West Blue, Kano Country.
Tiger Mountain, Water Curtain Fortress.
On the large training ground, Sai, the next pillar of the Happo Navy, looked at the newspaper in his hand, his emotions fluctuating. His impression of Victor's strength remained two years ago, when he almost failed a mission in Clock Tower Island. Victor, who happened to pass by, helped him secretly deal with the target, and because the other party didn't want to make a fuss and let him take all the credit, he was able to gain his grandfather Chinjao's special attention.
But at that time, he felt that although Victor was strong, he was only about equal to him. After that, he practiced Eight Impact Fist and Armament Haki for two years, and should have far surpassed him.
As a result, today's World News directly overturned his imagination!
The front-page photo of the newspaper was Victor's handsome profile, and the headline was even more shocking – "'Warlord of the Sea' Suffers Defeat in His Hometown, West Blue! Has the Title of 'Hero of West Blue' Finally Changed Hands?"
'Warlord of the Sea'!
Has he grown to such an extent? So it was he himself who had been left far behind for two years...
"Sai! Wake up now!"
A loud roar startled Sai from his contemplation. He looked up at the other end of the training ground, where a very burly, kind-faced bald old man was looking at him intently, and said in a strict tone:
"He is him, you are you! You are the thirteenth pillar who will lead the Happo Navy in the future! Don't let jealousy and comparison ruin yourself!"
Sai snorted, spun his naginata, and said loudly, "You're old and muddled, old man! I'm not a petty person who would be jealous of a good Brother! Victor is indeed amazing, but I'll definitely not be worse than him if I train hard! Come on, I can still fight! Let's continue!"
Leader Chinjao laughed heartily in comfort, and put up his fists, also taking a stance.
...
West Blue, Algero Town, Sound Pier.
A brand new two-masted schooner was docked in the harbor.
Its figurehead was a half-bust of the winged goddess of Victory, the overall hull was designed with a streamlined shape, the hull surface was painted in a deep blue main color, and the sails were painted with 'Coral's' new logo – two crossed zippers.
Victor, cloaked in a black velvet cape, stood on the pier, admiring the beautiful sailboat, which looked like a work of art.
The white-haired Windrew, wearing a sharp black suit, stood beside Victor, introducing the newly launched ship to him.
"Boss, this is the two-masted schooner built to your specifications. Its streamlined hull and powerful propulsion make it extremely fast. At your request, the number of cannons has been reduced to maximize overall speed."
Victor nodded with satisfaction: "What's her name?"
Windrew bowed slightly: "I was just about to ask you to give her a good name."
Victor stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and decided on the ship's name.
"...Let's call her the 'Beagle'."
Windrew smiled and nodded, then beckoned to the other gang members standing by:
"Did you all hear that? Immediately paint the ship's name on the sails and hull. Notify Little Jack to prepare to lead people to move fresh water and food into the ship's hold."
"Ah, no need for so much trouble." Victor flicked his index finger slightly, and a slender zipper flew directly to the outside of the Beagle's hull. A huge zipper immediately appeared at the point of impact.
"Zipper - Logistics Octopus."
The zipper opened by itself, revealing a deep, lightless zipper space. Then, under Victor's 'networked' control, dozens of thick zippers shot out from the upper and lower rows of teeth, like the tentacles of a giant octopus, continuously rolling up goods and water buckets and stuffing them into the zipper space.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of many gang members, the supplies on the dock were quickly moved empty. All the zippers automatically retracted and re-closed, and the Beagle's draft didn't even increase by 1.
Victor hooked his finger, retracting the 'Guiding Zipper'.
He turned his head to look at Windrew and Clansner standing beside him, and said gently, "I plan to officially set sail tomorrow morning. Mr. Windrew, I'll leave the West Blue to you. Clansner, I'm entrusting all safety matters to you, be sure to protect Mr. Windrew's safety."
"Please rest assured, Boss," they said in unison.
Then, Windrew said with a hint of worry, "Boss, I'm still a little concerned. You're only taking a few people on this trip. I'm worried that you might even have to personally intervene if you encounter bad weather..."
Victor laughed heartily: "Mr. Windrew, have you forgotten? I'm a fisherman's son! What fisherman doesn't know how to sail? Don't worry, Perona is an excellent navigator, Mai Hime's cooking tastes good, and Robin's Hana Hana no Mi and my Zip-Zip Fruit can perfectly handle all the work a sailor needs to do."
He stretched, and said comfortably, "I'm not going to the Grand Line for fighting this time. Just consider it a vacation, Mr. Windrew.
Alright, isn't the headquarters banquet about to begin? We can't keep everyone waiting too long, let's go."
Victor waved to the two of them, and walked first towards the headquarters garden.
...
Grand Line.
An unknown autumn island.
Sunlight streamed into a warmly colored room. A tall man had his feet propped on a table, lying back in a chair, seemingly fast asleep. An open novel covered his face, its cover bearing the title – Hero's Debut.
Creak—
The door was quietly pushed open. A black-haired girl in a maid outfit gently placed a stack of newspapers on the table next to the sleeping man, then tiptoed out of the room.
After a long time, a slightly annoyed muttering broke the silence in the room.
"...Doesn't this girl know how loud she is?"
The man casually tossed the novel off his face and picked up the sunglasses next to the newspaper, putting them on.
"Hmm?"
Glancing casually at the newspaper, the man was drawn by the explosive front-page headline. He picked up the newspaper and began reading the report.
"Fufufufufu... Interesting, truly interesting. A small-time punk from the outer seas defeated a 'Warlord of the Sea'? Has this world gone mad?"
He laughed, threw away the newspaper, and casually picked up a bottle of wine, gulping it down.
Just then, a tall, thin man with a paint-splattered face burst into the room, shouting excitedly, "Doffy! They're here, they're here!"
"Diamante, calm down, don't let anyone look down on us."
The blond man called 'Doffy' stood up, putting on his pink feather coat.
Before long, the man met with a World Government official in a white suit and a festive mask in a spacious room.
The man held a small Den Den Mushi in his hand. The Den Den Mushi's expression changed into a stern and old face.
"Donquixote Doflamingo, stop your childish nonsense. Is robbing the 'Heavenly Tribute' escort ship fun? Return the 'Heavenly Tribute' in full, and we can still consider it a joke..."
"Fufufufufu... Do you think I'm joking? Or do you want to kill me? Think clearly, old geezers, I can spill the secret of the 'National Treasure' at any time! Do you want to see the reaction of those 'D's'? Fufufufufu...
Speaking of which, this money is no small sum. If I get a sum like this every year, I'll be set for life, hahahaha!"
"...What do you want?" The authoritative voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi carried a hint of anger.
"Let's talk about it one by one. First..."
"I want to become a 'Warlord of the Sea'!"
-----
Support me with Powerstones, Reviews and comments
100 Powerstones = 1 Chapter
[Maximum Bonus 7 Chapters]