Bonus Chapter for 100 Powerstones.
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"...I do know it, but... wow, I wasn't expecting that," Rayleigh said.
What did you expect?
"I was on Roger's ship. So, I was sure you were going to ask me how to find the One Piece."
I don't need that!! I mean, I might have to see it, but!! Still!!!
"It's not a treasure for people who just want to be told the answer, right?"
It's a treasure on an island you can't even get to unless you can read Poneglyphs. That already sounds like big trouble.
Robin is here, and if I can't meet up with Luffy, I'll have to go someday. But if I just rush to Laugh Tale, I'll get in big trouble, or I won't even understand what it's worth!!
I love finding shortcuts in games, but nothing is worse than missing a flag and having to reset the whole game!
"Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"
...Um, Mr. Rayleigh, you seem to be in a really good mood.
You don't have to laugh so hard that you weird everyone out.
"Ah, sorry. Ha-ha-ha..." he chuckled, wiping a tear. "I see. Well, well... I never thought a man like this would come from the West Blue."
"I was born in the East Blue, but..."
I feel at home in this sea now, but if I had just become a wanted man instead, people wouldn't have looked down on me so much.
"Oh... the East..."
"Then how did you cross the Red Line?" he asked. "Coming from the East, you have to get past Mary Geoise."
This is weird. I'm the one asking questions, but now he's asking me all kinds of things.
"I ran. I ran up the wall to get over Mary Geoise."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!"
...Yeah, okay, fine.
My stories always seem to make people want to drink... He really enjoys it... Oh well.
"My, my. I want to ask more, but I'll save it for later," Rayleigh said, calming down. "...Yes, I know Jaya. It's a tropical island in the first half of the Grand Line... about halfway through. It's a pirate island where all the hot-headed pirates hang out."
"Yes. And there's a bird there with a strange cry, right?"
"Ah, the South Bird," he nodded. "Yes, I remember it well because Roger got in a fight with it."
"A fight..."
Oh, right. The South Birds are really smart, aren't they?
...Should I go to Drum and ask Dr. Kureha and Chopper to translate for me?
I should have enough money by then.
"Is it true that the bird can only face south?" Daz stood up and asked.
Come to think of it, he's the one I've talked to the most about this.
"That's right. It can only face south. We used it once to get to a certain place."
"...So, it was true," Daz whispered.
Robin is whispering with Amisu about something. Bege's eyes are shining, like he just smelled money.
You guys are really something.
"Now, with all that said," I announced, "I want you to listen."
"My goal is to free the Grand Line."
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I was speechless. So were the people who followed 'Silent Step' Kuro, except for a few.
"Like you just heard," Kuro explained, "the South Bird is a natural compass. If we use it, we can sail more freely on the Grand Line, where it's hard to know which way you're going. Of course, we'll still have to deal with surprise storms and weird ocean currents..."
The Great Pirate Era started because of the words my old captain said before he died.
Everyone who becomes a pirate goes to sea looking for the 'treasure' that man left behind.
Some of them turn bad.
Some quit, and some get a taste for stealing. Others just get drunk on violence.
"The Grand Line's routes are limited because of its strange weather," Kuro continued. "And the Calm Belt is a huge wall that keeps people out. If we find a way to sail both of them freely, the world will change in a big way."
This was a new era, but this was the first time I, Rayleigh, had ever seen a man try to walk a different path from every other pirate.
"I know what we need for the Calm Belt. A lot of Seastone, and a ship that can move without wind—a paddle ship."
"And on the Grand Line," Bege interjected, "you'll use that bird."
"...That's right. Well, at the beginning, at least," Kuro admitted. "We'll use them, but they're living things. They could die on the way. So, we need a backup plan. I'll explain that later..."
"Using Seastone ships to cross the Calm Belt," Rayleigh summarized, "and using the South Birds to make free routes on the Grand Line."
"Using these two things," Kuro declared, his voice rising, "we will spread the advanced skills and culture of the closed-off Grand Line, and change the world!"
"When skills and learning from different places clash, it will create something new! And spreading culture will bring new joy to the world!"
"And the routes that carry these things will wake up the market, speed up buying and selling, and bring the chance for every island to get rich!"
The young second-in-command and the girl playing with her ghost-themed umbrella were smiling. They must have known the details.
But the female captain of the 'Black Cat' guard and the survivor of Ohara next to her both had shining eyes.
"This is the plan I've been thinking about. It needs a few changes... but what do you think?"
"You idiot, Kuro!!" the mafia boss, Bege, shouted and stood up.
"If you had such an interesting plan, why didn't you tell me sooner!!"
"Sorry, Bege," Kuro chuckled. "All my chances to go to the Grand Line kept getting ruined, so I never had a chance to talk about it."
He was yelling, but he was smiling.
This group, which was not like pirates at all, was laughing like pirates.
Just like the crew on that ship I used to be on.
"...I see," Rayleigh said to himself.
The man was sure.
He didn't know if this pirate's plan would work.
But—
The seeds of the next generation are already starting to grow.
This pirate crew will get even bigger. A young devil fruit user, a swordsman from the New World, people left behind by the times, and the last will of Ohara... all gathered here for a reason.
He felt like he was beginning to understand why.
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Next Goal: 200, Don't know why but many people just stopped giving Powerstones thats why only 1 Bonus Chapter this week.