The adjutant immediately activated a Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.
A moment later, the call connected.
The snail took on the appearance of an elderly man wearing a dog-head hat with a bushy white beard.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Mr.
Garp!”
The adjutant straightened nervously.
“I’m my grandfather’s grandson!
You even held me when I was little!”
Silence.
The adjutant didn’t notice anything wrong.
The Marine colonel standing beside him couldn’t take it anymore.
Bang!
He smacked the adjutant on the head.
“Idiot!”
“Everyone’s their grandfather’s grandson!”
“Tell Vice Admiral Garp who your grandfather is!”
“R-Right!”
“My grandfather is Dili!”
“He’s a fisherman from Foosha Village!”
“Oh.”
Recognition finally came from the other end.
“So you’re old Dili’s grandson.”
“What do you need?”
“It’s like this, Mr.
Garp.”
“We’re in the Sarg Kingdom.”
“Someone attacked the royal palace.”
“The king has been murdered.”
“We also found the body of what appears to be a World Noble.”
“And hundreds of dead palace guards and CP agents.”
“…So it’s that incident.”
Garp spoke calmly.
“Sengoku already informed me.”
“Those Celestial Dragon scum should’ve stayed in Mary Geoise.”
“If one of them died in the East Blue, he had it coming.”
Both Marines nearly jumped out of their skin.
“Mr.
Garp!”
“You can’t say things like that!”
“Pwahahaha!”
Garp burst into laughter.
“Is that so?”
“Then just pretend you didn’t hear it.”
His tone soon became serious.
“But…”
“A monster capable of something like this appearing in the East Blue…”
“I can’t ignore that.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“Are you coming yourself, Mr.
Garp?”
“I already am.”
“I’m on my way to the Sarg Kingdom.”
The call ended.
Garp turned toward the man who had just been pulled from the sea onto the deck.
His clothes were in tatters.
His skull had been caved in.
His face was barely recognizable.
“It’s unbelievable.”
Bogard spoke quietly beside him.
“With injuries like those…”
“He’s still alive.”
“If even CP0 was defeated…”
“The culprit probably came from the New World.”
He paused.
“One of the Four Emperors’ commanders?”
“One of the Emperors themselves?”
“Or some other great pirate?”
Garp fell silent for a moment.
“There’s another possibility.”
“The old monsters from the previous era…”
“May have returned.”
Bogard blinked.
“You suspect…”
“…Golden Lion?”
“That’s right.”
Garp nodded.
“Ever since escaping Impel Down…”
“He’s kept an unusually low profile.”
“After all these years…”
“It wouldn’t be strange if he resurfaced.”
“What a pity.”
Bogard sighed.
“No witnesses saw the killer’s face.”
“We’ll have to wait for this CP0 agent to wake up.”
Somewhere in the East Blue…
The White Pearl sailed steadily across the sea.
Inside the captain’s cabin…
A fierce battle was underway.
Norton and Nami sat facing one another.
Furning watched from the side with great interest.
“Check.”
Norton calmly placed a piece onto the board.
Between them sat a square board marked with intersecting lines.
Round pieces rested upon the intersections.
One of Norton’s pieces now trapped Nami’s General.
“No!”
“Again!”
“You definitely cheated!”
Nami lunged across the board like an angry kitten.
The entire game descended into chaos.
“Nami…”
Furning smiled helplessly.
“That’s your ninth loss.”
“Exactly.”
Norton grinned.
“You now owe me 900,000 Berries.”
“No backing out.”
Truthfully…
He didn’t care much about money.
But taking money away from a miser?
That was entertaining.
“It doesn’t count!”
Nami nearly exploded.
“You invented this game of Chess!”
“You already know all the rules!”
“That’s completely unfair!”
“Hahaha.”
Norton shrugged.
“Not my problem.”
Just then…
Someone knocked on the door.
“My lord.”
Sanosuke’s voice came from outside.
“What is it?”
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
Sanosuke entered.
“The crew has been counted.”
“Excluding the twelve remaining former Redbeard Pirates…”
“There are thirteen cooks and shipwrights.”
