"This… why are you giving me money?"
The girl held out her palm, still seemingly in a daze, until she recognized the familiar banknote and reacted, murmuring, "Was that vendor a con artist?"
"Your calm reaction surprises me," Jon tilted his head to look at her. "Do you get conned often?"
"Ah, not really, just four or five times out of ten."
The girl smiled awkwardly. "Their excuses are pretty much the same, always saying a family member is sick and needs money, but then they're nowhere to be found when you look for them again."
"And you still fall for it?"
"…What if someone is telling the truth?"
"You're a good person, but be a bit more discerning about people in the future. Don't always let yourself be taken advantage of."
"…Yes, pfft~ My younger brother used to say the same thing to me."
The girl suddenly thought of the black-haired, freckled little boy and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"That laugh…"
Jon's gaze fixated on her face. Although the real person was slightly different from the anime, the similar appearance and voice couldn't be mistaken. "What's your name?"
"Ah, gomen nasai!"
The girl immediately snapped awake and bowed abruptly. "I forgot to tell my benefactor my name, how rude! My name is Makino, and I own the Party's Bar in Foosha Village."
It was her indeed.
Jon was momentarily stunned. He had already roughly identified Makino based on her hair color and headscarf.
But he never expected her to appear on this island.
Tsk, an unexpected bonus.
He immediately became interested. "Foosha Village, is that the one in the Goa Kingdom?"
"Eh? You actually know!" The girl's beautiful eyes widened. "Have you been to Foosha Village?"
"Not yet."
Aren't I counting on you to lead the way?
Foosha Village was in a remote part of the Goa Kingdom, and Dawn Island was vast.
It would take him at least a few days to get into the village by himself.
With Makino leading the way, invading Monkey D. Luffy would be much easier.
But before that, he still had to make a trip to Koushirou's dojo.
He didn't care much about Zoro's character traits. After all, that moss-head's traits were probably just [Unwavering Conviction], [Loyal and Righteous], [Directionally Challenged], and so on.
Jon couldn't care less about them now. It would be more valuable to find an opportunity to plunder Mihawk.
He insisted on going to Shimotsuki Village purely for Kuina.
According to the original timeline, Kuina should have fallen down the stairs and died last year.
However, he had sent an anonymous letter with no return address to Koushirou.
It stated that he was Koushirou's friend and had heard from Madam Shyarly on Fish-Man Island that his daughter would fall from the stairs.
Mentioning Madam Shyarly, Koushirou would certainly not doubt it.
So Kuina should have been saved, and he could go check on her along the way.
"Um… I haven't asked for your name yet."
Makino looked curiously at the dazed tall boy, her cheeks flushed.
She didn't know if it was because she was dressed too warmly or if she was flustered by this damned man's scent.
"Jon." He extended his hand and lightly shook hers, his deceptively charming smile like a succubus. "Care to join me for a meal?"
"Ah, okay."
…
West of the city, at a commoner's tavern.
"Two omelet rice, two rum, please."
After ordering, Jon and Makino sat in a corner.
"This, isn't this a bit much? I still have things to do," Makino said somewhat awkwardly. "Shouldn't we cancel the rum?"
"It's fine, rum isn't that strong," Jon said leisurely. "Besides, as a bar owner, you should be able to drink endless amounts. In comparison…"
"It's children like me who shouldn't be drinking."
Pfft—
Makino had just been persuaded to take a sip of rum, but she couldn't help but spray it all over Jon's face.
While apologizing and helping him wipe it off, she looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
A two-meter tall child with muscles all over?
Was this person perhaps a bit too humorous?
"Believe it or not."
Jon calmly drank his rum, looking at Makino's embarrassed face and changing the subject. "You've been staring blankly at the wanted posters since you arrived in the city. You don't seem like you're here to restock."
This was a story outside the original trajectory.
But Jon had eyes that could spot problems. He could see Makino's struggle and confusion as she stared at the wanted posters.
"…Yes, I have another purpose for being here."
Makino lowered her head and mumbled, "Last month, a group of children from Foosha Village came here to play, and they all went missing. Their parents came here to look for them and also lost contact."
"I was entrusted by the village chief to help inquire about them while I was here to restock. I only recently figured out the situation completely."
"People on the coast say that a group of pirates recently arrived here. They specifically lure children into begging and enslave their parents!"
"These people, these people…"
Makino gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face. "They've lost all humanity! But there's no Marine management here at all!"
"I came this time to secretly take those children away, and then when Mr. Garp comes to the village next time, I'll ask him to save the children's parents…"
"Hold on."
Jon was bewildered by this clumsy beauty and quickly raised his hand to stop her.
"Leaving aside whether you can escape… you just gave all your money to that con artist vendor. Can you still afford the children's boat tickets?"
Uh, she hadn't thought of that.
Makino's tear-streaked face flushed slightly. "At the time, that vendor seemed very pitiful, so I just…"
Pia— Jon slapped his forehead. "So, naive you can't even take care of yourself, how are you going to lead those children to escape from pirates?"
"And have you found all the children from your Foosha Village? Are you just recklessly putting yourself in danger on a whim? Aren't you considering your own safety?"
Makino was dumbfounded by his questions.
Seeing her crying like a little kitten, Jon couldn't help but reach out and wipe away her tears.
He didn't care about the intimate gesture and said softly, "What you should do now is tell Mr. Garp about these things."
"Also, notify your villagers not to stir up trouble, at least don't come here to die for nothing like you are. It's too foolish, do you understand?"
"…" Makino froze.
From the moment Jon wiped her tears, she couldn't quite hear the rest of what he said.
But she just felt that Jon made sense.
Yes, he made sense because he was handsome.
"But Mr. Garp went to the Grand Line, I can't contact him…"
Makino said anxiously, "I'm worried those children will be sold by the pirates, but I can't do anything."
The more she spoke, the more anxious she became, biting her lips tightly, her voice trembling slightly.
"…" Jon quietly looked at the kind-hearted girl in front of him and suddenly spoke. "I'll ask you two questions."
"Huh? What?" Makino looked up blankly.
"First question, what's the name of that pirate crew?"
"The Buggy Pirates," Makino recalled. "Their captain seems to be named Buggy."
Jon: ???
Wait, who did you say?