Chapter 9: The Kasha Pirates
The next day.
At the Tama Town harbor—
"The Krieg Pirates? Sounds familiar."
Jiang Qize flipped through a stack of bounty posters, his eyes landing on a young man clad in golden armor.
"Wait, aren't these the guys Luffy meets at the sea restaurant years later? They've already formed a crew this early?"
He suddenly recalled the arc from the story—when Sanji joined the crew.
But right now, it was the year 1500. Luffy probably wasn't even born yet, and Sanji would only be a few years old. So Krieg must be in his youth.
"Ten million Berries—not bad."
"Kasha Pirates—six million."
"Rikigui Pirates—five million."
He scanned through all the wanted posters from the East Blue. None of them had bounties over twenty million, but there were plenty of small pirate crews he had never even heard of.
Then again, this was only the second year of the Great Pirate Era. And since Hero Garp's hometown was right here in the East Blue, it made sense that pirates would be scarce.
"Still, even small fry are worth something. Time to move out."
Jiang Qize put away the posters with a smile, patted the Raptorex on the head, and stepped aboard his rickety little boat.
He hadn't planned to replace it yet. If it weren't for the Raptorex, he'd just ride the Mosasaur straight across the ocean.
"Rrrroar~"
The Mosasaur's head broke through the waves, letting out a deep call.
At the same time, a familiar interface appeared before Jiang Qize's eyes:
[Name]: Mosasaur
[Type]: Deep-Sea Predator
[Abilities]:
— Super Hearing (can detect sounds within 10 km underwater)
— Super Smell (can detect blood scents within 10 km)
— Death Roll (anything caught in its jaws ends up dead or maimed)
— Godspeed (extreme swimming speed)
— Iron Hide (exceptional defense)
— Armament Haki
[Strength]: Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Colonel
"An entire rank higher—not bad at all. And its combat ability in water is even greater."
Jiang Qize nodded with satisfaction.
The stronger his beasts were, the stronger he became.
"Let's go."
Standing at the bow of his ship, he gazed over the endless blue sea, his voice filled with quiet resolve.
"Rrrroar~"
The Mosasaur bellowed and began to move, its enormous body dragging the tiny vessel faster and faster.
…
"Captain, are you sure this island really has treasure?"
Near a massive island lush with deep-green forest, a pirate ship slowly approached.
A stocky man, about one and a half meters tall, with an eyepatch over his left eye and a beard covering his face, looked toward the island and asked the tall, muscular man beside him—two meters tall, wearing a tricorn hat and his golden dreadlocks hanging loose.
Dozens of other pirates crowded the deck—some tall, some short, some fat, some thin—all of them rough and loud.
"Of course! I bought the map off an old man. Said it's been in his family for generations," Kasha replied with a cruel grin.
"Captain, you actually paid that old man?" one pirate asked in surprise.
"I did," Kasha said with a smirk, "but he didn't live long enough to spend it. Heh."
"Ha! That's more like it. We're pirates, after all—why pay when we can just take?"
"Exactly! Captain Kasha's gonna be the next Pirate King!"
"Once we find that treasure, we'll buy a real ship and head straight for the Grand Line!"
"Woo-hoo!"
The whole crew erupted in laughter, already dreaming about the grand future that awaited them.
But at the helm stood a short young man, barely one meter thirty, with an unusually large head and timid eyes. He stayed silent, too afraid to join in.
"Let's go ashore!"
"Camon, you stay here and guard the ship," Kasha barked at the small young man.
"Yes, Captain," Camon answered quickly.
Thud!
The ship bumped gently against the shore. The pirates, brandishing their blades, let out wild whoops and charged toward the dense green island.
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