At this time, Dark had already become one of the most well-known pirate figures, but he wasn't in the Land of Wind. He had just returned from overseas.
Now, in a small village on the outskirts of the Land of Wind, Dark and his crew were resting. Besides them, there was also a merchant caravan in the village.
"Old man, I wouldn't recommend entering the Land of Wind right now. Even we wouldn't choose to go in at this time," Dark said.
The leader of the caravan was an old man, someone from Dark's past.
Back when Dark was overseas, he would have died if not for this old man saving him.
Dark wasn't originally from the Five Great Nations—he came from overseas. But there were plenty of people like him in the underground black market.
"We should be fine as long as we stay on the outskirts of the Land of Wind, right?"
"You'd better be careful. A lot has happened in the ninja world recently. It's been a month now, and quite a few Devil Fruit users have appeared within the Land of Wind. Those pirates aren't people you want to mess with."
Dark gave a warning. It had been a month since the battle between Shanks and the top fighters of the ninja world.
The pirates who had aligned with the Divine Tree Organization had finally cultivated their Devil Fruits. Right now was the worst time to be doing business in the Land of Wind.
"Especially since your caravan has someone injured."
The tall Dark gestured toward a young man lying near the campfire, bandages wrapped around his chest.
The young man had been unconscious for five days, but the critical period had passed. He would likely recover soon.
"In that case, let's rest here for now."
The old man took Dark's warning seriously. Right now, the Land of Wind was the center of chaos in the entire ninja world, and he understood that well.
"But I'm really curious—why do you insist on bringing this boy along?"
Dark looked at the ferret that stayed close to the boy. It felt odd—this ferret didn't seem to get close to anyone except him.
"This? It's because he carries our clan's bloodline. If we don't protect him, this world might be destroyed because of it."
The old man's expression turned serious. Hearing his words, everyone else also became serious.
Then…
"Hahaha!!"
"The world destroyed? Hahaha."
Not only Dark but even the other pirates burst into laughter.
The world destroyed? How could that even happen?
"Old man, do you have any idea how big this world is? Haha! If the world could be destroyed so easily, we would've already done it by now."
"Forget about destroying the world—you can't even take down a single ninja village."
"Hahaha, you merchants sure have wild stories, but this one's just too ridiculous."
Dark's men showed no respect for the old man at all.
"I know you pirates have seen a lot, but there's a lot of history you don't know."
The old man's face grew even more serious.
The moment he mentioned history, the pirates' laughter stopped. Their expressions turned serious as well, even Dark's.
"Elder… are you talking about the Poneglyphs?"
At this point, even the way Dark addressed the old man changed.
As the leader of the merchant group, the old man was well aware of the rumors about the ninja world's pirates. He also knew about the existence of the Poneglyphs.
"It might not be the Poneglyphs you're thinking of, but I can guarantee that this piece of history has never been altered."
Hearing this, the pirates became more focused and gathered around him.
"To be honest, if I didn't know your captain, Dark, I would've hired Konohagakure's ninjas for this job instead."
"Old man, if I didn't know you, I wouldn't have taken this job either. No matter what, I'm still a great pirate."
Dark scoffed. Did this old man not care about his reputation at all?
"Alright, just tell us what's going on."
"Fine, listen carefully."
Now that the conversation had reached this point, the old man straightened up, taking on an air of pride.
"Look at our merchant group—don't think we're just some ordinary traders. Long ago, our ancestors built a powerful nation."
"In our country, there was a special kind of mineral called the Gelel Stone. By refining its power, we could make crops ripen overnight, keep wells from ever drying up, and even extend human lifespans by a huge amount."
"That ferret is proof of it. When I was a child, it was already this big. Now, decades later, it hasn't aged at all."
"This is the power of the Gelel Stone—the greatest strength our ancestors had when they built their kingdom."
Hearing this, Dark grew more curious. If that was the case…
"So, the power of the Gelel Stone must be pretty incredible, right? It must be capable of more than just that."
Dark's gaze fell on the young man in the distance. There was no way the pirates had gone easy on him, so if he had survived, it wasn't luck—it was pure skill.
"Of course, an ordinary person who absorbs a Gelel Stone can gain some power. But not everyone can absorb the stone's power. Only those of royal blood can fully absorb it. Regular people simply can't do it."
Hearing the old man's words, Captain Dark nodded. That made sense—otherwise, the old man wouldn't be revealing this secret.
If the Gelel Stone only gave a small boost to ordinary people, then they wouldn't even qualify to use it in the first place.
Looking at it this way, the Gelel Stone wasn't nearly as powerful as a Devil Fruit. At least Devil Fruits didn't care who ate them—anyone could gain power from them.
"So, that kid… he's from your royal bloodline?"
Dark wasn't stupid. He figured it out right away. He also realized why the old man had come to him—it wasn't because they had some past connection. It was because of what the old man was about to do next.
"That's right. He is of royal blood."
"Then what exactly is his role in all this?"
Dark asked.
"Our nation was destroyed because of the Gelel Stone. It didn't just make us strong—it also gave birth to endless greed."
The old man's voice carried a hint of sorrow.
When the nation fell, its people were scattered across the ninja world. Some formed merchant caravans, while others fled overseas.
"In the end, our country vanished from history because of that greed. That's why only someone from the royal family can seal away the Gelel Stone's mine completely."
That was the young man's purpose—to permanently seal the Gelel Stone.
