After the grand banquet ended, York set sail with all the pirates from Jaya.
Propelled by the fierce winds, the massive pirate ship quickly disappeared into the distance.
Not long after York and his crew left, a full-length mirror, deliberately left behind in a Jaya tavern, suddenly rippled like water.
Wearing uniform attire but with wings on their backs, Skypieans and Shandians, led by Gloriosa, walked out of the mirror one after another.
"From today on, this island is our new territory!"
...
Back to York's side.
After a simple but meticulous headcount, there were a total of 1,518 newly joined pirates from Jaya on the ship.
There should have been close to 1,600, but a few dozen had unfortunately died in the infighting yesterday.
Included in these 1,518 were also quite a few with minor or severe injuries.
"Captain York, where is our next stop?"
Dragon asked. York glanced at the wounded on the ship and pulled out an Eternal Pose.
"Drum Kingdom first. We'll recruit some doctors there to treat the wounded on board."
Drum Kingdom was the island where Luffy and his crew met Chopper in the original story.
In the timeline York was currently in, Chopper naturally hadn't been born yet, and even Wapol hadn't been born.
However, precisely because of this, the current Drum Kingdom was still one of the world-renowned medical sanctuaries.
As a Winter Island, the reason it could become a World Government allied nation was by relying on the island's medical skills to continuously attract wealth from outside, thereby affording the Heavenly Tribute.
York didn't plan to destroy Drum Kingdom on this trip; he was only going to recruit doctors.
And the reason for not destroying it was simple: for the Munch-Munch Fruit (Baku Baku no Mi).
York didn't care about changing the plot or anything; what he cared about was the Munch-Munch Fruit!!
Setting aside the possibility that the Munch-Munch Fruit allowed one to eat a second Devil Fruit, simply its ability to create the strongest alloy in the original work—Wapol Metal—was enough.
This was worth York patiently waiting for Wapol's birth, giving him a chance to encounter the Munch-Munch Fruit.
After about ten days of sailing, York and his crew successfully arrived at the bitterly cold and snowy Drum Kingdom.
As the fortress-like pirate ship approached the harbor, the originally peaceful and tranquil city immediately fell into chaos.
"Pirates!!"
"Pirates are coming!!"
"Run for your lives!!"
"Notify the Marines quickly!!"
...
The panicked civilians aroused the bloodthirsty cravings of the newcomers under York's command.
As genuine veteran pirates, they were a completely different species from Luffy's group.
Killing, arson, rape, and pillaging were commonplace for them.
Especially now, these weak civilians who only knew how to flee in panic were their favorite targets for slaughter and plunder.
"Don't any of you mess around!!"
However, before they could act, York spoke first using the amplifier Den Den Mushi.
"I came to this island to recruit doctors!"
"Have you all forgotten the deaths of the severely wounded on the ship during these days of sailing?!"
"If you want someone to help treat you after battles in the future, then hold it in for me! There will be plenty of time for you to kill and burn later!!"
After speaking, York instructed Dragon to select some pirates with kind faces and relatively gentle personalities to land on the island with them.
Casually grabbing a few ordinary civilians running in panic, they asked for the location of the royal palace.
Learning that the palace was atop the Drum Rockies at an altitude of 5,000 meters, the group headed straight in that direction.
On the way, they encountered creatures unique to Drum Kingdom: Lapahns.
A type of extremely aggressive giant rabbit, carnivorous, growing up to over 3 meters tall, and living in packs.
This group of rabbits had caused quite a bit of trouble for Luffy's group in the original story and later became the guards of the Sakura Kingdom.
But unfortunately, this group of rabbits was now encountering York and a large group of veteran pirates who had been active in the first half of the Grand Line for years.
Without York even needing to lift a finger, the veteran pirates swarmed up to fight the rabbits, quickly killing most of the giant rabbits that attempted to trigger an avalanche.
"Haha! We have ingredients for the next voyage!!"
Ivankov, Kuma, and Ginny also participated in this battle, performing quite well. After all, apart from Ivankov, the other two were Devil Fruit users.
And Ivankov himself was actually quite talented; at this stage, relying solely on physical skills, he could single-handedly subdue a giant Lapahn.
After dealing with this group of rabbits, York and his crew faced no further obstacles on their way to the palace.
As for climbing the mountain, they simply used Kaido's Flame Clouds, successfully intercepting the King and his entourage before they could escape.
"Where are you running to!!"
The current King of Drum Kingdom, likely Wapol's grandfather later on, along with a group of national ministers and palace attendants, were completely surrounded by York and the veteran pirates.
