The sky was blue, and golden sunlight spread gently over the vast, endless sea like a fine woven blanket. A small boat drifted slowly across
The sky was blue, and golden sunlight spread gently over the vast, endless sea like a fine woven blanket.
A small boat drifted slowly across the surface.
Sanders lay on a beach chair on the deck, wearing sunglasses. In his right hand was a juice with a straw, and in his left, a stack of newspapers.
The newspapers detailed recent events across the sea:
Marine hero Garp appeared in the New World, clashing briefly with a great pirate known as Sunbeard.
Rookie pirate Fire Fist Ace defeated one of the former Warlords of the Sea, the Lizard King Hanafza, gaining fame as a rising pirate star.
"Whoa! These guys really know how to stir things up," Sanders exclaimed, eyes on one article.
It was about the Thunder God Pirates, who were off training and had stirred up some major waves in the New World. They sank two Marine ships and defeated several pirates with bounties over 100 million berries.
"Our little navigator's bounty has gone up too."
Sanders raised an eyebrow and smiled.
One newspaper from a certain kingdom ran a story about the Thunder God Pirates' navigator, the Cat Burglar Nami. While bringing rain to one of 793 islands, she encountered a pirate crew and drove them away in a spectacular show of power, protecting the island's people.
The pirate crew wasn't especially strong—their captain's bounty had just crossed 100 million—but against Nami, a Logia-type with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and mastery of Armament and Observation Haki, they were no match.
Seeing his crewmates' bounties continue to rise, Sanders felt proud—like a gardener watching his seedlings thrive.
He casually flipped to the next paper.
One bold headline immediately caught his attention:
[In-Fighting Within the Beasts Pirates?!]
Followed by a subheading, also bold:
[Former Warlord "Sand Crocodile" Crocodile Challenges Drought Jack of the Beasts Pirates!]
"Ugh, clickbait," Sanders muttered, tossing the paper aside.
He had hoped for some juicy chaos among the Beasts Pirates, but the article made it clear:
Crocodile had challenged Jack for the position of All-Star—and won.
Crocodile was now officially an All-Star, second only to Kaido in rank.
Notably, Jack wasn't demoted; instead, the All-Star lineup grew by one.
The Beasts Pirates' "Three Disasters" had now become Four Disasters, with Crocodile newly titled the Sand Disaster.
In Sanders' view, Crocodile was a better fit for the name "Drought" than Jack ever was—after all, his ability to literally cause droughts far outclassed Jack's.
Sanders wasn't the least bit surprised that Crocodile had defeated Drought Jack.
Once reignited with ambition and setting out anew, Crocodile's strength was no longer what it used to be.
In the future, Crocodile's bounty would even soar to 1.9 billion berries.
While bounty doesn't always equal strength, Jack's bounty was only 1 billion—a clear gap in power.
Sanders had dealt with Jack before—
"That blockhead's nothing but brute force."
Crocodile had the edge in both intelligence and Devil Fruit ability. Jack's defeat wasn't unjust at all.
"Looks like Crocodile hasn't made much progress in searching for Pluton."
"He needs a higher rank to gain more freedom within Wano Country."
Sanders sipped his juice and murmured to himself.
He knew very well that Crocodile's reason for joining the Beasts Pirates was simple— To find Pluton.
That lead? It had come from Sanders himself.
"No idea if he'll actually find it… But if he does, Wano will become a real mess."
A playful grin crept onto Sanders' face.
Wano was Kaido's territory. Even if Crocodile did dig up Pluton, it wouldn't be easy to take it away.
And Pluton wasn't just any ancient weapon—its significance would draw attention from everyone.
If it were discovered, the Marines and World Government would surely dispatch a massive force.
Add in the other ambitious forces on the sea…
"Once Pluton is unearthed, Wano won't need to open its borders—"
"It'll get smashed open."
So many factions would converge there, Wano might not survive the chaos.
"Ah, well. Not my problem anyway."
"If they really do dig it up, I'll just show up to join the fun."
Sanders wasn't concerned with how powerful Pluton might be.
After all, it was just a weapon—a lifeless thing—and posed no direct threat to him.
Now, he was more focused on completing the next step of his plan:
[Deducing the location of Bartholomew Kuma — Time remaining: 5 minutes]
As one of the former Warlords of the Sea, Kuma was no small force.
Sanders wanted to recruit him.
But he also knew that would be incredibly difficult— Unless the Heal-Heal Fruit could cure Bonney's illness.
And even there, Sanders wasn't confident.
The Heal-Heal Fruit reverted things to their original state.
But Bonney's disease—Jade Scale Syndrome—was likely genetic.
If she was born with it, then her "original state" would still be diseased.
Of course, Tud might have Pure Gold.
But would she really be willing to let Bonney remain a child forever?
To live eternally without sunlight, in pain and suffering?
Sanders doubted it.
But since Sanders had free time anyway, he figured he might as well give it a try.
Before long, a location appeared in his mind—it was in the New World.
Sanders thought for a moment, then began deducing Vegapunk's whereabouts as well.
He had long coveted the abilities of the world's greatest scientist.
After a short while, Vegapunk's location was also successfully deduced.
"Hah, same place?"
"What a coincidence."
"Guess I won't need to make an extra stop."
Muttering softly, Sanders focused his thoughts
And in an instant, the small boat beneath his feet lifted into the air, soaring swiftly toward the New World.
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