The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp

North Blue, Abandoned Smeltery

The scorching metallic scent lingered in the air. Tesoro swallowed the last bite of the Glim-Glim Fruit, the bitter taste making him frown. Suddenly, he felt a strange power surge within him, as if he had formed a mysterious resonance with some precious metal.

He slowly extended his right hand, his fingertips gently brushing against a nearby iron rack. To his surprise, tiny golden specks of light suddenly appeared on the surface of the rack, like dormant gold awakened by some force. These specks quickly gathered, forming a thin layer of gold foil on the rusty iron surface.

"This is..." Tesoro's voice trembled with disbelief.

He spread his fingers, and the gold foil immediately detached from the rack, flowing and reassembling in the air, finally solidifying into an exquisite gold coin that landed steadily in his palm. Sunlight streamed through the dilapidated roof, casting a dazzling glow on the coin's surface.

Tesoro gazed at the pure gold coin, a complex light shining in his eyes. "So that's how it is..." he muttered to himself. "It's not creating gold out of thin air, but awakening and manipulating the dormant gold elements within metals."

He clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing within him. Although this ability couldn't create gold from nothing, in this world, there were almost no metal veins that were completely free of gold impurities. This meant...

"Wherever there is metal, there is my gold."

A fanatical smile appeared on Tesoro's lips, but the elation was quickly suppressed. He took a deep breath, forcibly calming his racing thoughts, like a financial engine quickly returning to cool operation. He looked up at Roy, his gaze calm and sharp. "I need some startup capital, and a ship."

Roy raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face. "Not going to ask for a little more? Like an island, a merchant guild, or... a certain country's treasury?"

But Tesoro shook his head, his tone firm. "Biting off more than I can chew is not wise. Right now... I don't have the qualifications to ask for too much."

A slight smile appeared on Roy's lips, a hidden admiration in his eyes. "This kid is even calmer than I thought." To be able to immediately and soberly assess his resources and risks after just obtaining his ability, not being greedy or chaotic, and clearly judging that he did not yet have the capital to contend with the overall situation.

"Very good," Roy said softly, a new seriousness in his gaze. "Since I've brought you to the table, I'll make sure you can afford the first round." He paused, then slowly turned to look out at the dilapidated factory. "Startup capital... a ship..." he repeated in a low voice, the thoughtful look on his face quickly turning into a contemptuous curve. Suddenly, he sneered. "It seems there's a ready-made one."

"...?" Tesoro was taken aback and subconsciously took half a step back. He keenly sensed that from the strange, pleased yet sinister smile on Roy's lips, there was a very, very bad premonition. "What... are you planning?"

Roy waved his hand lightly, as if casually brushing away dust, his tone lazy but full of malicious glee. "There's a flamingo in the North Blue... seems to have left some assets here."

"Casinos, cargo ships, underground cash flow... tsk, it's a mess like an opium den. Taking any one of them would suit your taste, wouldn't it?"

"You mean..." Tesoro's gaze suddenly sharpened, and the arrogant, smug face already appeared in his mind. "Doflamingo?!"

"Are you crazy?!"

Roy grinned, his tone light. "What, are you scared?"

Tesoro was silent for a moment, then a cold curve slowly appeared on his lips. "But crazy... I like it."

Roy held out his hand, his tone relaxed but with an undeniable sense of command. "Let's go. I'll take you to get your newbie starter pack."

North Blue, Kraymira Transfer Port, Midnight

The night was as dark as ink, but the port was brightly lit. The sound of the sea lapping against the pier seemed particularly quiet in the night. A large, brightly painted pink merchant ship was docked at the edge of the port, its sail bearing the emblem of a spreading-winged flamingo—the symbol of the Donquixote Family.

On deck, a group of well-dressed but vulgar-looking pirates were on patrol. "Damn it, we've been waiting all day. Is that 'big client' coming or not?" one pirate complained.

"Shut up!" another person said in a low voice. "Do you know who's on the ship this time? It's Lord Diamante! A top executive of the Donquixote Family. You dare to complain?"

"Wh-What?!" The first man's face instantly turned pale, and he immediately fell silent.

Just then, the cabin door opened with a "click." A tall man in a cloak walked out, his blond hair falling over his shoulders, his lips curved in his usual exaggerated smile, but a hint of unease clouded his brow.

