Marine Headquarters.
Inside the admiral's office.
Garp raised a massive wine cup and drained it in one gulp, then sighed.
His feelings toward his old rival Roger were complicated.
"Garp, you bastard, no matter what, Roger was a pirate. He's already been executed. Pull yourself together—the Marines still need your strength."
Sengoku stood beside him, trying to pump him up.
Garp looked up at Sengoku, who was trying to motivate him, then lowered his eyelids again. He grabbed the bottle once more, turned it upside down, and poured the liquor directly into his mouth.
Seeing this, Sengoku, still a Marine admiral at the time, went completely dark-faced, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Garp!"
The roar made the entire office tremble.
"Buru buru!"
Just then, the Den Den Mushi rang.
Garp frowned and reached into his clothes behind him, pulling out a Den Den Mushi.
"Didn't I say not to disturb me with anything lately?"
Garp's tone was irritated.
Clearly, Garp's temper was nowhere near as mild as it would be later. Of course, that might also have been because Roger had been executed.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
The Den Den Mushi's face shifted slightly before a voice came through.
"Someone here seems to have used the Pirate King's sword strike—the terrifying strike he unleashed when you fought Pirate King Gol D. Roger."
"Huh?"
Garp stared wide-eyed at the Den Den Mushi.
"This subordinate suspects that Pirate King Gol D. Roger may have had a disciple or successor."
"Where is he? Have you found him?"
Sengoku's expression changed as well. He immediately stepped forward and spoke gravely.
Recognizing Admiral Sengoku's voice, the reporting rear admiral became serious.
"Admiral Sengoku, we haven't found anyone. Uh, it's only this subordinate's guess!"
Upon hearing that Sengoku was there too, the rear admiral's voice became somewhat hesitant.
"Whether it is or not, find him and capture him."
Sengoku said with a livid expression.
Roger alone had already turned the seas upside down, and now he might have a disciple?
Such a thing could never be allowed.
Garp stroked the stubble on his chin, his expression strange.
"That doesn't sound right."
After muttering that, Garp looked at Sengoku.
"What? Are you planning to cover for Roger?"
Sengoku's eyes widened at his words.
"That strike was a Flying Slash infused with Conqueror's Haki. If someone could use Conqueror's Haki Infusion, how many people could stop it?"
As soon as Garp said that, Sengoku's expression changed.
Right. That did seem to be the case.
He had just been thrown off by the sudden news.
"So it was a misunderstanding?"
Sengoku considered it, then shook his head.
"We'll know once we find the person."
Loguetown.
Having received Sengoku's orders, the Marines moved even more swiftly.
Conflicts broke out everywhere in Loguetown, and they began spreading toward the outer coastline.
Hawkeye, Moria, and Crocodile all encountered Marine resistance.
But ordinary Marines clearly could not stop them.
"Boys, kill our way out and board the ship! We're heading to sea!"
Moria cackled as he swung his massive sword, cleaving apart the Marines blocking his path and leading the charge through the encirclement.
"Yeah!"
The pirates behind him cheered and charged forward.
Gunfire and the clash of blades rang out throughout Loguetown.
Too many pirates had been drawn here by the Pirate King's execution.
The Marines had originally intended to use this opportunity to capture a large number of pirates, and had stationed plenty of Marines around the outskirts.
After leaving the execution platform, Lin Ye had kept his newly acquired level-one Observation Haki active.
Though it was only level one, his awareness of the surrounding situation was far stronger than before.
Avoiding the Marines racing around in search of targets, Lin Ye headed straight for the shore.
"I need time to grow. There are plenty of pirates here this time. I should find a pirate ship to board—preferably one belonging to someone powerful."
Lin Ye's mind was clear.
The best approach would actually be to hide somewhere until this chaos passed, then set sail at a safer time.
But that would take too long.
He knew very well that the more he thought about it, the more variables there would be.
He did not want to wait that long either. This was a rare opportunity.
After avoiding several battlefields, he picked up more than a dozen traits along the way and shattered them into nineteen Blank Traits.
The number of Blank Traits required to upgrade a trait increased in tiers.
Going from level one to level two required two, level two to level three required four, level three to level four required eight, and so on. Going from level nine to level ten might require more than five hundred.
That was neither a lot nor a little.
[Divine Departure: Level 4]
[Observation Haki: Level 2]
[Armament Haki: Level 3]
Divine Departure had consumed twelve Blank Traits to reach level four, Observation Haki consumed two Blank Traits, and Armament Haki consumed six Blank Traits.
[Blank Traits: 0]
Although upgrading Conqueror's Haki would greatly increase his overall strength, and reaching a high level would allow him to use Conqueror's Haki Infusion to make his attacks even stronger—
At this point, however, even a slight increase in Conqueror's Haki would not help. Once he used it, it might draw certain people's attention.
Keep a low profile and grow.
Lin Ye reminded himself inwardly.
Suppressing the urge to wander around Loguetown and pick up more traits, Lin Ye quietly retreated toward the seaside docks.
"Stop!"
A voice rang out. Lin Ye did not even frown as he stopped and looked at the two Marines blocking his path.
He had still been discovered.
Observation Haki could help him avoid these Marines, but if he did not want to charge directly into a battlefield, he could only pass through other areas. Yet the Marines had already sealed off all of Loguetown from the outside.
"Drop the sword and kneel on the ground!"
Seeing that it was only a child holding a sword, the two Marines approached with serious expressions, weapons raised.
Lin Ye fixed his gaze on the two men and raised a hand to grip the hilt of his sword.
A flash of blade light passed by. The two Marines' eyes abruptly widened. Clutching their throats, they dropped to their knees and stared at Lin Ye in terror before collapsing limply.
"Hehihihihi, kid, you dare kill Marines at such a young age? Want to join my pirate crew?"
A towering figure poked his head down from above.
Blue skin, a head narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, and a mouth full of sharp teeth—his appearance alone could make children cry at night.
After hearing that voice, Lin Ye, who had long sensed his presence, nodded.
"Sure."
"Hehihihihi, then keep up with your captain..."
Seeing Lin Ye agree, Moria cackled, slung his sword over his shoulder, and walked ahead.
Lin Ye turned and merged into the pirates behind Gecko Moria.
Those pirates had naturally heard Moria's words. Seeing a child like Lin Ye approach, none of them tried to stop him.
In this era, children his age becoming pirates was not uncommon.
With Moria clearing the way, the rest of the journey to the shore went much more smoothly.
Lin Ye looked at Moria's towering figure ahead, a glimmer flashing in his eyes as he picked up every trait along the route.
According to the timeline, Moria would go to Wano Country and wage a great battle against Kaido a year later. The current Moria was far stronger than when he encountered Luffy in the Florian Triangle.
"Boys, board the ship!"
Moria shouted. With his long blade, he cut apart the two ships beside a pirate ship before boarding his own vessel. Then he raised his sword and shouted again.
"Yeah!"
The pirates boarding with Moria cheered. Lin Ye boarded alongside them and turned to look at chaotic Loguetown.
The sails rose, and the ship set off.
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