Two major events took place in 1502.
One was the escape of Golden Lion Shiki from the underwater prison Impel Down.
The other was the destruction of Ohara under a Buster Call.
Both incidents shocked the world. The news ran nonstop, and Morgans was so excited he practically molted half his feathers.
Devil Child Nico Robin, bounty 79 million Beli.
Ethan the Demon of Extreme Evil, bounty 100 million Beli.
As the news birds carried the papers across the seas, Ethan and Robin's wanted posters spread over the entire world, driving countless bounty hunters and pirates into a frenzy.
At this point in history, wanted posters still carried a lot of weight. Things were not like they would be after 1522, when bounties were inflated to ridiculous levels.
With a bounty like that, many rookie pirate crews in the New World would not be worth much more.
No one would dare to go after a great pirate, but two children were something everyone had the courage to target.
And who knew, maybe there were still some treasures from Ohara lying around, waiting to be plundered.
Ethan had long predicted that in the early days after their bounties came out, there would be a lot of madmen trying to hunt them down. So he took Robin to an island not far from the 80th Marine Branch in the West Blue and hid there.
Because it was so close to a Marine branch, most people would never imagine Ethan would have the nerve to hide nearby like this, living right under their noses with a bounty like a walking treasure chest.
Besides, with a branch that close, pirate ships would not dare approach. In the Four Seas, very few people were bold enough not to fear Marine cannons.
Any pirates strong enough to stand up to a branch were already on the Grand Line.
They stayed hidden on the small island for about half a year. Those six months were the time Ethan used to settle his thoughts and think about the future.
First, if he wanted to change the world, he needed a guiding program of action.
He had the ideologies of great figures from his previous world, models for reform and mature political systems, but directly copying a foreign mindset would never work.
The political system of the One Piece world was a complete mess. There were feudal monarchies, systems based on fiefs and vassals, countries torn apart by war and division, nations in the New World ruled by pirates, and even sky islands where so called gods ruled over their people. All of these were real problems.
Next, he had to distinguish who could be won over, who had to be overthrown and who needed reforms. He had to clearly separate enemies from friends.
He also had to consider the people's standard of living and production, whether to trigger an industrial revolution and so on.
In half a year, all he managed to create was a rough framework, the inside still more or less empty.
But that was enough for now. Ethan's contact with this world was still too limited. He could add and adjust things as he traveled across the seas later.
Meanwhile, under Ethan's guidance, Robin slowly developed her Flower-Flower Fruit abilities at home. When it came to wild ideas and creative ways to use a Devil Fruit, the imagination of the people from his Blue Planet really deserved respect.
Half a year passed, and the calendar turned to Sea Circle 1503.
Most ordinary people had already stopped paying much attention to the Ohara incident, and Ethan judged it was time to move.
The next step was to gain strength through learning and analysis. This was an age where power was gathered in the bodies of individuals. All the kings who ruled at the summit of the seas used their own strength to hold their territories.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Ethan had to start training as well.
The downside of staying near a Marine branch was that he could not make too much noise.
If you did intense training right under a branch's nose, what would they think? That you were trying to join the Marines, or planning to be a pirate? Of course they would come investigate.
And once they started investigating, the "big bounty gift pack" that was Ethan would be exposed.
So even though he had the Power of Analysis, cautious Ethan kept his desire to grow stronger in check for those six months.
In order to move between the Four Seas more easily, he gave himself a new name, Adam.
It was one of his pen names as well, and he decided to write a series of articles in the newspaper to increase his influence, slipping in a bit of his own ideology to wake some people up.
For Robin, he chose the alias Haibara. That one was purely for his own twisted sense of humor.
Robin asked several times where the name came from, but he dodged the question each time, only saying that it would be the name of the heroine in one of his future novels.
Before going out, they used dyes to change their hair color, both to a shade of brown, and did a bit of makeup to alter their faces.
With the help of the Flower-Flower Fruit and a few simple tricks, Ethan and Robin easily obtained fake identification documents from the town sheriff and boarded a passenger ship.
This time, they would head for Loguetown in the East Blue, then transfer to another ship bound for Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue.
Yes, their goal was to go to the East Blue and become disciples of Koushirou.
There were other hidden experts scattered across the Four Seas, but Koushirou was by far the safest choice.
What Ethan needed most, with the Power of Analysis, was someone to get him started. Even if he could not learn the highest peaks of swordsmanship, he could analyze the basics himself afterward.
Besides, Koushirou's swordsmanship was strong enough to stand out even on the Grand Line. If Ethan could learn the true essence of his style, it would be more than worth it. Anyone with the name Shimotsuki was never simple.
Travel for ordinary people in the One Piece world was a nightmare. For long distance sea journeys, you first needed a sturdy ship that could withstand storms.
You needed detailed sea charts to avoid reefs and whirlpools.
You needed a professional navigator to steer clear of bad weather and guide the route.
And then you needed luck, the kind that kept you away from pirates.
Their ship drifted over the sea for two full months before finally arriving in Loguetown. Once they disembarked, Ethan and Robin agreed that they would rest there for a week before moving on.
Passenger ships like this were torture. They stopped at every big port to resupply and load and unload cargo. Any patience you started with would be worn away little by little.
Maybe the reason pirates became more and more twisted had something to do with this kind of travel.
After resting in an inn in Loguetown for a day, the two of them went to the execution platform. Standing at the edge of the plaza and looking up at the scaffold, each of them had very different thoughts.
Robin viewed it with the eyes of a scholar, treating it as a historical relic to be observed.
Ethan's feelings were far more complicated. There was hatred there, but also admiration.
(End of Chapter)
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