Based on the plot, Hiroto could roughly determine he was near the 153rd Marine Branch, so he used Ryder's connections to gather information on the surrounding islands.
Once he arrived, he would try to trigger [Incoming Chaos] or find it through other means.
This was Hiroto's next goal.
As for the purpose...
'The Smooth-Smooth Fruit, I wonder if I can devour it.'
Hiroto's gaze drifted over the map of the attached islands. For a moment, he wasn't sure himself.
To be specific, the effect of [Gluttony] was: Seize - No Resistance - Devour - Extract Essence - Integrate into self.
The downside was: it consumed physical strength, and if the devouring process wasn't completed before his strength bottomed out, it would be considered a failure.
It had to be a living thing, things like metal could not be devoured.
Even if successfully devoured, some traits of the devoured creature would follow the entry and integrate into Hiroto's body.
For example, having just devoured Alvida, her memories had entered his mind. He wasn't sure if these residues would accumulate until a quantitative change led to a qualitative change that affected him.
And that was just the simplest case with living creatures.
The origin of Devil Fruits in the story had already been revealed before Hiroto transmigrated.
According to Vegapunk, they were formed from the desires of countless people.
A single Devil Fruit represented a category of desire.
Judging by Alvida's manifestation after eating it, it was perhaps an aggregate produced by girls' desires for smoother skin.
Facing a creation formed from hundreds of years of human desire with just an individual's will, he wasn't sure what the consequences would be.
'But regardless, this fruit has value. Even if I can't devour it, I can still sell it or give it to a subordinate.'
Hiroto cast his gaze toward the two girls on the ship, his lips curling.
—
A few days later.
The wind was light, and the waves were gentle.
The ship sailed across the vast sea.
Nami stood on the bow deck looking up at the sky, observing the weather for the continued voyage.
Carina was cooking. Although Hiroto had been a corporate drone, his best skill had always been the art of instant noodles. However, there were no instant noodles in the One Piece World.
As for Nami charging for cooking like in the original story, it could only be said that after some coercion and inducement, Hiroto could intuitively feel the change in their attitudes. Not to say they didn't dare to breathe, but they were at least at the level of being submissive and obedient.
Of course, this didn't mean Hiroto would trust these two unscrupulous female thieves.
The treasure was kept in the Captain's cabin, and the only key was in his pocket.
He had also checked with [Incoming Chaos], the two wouldn't make a move before reaching the next island.
How to subdue them and how to trick them into joining his command was unrealistic to consider right now.
What Hiroto could do now was make himself as strong as possible.
In the One Piece World, strength is the foundation of everything.
Whoosh!
Gales whistled across the deck, but they didn't form cyclones. Instead, they flooded the deck like a tide.
Within the 'tide,' a dark shadow flickered constantly, as if dancing with the wind, or perhaps treading upon it.
At a certain moment, a massive sea beast suddenly leaped out of the ocean. Its seven-meter-long body was solid and powerful, its mouth filled with ferocious fangs, and its eyes stared intently at the ship's side.
It seemed to be sizing up its prey.
Swoosh!
The gales on the deck suddenly condensed, and a slash abruptly appeared, heading toward the sea.
Even though the slash was still a great distance from the sea beast, the beast was split in two in an instant, blood splashing into the air.
The flickering dark shadow solidified into Hiroto's form, drenched in sweat and emitting steam.
'Steel cutting... or rather, the swordsmanship imitated based on it, is complete.'
Hiroto let out a long breath, calmed his heartbeat, and happily stroked the long sword in his hand.
[Thrust] was a displacement skill. The stacking of gales while dashing was an incidental buff.
But relying on the level of swordsmanship brought by [Swordsman], he had forced himself to research a way to maximize the use of the gales.
By compressing the gales that followed the blade to the extreme, he formed a slash.
Furthermore, the more he used thrust, the greater the power of the Steel-Severing Slash after the gales stacked.
Although he could only guarantee its power within ten meters at present, at least Hiroto was confident he could unleash a Steel-Severing Slash the moment he drew his sword.
It was also at this time that a prompt suddenly popped up in Hiroto's eyes.
[Entry: Steel-Severing Slash (White) Acquired!]
'Hmm?'
Hiroto raised an eyebrow slightly.
This was the second time he had seen this situation, the first was the condensation of [Swordsman].
He opened the panel and clicked on [Steel-Severing Slash].
[Entry: Steel-Severing Slash (Self-named)]
[Quality: White]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: After stacking gales, allows the user to drive the gales to condense on the blade, forming a slash. Power is determined by the amount of gales and the Strength attribute.]
[Consumption: Physical Strength]
[Remark: It is a crude imitation, yet also a footprint of progress.]
Not a very high evaluation, but in Hiroto's view, it was also a form of recognition.
Just as he had said, a white entry was the peak of effort for an ordinary genius.
Besides, a crude imitation was still a footprint left while moving forward. It might not be the same in the future.
However...
Hiroto raised his hand and lifted the long sword, extremely fine cracks had already appeared on the blade.
Although it was a good sword Ryder had found for him, it was ultimately just a mundane item and couldn't withstand his increasingly inhuman strength.
"I'll think about it later."
Hiroto began training again, improving his strength as much as possible.
The panel was the fundamental reason he could succeed, but it wasn't everything.
'This monster seems to have become stronger again.'
Nami withdrew her peeking gaze and clicked her tongue inwardly.
She had to admit she was somewhat envious of him.
If one could make a living through strength, who would want to be a thief?
It was much faster to just rely on raw strength to rob wealthy merchants.
Except...
'With this level of strength, he still won't be able to beat Arlong.'
Nami withdrew her gaze and suppressed her restless heart.
On the other side.
Inside the kitchen at the back of the ship's deck, Carina thoughtfully withdrew her gaze from the window.
With such a big commotion on the deck, she was naturally paying attention.
Hiroto's training hadn't been just for a day or two. Carina could be said to have watched him improve day by day.
'Hiroto... he's very strong, a swordsman, and seems to have a good head on his shoulders.'
'He's just a bit bloodthirsty, and I'm not sure where his bottom line is. If there's no problem, maybe I can try to cooperate with him or even join him?'
Monsters emerged one after another in the East Blue, Carina was already used to it. But in terms of her experience, Hiroto's strength was top-tier, even unique, strong like a monster.
This gave Carina ideas, which of course was also related to the attitude Hiroto had shown. As sharp as she was, she could naturally detect the intent within.
As for the reason, Carina knew well that a beautiful, weak woman like her could only rely on beauty and wisdom to survive.
But if there was power to rely on, allowing her to earn more money and get more treasure, she wouldn't mind.
The prerequisite was that she had to be the 'brain' of the team.
To simply become someone's appendage—in Carina's view, it would take a very extraordinary person to make her follow willingly.
The current Hiroto clearly wasn't that person.
'Let's see, maybe it's not a good fit?'
Carina didn't make up her mind. A smart person like her wouldn't believe in something in a short time.