Uwen Town

"Hello, dear friends!" said Swain, flashing his pearly white teeth.

Everyone on the ship stood frozen in place, utterly petrified by Swain's stunt.

Come to think of it, he had been three or four hundred meters away just moments ago. Moreover, when sailing the ocean, ships could only move according to ocean currents, relying on outside driving forces to close the distance.

Much like Luffy's Thousand Sunny, which could generate wind power impacts to change direction.

When they looked at Swain's ramshackle boat, it clearly lacked any propulsion to approach them.

That was the baffling part.

Fortunately, the captain was a calm man and said, "Hello!"

"My name is Bruni, and I am the captain of this ship!"

"My name is Swain."

Both parties candidly stated their names.

Feeling that the young man before him harbored no ill intentions, Bruni let out a sigh of relief.

"Where are you from, and why are you wandering the sea alone? That's very dangerous!"

"I'm from East Blue. My hometown was ravaged by the flames of war, so I've been wandering the sea."

There were some things he could not say, and since he had set out to sea all by himself, he simply assigned himself a background story.

"Oh! That's truly heartbreaking," Bruni said, offering comfort.

"Then do you need our help? We can take you with us."

"That would be wonderful! I have a relative in Uwin Town. Are you passing through there?" Swain asked.

Actually, he was asking when he already knew the answer. According to the navigational chart, the only supply station within a hundred miles was Uwin Town.

Bruni and his crew were practically bound to go there for supplies and bulk trading.

Sure enough, Bruni readily agreed, "Our destination for this trip is right there. You can come with us."

"It'll be nice to have some company along the way!"

"Thank you so much!" Swain said with pleasant surprise.

He finally didn't have to worry about getting lost again.

And just like that, their group set off for Uwin Town.

In less than a day and a night, Swain fit right in with everyone on board, and bursts of laughter rang out one after another.

Finally, at noon on the third day, they arrived at Uwin Town.

Since it was a major town, the ships of the navy had jurisdiction over the harbor docking, requiring all vessels to dock uniformly at the shore.

"We'll part ways here. Thank you so much, big brother Runi." Swain bowed in gratitude.

"It's just a small matter! Though you, little brother, should take good care of yourself when you get into town!" Bruni said, looking visibly concerned.

"Huh? Is the security in this town bad?"

Bruni shook his head and whispered into his ear, "Watch out for the navy shaking you down!"

This left Swain full of suspicion, and just as he was about to ask more, someone over there was already coming to take over the ship.

Bruni patted Swain on the shoulder, then turned and jogged away.

Swain, however, remained unbothered and smiled. "Try to shake me down? I'll show him what a real shakedown is."

Most of the buildings in this town were Haido Buildings.

So-called Haido Buildings were mainly two-to-three-story structures facing south, allowing every floor to receive sunlight.

Moreover, the layout of the terrain where the buildings were constructed was very peculiar. They were arranged in a circle around a central thirty-meter-tall watchtower, forming a massive, square-shaped "Hui" character layout.

The advantage of this method was that in the event of an enemy raid, they could quickly and uniformly evacuate the crowd and assemble their forces.

After observing the layout of the town, Swain took out his small bundle.

When he set out to sea, Woli had prepared two for him: a very large one meant for holding food, though unfortunately he had eaten everything in it back on the road, and a remaining small bundle meant for storing gold and gems.

These were the valuables Woli had left for Swain when he first went to sea, as he was still worried that, given Swain's personality, he would probably starve to death out there with zero survival skills.

Of course, those were Woli's exact words.

He picked out a thumb-sized piece of gold and exchanged it for one hundred thousand Beli to buy things.

After spending the morning eating his fill at a restaurant, he headed to a weapons shop to buy a handy dagger. Then he went to a clothing store to buy a change of seasonal clothes and a hat.

In the afternoon, he found a bar to have a drink.

Sitting on a wooden bench, he ordered a beverage—the bar sold not only alcohol but also various soft drinks.

At the same time, he made sure to have the waiter bring a recent copy of the World Economic Journal.

The front-page headlines read: "Revolutionary Army Sweeps Through, Liberating Four Nations!"

"Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma Becomes a Shichibukai!"

"Germa 66 Has Close Ties with the Four Emperors Big Mom!"

"Great Swordsman Mihawk Clashes with Red-Haired Shanks, Victory Undecided!"

Looking at the news before him, Swain felt a stirring in his heart. Living in the same era as these figures was truly a fine thing, and future news headlines would surely feature a column of his own.

He took a gentle sip of his tea.

His current location was North Blue. Among East Blue, South Blue, North Blue, West Blue, and the Blue Sea, East Blue possessed the weakest strength.

Yet powerhouses frequently hailed from East Blue as well, such as Roger, Card, Luffy...

Since he was going to be a pirate, his first step was to find suitable companions.

This was precisely what gave Swain a headache; most of the powerful figures he currently knew about had already boarded ships.

Forget it, let nature take its course!

Swain stopped overthinking it.

He quietly enjoyed this brief moment of tranquility.

Not long after, the bar bustled with the arrival of many people.

"Have you guys heard? Germa 66 and their crowd are coming here to trade."

"Why are they coming to South Blue? Why can't they just stay put in North Blue!"

"Whoa! Really?"

"Really, and I heard the navy has private dealings with them, too!"

"Shh! Don't go spreading that around, do you have a death wish?" The person who had been warned nodded repeatedly in gratitude.

Everyone in the bar discussed it all at once.

Swain turned his head slightly to quietly gather information.

He pondered inwardly, Germa 66 is coming here? And they're even tied up with the navy?

This is a big deal! What on earth are they plotting?

Swain acutely captured certain details.

He knew very well that the naval system was subject to the command of the World Government and was nowhere near as righteous as it appeared on the surface.

Otherwise, why would Dragon—who had been a marine back then, and Luffy's father to boot—have left the navy? His reason was actually that he could find no true justice there.

And let's not forget the Ohara genocide incident!

He certainly didn't think the navy was some pure, untainted white lotus.

Colluding with a North Blue overlord-level faction like Germa 66 meant there had to be mutual interests at stake.

After all, business knows no borders!

He had already taken this matter to heart.

I'll go investigate when the time comes!

Suddenly, Swain glanced toward a corner.

He felt a gaze fixated on him with extreme hostility, but when he looked over, that feeling mysteriously vanished.

Did I offend someone?

Swain carefully recalled the things he had done that morning and found that he hadn't offended anyone.

Could it be when I exchanged the money? He smiled and shook his head.

It seemed that really was the only thing that would get someone's attention, and honestly, it made complete sense!

He sneered inwardly, Daring to plot against me? You must be looking forward to meeting your ancestors in the underworld!

He was no saint and had long since recognized the cruelty of the pirate world, yet he hadn't expected to be targeted the moment he came out.

That being the case, you had better not make any sudden moves.

Otherwise...

After finishing his drink and eating some roast meat, it was time to get down to business.

Swain slightly pulled down the brim of his hat, paid his tab, and walked out of the bar.

He wanted to see just who was lacking eyes!