Landing in Loguetown

Clockwork Island, top floor.

Moya had just finished meeting with King of Deep Storage Umit. He took a deep breath. He'd come out slightly ahead in this exchange.

All it had cost him was a piece of information and a Pure Gold Ring he didn't even have yet. In return, he'd gotten Umit's Eternal Pose and Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and even secured a shipping deal. Not bad.

There were still some weapons on Clockwork Island. Once he occupied Skypiea, perhaps he could sell some Dials as well.

More importantly, if he could talk someone else into it—er, reach a partnership with them—he could have Umit ship their payment to him.

···

King Bear had returned to the way he used to be: a young boy without a trace of change.

Moya promptly gave him a new nickname.

"From now on, you'll be called Mao Xiong. You just came aboard my ship and ate the Steel-Steel Fruit. I didn't expect it to cause a little memory confusion, too. Get some rest, and work hard to become one of the ship's officers someday."

The confusion faded from Mao Xiong's eyes. He was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He was only a greenhorn pirate, yet the captain had already taken a liking to him and bestowed such a precious Devil Fruit upon him. He was overwhelmed.

"Thank you, Captain! I'll work hard from now on, train my Devil Fruit abilities, and repay you for recognizing my potential."

"Mao Xiong, I believe in you!"

···

The entire Playing Card Pirates crew had been captured. Honey Queen, Jack the Spike, and Pin-Sword Pin had all been brought into the fold.

Poor Skunk One had been blown to pieces.

"Town chief, from now on, fly my flag over Clockwork Island. I hope you'll keep producing these weapons. You can make other precision instruments, too. Don't worry, we won't oppress you."

The helpless town chief and his wife had never expected that after getting rid of a wolf, they'd end up with a tiger.

In the end, Moya also helped them find their son, Akis—the little boy from the original story's pair of thief brothers.

The thief Bolot also chose to stop wandering and stay by the town chief's side, helping manage Clockwork Island.

The couple were truly grateful to Moya for this and agreed to manage the island well.

Moya recruited every member of the Playing Card Pirates.

···

The next day, he held a meeting for the entire crew.

Moya stood on a raised platform, with the women, officers, and squad leaders behind him. Below them stood nearly eight hundred pirate underlings.

"We'll have a simple selection this time. Half of you will stay here to produce weapons and protect the island."

"The eight hundred of you will form ten lines and take turns coming forward. Each of you will lift the stone block in front of you. They range from one hundred to one thousand kilograms. Your final ranking will depend on the heaviest weight you can lift."

"Squad leaders, go record everyone's results."

"Yes, Captain." Golass, Gin, and the other squad leaders went to record the results.

Each underling took less than a minute. The tests were over in under two hours. The four hundred with the best results would continue sailing with them.

The rest would stay behind to work in production, going from pirates to nine-to-five wage slaves.

At the squad leaders' suggestion, Moya left the poorly qualified butler Dis in charge of the island. Pearl the Invincible, who was afraid of pain and had lost his drive, volunteered to stay as well.

Jack the Spike, the newest member, was also left behind to keep watch.

Perhaps it was because he'd often seen Honey Queen naked. Moya would rather not have to look at him.

What surprised Moya was that Maddie had contacted her impoverished noble family and arranged for them to come to Clockwork Island to trade. Maddie, the town chief and his wife, and Dis would handle the arrangements.

At last, it was time to set sail.

Moya gave Dis one final reminder to develop Rare Beast Island, raise livestock there, and sell them to the nobles.

Dis agreed, since Moya had already been to Rare Beast Island.

Moya looked at the fierce pirate who'd been with him longer than any other underling in the world of One Piece and said, "Train hard. Don't die."

With a sweep of his cloak, Moya boarded the ship. The women and officers followed close behind, leaving Butler Dis watching them go with tears in his eyes.

···

They continued training their physiques, physical techniques, Haki, swordsmanship, and Devil Fruit abilities...

Moya guided Buggy, with the Chop-Chop Fruit; El Drago, with the Oto Oto no Mi; and Mao Xiong, with the Steel-Steel Fruit, pointing them toward ways to develop their Devil Fruit powers.

He also pushed them to train their bodies and prepare to awaken Haki.

Once they awakened Haki and combined it with their Devil Fruit abilities, their combat strength would be about on par with pirates carrying bounties of fifty to a hundred million.

Gin had made the most impressive progress. His fighting strength was now close to that of the officers, making him a bona fide battle maniac with the strength of a pirate worth twenty million.

Golass, the swordsman, had found a sparring partner in Pin-Sword A-Pin. With Zoro's swordsmanship to guide him, he'd made some progress. The two of them now had the combat strength of pirates worth over ten million.

Acrobat Cabaji, Beast Tamer Mohji, the hypnotist Jango, Siamese cat Sham, and spotted cat Buchi had made limited progress, but they should all be close to having the strength of pirates worth ten million.

Krieg, the battle spear, had originally carried a bounty of seventeen million. It was somewhat inflated because of his fleet, but after all the fighting and training, he was now worth about that much.

When Moya trained the women, the sessions often somehow ended up in the bedroom. This was especially common with Nami and Honey Queen.

He and Kaya practiced medicine in the infirmary, and he went over management with Maddie twice in the office.

He spent plenty of time teaching Nojiko grafting techniques in the fruit and vegetable room. Even Rim had a good cooking lesson with him in the kitchen.

Rika felt that her Moya brother was far too busy, but it was all for the strength of the Moya Adventure Group.

Moya never complained.

···

After several days at sea, the Moya Adventure Group fleet finally reached the waters near Loguetown.

"We won't be staying long after landing in Loguetown. Aside from resupplying, you have just one task: find a street thug named Bartolomeo who has the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Once the job's done, return to the ship and wait for orders."

"Understood, Captain!" the officers and underlings answered loudly.

"Officers and squad leaders, each of you take a Den Den Mushi."

"You too." Moya turned to the women.

"A fight with Loguetown's guard, Smoker of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, will be hard to avoid this time. Protect yourselves."

With so many wanted criminals aboard Moya's ship, it would be hard for the Marines to believe he was a good person.

And Moya couldn't hand over his entire crew to the Marines as wanted criminals, either.

At the Marine Branch in Loguetown,

Smoker sat in his office, surrounded by smoke, a cigar in each hand and another in his mouth. His expression was grave.

"So they're finally coming? The Moya Adventure Group... I'll find out if you're an adventure group or a pirate crew!"

Smoker had complete faith in his Logia Devil Fruit. He'd never been defeated in the East Blue.

"Report! The Moya Adventure Group fleet has arrived at the port in Loguetown. Awaiting your orders."

"Let's go meet this adventure group that's even more eager than the Marines to catch pirates."

···

At Loguetown's port, the Moya Adventure Group's gangplank had already been lowered to the shore.

"Spread out and carry out your assignments."

"Yes, Captain." The squad leaders and underlings scattered, except for those staying behind to guard the ship.

"Buggy, El Drago, and Mao Xiong, come explore the town with us."

Moya wasn't about to go around alone. Safety came first; he needed bodyguards.

Richie carried several of the weaker ones: Rika, Rim, Kaya, and Maddie. Nami, Nojiko, and Honey Queen walked alongside them, while the three officers followed behind to protect them.