After half a month of sailing through unusually calm seas, the Dawn ship finally arrived at Spring Queen City. Before reaching the city, the crew had passed through Water 7, where they commissioned a powerful Super Dragon Head Gate to be installed on the Dawn.
Unlike the Sabaody Archipelago, which was famous for gathering exotic goods from all four seas and emphasizing novelty, Spring Queen City offered something different. The city was known for its abundant supplies and wide variety of merchandise. Markets stretched across the streets, filled with traders selling everything from ship materials to rare spices.
The Dawn still lacked many necessities for long voyages, so the crew naturally seized the opportunity.
Shopping began the moment they stepped onto the island.
By the time they finished their round of purchases, mountains of supplies had been transported back to the ship. Only after everything had been loaded did the crew finally rest. The next day, the Dawn set sail once again.
Their next stop was Gourmet City.
Upon arrival, Ash and the others brought along a small Sea King they had hunted as a gift. With it, they paid a visit to Markel Farm, located in the eastern suburbs of the city.
When Markel and Martha saw that the Kirk siblings had returned, they were overjoyed. Their faces lit up with genuine warmth as they welcomed Ash and the others like family.
A bonfire was quickly lit in the yard.
That night turned into a lively barbecue celebration. The Sea King meat was roasted over open flames, filling the air with a rich aroma that drifted across the farm. Laughter and conversation continued late into the night, and the gathering did not quiet down until well past midnight.
The following days became a paradise for the crew.
Gourmet City lived up to its reputation. Every street seemed to hold another legendary dish, and every restaurant had something new to offer. Ash and the others quickly fell into a routine that consisted of nothing but eating.
Morning meals turned into afternoon feasts.
Afternoon snacks led directly into dinner banquets.
For several days in a row, the crew did little besides eat their way through the entire city.
Eventually, however, the sea calendar approached the New Year.
Reluctantly, the crew boarded the Dawn once again and left Gourmet City behind.
The very next day, the ship arrived at Carnival City.
Compared to the previous islands, the festive atmosphere here was overwhelming. Decorations covered the streets, fireworks echoed throughout the night, and music could be heard from nearly every corner.
After a brief discussion, the crew quickly reached a unanimous decision.
They would celebrate the New Year in Carnival City.
What followed was another period of complete indulgence. Every day became a cycle of entertainment, food, music, and games. The crew spent their time exploring festivals, tasting new dishes, and enjoying the lively crowds.
Brook, whose skeletal appearance often frightened people on other islands, experienced the complete opposite here. Rather than fear him, the people of Carnival City treated him like a fascinating curiosity.
Crowds gathered wherever he went.
Encouraged by the attention, Brook eventually took to the stage during one of the celebrations and sang with full enthusiasm. His performance electrified the crowd, and before long, people began calling him the Soul Singer King of Carnival City.
Strangely enough, this title arrived nine years earlier than it had in the original timeline.
Time slipped away quietly.
Before anyone truly noticed, the date had already reached January 10th, Sea Calendar 1516.
Ash gathered the crew together for a serious discussion.
Everyone reflected on the past half month of endless indulgence. Food, entertainment, and relaxation had completely consumed their schedule. While the break had been enjoyable, they could not remain idle forever.
After some discussion, the crew reached a conclusion.
It was time to get back to their true objective.
They would begin their journey toward the East Blue.
Finding a nearby Marine base, Ash used his authority as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to demand the latest Four Seas bounty posters. Once the information was obtained, the Dawn immediately set sail again.
Six days later, the ship crossed into the waters of the East Blue.
Aside from several enormous piles of Sea King ingredients stored aboard the ship, the Dawn appeared unchanged.
Standing at the deck railing, Ash silently calculated the timeline in his mind.
Monkey D. Luffy would set sail in the year 1522. According to Sanji's past, the curly-browed cook met Red Leg Zeff nine years earlier after a disastrous voyage. After surviving their ordeal, the two returned to the East Blue and opened the Sea Restaurant Baratie in 1513.
That meant the restaurant should have already been operating for nearly three years.
The cooking of Zeff and his chief disciple Sanji had been almost mythologized in the original story.
However, after tasting the food prepared by the Kirk siblings, Ash found himself deeply skeptical.
Were Zeff and Sanji truly that good?
There was only one way to find out.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
Despite wandering across large portions of the East Blue, the Dawn failed to locate any trace of the Baratie.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the crew prepared to head toward a random island to ask for directions to Cocoyasi Village.
That was when something unexpected happened.
They encountered a pirate crew.
