Sea Circle Calendar, Year 1489.
The marines had unknowingly been sailing across the White-White Sea for three months.
At last, they arrived at the southeastern sky island marked on the map—Birka.
The entire island had an old, ancient feel to it.
Unlike the other sky islands they'd passed, Birka wasn't full of energy or life. Most of the people living there were either elderly or children. The young people couldn't stand the heavy atmosphere and had all left to explore the outside world.
The warship docked quietly at the shore. Marines disembarked, speaking with locals and gathering supplies.
Looking at Birka's buildings, Cricket had a strange feeling.
"Mister, why do I feel like I've seen these buildings somewhere before?"
Sakazuki glanced at the island's traditional-style buildings and calmly replied, "The City of Gold, Shandora."
Only then did Cricket realize just how much the architecture resembled Shandora's. The shape of the houses, the towering altars, even the patterns carved into the walls.
"But wasn't Shandora a city that existed in the Blue Sea a thousand years ago? How could—"
"You didn't notice?" Sakazuki interrupted. "The Shandians... they have wings too."
Cricket froze in shock, standing still like a statue.
Without waiting for a reply, Sakazuki turned to his second-in-command. "Carlo. Watch the ship."
Then he stepped off the ship, fully extending his Observation Haki as he began walking around the island.
Birka wasn't big. Even after walking around it several times, Sakazuki found nothing unusual. Just normal houses everywhere.
He frowned. "This place..."
With no clues in sight, he returned to the ship to reconsider his next move. Just as he stepped aboard, his Observation Haki picked up a new presence: a child.
He looked at his Carlo and asked, "Where did that kid come from?"
Carlo chuckled and replied, "No wings. Probably a child from the Blue Sea. Not sure how he got up here, but judging by the way he looks, he hasn't been living very well."
Sakazuki's interest was piqued. "Come on, let's go take a look."
He headed below deck toward the storage room. Carlo followed, a curious smile on his face.
...
Inside the ship's storage room.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
Enel sat in the corner, an apple in each hand, biting into both like a squirrel stuffing its cheeks for winter.
As Sakazuki neared the door, Enel seemed to sense something. He quickly flipped open a nearby crate and slipped inside without making a sound, clutching both apples tightly.
Sakazuki and Carlo, having also sensed the boy's movements, exchanged a glance.
'Interesting little brat,' Sakazuki thought as he pushed open the door.
"Carlo," he said casually, "didn't we lose something from storage?"
Inside the crate, Enel stiffened.
'They noticed two missing apples? Seriously?!'
Carlo looked at the crate the boy was hiding in and grinned. "Yeah, Vice Admiral. Something's definitely missing."
Sakazuki's voice dropped slightly. "And what's the proper punishment for a little thief?"
Carlo answered, his tone carrying a mock severity. "For kids who steal, the usual punishment is tying them up over the dinner table for three days. They can only look but not eat~"
Enel's heart skipped a beat. 'These guys are demons!'
He held his breath and prayed they hadn't found him.
But with a nod from Sakazuki, Carlo walked over to the crate where Enel was hiding. He opened the lid and smiled down at the boy. "What do you think, little thief?"
The moment Carlo touched the lid, Enel knew it was over. Panic flooded his tiny body. At the end of the day, he was only three years old. His mind went completely blank.
It wasn't until Carlo finished speaking that he finally reacted. He threw the apples at the man in a panic, not caring that he hadn't finished eating them.
In one swift motion, he flipped out of the crate and dashed toward the door. But before he could take more than a few steps, a force too strong to fight against yanked off the ground. He flailed helplessly in the air.
Carlo stood there smiling, holding the two apples in his hand, watching as Enel dangled from Sakazuki's two fingers.
"Wasting food is a serious crime, little thief. Your punishment is..."
Enel panicked even more. He squirmed side to side, his eyes glistening with the start of tears. But the rough life he'd lived since he could remember had toughened him. He didn't cry.
"... to eat both of these apples."
Carlo's "cruel punishment" made Enel's heart fill with even more dread. But then he quickly realized something was off.
'Eat the apples?'
