On the calm sea, from the deck of Baratie's large fish-shaped restaurant ship, Sanji waved his handkerchief with obvious reluctance as he bid farewell to the departing Black Star Pirates.
"Miss Carina! Little Carrot and little Bonney! Please remember to visit us again soon! Of course, that perverted skeleton and the blond boy should stay away!"
"We will! Goodbye!" Carina stood on the deck of their ship as it grew more distant, waving back to Sanji with a cheerful smile.
"You bastard cook! Are you giving away free meals again?!"
"So what if I am? When beautiful ladies come to dine, of course it should be complimentary! They don't eat that much anyway!"
"What do you mean 'not that much'? Look at how much that little girl put away! Seriously, tell me again—exactly how much did she consume?!"
"You can't let those lovely ladies go hungry, you heartless brute!"
Even from their increasing distance, everyone could clearly hear the noisy argument between Patty and Sanji carrying across the water.
"Speaking of which, that guy really did give Carina and the others a completely free meal... but we men still had to pay our bills as usual," Deuce observed, recalling the scene when they had settled their accounts.
Jerry gently patted the head of a thoroughly satisfied Bonney. "Are you finally full and content?"
"Hehe! The food there was really delicious. Can we go back again sometime?" Bonney looked up at him with sparkling, hopeful eyes.
"We'll stop by again on our return trip if it's on our route," Jerry agreed with a warm smile.
This particular visit had been nothing more than a simple meal and brief rest.
Aside from the scammer who had tried to cause trouble and extort money when they first arrived—only to be subdued and thrown out by the restaurant's staff—there had been no further conflicts or complications.
"By the way, what ever happened to Krieg?"
The name of East Blue's would-be conqueror suddenly popped into Jerry's mind. He had a vague recollection that Don Krieg was supposed to be some kind of introductory challenge for rookie pirates in this sea. Why had they never encountered him during their travels?
Skull scratched his head thoughtfully. "Boss Jerry, do you want to track down Krieg? According to my intelligence network, he hasn't been operating in this area recently. Word is he's preparing to make his own attempt at the Grand Line."
"Ah, it's fine. No need to go looking for him..."
Jerry dismissed the idea immediately. He wasn't bored enough to deliberately seek out Krieg just to beat him up for no particular reason.
Following their meal at Baratie, Jerry and his crew resumed their leisurely sightseeing tour.
They moved at their own pace, wandering freely among the various islands of East Blue. During this period, Deuce notably didn't include his hometown in their planned itinerary.
On this particular day, under an ominously overcast sky, the sea looked especially desolate and the waves seemed more turbulent than usual.
Amid the steadily falling drizzle, the pirates continued their normal activities within the ship's cabin.
Suddenly, an enormous shadow began to materialize in front of their ship.
Carrot was looking around with her telescope while playing with Bonney when she became the first to notice the anomaly. She immediately called out in excitement: "Everyone, come look at this! What is that thing?"
Following the direction of Carrot's pointing finger, a massive black silhouette that seemed to blot out both sky and sea gradually became clearer through the dense rainfall. As their ship approached, the outline of the shadow grew increasingly distinct.
When they finally saw the scene ahead with perfect clarity, everyone couldn't help but exclaim in unison: "Is that a bridge?!"
"A bridge? What kind of massive construction project is this?" Jerry joined in the general amazement, craning his neck forward before shouting with exaggerated shock.
"Move over!" Carina pushed his head aside, then squinted as hard as she could while staring at the towering bridge structure that rose high above the ocean's surface.
Carrot helpfully handed over the telescope. Carina carefully observed the bridge for several long minutes before speaking in an uncertain tone:
"Is this bridge still under construction? Are those workers continuing their labor non-stop even in this heavy rain?"
"No! Those aren't workers—they're slaves!"
The increasingly dense raindrops struck everything around them, creating a growing cacophony of noise, but it couldn't mask Carina's horrified exclamation.
Deuce and Skull quickly consulted their information sources and soon retrieved the relevant data.
"There's a place here called Tequila Wolf, which serves as a collection point for criminals from around the world, as well as citizens from countries that aren't World Government member nations. This bridge has been under construction for seven hundred years!"
As this information was read aloud, Deuce unconsciously clenched his fists.
Jerry's eyes flashed with recognition. He had a vague recollection of this location—this was the place where Kuma would eventually send Robin after the Straw Hat Pirates' defeat at Sabaody Archipelago.
While contemplating these future events silently, Jerry simply stared at the bridge in stunned silence. He watched the countless people whose freedom had been stripped away by heavy iron shackles, forced to continue their backbreaking labor under the whips of overseers even during the torrential downpour, but he didn't say a single word.
When the others heard Deuce's explanation, they all cried out in disbelief: "What? Seven hundred years?"
Skull carefully reread the information in his hands while searching his memory for additional relevant details, then continued:
"Yes, this has been a massive construction project carried out by the World Government for seven centuries."
"In order to build this bridge, people kept collapsing from exhaustion and dying, while a steady stream of new workers were brought in to replace them. Once people are sent here, they're all treated as expendable slaves."
"The specific purpose of the bridge remains unknown, and the total number of workers who have died for this project is equally mysterious."
"The real issue is that these people are working constantly without rest. How long can any individual possibly survive under these conditions?" Deuce asked in a voice that had grown hoarse with emotion.
Upon hearing this observation, Brook and the others immediately understood the terrible implications.
Indeed, this wasn't some leisurely existence that could be measured by a normal human lifespan.
Just a basic calculation was enough to terrify them all. How many people, how many generations, how much suffering, and how much time would it ultimately take to complete such a project?
As Deuce continued reading through the available materials, he found the situation increasingly difficult to comprehend. His throat had gone dry without him noticing, and he lowered his head to speak in a heavy, confused voice:
"The World Government sends criminals here, but we can't be certain whether they all truly deserved such punishment."
"But why are citizens of non-member countries sent to this place and forced to live such hopeless lives without a single day of rest?"
"Is it simply because they're poor—so impoverished that they lack adequate food and clothing, unable to afford the Heavenly Tribute no matter how hard they work, and therefore can't become a member nation?"
Having said this, Deuce suddenly raised his head, and his eyes, which seemed slightly blurred with unshed tears, looked around at each of his friends. Finally, his gaze settled on Jerry, and he spoke with profound confusion, emphasizing each word:
"Is poverty a sin?"