The Beginning and the End

The next morning, a faint light appeared on the horizon, the weak dawn shimmering on the sea's surface.

On the crow's nest, Lina's face was slightly flushed in the dim light as his eyes slowly opened, feeling the warmth.

"Ah, my head hurts," Lina got up, holding his head and rubbing his temples. He'd had a bit too much to drink with Zoro last night.

"First, brush my teeth... Nah, I'll smoke a cigarette first."

Sitting on the railing of the crow's nest, he skillfully lit a cigarette and dismissed the undead he'd summoned to stand guard the night before. "The cigarettes I swiped from Kaya are almost gone."

"Yo, Lina, so early? You two drank quite a bit last night." Sanji was already awake and came out from the cabin below deck, looking up and greeting Lina on the crow's nest with a smile.

"You're early too. Why don't you sleep in more?"

"Well~, it's time to get up and prepare Miss Nami's beloved breakfast."

"What about us?"

"If you want to eat, make it yourselves."

"What did you say! What did you say!"

"Hahaha, just kidding. As a chef, how could I let you go hungry?" Sanji waved his hand with a laugh and walked towards the kitchen on the second floor, smoking.

Gradually, the others also woke up. After breakfast, the sun had completely risen.

"Everyone! There's an island ahead, it should be Loguetown!"

"Coming, coming! Let me see!" Luffy excitedly ran to the bow of the ship, peering over the figurehead.

After a day of sailing, they had arrived at the place called the beginning and the end.

"Lina, give me money, I want to go out and play!" Luffy grinned and held out his hand for money.

Lina directly threw Luffy 100,000 Belly. "It should be enough just for food, drinks, and fun."

"I also want to buy two new swords, about 200,000 Belly."

Facing Zoro's request, Lina hesitated for a moment. Would this money prevent Zoro from getting the Sandai Kitetsu and Yuki?

"Forget it, who knows about fate?" Lina still gave Zoro the money.

Finally, after giving Nami and Usopp some funds, Lina, carrying a large bag of money, walked into town with Sanji.

They planned to go to the market together to purchase supplies. Sanji knew more about ingredients than he did, so Lina was responsible for buying medicine and other daily necessities.

Although they had brought a lot of ingredients from the Baratie, Sanji was still free.

If they encountered any rare items, he would let everyone have a taste tonight.

"Look, look! Deep sea fish just delivered by a North Blue merchant!"

"Giant mountain wolf fur, a specialty of the Grand Line, brought back at the risk of the Mountain Wolf Pirates!"

"Buns! Goubuli Baozi!"

Huh? What is that?

...Never mind.

Lina and Sanji browsed for a while, and most of the supplies were purchased. Sanji didn't find anything else besides a few good-looking groupers.

"Hey, hurry up and go see, the cooking competition has started!"

"It's finally started, let's go, let's go!"

"I heard the first prize is an Elephant Trunk Tuna!"

Several passersby ran past Lina, seemingly heading to join the commotion, shouting along the way and attracting many other onlookers.

"Elephant Trunk Tuna? Sounds interesting. I'm going to try it, want to come along, Lina?"

"I'll pass. I have other things to do." Lina handed Sanji a cigarette and also handed him a backpack of supplies.

"How about this, after you've had your fun, bring these things back to the ship."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"To the black market."

"Alright, be careful." Sanji lit his cigarette and took the backpack. "I'll be going now."

"Ah, may your victory be swift." Lina briefly said goodbye to Sanji and walked straight into the alley.

When he was paying for his purchases earlier, he had noticed two thugs in the corner staring at him.

"It's more convenient to find the local snakes."

Lina strolled leisurely into the depths of the alley. The two thugs finally couldn't hold back and darted out, blocking his path.

"Hehehe, what's in that bag you're carrying? Open it and let this lord see."

One of them, a blond man, grinned sinisterly and pulled out a long sword, holding it across his chest.

Another Soul Clan member?

Lina's expression remained calm. Without a word, he reached into his chest and pulled out a pistol.

Bang--!

The man holding the knife was startled by the sudden movement and instinctively raised his weapon, pulling his neck in.

"Pfft!"

"Ah!!!"

"It's just your shoulder, no need to make such a fuss," Lina said, slowly exhaling a smoke ring as he walked forward. "Where's the biggest black market in this town, and who's pulling the strings behind it?"

The yellow-haired man with the knife gritted his teeth, clutching his shoulder and trying to slow the bleeding. He looked at Lina, who was approaching step by step, in panic.

His companion had already collapsed to the ground in fear, unsure of what to do, his hands trembling as he tightly gripped a dagger.

"Sigh~, you two little fry, you can't even speak, can you?" Lina sighed. "That won't do."

"Wait! I know!" the yellow-haired man who had been shot shouted urgently. "There are two major black markets in this town."

"One is controlled by our boss, Bartolomeo, and the other..."

"The other black market is backed by a mysterious force. Some rumors say they're from the Grand Line, and they claim to work for someone named Joker."

"Bartolomeo?" Lina suddenly remembered that the guy with the rooster-like hair was from here.

But business was more important right now. After getting the information he wanted from the two thugs, he left immediately.

Doflamingo's business spanned the globe. Loguetown, being one of the most prosperous towns in the East Blue, was a normal place for him to have a base.

He just hoped they had Seastone in stock, as he couldn't wait here forever. This was Smoker's territory, and even with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, which was considered the shame of Logia-types, he couldn't handle him right now.

Soon, Lina, following the information he'd received, walked up to a tavern, accompanied by the Blade Devil and the Chainsaw Devil.

It was deep in a secluded alley, and the crowds had thinned out halfway there.

"This is a great place for murder and robbery," Lina couldn't help but remark.

The tavern was quiet, with only four men sitting lazily at the bar.

Opposite them was a white-haired old man wearing a monocle, wiping a glass with a handkerchief.

The old man had visible wrinkles on his face, but he was still spirited, wearing a bartender's uniform with a straight posture and a red bow tie at his collar.

Creak~

The tavern door opened, and the bartender, the old man, and the four men slumped in their seats all looked over.

A fair-faced, blond man entered first, bending over and extending a hand as if ushering a distinguished guest inside.

The old man's gaze involuntarily lifted, looking at the two figures striding in.

"Hey, what is that thing?"

"Are they human? Devil Fruit users?"

The men grew flustered upon seeing the two grotesque and strangely shaped undead.

"It's them?" the white-haired old man thought in surprise for a moment, but his expression remained unchanged. He spoke in a low voice:

"A big shot has arrived. The Blade Saw Duo of the Straw Hat Pirates, who recently defeated the East Blue's number one villain, Arlong."

"It's them, I remember now!"

"Is it yesterday's bounty poster?"

"The Blade Saw Duo with a bounty of twenty-five million!"

"They look way creepier in person than in the photos, damn it."