young troublemaker run off everywhere again."
Vice Admiral Tsuru chuckled, "He certainly does not make things easy by coming up with the idea of blocking Twin Capes to kill pirates."
"Well, if you have any news, please inform me promptly," Sengoku said.
"I will. After all, we both want the Marines to have fewer enemies, and the Seven Warlords fewer scumbags," Vice Admiral Tsuru responded.
Sengoku knew that the "scumbag" Tsuru mentioned was Donquixote Doflamingo, who had hijacked the heavenly tribute and threatened the World Government to gain status as a Seven Warlord of the Sea.
Vice Admiral Tsuru had pursued him for years and was near driving him into a corner, but the issuance of the Warlord appointment had nearly infuriated her.
But the one who wished, more than Vice Admiral Tsuru, to tear Doflamingo limb from limb was Sengoku himself, for his adopted son Rosinante had been killed by his own older brother.
The two quietly hung up the den den mushi.
Sengoku picked up the documents on the table, his eyes unfocused, and muttered, "My little rice cake…"
Two days later, Ash, who had been out roaming, returned to the Diwen Village fleet.
"Here, these are the den den mushi. With these, it will be much easier for us to communicate!" Ash handed all the den den mushi to Sali, keeping only one for himself.
"So you only came back to deliver the den den mushi?" Sali asked.
"What else? It took the fleet this many days just to reach Small Garden. It will probably take a month to sail to Jaya Island!"
Ash replied, "With that much time I can get a lot done!"
"Don't worry. With my current strength, there's no danger in the Paradise Stage," Ash added confidently.
Sali had nothing to say, but at least they had backup.
"Ash, no matter what, at least rest for one night before setting off again," the Village Chief said.
"Ah, well, alright, Grandpa Village Chief," Ash agreed with a helpless smile.
"In that case, everyone can have a little fruit wine tonight!" the Village Chief declared with a grin.
"Long live Grandpa Village Chief!"