After sharing the brotherhood wine, the bonds between Ace, Sabo, Kaito Sakamoto, and Luffy grew even stronger. Time continued to pass, as it always does, without pause. The four spent day after day together, building a small wooden cabin in the trees, engaging in water fights in the bathroom, and stealing meat from Dadan and her crew. They celebrated at Makino's tavern, where Makino made them new clothes. They faced the challenges of survival in the forest and the dangers of wild beasts. The biggest "beast" of all was Karp, who came to visit them.
On that day, the four returned to Dadan's home with lumps on their heads, looking like they had cosplayed as the "Huluwa" (Calabash Brothers). Days turned into weeks, and Kaito Sakamoto was happier than ever, experiencing joy like never before. But this happiness also meant that the day the Celestial Dragons would arrive was drawing closer.
Finally, one day, fate couldn't stand their blissful existence and intervened to shatter their peace. Under Kaito's advice, Sabo, Ace, and Luffy had been refraining from going to town to save money. However, Kolbo Mountain still lay within the territory of the Goa Kingdom, and they couldn't escape it. If they didn't venture out, others would come for them.
Sabo's noble father, along with the Blue Sauce Pirates, intercepted Ace, Luffy, and Sabo, who were foraging for herbs for Kaito. Ironically, Kaito happened to be suffering from a fever that day. The three were blocked because they were out gathering herbs for Kaito.
Kaito couldn't help but lament, "Fate, can you be any more ironic?"
"To suddenly come down with a fever! Kids are such a hassle," Dadan complained, all the while changing the towel on Kaito's forehead.
"I'm sorry, Dadan..." Kaito replied weakly. "I'm sorry for the trouble."
His lips were pale, and his head felt like it weighed a ton, leaving him in a daze.
"Stop talking, you brat. Just sleep for a bit. Don't die on me in my house." Dadan said, her tone harsh yet caring. "Ace and the others went to gather herbs for you. If they can't find any, they'll raid the town for some."
"Just sleep for a while; by the time you wake up, they should be back," she added, puffing on a cigarette.
Kaito glanced at the clock on the wall—it read 6:10 PM. He nodded and closed his eyes, knowing the Celestial Dragons would arrive in three days, and he needed to recover before then.
...
In a close-up shot, the magical essence of time spun the clock's hands rapidly. Kaito slowly opened his eyes, feeling like a century had passed. He looked at the clock; it now read 6:05 PM.
"Has time reversed?"
That was obviously impossible; he had been asleep for a day. Despite her sharp tongue, Dadan cared for Kaito and sat beside him, dozing off. Kaito looked around and noticed only other mountain bandits, realizing that Luffy and the others were missing. He sensed something was off.
"It can't be this coincidental!"
Kaito reached out and replicated Dadan's physical resilience. As a mountain bandit, Dadan had decent stamina. However, replicating someone else's resilience didn't mean he'd instantly recover from his fever. Instead, he would experience the illness using Dadan's physical state.
So now, Kaito was enduring the fever with 60% of Dadan's resilience. Although his head still felt heavy, it was far better than his own condition.
"Kaito! What are you doing!!!" Dadan shouted, waking up from the noise. She saw Kaito, still feverish, throwing on his coat and running outside.
Kaito paused and realized he was panicking. He couldn't afford to be frantic; there was still some time before nightfall.
"Dadan, hurry and get everyone ready to rescue Ace and Luffy! They've been captured by pirates! At that port by the garbage mountain!"
Without waiting for Dadan and the others, Kaito dashed out, leaving Dadan stunned. The cigarette in her mouth dropped to the ground. Once she snapped back to reality, she shouted, "Quick! Quick! Follow Kaito!!"
...
As Kaito suspected, after using Luffy and Ace to haul away the fire oil and bombs from the burning garbage mountain, Blue Sauce planned to discard them.
"What!"
"They're going to burn the garbage mountain!"
"We need to warn those uncles at the bottom of the garbage mountain!"
Ace and Luffy were shocked to hear Blue Sauce's announcement.
"Keep it down; you'll alert the people in the garbage mountain!"
"The Goa King has promised me that once the garbage mountain is set ablaze, he will grant me nobility."
"To think I've gone through so much effort for a title of nobility, while your so-called brother Sabo chose to go to the garbage mountain instead. How foolish!"
Sabo and Blue Sauce were typical examples of people from the city wanting to escape, while those outside wanted to enter.
"Now that you know the plan, you can't leave."
"I'll ask you one last thing: Where have you hidden the treasure?"
With a grim expression, Blue Sauce squatted down to question Ace and Luffy. He wanted both the title of nobility and their treasure, but he feared he might end up with nothing at all.
...
Meanwhile, Kaito dragged his sick body to the garbage mountain, but the sun had already set, and night had fallen.
Seeing the homeless people lying on the ground, losing interest in life, Kaito felt a pang of sympathy.
"Tonight, the nobles from High Town are going to burn the garbage mountain!"
"You all need to run now!"
Kaito shouted, but no one in the crowd seemed to care. Where could they go if they left the garbage mountain?
It's hard to convince the damned!
But Kaito didn't have time to persuade them further.
From the edge of the town wall, a cannonball fired and landed on the outskirts of the garbage mountain, exploding with a bang. Soon, the fire oil and bombs buried beneath the garbage were ignited, causing a chain reaction that erupted.
Flames leaped up around the edges of the garbage mountain, forming a wall of fire that pushed inward.
The darkness was instantly illuminated as bright as day by the firelight, turning the night sky red.
The Goa King intended to burn more than just the garbage mountain; to him, the poor souls on the garbage mountain were just as much a stain on the Goa Kingdom.
At this point, people always realized the truth too late. The residents of the garbage mountain, unable to lie still any longer, scrambled up to escape for their lives!