Moya's Ambition

Aboard the pirate ship Miss Love Duck

The pirates watched Moya sitting in the captain's chair. Among those who had stayed aboard, some were frightened, some were defiant, but most had submitted.

That was because the pirates who had just fiercely opposed him were now nothing but corpses.

As a modern man from the twenty-first century, Moya knew all too well how important centralized power was.

Now, aboard this ship, Moya was the one and only leader, with absolute authority!

"Next, I'm going to assign your duties!"

"From now on, Dis will be my messenger. You will obey my orders without question. It's your only way to stay alive."

Moya made his first arrangement without changing his expression.

"The East Blue is a weak sea. If you don't want to die, you'd better listen and do as you're told. Otherwise, I'll show you what cruelty really means!"

Moya continued slowly, his face dark.

Though he didn't think there was any point in explaining too much to these dim-witted underlings,

he still decided to give them a little pep talk. After all, he still needed them to sail the ship and do the work.

"From now on, I'll defeat pirates with bounties of ten million, twenty million, fifty million, even a hundred million! I'll become incredibly powerful, and then there'll be gold, treasure, women, and Beli—everything!"

"But if you're still this weak, you won't get to enjoy any of it. To the weak, death is just an everyday occurrence."

Moya spoke coldly. He had no fondness for these pirates whatsoever.

The pirates seemed shaken by Moya's words and began to panic.

Dis was the first to react. He shouted, "Get stronger! We'll follow Captain Moya to the death!"

At once, the other pirates joined in, shouting as loudly as they could, "Get stronger! We'll follow Captain Moya to the death!"

Moya gave Dis an approving glance. Promoting him had been worth it.

He also felt the benefits of people in the pirate world generally having low intelligence. It was simply unbelievable!

Moya waved his hand, signaling for them to quiet down.

"Since you're all so enthusiastic, as your new captain, I'll do everything I can to make sure we live well!"

"From now on, we'll officially call ourselves the Moya Adventure Group. We won't be pirates anymore!"

Moya shouted. Though he was desperate to grow stronger and leave his mark on this world,

laying low was a strategy. For now, he didn't want to be branded a pirate and hunted, or to face the Marines head-on.

"Captain, what does an adventure group mean? Are we not going to rob anyone anymore? Then what are we supposed to eat and use?"

One underling asked, scratching his head with one hand and raising the other.

"From now on, we'll make a living by exploring and searching for treasure, and by robbing other pirates or Pirate Hunters! Stick with me, and I'll show you what it means to live an exciting life!"

Moya patiently explained.

The crew fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Moya could read their faces, but didn't care.

"Next, we're going to refit our ship. Get rid of that pink heart on the sails. Are there any shipwrights who can turn the duck's head at the bow into a dragon's head?"

Moya shouted.

"Captain, we don't have any spare sailcloth, only paint. The shipwright can reshape the duck's head into a dragon's head, but it might end up a little smaller."

Dis replied. He used to be in charge of supplies and knew the shipwright well.

"Good. In that case, paint all the sails red, and put two big gold characters—Moya—in the middle.

"Turn the figurehead into a dragon's head, and paint it blood red. Make sure to draw the dragon's scales, too!

"Get to work! And rename the ship the Yanhuang. Paint that name on the hull in gold."

Moya made his decision and shouted out the orders.

"Yes, Captain!" the underlings answered loudly.

The ship bustled with activity as the refit began...

Moya turned to the navigator and asked, "Do you have a nautical chart of the East Blue? Do you know the routes?"

"Uh, Captain, I only know where the larger islands are. We haven't been to most of the others."

The navigator replied hesitantly. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his breathing grew shallow.

Moya watched the crew bustling about, then turned to gaze across the distant sea. He didn't answer the navigator. Instead, he clenched his fists and leaned against the railing, staring toward the horizon.

"Luffy, in that case, don't blame me for competing with you for opportunities. You know what they say: every man for himself."

I wouldn't become your nanny just because of some anime.

Besides, knowing the details of your adventures was the only slight advantage I had.

Without a system or any cheat abilities, what right did Moya have to act as the protagonist crew's nanny?

A trace of ruthlessness flickered in Moya's eyes, along with a hint of resolve.

The ship was bustling with activity.

Moya issued an order to the navigator.

"Go prepare information on Marine Branch 153, Orange Town, Syrup Village, Baratie, Cocoyasi Village, and Loguetown. I want you to be able to reach every one of those places accurately!"

The navigator was startled. Marine Branch 153 and Loguetown both had stationed Marines.

But he didn't dare refuse. Moya was staring straight at him, making his scalp tingle.

