One Piece: Reborn in God's Valley

At the boundary between the New World and the West Blue lies a long, ribbon-like stretch of sea.

Because it is windless all year round and teeming with massive Sea Kings, this area has long been considered a forbidden zone for humans. People call it the Calm Belt.

At this moment, about ten thousand meters above the sea surface, massive amounts of water vapor have gathered to form a thick layer of clouds.

At this altitude, the usual laws of the Calm Belt begin to break down. Although the clouds move slowly, you can still sense faint air currents.

As a cluster of clouds drifts apart, a giant pufferfish emerges, revealing half of its body; it's the Pufferfish, the airship piloted by Ashen and his crew. Ashen himself named it.

"Who would've thought the Calm Belt is actually perfect for airships? It's practically a high-speed expressway!"

Inside the cabin, Ashen gazed through the front glass window, looking at the approaching Red Line with some emotion.

"Yeah, for the past few days, the Pufferfish hasn't been affected by any wind currents at all. 

The route has been perfectly straight. If this keeps up, we should be above the Red Line by sunset in a few days."

Tesla, holding a thick logbook, was busy recording all kinds of observational data.

It had been nearly seven days since they launched from Twin Island, and the Pufferfish had performed extremely well.

The only downside? It used up a lot of fresh water. Since the entire airship was powered by a steam engine, and steam engines require large amounts of fresh water...

If Tesla hadn't installed a condenser and steam-recycling system beneath the cabin, they would've run out two days ago.

Even so, water consumption was still outpacing collection. According to Tesla's calculations, they had two more days before they had to resupply both water and fuel.

Luckily, the Red Line ahead was the closest human-inhabited area.

A few hours later, the Pufferfish reached a position directly above the Red Line, though not near Mary Geoise.

That was a deliberate choice by Ashen. He had no idea what kind of power that centuries-old world capital held. 

With the Pufferfish's huge size, it would be easily spotted, not something Ashen wanted.

"Dan, you and the others stay up here. We'll go down and scout the area. And make sure the Pufferfish stays hidden."

After assigning Dan and a dozen Fishmen to remain aboard, Ashen and Tesla jumped off. Lafitte also spread his wings and flew out of the hatch.

Ten minutes later, on the Red Line...

In a large rose garden, the three of them were moving slowly.

"Smells amazing! Why are there so many roses here?" Lafitte sniffed the air with a blissful expression.

"These are cultivated. There must be a settlement nearby," Tesla guessed, noting how orderly the rose bushes were arranged.

Sure enough, beyond the garden, a small village appeared, with a well-lit city faintly visible behind it.

"Let's stop in the village for food and see what we can learn about this place."

Ashen led the other two into the village.

The village had maybe 300 households, most buildings crumbling or half-intact. Some didn't even have doors, probably because there was nothing worth stealing.

In the center of the village stood a three-story building, the only restaurant.

By the time the trio walked in, only a few seats were left.

"Welcome! I'm Nick, the owner. First time in Rose Village? What can I get you?"

The scrawny old man who served as both waiter and owner smiled as he approached with a menu.

Ashen casually ordered some meat dishes and a few bottles of alcohol, then urged Nick to hurry up with the food.

A few minutes later, Nick returned with several old plates and some bottles.

"Hey! Are you kidding us? What the hell is this? We ordered meat!"

Lafitte, just about to dig in, saw what was on the plate and immediately protested.

The dishes weren't meat at all, just tubers that looked like potatoes. No wonder Lafitte was mad.

"Pfft!"

Tesla spat out the liquid from the bottle after one sip and turned to Ashen. 

"Captain, this isn't alcohol. It's just plain water!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! You guys must be new here. This village is so poor, we don't even have meat, let alone booze!"

Nick was sweating under their stares, trying to smooth over the situation with a wrinkled smile.

"You could've just said so. Why mislead us?"

Lafitte was clearly annoyed.

"Heh heh, just wait, you're about to see the true specialty of my place!"

Nick chuckled proudly, seemingly confident in his little restaurant.

"Fine, we'll wait."

Ashen noticed that the other customers also had the same food and were waiting for something. He decided not to press further.

Thump…

A few minutes later, footsteps echoed from the stairs behind the bar. A tall, handsome young man emerged.

He was about two meters tall, with tousled black hair and a melancholy expression. 

A vintage guitar hung from his back as he walked slowly onto the small stage in the middle of the restaurant.

"Hey, Elvis! You're late today, we've been waiting ages!"

"Yeah, I only come here for you. Without you, it's just grumpy old Nick!"

As the young man, Elvis, took the stage, the dozen or so patrons perked up, as if he was the real reason they were there.

Elvis said nothing. He tuned his guitar briefly, then began to play.

As the music rang out, his gloomy demeanor vanished, replaced with visible excitement.

"Everybody!" he shouted, launching into his performance.

On stage, Elvis played with explosive energy. His guitar strummed furiously, and his hips swung rhythmically.

"Whoooa! Woo-hoo!"

The crowd began clapping and cheering, syncing with the beat.

Twang!

Suddenly, the guitar rang out with a sharp chord, and visible musical notes began to appear from the strings.

Yes, literal, visible notes!

They floated off the stage, some landing on the food, some drifting into the bottles.

"Hahaha! The booze tastes amazing today! Just like that stuff drifting down from the palace a few days ago!"

One customer took a sip and raved about the taste.

"Captain, we should be careful…"

Tesla whispered, worried, as Ashen lifted his bottle.

But Ashen didn't hesitate. He took a swig.

"Good stuff!"

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