After entering the East Blue, Ash had given a specific order to Youki and the others.
If they encountered pirates, they were not to attack immediately.
Instead, they had to report the sighting first.
In the Grand Line, most pirate crews were simply enemies to be eliminated. The East Blue, however, was different. During this period, many outside forces occasionally disguised themselves with pirate flags to move unnoticed.
The group Ash was most cautious about was the Revolutionary Army led by Monkey D. Dragon.
Although Ash did not particularly fear the strength of Dragon's subordinates, provoking unnecessary trouble was something he preferred to avoid.
Because of this rule, every time the crew encountered pirates, Youki would first report the sighting. Afterward, Tsuki would use the Voice of All Things to judge the nature of the people involved before deciding whether to sink the ship or ignore it.
This time was no different.
"The Trejack Pirates," Youki reported.
Ash felt a flicker of familiarity when he heard the name.
It sounded oddly familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
With that thought, Ash immediately flashed toward the Lookout Tower.
Youki pulled a bounty poster from a stack and handed it to him.
Then he pointed toward a small island in the distance.
"There," Youki said. "The Trejack Pirates. Small fry. Their total bounty is only about five million Berries."
Following the direction Youki indicated, Ash spotted a pirate ship anchored along the shore of a small island.
The pirate flag above it resembled a gear.
The moment Ash saw it, the memory surfaced.
The Trejack Pirates.
They were the group that had once captured Nami and Carina.
Ash narrowed his eyes.
"Move closer," he said calmly. "Check the island. See if there's an orange-haired girl."
Youki blinked in confusion.
"An orange-haired girl?" he asked. "You mean that Genius Navigator you mentioned before?"
Ash simply shrugged.
Youki glanced again at the pirate ship hiding beside the island.
"It can't be that much of a coincidence," he muttered.
The Dawn was massive, comparable to a small floating island. Naturally, "moving closer" did not mean steering directly into the shallow waters near the shore.
Even from a distance, the pirates had already noticed them.
The enormous silhouette drifting across the sea was impossible to miss.
Meanwhile, the Kirk siblings announced they would begin preparing lunch.
Perona volunteered to stay behind and watch the ship. Brook joined her, complaining that the recent sunlight had caused him severe photophobia.
With that settled, Ash, Youki, and Tsuki flew toward the island.
Before they even landed, Tsuki suddenly frowned.
"Thirty-seven people on the beach," he said quietly. "Eighteen hiding in the bushes. Twelve inside the cave. Eight on the ship."
He paused briefly.
"Fifty-seven people in total."
Tsuki continued scanning the island with his Observation Haki and the Voice of All Things.
"Except for two inside the cave, all of them are black."
Within their crew's terminology, black meant that a person's heart was filled with malicious intent.
White, on the other hand, only appeared in newborn infants.
Everything else existed on a scale between those extremes.
From Tsuki's wide-area scan, fifty-five of the fifty-seven people on the island were clearly pirates with dark intentions.
But two of them were different.
Their presence appeared cyan, a color representing individuals who were not driven by evil.
Ash raised an eyebrow.
Two innocent people among dozens of pirates.
The coincidence was becoming increasingly suspicious.
"Leave the ones in the cave alive for now," Ash said. "Let Tsuki examine them more closely. The rest can be dealt with immediately."
A short while later, the three arrived at the cave entrance.
Inside, they found two girls lying on the ground, their bodies bound by chains.
Nearby, six pirates trembled in fear.
The first girl had short orange hair, an orange-red top, and a red skirt.
She was unmistakably Nami.
The second girl had a purple bob haircut, a white shirt, and gray cropped pants.
She was Carina, Nami's partner.
Their clothing matched the outfits shown during Nami's past in the Gold City story.
Ash turned his gaze toward the pirate standing nearby.
The man had wine-red hair styled like a gear, along with a matching tattoo.
"You," Ash said calmly, "are you the captain of the Trejack Pirates?"
The man nodded.
He barely had time to open his mouth before Ash casually waved his hand.
In an instant, the Art of Decapitation was executed.
The captain's head separated from his body.
Ash caught it effortlessly and stored it inside his Storage Ring.
Then he spoke without even turning around.
"The rest are useless."
"Don't leave any of them alive."
Youki and Kirk moved forward immediately.
The remaining pirates, already terrified, began screaming in panic.
Ignoring the chaos behind him, Ash crouched in front of the two chained girls.
He smiled faintly.
"Ladies," he said.
"I just saved you from a pirate crew."
"How do you plan to repay me?"
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