Dolypa Kingdom

The Mud Dragon Pirates, led by Julian, had been sailing for nineteen days. After Julian had plundered a region in the Edia Kingdom last time, they were now preparing to head to another World Government affiliated kingdom. Julian had cleaned out the Edia Kingdom so thoroughly that he felt a bit embarrassed to stay there any longer, so he decided to try his luck in the next kingdom.

It was already the end of the year, with two days left until the New Year. The year was Marine Year 1497. Most people in this world didn't celebrate the New Year. Julian guessed that only the Flower Country in the North Blue might celebrate. Looking at the current route, it would take about half a day to reach Dolypa Island. Julian decided to let his crew celebrate the New Year in the Dolypa Kingdom.

This would be Julian's first New Year celebrated in this world. He had been here for over seven months and had known George, Pekki, Leo, Rose, and others for over four months. He also cherished the friendship with the later Division Captains, Allison, Pierre, and Herbert. These men were one hundred percent loyal to Julian and one hundred percent devoted to the Mud Dragon Pirates. This was Julian's clever strategy.

The ship's rules and training, along with his friendly and kind demeanor towards others, generous distribution of Belly, and frequent training sessions with the crew, were just a few of his many virtues. He often encouraged his crew, and all the Division Captains had experienced Julian's care. He generously provided food and Belly, learning from Cao Cao's methods of winning people's hearts in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and even surpassed them.

Julian had been training with everyone these days, and Alice had joined them. With the Earth Weight-Bearing Suits, they had made significant progress. The other Division Captains had all benefited. Julian had also asked Alice to process the Snake Kiss Orchids into medicinal herbs, which were given to the Division Captains every night to relieve fatigue.

The reason why the other crew members didn't use them was mainly due to the low yield of Snake Kiss Orchids. Even though they had transplanted them onto the ship and covered them with plenty of fertile soil, the Snake Kiss Orchid flowers were simply rare.

Julian looked at the crew members training before him and said, "Everyone, stop training today. We will reach the Dolypa Kingdom this afternoon. We have two days left until the New Year. To Pablo, tell all the brothers they'll get double pay today so they can have a good New Year." The crew seemed a bit confused about the New Year.

Julian explained, "In my hometown, there's a custom to have a few days off for the New Year and receive double pay. Take this money and go eat something good in town, buy some nice clothes, and everyone be happy." George said, "Captain, your hometown is truly wonderful, and this New Year custom is great!" He then burst into laughter, and the crew members joined in.

Pekki asked, "Captain, will we celebrate the New Year every year from now on?" Julian smiled and said, "Of course, we'll celebrate! It's a chance for us brothers to have some fun together." Julian added, "When the time comes, we'll have a banquet on New Year's Eve."

Julian then told everyone, "Be low-key when we get to the city. This is also a member kingdom of the World Government. I'm also planning to raid the castle and pay a visit to King Dopa."

Julian planned to raid the castle. If they were to rob it, it would alert the Marines, and Julian didn't want to engage in a war with them. If that happened, the Marine Headquarters would be dispatched, and Julian was afraid of that. He couldn't defeat the Admirals of the Marine Headquarters.

Julian looked at his "company" and didn't want to lead his "workers" to their deaths, especially at this time. Drawing too much attention would clearly go against Julian's principle of stable development. Julian then said, "Everyone, go rest for now."

The Navigator had already chosen the landing spot, and Julian trusted Garud completely. Julian returned to his room and said to Alice and Beatrice, "We'll go to the city to explore later." Alice said, "Let's explore the island thoroughly and see if there's anything good." Julian looked at Alice, who seemed a little excited, and said, "If you want to buy anything, just take the money. Don't hesitate to take as much as you want." Beatrice said, "We'll just look around casually; we don't need to spend too much."

Julian replied, "It's a small matter. Take your time exploring. We have plenty of time." Alice said, "Alright then." The twelve ships of the Mud Dragon Pirates had reached the dock. All the ships were docked at a huge pier. The ships slowly pulled up to the pier. Julian said, "Lower all the flags. All helmsmen, lower the Mud Dragon flag."

Julian estimated the island to be about sixty thousand square kilometers, with a population of over 1.2 million. King Dopa was in his fifties. Julian scanned the dock for other pirate crews but saw none.

Julian didn't plan to cause trouble immediately. They needed to stay in this kingdom for a few days. Julian, along with the two women and a few Division Captains, disembarked and walked towards the pier. George surveyed the surroundings and said, "This pier leads to the kingdom's main city, but it's about a ten-minute walk."

Julian gave everyone leave to go to the main city of the Dolypa Kingdom to buy things, leaving some logistics personnel behind. He also left two Squad Leaders to guard the ships.

The island had fifteen docks and was a nation with a highly developed commercial sector. The island was ruled by a king and nobles, not much different from previous affiliated kingdoms, except for the larger population and more nobles.

