Nami quickly picked up Allen's wanted poster. It had changed, and now it showed an image of him as he faced Garp.

"Was it really that dangerous?" Nami asked.

The orange-haired girl looked at Allen with concern. She had never seen that expression on him before. It was as if he had been prepared to die at that moment.

"It was nothing." Allen smiled. "That old man never stood a chance. You know what they say, the new generations always surpass the old ones, haha."

His self-satisfied, arrogant expression, tinged with egocentrism, somehow calmed the girls down, except for Uta, who looked at Allen in silence.

Hina and Tashigi also remained silent. It was a blatant lie. Even if Garp were old, missing a hand or a foot, or even blind, he would still be a walking natural disaster. Facing him was a death sentence for anyone who wasn't at the top of the world.

'I see...' Hina thought before smiling faintly.

Tashigi looked away and snorted, though her opinion of Allen improved, a little. Just a little.

"That's enough." Allen grabbed the newspaper and folded it shut. He had seen enough and could already anticipate how things would be from now on. "We need to grow stronger..."

He was aware that, once again, his new bounty was exaggerated. He didn't have the level of a 300 million berry pirate. It wasn't that he was weak, but he was like a glass cannon. He could use powers far beyond his base strength through the combination of the Fist of Love and the Gura Gura, but afterward, he would be left completely exhausted.

He had accomplished that feat by catching Garp by surprise, but trying to replicate it now that people knew more about him and his abilities was dangerous.

The girls exchanged glances. They also knew the meaning behind Allen's words. He needed to become stronger. In other words, he needed money, a lot of money.

*Auge*

Interrupting everyone's thoughts, the sea suddenly swelled like a balloon before exploding outward and revealing a gigantic creature.

"What the hell?!" Tashigi shouted.

"W-what is that?!" Nami yelled.

"It's a whale..." Nojiko gasped.

"No, no, no. Whales aren't that big," Uta said, denying reality with a pale face.

"This is bad. We need to get away or it'll sink us!" Hina exclaimed.

Whales were enormous creatures, but this one was more than ten times larger, like four or five football fields lined up together!

"What are you doing?! Nami, take the helm! Uta, go check on Kaya and make sure she doesn't get hurt! Raise the sails to full speed!" Allen shouted. "The rest of you, hold on to something!"

"Understood!" Nami ran and grabbed the wheel.

The rest of the girls, including Hina and Tashigi, quickly obeyed.

Allen stood on the ship's railing, clenched his fist, and punched the air.

"Gura Gura... Lv. 2!"

The air shattered like glass upon impact, and a shockwave struck the wave created by the whale's appearance, destroying it.

[This is the Grand Line. We can't let our guard down.]

"Yeah," he said seriously.

Allen prepared himself to use the Gura Gura at level four if necessary should the whale attack them, but to his surprise, the whale ignored them and continued on its way. It seemed to be heading toward the Red Line.

"Are we safe?" Nami asked. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Everyone shared the same confused expression. The whale had simply ignored them. A collective sigh of relief escaped the crew, though someone was dissatisfied.

"Stupid whale, how dare you ignore my glory?!" Allen shouted.

Everyone watched as he aimed a cannon at the whale to fire at it. Left with no other option, the girls jumped on Allen to stop him from picking a fight with such a monster for no reason.

"Let me go! Can't you see I can beat it easily?!"

It took them a full minute to calm Allen down, and by the time they succeeded, they were exhausted.

"Sorry," Allen said. "I lost my composure."

Allen stood up with his arms crossed and a distant, thoughtful look on his face. It almost seemed like a joke that he had been acting full of anger moments ago because the whale had ignored him.

Hina walked over to Nojiko, who was sitting on the floor catching her breath, and offered her a hand.

"How should I put it... my condolences," Hina said.

Nojiko laughed.

"Well, our captain had to have at least one flaw."

"You have an impulsive guy as your captain..." Tashigi mocked.

Allen frowned before poking Tashigi's neck with a finger and using his Freezing Skill.

