Chapter – 38 Back at the Dawn Island

Foosha Village, Kingdom of Goa

"Haah… although it's been nearly ten months, this village is still the same…" muttered Ryuma as his sailboat approached the harbor of the Foosha Village.

Since Dragon disappeared as the sailboat approached the waters of Dawn Island, currently, it was just Ryuma and Rio.

After docking the sailboat, Ryuma tied the sail, dropped the anchor, and tied the sail to the dock to make sure that it didn't drift away with the waves. Then he jumped down from the sailboat, with Rio sitting on his shoulder.

The fishmonger of the village, who was about to go catch some fish, noticed Ryuma and Rio and was taken aback, "Huh?" He wiped his eyes, looked at the boy with the parrot once again, and asked, "Huh… is that you, Ryuma?"

Ryuma waved at him, "Gyoro-san… how are you doing? Huh… it's been a long time since I returned to the Foosha Village!"

"Oh… it really is you, how are you doing, kid?" After confirming that it really was Ryuma, Gyoro walked over and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, then asked, "How was it like at the sea?" 

"Well, I didn't sail for too long since I had some other objective, but it can be said that my first adventure was quite fruitful… I learned something new and amazing," said Ryuma with a grin.

"Really? That's really wonderful… Boy…" nodded Gyoro, and asked Rio in a teasing tone, "And what about you, Rio, did you find any girlfriends out there?"

Rio shrugged, "I am still only four years old; I am far too young for that stuff… I will find a girlfriend or something three to four years later." 

"Hahaha… is that so… well… I guess I will have to wait for that huh?" laughed Gyoro, and said in a reminiscent tone, "Oh boy, it's only been eight months and I miss those days when you and Luffy were in the village… the Red-Hair Pirates have also left, and shortly after they left, Garp-san took Luffy to Mt. Colubo… It's no longer as lively as it used to be…" said Gyoro with a sigh. He misses those days when the village was quite lively and cheerful because of Ryuma, Luffy, and the Red-Hair Pirates.

"That's so…" muttered Ryuma. He did not know how to respond to Gyoro's sigh.

The fishmonger noticed Ryuma's troubled expression and changed the topic, "In any case, the two of you should go meet Makino; she really misses both of you."

Ryuma nodded with a smile, "That's what we had in mind," then he and Rio said goodbye to the fishmonger and went to the Party's Bar.

On their way to the Party Bar, Ryuma and Rio greeted many familiar faces. During the months they had spent in the Foosha Village, the two of them had become acquainted with the natives of this village. When the villagers noticed Ryuma and Rio back, initially, their reactions were the same as Gyoro, and they heartily welcomed back Ryuma and Rio to the village.

After walking through the village, Ryuma and Rio soon reached the Party's Bar. Since it was still in the middle of the day, there were no Luffy or Red-Hair Pirates in the Foosha Village, so the bar was empty.

As Ryuma walked through the saloon door, the figure of Makino sitting on one of the chairs and reading the newspaper appeared before Ryuma and Rio.

Ryuma smiled and said, "Is the bar open?"

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Party's Bar, Foosha Village

"Is the bar open?"

As these words reached her ears, Makino raised her head with a confused expression, "A customer at this time?"

It's not that no one comes to the bar in the afternoon, but such an occurrence is quite rare. The Red-Hair Pirates used to come in the afternoon and stay until late at night, but now that they no longer use Foosha Village as their base of operation, they are no longer here. 

And because Higuma Bandits–one of the only two major bandit groups that were left operational in Mt. Colubo because of Ryuma's bandit hunting days, with the other one being the Dadan Bandits–were completely annihilated by the Red-Hair Pirates, the bandits also don't come to the Foosha Village.

The smaller bandit groups steer clear of causing any trouble for fear of picking a fight they can't handle. On the other hand, the Dadan Bandits maintain a friendly rapport with Makino and the villagers of Foosha. This amicable relationship ensures that they don't create any disturbances in the village. Makino even delivers alcohol to their hideout whenever she visits to check up on Luffy, Ace, and Sabo. As a result, the Dadan Bandits rarely make an appearance in Foosha Village.

