The air was filled with a salty, damp scent, the sound of rushing water filled his ears, and a seagull streaked across the sky, disappearing into the distance.
Where am I?
Marcel slowly opened his eyes. He blinked, trying to sit up, but felt a sharp pain throughout his body.
Right, I'm injured.
Marcel remembered what happened before he lost consciousness. Luffy and Buggy were fighting, and he was enduring the pain, fending off the pirates who were surrounding him. Both he and that boy named Luffy were at a disadvantage.
As time passed, both of them sustained significant injuries.
But in the end, Luffy sent Buggy flying, while Marcel was surrounded by other pirates and was on the verge of death when he was saved by a figure.
Marcel only remembered that the figure had green hair.
Then what happened?
"You're awake?"
A voice sounded in his ear. Marcel looked in that direction and saw a green-haired man holding a long sword.
"It's you!"
Marcel looked at him, his expression a little surprised. Then he looked around and found himself on a small boat sailing on the sea. Besides the green-haired man, there was also that straw-hatted boy named Luffy.
"Don't move around. You've just received treatment and need to rest," the green-haired man said.
"What exactly happened?"
Marcel asked, confused. He had indeed received treatment, and his body was bandaged, but why was he sailing on a small boat?
The green-haired man yawned and said, "You fainted and got injured, so we took you to get treatment. The Marines arrived, and we had to take you with us."
"Marines? You're saying the Marines came to the town?"
Marcel's eyes widened as he looked at them.
The green-haired man said, "That's right. Just as your wounds were stitched and bandaged, villagers notified us that the Marines had arrived, and then we took you away."
"Don't worry, the Marines didn't chase us," Luffy said with a grin.
Marcel asked, confused, "Why did you take me with you?"
"To prevent the Marines from capturing you," Luffy replied from the side.
"Why would the Marines want to capture me?" Marcel asked, bewildered.
Luffy looked at Marcel and said, "Aren't you a pirate too? If the Marines find you, they'll definitely capture you."
"When did I become a pirate?" Marcel asked, confused.
Luffy said, "You said it yourself. You're the captain of a ship, your crew was killed by Buggy, and you were tied up."
"I never said I was the captain of a pirate crew,"
Marcel said, feeling like crying. "I'm the captain of an ocean route for a merchant association, and I was attacked by Buggy. Why do you think I'm a pirate? Those Marines might have been brought by the Shining Gold Merchant Association to save me. Now that you've taken me, I've completely missed them."
Hearing Marcel's words, Luffy burst into laughter and said, "So that's what happened. Who told you not to explain clearly?"
"Never mind, I'll find a place to get off the boat once my injuries heal and go back myself."
Marcel sighed. Since things had come to this, he could only go with them. However, his injuries had been treated and would recover in a few days. He could leave then.
But Marcel noticed a problem and asked, "You left because the Marines arrived, which means you are pirates?"
"That's right."
Luffy smiled and said, "I'm the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, my name is Luffy. This is Zoro, the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"So you are pirates."
Marcel sighed. He never expected to be saved by pirates. His father was killed by pirates, his crew was killed by pirates, and yet he was saved by pirates.
Sensing Marcel's gaze, Zoro narrowed his eyes, thinking he was unhappy with them for being pirates.
But the next moment, Marcel said, "Thank you for saving my life."
No matter what, without them, he would have surely died.
Moreover, they had avenged him, which was a profound debt of gratitude for Marcel.
"You're welcome."
Luffy smiled, while Zoro closed his eyes and said, "It was just a small favor. After all, you fought until the very end."
When Zoro found Luffy, he saw Marcel fighting a group of pirates. Even though he was already seriously injured, he was still fighting. This perseverance moved him.
Marcel nodded, then looked around and asked, "Where are we now?"
"I don't know," Luffy replied, shaking his head.
"You don't know?"
Marcel asked, "You don't know the direction? Then where are you planning to go?"
Luffy smiled and said, "We're planning to head to the Grand Line."
"The Grand Line?"
Marcel heard this and looked at Luffy, asking with some surprise, "You're heading to the Grand Line?"
