"Sigh..."
In a tailor shop on Whiskey Peak, the proprietress was sewing a garment she had never seen before according to her customer's specifications while listening to that customer sighing and groaning in her shop.
Honestly, when this customer in a black suit first entered, the proprietress had been quite frightened.
His tall stature and gloomy expression made her think she was being robbed by gangsters.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding was later cleared up. The other party took out a sum of money and asked her to make clothes according to measurements.
This customer was quite generous with his spending, so the proprietress simply postponed other work temporarily to prioritize making clothes for him.
After all, Whiskey Peak was just an inconspicuous small island on the Grand Line. There weren't many passing merchants in the past, and even pirates rarely visited here.
Most of her usual income came from mending clothes for other residents in town. It was rare to encounter such a "big business" opportunity.
Naruto, sitting not far from the proprietress, sighed again while gloomily taking out his flask and gulping down a few mouthfuls.
How could this happen?
It shouldn't be like this.
He really felt depressed.
Originally, everything had proceeded smoothly according to his predictions.
The monster bird's speed was fast. Even though it was slightly delayed by Wapol's attack, it still arrived at Reverse Mountain at dawn the next day.
He could have taken the Calm Belt directly.
But considering this place wasn't far from Reverse Mountain, he simply took a slight detour.
The reason was simple. Naruto planned to visit the retired ship doctor Crocus living there.
When coming from the New World before, he hadn't passed through Reverse Mountain. This time returning, he shouldn't forget to visit.
The old ship doctor was already over seventy this year. Each meeting was one less meeting. Who knows which time might be the last?
He still remembered that during his time with Roger's pirate crew, Naruto would always get injured from training.
Because of this, Crocus, as the ship doctor, had dealt with him far more often than other crew members.
Regarding Naruto's recent major actions and Golden Lion's exit, Crocus had sighed repeatedly.
After chatting for a while, confirming the old ship doctor's current health was good, and having a few drinks, Naruto chose to take his leave.
Because he really couldn't stand the old ship doctor's nagging.
"Don't drink so much alcohol."
"Do you want to be riddled with illness when you're old?"
Once upon a time, Crocus seemed to nag Captain Roger the same way. This time the target of nagging had changed to Naruto.
Honestly, Naruto didn't mind being cared for and nagged by "elders." He even quite enjoyed it.
It would be more perfect if the old ship doctor didn't hit him a few times while nagging.
Before leaving, Naruto took another look at the island whale that Crocus called "Laboon."
It was a whale with an enormous body and a head front covered in complex scars.
From the old ship doctor, Naruto also learned about the Rumbar Pirates and Laboon's story, marveling at how such sincere friendship could exist between humans and animals.
He thought that if the opportunity arose, he'd help inquire about this pirate crew.
However, Naruto didn't hold much hope for this.
There was no helping it.
After all, the Rumbar Pirates had set sail fifty years ago. Looking at it now, things were probably more ominous than fortunate.
Thinking this, Naruto planned to continue riding that large monster bird along the Grand Line to fly to the next island.
He had even started thinking of names for this monster bird in his heart.
"Yakitori," "Chicken," "Grilled Wings"...
After being beaten a few times, the monster bird had become much more obedient, possibly also because the bird head that always caused trouble had been beaten silly by Naruto's heavy hand.
In any case, the entire flight was very smooth.
Just when Naruto thought he could smoothly get through this journey, an accident happened.
This time it really was an accident.
The monster bird, just before reaching the island, passed through clouds and descended downward.
At that time, there was a thunderstorm below.
At this final critical moment, a bolt of lightning struck from the clouds, precisely hitting the monster bird.
If not for Naruto's Observation Haki allowing him to jump down in advance, he probably would have been electrocuted into an afro too.
The monster bird's fate was predictable.
Naruto sadly watched it fall straight into the ocean with no further sound.
"Sigh. Proprietress, where is the best-tasting restaurant here?"
Making new clothes would still take some time.
The dejected Naruto wanted to find some good food to comfort himself, so he asked the locals.
After getting the result, Naruto headed to the town's largest restaurant according to her directions.
It was also the largest bar.
"Boss, whatever specialty dishes you have, bring them all up."
Slapping a stack of berries on the table, Naruto shouted loudly.
The other people around, seeing Naruto's build and black clothes, all fell silent as cicadas.
Several guys were even ready to go call the town's only peace officer.
Fortunately, Naruto didn't seem like someone who came to cause trouble. After ordering food, he sat quietly in place.
This allowed others to gradually relax and continue their business.
The food was quickly served, and as for the taste, it could only be said to be unexpectedly good.
It might not be much inferior to restaurants on large islands.
Then Naruto began eating with abandon. The looks from people around him gradually changed from fearful wariness to amazement, and later some people even started cheering and making noise.
They seemed to be betting on how much more Naruto could eat.
After all, this small island rarely had competitive eaters of this level.
Just as the atmosphere in the restaurant was becoming lively, another figure pushed open the door.
It was a bare-chested guy wearing a cowboy hat.
As soon as he entered, he threw his backpack on a chair, then shouted loudly:
"Boss! Bring out all the good food you have!"
He plopped down right next to Naruto, who was eating heartily.
The previously lively atmosphere around them instantly froze for a moment. The reason was simple.
Because this guy who suddenly entered had a large skull and crossbones tattooed on his back, with the skull sporting strange crescent-shaped whiskers.
No matter how you looked at it, he was a pirate.
"Still as energetic as before, Ace."
Putting down the plate he had picked up, Naruto took a napkin from the side to wipe his mouth, then turned to look at Ace sitting beside him.
"You look healthy. That Whitebeard guy has been taking good care of you."
It was also at this moment that "Fire Fist" Ace, the 2nd Division Commander of one of the Four Emperors' "Whitebeard Pirates," seriously looked at the big guy beside him.
The result was that he didn't know until he looked but was shocked when he did.
Because Naruto wasn't wearing that haori this time, Ace momentarily didn't recognize him.
"It's... it's you!"
"Really, Ace, you won't even call me uncle?"
Bang!
A Fist of Love directly struck Ace's head.