One Piece: Invincible from the Start

Another Marine interrupted his thoughts.

"There are five suspicious people in the restaurant—four men and one woman."

"Right, that's them! The four men are covered in gold jewelry. One look and you know they stole it."

The first Marine eagerly jumped back in, laying it on thick.

He couldn't stand their nouveau-riche air.

"See if these are the ones."

Laster handed them the photographs.

That was why he hadn't gone into the restaurant. He had come to eat, but then a message and a fax arrived from the base.

Marine Headquarters had sent the message to the Marine Branch base.

The Marines stationed there saw that their Base Commander was patrolling the very waters Kuta's group was heading toward, so they hurriedly forwarded the message and photographs to his ship.

After reading them, he had lamented that he was about to sail back and end this patrol without a chance to run into Kuta's group.

He hadn't expected the surprise to come so suddenly. Here they were.

"Yes, that's them."

The Marines took the photographs, glanced at them, and nodded repeatedly.

The pictures weren't very clear, but they recognized the five people from the restaurant at once.

Kuta's silver hair and Kuina's dark blue hair were unmistakable.

At their answer, Laster's expression turned grave. He looked down and thought for a moment before raising his head to give the Marines an order.

"Set sail. We're returning to Base 123. This mission is over."

"Huh? Colonel Laster, aren't we going to eat?" the Marines asked, puzzled.

"No. Take a look at this."

He handed them another sheet of paper.

The Marines took it and gathered around. As they read, their faces changed all at once.

They could hardly believe that the silver-haired kid among that group might be a Great Swordsman.

The thought sent shivers through them, and cold sweat broke out across their skin.

A Great Swordsman was considered powerful even on the Grand Line.

And they had been thinking of bringing Captain Laster along to pick a fight with him!

Then they all breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness they hadn't actually clashed with that group.

"Colonel Laster, we'll go prepare to set sail."

The Marines spoke quickly. None of them wanted to stay there now.

"Mm. Go on."

Laster watched them bolt out of the captain's cabin as if their pants were on fire.

He breathed a sigh of relief too. If Headquarters said not to provoke them, he would keep well away.

Of course, he wasn't afraid.

He simply didn't want a confrontation. There were plenty of pirates in these waters waiting for him, the Base Commander of Base 123, to deal with them!

He had no time to bother with a bunch of kids who weren't even pirates!

Yes. That was it.

Laster leaned back in his chair and nodded to himself.

The Girl Who Wanted to Become a Dragon Slayer

Early morning.

Not a cloud in the sky.

A warm spring breeze followed the current across the sea.

The Fake Merry sailed with the wind, its mast's sail billowing full.

Schools of fish swam close alongside the ship, racing ahead.

Some of the livelier fish leaped from the sea now and then, sending up sprays of water.

The spray shimmered in every color beneath the morning sun.

Seabirds hunting for food filled the sky around the ship.

Since setting sail, Kuta and the others had never seen so many seabirds.

It was a sign that land couldn't be far away.

A few days earlier, they had eaten at the Baratie, bought several days' worth of supplies, and set sail again.

Zeff hadn't brought up Sanji, and Kuta hadn't asked.

Aboard the Fake Merry.

Kuta lay sunning himself on the sheep's head at the bow.

Kuina sat in a deck chair nearby, studying a newspaper and a sea chart.

This time, they were heading straight for the Gollome Islands, the Arlong Pirates' territory and home to Cocoyasi Village, Nami's hometown.

To get there, Kuta had specifically asked old man Zeff for a sea chart showing the Gollome Islands' coordinates.

The East Blue was vast. Without a chart, he could never have found the islands so quickly.

"Hey, Kuta, why are we going to the Gollome Islands?"

"Is there something special there?"

Kuina looked up at Kuta on the sheep's head and finally asked what she had wanted to ask back at the Baratie.

Their original plan had been to head straight for Loguetown. But at the Baratie, Kuta had suddenly changed his mind and decided to visit the Gollome Islands first.

Kuta opened his eyes and gazed at the sun. "Nothing much. There's a dragon living there, and I want to take a look."

"A dragon?"

Kuina froze for a moment, then said, "You mean the Arlong Pirates, right?"

"Mm. That's right."

"But they've got nothing to do with us."

Kuta paused. Watching black-and-white gulls cross the sky, he spoke in a subdued voice.

"That dragon isn't just oppressing the villages in his territory. He's also deceiving an innocent girl."

"A girl?"

Kuina shot to her feet.

Kuta realized he might have said something he shouldn't. He kept his voice as calm as he could.

"Yes, a girl. Don't

you know dragon legends always involve a girl?"

"Do they?"

Kuina stared at him suspiciously.

"They do."

Kuta's voice had never sounded more certain.

Kuina studied him with doubt in her eyes for a while, then said,

"Just say you want to defeat the dragon, save the villages, and be a hero."

"It's simple. Why make it so complicated?"

Kuina lowered her head in thought, and her calm eyes suddenly lit up.

"Hmm... A beautiful girl who defeats a dragon. That would be pretty cool!"

She raised her head, stared ahead, and declared excitedly,

"I've decided!"

"Decided what?"

"I'll be the one to defeat Arlong."

Kuina turned to Kuta, her gaze resolute.

"Sure, sure. Our dragon-slaying maiden Kuina will have her own legend someday."

Kuina lifted her chin slightly, looking proud.

When Kuina stopped asking about the girl, Kuta quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

He had nearly let something slip.

In truth, he had suddenly remembered Nami, then thought of the dozens of villages suffering under Arlong's rule. That was why he had changed course and headed straight for the Gollome Islands.

If he did nothing, those villages would have to wait another two years for Luffy to set sail and rescue them.

How many more families would suffer tragedy in those two years?

He couldn't help people he knew nothing about. But once he knew, he had to act.

He had grown up beneath the red flag in his previous life. That sense of justice was etched into his bones, and it would never leave him.

Besides, wiping out the Arlong Pirates would be as easy for him as crushing an ant.

If it was easy and it was the right thing to do, then of course he would do it!

He hadn't been wrong: he really was a Partner of Justice. But he wasn't softhearted. He would never let anyone he encountered who had committed evil walk away.

Evil was evil. He didn't believe a butcher could become a saint simply by dropping his knife. If evildoers could all become saints, then what about the people they had hurt?

Who would answer for their grievances? Who would make things right?

So if they crossed his path, he would send every last one of them to hell to repent.

More and more seabirds joined the flock following the ship, and a long coastline gradually appeared ahead.

As they drew closer, Kuta could already smell the faint scent of earth.

He took a deep breath and sat up

straight. He swung his legs up, pivoted on the sheep's head to face the coast, and swept it with his gaze.

"Hm!"

He couldn't see the entrance to the Arlong Pirates' base on this side.

If he remembered correctly, their base had been built right by the sea.

He turned, jumped down from the sheep's head, and shouted toward the helm, "A-Tao, change course. Let's circle the island and find the entrance to the Arlong Pirates' base."

"Got it!"

A-Tao, who had been sitting in the wheelhouse in a daze, sprang up and called back.

She went to the helm, put the cigarette between her fingers into her mouth, then gripped the wheel with both hands and hauled it left.

Outside, the Fake Merry immediately turned to port.

Just then, Ahua came out of the galley with a wanted poster in his hand.

He walked slowly to the bow and looked at Kuta. He pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming.

So Kuta's target really is the Arlong Pirates.

Kuta looked at Ahua as he approached and motioned for him to give Kuina the wanted poster.