Seeing the situation, Bai Yun ignored those people. Dadan and her group only managed to catch up to him now. They were lucky; if they had been any slower, they would have been caught in the blast radius.
"Brat Bai!"
Dadan shouted, but Bai Yun didn't answer, his mind rapidly replaying the entire incident.
Finally, he made up his mind.
"Dadan."
"Go to the mouth of the bay and save Luffy and Ace!"
"What about you?"
Dadan asked.
"I'll be fine. I'm going to save Sabo!"
"Hurry! The fire is spreading!"
After giving his instructions, Bai Yun rushed toward the gate of the Outskirts Town without looking back. That gate served as the back entrance to the Goa Kingdom, accessible only via the Gray Terminal, but he figured the gate was already closed.
Bai Yun didn't care. His objective wasn't to get into the town, but to find Sabo and... Luffy's father, Dragon!
...Near the Outskirts Town gate, inside the town, the Royal Guard was still hypocritically warning the residents not to approach the gate, claiming they would handle the fire.
Since they were the ones who started the fire, they certainly wouldn't put it out until the last piece of garbage on the Gray Terminal was completely consumed.
Strangely, while the residents of the Gray Terminal knew that if the Outskirts Town gate opened, they could escape, they also knew that the nobles would never allow them inside the town.
Bluejam, the pirate, was even more naive than they were.
"Burn! Burn!"
"Complete this task, and our years of yearning will be fulfilled! The Kingdom will grant us noble status! Hahaha!"
As he walked toward the gate, Bluejam was already fantasizing about his life as a noble.
But what greeted him was a gate sealed so tightly not a single crack could be seen!
"What the hell!"
"What's going on?! Open the gate immediately!"
"Didn't you promise us noble status once this was done?"
"Bastards!! You tricked us!!!"
He finally realized, but it was too late.
The Royal Guard behind the gate seemed to say, shout all you want; if we open this, we lose.
Only then did Bluejam realize the King had played him for a fool. The King had initially used the promise of nobility to lure them, but the true plan was to burn them all to death here.
Furthermore, the King could conveniently pin the arson on the pirates, remain blameless, and even have the guards cooperate in a show to boost his reputation—a total win... Bai Yun arrived near the Outskirts Town gate, but the Bluejam Pirates were nowhere in sight.
Suffering from a fever combined with the surrounding inferno, Bai Yun felt so hot he thought he was about to cook.
Before Bai Yun could even begin searching, Dragon appeared behind him like a phantom.
"Young man..."
But just as Dragon spoke, Sabo was suddenly thrown over the wall.
"Sabo!"
Seeing this, Bai Yun immediately rushed over.
Dragon was faster; he instantly flashed over and caught Sabo.
Dragon set Sabo down, but Sabo's legs were too weak for him to stand. It wasn't out of fear, but sheer despair and disgust.
Bai Yun immediately supported him.
"Sabo!"
"Bai Yun..."
"Mister..."
"Hah... The perpetrators of this fire are the nobles and the royalty. Hah... it's true!!"
Sabo gripped Bai Yun's hand tighter.
"This city smells even more disgusting than the Gray Terminal... it's filled with the stench of rotten hearts!"
"Here... I have no freedom at all..."
Sabo looked up at Bai Yun, his face already soaked with tears, yet his expression was fierce.
"I am ashamed to be a noble!!!"
Sabo seemed to use every ounce of his strength to shout the last sentence, his voice echoing through the sea of flames.
Dragon's expression turned to shock. Had this world, had this kingdom, become so corrupt that it drove a child to say such a thing?!
Bending down, Dragon looked at this child who was more clear-headed than most adults, more clear-headed than many people in the world.
"I understand... I was also born in this country..."
"But I don't yet possess the power necessary to change this world..."
"You will!"
Bai Yun suddenly cut in, his tone resolute.
Both Dragon and Sabo turned to look at him.
"Sabo, if you hate being a noble, then destroy that status yourself!"
"Blow away that disgusting stench."
"Go with this man! He has the power. The navigation skills you want to learn, you can learn them better from him. If you want to see the world, follow him, and you will see the world's true face!"
"The Goa Kingdom, this kingdom is like a microcosm of the entire world!"
"If no changes are made, this world will sooner or later be completely covered by this sickening stench!"
"Someone must stand up! No matter how vast this world is, a single spark can start a prairie fire! One day, all the world's tumors will be burned clean! Just like how the Goa Kingdom burned down the Gray Terminal today!"
"They can burn it! And so can we!!!"
Dragon was stunned yet again; the tattoo on his face, which looked suspiciously like a mark left by Garp's slipper, couldn't help but tremble slightly.
He couldn't believe this young man shared the same idea as him!
Burning away the world's tumors and reforming the world.
"A single spark can start a prairie fire..."
"Young man, who are you?!"
Feverish and dizzy, Bai Yun managed to force out a smile.
"My name is Bai Yun."
"Just a young man who is a little precocious and thinks too much."
"I stand on the shoulders of giants, so naturally, I can see a little further."
"Standing on the shoulders of giants..."
Another famous quote. Dragon was going crazy; was this really just a young man?
Bai Yun confirmed he was indeed a youth, only 18 in his previous life. He just couldn't come up with the famous quotes himself; he was merely borrowing their brilliance.
...
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".
Get access to 50+ advanced chapters.
Membership starts at just $6.
Your support makes a world of difference and helps me write more!
Thank you for reading!