"Hmm? That is an unexpected find."
Ash had only gone through two bounty posters when a familiar face caught his attention.
An East Blue rookie, captain of the Swift Swan Pirates, nicknamed "Wild" Bentham, with a bounty of 12,200,000 Berries.
"Mr. 2 Bon Clay... so the Clone-Clone Fruit is finally within reach."
Bon Clay should have already joined Baroque Works under Crocodile in the original timeline. Yet here he was, still a rookie pirate in the East Blue. There were only two reasonable explanations.
Either Crocodile and Nico Robin's plans had been disrupted, preventing Baroque Works from forming its usual network, which meant Bon Clay had never been recruited.
Or Sali's long-term presence at Reverse Mountain had discouraged many from entering the Grand Line, leaving Bon Clay stuck in the Blues.
Whatever the reason, it worked in Ash's favor.
As long as known Devil Fruit users surfaced, that was enough.
Encouraged by this discovery, Ash continued scanning the bounty list.
More familiar names soon appeared.
The Grand Line assassin "Poison Spider" Sara, bounty 10,000,000 Berries.
The South Blue underworld figure "Loan Shark" Galdino, bounty 8,000,000 Berries.
There were others as well, figures who would eventually become key members of Baroque Works.
Aside from Daz Bones, who was still active as a bounty hunter in the West Blue, and Marianne, who was still too young, most of the future Baroque Works officers had already surfaced.
Good. That made things much easier.
Beyond these familiar names, there were also several potential Devil Fruit users among the bounty posters. Three were suspected Paramecia users, while two were confirmed Zoan users.
To Ash, that was more than enough reason to act.
After finishing the list, he stretched, rolled onto his side, and fell asleep.
At dinner time, he woke right on schedule.
Lying inside the floating bubble, he considered his options.
Sabaody Archipelago had plenty of restaurants, but only a handful were worth visiting, and he had already exhausted them over the past month.
Boin Archipelago offered excellent plant-based cuisine, but he was not in the mood for that.
He wanted meat.
"That settles it."
Gourmet Island.
While waiting for his food, Ash sent the updated bounty list back to the Dawn, asking Pini to remind Sali and Wyper to collect copies from a nearby Marine base.
Soon after, he returned to Gourmet Island, with Bonney clinging to him as usual.
Not long after he arrived at the restaurant, Sali's Den Den Mushi rang.
"Did you receive the bounty posters? That was quick," Ash said as he answered.
"What bounty posters?" Sali sounded confused.
Ash briefly explained the situation, including the Devil Fruit users he had identified.
"Is that why you called?"
Sali paused, then remembered.
"A bounty hunter from the West Blue arrived at Reverse Mountain today. His name is Daz Bones. He said the pirates in the West Blue are too weak and wants to join us."
"I checked with a Marine officer I know. He has a solid reputation, considered one of the better bounty hunters in that sea. I wanted your opinion. Should we accept someone like him?"
Ash smiled.
So Mr. 1 had come to them on his own.
That saved time.
For pirates with bounties, Sali could handle things. With the Voice of All Things, he could judge whether someone deserved to live or die.
But Daz Bones was still a legitimate bounty hunter at this point. He had not crossed into crime yet.
That made things different.
Sali calling for guidance only confirmed that.
Ash would likely need to handle the Dice-Dice Fruit personally in the future.
Now, the opportunity had presented itself.
"Accept him," Ash said.
"Even if he passes your judgment, keep him under observation. Do not share any critical information yet."
"Understood."
As Sali responded, voices could be heard in the background.
"Your meal is ready! Please enjoy!"
"Alright, go handle your side," Ash said before ending the call.
Sali stared at the Den Den Mushi after the line went dead, speechless.
The next day.
Ash and Bonney were waiting in line for the bumper cars at Sabaody Park when Bonney received a call from Kuma.
The father and daughter chatted for a while before the Den Den Mushi was passed to Ash.
However, the voice that came through was Dragon's.
"I apologize for reaching you this way. Kuma's Den Den Mushi could not connect, so I contacted him directly and used the one he left for his daughter."
Dragon remained as polite as ever.
Ash had accumulated quite a number of Den Den Mushi over time, especially private lines like this. It was impossible to carry all of them, so some calls inevitably went unanswered.
Still, anyone determined to reach him would find a way.
"It is fine. What do you need?" Ash replied directly.
His turn for the bumper cars was coming up, and he had no interest in small talk.
Even so, Dragon continued with formalities, mentioning how Kuma's presence had helped the Revolutionary Army avoid heavy losses during a World Government operation earlier in the year.
He attributed it all to Ash curing Bonney, allowing Kuma to return.
Ash rolled his eyes.
Dragon had already said all of this before.
And now he was repeating it months later.
Eventually, Dragon moved to the real topic.
He mentioned his brief appearance in Foosha Village a week earlier.
Ash listened without interruption.
Dragon explained that Luffy remained fully determined to become Pirate King, heavily influenced by Shanks. Although he was glad Sabo was alive, Luffy had no intention of abandoning his goal.
Left with no choice, Dragon had taken all three brothers, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo, back to the Revolutionary Army.
He planned to train them personally as a unit.
This call was simply to inform Ash, since he had previously warned about Ace and Luffy.
Once the call ended, it was finally Ash and Bonney's turn.
Bonney drove her bumper car toward him, laughing without restraint.
As Ash maneuvered his own car, his thoughts drifted.
The ASL trio.
Ace, Sabo, Luffy.
He smirked slightly.
Then burst out laughing.
His laughter echoed across the amusement park.
Bonney, already in high spirits after spending the day with him and talking to her father, laughed along with him.
"Bang!"
The two bumper cars collided head-on.
Bonney raised her hands excitedly.
"Ahahaha! Bonney is having fun!"