"That's right. To become the Pirate King, you have to go through the Grand Line," Luffy replied.
"The Pirate King, you really should go..."
Marcel said subconsciously, then reacted, "You said you want to become the Pirate King?"
"That's right."
Luffy nodded, then pointed at Zoro and said, "This guy wants to become the world's greatest swordsman."
"You, you guys."
Marcel was so surprised he couldn't speak, then said, "Do you know how many strong people are in the Grand Line? The Pirate King is the pinnacle of all pirates, and the world's greatest swordsman is the pinnacle of swordsmen. Do you know how difficult that is?"
Luffy grinned and said, "Of course, we know."
"If you know, then why..." Marcel said irritably.
"Precisely because we know it's difficult, overcoming difficulties to achieve our goals is even more worthwhile, isn't it?" Zoro said calmly from the side.
"Is that so?"
Marcel was slightly stunned, then said helplessly, "But the Grand Line is too dangerous. There are too many pirates and unpredictable currents. You won't be able to get there with just this small boat."
Luffy punched his palm, saying, "So we still need a bigger boat."
"It's not about the boat."
Marcel shook his head and said, "Forget it, there's no point in talking to you about this. But in return, if you need a boat, I can help you. I'll contact the shipyard, buy a ship, and I guarantee I'll get you a vessel that can withstand the waves of the Grand Line."
"You're going to give us a boat?" Luffy's eyes widened as he looked at Marcel.
Marcel said helplessly, "I mean, I can help you buy a boat, but you have to give me money."
"But I don't have any money."
Luffy felt his pockets, which were empty.
"I really don't know how pirate crews like yours survive," Marcel shook his head, then said, "Tell me the port you left, the direction, and the time you left."
"To the west, I think. We left about three hours ago," Luffy replied after thinking.
Marcel nodded, then looked at the sails and the sun, "We should be about twenty nautical miles northwest. To get to the Grand Line, this distance will take us further and further away from Reverse Mountain."
"Then what do we do?"
Luffy asked, looking at Marcel.
Marcel pointed at the sail and said, "Lower the sail first. You can't sail against the wind with a mainsail. Then, you row northeast. There's a village over there. We just unloaded our cargo there before we encountered Buggy. When you get there, you drop me off, and I'll contact the merchant association to pick me up. You can leave on your own."
"Do you know Navigation?"
Luffy didn't act immediately, but looked at Marcel with bright eyes and asked.
Marcel thought he didn't believe him and said, "Of course. I've been sailing since I was sixteen. I learned Navigation from an excellent navigator. After becoming captain, I was the only captain in our merchant association who could run long-distance routes, and I've never stopped studying books on marine meteorology."
The excellent navigator Marcel mentioned was naturally Nami. He had consulted Nami on Navigation and read many books left by her.
"That's amazing."
Luffy looked at Marcel intently and grinned, "Then be my nakama. We're still missing a navigator."
"I refuse."
Marcel replied directly.
...
Several days later, Drum Kingdom.
Bang. Bang.
After two gunshots, Dalton fell heavily to the ground.
"Quick, save him!"
Zala shouted from a distance. Two doctors rushed over, lifted Dalton, and took him to the operating room.
"Why bother? It would have been better to surrender earlier," Zala followed Dalton closely, saying helplessly, "She has the Door-Door Fruit, she can move freely through spatial dimensions, you can't touch her. If you try to snipe her, you're no match for her. The moment you saw her ability, you lost. Why fight?"
Dalton's injuries healed quickly. Healing in this world was already fast, and as a Zoan Devil Fruit user, his recovery ability was very high.
In just a few days, his left arm could move, and he couldn't wait to challenge again.
The opponent she chose was Heckle's former partner, Mr. Christmas, who was now partnered with Cecilia.
As a gunman, her shooting skills were extremely powerful, with long-range sniping and close-to-mid-range gun fighting techniques.
However, because her physical fitness was inferior to that of the current Senior Agents, the opponent could dodge based on her arm movements.
At close to mid-range, her combat effectiveness would weaken.
But that was until she obtained a Devil Fruit: the Door-Door Fruit.
