Oran Island

Aboard the Wanderer, Lind's crew waited anxiously for his return. They had faith in his strength, but his opponent was Black Arm Zephyr, a powerhouse who truly stood at the pinnacle of the seas.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Lind returned, hurrying over to greet and welcome him.

"Hahahaha! Brothers, I'm back! Pick up speed and get us back to base as soon as possible!" Lind briefly acknowledged everyone, then hurriedly issued an order.

"The Navy has these prisoners' Vivre Cards. We need to get back to base fast. If the Navy surrounds us, we'll be in trouble!" Seeing that his men hadn't caught on, Lind added an explanation.

At that, every pirate lost their earlier composure and rushed to get the Wanderer moving faster.

Like commander, like soldiers. After spending two months with Lind, his men had picked up his habit of playing it safe and quietly building up their strength.

Whenever he had nothing else to do, Lind also liked to discuss the seas' powerful figures and factions with his men.

In the eyes of most members of the Seventh Division, the Navy was the strongest force on these seas, their true overlord!

Now that they had managed to come out ahead, they needed to withdraw immediately. They absolutely couldn't confront the Navy head-on. Only Rocks had the strength to do that.

The Seventh Division was still a little lacking in strength. Taking the occasional risk, seizing an advantage, and earning a little fame were enough.

For the Seventh Division, which was still growing, any thankless undertaking was best avoided whenever possible.

Since the Navy could use the Vivre Cards to locate Lind and his crew, he made no particular effort to conceal their movements. He simply ordered the Wanderer to take the shortest route straight back to base.

As for why he didn't use telekinesis to fly the Wanderer directly back to base, things hadn't reached that critical point yet. This was a good chance to give his men some practice.

Unlike Golden Lion, Lind had little interest in a Flying Fleet at present. For him, fleeing by air would always be a last resort.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened along the way, and Lind didn't have to fly the ship again. A day later, the Wanderer docked safely at Oran Port, the port serving their base.

The Wanderer had barely docked at Oran Port, and Lind had yet to disembark, when he spotted a powerfully built man over three meters tall waiting at the harbor, dressed in a suit with slicked-back hair.

As soon as the man saw Lind and his group, he hurried over and spoke.

"Captain Lind, I'm Legitber Larry, Oran Island's sheriff. I'm currently responsible for the island's administration and public security!"

"By Boss Rocks's orders, Oran Island will now serve as the Seventh Division's base. Over the coming days, I'll familiarize you with the island and the surrounding waters, and assist you in your work!"

Larry bowed to Lind and respectfully introduced himself.

"Hahahaha! No need to be so formal, Mr. Larry. We'll be comrades from now on. I'll still be relying on you to help manage Oran Island!" Lind looked at Larry standing respectfully before him and replied with a laugh.

Though Larry looked fierce, he was exceptionally courteous. There was even a distinctive air about him that put people at ease, and Lind found himself warming to him without realizing it.

"Mr. Larry, let's head back to base first. We can talk along the way instead of standing around here!"

Once everyone else had disembarked, Lind spoke to Larry with a smile.

"Haha, of course, Captain Lind. I can tell you all about Oran Island on the way!"

"Hahahaha! Sorry for the trouble, Captain Larry!"

"Not at all, Captain Lind. Please follow me!" Larry bent slightly at the waist and showed the group where to go, then led the way just ahead of Lind and to one side.

Along the way, Lind introduced several of his officers to Larry, particularly Axel and Allison, the two responsible for administrative work.

Lind felt he had neither the interest nor the talent to manage Oran Island personally. In a world where strength reigned supreme, he didn't need to, either.

As such, he wasn't particularly interested in Larry's account of Oran Island's circumstances and simply told Axel and the others to listen carefully.

He would leave the future administration to his subordinates. All Lind needed was sufficient strength.

Of course, he still needed to learn about the various factions Larry introduced. As their leader, understanding their enemies and friends was important.

"Larry, Axel, Allison, I'll be leaving Oran Island to you from now on. Make sure you work well together." Lind didn't assign them specific duties, trusting them to sort things out themselves.

After all, although Lind was already a great pirate whose name resounded around the world, he was really still just a seventeen-year-old boy.

Even counting his previous life, he hadn't experienced all that much. Rather than assign duties arbitrarily, he was better off delegating completely. He only needed to make sure things stayed on the right track and that their resources were available when he needed them.

Before long, they reached the center of the port city, where a complex of buildings had been cleared out for them. The island's former ruler had built it.

Before Lind's arrival, it had served as the workplace and living quarters for Larry and the pirates stationed there.

Now that Lind was here, there was naturally no need for other pirates to remain stationed on the island. Larry also had his own villa there, so they only needed to arrange an office for him.

On the way over, Lind had gained a basic understanding of Oran Island from Larry.

As a base carefully selected by Rocks, Oran Island not only occupied an excellent location from which they could extend their influence over a vast stretch of surrounding sea.

It also boasted considerable size and population. The island measured over two hundred kilometers in both length and width, forming an irregular circle with an area exceeding thirty thousand square kilometers, roughly the size of Hainan Island in Lind's previous life.

Its population numbered in the hundreds of thousands as well. It was unquestionably a large island, worthy of its position as the central island of a vast maritime region.

Naturally, the ruler of such a large island hadn't built a small palace, though Lind thought the sprawling palace complex was ugly.

Rather than a palace, it was more like a few dozen different buildings thrown together.

Still, its grounds were undeniably extensive, easily accommodating the Seventh Division's ninety-odd members. It was simply too ugly, and Lind would have to gradually remodel it into a style he liked.

Then there were the training facilities. Only after looking around did Lind discover that this enormous complex didn't even have a basic training room. Every building was devoted to some form of pleasure.

No wonder the previous owner couldn't hold on to his territory. Lind figured that even without Rocks, the man would have met his end sooner or later.

"Mr. Hill, sorry for the trouble, but please notify all the factions in Oran Port, large and small, as well as the representatives of outside factions here, to attend a banquet at my residence."

Seated at the head of the table in the palace's conference room, Lind addressed the senior officers present.

"Axel, arrange for some men to accompany Mr. Hill. We've only just arrived, so we should give them a demonstration of our strength."

Oran Island was so large that Lind felt bringing all its factions into line quickly would be troublesome.

He intended to start with his current location, the island's largest port and city, and first learn about the various factions' backgrounds and attitudes.

For the remaining cities, he could send suitable officers to lead teams and gradually bring them formally under his rule.

"Yes, boss!"

After receiving Lind's orders, they soon left the conference room, leaving him alone to consider his future plans.