The reason Twin Cape is called Twin Cape is because of the lighthouses on both sides of the entrance to the Grand Line.
The lighthouse is situated on the slightly lower Red Soil, though "lower" is still quite high for the Death Star, but there's a rope ladder below the lighthouse that can be climbed.
The ship dropped anchor and rested beside the cliff, and Sage led his people to the slightly lower land, climbing up via the rope ladder.
Beneath the lighthouse sits a rectangular house. A bench is placed at the entrance, and an old man wearing a floral shirt, with a head that looks like it's blooming, is gathering umbrellas placed nearby. Seeing someone coming up, he turns his head to look over, just in time to meet Sage and his crew's gaze.
Afterwards, silence...
Renedia raised her eyebrows, locked eyes with the old man for a while, then couldn't help but say, "Bird man?"
The old man's pupils shrank, and he glared at Renedia fiercely. In those pupils seemed to be a mixture of solemnity and murderous intent. That look made Renedia involuntarily serious, putting her hand on the small hammer behind her back.
"I'm not a bird man, I'm just an old man."
The old man finally spoke, "What's on my head is a decoration."
"Who asked you!" Renedia rolled her eyes and shouted.
"Alright, alright."
Sage rubbed Renedia's pink hair, then looked at the old man, "You're the lighthouse guard of Twin Cape, right? Let me ask you..."
"Before asking questions, shouldn't you introduce yourself?"
The old man interrupted Sage, "Otherwise, it's quite rude."
Sage tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Fine, my name is..."
"Norton Sage, I've seen your Wanted Order. A bounty of seventy million in the East Sea is quite high." The old man interrupted again.
A vein popped on Sage's forehead, and he angrily rolled up his sleeves, "Don't you dare be ignorant of death!"
"Of course, people will die..."
The old man extended his hand, stopping Sage from advancing, with a solemn and serious look in his eyes that made everyone pause.
"I." He pointed to himself and spoke the following words.
"It's you!" The pirates who followed all turned white-eyed, shouting in unison at him.
Renedia, angry, pulled out a tool hammer, twisted the hammer handle with her fingers to quickly extend and enlarge it, ready to hit him with it, but Marika and Lily stopped her together.
Sage gestured to the side, Pearl jogged over, took out a cigar and handed it over with both hands, waiting for Sage to take it, then diligently lit a match, waiting for the cigar to ignite.
Sage took a deep drag of the cigar, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said, "Old man, you..."
"My name is Kuro..."
"Huh?!" Sage was stunned.
"Crocus, seventy-one years old, Gemini, blood type AB, favorite food is roasted giant squid." The old man continued.
"Sage, why are you so surprised?" Renedia asked, confused.
"I don't know, it's just a feeling, never mind, it's not important." Sage shook his head and chuckled in exasperation, looking at Crocus, "Old man, aren't you really afraid of dying?"
"A man of the sea, who would fear death? I'm already seventy-one years old, not much time left to live."
Crocus put away the umbrella and sat on the bench, "So, what does a man like you want with a mere guard like me? Also, you seem injured, would you like some medical treatment? I have some medicine suitable for recuperating the body."
"Doctor?"
Sage blinked again, doctor, guard, and named Crocus...
"So it's you..."
He realized, "Roger's crew member."
"Roger?"
The people behind were all stunned.
"Gol D. Roger?" Marika opened her always smiling eyes.
"The Pirate King?" Lily seemed a bit dazed.
As for Gin and Alu, their eyes lit up.
"It's Gol D. Roger, young lady."
Crocus glanced at Marika, his expression unchanged, "Now, pirates collect even decades-old intelligence? But I'm just an old man now, being a crew member was a long time ago."
"That doesn't matter."
Sage moved closer to him, extended his hand, "Since you were a crew member of the Pirate King, you must have the Eternal Pose for Laugh Tale, hand it over, don't make me snatch it."
Even though he wasn't interested in becoming the Pirate King in this manner, Sage obviously believed in the existence of the 'all-treasures'.
If the treasure is within reach, why not take it?
"I don't have such a thing. If I did, I wouldn't be here as a guard; I would've been wanted by the government long ago."
Crocus shook his head, "Although I was a crew member of Roger's, I was just a ship doctor, with no strength and no Wanted Order."
"Huh? Does Laugh Tale really exist?" Renedia was astonished, "I thought it was a legend. Sage, he's just an eccentric old man, would he really have such a thing as the Eternal Pose?"
"Ah..."
Sage thought for a moment, "I just feel like if the name has Kuro and Kas, it should be..."
"My name is Crocus, not Kuro and Kas."
