Following the direction indicated by the compass flower, the Wanderer sailed steadily onward.
They occasionally ran into extreme weather along the way, but Lind's powerful telekinesis carried them through.
Aside from Lind being a little bored, nothing much happened.
During the voyage, Lind's Mutation Fruit had another small burst of power. A seagull he mutated awakened telekinesis, and its intelligence increased dramatically.
Recognizing Lind as someone worth latching onto, the bird did so without hesitation.
Since the fruit rarely had such a burst, and the little fellow was so clever (good at sucking up), Lind took a liking to it.
Besides, the voyage was pretty boring, so he took it in and fed it some Dragon Bananas and Divine Dragon Coconuts. It counted as his first subordinate.
That day, the sun shone brightly, and the sea was unusually calm.
Lind was lying on the deck, sunbathing, when Great Kun, who had been scouting ahead, suddenly returned to the ship.
"Boss, I spotted a ship up ahead. There's a skull painted on its sail. It should be one of those pirate ships you mentioned."
Using his powerful telekinesis, Lind had developed a rudimentary form of telepathy, allowing him to communicate, albeit with difficulty, with highly intelligent animals like Great Kun.
"Hahahaha! Finally, people! It's been seven days! Any longer without seeing anyone, and I'd have gone crazy!"
"Anime is all lies. The sea is so huge-how could running into another ship possibly be that easy?"
Upon receiving Great Kun's message, Lind laughed excitedly, his eyes even growing a little damp. Sailing alone across the sea was sheer torture.
"Now I finally don't have to drift around hoping for luck. Sure, it's a pirate ship, but as long as I'm strong enough, getting directions won't be a problem!"
"Wanderer, bring me my sword!"
As Lind's voice fell, a sword gleaming with cold light flew out of the cabin.
To create this sword, Lind had mutated a wooden sword a full eighty-one times before he was even remotely satisfied.
As for the Wanderer, it certainly hadn't developed a ship spirit. Lind was simply putting on a one-man show with his telekinesis.
Watching the sword fly out, Lind was thoroughly satisfied with the effect. Without hesitation, he stepped onto it and flew in the direction Great Kun had indicated.
Looking at the pirate ship ahead, Lind began getting into character. Once he was fifty meters away, he spoke, using telekinesis to amplify his voice and give it a surround-sound effect.
"I ride the wind and cleave the waves, roaming free through heaven and earth."
"My scabbard stirs, a thousand sails fall still; my sword dances, ten thousand miles grow dark."
"One dance astounds the four seas; another shakes the sun and moon."
"Alone, I stand above all heroes-none but I, the Red Dust Sword."
(The languages in the pirate world are a mess anyway, so using a Chinese entrance verse shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Just overlook that little detail. Everyone will have one later, and if you get too hung up on it, you won't be able to keep reading.
Just assume the protagonist transmigrated into a parallel world with a Chinese dub.)
It was a little embarrassing, but it felt so damn good. Spending too long alone made a person dream up all sorts of nonsense. During his years on the deserted island, Lind had successfully come up with his own entrance verse by ripping off the Drunken Sword Immortal.
Looking at the pirates aboard the ship, who had been stunned by his performance, Lind paused before continuing.
"Listen up, pirates! I am the Red Dust Sword, Hirt Lind-"
Halfway through his introduction, Lind suddenly saw a young man about two meters tall emerge from the cabin, his long golden hair hanging down his back like a cape.
"Holy shit, Golden Lion!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lind used his telekinesis to turn both his flying sword and his body around, then accelerated away.
Meanwhile, Golden Lion had been reporting to his boss when an arrogant voice suddenly rang out from outside the ship.
Normally, the underlings would handle something like this. But that little verse had intrigued both Golden Lion and Rocks, so they decided to come out and see who it was themselves.
The Rocks Pirates needed talent like that.
When Lind turned tail and fled, Golden Lion was quite pleased that his mere presence had scared someone off without a fight.
Still, he had to take action. He gave chase without hesitation. After all, the Rocks Pirates really did need talent like this!
Seeing Golden Lion coming after him, Lind flew even faster.
He kept grumbling inwardly, wondering whether playing around with mutations on the island had used up all his luck.
Why wasn't Golden Lion flying around in the sky like he was supposed to? What was he doing floating around on the sea?
If it had been someone like Whitebeard, Lind could have easily escaped using his telekinesis.
But running into Golden Lion was truly rotten luck. The Float-Float Fruit consumed far less stamina than telekinesis.
Lind would be drained after using his telekinesis at full power for a whole day and night, but Golden Lion could keep floating in the sky indefinitely.
Although he didn't know how fast the Float-Float Fruit could fly, Lind didn't dare gamble on whether his two and a half years of telekinesis practice could let him outrun Golden Lion.
After agonizing over it for a while, Lind decided that a wise man knew when to yield. Maybe he should just surrender.
