The next morning, docked at Twin Swallow Island's port, a massive three-masted sailing ship stood tall—over ten meters high and a hundred meters long. On the side of the ship, bold characters read: "The Chris."
The money used to buy the ship came partly from looted pirates, and partly from traded spoils with the Navy. Of course, since Weiss had never actually set out to sea until now, the bounty had been claimed by someone else on his teacher's orders. The ship itself had even been rowed to him by others.
Thinking back to that scene—this massive ship being slowly rowed into port—Weiss couldn't help but laugh. "Rowed," huh? Sure, let's call it that.
With help from the villagers, they loaded the necessary supplies onto the ship. After some back and forth, the villagers disembarked, leaving Weiss and Kadun to board.
Standing on the deck, Weiss turned to bid farewell to the villagers of Twin Swallow Island. After all, this was the place where he'd spent the past eighteen years. This was home—his home in the pirate world.
"Weiss! Go make a name for yourself out there—we'll be watching for you in the papers!"
"Be careful, Weiss! The seas are dangerous!"
"Weiss, don't push it out there. If you can't win, just run! There's no shame in living to fight another day!"
Anger shouted from the port, waving both hands like a man possessed.
"What do you mean, run? With how strong Weiss is, they're the ones who should be running!"
Someone nearby shot back, indignant at what they felt was slander.
"Don't be ridiculous. There's always someone stronger on the sea. A little caution never hurt anyone!"
…
…
The two of them continued bickering at the dockside—but the tears glimmering in their eyes told the real story.
Watching the crowd of villagers waving their goodbyes, Weiss stood at the rail and shouted:
"Everyone—farewell! I'll come back someday!"
The ship slowly drifted away, disappearing over the horizon. Onshore, the villagers silently wiped their eyes. They had known all along that Weiss would set sail today.
On Twin Swallow Island, it was tradition: when you turned eighteen, you could finally venture out to sea and chase your destiny.
Weiss had been waiting his whole life for this day.
---
The Chris.
Weiss stood at the bow, watching as the ship sliced through the waves, sailing into the unknown. From this day forward, he would be facing a world full of powerful figures—Navy captains, pirates, Warlords of the Sea. But in time, this ocean would echo with his name, too.
Bored of staring at seagulls, Weiss dropped into a reclining chair on deck, grabbed a coconut drink from the table beside him, and began sipping contentedly under the sun.
He was someone who loved comfort—if he could enjoy himself, he absolutely wouldn't suffer needlessly.
So naturally, the ship was built to be luxurious, almost like a replica of the Thousand Sunny from the One Piece stories. Which also meant… it wasn't something that could be handled by just one or two people.
"Weiss! Can you please do something? This ship's way too big for just me to handle—I'm going insane!"
Kadun's exasperated voice came from a window above.
Since boarding the ship, Weiss had done exactly one thing: raise the sails. The rest—preparing drinks, cooking meals, cleaning the cabins, organizing supplies, steering the ship—had all fallen to Kadun.
Kadun often found himself wondering, How did I end up like this? Twice now, he'd barely escaped death, only to be caught and worked like a slave.
Worse, he had zero power to resist. The people ordering him around were far beyond his ability to challenge.
"It is my ship, isn't it?" Weiss said lazily, not even opening his eyes.
"Yeah…"
"You eat my food, wear my clothes, drink my drinks, sleep under my roof, right?"
Kadun hesitated.
"...Yeah."
"Well, maybe not the clothes. That's your own."
"…"
"Don't sweat the details. Since you eat, drink, and live off me, you should follow my lead."
"Sure, but… there are still some things I'd rather die than do."
…
"Also, don't forget—you still haven't cleared your pirate status."
"Which means technically, you're a wanted criminal. So just steer the damn ship."
Kadun fell silent. This wasn't how he imagined it. And it sure wasn't what Weiss said last night.
But… a man under someone else's roof has to lower his head.
"Ugh, what rotten luck."
Weiss ignored Kadun's grumbling. He'd just drop him off at the next island they found with people. Then he'd go capture a few pirates to help run the ship. The sea was full of people—he'd always find someone.
For now, he'd squeeze a few more days of labor out of Kadun.
But when he thought about his actual destination, Weiss groaned.
The geography of the pirate world was just… weird.
A massive Red Line circled the entire globe, splitting the world into East and West. The Grand Line ran through the equator, splitting the world into North and South, flanked on either side by the deadly Calm Belts.
At the two points where these rings intersected lay Reverse Mountain and Mary Geoise.
Between the East and South Blue lay the first half of the Grand Line—Paradise. Between the North and West Blue lay the second half—the New World.
So if Weiss wanted to get to the North Blue, he had three options:
1. Abandon his ship and ride the reverse currents down from Reverse Mountain.
2. Descend from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
3. Brave the New World and cross the Calm Belt straight into the North Blue.
Where he was now, heading north would take him to the Goa Kingdom. South would bring him toward Sabaody Archipelago, if he crossed the Calm Belt.
"Alright then. I'll head south to Sabaody first. Try to find some reliable crew. This ship's too big to sail solo."
"Navigator, cook, doctor—those are must-haves. As for combat, I'm ranked fourth in the East Blue, nearly third. As long as I don't run into total monsters, I'll be fine."
"I'll travel slowly—Twin Swallow to Loguetown, then Reverse Mountain, then Grand Line to Sabaody. After that, figure out a way to reach the North Blue."
"Giving up my ship to go down Reverse Mountain alone? Doesn't suit me. This ship's too nice to throw away. I've still got four years to take care of that business anyway."
Satisfied, Weiss tossed the map aside and took another swig of coconut juice. He had tons of it stored below with the alcohol—enough for half a year if he drank one a day.
And as for training in every spare moment like Zoro from the manga? Absolutely not. He'd trained nonstop for twelve years. It was time for a break.
If Weiss wanted to grow stronger now, he needed real battles—fights against the truly powerful.
"Hey, is the ship drifting off course? Why does the wind feel so weak? We're not heading into the Calm Belt, are we?"
He shouted upward, but got no reply. Frowning, he jumped up and peered into the window.
Empty.
The helm had been tied down with a rope to keep it steady, but the sea didn't care about ropes. Currents and waves would nudge a ship off course little by little.
He climbed through the window, checked the compass, and quickly corrected the ship's heading—steering away from the Calm Belt.
It wasn't that Weiss feared Sea Kings. He'd killed plenty over the years—so many that the villagers of Twin Swallow Island were sick of eating their meat.
He could slice one in half. But if a Sea King thrashed the ship in death, it wouldn't matter—his beautiful vessel would still be gone.
With the course corrected, Weiss stepped into the cabin like Kaden would, and—of course—found him frantically cooking lunch in the kitchen.
"We nearly drifted into the Calm Belt," Weiss said, pouring himself a glass of red wine.
"Wait, seriously? What do we do?!" Kadun was so shocked he dropped his plate.
Everyone in this world knew the Calm Belt was suicide.
"Relax. Almost. Not actually in it. And even if we did, what's the worst that could happen? Anyway, call me when lunch is ready. I'll steer."
Wine in hand, Weiss turned and left the bewildered Kadun to his frantic cooking.
Above them, the sky—once clear and blue—had turned dark and gray.
As if the Chris was sailing into another world entirely.
---
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