When he woke up, Ash Thalos felt completely refreshed.
Stepping outside the wooden house, he found the moon still bright while the stars were sparse. The bonfire had been lit again, its flames crackling softly in the night.
Pini had already returned and was grilling giant squid skewers and takoyaki. Beside him lay a pile of unidentifiable Sea King meat, stacked like fresh supplies from a butcher.
"A hundred takoyaki for me!"
Ash said with a grin, rubbing his stomach.
"I am starving. Do not tell me I slept for a whole day and a half."
"Only the afternoon."
Pini replied without even turning around, casually throwing another batch of takoyaki onto the iron plate.
"I caught this Sea King earlier. It looks like a dairy cow, so it should taste amazing. Eat as much as you want later, Ash."
Dicken stood nearby, pointing at the pile of meat with a proud expression.
After finally gaining power, he had spent the entire afternoon flying around the sea, testing his new abilities. He returned with a small Sea King purely for extra rations.
Fortunately, although simple-minded, Dicken was not stupid. He had not revealed anything in front of Crocus.
He waited until Crocus returned inside Laboon before flying out to experiment.
Even so, when he came back at dusk carrying a cow-shaped Sea King, Crocus still saw him. The old man merely assumed he had been hunting and showed no real surprise.
After all, he had already seen Ash, whom he suspected to be a Mera Mera no Mi user, and Pini, whom he suspected to be a Goro Goro no Mi user.
One more strange flying Devil Fruit user was no longer shocking.
In fact, Crocus was no longer confident that Ash was using the Flame Flame Fruit at all.
A Logia could barely justify flight. But since when could a Flame user manipulate earth and wood, creating houses out of thin air?
"Rest well tonight. I am leaving at dawn."
Ash spoke calmly while eating.
"Straight to Jaya. I will find the route to Sky Island."
"So soon?" Pini looked surprised.
"Plans never keep up with change. This time, we got an unexpected bonus, so I can speed things up."
Without explaining further, Ash waved his hand and produced four rough wooden crates.
They were clearly made on the spot with his abilities, barely polished at all.
"Not just me. One of you is going back as well."
"Give the green crate to Brother Sali. Tell him it suits him perfectly."
Ash continued eating while speaking.
"The yellow one is for Brother Youki. The two cyan ones are for the Daly Three Brothers. Let them decide how to split those."
The moment they saw the crates, both Pini and Dicken understood what they contained.
Five Devil Fruits.
"Who would have thought those two giant pirates were so sinful."
Dicken muttered.
"They let Ash condense five whole fruits."
Both Pini and Dicken had the same thought.
Seeing Ash pack the fruits without mentioning his real long-term plan, relocating all of Diwen Village, they wisely kept silent.
Crocus, however, clearly felt left out.
This was his home, yet somehow he had become the outsider.
Should I just leave them alone?
"Hmph. So you want to find Sky Island?"
Crocus finally spoke, forcing his presence into the conversation.
"Yes. I know about it." Ash shrugged.
"The Knock-Up Stream near Jaya, right?"
"If you already know, why look for a route?" Crocus asked, confused.
"I am not looking for a route to sail a ship up."
Ash smiled faintly.
"I am looking for a route to fly."
…
The night passed quietly.
Dawn arrived sooner than expected.
"Then we are off."
Ash stretched lazily.
"Brother Dicken, do not just hunt pirates. Keep an eye on the ship as well."
"Got it, got it. Stop nagging."
After brief farewells, Ash and Pini flew off in opposite directions along Reverse Mountain.
Dicken remembered Pini's advice, do not talk too much with Crocus, or he might accidentally reveal Ash's true abilities.
So he simply sat at the edge of the cliff, silently waiting for the first batch of unlucky pirates to arrive.
Meanwhile…
After nearly a full day of flying, Ash returned to and retrieved the Log Pose he had left behind Small Garden.
Then he froze.
The needle had not moved at all.
It still had not recorded the direction of the next island.
Thanks to his enhanced mental capacity, Ash's memory was sharp. After a moment of thought, a long-forgotten detail suddenly resurfaced.
And his expression instantly darkened.
In the original story, Brogy had once told Nami that Small Garden needed a full year to record the next island.
The Straw Hats only escaped because Sanji obtained Mr. 3's eternal pose to Alabasta.
"A whole year…"
Ash clicked his tongue.
"My ancient memories are really ambushing me at the worst times."
One year was enough for Ash to conquer half the world.
But without a Log Pose or a mental coordinate, he still had no idea where Jaya was.
Flying randomly would just waste even more time.
"And I already told Pini to bring the villagers over."
Ash sighed.
"I cannot go back empty-handed."
In the end, he could only accept reality.
"I will rest tonight and calculate distances."
…
The island's ancient beasts had a miserable night.
"Dinosaur meat really is delicious."
Ash sat on a cliff near the shore, eating while looking satisfied.
"Chewy, full of texture."
After filling his stomach, he lay flat on his back, staring at the star-filled sky.
At the same time, his mind rapidly flipped through memories and calculations.
In the original story, the day the Straw Hats left Small Garden, Nami caught a high fever, which was actually the Five-Day Disease.
To find a doctor, they asked Vivi how long it would take to reach Alabasta.
Her answer was less than a week.
Then Roronoa Zoro took over navigation.
And steered the ship ninety degrees off course.
The crew abandoned the Alabasta route and searched for a doctor instead.
Under Nami's guidance, they avoided a massive waterspout.
On the second day, they encountered the fugitive king Wapol, user of the Baku Baku no Mi, and knocked him flying.
On the third day, they reached Drum Island and cured Nami.
"So, without detours, Small Garden to Drum Island is at most three days of sailing."
Ash smiled faintly.
"But I can fly straight."
"That means one day."
"I do not know Drum's exact coordinates, but if I draw a semicircle around Small Garden with one day of flight as the radius, that gives me at most…"
He paused.
"Just over three days of searching."
"Add rest time and safety margin, four days maximum."
"And Drum is a Winter Island, which eliminates most candidates immediately."
"Once I find Drum, it is simple. As a World Government-affiliated kingdom, they must have Log Poses or eternal poses to Alabasta."
"And Alabasta, the largest WG kingdom in Paradise, will absolutely sell eternal poses for islands beyond."
Ash laughed softly to himself.
"Any problem that can be solved with Berries is not a real problem."
===
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