Balancing Work and Rest—That Is the Mark of a True Strongman

After the tavern owner finished speaking, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Lin Ye.

"By the way, if you're going there, I'd suggest going a little later."

Lin Ye looked up at the owner, confusion in his eyes.

"Cough, cough!"

Seeing Lin Ye's gaze, the tavern owner looked around and lowered his voice.

"I heard that a year ago, some scholars from Ohara sailed out to sea. It seemed they were researching history, but that isn't something ordinary people can study. Later, that ship vanished without a trace."

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed slightly at those words.

"Of course, I'm just saying."

As he spoke, the owner continued wiping the cup in his hand.

"Thanks!"

Lin Ye nodded. After finishing his juice, he stood up, pulled the golden thread binding his hair loose, and tossed it to the owner. His gaze swept across the tavern before he strode out.

"Old Sadin, what were you talking to him about?"

After Lin Ye left, someone in the tavern shouted at the old man.

"I just saved all your lives, you know that?!"

The tavern owner called Old Sadin flew into a rage.

"Look at those clothes, look at that sword. Is he someone you people can afford to provoke? You've all got eyes, but they might as well not be there."

The tavern owner spat, sweeping his gaze across the noticeably quieter tavern before picking up the golden thread Lin Ye had left on the table.

The pattern of the thread could still be seen, but it had been squeezed together.

It had become a somewhat thin little gold coin.

No matter what, he had made a profit!

"But where had he seen it before?"

Old Sadin spoke hesitantly, his eyes darting around before landing on the wanted posters on the wall.

His body stiffened, and his gaze locked onto the fourth bounty poster in the top row.

The side-profile portrait of Madman Lin Ye.

No way!

Old Sadin's eyes widened abruptly.

"Impossible, impossible. How could someone that important appear in the West Blue?"

"Right, right. People like that operate in the Grand Line. A place like the West Blue has nothing worth drawing a great pirate like that here."

Though he thought so, Old Sadin could not stop himself from trembling.

If it was true, then hadn't he just spoken with someone that important?

And he was going to Ohara?

Old Sadin's eyes widened as a sudden premonition rose in his heart.

Something major might happen in Ohara.

At the docks.

Lin Ye did not intend to stay any longer. He directly asked whether there were any ships headed for Ohara.

Very soon, Lin Ye arrived before a merchant ship.

"You're going to Ohara? We're a merchant ship. We don't take passengers."

The captain looked at Lin Ye, his tone fairly polite.

"Guard."

Lin Ye raised the sword in his hand, his eyes fixed on the captain.

"There are so many pirates at sea these days. Even merchant ships need guards. After all, if you run into pirates, casualties are unavoidable."

"You?"

The captain naturally knew Lin Ye was right.

But looking at Lin Ye's somewhat youthful face and the superbly made swordsman's outfit he wore—

Could he be some young master from the island, setting out to sea after imitating others?

Lin Ye raised his hand. A slash flew from his descending palm, cleaving through the sea in the blink of an eye.

A deep sword scar appeared across the sea beyond the docks.

Seawater rushed back in, and every ship in the harbor rocked violently with the waves.

"Gulp!"

A swordsman!

The captain often sailed the seas, so he had seen quite a lot. He knew that some swordsmen could unleash slashes with a swing of their blades, striking and killing people from great distances.

But he had only heard of such things and had never seen them with his own eyes.

After all, in his eyes, swordsmen were already among the strongest people on the sea.

"You..."

As the captain spoke, he suddenly noticed his tone and hurriedly changed it.

"My lord, please come aboard. It is my honor for my merchant ship to receive your protection. Rest assured, I will pay you a generous reward."

The captain had already made up his mind to hand over all the profits from this voyage.

He had never expected to encounter such a powerful man.

Lin Ye nodded and was led aboard the merchant ship by the captain.

The merchant ship was quite large. There were more than a hundred crewmen assigned solely to loading cargo.

All kinds of goods.

Most of them were daily necessities.

"My lord, I'll arrange a room for you. If you need anything, please feel free to ask."

The captain said obsequiously from the side.

People always changed quickly in the presence of the strong.

"No need. Just do your work. Set sail as soon as possible."

"Understood. The cargo will be loaded soon, but even without stopping along the way, it'll take more than half a month to reach Ohara from here."

After Lin Ye nodded, the captain immediately went to urge the crew to speed things up.

When the crew saw how respectfully the captain treated Lin Ye, they all became curious about his identity.

Of course, no one dared approach and ask.

Just as the captain had said, the merchant ship soon set sail.

"My lord, conditions aboard are simple, but this is the best cabin on the ship!"

The captain, named Ariki, respectfully led Lin Ye to the room at the highest point of the ship.

This was actually the captain's own room.

But now that Lin Ye had arrived, Ariki had someone clean it up and gave the room to him.

Lin Ye did not refuse. He waved for Ariki to leave.

After closing the door, Lin Ye walked to the window. He looked out over the boundless sea as a large flock of seabirds glided past the ship, lowering their altitude and riding the air currents created by its passage.

Lin Ye placed his sword on the table, then turned and lay down on the bed with its clean bedding.

A period of peace seemed nice too.

For nearly two years, he had spent the first year killing people. Then, for more than half a year afterward, he had crossed the Calm Belt, leaving both his body and mind deeply exhausted.

Yet during these past one or two days in the West Blue, his body had relaxed instead.

He even felt as though his strength had improved slightly.

That was rather interesting.

So becoming stronger required balancing work and rest too?

It was perfect timing. While the Marines headed to Ohara, he could get some proper rest, conserve his strength, and bring himself to his peak condition for the battle ahead.

On the merchant ship.

Ariki came out onto the deck, where a group of crewmen gathered around him.

"Captain, who exactly is that man? Why are you treating him like this?"

A young crewman asked with a face full of curiosity.

"A strong man—a strong man of the sea!"

Hearing this, Ariki looked at the curious expressions around him and felt the urge to show off.

"There are countless strong people on the sea. I've heard there are people who ate secret treasures of the sea and gained all kinds of powers. There are also those who trained in swordsmanship and became powerful through the swords in their hands."

Seeing everyone's expressions, Ariki became even more pleased with himself.

"And after training in swordsmanship, those who can swing their swords and unleash slashes are called swordsmen. They are strong men of the sea."

Swordsmen!

Everyone's faces filled with longing.

"But becoming a swordsman definitely isn't easy. At least, I've never heard of one in the West Blue. I only learned about swordsmen from people who had been to the Grand Line.

They say that is where the truly strong reside."

"I know! The battle between Kaido, the ruler of the seas, and Madman Lin Ye happened in Wano Country!"

A young man said excitedly.

"Right. Those are the true strongmen of the Grand Line. With a single look, they could kill all of us."

Ariki nodded with a serious expression.