When the Gyarados submarine brought that chest of treasure back, the men's fondness for the Gyarados submarine grew even stronger.
Searching for abandoned shipwrecks in the mysterious sea, then looking for treasure inside those wrecks…
How wonderful that sounded—discovering good things in unknown places gives people immense pleasure in their hearts.
Just like container auctions and storage auctions in America. Even knowing many are staged, the excitement of discovering something valuable and seeing whether you profit or lose is irresistible.
Thus, the Rocket Team grunts took turns piloting the Gyarados submarine around the surrounding seas, and their excitement wouldn't fade anytime soon.
Vane, however, got off the Gyarados submarine after the first round ended. Experiencing diving once was enough. If it weren't for the fun of treasure-hunting adventures below, most people wouldn't want to go down again after one time.
Bonez looked at the large ship and asked,
"Leader, since the large ship has already been completed, can we set sail next?"
Building a ship was naturally meant for going to sea. Otherwise, what would be the point of building it?
Tant shouted excitedly, "Are we going to compete for the position of Pirate King?"
After Roger's death, there wasn't a single pirate who didn't want to become the Pirate King. With the Rocket Team's current strength, they had already broken free from the category of low-level pirates. Quite a few people like Tant had begun to harbor thoughts of becoming Pirate King.
Vane stroked his chin and asked, "Are there any benefits to becoming Pirate King?"
Vane had always doubted the authenticity of the Pirate King's great treasure. Based on the nature of Japanese hot-blooded anime, such a great treasure was extremely unreliable. It might even be a gigantic joke with no real substance.
Imagine going through countless hardships, gathering the red Poneglyphs, finding the final island, Laugh Tale, and upon arriving, discovering that the great treasure was just a sentence.
[The true great treasure is the scenery you experienced on the journey here, the companions you met, and the friendships you forged…]
In other words, if Pirate King had continued serialization into the 2020s or even 2030s, but had ended before the 2010s, Oda would have very likely created such an ending.
Now, that was certainly unlikely. The audience wouldn't accept it. There would definitely be material rewards, but it certainly wouldn't be purely material.
And once you learned the secrets of the final island, whether your name contained the letter D or not, you would most likely be regarded as a thorn in the World Government's side.
Therefore, strength was the most important thing. Without the power to resist the World Government, there was no point in thinking about touching the great treasure.
Tant: "Becoming Pirate King means… means becoming the strongest pirate!"
Dice: "Possessing supreme honor, obtaining the Pirate King's treasure, and lots and lots of money."
Fame and money… If one truly coveted money, obtaining a Gold-Gold Fruit and becoming the Golden Emperor would practically be enough.
As for fame, being a pirate didn't seem like particularly good fame either.
"The reason the Pirate King is the Pirate King isn't because he circled the world once, but because he had the strength to suppress all other pirates. Reaching the final island was simply completing the final step."
"Strength is the key. So our next goal is to increase our strength."
"Set sail to train, search for powerful Devil Fruits, and recruit strong Rocket Team members."
"Making the Rocket Team stronger is the primary goal. As for becoming Pirate King… it's merely a halo attached after reaching the pinnacle of strength. If you're weak, even if you luckily reach the final island, what awaits us won't be honor, but disaster and death."
Setting sail was to become stronger, to search for Devil Fruits, and to fight
Devil Fruit ability users.
"That's right. Only by becoming stronger can one become Pirate King! The title of Pirate King isn't something anyone can obtain. If you can't withstand the World Government and the Marines' suppression, and can't outcompete other pirates, then even if you reach the final island, no one will acknowledge you."
Bonez also agreed with this point. After witnessing the vastness of the sea, he understood the importance of strength very clearly.
"Additionally, during our free time, we can cause some minor trouble for the World Government. Since they've put a bounty on me, then let's strike at the World Government's… slave trade."
The slave trade had always been conducted by the World Government, both directly and indirectly.
Small-scale operations might not have direct ties to the World Government, but on the Red Line where the Celestial Dragons resided, there were countless slaves, and the Celestial Dragons openly dragged slaves around with them.
To say the World Government wasn't involved in slave trading would be fooling ghosts. Anyone with some knowledge knew what was going on.
"Let's set these as our initial goals for setting sail—strengthen our power and cause some trouble for the World Government."
In January, Year 1505 of the Sea Circle Calendar, on Bliss Island of the West Blue, a flag bearing Meowth's portrait fluttered atop the mast of the Thunder Fortress.
They didn't use a skull flag. From the very beginning, their goal wasn't to become Pirate King. Hanging a skull flag would only scare civilians and served no other purpose.
"Prepare to set sail!"
The massive sails were raised. The Thunder Fortress still retained its sail design. Although electric propulsion was good, it wasn't suitable for constant use. Under normal circumstances, sails were enough to meet their travel needs.
"Rocket Team! Set sail!"
"We're setting sail!"
Meowth pulled out a conch shell from somewhere. Blowing into the back of the shell, it immediately produced a modern ship horn sound that echoed far into the distance.
Thunder Fortress Captain. Rocket Team Leader Vane.
Leader's Personal Guard Daz Bonez [Dice-Dice Fruit].
Combat Squad Leader Lion-Man Tant [Lion Fruit], with Dice currently serving as a combat squad member.
Musketeer Squad Leader Lena [Through-Through Fruit].
Logistics Squad Leader Martha.
Fish-Man Squad Leader Fish Giant Big Pan.
Science Squad Leader Meowth [Castle-Castle Fruit], with subordinate members Electabuzz and Charizard assisting in research.
Leader's Secretary Baccarat [Vision-Vision Fruit].
As a team that had just officially set sail, possessing five Devil Fruit ability users was unprecedented and unmatched.
The Thunder Fortress sailed out of the shipyard.
One day later, the surrounding gangs finally confirmed that the outsiders who had occupied the scrapyard had truly left.
The Octopus Gang allied with the Mayfly Gang, the Sponge Gang allied with the Starfish Gang, and the four gangs fought and negotiated as they divided the scrapyard's benefits among themselves.
Octopus, Mayfly, Sponge, and Starfish devoured the Crab Gang's last remnants completely.
...
"May I ask where our next course is headed?"
The navigator Briggs approached Vane, requesting that he provide a specific sailing direction.
"To this place."
Vane pointed at a location on the West Blue navigation chart.
"The Nanami Kingdom? That place seems to be in some turmoil."
The Nanami Kingdom—a kingdom slightly stronger than the Thorn Rose Kingdom—was originally a World Government affiliated nation. However, after failing to pay the Heavenly Tribute on time for two consecutive years, it had officially been stripped of its status as a World Government affiliated nation.
And recently, the Six-Gold Kingdom next to the Nanami Kingdom had launched an invasion war against it.