Chapter 121

As the group stepped out of the orange grove, Nami stood waiting with a five-foot-tall orange tree, her clothes damp with dew—clearly she had been waiting a long time.

"Nami."

Conis and Luo Bin were slightly surprised.

Nami smiled brightly at them: "Let me see you off to the shore."

She carried the orange tree all the way to the shore, then handed it to Conis.

"The kindness you've shown to Cocoyasi Village is something I can never repay—this orange tree was planted by me and Bellmei; it's my most precious treasure. I hope you'll accept it."

Conis looked at Nami's earnest face, then glanced at Luo En.

Luo En nodded: "Take it."

Conis then accepted the orange tree from Nami's hands, and Nami's face lit up with a radiant, cheerful smile.

After Conis, Luo Bin, and Xiaoqi had boarded the ship.

Luo En, clad in a black hooded coat and wielding a black sword at his waist, stood on the shore and glanced at the tall building of A-Dragon Park nearby.

He casually rested his left hand on the hilt of the black sword at his left waist, then turned to Nami beside him: "Didn't you say earlier you couldn't imagine how strong someone stronger than Conis and the others might be?"

Nami nodded, looking at him with confusion: "What? Why bring this up suddenly?"

"Since you waited so long this morning, I'll let you see something impressive."

Luo En drew his black sword lightly from his waist, and with Nami's puzzled gaze fixed on him, he slashed casually toward A-Dragon Park, then sheathed the blade.

With the sharp "clang" as the black sword fully returned to its sheath.

A violent wind surged along the shore, and the sea recoiled in all directions.

In Nami's stunned, wide-eyed gaze, her hair whipping wildly in the gale.

A jet-black flying slash surged forward with terrifying ferocity, cutting a straight, unbroken line toward the high-rise building hundreds of meters away.

Along its path, forests and mountains were cleanly split in two, and the earth cracked open into a flawlessly straight gash—as if cut by a ruler.

As the jet-black slash advanced, the high-rise building of A-Dragon Park shattered like tofu, cleaved cleanly in half, then cracked and collapsed outward from the cut.

"This…?!!"

Nami, utterly stunned by what she had just witnessed, involuntarily swallowed hard.

This was his strength? This was the power of Conis's captain?!

How astonishing!

Could this truly be power a human could wield?

Compared to this force, what was someone like A-Dragon?

Nami found it hard to imagine.

That black-haired boy, who seemed gentle and carefree, only a few years older than her, possessed such terrifying power!

That boy who had quietly listened to her—was he really such a powerful expert?!

"Luo En, you…"

When she turned back, Luo En, who had stood beside her moments before, had vanished.

Nami froze, then realized the ship anchored at the shore had already drifted nearly a hundred meters out to sea.

On the railing of the Traveler's deck, Conis and Luo Bin, leaning on the rail, saw her gaze and waved gently.

"Goodbye, Nami."

110, East Sea Legend, The Miracle Ship and the Traveler Luo En

One month later.

Early spring.

Sea Circle Year 1515, five years before the original storyline begins.

Luo En is 15, Conis is 16, Nico Luo Bin is 23.

After leaving Cocoyasi Village, they sailed for a time across the East Blue.

Later, when the Traveler neared the island where Luo En first arrived in this world, he secretly returned to visit.

The small island remained peaceful; Harris and Aunt Mary had given birth to a child, Ma Ersi had started a family, and the pirate crew pretending to be A-Dragon's men had not returned since.

Luo En felt a measure of relief. After leaving a large sum of money for Harris and Ma Ersi, he slipped away silently.

In the following months, after signing in at some twenty islands across the East Blue, the Traveler left the East Blue.

By then, having defeated A-Dragon's crew and numerous other pirate bands, their reputation had quietly spread throughout the East Blue.

Not a pirate crew, not a bounty hunter, not the Navy, not the Revolutionary Army—wandering without a fixed home, drifting wherever the sea took them.

Like an unmoored boat adrift on the ocean, no one knew where they would go, where they would appear, or what they would do.

Mysterious, unknown, powerful, solitary.

Especially the enigmatic captain of the Free Ship.

The Traveler, Luo En.

This name circulated among islands, gradually taking on the air of legend across the East Blue…

Luo En himself remained unaware of any of this.

But if he knew, he'd probably find it utterly baffling.

He had merely been signing in at islands and teaching a few reckless pirates and bounty hunters a lesson—how had he become a legend?

Upon reaching the South Blue.

The different climate, customs, and cuisine of the South Blue islands felt fresh to Luo En, Conis, and Luo Bin.

So they made a major purchase, filling the Traveler's food stores to capacity.

Then they sailed to the next island.

Along the way, they encountered a few reckless pirates.

The pirates of the South Sea are, on the whole, a bit stronger than those of the East Sea, but that's about all.

Enough to let Konis and Xiao Qi temper themselves, that's all — Luo En couldn't even muster the desire to make a move.

……

While Luo En and the others were running rampant across the South Sea.

Marineford.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku summoned Garp.

He held out three reports in front of him.

"What is this?"

Garp opened it in puzzlement, and the name Luo En met his eyes. Garp's gaze sharpened slightly.

Sengoku, seated behind the desk with his hands crossed on the surface, said: "One is the statement of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gekko Moria; one is the statement of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile; and the third is a report recently submitted from the East Sea concerning his conduct there."

After reading through them quickly, Garp's mouth split open, flashing that big mouthful of white teeth. "Wahahaha, he actually taught both Crocodile and Moria a lesson, forced them to come running to the Marines to whine — that kid's quite something, isn't he."

"Attacking the Seven Warlords of the Sea without causing any casualties — that shouldn't really count as anything major, right?"

He tossed the report in his hand aside and looked at Sengoku: "The report submitted from the East Sea shouldn't be any problem either, right? Wasn't he just teaching some ill-fated pirates a lesson, wandering around at his leisure? What's the issue with that?"

"None of that is a problem. Not worth pursuing."

Sengoku said in a low voice, "But there is exactly one problem."

"What?"

Garp, from who-knows-where, produced another bag of senbei and opened it to eat.

"One of his companions on the ship is suspected to be a survivor of Ohara — Nico Luo Bin, with a bounty of 79 million Berries."

Garp's hand, which had been eating senbei, paused for a moment: "Nico Luo Bin?"

"That's right."

Sengoku narrowed his eyes slightly: "Regarding this point, Garp, is there anything you'd like to say?"

"That kid really has gone and picked up some trouble."

Garp scratched his head in some annoyance. "Are you sure that's Nico Luo Bin? Sengoku."

"I heard they showed up in the South Sea — Aokiji has already gone."

Sengoku, hands crossed on the desk, stared at Garp through the lenses of his glasses: "If it's confirmed that the person really is Nico Luo Bin…"

"So what if it's confirmed."

Garp bit into a senbei and glanced sidelong at Sengoku: "Worst case, we just catch Nico Luo Bin and bring her back. Or are you planning to treat him as a criminal just because of something like this?"

"Garp, you should understand — if he is sheltering Nico Luo Bin… then that is, without question, a criminal act."

Sengoku said in a deep voice.