The next issue was navigation.
In the original work, Luffy was basically a navigation idiot who completely relied on Nami, but Luna didn’t want that—although she had never been out to sea in her past life, she had at least read quite a bit of data.
Coupled with this past year in Windmill Village, she had pestered Yasopp and the Navigator of the Red Hair Pirates to learn quite a few basics.
Star charts, nautical charts, wind directions, tides…
She had memorized all this knowledge in her head.
Combined with the system, she should be able to quickly form skills.
“Basic Navigation Knowledge…” she chanted silently.
Sure enough, this new skill appeared on the system interface, and its level wasn’t low either, directly at LV13 (12/100).
It seemed that the accumulation from her subtle influences over the past year had all been recognized by the system.
Then came the combat power planning.
Her current Basic Taijutsu was LV77, Rubber Constitution was LV74, and the three colors of Haki were at the entry level.
Coupled with a bunch of derivative skills, she should be considered a minor expert in the East Blue.
However, the East Blue was inherently the weakest sea, and the real challenge was in the Grand Line.
What she needed was a systematic improvement plan.
Luna sat down, picked up a branch, and scribbled on the sandy ground.
“Rubber Constitution needs to break through Level 100 as soon as possible to see if there will be a qualitative change.”
“Haki is the focus.
Haoshoku control is only LV42 right now, which is too low.
I need to find a way to improve it.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki are even more just starting out.”
“Skill development cannot stop.
Basic moves like’Spiral Spear’ and ‘Instant Strike’ must be practiced to the point of instinctive reaction.
More variations must also be developed.
Those wild ideas discussed with the AI in my past life—localized high-frequency vibration, multiple accumulation of elastic potential energy, attempts in the direction of transparency…
all must be put on the agenda.”
“Right, there’s also Seawater Adaptation.
It’s currently LV231.
I can move in the sea but can’t use my abilities.
The goal is to completely overcome the weakness of seawater on the premise of not losing my abilities…
Although it sounds like a pipe dream, with the system around, it’s possible.”
She wrote with great concentration.
The sunlight gradually climbed higher, shortening her shadow.
The shadow of her straw hat covered the upper half of her face, revealing only her tightly pursed lips and cleanly-lined chin.
Writing to the end, she paused, drew a large circle on the sandy ground, and then wrote a few names inside the circle.
Nami, Robin, Hancock, Vivi, Shirahoshi (this one is a bit difficult)…
she even thought of later characters like Rebecca and Reiju.
“One by one,” Luna muttered to herself, “Nami is in Cocoyasi Village.
Right now, Arlong is probably on his way escaping from the Grand Line.
I must hurry over as soon as possible.
Is my Navigator someone just anyone can bully?
Let alone being bullied by a fish!
Oh, right, there’s also Kuina; I have to make a trip there too.
Robin is still on the run with uncertain whereabouts, and Hancock is the Empress of Kuja—going to Amazon Lily right now is just courting death…”
She suddenly realized that her goal of “recruiting beautiful female crew members” actually perfectly coincided with the routes of getting stronger, adventuring through the Grand Line, and overthrowing various oppressions.
To save Nami, she had to defeat Arlong; to gain Robin’s trust, she had to fight against the World Government; to make Hancock look at her differently, she needed strength matching an “Empress”…
“So essentially, I still need to get stronger—stronger to the point where I can solve the problems they face,” Luna discarded the branch, patted the sand off her hands, “Then it’s simple—get stronger, and then go find them.”
She stood up and walked toward the modified small boat.
Although the boat was small, it was kept very neat by her.
On the bow, she used a red-hot iron bar to burn a simple logo—not a straw hat skull, but a pattern she casually drew that looked somewhat like a stick-figure smiley face, with the ship’s name carved in crooked letters below: departure.
It was a very plain name, but Luna liked it.
This was the beginning of everything.
She jumped onto the boat and checked every detail: whether the ropes were sturdy, whether the rudder was flexible, whether the storage compartment was waterproof, whether there were holes in the sails…
Finally, she sat at the stern, looking at the empty deck.
“Still need a Navigator, a cook, a doctor, a shipwright, a musician…” She counted on her fingers and then smiled, “But no rush, for the first companion, I’ll go find my Navigator first.”
She jumped off the boat, returned to the clearing, and began moving the prepared supplies onto the boat bit by bit.
This process took the entire morning.
When she secured the last barrel of freshwater, it was already noon.
Makino came over carrying a food basket.
Seeing Luna covered in sweat but with sparkling eyes, she couldn’t help but turn red-eyed again.
“Are you really leaving?”
“Yeah, tomorrow morning,” Luna took the food basket and wolfed down the sandwiches Makino made.
“There are still some things to prepare, and…
I want to go visit one more place.”
She finished eating in a few bites, shoved the food basket back into Makino’s hands, waved, and turned to run toward the back mountain.
Her small figure quickly disappeared at the end of the village path, leaving only the slightly oversized straw hat on her head swaying back and forth in the afternoon sunlight.
Makino stood in place, gazing in the direction where Luna disappeared.
The gentle smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by a layer of deep worry.
She lowered her head to look at the empty food basket in her hands, then raised her eyes to look at the distant calm sea; the Red Force was no longer in sight there.
After a moment of silence, Makino seemed to have made up her mind, turned around, and walked briskly back to Partys Bar.
The afternoon bar was deserted, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat.
She walked behind the counter, squatted down, and cautiously cupped out a box from deep within the lowest cabinet.
