Pirate: Invincible from the Start

After all, that old man had spent twenty years drifting around the world. He was bound to have amassed quite a collection. He might even have Devil Fruits.

Besides, they were teacher and student in all but name.

A student inheriting his teacher's treasure...

That wasn't going too far, was it?

"Hmm... No, it wasn't."

Kuta watched wave after wave of towering white surf race toward the horizon, a flicker of wonder in his eyes.

He marveled at the vastness of the sea, and at the spectacle a single person had created. Perhaps only in this world, where one person could wield such extraordinary power, could anyone witness a sight like this!

Kuta took a drink and laughed. Then he looked down at the island, which was gradually settling, and sped toward Golden Lion's main island.

The early morning sunlight fell across him, making him look almost like a god.

Free and graceful, and more than a little arrogant.

He ignored the panicked pirates on the island. When he passed the harbor, he simply sank every ship in it.

Of course...

If some pirate with a death wish happened to cross his path, that pirate had only himself to blame.

Red light flashed in Kuta's eyes, and he immediately located Golden Lion's second-in-command, Indigo, inside the palace.

Indigo was the strongest pirate left here, which made him the easiest to find.

In the passage leading to the palace's main doors...

A series of pfft, pfft sounds, rather like farts, rang out.

Indigo was hurrying outside with a group of minor pirate captains.

He ran so fast that his whole body jiggled. His arms spread wide and swung from side to side, making him look ridiculous.

But for all his comical appearance, movements, and even walk, Indigo had a cold, ruthless side. He was also a mad doctor of chemistry.

His specialties were concocting chemical agents and using chemical

elements in battle.

He called this fighting style Chemical Magic.

In truth, it was just a show of explosions produced with chemical elements, otherwise known as Acrobatic Magic.

The moment Golden Lion unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, Indigo knew something had gone wrong.

He was not only Golden Lion's second-in-command, but also his attending physician.

Naturally, he knew just how poor Golden Lion's mental state had been since the ship's wheel lodged in his head.

If not for the wheel's effects and his advancing age, would someone as proud as Golden Lion have worked with him on something like IQ?

After escaping Impel Down, Golden Lion's strength had declined badly. He knew it no longer matched his ambitions, so he had been forced to make that choice.

And Indigo knew Golden Lion well enough to be certain that, even if he could not beat Silver Hair, he would never run.

If Golden Lion had managed to use Conqueror's Haki, he must have torn the wheel from his head.

And without the wheel, Golden Lion was at the end of his life. He could die at any moment.

Indigo had never imagined that silver-haired brat could push him this far.

He had forced Golden Lion and Indigo's nearly twenty-year plan to go up in smoke.

At first, Indigo had waited in the Infirmary for Golden Lion to return.

As far as he was concerned, once Golden Lion tore out the wheel, no one could defeat him.

He believed Golden Lion would soon deal with the silver-haired brat.

But he waited and waited in the Infirmary, and Golden Lion never came back.

Indigo began to panic.

And as time passed, his panic only grew.

When the island began to fall, he knew Golden Lion had not merely lost. He was dead.

Panic gave way to terror.

Indigo hurriedly gathered the minor captains in the palace, and together they rushed outside.

If Silver Hair came looking for them now, they were finished.

All he could do was pray.

Please don't come. Please don't come. Please don't come...

But fate loved playing tricks on people. Sometimes, the more you hoped things would go your way, the more likely the exact opposite became.

And sure enough...

As he repeated that prayer, the very person he feared appeared.

Ding! Your Teacher Golden Lion Has Gone Offline Forever ### Kuta appeared at the palace entrance like a ghost, blocking their path.

Indigo slammed to a halt, panic written all over his face.

"What's wrong?"

The minor pirate captains behind him stopped as well and called out.

Then they followed Indigo's gaze and saw Kuta standing in their way.

They all shuddered, spun around, and fled back into the palace.

They wished they could grow two more legs just to run faster.

They could not have looked more pathetic.

They had thought that, once they joined the legendary pirate Golden Lion, they could do whatever they wanted.

