When the name “Admiral Krieg” was announced, Arnan stared at Luke with tension and worry, seemingly afraid that the Swordsman before him would be intimidated by this “Great Pirate.”
Luke: …
With such a long introduction earlier, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were introducing one of the Four Emperors.
What kind of small fry is Krieg? If not for Gin, Luke wouldn’t even remember his name. He only throws his weight around in this remote corner of the East Blue.
“Got it. If I happen to take your ship and run into Krieg, I’ll cut him down.”
“Are you sure? That’s Krieg we’re talking about—the strongest man in the East Blue.” Arnan seemed doubtful and asked for confirmation again.
“Then I’m not taking this job.”
Luke waved his hand impatiently. It wasn’t something he absolutely had to do anyway.
“No, no, no! I didn’t mean to doubt you. It’s just that the fear of such Great Pirates is ingrained in my bones.” Arnan let out a sigh. His own parents had lost their lives to pirates, so since childhood, he had both loathed and feared them.
“Ever since Pirate King Gol D. Roger announced the Grand Treasure before his death eighteen years ago, countless pirates have emerged. The East Blue is considered relatively peaceful, but there are still plenty of pirates running rampant. These times are truly…”
“Sounds like you have quite a grudge against the Pirate King.” Luke raised an eyebrow.
Arnan showed a bitter expression and shook his head. “I’m just an ordinary person—how would I dare hold a grudge against the Pirate King? But from a personal perspective, I do resent him for starting the Great Age of Piracy.”
The Grand Treasure stirred the greed of countless people. One pirate after another appeared out of nowhere, openly recruiting vicious criminals under the banners of “freedom” and “dreams” to burn, kill, and plunder, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake.
Of course, not all pirates are evil, but the good ones are far too few. For ordinary civilians, the Great Age of Piracy is a disaster. They don’t know or care about historical truths—their only wish is to live peacefully.
“Wait and hope. Perhaps soon, someone will find the Grand Treasure and put an end to the Great Age of Piracy.”
Luke didn’t care much about these matters. He was more focused on the people and events right in front of him. If something unjust or unfortunate happened before his eyes, he wouldn’t mind helping if he could.
As for the rest, he’d let it be. After all, the world is vast, and there are too many suffering people—it’s impossible to save them all.
“I hope so.” Arnan’s emotions gradually stabilized, and he gave Luke an elegant smile. “Since our business is concluded, I won’t disturb you any further. We’ll soon arrive at Windmill Village. Our next voyage will begin one month from now—we await your arrival.”
“If I can make it in time.”
Luke acknowledged and turned to leave the captain’s cabin.
He needed to visit the space to find Quanzhi Fashi Luke. The world of Quanzhi Fashi Luke, “The Outcast,” has a modern setting. Aside from the concept of Evolvers, it’s no different from the real world.
So theoretically, One Piece should exist. Not just One Piece, but storylines from other worlds as well. At the very least, no Luke from unknown worlds has appeared yet.
…
Inside the mysterious space.
As soon as he entered, Pirate Luke saw two golden figures colliding violently.
The intangible golden light seemed capable of slicing through metal and jade, sparking like clashing blades when they met. The two fought from the sky to the ground, sometimes intertwining, sometimes separating.
“What’s going on?”
Naruto Luke, resting his head on his hand, watched calmly and explained leisurely, “Bleach Luke gave Dragon Raja Luke the nickname ‘nouveau riche,’ and Dragon Raja Luke wasn’t happy about it, so the two started fighting.”
“How’s the outcome?” Pirate Luke sat down beside him.
“Heh heh heh, even though their stats are the same, Dragon Raja Luke’s combat awareness is too poor. Right now, he’s being beaten up by the little kid.” Naruto Luke raised his eyebrows smugly and sighed, “As expected, in all martial arts, speed is invincible.”
Bleach Luke had spent the most time on the flash step. He had mastered the timing of using it and how to evade attacks skillfully. In contrast, Dragon Raja Luke was like someone holding a handful of skills, knowing when to use them but fumbling when the time came.
Thud!
A figure fell from the sky. Dragon Raja Luke, bruised and battered, lay on the ground with a dazed look in his eyes, covering his face and crying.
“Damn it, you’re all bullying me. We’re all Lukes, so why…”
On the other side, Bleach Luke, in the form of a child, landed steadily and shot a disdainful glance at Dragon Raja Luke. “Sometimes I really don’t want to admit this guy is me.”
He bore similar injuries—when Luke fights Luke, this is the result, so neither of them had been too serious about the fight.
“After all, we’ve each spent time in different worlds. It’s normal to have some slight changes. If you had it as easy as he did, you might not be much better than him, since our essence is the same.”
Pirate Luke tried to console him, then studied Bleach Luke carefully, feeling a subtle sensation. “Have you grown a bit?”
Bleach Luke now looked about the size of a twelve-year-old boy.
“Noticed, huh?” Bleach Luke proudly lifted his little face. “I thought about it for a long time and decided a child’s body isn’t conducive to fighting. From now on, I’ll grow slowly. If I control the speed, it won’t be too noticeable.”
Pfft! Is it really because a child’s body isn’t conducive to fighting? I’m too embarrassed to call you out.
Clearly, after sharing Naruto Luke and Dragon Raja Luke’s memories, you couldn’t stand the loneliness and started craving women. We’re all Lukes—do you think I don’t know you?
Perhaps because Pirate Luke’s eye-roll was too obvious, Bleach Luke, whose thoughts had been guessed, flushed slightly before growing angry out of embarrassment.
“Pirate, let’s share a round.”
He flash-stepped over, and before Pirate Luke could refuse, his hand touched him.
The next second.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!”
Pirate Luke now bore identical injuries, gasping in pain and gritting his teeth as he drew Falcon and aimed it at him. “You little brat!”
Bleach Luke shrugged. “Go ahead, hit me. See if you can kill me.”
Ugh! So angry, absolutely furious, but I can’t beat him up.
Suppressing his anger, his gaze suddenly fell upon Naruto Luke who was still happily watching the show nearby. Bleach Luke did the same, and the two exchanged a glance before simultaneously advancing toward Naruto Luke.
“Eh? What are you trying to do? Stay back! I’ll call the police if you come closer!” Seeing the situation turning sour, Naruto Luke tried to flee but was immediately pinned from both sides.
Whoosh!
Bleach Luke instantly appeared beside him with a flash step, reaching out to grab him.
Relying on his early warning, Naruto Luke narrowly dodged the grasp at the critical moment. Simultaneously, a golden-glowing longsword materialized in his hand to block Falcon, while he rapidly chanted:
“Hado Number One, Sho!”
Though the most basic Destructive Arts lacked destructive power, it was the fastest and easiest to activate, with sufficiently strong impact force.
Without a moment’s hesitation, after landing, Naruto Luke willed several wooden blocks into silent manifestation at various points in the mysterious space.
The Lukes’ abilities were completely unrestricted within the mysterious space, and they could also create simple items according to their will—the bamboo swords used earlier fell into this category.
“Give up, blacksmith. You can’t surpass me in flash steps,” Bleach Luke sneered ominously.
“Try my newly comprehended Flying Slash,” Pirate Luke declared while standing with his sword at the ready.
“What did you just say you’d slash?”
“…”
Pirate Luke stood grim-faced with his blade.
Good, still able to crack jokes. Clearly living too comfortably—needs a good beating.