One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

This question stumped Maude for a moment.

At first, his thoughts were simple: get stronger quickly and gain the capital to survive.

He understood very well.

In this dog-eat-dog world of the strong preying on the weak, if you don't want to end up as someone else's prey, you must become stronger than everyone else.

But does having such a clear goal count as a dream?

Maude wasn't sure. Suddenly, a phrase came to mind:

To live, one must eat.

And if you're going to eat, you might as well eat well.

How do you achieve that?

By becoming powerful enough to do whatever you want.

After mulling it over, Maude turned his gaze from Sunny's profile to the starlit sky and smiled. "Does doing whatever you want count as a dream?"

Sunny pondered for a moment before nodding. "It counts. I remember Sol saying something similar."

"What did he say?"

"If you can't do what you want, what's the point of going out to sea?"

"That doesn't sound like something he'd say."

"Hmm, maybe he heard it from somewhere else."

"Haha."

The two chatted idly back and forth.

Nearby, Bailey was fast asleep, drooling all over the ground.

Lafitte sat quietly on a rock, sipping goat's milk wine brewed by Gaya. Every so often, he glanced toward Maude and Sunny, as if eavesdropping.

Gaya, sitting by the campfire, remained silent but clearly overheard Maude and Sunny's conversation.

"Pirates, huh..."

She muttered to herself.

From the moment she could remember, every pirate she'd encountered was the kind of scum who came to Monmon Island to pillage and plunder.

Even the ones she read about in the newspapers were all bad news.

So she despised pirates.

Even though Gaban had been a pirate, it didn't change her views.

But Gaya wasn't one to paint everyone with the same brush.

At the very least, she didn't dislike Sol and his crew.

If she had to pick one exception...

Her eyes subtly darted to Lafitte.

There was something about this man that didn't sit well with her, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Lafitte, ever perceptive, noticed Gaya's fleeting glance. He merely smiled and paid it no mind.

The night passed.

The next day, under Sol's supervision, Maude resumed his daily training.

Sol's expression was calm, as if last night's emotional outburst had never happened.

Even so, he knew there was no erasing the embarrassing scene of his tear-streaked face from memory.

On the grassy plains, Maude trained tirelessly, sweat pouring off him.

Bailey trained alongside Maude. Since his successful weight loss, he seemed to have turned over a new leaf, taking training seriously.

Perhaps he had come to appreciate the benefits of a stronger body...

By noon, Gaya arrived with lunch in hand, as usual.

Famished, Maude and Bailey devoured the meal like wolves.

Before long, they polished off every last bite of the nutrient-rich lunch Gaya had brought.

Once Gaya left, Maude glanced at the contented Bailey sprawled on the grass.

"Sol, do you think a creature like Bailey could learn Haki?"

Bailey's ears twitched at the mention of his name.

Sol pondered for a moment before replying, "In theory, it's possible."

"Oh?"

Maude nodded.

Hearing this, Bailey perked up, visibly excited.

Still, he preferred techniques like Moonwalk. After all, they were great for escaping.

After a short break, Maude and Bailey returned to training.

Back at the base, Sunny continued learning navigation techniques from Lafitte.

Since deciding to join the Revolutionary Army, Sunny's enthusiasm for physical training had waned noticeably.

She wanted to be an intelligence officer, so she shifted her focus to knowledge over strength.

Besides, she wasn't cut out to be a fighter anyway.

With nothing else to do, Gaya occasionally sat in to listen.

Watching Lafitte teach navigation with clear and structured explanations, she found herself revising her opinion of him somewhat.

Time passed day by day.

Five months later.

On the plains, the sound of air bursts echoed frequently.

Sol and Gaban sat on a rock, watching Maude zigzag through the air with Moonwalk.

After five months, Maude had finally mastered the technique.

He could now change direction mid-air with ease, making the skill viable for combat.

Watching Maude ascend toward the mountaintop, Sol remarked, "He's a month ahead of schedule."

Gaban sighed. "Time flies."

"Yeah."

Sol nodded and said softly, "It's time for him to set sail..."

Gaban chuckled, tempted to tease him but ultimately held back.

At the mountaintop, Maude stood at the cliff's edge, eyes closed, savoring the wind against his face.

Perhaps it was human nature, but using Moonwalk gave a profound sense of freedom.

For that alone, the time spent mastering the technique felt worthwhile.

After a moment, he opened his eyes.

In the distance, a News Coo diligently flapped its wings toward him.

"Today's the weekly delivery, huh?"

Watching the bird, Maude couldn't help but smile.

Boom! Boom!

Using Moonwalk, he leapt into the air to meet the News Coo.

Startled by the sight of a human "walking" through the air, the bird squawked in alarm.

Recognizing Maude, it relaxed a little.

"Thanks for the paper."

Maude reached into the bird's satchel and pulled out a newspaper.

The News Coo squawked indignantly, seemingly demanding payment.

Though he couldn't understand, Maude got the gist.

"Go find Sunny for it."

Leaving the bird hanging, he stopped using Moonwalk and let himself fall back to the ground, disappearing from the bird's sight.

Resigned, the News Coo continued its journey toward the base, worrying it might lose out on payment.

Landing smoothly, Maude began skimming the newspaper.

The front page was, once again, about pirates.

"Fire Fist Ace, again?"

Glancing at the headline, Maude noted Ace's photo.

The story detailed Ace's recent exploits as the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, defeating numerous foes on behalf of the crew.

There was also a teaser for an upcoming event—the Reverie, set to take place in just over a month.

"Finished reading?"

Sol's voice called from ahead.

"Almost."

Though Maude hadn't finished, he had grasped the main points.

"Then bring it here."

"Got it."

Maude handed the paper to Sol.

Spreading it open, Sol scanned the contents.

"Huh? Fire Fist Ace on the front page again?"

"Click-click."

Gaban glanced over and clicked his tongue.

Maude watched their reactions silently.

Neither of them knew Ace was Roger's son.

And they wouldn't.

If they had, they wouldn't have stood idly by during Ace's execution in the original timeline.

"Should I tell them? Nah..."

Maude decided against it.

Even if they believed him, explaining how he knew would be tricky.

Waiting for Sol to finish, Maude spoke earnestly, "Sol, I've mastered Moonwalk."

Sol understood the unspoken request immediately.

He set down the newspaper, meeting Maude's gaze.

After a long pause, he patted the paper lightly.

"Kid, how long before your picture's on the front page?"

-------

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON!!!

Join here: patreon.com / emperorgarus

There are more than 100 advance chapters available for you!