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"Hey, are you going to the Grand Line, too?" Luffy asked, taking a large bite of meat. He was sad to hear that Uta was leaving again. "Uta, come be on my crew! We can go to the Grand Line together! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Uta smiled. It was the same dream Luffy had been shouting about since he was a little kid.
She shook her head. "I can't, Luffy. I want to find Shanks and the others first. There are some things I need to clear up with them."
"If Shanks and the others knew you were alive, they'd be so happy!" Luffy said. "Uta, we can go together! Look, this is the hat Shanks gave me! I'm going to set out to sea soon, too! When I find him, I'm going to give it back!"
"Even though I'd love to have an adventure with you," Uta said, "I have to stay on the king's ship for now. To repay him for saving my life. That's... the pirate code, just like Shanks said!"
Hearing the words "pirate code," Luffy's expression turned serious. He looked over at Jin and his crew. "I get it."
Luffy stood up and walked toward Jin.
"Luffy?" Uta said, worried he was about to do something reckless.
"It's fine," Luffy said.
As everyone watched, he walked up to Jin.
Jin looked him over.
Luffy dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the floor in a deep, formal bow.
"Thank you for saving Uta," he said. "From now on... please take care of her."
The early-story Luffy was both emotionally and intellectually intelligent. He knew when to joke around, and when to be serious, he never faltered. He could be calmer and more level-headed than anyone. He had a natural charisma. His rational decision to bow to the soldiers on Drum Island to save Nami was the mark of a truly great captain.
But after the timeskip, perhaps due to his increased Haki or the influence of Nika, he had become more and more childish. His constant, goofy laughter in Gear Fifth was particularly grating.
Yes, Nika was the liberator, the one who brought freedom and laughter to the people. But when people had just lost their families and friends in a war, when they were drowning in sorrow... was it really appropriate to be laughing like that?
Imagine someone showing up at a funeral, laughing their head off, talking about freedom and joy... any normal person would lose their temper.
"Of course," Jin said. "I'll take good care of her."
Luffy looked up, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"But," he said, "once I set out to sea, I'm going to steal her back and make her my nakama! We'll find the One Piece together! Hehe..."
Jin's fist shot out and smacked Luffy on the head with a loud thwack.
"Ow, ow, ow..." Luffy yelped, clutching his head.
"We'll see if you're strong enough," Jin said with a grin.
Luffy, feeling that he was being underestimated, puffed out his chest and shouted, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who will be King of the Pirates!"
Makino brought over a tray of drinks and, without missing a beat, pinched Luffy's cheek and dragged him away.
"Alright, alright, I know! You've said it a thousand times! But don't bother the customers!"
"Dammit, Makino! Let me go!" Luffy yelled, his face stretched out.
Everyone just laughed. It was a familiar scene.
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Uta waved goodbye to Luffy, and the demonic carrier left Foosha Village. A short while later, they arrived at Shells Town—the place where Luffy and Zoro had first met.
Home of the infamous "Axe-Hand" Morgan, who had escaped from Garp's custody.
But the Axe-Hand of this timeline was still a hot-blooded Marine, his heart filled with justice.
His rise to power in the original story had been a part of "Hundred Plans" Kuro's scheme. During an encounter with the Black Cat Pirates, his entire unit had been wiped out, and Morgan's jaw had been shattered.
To enact his "shore leave" plan, Kuro had Django hypnotize Morgan into believing that he had captured Kuro. He had then handed over a fake Kuro to the Marines and had been promoted to Ensign at the 153rd Branch.
But Django's hypnosis had changed Morgan's personality, turning him into a sinister, shameless man who, after his promotion to Captain, had become a brutal tyrant.
But with the Black Cat Pirates having been wiped out in Cocoyasi Village, the story had inevitably changed.
So Luffy will have a few less bosses to fight...
'Right, there's still Alvida and Buggy... Alvida? Smoker's intelligence reports didn't mention her. What was her bounty back then? It was low... She probably hasn't even set out to sea yet. And Buggy... Orange Town?'
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Two days later, Organ Islands, Orange Town.
After roughing up the pirates who had been left behind, Jin learned that Buggy had gone to Cocoyasi Village a few days ago, having just heard that there was treasure there.
It seemed like a simple delay in information.
But in reality, it was a perfect dodge.
As the one man in all the seas whose luck defied logic, there was always something a little... uncanny about him.
Next, Jin went to the Gecko Islands, to Syrup Village.
With Kuro captured, his "shore leave" plan was dead in the water. Kaya's wealthy parents had not died in an "accident." Kaya's family was happy, and she was not depressed.
