Out to Sea

The day after returning, Locke had the old butler buy him a larger ship from a nearby island.

"Young master, are you leaving again?" the old butler asked anxiously upon hearing Locke's words.

"Of course, Grandpa Ross. You've seen it too. Pirates run rampant in this world. Though there are good people among them, most are murderers who kill without batting an eye. If I don't keep growing stronger, sooner or later, those people will set their sights on me. When that happens, I won't even have the ability to resist."

"Very well. Young master, as long as it is your decision, I will support it." Ross bowed to Locke before leaving to make the arrangements.

Watching the old butler leave, Locke murmured, "I know you're worried about me, but since I came to this world, what would be the point if I didn't do something?"

Before returning, Locke had already made up his mind. If he wanted to change the world, he first had to go to sea, then choose an identity: pirate, Marine, or pirate hunter.

He ruled out pirate hunter first. After all, in the anime, there simply were no powerful pirate hunters. Perhaps there really were strong pirate hunters in this world, but Locke did not know of any.

Then there were the Marines. Although the Marines in this world flaunted justice as their banner, Locke, who had watched the anime, knew that only a few of them truly pursued justice. Most Marines were merely lackeys of the World Government. Moreover, the Marines were a government institution, full of darkness. If he became a Marine, the first thing Locke would lose would be what he least wanted to lose: freedom.

After considering it all, Locke realized that he could only become a pirate—a pirate like Luffy. Once he became a pirate, he would stand against the Marines. That would make changing the world much simpler. After all, since he would already be standing among evil, changing the world would be relatively easier. And after becoming a pirate, freedom would become his creed. In this world, the stronger a pirate was, the freer he was. The choice between good and evil lay in one's own thoughts.

After arranging the purchase of the ship, Locke trained at home while waiting. He had thought the wait would not be long, but it ended up lasting an entire month.

Buying the ship had actually taken only ten days, and it had already been delivered. The reason for the long wait was Yun Zhinnan. Ever since arriving on Chrisby Island, he had begun studying the writing of this sea, as well as knowledge about ship repairs. After learning this, Locke had stayed on the island a while longer. Yun Zhinnan was going to be the shipwright on his vessel. If he knew nothing and there was no navigator aboard, then if they encountered some storm and the ship was damaged, they would still have to rely on him.

The more he learned, the better it would be for Locke. Fortunately, he had not kept him waiting long. Yun Zhinnan had learned this world's writing in only ten days, and he had basically mastered the fundamentals of ship repair in just twenty days. That gave Locke a small surprise.

As for why he had learned the writing so quickly, it was because this world's script had originally evolved from the script he used. It was simpler than the original, with some characters even reduced to only half their former form. Naturally, it was quick to learn. Learning something simpler after already knowing something difficult was certainly easier. As for those archaeologists in the anime, having to infer difficult writing from simpler writing, that was naturally much harder.

After entrusting the island's affairs to the old butler, Locke brought Carmen and Yun Zhinnan aboard his ship. The ship was not large, only eleven or twelve meters long. There was a deck at the front and a cabin at the rear, with several orange trees planted on top. Locke had arranged it this way based on Luffy's ship. After all, when sailing at sea, the greatest danger did not come from the ocean, but from disease. Scurvy was among the easiest illnesses to catch. The orange trees were meant to prevent that.

The ship's ram was shaped like a bird. Locke had originally wanted to change it into a Dragon, but he discovered that the ram was connected to the ship's keel, so he could only abandon the idea. He planned to have a new ship built once he reached Water 7 on the Grand Line. As for this vessel, though it looked decent, it had originally been only a small merchant ship. It might barely manage to sail through the first half of the Grand Line, but in the latter half, amid those violent winds and waves, such a small ship would not be able to endure.

Locke named the ship the Phantom, painting the name onto its hull in white paint. When naming it, he had asked Carmen and Yun Zhinnan for their opinions. Carmen thought it should be called the God of Cooking, since her dream was to become the greatest chef in the world. Yun Zhinnan thought it should be called the Divine Dragon, because that sounded imposing.

But Locke felt that both names were far too arrogant. His strength was not yet that great, so giving it such an arrogant name would be like provoking others. In the end, he decided to name it after a technique he had developed from his fruit, and thus the Phantom was born.

Once aboard, Locke immediately began tidying up the captain's cabin. Carmen chose a room beside the ship's kitchen, while Yun Zhinnan believed that, since he was the shipwright, he should naturally choose a room convenient for his work. So he chose a room beside the storage room. In this way, the three of them occupied three of the ship's already limited rooms, leaving only two for future crew members.

After finishing up, Locke came to the deck and waved to the old butler who had come to see them off. Then he had Yun Zhinnan raise the anchor and unfurl the sails, preparing to set sail.

After giving those orders, Locke went to the ship's wheel. After fiddling with it for a while, the ship slowly began sailing toward the sea.

After living in this world for so many years, Locke had begun studying navigational knowledge as soon as he decided to go to sea. Perhaps he truly had no talent in that area. Even after studying for several years, he could only barely tell directions at sea. As for anything else, he was helpless.

As the ship slowly left the harbor, Locke stepped away from the wheel and called Carmen and Yun Zhinnan onto the deck.

"Alright, now that we've gone to sea, let me tell you about my plans from here on out!"

Looking at the two who had come to the deck and sat around him, Locke spoke.

Seeing the two nod, Locke continued, "First, I told you before that once we went to sea, we had to determine our identity. From now on, we will sail these seas as pirates. I already told you that before, so now let's decide on the name of our pirate crew!"

"Tch, you think I don't know? You secretly made the pirate flag already. What's the point of saying all this now? Just tell us what it's called," Carmen said, rolling her eyes at Locke.

"Cough! Cough! I just wanted to be a little democratic!" Locke said, turning to look at Yun Zhinnan.

"Whatever you decide is fine. You are the captain, after all," Yun Zhinnan said when he saw Locke looking at him.