The Land of Beginnings and Endings

The next morning, a faint glow appeared on the horizon, shimmering across the water.

Up on the crow's nest, Reiner's face was flushed in the early light as his eyes slowly opened, sensitive to the brightness and warmth.

"Ugh, my head hurts." Reiner lifted his head, rubbing his temples. He'd had a bit too much to drink last night, going shot for shot with Zoro.

"First, to brush my teeth… No, first, a cigarette." He sat on the crow's nest railing and dismissed the Undead he'd summoned to stand guard overnight.

"Yo, Reiner, up so early? You two certainly drank a lot last night." Sanji was already awake, emerging from the ship's cabin below deck. He looked up, smiling, and greeted Reiner in the crow's nest.

"You're up early too. Why not sleep in a bit more?"

"Well~, it's time to make a loving breakfast for Miss Nami."

"What about us?"

"Make your own if you want to eat."

"What? What kind of talk is that?!"

"Hahaha, just kidding. As a chef, how could I let you guys starve?" Sanji waved a hand, laughing, and headed towards the galley on the second floor.

Gradually, everyone else woke up. After breakfast, the sun was fully risen.

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

"Coming, coming! Let me see!" Luffy excitedly ran to the bow and peered over the sheep's head figurehead.

After a day of sailing, they finally arrived at the place known as the beginning and end.

"Reiner, give me money! I want to go play!" Luffy grinned, holding out his hand for cash.

Reiner simply tossed Luffy 100,000 Beli. "That should be enough just for food and fun."

"I also need to buy two new swords. Probably around 200,000 Beli."

Facing Zoro's request, Reiner hesitated. Would giving him money prevent him from getting the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri?

"Forget it, who knows how fate works," Reiner decided, and still gave Zoro the money.

Finally, he gave some funds to Nami and Usopp. Reiner then carried a large bag of money and walked into town with Sanji.

They planned to go shopping for supplies together at the market. Sanji knew more about ingredients than he did, so Reiner was in charge of purchasing medicine and other daily necessities.

Although they had brought a lot of ingredients from Baratie, Sanji was idle anyway.

If they found any rare ingredients, he'd give everyone a taste of something special tonight.

"Come one, come all, take a look! Deep-sea fish just brought in by North Blue merchants!"

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

"Baozi! Dog-Ignore Baozi!"

Huh? What was that?

Never mind.

Reiner and Sanji walked around, and most of their supplies were purchased. Sanji hadn't found much else apart from a few good-looking grouper fish.

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

"It's finally starting? Let's go, let's go!"

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

A few passersby ran past Reiner, seemingly heading towards the commotion, shouting along the way, attracting many other pedestrians to follow.

"Elephant Trunk Tuna? Sounds interesting. I'm going to check it out. Want to come, Reiner?"

"I'll pass. I have some other things to do." Reiner handed him a backpack full of supplies.

"How about this: later, after you've had your fun, you can bring the stuff back to the ship."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"To browse the black market."

"Alright, be careful." Sanji took the backpack. "Then I'm off."

"Ah, good luck." Reiner bid Sanji a simple farewell and walked straight into an alley.

When he was paying for his purchases earlier, he'd noticed two thugs staring at him from a corner.

It's always easier to find a local snake.

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

"Heheheh, what's in that bag you're carrying? Open it up and let big brother take a look."

One of the blonde men grinned savagely and pulled out a long sword, holding it across his chest.

Why is it another Soul Clan member?

Reiner's expression remained normal. Without a word, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pistol.

BANG—!

The man with the sword was startled by the sudden movement. He instinctively raised his sword and hunched his neck.

"Pfft!"

"Ahhh!!!"

"Relax, it's just your shoulder." Reiner slowly walked forward. "Where's the biggest black market in this town, and who's behind it?"

The yellow-haired man with the knife gritted his teeth, clutching his shoulder, trying to slow the bleeding, and stared in panic at Reiner, who was steadily approaching.

His companion was already slumped on the ground, terrified and helpless, hands trembling as he tightly gripped his dagger.

"Tsk, two small fries, don't tell me you can't even speak?" Reiner sighed. "That would make you useless, you know."

"Wait! I know!" the shot yellow-haired man yelled urgently. "There are two biggest black markets in this town—"

"One is controlled by our boss, Bartholomew, and the other…"

"The other black market is backed by a mysterious organization, though there are rumors they're from the Grand Line. They claim to work for someone named Joker."

"Bartholomew?" Reiner suddenly remembered that the rooster-haired guy seemed to be from here.

But right now, important matters came first. After getting the information he wanted from the two thugs, he left immediately.

Doflamingo's business spanned the entire world, and Loguetown, as one of the most prosperous towns in the East Blue, having a base here was perfectly normal.

He just didn't know if they had Seastone in stock. After all, he couldn't wait around here indefinitely. This was Smoker's territory, and even the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, despite being called the disgrace of Logia types, was something he couldn't handle right now.

Soon, based on the information he'd gotten, Reiner arrived in front of a tavern, with the Sword Devil and Chainsaw Devil following him.

This was deep within a secluded alley; half-way there, people started disappearing.

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

The tavern was deserted at the moment, with only four slouching men at the bar.

Across from them was an old, white-haired man with a monocle, wiping a glass with a handkerchief.

The old man's face was clearly wrinkled, but he still looked sharp, and his posture was upright in his bartender's uniform, with a red bowtie at his collar.

Creak~

The tavern door opened, and the bartender and the four men, who had been sprawled haphazardly, all looked over.

A handsome blonde man entered first, bending and bowing, extending a hand as if ushering in some important figure.

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

"Hey, what are those things?"

"Are they human? Devil Fruit users?"

The men couldn't help but panic when they saw the two Undead, terrifying in appearance and bizarrely shaped.

"It's them?" The white-haired old man was momentarily startled inside, but his expression remained unchanged as a low voice emerged:

"Looks like some important figures have arrived. The Sword-Chainsaw Duo from the Straw Hat Crew, who defeated Arlong, the East Blue's top villain, not long ago."

"It's them, I remember now!"

"Is that from yesterday's bounty poster?"

"The Sword-Chainsaw Duo with a 25 million Beli bounty!"

"The real people are much scarier than the photos, seriously."