"Ah! What are you doing?!"

"Don't forget you're still a hostage. Show some respect," Allen huffed.

Tashigi gritted her teeth. All the respect she had felt for Allen while climbing Reverse Mountain went straight to hell.

"Next time we need to be more alert. This isn't the East Blue anymore," Nojiko said while wiping the cold sweat from her forehead.

Allen remained silent.

'Lenalee, didn't you say there was a way for the girls to level up faster?'

[Huh? Ah... well, it's only a possibility I discovered after observing the process of transferring a level to someone else... but... it's complicated...]

Lenalee hesitated to speak. She even gave Allen the impression that she was embarrassed.

'What's wrong?'

[Well, when you transfer a level, you connect with them both physically and spiritually for a moment...]

'I see. And?'

[>///< Idiot... It's just that if you increased the strength of that bond, both spiritually and physically, the process could become much faster!]

Allen was stunned for a moment before opening his eyes in disbelief.

Increase the physical bond? That was easy enough to understand. In short, it meant much more direct physical contact between both parties. That alone was already scandalous. But increasing the spiritual bond implied something more, didn't it?

Allen's mind, which remembered nothing but his life in this world, was suddenly filled with two words that seemed to come from the wisdom of a past life.

'Something like dual cultivation?'

[Pervert!]

'Give me a break! I'm the pure soul here. You're the one who suggested something like that!'

The girls quickly noticed Allen's strange and uncomfortable expression and couldn't help approaching him.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked.

Allen looked into Nami's bright eyes, and his gaze drifted toward her lips. It lowered toward her chest, and before it could go any further, he quickly looked away.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about what I should do first after taking the Empty Throne. Maybe I'll scold the Marines for turning a blind eye to so many things~" he joked to change the subject.

The girls were speechless. Was that really what he was thinking about right now?!

Meanwhile, Hina frowned while Tashigi lowered her head slightly. Somehow, they were grateful they weren't wearing their uniforms at the moment.

"Would you really do that?" Hina asked while looking at Allen.

No emotions could be seen in her eyes. It sounded like a simple, casual question.

Allen pushed the thoughts of dual cultivation aside and looked at Hina with a teasing smile.

"It's true. I'm a very selfish person and a pirate, so I'll steal the world and change the things I find unpleasant... among them, those World Nobles should disappear."

"...!"

"...!"

Hina and Tashigi widened their eyes, stunned by those words that didn't contain even a trace of falsehood.

Did this selfish man really intend to eliminate the Celestial Dragons? Did he have any idea what those words implied? It was even worse than declaring war on the world.

"I know what you're thinking. You can laugh. I would too if I were you. In fact, sometimes I think I really do have a screw loose." He chuckled.

Hina fell silent. She didn't know how to respond. She was only a captain. Even if she knew about the horrible things the World Nobles did with the permission of the World Government and the Marines, she couldn't change anything. The best she could do was perform her duty, arrest pirates and criminals, and maybe make the world a little better.

The same was true for Tashigi. In the end, Marine justice was a hypocritical speech, but deep down it was all they could do.

"You're going to get yourself killed..." Hina clenched her teeth. "Not just you. All these girls will die with you, or worse!"

"No."

Allen looked at Hina with a gaze full of certainty and absolute conviction.

"I will never let that happen. That's not up for discussion!"

Silence, disbelief, and surprise filled the air once again.

Hina sighed.

"You're too greedy. You want the world and you want to protect your crew too?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'm the most selfish person in the world. I plan to take the world without losing anything."

Hina couldn't help laughing.

As for the rest of the girls, they couldn't even speak because their faces had turned completely red.

What was wrong with this guy? How could he say such embarrassing things without even flinching? Even a love confession would have been less embarrassing.

"That's enough!" Uta said.

She clapped her hands and ended the conversation. Walking between Hina and Tashigi, she approached Allen and placed a hand on his chest before smiling.

