Oswaldo Island

Luo Ya moored the ship and walked onto the island, completely unconcerned about the vessel's safety.

After all, when he had configured it, the Black Pearl was designed to be powered by Luo Ya's own energy. In other words, Luo Ya was the ship's key.

Furthermore, Adam Wood was arguably the most suitable material for shipbuilding; its hardness was beyond reproach, and common petty thieves couldn't even breach the cabin.

Looking at the crowd of fierce-looking pirates and merchants haggling before him, he saw some furrowing their brows in distress while others beamed with joy.

After making inquiries, Luo Ya learned that the island was called Oswaldo Island. Beyond producing gunpowder and trading arms, it served as a stronghold for the Underworld.

The various missions Luo Ya had accepted back in the West Blue via Maynard's connections had been completed on islands similar to this one.

The reason the island was so crowded, aside from the merchants and pirates coming to purchase weapons, was that there was currently a mission recruiting a large number of hands.

The Minister of Finance of the Sorbet Kingdom was on the island recruiting personnel, as their country was currently experiencing a rebellion.

Speaking of the Sorbet Kingdom, Luo Ya still had some impression of it. It seemed their monarch, King Berkley, was quite the "genius" early on, having divided the country into northern and southern halves to reduce the tribute paid as the Heavenly Tribute.

The north was a concentration of nobles enjoying state protection, while the south was an lawless zone. Later, they learned from the advanced policies of the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue and set fire to the south.

They imitated the Goa Kingdom to eliminate unnecessary matters.

Walking into the town on Oswaldo Island, the noise and bustle were immediately apparent; it was clearly far more prosperous than the West Blue.

Luo Ya wandered around, sampling quite a few of the island's specialty snacks. Just then, a man in a black suit walked up to his side.

"Lord Luo Ya, I am Vitt, the person in charge of this island. Are you interested in the Sorbet Kingdom's mission? Their Minister of Finance wishes to hire you to quell the rebellion in their country."

Luo Ya wasn't particularly surprised; after all, his one-hundred-percent mission completion rate in the Underworld was known to everyone.

He also recalled why the Sorbet Kingdom sounded familiar—wasn't this the country of Bartholomew Kuma from the original story?

Since this country was experiencing a rebellion, it meant this was likely the very event that had triggered Bartholomew Kuma's rage when he saw the fires in the south.

At the thought of this, Luo Ya became interested. After all, Bartholomew Kuma was an extremely mysterious figure in the original work, and he had made very few moves.

"Lead the way." Luo Ya nodded. Led by Vitt, he arrived at a room in the island's largest hotel.

"Welcome, welcome! This must be the man with a bounty of 210 million Beli, the Black Flame Swordsman, Lord Luo Ya, yes? I am Hafiz, the Minister of Finance for the Sorbet Kingdom."

Hafiz stood up to receive Luo Ya with great enthusiasm.

Luo Ya looked at the table full of specialty dishes and didn't stand on ceremony. He nodded as a form of acknowledgment to Hafiz and immediately began to gorge himself, even biting the cork off a five-million-Beli bottle of wine and drinking straight from the bottle.

Hafiz was truly worthy of being a Minister of Finance—a position for a sycophant—as he didn't feel the slightest bit awkward.

After calmly pouring himself a glass of wine, he stood up and toasted Luo Ya. "With the Black Flame Swordsman taking action, those petty rebels will surely be captured in no time, haha."

Luo Ya took a sip of wine to wash down the food in his mouth and spoke, "I've heard the rebels in your country aren't just small fry. Otherwise, your Sorbet Kingdom would have solved it long ago; why bother hiring outsiders?"

"Haha, they certainly wouldn't be a match for the dignified Black Flame Swordsman. As long as you help us resolve this rebellion, in addition to the 100 million Beli bounty for the Underworld mission, we will personally provide you with a famous sword."

"Oh? What is the name of the blade?" Luo Ya became interested. After all, collecting special achievements in games was one of his great hobbies.

"One of the 21 Great Grade Swords, Kikuichimonji," Hafiz said proudly. After all, the 21 Great Grade Swords were already considered top-tier blades.

Moreover, although there were many excellent swords in the world of One Piece, the famous ones were all forged by the hands of formidable swordsmen. It was impossible that there were only a few dozen good swords in the entire world, leaving everyone else to use common sailor blades.

It was simply that only a few were famous. Just like before Hawk-Eye became the world's greatest swordsman, Yoru wasn't even considered one of the 51 Skillful Grade Swords.

It was the swordsman who made the famous sword, not the other way around. After all, the famous swords in the world of One Piece were all black blades tempered by Armament Haki and sword intent.

"Besides this sword, I want two Devil Fruits—Zoan or Paramecia, it doesn't matter. Once you've considered it, have Vitt contact me."

Having said that, Luo Ya stood up, lit a cigarette, and turned to leave. His arrogant demeanor left Hafiz with a livid face, though he dared not act out due to the disparity in strength.

Vitt shrugged and turned to catch up with Luo Ya.

"Lord Luo Ya, I have booked a room for you at the island's largest hotel." Vitt said, leading Luo Ya toward the hotel.

Once they reached the room, Vitt was about to leave when Luo Ya called him back.

"Vitt, tell me, if I kill the person who issued the mission after it's completed, that doesn't count as a mission failure, right?" Luo Ya asked.

After all, Luo Ya actually had a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he had to protect his one-hundred-percent mission completion rate at all costs.

Hearing Luo Ya's words, Vitt revealed a knowing smile. "Lord Luo Ya, the moment the mission is completed, the employment relationship is dissolved. It is no longer counted as part of the mission."

Vitt had long since noticed that Luo Ya didn't like Hafiz, and in the Underworld, to put it bluntly, dog-eat-dog was common. After all, the only truth here was the strength of one's fist.

This was why, despite being the person in charge of an island, he was so respectful toward Luo Ya. If he were actually killed by Luo Ya, it was hard to say if anyone would even stand up for him.

He had no idea how many of his subordinates were praying for his death so they could take his place. The Underworld only had one attitude toward this: as long as the tribute was paid and the business was completed, it didn't matter who was in charge.

Luo Ya waved his hand to signal that Vitt could leave and headed toward the bedroom.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, Luo Ya froze at the sight before him. Sitting on the bed was an incredibly beautiful woman with long, wavy golden hair cascading to her waist. She wore a purple dress with black silk stockings, and the peaks on her chest made Luo Ya exclaim that she was truly "ferocious."

The slit in the custom-made dress was so high that it revealed a vast expanse of snow-white skin, making her appear even more mature and alluring.

At this moment, the beauty was looking at Luo Ya with a smile. "Lord Luo Ya." She even gave him a flirtatious wink.

Luo Ya felt he couldn't hold back anymore. "This kid Vitt is trying to affect my sword-drawing speed," he muttered, wrapping his arm around the beauty's slender waist.

One hundred thousand words omitted here.