On the very night he arrived at the Alabasta palace, Rowan began his preliminary information gathering.
This year is 1507 in the Sea Calendar.
Rowan knew very well that simply knowing about major events was far from enough; he needed to understand the "details" of this era.
So, he first had someone bring over all the recent newspapers for him to review.
This sea never lacks explosive news.
Rowan analyzed them, sorting out any potentially useful information.
And as Rowan picked up one newspaper, his gaze fell on the headline of the day –
Fish-man Fisher Tiger climbed Mary Geoise in the Holy Land with his bare hands, causing an uproar in Mary Geoise.
"Oh?"
Rowan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Among the recent news, only this event could be called a truly major event!
The fish-man who was once a slave, Fisher Tiger, climbed the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons, Mary Geoise, with his own strength, causing chaos and liberating countless slaves.
This included Boa Hancock, one of the future Warlords of the Sea, and Gild Tesoro, the "Golden Emperor," directly affecting the future maritime landscape!
Rowan looked at the photo printed under the headline.
A tall fish-man, facing the raging flames burning in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, was roaring with all his might.
The glaring firelight highlighted the silhouette of his body.
It was just a photo, but the roar full of unwillingness and anger seemed to echo in Rowan's ears.
That was Fisher Tiger, the "Fish-man Hero"!
This scene had occurred just seven days ago.
"Fish-men..."
Rowan murmured, placing the newspaper aside.
"When I have the chance in the future, I'll go and see the nostalgic Ryugu Kingdom."
...
One night passed.
To Rowan's surprise, the next day, he received news about fish-men from Cobra.
A refugee ship, mixed with fish-men and humans, had appeared in the port town of Yuba.
Having just provoked the Celestial Dragons and invited big trouble, Cobra advised him not to act rashly for the time being.
But Rowan thought of something else.
A refugee ship mixed with humans and fish-men?
In this era, before Jinbe joined the Warlords of the Sea, such a scene was indeed rare.
And if a ship set out from the Sabaody Archipelago near the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, without stopping and traveling at full speed, it would take about six days to reach Alabasta.
Approximately seven days!
Thinking of this, Rowan got up and picked up the scepter beside him.
"I'll go take a look at the situation and be back soon."
Cobra knew he couldn't change Rowan's mind and nodded in agreement.
But what the king didn't expect was that his own daughter would block the doorway.
"Great Ancestor, are you going to Yuba?"
Vivi said excitedly, "The mayor there often gives me candy to eat. I want to go play too!"
"Vivi!"
Cobra frowned and said, "Great Ancestor isn't going there to play. There are fish-men there!"
To Cobra's surprise, Vivi blinked her big black eyes and asked curiously, "What about the fish-men?"
"Fish-men..."
Having said this, Cobra suddenly froze.
He suddenly realized he had said the wrong thing.
Indeed, as Vivi said –
What about the fish-men?
The residents of Yuba had only reported the matter and didn't "ask for help."
This meant that the fish-men refugees had not threatened the safety of the residents.
That being the case, what was wrong with there being "fish-men?"
At the World Conference, Cobra had also chatted and laughed with King Neptune of Fish-man Island.
Why, when it came to Vivi, did he have to emphasize that the others were "fish-men?"
Seeing the stiff Cobra, Rowan couldn't help but laugh and patted Cobra's shoulder.
"It's just an ordinary ship in distress."
Rowan ruffled Vivi's hair, signaling the little princess to follow him.
Then, he said to Cobra:
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Vivi."
Seeing this situation, Cobra had no reason to stop him, especially since he had already witnessed Rowan's strength.
After all, this was a man who had roamed the seas eight hundred years ago!
And then, Cobra discovered an even more reassuring scene.
A man wearing a black fur coat was leaning against a pillar not far away, with a cigar in his mouth.
It was Crocodile.
He walked over and automatically followed behind Rowan and Vivi.
Rowan laughed and said, "You're coming too?"
Crocodile said with a gloomy smile, "I'm not from this country. You can't control my actions."
"It doesn't matter, let's go together then."
Rowan didn't care and nodded.
...
The three boarded Alabasta's unique transportation animal – a land and sea delivery turtle.
It was a rare kind of giant turtle that could carry people at high speed in the desert or water.
The three sat on the turtle's back, holding up the sunshade umbrella above.
Vivi lay comfortably on it and fell asleep in no time.
Rowan sat cross-legged on the side, closing his eyes to rest.
On the other side, Crocodile was looking at Rowan thoughtfully.
What was he thinking about?
He was thinking about Pluton.
The thing he yearned for, the "Ancient Weapon" – Pluton!
Crocodile was almost certain that he was closer to the clues about Pluton than ever before.
Because an old monster from eight hundred years ago was sitting in front of him!
How could someone who existed before the "Void Century" not know the clues about the Ancient Weapons?
Impossible!
As if sensing Crocodile's burning gaze, Rowan turned his head and asked with a smile:
"Little crocodile, what's wrong?"
Crocodile looked away, pretending not to hear.
Rowan muttered softly, "You want to know the clues about Pluton?"
Crocodile's ears twitched and his eyes lit up.
Rowan continued in a low voice, "A long time ago, Nefertari did tell me that they had discovered some Ancient Weapon, and something about Pluton. I remember he was planning to talk to me about it..."
Crocodile's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his body unconsciously leaned towards Rowan.
But in the end, Rowan suddenly changed the subject and said, "But I didn't care about those messy things, haha!"
Haha...
Hearing that annoying laughter, Crocodile almost stumbled.
He could only glare at Rowan with murderous eyes while lighting a cigar for himself.
After taking a puff, he cursed inwardly, "Conceited birdman..."
The space on the turtle's back was so small, and Crocodile cursed without any hesitation, so Rowan heard everything clearly.
He was a little confused, "Birdman? Me?"
Crocodile pointed to his head, indicating Rowan's eagle-shaped helmet.
Rowan looked rather disappointed and muttered, "Really? I quite like this custom-made armor."
"Old thing, your taste is long outdated!"
Crocodile's eyes twitched, and his heart was already full of displeasure. "I really can't figure it out. As an emperor from eight hundred years ago, how could you not even care about the Ancient Weapons?"
At this moment, Rowan suddenly clapped his hands and answered excitedly:
"Ah, I know the answer to that question!"
"Hmm?"
Crocodile frowned.
Then, he heard a sentence from Rowan's mouth.
A sentence that made his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end –
Rowan smiled, his tone as calm as ever.
"The reason I don't care is because I think those messy things can't beat me anyway."