"Old man, if you want our captain's help, it'd be best if you told the whole truth."
"No matter how chaotic a country gets, only the royal family can fully control the Gelel Stone's power. So this so-called 'greed'… was just the greed of the royal family. A ruler wouldn't destroy their own country."
A tall, thin swordsman standing beside Dark spoke up. He was the first mate of the Dark Pirates.
"Ryu, don't make assumptions about history you don't know."
Dark crossed his arms and scolded him.
"Not every ruler is smart. Back when we were in Konohagakure, you heard about the Third Hokage, didn't you?"
"So it's pretty normal for those in power to be idiots."
The old man thought Dark was simply scolding his crew member, but after hearing Dark's explanation, he was stunned.
These pirates just loved dragging the Third Hokage through the mud, huh?
But honestly, thanks to the pirates constantly mocking the Third Hokage's so-called 'political wisdom,' the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages had become a lot more careful with their policies.
After all, they knew their own weaknesses. As ninjas, they weren't exactly experts in politics.
If they ever got too full of themselves and ended up being publicly shamed like the Third Hokage, that would be the ultimate embarrassment.
"Alright, Captain, but let's be real—there aren't that many people as dumb as the Third Hokage. He was one of a kind."
Ryu shot back. He might not have been the strongest pirate, but he wasn't stupid. He never underestimated anyone.
"I heard that the previous ruler of the Land of Snow spent a fortune just to build a geothermal system so his daughter could see spring in the snowy land."
Just as Ryu finished speaking, another pirate chimed in.
Hearing the pirates' words, the old man couldn't hold back his reaction anymore. These rulers… their way of thinking was truly ridiculous.
"Our country hasn't had anything like that happen.
But tell me, what do you think that ermine is for?"
The old man pointed to the ferret in the distance.
"Isn't that ferret only friendly toward members of the royal bloodline?"
Ryu replied casually but quickly realized something.
If the ermine only recognized royal blood, that meant it was being used to identify them.
And if only the royal bloodline could fully harness the power of the Gelel Stone…
"So, you're saying…"
"That's right. The ferret is used to detect royal bloodlines. It can also track them down."
The old man's words sent a chill through everyone's hearts.
If the old man hadn't explained it, they might have thought the merchant caravan was loyal to the fallen kingdom.
But now, it was obvious—these people weren't loyalists at all.
The ermine's purpose was to track the royal bloodline, which meant the old man must have been part of the faction that destroyed the kingdom built on the Gelel Stone.
"I've already said it—only those of royal blood can fully inherit the power of the Gelel Stone.
But that doesn't mean ordinary people can't obtain some of its power."
"Though it comes at a cost—half of their lifespan, and with a high risk of death.
Still, after suffering through centuries of darkness, the people of this land were willing to make that sacrifice."
"My ancestors were the leaders of the rebellion. And our caravan's mission has always been to prevent anyone from using the Gelel Stone to rebuild the fallen kingdom."
"But his appearance means that someone has set their sights on the Gelel Stone.
Not only that, but they might also have the power to control it."
The old man pointed at the young man in the distance.
Their mission was simply to stop the resurrection of the fallen kingdom.
As for the boy? The old man felt no personal hatred toward him, nor did he see any reason to eliminate him.
If others were treating the boy as a tool, then why couldn't he do the same?
The old man didn't believe that the boy had his own grand ambitions—to return from overseas, obtain more of the Gelel Stone's power, and restore the kingdom.
Even the strongest man in the ninja world, Shanks, probably didn't have such ambitions at that age.
If the boy in the distance really did have such aspirations, along with the intelligence to achieve them…
Well, the old man would have no choice but to accept his bad luck—he would have encountered a genius the ninja world had never seen before.
If it was really that outrageous, he might as well switch sides on the spot and join Dark.
After all, why did their ancestors form the rebellion in the first place?
Because the royal family was constantly at war with itself, and in the end, it was always the common people who suffered.
If the kingdom had been stable and peaceful, who would have wanted to fight against it?
"So, you sought us out because we've been through something similar to you?"
Ryu spoke up.
As pirates, most of them had come from the lowest rungs of society.
They were the ones who suffered the most in this era.
Even now, being able to sit and talk with the old man was a rare thing.
In the past, a powerful merchant like him would have been on a completely different level from them.
"Not just that."
"The technology behind the Gelel Stone was lost in the war long ago. To bring it back, someone has to keep experimenting. And from the information I've gathered, these people… They came from overseas."
The old man's eyes landed on Dark.
At that moment, a wave of killing intent surged from Dark's body.
"You're saying… my village was destroyed by them?"
"Ninety percent sure. Dark, you know that most of the overseas land is made up of islands, and they're pretty far apart. Most people don't even know what a ninja is, and there aren't many strong factions out there."
"The biggest group I've been able to track down… is the organization he's part of."
At this point, everyone in the Dark Pirates understood.
These merchants weren't fools. This meant their pirate crew had no choice but to become the enemy of that organization.
After all, Dark's family had been killed by those people.
"Looks like I need to make a trip to the Land of Wind, Elder."
Dark lowered his head, then stood up. A powerful presence radiated from his massive frame—nearly four meters tall. Just his sheer size alone was enough to make others feel an overwhelming sense of pressure.
This was the third strongest man in the pirate world, the legendary captain who once led tens of thousands of pirates against the sea's overlord, Shanks—Captain Dark!
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