Chapter 4

Beneath the night sky, the port of Loguetown.

The salty sea breeze stirred waves that rose and fell, their rhythm like a lullaby steeped in moonlight, silencing all noise in Loguetown.

In the darkness, a faint bolt of lightning split the night, then flashed away at blinding speed, instantly electrocuting every pirate aboard a medium-sized pirate ship.

Disengaging his elemental form, Seven first hooked Mihawk’s small boat onto the deck, retracted the anchor, and kicked each unconscious pirate one by one toward shore.

Then, with practiced ease, he set the ship in motion, leaving the harbor.

He had originally planned to visit Buggy and Shanks for a chat, but remembering that Garp was nearby, Seven cursed the ship’s sluggish speed.

The terror of Garp’s iron fists was best known to the Roger Pirates.

Since the Battle of God Valley, Garp had done only two things—

First, refuse promotion to Admiral.

Second, chase Roger across the entire world.

Among the Roger Pirates, from the gold, silver, and bronze core members down to interns Shanks and Buggy, everyone except Seven had experienced Garp’s iron fists firsthand.

They were fists that made no sense, locked onto targets automatically, and wrapped in Conqueror’s Haki.

Seven steered with one hand, while the other watched the compass.

Nearby, Mihawk held a cup of black tea: “What is One Piece?”

Seven grinned: “You want to know?”

“Mihawk, if you call me Captain right now, I’ll take you to Laugh Tale.”

With the Age of Pirates now beginning, the world would only grow more chaotic; due to his identity, Seven’s path to joining the Marines was almost entirely closed.

To survive better in this turbulent age, one person’s strength was limited—he must form his own pirate crew.

Especially since Seven had eaten the Gura Gura no Mi, the ship would need at least a rescue team dedicated to pulling people from the sea.

As for crew members, the top choice was naturally the world’s greatest swordsman, Mihawk—such combat power was too valuable to miss; he must be secured!

Next were Buggy and Jinbe.

Buggy’s life had been utterly miserable.

Seven coveted Buggy’s strength, yet couldn’t bear to see a hero who saved five hundred civilians at God Valley… living such a wretched existence.

A hero shouldn’t end like this.

As for Jinbe—who wouldn’t want a blue fatso?

And with Jinbe on board… the Fish-Man Jinbe, Seven would never again worry about falling into the sea.

But before recruiting crew members, the priority was increasing his strength—after all, this was a world ruled by power, and the weak had no choice.

Mihawk gently set down his teacup, rose, drew his black blade, Night, and laid it across Seven’s neck.

“You seem to have some misunderstanding about me?”

The icy blade of Night snapped Seven back to reality—he immediately raised both hands.

“No way, Mihawk.”

Right—Mihawk was no soft-hearted fool; the title “Marine Hunter” wasn’t given lightly.

Mihawk sheathed Night: “You’re being watched by CP now; you’ll face endless pursuit from the World Government and the Marines.”

“If word leaks that you’re a member of the Roger Pirates, the pirates won’t spare you either.”

“Even now that you’ve eaten the Gura Gura no Mi, don’t tell anyone you were part of the Roger Pirates or that you’ve been to Laugh Tale.”

Seven realized—Mihawk was worried about him. Damn it, he could’ve just said it outright, but instead he drew a blade—such a stubborn prick!

“Mihawk, do you think I’ve survived these years by being careless? I’ve only ever been honest with you.”

Mihawk picked up his teacup, paused at the cabin entrance, and asked without turning around: “Why?”

“Idiot, because I trust you!”

CRACK—Mihawk crushed the teacup into powder; the air seemed to chill by several degrees.

Seven’s heart pounded wildly until Mihawk stepped into the cabin—he wiped sweat from his brow, muttering: Training this guy? Definitely can’t rush things.

But Mihawk, you can’t escape me.

Hehehe, come aboard my ship soon!

Seven took out the permanent compass pointing toward Reverse Mountain, steered the ship, and browsed purchase requests on the trading platform.

[Wanted: Fellow from the Tevret Continent, 50,000 points—only want to see Third Brother dead.]

Seven glanced at the poster’s world origin and suddenly understood: Warhammer world…

“No wonder he’s so rich—he’s bounty-hunting Momonosuke, the Deserting King, and offering top rewards for Third Brother… Anyone who survives in Warhammer world isn’t just tough—they’re a god.”

Still, Seven suspected the Warhammer user was deliberately offering high bounties on Third Brother just to stir up family drama among the idiots from Tevret.

Putting aside unrealistic ambitions, Seven began selecting commissions within his current means.

[Wanted: 9 points for food and water.]

Seven quickly accepted the commission and submitted ten portions of food and water to the fellow stranded in the post-apocalypse.

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the commission. You’ve earned 9 points. This month’s commission limit: 9/10. Current balance: 9.]

Though he used up one commission slot, Seven wasn’t discouraged—he’d learned another rule.

[Wanted: Anyone from the Pirate World? 1,000 points—long-term bulk buyer for Devil Fruits.]

[10 crates of iced black tea: 1 point.]

“Iced black tea?” Seven pondered.

“If iced black tea can be traded for points… then maybe the shells from the Sky Island can too?”

To better train Mihawk, Seven reluctantly spent 1 point to buy ten crates of iced black tea, then took one from his system storage and placed it in the refrigerator.

After all, Mihawk loved black tea—his future crewmember? Of course he’d be spoiled.

[Ding! Purchase successful. This month’s purchase limit: 9/10. Current balance: 8.]

Closing the system interface, Seven now understood the platform’s basics: monthly limits of 10 commissions and 10 purchases.

The system’s direct sales, however, had no such limits.

Also—points were damn hard to earn.

He must reach the Sky Island’s Golden Land as soon as possible and use the island’s golden pillars to buy the divine weapon, Yume Isshin.

Then seize the Sky Island as his base, gorge himself for a while, letting his massive appetite fully activate to restore his strength.

Also, hang the supernatural shells from the Sky Island on the platform to trade for points, and use those points to enhance himself.

With a god’s-eye view, Seven knew exactly how this sea’s future would unfold.

Shanks would form the Red-Haired Pirates, infiltrate the Divine Knights as a spy, then return to the sea to become the fourth Emperor.

Buggy would remain hidden in the East Blue.

According to World Government intelligence, Buggy and Shanks were merely interns who never reached Laugh Tale—their threat level was far lower than the other crew members.

Among the remaining Roger Pirates, the easiest to capture was undoubtedly: Barzab Seven.

Seven opened a bottle of iced black tea, drained it in gulps, and cursed:

“Damn it! I’m a member of the Pirate King’s crew, yet the World Government treats me like dirt!”

“The weak truly have no rights.”

For the next month, Seven and Mihawk took turns steering, passing through Reverse Mountain into the first half of the Grand Line, heading toward Jaia Island.

In his spare time, Seven did only three things: sleep, gorge himself, and train relentlessly.

Until one day, Seven awkwardly realized: the ship needed resupply—but they had no money.

Just then, a pirate ship flying a skull flag entered his view.

“Mihawk, steer closer!”