Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

Shirou stepped forward and raised a hand to stop them.

"Consider these slaves bought by me. Let them go. Any losses incurred by the other Celestial Dragon families, I'll bear alone."

"This... you may have been misled by certain individuals. We humbly apologize, but we cannot follow that order."

"Because I'm a child? Or is the one giving the order above me in station?"

Shirou chuckled softly and waved his right hand.

Acunologiya cooperated perfectly, stepping forward to shield Shirou as his gaze swept across the CP Organization members.

The next instant, every CP member crumpled to the ground, trembling as they lay prone.

Among them, quite a few of the weaker members had already passed out.

"Conqueror's Haki?"

No, it was Dragon's Pressure.

Shirou silently scoffed at the thought but offered no explanation, speaking again instead.

"Well? Still want to carry out your orders?"

"No... you're right. We'll do as you say."

"Good. I like people who know which way the wind blows. If you want compensation, go ask my father or my old man."

As he turned, a streak of golden light suddenly flashed across the sky.

The light passed, and a middle-aged man in a Marine 'Justice' coat, with a face resembling a monkey's, appeared on the dock.

"Oh my, oh my... wasn't I told someone had invaded Mary Geoise? This doesn't match what I heard at all."

The future Marine Admiral—Kizaru!

Though, it seemed he wasn't an Admiral yet.

Shirou took a few steps forward, stood before him, and looked up to ask.

"Did you come to rescue Mary Geoise, or to serve as my bodyguard?"

Borsalino looked Shirou up and down, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

This Celestial Dragon youth seemed different from the others.

He radiated a pure aura, lacking the repulsive feel of other Celestial Dragons.

"I came to rescue Mary Geoise, of course. Your bodyguard hasn't been selected yet."

"You guys are pretty slow, aren't you?"

"Well, well... can't be helped. Not only does it require strength equal to an Admiral, but you also have to be ready to set sail for half a year or more. That really hurts your career prospects."

"Hahaha... you're quite an interesting guy. Want to come sailing with me?"

"Sure, I'll call Fleet Admiral Sora and let him know. By the way, can you tell me what happened here? I'll report it to him as well."

"It's simple. A Fish-Man named Fisher Tiger snuck into Mary Geoise and freed over ten thousand slaves. On the dock, I had a pleasant chat with him. I thought it'd be a shame for him to die here, so I had someone escort them away."

Shirou paused, then said with a light laugh.

"Consider these slaves as bought from the other families by me, then released."

"Oh my, oh my... so that's what happened? What a shame I didn't get to see it with my own eyes."

This young man was definitely no ordinary Celestial Dragon.

It seemed this voyage wouldn't be boring.

A smile spread across Borsalino's face, and his mood lifted.

He glanced around, scanning the slaves boarding the ships and Fisher Tiger, before finally fixing his gaze on Shirou's clone, Acunologiya.

Compared to the others, this man's presence was far too overwhelming. The fierce aura between his brows made it clear to anyone who saw him that he was no ordinary figure.

"And this young man is...?"

"Just call him Acunologiya."

Chapter 33: I Can Already See the New Era

After several hours of full-speed sailing, Fisher Tiger's slave fleet docked at an island.

"Tiger, I can only escort you this far. What are your plans next?"

"Mr. Acunologiya, I intend to escort them home."

"Over ten thousand people—that'll take too long. Better leave it to the Marines. Since my original body chose to let them go, they're no longer slaves. I doubt the Marines, who pride themselves on justice, would refuse to escort civilians home."

"That... sounds good. I'll try my luck at the Marine Base on this island."

"In that case, I'll escort you a bit further."

"Mr. Acunologiya, you mentioned before that you want to change this world. Specifically, how do you plan to do it?"

"My original body will handle that. I'm just a clone—I don't need to worry about so much. But since you're curious, no harm in telling you. The first step is to establish an Adventurer's Guild."

"Adventurer's Guild?"

"Exactly. That's the first step—rallying the bounty hunters and pirates who've never committed evil on the seas, gathering a force of our own."

"I can understand rallying bounty hunters, but pirates..." Tiger hesitated. "Neither the Marines nor the World Government will let that slide, right?"

"That's why I said pirates who've never done evil. Such people are few and far between on the seas."

The clone Shirou paused, then smiled:

"They just want to go out to sea for adventure and treasure, yet they're branded as pirates just like those vicious criminals, chased all over by the Marines. Isn't that too unfair?"

