This was the East Blue!
Dunn calmly looked at the pirate before him, who wore a wildly arrogant expression. His name was Doru, and there was a 2,500,000-Beli bounty on his head.
By conventional wisdom, most pirates had no sense of their own limits. When they weren't facing a crisis, they were usually arrogant and conceited.
A bounty of 2,500,000 made him small fry, even in the weakest sea, the East Blue.
But what caught Dunn's attention was the green label floating above Doru's head.
[Elite Pirate]
Was this how the data system rated enemies?
Dunn's gaze swept over the other pirates gathering around them.
Every one of them had a gray label.
[Minion], [Small Fry], [Commoner]
Were these fixed ratings, or were they relative to him?
Dunn pondered this.
But his calm demeanor made Doru, who was holding a knife before him, grow angry.
He'd been at sea for a year and attacked several islands. Though he hadn't managed to loot anything valuable, the weaklings he'd encountered had all looked at him with fear.
Now this brat in front of him was staring off into space even though Doru had a knife pressed against his neck.
And the pirates gathering around them made Doru feel as if his authority was being challenged.
"Damn brat, you think you're tough?"
Doru's face turned vicious and his tone darkened. He tightened his grip on the knife and slashed it across Dunn's neck.
That was easy!
Doru froze, then looked at Dunn, who had turned his gaze toward him.
The wound on Dunn's neck where the knife had cut through was burning with orange-red flames. Not a drop of blood had spilled.
Once the flames went out, the wound had already healed.
[Current Health: 100%]
Doru instinctively took a step back, staring at Dunn in terror.
He wasn't very smart, but that sight had made him understand that he couldn't take on the man before him.
Dunn glanced at Doru. The flames coiling around him receded completely, and he walked toward the pirate ship moored on the shore.
The gathered pirates fell silent. They hurriedly stepped aside to clear a path, watching Dunn's back as he left.
Gulp!
Doru swallowed with difficulty.
"Captain?"
A pirate who looked like a minor officer cautiously called out. His voice jolted Doru out of his fearful daze.
"Damn it!"
Roused from his stupor, Doru seemed to be burning with humiliation. The curved blade in his hand trembled slightly.
"Get on board!"
Under the watchful eyes of the pirates, Doru finally spoke after a long pause.
This was a deserted island. If they didn't board the ship, they would die here.
Once the flames went out, there probably wouldn't be anything left on the island.
As for swimming to another island?
They had only one choice: return to the ship and wait for whatever fate had in store for them.
Dunn understood that, of course.
Aside from knowing that this was the East Blue in the world of pirates, he knew nothing else. That meant he needed a guide.
Besides, to him, these pirates were walking bags of money.
After all, this world had pirate hunters.
A short while later, Dunn sat behind a wooden crate. Dozens of pirates stood nervously across from him.
"Where's the nearest Marine Base?"
Dunn looked over the pirates and spoke.
At his question, they glanced at each other, then turned their eyes toward Doru, who stood at the front.
Doru noticed this and cursed inwardly.
"Marine Branch 16!"
"Set sail for the 16th Branch." Dunn nodded and smiled.
"But we're pirates!"
Doru's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He shouted without thinking.
The other pirates began to stir as well.
Snap!
At their reaction, Dunn raised a hand and snapped his fingers. A spark burst from his fingertip.
In the next instant, the spark expanded with a boom, turning in the blink of an eye into a fireball more than a meter across.
The panicked pirates backed away in terror, staring in shock at the fireball floating above Dunn's fingertip.
"Set sail!"
Dunn spoke again. This time, the pirates hurried to get to work.
Nobody wanted to find out what it felt like to get hit by a fireball.
Every pirate started bustling about. Even those with nothing to do pretended to be busy, afraid Dunn might set his sights on them.
Only after the fireball vanished did the pirates aboard the ship finally breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Doru nervously gathered the treasures they'd collected on the island, put them in a bag, and brought it to Dunn.
Faced with an unknown and overwhelming fear, even a fool knew what to choose.
"This is the East Blue?"
Dunn glanced at the treasure. He didn't know how much it was worth, so he simply asked about what he wanted to know.
"Yes, sir!"
The arrogance Doru had shown earlier was completely gone. He was so obedient now that he was practically on the verge of kneeling.
"Do you know Foosha Village?"
Dunn asked.
Doru looked utterly blank.
"Do you know Shimotsuki Village?"
Doru looked even more confused.
"Do you know Garp?"
Seeing Doru's expression, Dunn asked again.
"Hero of the Marines, Garp?"
Doru hesitated as he answered. He was clearly puzzled to hear the name Garp from Dunn.
Oh, he knew Garp.
Dunn nodded. So he wasn't entirely clueless.
"Who's the Fleet Admiral?"
Dunn asked again.
Doru looked confused once more.
The guy knew a few things, but not much.
After questioning him for a full half hour, Dunn still hadn't figured out the current situation.
Though Doru knew Garp, all he knew was that Garp was a big shot far beyond his reach. He didn't even know Garp was from the East Blue.
As for what year it was, he knew even less.
When Doru realized he couldn't answer any of the questions, he looked at Dunn's calm expression and began to worry that Dunn was about to lose his temper. He quickly produced a newspaper, then hurried away.
Sea Circle Calendar 1511.
In one corner was a photo of Doru and his bounty: 2,500,000. Perhaps that was why he'd kept the paper.
"Boa Hancock, empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom and captain of the Kuja Pirates, has accepted the Marines' offer to become one of the Shichibukai. Her bounty is 80,000,000."
Dunn looked at the major news story that took up an entire page of the newspaper.
Then he looked at the Pirate Empress's youthful face and blinked.
"So, there are about eight or nine years left before Monkey D. Luffy sets sail?"
Dunn searched his memories. He couldn't remember the exact date, but it should be around the year 1520.
Of course, he was only thinking about this to pin down the current year and make plans for what came next—or rather, a plan to get stronger.
The Flame-Flame Fruit gave him a safety net, and the data system was his trump card.
But he wouldn't give up on Haki or swordsmanship.
Since he was in the East Blue, he had to visit Shimotsuki Village. It might be the easiest place for him to learn a decent sword style and find a way to train in Haki.
Before you continue