Zoro had thoroughly searched the entire pirate ship, top to bottom, but only managed to find 50,000 Berries.
To be honest, this pirate crew was quite poor.
But that was fine. As long as he handed over the pirate captain's corpse to the Navy, he would receive a reward of 2 million Berries. That would be enough to keep him from worrying about money for a long time.
At that moment, Zoro was in a good mood.
However...
"I say…"
"Are you sure it's okay to just kill that guy like this?"
A voice suddenly came from behind, startling Zoro.
With a swift motion, he jumped up and drew his sword, Wado Ichimonji.
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is, did you carefully look at that bounty poster?"
The stranger pointed to the bounty poster Zoro had carelessly tossed aside on the deck when he stood up.
Luo Lan's lips curled into a slight smile.
Then, he landed in front of Zoro.
"What's wrong with the bounty poster?"
"Wrong? Oh, there's a huge problem! Look at the line under the name and the picture of the wanted criminal."
"I'm not blind. It says the name and bounty amount!"
"No, you're missing something. Between the criminal's name and the picture, there's a line of text. Take another look."
Luo Lan shrugged his shoulders.
Zoro picked up the poster and examined it closely.
Sure enough, between the name and the photo, there was a line of text.
ONLY ALIVE?
Zoro turned to look at the pirate captain's corpse not far away.
He was stunned.
Only alive?
Had he just wasted his effort?
Why did he think this felt familiar?
Ever since Zoro left Frost Moon Village and began hunting pirates for a living…
This kind of thing seemed to happen again and again.
Out of ten times, at least nine times he ended up with no bounty money.
And each reason was more bizarre than the last.
What was worse, even when there were no issues, the bounties he did manage to collect were always measly amounts—sometimes just tens of thousands of Berries, or even just a few thousand!
This guy... maybe he wasn't suited to being a bounty hunter.
"Who exactly are you?" Zoro snapped back to his senses after a brief moment of defeat.
He pointed the Wado Ichimonji directly at Luo Lan.
This man was simply too strange.
They were out at sea, there were no other ships around, so how did he manage to get on the ship?
And his outfit was somewhat similar to the Navy's, but also different—especially in terms of color. While the Navy typically wore white, his was mostly black.
"I'm Luo Lan. I'm here to recruit you!"
"Never heard of you. Are you a pirate?"
Zoro shook his head and asked.
In this world, there were generally three types of people on the seas: the Navy, pirates, and everyone else.
Since he wasn't Navy, then pirate was the most logical guess.
"It doesn't matter what faction I belong to. What matters is, I can help you quickly reach the level of a Swordmaster…"
"Otherwise, with your current skill, even if you train for several more years, you'll still just be a third-rate swordsman. There's no chance you'll ever become a true Swordmaster!"
"Besides, those three swords you carry—well, Wado Ichimonji is acceptable, but the other two are complete junk. I…"
"I can provide you with better swords, ones that might even surpass the Supreme Grade Sword!"
"Only then will you have the hope of challenging, and eventually defeating, Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, and claiming the title of World's Greatest Swordsman for yourself!"
...
...
Who was this guy, really?
How did he know exactly what Zoro wanted?
But despite the doubt, Zoro had to admit, he hadn't made much progress since leaving Frost Moon Village two years ago. Despite many battles, his growth had slowed, and recently, it had completely stalled.
Could this person truly solve his current problem?
If so, he didn't even care if this guy was a pirate—hell, he could become one too. What was the big deal?
After all, Zoro didn't hunt pirates because of any sense of justice. He did it simply for the combat experience and to make a living.
"You really can do all that?"
"Of course."
"Alright, I'll join. But you have to fulfill at least part of your promises within a year, or I'll leave!"
"No problem."
Luo Lan immediately agreed.
Once the Super Navy Academy was built, Zoro would be sent to the swordsmanship department to train.
And once the blacksmithing workshop was ready, Luo Lan would have custom-made swords crafted specifically for Zoro.
Though an S-rank blacksmith was still out of reach, an A-rank blacksmith… that could be arranged.
Luo Lan was confident that with the system architecture and the powerful building traits, paired with an A-rank blacksmith, the swords crafted would definitely be top-tier.
"By the way, what if I had rejected you?"
"Rejected? Well, I'd just knock you out and drag you along!"
Upon hearing this, Zoro's expression darkened.
In these two years, he'd gained some reputation. He considered his own strength to be decent. Was this guy really going to knock him out just like that?
"You don't believe me?"
After jumping onto Zoro's small raft, Luo Lan turned around and asked with a grin.
Then, he performed a whip kick that sent the pirate ship flying into the air.
It exploded into splinters, like a massive artillery shell hitting its target.
The debris flew in all directions, falling like raindrops.
Zoro's jaw dropped and hit the small raft with a thud.
He had never seen anything like this before. Though the pirate ship was small, about 30 meters long and made from low-quality materials, it was still a ship.
And this guy... could kick it apart with a single blow?
Okay, maybe... this guy really could knock him out if he wanted to!
---
"So, you're the Navy?"
As they entered the Danaan area, Zoro's jaw seemed to drop every ten steps.
Of course, this wasn't his fault.
Even Hina had the same reaction the first time she saw it.
It was like being transported from one world into another.
He just couldn't understand how a ship like this even existed.
It wasn't until they had settled in that Zoro finally heard about Luo Lan's background.
He was from Navy Division 157.
So... these people and this ship... were all Navy?
"Correct. But, to be precise…"
"We're a group of forgotten Navy members. The headquarters doesn't manage us, and we don't report to them about what we do."
"Well, where you're from doesn't matter to me. There's only one thing I care about!"
Zoro spread his arms.
Whether Navy or pirate, he didn't care.
"I know. You want to talk about swordsmanship, right?"
"That's right!"
"Then let me ask you—what did your teacher Koushirou tell you about the levels of swordsmanship?"
"From apprentice to swordsman, and then to Swordmaster... wait, do you know my teacher?"
Suddenly, it clicked for Zoro.
He stared, wide-eyed.
---
A/N: If you want an early updates, you can visit my Ko-Fi as I update there much early.
Currently at Chapter 78 for free chapters on my Ko-Fi and at Chapter 280 for advance chapters.
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27