32 Loguetown

He wasn't strong enough.

Ling Donglai knew that very clearly.

His current maximum discharge was 300,000 Volts, while even Enel's casual attacks were stronger than that, reaching the tens-of-millions-of-volts level.

By comparison, he was incredibly weak!

He couldn't even beat Smoker, the White Hunter and Marine colonel stationed in Loguetown.

He was a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user.

That alone made him practically invincible in the first half of the Grand Line.

So he was far too weak. He had to become stronger.

On these seas, weakness was the original sin.

If he didn't become stronger, then he had no right to complain when disaster struck.

Holding the treasure, Ling Donglai stood at the bow of the pirate ship, preparing to jump back to the Shark Superb.

"You... aren't going to kill me?" Eric, who had completely lost his will to fight, looked up.

"There's no point, so I don't need to."

Earlier, Ling Donglai had planned to have Nami carry a head to claim the Marine bounty. But after imagining fourteen-year-old Nami carrying around a severed head, he gave up on the idea.

It wasn't as if Nami would be repulsed by a head.

But he didn't like it, and that was enough.

As for Eric, he didn't even have the courage to stab Ling Donglai with that sword. Therefore—he had lost even the right to be an enemy.

He was like an ant. Whether Ling Donglai crushed him or not made no difference.

And killing a pirate for the sake of these seas was even more meaningless.

Pirates on the sea were as numerous as hairs on an ox. One more or one less would change nothing. He wasn't joining the Marines, and neither his position nor his sense of responsibility gave him any reason to kill this pirate.

Besides, he had never heard the name Eric. That meant Eric would eventually disappear from these seas.

So why waste extra effort getting rid of him?

Letting a tiger return to the mountain?

If someone could be defeated once, they could be defeated a second time. Eric had lost even the qualifications to be a cat.

His main purpose in attacking these pirates had only been to obtain treasure.

"So I don't even deserve to be killed?" The light completely vanished from Eric's eyes.

He had been utterly crushed, inside and out.

If Ling Donglai had turned around and offered him a hand—

He would surely have gained a fanatically loyal subordinate.

Ling Donglai understood that as well. But... he crouched and jumped.

He easily leaped onto the Shark Superb with the treasure.

"Nami, I'm back." The sea breeze lifted Ling Donglai's shirt, caressing his abs like a lover.

"So fast!"

Nami's dazed eyes widened. To her, Ling Donglai had only been gone for a moment, yet he had already dealt with an entire pirate ship and brought back so much treasure. It was unbelievable.

"I ran into a Devil Fruit user. Otherwise, it would have taken only half a minute." Ling Donglai stated the fact calmly.

After he left, Eric clutched his head and let out a pained roar.

Then he staggered toward the side of the ship.

"It's gone. I have nothing left... Then why am I still alive...?"

Filled with despair, Eric threw himself into the sea.

As a Devil Fruit user, this was suicide. His body did not even have the strength to struggle as he sank and sank...

Why did I become a pirate in the first place...?

Eric pondered that question in the icy seawater.

His life ended there.

"So much Beli, and some gold too. Once we reach Loguetown, we can sell this gold." Nami pulled herself together and began counting their spoils.

A man could not get rich without windfalls. The Beli they had gained from robbing this pirate crew would be enough for them to splurge in Loguetown for several days.

"Speaking of gold, I remember the famous City of Gold on Sky Island. The gold there is piled into mountains. Once we're strong enough, we can go look for it..."

"Gold piled into mountains? A place like that exists?" Nami looked over curiously.

"It was recorded in a fairy tale book—the story of Noland the Liar."

Such fairy tale books were practically children's introductory reading all over the world.

"Noland wasn't a liar. The City of Gold he sought was swept into the sky by ocean currents. Just thinking about it is incredible—currents powerful enough to split an island apart and send it into the sky.

And yet ships weren't torn apart by them, and could safely reach Sky Island..."

"There really is a lot of unbelievable weather on the Grand Line. Like now—a storm is about to arrive."

"Then let's go inside and continue training."

Ling Donglai reached beneath Nami's arms and lifted her up like a little girl, drawing a startled cry from her.

Ten minutes later, the storm arrived right on time. The Shark Superb continued steadily toward Loguetown through the wind and waves.

By the time the storm stopped, three days had passed. Loguetown was right before them.

Normally, after learning that Loguetown was guarded by Marines and had an invincible Logia user, Ling Donglai should not have come here.

But Loguetown was different. Its business depended on pirates. Among the crowds coming and going, if you threw down a brick, nine out of ten passersby would be pirates, while the remaining one would be a bounty hunter.

The Marines stationed there generally ignored those pirates, provided they didn't cause trouble.

If they did cause trouble, then they were asking for it, and the Marines would immediately move in to arrest them.

As for why Ling Donglai knew this so well, it was because he had come here once with his former pirate captain. However, he hadn't bought anything then, so he didn't know the prices.

After they went ashore, Nami excitedly hugged the money bag and rushed into a clothing store to try on clothes.

"Boss, I want to try this one!"

Nami pointed at a high-slit cheongsam in the clothing store.

Without changing expression, Ling Donglai rubbed her head, then turned it toward the girls' section beside it.

"Children should dress like children. Save adult clothes for after you grow up."

"Damn it, Captain, you're a kid too!" Nami struggled fiercely, but when Ling Donglai lifted her by the body, her little legs could only kick helplessly in the air.

In the end, Nami only got clothes suitable for her age.

Ling Donglai bought several outfits, then purchased necessary fresh water and food, along with a cookbook he had long dreamed of owning that contained possible ingredients from the sea.

After Nami taught him how to read, he would be able to fill his stomach by hunting giant sea beasts.

In this world, powerful fighters simply killed Sea Kings and ate their meat when they encountered them. Low-level pirates, on the other hand, could only flee in every direction when they saw Sea Kings. Ling Donglai also wanted to hunt a Sea King.

If the Marines kept an especially close watch on him, they might intercept him at the entrance to the Grand Line. If that happened, he would have no choice but to turn toward the Calm Belt.

And the Calm Belt was known as the nest of gigantic Sea Kings!