As Makino lifted her head, she was taken aback to see the unexpected 'customer' at the bar in the afternoon. "Ryuma? Rio?" Her surprise quickly transformed into a joyful smile as she stood up and approached them, enveloping the two in a warm hug. "It really is you two? Ah... I really missed you two..." 

"Huh?" Ryuma was caught off guard by Makino's sudden and surprisingly powerful hug, finding himself struggling to breathe with his head buried in her bosom. Tapping on her shoulder, he managed to gasp, "Makino... I... I can't breathe!"

Rio, too, voiced his discomfort, saying, "Me... me too... let alone breathe, my feathers are being pulled...."

"Oh? Sorry... sorry..." Taken aback, Makino hastily released Ryuma from the hug, giving him the much-needed opportunity to catch his breath. 

"Haah..." Ryuma and Rio took deep breaths, recovering from the unexpectedly intense hug. Makino observed them closely and noticed a noticeable change, especially in Ryuma. "You have grown up, huh?" For nearly nine months, Ryuma was not tall enough to reach her shoulders, but now he did. Rio, too, had undergone a change, his body size a bit larger.

"Hahaha..." Ryuma grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "I am almost thirteen years old... pretty soon I will enter my growth phase and become much taller than you!"

Makino nodded with a warm smile, her hand ruffling Ryuma's hair. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia for the days when he was smaller, and she could easily tousle his hair.

"Anyway... Makino, how have you been?" Ryuma inquired as they entered the Party's Bar.

"I have been fine… although a little lonely…" Makino replied with a smile. She continued, "Not long after you left, Captain Shanks and the other Red-Hair Pirates also set sail, and after that, Garp-san took Luffy to Mt. Colubo…"

Ryuma nodded, "Oh... yeah, I heard that from Gyoro-san."

Makino also nodded, her expression softening. "Hmm… it was really good back then… you, Luffy, and Uta-chan… Captain Shanks… the other Red-Hair Pirates… I really miss those days."

"In particular, you must be missing Shanks, huh?" Ryuma teased with a smirk, adding, "So… did you tell him, huh?" He playfully prodded at the obvious crush Makino had on Shanks. Given Shanks' handsome and charming demeanor, it was no surprise that Makino harbored such feelings.

Makino blushed, averting her gaze when Ryuma teased her. 

His surprise at her reaction made him wonder, and he questioned, "Don't tell me… Makino…"

Panicking, she denied, "N… nothing happened!" Changing the subject swiftly, she asked, "Anyway, what are you doing here in Foosha Village? More importantly, where were you for the past nine and a half months? I used to check the newspaper daily, but there wasn't anything about you. I was really worried! You didn't even send me any letters!"

Ryuma's grin persisted, and he could easily discern Makino's reluctance to discuss what happened with Shanks. Choosing not to tease her about it, understanding the personal nature of the matter, he responded, "Well… I went to meet this legendary Swordsmith and learned Swordsmithing from him, then reforged the Sword that Shanks had gifted me."

Curious, Makino inquired, "Oh? Did you succeed?"

Ryuma affirmed, "Yup," and proudly displayed the Odachi he carried, saying, "See this?"

Makino smiled, "That's good…" and inquired, "And what else? Did you make any friends?"

"Sure did!" Ryuma responded, then added, "Heh, I even got myself a crewmate… She is the granddaughter of the legendary Swordsmith who taught me Swordsmithing. Although I didn't bring her here this time, maybe next time I visit the Kingdom of Goa. I plan not only to bring her but also my other crewmates that I will recruit in the coming years." 

"You must do that," Makino nodded.

The two conversed for a while. Ryuma shared details about his time at the Shimotsuki Village, the Isshin Dōjō, Kozaburo, Koushirou, Kuina, Zoro, Saga, the environment at the Frost Moon Archipelago, his encounter with a mysterious woman, and various other experiences. While carefully avoiding significant details about the Revolutionary Army, he openly narrated most other aspects to Makino, who attentively listened to everything he disclosed.

Makino playfully scolded Ryuma for some things, twisting his ear, while praising him for others by affectionately ruffling his hair, like a loving and caring elder sister. Overall, it turned into a pleasant afternoon for the three.

