York picked up a stack of wanted posters that had fallen from the newspaper. The ink was fresh, the numbers staggering.
"The survivors of God Valley..." York muttered, reading them aloud.
* "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate: 3,000,000,000 Berries.
* "Golden Lion" Shiki: 3,000,000,000 Berries.
* "Lord of Corruption" Atlas D. York: 3,000,000,000 Berries.
* "Natural Born Destroyer" Charlotte Linlin: 2,700,000,000 Berries.
* "Gourmet Knight" Streusen: 1,050,000,000 Berries.
* Shakky: 999,000,000 Berries.
* "Former Empress" Gloriosa: 700,000,000 Berries.
* Buckingham Stussy: 660,000,000 Berries.
* "Azure Dragon" Kaido: 540,000,000 Berries.
* Wang Zhi: 530,000,000 Berries.
The crew whistled.
"Not bad!" Kaido grinned, looking at his own half-billion bounty. It was low compared to the titans, but high for a rookie.
"York," Stussy teased, leaning against the railing. "Your title upgraded from 'Corrupt Incubus' to 'Lord of Corruption.' And you're tied with Newgate and Shiki. That kiss with the World King must have left a lasting impression."
York chuckled. "Expensive kiss."
"Why is Shakky's so high?" Gloriosa asked, looking at the near-billion figure. "She didn't fight as much as the rest of us."
"Because she was the cause," York replied. "To the World Government, she's the catalyst that almost collapsed the world order."
Gloriosa clicked her tongue. "To destroy the world with beauty... throughout history, only you could manage that, Shakky."
Shakky gave an awkward, polite smile, rocking baby Teach. "If I could, I'd wish I looked a little more ordinary right now."
"Wang Zhi's bounty only went up by 20 million," Kaido noted, his eyes narrowing. "That's a blind spot."
"Exactly," York said, his expression turning cold.
Wang Zhi hadn't participated in the main battle against the Marines. He had stayed behind, likely cutting a deal.
"He colluded with the Government," York said. "He killed Captain Ochoku (Malone), sold us out, and took Hachinosu for himself. The low bounty increase is his reward."
"It was him," Shakky whispered, her eyes flashing with rare anger. "He's the one who captured me and handed me to the Celestial Dragons."
She would never forget Wang Zhi's triumphant, despicable smile that night.
"Let's go to Hachinosu," Gloriosa said flatly. "Let's kill the bastard."
Kaido grabbed his kanabo. "I'm in."
York shook his head.
"Not yet."
"The World Government expects us to go there. Hachinosu is a trap."
York looked at the horizon.
"The World King's wrath hasn't diminished. She probably wants to skin me alive right now. Walking into a trap set by Wang Zhi and Cipher Pol is stupid."
"We need to lay low."
"Laying low..." Gloriosa pondered. "Do you have a place in mind?"
"Of course."
York grinned. Sky Island (Skypiea) flashed through his mind.
There was no better place to hide. And if he was lucky, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit (Goro Goro no Mi) was waiting for him there.
"But first," York said, "we go to South Blue."
"South Blue?" Stussy asked, confused. "That's across the world."
"I have three potential crewmates waiting in the Sorbet Kingdom," York explained. "Three kids with excellent talent."
(Note: Referring to Bartholomew Kuma, Emporio Ivankov, and Ginny, who escaped God Valley).
York looked at the toddler in Shakky's arms.
"Besides, Teach needs playmates his own age. He's lost everything. He needs friends."
The crew looked at Teach with pity. The boy had lost both parents in a single day.
"Alright," Stussy said, unfolding a map. "Target: South Blue via the Red Line."
Normally, they would need to cross the Calm Belt or Reverse Mountain. But they had a cheat code.
"Kaido," York said.
"Worororo! Leave it to me!"
Kaido summoned Flame Clouds. The massive warship lifted into the air, bypassing the ocean currents entirely.
Days passed.
The West Blue was vast. Even with flight, travel took time.
And then, the weather turned.
A massive storm hit them, blowing them off course. Even Kaido had to lower the ship to ride out the winds.
When the skies cleared, Stussy checked the sextant.
"We've deviated," she said. "But... there's an island ahead."
York walked to the bow.
A massive island dominated the horizon. But it wasn't the land that caught his eye. It was the tree.
A gigantic, ancient tree that spread its canopy over the entire island. It looked like the World Tree of Elbaf, though smaller.
"Ohara," Stussy identified it immediately. "The Holy Land of Archaeology."
She looked at York. "Should we dock?"
York narrowed his eyes.
Ohara wasn't on the plan. But the storm had pushed them here.
'Coincidence?'
Rocks had spoken about fate. About the "Will of the World."
York, a modern man, didn't believe in destiny. He believed in defying heaven. But he also knew that in One Piece, fate was a tangible force.
'The World Will brought me here?'
'Fine. I was planning to visit eventually anyway.'
"Let's land," York decided.
"The Tree of Knowledge... it holds the world's largest collection of books. History, secrets, Poneglyphs."
York grinned.
"There might be things in that library that can help us defy this world. We can't miss it."
....
.....
.....
Early access to advance chapters on immortaldaowriter.gumroad.com