After teaching Captain Nezumi a lesson he would never forget, Lin Yuan returned to Cocoyasi Village. His original plan had been to kill Captain Nezumi outright and spread photographs of the Marines oppressing civilians across the seas.
But after entering the Marine Branch, he had rejected the idea. Satisfying as it would have been, it would have drawn the attention of the Marines, or even the World Government.
Especially those five old bastards in Pangaea Castle. Lin Yuan had no desire to enter their sights just yet.
Over the next few days, Lin Yuan helped Bellemere build a house while considering his next move.
With his talent, he would one day stand among the strongest in the world. But he could never stir up the world on his own.
No matter how strong a person was, he would eventually exhaust himself if a group of powerful opponents ganged up on him. Rocks, who had once sought to dominate the entire world, was the best proof.
Even Imu, the King of the World, had the Holy Knights, the Five Elders, and the land, sea, and air forces under his command, as well as Uranus, a weapon capable of destroying the world.
Looks like it's time to recruit a few people with special talents.
Lin Yuan weighed his options over and over, finally setting his sights on the Sabaody Archipelago. The person he needed was there.
He wasted no time. The next day, Lin Yuan left Cocoyasi Village again, boarding a merchant caravan's ship bound for Sabaody.
As for Captain Nezumi, he had escaped with his life, but he had lost his left arm. He was also terrified of the red-eyed, golden-pupiled man.
After seeing the evidence of his crimes, he had gone completely numb. If he wanted to live out the rest of his life in peace, he would probably have to follow Lin Yuan's instructions, though he had no idea when the other man would contact him.
After several days at sea, Lin Yuan arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago in a black cloak and headed straight for island 1.
Island 1 was home to the largest slave auction in the Sabaody Archipelago, and Lin Yuan had come to find someone.
Although many people important to the story would later appear throughout the Sabaody Archipelago, only one had caught Lin Yuan's eye: Gild Tesoro.
The man later known as Gild Tesoro had lived a tragic life. He had watched the woman he loved most being taken away and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons, and news of her death had followed not long after.
Although his fruit ability had made him the richest man in the world, he had ultimately become the kind of person he hated most.
What Lin Yuan valued was his business acumen. Though Tesoro was neither wholly good nor wholly evil, his business skills surpassed everyone's.
Lin Yuan had spent the past few days looking around and had learned something about Tesoro.
At the edge of island 1, Lin Yuan glanced at a dilapidated house. Sensing the dark aura within-a tangle of despair, regret, anger, and dejection-he walked straight in.
The dim room reeked of alcohol and sour, foul odors. A disheveled, filthy man lay on a shabby bed, his eyes vacant. Empty bottles were strewn all over the room.
The man didn't stir at Lin Yuan's arrival, remaining as still as a statue.
Lin Yuan didn't mind. He didn't even care about the foul smell in the room. He walked up to the man, took out a bottle of baijiu, and opened it.
Only when Tesoro smelled the rich aroma of liquor did his lifeless eyes move. He stared fixedly at the bottle in Lin Yuan's hand.
"This is the strongest baijiu in the world. It can make a person live in a drunken dream, even remain forever immersed in a beautiful dream of their own making."
At those words, a flicker of light suddenly appeared in Tesoro's eyes, and he gazed at the bottle longingly.
"I can give it to you without asking for anything. I just pity you."
"Besides, I actually came here for another reason. I can go to the Red Line and save a woman named Stella. She isn't dead yet, is she?"
Tesoro finally moved. His dead eyes suddenly lit up, and he sat bolt upright in bed, trying to get up.
But his long period of dejection, combined with the numbing effects of alcohol, left him unable to control his movements. He fell straight off the bed, his head slamming hard against the floor.
Tesoro didn't care. Like a man grasping at his last straw, he rasped out a cry.
"She's alive! She's alive! Please, save Stella! Save her!"
Lin Yuan's face remained expressionless as he watched the man who would one day become the spirited Gild Tesoro kneel before him.
"If I save her, you should know what I'll have to face. And what can you offer in return?"
Lin Yuan's words made Tesoro, who had been kneeling and repeatedly bowing his head to the floor, shudder. The aura of despair around him grew stronger.
He was only a drunk now, and half a year ago, he had been nothing more than a small-time thug who knew only how to make money.
He knew that saving Stella meant going to Mary Geoise on the Red Line and facing the Celestial Dragons. And he had nothing of value to offer now.
"I have no value at all right now, but sir, you found me and said all this, so I must be useful to you. That means I can give you everything I have."
"Whatever I have, sir, you can take it, even my life."
Lin Yuan finally smiled at that. Tesoro truly lived up to the name Gild Tesoro. Even in such a desperate moment, he had kept a sliver of clarity.
Lin Yuan helped Tesoro up, seated him on a stool, and said with a smile,
"To be honest, you don't have anything you can give me."
Tesoro grew anxious at those words, his bloodshot eyes full of pleading.
"But I do need a brother I can trust. I wonder if you're willing."
Tesoro could hardly believe his ears. He thought everything before him was an illusion.
"Smack..."
Tesoro slapped himself hard, and his groggy head finally cleared. The pain in his face told him this was real.
"Sir, if you can save Stella, I'll be your most loyal subordinate. I don't deserve to be your brother."
As he spoke, Tesoro tried to kneel again. The man before him was Stella's last hope, and he had to try even if the chance was one in a hundred million.
"Heh, I told you, I don't need a subordinate. I only need a brother I can entrust my back to completely."
"And you know what kind of place Mary Geoise is. Even I can't be absolutely certain of success. But if Stella is dead, I can help you destroy all of Mary Geoise."
Lin Yuan caught Tesoro with one hand, stopping him from kneeling. Then he stood and headed outside.
"If you agree, I'll leave right now. Before I get back, prepare a ship. I believe you can do it."
Tesoro watched his retreating figure, which wasn't particularly tall. Tears seemed to well up in his eyes. At last, he gritted his teeth and said two words: "Thank you!"
Hearing that, Lin Yuan paused, then continued outside. Only when he was far away did his voice reach Tesoro.
"Since you're my brother, don't say those words again."
Only after Lin Yuan disappeared did Tesoro come to his senses, feeling once again as though he were dreaming.
"Smack..."