“Adding you, Miss Nami, Miss Furning, and myself…”
“There are twenty-nine people aboard.”
For a ship over a hundred meters long…
Twenty-nine people was incredibly spacious.
Norton nodded.
“How long will our food last?”
“We have plenty.”
“There are no immediate concerns.”
“What about money?”
Norton continued.
“Counting the Duke’s gift…”
“How much do we have?”
“Together with the valuables Miss Nami recovered from the nobles…”
“Our total assets now exceed two hundred million Berries.”
“Excellent.”
Norton smiled.
“Adding the 900,000 Berries Nami owes me…”
“I’m practically one of the richest men in the East Blue.”
Nami ground her teeth.
Then…
She actually bit him.
“Hey!”
“What are you doing?”
“Ow!”
“Why is your body so hard?!”
Instead of hurting Norton…
She nearly broke her own teeth.
Furning covered her mouth as she giggled.
Her eyes curved into crescents.
“You dared bite the captain.”
Norton held Nami’s head in place.
“I hereby fine you.”
“Hand over my 900,000 Berries immediately.”
“Otherwise…”
“I’ll deduct it from your daily salary of 500,000 Berries.”
“Hmph!”
“I’ll pay!”
Nami puffed out her cheeks.
“So what?”
“Today is already the fifth day.”
“You owe me two and a half million Berries!”
With that…
She stormed out.
Watching her leave…
Norton couldn’t help laughing.
“Anything else, my lord?”
Sanosuke asked quietly.
“If not…”
“I’ll return to training.”
“Can’t you take a break for once?”
Norton flopped onto the large sofa.
“Training every single day is boring.”
“Want me to teach you Chess?”
“Long voyages need games to pass the time.”
Sanosuke shook his head.
“I must decline.”
He had no interest in such things.
Besides…
Other than Norton…
He was the strongest person aboard.
As the White Pearl continued toward the Grand Line…
The crew would only continue growing.
If he didn’t keep training…
He might lose his position as the second strongest.
Well…
Not counting Nami and Furning in terms of importance.
In pure combat strength…
He was unquestionably number two.
Moreover…
As a ninja…
His duty was to protect his lord and those close to him.
Every time he thought about that…
A deep sense of frustration filled his heart.
Norton was simply too powerful.
He didn’t need anyone’s protection.
The reason Sanosuke trained so obsessively…
Was simply to shorten the distance between them.
Even a little.
Instead of staring helplessly at someone forever beyond his reach.
“How boring.”
Norton sighed.
“Go train then.”
Sanosuke bowed slightly before leaving.
The captain’s cabin fell quiet.
Only Furning remained.
“Um…”
She hesitated awkwardly.
“Norton…”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Just say it.”
Norton stood and grabbed a bottle of vodka from the shelf.
“And call me Norton.”
“My shipwright.”
“It’s about…”
Furning fidgeted with her dress.
“I heard Mr.
Sanosuke’s story.”
“The pirates told me.”
“Mhm.”
Norton took a drink.
“And?”
She bit her lip.
Her hands unconsciously wrinkled her skirt.
“I was wondering…”
“Mr.
Sanosuke is said to bring terrible misfortune.”
“And the White Pearl is supposedly a cursed ship.”
“If both are together…”
“Isn’t that…
dangerous?”
“So that’s what’s worrying you?”
Norton waved a hand dismissively.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re really not worried?”
She looked concerned.
“We could run into storms…”
“Shipwrecks…”
“Anything.”
“I don’t care what kind of misfortune Sanosuke or the White Pearl attracts.”
Norton drained his glass.
A fearless smile spread across his face.
“I like challenges.”
“If nothing dangerous ever happened…”
“Life would be boring.”
“Whether it’s bad luck…”
“Or calamity…”
“I’ll master them all.”
“I’m the man who’ll become the King of the World.”
Furning stared silently at him.
Her lips parted slightly.
After leaving the captain’s cabin…
Nami returned to her own room.
It was right next to Furning’s.
On the White Pearl…
Only Nami…
Furning…
And Sanosuke had private rooms.
Everyone else shared quarters.
