Chapter 100

The latter half of the Grand Line, the New World.

The Emperor of the East Sea.

Rarely did such a sunny, calm day occur; Seven lay lazily on deck basking in the sun, though his mood was far from pleasant.

After purchasing Conqueror’s Haki defense, the Mall’s direct sales page added two new items.

【A chance for you: 200,000 points to consume one additional non-Paramecia Devil Fruit—purchase prerequisite: Awakening of your first Devil Fruit.】

【Second Fruit Awakening: 200,000 points.】

In short, Seven must first awaken his Thunder-Thunder Fruit before gaining the opportunity to consume a second Devil Fruit.

How to awaken? Either develop it yourself, or purchase the Fruit Awakening technique for 100,000 points.

Leaving aside self-development, the first fruit’s awakening costs 100,000 points, but requires 200,000 points to qualify—totaling 300,000 points.

To awaken the second fruit, another 200,000 points are needed.

Altogether, exactly 500,000 points!

Equivalent to a Dragon Ball user selling over five hundred Senzu Beans, a Qingqing Prairie user selling over five hundred Flying Cloaks, and Gray Wolf’s sewing machine smoking from overuse.

For Seven, 500,000 points was neither impossible nor easy.

The difficulty lay in the fact that, with the Morning Star Pirates’ rapid rise, pirate crews across the seas were frenziedly competing for Devil Fruits—none could be bought anymore.

Rumor had it even the Marines had increased their collection efforts.

Seven himself had little luck with Devil Fruits; in all these years at sea, he’d encountered only one Gorilla Fruit.

By this logic, it was as hard as climbing to heaven.

It wasn’t impossible, however, because if he kidnapped the Celestial Dragon Elaine Saint a few more times and extorted the World Government a few more times, he’d likely reach the 500,000-point goal.

But, as they say, once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is asking for trouble.

If he kept targeting Elaine Saint for more ransom, he might draw Im’s attention.

Seven wasn’t afraid of Im—but he feared his crew being enslaved by Im’s Black Conversion.

What then would he choose?

Kill them all?

Or watch his crew become demons?

But if he kidnapped other Celestial Dragons, the World Government would unlikely pay a rich ransom—ordinary Celestial Dragons were no different from pigs before the Divine Knights and the Five Elders.

Compared to Shanks, Doflamingo was nothing but a clown.

At ten years old, Doflamingo ignored his brother’s pleas and shot their father dead before his eyes, then returned to Mary Geoise with his father’s severed head.

Yet he was rejected by the other Celestial Dragons and fled Mary Geoise in disgrace.

And Shanks?

Though a remnant of Roger’s crew, he swaggered back into Mary Geoise and became the Divine Thorn Blade, even putting on a performance with his brother to gather intelligence.

【How could you possibly understand—what it feels like to have wasted twenty-four full years of life! [32] No wonder I’ve always felt alienated from others; that entire life was utterly revolting!!!】

No wonder I've always felt out of place—everything I lived through before was truly revolting!!!

The Actor Shanks

Young Shanks and Buggy

No wonder it’s you, Haki Shanks.

In acting, I crown you the strongest.

As Seven mocked Shanks, the Marine Headquarters presented a different scene.

Marineford, Admiral’s Office.

Admiral Sengoku, currently serving as Marine Commander-in-Chief, placed several intelligence reports on his desk and exhaled in relief.

“G1 Branch reports: Since entering the New World, the Morning Star Pirates have spent most of their time sailing, only docking for essential resupply.”

“At their current course, they will soon encounter Whitebeard’s crew, entrenched in the New World.”

Sengoku had initially worried that Barzab Seven might retaliate against G1 Branch at the New World’s entrance for the Marine’s use of Tsumi no Rei.

Now it seemed he’d overthought it.

“Meanwhile, Whitebeard himself has set out aboard the Moby Dick, and his allied crews are actively gathering intelligence—clear signs indicate—”

“The two sides are highly likely to clash over the title of strongest pirate crew in the world.”

As he finished, Akainu snorted.

“This is good for us.”

Akainu had no intention of launching another Tsumi no Rei; he hated pirates, but he wasn’t foolish.

If the Marines intervened now, they’d only push the Morning Star Pirates and Whitebeard’s crew into an alliance—or face a joint strike from both.

Pirates may all deserve death, yet in certain matters, they can form a united front.

For instance: eliminate the Marines first, then fight among themselves.

Sengoku wasn’t surprised by Akainu’s reaction.

“Also, according to informants, Wang Zhi and other pirate crews entrenched on Beehive Island appear to be searching for Barzab Seven’s exact location.”

Akainu sneered.

“They’re scared.”

Why scared?

The Morning Star Pirates, with four General-Emperor-level members, had just entered the New World—and crucially, they still had no territory.

If not by seizing it, where else would territory come from?

Who among the pirate crews entrenched in the New World wouldn’t fear such a behemoth?

Sengoku nodded slightly, turning his gaze to his old comrades Karp and He, and the Marine’s current three Admirals.

“I have a plan.”

All five high-ranking Marines turned their attention to him. Sengoku continued:

“It’s foreseeable that Barzab Seven will seize a stronghold in the New World; the Morning Star Pirates will inevitably grow even larger.”

“To gain intelligence advantage, I intend to send several Marines to infiltrate the Morning Star Pirates.”

Upon hearing this, Karp stood up without hesitation.

“You decide these things yourself—don’t tell me, and don’t tell me who you’re sending.”

Sending Marines to infiltrate pirate crews was routine in the Marines; Karp simply refused to watch his men sacrifice their lives for intelligence.

With that, Karp walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Kizaru followed close behind: “The World Government has ordered me to remain stationed on Punk Hazard for the near future.”

Due to the Morning Star Pirates’ entry into the New World, the World Government feared potential repercussions on Punk Hazard and ordered Kizaru to personally protect Vegapunk’s safety.

In the end, only Sengoku, Akainu, Aokiji, and He remained in the Admiral’s office.

“01746, step forward.”

As he spoke, a blond boy in the uniform of a Marine Colonel strode into view, snapping to attention and saluting.

“Admiral, Senior Officers.”

Sengoku smiled faintly.

“I’m sure you all recognize my adopted son—Rossy, codename Xiao Mi Guo.”

He revealed this to Akainu and the others deliberately; only the three Admirals could threaten the Morning Star Pirates.

Regular Marine Colonels couldn’t even get close, and had been ordered: under no circumstances should they provoke Barzab Seven or his crew.

Thus, if the three Admirals knew Rossy’s identity, they’d naturally hold back—ensuring his safety during infiltration.

As for pirates?

Let them first get past Barzab Seven.

On today’s seas, no pirate crew dared provoke Barzab Seven—except the brain-dead ones.

More importantly, through multiple prior encounters, Sengoku had come to understand—

Barzab Seven was not a murderer.

Even if he learned Rossy’s true identity, he’d likely turn around and extort Sengoku instead; this wasn’t a dangerous infiltration—it was a golden opportunity to polish his beloved son’s reputation.

Akainu gave a slight nod.

“I have no objection. Do well, Rossy. The future is yours.”