"Kaya-san is fine. She almost hit her head because of the shaking. Good thing you remembered her~"

"Of course. Letting our healer get hurt is a rookie mistake in any RPG."

The girls laughed, easing the tension. They had no idea what an RPG was, but Allen always said strange things from time to time.

This image of the crew made Tashigi wonder whether they really were pirates.

BOOM

A thunderous sound shook the sky, causing everyone to turn toward the Red Line.

What they saw was unbelievable.

The enormous whale was ramming the Red Line as if it wanted to bring it down.

Its strength was so immense that the vibrations spread through the sea, and each impact sounded like thunder. Yet no matter how miraculous the whale was, the Red Line was the wall that divided the world. It wasn't something anyone could tear down.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Despite how impossible it seemed, the whale continued ramming it without stopping.

"What is it doing?" Uta asked curiously.

"Maybe it holds a grudge against the Red Line?" Nojiko suggested, though she didn't believe her own words.

"Who knows. Everyone has their own problems," Allen said before shifting his attention from the whale to a small vessel in the distance.

After unfolding the parchment, he spotted a red dot, indicating that whoever was aboard had at least the minimum level of possible threat. Of course, the minimap wasn't infallible. Sometimes it could mark people or objects in red even if they weren't enemies, simply because they harbored ill intentions, even if those intentions weren't directed at Allen.

There were two people and a large animal aboard. The strange thing was that they seemed to be heading directly toward the whale.

Hina and Tashigi looked at the parchment with curiosity. Naturally, they didn't react as though they had seen a ghost. Hina possessed a body capable of creating cages and shackles, while Tashigi's captain literally had a body made of smoke, so it wasn't that absurd.

The rest of the girls noticed that Allen wasn't hiding the parchment's existence from the two women, but they didn't question their captain.

"Just what I needed... a prey." Allen smiled.

Hina and Tashigi blinked, suddenly remembering that while Allen was different from other pirates, he was still a pirate.

Bang

Allen vanished and reappeared on the left-side railing of the ship, where a grappling harpoon was mounted.

Wait, that was there? Everyone thought.

Of course, Lenalee had created it at Allen's request. Even though they were still short on money, they had the funds Uta and Nojiko had acquired from the Marine base. It wasn't much, only ten million berries.

Allen aimed at the boat and fired the harpoon.

The harpoon struck perfectly, startling everyone aboard.

"KWEHH!" the animal cried.

"Ah!" the woman screamed.

"What's happening?!" the man shouted before noticing the harpoon and turning toward the Black Pearl. "Pirates?! Damn it!"

His expression darkened. They had been so focused on the whale that they hadn't noticed it. This was dangerous.

"Miss Wednesday, cut the rope!"

The girl known as Miss Wednesday pulled out a knife and tried to cut the grappling rope, but it was far too tough. It wasn't an ordinary rope.

"I can't, Mr. 9!" she exclaimed.

Before they had time to think, the rope tightened and began pulling the boat toward the Black Pearl.

Mr. 9 drew a pistol, aimed, and fired, but unexpectedly it only left a mark on the rope.

"What is this thing made of?!" Mr. 9 growled.

A shadow appeared in front of them.

It was Allen. He had stepped onto the rope and used Soru to reach them.

Mr. 9 aimed his weapon at Allen and tried to shoot, but Allen was faster. A kick knocked the gun from his hand, and another struck his neck, knocking him unconscious.

"You!" the girl shouted angrily.

Miss Wednesday pulled out a whip and attacked.

Allen caught it without even looking at her and, with a simple tug, took it away.

At that moment, the animal—a giant yellow duck—quacked and charged at Allen. He stopped it by placing a single finger on the horse-sized duck's beak.

"Karoo, get away from him!"

Karoo obeyed his owner, who then began performing a rather peculiar dance.

She had blue hair and blue eyes, even lighter than Nojiko's. Her body was curvy, and her outfit was quite unusual, especially the spiral patterns decorating the clothing over her chest.