He wanted to distinguish ordinary crew members from future officers from the very beginning.
Unlike the Straw Hat Pirates or the Red Hair Pirates…
He had no intention of keeping his crew small and elite.
If he wanted to establish his own nation…
He needed people.
Lots of them.
His vision was closer to Big Mom’s organization.
With a crew that large…
Hierarchy was inevitable.
Rather than introducing ranks later…
He preferred establishing them now.
“Stupid Norton…”
Nami muttered.
“I’ll beat you eventually.”
She pulled a large sack out from beneath her bed.
Undoing the red rope…
Bundles of cash spilled out.
She counted out exactly 900,000 Berries and set them aside.
Then…
She closed the curtains.
Locked the door.
Lit an oil lamp.
Only then did she sit back down and begin counting everything.
“One million…”
“Two million…”
“Three million…”
“…Nineteen million five hundred thousand!”
After finishing…
She took a deep breath.
A delighted smile spread across her face.
“That’s enough.”
“I finally have enough money.”
“I just need to find a chance to leave.”
“Then I’ll buy Cocoyasi Village back from Arlong.”
Sanosuke had no idea…
Nami had secretly hidden away part of the treasure long ago.
Back when the Sea King destroyed their ship…
And valuables had scattered across its back and into the sea.
Even later…
When the Duke entrusted her with counting the gifted treasure…
She naturally hadn’t missed another chance to skim a little off the top.
That…
Was the real reason she’d stayed aboard the White Pearl.
The money came far too quickly.
Norton barely cared about treasure.
At most…
He casually asked about it.
What thief—
No…
What navigator—
Wouldn’t love a captain like that?
Nami had already decided.
Once she’d bought Cocoyasi Village back…
She would return to this ship.
In terms of both strength and character…
Norton was the greatest man she’d ever met.
If she hadn’t already saved enough money…
She might even have asked him to deal with Arlong.
But now…
There was no need.
“This ends with me.”
She clenched her fists.
“Just wait, Arlong.”
“I’ll make you hand Cocoyasi Village back willingly.”
Suddenly…
Thunder rumbled outside.
Nami quickly stuffed the money back into the sack.
She pulled open the curtains.
Dark clouds had swallowed the sky.
Lightning slithered through them like giant serpents.
“A storm!”
She rushed onto the deck.
“Hurry!”
“Reef the sails!”
“A storm’s coming!”
Norton and Furning emerged from the cabin.
Both looked up.
“That’s strange…”
Furning murmured.
“The weather was perfectly fine just now.”
Norton smiled knowingly.
He had a feeling…
This sort of weather would become a frequent companion of the White Pearl.
“Have faith in your ship.”
He patted her shoulder.
“And besides…”
“We have the greatest navigator in the world.”
“Stop chatting!”
Nami shouted while directing the crew.
“Get over here!”
“Move everything on deck into the hold!”
“We’re coming!”
Several dozen nautical miles north of the White Pearl…
A small island covered in dense forest sat alone at sea.
Wild beasts roamed freely.
Resources were scarce.
No one lived there.
Yet today…
A man carrying three swords arrived by chance.
He had short green hair.
A white T-shirt.
Three gold earrings dangled from his left ear.
“…Lost him.”
He casually picked a fruit from a nearby tree.
One bite.
“Sour!”
He immediately threw it away.
“And…”
“Where the hell am I?”
His name was Roronoa Zoro.
Currently…
A bounty hunter.
A few days earlier…
He had chased a pirate crew across the sea.
Somehow…
He’d lost the pirates.
Then…
He’d lost his way back.
After wandering the ocean for days…
He had finally reached land.
Only to discover…
It was an uninhabited island.
“I wonder if any ships ever pass by this dump.”
“Merchant ships…”
“Pirate ships…”
“I don’t care.”
“I just want to get back to town and buy some sake.”
Muttering to himself…
Zoro walked deeper into the forest.
Originally…
He had intended to return to the shore and find his tiny boat.
Unfortunately…
He had once again chosen the exact opposite direction.
After all…
Everyone knew one thing about Roronoa Zoro.
He had absolutely no sense of direction.