As John finally set sail and entered the open sea, he felt a growing excitement that he could not hide. The moment the island faded behind him, he began thinking about what kind of fate the world of One Piece would place in front of him.
The possibilities alone made him feel restless in a good way. He had no fear or even a hint of nervousness about the dangers that came with traveling the Grand Line, even though dying on the sea was a very real and common outcome for many pirates.
For John, this fear simply did not exist. His Essence of Ideal Growth had already proven to him that he had no set limits, and all challenges felt like something he could eventually overcome with enough time, effort, and experimentation.
While sailing, he even started wondering about whether he could learn or recreate abilities that normally had no presence in the world of One Piece.
He considered powers similar to those found in Undead Unluck, such as the strange ability of RIP Tristan who could suppress other people's healing abilities entirely.
The thought of developing skills like that inside this world amused him, mostly because nothing about his situation followed normal rules to begin with.
While John entertained these thoughts, a sudden warning appeared on his screen. The system reported an unidentified ship approaching the surrounding area.
The moment John saw the alert, he felt curious, and that curiosity quickly grew into interest. He shut off the propeller of the submarine so that all noise would disappear.
He then switched into a fully manual mode of movement and guided the submarine slowly, rising just enough to avoid blind spots while staying hidden beneath the waves.
From there, he released a large number of his spy cameras. Each one was the size of a mosquito and extremely lightweight, but they had direct connection to the screen in front of him.
They flew upward on their predetermined flight patterns, quietly landing on various parts of the ship above. John waited in silence for the video feed to stabilize. When it finally did, the images that appeared on his screen made him sit up and pay attention.
It was a World Government warship. Judging from what the cameras saw, the ship was transporting slaves.
Numerous people were chained together, forced to sit with barely any space to breathe. Their conditions were miserable, and the expressions on their faces showed exhaustion and fear.
As the cameras moved deeper into the ship, John noticed even more of them. Some rooms were filled entirely with chained captives.
Alongside these prisoners were several treasure chests and piles of gold. John assumed this was all part of the payment for Heavenly Tribute, with the slaves included to bring the total value closer to what the Celestial Dragons demanded.
Eventually, the cameras reached a reinforced section of the ship made almost completely out of seastone. Several CP agents guarded the entrance, which made John pay special attention.
When one of the cameras slipped inside through a small gap, John saw someone lying unconscious in the center of the room. The person appeared to be around his age, maybe fifteen at most.
However, it was not the age that made John freeze. The boy had darker skin, striking white hair, and a pair of wings attached to his back. He was a Lunarian.
John could not understand how a group of agents like these managed to capture someone from a race known to be incredibly durable, especially when his spy cameras had gone unnoticed the entire time.
The flames on the Lunarian's back were completely out, which hinted at exhaustion and a heavy defeat. The injuries on his body made it even clearer that he had fought fiercely before eventually falling.
Seeing such a rare individual imprisoned like this made John's decision for him. He would kill every CP agent on that ship, take all the treasure, free every slave, and rescue the Lunarian.
It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even Kaido managed to find only one Lunarian, and the world believed King to be the last survivor of his race. John had no intention of letting this chance slip away.
He guided one of his cameras into the Lunarian's ear and released a tiny electrical pulse. It was not enough to hurt him, but it was enough to wake him.
The boy opened his eyes slowly, looking confused as he tried to understand where the disembodied voice was coming from. John spoke calmly through the spy device.
He introduced himself and explained that he wished to invite the Lunarian to join his future crew, offering him a new path and a chance to escape. He also described his current location on the submarine and the situation outside.
The Lunarian listened carefully before responding that he did not know John, but if John saved him, his life would be John's to command. He also introduced himself as Narberal.
Hearing his voice strengthened John's resolve. He reassured Narberal that he would not only free him, but also give him a chance to seek justice for everything the World Government did to him.
After that, John began preparing his assault. He focused on the bullets stored inside the weapon room of the warship.
With his cameras stationed across every floor and hallway, he had a full view of each agent's position.
He also blocked all outgoing signals from the ship using a magnetic disruption field so that no reinforcements could be called.
Then he began his work. John assigned the bullets a north pole property and assigned the CP agents the south pole.
He mapped a movement route for the bullets to follow so the attack would be precise and avoid harming any of the slaves.
When everything was ready, John mentally pulled open the storage room door. The loud noise drew nearby agents immediately.
One of them entered the room cautiously while the others waited outside. John activated the attack.
He whispered the name to himself, calling it Megiddo, inspired by Rimuru's technique that wiped out the army of Falmuth. Instead of a liquid attack, John used real bullets, but the way they moved imitated the same overwhelming effect.
The agent inside the room dropped to his knees, pierced instantly before he even had time to understand what happened. The two agents behind him stared in confusion.
Before they could react, one of them had his head struck by a bullet. The remaining agent flinched but failed to move fast enough, and another bullet entered his skull shortly after.
That moment marked the start of a full massacre throughout the warship. The slaves who had accepted that they were destined to die suddenly heard shouting and panicked voices from the upper decks.
They assumed pirates had boarded the ship. Their confusion grew when an agent burst into the room where they were held, only to fall dead instantly from a bullet that seemed to appear from nowhere.
Some slaves noticed the keys hanging from the corpse and moved toward them, but before they could even reach out, the keys drifted closer on their own. John guided them telekinetically so they could unlock the chains more easily.
A few CP agents tried to fight back. Whenever they sliced bullets in half using their skill or weapons, the scattered metal only gave John more ammunition. The more they resisted, the faster they died.
After more than an hour of nonstop elimination, the warship had no surviving agents. The slaves were finally freeing themselves, many crying from relief as they thought about returning home after believing their fate was sealed.
With all enemies gone, John unlocked the heavily fortified seastone cell where Narberal was held. The keys had been with the last group of guards, who died before realizing what was happening. The bullets had struck their heads so rapidly that their bodies did not even twitch.
When Narberal stepped out of the cell, he followed John's instructions carefully. John wanted the slaves to leave without seeing him, so Narberal guided them out while John watched from the submarine.
While the slaves boarded the newly reassembled ships, John dismantled the warship completely and rebuilt it into several small vessels that would not draw attention.
He removed every trace of the World Government's design, making the ships appear like ordinary civilian boats. He also transferred all the food supplies so they would not starve on their way home.
As for the treasure, John had already collected everything. The moment he killed the first few agents, he began floating the treasure chests toward the submarine using magnetism, ensuring nothing would remain behind for the World Government to find.
Once every last slave left safely, Narberal received a custom suit prepared by John. After wearing it, he dove into the sea exactly as instructed and entered the decompression chamber attached to the submarine. John welcomed him personally once he stepped inside.
John told him that this ship would be his new home for as long as he chose to stay on the crew. Narberal bowed deeply, expressing both gratitude and loyalty, and promised that he would give his life without hesitation if John ever asked for it.
It marked the beginning of John's journey with his first official crewmate, and the start of a future that neither of them could fully predict yet.