Fate's Gears

The Merry!

Ener had never imagined that one day, this ship would belong to him.

An hour had already passed. He had Daniel move sixty percent of the valuables previously seized from the pirates ashore.

They would serve as Merry's startup capital.

At the same time, he had sent Johnson over as well... His role was to let everyone know that Ener stood behind Merry.

Disrespecting Merry meant disrespecting Ener.

The pirate ships were all left behind as well, to be used in building Merry's fleet.

Kaya stood beside Ener, her face full of curiosity. This was the first time in her life that she had gone out to sea!

Ener smiled softly. "Are you really coming with us? You could just have Merry send someone to take you there. After all, I still have other matters to handle along the way."

Kaya nodded. "I'm a little impatient, and I feel safer following you."

That was true enough.

On his ship, no one in the entire East Blue would dare lay a hand on her.

At that moment, Daniel walked over. "Major, this ship..."

With Ener, Lina, Zoro, Gin, and himself, plus fifty Marines, it would be terribly crowded. After all, it was only a small ship.

Ener turned to Daniel. "Move the rest of the valuables ashore as well!"

"Huh?"

Daniel looked utterly confused, his face full of doubt. "Major, what do you mean by this...?"

Ener said, "I want you to establish an Inspector base here. Once it is complete, you will be the base commander. And I'll find a way to make you an Inspector, so you'll hold the position legitimately."

Daniel was overjoyed. "Thank you, Major!"

Ener added, "Leave me five sharp soldiers. Keep everyone else for yourself. They'll be the foundation of your base... And train them well. They count as my direct subordinates. When the chance comes, I'll arrange for them to work elsewhere."

Daniel said, "Yes..."

Ener, Lina, Zoro, Gin, Kaya, and five soldiers. In an instant, the ship became much roomier.

Of course, there was also Kuro, tied up off to the side and unable to move.

Ener waved a hand. "Set sail! Our destination is Shells Town, where the 153rd Branch is located!"

The five Marines immediately got to work, steering the Merry toward Shells Town.

With Kuro in hand, Shells Town was already in the palm of their hands.

"Shave..."

Bang...

Gin lost control and slammed straight into the railing at the side of the ship.

He bared his teeth in pain.

That was right, Ener was teaching him the Navy's Six Powers. And Shave was the easiest move among the Six Powers to learn.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. During that time, Gin had learned to use Shave... but he had not yet mastered it.

Every time he used it, he could not control his body or direction, and he could not stop afterward.

Still, Gin had plenty of perseverance.

Even though learning Shave had already left him covered in bruises and wounds, he kept at it.

Ener nodded approvingly from the side. At this rate, in another month or so, Gin should truly master Shave.

And within one or two years, mastering the Six Powers should not be a problem.

By then, his combat power would rise dramatically.

If he were given a Zoan Devil Fruit as well, reaching Vice Admiral level would be no problem at all.

Ener was very satisfied with this.

As for Lina and Zoro, he did not force them to learn the Navy's Six Powers. After all, both of them had devoted themselves wholeheartedly to swordsmanship.

And Zoro was extremely disciplined.

Whenever he had time, he trained his physique while constantly exploring the way of the sword.

With him around.

Lina only had to follow his example. She had not been long after eating the Zoan Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger, and was currently in the best period for rapid improvement.

During this round trip, her strength had multiplied. She was already close to catching up to Zoro... and that was on top of her own swordsmanship.

Her strength was already among the best in the entire East Blue.

She was now stronger than Gin. That put pressure on him, because he had become the weakest one. That was another reason why he trained the Six Powers so desperately... Sometimes, pressure was motivation.

Still, it had to be said that Devil Fruits were the best shortcut to increasing one's strength.

Lina had already proven that point.

If he did not have the system, he would have wanted to get himself a Devil Fruit too.

In Shells Town, a boy wearing a straw hat led a short, pudgy man.

They rowed a small boat and landed on the island.

Not long afterward, Ener arrived at Shells Town's harbor aboard the Merry.

Standing at the bow, Ener looked at the two figures in the distance and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

However, Ener did not dwell on it.

He had serious business to attend to!

Ener said, "Lina, stay on the ship and protect Kaya!"

Lina replied, "Yes, Major Ener!"

Ener said, "Gin, bring Kuro with you. We're going to pay Colonel Morgan a visit."

After saying that, he glanced at Zoro. Zoro immediately understood. He rose from where he had been sitting and tucked the three swords beside the table into his waist.

Just like that, the strange group of four set foot in Shells Town.

"Marines?"

The instant the townspeople saw the four of them, frightened expressions appeared on every face, with a hint of disgust in their eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with these people?"

Zoro felt uncomfortable under their stares.

Gin could not help frowning as well. For a moment, he even had the illusion that he was still a pirate and was not wearing a Marine uniform.

He muttered, "What exactly did Morgan do? Why does it feel like the Marines here are even more hated than pirates?"

Ener, however, was observing Shells Town.

At that moment, Ener felt that his decision had been more correct than ever.

The entire street in Shells Town was lined with small buildings, all kinds of shops, and all kinds of merchandise.

For a small town to reach this level.

Calling it prosperous would not be an exaggeration.

Yet amid the bustling crowds, he noticed that there were rarely smiles on the townspeople's faces, as though something weighed heavily on their hearts!

It was clear that they were not living well.

"Move! Move... All of you, get out of my way."

Just then, an extremely arrogant man strutted through the streets with two vicious dogs on leashes and several Marines behind him... Everywhere he passed, people scattered in panic.

"Well, damn..."

Gin finally understood why. That guy's manner was even more arrogant than when Gin had been a pirate.

Zoro's face twitched as well.

It could not be helped. The guy in front of them was just too infuriating. Zoro even had the urge to strike and chop him into a human stump.