As two to three hours passed, and the sunset approached, Ryuma concluded his narration. Observing the sun descending on the western horizon, realizing it was time for his next task, he said, "Makino… I am going to Mt. Colubo to meet with Luffy, Ace, and Sabo… I will see you later." With that, he dashed toward the mountain.

Makino shouted from a distance, "Be careful on your way."

"I will!" Ryuma nodded.

Makino smiled fondly as she watched Ryuma and Rio disappear. "Alright… it's time to get back to work. Today, it's going to be a big discount for all the customers!"

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ASL Tree House, Mt. Colubo

"Sabooo…" Luffy muttered in a saddened tone.

"Shut up, Luffy… and sleep…" Ace shouted.

"But Sabo is gone… I am missing him, Ace," said Luffy.

Ace sighed. He didn't know how to explain to Luffy; in fact, he himself didn't understand what to do in this situation. His heart told him that Sabo should be with them, that's what Sabo would want… but is that really the best thing for Sabo?

Just as the two sworn brothers did not know what to do, suddenly, there was a knock on the door of their tree house.

Knock! Knock!

"Huh?" Both Ace and Luffy were taken aback. For a moment, they even wondered, "Sabo? Is Sabo back?" Thinking that it must be Sabo, both of them quickly got up and dashed toward the door, hurriedly opening it while exclaiming, "Saboooo!"

But the person on the other side of the door was not Sabo; it was Ryuma and Rio.

"Huh? Ryuma? Rio?" Both Luffy and Ace exclaimed at the same time. The two did not expect that the person who came to the treehouse at such a time would be Ryuma and Rio.

"Yo! Long time no see, you two…" grinned Ryuma as he greeted them.

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"Ryumaaaaa!" shouted Luffy. He jumped and wrapped himself around Ryuma while crying, "I missed you...!"

"Luffy?!" Ryuma hurriedly caught the rubber boy. While patting his back, he looked at Ace, "Yo... Ace... how are you?"

Ace nodded with a smile. He wasn't one to hug Ryuma like Luffy, but he was genuinely happy to see Ryuma. Ryuma looked around and, upon not finding Sabo, he asked, "Ace, where is Sabo? Is he not with you?"

At the mention of Sabo, both Ace and Luffy's expressions became complicated and downcasted. Ace tried to explain, "He… he returned…" but wasn't sure how to explain it. 

In fact, he did not need to explain it, as Ryuma had already guessed, "So… he was forced to return to the High Town, huh?"

Although Ace was surprised that Ryuma knew about Sabo's background, at this point such a thing didn't matter and nodded, "Yes," and narrated everything that happened after Ryuma had left the Dawn Islands about ten months ago. 

"I see… a lot of things have happened…" muttered Ryuma. A lot of the things were different from the canon because of Ryuma's early involvement with the trio of Luffy, Ace, and Sabo but certain crucial things remained the same the reason being that even if Ace and Sabo had received his training and they had gotten pretty good at using Observation Haki' physically they were still not strong enough to fight entire Bluejam Pirate crew as well as the Sheriff and the military of the Kingdom of Goa.

After Ace explained everything, he asked in a solemn voice, "Ryuma… I don't know many things, but you do… tell me… is living with his parents back in the High Town in the capital be better for Sabo? Or will it be here with us?"

Ryuma scratched his hair wondering, 'Now… how do I explain such things to an eleven-year-old kid?' He thought for a moment and said with a sigh, "Normally, living with his parents among the noble is a good thing… he would have a brighter future there… but, the nobility of the Kingdom of Goa, it is rotten to the very core, they desire nothing except benefits and would do anything including genocide and mass killing without blinking an eye for that… Sabo, he is a kind boy, and he would only suffer there…"

As Ryuma explained things in as simple a way as possible, Ace's expression became horrified, "Sabo… he for us…" while Luffy started to cry, "Sabooo…"

"That's the only thing I needed to know…" said Ace as he took a deep breath, and his expression became determined. He got up and picked up the iron pole resting against the wall.

Ryuma questioned, "You aren't thinking of going to the High Town, are you?"

Ace nodded, "Sabo doesn't want to be there… and since he will only suffer there, then he doesn't need to be there… I am going to bring him back…"

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