After the Cats were introduced to Life Return, Luo Fan used special dried fish as an incentive; as long as they practiced hard, they would have special dried fish to eat.
Under the temptation of the special dried fish, these 20 Cats practiced desperately every day.
However, the good times did not last long, and Luo Fan's supply of special dried fish soon hit rock bottom.
In order to keep the lazy Cats' passion for exercise alive, Luo Fan decided to generate some income and go for a few more ten-pull gacha draws.
If it were anywhere else, it might not be so easy for Luo Fan to get money, but this was the Sabaody Archipelago, where ships wanting to enter the Grand Line had to be coated.
Moreover, because of Roger's final words, the Great Pirate Era had arrived, and countless pirates had swarmed into the Sabaody Archipelago during this time.
In Luo Fan's eyes, these pirates were all walking money bags.
That night, Luo Fan quietly began his operation.
As for why he was being quiet? Naturally, he was afraid of being discovered by Rayleigh!
If Rayleigh knew that the effort he spent teaching Luo Fan to freely control Haoshoku was being used by Luo Fan for this kind of thing, he would surely give Luo Fan a lecture.
So, to avoid trouble from Rayleigh, Luo Fan could only act quietly.
According to Luo Fan's plan, as soon as he boarded a ship, he would use Haoshoku to sweep across the entire deck, knock out all the pirates on board, then "take away" their treasures, and finally make a grand exit.
The script for the first five pirate ships went exactly as Luo Fan imagined; his operation was very smooth, and he easily obtained treasures equivalent to 200 million Berries.
But when Luo Fan boarded the sixth pirate ship and released his Haoshoku, there was actually one person still standing on the ship.
The Pirate Crews coming to the Sabaody Archipelago recently were all from the First Half of the Grand Line.
The strength of most of these pirates was relatively weak, and their will was not very firm; logically, there shouldn't be anyone capable of blocking his Haoshoku.
Thinking of this, Luo Fan felt a hint of curiosity toward the guy still standing. Just as he was about to release Observation Haki toward him, the guy actually leapt Up and initiated an attack first.
Luo Fan showed an interested expression and directly transformed into his Cat Sword Form. With a flap of the wings on his back and lightning flashing all over his body, he charged at the opponent with even greater speed.
A "clink" of metal colliding rang out, accompanied by flickering electric sparks. Luo Fan took two steps back, while the person opposite him was sent flying by Luo Fan's strike, crashing into the pirate ship's mast.
"Cough, cough, cough... are these the monsters of the Grand Line? I really am still far too weak."
Luo Fan did not continue his attack because, in the moment of the clash just now, he had seen the Wano Country mark on the young man's clothes by the light of the lightning.
This kind of mark should be a certain family's crest. Although Luo Fan was born in Wano Country, he had never left Kuri until he went out to sea, so he hadn't seen this crest before, but he was certain it was a mark unique to Wano Country.
To verify if this person was a fellow countryman from Wano Country, Luo Fan flapped his wings and came to the young man's side, placing a sharp claw against his neck and asking, "What's the deal with the mark on your clothes?"
The man was stunned for a moment and subconsciously replied, "This is the mark that my father and I, and our family, have always used."
"Your father and family? What is your name?"
"Genzo."
Luo Fan's cat body jolted upon hearing this; this young man before him was actually Zoro's future first master, Genzo.
People say girls change a lot as they grow Up, but it turns out boys do too; the current Genzo didn't look like his future self at all.
Looking at Genzo, Luo Fan couldn't help but recall what Tenguyama Hitetsu said in the manga: Shimotsuki Kousaburou had illegally fled the isolationist Wano Country over 50 years ago.
The "over 50 years" in the manga should be about 30 years ago from now. Shimotsuki Kousaburou had left Wano Country for some reason before Oden followed Whitebeard out to sea.
And Enma, one of the two famous swords in Oden's hands, was forged by Shimotsuki Kousaburou.
Speaking of swords, Luo Fan turned his gaze to the sword in Genzo's hand and asked in a deep voice, "What is the name of the sword in your hand?"
"W-wado ichimonji."
Hearing this, Luo Fan was now certain that this person was Genzo, because both wado ichimonji and Enma were crafted by Shimotsuki Kousaburou.
And looking at his age and name, Genzo was nine times out of ten the son of Shimotsuki Kousaburou.
Thinking of this, Luo Fan retracted his claws, changed back into his Main Body, and asked Genzo, "You should be a member of the Shimotsuki Clan, right?"
Genzo was clearly startled by Luo Fan's question, and his body froze on the spot.
"Don't worry, I have no ill will toward you. Like you and your father, I also came from Wano Country."
Hearing the words 'Wano Country,' Genzo finally snapped out of it and asked cautiously, "You are also from Wano Country... cough, I mean, a cat?"
"Yes, I left Wano Country together with Kozuki Oden. You know Oden, right?"
"You actually know Lord Oden!" Genzo couldn't help but exclaim.
"More than just knowing him, I'm on quite good terms with his wife!" Luo Fan said with a smile.
"Wife? Lord Oden has taken a wife?"
"Not just a wife, he even has children."
Genzo seemed very happy to hear this. Seeing this, Luo Fan shook his head helplessly as he helped Genzo Up, saying, "Sorry, I didn't know you were a fellow countryman from Wano Country just now, I was a bit heavy-handed."
"Please don't say that, I was the one who attacked first."
Luo Fan curled his lip, not wanting to dwell on this topic, and changed the subject. "Genzo, what are you doing in the Sabaody Archipelago? And on a pirate ship?"
"I wanted to go see the New World, so..."
"To the New World? Are you also interested in the One Piece?"
"No, you've misunderstood. I just want to see the New World to broaden my horizons and hone my swordsmanship at the same time."
"So that's how it is. Well, go ahead then! Oh, by the way, let me remind you, the New World is very dangerous. If you run into trouble you can't handle, run away quickly.
If you can't run, identify yourself and say you're from the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division. Not many people would dare to harm you."
"I know about the Whitebeard Pirates, but why the Second Division?" Genzo pressed.
"Because both Oden and I are members of the Whitebeard Pirates, and Oden is the Commander of the Second Division."
"Lord Oden is actually a Commander of the legendary Whitebeard Pirates!
As expected of Lord Oden, he is outstanding wherever he goes."
Luo Fan shook his head at those words, not bothering to pay any more attention to Genzo, who acted like an Oden fanboy. He ran into the cabin, swiped his claws to transfer all the treasure in the pirate ship to his space, and then flapped his wings to fly away from the ship.
The Shimotsuki family was a legendary clan in Wano Country and had countless ties with Zoro. Currently confirmed members included Shimotsuki Kousamurai, Shimotsuki Toko, Shimotsuki Ryuma (the owner of Shusui), Shimotsuki Gyūmaru, and Shimotsuki Kousaburou. All of these clan members had indirect or direct contact with Zoro.