After drinking the brotherhood sake, Ace, Sabo, Bai Yun, and Luffy's bond became even closer.
Time continued to flow, as always, never stopping.
The four of them spent day after day together.
They built a small treehouse for the four of them.
Water fights in the bathroom.
And the activity of snatching meat from Dadan and her gang.
They held banquets at Makino's bar, and Bai Yun received new clothes that Makino made for them.
Surviving in the forest, challenging wild beasts.
The biggest "beast" was still Garp, who came to visit them occasionally.
That day, the four of them returned to Dadan's house with bumps on their heads, looking as if they were cosplaying Calabash Brothers.
Days passed, and Bai Yun was very happy, happier than ever before.
But it also meant that the day of the Celestial Dragons' arrival was approaching… Finally, one day, fate, displeased with their joyful lives, intervened to shatter their peace.
At Bai Yun's urging, Sabo, Ace, and Luffy had not gone to town to carry out their "money-saving" activities during this time.
But Mount Colubo was still the territory of the Goa Kingdom, and they were stuck there.
If you don't go out, others will still come for you.
Sabo's noble father, along with members of the Bluejam Pirates, blocked the mountain path where Ace, Luffy, and Sabo were gathering herbs for Bai Yun.
Because, in a rather dramatic twist,
Bai Yun had suddenly come down with a high fever that day.
It was precisely because Sabo and the others were collecting herbs for Bai Yun that they were ambushed by his father.
Bai Yun couldn't help but exclaim, "Fate! Can you be any more coincidental?!"
…"Such a sudden fever! Kids are such a bother."
Dadan grumbled, but even as she complained, she was still changing the towel on Bai Yun's forehead.
"I'm sorry… Dadan."
"I've troubled you."
Bai Yun's lips were pale, his head felt incredibly heavy, and he was completely disoriented.
"Don't talk, kid, go to sleep for a bit. Don't die in my house."
"Ace and the others went to gather herbs for you. If they can't find any, they'll just go to town and snatch some."
"You sleep first. They'll probably be back when you wake up."
Dadan, with a cigarette in her mouth, was concerned about Bai Yun, but she was just too stubborn to show it.
Bai Yun glanced at the clock on the wall: 6:10 PM.
He nodded and closed his eyes. In three more days, the Celestial Dragons would arrive. He had to recover from his illness before then… A close-up shot, and the spirit of time pushed the hands of the clock to spin rapidly.
Bai Yun slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if a century had passed.
He looked at the clock: 6:05 PM.
"? Did time go backward?"
Obviously not. Bai Yun had slept for a whole day.
And Dadan, despite her sharp tongue, still cared for Bai Yun and the others, and was dozing off beside him.
Bai Yun looked around, seeing only the other mountain bandits, but no sign of Luffy and the others. He realized something was wrong.
"Don't tell me it's that coincidental!"
Bai Yun immediately reached out and replicated Dadan's physique. As a bandit, Dadan's physique was quite good.
Replicating someone else's physique doesn't mean injuries and illnesses heal immediately.
Instead, it means experiencing the injury or illness with that person's physique.
So, Bai Yun was now experiencing a high fever with 60% of Dadan's physique. Although his head still felt heavy, it was much better than with his own physique.
"Kid! What are you doing?!"
Dadan was awakened by Bai Yun's noise and saw him, still feverish, throw on his jacket and run out.
Bai Yun stopped, realizing he was too panicked. He couldn't afford to panic. There was still some time before nightfall.
"Dadan, quickly get everyone to go rescue Ace and Luffy! They've been kidnapped by pirates! At the harbor in the Gray Terminal!"
After speaking, Bai Yun didn't wait for Dadan and the others, and ran out first.
Leaving Dadan stunned in place, her cigarette falling to the ground. After she came to her senses, she immediately shouted,
"Quick! Quick! Grab your weapons! Follow the kid!!"
…Just as Bai Yun had guessed, Bluejam had already discarded Ace and Luffy after using them to transport the oil and bombs for burning the Gray Terminal.
"What?!"
"They're going to burn the Gray Terminal!"
"We have to hurry and tell the old men down in the Gray Terminal!"
Ace and Luffy were both utterly shocked by the news Bluejam delivered.
"Don't shout so loudly, the people in the Gray Terminal will hear you."
"The King of Goa has promised me noble status if the Gray Terminal is successfully burned."
"To think I put so much effort into this just for noble status, while your so-called brother Sabo abandoned his noble status to go to the Gray Terminal. How foolish!"
Sabo and Bluejam were typical examples of people in the city wanting to get out, and people outside wanting to get in.
"Since you know the plan, I can't let you leave."
"One last question: where did you hide the treasure?"
Bluejam asked Ace and Luffy with a gloomy face, squatting down. He wanted not only noble status but also their treasure.
But he might end up with nothing… Meanwhile, Bai Yun, dragging his sick body, rushed to the Gray Terminal, but the sun had already set, and night had fallen.
Seeing the vagrants lying on the ground, having lost interest in life, Bai Yun still couldn't bear it and said,
"Tonight, the nobles in High Town are going to burn the Gray Terminal!"
"You guys, run now!"
Bai Yun shouted, but no one present cared. Where could they go if they left the Gray Terminal?
Good words are hard to persuade a doomed ghost!
But Bai Yun didn't have time to persuade them further.
From atop the walls of the border town, a cannonball was fired, landing on the outer edge of the Gray Terminal. With a bang, it exploded, and then the oil and bombs buried under the trash ignited, causing a chain reaction of explosions.
Flames erupted on the outer edge of the Gray Terminal, forming a wall of fire, burning inward.
The night was instantly illuminated as bright as day by the firelight, and the night sky turned red.
The King of Goa intended to burn not just the Gray Terminal; in his eyes, the commoners living there were also a stain on the Goa Kingdom.
Now, people always realize things at the last moment. The residents of the Gray Terminal couldn't lie still anymore and scrambled to their feet to escape!
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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