East Blue.
The Gloomy Islands, Cocoa West Village.
Sephiroth, draped in a white Justice cloak, wandered through the village alone.
His presence drew stares from the villagers.
No one stepped forward to speak to him.
The Gloomy Islands lay only thirty or forty kilometers from Kets Port Town, and thus fell under the jurisdiction of the Navy's 16th Branch.
Thanks to the influence of men like Major Mouse, the local impression of the Marines was barely better than that of street thugs.
No one spat in Sephiroth's direction, but only out of fear for the Marines as a violent organization.
After a while, Sephiroth arrived at a secluded orange grove, set apart from the village.
Outside a small house, a woman with long, dark-red hair and a cigarette between her lips was lecturing a little girl with short orange hair.
Nearby, a purple-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, watching the scene.
"Nami, if you dare pull that again, I'll spank your butt a hundred times!"
The woman, Belle-Mere, crossed her arms and looked down at her adopted daughter, her tone severe.
Seeing her mother's stern expression, Nami ducked her head, hands clasped behind her back. "I'm sorry, Belle-Mere! But I really wanted that book…"
"If you wanted it, why didn't you tell me?"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't buy it for me anyway."
"I would. I've got a little pocket money."
"But… everyone in the village says the weather's been too good. All the groves are having a great harvest, so our oranges won't sell for much. They might not sell at all. We're going to have a really tight time." Nami's voice was small and dejected.
Belle-Mere let out a light sigh, muttering under her breath, "Those people really do run their mouths."
The purple-haired girl put her hands on her hips, looking smug. "Nami, you're so stupid. If it were me, I'd have found a much smarter way to steal the book."
Nami's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Nojiko! Do you have a good idea? Tell me!"
Belle-Mere looked at her two wayward daughters and couldn't hold back. She raised a hand.
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
Two sharp raps of her knuckles landed on their heads.
"Ouch, that hurts!" they cried in unison.
Nami and Nojiko squatted, hands clutching their skulls, whimpering.
"No stealing. Ever." Belle-Mere drove the point home. Then she pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and smoothed it open, revealing a hand-drawn sea chart of the Gloomy Islands. "But! The chart Nami drew is really something. I bet nobody would guess a child did this."
She raised her right hand and gently ruffled the orange-haired girl's head.
Nami looked up, a proud smile spreading across her face. "Hehe! I've been teaching myself navigation lately."
Belle-Mere smiled, about to reply, when movement at the edge of the grove caught her eye. A silver-haired young man in a Justice cloak was reaching up to pluck an orange from a tree.
Her reprimand was instinctive. "Hey! You, Marine! Eating my oranges costs money!"
"Huh? I didn't say I wouldn't pay…"
Sephiroth walked through the orange grove, while gently peeling the skin of the orange in his hand, and threw a segment of orange into his mouth, chewing gently.
"The oranges from your grove are delicious!"
Belle-Mere chuckled, crossing her arms.
"Since you like them, why not buy a few pounds to take with you?"
"Good idea."
Sephiroth nodded, casually pulling out his wallet and handing over a stack of crisp new bills.
There had to be at least thirty or forty of them.
"Ah! This is… so much money. Just how many are you planning to buy?" Belle-Mere stared, dumbfounded.
Sephiroth finished the orange in his hand.
"I'm procuring fruit for the Navy base. However much this buys, if it's not enough, I'll cover the difference later. With the yield from your grove, I estimate a box for each of the thousand people at the base might not even be sufficient."
"Really? That's fantastic!"
A bright smile instantly lit up Belle-Mere's face.
Seeing this, Nami tugged at her mother's clothes and ventured, "Hey, Belle-Mere? Once this deal is done… could you buy me a book on navigation?"
Belle-Mere ruffled Nami's hair. "Of course! I'll buy it. In fact, I'm planning to get new outfits for you and Nojiko, too."
Sephiroth feigned mild surprise, looking at the orange-haired girl. "You want to learn navigation so young? It's a difficult skill to master. Most people never manage it."
Nami immediately snatched the sea chart from Belle-Mere's hand and held it up proudly. "Look! This is a chart I drew. When I master navigation, I'm going to go out to sea one day and draw my very own maps of the world!"
"That's a wonderful dream."
Sephiroth praised her, then took a step back. Under the startled gazes of the three, he drew his butcher knife, sliced open a spatial door, and revealed his personal storage dimension.
"Let me see… where is it?"
He reached his left hand into the shimmering green space, rummaged briefly, and pulled out five thick volumes, handing them to Nami.
The top book was the navigation textbook from the Marine Academy—priceless material impossible to buy on the open market.
"This is a fairly comprehensive set on navigation. It covers various complex techniques and includes my personal notes. If you're interested, you're welcome to take them and study."
"Really? Thank you so much!"
Nami didn't hesitate, using her small arms to gather the heavy books, her gratitude sincere.
"Ma'am, when will the oranges be ready for harvest?"
Belle-Mere thought for a moment. "Hmm… Probably in about three days."
"Alright. I'll send someone to collect the goods then."
With a wave, he turned and left.
In the past, Sephiroth had changed many things, whether by choice or by chance.
He wasn't sure if the winds stirred by him, this butterfly, had yet reached the East Blue.
So, he had come specifically to Cocoa West Village to check—to see how Nami was faring.
Hmm. I should also find a chance to go see Luffy.
That crucial piece cannot afford too many unexpected deviations.
Human ambition constantly adjusts with shifts in position and perspective. And once that ambition begins to swell, it cannot be stopped.
Ever since Sephiroth came into contact with alien civilizations and learned that the original moving stone could provide propulsion for spaceships, the ambition in his heart, which had already gradually become saturated, began to swell again!
Back when Umbrella Corporation's technology was still limited—and with the unique geography of this world—his original plan had been simple: build a force large enough to secure resources and comfort, letting him live freely.
Taking control of the entire world…
Honestly, the thought had crossed Sephiroth's mind.
But he knew it was impossible.
The Red Line and the Calm Belt split the planet into four separate seas. As long as that geography held, the world would remain permanently divided.
No matter what he did, ruling on the scale of the World Government was already the ceiling.
So back then, Sephiroth's attitude was clear: I'll build my own force and play my own game.
Let the World Government and the Revolutionary Army fight. I'll guard my little territory, watch from the shore, and see who wins. As long as it works to my advantage, that's enough.
Now, though… after glimpsing a broader universe, Sephiroth looked back at this world and found it suddenly small. His old ambition—content with ruling a corner—felt even smaller.
Umbrella Corporation possessed starships now. They had the means to expand outward, and the means to seize the entire world. Naturally, Sephiroth's attitude had shifted. He wanted to be the ultimate winner.
He wanted to sit on the Empty Throne and know how it felt.
Only after bringing the entire world under his control, securing a stable rear base, would he turn his attention to the endless starry sky.
To make that happen, Sephiroth had already begun weaving a mad plan. He would start a massive war and reshuffle every power in this world.
I've turned into someone like Roger—afraid the world isn't chaotic enough. The thought drew a faint, self-mocking smile as he stepped aboard the warship docked at Cocoa West Village.
Soon, under Sephiroth's command, the warship set sail again, heading toward other sectors under the Navy's 16th Branch for inspection.