“Captain, now that Kweiv has taken his place as our head chef, I still have to remind you that I’m not a professional navigator.
If we’re planning to enter the Grand Line in the future, the waters there are complicated and unpredictable.
We still need to recruit a navigator with genuine skill.”
Quans stood behind Valsa and spoke respectfully.
“Hmm…
That is indeed a problem.
I’ll look for a good navigator before we enter the Grand Line.
You should keep an eye out for one as well.”
“Yes, Captain!”
Ever since Kweiv had come aboard, the spirits of the Overlord Pirates had steadily risen.
Delicious food was one of the greatest comforts for anyone enduring the monotonous life of sailing across the sea.
Now that everyone was well-fed and had plenty of energy, Valsa decided to put the officers through some intensive training.
Their strength had already reached a certain level, but compared to the dangers of the Grand Line, it was nowhere near enough.
To prevent them from becoming arrogant and overconfident after their repeated victories, Valsa also intended to put some pressure on their mentality and keep them grounded.
He wanted to prevent them from eventually suffering a disastrous defeat because they underestimated an enemy.
At the same time, he introduced a new policy.
Anyone below the rank of officer who could defeat any officer aboard the ship would immediately replace the defeated officer.
This included non-combat officers like Quans.
If Quans were defeated, his position would be taken by someone else as well.
Valsa had noticed that Quans had been becoming somewhat complacent lately.
Just because he wasn’t good at fighting didn’t mean he could neglect improving his strength.
Valsa wanted to push him a little and create a sense of urgency.
After all, even with a powerhouse like Valsa serving as his shield, Quans could currently be considered safe.
But the world was full of countless powerful figures.
There would inevitably be times when Valsa encountered an enemy he couldn’t defeat, or times when he simply wasn’t by Quans’ side.
Without some means of protecting himself, Quans would undoubtedly become the weak point enemies could exploit to attack the Overlord Pirates.
This announcement greatly increased the enthusiasm of the pirates below the officer ranks.
Everyone began thinking of ways to improve their strength.
Becoming an officer didn’t just mean earning the Captain’s favor.
It also meant gaining priority access to various resources.
On top of that, they could obtain greater strength, wealth, reputation, and authority.
Those were, after all, among the reasons they had gone to sea in the first place.
…
While Valsa was training his officers, a pirate hurriedly ran over and shouted:
“Captain!
Captain!”
“Why are you in such a hurry?
What’s happened?”
Valsa frowned in displeasure at being interrupted during his training.
“Captain!
You’ve been given a bounty by the Marines!”
The pirate had barely finished speaking, still gasping for breath, when Valsa was already beside him.
He snatched the newspaper and wanted poster from the man’s hands.
The yellowed wanted poster showed Valsa holding his golden brass knuckles, poised to unleash Haymaker.
He looked imposing and powerful, exuding a wild, untamed aura.
[Overlord Pirates, Captain, Overlord Valsa — Bounty: 33,000,000 Berries!]
“Hahahaha!
Thirty-three million Berries for my first bounty?”
The officers immediately gathered around to take a look.
When they saw the number, they all began shouting.
“Captain, you’re incredible!”
“Long live the Captain!”
The pirate who had brought the news watched the scene with a strange expression.
Isn’t getting a bounty supposed to be frightening?
Why are the Captain and everyone else so excited?
This time, only Valsa had received a bounty.
Perhaps the Den Den Mushi had only captured Valsa in its image.
Or perhaps the other members simply didn’t pose enough of a threat to the World Government.
A bounty represented more than just the threat one posed to the World Government.
It also brought reputation and fame.
Whether good or bad, a bounty meant that other forces would begin paying attention to you, while bounty hunters would also start coming after you.
At the same time, the size of a bounty served as an indication of one’s strength.
And with the Great Pirate Era not yet truly underway, bounties carried enormous weight.
To receive a bounty of 33 million Berries on his very first poster meant that Valsa and the newly established Overlord Pirates had already attracted widespread attention from around the world.
Everyone was watching this pirate crew that had only recently been formed.