Crocus glanced at them, "It seems you don't have a Log Pose. Sailing on the Grand Line without such a thing is not feasible. Unfortunately, I gave mine to another pirate who also came from the East Sea just a few days ago, they seem to have the same bounty as you."
"The Straw Hat, huh?"
Lily said, "That pirate with a bounty of thirty million."
Marika asked, "No extra pointer... Will you restock? Old man, if you do, how long would it take?"
"I don't know, maybe a month, maybe half a year."
Crocus shook his head, "Without a pointer, I don't recommend sailing."
"But not sailing might not be an option."
Lily turned back to look at the sky, which was obviously clear, but she closed her eyes slightly, feeling the gentle breeze from an unknown source brushing through her golden wavy hair.
"Sage, there's wind coming, and it's strong."
"Let's go!"
Sage gritted his teeth, threw the half-smoked cigar on the ground, and turned to leave.
Since there's no pointer, it's pointless to wait here, and he trusts Lily's judgment.
An excellent navigator just lacked the foundation, not ability. In the East Sea, Lily encountered many practical situations and proved her theories right.
"Huh? Even if there's wind, my ship can handle it." Renedia was still a bit confused.
But soon, she understood why Sage left so decisively.
As they stepped onto the deck, the gentle breeze suddenly intensified into a strong wind capable of raising massive waves.
Crash!!
The giant wave rose beneath the Death Star, lifting it like a tsunami. The powerful wind forced everyone on the deck to fall and tilted the ship sideways.
The pirates controlling the engine room couldn't adjust to such an extent. They could only adjust the ship's speed, not the fierce wind and massive waves tilting the ship.
"Are you kidding me!"
Renedia widened her eyes, pressed her hands on the deck, and her neck muscles tensed.
"My ship won't sink under these conditions, it's unfair!"
Crackle...
The electrical spark of power transferred from her palms throughout the ship, providing enough force to right the tilting ship.
The rolling waves surged forward, hurling the Death Star far into the distance, while the fierce wind propelled the ship swiftly ahead.
No sails needed, no propulsion needed, the mere movement of wind and waves carried the ship away from Twin Cape, disappearing from sight.
Yet amazingly, the powerful wind and massive waves seemed to meet a barrier as they approached Twin Cape, barely splattering some seawater rain without affecting the land.
"Coo! Coo!"
Even a news bird flew over from the other side, unharmed, landing peacefully at Twin Cape.
"It's like they're being targeted..."
Crocus watched the ship vanish from sight, tossed a coin into the box hanging on the newsbird's chest, and shook his head, "Strange people..."
He took out a newspaper, glanced at it, and his pupils contracted.
"Why did it rise so high? Destroying part of Bridge Kingdom's bridge and robbing Logue Town shouldn't justify such a high increase."
He pursed his lips and sighed, "The sea is always this lively..."
...
Navy Headquarters.
In an office with a plaque saying 'Justice Overlords the World.'
Garp took a bite of a Senbei, chewing and laughing heartily, "Puhahaha! Are we hiding it?"
"Garp!!"
A man inside the office, wearing round-framed glasses and a long braided mustache, abruptly stood up and yelled angrily, "It's all because of you! If you had captured him at the Bridge Kingdom, there wouldn't be so much trouble!"
"Sengoku, you can't blame me for that. He got away, it's not like I didn't chase him, puhahaha!" Garp laughed loudly with his head thrown back.
"Shut up! You always do inexplicable things, and Tsuru and I have cleaned up after you countless times, and that takes a lot of effort!"
Sengoku glared at Garp, snatched his Senbei bag, and poured it into his mouth.
"Ah! My Senbei!" Garp exclaimed with his mouth wide open.
"Hmph!"
Sengoku tossed the bag aside and shouted, "Now even Zephyr can't catch him. Although there's the asthma issue, it also shows he's getting more troublesome! By now, he's wrecked the Bridge Kingdom and looted Logue Town. The nobles' complaints are piling up on my desk, but recovering the stolen items is impossible."
Bam!
He slammed the table, "The fact that you and Zephyr couldn't catch him must be hidden, but the threat level of a pirate who has destroyed four kingdoms isn't something a rookie pirate could match, so the bounty had to be raised. He must be dealt with before entering the Grand Line!"
The spot he slammed on the table just happened to have a Wanted Order.
It was still Sage's face laughing maniacally amidst ruins and fire, but the bounty amount underneath...
"Two hundred seventy million? Even if neither Zephyr nor I caught him, that's quite high for a rookie pirate, puhahaha!"
Garp glanced at it and burst into laughter again.
"No, it's not just because he fought and escaped from you and Zephyr. There's another reason. Over in the East Sea, information about Norton Sage has been found..."
Sengoku's expression turned solemn as he said slowly, "He's a survivor from O'hara."