They warmly welcomed the king from the Grand Line.
"I am establishing a base on the Conomi Islands," Jin explained. "I need an honest, reliable, and trustworthy merchant to manage my trade operations in the East Blue."
The fact that they had raised such a kind daughter and had such a loyal butler in Merry was a testament to the couple's character.
Kaya's parents were surprised, and a little suspicious. Was this too good to be true?
It was only after they had seen the cargo on his ship that they agreed.
"We'll call it the East Blue Trading Company. I'll provide the goods and the capital, and you'll handle the operations. For now, you'll have a 1% stake."
After traveling through the East Blue, Jin had found that it was a stable, orderly sea, perfect for long-term investment. He had "taken" the Conomi Islands, and now he was going to build something around it, to store up his "grain."
Storing grain was a form of strength in itself.
Kaya's parents were thrilled. A 1% stake, given the cargo Jin had shown them, was a fortune. And he was a king. If they served him well, they might even be able to become nobles one day.
Who doesn't want to climb the social ladder?
Learning that Drum Island was a major medical center, Kaya's parents also expressed an interest in sending Kaya, who wanted to study medicine, to study there.
While Jin and Kaya's family were getting along, Uta, knowing that Yasopp's wife and child were also in the village, went with Nami and the others to pay them a visit.
She learned that Yasopp's wife was seriously ill.
Uta returned and asked Jin for help.
Jin had the Empress's medical team go with Uta to examine her.
"A Yonko?" Usopp said, his eyes wide. "Really? My dad is a major officer on a Yonko's ship?!" He was overjoyed. Yasopp's wife smiled, a look of pride on her face.
Her illness was the result of overwork. After surgery by the ship's medical team, she would need to rest and recuperate.
Uta borrowed some money from Jin and left it with them to improve their living situation.
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When they left, Kaya's parents, along with their own merchant ship, accompanied Jin to Cocoyasi Village to help set up the new company.
Kaya also came aboard, joining the ship's medical team as a nurse.
Since they would be gone for some time, Kaya's parents asked Usopp's mother and Merry to look after their mansion. It was partly an act of kindness, a way to show their goodwill to Jin and Uta, and partly practical. A house, left unoccupied and unmanaged, quickly falls into disrepair.
Because they were accompanied by two merchant ships, their speed was slow. It took them three days to reach the waters near the Conomi Islands.
"It's wonderful," Kaya's father said. "Ever since Captain Smoker wiped out the major pirate crews in the East Blue, it's been so peaceful."
They hadn't encountered a single pirate ship on their journey. Before, that would have been unthinkable. Every trip out to sea was a gamble.
Suddenly, there was a strange sound in the sky. Looking up, they saw a black dot, like a "big bird."
It flew past, came back, circled for a bit, and then flew away.
Jin recognized it at once. It was Yonji of Germa 66, on a patrol in his plane, testing its performance.
They were about a hundred nautical miles from Cocoyasi Village. Normal reconnaissance methods had a range of only about twenty nautical miles.
This was the advantage of air power.
A vast patrol range.
And air superiority.
Combined with aerial bombs and missiles, it was a nightmare for a normal pirate crew. A dive from the sky, a dropped missile... without a strong fighter to cut it or block it, what wooden sailing ship could withstand that? One shot, one ship. And once the ship is destroyed, in the middle of the vast ocean, with no one to rescue you, most of the crew would just end up as fish food.
One plane might not be a problem, but what about a hundred? A thousand?
Combined with clone soldiers, as long as he had enough resources and was willing to spend the money, Jin could even launch kamikaze attacks, a "human wave" tactic.
Of course, planes weren't invincible. Anyone at the admiral level or above could deal with them. But they would be tied up dealing with other strong fighters.
In this world, technology like guns and cannons was really just a tool for suppressing the common people, for maintaining order.
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As they approached Cocoyasi Village, a giant sea cow, pulling a long line of barges, swam past.
After the Arlong Pirates were defeated, Momoo had been adopted by Cocoyasi Village and, due to his strength, had become a "canal horse."
Yonji had already brought back the intelligence, so Law, Maya, and Reiju were all waiting at King's Park.
Nearby, the Baratie was anchored.
After Sanji had woken up and found Reiju's picture in his pocket, he had assumed his sister was in danger and that the picture was a threat. He had been about to go after them alone when the ever-observant Zeff had stopped him.
After getting the full story, Zeff had learned from his customers that Jin was stationed on the Conomi Islands.
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