Then...
It disappeared.
The dark clouds seemed like bubbles, bursting with a touch, revealing normal weather. The storm suddenly stopped, the rain ceased, turning into the usual drizzle in the City of the Spring Queen.
People around were dumbfounded, peering at their surroundings.
The water in the streets almost dissipated completely, leaving behind some puddles. They themselves weren't much harmed; at most, the disaster caused some houses to be damaged and a few to vanish, turning into ruins surrounding the city.
Other than that, there was nothing.
It was as if it had all been a dream...
"Did pirates really come to rob us just now?" a bewildered civilian asked.
"I don't know..."
Another person was equally stunned, "What did they steal?"
"Hmm... They didn't steal from me!" The person who spoke earlier thought for a moment and dismissed it, "Who cares!"
…
"Hohohohoho!"
Amidst the storm, Sage's laughter overshadowed the wind and rain, echoing in the rain curtain.
In the banquet hall, Sage gazed at the treasures piled in over twenty boxes in front of him and burst into laughter, "This is the value a thriving town should have!"
These weren't merely Belly; they were brimming with precious items, Gold Coins, and other small things, but more importantly, jewelry and gold accessories.
"Gin, bring me that golden bracelet and those few rings... Hmm, also bring over that scepter."
Sage's eyes emitted a red dot, scanning the boxes, before pointing to several and instructing.
Gin obliged, presenting the items Sage had pointed out one by one.
The items Sage selected were sensed through Observation; although it wasn't any special Observation, but rather a regular use that allowed sensing valuable items.
Just like how a Sword Master can sense a Famed Sword; even if one isn't a Sword Master, sometimes they can still sense a special aura.
And Sage had a sensitivity towards treasure.
The fight with Doflamingo last time left him with quite a few empty places, and now seeing some good stuff, he naturally wanted to wear them again.
The golden bracelet that Gin brought over was slightly smaller than a wrist guard, engraved with gemstone runes, looking very precious.
It was unknown whose noble family's heirloom it belonged to, having historical significance.
As for the rings, there was one with a black gemstone framed in gold, another gemstone-bordered ring, and a rune-engraved ring. All of them, under his perception, were worth collecting.
As for the golden scepter, it bore the emblem of a three-petaled flower, adorned with numerous gemstones, exuding a strong historical aura in his eyes, making it worth collecting.
Sage toyed with the scepter, smiling contentedly, "This time's harvest is good; give all the Belly to you, split half the gold, and the rest is yours to divide!"
The plundered Belly was not a small amount, estimated to be around two to three hundred million Belly, but Sage, in a good mood, generously rewarded them.
There were quite a few people involved in the robbery, so he decided to give them more Belly; after all, the robbed gold was the truly invaluable part.
The value of this robbery definitely exceeded that of Logue Town.
But in Logue Town, he had to make a huge effort to orchestrate the robbery, unlike the ease with which he plundered the City of the Spring Queen.
What?
Storm?
Such an easily resolved matter, compared to actual combat, was far too simple!
With the money divided, naturally came the much-celebrated banquet stage; after leaving the rain-season island's affiliated waters, the storm returned to normal intensity.
As for how normal...
It meant Renedia could sail the seas using just the crew's strength to manage a ship capable of withstanding a normal storm without requiring abilities.
A degree that typically sank ordinary ships to the ocean's depths.
"Successfully robbed the City of the Spring Queen! Next up is Gourmet City!"
In the third-floor meeting room, Sage laughed heartily, "Now the Navy probably hasn't fully reacted yet, Gourmet City won't encounter any surprises either, once the three targets are robbed, even if the Navy discovers us, it won't matter... Lily, why the furrowed brow? Is Gourmet City also a rain-season climate?"
"No."
Lily shook her head, "Nothing, Gourmet City is a summer climate, not tropical though, so your storm will diminish too..."
"Not my storm... Never mind, it's not important, as long as the plan goes smoothly." Sage, in high spirits, couldn't be bothered to correct.
As for what Lily thought...
Really, is it that smooth?
Having followed Sage from the beginning, one could say that this pirates were formed entirely by them as the earliest members. She was well aware of Sage's rise to power.
In the past, she was not very worldly, limited to theoretical understanding, and always believed that robbery like Sage's was normal. Later, upon entering the Grand Line, especially after recruiting this batch of Pirates from Demon Valley Town, she realized it wasn't the case.
Normal pirates conducted regular robberies; if unlucky, they simply didn't encounter merchant ships, meeting the Navy was a sign of extremely bad luck.
The act of plundering towns, being highly difficult, did exist but mostly took place in coastal towns or villages, stealing essential resources, generally not lasting more than an hour, making it quite worthwhile.
This was the typical path for normal pirates.
Sage... was not typical.
Not that Lily considered him unlucky... for this is naturally understood; it's just the norm.