All Positive Energy

Loguetown.

This was an island town located near the entrance to the Grand Line in the East Blue.

The legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had been born here and had also died here...

So people also called it "the Town of Beginnings and Ends."

This was the dreamland longed for by countless pirates!

At the bustling harbor, ships of all shapes and sizes were docked like colorful dumplings lined up to be thrown into a pot.

From above, sailors who looked like ants moved back and forth, carrying all kinds of cargo.

As the waves rose and fell, an inconspicuous medium-sized sailing ship slowly pulled into the harbor.

"Woohoo~"

"We're finally here!"

Standing at the bow, Kael stretched himself into a "big" shape, loosening his somewhat stiff limbs.

Although the Tiga was faster than ordinary ships and warships, it had still taken them a full three days to reach their destination, Loguetown, from the waters near Aksi Island.

The boring journey had nearly driven Kael mad.

Now that he finally saw land, he could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart.

"Tiga, I'll leave the task of guarding the ship to you!"

"Leave everything to me, Captain Kael!"

Behind Kael, the hooded figure of a child appeared out of thin air.

Though he also longed for the world beyond the ship, as a ship spirit, he was destined to only move about within the vessel.

Seeing through Little Tiga's thoughts, Kael reached out as if to pat his little head and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, you'll be able to stroll down the streets openly, just like me."

"At worst, I'll create a country someday where ships are allowed to travel anywhere!!!"

"What?! Is that really possible?!"

Little Tiga raised his head and asked excitedly.

Though his eyes could not be seen, the smile that had already formed into a "D" shape perfectly displayed his mood.

"Of course!"

Kael nodded firmly.

"It's a promise between us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze turned toward prosperous Loguetown.

A bustling town, an endless stream of tourists, commercial streets packed with customers...

As long as today's plan went smoothly, fulfilling that promise would not be far away!

I hope everything goes smoothly.

A crafty gleam flashed in Kael's dark eyes.

He grinned, revealing a mischievous expression.

"Then..."

"The Dusk Pirates' first emergency mission, codename: Deceiving an Innocent Girl..."

"Commence!"

Before his words had fully fallen, Kael suddenly leaped from the bow and landed directly on the harbor ground.

Behind him, Little Tiga vanished into nothingness once more. Following Kael's prior instructions, he turned the Tiga around and prepared it to set sail at any time.

Long before approaching the waters near Loguetown, Kael and the others had taken down their pirate flag.

Now, aside from himself, Sengoku, and Kizaru, no one knew he was a pirate.

Like an ordinary traveler, he swaggered straight into Loguetown's bustling district.

Kael would not remain in Loguetown for long on this trip.

He had only one objective...

To kidnap Tashigi, who was suspected to be compatible with the character card Rukia, and bring her onto his ship!

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was a plan Kael had settled on after careful consideration.

First, Tashigi was the person Kael could think of who was most compatible with Rukia.

If he successfully loaded Rukia's game panel onto her, she would become a tremendous help to him!

Even if the compatibility failed, Tashigi was still a capable fighter, and she knew the East Blue better than he did...

She could help him gather funds faster and invest them into the system.

Second, as Smoker's adjutant, Tashigi was capable of managing an entire Marine base. Her talent and experience in management were undoubtedly far beyond those of ordinary people.

To Kael, money was power!

In the future, he would inevitably start working on businesses and industries, so he needed talents like Tashigi.

Those were the main reasons Kael had decided to kidnap Tashigi.

And incidentally, considering the spectacular sight of Tashigi's towering peaks and rolling waves three years later...

That also counted as a tiny source of motivation for Kael.

Of course, only a tiny one~

His main goal was still to quickly build a pirate crew of a certain scale, so he could contribute his share to justice!

At the same time.

Even if the kidnapping plan failed and Smoker arrested him, at most it would only take a phone call to his second uncle...

So he came here without hesitation!

With the power of his fists and the help of several kind-hearted street punks, Kael quickly found a black-market shop selling all kinds of contraband, such as firearms and ammunition.

A few years ago, Loguetown had still been the most popular town among pirates in the East Blue.

There had once been many shops here dedicated to serving pirates.

The shop Kael entered was one of them.

However, because Smoker had suddenly been assigned here, fewer and fewer pirates dared to come to Loguetown.

As a result, the black-market business had plummeted.

After learning Kael's true purpose, the owner, who had already switched professions and opened a toy shop, immediately looked overjoyed!

He kept bowing and scraping, looking determined to serve Kael to his utmost satisfaction.

