East Blue.
Conomi Islands.
At a makeshift dock just outside Cocoyasi Village, a small ship with a ram figurehead was moored.
Atop its mast flew a red flag, bearing the image of a yellow windmill.
From a distance, the yellow windmill seemed to spin endlessly, radiating warmth and joy.
It was the Pseudo-Merry.
No—now it was the Freedom.
Kouta and his four companions were already up early, standing by the railing and looking back toward Cocoyasi Village.
The villagers, too drunk from last night's celebration, were still fast asleep. Judging by the looks of it, none would be waking up until noon.
Although Kouta's group had also drunk a fair amount, their bodies were far more conditioned than the average villager's, so they had sobered up quickly by morning.
"Not saying goodbye?"
Kuina gazed toward the village with a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
This was the first time she had ever felt such joy.
It was a joy different from the thrill of becoming stronger—it was a kind of happiness that filled both body and soul with fulfillment.
Kouta reached out and ruffled Kuina's hair, then looked toward the village, his face soft with a smile.
"There's nothing that needs saying. This place is just one beautiful memory in our journey."
"And our journey has only just begun. It's time to head for the unknown, for new adventures."
"Trust me, we'll find even greater joys and fulfillment on the road ahead."
As he spoke, a glimmer of regret flickered in his eyes.
If he had one regret, it was not getting to meet Nami.
She was probably out there right now, somewhere on the seas, caught in a desperate fight aboard some pirate ship.
"Mhm. I've always believed in you, Kouta."
Kuina looked up at him, her eyes full of hope.
The other three—Ahua, Aro, and Ato—nodded enthusiastically.
They all believed that countless wonders and kindhearted people awaited them on the adventure ahead.
Kouta turned his gaze to the sea.
With energy and excitement, his voice rang out.
"All right, everyone—raise the sails of the Freedom! Our adventure begins now!"
…
One day after leaving the Conomi Islands, the rush of excitement faded, and they returned to their usual rhythm.
Kouta resumed his daily sunbathing at the bow.
He'd basically stopped training by now.
Ordinary training gear was useless for him at this stage.
All he could do was pour his Armament Haki into the void without restraint, hoping to increase its quality and range.
Kuina spent most of her time training—just like Zoro on the Going Merry.
The rest of the time, she sat at the bow sipping tea, reading the newspaper, or chatting with Kouta while basking in the sun.
As for Ahua and the others, they were either in the kitchen or lounging on the deck, joking around and killing time.
Such was the boredom of the open sea. Only the mysterious islands scattered across it could reignite their energy.
Suddenly, from the crow's nest, Aro shouted down while peering through a telescope.
"Ship at twelve o'clock! Pirate vessel spotted!"
The moment he shouted, everyone on board perked up.
Out on the dull, endless ocean, there was still one kind of entertainment.
And that, of course, was running into other pirate crews!
Since both were small sailing ships, they closed the distance quickly and soon met at sea.
Ahua held a stack of bounty posters in his hand, flipping through them rapidly before stopping on one that didn't stand out much.
He looked up again, confirming the pirate flag, then pushed up his glasses and said calmly,
"Mad Bull Pirates. Captain: Coolby Rudd."
"Bounty: 15 million Berries."
Then he pulled out a stack of newspapers from behind him, selected one, and read aloud,
"According to reports from a few months ago, Coolby Rudd is a rookie pirate who only set out recently."
"A rookie pirate?"
Kouta rubbed his chin, then spoke thoughtfully.
"For a newbie to have a 15 million bounty from the start, either he's very strong, or he's done something incredibly cruel."
A cold gleam flashed in his eyes.
Clearly, he leaned toward the latter.
In the East Blue, where the average bounty was less than 10 million, someone getting a starting bounty this high could only mean one of two things.
After all, even Don Krieg only had a 17 million bounty.
He looked at Ahua and signaled for him to continue.
Ahua scanned the article and added,
"Though he's only been at sea for a few months, he's already raided six small towns."
"Hmm!"
At that moment, Ahua's eyes lit up, and his tone turned urgent.
"After every raid, he transforms into a massive, long-haired minotaur and rampages through the towns he plunders."
"That's how he earned the nickname 'Mad Bull.'"
"A minotaur?"
"Don't tell me… he's a Devil Fruit user?"
Aro and Ato had initially shown little interest in the so-called captain of the Mad Bull Pirates.
After all, it wasn't their job to deal with him.
But the moment they heard he might be a Devil Fruit user, their faces lit up with excitement.
A real Devil Fruit user!
This would be their first time encountering one!
What they didn't realize, though, was that they had already met Devil Fruit users before.
One of them was the Okama King, Emporio Ivankov.
Ivankov had eaten the Horm-Horm Fruit, making him a miracle man.
His powers allowed him to manipulate body temperature, pigmentation, growth, and emotions, reshaping the human body from within—even changing genders to create "new humans," or okama.
If he had actually used his Devil Fruit powers during that battle with Kouta, the fight probably would have ended even faster.
Another one was Inazuma, the man-woman who followed Ivankov everywhere—also known as "Lightning."
Inazuma was a new human, transformed by Ivankov's ability.
He had eaten the Snip-Snip Fruit, turning him into a scissors person.
His power allowed any part of his body to become scissors capable of cutting anything.
And whatever he cut could be folded and used like fabric for a limited time.
So far, it wasn't confirmed if he could cut living beings the same way he could cut the ground.
If he could, that ability would be incredibly overpowered.
Unlike the Op-Op Fruit, which could cut and then restore bodies, the Snip-Snip Fruit purely destroyed what it cut.
If it could affect living beings, it would make killing far too easy.
Let's just hope that kind of power is limited otherwise, it'd be downright broken.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!