Come aboard my ship, Drake

"Whoa, incredible! You're recovering already? What astonishing vitality."

The long, deep wound across Drake's chest had actually stopped bleeding and was beginning to scab over.

Aside from his own recovery ability, Gato had also contributed to such rapid healing. A powerful current carried by Lightning Enhancement had run through his blade, directly cauterizing part of the wound.

"Why... didn't you kill me?"

"Weren't you not planning to kill me either? You could be considered the benefactor who helped me gain an initial understanding of the way of the sword."

"An understanding of the way of the sword... I see."

Drake understood why he had lost and closed his eyes again.

Gato had only obtained Bright Light not long ago and could only use it in the most basic way. It was like a child wielding a deadly weapon—threatening enough already, but unable to bring out its greatest power.

The way of the sword was a perilous path of deadly conflict. During his clash with a formidable opponent like Drake, Gato had swung his blade hundreds of times, perhaps more. That was more useful than a beginner chopping at wooden posts tens of thousands of times.

A breakthrough had thus come naturally. Gato was now qualified to call himself a swordsman; he had stepped through the door of the way of the sword.

Without a teacher's guidance, every thought and every bit of experience had been comprehended by Gato alone amid life-and-death battles. This was his own path.

Thunder Crow was the sword technique Gato had comprehended after taking his first step inside that door.

It was still crude, capable only of adding a little power to Gato's swings, and it required Lightning Enhancement to be used. Yet when experts clashed, victory was often decided by such a slight difference.

Gato tightened his grip on his sword. He could feel that this was power wholly his own. If chakra still carried the hidden danger passed down by Kaguya, then his attainment in the way of the sword was entirely his own comprehension, something no one could take away.

The way of the sword definitely had a future. At the level of a swordmaster, one could cut through steel with nothing but physical strength and the blade in hand, without even needing Haki. The power of a great swordmaster was even harder to predict.

Gato felt exceptionally good, as though he had just finished a grand Lord of the Coast feast. Drake truly was a good opponent with tremendous potential, and Gato began considering recruiting him.

His ship happened to need a navigator. Drake had received systematic Marine training; even if he was not especially skilled at a navigator's work, he surely understood it well enough.

Besides, once Gato grew stronger, he would not need a navigator as much anyway. What he valued in this profession was not professional skill, but the potential to grow stronger. His companions could not be too weak.

Drake's potential was naturally anything but poor. Whether as a Marine or a pirate, he was someone who drew great attention.

"Come aboard my ship, Drake!"

"If you want to kill me, just say it!" Drake's expression shifted for the rare occasion, turning extremely unpleasant.

A pirate recruiting a Marine to join a pirate ship looked like a provocation no matter how one viewed it.

Gato leaned close and whispered into his ear, "Don't refuse so quickly. You've already prepared yourself to leave the Marines, haven't you?"

Drake was instantly shocked, even frightened.

That was his greatest secret. How could a pirate who had only just gone to sea know about it?

Gato smiled and rose to his feet.

"When that day truly comes, join me. I'll be waiting for you on the Grand Line."

Drake fell silent. Gato seemed utterly certain that he would leave the Marines. Though he did not know where Gato had gotten this information, it was indeed true. There was no point in insisting on the notion that Marines and pirates were irreconcilable enemies.

"I'll consider it."

Gato dusted himself off in satisfaction and straightened his clothes. He had been just as bedraggled after that battle, but only now had he achieved all his objectives.

Under Gato's absolute suppression in strength, a deal trading food for Drake was quickly completed.

Once the two ships had put some distance between each other, the first mate asked Drake whether they should bombard Gato, but Drake stopped him.

"Gato can move across the water. As the defeated side, we'd better not stir up more trouble."

The first mate did not grow suspicious. It truly was a problem. Even if Gato's ship were sunk, he would not be left helpless like other ability users. He would definitely come over and seize their warship.

What he did not know was that, in that earlier deal trading food for Drake, they might not have truly "bought" their rear admiral back at all.

"Mmph... chomp, chomp."

With ample supplies at hand, Gato was stuffing himself. Lightning Enhancement was already especially taxing on stamina, and after battling for so long, he had even used a sword technique. It was no different from using Divine Void Strike once.

Enough food to feed every Marine aboard a warship for an entire day was vanishing at a visible rate.

"Whew, that hit the spot. Getting a meal after a battle is simply the happiest thing in the world."

Gato patted his swollen belly in satisfaction. For long-distance voyages, his own ship had stocked only durable dry rations, while Drake's warship was stocked with relatively fresh food. He had eaten to his heart's content.

"Finding a cook seems to be one of the most urgent matters now."

After eating the food made by the cooks at Baratie, eating dry rations again was practically torture to him. With a cook, he could gather ingredients from the sea whenever he wanted and eat the freshest food.

Gato knew a few cooking methods himself, but he felt it was better not to make a fool of himself.

The Pirate World generally used wooden sailing ships powered by wind, so pollution was extremely low. The fish here were all premium ingredients perfect for sashimi.

Thus, he sadly discovered that anything cooked by his own hands was not even as delicious as eating it raw...

When he had first arrived in the Pirate World, he had even thought his cooking tasted good. He must have been starving to the point of mental instability. It was as though he had been hit by some legendary otherworldly god technique, his very will altered...

Suddenly, he once again felt the urge to return to Baratie and abduct Sanji.

But it was only an impulse. With so many capable people in the Pirate World, was he really afraid he would not find a cook?

Every place had its own cuisine. Perhaps a cook better suited to his tastes was waiting somewhere for him to recruit.

There was no point in Gato lingering in the East Blue any longer. The East Blue truly lived up to its name as the weakest sea; aside from its food, it could offer him nothing new.

He decided that once he finished causing trouble for one person, he would set off for the Grand Line.

The fish-man Arlong was very likely the richest man in the East Blue. Who knew how many years he had been running his nest here? Gato had his eye on Arlong's wealth.

From the day he became a pirate, he had decided he would no longer make money through business. As a glorious pirate, going into commerce would be neglecting his proper work, wouldn't it?

But after reaching the Grand Line, many of his plans would be impossible to carry out without money.

And so, unlucky Arlong became the target of Gato, the East Blue's hidden BOSS.