Chapter 5

No matter how the world defines pirates.

Pirates are first and foremost thieves—those who sail the seas for wealth and spare no means to fulfill their ambitions.

If one could freely choose their identity.

Seven had no objection to being a Celestial Dragon, living in Mary Geoise, surrounded by maids, escorted by Marines, and enjoying endless wealth without lifting a finger.

But there was no “if.” Having crossed into this pirate world, just surviving was already extremely difficult—so fine, let him be a pirate.

“Mihawk, I’ll be right back.”

Mihawk, holding a cold iced black tea, nodded silently in response.

Over the past month, Seven’s height had not changed noticeably, but his physique had grown far more formidable.

Even without using his Devil Fruit ability, Seven could now easily overpower two and a half of his former self—that was innate godlike strength, that was the Great Eater’s constitution.

No wonder everyone loves cheating.

The first half of the Grand Line is called the Paradise.

Yet compared to the Four Seas, the climate of the Paradise remains extremely harsh—one moment the sky is clear and calm, the next lightning cracks and thunder roars.

On the turbulent sea, the captain of the Gorilla Pirates—Gout, the black, fat man known by the codename Gorilla—stood proudly at the bow.

“Men, bring the ship closer! Let’s make the Gorilla Pirates’ name known!”

“Aaaahhh!!!”

“Gorilla! Gorilla!”

“Great Treasure! Great Treasure!”

The Gorilla Pirates were a true reflection of the countless pirates, bandits, and refugees who entered the Grand Line from the Four Seas after the Great Pirate Era began.

In a world where everyone is a nine-hole fish, the allure of the Great Treasure outweighs life itself.

Between the two pirate ships, hundreds of meters apart—a bolt of lightning struck instantly: the most basic application of the Gura Gura no Mi: Instant Flash.

In speed, only the man who ate the Pika Pika no Mi surpassed the Gura Gura no Mi in the entire pirate world.

Seven dispelled his element form and sat atop the Gorilla Pirates’ sail: “Oi, I’m right here.”

Hearing the voice, the pirates led by Gorilla nearly had their eyeballs pop out of their sockets.

“Nani?!”

“Who are you? When did you get here?”

As a veteran pirate from the old era, Seven intended to teach these new pirates a lesson.

“Thunder Dragon!”

A dragon-shaped creature composed entirely of lightning surged straight toward the pirates on deck. In a single clash, only the black, fat man at the bow remained standing, fists clenched tight, chest heaving.

“I’m a Gorilla Man who ate the Gorilla Fruit! Die!”

The black man transformed into a four-meter-tall black-backed gorilla, wildly pounding his chest with his black fists, then charging forward with an odd, stomping gait.

“No wonder they call it the Animal-Type,” Seven mused. “Their vitality is incredible.”

Gorilla smashed the mast with one punch; Seven floated effortlessly into the air, shaping the lightning swirling between his hands into a long blue blade—the plasma sword.

Having finally encountered a Devil Fruit user, Seven wanted to use this fight to gauge his own strength.

There was no choice: over the past month since leaving Loguetown, Seven had challenged Mihawk multiple times, but such an uneven battle held no real value.

Gorilla kicked off the deck, leaping into the air, roaring: “Eight-Step Gorilla Fist!”

*Ssschhh!*

Seven held the plasma sword in one hand, mimicking Roger’s sword-swinging posture, and unleashed a full-force slash that sent Gorilla flying, crashing heavily onto the deck.

Watching the unconscious Gorilla, Seven shook his head in disgust: “This is innate godlike strength?”

【Innate Godlike Strength: Your strength is somewhat excessive.】

This thing seemed to be a passive concept.

If Mihawk did not use Armament Haki and fought purely with strength, Seven was already stronger than Mihawk.

Now he had slain Gorilla with a single slash.

“No wonder everyone loves cheating in games.”

Dismissing the plasma sword, Seven landed steadily on the deck and kicked each unconscious pirate awake, one by one.

“Men to the left, women to the right—stand in line! We’re robbing you!”

The new pirates trembled as they lined up, for their strongest captain—the one who rivaled the Pirate King—lay unconscious on the deck, his life or death unknown.

The charred wound on Gorilla’s chest still steamed.

“Who can sail? Step forward.”

Finding no one responded, Seven kicked one pirate into the sea: “None of you can sail? Then why the hell did you come to the Grand Line?”

Shouldn’t sailing and steering be basic skills every crew member must master?

“My lord, our captain can sail.”

Hearing this, Seven was speechless: “So this whole journey, your captain was the only one steering?”

“Yes!” The pirates nodded frantically.

“If you can’t even sail, what good are you?” Seven cursed. “Next life, don’t bother going to sea.”

The first rule of the pirate life: Cut the roots, not just the branches.

Because you never know whether the one you spared might one day become a destined hero—who, after training and growing strong, will return shouting about bonds and friendship to seek revenge.

After disposing of all the pirates by throwing them into the sea, Seven looted every valuable item from the ship, then placed an apple beside Gorilla.

He slashed off Gorilla’s head with one stroke, then crouched quietly beside the apple.

He did this mainly to test his luck—and this stretch of sea had only one fruit: the one on Gorilla’s ship.

After about ten minutes, the apple’s smooth surface began to show the distinctive spiral pattern of a Devil Fruit.

“Huh? Lucky me?”

Seven quickly retrieved the freshly acquired Animal-Type Gorilla Fruit and listed it on the direct sale system—the previous trading platform had offered 1000 points for Devil Fruits, but the direct sale system offered 1200.

Good thing Seven had been cautious.

Otherwise, he’d have lost 200 points for free—equivalent to losing 2000 crates of iced black tea!

“Ding! Congratulations! You’ve received 1200 points. Current balance: 1266…”

Using lightning to shatter the Gorilla Pirates’ ship, Seven turned into lightning and caught up to Mihawk.

“Mihawk, let’s find the nearest island to resupply—we should reach Jaia Island soon.”

The legendary Golden Land and the Sky Island were the main reasons Mihawk had stayed behind; otherwise, he’d have long since traveled the world seeking opponents.

In return for Seven’s free iced black tea, Mihawk offered a reminder.

“If you plan to form your own pirate crew, at least find a decent ship—this one won’t survive the storms of the New World.”

“True,” Seven nodded.

The ideal ship would be the Ouro Jackson, crafted by Tom using the sacred tree Adam.

But the Ouro Jackson was the Pirate King’s ship—too conspicuous for Seven, whose strength was still insufficient. For now, discretion was the way.

Moreover, Seven intended to turn the Sky Island into his base and develop quietly for a while.

Mihawk steered; Seven sat on deck, staring at the direct sale interface, lost in thought.

【Sword Saint Training Experience: 1000 points】

To be precise, Seven’s swordsmanship wasn’t bad—cooking and swordsmanship were fundamentally similar in some ways: one cuts vegetables, the other cuts people.

“Mihawk, am I a Sword Saint yet?”