Landing in Loguetown

Clockwork Island, top floor.

Moya, having just finished his dealings with the Shipping King Umit, let out a deep breath. This game of chess had resulted in a slight victory.

By trading a piece of information and a Pure Gold Ring that he didn't even possess yet, he had swindled Umit out of an Eternal Pose and a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, all while securing a shipping deal. Not bad at all.

There were still some weapons left on this Clockwork Island; once he occupied Skypiea, he might even be able to sell some Dials.

More importantly, if he could hoodwink others—or rather, reach cooperative agreements with them—he could have the payments shipped to him via Umit's logistics network.

Looking at the Bear King, who had reverted to the youth he once was without the slightest change, he decisively gave him a new nickname.

"From now on, you shall be called Mao Xiong. You just boarded my ship and ate the Steel-Steel Fruit I provided; it's no wonder you're suffering from a bit of memory confusion. Rest well, and strive to become an officer on this ship in the future."

Upon hearing this, Mao Xiong's confusion dissipated, and he was instantly moved to tears. As a fledgling, naive pirate, he never expected to receive such appreciation from his captain, who had even bestowed upon him a precious Devil Fruit. He was deeply touched.

"Thank you, Captain! I will definitely work hard, train my Devil Fruit abilities, and repay your kindness in taking me in."

"Mao Xiong, I believe in you!"

The Playing Card Pirates had been captured in their entirety, with Honey Queen, Jack the Spike, and Pin-Sword Pin all successfully subdued.

The poor Skunk One had been beaten to a pulp.

"Mayor, from now on, let my flag fly over Clockwork Island. I hope you will continue to produce these weapons—and of course, you are welcome to produce other precision instruments as well. Rest assured, we will not oppress you."

The helpless Mayor and his wife realized that while they had gotten rid of a wolf, a tiger had taken its place.

In the end, Moya helped them retrieve their son, Akis, the child who was part of the thief brothers in the original story.

The thief Bolot also chose to stop wandering and remained by the Mayor's side to assist in managing Clockwork Island.

This made the Mayor and his wife truly grateful to Moya, and they promised to manage the island well for him.

Moya incorporated all the crew members of the Playing Card Pirates into his own ranks.

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

Moya stood on a high platform, with the women, officers, and squad leaders behind him, looking down at the nearly eight hundred pirate underlings below.

"We are going to conduct a simple screening today. Half of you will remain here to produce weapons and guard this island."

"Eight hundred people, divide into ten lines and take turns coming up. Each of you will lift the stone weights placed before you, ranging from one hundred to one thousand kilograms. Your final ranking will be determined by the heaviest weight you can lift."

"Ten squad leaders, go down and record the results."

"Yes, Captain!" Golass, Gin, and the other squad leaders went down to record the scores.

Each underling took less than a minute; in under two hours, the testing was complete, and the four hundred top-performing underlings were selected to continue the voyage.

The rest remained behind to handle production, transforming from pirates into 996-style laborers.

Based on the squad leaders' preferences, Moya left the mediocre butler Dis behind as the island's administrator. Pearl the Invincible, who feared pain and lacked ambition, also volunteered to stay.

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

Perhaps it was because he had frequently seen Honey Queen in the nude, and Moya preferred to keep him out of sight.

To Moya's surprise, Maddie contacted her family of fallen minor nobles to establish trade relations with Clockwork Island, leaving the coordination to Maddie, the Mayor and his wife, and Dis.

Finally, it was time to set sail.

Moya gave Dis one last piece of advice, suggesting he develop Rare Beast Island for livestock farming to sell to the nobles.

Moya had been there before, so Dis agreed.

Moya looked at this pirate underling—the most long-standing, fierce-looking pirate to accompany him in the world of One Piece—and said, "Train hard, and don't die."

Moya flicked his cloak and boarded the ship, followed closely by the women and officers, leaving behind the teary-eyed butler, Dis.

Training continued: physique, martial arts, Haki, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit powers...

He guided Buggy on the Chop-Chop Fruit, El Drago on the Oto Oto no Mi, and Mao Xiong on the Steel-Steel Fruit, pointing out the directions for their Devil Fruit development.

At the same time, he urged them to train their physiques to prepare for the awakening of Haki.

Once they awakened Haki, combined with their Devil Fruit powers, their combat strength would be comparable to pirates with bounties between fifty million and one hundred million.

Gin showed the most impressive progress, his combat power rivaling that of the officers; he was a true battle maniac with the strength of a twenty-million-berry bounty.

The swordsman Golass found a sparring partner in Pin-Sword Pin, and combined with Zoro's swordsmanship, he made slight progress; the two of them now possessed combat strength exceeding a ten-million-berry bounty.

The acrobat Cabaji, the beast tamer Mohji, the hypnotist Jango, and the Siamese cats Sham and Buchi had limited progress, but their combat strength should all be approaching the ten-million-berry level.

Krieg the Great Admiral's original bounty of seventeen million had been slightly inflated due to his fleet, but after combat training, he was now worth the price.

As for guiding the women, the sessions often ended up in the bedroom, a phenomenon particularly prevalent with Nami and Honey Queen.

Moya spent time in the infirmary guiding Kaya on medical techniques, and spent two sessions in the office guiding Maddie on management.

Moya spent time in the fruit and vegetable room teaching Nojiko various grafting techniques, while even Rim received some proper culinary guidance from Moya in the kitchen.

Rika felt that her big brother Moya was truly too busy, but everything was for the sake of making the Moya Adventure Group stronger.

Moya had no complaints and no regrets.

After many days of sailing, the Moya Adventure Group fleet finally arrived in the waters near Loguetown.

"We won't be staying in Loguetown for long this time. Aside from resupplying, you all have only one mission."

"That is to help me find a hoodlum named Bartolomeo who possesses the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Once the mission is complete, you may return to the ship and stand by."

"Understood, Captain!" the executives and underlings responded in unison.

"Executives and squad leaders, take a Den Den Mushi each."

"You all as well," Moya said, turning his head toward the women.

"A battle with the guardian of Loguetown, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit user Smoker, is hard to avoid this time. Make sure to protect yourselves."

Because there were simply too many wanted criminals on Moya's ship, it was difficult to make the Marines believe that Moya was a good person.

And Moya certainly wouldn't hand over his entire crew to the Marines just because they were wanted criminals.

Loguetown Marine Branch.

Inside the smoke-filled office, Smoker, who was smoking three cigars at once, wore a grave expression.

"Are you finally here? Moya Adventure Group, I shall see for myself whether you are an adventure group or a pirate crew!!!"

Smoker was very confident in his Logia-type Devil Fruit; in the East Blue, he had never once tasted defeat.

"Report! The Moya Adventure Group fleet has arrived at the Loguetown port. Please advise."

"Let's go. It's time to meet this adventure group that is even more proactive at catching pirates than the Marines."

At the Loguetown port, the gangplanks of the Moya Adventure Group ships had already been lowered to the shore.

"Everyone disperse and complete your missions."

"Yes, Captain!" The squad leaders and underlings scattered, leaving only a few crew members behind to guard the ships.

"Buggy, El Drago, and Mao Xiong, come stroll around with us."

Moya would never go anywhere alone; safety first, he needed bodyguards.

Richie carried the weaker members—Rika, Rim, Kaya, and Maddie—while Nami, Nojiko, and Honey Queen walked alongside, with the three executives following behind to provide protection.