The small bar in the port town near Whiskey Peak was filled with laughter and the clinking of glasses. That night, the desert sky of Alabasta was studded with stars brighter than any the Western Sea Navy soldiers had ever seen. The air was dry and hot, but the evening breeze brought a touch of coolness from the sea.
Inside the simple bar, a dozen or so Navy soldiers sat, filling half the room. Some were already drunk. Some were singing off-key. The atmosphere was far from the military discipline it should have been, but during their six-week journey from the West Blue to the Grand Line, they had learned that their superiors didn't mind a little freedom.
Seven sat in the corner of the bar with a plate of grilled meat and a glass of tea in front of him. Sakazuki sat to his right, eating in silence but occasionally glancing at the sailors singing too loudly. Borsalino sat to his left, his round glasses glinting under the light of the oil lamp, chewing bread at the leisurely pace that was his trademark.
"Six weeks," Borsalino mumbled through chewed food. "It's been six weeks since we left the West Blue. The Grand Line really is different."
"You're just realizing that now?" Sakazuki replied without turning his head.
"No, I've known since we met those two giants in Little Garden who'd been beating each other up nonstop for decades." Borsalino leaned his back against the wall. "Terrifying."
Seven swallowed his grilled meat and gave a faint smirk. Little Garden. The memory was still fresh. They had anchored at that prehistoric island and found two giants from Elbaf fighting in the middle of the island. Dorry and Brogy, the captains of the Giant Pirates who had vanished.
Sakazuki, of course, immediately wanted to stop them. Borsalino thought it was a hassle. Seven was the one who decided to approach them directly.
The battle lasted nearly half a day. Seven with Susanoo, Sakazuki with magma, and Borsalino with light, fought against two twenty-five-meter-tall giants with decades of combat experience and strength. The result was a draw. There was no winner. But a sense of respect formed between them.
Dorry laughed so hard that birds flew out of the trees when the battle ended. He said it had been a long time since he'd met a human who could make his bones tremble. Brogy nodded and tossed a giant beer barrel their way as a sign of friendship.
"Speaking of giants," Sakazuki said, setting his glass down with a soft 'clink.' His face hardened. "Damn Sky Dragon."
Borsalino raised an eyebrow.
"The King of Elbaf," Sakazuki continued. "Harald. The strongest giant, who they say could take on Rocks one-on-one. A man that big humbled himself for the sake of his entire people, trying to forge diplomatic ties with other kingdoms, changing the world's view of the giant race. And what did the World Government do?"
Sakazuki clenched his fist on the table. "Hindered him. Blocked him. Blocked every effort because Sky Dragon doesn't want their enemies to have a positive influence in everyone's minds."
Several soldiers at the next table who heard this also bowed their heads. They had already heard stories about Elbaf during the journey.
"If the giants were to fully join the Navy," Borsalino muttered, tapping his finger on the table, "our strength would double."
"It's not just that," Seven replied calmly, cutting another piece of meat. "Our dream would be one step closer."
A brief silence. Sakazuki and Borsalino exchanged a brief glance, then returned to their food.
Seven recalled the few days they had spent on the coast of Alabasta before arriving here. The desert kingdom was facing a serious water crisis. The inland cities were nearly parched. Underground water sources were becoming increasingly difficult to reach.
The young Prince of Alabasta, Cobra, who was only seven years old, was personally leading the search for water sources alongside his people when the Navy ship docked. The boy ran about under the scorching desert sun, sweating, his hands covered in mud, digging alongside the farmers and miners.
Beside him, a young woman named Nefertari Titi stood by his side. Titi wore simple clothes just as dirty as the workers', her hair tied up high so it wouldn't get in the way, and her hands never stopped pouring water from bucket to bucket for the exhausted workers.
Seven helped them. Not in a subtle way. Susanoo appeared in the middle of the desert, slamming both fists into the sandy ground, creating a giant crater dozens of meters deep. Cobra and Titi stared at the giant crater with their mouths agape, but Seven simply said, "Wait until tonight."
As night fell and the desert air grew cooler, Seven sat cross-legged at the edge of the basin. In his mind's eye, Isobu—the giant three-tailed turtle who had awakened just a few days earlier—opened one of his red eyes.
