Time and the Shichibukai

This is the East Blue!

Dunn watched calmly as the pirate before him, Doru, a man with a bounty of 2.5 million Beli, wore an arrogant expression.

According to stereotypes, most pirates lacked self-awareness; when not facing a crisis, they were usually arrogant and conceited.

A bounty of 2.5 million, even in the weakest East Blue, was nothing more than small fry.

However, what caught Dunn's attention was the green tag hovering above Doru's head.

[Elite Pirate]

Was this a digitized evaluation of his enemies?

Dunn's gaze swept over the heads of the other pirates gathering around.

They were all marked with gray tags.

[Minion], [Small Fry], [Commoner]

Was this a fixed evaluation, or was it relative to his own strength?

Dunn pondered this in his mind.

But his calm demeanor only served to enrage Doru, who stood before him with a blade in hand.

Having set sail for a year and raided several islands, though he hadn't looted anything of great value, the weaklings he encountered had always shown him expressions of fear.

Now, this brat before him, even with a blade pressed against his neck, dared to let his mind wander.

Especially with the surrounding pirates closing in, Doru felt his authority was being challenged.

"You arrogant little brat!"

A fierce look appeared on Doru's face, his tone turning grim as his right hand, gripping the blade, exerted sudden force, slashing across Dunn's neck.

It was too easy!

Doru was stunned, then his eyes met Dunn's, who had shifted his focus back to him.

The wound on the neck that had been slashed was now burning with orange flames, with not a single drop of blood flowing out.

After the flames extinguished, the wound had already healed.

[Current HP: 100%]

Doru instinctively took a step back, looking at Dunn in terror.

Though not very bright, that scene made him realize that the person before him was someone he could not handle.

Dunn glanced at Doru, the flames wrapping around his body receding, and began walking toward the pirate ship docked at the shore.

The surrounding pirates were silent as cicadas in winter, hurriedly clearing a path and watching Dunn's retreating back.

Gulp!

Doru swallowed hard.

"Captain?"

A pirate who appeared to be a minor leader cautiously approached and called out, startling the terrified Doru back to his senses.

"Bastard!"

Startled, Doru seemed to be acting out of shame and anger, the scimitar in his hand trembling slightly.

"Board the ship!"

Under the gaze of many pirates, Doru managed to choke out those words after a long pause.

This was a deserted island; if they didn't board the ship, they would die here.

Once the flames died down, he reckoned there wouldn't be anything left on the island.

As for swimming to another island?

They had only one choice: return to the ship and await an unknown fate.

Dunn, of course, understood this as well.

Other than knowing this was the East Blue of the pirate world, he knew nothing else, so he needed a guide.

Naturally, these pirates were also walking money bags to him.

After all, this world had pirate hunters.

A moment later, Dunn sat on a wooden crate, and before him, dozens of pirates stood in a nervous line.

"Where is the nearest Marine base?"

Surveying these pirates, Dunn spoke up.

At his question, the group of pirates exchanged glances before turning their eyes toward Doru, who stood at the front.

Doru naturally noticed this and couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"Marine Branch 16!"

"Set sail, head to the 16th Branch." Dunn nodded and said with a smile.

"But we're pirates!"

Upon hearing this, Doru's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he shouted instinctively.

The other pirates also began to stir in agitation.

Snap!

Hearing this, Dunn raised his hand and snapped his fingers, a spark bursting from his fingertips.

The next moment, with a boom, the spark expanded, turning into a large fireball over a meter in diameter in the blink of an eye.

The rowdy pirates retreated in terror, staring in shock at the fireball hovering at Dunn's fingertips.

"Set sail!"

Dunn spoke again, and this time, the pirates hurried to get busy.

No one wanted to find out what it felt like to be hit by that fireball.

All the pirates began to busy themselves; even those with nothing to do pretended to be occupied, fearing they might catch Dunn's attention.

Only after the fireball vanished did the pirates on the ship collectively heave a sigh of relief.

As for Doru, he nervously packed the treasure collected from the island into bags and brought them before Dunn.

In the face of an unknown and terrifying power, even a fool knew what choice to make.

"Is this the East Blue?"

Dunn glanced at the treasure, not really understanding its value, so he simply asked about what he wanted to know.

"Yes, my lord!"

The arrogance Doru had previously displayed had completely vanished; he was now incredibly obedient, nearly kneeling as he answered.

"Do you know Foosha Village?"

Dunn asked.

Doru looked completely blank.

"Do you know Shimotsuki Village?"

Doru looked even more confused.

"Do you know Garp?"

Seeing the look on Doru's face, Dunn asked again.

"The Marine hero Garp?"

Doru hesitated upon hearing this, clearly puzzled to hear the name Garp from Dunn's mouth.

Oh, he knows Garp.

Dunn nodded; it seemed he wasn't completely ignorant after all.

"Who is the Fleet Admiral?"

Dunn asked once more.

Doru's expression became confused again.

This guy knows some things, but not many.

After a full half-hour of interrogation, Dunn still hadn't managed to get a clear picture of the current situation.

Even though he knew Garp, Doru only knew the name as a big shot far beyond his reach; he didn't even know that Garp was also from the East Blue.

As for what time it was, he was completely clueless.

Just as Doru felt that his constant ignorance was about to provoke the calm-looking Dunn, he hurriedly produced a newspaper and scrambled away.

Sea Circle Calendar 1511.

In the corner, there was a photo of Doru and his bounty: 2.5 million berries; perhaps that was the only reason he had been kept alive.

"Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, captain of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock, bounty 80 million, agrees to join the Marines and become one of the Shichibukai."

Dunn looked at the big news story that took up an entire page of the newspaper.

Then, looking at the slightly youthful face of the Pirate Empress, Dunn blinked.

"So, there are probably about eight or nine years left until Monkey D. Luffy sets sail?"

Dunn searched his memories; he couldn't recall the exact details, but it should be around 1520.

Of course, Dunn was only considering this to determine the current time so he could formulate his next plans—or rather, his plans to become stronger.

The Flame-Flame Fruit gave him a safety net, and his digitized stats were his trump card.

But he would not give up on Haki and swordsmanship.

Since he was in the East Blue, he had to visit Shimotsuki Village, as it was likely the easiest place for him to obtain methods for Haki training and learn decent swordsmanship.