"So for those dreamers who don't want to be pirates or Marines, who just want to sail and explore, the Adventurer's Guild is their best home."

"As long as they've never committed evil, I'll find a way to get their wanted posters revoked."

I see!

Fisher Tiger's eyes lit up, as if a new future had just unfolded before him.

Adventurers!

If they could truly sail the seas without being hunted by bounties, countless people would flock to it.

"Can Fish-Men... become adventurers too?"

"Of course! As long as they've never done evil, anyone can join the Adventurer's Guild."

"Ohh...! That's incredible. I can already see a brilliant new era."

Seeing his stunned expression, the clone Shirou laughed heartily:

"Surprised by just that? That's only an appetizer."

"No, though you make it sound simple, that kind of new era is no less than the Great Pirate Era that bastard Roger started."

"Then live well. Within ten years, I'll create a brand-new, beautiful world!"

"Yes, I look forward to it."

Sabaody Archipelago.

"Young master, what is the Adventurer's Guild?"

"A brand-new organization, built mainly around quests and ranks. Anyone who hasn't done evil can post quests in the guild or register as an adventurer..."

"I see. It sounds highly feasible. But building such an organization from scratch won't be easy."

"No matter. There are more solutions than problems. Bring all the slaves from our ship here. Let them be the first adventurers. I'll issue the quests, and upon completion, they'll shed their slave status."

"This... yes, I'll prepare immediately."

"No rush. Have you chosen a location? For a long time to come, this will be the Adventurer's Guild headquarters."

"Young master, our family owns many houses on Sabaody Archipelago. There's no need to buy one."

"Besides the building, we need to recruit and train staff in advance."

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away."

Shirou nodded slightly, glanced at his old butler, and thought:

Having someone like him really is a big help.

But that's all it is.

The first step—the Adventurer's Guild—is fine even if those idiot parents of mine find out. But the next step, the revolution plan, absolutely cannot be known to them.

So I'll need to find other people.

I could contact Dragon, but his so-called Revolutionary Army is just a rebel force under the banner of revolution.

Even if they succeed, it'll just be another case of the dragon-slaying youth turning into a dragon himself. Pointless.

If he's stubborn and goes his own way, unwilling to cooperate with me, then for the second step, I'll have to gather my own people and go solo, showing them what a real revolution looks like.

"Also, the Adventurer's Guild needs a mechanism to revoke wanted posters for pirates who've never done evil, granting adventurers the privilege of never being hunted by bounties."

"The only ones who can discipline an adventurer are the guild itself."

"To make that happen, who do I need to see?"

Butler Hyman was silent for a few seconds, then hesitated:

"The master could probably do it, but he definitely won't agree. If you insist, young master, you'll have to contact the Head of the Family."

"The old man? No choice. I'm not thrilled about it, but I'll have to go to him."

"Young master, forgive my bluntness, but the Head of the Family holds you in high regard. Why do you always get angry every time you see him?"

"Not telling you!"

Vaguely, he remembered not long after he'd transmigrated, when he was still a baby.

Back then, some old man flicked him on the forehead many times...

No, I'm not thinking about what happened after that.

"Anyway, I'll contact the old man myself. You go ahead and prepare for the guild's opening."

"Yes, young master."

"Haha... an Adventurer's Guild? Interesting, very interesting."

"What's wrong? I rarely see you smile."

"Someone wants to establish an organization called the Adventurer's Guild, built mainly around two systems: quests and ranks..."

"That's practically stealing the Marines' job. Once this seemingly loose organization is set up, it'll sweep up all the scattered Bounty Hunters in one net, and the number of pirates will decrease year by year. But the blow to the Marines would be too severe."

In the bright room, another old man nodded slightly and chimed in:

"Indeed. Reject it."

"No. It's rare for my grandson to ask me for something—how could I refuse? I approve."

"Oh...? This was proposed by your grandson? I recall he's always stayed cooped up at home, never going out?"

"That's right. But today, he finally stepped out. And on his first move, he drops a bombshell like this, hahaha..."

"Rare, truly rare! I approve too."

"In that case, I'll agree as well."

The three in the room had already consented. The remaining two thought it over and nodded in turn.

At the end of the day, the biggest loser here was the Marines. For the World Government, this meant pirates would dwindle year by year, bringing stability to the world—hardly a bad thing.

In practice, adventurers weren't all that different from the Shichibukai.

And judging by the guild's structure, it was clearly far more useful than the Shichibukai.