Inside a tavern in a small town, Ben was seated at a table, newspaper in hand, reading with great interest.
He had originally thought he'd be illiterate in this world, but to his surprise, he could understand the language perfectly—as if he had a built-in translator in his brain.
After asking around in the tavern, he now had a clear grasp of where he was.
East Blue, in the sea region around Four-Leaf Island, under the jurisdiction of the Oykot Kingdom. It wasn't far from the Marine Base of East Blue's 153rd Branch, so the surrounding seas were relatively peaceful.
In fact, East Blue was considered a model of order by the World Government and had always been known as the "Sea of Peace." Its security was much better compared to other regions—even in the current Great Pirate Era, this held true.
After all, in this sea, there was always some powerful Marine officer occasionally returning to "fish with bombs," and the main exit to the Grand Line was guarded by a Logia-type Marine colonel. How could rookie pirates even survive here?
The newspaper Ben held noted the current date and listed recent events.
It was now July, Year 1519 of the Sea Circle Calendar, which didn't surprise Ben at all.
He'd witnessed firsthand when Teach (Blackbeard) killed Thatch and stole the Dark-Dark Fruit to begin his path toward becoming a Yonko. That was his first observation upon arriving in this world.
According to the original story's timeline, Teach fled from the Whitebeard Pirates that very night and started his crew-building journey—traveling across the world, recruiting members like Lafitte (then a security officer in West Blue), Burgess (at a Grand Line fighting tournament), and later Doc Q and Van Augur—eventually forming the Blackbeard Pirates.
He even caused trouble on Drum Island along the way.
All that must've taken at least a year, right? Based on that, Ben figured the current timeline should be about one year before Luffy sets sail.
Now it seemed he was right—after all, Luffy officially set out in May of 1520. (This story uses 1520 as its anchor point.)
The newspaper also reported recent events, like Dance Powder being smuggled in Alabasta, and the pirate Cavendish entering the New World, becoming a hotshot rookie.
But none of that mattered.
What did matter was what Ben saw on the back page—a sketch of his own face, along with some labeled information:
"Murderer of the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division Commander. Name and age unknown. Whitebeard Pirates Bounty: 500 million Berries—dead or alive."
"What the hell? The pirates are blatantly publishing bounties in the newspaper—is that even legal? What's the World Government doing!?" Ben muttered, clearly unhappy.
Besides—when did he kill Thatch!?
He didn't even need to think about it. Teach, that bastard, must've pinned the murder on him!
And at this point, Ben had no way to prove his innocence. Why? Simple—the weak have no say. He wasn't qualified to explain anything to Whitebeard and his crew, and they wouldn't listen anyway.
"Good thing the portal dropped me in East Blue," Ben muttered. "The Whitebeard Pirates won't be able to chase me down anytime soon. And as for the weaklings around here… well, they shouldn't be a threat, right?"
If he were still in the New World, where every other guy had Haki, he probably would've been captured and handed over the moment he showed his face.
Ben shook off those chaotic thoughts. Now wasn't the time for panic. The most urgent task was to increase his strength.
In the world of pirates, beyond Devil Fruits, there were many paths worth exploring—swordsmanship, the Six Powers, and Haki, for example.
While East Blue was relatively safe, that also meant it was hard to find new sources of power.
Take Haki—there was likely nowhere in East Blue to learn it. The same probably applied to Rokushiki (the Six Powers).
Swordsmanship, however, was possible. In Shimotsuki Village, Koshiro ran a dojo open to anyone who paid. Of course, how much you learned would depend on your skill.
"Wait a second!" Ben suddenly froze. "With Koshiro's heritage, he might actually know Haki, right? He just never shows it in East Blue?"
That wasn't out of the question. Koshiro wasn't a native of East Blue—his family had migrated from Wano, a New World nation famous for its samurai. Those samurai were usually highly skilled in Haki.
Plus, Koshiro was a friend of Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army. That kind of connection meant he was definitely not just a humble dojo master.
Thinking this through, Ben felt it was necessary to go meet Koshiro in Shimotsuki Village.
Fortunately, this wouldn't be difficult. On his way to the tavern earlier, Ben had already asked around. Since East Blue had been peaceful for so long, trade and shipping had developed well. The local port had merchant ships leaving daily for various East Blue locations. All he needed was a ticket.
So the real question now was: how to get money!
The ticket was cheap enough, but if he was going to visit Koshiro, he'd need to bring a gift at the very least—and pay tuition, too. Koshiro wasn't family—he wouldn't train him for free.
Also—how would Ben pay for food and lodging during his studies?
He had come prepared—he'd brought two gold bracelets from home. While the currencies didn't match between worlds, gold was universal. According to intel from the Empire, gold held value in most alternate worlds. He should've brought more, honestly.
Still, two bracelets wouldn't last forever. Originally, Ben had planned to "borrow" some money from local gang leaders—meaning beat it out of them.
But now? He had a new idea.
He stood up, walked to a nearby table, and cheerfully threw an arm around a man who was bragging to his friends.
"Hey, buddy," Ben said, "got a question. Do you know what the bounty on Thatch—Whitebeard's Fourth Division Commander—was?"
The guy, who had been bragging about catching a huge fish, was annoyed by the interruption. He turned toward Ben and grumbled, "Who are you? What do you want? And stop draping your arm over me..."
Maybe it was the mention of Thatch, or maybe it was because the Whitebeard Commander's death was still trending in the news—but as soon as he got a good look at Ben's face, the man froze in place.
"I'm asking," Ben said with a friendly smile, "because I plan to collect the bounty."
Seriously—Teach had framed him, and the Whitebeard Pirates were chasing him with a 500 million bounty. He was the one getting hunted for nothing!
So wasn't it only fair that Ben collected Thatch's 360 million bounty himself?
"Y-you… you're the guy from the wanted poster!?" the man stammered in terror.
"Keep your voice down," Ben said, pressing his hand down on the man's shoulder. "I'm a low-key kind of guy."
Before long, Ben had gotten the details: Thatch's bounty was 360 million Berries. Since this island was under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 153, he could try claiming the bounty here.
However, they might not have that much cash on hand. On the other hand, Loguetown, not far away, had a Marine base with a Headquarters colonel stationed there—they should be able to pay.
If Ben remembered correctly, Branch 153 was the turf of Captain Morgan, that greedy, axe-wielding nut. Ben didn't fear him, but there was no need to make extra trouble.
He had already provoked the Whitebeard Pirates—no need to piss off the Marines too.
By contrast, Colonel Smoker of Loguetown was far more reliable.
After thinking it through, Ben decided—he'd go to Loguetown to cash in the bounty.
"What's that? I don't have Thatch's head, so how can I prove I killed him?"
Don't be ridiculous.
His face was plastered all over the world by the Whitebeard Pirates. That was the best proof he could ever ask for.