A Log Pose and Den Den Mushi Delivered to His Door

"This dazzling, heaven-shaking power..." Ling Donglai examined his palm, where threads of electricity crackled.

This power

had almost made him lose himself!

He clearly knew he was still weak, yet he could not help but become swollen with pride.

That was how people were—creatures who constantly inflated themselves and indulged in desire.

Only saints could be without wants or desires!

Human ambition could even destroy humanity itself!

Craving more, never being satisfied, a greedy beast—this was humanity.

But only sufficient desire could generate the drive to move forward.

His ambition swelled.

"Let's see. Will my reason control my ambition and power, or will power drag my reason and ambition forward in a mad dash? Either way—"

Ling Donglai looked ahead and threw a punch. A blue beam shot straight through, blasting apart every pirate ship that stood in his way!

"One million volts is not my limit!"

Behind him, Nami folded her arms and stared at him in a daze.

"Run, run! This isn't power that could possibly be born in the East Blue! Why hasn't this guy gone to the Grand Line yet?!"

The surviving pirates had already been terrified by power beyond their comprehension.

With their limited experience, they could not imagine that a human being could unleash such a terrifying attack.

As the pirates fled, one particular ship became especially conspicuous. That pirate ship flew no identifying flag of its own and sailed toward Ling Donglai.

"We mean no harm. We merely wish to speak with you, Mr. Ling."

As the ship approached, the people aboard, dressed in suits, called out elegantly.

Ling Donglai remained silent. Taking that as consent, the people aboard came over one after another.

"It is obvious at a glance that you are not a pirate, Mr. Ling. There must be some mistake with the Navy's wanted poster. We can pull some strings and have it removed easily."

"Of course, I'm sure Mr. Ling does not care about a mere thirty million Beli, hahaha..."

"Are you with the Navy? A wanted order issued by Marine Headquarters, and you say you can erase it just like that? How interesting." Ling Donglai propped up his head, his white translucent shirt hanging open and giving the visitors an intense sense of oppression.

It was like standing before a tiger, and as he spoke, that oppressive presence became even more pronounced.

The man in the suit took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away his sweat.

That pressure came not only from Ling Donglai's physique, but also from the power he had displayed moments ago.

As he wiped his sweat, the suited man thought of his boss, and the sensation of dancing on a knife's edge eased slightly.

So what if you, Ling Donglai, are strong? You're nothing more than some freak born in the East Blue. My boss, on the other hand, is a mysterious existence who does not even regard Marine Headquarters as worthy of notice.

"We are not with the Navy. We merely have some influence over them. Erasing a wanted order from the East Blue is something we can manage. After all, thirty million is not such a large sum."

The suited man tried hard to sound convincing, but his emotions fluctuated when he mentioned that number. Through an inexplicable sense, Ling Donglai understood that thirty million was also a considerable sum in his eyes, far from as insignificant as he made it sound.

"We came here to invite you to join us, Mr. Ling."

Ling Donglai said, "Interesting."

He clasped his hands together and leaned back.

"We are from Baroque Works. Our goal is to recruit bounty hunters from the Four Blues, share intelligence, hunt pirates more effectively, and establish an ideal nation without pirates. Our headquarters is located in Alabasta," the suited man said.

"Alabasta?" Nami, who had been listening idly from the side, raised a brow.

Wasn't that the captain's destination?

"You must be a bounty hunter as well, right? The Navy branded you a wanted criminal, so you cannot collect their bounties. You can only earn a meager amount of Beli by plundering pirates.

"But rest assured. Once you join us, the issue of bounties will be easily resolved, and you can gain even more... After all, we have an entire country backing us."

"That name sounds familiar." Ling Donglai repeated the name Baroque Works in a low voice.

"We are recruiting everywhere. Our name is fairly well-known among bounty hunters, so it is perfectly normal that you have heard of us somewhere," the suited man explained.

"Unfortunately, neither your organization's ideals nor its employee benefits are remotely appealing to me."

Ling Donglai remembered.

This was the secret criminal organization Robin had been part of during the Alabasta arc. Its leader was Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai and a Logia Devil Fruit user.

"Have we been refused? What a pity. If you change your mind, the doors of our organization will always be open to you." The suited man smiled awkwardly, said nothing further, and turned to leave.

"Stop. I have no interest in the organization you belong to, but I am very interested in Alabasta. So—you must have a Log Pose with you, right?"

Ling Donglai held out his hand. His meaning was obvious.

"You jest, sir. A Log Pose is an extremely precious item. Without one, we would lose our way in the strange and ever-changing magnetic fields when traveling to the Grand Line."

The suited man turned back with an awkward smile.

Ling Donglai said, "I want that one—the Log Pose leading to Alabasta."

"Ah... this... well..." The smile on the suited man's face stiffened.

He could feel that the atmosphere in the air had changed.

If he did not handle this properly...

"Tell me your answer." Ling Donglai scrutinized the man in the suit.

"Then there is only one answer!"

He swiftly took a small square object from his pocket that could be worn around the wrist.

Inside was only a suspended needle pointing in one direction, unaffected by changes in the surrounding magnetic field.

"I humbly offer this to you with both hands!!!"

The suited man shouted, bowed, and placed the Log Pose in his palm.

"So this is a Log Pose." Nami stepped forward, took it, examined it for a while, then strapped it around her wrist as though she were wearing an oversized watch.

"It looks fragile. We'll have to protect it carefully."

"Do you have something like a starter Den Den Mushi on you?"

It was basically a snail version of a cell phone. There probably were not many in the beginner's village, but they were everywhere on the Grand Line.

"I have one, but it is how my superior contacts me... I'll give it to you..."

Seeing Ling Donglai's outstretched hand, the suited man fell silent and took out a miniature Den Den Mushi once more.

Its shell bore their side's identification number, a private number. Its facial features seemed to resemble those of its owner, and every Den Den Mushi had distinctive looks.

There were ten buttons on the side, numbered 0 through 9.

Third update, please vote... I wonder whether there will be a recommendation slot this week.