Setting Sail

The day after he returned, Locke had the old butler buy him a larger ship from one of the nearby islands.

"Young master, are you leaving again?" the old butler asked anxiously when he heard Locke's words.

"Of course. Grandpa Ross, you've seen it too. Pirates run rampant in this world. There may be good people among them, but most are ruthless criminals who kill without blinking. If I don't keep growing stronger, one day I'll be targeted by them. When that happens, I won't even have the ability to resist."

"Very well. As long as it is your decision, young master, 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. Since he wanted to change the world, he first had to set sail. Then he had to choose an identity: pirate, Marine, or pirate hunter.

He ruled out pirate hunter first. After all, in the anime, there had been no truly powerful pirate hunters at all. There might indeed be some very strong pirate hunters in this world, but Locke did not know of any.

Then there were the Marines. Although they flaunted justice in this world, Locke, who had watched the anime, knew that only a handful of Marines truly pursued justice. Most of them were merely lackeys of the World Government. Moreover, the Marines were ultimately a government organization, filled with darkness. And if he became a Marine, the first thing Locke would lose was what he least wanted to lose: freedom.

After weighing his options, Locke realized he could only become a pirate—a pirate like Luffy. Once he became a pirate, he would stand against the Marines, and changing the world would become simpler. After all, he would already be standing among the evil. It would be relatively easier to change the world from there. Besides, once he became 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 rested on a single thought.

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

Buying the ship itself had only taken ten days, and it had already been delivered. The reason they waited so long was Yun Zhannan. Ever since arriving on Chrisby Island, he had begun learning the writing of this sea, along with knowledge about ship repairs. Once Locke learned of this, he stayed on the island a while longer. After all, Yun Zhannan was going to serve as a shipwright aboard his vessel. If he knew nothing and they had no navigator, then if they encountered some kind of storm and the ship was damaged, they would still have to rely on him.

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

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

After entrusting the island's affairs to the old butler, Locke brought Carmen and Yun Zhannan aboard his ship. It was not large, only eleven or twelve meters long. There was a deck in the front and a cabin in the rear, with several orange trees planted on top. Locke had arranged it this way in imitation of Luffy and the others' ship. After all, when sailing the sea, the greatest danger did not come from the ocean itself, but from disease. Scurvy was among the easiest illnesses to contract. The orange trees had been planted 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 one built when he reached Water 7 on the Grand Line. As for this ship, while it looked decent, it had originally been nothing more than a small merchant vessel. It might barely manage to sail through the first half of the Grand Line, but in the latter half, it would not withstand the fierce winds and waves.

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

But Locke felt that both names were too arrogant. His current strength was not all that great, and giving it such an ostentatious name would only be provoking others. In the end, he decided to name it after a move he had developed from his Devil Fruit. 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 Zhannan believed that, as the shipwright, he should choose a room that would make his work convenient. Thus, he chose one beside the storeroom. In this way, the three of them had claimed three of the ship's already limited rooms, leaving only two for people who might join later.

After they finished tidying up, Locke went to the deck and waved at the old butler who had come to see them off. Then he told Yun Zhannan to weigh anchor, raise the sails, and prepare to depart.

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

Having lived in this world for so many years, Locke had started learning navigation after deciding to set sail. Perhaps he truly had no talent for it. Even after studying for several years, he could only barely tell directions at sea. As for anything else, Locke was helpless.

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

"Alright, now that we've set sail, let me tell you about my plans for the future!"

Looking at Carmen and Yun Zhannan, who had come onto the deck and sat around him, Locke spoke.

After seeing them nod, Locke continued, "First, I already told you that before setting sail, we needed to establish our identities. From now on, we will sail these seas as pirates. I've already told you that much. So now, let's decide on the name of our pirate crew!"

"Tch, do 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 rolled her eyes at Locke.

"Cough, cough! I was just trying to be democratic!" Locke said, turning to look at Yun Zhannan.

"You decide. You are the captain, after all," Yun Zhannan said when he saw Locke looking at him.