Gecko Moria! Boarding the Ship

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, no matter what, Roger was a pirate, and he has already been executed. Pull yourself together. The Marines still need your strength."

Sengoku stood beside him, trying to fire him up.

Garp raised his eyes at Sengoku, who was trying to motivate him, then lowered them again. He grabbed the bottle once more, turned it upside down, and poured the liquor straight into his mouth.

Seeing this, Sengoku, still a Marine admiral at the time, completely darkened his face, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Garp!"

The roar shook the entire office.

"Buru Buru!"

Just then, the Den Den Mushi began to ring.

Garp frowned, reached into his clothes behind him, and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

"Didn't I say not to disturb me over anything lately?"

Garp's tone was somewhat 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 that sword strike from the Pirate King—the terrifying slash 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 this person? Have you found them?"

Sengoku's expression changed as well. He immediately stepped forward and spoke with a grave look on his face.

Recognizing Admiral Sengoku's voice, the Den Den Mushi's expression turned serious.

"Admiral Sengoku, we haven't found the person. Uh, this is only this subordinate's speculation!"

Hearing that Sengoku was also there, the reporting rear admiral sounded hesitant.

"Whether it is true or not, find that person and capture them."

Sengoku said with a dark expression.

Roger alone had already turned the seas upside down, and now he might have a disciple?

This absolutely could not be allowed.

Garp rubbed the stubble on his chin, looking strange.

"Something's not right."

After muttering that, Garp looked at Sengoku.

"What? Are you planning to cover for Roger?"

Sengoku's eyes widened.

"That slash was a Flying Slash empowered by Conqueror's Haki Infusion. If someone can use Conqueror's Haki Infusion, how many people can stop them?"

Sengoku's expression changed at Garp's words.

Right, that did seem to be the case.

The sudden news had thrown him off just now.

"So it was a misunderstanding?"

Sengoku thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"We'll know once we find the person."

Loguetown.

Having received Sengoku's orders, the Marines moved even faster.

Conflicts broke out all over Loguetown, and the fighting began to spread toward the outer coastline.

Hawkeye, Moria, and Crocodile all encountered Marine resistance.

But ordinary Marines clearly could not stop them.

"Men, kill our way out and board the ship!"

Moria cackled as he swung the greatsword in his hand, cleaving apart the Marines blocking his path and leading the charge through the encirclement.

"Whoa!"

The pirates behind him cheered and rushed 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 planned to use this opportunity to capture a large number of pirates, and had stationed plenty of forces around the outskirts.

After leaving the execution platform, Lin Ye had kept his newly acquired level-one Observation Haki activated.

Though it was only level one, his awareness of his surroundings was much stronger than before.

Avoiding the Marines who were sprinting about in search of targets, Lin Ye headed directly for the shore.

"I need time to grow. There are many pirates here this time. I'll find a pirate ship to board, preferably one belonging to some powerful people."

Lin Ye's mind was clear.

The best approach would have been 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, 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 needed 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 too much nor too 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 had consumed two Blank Traits, and Armament Haki had consumed six Blank Traits.

[Blank Traits: 0]

Although increasing Conqueror's Haki would greatly boost his overall strength, and raising it to a high level would allow him to use Conqueror's Haki Infusion and make his attacks even stronger,

at this point, a slight increase in Conqueror's Haki would not help much. If he used it, it might even draw someone's attention.

Grow quietly.

Lin Ye reminded himself.

Suppressing the urge to wander around Loguetown and pick up more traits, Lin Ye quietly retreated toward the seaside docks.

"Stop!"

At the shout, Lin Ye frowned and stopped, looking at the two Marines blocking his way.

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 go around through other routes. Yet the Marines had already sealed off all of Loguetown from the outside.

"Drop your sword and kneel on the ground!"

Seeing that it was just a child carrying a sword, the two Marines approached with serious expressions, weapons in hand.

Lin Ye fixed his eyes on the two men and raised a hand to grip his sword hilt.

A flash of blade light swept past. The two Marines' eyes widened as they clutched their throats and dropped to their knees, staring at Lin Ye in horror before collapsing limply.

"Hehehe, 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 wide at the bottom, and a mouth full of sharp teeth—his face alone could make children cry at night.

Having already sensed his presence after hearing that voice, Lin Ye nodded.

"Sure!"

"Hehehe, then you'd better keep up with your captain..."

Seeing Lin Ye agree, Moria cackled, resting his sword on his shoulder as he walked ahead.

Lin Ye turned and merged into the pirates behind Gecko Moria.

The pirates naturally heard Moria's words just now. Seeing a child like Lin Ye approach, none of them tried to stop him.

In this era, it was not uncommon for children that age to become pirates.

With Moria clearing the way, the rest of the route to the shore went much more smoothly.

Lin Ye looked at the tall Moria ahead, a glint flashing through his eyes as he picked up every trait along the way.

By the timeline, Moria would go to Wano Country and fight 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, using the long blade in his hand to cut apart the two ships beside a pirate ship before boarding his own vessel and raising his sword high.

"Whoa!"

The pirates following Moria aboard cheered. Lin Ye boarded with them and turned to look at chaotic Loguetown.

The sails rose, and the ship set off.