Inside a highly-rated local restaurant, Robin and the rest of the crew were waiting when Bardock finally walked in. Noticing the ornate new sword strapped to his waist alongside Shusui and White Iron, they all looked over curiously.
Bardock unbuckled Yubashiri and placed it on the table for everyone to inspect. "It's a Skillful Grade Sword named Yubashiri," he explained. "Do any of you want it?"
The beautiful blade was passed around the table, admired for its craftsmanship, and then promptly handed right back to Bardock. Not a single person wanted to claim it.
It made perfect sense; there wasn't a single dedicated, traditional swordsman on the entire crew. The closest thing they had was Killer, but he was exclusively devoted to his dual-wielding scythes. Daz Bonez was a sword, and everyone else relied on Devil Fruits, martial arts, or machinery.
Shrugging, Bardock re-sheathed Yubashiri, strapped it back onto his waist, and began digging into the feast. Robin had used her Flower-Flower Fruit to casually eavesdrop on the locals and locate the absolute best restaurant in Loguetown, and the food certainly didn't disappoint.
"If you ask me," a heavily intoxicated patron at a nearby table suddenly slurred, his voice booming across the dining room, "Loguetown owes every single bit of its current economic boom directly to Pirate King Roger! Hic! If it weren't for his massive worldwide fame, we wouldn't have all these rich tourists flocking here to spend their money!"
In private, amongst close friends, expressing such an incredibly cynical opinion might have been acceptable. But loudly broadcasting it in the middle of a crowded public restaurant was practically begging for a riot.
"You drunken bastard! What the hell kind of garbage are you spewing?!" a local man roared, slamming his mug on the table. "Roger brought nothing but infinite suffering to this town!"
"Exactly!" another patron yelled angrily. "Do you have any idea how many brutal pirate crews raided our shores over the last ten years just to 'make a name for themselves' in the Pirate King's hometown?!"
"Roger single-handedly triggered the Great Pirate Era! The number of pirates on the seas multiplies every single year, and countless innocent civilians are slaughtered because of him! It's all his fault!"
However, a heavily intoxicated man is rarely swayed by logic or public outrage.
"Oh, shut up!" the drunk stubbornly fired back. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that those tourists out in the square right now aren't here specifically because of Roger?!"
"Are you looking for a fight, buddy?!" "I bet this guy is a pirate sympathizer! Grab him! Drag him to the Marine Base!" "Ignorant out-of-towner..."
"I'm so sorry! I apologize! He's had way too much to drink! Please forgive him!" the drunk man's terrified friend frantically bowed, desperately grabbing his buddy by the collar and dragging him out of the restaurant as fast as humanly possible. If he had been a second slower, the furious mob would have definitely dragged them straight to the Navy, and explaining their way out of a holding cell would have been a nightmare.
"Bardock," Robin asked softly, having watched the entire chaotic scene unfold with quiet amusement. "What is your perspective on Roger's impact on Loguetown?"
Bardock honestly wanted to joke, 'I prefer to view it while lying down,' but knowing Robin was asking a genuine sociological question, he decided not to brush her off.
He took a sip of his drink and pondered for a moment. "It's a double-edged sword. Loguetown is located directly at the entrance to the Grand Line; massive pirate traffic passing through here was always going to be geographically inevitable. Adding the title of the 'Pirate King's Hometown' simply placed a massive, glowing target on the island, drawing even more arrogant pirates seeking fame. Unless there's a permanent, terrifyingly strong deterrent stationed here, the pirate raids will never stop."
Bardock gestured toward the bustling street outside the window. "However, the title of the 'Town of the Beginning and the End' undeniably draws an endless, lucrative stream of global tourists. The staggering economic prosperity Loguetown currently enjoys is entirely fueled by their spending."
"Listening to you explain it like that, it almost sounds like you believe Roger's overall impact on the town was actually a net positive," Perona tilted her head in confusion.
"Not exactly," Bardock corrected smoothly. "The only reason that tourist economy can exist in the first place is because the Navy is actively suppressing the pirates. A stable, peaceful environment is the absolute prerequisite for economic development. If the Navy completely abandoned this island, the sheer volume of pirates drawn by Roger's legacy would have violently burned Loguetown to the ground years ago."
Bardock never underestimated the absolute cruelty and savagery of the average pirate, nor did he ever dismiss the vital, foundational role the Navy played in maintaining global civilization. However, given his current status as a wanted man, the best he could do was actively try to avoid harming the ordinary, genuinely righteous Marines stationed at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Having eaten their fill, the crew paid the bill and stepped out of the restaurant.
The absolute microsecond they stepped onto the street, Bardock's Observation Haki flared. They were being followed.
"Enel," Bardock asked casually, not turning his head. "What's the deal with the tails?"
"Oh, them?" Enel glanced lazily out of the corner of his eye. "Just a bunch of Marine informants and undercover scouts. By the way, they've already frantically contacted Marine Headquarters to request a massive fleet."
"Are you serious?!" Perona shrieked, instantly panicking. "Why the hell didn't you say anything earlier?!"
"Why does it matter?" Enel shrugged nonchalantly, picking his ear. "By the time anyone from Headquarters actually gets here, we'll be long gone. They're too slow to be a threat."
Perona stared at him in absolute, dumbfounded shock. "That... makes so much logical sense that I literally cannot argue with it."
"Alright, well, since Marine Headquarters has officially confirmed our exact location, we definitely can't afford to linger in Loguetown much longer," Bardock decided. "But before we set sail, there is one last thing I need to confirm."
Bardock turned to his two best intelligence gatherers. "Robin, Enel. I need you to comb the town and find a young, green-haired punk named Bartolomeo. I need to confirm whether or not he has eaten a Devil Fruit yet."