He glanced at Carlo, who was still grinning, and Sakazuki, who had a faint smile on his face.
His cheeks flushed red. Now he knew for sure—he'd been played.
"You assholes! Let me go! I... mmph mmph mmph—"
Carlo shoved an apple into his mouth mid-sentence.
"Kids who swear get hung up for real~" he said cheerfully.
Enel could tell they didn't mean to hurt him, and the "cruel" punishments were just teasing. He quietly took the apples with both hands.
Crunch!
He took a big bite and didn't say another word.
Still carrying the boy, Sakazuki walked out of the storage room with Carlo, heading for the office.
As they passed the ship's crew, the murmurs began.
"Hey, what's this...?"
"Whoa, where'd that kid come from?"
"When did he sneak on board?"
"Who was on guard duty?"
"Huh? I was on duty earlier—no way I missed this."
"Haha..."
Enel's innate Observation Haki picked up every word from the marines whispering in the distance. His face turned red for the second time, even more embarrassed than before. He went limp in Sakazuki's grip, pretending to be dead.
Clack!
As Carlo shut the office door. Sakazuki set the boy down on the couch and spoke.
"What's your name?"
Enel turned his head stubbornly, but the moment he saw Carlo's eyes, he caved in.
"...Enel."
'Just as I thought,' Sakazuki mused. "How did you sneak on board?"
That was Enel's biggest secret. There was no way he'd give it up so easily.
"That's just because your people are too stupid," he muttered under his breath.
Sakazuki's voice remained calm. "It's because you can sense other people's movements, right? What's the range? To the bow of the ship? To the dock? Or all the way into town? I see. Into town, huh."
As Sakazuki spoke, Enel's eyes widened. His fists clenched tightly.
'This guy's a monster!'
The moment Sakazuki mentioned sensing movement, Enel froze. When he followed up with the town, his panic grew.
That's how Sakazuki figured out the range of Enel's Observation Haki.
'That kind of range... it's incredible.' Sakazuki thought to himself. Then he asked again, more gently this time.
"What about your family?"
Enel's expression darkened, and his voice lowered to a whisper. "I don't have any. I've been on my own ever since I can remember…"
Looking at the boy's tattered clothes and downcast eyes, Sakazuki sighed inwardly.
'Still just a kid after all.'
He no longer had the heart to keep questioning him.
"Carlo, take him to wash up. See if we have a child-size uniform around. Let him change into one."
Carlo stepped forward, scooping Enel up with one arm despite the boy's struggling.
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
Enel tried to push Carlo's arm away with his thin little arms. "Hey, I didn't even say you cou—mmph!"
Carlo pulled out a fresh apple and stuffed it into Enel's mouth, walking off with a satisfied grin.
...
Splash—!
After a good scrub, Enel looked much cleaner. Carlo found a brand-new children's uniform and helped him put it on.
They often took in children orphaned by destroyed towns, so they had spare clothes in all sizes.
Once everything was in place, Carlo led Enel to a mirror.
"All done. Take a look."
Enel stared at his reflection, stunned. It was the first time in his life that someone had cared for him like this. The warmth of the gesture was unfamiliar, overwhelming even. His eyes began to well up with tears.
Suddenly, he turned and bolted out the door, racing down the ship's gangway until he disappeared into the streets of Birka.
Sakazuki stood by the railing, watching him run. He turned slightly toward Carlo, who was now standing beside him.
"How did it go?"
Carlo, still smiling, looked off in the direction Enel had vanished.
"It's all packed in there. Should be enough for a while."
Sakazuki nodded in acknowledgment.
...
Birka Island.
Beneath a quiet bridge on the edge of town, Enel sat curled up, panting softly from the run.
"Tch. Who asked you to be nice anyway?" He grumbled. But quickly stood up again, afraid of getting his new clothes dirty. As he smoothed out the fabric of his uniform, something in his jacket pockets caught his attention.
He reached in, his fingers brushing something thick and heavy. Pulling it out, he found two stacks of high-denomination Extol bills in his hands.
Enel lowered his head, his face was hidden beneath his messy bangs. His expression trembled, fighting to keep his emotions in check.
Plip. Plip. Plip...
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