Syrup Village

At the banquet, Luffy was devouring meat at high speed, stuffing his face as if he were starving.

Zoro was chugging alcohol, the crowd was reveling, and Nami and Rika sat beside Moya, eating their roasted meat with refined manners, while Rika's mother, Rim, was busy making rice balls.

Moya watched it all, feeling that his goals for this trip had been exceeded.

Not only had he recruited Nami and brought the Buggy Pirates into the fold, but he had also gained some of Zoro's insights into swordsmanship and his sword techniques.

Most importantly, he had obtained the seed of Luffy's Conqueror's Haki—a vital mark of one destined to be a king!

Looking at the crowd, full and tipsy, swaying unsteadily, Moya felt a sense of belonging in this world for the first time, though a moment later, unhappy thoughts surfaced.

He didn't know where that cruise ship had gone; his first batch of enemies in this world were on it, and without revenge, his heart would never find peace.

He had to find an opportunity to investigate, but the problem was that he currently lacked any intelligence network.

A trace of grim resentment inadvertently flickered across his face.

As if sensing something, Nami suddenly patted Moya on the shoulder, her eyes filled with questions.

Handsome men were popular everywhere, and this world was no exception.

Moya placed his hand over Nami's small, fair hand resting on his shoulder.

He still needed to train his composure; he shouldn't let his emotions show on his face.

Moya didn't realize that his personality seemed to have split slightly, alternating between his vengeful persona and his original self from before he transmigrated.

Her face turning red, Nami retorted, "I just saw you looking unhappy and wanted to comfort you, don't get any ideas!"

Yet, she didn't pull her hand away.

Moya suddenly gripped Nami's hand tightly, and the two stared at each other; Nami's eyes were a bit flustered, but neither spoke.

At this moment, Rika chirped adorably, "I want to hold hands with Brother Moya too!"

The crowd burst into laughter, and Nami immediately shook off Moya's hand, calmly picking up some roasted meat and pretending to eat, though her heartbeat seemed somewhat erratic.

The next day, Moya rose early to train; Armament Haki required a strong and resilient physique to support it.

Moya had not forgotten the feeling of powerlessness when he first arrived in this world; he was determined to become strong.

Based on Buggy's memories and his own extensive theoretical deductions from the modern world, he had reached a conclusion.

Haki was produced by human cells, and for cells to generate this power, they had to be resilient enough to break through the body's limits.

Only then could the cells become self-sustaining Haki engines, producing Haki continuously like an energy generator. Armament Haki, like physical strength, could be exhausted, but it could be recovered through rest; the stronger the body, the faster the recovery.

Conversely, Haki would degenerate; if one neglected training and their physique declined, the cells would revert to normal levels and stop producing Haki, much like muscle turning into fat.

This was likely why Buggy, Moria, and the others could no longer use Haki.

Observation Haki was a special energy produced when the cells of the five senses broke through their limits, a power that could detect and predict an enemy's movements.

Advanced Observation Haki allowed the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin to form an analytical system, automatically deducing information collected by the organs, even predicting the immediate future or hearing the voice of all things.

Conqueror's Haki required the possession of a seed, most of which were inherited or mutated.

One then had to experience countless dangers and reach the pinnacle of the world to gradually strengthen their spirit; that was why Conqueror's Haki was often innate—one in a million!

Lacking strength was truly restrictive; everything required meticulous planning. Moya craved the thrill of crushing others, like the protagonist of a mindless, overpowered system novel.

But Moya didn't have Luffy's protectors, nor did he have a transmigrator's cheat code to guide him. He could only plot everything that would make him stronger, and he could only train himself like a madman.

Luffy and Zoro refused the invitation to travel on the same ship as Moya, setting off on their own small boat to begin their own adventure.

Moya stayed in Orange Town for one more day of training, waiting for the completion of the adventure group's uniforms and ship modifications.

He looked at the two solemn, blood-red ships, the Yanhuang and the Yanhuang No. 2. The crew wore uniform black attire, while those with bounties, like Buggy, wore masks and changed their outfits; officers were free to choose their own attire.

Currently, only Buggy was a combat officer of the Moya Adventure Group; Nami was the navigator, Rika was Moya's little maid and cook, and Rika's mother, Rim, was the head chef and cook.

Richie was Moya's pet and mount; Dis, Cabaji, and Mohji were all squad leaders, each leading dozens of crew members. The entire adventure group consisted of over a hundred people across two ships.

As for the dog Chouchou, Moya ultimately decided not to adopt it, letting it stay by its master's side.

Under Moya's command, the two fully supplied ships sailed out of Orange Town, heading toward Syrup Village.

Moya continued his training as usual; only Buggy could spar with him on the ship.

Because of this, Moya constantly dragged Buggy along for practice. Perhaps because the memory-wiped Buggy was training again, he had improved significantly, or one could say he had recovered much of his prime state.

Devil Fruit abilities, Haki training, and swordsmanship—Moya dabbled in all of them, but his main focus remained the development of his Devil Fruit.

