The Prelude to a New Era

"Chi-ha-ha-ha! To think that the famous Ghost Sword Lu Zhuo would actually know of me. 'Blackbeard'? Is that my nickname? I like it!"

Teach stood at the bow of a small boat, laughing heartily as he drew closer.

Lu Zhuo's expression turned cold. This guy was a villain through and through; in truth, he had no desire to deal with Teach. However, there were certain goals that required Teach's assistance. After all, under the momentum of the world, Teach would eventually join the Whitebeard Pirates and obtain the Dark-Dark Fruit.

Using the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit to strip away Devil Fruit abilities that Lu Zhuo desired was one of his objectives. It was precisely for this reason that he had told Nami he would find any ability she wanted for her.

"Destroying a Marine Branch, a vicious and heinous pirate with a bounty of 130 million Beli—how could I not know you, Teach?" Lu Zhuo stood up, offered a faint smile, and replied.

"Chi-ha-ha-ha! How about we have a drink?" Teach appeared extremely excited. Seeing a newcomer of the same generation with equally formidable strength for the first time, he felt the urge to recruit him.

At this moment, the pirate crew Teach had formed was not yet called the Blackbeard Pirates, but the Darkness Pirates. Their numbers were even fewer than Lu Zhuo's Holy Sword Pirates—only two people in total.

Of course, the strength of these two was no weaker than Fire Fist Ace, who was currently famous across the four seas with a bounty of 140 million Beli.

The group went ashore. Lu Zhuo secretly signaled Nami and Robin, and they immediately became vigilant.

The two parties came together. Taking the wine from Blackbeard, Lu Zhuo didn't show any hesitation and took a fierce gulp.

Cough, cough!

After the drink went down, Lu Zhuo coughed violently, his face flushing slightly, and he said with a smile, "This wine is strong! I like it!"

"Chi-ha-ha-ha! I like your personality even more! Lu Zhuo, come join my ship. How about becoming my vice-captain?" Teach let out a loud laugh, took a swig of wine, and stated his purpose.

Lu Zhuo smiled faintly and said calmly, "Do you think that if I asked you to be my vice-captain, you would agree?"

"Chi-ha-ha-ha! Good, good!" Hearing Lu Zhuo's words, Teach laughed loudly and repeated the word 'good' twice, though there was no look of disappointment on his face.

He knew that for someone like Lu Zhuo, it was almost impossible to recruit him.

They were both destined to stand on the stage of the new era!

"Seventeen years have passed since Roger died, the Golden Lion lost two legs escaping from prison, I hear Whitebeard's stamina has declined significantly and he spends his days hooked up to IVs for treatment, and Red-Haired lost an arm in the East Blue, while the strength of the Navy continues to grow. The new era... has already raised its curtain!"

After a sigh, Lu Zhuo slowly spoke words that shocked everyone present.

If these words had been spoken by a true titan like Whitebeard or Red-Haired, it would undoubtedly have triggered a magnitude-12 earthquake across the world!

At this moment, the passersby in the vicinity were all stunned by this statement. Whether they were pirates or commoners!

The news spread rapidly, and soon it was flying across the entire ocean!

"Chi-ha-ha-ha! I hope we can meet again on the stage of the new era!" After his surprise, Teach let out a hearty laugh, as if to unleash his own ambition, and spoke with equal arrogance.

Lu Zhuo gave him a deep look and turned to leave. It wasn't until he had pulled Robin and Nami far, far away that the surrounding pedestrians finally snapped out of their stupor.

"This brat named Lu Zhuo has quite the ambition, not bad!" Whitebeard heard the news and let out a booming laugh, not in the least bit angry that Lu Zhuo had mentioned his declining stamina.

The Four Emperor Red-Haired held a newspaper, his expression somewhat grave.

"Another incredible figure has appeared. He will surely be a man who stirs up the winds and clouds. I wonder, Luffy... when will you set sail?"

The next moment, he shook his head, laughed, and said, "Drink up, drink up! Why worry about all that!"

Beside him, Mihawk's hawk-like eyes flashed with a sharp glint.

Lu Zhuo, is it? A powerful swordsman. A master swordsman capable of unleashing power approaching that of a Great Swordmaster. Interesting!

At Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked grave as he stood by the window, gazing at the sky.

"This guy's eyes see through everything. It seems I still underestimated him. The danger level of this person in the future might rival Roger!"

"Pass the order down: Admirals, Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, all Marine officers are to be rotated! Furthermore, initiate a global military draft!"

The world, shaken by Lu Zhuo's single sentence, became thoroughly bustling.

As for the culprit, Lu Zhuo, he was busy measuring all the information about this sea area with two beauties in tow.

Lu Zhuo did not go looking for the person from the original story who knew about the Knock-Up Stream; instead, he cooperated with Nami to measure it himself.

Based on the general range, in less than three days, Lu Zhuo had determined the location where the Knock-Up Stream would appear.

Standing at the bow, looking at the massive whirlpool ahead, Lu Zhuo's expression carried a hint of tension.

Is it starting?

Seeming to notice his expression, Robin walked to his side and smiled gently.

"Hehe, my great captain, do you have moments of tension, too?"

Tch, why does that sound so cloying?

Lu Zhuo glanced at Robin. Because they were about to face the Knock-Up Stream, Robin was only wearing a camisole on her upper body.

Those fair, fleshy mounds nearly blinded Lu Zhuo...

He reached out and quickly brushed Robin's cheek, bringing with it a fragrant scent.

"Does that mean you're saying you're my woman?" Lu Zhuo looked at the blushing Robin with a wicked smile.

"Hehe, want to pursue me? That's not something you can get with just a few Poneglyphs, you know." Robin giggled, a fragrant breeze blew past, and her figure transformed into countless flower petals, vanishing before Lu Zhuo.

It was a clone...

It seems his instruction had been effective; after three months of intensive training, Nico Robin, who used to spend her days idly reading, was definitely no weaker than she had been at the time of the reunion two years later in the original story, and in some aspects, she even surpassed that level.

As for Nami, although Lu Zhuo pampered and cherished her in every way, he had also forced her to train her body so that she could rapidly develop the power of a Devil Fruit once she obtained one.

Lu Zhuo curled his lip, watching the massive whirlpool ahead slowly come to a standstill, and his expression turned serious. "Quick, it's coming!"

"Aye!" Nami replied, her expression solemn as she watched the ocean ahead begin to bubble, and she steered the ship quickly toward it.

Although Lu Zhuo had already told her about the general situation of the Knock-Up Stream and they had discussed how to navigate it, she could not help but feel a bit nervous at this moment.

Lu Zhuo walked over slowly, took her small hand in his, and gave her a calm smile, which instantly put Nami at ease.

Skypiea, what a miracle! He wondered what kind of shock it would bring him.

It was a pity that although the original story mentioned there were other routes to get there, it did not provide detailed descriptions, so they had no choice but to take this dangerous path.

Just as Lu Zhuo was thinking this, the ocean current beneath their feet erupted with a roar, sending a massive white ribbon of water surging toward the sky!

And Lu Zhuo's Holy Sword was instantly carried into the air by this current!