Arrival at Rockies Island

Julian spent these past few days by Alice's side, not spouting nonsense or seeking others to discuss dreams. Beatrice and Marlena also stayed with Alice, just like Julian.

To cheer Alice up these past few days, Julian casually made up a story, explaining the two greatest talents of the pirate world.

With a smile on his face, Julian said to Alice: "The first talent on the sea is the heroic man of Wano Country, Kozuki Oden." Before Julian could even start, he saw George jotting down notes in his little book, Pekki listening with ears wide open, Herbert looking eager to hear, White Wolf Allison already grabbing some fruit, and Pierre wearing an expectant expression.

Julian chuckled and said, "I was just telling Alice a joke. Why did all of you come over to listen?" Leo dropped down from the sky and said seriously, "Captain, now everyone's here." Julian's face darkened. Allison said expectantly, "Captain, hurry up and tell us about these two talents. The first is Kozuki Oden, who's the second?"

Julian shook his head and said, "The first talent is Kozuki Oden, and the second is Blackbeard Teach." Allison said, "Kozuki Oden is the Fool King, and he was also a member of the legendary Roger Pirates." George said disdainfully, "He's a filial son all right—he doesn't deserve to be the shogun of Wano Country." Herbert said, "Him, worthy of being called a heroic man? This Humble One feels even the swordsmanship he practiced is a disgrace."

Julian looked disgusted and said, "That's true. At three, he beat up his wet nurse. At six, he visited brothels and didn't come home at night. At eight, he started playing pranks to scare other kids. At fifteen, he kept prostitutes in the temple's backyard and built a harem. At sixteen, he stole his friends' girlfriends, his friends' wives, and his subordinates' daughters. At seventeen, he cooked oden on the ashes of his dead friends. This year, he returned to Wano and started dancing naked."

The Division Captains all complained, "Truly the most twisted talent in the world, no contest." George closed his notebook and said, "Captain, Kozuki Oden disgusted me so much I can't write about him." Julian smiled and said to everyone, "Brothers, have you all eaten?"

All the Division Captains had heard Alice was pregnant and came to offer their blessings. Everyone had a meal and a few drinks on the Flame Dragon, then George, Allison, and the others left satisfied.

After seeing off all the Division Captains, Julian thought to himself: Forcing people to train during the voyage isn't scientific. It would make the crew fear training, grow to hate it, or even start coasting and wasting berries. So Julian decided that during the voyage, everyone could do whatever they wanted.

Maintain basic training: two hours a day, full rest on Saturdays and Sundays. The rest of the time, the crew could do as they pleased—read, learn to write, read novels. Some pirates even liked writing novels, and Julian fully supported that. Sundays were for big banquets, arranged the same way every week. This gave the crew a strong sense of belonging, and they all praised the captain's wisdom.

Thus, the voyage reached its seventh day. The crew slowly waited for the moment to land on the island. Julian was still leisurely eating. The other three women were in their third-floor library, reading those lowbrow books.

Julian thought about whether to publish a pirate-themed Make-Out Paradise to show them what an ascetic series looked like. He took out a Den Den Mushi and asked, "Garud, how much longer until we reach the island?"

Garud's voice came through: "About an hour." Julian looked at the map ahead. Reaching this kingdom meant he'd completed most of the journey to Reverse Mountain. This route was a longer one, but the rest would be easier.

Parts of the islands were already marked on the map. Julian was in the South Blue, starting roughly from the center. Now that they'd reached this kingdom, they'd covered most of the distance. A short stretch more, and they'd enter Reverse Mountain, heading into the Grand Line.

Julian could wait that long. At the ship's stern, Herbert used his Gale-Gale Fruit ability, blowing strong winds into the sails, making the ship creak. Herbert accelerated the ship in the morning, and Julian transformed into a Flame Dragon in the afternoon, flapping his wings to boost speed. The two had divided the work clearly. There was no helping it—headwinds on the sea would push the ship backward, so they had to rely on Devil Fruit abilities to speed things up.

Julian smiled and said, "We're finally close to the island." The crew was overjoyed. Some of them shouted, "We've finally made it!" Following the dock they'd chosen earlier, Julian and the others landed. Julian held Alice's hand, with the two younger girls following behind.

Herbert had many female friends trailing him, but he said, "My eyes can only see the sword. Women seriously hinder a Swordmaster's will." Pablo remarked, "With such will, what can Heaven do to him?" Julian thought to himself, These swordsmen are basically all eunuchs.

When the Flame Dragon Pirates' entire fleet docked in a grand spectacle, Julian planned to scout the Rockies Kingdom on the island. Yes, Julian still had the idea of looting. The other Division Captains had already led their crews ashore to the city for shopping.

This island was a large one in the South Blue, with a population of about a million and an area of around twenty thousand square kilometers. The king was called Rockies Gialla, and it was a World Government member nation.

Julian walked onto the city streets. Looking at the city before him, it was indeed clean and hygienic, with high standards. Many vendors had set up stalls. The people on this island dressed quite fashionably—women in dresses and low-cut tops. Julian took it all in, while others cautiously sized him up.

