The East Blue Emperor Sets Sail

West Blue, Twin Snake Island.

A casino.

Lifelong Gambler Fireline stood like a gate god inside the casino, a blind cane in hand, with Mihawk standing expressionless beside him.

"Mr. Mihawk, may I ask what kind of person your captain is?"

Lifelong was genuinely curious: what kind of man could earn the recognition of the aloof Mihawk? He himself felt he could never achieve that.

Mihawk's recognition of him was purely based on swordsmanship; he might become a comrade, but not a captain.

Mihawk pondered for a few breaths.

"Barzeb... hard to judge."

"Two years ago, I met Barzeb at Twin Capes, and we sailed together to Loguetown to see off his captain, the King of the Pirates Roger."

"He's ruthless to his enemies but never targets civilians. In his words, the strong draw their blades against the stronger, while the weak prey on civilians."

"Those pirates who target civilians are only fit to be called low-class pirates."

"Low-class pirates?" Lifelong was utterly stunned.

"That's the first time I've heard such a claim. Your captain is indeed an interesting man. Did he ever say why he set sail again? Having already reached the Final Island..."

Mihawk said flatly, "For freedom."

"Freedom, huh?" Lifelong sank into thought.

What is freedom?

On this sea, freedom means being bound by nothing, living out one's will to the end.

Not bowing to tyranny, not being shackled by rules, not compromising against one's heart, always choosing one's own path, protecting those worth protecting, until reaching the destination within.

The essence of the sea is the unknown; freedom is daring to sail into that unknown, daring to chase dreams.

Whether seeking the One Piece, exploring the blank 100 years, or achieving one's own small goals, it's all about never being trapped by the present, always yearning for farther shores.

In short, freedom is living as you want to be, in your own way.

It's simple to the extreme, yet the hardest thing to achieve.

Because on the road to freedom, you'll stumble from setbacks, lose your way to temptation, hesitate from responsibility, be restrained by tyranny—

But that's the true face of the sea!

True freedom is seeing all the shackles, yet still gripping your heart and setting sail against the waves.

Even if the waves ahead are sky-high, as long as you have comrades by your side, you dare to charge toward where your heart leads, never looking back!

"Phew~"

Thinking of how he'd sunk into gambling on Twin Snake Island after his homeland's fall, Lifelong let out a bitter smile.

"Even understanding these truths, I still can't live this life well."

Boom~ Boom~

Thunder tore through the night sky, roaring endlessly, drowning out all the noise in the casino.

Mihawk gazed at the rolling storm clouds outside the window.

"He's here."

No sooner had the words fallen than a fierce wind rose, blowing open the casino's heavy wooden door.

In the interplay of lightning and thunder, a tall figure stood, fine arcs of electricity coiling around him—it was Seven, racing over from the waters of Jaya Island.

"Long time no see, Mi-san."

"Long time no see."

When the gamblers inside the casino saw the figure outside the door, their eyes sparkled with stars, and they gasped.

"A Billion Bounty Great Pirate."

"Barzeb Seven, a crewmate of the Pirate King!"

Seven raised an eyebrow: A billion Berry bounty?

Well, no wonder gamblers in this corner of the West Blue recognized him—the Navy must have issued a new wanted poster and spread it across the sea.

That meant he was now a famous pirate.

"Mi-san, what do you need ten billion Berry for?"

Seven asked knowingly.

Mihawk turned to the side: "This is the Great Swordsman, Mr. Lifelong. He owes the casino ten billion in gambling debts."

Seven nodded, then looked at the stunned dealer: "Call your boss over."

The dealer stammered, "Y-yes, please wait a moment."

A Billion Berry bounty—a Great Pirate of that caliber was nothing short of a natural disaster for the Four Seas. Even calling in the Marines from the nearest base would be useless.

Better to just behave.

After a short while, a middle-aged man with a beard came jogging over, holding a Den Den Mushi in both hands.

"Sir, our boss would like a word with you."

Before Seven could think much of it, the Den Den Mushi's smug expression already told him exactly who was behind the casino.

"Oh~ it's the little brat from the Donquixote family."

"Fufufufu."

The Den Den Mushi laughed exaggeratedly. "Beelzebul, a crew member of Pirate King Roger. So you really do know the Celestial Dragons' secret."

Seven immediately lost interest. "I've got nothing to talk about with a brat like you."

Being called a brat by a seventeen-year-old clearly made Doflamingo's blood boil.

The Den Den Mushi narrowed its eyes. "I hear from the King of Sea Transport that you're collecting Devil Fruits. Lucky for you, I've got plenty of good stuff here."

Seven broke into a bright grin.

"Doffy, brother. I'll be heading to the North Blue in a while. We can talk face-to-face then?"

The Den Den Mushi smiled slyly. "Then I'll be waiting for you. That one-billion Berry debt? Consider it waived..."

Seven cut him off quickly. "I don't have a habit of owing money—especially not to my own brothers."

Ten billion Berries in exchange for a future Marine Admiral? No matter how you looked at it, it was a sure win. Don't you dare mess up this old man's plans.

Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Seven casually waved his hand and produced ten billion Berries in cash, then looked at the casino manager.

"Bring out the IOU."

The middle-aged man gave an awkward smile. "Mr. Issho never wrote an IOU. We trust Mr. Issho's word. It's settled now."

Seven turned to Mihawk and Issho. "Mi-san, Mr. Issho, let's go."

(Note: Fujitora was Issho's alias as a Marine Admiral; Issho is the older translation.)

Issho clasped his hands in thanks.

"Thank you, Seven... sir."

Seven waved a hand. "We're all friends here."

The three left the casino and arrived at Twin Snake Island's port.

Mihawk looked at the nearly empty harbor—no different from when they'd arrived—and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Three people... a coffin boat... should be able to fit, right?

Ever since Seven had shown up at the casino, Mihawk kept stealing glances at him, utterly baffled—how had this guy gotten so tall in just two years?

Two years ago, he'd still been shorter than Mihawk.

Thirty-two-year-old Issho stood at 2.7 meters, fully grown, only able to widen from now on.

Seventeen-year-old Seven was currently 2.6 meters, with plenty of growing time left. Breaking three meters was practically a sure thing.

Nineteen-year-old Mihawk, at 1.98 meters, might still have a little more in him.

Grabbing Mihawk by the arm as he was about to jump onto the coffin boat, Seven pointed at the empty sea.

"We're boarding our Pirate Crew's big ship."

"Big ship?" Mihawk frowned.

"Watch closely, Mi-san." Seven drew his paired saber, Dream One Heart. "For the rest of your life, you'll never forget today."

Seven swung his blade horizontally, unleashing a Flying Slash that cut the sea like a curtain. As the water fell away, on the horizon—

A massive pirate ship, its hull a dominant Flame Red with Black Gold accents, a Dragon-shaped Bow, and Crimson Sail, filled Mihawk's entire field of vision.

Seven, bursting with the urge to share, elbowed Mihawk's shoulder. "So? Cool, right?"

Mihawk's lips curled into a smile. "Cool."

"My dear crew members." Seven swept his hand grandly. "Board the ship! The East Blue Emperor sets sail!"