"Royal flush!"
Noyer laid down his cards with a triumphant grin.
Ace, Skull, and Mihar's faces immediately twisted with annoyance.
Deuce, unable to contain his impatience, pushed Ace aside, "Move over, it's my turn to deal!"
Ace slammed the table, "This isn't normal! Why can't I win a single hand?"
Noyer grinned, "Who told you to have such a terrible poker face?"
That was the last straw. Flames erupted from Ace's entire body, ready to settle this offline.
Life at sea was boring. One day, Noyer had nothing better to do and taught them poker — a card game popular in his previous life.
It was great entertainment. Everyone picked it up quickly, except for Ace, that blockhead who couldn't bluff to save his life.
After Noyer and Ace fooled around a while longer, time passed quickly. They finally reached their destination in the Polestar Islands: Loguetown.
As usual, Mihar stayed to guard the ship — social anxiety and all — while Noyer and the other four disembarked.
After going ashore, he tossed Ace a large bag, "Let's split up. You guys pick out a ship you like, and I'll go to the black market to buy Log Poses."
Ace caught the bag and opened it to find it filled with Berries, "Thanks, Noyer!"
Noyer waved dismissively. After so many years as a pirate hunter, he'd saved a decent amount of money.
But ever since meeting Ace — treating him to meals, funding his ship purchases — the money flowed like water. His wallet wasn't particularly healthy anymore.
Once they entered the Grand Line, he'd need to take a few more jobs.
Ace headed toward the shipyard with Deuce and Skull, while Noyer walked into Loguetown.
The streets were peaceful, townspeople showing smiling faces everywhere. You could tell their daily lives were going well. He enjoyed this atmosphere, strolling lazily and feeling the town's warmth.
Come to think of it, Loguetown's peace made sense. As the birthplace of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the Marines kept a constant watch over this place.
What's more, the Marine leader here was none other than Smoker, known as the "Starter Village Bug" — ahem, "White Hunter"!
In Noyer's view, Smoker stationed in the East Blue was the ultimate gatekeeper of the region.
As a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, his abilities were unbeatable against East Blue pirates who'd never even heard of Haki. Sure, the Moku Moku no Mi (Smoke-Smoke Fruit) was weaker compared to other Logia types, but dealing with ordinary pirates? Piece of cake.
Unfortunately, Noyer's identity was now a legitimate pirate hunter, so Smoker had no reason to come after him.
He'd been looking forward to messing with that cigar-addicted smokestack, too.
He turned into a quieter street where vendors sold niche navigation tools.
Noyer wound through the alley and quickly spotted a merchant covered head to toe, a black cloth spread before him displaying various odd items.
His sharp eyes immediately caught what he needed — two azure spherical glass compasses, complete with wristbands. From their appearance, they were definitely the Log Poses he was after.
Noyer crouched down and pointed at them, "How much for these two?"
The merchant wore a hood. The weathered face beneath suggested someone who'd suffered a blow and lost his spirit.
He glanced at Noyer, "฿5,000 each."
Not expensive.
Without batting an eye, Noyer pulled a ฿10,000 bill, the one with a skeleton in the front, from his bag and handed it over.
The merchant took the money and studied him, "You're going to the Grand Line?"
Noyer blinked, then nodded.
Fear flickered in the merchant's eyes, "That place is a graveyard for navigators. You mustn't go…"
Someone who's been to the Grand Line, clearly. Reality must've hit him hard.
Noyer smiled, wagging his finger, "It's just a graveyard for small fry."
The merchant's face flushed with anger. He snorted twice, turned his head away, and refused to respond.
Noyer shrugged. Task complete — time to explore.
Right, the Pirate King's execution platform!
He left the street and asked around. Within minutes, he'd learned the route. The platform was a historic landmark — the place where the world's strongest pirate met his public execution.
It was also where the dark yet promising Great Pirate Era officially began.
Noyer followed the townspeople's directions and found the platform.
