You Look Familiar

East Blue

Shells Town

This was a small town within the World Government-affiliated Leon Kingdom, home to the Marine 153rd Branch.

Because a certain combat-crazed Marine vice admiral often returned home to visit family, the pirates across East Blue were far fewer and weaker than those in other seas.

As a result, the coastal town of Shells had remained quiet and peaceful, having gone more than half a year without seeing a single pirate.

The people lived and worked in peace, their lives happy and fulfilling.

"Ding ding ding ding—"

As the crisp ship's bell rang out, a three-masted sailing ship slowly entered the harbor. The gangplank was lowered, and passengers began filing out.

John, his hair dyed white, walked among the crowd. He observed the bustling town through his sunglasses, a faintly inscrutable smile curling across his lips.

This was where the future "Axe Emperor" Morgan would rule supreme.

That was right—the guy who had knocked Garp down with a single axe swing!

This was also where Luffy first met Zoro, and where "King of Deserters" Koby began his journey of joining the Marines through Luffy's connections.

It was a place where countless destinies converged. All sorts of "kings" and "emperors" had risen to prominence here.

"Such a blessed place. Hopefully, it can improve my luck too."

John was full of anticipation for this location he had specifically chosen.

Marine 153rd Branch

Compared to most Marine branches, the 153rd was far more rudimentary. It was merely a building standing on a hillside at the edge of town.

It had low walls, an open training ground, and an office building four or five stories tall.

If not for the seagull flag flying above it, no one would associate it with a military base. They would only think it was some clothing factory's headquarters.

Gavin Reed was a captain at the 153rd Branch, chiefly responsible for recruiting new Marines. As a result, he had made a fortune.

As usual, Reed spent the morning idling away in his office. With both hands in his pockets, he swaggered out of the building, intending to head into town for a fine free meal.

"Another wonderful day without pirates. Awesome!"

Reed arrived at the training ground and basked in the sunlight pouring down from the sky. He felt warm all over, utterly comfortable and content.

Just as he was sighing over the beauty of life, he caught sight of a white-haired figure pulling open the base's sliding iron gate and striding right in.

The man held his head high and looked completely justified, as though he were the owner of the base.

Reed frowned, roughly guessing the man's purpose. He immediately stepped forward.

"Stop! Who are you?!"

Hearing the shout, John stopped and looked over, his gaze lingering for a moment on the epaulets of justice on the other man's coat.

Recognizing him as a captain, he stated his purpose directly.

"I'm here to join the Marines, eradicate evil, and uphold justice!"

"Oh."

Reed nodded indifferently and looked John over from head to toe.

The material looked fairly high-quality. He should have plenty of money.

"Come with me."

With that, Reed turned and headed toward the base building.

As for lunch? What was eating compared to making money?!

Inside the office

John sat in a chair before the desk, but his attention was fixed on the coffee table and sofa to his right.

The coffee table was exquisitely crafted and coated with expensive tung oil. In the ashtray atop it were several cigars that had been put out after only being smoked halfway.

Judging from the rich fragrance lingering in the office, those cigars were likely quite valuable.

Beside the coffee table was a genuine leather sofa. In the corner stood a glass-fronted liquor cabinet, through which he could see bottles of red wine worth tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand Beli.

Everything about the room was severely out of place with this shabby base building.

"Where are you from?"

Reed sat behind the desk, holding a registration form as he put on a proper show of conducting an interview.

John's eyes flickered as he gave the explanation he had prepared long ago.

"I'm from the Feros Kingdom."

The Feros Kingdom was a non-affiliated nation neighboring the Leon Kingdom. Since the two countries did not get along, and non-affiliated nations were not subject to the World Government—

Neither the Marines nor the World Government had any way to verify his false identity.

"The Feros Kingdom..."

Reed nodded, a hint of delight rising at the corner of his mouth before he quickly suppressed it.

Then, he shook his head at John regretfully.

"I'm terribly sorry, but the Marines do not accept people from non-affiliated nations."

"Hm? Why not?"

John raised his brows in surprise.

He had expected to face all sorts of questioning, but he had never imagined he would be rejected simply because he came from a non-affiliated nation.

Besides, in his memories, when the World Government had wanted to recruit Kaido into the Marines, Kaido's country had not been an affiliated nation either.

Was it because Kaido had already made a name for himself back then, making him a special case?

Reed leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as he gave his answer.

"Because non-affiliated nations are all potential threats to the World Government. We don't share the same stance."

"So, it's difficult for me to guarantee that you aren't a spy sent by the Feros Kingdom to steal Marine and World Government secrets."

With the explanation, John came to understand.

That was indeed how it worked. If a resident of God Valley joined the Marines and climbed to a certain position—

Then when the Marines marched en masse toward God Valley, that resident would certainly either figure it out or directly receive confirmed intelligence.

He could then warn his fellow residents of God Valley, allowing the islanders to flee before disaster struck.

In that case, the World Government's efforts would all be for nothing.

There was a reason the Marines refused to accept people from non-affiliated nations!

However...

John took a stack of Beli from his trench coat pocket, placed it on the desk, and smiled at Reed.

"Sir, then where should I be from?"

It was highly unreasonable for the man to explain so enthusiastically and in such detail. Combined with all the items in his office that were far beyond his salary—

He just wanted money, didn't he?!

Seeing how quick John was to catch on, Reed nodded in satisfaction. Then his gaze drifted toward the ceiling.

"You look a little familiar. I think I've seen you in the town here before."

John immediately understood and followed along.

"Sir, I'm from Shells Town in the Leon Kingdom."

"Mm! Very good!"

Reed raised a hand and put the Beli into his desk drawer, then began filling in the birthplace section of the registration form.

"Then, John, what are you good at? Or more precisely, do you want to be a helmsman aboard a warship, a deckhand, or something else?"

"What position do you think suits me, sir?"

John took out another stack of Beli and slapped it onto the desk.

He could not be bothered wasting words anymore. If money could solve it, then he would solve it with money from start to finish.

Reed looked up, first glancing at the Beli before examining John again.

"You look like you came from a distinguished background. You should have learned to read from childhood and studied some navigation knowledge, right?"

He placed particular emphasis on the word "some," afraid John would fail to understand that a superficial grasp would be enough.

"I understand navigation." John nodded knowingly.

"Excellent! Then start as a navigator aboard a warship. It's very easy to earn merit in that position."

When he said "earn merit," Reed deliberately tilted his chin toward the stack of Beli on the desk.