Chapter 158: One Piece (Part 2)

"Captain, this is a great haul this time."

On the pirate ship's deck, dozens of pirates excitedly surrounded a pile of gold and silver treasures, including various golden jewelry, precious gems, and paper currency.

Among them, a middle-aged man with a long scar across his chest, holding a large knife in his left hand and a pile of glittering jewelry in his right, laughed loudly. From the pirates' address, it was clear he was the captain of the pirate ship.

Scattered on one side of the deck were bloodstained weapons, including both cold weapons like swords and hot weapons like firearms.

"These are yours," the middle-aged captain said, using his large knife to divide the treasure pile, pushing about two-thirds of it to one side and leaving the remaining third for the surrounding pirates.

As the captain walked away, the other pirates immediately swarmed over the third of the treasure, loudly arguing and dividing it.

"Pirates, huh? Perfect opportunity to get some information about this world. After all, I used Felix Felicis to come here." Hovering above on a flying broomstick, hidden by an invisibility spell, Daniel Davis thought for a moment and decided to act.

After spotting the ship, Daniel switched from his hoverboard to his broomstick to reduce noise. 

He then released ten metal spheres, targeting the captain with three of them.

Boom, boom, boom.

The impact of the ten metal spheres landing startled the pirates. As they looked around in confusion, the spheres exploded, shooting out spider webs that quickly ensnared the pirates. The captain, who was the primary target, was about to swing his large knife when he was engulfed by the webs.

These web grenades were created by Daniel using Spider-Man's web fluid, although he had rarely found a chance to use them until now.

"Hello, everyone." After seeing all the pirates bound by the spider webs, Daniel descended from above, waving to the confused and angry pirates.

"Who are you, you bastard?" The bound pirates cursed and struggled, but their efforts were futile against the strong spider webs.

Some of the curses were directed not at Daniel but at fellow pirates tangled together by the web's impact. Two of them were nearly face-to-face, swearing the loudest in frustration.

"Quiet down." Annoyed by their noisy curses, Daniel fired a web shot at the loudest pirates, sealing their mouths.

"If I hear any more noise, I'll make you all like them," Daniel threatened coldly, pointing at the two nearly kissing pirates.

Immediately, everyone fell silent.

"This guy is quite strong. Glad I targeted him first; otherwise, it could've been troublesome." Watching the captain struggling alone, Daniel was surprised. Despite being wrapped in webs, the captain was still trying to roll away, almost breaking free if not for the overwhelming number of webs.

"Room." After restraining the pirates, Daniel activated his Ope Ope no Mi ability to scan the ship's interior.

"No one here." Confirming no one was inside, Daniel personally checked the ship, finding more jewels and weapons.

Finally, he prepared to interrogate the pirates. Approaching the captain, Daniel placed his hands together and then on the webs, dissolving the ones around the captain's mouth. The captain, who had been unable to speak, immediately asked, "Who are you?"

"That's not important," Daniel replied, using his wand to hypnotize the captain.

"Pirate King Roger, the Navy, the Shichibukai—so this is the One Piece world. Felix Felicis works wonders," Daniel laughed after extracting information from the captain. This world was perfect for him, filled with powerful fighters relying solely on physical strength.

Not only strong in physical combat, but it also had the mystical Devil Fruits. Daniel's own Ope Ope no Mi ability originated from this world.

"Could there be two Ope Ope no Mi users?" Thinking of Trafalgar Law, the current holder of the Ope Ope no Mi, Daniel smiled. In the Marvel world, his online name was the Surgeon of Death. If he told Skye, she would recognize him immediately.

"Law in this world hasn't developed the Ope Ope no Mi much," Daniel thought. The true power of a Devil Fruit lies in its user's creativity. Even seemingly weak fruits could be powerful with the right application.

The One Piece world was still in the early stages of developing Devil Fruits, especially Paramecia types. With proper development, they could rival the Logia fruits. 

Logia fruits were considered the strongest due to their users' quick growth to a high level. But even a strong fruit was useless if its user was incompetent. Daniel remembered a particularly useless Logia fruit user.

"This world has a necessary target. Becoming Pirate King is optional, but this person must die," Daniel thought of a particular individual with disdain.

"Unfortunately, this captain is too low-level to know the exact timeline. I'll have to deduce it slowly." This captain was a well-known pirate in the East Blue, with a bounty in the tens of millions. In the Grand Line, such a bounty was minor, but in the East Blue, the weakest sea, it made him a major pirate.

As a significant pirate crew in the East Blue, theoretically, he should have more men. Except for Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates, most crews had at least several dozen members, and stronger ones had hundreds.

This captain had nearly three hundred men and seven ships but had recently been decimated by the East Blue's dominant Krieg Pirates, leaving only a handful of survivors.

The Krieg Pirates were the undisputed rulers of the East Blue, with nearly a hundred ships and five thousand men, daring to attack naval bases openly.

With such strength, the East Blue Navy feared them, allowing the Krieg Pirates to act with impunity.

"With the Krieg Pirates still in the East Blue, Luffy hasn't set sail yet. Why hasn't the Navy sent even a low-ranking officer to handle them?" Daniel pondered. The Krieg Pirates, strong in the East Blue, were insignificant to the Navy or in the Grand Line.

"A bounty of millions should fetch a decent reward from the Navy." Deciding to collect the bounty, Daniel drew a complex alchemical circle on the deck, then threw the pirates into it.

The Philosopher's Stone transmutation circle turned the pirates into Philosopher's Stones. Daniel felt no remorse for these murderous, pillaging pirates.

Most pirate crews were villainous, including the Whitebeard Pirates, known for recruiting indiscriminately. Even the supposedly righteous Straw Hat Pirates caused collateral damage, indirectly harming innocents.

Pirates were not inherently good or bad; it was their actions that defined them. Similarly, the Navy had its share of corruption, tainted by the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

The Revolutionaries were the only truly righteous faction but also the weakest.

In a normal world, the World Government and Celestial Dragons would have been overthrown long ago. However, in a world where individuals could overpower nations, ordinary people stood no chance against the Celestial Dragons.

The Navy's inaction was similarly puzzling, as even a low-ranking officer could handle East Blue threats. 

"Preparing nuclear weapons for defense might be necessary." Initially dismissing the need for nuclear weapons, Daniel now saw their potential against powerful individuals in this world.

Nuclear weapons could level the playing field, even against formidable opponents like the Yonko. 

"Gathering nuclear weapons is now a priority." While he wouldn't use them lightly, the presence of a strong deterrent was essential.

In the face of nuclear weapons, ancient weapons like Pluton were insignificant. Even Jericho missiles from Stark Industries could achieve similar results.

Nuclear weapons, however, would not be Daniel's first resort. Resolving the Celestial Dragon issue required more subtlety, as eliminating them might not solve the underlying problems.

Daniel's goal was to grow stronger, not to play savior. He didn't intervene in Ready Player One's world and had no intention of saving the One Piece world.

His primary aim was to gain power. Once strong enough, dealing with Imu and the Celestial Dragons would be straightforward.

"Haki, huh? Which side should I join—Navy or Revolutionaries?"

Learning Haki meant joining a faction. Pirates were not an option, as Haki was rarely taught and only gained through deadly battles. The Navy and Revolutionaries offered systematic training.

If not for hidden Navy agendas, pirates wouldn't reach the New World. Even a few strong officers could block their passage.

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