— — — — — — —
Right now, Joey and his crew were moving swiftly.
In just a short time, they had already entered the Grand Line.
The waves crashed as they cut through the sea, speeding towards their destination—Kenzan Island.
Daifuku glanced at the navigation chart and asked, "Based on the distance, we should be getting close to Kenzan Island, right?"
Oven shrugged and replied, "Bro, are you seriously asking me? I don't know! And let's be real, you don't know either."
"Well..." Daifuku opened his mouth to retort but found himself at a loss for words.
He had to admit it—
Neither of them was skilled in navigation.
That was always left to the professionals.
Today, Daifuku had just happened to take a look out of curiosity.
"Heh heh heh—"
Joey approached from behind, watching the two brothers bicker, and chuckled. "You two... Based on our timing, we're actually very close. We should arrive at Kenzan Island either today or tomorrow."
The brothers nodded, acknowledging his words.
Daifuku then curiously asked, "Big bro, has Big Sis arrived yet?"
Joey shook his head. "I contacted Compote earlier. She'll need about two more days to reach Kenzan Island. But it's fine, really. The timing isn't a big issue."
"Got it."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
At this point, there was no need to rush.
With that discussion settled, everyone went back to their own tasks, simply waiting for their arrival at Kenzan Island.
— — —
Kenzan Island – The Tehna Gehna Kingdom
This kingdom—To put it bluntly—was practically a nation of bandits and thieves.
It was a land isolated from the rest of the world.
Only the thieves and bandits ventured out, usually to raid other nations and take people as slaves.
The people of Tehna Gehna were known for their fierce and violent nature.
To them, if something could be solved with brute force— Then it wasn't a problem at all.
"Hmm..."
Joey flipped through the intelligence reports in his hands, frowning. "This country is going to be a pain. The Longarm Tribe is never easy to deal with."
Even he found it troublesome.
After all—these people preferred violence over negotiations.
Most of them were warriors who refused to surrender.
Trying to take control of this tribe?
Not an easy task.
What made it worse was that there was barely any reliable intelligence on the Tehna Gehna Kingdom.
Joey muttered, "This place is almost as secretive as Wano... According to the reports, the king here is basically just a figurehead?"
He rubbed his temples.
This was a headache.
Non-human races were always difficult to handle.
The Giant Tribe had nearly gone into chaos after their king died, and Prince Loki's birth had sent the entire race into an uproar.
The Tontatta were one of the few races that actually had a proper king.
As for the others?
Most were ruled by elder councils, functioning more like large family clans than traditional kingdoms.
The Fish-Man Kingdom of Ryugu was an exception, but that was due to their large population and their location on Fish-Man Island, which allowed them to absorb knowledge from different cultures.
Joey was considering his options carefully.
He muttered, "Taking people from Tehna Gehna's Longarm Tribe won't be easy. Their society is complicated, and from what I know, they have internal conflicts and faction rivalries."
"Hmm..."
Rubbing his temples, Joey sighed. "Ugh, this is such a hassle. We don't have enough intel."
Honestly—
Whether it was the Longarm Tribe, the Sky People, the Snake-Neck Tribe, the Three-Eye Tribe, or even Wano—
Any nation that had been isolated for a long time had extremely limited available intelligence.
The information Joey had was barely useful.
After organizing his thoughts, he concluded, "Looks like we'll have to gather intel once we get to Kenzan Island. Right now, it's pointless to keep guessing."
He put the matter aside and turned his attention back to another topic—The Calm Belt.
From both his own research and the information Perospero had given him—The Dragon Tribe was said to be hidden deep within the Calm Belt.
That place was a mystery.
No one knew what truly lay within it.
Even Amazon Lily, the home of the Kuja Tribe—A nation that had lived in the Calm Belt for centuries—had only explored a small portion of it.
The Calm Belt was full of hidden dangers.
Joey murmured, "If we want to find clues about the Dragon Tribe, even just a little information would be crucial. I hope we can succeed."
"Alright! Time to rest."
Massaging his temples, Joey stood up.
He returned to his room, and before long—he had fallen into a deep sleep.
As Joey slept—A faint energy pulsed in the air.
The silver shadow of a great sword flickered into existence.
Four massive swords hovered, each radiating a different aura, though their presence was fleeting.
The phenomenon lasted through the night.
— — —
The Next Morning
As Joey slowly woke up—
Everything had returned to normal.
The sword projections had vanished without a trace.
