Idea

"It really was him! That old bastard was only an ordinary colonel under my command, but I remembered he was highly proficient in the Six Powers. I never expected him to get beaten up like this!" Garp said with a sigh.

"What exactly is the background of these Phantom Pirates?" Sengoku muttered.

"Oh right, what were you here for anyway?" Sengoku seemed to remember something and asked Garp.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost would've forgotten. I came to ask for leave. Isn't my grandson about to turn seventeen? I'm going back to bring him here to join the Marines." Hearing Sengoku's question, Garp suddenly remembered why he had come.

"Hmph!" Sengoku rolled his eyes at Garp before continuing, "No need to ask for leave. Go to East Blue instead and bring these Phantom Pirates back."

"Fine, it's on the way anyway," Garp said indifferently.

"Alright, get out! And tell the guards to bring me another desk while you're at it." Sengoku dismissed Garp while snatching scraps of paper that had fallen to the floor and were being chewed by the sheep beside him.

"Tch! Call them yourself!" With that, Garp walked out carrying his doughnuts.

"Old bastard!" Sengoku cursed, then ordered the guard at the door, "Go get me another desk."

Though Sengoku cursed him aloud, he trusted Garp. Garp might usually be unreliable, but his commitment to justice was beyond question. With him stationed in East Blue this time, as long as the Phantom Pirates appeared, they would never escape.

At this moment, Locke was sitting alone at the bow, fishing. Beside him, a little figure he had conjured was playing a piece of instrumental music called The Original Scenery of Hometown.

Fishing while enjoying beautiful music was quite relaxing. He looked nothing like someone who had just gone through a major battle.

Three days had passed since they attacked the Marine base. During those three days, the Phantom had been blasted full of holes by cannon fire, while Yun Zhinnan had been seriously injured at the time. Left with no choice, Locke could only repair the ship himself.

He had barely managed to patch the holes, but since Locke truly had no talent for such work, the repaired portions were simply unbearable to look at.

Where the foundation had been damaged, Locke had casually nailed wooden planks over it. There was no pattern whatsoever. Carmen had mocked him at the time, saying his repairs were far too ugly, but Locke insisted it was art. Art, after all, was supposed to be incomprehensible.

Carmen merely rolled her eyes at Locke's excuse. After leaving behind the remark that they should wait for Yun Zhinnan to wake up and repair it properly, she left Locke there to amuse himself.

Still, there was someone aboard who appreciated Locke's so-called art. Annie was the one who would always stand by Locke's side.

After repairing the ship, Locke had not thrown himself into training as wholeheartedly as he had in the previous days. Aside from his daily basic physical training, he spent nearly all his time fishing at the bow.

While fishing and listening to music, Locke constantly reflected on every battle he had experienced since setting sail. As he recalled those fights, he accumulated combat experience and summed up his gains and losses.

But today, Locke was not thinking about those battles. He was reminiscing about his past.

In his previous life, Locke had merely been an ordinary college graduate. In that world, where graduation meant unemployment, he had been honored to become one of the unemployed.

It was not as though Locke had never worked after graduation. It was just that every company he worked for either fired him or went bankrupt. He had been utterly helpless, even beginning to wonder whether he was some kind of cursed lone star. How could he be so unlucky?

Whenever he had nothing to do, Locke's favorite pastime had been sitting alone on a rooftop, listening to music, smoking, and looking out over the city he hated to the bone yet could not leave behind.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, he had crossed over without even realizing it. He had crossed into this passionate pirate world, a place where anyone with sufficient strength could change the world. But after crossing over, he could no longer return home to see his parents and relatives. That was Locke's greatest regret.

Fortunately, he had a younger brother several years his junior at home. Even after Locke crossed over, there was at least someone to stay by their side, so they would not be left without anyone to care for them in their old age.

Wasn't his desire to change the world in this world also born from how ordinary his previous life had been? And here, he could have a lofty goal, something he needed to work and struggle for. Wasn't that also a kind of escape from his past life?

"Big brother, what are you thinking about?" At some point, Annie flew onto Locke's shoulder.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about some things from the past," Locke explained with a smile.

At that moment, a head suddenly leaned against his other shoulder. Catching that familiar fragrance in her hair, Locke knew it was Carmen. He did not know when she had come over with a fishing rod and sat beside him, her head lightly resting against his shoulder.

The scene reminded Locke of Chrisby Island. Back then, he had also liked sitting alone atop the mountain, watching the sunset slowly sink beneath the sea. Carmen would often sit beside him like this without saying a word, keeping him from feeling so alone in this world.

He did not know when Carmen had quietly entered his heart and become an inseparable part of him. She had only been around twelve at the time. Locke had not understood it at all then. Could it be that I was attracted to little girls?

At this moment, Locke sat at the bow, Carmen beside him with her head gently resting on his shoulder, and little Annie seated on his other side. It was a beautiful picture, like a happy family.

Of course, the picture would have been even better if Annie were not glaring viciously at Carmen leaning against Locke's shoulder.

"Captain, our bounty posters have been updated!" Panda ran over from behind, shattering the lovely scene.

Speaking of which, Big Bear and Second Bear had thought they could relax for a few days. Yet even injured, Yun Zhinnan still came out and lay in a chair watching them hold horse stances. Only Panda, who was also injured, escaped the ordeal. He sat to the side watching the show and reading the newspaper. There had not been any useful news, but when he suddenly spotted Locke's bounty poster, he hurried over to let Locke know.

The music stopped at once, and Carmen immediately sat upright. Rather than continuing to lean against Locke's shoulder, she pretended to fish with intense concentration.

"Updated? Bring it over and let me see," Locke said naturally as he turned around.

Panda obediently handed the bounty poster in his hand to Locke, then stood to one side.