Motivational Achievement Unlocked!

At the same time, a voice rang out in his mind:

"Congratulations on completing the side quest—defeat Marine Colonel Smoker twice. You have received 800 experience points and 1 item lottery ticket!"

Hearing the prompt in his mind, Zero was puzzled. When had he accepted this quest?

He had not paid much attention to it.

Still, this side quest was kind of a trap! If he had chosen to run when he first encountered Smoker, he probably would not have been able to complete it until he reached the Grand Line.

The experience reward was a little low, though. He was only at 1400/1600 now, still short of leveling up. He could only wait for the next side quest.

As for the item lottery ticket, Zero was rather expectant. Last time, he had at least drawn Startled Dragon, one of the Great Grade Blades. He wondered what good stuff he would get this time—

While Zero was thinking, Luffy and Sanji had already walked over.

"Zero, are you okay?"

Sanji asked first. Zero shook his head to show that he was fine.

Beside him, Luffy seemed to have realized his own weakness, and his mood was a little low.

"Luffy, Sanji."

Hearing Zero call their names, the two turned to look at him.

"These are the enemies we will face in the future. We may even encounter ones far stronger than them. Even I cannot guarantee how far we can go. Do you regret it?"

Luffy and Sanji exchanged a glance before answering in turn:

"I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King, so I have to become stronger!"

"I have to become stronger too. I have to find All Blue!"

Their answers did not surprise Zero. He smiled, just about to say something, when a violent gust suddenly swept out of the alley and blew toward the three of them!

Is this Dragon's ability?

The thought had barely crossed Zero's mind when the gale swept them into the air. When they landed, they had somehow arrived at the harbor, with Roronoa Zoro now beside them.

"Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Zero, get aboard!"

Hearing Nami call out from the Going Merry on the sea not far away, they looked over. Nami and Usopp were already on board, so the group did not linger and all ran toward the Going Merry.

Fortunately, Zero had used Conqueror's Haki to knock out quite a few Marines at the execution grounds earlier, so they were not pursued by the Marines at the harbor. That saved them quite a bit of trouble.

As the ship drifted farther and farther away with the waves, Luffy simply ran to the back and stretched out his arms to grab a building. The others seemed to sense what was coming, and their feet moved faster, but they were still launched toward the Going Merry by Luffy's rocket launcher.

Sanji and Roronoa Zoro: "Luffy, are you trying to kill us?"

Zero: "That seemed pretty exciting."

Luffy: "Hahahaha!"

Somewhere in Loguetown.

"Colonel Smoker, are you all right?"

Listening to his subordinates calling to him, Smoker slowly woke from his unconsciousness. The movement seemed to tug at an injured part of his body, making him stop involuntarily. Only then did he feel a little better.

"Executioner!"

He shouted Zero's codename, then could not help coughing again, causing the Marines present to hurriedly tend to his wounds.

This was the second time. He had actually tasted defeat at the hands of the same pirate twice in a row. It was utterly unacceptable!

Smoker even felt that Zero's 50 million bounty was still a little too low. Compared to those great pirates on the Grand Line with bounties of hundreds of millions, Zero's strength was no less than theirs!

Just how had those Marines responsible for issuing bounties obtained their intelligence?

"Smoker, you look rather miserable. Hahaha!"

Everyone followed the voice and discovered that it was Dragon, the World Government's long-standing wanted criminal and the leader of the Revolutionary Army!

A Marine demanded:

"Dragon, why are you here? Did you help the pirates?"

Dragon did not answer directly. Instead, he looked toward the sea and spread his arms. "What reason could stop a man from setting sail?"

Smoker struggled to his feet. After glancing at Dragon, he too looked toward the sea.

"Now, prepare a ship. We're going after the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"But, Colonel Smoker, your condition? And Loguetown, which is under your jurisdiction..."

"I said prepare a ship. Arrange it immediately!"

Seeing Smoker's resolute attitude, the Marines said nothing more and began mobilizing.

As for Dragon, they could not deal with him for the time being. After all, he was a man even the World Government found troublesome. What threat could small fry like them possibly pose to him?

Amid the raging wind and rain, the Going Merry sailed toward the Grand Line!

Zero was reflecting on how this experience in Loguetown had left an even deeper impression on him than the previous ones. Though he had not advanced to the next level, he had met Dragon, the son of Marine hero Garp, the father of the future Supernova Luffy, and the leader of the Revolutionary Army. He had even exchanged blows with Marine Colonel Smoker.

Luffy and the others had suffered quite a blow, though. Not only had they nearly been executed, they had also been thoroughly beaten by Smoker. After silently mourning for them for a few seconds, Zero decided to intensify their Haki training in the future. That way, they would not be so passive if they encountered another Logia user next time.

He still remembered that, in the near future, the Straw Hat Pirates would face a life-or-death crisis. Before Marine Admiral Aokiji, who possessed the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit, they would nearly be wiped out. Though they would escape by luck in the end, Zero did not want them to experience that helplessness in the face of death again.

At the very least, not only did Luffy and the others need to gain a basic grasp of Armament Haki, but he himself also needed to grow stronger. It would be best if he possessed a means to threaten a Marine Admiral by then. Otherwise, if his joining caused anything to happen to his companions, it would be too late!

At that moment, to celebrate the ship entering the Grand Line, Sanji suggested holding a launch ceremony. Everyone readily agreed.

They did not prepare much. They simply pulled a barrel into the middle of the deck, and the launch ceremony began just like that.

Sanji was the first to place his foot on it.

"I'm going to find All Blue!"

"I'm going to become the Pirate King!"

There was no need to guess that this was Luffy's voice.

"I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman!"

This was Roronoa Zoro's unique dream.

Nami: "To draw a map of the world."

Usopp hesitated for a moment before placing his foot on it as well.

"I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea!"

When it was Zero's turn, everyone looked toward him and waited.

Zero thought for a moment, then smiled and made the same gesture.

"I'm going to experience this world properly!"

Seeing that everyone had declared their dreams, Luffy adjusted his straw hat, pointed ahead, and shouted at them, "We're setting off, for the Grand Line!"

"Yeah!" ×5