The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, beams of starlight spilled onto the ground outside the window. Bob leaned against the window, a cool night breeze brushing by. After taking a nap that afternoon, Bob was feeling much better now.
"Knock! Knock knock!"
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Bob didn't even have to think it had to be Whitebeard.
Sure enough, when he opened the door, it was that strikingly handsome man, holding two huge barrels of liquor, standing at the doorway.
"Whoa, those barrels are massive!"
As he spoke, Bob invited Whitebeard in. The barrels of liquor thudded down onto a table, making it creak loudly.
"Gurararara!"
"These are some premium booze my crewmates have been cellaring for years—tonight we're finishing them off!"
Whitebeard looked delighted, cracking open a barrel and pouring two big bowls to the brim.
"Hold on!"
"Don't you have something to eat? How are we supposed to handle this much hard liquor on its own? Even a dish of peanuts would be something!"
Staring at the potent booze, Bob had to admit it smelled wonderful, but drinking this stuff straight was just asking for it—any snack would do!
"Gurararara! Gotcha!"
Not long after, Whitebeard brought over a huge tub of food, set it on the table, and said,
"Long beard just being selfish, wants the food to himself—one of these days we'll have to teach him a lesson!"
Whitebeard joked with a grin, picking up a bowl of liquor and downing it.
"So, did you gain anything from your trip out? Tell me about it!"
Pouring himself another bowl, Whitebeard reached out and grabbed some food.
"You probably know already—I drove Zephyr away, and I won a bit of money at the casino. That John guy owes me a mountain of debt, so tomorrow I'll be collecting!"
"Gurararara! Bob, I was actually worried you'd get taken advantage of, but I shouldn't have—who would've thought that old gambler would fall on his face against you!"
"I'm not easy pickings. Anyone who thinks they can get one over on me hasn't been born yet!"
Bob clinked bowls with Whitebeard, bragging.
"True enough. Whether it's strength or something else, you always manage to surprise me!"
"I honestly have no idea how you've gotten to this level!"
Suddenly remembering something, Whitebeard propped his chin on his hand and said,
"That reminds me—I have a question!"
"Oh?"
Bob raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.
"Bob, where is your hometown, anyway? I'm so curious—what kind of place could possibly produce a monster like you?"
Whitebeard had wondered about this for a long time. Ever since meeting Bob, he'd never heard him mention anything about his home, as if Bob was completely cut off from it. Whitebeard found it baffling, especially given how much Bob seemed to care about his roots.
"My hometown?"
"It's somewhere very, very far away."
Being asked like that, Bob suddenly thought of his previous life, and the family he'd had before—he wondered what they were up to now, and if his sudden disappearance had caused them any trouble.
"Very, very far?"
"In this world, distance is never a problem! How far can it possibly be?"
Whitebeard thought of his own home—ever since he'd left, it had been ages since he'd gone back.
"It's as distant as a dream, really."
Bob gazed at the moon outside, thinking to himself, they say the moon is the same everywhere, but he wondered how the moon of this pirate world compared to the one back home.
"Haha, I'll tell you when the time is right, but now's not the time!"
Seeing Whitebeard's totally perplexed expression, Bob laughed.
"You've been asking me—what about you? Where's your hometown?"
As far as Bob knew, Whitebeard's hometown was a tiny, poor village. After the Marineford war and Whitebeard death, it was protected by Marco, his first division commander, but still remained impoverished. That just went to show—even with all the support Whitebeard had given over the years, it hadn't solved his home's real problems.
"My hometown? Just a tiny quiet place , a peaceful little village."
As he drank, Whitebeard began telling his story. From being the local troublemaker as a kid, always getting into mischief, to losing his parents young, and eventually becoming a pirate and gaining the Gura Gura no Mi…
"So…you spent your money helping your hometown!"
"Yeah, what's the point of keeping tons of money? It's better to help the people who need it!"
"But did you ever consider that doing that too much might make people lazy, and hold back real development? After all, teaching people to fish beats just giving them fish."
At this, Bob spoke slowly.
"I've thought about it. But that's really all I can do. I just want to make their lives a bit better. The rest is up to them."
Whitebeard picked up a bowl of liquor and sipped it, no longer as bold as before and instead looking worried. Hearing Whitebeard say that, Bob didn't say anything—maybe sometimes poverty is a blessing. In the pirate world, money could more easily attract disaster. That said, if he ever had a chance, Bob would like to visit Whitebeard hometown, see what the people there were like, and maybe lend them a hand if he could.
"Haha! Just do what you can!"
Bob replied with a laugh.
"By the way, how come you never look for a girlfriend? It's a shame for someone as tall and dashing as you!"
Sensing the gloom in the air, Bob abruptly shifted the subject. In One Piece, Whitebeard was fond of recruiting "sons," but always seemed single. With everything Whitebeard had going for him, how was he still alone? It just didn't make sense!
"Haven't really thought about it."
Whitebeard spoke up.
"You haven't got some big secret, have you?"
Bob looked at Whitebeard, all curiosity.
"Get lost! Aren't you single too? You've got no right to tease me!"
Whitebeard shot back with a groan.
"Come on! It's not that I don't want someone—I just haven't met the right person yet. What am I supposed to do?"
"So for now, I guess I'll just help out those fallen girls, you know, give them a boost in life."
Bob spread his hands, looking helpless. "How about this—one of these days I'll take you out to meet someone?"
"No way. I've got no money."
"You're thinking too small. With your earthquake powers, you need to worry about money?"
"Besides, if you're ever short on cash, just take some from there!"
As Bob spoke, he pointed behind him at the sky gold, signaling that Whitebeard could help himself.
"Forget it."
"Any money I take from you just ends up going back to my family in my hometown anyway. And since I consider you my brother, you're family—so it's like giving your money right back to you. Whether I take it or not, it's the same."
"So, that means my money is your money, actually!"
Hearing Whitebeard say that, Bob paused, taking a moment to process, then smacked his thigh.
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