Everyone's Reactions

Three days earlier

In the East Blue, on a "small island" made of reefs several dozen kilometers from Baratie.

Gin, Krieg, Baru, and the few who had barely survived lay sprawled across the reefs, gasping for breath.

After drifting at sea for two days, they were all soaked to the bone.

They had barely eaten anything, surviving entirely on raw fish.

Gin's mind was a mess.

He had always hidden behind Krieg before, needing only to obey orders as he drifted through life in a daze.

The incident at Baratie a few days ago had made him discover his true feelings and see through Krieg's character.

But Krieg had also shown him great kindness, and he did not know how to handle their relationship from here on.

Forget it. Why think so much? Maybe in a few days, we'll all starve to death together on this little island.

If possible, I really want to meet them again on the Grand Line.

Perhaps the heavens had taken pity on them, for Gin saw a ship slowly approaching.

The survivors immediately felt hope return.

Krieg revealed a sinister smile, hiding the few weapons he had left as he prepared to seize the ship.

"Gin, get ready."

Gin gave Krieg a meaningful look.

This will be the last time I follow his orders. I'll consider his kindness repaid.

From now on, I'll walk my own path.

But when the ship drew near, Krieg, Gin, and the others instantly lost their composure.

It was a pirate ship.

And the symbol on its pirate flag clearly showed that the ship belonged to Clown Buggy.

"Ka-hahaha! Isn't this Krieg? I heard you challenged Can Yue?"

Having settled Orange Town's debt, Buggy stood at the bow with his hands on his hips, flaunting himself.

Beside him stood Alvida, who had eaten the Smooth-Smooth Fruit and become absurdly sleek.

There was also Kabaji, an acrobat and Two Sword Style user.

The moment Krieg saw that it was Buggy, cold sweat poured down his face and his head spun.

"It's over. We're dead!"

After all, when Buggy had driven them out of the East Blue, he had made it perfectly clear.

If he saw them in the East Blue again, he would kill them on sight.

Buggy rubbed his hands together as he looked down at Krieg and Gin below.

"Cough, cough. Honestly, you dared to provoke Can Yue? That's gutsy. You got beaten up pretty badly, huh?

Tsk, just looking at you tells me that question was unnecessary.

Anyway, the main reason I'm saying all this is that we need some startup funds for sailing.

And that money will be provided by your bounties."

As he said this, Buggy grinned.

His teasing expression carried a trace of cruelty.

Upon hearing Buggy's threat, Krieg did not react at all beyond breaking out in cold sweat.

From the moment he had seen Buggy, Krieg had completely lost any desire to fight.

But to everyone's surprise,

Gin stepped forward.

"Chief Krieg saved my life. If you want to kill him, you'll have to get past me first!"

Buggy's eyes shifted as he thought for a moment, then he suddenly burst into laughter.

"What an interesting brat."

The time returned to the present.

There was still about one day before the Merry reached Cocoyasi Village.

Everyone was carrying out their own physical training.

With nothing else to do for the moment, Can Yue entered the cabin and carefully reviewed the gains from this battle.

When he encountered Hawk Eyes, Can Yue's Sesshomaru template fusion rate had not yet reached the threshold.

So this time, he had only received a small reward.

Fusion Rate: 46% → 48%, increased by 2%

Additional Reward: The strength and power of the "Great War Spear" weapon increased.

Exclusive Reward: Spear-and-Staff Combat Method ×1

Over the past few days of sailing, Can Yue's daily role-playing progress had risen from 45% to 46%.

With the additional 2% from the system reward, it had now reached 48%.

An increase in fusion rate naturally meant an increase in strength, though it was not as obvious as breaking through a threshold.

Moreover, Can Yue had discovered that as the fusion rate rose higher and higher, the pace of improvement from daily role-playing had clearly slowed.

What was interesting was that because Can Yue had taken Krieg's Great War Spear,

the system had enhanced the weapon according to its new user Chouchou's physical strength.

The exclusive reward it provided clearly belonged to Chouchou and Nami, who had begun spear-and-staff training.

It seemed that based on Can Yue's current circumstances, the system might provide rewards suited to what he needed at this stage.

Heh, not bad.

The moment the Spear-and-Staff Combat Method reward appeared, Can Yue had already learned and mastered it.

This combat method was only average in strength and did not suit Can Yue.

So he would basically never use it, but it was still suitable for training Nami and Chouchou.

After briefly sorting through the rewards, Can Yue began considering his next move.

Uh... what is there to think about with Arlong? I'll just flatten him with one sword.

After dealing with Arlong, they would begin heading for Loguetown.

That was where they might encounter some real trouble.

Can Yue did not know how the Marines currently assessed the Straw Hat Crew's strength.

If the Marines knew about all of them,

then those sent to stop them in Loguetown might not be limited to Smoker alone.

But if Smoker was the only one blocking their path, it would be simple.

After all, according to rumors, Smoker in this world should be about on Buggy's level.

He was fine when fighting Luffy and the others.

But if he encountered Can Yue, the "Undefeated War God" would definitely fall flat on his face.

He can serve as a sparring partner for Luffy and the others.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Can Yue walked onto the deck.

"Nami, Chouchou, come train. I'll teach you something new."

Marine Headquarters—this time, it was not the bounty management department.

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.

The "Fleet Admiral" Sengoku and the "Marine Hero" Garp were sitting together eating rice crackers.

Sengoku rested his head on one hand and glared at Garp with an irritated expression.

"Garp, your grandson has become a wanted criminal! How did you raise him?"

Garp laughed heartily, looking completely unconcerned.

"Twenty million? That brat still has a long way to go."

Sengoku sighed, resting his chin in both hands as his gaze turned slightly grave.

"But I'm not worried about your grandson. I'm worried about that companion of his named Can Yue."

Garp took a bite of a rice cracker and replied with pursed lips.

"Why? A bounty of thirty million shouldn't be enough to concern a Fleet Admiral like you."

Sengoku replied solemnly.

"There are rumors that he defeated Buggy alone.

Not long ago, he even clashed with Hawk Eyes at sea. At first, neither side gained the upper hand.

But our informant within the Krieg Pirates was killed by the shockwaves from their battle, so the information sent back was incomplete."

Only then did Garp's expression begin to turn serious.

"If he can defeat Buggy, his true bounty should be at least over a hundred million. He does deserve attention.

As for the other matter, did you ask Hawk Eyes to confirm it?"

Sengoku sighed. "We did, but we can't reach him for now."

Garp looked at the worried Sengoku and spoke in an apparently grave tone.

"Someone as strong as Can Yue is a pirate who must be closely watched. Emmm... Sengoku, good luck!"

At first, Sengoku thought Garp was going to personally deal with the matter. But upon hearing the rest of his sentence, rage immediately surged within him.

"That's your grandson's pirate crew!"

"Got it."

"Ga~rp!"

"Cough, cough. I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving first."

Watching Garp leave, Sengoku clicked his tongue.

Then his eyes flickered as he thought aloud.

"Ah, the great pirates of the New World haven't been quiet lately either. The Straw Hat Pirates will have to be put aside for now.

They should pass through Loguetown after a while.

Emmm... can Smoker handle them?

Maybe I should arrange for a few more people to help him."