Rowan took one look at it and thought it was just whatever—nothing special. It was just an ordinary execution platform.
After snapping a few photos and checking in, he turned around and left, bringing Nico Robin and Hashirama Senju along to wander around the area.
Other than the Pirate King's execution platform, Loguetown had a few other decent spots worth visiting.
When they got tired, they stopped to rest outside an open-air café.
They sipped coffee while leisurely taking in the street scenery—and the women passing by.
Rowan had to admit, there really were a lot of beautiful women in the One Piece world.
Of course, that might also be because this was a two-dimensional world.
Everyone knew there were no ugly girls in 2D.
Unfortunately, One Piece was an exception, because the beautiful women in this world had very short bloom periods. When they were young, every one of them was stunning, but once they got old, they all seemed to turn into completely different people.
It was honestly hard to look at.
Shakky was like that. Amazon Lily's empress from generations ago, Gloriosa, was like that. Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was like that. Buckingham Stussy was like that. Even Vice Admiral Tsuru was like that.
Time really was a butcher's knife.
As Rowan was musing about that, he couldn't help turning back to glance at Nico Robin.
He genuinely couldn't imagine what Robin would look like when she got old.
Robin's hand paused slightly, and her gaze immediately landed on Rowan.
"I get the feeling you're thinking something rude."
"I wouldn't call it rude exactly. I was just thinking about time."
"Time?" Robin asked curiously. "Why would that suddenly make you think of something like this?"
"Because I realized that in the One Piece world, beautiful women seem to have really short prime years. Once they get old, it's like they become completely different people. So I started wondering what you'd look like when you got old."
Nico Robin: "..."
He's a benefactor. Don't hit him. Absolutely don't hit him.
Robin suppressed the dangerous little thought in her heart and sighed.
"You probably won't get to see what I look like when I'm old, because I'm very interested in Lady Tsunade's Yin Seal."
As long as she learned the Yin Seal, she could preserve her youth.
Growing old was out of the question. Absolutely out of the question.
"That's true." Rowan nodded and sighed. "The Yin Seal really is an amazing thing."
Especially for women with short bloom periods, it was basically a lifesaving medicine.
Just look at Tsunade. She was already over fifty and still looked like she was in the prime of her life. What was that if not straight-up cheating?
Who wouldn't envy that?
Terumi Mei was probably dying of jealousy. Especially in the Boruto era—Mei had visibly aged, while Tsunade still looked exactly the same. What woman wouldn't feel envy and resentment looking at that?
So it was only natural that Robin wanted to learn the Yin Seal.
Once they'd rested enough, the three of them set out again and continued wandering around Loguetown.
Loguetown was huge. There was no way to finish exploring it in a single day.
So Rowan planned to stay here for a few days, eat everything worth eating, and try everything worth trying before leaving.
Since they had come all this way, there was no point rushing off in a hurry.
He had plenty of time.
The next evening, the three of them arrived at a tavern.
A few large words were written outside:
Old Joe's Tavern.
According to what Rowan had heard, this was the oldest tavern in Loguetown.
It had already been open when Pirate King Roger was executed here, which meant it had been around for over twenty years and still hadn't gone out of business.
The place was famous for several signature cocktails. They weren't very strong, but the flavor was excellent, which made them very popular.
Besides that, they also had a special roast chicken that was supposed to be even better.
So Rowan came.
He might not like drinking, but roast chicken was a different matter.
The moment he pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was people.
It was eight in the evening, and the tavern was already full. Only a few tables remained near the corners.
Rowan and the others walked over and sat down.
A server came up. "What would the guests like to order?"
Rowan said, "One serving of the signature roast chicken."
Robin said, "A proper cocktail for me."
The server nodded, then turned toward Hashirama.
Hashirama waved his hand. "Nothing for me."
The server understood, put away the menu, and said, "Please wait a moment."
Then he turned and left.
While they were waiting for their food, a sudden, heart-wrenching wail broke through the tavern and drew everyone's attention.
Naturally, Rowan looked over too.
The one crying uncontrollably was an elderly man with white hair.
His sobbing was full of despair, like a cuckoo bird crying blood. The sorrow in it was overwhelming, enough to unsettle everyone who heard it.
A few customers whose mood had been ruined were about to teach him a lesson, but the people around them quickly stopped them.
"That's Old Jack."
"He's a pitiful old man. Just let it go."
"What rotten luck…"
Some customers who didn't know what was going on asked, "What happened?"
The people who knew the story began explaining all at once.
The sobbing old man was a Loguetown civil servant named Old Jack. He had a son in his thirties, a beautiful daughter-in-law, and an energetic little granddaughter who was adorable.
It had once been a happy, complete family.
A few months ago, Old Jack's son had finally saved up enough money to take his wife and child on their long-awaited trip to the Sabaody Archipelago.
And they never came back.
Old Jack gave away all his savings and used every connection he had, desperately asking around until he finally learned what happened.
His son's family had accidentally offended a great noble on Sabaody.
And the noble had them killed.
A family of three, all murdered.
A once happy household had been shattered in an instant, leaving only Old Jack behind.
From that moment on, the old man—who had never touched alcohol before—became a hopeless drunk.
Every day he ate, drank, slept, and every now and then, like today, he would suddenly break down and sob in public as if no one else was there.
Everyone pitied him, so most people chose to turn a blind eye.
Once the uninformed customers heard the full story, they all sighed and gave up on causing trouble for him.
"He really is pitiful."
"The nobles these days are completely out of control. I just wish someone would teach them a proper lesson."
"I wonder which noble house it was. To be that cruel—to even kill a little child…"
"It was the Celestial Dragons."
At that moment, someone finally spoke the truth.
In an instant, the entire tavern fell silent.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone's faces turned ugly, as if someone had pressed mute on the whole room.
If it had been nobles from some ordinary kingdom, they might have still dared to grumble a little and vent.
But once the Celestial Dragons were involved, who the hell dared keep talking?
Did they have a death wish?
Some of the more timid customers hurriedly got to their feet and rushed out, terrified of getting dragged into trouble.