Chapter 14: Farewell

A few days later, the undulating coastline finally appeared before everyone's eyes, and most of them breathed a sigh of relief.

As a deep-sea trading three-masted sailboat, the Pirate Penta was naturally equipped with several small boats. Although these small boats could only carry seven or eight people each, it was enough to transport the remaining passengers.

"Please take your luggage and don't forget any belongings."

"You guys, help to receive the gentlemen—"

Under Rosinante's command, the passengers descended into the small boats along the ropes.

Although they weren't directly taken to the Free Port, it was no problem to row over the remaining distance.

Besides, the sailors were handling the oars, not the passengers.

Soon, all the people on the ship were in the small boats:

The passengers naturally didn't have any extra thoughts, and the sailors, feeling the chilling aura from Doflamingo and tempted by the multiple times the wages offered by Rosinante, swiftly and skillfully carried out their tasks. Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning anything about the "Pirate Penta."

Isn't living on good terms enough?

"Rosinante Nandi, you..."

As the others had already left, the little girl standing at the ship's rail turned her head. The pink hood was lowered, revealing a head of black hair, and her young face showed a complicated expression.

"...The next time we meet, it might be on the battlefield, right?"

One had Doflamingo sitting on a keg of gunpowder, playing with matches in his hand;

The other had Gekiyu standing with a look of regret, speaking about facing each other with swords drawn.

"What are you thinking?"

Casually shaking his finger, Rosinante denied the girl's speculation.

"Don't worry, I won't become a pirate."

Even in this era of the Great Age of Pirates, how could Rosinante's goal be limited to mere pirates?

Forget about the Seven Warlords, the Four Emperors, even the Pirate King was not enough!

"Then why don't you come with me—"

Placing his finger on Gekiyu's lips, Rosinante sighed regretfully.

"Although I won't become a pirate, I also don't want to be bound by others."

Besides, theoretically, the Marines worked for the Celestial Dragons. Rosinante and Doflamingo, two "Celestial Dragons," joining the Marines—could there be anything more ironic than that?

"Well then, farewell."

Although they had only spent a short ten days together, Rosinante had learned a lot of basic knowledge from Gekiyu.

The diligent "student" had also impressed the little teacher. Well, there were also various stories about him...

Gently pushing her, Rosinante bid farewell with a smile.

"To borrow someone's words: As long as we are still on this sea, we will meet again someday!"

...

"Little Gekiyu, don't be sad."

The sailors rowed the boats, and the three small boats headed towards the Free Port.

At the stern, a little girl wearing a pink cape looked at the Pirate Penta, which had begun to turn around, wondering what was on her mind.

"There's an old saying in the Flower Country: 'Different paths do not converge.'"

The scruffy swordsman walked to the little girl's side and also looked up at the departing merchant ship.

"They are not of the same kind as us. Rosinante may be fine, but his brother with the sunglasses..."

The scruffy swordsman furrowed his brows, and Doflamingo gave him the feeling of a slowly smoking volcano that could erupt into a devastating natural disaster at any moment!

"And have you thought about it, if the ship entered the harbor, those two brothers would immediately become penniless beggars again."

"They won't give up the opportunity to have a ship."

If the passengers and sailors had objections, those two kids would undoubtedly stir up another bloodbath.

Actually, during these ten days, the scruffy swordsman had been meticulously inspecting the food and water, carefully guarding against any sudden hostile actions from the two "innocent" kids.

However, the Marines' position prevented him from taking action against the two little children in advance.

Now, this outcome was not bad; everyone was going their separate ways. As for the future, who could say for sure?

"Why don't you become a Marine with me? I can take care of him... both of them."

This statement made the scruffy swordsman roll his eyes. Although Little Gekiyu sometimes behaved very maturely, she was still just a little girl.

At such a young age, she already wanted to take care of men?

"Just like your dream is to become an Admiral," the scruffy swordsman crouched down and patted the little girl's shoulder, explaining, "Their dreams must also be very ambitious. Such people will not be satisfied with being under the Marine system."

He just hoped that they wouldn't become major villains.

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"Rosinante, raise the fore-and-aft sails!"

One by one, the sails caught the wind, swelling with fullness, propelling the ship to accelerate and swiftly sail through the sea with the wind, like a graceful and elegant grey and white flying fish, leaving the newly departed kingdom's warship behind.

"Fufufu, this is our ship—"

Steering the ship, Doflamingo couldn't help but laugh. The Donquixote Family had finally taken their first step.

"Well, this is the taste of 'freedom,' huh?"

Controlling the sails with the ropes, Rosinante chuckled. Although he had stopped Doflamingo from poisoning the passengers, he hadn't let his guard down against them.

