Next Bonus, 100!!
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"That... was too close."
Usopp slumped to the deck.
Luffy let out a long sigh of relief.
"Man, he was strong!" he said with a grin. "Looks like I'll have to get even stronger if I want to make it on the Grand Line."
Sanji lit a cigarette. "Now that you've seen how terrifying the strong guys on the Grand Line are, you still want to go?"
"Of course!" Luffy declared. "Heh heh... I'm the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"A bunch of hopeless idiots," Sanji muttered.
"You should come with us," Luffy said, his smile wide and bright. "Come to the Grand Line with us and follow your dream!"
"My dream?"
"Yeah! Don't you have one?"
"...None of your business."
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Zoro was left in the care of Zeff, the owner of the Baratie, to recover from his injuries. Luffy and the others pitched in, helping out in the kitchen.
All the while, they pestered Sanji to become their ship's cook—especially after tasting his incredible cooking.
That night, Zeff found Luffy and told him his and Sanji's story, and about his dream.
The All Blue.
Zeff was a teacher, a father, and a friend to Sanji. He could see that watching Luffy and Zoro's unwavering dedication to their own dreams had rekindled a spark of longing in Sanji's heart.
But that blond idiot was too proud.
He wouldn't admit it.
Zeff entrusted his Grand Line logbook to Luffy, hoping they would take Sanji with them.
To go out into the world and find his dream.
Zeff hoped for a better future for Sanji, a future beyond just being a cook, cooped up in this restaurant.
Outside, Sanji smoked, a pile of cigarette butts at his feet.
He looked up at the moon.
And in the end, he boarded the Going Merry and began his adventure.
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Not long after leaving the Baratie, the Straw Hat crew encountered a mysterious little girl named Apis.
Legend had it that the bones of the Millennial Dragons could be used to create an elixir of eternal life.
And so, everyone wanted to get their hands on one of these legendary creatures.
Apis was the user of the Whisper-Whisper Fruit.
She could communicate telepathically with animals. One day, she had stumbled upon an old Millennial Dragon and had become its friend.
Because of this, she had been captured by the Marine Admiral Nelson, who had tried to force her to reveal the dragon's location.
To protect her friend, she had escaped from the warship and had been adrift at sea in a small boat when Luffy and his crew found her.
Out of the goodness of their hearts, the Straw Hats decided to take her back to her home, Warship Island.
There, in a hidden cave, they discovered that the Millennial Dragons were real.
But Admiral Nelson and his hired mercenary, Eric, were in hot pursuit.
The Straw Hats helped Apis protect the Millennial Dragon, and after a fierce battle, they were victorious.
In the end, the tide receded, revealing an ancient ruin at the bottom of the sea, shaped like a massive warship.
A great flock of Millennial Dragons descended from the sky.
It turned out that Warship Island was the dragons' ancestral nesting ground. They returned here to mate, to lay their eggs, and to die.
The old dragon had simply gotten confused and returned too early.
It had come home to die.
And as it did, new dragons hatched from their eggs.
Life and death, a continuous cycle.
After a moment of reflection, Luffy and his crew said their goodbyes to Apis and escaped from the encircling Marines.
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Not long after they had left, a fleet of ships flying a black dragon flag arrived.
The villagers and Apis were wary.
"We're from the Conomi Islands," Nojiko said with a smile, "part of the Winter Blossom Kingdom. We heard you were being harassed by the Marines, so we came to offer our support. We mean you no harm. We're just here to establish a Millennial Dragon nature preserve."
She waved a hand, and the crew began to unload a large amount of supplies. "A gift from our king."
The Winter Blossom Kingdom.
The villagers were stunned, and a little afraid.
Whether through praise or slander, the actions of the World Government had made Jin's name known throughout the world.
He was as famous as Whitebeard now. Unless you lived on some primitive, isolated island, you knew who he was.
And, by extension, you knew of his kingdom.
"A preserve for the Millennial Dragons?" Apis asked.
"That's right," Nojiko said with a warm smile. "If you don't trust us, you're welcome to be a part of it."
The reason Jin had been keeping an eye on the Straw Hats was to use them as a vanguard.
After they had raised hell in a place and then left, someone had to clean up the mess, right?
Power abhors a vacuum.
They would take down the ruling class of an island, and the Winter Blossom Kingdom would sweep in under the guise of providing protection or disaster relief and take over.
So why not just conquer the islands directly?
He had to consider the international political climate.
The Winter Blossom Kingdom was still a member of the World Government. Unchecked expansion would give them a pretext to intervene. It would also make the other kingdoms wary and resentful.
Until he was ready for a large-scale conflict, he had to be restrained. For now, development was the most important thing.
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The Straw Hats' defeat of Nelson and Eric sent shockwaves through the East Blue. A report was quickly sent to Marine Headquarters.
And so, a bounty was finally placed on the Straw Hats.
Luffy: 30,000,000 Berries.
The others, for now, had none.
Nojiko established a presence on Warship Island, arrested Eric, and began construction of the Millennial Dragon nature preserve and research center.
This was, of course, on Jin's orders.
It wasn't that he believed the Millennial Dragons' bones could grant eternal life.
Legends like that were like old wives' tales about animal bones curing diseases—there was no real scientific evidence. You had to do the research to find out the truth.
But... if the Millennial Dragons really could grant eternal life, the Celestial Dragons would have hunted them to extinction by now.
There was no doubting their desire for immortality.
Including Imu.
The fact that the dragons were still alive was proof that the legend was false.
Jin's main interest was the ancient ruin beneath Warship Island.
But Robin was pregnant and about to give birth, and he didn't want to overwork her. He sent a team of Fish-Men to begin the salvage operation, to investigate the situation and to photograph their findings.
Besides, with the new translation method he'd developed, Robin was no longer the only one who could read the Poneglyphs. Though there were still some obscure passages that required her expertise.
Nojiko's capture of Eric had netted Jin another Devil Fruit.
The Paramecia Sickle-Sickle Fruit.
Apis, wanting to better protect her home and the Millennial Dragons, had been persuaded by Nojiko to go and study abroad.
Jin had always placed a great emphasis on education and the next generation. A group of children, including Anaguma, Bonney, Chopper, Kaya, and Aisa, were all being groomed for the future.
He believed that when they grew up, they would become the pillars of his kingdom, and of the world.
Heroes often come from humble beginnings.
Some people, if you just give them a platform and a chance, can work miracles.
Of course, there are also those who are a lost cause, who can't seize an opportunity no matter how many you give them.
The majority of those who went through his education system would be ordinary people. But it was those countless ordinary people who made up the majority of the world. Geniuses and powerhouses were the rare exceptions.
If you nurture them with care, they will eventually bear fruit.
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~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
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