Sea Calendar 1518, May 5th. The World Economic Journal released a new report.
Half a month earlier, in the Sobel Kingdom of the South Blue, the rebel Bartholomew Kuma drove out the former king. After declaring himself the new ruler, reports claimed his short reign was filled with cruelty and oppression, prompting the Marines to launch a punitive expedition.
After destroying the Marine fleet sent to subdue the kingdom, Kuma fled the Sobel Kingdom and vanished. Soon after, the Marines officially placed a bounty on him.
Bartholomew Kuma, also known as "Tyrant," now carried a bounty of 296 million Berries.
Naturally, Ash did not believe a single word printed in that article.
Having knowledge of how events truly unfolded, he knew the truth was the complete opposite.
The former king of the Sobel Kingdom was the real tyrant. He ruled with cruelty, completely devoid of humanity. He had even split the kingdom into two regions, exiling the elderly and the weak to a barren lower district, leaving them there to starve.
That plan only failed because Kuma stepped in to protect them.
When the king realized his scheme would not succeed, he escalated things further, sending troops to suppress anyone who dared oppose him.
Faced with such tyranny, Kuma had no choice but to rise up. Alone, he crushed the king's forces and expelled him from the kingdom.
That event later became known as the "One-Man Revolution."
Afterward, Kuma did not seek power, but the people insisted. He was pushed into becoming the new king of the Sobel Kingdom.
As for everything that followed, the situation was more complicated.
The former king had long been allied with the Celestial Dragons. When he lost power, those connections came into play. Under pressure from the Celestial Dragons, the South Blue Marine Branch assembled a fleet to intervene.
That led to Kuma destroying the fleet and ultimately disappearing.
Ash had originally believed that by taking Jewelry Bonney away earlier, he had already altered Kuma's fate.
But things had not changed as much as he expected.
Three months ago, Kuma had still been with the Revolutionary Army. Yet somehow, he ended up back in the Sobel Kingdom at the exact moment everything unfolded.
When Ash contacted him through a Den Den Mushi, Kuma simply said he had returned to visit the elders and happened to be there at the right time.
Yeah right, what a convenient excuse.
Unable to dig out the real reason, Ash chalked it up to the world correcting itself. Even if he interfered, certain major events still found a way to happen.
Still, he did not dwell on it.
It did nothing to dampen his mood about bringing Bonney and Nico Robin to Carnival Island for Carina and Brook's concert.
Bonney, after confirming her father was safe, quickly lost interest in everything else. Her only concern now was deciding what food to bring along.
Ten days later, Sali, who was already nearing thirty, received a call from the village chief and was summoned back to Sky Island for a blind date.
The moment the members of the Dawn Faction heard about it, they burst into laughter, already imagining Sali's awkward expression.
At the same time, the situation in the New World had stabilized.
With the Four Emperors firmly established, the seas entered a temporary calm.
On the Marine side, even though leadership at the G1 Branch had changed, Akainu remained stationed in the New World. Kizaru was assigned to the scientific unit, while Monkey D. Garp and Aokiji returned to Marine Headquarters at Marineford.
Not long after returning, Aokiji set out once again, this time alone, to pursue Crocodile.
As for Garp, now finally free, he took a vacation and headed back to the East Blue to visit his grandson.
Half a month after Ash returned to Gourmet Island following the concert, an unexpected guest arrived.
That guest was none other than Garp himself.
The old Marine had come all the way to meet Ash.
The two sat across from each other in a restaurant on Gourmet Island, staring in silence for quite a while before Ash finally spoke.
"What are you looking at?"
Garp did not respond the way Ash expected. Instead, he casually picked his nose and burst out laughing.
"You really are a lively brat!"
Ash ignored the comment, but he did not ignore the gesture. Without hesitation, he slid his plate a little farther away.
Garp immediately noticed.
His expression shifted. He leaned forward, pressing both hands on the table, his tone turning serious.
"I heard you're pretty strong. So let's have a match!"
The restaurant fell silent.
Everyone who had been quietly observing the meeting between the Marine Hero and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea suddenly became excited.
Ash paused for a moment.
He had to admit, he was interested. Seeing Garp's strength firsthand was not something that happened every day.
But then reality set in.
Garp was already seventy-two years old.
Seventy-two.
Ash stared at him for a moment, then lost interest.
Garp's eyes narrowed slightly. He clearly caught that shift.
"What's wrong?" he snorted. "All reputation and no substance? If you're a real man, then loosen up and compete with me. Let's see who's got more capacity!"
"Eh!?"
The entire restaurant erupted.
"So it's not a fight!?"
"That's Vice Admiral Garp for you..."
Ash froze.
"Capacity?"
"Did he really just say that?"
For a moment, Ash felt like he had been punched in the chest.
So this whole thing was not a fight?
It was an eating contest?
He replayed Garp's words in his head and immediately realized it.
This old man had absolutely done that on purpose.
Ash's expression darkened.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
Yeah right, messing with me like that?
"Clap!"
Ash suddenly stood up, slamming his hand onto the table.
"A competition it is!" he snapped. "Today, one of us is going down before we leave!"
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