One Piece: Start by Rebuilding Kuri

At this moment, a bonfire party was in full swing on the deck of the Nightlight Pirates' ship. Thanks to their captain's abilities, the flames wouldn't harm the ship, which was why they often held such bonfire parties, earning them the name "Nightlight Pirates."

"Hahahaha, everyone, keep dancing!" The captain of the Nightlight Pirates, Harlow, sat high on his throne, flanked by two scantily clad women. He raised a bottle of rum, a favorite among pirates, and laughed heartily.

They had been in the New World for half a month now. They had heard stories about how dangerous the New World was, but after adapting to the sudden changes in weather, things had become much easier.

As for the so-called legendary pirates, they seemed overhyped.

Today's banquet was to celebrate their first battle in the New World. Their opponents were a pirate crew that had entered the New World half a year ago, but they had been defeated by the Nightlight Pirates.

Harlow had plundered all their treasures and taken the female crew members captive. The rest had been sent to the bottom of the sea with a burst of flames.

"What a great day!" Harlow gulped down his drink in one go, and the two women beside him quickly refilled his cup, swaying their hips seductively.

"The captain was so cool today! He took care of those fools with just one move!" The crew members dancing around the bonfire laughed heartily. They had their share of the plundered treasures, and once the captain was done with the women, they would get their turn.

But these were just minor pleasures. After being at sea for so long, they had experienced such things too many times. What truly excited them was the thrill of defeating their arrogant enemies!

"Those so-called 'seniors' of the New World, those underlings of Rocks, what a joke! They looked down on us, but in the end, they're just fish food now!"

Someone shouted, and the others burst into laughter.

However, there were also those who felt uneasy.

"Those guys were supposedly from the legendary Rocks Pirates. Won't there be trouble for messing with them?"

"What's there to fear? I think Rocks is just a big name with no real substance. There are plenty of people in this sea with empty reputations. Besides, they were the ones who provoked us first, trying to make us, the Nightlight Pirates, their dogs. Dream on!"

"That's right! And our captain is an invincible Logia user! No one in this world can defeat him!"

Dan, floating above on his cloud, overheard their conversation thanks to his Observation Haki.

"They actually provoked the Rocks Pirates... These frogs at the bottom of a well. I'm even reconsidering whether I should bother with them," Dan muttered, rubbing his forehead.

Rocks was constantly at war, and his pirate crew was always in need of fresh blood to replenish their ranks. To maintain his power, he often recruited famous rookies from Paradise.

For example, Kaido, currently an apprentice on Rocks' ship, was specifically recruited by him.

Kaido was born in a kingdom called Vodka. By the age of ten, he had become the strongest soldier in the country. A few years ago (actually seven years ago), the king of Vodka sold Kaido to the Marines in exchange for a seat at the World Government's summit. However, Kaido managed to escape.

At the time, Kaido's bounty was exactly the same as Harlow's current bounty: 70 million Berries.

Later, Kaido caused chaos on Hachinosu Island, and Rocks sent Whitebeard to recruit him. Now, Kaido had been an apprentice on Rocks' ship for five years.

Harlow's bounty was high enough, and as a Logia user, it was understandable that Rocks would take an interest in him. However, not just anyone could be recruited by a top-tier executive like Whitebeard.

The person who had come to recruit the Nightlight Pirates was also somewhat of a rookie, having only been in the New World for half a year and not even having learned Haki yet. Not only had he failed to show Harlow the harsh realities of the New World, but his entire crew had been sent to the bottom of the sea.

"Having their pride wounded, Rocks probably won't let this slide. But then again, maybe Rocks doesn't even care about such small fry. At the very least, he wouldn't go to war over the Nightlight Pirates."

Logia abilities could dominate in the first half of the Grand Line, but in the New World, they weren't as overpowering.

With the prevalence of Haki, the ability to turn into elements gradually became less useful. Among the future Emperors of the Sea, only Blackbeard was a Logia user.

And even then, his Logia ability wasn't a conventional one.

So, while Logia fruits had a low floor, reaching a high level of mastery depended on the user. Dan generally preferred Paramecia or Mythical Zoan fruits, but he didn't consider Logia fruits weak by any means.

Fruits like the Glint-Glint Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Magma-Magma Fruit, and Dark-Dark Fruit were all incredibly powerful.

Although the Nightlight Pirates had provoked Rocks, that had little to do with Dan. He just wanted to borrow their ship—what harm was there in that?

Moreover, while Dan didn't want to provoke a madman like Rocks, he wasn't afraid of him either. He wasn't storming Rocks' stronghold, so there was nothing to fear.

With that thought, Dan drew closer to the Nightlight Pirates. By now, Mari and Yuriko had also noticed the ship.

"Is that a pirate ship?" Mari lay on the cloud, curiously looking at the glowing ship. "It looks like it's on fire..."

"Dan-sama, are you going to deal with them?" Yuriko asked.

Before Dan could respond, Mari was already rolling up her sleeves, looking eager to jump into action.

However, Dan held her back before she could rush off.

Mari wasn't strong enough yet and hadn't mastered Haki. She had only started training recently, and this pirate crew had made it through the first half of the Grand Line to reach the New World. They weren't ordinary opponents.

"Wait here for a bit. This will be over soon," Dan said, leaving the two of them in the sky as he descended on a cloud toward the Nightlight Pirates.

Since it was already late at night and the crew was drunk, no one noticed Dan's approach.

It wasn't until Dan stood boldly at the bow of the ship that the crew finally realized his presence. They pushed the women aside and drew their swords and guns, surrounding Dan.

"Who the hell are you?!" Harlow frowned, eyeing the man warily.

He had been sitting high up but hadn't seen how the man had appeared. It was as if he had been standing among them for a long time.