This fruit belonged to Bruno, a very powerful fruit, but Bruno had developed it poorly.
So, when killing him, Xia Qiu prepared fruit and transferred the Devil Fruit.
Xia Qiu gave this fruit to Mr. Christmas. Her marksmanship was very accurate, so this fruit could perfectly suit her.
She feared close-quarters combat with enemies. In that case, she only needed to hide in a spatial dimension. She could open a door and enter a spatial dimension to evade enemy attacks.
At the same time, she could also open a door, place herself in a spatial dimension, and shoot outwards.
Evade, lurk, snipe.
This ability allowed her marksmanship to be perfectly utilized, and her powerful dynamic vision could also detect approaching enemies.
In Baroque Works, no one was more suited for this fruit than her.
Currently, she was still Mr. 3's partner. After Mr. 3 was replaced by Cecilia, the latter learned Soru, and her strength ranked among the top in Baroque Works.
After obtaining the fruit, Mr. Christmas was still worthy of Cecilia's status.
The two of them paired up, one for close combat and one for ranged attacks, supporting each other.
One excelled at speed, while the other could help with stealth.
Their strengths complemented each other very well.
Xia Qiu had very high expectations for the two of them.
"This is a promise."
After hearing Zala's words, Dalton said very seriously, "I must finish four matches with you and fight until the last moment."
"But you'll get hurt," Zala said irritably. "Is it worth it?"
"If I win, then you leave, and the Drum Kingdom remains in our hands," Dalton paused here and then added, "If I lose, it will completely prove that you possess strength we cannot resist. This way, the villagers will accept their fate and won't do anything extra."
"So you're doing this for us?" Zala looked at Dalton in surprise.
"It's not exactly for you."
Dalton shook his head. "Since we can't resist, there's no need for unnecessary casualties. Moreover, what you said that day made me feel that you are different from Wapol. So, if you really win all four matches, you will become the king of this country, and I will supervise you."
"I will accept your supervision,"
Zala said softly upon hearing this, "I promise you, you will be involved in the construction of this country."
"I look forward to it."
Dalton looked at Zala and said, "But there's still one more fight, the one between me and you, Your Majesty the Queen."
"We'll talk about it after your injuries heal,"
Zala said with a smile. "But you definitely won't win."
...
"Whoosh."
Heckle's figure suddenly disappeared and then instantly reappeared far away.
"H-how is that possible?"
Xia Qiu stared blankly at Heckle, not understanding how he had learned Soru in just three or four days.
He excelled at hand-to-hand combat and not kicking techniques. His leg strength wasn't that strong, so how did he learn Soru?
"How did you learn it?" Xia Qiu asked Heckle.
"President, I'm actually taking a shortcut,"
Heckle walked over and said slowly, "I only stomped three times, accumulated some power, and then released it, while simultaneously reducing my body weight to one kilogram."
"So that's how it is."
Xia Qiu nodded. Heckle's weight was around 100 kilograms. Reducing it to one kilogram meant his weight was only one percent.
He only needed a very small amount of reactive force to propel himself out, and he was very fast and covered a great distance.
Although it was a shortcut, his speed had increased, and thus his combat power had increased.
This application of the technique was very impressive.
Not only that, but the other Six Powers could also be coordinated with his ability, especially Kami-e. If his weight was reduced and he could sense air currents, his evasion ability would be excellent.
In Baroque Works, Heckle was the most compatible with the Six Powers.
And in Baroque Works, excluding the President and Mr. 1's positions, through their own development, and not counting the Six Powers, the strength of the Senior Agents had already far surpassed that of Crocodile's original Baroque Works.
After all, the current Senior Agents could reach the strength level of Mr. 2 Bon Clay, and some had even improved.
However, compared to Bonis, their direct combat power was still lacking. His Devil Fruit ability provided too many advantages, but his destructive power and lethality were not inferior.
But if the Six Powers were added, not everyone might be able to defeat him, but they could all reach this level of combat power, with some having far greater destructive power and lethality.
Except for the hope that someone could master Haki, his requirements for them were basically met.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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