She was a beautiful young woman who tied her hair into a ponytail. However, Allen felt that neither the hairstyle nor the outfit suited her. With a dress and her hair down, she would be at least five times more beautiful.

The girl, whose real name was Vivi, noticed that Allen was staring at her without attacking, so she used her special hypnosis technique, a combination of her dance and a special drug she released.

Allen remained completely calm, showing no reaction whatsoever. His eyes were tranquil, and a faint smile of absolute confidence rested on his face.

"..."

Vivi blushed without understanding why.

No, she knew why.

The young man standing before her was absurdly handsome. If her life hadn't been in danger, she might not have been able to avoid looking away.

'How much longer are you going to resist?! Just fall already!' she screamed internally.

Vivi grew more and more embarrassed, yet Allen showed no signs of falling under her hypnosis. Still, since defeating him by force was impossible, it remained her only option.

"Wait," Allen said, raising a hand.

Vivi stopped dancing, confused.

Then Allen's next action nearly made her stumble.

The shameless man grabbed a supply barrel nearby and sat down on it before looking at her with interest.

"You may continue, beautiful lady~" the scoundrel said.

'@#&$!'

Vivi suddenly wanted to punch Allen.

That guy was clearly making fun of her. With no other choice, she glanced at Mr. 9 and knew it was over for him. She gave a signal to her giant duck, and both of them jumped into the sea.

[Now that's persistence.]

Allen didn't chase them immediately. Instead, he stood up, walked to the edge of the boat, and looked out over the sea.

"I know those eyes. They're the eyes of someone who has something they need to do, even at the cost of their life. For a criminal, she's interesting."

[Just tell the truth. You think she's pretty. You're going to kidnap her like the other two and force her into your crew.]

"What are you talking about? When did I ever do that? Hina and Tashigi are temporary hostages."

[Sure. Is that why you even gave them a room?]

"No. I was just showing a little humanity. Just because they're hostages doesn't mean they have to suffer."

[...]

"You know what? Never mind."

Allen dove into the sea as well.

Once in the water, he smiled in the direction where Vivi and Karoo were swimming.

Skill: Fish-Man Swimming.

The third of the eight Skills Allen had acquired was Arlong's ability to swim at speeds unimaginable for a human being.

In an instant, his feet pushed against the water and he shot forward like a torpedo. It took him just a second to catch up to her.

Both she and her duck opened their mouths in disbelief, swallowing water and immediately losing consciousness.

...

"..." Nami stared at Allen with empty eyes as he landed on the ship carrying Vivi in his arms.

"We need to find out what they were doing..." Allen said.

That sounded more like an excuse under the accusing stares of the women aboard.

"Kaya," Allen called.

Kaya, who had already woken up, sighed and walked over to him. Puffing out her cheeks, she glared at him before checking Vivi's condition. Fortunately, the girl was fine. She had only lost consciousness.

"What do you plan to do with the other two?" Uta asked mischievously.

Mr. 9 and the duck named Karoo were still in the small boat now docked beside the Black Pearl.

"Well, I was thinking of throwing the guy into the sea, and as for the duck... it would make a pretty good dinner."

"No!" Vivi shouted.

She opened her eyes in panic, only to meet Allen's teasing gaze and realize she had been tricked into revealing that she had been pretending to be unconscious.

"Well then, Miss Wednesday, can you tell me who you are and why your name sounds like something from a criminal organization?"

Vivi looked around at the crew aboard the ship and smiled bitterly.

Escape was impossible.

So she raised her hands.

"I surrender. I'm Miss Wednesday, a member of Baroque Works."

Allen smiled warmly and placed a hand on Vivi's shoulder.

"Well then, Miss Wednesday, congratulations. You've been promoted to the rank of hostage. Feel honored."

"Huh?"

Vivi blinked and felt a strange chill run down her spine.

What kind of person had she ended up in the hands of?!

====

We have to be efficient: first step, "pick up" pretty girls; second step, "dual cultivation"; third step, conquer the world. Sounds simple. 🍷🗿

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