Next Bonus, 100!!
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Amidst the many merchant ships, their waterlines low with cargo, a small caravel slowly sailed into the territorial waters.
It flew a pirate flag: a skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat.
A young man in a straw hat was sitting on the ship's sheep figurehead. He was grinning, his eyes wide with curiosity as he looked at a passing ship, one with no sails, its hull clad in iron.
It suddenly let out a loud, thunderous blast of its horn.
Luffy jumped. "Hey! What kind of ship is that??" he yelled, turning to his crew.
Usopp, wearing a pair of goggles, was looking out at the port. "Oh, that...? You don't know what that is?" he said, feigning surprise.
"Have you been living in the mountains, Luffy?" Zoro deadpanned.
"That's a steamship, built by the Galley-La Company," Viola said with a smile, her hands on the helm. "It's powered by steam, so it doesn't need the wind. And it's fitted with special Seastone, so it can travel in the Calm Belt. They can also be built much larger than sailing ships, so they can carry more cargo."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Whoa! Awesome! It can move without wind? I want one!"
Usopp shook his head. "Forget it. Steamships are much more complicated to build, and they require a special crew. And they run on coal. That's why they're so much more expensive than sailing ships. And the maintenance and logistics... it's a nightmare. I was on one once, with Uncle Ron. The inside is super complicated."
In short: You can't afford it, and you can't maintain it.
But Luffy was unfazed. He was still looking around, his excitement unabated.
Suddenly, he saw two small boats cutting through the water. "Whoa, they're so fast! Are those little ones steamships, too?"
"Those are called electric boats," Usopp said. "They run on electricity. They're way faster than ships. They're a specialty of the Winter Blossom Kingdom."
"Electricity?" Luffy asked, amazed.
"That's right," Usopp said. "The king of the Winter Blossom Kingdom, Jin, is a user of the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit. He can store natural lightning in special jars and use it to power all sorts of machines. Though, I heard that last year, they started building a tidal power station in the Conomi Archipelago. With a power station, they can turn the energy of the tides into electricity to power those machines. The electric boats are one of those machines. They were just introduced last year. Each island-city only has four of them, for patrols."
Luffy's eyes were wide. He didn't understand a word of it, but it sounded awesome.
Just then, a voice called out from one of the approaching electric boats: "Pirate ship ahead! Please stop for inspection! I repeat, pirate ship ahead! Please stop for inspection!"
"Huh? Are they here to arrest us?" Luffy said, standing up and grinning as he began to stretch his arm. "Gum-Gum..."
Before he could finish, Usopp grabbed him. "Stop it, Luffy! This is just a routine inspection! The Winter Blossom Kingdom has rules for dealing with pirates; they don't just arrest them on sight! But if you attack them, we'll never be able to leave! You know, even pirates with bounties in the tens of millions have to behave themselves in the Winter Blossom Kingdom!"
"Eh??" Luffy grumbled. "That's weird. But we're pirates. Why should we have to follow the rules?"
"Because this is Jin's territory," Zoro said coolly, coming to stand beside them.
Luffy's lip curled. "Is that guy strong?"
"Of course he is!" Usopp said. "He's a big shot, on the same level as the Four Emperors! He's the most legendary of the new generation since the start of the Great Pirate Era! No, he's like... the sun."
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After registering with the patrol, the Going Merry docked in the section of Bellemere Port reserved for pirates.
It was, after all, a commercial port. The ships coming in and out were all laden with cargo. For security reasons, pirate ships and merchant ships were not allowed to dock together.
Luffy and his crew weren't the only pirates in port. A long line had formed at the pirate dock.
"What's all this?" Luffy asked, shielding his eyes as he looked toward the end of the line.
"You new here?" an old pirate asked. "Pirates have to register to enter the town. Name of your crew, captain's name, how long you're staying, all that. That way, if any pirate causes trouble in town, the port authority can just look up his identity and go straight to his crew to demand compensation."
"Whoa! A long-beard gramps!" Luffy said, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the old pirate's long beard, his focus, as always, on the most random of things.
"But the line is so long..." Usopp said, looking up. When he and Ron had docked here, they had used the VIP channel. It hadn't been like this.
"Hee-hee! We can just bust through! We're pirates, after all..." Luffy said with a grin.
But Usopp and Zoro stopped him.
"You'd better behave yourself, Captain," Viola said with a smile.
"So, what crew are you from?" the old pirate asked curiously. "Not many young pirates like you in the East Blue these days."
Luffy flashed a wide, toothy grin. "We're the Straw Hat Pirates! I'm the captain, Luffy! And I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"
"The King of the Pirates, huh?" the old pirate laughed. "Hahaha! You've got guts, kid!"
"And these are my crewmates!" Luffy said.
"Huh? You're... you're the Pirate Hunter, Zoro!" the old pirate said, recognizing him.
But these days, with times being tough, the line between pirate and crewman was getting a little blurry. Some merchant ships would fly a guild flag one day, and a pirate flag the next...
Out on the vast, open sea, your identity was what you made it.
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Luffy, Viola, Zoro, and Usopp were each given an entry permit.
After a long, boring wait...
"Make sure you don't lose these," the registration officer said. "You'll need them for lodging, for meals, for just about everything. And the port authority does random checks. If you lose your permit, it'll be a huge hassle."
"Right, got it!"
Luffy tossed his permit to Usopp. He didn't care. He was already running past the checkpoint, eager to explore.
Suddenly, he saw a guy who looked like a fish.
"Whoa!" he yelled. "Is that a fish?? A walking fish!"
Usopp ran after him and grabbed him just as he was about to approach the Fish-Man. "Idiot! That's a Fish-Man... Don't point at them, it's rude! Fish-Men are ten times stronger than humans! If you piss them off, it'll be bad!"
The Fish-Man heard them and turned, smiling. "Hello," he said. "I'm a Fish-Man. My name is Pleco."
Since Shirahoshi and Fukaboshi's visit, the negative image of Arlong and his crew had begun to fade. A small number of Fish-Men had moved here, integrating into the local community and managing the "ocean farms." They were cultivating seafood, just like humans raised livestock, enriching the marine resources of the Conomi Archipelago.
"Whoa! The fish is talking!" Luffy exclaimed.
Usopp sighed. "I told you, he's a Fish-Man!"
"It's alright," Pleco said with a friendly smile. "But you should probably keep an eye on your captain. Don't let him cause any trouble in town."
"Sorry," Viola said to the Fish-Man. "We don't mean any harm."
Usopp looked over and saw that Luffy was now standing in front of a stall selling Skypiea Dials.
This guy is so unreliable...
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