Chapter 18

Upon opening a door, what lied beyond was a loud and wild party. Jolly rogers, bandanas, cigarettes, and most importantly, liquors—without a doubt, this was a hub meant for pirates.

"""Haahahahaha!!!"""

In Rowan's eyes, they were completely drunk. Some had cigarettes plucked in their nostrils, and some, having been knocked out, were drooling and snoring. It was comical and filthy scenery to witness.

"Hm...?" Then, one among the pirates turned to look at Rowan, the newcomer. After a second-long delay, the pirate gradually dropped his jaw and began sweating,

"P-P-P-P-P-P-P—"

The pirate stuttered while pointing his trembling finger at Rowan,

"PIRATE SLAYER!!!"

Bam!

Immediately after the pirate screamed, he was slammed by the fist of another who was blushing—obviously drunk.

"Heheheh... now now, that wasn't a funny joke to make. Whaaat Pirate Slayer?!" He then poured down an entire bottle of alcohol over his head, "Wheee... RUM FOR LIFE!!!!"

"""RUM FOR LIFE!!!!"

The captain of these pirates, sitting in the middle with a huge belly, said dreamily while dazing off, "Aw, man... my head is spinning. R-rum for life... ugh, One Piece... here I come—brgggggh!" before throwing up on top of his fine-looking attire.

Rowan watched the scene with a deadpan. Ignoring that one pirate who was shaking hard in-between his party-enjoying crewmates, Rowan walked up to a counter where an old-aged bartender was standing beyond. The bartender squinted his eyes and looked at Rowan for a second, before frowning,

"...Aren't you that fella, the pirate head collector?"

Taking a seat, Rowan asked, "Do you know me, gramps?"

"Well, the whole East Blue knows you at this point! The strongest bounty hunter! There, you satisfied?!" The bartender snorted while wiping the glass clean, "And what are you here for?! This bar is meant for pirates, and I don't serve those who interrupt my business!"

"I'll have—"

"I said no!!"

"—a cup of water, thank you."

"Water in a bar?!"

Rowan leaned forward, placing his elbow on top of the table and his cheek onto his hand. Uncaring of the noises at the back, Rowan looked around the hub with curiosity, "How are you able to keep your shop? Blatantly hanging out the name of Gold Roger outside... I'm surprised that the marines decided not to touch you."

While pouring down the water on a glass, the bartender grinned shrewdly and formed an O by joining his thumb and index together, "Money, what else—" before quickly erasing his grin upon realizing whom he was talking to, "—gah, why am I even bothering myself to reply?!" He slammed down the glass of water in front of Rowan and crossed his arms,

"Drink and get out!"

Rowan chuckled before raising up the glass of water. Without any regard for the bartender's annoyance, he asked, "Those pirates behind me, I suppose that they're planning to cross the Reverse Mountain."

"Hmph..." The bartender sighed, knowing that his words won't reach Rowan. Sitting down, he poured down a glass of rum for himself, "And?"

"Grand Line. It's known to be the horrendous sea—whether by the severity of the natural disasters or the number of powerhouses in there. The sea that spans across the entire world, and also the path adamantly blocked by the Marine—deciding to sail toward the Grand Line is deemed as an act of throwing your life away by many. Vahahaha..."

Since his arrival in this world, upon the realization that this was the world of One Piece, Rowan wondered,

"...Just what exactly is 'One Piece?'" Chugging down the water, Rowan muttered, "What kind of treasure is it? Some tool that can make one a pseudo-god? A magic lamp where a genie pops up and grants you three wishes?"

"Hah..." The bartender snorted, "no one knows." His eyes drifted off to the past, that fateful day when the Pirate King—Gol D. Roger—was executed right in this town.

"Wealth, fame, power... Gold Roger was the man who attained them all. And at the last moment, he stated..."

"Nothing is known about One Piece. Hell, no one knows if it truly exists even!" The bartender then held his arms up high, immersed in the excitement and the rapid beatings of his heart, "But nonetheless, one thing is for certain. Wealth, fame, power... only the one who manages to acquire them all will be the one to find the world's greatest treasure!! That's right... One Piece is the crown, and its owner is the sole individual worthy of the title of 'Pirate King!'"

"No hint, no clue, and no lead to follow... to sail against the harsh weather, against millions of competitors, and against the World Government. The risk is through the roof, and even if you are to manage through all that, One Piece might not exist even... how foolish, vahahaha!"

It was a stupid idea to follow. By all means, it was irrational. Once you sail, there will be no way of returning. Once a bounty is placed on your head, you will forever be away from your hometown... unless you manage to not only find the One Piece but become stronger than the world's known powerhouses..

Yet, Rowan felt this slight sense of exhilaration, one he couldn't explain.

'...I guess my mother's blood does run in me, after all.'

Many changes happened to him over the years. Countless fights, arduous trainings, thieveries, and more—after having been honed by those events, the boy wishing for a peaceful life was no more. And this sensation of going on an adventure... Rowan managed to get a gist of how it felt like, although most of his and Nami's sails were running away from their pursuers whom they stole from.

'Going on an adventure to the Grand Line...'

"Thanks for the water."

The bartender watched as Rowan casually threw a coin into the empty glass of water. Rowan stood up, turned around, and walked away—

"Don't come back again, bounty hunter!" The bartender shouted with a frown, "I'll say it once more; I only serve pirates! This was the only exception, and only because it was the cup of water!"