They had never expected everything to change so suddenly. The legend had fallen, just like that.

They had not been prepared for it at all.

Indigo ignored the fleeing captains. He knew there was no point running from a monster who could kill Golden Lion.

Sure enough...

Two crossing crescent-shaped Slashes shot past him toward the pirates behind him.

The deadly edge of those attacks made every hair on his body stand up, and cold sweat broke out across his skin.

An instant later, the once-noisy passage fell silent.

As the dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor sounded behind him, Indigo's pupils contracted. He swallowed hard.

When the Slashes came, he had thought he was dead.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap...

Then slow footsteps sounded through the empty passage.

They were light, yet to Indigo, each step struck his heart like a hammer.

As Kuta strolled closer, Indigo lowered his head and bent at the waist without meaning to.

He knew Kuta must have some use for him. Otherwise, Kuta would not have spared him, so he probably did not need to fear being killed without warning.

But facing a monster who had killed Golden Lion, Indigo could not bring himself to look down on Kuta, or even meet his eyes. The invisible pressure was too much.

Kuta walked up to him in his slippers. Looking at the comical performer who stood much taller than he did, Kuta smiled.

He actually wanted to recruit Indigo as his ship's doctor.

Indigo might look ridiculous, but he was a highly skilled physician.

Still, Kuta needed to observe him first.

He smiled at Indigo. "You're Golden Lion's second-in-command, Doctor Indigo, right? Sorry for the trouble, but could you show me your Infirmary and Golden Lion's treasure vault?"

He intended to destroy all the research records for the various IQ drugs Indigo had developed. He would not leave something so dangerous for the World Government.

He also wanted to see whether Indigo had experimented on humans.

If Indigo had only experimented on animals, that was one thing.

If he had used people, it was another matter entirely.

No matter how skilled a doctor Indigo was, Kuta would not let him live.

Indigo gave Kuta a smile uglier than a grimace. He knew he could not refuse.

Kuta might be smiling as though everything was open to discussion, but he was the man who had just killed Golden Lion!

"Of course, sir. Please follow me. I'll take you to the Laboratory right away."

His Laboratory was also his Infirmary.

Indigo quickly turned and led the way deeper into the palace.

With his hands tucked away, Kuta followed Indigo to a huge iron door.

Indigo took a key from his clothes, inserted it into a hole in the door, and twisted it hard. The door slid apart on its own, slowly opening.

He stood at the entrance and turned to Kuta. "Sir, we've reached the Laboratory."

Kuta glanced at the enormous room beyond. Without paying Indigo much attention, he walked inside.

The first things he saw were a dozen or so enormous glass cultivation tubes, glowing with a cold blue-green light.

When Kuta stopped before the tubes, Indigo hurried over to explain. "Sir, these are the remains of animals used in experiments on a plant containing a substance called 'IQ.'"

"Mm. I know. Take me to where you keep your experimental records."

There were no human remains in sight, which was a good sign. He still needed to check the records, though.

"This way, sir."

Kuta followed Indigo to his workbench and saw an entire wall packed with notebooks. He had to admit, scientists were mad.

If someone made him write that much, he would rather die.

He pulled out a notebook at random and began to read.

Hmm. I can't understand it.

His expression did not change. He tossed it aside and pulled out another.

Hmm. Still can't understand it.

What is wrong with these scientists? Can't they write something people can understand?

He threw the notebook down and turned to stare at Indigo without saying a word.

Only when Indigo was drenched in cold sweat did Kuta smile and speak. "Doctor Indigo, may I ask you a question?"

Indigo looked at Kuta cautiously. The sudden smile sent a chill through him.

"What... what would you

like to ask, sir? Ask... ask anything. I'll tell you everything I know."

"Have you ever experimented on humans?"

Kuta's expression changed abruptly, and an immense pressure bore down on Indigo.

At the sudden surge of power, Indigo collapsed to the floor in a panic.

He trembled. Then, remembering that Kuta was waiting for an answer, he quickly looked up and shouted,

"No, sir! Never!"