After all, plenty of novel protagonists have joined the Rocks Pirates. One more won't hurt.
Besides, all he had done was show off. He had no deep-seated feud with the Rocks Pirates, so there was a good chance they would accept his surrender.
If he kept fleeing and ended up annoying Golden Lion, Lind had no idea what might happen.
Joining the Rocks Pirates would also mean that, as long as he was strong enough, he should be able to secure a patch of territory where nobody would bother him, making farming much easier.
Without a powerful group to protect him, all sorts of troublesome characters would keep coming after him.
Lind kept mentally preparing himself, trying to convince himself that joining the Rocks Pirates was perfectly reasonable.
I'll surrender first and see how it goes. If Golden Lion really wants to kill me, I can still run then! Lind thought, having already decided to surrender.
But if he was going to surrender, should he fight first to show off his strength?
If Golden Lion offered to recruit him, Lind wouldn't have to volunteer his surrender himself.
Putting the thought into action, Lind stopped in midair. He suspended his body with telekinesis while his flying sword circled around him.
Bad planning. I should have made two swords—one for showing off and one for fighting, Lind thought.
Not having a sword beneath his feet really felt a little strange.
Soon, Golden Lion caught up and stopped opposite Lind. The two faced off in midair.
"Jahahahaha! What's wrong, kid? Done running?"
"That little speech you gave earlier was pretty interesting. Want to join the Rocks Pirates?"
"Our boss specifically asked us to invite you. The Rocks Pirates need talent like you!"
Hearing Golden Lion's words, Lind nearly lost his balance. That recruitment pitch sounded so much like something out of the Eastern Depot that he wondered whether he had met a fellow transmigrator.
Lind immediately wanted to say "Imperial jade wine" and "Odd changes, even stays" to see whether the man opposite him knew the corresponding code phrases.
But it was only a guess, and coincidence was far more likely. Lind mentally shook his head, pushed the thought aside, and spoke.
"Let's fight first!"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, the Kunpeng Sword thrust toward Golden Lion.
"Jahahahaha! Interesting kid. Let me test your strength first!"
Watching the Kunpeng Sword fly toward him, Golden Lion drew Oto and Kogarashi.
He blocked the Kunpeng Sword with one blade while sending a Flying Slash toward Lind with the other.
Looking at the slash hurtling toward him, dozens of meters long, Lind swiftly dodged while cursing inwardly.
He's supposed to be a swordsman, but he fights like a mage.
Lind split his attention between controlling his body to evade attacks and maneuvering the Kunpeng Sword to keep Golden Lion occupied.
Thanks to his powerful telekinesis, Lind's reactions far exceeded normal limits. He dodged nimbly with it, giving Golden Lion no chance to close in.
Although Golden Lion appeared to have him pinned down, Lind was holding his own and wouldn't be in mortal danger anytime soon.
But Lind's refusal to "play by the rules" irritated Golden Lion.
"Jahahahaha! Kid, is running and dodging all you can do? You're a master swordsman-can't you fight me head-on?"
Lind really wanted to say that he wasn't a master swordsman. He hadn't even grasped sword energy, let alone flying slashes!
The Kunpeng Sword could trade blows with Golden Lion only because of the brute force of Lind's telekinesis and the blade's own durability, which far surpassed that of ordinary swords.
Even so, Lind felt the Kunpeng Sword wouldn't hold out much longer. If Golden Lion hadn't kept attacking nonstop, he would already have surrendered.
Seeing that Lind remained unmoved and continued using the same evasive fighting style, Golden Lion watched for an opening.
Golden Lion quietly eased his offensive, preparing something big.
"Lion: Thousand-Cut Valley!"
Golden Lion suddenly knocked the Kunpeng Sword aside with one stroke, then instantly unleashed dozens of slashes at Lind.
"Holy shit!"
Seeing dozens of slashes flying toward him, Lind swore and hurriedly pushed his telekinesis to its maximum output, forming a protective barrier against Golden Lion's attack.
The dozens of slashes struck the transparent barrier. It flickered wildly, then shattered in an instant.
Fortunately, Lind's physical training on the deserted island hadn't been for nothing. He had awakened Armament Haki early on, and by coating himself in it and relying on his powerful physique, he barely managed to withstand the attack.
Golden Lion also seemed to have noticed the problem: Lind apparently wasn't very good at swordsmanship.
Besides, that Lion: Thousand-Cut Valley had let him vent his irritation, so he stopped attacking.
"Jahahahaha! Not bad, kid. Want to work under me? I'll make you my deputy captain!"
Golden Lion wasn't yet the pirate admiral he would become in the future. Right now, he had no subordinates worth boasting about.
He certainly had no strong fighters capable of withstanding his signature move. That, coupled with Lind's age, made Golden Lion appreciate his potential and want to recruit him.
Before you continue