Chapter 64: The Pride of the East Sea

Loguetown, again Loguetown.

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had reappeared in Loguetown, yet Brother Lu Bianyi felt not the slightest urge to arrest him—not even the courage to approach him.

Two years had completely reversed the balance of power.

The current Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is a pirate with a bounty of three billion, the Donghai Donghai Dihuang of the Sea who stormed the Marine's Holy War fleet, and captain of the Morning Star Pirates.

He is no longer the former cook of the Luo Jie Pirates whom Brother Lu Bianyi once believed he had the upper hand over.

Even just his first mate, Mihawk, is more than enough to cut down Brother Lu Bianyi—and all CP9 agents combined couldn't match him.

Yet the vengeance of CP9's squad, including the ten fallen members, cannot go unavenged.

Loguetown, Luo Jie's Bar.

The bar owner, Raoul, had changed into new clothes and shouted toward Brother Lu Bianyi, who was drowning his sorrows at the counter.

"Brother Lu Bianyi, come on, hurry to the pier—word is the East Sea Donghai Dihuang is back; this is our East Sea's pride!"

"Stop thinking about revenge."

"When Luo Jie was seventeen, he wasn't nearly as fierce as Barzab is now."

In Raoul's eyes, Barzab's future achievements would far surpass Pirate King Luo Jie's—he had even prepared to rename the bar, if he lived to see Barzab crowned king.

Barzab's Bar?

Saint Saint Saiwen's Bar?

World King's Bar?

All three sound pretty good.

Brother Lu Bianyi didn't refuse; he was dragged by Raoul to Loguetown's pier like a lifeless corpse.

When they reached the harbor, a massive crowd was gathered around the East Sea Donghai Dihuang, its crimson sails blazing, pointing and whispering.

"My god, such a huge ship."

"This is our East Sea's East Sea Donghai Dihuang."

"Whoever says our East Sea is the weakest sea, I'll spit in their face."

Normally, the public feared and despised pirates, instinctively fleeing at the sight of a pirate crew.

But if a pirate crew, from the moment they set sail, targeted only the World Government and never harmed civilians, and named their ship after the East Sea…

And if they also rose to fame on the seas, becoming the second Donghai Donghai Dihuang to rule the ocean…

Taken together…

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen and the East Sea Donghai Dihuang were clearly the pride of the East Sea.

Loguetown, as the forward outpost of the East Sea leading into the Grand Line and the site where Pirate King Luo Jie was executed, always drew enormous crowds.

Now, the pier was packed with townsfolk eager to catch a glimpse of their hometown hero.

Among the crowd were even new pirates hoping to join the Morning Star Pirates, and Marine and government agents monitoring the Morning Star Pirates' movements.

On the East Sea Donghai Dihuang.

Master Tenghu chuckled: "Captain, the folks back home are waiting to see your glory."

"Yes, Captain," Jin Ni added, eager to stir the excitement: "Didn't expect you to be this popular in the East Sea."

Saint Saint Saiwen felt utterly exasperated—it wasn't popularity at all, it was just the mob gawking.

"Mihawk, you stay aboard. The rest of us will go ashore to buy supplies."

Saint Saint Saiwen knew Mihawk disliked trouble, so he decided to leave him on the ship; Tenghu was different.

Tenghu loved blending in with the people.

Little Robin and Jin Ni both loved shopping.

"Alright." Mihawk gave a slight nod.

To clear a path quickly, Saint Saint Saiwen summoned Lei Ting over Loguetown—dense purple lightning crackled across the sky, sending the gawking crowd scrambling away in panic.

"Run!"

"Someone's been killed!"

"Pirates are here!!!"

The once-thick crowd had vanished in moments, leaving only a few scattered individuals shouting at Saint Saint Saiwen's party as they disembarked.

"Captain Barzab, take us on!"

Hearing their pleas, Saint Saint Saiwen seriously studied the ragtag group before him, trying to find even one familiar face.

But he recognized none.

In other words—they were all nobodies.

Saint Saint Saiwen didn't even bother using Haoshoku Haki; merely the purple lightning swirling around him was enough to make the new pirates collapse to the ground.

Not everyone deserves the gentleness Saint Saint Saiwen shows to Big Mom and Jin Ni.

He is a pirate.

A merciless great pirate!

Seeing this, Brother Lu Bianyi lowered his head silently, afraid of being noticed by Barzab—yet Raoul, the Luo Jie's Bar owner, gathered courage and rushed forward, holding out a business card.

"Pirate King Luo Jie… drank here at my bar. Everyone who drank here… says it's great."

Saint Saint Saiwen took the card and slipped it into his pocket.

"Thank you."

Watching Saint Saint Saiwen's party vanish from sight, Raoul grinned broadly.

"This guy's actually polite—no wonder he was a crewman of Luo Jie's."

When you view someone through rose-colored glasses, no matter who they truly are, you always project your own emotions onto them.

Raoul is the perfect example.

The news that Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen had arrived in Loguetown spread by word of mouth and was quickly reported to the Navy Headquarters by the Loguetown branch.

Marineford, Admiral's Office.

"Good, I understand. Try not to clash with the Morning Star Pirates."

Sakazuki suddenly realized how frustrating it was to be Navy Admiral—having received word of the Morning Star Pirates' movements, yet still being forced to order the branch not to engage them.

It wasn't that the Navy was compromising with pirates.

It was that any Navy forces sent against them would be nothing but cannon fodder, utterly meaningless.

Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen didn't even need to lift a finger; the blind swordsman Master Tenghu could casually summon two meteorites and easily obliterate the Navy branch.

How annoying. Why isn't such a powerful great swordsman part of the Navy?

Even Mihawk the Navy Hunter is one thing, but someone as strong as Master Tenghu, who's said to be righteous and humane, was overlooked by the Navy.

It was truly a blunder.

Sakazuki looked at another Den Den Mushi on his desk.

"Karp, is Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen really as strong as you said?"

Karp, clearing pirates in the South Blue, tore open his shirt to reveal his bandaged upper body and took a photo with the Den Den Mushi, sending it over.

"Here, the kid left this."

Gazing at the blood-stained bandages in the photo, Sakazuki's eyes flickered as he made his decision.

"You're right—the Navy really is suffering a generational gap. It's been years since we've had a new generation of officers like Sakazaki and his peers."

"We must ramp up recruitment. Zef's training camp at Headquarters also needs continued investment."

Boom—boom—boom—

Karp seemed completely deaf to Sakazuki's words, tossing shells onto pirate ships as if alone.

Many years ago, Karp witnessed the sin of the Celestial Dragons' hunting tournament at God Valley and learned that above the Five Elders stood a true King of the World.

From that day on,

Karp remained in the Navy for only two reasons: to protect the Navy, and to personally capture Luo Jie.

Now Luo Jie's grave was covered in two-zhang-high grass, and Karp had shifted his target to Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen—but with that kid's speed, he'd never catch him unless he brought Borsalino along.

But another problem arose.

With the Morning Star Pirates' current strength, they'd need to bring Kuzan as well to guarantee victory.

The World Government and Sakazuki would never approve deploying so many high-end forces just to target a pirate crew with no base.

"This kid is impossible to pin down."

"Luckily, I prepared something in advance. I hope you'll like the surprise I've got for you, kid."