"Pirates... you... what do you want?"
Wapol's grandfather was fierce in appearance but weak inside; clearly terrified to death, he still had to force himself to stand out.
"Nothing much. I plan to recruit some doctors from your country. I don't want to search house by house, so I'm going to have you issue an order to gather all the doctors in the country for me to recruit."
"Just... just that simple?"
"Of course! If you aren't willing to cooperate, I don't mind going through a bit of trouble."
Wapol's grandfather gulped audibly. Not daring to refuse toughly, he very obediently wrote the order York demanded.
With York deliberately allowing it, a large group of guards used the local ropeway to leave the mountaintop palace and head to various towns across the island to deliver the message and order.
York didn't care at all whether these messengers would notify the Marines.
He had just wiped out 10,000 Marines recently. As long as they knew it was him here, he believed the nearby branch would be very sensible and wait "punctually" until he finished his business before coming to "help."
In the blink of an eye, several hours passed. The sky grew dark, but not a single doctor had arrived.
York waved his hand.
"Let's go! Into the palace! We'll live here until the doctors arrive!!"
"Oooooh!!"
The pirates cheered.
Living in a proper royal palace was something they had always dreamed of but never dared to do.
Wapol's grandfather wanted to loudly scold this group of rude pirates, but looking at the gleaming swords in their hands, he didn't dare let out a peep.
After entering the palace.
The pirates who had joined not long ago immediately acted like huskies off the leash, looting and destroying everywhere.
Among them, only a small portion of pirates still remembered the rules York stated when landing and followed behind him without moving much.
Most of the other pirates, seeing that York didn't voice any objections, gradually grew bolder.
One of them even brought a female elder of Wapol—well, she was still a young girl now—before York.
"Captain York, this is the most beautiful princess here. Please enjoy!"
York smiled faintly.
With his left arm around Shakky and his right arm around Stussy, he looked smilingly at the pirate who delivered the beauty.
"Do you think I need such mediocre beauty?"
The pirate was stunned. He looked at the two peerless beauties beside York, then at the so-called most beautiful princess he had snatched from several colleagues.
"It seems... you really don't... Hehehe, sorry, Captain York, this lowly one was thoughtless."
"No, your heart is in the right place."
York examined this pirate carefully.
He was about 30 years old, with a lean and strong build, a certain shrewdness in his eyes, and not ugly in appearance.
Considering he was the first pirate who dared to curry favor with him, York asked, "What is your name?"
"Answering Captain York, this lowly one is named Scott."
"Not bad, Scott, that's a good name."
York paused slightly, then laughed loudly: "From now on, you are the first Squadron Leader of our pirate crew! Your status is only below the core officers!"
Hearing this, Scott was instantly overjoyed.
"Thank you, Captain York!"
York continued to add: "Also, this princess you just snatched belongs to you now. Remember! She is the wife I bestow upon you! Treat her well!"
Scott was stunned again. Turning his head to look at the beautiful girl trembling under his grip, his quick mind grasped the deeper meaning in York's words.
Immediately, he knelt on both knees before York.
"Thank you, Captain York! My life, Scott's life, belongs to Captain York from this life onwards!!"
"Hahahaha..."
York laughed towards the sky and waved his hand casually.
"Go! Get intimate with your newlywed wife!"
Scott respectfully assented, stretched out his hands, and carried his newlywed wife horizontally by the waist, heading off to some unknown room in the palace to spend his wedding night.
The surrounding pirates watched him pass, their eyes filled not only with envy but also jealousy and resentment.
"How did he beat us to it! That cunning bastard!!"
"What a lucky guy!"
...
Dragon stood beside York, silently taking everything in.
His brows furrowed slightly, as if his bleeding heart was about to act up again.
York didn't give him the chance, speaking first before Dragon could open his mouth: "Dragon, go note down the names of those who obeyed the captain's orders I issued when we landed."
"In the future, only these people will be our true crew members."
"The others, apart from Scott just now, I will find opportunities for them to die one by one in battle."
Hearing this, Dragon's pupils constricted slightly, then he nodded gently.
He knew it; it was impossible for York to truly be so indulgent towards his subordinate pirates.
As for the tragedy happening in this palace right now...
York had once said this to him: The prerequisite for "misfortune not extending to family" is "benefits not extending to family"!
These old nobles had enslaved others for generations, enjoying the wealth created by the poor.
Perhaps among their descendants now, there were indeed some innocent people who hadn't done bad things.
But as long as these innocent people hadn't actively given back to the poor, they remained beneficiaries of their ancestors' evil deeds.
What moral burden was there in settling accounts with such people?