Because all the Flame Dragon Pirates wore the same uniform, the island's residents had seen people in yellow cloaks buying things all day. At first, some mocked the yellow Flame Dragon Pirate outfits, calling them crap, but later, those people were beaten to their knees by the Flame Dragon Pirates' Squad Leaders, begging for mercy. This even alerted the city guards before it stopped.

Now, seeing Julian in the same outfit, they knew this group wasn't to be trifled with. Julian stayed silent, wandering through the city. He took Alice, Beatrice, and Marina to shop at big stores. The shopkeepers, seeing Julian's attire, were all very enthusiastic.

Many Flame Dragon Pirates in the city bought things without even looking at prices, grabbing huge piles of whatever they saw. They were very generous. Julian smiled and thought to himself, Is this the fame that comes with a uniform? The shop owners, seeing the yellow cloaks, knew big business had arrived.

Julian helped the three women pick out clothes and some daily necessities. He also planned to buy things: first, ingredients; second, alcohol; third, daily goods. Julian bought enough for several dozen days. He saw Alice and Marina discussing which cosmetics were good, which clothes were pretty, and which shoes were fashionable.

Julian waved his hand and said, "Boss, pack up all your stuff." He added, "See that dock? Those twelve ships are mine. Send everything there. Name your price." Then he said to Alice, "We're sailing, or I'd buy this whole store for you." Alice said happily, "Got it, Julian."

Julian handed the shopkeeper six million berries, clearing out the store. He continued taking the three women shopping. Whatever they bought, he'd have the shopkeepers clear their warehouses. By now, over a dozen shop owners on the island were delivering goods to Julian's ships. Seeing that the women had lost interest in shopping, Julian didn't linger and let them go play on their own.

Their strength was fine, and they had Den Den Mushis. Julian went to a tavern to gather information. Inside, he saw many pirates, bounty hunters, and city residents. Without a word, he walked to a seat and called out, "Waiter, bring wine. Good wine and good food, all of it." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried authority.

A pirate said, "We've run into several of these cloaks today. Some pirates who didn't know better tried to pick a fight and got beaten so badly they couldn't take care of themselves."

Another pirate said, "See those members of the yellow-cloak pirate crew? They're strong. Don't mess with them."

The first pirate said, "These are Senior Pirates, very disciplined, almost like the Marines. I heard they're called the Flame Dragon Pirates. We can't afford to provoke them."

The second pirate added, "That Flame Dragon Pirate captain, Julian, is called Flame Dragon Julian. He's very loyal. They say even someone who betrays him can get a million berries, and his crew members get at least a billion. A billion—you could never spend that in a lifetime."

The first pirate said, "I wonder where their fleet is sailing. I want to join them too." Julian listened expressionlessly, finding it boring, and started drinking.

Soon, the food arrived. Julian tipped the waiter twenty thousand berries and began asking for information. "Where's the palace in this kingdom?" The waiter smiled and told him everything. Julian asked, "Are there pirates on this island? Where?"

Julian was planning to take down other pirates. The waiter said, "The strongest pirate crew is the Blood Hand Pirates. They landed at the southern dock." Julian asked, "Anything happening on the sea?" The waiter smiled and said, "The Marine Hero Vice Admiral is chasing the Roger Pirates all over the place."

Julian estimated that in a few months, the Roger Pirates would land at the final island, Laugh Tale. Next year would be the start of the Great Age of Pirates. Julian felt time was moving too fast. He needed to act quickly and head to Sky Island.

Julian drank silently, listening to other pirates talk—about which girls were pretty, which bars had good liquor. One pirate said, "I heard the Mud Dragon Pirates recently made a big splash, raiding a kingdom and cleaning out all its gold and jewels." A few bounty hunters added, "The Mud Dragon Pirates have upgraded to the Flame Dragon Pirates, and their captain's title is Flame Dragon Julian. They specialize in robbing World Government member nations."

Julian thought to himself, These people's information is as unreliable as ever. He also heard that Naval Branch Major General Gilmi had driven off the Mud Dragon Pirates, upholding justice at the branch.

Julian laughed inwardly. As expected of the Marines. If you play it this way, I can rest easy. From now on, when I rob the Marines, I'll just claim the Navy beat me, and it'll be fine.

Julian knew he couldn't stand out too much, since other pirates saw each other as business rivals. He wanted to safely bring his ships to Sky Island, develop for a while, and then head to Punk Hazard first to grab that Devil Fruit.

Julian stopped eavesdropping and continued eating and drinking. Just then, a large group of pirates walked in, all in yellow cloaks. Julian called out, "George, Pekki, Allison, Rekdon." George laughed and said, "Captain, we saw you come into this tavern. The brothers finished shopping and came over." Julian said to the waiter, "Bring out all the good wine and meat." He had all the Division Captains sit around a table.

George said, "Captain, have you seen the news?" Julian said no. George pulled out a newspaper. The headline read: "Mud Dragon Pirate Captain Julian Transforms into Hundred Meter Flame Dragon, Upgrades Crew to Flame Dragon Pirates." Captain Flame Dragon Julian also made the front page, hailed as the strongest Flame Creature.