"You woke me up for this?" Isobu muttered in a low voice that rumbled like waves.
"Water. Lots of it."
"Hmph." Isobu snorted, but did not refuse. Water chakra flowed out of Seven's body, slowly filling the basin. Drop by drop. Stream by stream. By dawn, a massive lake had formed in the middle of the Alabasta desert. The clear blue water reflected the last stars before daybreak.
Cobra stood at the edge of the lake with silent tears streaming down his face. Titi covered her mouth with both hands. Behind them, thousands of Alabasta citizens knelt, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Thank you," Cobra said to Seven, his voice trembling. "I haven't seen the Navy in quite some time, but thank you."
Seven simply nodded and walked away.
---
At the bar counter, Borsalino broke the silence with a casual question while taking a bite of his bread.
"By the way, Brother, are we going back to Ohara later?"
Seven swallowed his drink. "Not for now. But we'll be back there again."
Sakazuki gave a small smirk, an expression rarely seen on his face. "By the way, Brother," he said in a deliberately casual tone, "that white-haired girl named Olvia who's already an Ohara graduate… she secretly likes you."
Seven, who was drinking, nearly choked. "Huh?"
"I have eyes, Brother. And my eyes don't need to change color to see clearly." Sakazuki raised his glass with a flat expression, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
A few soldiers at the next table who heard it immediately whistled and laughed. "THE REAR ADMIRAL HAS A GIRLFRIEND! THE REAR ADMIRAL HAS A GIRLFRIEND!"
"Oh?" Borsalino glanced at Seven with a lazy smile. "Terrifying. It turns out our brother is popular."
Seven scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile. His face was now slightly flushed. "You guys…"
Laughter filled the bar. For a moment, they weren't the Navy hunting pirates on the Grand Line. They were just a group of people enjoying the night in a foreign city.
After the laughter died down, Borsalino brought up another topic. "By the way, Brother, why did we stay in the Kingdom of Galzburg for a few days? We didn't do anything there except wander around."
Seven fell silent for a moment. He swirled his glass on the table.
"There's a monster with potential as strong as both of you in that place," Seven replied softly. "But I didn't find it. It's possible it isn't there yet."
Sakazuki and Borsalino turned to Seven at the same time.
"As strong as us?" Sakazuki repeated, raising an eyebrow. "In Galzburg? The kingdom of endless war?"
"I'm not joking." Seven raised his glass and took a sip. "One day, the name Douglas Bullet will be known as one of the monsters of these seas. But it seems the time isn't right yet."
Borsalino whistled softly. "Douglas Bullet. I'll remember that name."
Sakazuki snorted. "If he's really as strong as you say, we'll have to come back later and recruit him before some pirate finds him first."
Seven smiled faintly without answering. He knew Douglas Bullet's future. He had to intercept him before Douglas Bullet set sail.
The soldiers began singing again. Borsalino started tapping his fingers to the rhythm. Sakazuki quietly poured tea into his own cup, refusing the beer offered by the soldier next to him.
The night felt peaceful.
Then the bar door opened.
The creaking of the hinges cut through the song being sung. The night breeze swept in from outside.
A man stepped inside.
He wasn't very tall. Not very big. A worn straw hat perched on his head. A dark coat hung loosely over his shoulders. A wide smile spread across his face, like a child who had just discovered his favorite diner.
But there was something about that man that made the entire room fall silent.
He had a presence that couldn't be ignored. Like the sun entering a dark room. You couldn't help but stare at him.
The Navy soldier who had been singing stopped mid-lyric. The bartender pouring beer froze his hand. The locals drinking in the corner of the room swallowed hard.
Instantly, every pair of eyes in the bar was fixed on the man in the straw hat.
Sakazuki tensed. His hand moved beneath the table; his right fist was already emitting a thin wisp of steam.
Borsalino stopped chewing. His round glasses glinted as his eyes narrowed.
Seven set his glass down slowly on the table.
The man in the straw hat walked toward the bar counter with a light step, completely unfazed by the dozens of pairs of eyes following him. He sat on the counter stool, tapped the table twice, and spoke in a cheerful voice that filled the entire room.
"Sir! The best beer, one!"
Gol D. Roger smiled broadly from under his straw hat.