In Badak's home in the Irosia Kingdom, the six of them gathered to celebrate the holiday. Aside from Leo and Mansherry, they were all loners at heart.
The final day of the year 1507 in the Sea Calendar had arrived—Badak's second New Year in this world.
Unlike the previous New Year, when he had been alone on Sabaody Archipelago, eating Wano-style ham, sipping West Blue wine, and admiring the fireworks, his heart had been full of loneliness.
Suddenly finding himself in such an exciting yet dangerous world had filled him with both anticipation and dread—anticipation for clashing with powerful foes and making a name for himself across the seas, and dread of meeting an untimely end or wasting this second chance at life.
This New Year, his strength was worlds apart from what it had been the year before, and he now had companions to journey with. The longer he stayed in this world, the more fulfilled he felt.
The warm room was filled with an abundance of food—all prepared by their own hands, with Badak taking the lead, of course.
"Come, come, everyone! To the past year—cheers!"
"Cheers!"
They raised their glasses together, clinking them before drinking deeply.
It was worth noting that aside from Daz Bones, who was drinking alcohol, the others all had juice, milk, or soda—Badak included.
Robin, ever the responsible teacher, enforced the rule that minors couldn't drink. Fine by him—Badak wasn't particularly fond of alcohol anyway.
"Whew. Burp..."Leo put down the enormous cup (for his size) and took a deep breath. His appetite was certainly larger than this—Leo could eat quite a lot. But due to the Tontatta's small bodies, their capacity was limited. Eating or drinking too quickly made them feel full, so they needed time to digest before continuing.
What Leo envied most was Badak's powerful digestion after mastering Life Return.
Badak glanced at Leo's bulging stomach and advised, "Leo, you don't have to drink it all in one go. Look at Mansherry—she drinks however much she wants. We're all friends here; the most important thing is to enjoy ourselves."
But Leo looked unconvinced. "I'm a man! How can I act the same as a princess?"
"Hmph."
Mansherry snorted in annoyance, thinking to herself that she'd soon be calling her father on the Den Den Mushi—and Leo's grandmother would surely be there too. She'd make sure to complain about him.
"Alright, let's start eating quickly. If we wait too long, the food won't taste as good," Robin urged everyone, handing Leo a large meat skewer.
But what could Leo do? He was too full to eat right now.
"Pfft." Mansherry couldn't help but laugh at Leo's conflicted expression.
"Dig in, dig in!"
Badak transformed into an eating machine, devouring the food at lightning speed. Fortunately, despite his pace, there was more than enough food to go around, so no one had to worry about missing out.
"Mmm, this is delicious! This one's amazing too!"
Perona savored each bite slowly, taking her time to appreciate the flavors. Her small appetite meant she could match the group's pace perfectly.
"Ah, how cute! I wonder how it tastes?"
Robin preferred sampling the prettiest pastries. Her Devil Fruit ability was incredibly handy—without even leaving her seat, hands sprouted everywhere to bring her desired dishes right to her. She even helped others by fetching food for them.
If Badak had looked up at that moment, he would've noticed Daz Bones actually using a knife—albeit a butter knife.
He liked cutting his food into tiny pieces before eating. Who knew if his Dust Blade technique originated from this habit?
The meal lasted a long time, but by the end, everyone was happily full. Truly, food tasted even better when shared with friends.
After dinner, Badak and the others accompanied Mansherry and Leo as they called Gancho of the Tontatta Kingdom on Green Bit in the New World via Den Den Mushi.
Mansherry had been away from home for nearly a year, and Gancho missed her dearly. The Den Den Mushi on their end cried so much it nearly dehydrated before the call finally ended.
Outside, fireworks had already begun lighting up the sky. This year, Badak had prepared fireworks too—he had gone from being a mere spectator to an active participant in the festivities.
As the beautiful explosions scattered across the night, they bid farewell to the past and welcomed the New Year.
On the first day of the New Year, Andrew—former leader of the Night Wolf Gang and now general manager of the Dandelion Trading Company—arrived early for a visit.
Clothes make the man, and Andrew, dressed sharply, carried himself with the air of a proper businessman.
Seeing him reminded Badak of the intel he'd received: after defeating the Flying Daggers, the Fang Gang had still avoided this area, continuing their expansion elsewhere. He wondered if Capone Bege had ordered it.
Well, it was for the best—he didn't want anyone causing trouble here.
Aside from the New Year's visit, Andrew also reported work updates to Robin.The Dandelion Trading Company had always been remotely managed by Robin. Before meeting Badak, she had wandered for many years, taking on various jobs and uncovering secrets from numerous industries. Coupled with her intelligence and her Devil Fruit ability that excelled at gathering information, even though it was her first time leading a trading company, she handled it with ease.
Shortly after its establishment, the Dandelion Trading Company had already turned a profit, which reassured those who had followed Andrew into the organization.
For these ordinary people, whether they joined a gang or a trading company, it was all about making a living. Though they no longer had the same intimidating presence as before, they were now earning much more money.
Robin had prepared well and quickly completed the work arrangements. With the convenience of Den Den Mushi, managing the Dandelion Trading Company was relatively straightforward, especially since the former members of the Night Wolf Gang knew just how powerful Badak was.
After spending another seven days on land, Badak and his crew boarded the White Dragon Horse and set sail directly for the Kingdom of Flowers.
This time, however, Badak had no intention of launching an aerial assault on the enemy's leadership. The Kingdom of Flowers was unlike any place they had encountered before. Aside from Chin Jao, the pillar of the Happo Navy, the strength of the other pillars remained completely unknown, and it was unclear how much of Chin Jao's power remained.
He wasn't like Monkey D. Luffy, who acted recklessly without a second thought, charging headfirst into everything.
"Robin, once we reach the Kingdom of Flowers, I'll be relying on you. We'll gather intelligence slowly. Many of them may have mastered Observation Haki, so we need to be extra cautious this time."
Badak briefly explained the situation in the Kingdom of Flowers, and everyone's expressions grew serious. This was truly a formidable nation.
"Don't worry, Badak. Gathering intelligence is my specialty. I'll definitely find out their latest status. The only thing is, I can't accurately gauge their strength."
Robin was confident in her abilities, but she truly couldn't assess an opponent's strength just by observation—even Badak himself couldn't do that.
"Then here's the plan: we'll locate the positions of each pillar and only approach Chin Jao when he's alone. To be honest, his strongest technique has already been neutralized. Even if I can't defeat him, I can still get all of us out safely."
Without his signature pointed head, Badak was confident he could withstand Chin Jao's attacks.