That didn't surprise Yemu.
If the old man had said he had stayed here the whole time, Yemu would not have believed him.
How could anyone resist the lure of the outside world when they were young?
Still, he asked curiously, "So it's just you? What about your children?"
As soon as he asked, a trace of awkwardness flickered across Dolon's aged face. Then he let out a sigh and said slowly, "When I was young, I gave up a lot so I could go to sea. By the time I came back, everything had already passed me by."
Then the old man looked at Yemu with a measuring gaze and asked, "Kid, why did you become a pirate?"
"As for me, there's no special reason. I just think pirates are the freest."
"Freedom?"
That answer clearly caught Dolon off guard.
"I thought it would be for treasure or something like that."
"I'm not short on treasure."
Leaving aside everything already piled up in the treasure room on the ship, there was still an entire city of gold in Skypiea.
Dolon looked at him oddly. "You sure talk big. Sounds like you must be some pretty impressive pirate out on the sea."
Yemu did not brag. Instead, he asked, "Don't you keep any Marine bounty posters here?"
Dolon said indifferently, "What would I want those for? Whatever kind of great pirate they are, what does it have to do with an old man like me? Besides, I don't have that kind of extra money."
"Then how do you usually get by?"
"Nothing much. I fish and grow vegetables. Alchemi Island may be small now, but there's still enough land to grow some vegetables and fruit."
"That really is a peaceful life. Though it does seem a little lonely."
"It's fine. I have Bobo with me."
As if it had heard its name, the little white dog called Bobo barked at its owner in a fawning way.
Seeing that, Yemu picked up a plate of late night food Flare had prepared from the nearby table and set it on the ground.
Bobo ran over excitedly, sniffed it, then lowered its head and started eating.
Dolon watched, patted the little dog on the head, then asked in puzzlement, "I saw a lot of pirates when I was young, but not many as strange as you. At your age, you shouldn't be worrying about your lifespan yet, right? So why are you already thinking about looking for Pure Gold? It's not like you lack treasure."
"This?"
Yemu looked out at the vast starry sky above the sea.
"I guess it's about preparing in advance. There are too many things in this world that I still don't know, so the more trump cards I have in hand, the more confidence I'll have in changing this world."
"Changing the world?"
Dolon was stunned by Yemu's bold words.
He asked even more curiously, "Why do you want to change the world? Are you dissatisfied with it?"
Yemu did not answer directly. Instead, he asked back, "Are you satisfied with this world? Or to put it another way, why did you choose to become a pirate when you were young? Even in the New World, there were still plenty of paths you could have taken."
Dolon fell silent in thought.
Why?
His mind drifted back to his childhood, when he had still lived here with his parents, Bobo's grandparents, and the other civilians who had remained on Alchemi Island.
Back then, he had lived through certain things.
Just as mentioned before, there had never been a shortage of people who came to Alchemi searching for traces of Pure Gold.
Some of them were pirates, of course, but very few pirates actually knew Pure Gold existed. The ones who truly brought suffering to the young Dolon were the Marines, along with those unidentified figures.
He had not understood it when he was a child, but once he grew up, he realized that those outfits belonged to people from the World Government.
Because of Pure Gold, the civilian families on Alchemi Island were ravaged again and again during his childhood.
Every time those people came, they acted as if they meant to tear the whole island apart in their search. They had no regard at all for the lives of the civilians living there.
As a result, most people's homes were wrecked over and over again, their furniture, their land, even their houses.
As time went on, some could not endure it any longer and left. Only Dolon's family stayed behind.
And they had not stayed to protect some grand legacy of the old Alchemi. They had simply been poor and unwilling to move to some unfamiliar place.
Seeing Dolon sink into thought, Yemu finally gave his own answer.
"You've probably seen my companions on the ship over the past day or so. To put it simply, most of them come from races and nations that have suffered under this world as it is now. I did not go looking for them on purpose. Fate placed them in front of me. So as their captain, I have a responsibility to help fulfill their dreams and build a dreamlike country."
Dolon's old eyes were filled with shock.
"A country without class oppression, without racial discrimination. A country where fish men, humans, Dwarves, or any other race can live together as equals."
Dolon stared at the young man in front of him in amazement.
The words sounded like a fantasy, and yet, for some reason, he could feel a determination in Yemu that could not be denied.
"Are you serious? That would be incredibly hard. I've never heard of a country like that."
Yemu did not deny it. "It is hard, so I don't know whether I'll succeed. But no matter what the result is, I won't know until I try. So old man, make sure you live well. If the day comes when I succeed, you're welcome to bring Bobo and live in the country I build."
As he spoke, Yemu rubbed Bobo's head.
There was no denying it, petting the heads of cats and dogs always felt great.
Lillilu's head looked like it would feel pretty nice too, but she obviously was not the kind of pet that liked being petted.
This time, Dolon was completely shaken by Yemu's words. After thinking for a moment, he said with longing in his eyes, "If you really succeed one day, I'll come with Bobo."
"Don't worry. I'll work hard."
At last, Dolon fully let down his guard around Yemu and asked, "Then how far have you gotten so far? Let me see how many years this old man still has to wait."
Yemu looked a little embarrassed. "Unfortunately, for now it's still just an idea. I'm still busy evading the Marines, but I believe that day is coming soon. Once I find a suitable island, I'll start turning my dream into reality."
"An island?"
Dolon froze for a moment, then suddenly stood up and walked toward the lighthouse. Bobo hurried after him.
A few minutes later, Yemu saw Dolon return carrying a worn sack. When he came over, he took out a rolled parchment and handed it to Yemu.
"Take this. It's no use to me anymore."
Yemu accepted it and looked it over, then instantly froze.
It was actually a map of the New World, with island after island carefully marked on it, along with detailed notes about the conditions on each one...