Julian told his crew not to split up too much, especially the Ship Doctor and the Nurse. Julian directly assigned the First Division Captain, George, to protect Rose's Ship Doctor and Nurse. George and Rose acted together.

Julian, along with Beatrice and Alice, headed to the main commercial city to start shopping. Julian had brought out over a billion Belly, intending to buy things. What to buy first? Naturally, it would be the uniform attire and clothes for the Mud Dragon Pirates.

Julian first looked for a large department store specializing in clothing. He found a merchant and began to order custom-made clothes. He first ordered two hundred yellow cloak coats with a dragon head logo on the back, one thousand epaulets, and two thousand yellow dragon head large buttons.

Julian planned to distribute these to the other Division Captains, Squadron Captains, and Squad Leaders as rank insignia. Division Captains would have epaulets with three dragon head buttons, Squadron Captains with two, and Squad Leaders with one. Those without a position would wear yellow suits. Julian also ordered two thousand yellow suits, five hundred nurse uniforms, and other types of employee clothing.

Julian asked the owner how long it would take to deliver the goods. The owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, said, "About five days. We have many workers here who make clothes. Sir, do you need any other clothing?" Julian, not wanting any more trouble, said, "Just these! If you can rush out one hundred yellow cloak coats and more yellow suits in five days, I'll take them all."

The middle-aged owner said, "Don't worry, sir. Our workers are very skilled and will definitely be able to make these clothes." Julian asked, "How much will it cost?" The middle-aged owner said, "Ten million in total. If you think it's too expensive, sir, we can give you a discount." Julian said, "It'll be ten million. I'll pay you directly next time." The middle-aged owner said, "Don't worry, sir. You can pick up the goods in five days."

Julian wanted to standardize the uniforms to make them look more imposing. He wanted his Mud Dragon Pirates to appear like a warlord army, not pirates. In this era, what could be more intimidating than unified clothing? Julian thought to himself, "When I lead such a force to invade Skypiea, those Skypieans with their little wings will see our might and surrender immediately."

Julian was very satisfied with his masterpiece. The boss said, "Sir, can you pay two million Belly as a deposit first?" Julian immediately handed over the money and said, "Money is a small matter. Just prepare the goods." The middle-aged boss smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry. Our goods are the best here."

Julian left the market and started wandering with Alice and Beatrice. Julian watched them buy things and paid for them directly. The two women bought women's clothes, shoes, and cosmetics. Julian paid in one go, and then stored everything on his body. Julian secretly thought, "My Earth-Earth Fruit is really convenient."

Julian and the two women walked into a bookstore. Alice and Beatrice started looking for good books. Julian was curious and finally saw the bookstore, so he started asking the boss, "What books do you have here?" The bookstore owner smiled and said, "We have a complete guide to navigation, legends of sea heroes, comics, and legends of adventurers."

Julian secretly thought, "Basically, they are all novels." Julian found it boring, just bragging about how brave someone was. Julian asked, "Boss, do you have any ancient books, or manuals, or treasure maps, or anything like that? The price is negotiable." The bookstore owner directly took Julian to the second floor and took out a few manuals.

Julian looked at the manuals in front of him and smiled inwardly. One was a cultivation manual called Lightning Fist. The second was an unknown manual. The third was an Armament Haki cultivation manual. The boss was old and didn't understand the value of these items, which gave Julian an opportunity to get a bargain.

Julian asked, "How much will it cost if I take them all?" The boss saw that Julian was easy to swindle and said, "Five million Belly, and they're all yours." Julian immediately paid and took the three manuals. Julian and the bookstore owner both smiled, as if they had both profited from each other. Julian looked at the manuals and knew that the Lightning Fist technique was a very powerful boxing technique. Once cultivated successfully, the fists could unleash a powerful punch with lightning-like speed and power, which was very suitable for close-quarters combat.

As for the second, unnamed manual, it was a record of some flowers and trees. The third, an Armament Haki cultivation manual, Julian secretly thought, "Amazing! It was written by a quite powerful Armament Haki master. It's his insights on cultivating Armament Haki."

Julian looked at Beatrice and Alice and asked, "Do you two have anything else you like?" Alice said, "We don't." Beatrice bought a few novels: The King and the Princess, The Navigator's Journey, and The Story of the Adventurous Hero.

Julian looked at them and secretly thought, "These can be called novels? The beginning and ending are all the same. Julian complained inwardly, "Any novel from my previous life would crush these novels. It's really boring."

Julian secretly thought, "I've made a huge profit with these three manuals." Julian inquired about the location of the King's Castle from some small vendors. After Julian learned the location of the King's Castle, he planned to go and "steal the house" next time. He also asked if there were any super large malls or auction houses around.

Julian learned that the kingdom did indeed have an auction house, and there would be an auction in five days. Julian also learned that Devil Fruits might be auctioned. Julian secretly thought, "That's great. I, Julian, will do it." Julian, satisfied, took the two women back to the ship. This timeline was not yet the Great Age of Pirates, and there were not many pirates.