He sat up, stretched, and yawned. "A brand-new day! Time to get up."
A maid entered, assisting him with his morning routine.
After freshening up, he stepped onto the deck and sank into a sofa, where his breakfast was already prepared.
Joey's daily routine was so regular it felt like everything was pre-planned.
As he enjoyed his meal, he listened to his maid report on world affairs.
Every day, he stayed updated on the latest intelligence and news.
Not only that—He also kept track of what other users of the Multiverse System were doing.
For example— The Angel Tribe leader was trying to buy a batch of Pegasus but got scammed.
The Saiyan leader was still stubbornly focused on the Saiyan race, but every item they tried to buy was mysteriously unavailable.
The Tōtsuki Culinary Academy's business was booming beyond belief.
"Hmm?"
Joey suddenly noticed an interesting bit of news.
Something caught his attention.
A slave merchant!
An unusual figure—Originally a king from a Western fantasy kingdom.
He had once been a ruler, but after activating his family system, he handed the throne to his younger brother.
Then—he assembled his country's elite forces and formed a slave-hunting unit!
His market offered a variety of races.
Of course—Dragons, Angels, Elves, Behemoths, and Titans were completely off-limits.
No way he'd sell those.
Even if he captured them, he'd keep them for himself as high-value assets.
Within the family system—Many were already speculating about the future.
Wars between factions might not be far off.
Before Joey could dive deeper into this matter—
Voices could be heard approaching.
"Hehehe—"
Joey sighed and looked up.
Figures leaped out of the sea, landing directly on the deck.
They were from the Longarm Tribe, grinning excitedly.
"Not bad at all! These guys look pretty decent in every aspect. They'll definitely fetch a good price as slaves! Once we have the money, we can enjoy those women!"
Another Longarm echoed, "That's right! That's right!"
"Sigh…" Joey shook his head. "Just as I expected. No wonder the Kenzan Island of Tehna Gehna Kingdom is full of thieves. I didn't even go looking for them, and they came knocking first!"
He shook his head in exasperation and said calmly, "Daifuku, Oven, take care of these guys. I have other matters to attend to."
"Hehehe—"
Daifuku grinned menacingly. "Big bro, don't worry about a thing."
Oven smirked cruelly. "Just a bunch of trash. Nothing to be concerned about."
Meanwhile, Joey continued browsing the chat system.
---
[Slave Merchant: I've got a fresh batch of goblins here! Just caught them recently. Top quality! Anyone interested? Feel free to make an offer!]
"Hmm—"
Tap! Joey tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought.
Goblins!
They were the most cunning and deceptive kind. Weak in strength but skilled in business, engineering, and alchemy.
In simple terms, they combined science and mysticism seamlessly.
This batch could be valuable.
Goblins weren't exactly in high demand, but they were rarely sold.
First, there weren't many slave merchants.
Second, in many worlds, goblins took on various roles—even as scientists—and mishandling them could lead to trouble.
As Joey pondered, the battle on the deck had already ended.
One by one, the Longarm Tribe members lay defeated on the ground.
Daifuku and Oven looked down at them with disdain.
Daifuku grabbed one of them by the collar and lifted him effortlessly. "Is this all you've got? With this pathetic level of strength, you dare to rob people?"
He was genuinely baffled.
What kind of power was this?
In the New World, these guys were nothing but small fry!
It was a fact.
To survive in the New World, one had to be incredibly strong.
Even the common soldiers there weren't weak.
There was no choice. The New World was complete chaos.
And yet, these Longarm guys?
Pathetically weak.
"Cough… cough…"
The Longarm Tribe member coughed weakly, completely powerless in Daifuku's grasp.
Daifuku scoffed. "Forget it. You should be thankful you're Longarm Tribe members."
Oven gave the order, "Tie them up. We'll let Big Bro decide what to do with them."
"Yes!" The black-clad subordinates stepped forward, swiftly binding the defeated Longarm bandits.
This was typical for the Longarm Tribe.
In the Tehna Gehna Kingdom, resources were scarce.
Because of this, many resorted to thievery. They often ventured out to rob and plunder other nations.
Daifuku shook his head. "What a bunch of trash. It looks like handling the Longarm Tribe will be easy."
Oven nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem at all."
Clearly, they both believed that the Longarm Tribe wasn't a significant threat.
Compared to the Longleg Tribe, they were even weaker.
But…In this world, the Longarm and Longleg Tribes were both considered major races.
Would it really be as easy as they thought?
.
.
.