In the East Blue, after easily wiping out a ship full of pirates whose bounty totaled five million, the Den Den Mushi in Gin's arms rang.
A few minutes later, he looked at the apprentice pirates who had been lucky enough to survive and were huddled together, trembling. In a low voice, he said, "Set sail. We're going to Loguetown!"
In the West Blue, after once again refusing a group of Marines who had come to recruit him, Daz straightened his clothes. By now, the sharp edge around him had been withdrawn quite a bit, making him seem far more restrained.
"Is it time, Captain?"
Daz looked at Roy, who had suddenly appeared before him, and grinned.
"Mm. It's time. I came to get you all."
"You all?"
Very soon, Daz understood what "you all" meant.
"You ate the Devil Fruit I gave you. Looks like you've already made your choice."
Roy brought Daz to the Andrew Kingdom, where they met Laffitte, who had clearly grown much steadier. It was obvious that he had been through quite a lot during this period.
"It is my honor, Captain."
As Laffitte spoke, he removed his top hat and bowed to Roy.
Then he turned slightly and looked at Daz beside Roy.
"Demon Blade Daz Bonez?"
"Demon Sheriff Laffitte?"
Clearly, the two recognized each other.
"I never expected that Demon Blade Daz, the bounty hunter who has been active in the West Blue recently, would actually be a crewmate too," Laffitte said with a chuckle.
"It's all thanks to Captain's cultivation," Daz said in a deep voice. Then he glanced at Laffitte and added, "I also didn't expect that Laffitte, the famous sheriff of the West Blue who dared to execute a noble and became known as the Demon Sheriff, would also be a crewmate."
"I have already been exiled. I stopped being a sheriff long ago."
"Enough. This isn't the time to reminisce. Once you're aboard the ship, you can talk properly then," Roy interrupted.
"Yes, Captain."
…
In the New World, Burgess, who had evaded CP0's search, hid in a corner and let out a breath of relief. Then he poured himself a mouthful of liquor.
"Looks like you've suffered quite a bit these days."
"Pffft!"
Burgess once again sprayed the liquor out of his mouth, then coughed violently for a while.
"Wi-ha… haha… ha…"
"Catch your breath before you laugh," Roy said, standing in front of Burgess.
It seemed Burgess had been chased by CP0 all this time. Not only was his beard scruffy, even his originally purple curly hair had been shaved into a crew cut.
However, his overall strength had improved quite a bit. After being tempered between life and death, Burgess had clearly grown a lot.
"Wi-hahahaha! Captain, you really do come and go like a ghost! Look, I won the fighting arena championship!"
As Burgess spoke, he stood up and proudly straightened the golden championship belt around his waist.
"Very good. I really didn't misjudge you. Then, are you ready? We're about to officially set sail."
"Wi-hahahaha! Of course, Captain! I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
…
Meanwhile, in Syrup Village in the East Blue.
Yasopp carefully wiped down every one of his beloved guns. Then he took a deep breath, stood up, and shouldered his pack.
Banchina held both hands before her chest and quietly watched Yasopp's back.
"Sorry, Banchina. I'm destined to head out onto this sea," Yasopp said without turning around. "You've met my captain too. He has the ability to use Instant Transmission, so I'll be able to come back anytime."
After saying that, Yasopp, who had never dared to turn back and look at Banchina's expression, walked forward.
"Daddy!"
Usopp, who was already two years old and had inherited Banchina's long-nosed genes, blinked his little eyes and looked at Yasopp in front of him.
"Why?"
"Because the pirate flag is calling me!"
"Huh?"
Usopp's little eyes instantly filled with sparkling stars.
"The pirate flag?"
…
On this side, Roy brought Burgess back from the New World to Loguetown.
"Wi-hahahaha! So this is the place where the Pirate King, Roger, was born and died?"
Burgess waved his arms and laughed loudly. Daz and Laffitte, who had already been waiting there, also came over to meet him.
Behind the two of them lay pirates scattered all over the ground. They were all people who had coveted Roy's pirate ship and come with ill intentions.
"Yohoho, so this guy is one of our crewmates too? Judging from his aura, he doesn't seem weak at all."
A laugh filled with anticipation and excitement rang out.
Daz, beside him, merely crossed his arms and remained silent.
"Wi-hahahaha! My name is Burgess, and I'm a fighting champion!"
Burgess laughed loudly. Then he seemed to remember something and said to Daz and Laffitte, "You two were invited aboard by Captain too, right? Then did Captain give you a boarding gift?"
"A boarding gift?"
Laffitte hopped two steps with his feet and said, "Captain gave me a Devil Fruit."
"A profound swordsmanship training method," Daz said. "Before Captain invited me, I had already eaten a Devil Fruit."
"Is that so? Then what abilities do your Devil Fruits have? Mine is the Paramecia-type Boil-Boil Fruit. Captain obtained it from the core warehouse of the Holy Land Mary Geoise!"
Burgess grew interested and continued asking.
"Yohoho. Is that so? In that case, my fruit should also be one Captain obtained from the core warehouse. It is the Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan Model: Griffin," Laffitte answered.
"Mythical Zoan?"
Burgess was stunned.
"You mean the Mythical Zoan that's even rarer than Logia-type fruits? I thought those were just legends. I didn't expect they really existed."
Burgess smacked his lips, then looked toward Daz, who had not spoken the entire time, and asked, "What about you, brother? What's your ability?"
Daz glanced at Burgess, then turned his head away without saying anything.
Originally, Daz had thought his ability was very powerful and quite good.
But now…
The Dice-Dice Fruit.
He had eaten too early.
Seeing the three of them chatting so happily, Roy also spoke at the right time.
"We still have a few crewmates on the way. Once everyone is here, we can raise the sails and set off. So during this time, you can move freely around Loguetown. Also, keep an eye on the ship. Other than that, there's nothing else."
"Yes, Captain!"
After the few of them answered, Burgess jumped out again.
"Captain, what should we do if someone tries to board the Sea God?"
(End of Chapter)
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