The entire transaction proceeded pleasantly and smoothly.

In the end, Kael bought three doses of tranquilizer said to be capable of knocking out an elephant for 1,000,000 Beli.

He even personally tested one dose on the shop owner.

Mm...

It was indeed quite effective.

"Hmph~!"

"You actually dared to sell contraband to pirates! It's people like you who let pirates run rampant at sea!"

"Consider this a lesson for you!"

Picking up the money pouch he had just handed over, Kael strode out of the toy shop with righteous dignity.

He left behind the shop owner, who had collapsed among the stuffed toys and was snoring away.

"The light of justice shines upon a big old butt~"

Humming a little tune from his hometown, Kael openly returned to Loguetown's streets.

At the same time, those eyes hiding ill intentions began drifting through the crowd.

He soon found his next target. With a friendly smile, he walked over.

"Excuse me, Marine brothers!"

Kael raised his hand and called out to the two Marines ahead of him.

Although the number of pirates in Loguetown had greatly decreased, the world was vast, and there would always be idiots eager to run straight into the muzzle of a gun.

To ensure the safety of Loguetown's residents, Marine soldiers could still often be seen on the streets.

"Hm?"

The two Marines who had been patrolling stopped and turned around, looking at Kael questioningly.

"Well, you see..."

Kael wore a roguish smile as he removed the long cloth-wrapped object from his back.

"I'm a bounty hunter who just entered the business. Not long ago, I seized a famous blade from a pirate..."

"According to that dead pirate, this blade seems to be one of the fifty Skillful Grade swords, known as Frost."

"So I wanted to find a knowledgeable shop owner to appraise it and trade it for a little spending money~"

"I'm new here, so I wanted to ask you two where Loguetown's most reliable sword shop is..."

As he spoke, Kael drew the wrapped Frost from behind his back.

The blade's cool green gleam instantly reflected into the two Marines' eyes.

For a moment, they felt an inexplicable chill.

And that perfectly proved Kael's claim was true!

"A bounty hunter!?"

"A Skillful Grade sword!!?"

The two Marines exchanged glances, seeming to communicate something with their eyes.

Everyone knew that Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, Colonel Smoker's adjutant, was an absolute fanatic when it came to famous blades.

That was no secret within the Marines.

If Chief Petty Officer Tashigi learned that such a famous sword had appeared in Loguetown, only to be sold to someone else because of the two of them...

Chief Petty Officer Tashigi would definitely drill them mercilessly!

"Gulp~"

After a brief exchange of looks, the two Marines immediately made up their minds.

They swallowed, then said to Kael:

"Sir, the sword shop isn't far from here. It's in the next block."

"But..."

The Marine suddenly dragged out his words, his eyes shifting hesitantly.

"But what?"

Kael obligingly put on a curious look.

The Marine paused for a moment before saying:

"But if I were you, I would never choose to sell this sword to those unscrupulous merchants."

"If you don't understand the sword's value, it would be easy for those people, who only have money in their eyes, to deceive you."

"How about..."

"Why don't you come sit at the Marine base with us?"

"We happen to have an expert there who knows a great deal about swords. We can have her appraise it for you first."

"Ah??"

Kael hesitantly looked at Frost in his hand. Then he frowned and muttered as if troubled by the inconvenience:

"But going into a Marine base for no reason feels kind of strange."

He fell silent for a moment.

Then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, Kael abruptly raised his head and revealed an apologetic expression.

"How about troubling you two to make the trip and invite that expert here?"

"I'll wait here for you to return."

As he spoke, Kael casually pulled two stacks of Beli from his pocket.

Not much, just a little over a hundred thousand.

He grinned and stepped forward, using his body to hide the hand holding the Beli before secretly stuffing it into the Marines' pockets.

Before the two Marines could say anything, he beat them to it.

"A small token of appreciation."

"I hope you two understand. People in our line of work will attract gossip if we get too close to the Marines."

"Please rest assured, I won't underpay the expert's appraisal fee by even a single Beli."

"..."

The two Marines stared at Kael, who was whispering into their ears, with strange expressions.

You're practically pressed against us. How is this not close!?

Still, feeling the satisfying weight in their pockets, they exchanged another look before saying solemnly:

"Ahem... Helping those in need is our duty!"

"You can wait in that café over there. We'll be back shortly."

One Marine pointed to a shop along the street that did not have many customers.

"Alright."

Kael answered with a smile.

"I'll leave it to you two."