Devil Fruit abilities allowed for wild experimentation, while Haki and swordsmanship required long-term, slow, and constant accumulation.

"Report, Captain Moya, Syrup Village has appeared!" the navigator shouted.

Nami was also observing the nautical chart.

Luffy and his crew, having set off earlier, had indeed drifted to Syrup Village and met the lying Usopp.

After Usopp inadvertently uncovered Captain Kuro's conspiracy, and when no one else believed him, Luffy, relying on his protagonist's intuition to distinguish good from evil, resolutely decided to help Usopp defeat Kuro and save the young lady, Kaya.

The pirate Kuro had spent three years posing as the butler Klahadore to gain the trust of the wealthy Kaya, intending to seize her fortune and live a comfortable life in retirement.

Seeing Usopp teaming up with Luffy and the others, Kuro realized his conspiracy had been exposed and began rallying his former crew, the Black Cat Pirates, leading to a clash between the two sides.

Zoro's battle against the Nyaban Brothers was fraught with difficulty; he was caught off guard early on, allowing Sham to snatch two of his swords. The speed of Sham and the raw strength of Buchi made it incredibly hard for Zoro to defend himself.

Lacking Nami's assistance, Zoro paid the price of being wounded to reclaim his two swords, then exerted all his strength to finish off the Nyaban Brothers in an instant.

Jango, the vice-captain and hypnotist, was inexplicably defeated by Usopp's Gunpowder Star.

In the fight between Luffy and Kuro, Luffy was covered in wounds from Kuro's Silent Step. Kuro, frustrated by the prolonged battle and the betrayal of the Nyaban Brothers, lost his composure.

The cold-blooded Kuro unleashed his ultimate technique, Shakushi, attacking everyone indiscriminately, resulting in the deaths of most of the Black Cat Pirates' crew members.

After a grueling battle, Kuro was finally defeated by Luffy's Gum-Gum Bell.

On the other side, the Moya Adventure Group landed and set their sights on the cat-themed pirate ship, the Bezan Black.

Following their usual routine, they captured the guards left on the ship, seized the vessel, and left over thirty crew members behind to watch over it.

Moya, accompanied by Nami, Buggy, Mohji, Cabaji, and Dis, along with Richie carrying Rika and a dozen crew members, landed at Syrup Village.

Upon reaching the village entrance, they happened to see the Nyaban Brothers lying on the ground, defeated by Zoro. Moya waved his hand, and several adventure group members stepped forward with ropes to bind them.

Not seeing Zoro, Moya assumed he was lost again or perhaps already in the center of the village, so the Moya Adventure Group continued their advance.

Outside Kaya's mansion, Usopp had just managed to defeat Jango and was about to go help Luffy when he suddenly saw a giant lion with a little girl on its back, followed by a young man and woman, and a group of people walking toward him.

Usopp's legs began to tremble violently. Based on his sniper's intuition, he sensed the aura of the man in the lead and the masked person beside him.

These were two people even more terrifying than Kuro, and beneath the handsome exterior of the man in the center lay the power of a demon.

"Usopp?" Moya asked upon seeing him.

"Has Kuro been defeated?"

"H-how do you know about Kuro? Don't come any closer! I am Captain Usopp, and I have 8,000 subordinates!"

Usopp spouted a massive lie, rivaling Moya's own, but his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

Moya ignored the lying Usopp and led his group into Kaya's mansion. Usopp wanted to stop them but didn't dare to move.

Inside the mansion, the unconscious Jango was also taken prisoner by the Moya Adventure Group.

Looking at the frail Kaya, Moya's protective instincts flared up for some reason. He easily dodged the vigilant Merry, walked over, and patted her on the head.

"Why don't you come with me and study medicine? I'll take you to meet the world's greatest doctors."

Half an hour later, through conversation, Kaya realized that the handsome man before her was an adventurer, not a pirate, and she felt much more at ease, happily chatting with Moya.

Nami, standing to the side, was frantically pinching Moya's waist, but due to the properties of the Slip-Slip Fruit, she couldn't get a grip and could only seethe with jealousy.

The crew members Moya had dispatched returned, bringing with them the injured Luffy, the lost Zoro, and the bound Kuro back to the mansion.

Listening to his subordinates' report, they had nearly vomited when they arrived at the battlefield between Luffy and Kuro, finding the ground littered with the fragmented remains of the Black Cat Pirates' crew, all slaughtered indiscriminately by Kuro.

They suppressed their nausea, brought the cold-blooded Kuro back, and awaited their captain's instructions.

After arranging a banquet, Moya looked at the man who had committed such heinous crimes—Kuro of the Hundred Plans, who had once slaughtered the marines on Captain Morgan's ship before faking his death to have the Navy cancel his bounty.

To kill his own former pirate crew today—he truly was cold-blooded and heartless.

Moya desperately needed any method he could utilize; since the Six Powers were not yet available, he would start by taking Kuro's Silent Step to fill the gap.