One of the top executives of the Donquixote Family: code-named "Diamante," leader of the Donquixote Family's "Fighting Group," user of the Ripple-Ripple Fruit, Diamante. He stood in the center of the deck, looking out at the distant night, and muttered to himself, "I feel like something's wrong. Why does my Observation Haki feel so suppressed... like the god of death is approaching..."

"Lord Diamante?" a pirate beside him asked cautiously.

Diamante didn't answer. His eye suddenly twitched. The next second—

"BOOM!!!"

As if the entire air had been torn apart, the entire merchant ship suddenly sank. Several pirates lost their balance and fell to the deck. And in the night sky, a tall, slender figure stood quietly on the ship's rail, his black hair blowing in the night wind, his suit fluttering in the moonlight. The man had a roguish curve on his lips, as if the entire ship were just his after-dinner entertainment.

"Good evening, little native~"

"R-Roy!!!" Diamante's pupils constricted violently, his legs trembling uncontrollably, his face pale. He never expected that this ship, instead of waiting for a "guest," would be waiting for this monster. The monster Marine who had easily suppressed Doflamingo on Minion Island and even killed Vergo with his own hands.

"Wh-what... are you doing here?" Diamante's voice trembled, and he almost instinctively retreated.

"Just picking something up," Roy said lightly, and with a gentle lift of his hand—"BANG!"—several pirates on the deck who were about to draw their swords were sent flying, without even a chance to grunt.

"I... I understand!" Diamante let out a miserable cry and actually fell to his knees with a "thud." "The ship, the money, the goods, it's all yours! Just don't kill me!" As he spoke, he tremblingly kicked out the heavy gold chest behind him, his face full of terror and humiliation.

Roy stood in the center of the deck, looking down at him, his tone lazy. "Tell Doflamingo for me..."

"He'd better give up the idea of Dressrosa, or I'll pluck his feathers one by one."

Hearing this, Diamante was shocked. "How could he know about that?!"

Noticing that Roy wasn't making any further moves, he stumbled onto a spare boat and fled in a panic, not even daring to look back.

Ten minutes later, on the deck of the flamingo merchant ship.

Inside the cabin, a heavy gold coin slowly rolled between Tesoro's fingers. The crisp sound of metal clinking echoed in the quiet night, as if playing the prelude to a new era. The cabin door was pushed open, and Tesoro walked out, carrying a heavy chest in each hand. Golden light spilled from the cracks, bathing him in a golden glow.

"A total of three hundred million Berries," he said, placing the chests steadily. "And a nearly luxuriously equipped cargo ship." His tone was calm, but the knuckles of his hand gripping the chest handle were slightly white.

"...Done." Roy was leaning against the mast, enjoying the night breeze, his expression relaxed. "Well, are you satisfied with your newbie starter pack?" he blinked, his tone half-joking.

Tesoro glanced at him, didn't answer, but his gaze went past the deck to the spare boat that had already sailed away, his brow furrowed. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, "That Diamante, he's a top executive of the Donquixote Family, right?"

"He... he didn't even dare to resist and just handed everything over?" He seemed to be talking to himself, and also trying to find an answer from Roy. He had seen the cruelty and arrogance of those people in the North Blue, but that Diamante just now had fled as if he had seen a ghost. He slowly turned to look at Roy, a new hint of inquiry in his eyes. "...Are you really a Marine?"

The question was not light, but Roy was not angry. Instead, he chuckled lightly. "Of course I am," he stretched lazily, as if he had no intention of explaining anything. "It's just that I'm doing something more important."

"And you," he pointed to the gold chests at his feet, "are a partner I specially chose."

"Good luck, future 'Gold Emperor'."

"One day, you will make them kneel willingly, and even voluntarily give up their thrones."

Tesoro looked at his roguish smile, but a complex feeling of coldness and anticipation, which he couldn't quite explain, arose in his heart. He looked down at the gold coin he had personally shaped with his ability. In the moonlight, the coin seemed to be whispering—"Let money take back everything for you."

The night wind filled the sails. The flamingo merchant ship became a silhouette, slowly sailing into the night's channel, towards an unknown future. Tesoro stood at the bow, his figure tall and straight, his grayish-green hair blowing slightly in the night, his expression calm and firm.

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