Unlike Luffy, he didn't climb it. He simply stood beneath, taking it in. Even from a spectator's perspective, he could feel the weight of the Pirate King's execution.
The onlookers who witnessed Roger's execution all became powerful figures. This proves that being a spectator brings both happiness and strength.
Noyer was lost in thought when noisy shouting erupted nearby.
His Observation Haki reached out. A group of pirates was fleeing from pursuers. The lead pirate clutched a crying child.
"Hm?"
Noyer couldn't stand for this. As a good person, how could he tolerate evil before his eyes?
Of course, catching pirates for bounty money wasn't out of the question either…
He locked onto his target and took off. With superhuman speed and jumping ability, he leaped onto the rooftops, raced ahead of the pirates, then dropped from above.
Behind them, a bespectacled girl led the Marine squad.
Tashigi, the anxious glasses-wearing Marine, glared at the pirates with hatred.
Damn it! Kidnapping children in broad daylight? Do they think the Loguetown Marines don't exist?
She gathered her strength and gave chase, but before she could catch up, someone suddenly blocked the pirates' path.
Thinking it was a well-meaning townsperson, Tashigi urgently shouted, "Get out of the way — they have weapons!"
Before she could finish, the person blocking the way gripped his sword and swung lightly…
A blood-stained, severed head came flying toward her!
Tashigi screamed and stepped back, staring in shock at the pirate's head on the ground — alive just a moment ago.
Noyer walked forward, holding the rescued child. With a soft ring, he sheathed his blade.
He smiled at the stunned Tashigi, "Miss Marine, you can give me the bounty for this pirate now."
"Cash or credit card?"
…okay, then…
Tashigi snapped back to her senses. She gripped her sword warily, "Who are you?!"
The Marine soldiers behind her eyed Noyer with suspicion, but he seemed completely oblivious, "I'm a cold-blooded killer!" he said with a chuckle.
Tashigi drew her Grade Blade Shigure. The soldiers raised their rifles, aiming at him.
Noyer's mouth twitched, "Alright, I'm just an ordinary pirate hunter. You're not going to stiff me on the payment, are you?"
Tashigi relaxed slightly, "Of course not. The Marines won't owe you money! By the way, what's your name?"
"I'm called Noyer."
Immediately, Tashigi tightened her grip on her sword. The Marines behind her cocked their guns, ready to fire!
Noyer waved his hands frantically, "Wait! What's the meaning of this?"
Tashigi's sharp gaze fixed on him like he was a criminal, "Pirate hunter Noyer, didn't you already join the pirate Ace's crew?!"
Noyer denied it without hesitation, "No, I didn't. How could I possibly join pirates? Ace is what… such a stupid name. Is it a sword?"
◇◆◈◆◇
Far away on the other side of the island at the port, Ace suddenly sneezed several times like a machine gun while selecting a pirate ship.
He rubbed his nose, muttering indignantly, "Damn it! Luffy must be cursing me behind my back again!"
{Luffy, on the other side of the East Blue: Achoo!… Boogers, snot!}
◇◆◈◆◇
Seeing Noyer's innocent and bewildered expression, Tashigi became uncertain.
She said hesitantly, "This is Captain Smoker's order. You must come with us now!"
Noyer shrugged, "Let's go then. I still haven't gotten my money anyway."
Tashigi put away Shigure, and the Marine soldiers lowered their guns. To prevent him from escaping, her hand gripped his arm tightly.
She'd originally wanted to grab his shoulder, but this guy was too tall…
From a distance, it didn't look like a soldier arresting a criminal. It looked more like a mob boss strolling around with his delicate wife on his arm.
Noyer walked ahead with his hands in his pockets. Tashigi followed with a serious expression, looking like "a delicate bird leaning on someone" — a gentle, dependent companion.
The townspeople on the roadside looked at this odd pairing with curiosity, whispering:
"Is Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi in a relationship?"
"My goddess! My heart is broken!"
"That young man is quite good-looking though!"
Their voices were quiet, but Noyer heard them loud and clear with his powerful Observation Haki.
