News that a traveler had arrived in Foosha Village spread through the village almost instantly.
Before long, Makino's tavern was packed to the brim.
The villagers who arrived later couldn't squeeze inside, so they either crouched by the doorway or hung half their bodies out the windows to listen.
Even Makino hadn't expected the villagers to flock to Kairo like this.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that since opening the tavern, she had never seen the villagers this excited.
Of course, it made sense.
There had been busy periods before.
For example, years ago, a pirate named Shanks had suddenly arrived in Foosha Village and stayed there for some time with his crew.
During that period, the tavern had been full almost every day—
But the crowd had mostly been Shanks's men.
Ordinary villagers hadn't dared get close.
This time was different.
The newcomer was just a traveler who had roamed far from home for years.
To the villagers, he didn't seem threatening.
So naturally, everyone wanted to come see what kind of person he was—and hear stories of the places he had visited.
"Mr. Kairo!"
Inside the tavern hall, one of the villagers—a middle-aged man who had been curious from the moment Kairo arrived in the village—pushed his way to the counter and looked at him with eager eyes.
"Um… could you tell us what places you've been to?"
Before Kairo could answer, another villager stood up.
"Mr. Kairo, have you been anywhere outside the East Blue?"
"And if you travel all the time… what do you do when you run into pirates?"
The moment those words were spoken, the tavern fell silent.
All eyes turned toward Kairo.
Clearly, what concerned the villagers most was the question of safety.
Since childhood, the elders of Foosha Village had warned them not to set sail alone lightly.
After all, the sea was full of dangers—
Not just ruthless pirates, but all kinds of giant sea beasts as well.
Seeing the tavern suddenly go quiet, Kairo picked up his glass and took a slow sip before answering.
"I've been to many places."
"And yes, that includes seas beyond East Blue."
"For example, the West Blue… the South Blue… and even the New World."
"As for what I do when I run into pirates?"
He smiled faintly.
"That's simple."
"If I can beat them, I fight."
"If I can't, I run."
"Mr. Kairo, have you ever actually fought pirates?" one villager asked curiously.
"At the moment, no."
Kairo thought for a second, then added,
"But I did run into a Marine warship today."
"And to be honest, I still don't understand what was wrong with its commanding officer."
"There wasn't a pirate flag on my ship, and I'm obviously not a bad person—yet he opened fire on me without warning."
"What?! The Marines fired on you? Are they insane?"
"Not every Marine is a good person! I've heard some Marines even collude with pirates. They're worse than pirates!"
"Hey, hey, you can't say it like that! Don't forget Vice Admiral Garp is a Marine too!"
"Sure, there are bad people among the Marines, but most of them are definitely good. If there were no Marines, pirates would've run completely wild by now!"
"Besides, that's not what we should be arguing about right now. We're here to hear Mr. Kairo's travel stories!"
"Mr. Kairo, can you tell us about one of your journeys in another sea? Maybe… the West Blue?"
"Of course."
Kairo lowered his gaze slightly, pretending to think for a moment.
Then he began:
"I traveled to many places in the West Blue, but the place that left the deepest impression on me was a country that had been plagued by war for many years."
"There were three major powers in that country."
"The strongest was led by a man named Nicholas Cao Cao."
"The second was led by a man named Augustsong Liu Bei."
"And the third was led by a man named Jerry."
"What made it interesting," Kairo continued with a completely straight face, "was that each of these three leaders had a very distinct personal preference."
"For example, Nicholas Cao Cao had a particular fondness for married women."
"Meanwhile, Augustsong Liu Bei embodied what one could truly call the romance of men."
"And as for Jerry…"
"He liked lolis."
"By lolis, of course, I mean petite, delicate, cute little girls…"
The tavern crowd fell even quieter.
Everyone listened with rapt attention.
"These three factions were constantly at war, each trying to crush the other two."
"But what none of them expected was this—"
"After decades of struggle, all their efforts ultimately became someone else's wedding clothes."
"As Nicholas Cao Cao and Augustsong Liu Bei died one after another, a minister who had once served under Nicholas Cao Cao rose to power."
"And in the end, the lands of all three factions were united under that man."
After finishing that part, Kairo took another slow sip of his drink and casually swept his gaze across the room.
Seeing every villager listening with total fascination, he nearly laughed out loud.
As expected—
No matter what world it was, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms always had an audience.
Just then, several men suddenly stood up all at once and began speaking over each other.
"Mr. Kairo, could you tell us more about that leader who liked married women?"
"No, no, no—I'm more interested in the romance of men!"
"I want to hear the story of Jerry and his lolis!"
While Kairo was cheerfully making up a Three Kingdoms-style tale and blending right into village life—
The warship racing nonstop toward Foosha Village was cutting through the sea at full speed.
Standing on deck, Garp glanced up at the darkening sky, and the anxiety on his face deepened.
During the journey, he had tried several times to contact Mayor Uwoop Slap.
But each attempt had gone unanswered.
At first, he assumed the old man was simply busy and hadn't heard the Den Den Mushi.
But after repeated calls with no response at all—
Even Garp started getting uneasy.
If the owner of that strange ship had redirected his anger over those three warning shots toward the villagers of Foosha Village…
Then with the kind of near-instant travel ability that had seemingly moved them from Loguetown waters to Foosha Village—
Even if Garp arrived in time, it might already be too late.
Time passed quickly.
Pushing the warship to maximum speed, they finally entered Foosha Village waters around dusk.
As the warship rapidly approached shore, Garp raised his telescope and could already make out the outline of the village.
Normally, when he returned to Foosha Village at this hour, the villagers would still be out.
Some would be sitting at the docks after a long day's work.
Others would gather in small groups outside houses and chat.
But tonight, Foosha Village was strangely quiet.
There was no one at the dock.
No one walking through the streets.
The sight made Garp's heart sink.
Since Uwoop had told him earlier that the boy had gone to Makino's tavern, Garp didn't dare waste a second.
After sweeping the village with his telescope, he immediately shifted his view toward the tavern.
"…?????"
The moment Makino's tavern came into focus, Garp's face filled with confusion.
Nearly the entire village was gathered there.
People were packed around the entrance and windows in layer after layer, like a giant human hive.