Evening.
All the town residents gathered around a bonfire, singing, dancing, and raising their glasses in celebration.
Uta, utilizing her talent, happily started a concert.
Monkey D. Luffy and Zoro sat together, drinking and eating meat, chatting freely.
Nami sat nearby, looking at this harmonious and beautiful scene, and couldn't help but feel emotional.
"If only it could stay like this forever!"
"Being with them, it must always be this happy, right?!"
"But… everyone in Cocoyasi Village…"
As soon as she thought of Cocoyasi Village, Nami couldn't help but feel sad and buried her head in her legs.
At this moment, the originally joyful and lively celebration suddenly came to an abrupt halt, and Nami immediately looked up in confusion.
She saw all the Marine, led by a Captain, walking over, interrupting the feast.
The Captain walked directly to Monkey D. Luffy, saluted, and then said.
"You… are Pirates, aren't you?"
Monkey D. Luffy replied.
"Yes!"
The Captain nodded upon hearing this, then said sternly.
"Although you saved our base and the townspeople here, we are very grateful."
"However, since you are Pirates, for the sake of the Marine's reputation, we have no choice but to… ask you to leave immediately."
After the Captain finished speaking, before Monkey D. Luffy and the others could say anything, the townspeople one by one angrily stood up and began to accuse them.
"Hey! Marine! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
"Are you joking, or have your brains gone bad?"
"They are the benefactors of the entire town!"
…
Seeing all the townspeople speaking up for them, who were pirates, Nami couldn't help but be stunned.
Aren't pirates evil beings?
Why are these people now helping them, these pirates, speak?
Can there really be pirates who are loved and respected?
Nami couldn't help but look at Luffy, her feelings complex.
At this moment, Luffy suddenly stood up, and the entire town instantly fell silent.
Then, Luffy picked up the Straw Hat next to him, put it on his head, and said to Uta and the others.
"Alright, it's time for us to go."
Uta, Zoro, and Nami all stood up and came to Luffy's side upon hearing this.
The townspeople wanted to persuade them to stay, but then they saw Luffy give them a smile.
"Thank you all for your hospitality."
After speaking, Luffy led them towards the shore.
Although they had been kind to this small town, pirates and Marines ultimately had different stances, and they had all eaten and drunk their fill, so there was no need to stay.
"With your heaven-defying comprehension, your spirit has been enhanced through personal experience."
"Your spirit has been enhanced, and your Conqueror's Haki has been strengthened."
"Your overall strength has broken through."
Hmm?
Finally...
Luffy looked at the information in his mind and rejoiced inwardly.
The strength breakthrough notification was a small function he had deduced over the years based on his understanding of the power levels in the Pirate King world from his previous life, relying on his heaven-defying comprehension.
It allowed him to more clearly perceive his current combat power level.
And this breakthrough meant he had successfully advanced to the Marineford Vice Admiral level.
However, his Vice Admiral level was an average value.
In other words, his current combat power wasn't truly just entering the Vice Admiral threshold, but was already in the middle range of Vice Admiral combat power.
Of course, Garp, as an exception, was not included in the calculation.
And there's another crucial point...
This combat power only calculates abilities related to the Pirate King world; Luffy's Eight Gates were not included because there was no basis for comparison.
So, if Luffy doesn't activate Eight Gates, he is considered a Marineford Vice Admiral.
But if he activates Eight Gates, he can definitely fight an Admiral candidate.
As for Eight Gates, Luffy can now open the seventh gate.
The threshold for the eighth gate is still too high; it requires not only strong physical fitness but also a vast amount of energy.
For example, in the Naruto world, this energy is chakra.
And here, this energy is Haki.
Although Luffy has been cultivating continuously, his Armament Haki and Observation Haki have been steadily improving.
But the effect is certainly not as fast as improving through combat.
As for Conqueror's Haki, staying in a small place like Windmill Village meant there were almost no events that could improve Conqueror's Haki.
Even if he could still improve by sparring with Ace, Ace's Haoshoku only awakened when he was 10 years old, and he was not just a little weaker than him, so the improvement effect was naturally not that great.
So his current Haoshoku still has some gap compared to top-tier individuals like Garp and Shanks.
However, being able to open the seventh gate is enough for now.
He hasn't awakened his Devil Fruit ability yet, so even if he opened the eighth gate, he wouldn't dare to use it.
So it doesn't affect anything.
After organizing his current strength and information, Luffy suddenly heard a voice from behind him.
"Wait, this guy?!"
"You're with them, right?"
It was the former captain speaking.
At this moment, he was pointing at Koby, who was standing rooted to the spot.
Luffy knew everything through his Observation Haki and said without turning his head.
"We don't know that guy."
After speaking, he continued walking towards the shore, ignoring the Marines' gazes.
Even though the captain had his thoughts, he said no more. Instead, he suddenly stood at attention and loudly announced an order.
"Everyone… salute!"
At his command, hundreds of Marines instantly saluted Luffy's group in unison, and Koby was mixed among them.
Seeing this "absurd" scene, Nami's inner struggle intensified.
Even the Marines recognized this group of pirates; should she still say that Luffy and his crew were scum like other pirates?.