Preparations Before Departure

Lucas had just pushed open his door when he ran into Adoya, who was carrying breakfast.

The moment the young woman looked up, the tray in her hands suddenly jolted, and the milk nearly spilled. She stared blankly at Lucas, her eyes wide.

"G-Good morning, Lucas... Huh? Why do I feel like you've... become a completely different person?"

Overnight, the man before her had shed the immaturity of youth and gained a gloomy, deadly, wicked charm.

"Thanks for the compliment."

A gentle smile appeared on Lucas's face, perfectly concealing that sinister aura.

"Maybe it's just your imagination. I don't feel like I've changed at all."

Adoya pursed her lips, her small hands anxiously clutching the hem of her clothes. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked softly,

"When... are you planning to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Can you tell me where the town's compass shop and shipyard are?"

"Wait a moment!"

Adoya turned and jogged back to her room. Before long, she returned with a sheet of paper whose ink had not yet dried, bearing a simple map drawn in childish handwriting.

"Thank you."

Lucas took the map, his fingertips accidentally brushing against hers. Adoya snatched her hand back as if shocked, her cheeks instantly flushing red.

Following the map's directions and taking several turns, he quickly found the inconspicuous compass shop.

Without navigational compasses, sailing the Grand Line was impossible.

The compass he had brought out of the Kingdom of Ye had vanished when the island had crashed into the sea.

"Boss, do you sell Log Poses?"

Behind the counter, an old man with a balding head was dozing off. Hearing Lucas, he jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and shook his head regretfully.

"Sorry, young man, but Log Poses are valuable things. Hardly any ships come to this dump in a year. Who would stock something like that?"

"How long would it take to sail normally to the nearest island?"

"For a civilian merchant ship, even with favorable winds and calm seas, it'd take half a month."

The old man sighed.

"Come to think of it, it's strange. There isn't another island within several hundred nautical miles of here."

Lucas froze on the spot.

He had actually drifted to such a remote place.

The fact that those pirates had managed to find a place like this was quite an accomplishment in itself.

Suppressing his astonishment, he used the Beli he had taken from the pirates to buy three of the best-quality Record Poses, then left the shop.

The shipyard was on the eastern edge of town.

Before he even got close, he heard a group of shipwrights making a racket.

"It's an abandoned pirate ship. It's been sitting here for nearly a week."

"Let's dismantle it. We can sell the planks as scrap and get a few bottles of booze."

"Sounds good to me. Better than letting it take up space."

Several bare-chested shipwrights carrying axes and saws were gathered around a medium-sized sailing ship, pointing and talking. They were just about to start tearing it apart.

"Wait! Don't dismantle it!"

Lucas dashed over. "How about selling this ship to me?"

The shipwrights were all stunned and turned to look at him.

A middle-aged man in a silk vest, his beer belly protruding, pushed through the crowd. He was the owner of the shipyard.

He looked Lucas up and down, then waved to stop the shipwrights.

"How much are you offering?"

Lucas did not waste words. He poured all his remaining Beli into a money bag and casually tossed it over.

The bag traced an arc through the air. The owner caught it steadily, weighed it in his hand, then opened it and counted the money. His face immediately broke into a fawning grin.

"Enough, enough! More than enough! From now on, this ship is yours!"

Lucas nodded slightly. He could have taken it by force. With his current strength, everyone in the shipyard combined would not have been enough for one hand. But in the end, he did not do so.

Perhaps it was Sister Eos's teachings, or perhaps it was the influence of Gion and Yamato. He still retained one final bottom line—he would not bully innocent civilians.

Of course, if they were criminals, that was another matter entirely.

He jumped aboard and inspected the ship carefully.

Although the ship looked old and worn, its hull was intact, and there was nothing wrong with its power system.

The cabin was also stocked with plenty of flour, dried meat, and fresh water. There were even several free-range Den Den Mushi, two of which had communication devices installed.

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. His supply and communication problems had both been solved at once.

He sailed the ship to the town's only proper dock and moored it there, then returned to the inn.

Late at night, everything was silent.

All of Toransu Town had fallen asleep, with only the sound of waves crashing against the reefs echoing in the night.

Lucas quietly slipped out of his room and made his way to the inn's storage room, where miscellaneous items were kept.

He picked up the Den Den Mushi equipped with a communication device and dialed a number.

Buru Buru Buru—

The Den Den Mushi rang only twice before it was abruptly answered.

"Lucas?!"

The voice mimicked by the Den Den Mushi was clearly panicked and trembling with tears.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? The Marine surveillance ship reported that an unprecedented tsunami struck the Kingdom of Ye. The entire island was nearly submerged!

"I called you hundreds of times, but I could never get through! I was going out of my mind!"

Listening to the barrage of questions and concern from the other end, Lucas's fingers tightened slightly around the Den Den Mushi.

He fell silent for several seconds, doing his best to keep his voice calm.

"I'm fine. I lost my previous Den Den Mushi. Sorry for making you worry."

"It's good that you're fine... It's good that you're fine..."

Gion repeated herself on the other end. Only after quite a while did she calm down enough to ask softly,

"Did you call because something happened?"

"Yes. If possible, help me gather information on every affiliated pirate crew of the Flying Pirates. The more detailed, the better."

The other end of the call immediately fell silent.

A full half minute passed before Gion's voice sounded again.

"I understand. You have to be careful. Golden Lion is a complete madman. He's different from other pirates."

"I know."

"I won't joke around with my own life. Good night. Get some rest early."

Click.

The Den Den Mushi's eyes slowly closed.

Lucas stood by the window, gazing out at the pitch-black sea. Moonlight fell across his face, leaving one half bright and the other dark.

There was not the slightest trace of sleepiness in his eyes, only bone-chilling killing intent.

He knew very well how vast the gap was between his current self and that legendary pirate. Facing him head-on would be like smashing an egg against a rock.

However, refining the "IQ" potion required precise instruments, and those instruments required enormous amounts of Beli.

The Flying Pirates had remained quiet for more than a decade. They could not possibly sustain their research by living on thin air. Those affiliated pirate crews were Golden Lion's primary source of funding.

They were Lucas's targets.

TO BE CONTINUED