The Voyage Begins
Moge gripped the sail rope tightly and gave it a hard tug.
The snow-white sail slowly unfurled in the morning sea breeze, filling out until it looked like an eagle spreading its wings.
A slight tremor ran through the small boat as it pulled away from the shore, heading toward the open sea.
Just as the boat departed, loud shouts echoed from the beach.
“Safe travels!”
“Moge!
Carina!
Take care of yourselves!”
“Remember to come back!”
The blessings drifted across the water on the sea breeze.
There was no heavy sorrow in this parting; instead, it was filled with warm, burning expectations that made their departure feel special.
Moge stood at the bow, waving vigorously toward the shore until the silhouette of the village grew small and blurred in the distance.
On a small hill behind the island, a hunched figure stood quietly.
Old Man Ville stood with his hands behind his back, watching the boat grow more distant.
The sea breeze ruffled his gray hair and made the corners of his clothes flutter.
His cloudy eyes grew warm, and tears almost slipped out.
He looked at the sea, his lips moving slightly as he spoke in a voice so soft only he could hear.
“Kid…
good luck.
Take care of yourself.”
Setting the Course
Moge stood at the bow, lighting a cigarette with his fingertips.
He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled a pale white smoke ring, his gaze falling on the churning sea in the distance.
“Carina, everything okay?
I’m counting on you for our navigation from now on.”
The girl beside him immediately puffed out her chest, her tone firm and confident.
“Of course!
Just leave it to me!
I haven’t been studying all these years for nothing!”
“True.” Moge chuckled and nodded slightly.
Over the past few years, he had seen her dedication clearly.
Carina had devoured almost every navigation book she could find—astronomy, ocean currents, meteorology, and ship handling.
She had learned it all incredibly well.
He gazed at the azure sea and sighed softly.
“Time really flies.
You’ve been with me for several years now.”
Carina’s eyes softened, and she nodded gently.
“Yeah…
I’m really glad you saved me back then.”
Her thoughts drifted back to those days.
She was only thirteen then.
Her parents had passed away early, leaving her with no one to rely on in her home village.
Driven to a dead end, she had no choice but to wander the sea.
To survive, she gritted her teeth and infiltrated a pirate crew, stealing all their treasure.
However, they pursued her relentlessly until she had nowhere left to run.
Just when she thought she was a goner, Moge appeared.
With a single strike, he wiped out that pirate ship and pulled her out of despair.
At that time, the boy simply said to her calmly, “From now on, follow me.”
Then he brought her back to that small island.
The people there gave her so much warmth.
Old Man Ville’s teachings and Moge’s companionship had truly warmed her heart again.
Moge looked at the sea, his eyes flickering with memories.
Actually, at the very beginning, he just thought the girl was pitiful and saved her on a whim.
It wasn’t until he saw her appearance and heard her name that he suddenly remembered who she was.
This was a woman who appeared in a movie in his previous life—the famous Treasure Thief.
Later on, she would even team up with Nami to steal treasure, and during the Gran Tesoro incident, she would play a massive role.
But right now, she hadn’t met Nami yet, nor had they formed their deep friendship.
As for Nami…
Moge curled his lip slightly, not caring at all.
If they met, they met; if not, it didn’t matter.
He wasn’t some plot fanatic, nor was he the type to chase after every beautiful woman he saw.
There was no need to follow the original plot and search the whole world for specific people.
He had his own path to walk.
As for companions, they would eventually cross paths naturally.
The sea breeze blew past, ruffling his silver hair and scattering his thoughts.
Carina held the helm steadily, looking into the distance with bright eyes.
“Moge, does this mean we’re officially becoming pirates?
But we don’t even have a real pirate ship, a crew name, or a pirate flag!”
Moge shook his head.
“We set out to sea privately without registering.
According to the World Government’s rules, we’ll be wanted as pirates sooner or later.
But since it’s just the two of us right now, we can wait until we recruit more people before deciding on a crew name.”
Note: The World Government considers anyone who goes to sea privately without registering to be a pirate, including merchant ships that bypass official registration.
“True, with just the two of us, we aren’t much of a crew anyway,” Carina said, thinking for a moment before her eyes lit up.
“Then can we at least name our boat first?
We worked so hard for so long to save up and buy this ship.
How about calling it the Goddess?”
This single-masted sailing boat was something they had barely managed to buy for tens of millions of Berries by catching pirates and earning bounties in the East Blue.
In this sea, a pirate with a bounty of over ten million was already considered a major threat.
Moge stood at the bow, looking out at the boundless sea.
“The name isn’t important.
What matters is that this ship can take us where we want to go.
But you’re right, a name is a good way to commemorate our departure.
Still, the Goddess isn’t suitable.
It’s too weird for a grown man like me to call it that.”
He was silent for a moment before speaking seriously.
“We aren’t going to sea to rob or harm ordinary people.
We’re doing it for freedom, for adventure, and to reach our goals.
Let’s call it the Voyager.”
Carina curled her lip with a look of disdain.
“What a lame name.
It’s not as good as my Goddess.” But meeting Moge’s firm gaze, she reluctantly compromised.
“Fine, you’re the Captain, so I’ll listen to you…
Voyager it is.”
After deciding on the name, Carina asked, “So Moge, where are we heading next?”
“We’ll head straight for the Grand Line and just stop at islands along the way for supplies,” Moge said decisively.
Carina nodded vigorously, her eyes full of anticipation.
“Yeah!
That’s perfect.
Before going to the Grand Line, we should visit the sea restaurant, Baratie.
I heard the food there is the best in the entire East Blue!”
“Bwahahaha!” Moge let out a hearty laugh.
“Is that so?
Then we’ll eat our fill at Baratie before heading to the Grand Line.”
Ambushed at Sea
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Just then, violent cannon fire suddenly erupted from ahead.
Several cannonballs trailing black smoke whistled through the air, flying straight toward their ship.
Moge’s eyes narrowed.
He lunged forward, drawing the long sword at his waist.
He leaped into the air, his blade flashing as he sliced through all the incoming cannonballs.
The sliced cannonballs exploded in mid-air.
Before the flames and black smoke could even dissipate, Carina’s voice followed.
“Moge, there’s a pirate ship ahead!
They’re attacking us!”
Moge had already noticed them.
Even without using Observation Haki, he could clearly see the sinister and strange-looking pirate ship on the sea ahead.
The bow was shaped like a giant shark with its bloody mouth wide open.
The hull was painted black and red, and the pirate flag flying high above depicted a skull with a giant axe clenched firmly in its teeth.