Standing on the deck, Reiner stamped his foot. The planks beneath him creaked.
"Looks like my logistical life is about to begin."
He climbed up the rope to the lookout post. From there, looking down, he saw Zoro already sitting on one side of the deck, leaning lazily against the railing and dozing.
When he lifted his head, the endless blue of the sea filled his vision.
Turning back toward the island, he could just barely make out the scattered houses of the village through the forest.
"Not a bad view at all." Reiner leaned against the railing and laughed. "Alright, this spot's mine. From now on, I'll take care of lookout duty too!"
"Ah, sure," Luffy replied cheerfully.
Jumping down from the lookout, Reiner opened a large blue backpack.
It was full of supplies Kaya had given them—mostly food, but also daily necessities and a small stock of medicine.
"Even shampoo and body wash? Merry really thought of everything."
After sorting through the items, Reiner began exploring the Going Merry.
Opening a hatch near the deck and mast revealed the men's quarters: two sofas and several hammocks strung up in the corners.
"Pretty barebones," Reiner muttered, glancing around.
At the bow was a cabin holding a cannon and cannonballs.
On the main deck stood the two-story cabin. The first floor was the storage room, lined with cannons on either side. Reiner placed supplies there.
Beneath the storage room was the women's quarters. He peeked inside and found it was far more comfortable than the men's—sofas, a table, bookshelves, a wardrobe, and even a little bar counter.
Outside, stairs on both sides led up to the second floor: a combined living space that included the kitchen, dining area, and meeting room.
After exploring for a while, Reiner summoned a few skeletons to sort and arrange the supplies.
"Not bad, Reiner."
Nami walked aboard, smiling as she looked at him leaning against the railing outside the second floor. "Your ability can even handle chores. That'll make life a lot easier."
"Piece of cake. I'll have them clean the whole ship inside and out later," Reiner said with a wave.
Currently, his real fighting undead are based on Luffy, Zoro, and Captain Kuro's templates. But he also had plenty of fodder, like Morgan.
Those weren't worth much, but they were perfect for menial labor.
Kuro's template, he'd modeled after Wolverine—since they were undead, it still looked eerie, but at least somewhat human.
Against weaklings, they were fine. But against famous opponents, Reiner preferred not to appear directly.
He wanted to keep a clear distinction between himself and his undead. Until he could create truly top-tier undead, he planned to stay low-key.
It wasn't that he was completely powerless. His Devil Fruit had enhanced his physique to a decent level.
But compared to Luffy or Zoro, his own combat ability was mediocre. In fact, even some of his undead outclassed him.
He'd only been in this world for a year. No matter how much he trained, his growth was limited.
It wasn't like he had eaten the Effort-Effort Fruit, where sheer training could defy fate.
Unless he activated his transformation, becoming the Necromancer Lord. But that was far too conspicuous for now.
In that state, his physical stats were determined by the strongest attributes among his undead.
At present, that meant Kuro's speed, Zoro's strength, and Luffy's balanced endurance.
In short, his strength depended entirely on his undead. No system, no extra cheat. Just the Devil Fruit.
Dreaming of becoming invincible through effort alone? That was a joke.
Still, his "golden finger"—the Devil Fruit—had incredible potential. All he needed was time.
As for what Master Rayleigh once said—"Only Haki transcends everything."
Reiner chuckled. As a Devil Fruit user himself, he thought, "Whoever's stronger decides what transcends everything."
Enel once called himself a god, and even he got beaten down by Luffy.
By that logic, maybe only fate transcends everything.
In any case, it all depended on one's own actions.
His cigarette had already burned to the end by the time he snapped out of his thoughts.
By then, Usopp had finished carrying the rest of the supplies aboard, and they raised anchor to set sail.
"Goodbye, everyone! Goodbye, Usopp!"
"Goodbye, Kaya! When I come back, I'll tell you an adventure story even greater than my tall tales!"
Usopp waved goodbye. Today, he had finally taken his first step toward becoming a brave warrior of the sea.
Kaya and Merry stood quietly on the shore, watching until the little ship vanished over the horizon.
"Kaya-sama," Merry said softly with a smile, "I once heard something from the villagers about Usopp. When his mother was dying, he ran through the village shouting, 'Pirates are coming!'—and then burst into his home."
"He told his mother that his father had returned to take them away, to sail the seas together."
"Perhaps it was loneliness. After his mother passed, he kept running around the village every day shouting that pirates were coming."
"The villagers said that hidden in his lies was a deep wish—that someday, his father would return for him."
Kaya listened quietly, staring out at the sea as though lost in thought.
"…Merry, I want to study medicine."
"Is that so? Quite the sudden, weighty decision," Merry replied.
Meanwhile, on the Going Merry, the crew was celebrating.
"Let's toast—to the Going Merry, and to Usopp!"
"Cheers!"
"By the way, you guys don't have a Jolly Roger yet, right?" Usopp asked, glancing at the empty mast. "A flag is the soul of a pirate crew. Tell me your ideas—I'm an excellent artist!"
"Really?!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled. "I didn't know you could do that, too!"
"I used to paint all over the village walls. Picked it up from childhood," Usopp said proudly.
Reiner quickly fetched a piece of black cloth, some paint, and brushes from the storeroom.
Usopp set to work, his brush flying. Before long, a flag was complete.
A white skull wearing a yellow straw hat, with crossed bones behind it.
"Not bad, Usopp."
Reiner took the flag and praised him. "I'll hang it up. You sketch an outline on the sail, and I'll have the skeletons do the painting."
"Leave it to me!"
Before long, with Usopp and Reiner's teamwork, a giant version of the Jolly Roger was painted on the sail as well.
The crew looked at it and couldn't help but smile.
The Straw Hat Pirates had officially been born.
"Nami, how long until we reach Cocoyasi Village?"
Reiner asked suddenly.
"Two days," Nami answered without hesitation. "But…"
She hesitated, then added: "I have to ask again—are you really sure about this? Arlong's bounty may only be 20 million, but I suspect his true strength is far greater."
"Many Marines have tried to hunt him down. Every single one failed. He's secretly in league with a certain branch office, which has been covering up his crimes. That's why his bounty hasn't gone up."
At that, Zoro frowned. As a former bounty hunter, he knew how bounties worked.
A bounty was a rough measure of one's strength. In the East Blue, 20 million was already extraordinarily high.
If Nami was right, Arlong was likely far stronger than they had imagined.