After all, they were just two kids, and their age and height were disadvantages.

If it weren't for their reputation from the battle with the seafarers and Gekiyu's closeness to them, there might have been a second conflict on the ship.

The strong sea breeze allowed the medium-sized North Sea three-masted sailboat to glide gracefully and elegantly at high speed through the sea, leaving behind the smoke-spewing factories and entering the headlines of the newspaper: "Piles of Scrap Iron, Whose Fault Is It?"

This world was composed of numerous islands, and even the majority of countries in the Four Blues were vast islands.

In addition to some "historical reasons," the technological disparities in this world were enormous!

Some countries still retained primitive fishing and hunting societies, some had entered the late stages of the Industrial Revolution, and there were even high-tech islands that had inherited advanced technology capable of creating artificial intelligence.

Combined with the division of the seas and the influence of Devil Fruits, there were all sorts of wonders and oddities.

Due to the existence of the Vinsmoke Family, the North Blue's technological level was much higher than the other three seas, with various factories emitting smoke and even news of attempts to build "steel warships."

"Our destination: Spadar Miles, is a production base with a large number of foundries."

There, they produced various metal parts, gears... and firearms!

"Understood, our ship is loaded with ore from the Grand Line and can find good buyers in that city."

"At the same time, we can obtain weapons and recruit manpower there!"

Facing the easygoing Doflamingo, Rosinante nodded.

"Moreover, we need to establish a base there, and if possible, have our own factory!"

"Why?"

Facing Doflamingo's confusion, Rosinante extended his finger.

"Although I said I won't become a pirate, those who sail on the sea can be divided into several types."

"The first type is the simple pirates."

"They recklessly command a ship and dare to go out to sea with a skull flag. They roam the sea, waiting for merchant ships or attacking villages along the coastline..."

This type is the most foolish and also the most numerous on the sea.

They get whatever they can, and the plundered goods can only pile up on deserted islands, waiting to rot. They cannot be exchanged for cash or military supplies, and the pirate groups being chased by the Marines run around aimlessly and are not even as good as stray dogs; at most, they are nothing more than a bunch of headless flies.

"The second type is the pirates that collude with noble families or even the Marines."

These pirate groups generally have their own "sphere of influence." They don't act within this sphere but instead obtain detailed information about passing ships on prosperous routes through their colluding partners, and then they intercept them for specific purposes.

Through their partners, they can obtain material supplies, target information, medical support, and the plundered spoils can be converted into Beli. At the same time, these pirate groups might even control certain villages, extorting "protection fees" and becoming local tyrants.

After accumulating to a certain extent, these pirates could even undergo a magnificent transformation and become nobles, enjoying glory and wealth!

"So, what about the third type?"

Although the second type had its allure to Doflamingo, his intuition told him that there was an even better third option.

"The third type is to establish your own kingdom and become a 'legitimate' pirate crew."

"Many pirate crews are notorious outlaws on the outside, warmongering peddlers destined for hell. But when they return to their own countries, they are welcomed as heroes, honored with high-ranking titles, and some even have captains who are the kings themselves."

These 'pirates' no longer cared about 'plundering.' Their targets were cities and countries.

They were the 'spear' of the kingdom!

And the kingdom was their solid 'shield'!

Just like the future Seven Warlords, Four Emperors, and the 'X-Bao Navy' of the Flower Kingdom... their influence was not just limited to ships and strong individuals; it included all kinds of networks, lands, and populations.

These things allowed them to maintain a strong force and numerous manpower. Even if they suffered a setback, they had the opportunity to rise again and had places to heal their wounds.

As for the future Straw Hat Pirates... they could only be considered adventurers.

Flying the skull flag, they didn't rob or steal from anyone they passed, and they even paid for their meals?!

Are they really pirates?

They sailed the seas and defeated various pirate crews along the way, outperforming the Marine Headquarters. They even took down two Emperors that the Marines had struggled against for decades, all in one go!

Are they really pirates?

One could say they were tricked by that Red-Haired Emperor; otherwise, Luffy would have become the "Pirate King" a long time ago...

"Understand now?"

Facing Doflamingo's eager expression under the sunglasses, Rosinante pointed to the newspaper in his hand.

"We'll establish a logistics base in Spadar Miles, develop our forces around it, and train and improve our strength. Speaking of which, I wish I had eaten... the Swallow-Swallow Fruit."

If he had eaten the Swallow-Swallow Fruit, he'd become a one-man alloy processing plant!

If he could synthesize "Wapometal," his strength would skyrocket to the point where he could enter the New World.

"Very well, then..."

After listening to Rosinante's analysis, Doflamingo turned the helm.

"Spadar Miles shall be the first destination for the Donquixote Family!"

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(End of this chapter)