…
“Hey, did you hear?
A great pirate with a bounty of 33 million Berries has appeared in our South Blue!”
“What?!
Thirty-three million Berries?!
I hope we never run into him.”
This was the thought of the vast majority of ordinary people, especially those living in the South Blue.
A pirate with a 33-million-Berry bounty was already considered among the strongest figures in the South Blue.
If that bounty were placed on a pirate in the East Blue, he would be among the very strongest.
…
“Roger has just become the Pirate King, and now another unprecedented rising star has appeared.
The situation is becoming harder and harder to understand.”
Sengoku held a newspaper in his hands, his black, round glasses perched on his face as he frowned deeply.
“Hahahaha!
Sengoku, who would’ve thought your home region would produce another super rookie!
Hahahaha!”
A middle-aged man with black hair and a black beard pointed at Sengoku and laughed heartily.
He was holding a bag of senbei, stuffing them into his mouth while mocking Sengoku.
“Shut up, Garp!”
Sengoku’s furious roar rang out.
“Hahahaha!
Hmm?
Damn it!
Those are my senbei!”
…
The Roger Pirates had reached the final island, Laugh Tale, where they learned all the secrets of the world.
They were known to the world as the Pirate King.
The seas were becoming increasingly turbulent.
More and more pirates were setting sail under the banner of the Pirate King.
But what no one knew was that the Roger Pirates had already quietly disbanded.
Roger had secretly traveled to the South Blue, where he met Portgas D.
Rouge and eventually married her.
At that time, however, the Overlord Pirates had yet to be established, so their paths never crossed.
Roger was currently still being held in Impel Down.
The Marines were now busier than ever.
News of the Pirate King Roger had spread throughout the world, inspiring countless young people to take to the sea and make a name for themselves.
…
After training for some time, Valsa discovered that simply exercising and strengthening his body could also increase his template progress.
The increase was extremely small, but consistency mattered.
Even a tiny increase could produce significant gains when accumulated over a long period.
Valsa wiped the sweat from his face and looked toward the distant horizon.
Dark clouds covered the sea.
Even though it was only noon, the sky was as dark as night.
Not a trace of sunlight could penetrate the thick clouds.
“Another storm at sea?”
The twelve ships slowly sailed into the storm.
Lightning flashed.
Thunder roared.
Torrential rain came crashing down, severely restricting visibility.
Visibility had dropped to less than ten meters.
Someone standing on the port side of a ship couldn’t even see the starboard rail.
All the pirates huddled inside the cabins.
Only the helmsmen and lookouts remained outside.
BOOM!
Just then, the ship on the far left of the Overlord Pirates’ fleet let out a tremendous roar.
A gigantic black shadow suddenly burst out of the sea.
In the next instant, it bit the ship into pieces.
Blood spread through the water, only to be swallowed by the raging waves and dragged into the depths of the ocean.
“ENEMY ATTACK!!!”
Shouts and cries for help rang out continuously.
“Shut up!”
Valsa roared as he searched for the enemy’s position.
“Quick!
Look!
Look in the water!”
A pirate’s voice suddenly came from somewhere.
Everyone followed his pointing finger.
A gigantic black shadow nearly a hundred meters long was swimming beneath the surface.
“It’s over!
We’ve provoked a sea monster!”
“No!
I don’t want to die!”
“Stop making noise!
Shut the hell up, or I’ll put a bullet through you first!”
Elik fired two shots into the sky and shouted at everyone, forcing them to quiet down.
Sure enough, faced with the threat of death, everyone fell silent.
Even though the rain pounding against the deck was deafening, even though the thunder was loud enough to feel as though it might rupture their eardrums, the atmosphere around them still felt oppressively tense.
The silence was absolute.
Not a single person dared to speak, afraid that they might anger the monster in the sea and provoke another attack.
Valsa waited.
He was waiting for it to make its next move.
If he jumped into the water, not only would the monster have the home-field advantage, but his own strength would be drastically reduced as well.
So he had to wait for an opportunity…