"All right, Captain. I know most of those places. I'll check the information and make sure I complete your task!"

"Good. Thanks for the effort." Moya rested a hand on the navigator's shoulder and spoke approvingly.

Now it was the navigator's turn to feel overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness. Alvida used to do nothing but beat and berate them, so he couldn't help feeling a little moved.

For the first time, the navigator felt a tiny spark of determination to follow Moya.

But would Moya really care about an insignificant nobody like him?

Watching the crew go about their separate tasks, Moya felt his ambition growing. Everything was finally falling into place, and he was now a captain in his own right.

However, he also knew that in this world, power was the only thing that mattered.

So he immediately began training his body and his Slip-Slip Fruit abilities.

At the same time, Moya considered the path he should take in the future. Being a pirate wasn't an option for now; he wasn't strong enough to stand against most of the Marines' forces.

He probably couldn't join the Marines either. They generally didn't accept people of unknown origins, and Moya had come from another world. How could he possibly have proper papers?

As for the World Military Draft later on, the World Government had probably held it out of desperation. But they thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of everyone they recruited. Fujitora's sense of justice was no joke.

So Moya could only become an adventurer like a Pirate Hunter. As for why he didn't become a Pirate Hunter—

Moya's answer was that he simply didn't like the title! It would make pirates hate him.

That was the way of the cautious: follow your instincts.

For now, he just wanted to keep his head down as an adventurer who didn't offend anyone!

Who could say what he'd do once he was powerful?

But when he came across pirates, he'd still show them no mercy.

Moya activated his Devil Fruit ability, felt the changes it brought, and pondered how to develop it.

Developing a Devil Fruit ability involved several areas: movement, offense, defense, support, and the fruit's own bizarre abilities.

For movement, Moya planned to go from Fast Slide to Instant Slide, and perhaps even sliding through space. It wasn't impossible.

Another aspect was the distance he could slide.

Moya believed he could develop all of these abilities.

For defense, Moya planned to slide blunt weapons away, slide away bullets and cannonballs, and even deflect sharp weapons. He'd train in all those areas and maybe even learn to slide away Devil Fruit abilities.

For support, Moya wanted to develop something like the Hira Hira no Mi, turning the ground into a land-based flag so that the entire surface had no friction, leaving enemies unable to get a foothold.

He also wanted to do something like the Bubble-Bubble Fruit, making his enemies' bodies slippery so they couldn't grip their weapons or would fall over.

But all of that would take extensive practice and experimentation.

Moya still hadn't come up with any particularly effective ways to attack, which frustrated him to no end.

As for bizarre abilities, Moya suddenly realized that he had become very handsome. That was a passive ability of the Slip-Slip Fruit.

If he could develop it into something like the Empress's Love-Love Fruit, using charm to sway people, it would be terrifying.

Even if he couldn't attract everyone, men and women, young and old, it would still be good if he could at least make women like him more.

Just thinking about it made Moya's heart beat faster. There were plenty of talented women out there, too.

Wasn't the whole point of striving to succeed to enjoy life?

To procreate and pass on everything that made him who he was.

So beautiful women were important, too.

Wealth, companions, arts, and territory! Wealth meant resources, riches, and money—things that could build a faction.

Companions meant family, love, and friendship: people who could help him, or help him build a family and pass on everything he was.

Arts meant Devil Fruits, swordsmanship, martial arts, and Haki—ways to make himself stronger.

Territory meant the land he ruled and the resources he could obtain.

The more he thought about it, the more Moya realized just how many goals he had. Even the fattest person couldn't get fat in one bite; he had to take things one step at a time.

That was how Moya tried to reassure himself. Deep down, though, he also wanted to be like Blackbeard and gobble up enough power to become one of the Four Emperors in one go. Just imagining it was thrilling!

"The Memory Slide Technique of Sube Sube no Mi" was one of the Devil Fruit's bizarre extensions.

This ability would be Moya's most powerful support skill as he grew stronger.

Given his experience living in the information-explosion era of the twenty-first century,

he believed he'd develop more and more bizarre abilities related to the Slip-Slip Fruit.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

"Captain, the refit of the Yanhuang is complete. We're ready to sail!" Dis reported.

"Good. Navigator, our destination is Marine Branch 153. Set off! Full speed ahead!"

Moya shouted his order. They really couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

"Yes, Captain!" the navigator replied.

"Attention, everyone! Hoist the sails! Set sail!"

The Yanhuang slowly got underway, heading toward its destination...

At the bow, Moya gazed out toward the horizon and clenched his fists, determination shining in his eyes. His quiet voice drifted across the deck.

"Luffy, I want talented crew members, too!!"