Chapter 38

Ten thousand meters above sea level, above the White Sea.

Cloud seas rolled like gauze; sunset light pierced through the layers, casting golden radiance, while the Thunder God Palace stood atop the clouds, its vermilion pillars entwined with bouquets of luminous white and crimson flowers.

Wind chimes tinkled softly in the breeze.

Before the palace, a white velvet carpet stretched all the way to the ceremonial platform.

Under the witness of Barzab Seven, Tazolo and Stella officially entered matrimony.

Watching the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber, Seven smiled with satisfaction: tragedies may elevate stories, but they should not happen to those close to you.

Especially pirate love stories, which are nine out of ten tragic.

Those who love each other should not be left with regrets.

His aid to Tazolo stemmed partly from Seven’s resentment toward fate—why must one follow a predetermined destiny? Laozi refuses.

Laozi will defy heaven and rewrite fate.

On another front, no matter how Seven chooses in the future—overthrowing the World Government or carving out his own kingdom—he will need the Golden Emperor.

The Golden Emperor handles money and Devil Fruits.

Seven fully embraced his merchant king nature, leveraging unique items from the pirate world to earn massive points on the trading platform, thereby strengthening himself.

Simultaneously, he transformed the Sky Island and Wano into the strongest sanctuary on the seas, ensuring he would no longer be bullied.

Of course, Seven had no intention of saving everyone.

He lacked both the ability and the energy.

Better to protect his own patch of land, ensure every crew member ate well, and joyfully pursued their dreams.

Like that old man, Sangoma Habai: keep only the necessary conscience, do only what you wish, then smile through every day of life.

Put another way.

Seven’s dream was to invest in others’ dreams, and profit a little along the way.

His investment targets included the crew of the Morning Star Pirates, the Sky Island, Wano’s future, and any Marines or pirates he deemed worthy.

He acted out of fondness—that was Seven’s philosophy of life.

Putting aside his wandering thoughts, Seven opened his system interface; alert tones chimed in succession.

“Ding, your listed item: Rat Fruit, purchased by Tomb Raider user, earned 2700 points, current balance 3388.”

“Ding, your listed item: Fly Fruit, purchased by Dragon Ball user, earned 4500 points, current balance 7888.”

“Ding, your listed item: Owl Fruit, purchased by Fairy user, earned 2700 points, current balance 10588.”

“Ding, your listed item: Ox Fruit, purchased by Teyvat user, earned 4500 points, current balance 15088.”

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk.”

In that instant, Seven’s mood soared to its peak.

“My dream ship!”

Spending ten thousand points, Seven purchased the East Sea Emperor, then spent another five thousand points to buy five Immortal Beans, for future emergencies.

“Finally got a ship. Set sail, set sail.”

Just as a legendary blade is a swordsman’s second life, a pirate ship is the foundation of a pirate’s existence upon the sea.

Even Mihawk has his coffin ship, let alone great pirates like Whitebeard or Gold Lion.

Especially the East Sea Emperor: +50% sleep quality, +50% recovery, dragon-headed crimson sails, wind and electric dual propulsion—the dream ship.

Such specs far surpassed what Roger had when he first set sail.

Roger didn’t even have a small boat; he hitched a ride on Lei Li’s vessel to leave.

That little boat was worlds apart from the East Sea Emperor; only the later Golden Jackson could barely match its tier.

With his dream ship in hand, Seven circled the Sky Island over a dozen times before fully releasing his excitement.

The next day at noon.

Seven gathered the Sky Island’s elite and granted the Paramecia Power-Power Fruit to the Shandia warrior Karpa, and the Slip-Slip Fruit to the maid Zhen Leishen·Xia Ni.

Five fine swords were distributed to the three Great Commanders of the Thunder Cloud Guard and the sisters Xia Lu and Xia Ni.

The Door-Door Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit, Mythical Zoan types, were reserved by Seven for other plans.

“Tazolo, stay with Gan Fuer and Karpa on the Sky Island for a while.”

Tazolo showed extreme respect.

“Yes, Lord Thunder God.”

After all, they were newlyweds; Seven wasn’t some heartless capitalist desperate to treat Tazolo and his wife like beasts of burden.

“Alright, go about your business.”

Ignoring the resentful glares of the sisters Xia Ni and Xia Lu, Seven leapt from ten thousand meters above.

When there’s no woman in your heart, your blade draws with divine speed.

Women only slow down your sword swing.

Better to spend time sparring with Mihawk than chasing women, accelerating the integration of your Dream One-Cut training.

The Dream One-Cut Seven currently mastered required too long a charge to be usable in real combat—unless the opponent stood still waiting for him to prepare.

Surely no such fool exists on the seas?

Above Jiayadao.

While experiencing ropeless bungee jumping, Seven’s phone worm suddenly vibrated violently in his pocket.

Seven quickly pulled it out.

“Moshi moshi.”

The phone worm mimicked Mihawk’s voice: “Captain, bring ten billion Berries to the West Blue Twin Serpent Island.”

“Twin Serpent Island?” A flash lit up in Seven’s mind: Twin Serpent Island, ten billion Berries...

No way—could it be this coincidental? Did Mihawk encounter the future Marine Admiral Teng Hu?

Aside from Teng Hu, Seven couldn’t imagine who on the West Blue’s Twin Serpent Island warranted Mihawk’s special visit.

“Alright, wait a moment.”

After hanging up, Seven’s heart surged with excitement.

If he could recruit Teng Hu, the Morning Star Pirates would soar instantly—even if not yet at Emperor-tier strength, they’d be a solid Triple Emperor crew within ten years.

Seven swallowed hard and instantly transformed into lightning, streaking toward the West Blue at top speed.

Normally, traveling from Jiayadao’s waters to the West Blue required looping back to Reverse Mountain and entering the current leading to the West Blue.

But for Seven, flying directly was sufficient.

The Twin Serpent Island lay in the West Blue, conveniently near Seven’s next destination: Ohara.

Retrieving the books from Ohara’s Tree of Knowledge had long been one of Seven’s goals.

Of course, also the scholars of Ohara.

Such as the original Clau D. Clover, Dr. Clover, who had known Vegapunk for years.

Why waste time studying the Void Century? Join me, and I’ll reveal every hidden truth of the lost hundred years.

Better to spend time researching things like replicating Devil Fruits, or weaponizing them...

The future value of these scholars will far exceed multiple Moria.

Moreover, if Teng Hu refuses to join, Seven could simply take him to Ohara first, letting him witness the so-called Marine justice—the Holy War.

Then, keep persuading him—eventually, he’ll join.

A single move, multiple gains.

As always: once Captain Seven sets his sights on a crew member, you can’t escape.