He said to her helplessly, "Can we keep some distance? This looks too intimate."
Tashigi glared at him, "We haven't determined whether you're a criminal yet. I can't let you go!"
Fine. Why is this girl so stubborn?
『 Ding! Host has befriended the important figure Tashigi! Rewards: Color-Changing Luminous Sunglasses ×1, White Talent Copy Card ×10! 』
Hm?
Hearing the system's familiar notification, Noyer raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Getting arrested also counts as making an acquaintance?
What are those color-changing luminous sunglasses? They sound pretty cool.
Noyer examined the sunglasses in the system space with anticipation while harboring deep skepticism about the White Copy Cards.
What use are these White Talent Copy Cards anyway? With his current strength, he had no use for White Talents.
As if sensing his dissatisfaction, the system fell silent before speaking again.
「 Detected that system functions cannot assist host. Automatically initiating upgrade! 」
「 System upgrade requires 72 hours. During this period, the system's copy function will be temporarily suspended. 」
Huh?! Did he complain the system into upgrading?
Noyer's heart leaped with joy. The system was a major help in becoming stronger — an upgrade should provide even more benefits, right?
Just three days? No big deal.
The news of the system upgrade put Noyer in a pleasant mood and even made the glasses-wearing girl beside him seem rather attractive.
◇◆◈◆◇
Just as Noyer was successfully "arrested" by the Marines, Ace's side also ran into complications.
Everything was going smoothly at first. The three of them had picked out a ready-made ship, paid for it, and just needed to modify its appearance slightly before setting sail.
But while waiting for the ship, Ace insisted on grabbing a meal — and that's when disaster struck. His bounty poster was distributed by the Marines at that exact moment!
A full ฿40,000,000, showing Ace before he ate the Mera Mera no Mi.
Who knows what he'd done before…
The moment Ace stepped into town and entered a restaurant, his face was recognized. A whole platoon of Marines came chasing after him.
With Marines pursuing from behind, Deuce shouted on the verge of tears, "Why couldn't it come earlier or later? Why did Ace's bounty poster have to come out now?!"
Skull ducked his head to avoid the hail of bullets, crying out in anguish, "These Marines have way too much firepower!"
Bullet holes kept appearing in his flames and passing through. Ace grinned, "I think it's fine."
"Because they can't hit you at all!" x2
The two roared angrily at the carefree Ace.
As they fled, they suddenly discovered a man blocking their path ahead — riding a stylish smoking motorcycle.
The man lifted a strange-looking weapon and charged straight at Ace, who remained unmoved. His elemental transformation wasn't afraid of physical attacks anyway.
But something bewildering happened — the weapon didn't pass through his body as expected. The cold head of the jitte struck hard against his chest. He immediately felt his internal organs shake.
Blood rushed to his mouth, but Ace forced it back down. He wiped his lips and covered his chest with one hand. The smile disappeared from his face as he stared coldly at the man with a cigar in his mouth.
Smoker exhaled white smoke, his casual gaze revealing contempt, "Pirate Ace, I didn't expect you to have eaten a Logia-type Devil Fruit too. But it's useless. No pirate from the East Blue can get past me!"
Flames erupted from Ace's entire body. His mouth formed a sunny smile, but his eyes looked as if he were staring at prey.
"Is that so? But I'm going to get through!!"
The flames burned brighter and brighter. Ace's body seemed to swell and explode — flames filling the sky, attacking like demon fangs.
Smoker snorted coldly. His body became covered in white smoke as he rose to meet the attack head-on.
In an instant, smoke and flames became entangled like two ferocious beasts determined to tear chunks of flesh from each other. The elemental storm of fire and smoke grew larger and larger, its height reaching into the sky — visible to everyone in town.
Noyer, who was having fun teasing Tashigi, saw this spectacular sight and suddenly remembered that in the original story, Ace and Smoker had fought too.
But wasn't that supposed to happen three years later?
"Did I time-travel again?"
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want more chapters of this novel or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)