Opening the box, an inconspicuous black Den Den Mushi lay quietly inside.
Its shell was somewhat worn, looking like it had seen some years.
This was something shoved into her hands before leaving a long time ago by an old man with a bold personality who was always complaining about his disobedient grandson.
“If little Luna—if she stirs up any big trouble, or gets suicidal and wants to become a pirate or something, call this number!” The old man had said back then, bristling with anger and speaking in a rough tone, but with undisguised concern in his eyes.
Makino’s fingers trembled slightly.
She took a deep breath, picked up the receiver, and dialed the number she had never called before.
The Den Den Mushi’s eyes slowly lit up, making a “brururu” sound.
Every time the ringing tone sounded, Makino’s heartbeat accelerated by a fraction.
Finally, the call was answered.
“Moshi moshi?
This is Garp!” A loud, full-voiced, and even slightly impatient rough voice came out of the Den Den Mushi’s mouth, along with the Den Den Mushi’s expression turning casual and grinning widely.
“Is…
is that Mr.
Garp?” Makino’s voice was a bit tight, “I am Makino from Windmill Village.”
“Oh!
Makino!” Garp’s voice instantly became a bit brighter, “What’s wrong?
Did little Luna cause trouble again?
Did she smash someone’s windows or eat up someone’s food reserves?
Hahaha, this brat has been able to cause a ruckus since she was little!”
“No, it’s not…” Makino gripped the receiver tightly, her nails turning slightly pale, “It’s…
Luna is going out to sea.”
“Out to sea?
Playing in the water?
What’s so great about that to call for,” Garp didn’t seem to care.
“Not playing in the water,” Makino’s voice carried undisguised anxiety, “She’s going out to sea to become a pirate, Mr.
Garp, just like Mr.
Shanks and the others.”
The other end of the phone instantly fell silent.
A few seconds later, as if the suppressed calm before a volcanic eruption was shattered, Garp’s roar almost shattered the receiver, and even the Den Den Mushi was frightened into shrinking its neck, showing a terrified expression:
“What—?!
That stinky brat!!
How dare she become a pirate?!
And she’s only five years old?!
This is turning the world upside down!
Truly turning the world upside down!!!”
The volume was so loud that Makino had to move the receiver a bit further away.
She could imagine how furious that legendary Marine hero on the other end of the phone was right now.
“Mr.
Garp, don’t rush…”
“How can I not rush?!
I am a Marine!
My granddaughter is going to be a pirate?!
Is this reasonable?!
This is simply throwing my old face as the ‘Hero of the Marines’ onto the ground to be trampled!!” Garp’s voice was filled with shock, anger, and a hint of…
madness from being “betrayed” by a junior.
“Was it that brat Red Hair who taught her?!
I’ve long found that smiling face of his unpleasant!”
“Mr.
Shanks and the others already left this morning,” Makino hurriedly explained.
“Luna is serious.
She prepared her own small boat, stockpiled supplies, and she…
she even got a straw hat from Mr.
Shanks.”
“A straw hat?!” Garp’s voice changed abruptly, as if remembering something.
Anger was mixed with more complex emotions, but it was quickly covered by an even greater fury.
“No!
Absolutely not!
What does she know about the cruelty of the sea?
A five-year-old brat becoming a pirate?
That’s not going out to sea, that’s courting death!”
He was panting heavily, seemingly pacing back and forth on the other end of the phone.
Makino could even hear the sound of his fists clenching creakily.
“When is she leaving?” Garp’s voice deepened, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.
“Tomorrow morning!” Makino replied.
“Tomorrow morning…
Good, very good!” Garp’s voice gnashed its teeth.
“I happen to be on patrol in the East Blue, not too far from the Goa Kingdom.
Makino, you listen to me—”
His tone was unprecedentedly serious:
“I’ll pull an all-nighter today, and tomorrow morning I must block her!
Before I arrive, you find a way to steady her and don’t let her sneak away early!
Did you hear me?”
“Bu…
but Mr.
Garp, Luna looks very determined…” Makino was somewhat troubled.
“Determined?
A five-year-old brat’s determination isn’t worth a damn!” Garp roared.
“I must nip this absurd notion of hers in the bud!
Become a pirate?
Wait until she can take a set of my ‘Fists of Love’ without fainting first!
That’s settled!”
Without waiting for Makino to say anything more, Garp on the other end hung up with a click.
The Den Den Mushi drooped down, returning to a sleepy expression.
Makino held the receiver, which now only had a busy tone, and did not put it down for a long time.
She looked at the quiet village outside the window and the deeper blue sea in the distance, her heart filled with contradiction.
She worried about Luna, knowing that Mr.
Garp’s concerns were not unreasonable; going out to sea at five years old truly sounded like a pipe dream.
But she had also witnessed firsthand Luna’s changes over the past year or so—that resilience surpassing her age, clear sense of purpose, and terrifying strength growing at lightning speed…
Perhaps this child was truly different?
“I’m sorry, Luna…” Makino whispered to herself, her eyes full of apology and worry.
“But Mr.
Garp is your grandpa.
He…
he won’t really hurt you.
Maybe, maybe he really can persuade you, or at least, make you a bit safer…”
She carefully packed away the Den Den Mushi, putting it back where it was as if it had never been moved, and then began nervously wiping the already spotless bar counter, her gaze drifting toward the village entrance and the direction of the back mountain from time to time.