Momentarily stopping, Rowan grinned,

"...Who knows? I may visit this place again."

before leaving the bar to the bartender and the still-partying pirates.

__________

[5 Days Later]

Arlong Park. After the invasion of the Arlong pirates onto the Cocoyasi village, this construct was built on the coast of the Conami island, directly connected to the sea. With this place as the base of many operations, Cocoyasi village, Gosa village, and many more—the Arlong pirates continued their evil doings against the civilians.

"Shahaha... look how miserable you are, marines."

Currently, Arlong was sitting on a lounge chair with his legs crossed and his cheek leaned against his hand. With Kuroobi, Hatchan, Chew, and many more fish-men standing behind him, Arlong stared at his front where the marines were bound tightly by ropes.

"ARLONG...!!!" The Marine Officer among them shouted in anger. Arlong, picking his ear and frowning from the noise generated by the Marine Officer's shout, then ordered Kuroobi,

"Too noisy... rip off that mouth, Kuroobi."

Kuroobi silently complied, walking forth to the shaking Marine Officer. Arlong grinned as the Kuroobi's hands moved and the blood splattered everywhere, and as the deed finished, spoke darkly,

"Are you confused, humans?" Arlong looked at the remaining marines who gazed at their fallen officer with pale expressions, "Of why Marineford doesn't send a unit to deal with me?"

It was just as Arlong said. None of the marines in the East Blue were currently capable of arresting Arlong. Having come from the East Blue, his physical strength was simply out of their league; guns, swords, cannonballs—none of those weapons were useful against this saw-nosed fish-man. Help from Marineford was needed, but the supposed help never came for a reason unknown.

"I can tell you why... but at the same time, I don't feel like doing so." Arlong stood up and personally walked up to those marines,

"After all, shahaha... you are already dead."

PUK.

Arlong's punch effortlessly punctured one marine's chest. He casually plucked his fist out as if nothing happened, and as that marine fell, he then moved on to another, satisfying his violent urge with brutal and immoral tortures that even some fish-men, like Hatchan, couldn't dare to watch.

And when Arlong's deed was done, Arlong swept his bloody arm into the water nearby, washing away the blood which he believed to be filthy. Subsequently, as numerous corpses, still warm, oozed out the blood, Arlong casually went back to sitting on his lounge chair.

"Arlong-san," Kuroobi asked emotionlessly, "should I clean up the mess?"

Arlong, having thought up an idea, grinned while pointing his index finger at the distant Cocoyasi village, "Hang around these marines' heads at Cocoyasi and Gosa."

"Roger that—"

"Arlong-san!"

Suddenly, one green-coloured fish-man entered through a huge door, running.

"Huff... huff..."

Unbothered by the corpses on the side and stopping in front of Arlong, the green fish-man cried,

"Nami is back! With that asshole!"

"Oh?" Arlong's eyes narrowed, before they headed to the top-most section of the multi-floored building behind him, "Time for her to draw more maps, shahahaha!"

Hatchan spoke up nervously, "W-what about Rowan then! You've read the news, right?! About how he's defeated a pirate worth 17 million Beli, and—"

"...17 million, yes." Arlong froze upon Hatchan's mentioning. Supposedly thinking deeply, he then spoke up, "And also the other one who was worth 8.5 million... one known as the 'Treasure Hunter.' That one in particular was the one we've also been looking for... to take that vast wealth he was known to possess."

Arlong abruptly stood up with a stern expression. Then, he stated to Kuroobi,

"Call Nezumi. I suspect that they've collected the full 100 million this time around."

"A-and?" Hatchan spoke once more, "Shouldn't we make some preparations for Rowan? He may come and attack us, you know!"

Arlong raised his eyebrow, "...Preparations?"

There was a brief silence before all fish-men except for Hatchan exploded in a fit of laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!!!"

"You must be kidding me, Hachi!!"

Arlong shook his head, "You think too much, Hachi. Why should we, the superior race, harbour any fear for a mere human of the weakest sea?" Placing his arm around Hatchan's shoulder, Arlong chuckled, "Ease your mind! 17 million, 8.5 million... do those bounties have any significance? Compared to our experience in the Grand Line, you know that they are of no worth at all!"

Hatchan, calming himself down, laughed weakly,

"H-heheh... well, you aren't wrong there."

though he still couldn't get rid of this sense of dread within him—upon remembering the vengeance-filled eyes Rowan had on that day 2 years ago, when his father died.

Arlong spoke, "Stay positive! Instead of worrying about a weakling, shahaha, think of how we'll be using that 100 million for ourselves!"

Meanwhile,

__________

Creak—. Opening the doorway to Bell-mere's house, Nami weakly muttered,

"...I am back, Nojiko."

Nojiko, who was carrying around a basket full of mikans, turned her head and smile, "Nami! You're back—whoa."

Next to Nami was a huge sac, full to the brim with money.

But nonetheless, Nojiko moved her eyes away from the money, and upon noticing that Nami wasn't in a good mood, asked with a soft smile, "...So, how did your trip go this time around?"

Thud. Nami fell on a nearby seat, and said, "Well... it probably was the toughest one we've ever had, but it was of worth."

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