As Raiden Ei stepped out of the general store's entrance, she instantly noticed many people on the street looking at her and whispering to those around them.
She continued walking toward the main street as if nothing was wrong; she had no intention of paying them any mind.
She was preparing to leave this island. She had already obtained what she wanted and didn't need to continue searching for the pirates in the taverns. It was quite a surprise for her; she could depart right now.
Her figure quickly turned around several street corners, shaking off the gazes lingering on her from the people on the street.
Raiden Ei turned down a few alleys, found an empty corner, and took out the log pose she had just acquired. The needle was currently pointing in one direction.
"Hmm... I'll set off now! It shouldn't be too far."
"Geppo." Her figure rapidly shot toward the sky. In no time, she reached above the clouds, her footfalls treading on the air continuously as she headed in the direction the log pose indicated.
"Whoosh!" A figure streaked across the sky like an afterimage.
Through several days of practice and use, Raiden Ei had become very familiar with Geppo. Now, she could utilize it in various ways according to her needs.
...Raiden Ei rushed non-stop and arrived at Panshan Island, the destination indicated by the log pose, after more than an hour.
"Is this the island where pirates gather? It should be right, the needle is pointing down, so it must be."
Raiden Ei looked down, and the full view of Panshan Island appeared before her eyes.
The island stood like a mountain range in the vast, azure sea, covered entirely in green vegetation, though quite a bit of the exposed rock forming the island could still be seen.
The ocean waves crashing against the shore were blocked by high cliffs. Quite a few ships, like small dots, were anchored in a bay on one side, and many pirates were moving around nearby.
"Thud."
"Panshan Island is quite large, so I'll find the log pose first!"
"Otherwise, even if I kill them all and find the log pose, I won't be able to tell which one points to Jaya Island."
Raiden Ei's figure descended directly toward the bay. The pirates who saw her immediately stood up, grasping their weapons, and stared at her fiercely, wary of her.
Her Observation Haki instantly covered almost half the island, giving her some understanding of the situation here.
"Hey! Who are you, you bastard, why did you fall from the sky?"
A muscular man ran over from the side, holding a flintlock pistol, which he pointed at Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei turned her head to look in the direction of the voice. The person was wearing a headscarf, baggy trousers, and a black vest, adorned with many accessories that clearly didn't match him.
Her gaze swept over dozens of ships of varying sizes, flying different pirate flags, anchored there. She also saw quite a few pirates peering over from the ships.
Her gaze shifted to the surroundings, where several groups of pirates, different from the muscular man, were gathered around, watching the excitement, laughing and talking.
It seemed this muscular man was sent by the largest Pirate Crew here to guard this place, and there should be quite a few people like him.
The demon blade zanmian instantly appeared in Raiden Ei's hand, and she said calmly, "I am here to find the largest Pirate Crew here."
The surrounding pirates' expressions instantly changed when they saw the Musou Isshin suddenly appear in Raiden Ei's hand, as if they were very familiar with this unnatural sight.
The muscular man pointing the gun at Raiden Ei was no exception; his expression instantly became a hundred times more tense. Only after hearing her words did he slightly relax.
But he still looked at her with tension and vigilance, saying with a slightly trembling voice, "Looking for the largest Pirate Crew? Do you know which Pirate Crew is the largest here?"
The pirates nearby clearly wanted to speak up, but they gave up after looking at Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei kept an eye on the surroundings while saying to the muscular man, puzzled, "Isn't the largest Pirate Crew here the Octopus Pirate Crew, the Fierce Elephant Pirate Crew, and the Vanguard Pirate Crew?"
The muscular man became noticeably more agitated after hearing Raiden Ei's words, his hand holding the gun trembling. He said angrily, "Bastard, the strongest Pirate Crew here is the Octopus Pirate Crew!"
"Oh! I see.
Can you take me to see the Captain of the Octopus Pirate Crew now? I have business with him."
The pirates who had been restless moments before stopped moving when they saw Raiden Ei was so easy to talk to.
A man whose entire head of hair was tied into a braid stepped out of the crowd, carrying a flintlock pistol, and said in a teasing tone:
"Hey Sese, did you get it wrong? Isn't the largest Pirate Crew on Panshan Island our Vanguard Pirate Crew? When did it become your Octopus Pirate Crew?"
"Hey, hey! Are you two mistaken? Our Fierce Elephant Pirate Crew is the strongest. Who among you dares to fight our Fierce Elephant Pirate Crew head-on?"
A burly man, three meters tall with a rough appearance, carrying a large saber, walked over. Before he was even seen, everyone present had heard his gruff voice.
Sese pointed his flintlock pistol at the two of them and said unapologetically after hearing their words, "Our Captain has the highest bounty; the Octopus Pirate Crew is the strongest Pirate Crew here."
The two men who had just spoken up were silenced. Pirates value bounties the most; if your bounty is lower than the opponent's, you aren't strong enough.
Sese let out a triumphant "Hmph" and turned to face Raiden Ei.
"See! Our Octopus Pirate Crew is the strongest. Our Captain's bounty is eighty-seven million Berries. Seeing as you are also a Devil Fruit User, if you want to join us, you must meet the Captain first. Let's go! I'll take you to see the Captain."
Raiden Ei silently watched the pirates' conversation. Hearing Sese's words, she could only follow him inland, responding, "Okay!"
Sese suddenly shouted at a person running from a distance, "Mickey, come here and watch this spot. I'm taking a newcomer to meet the Captain."
Mickey quickly ran to Sese's side and looked curiously at Raiden Ei next to him, saying confusedly, "Sese, who is this! Why is she a wo..."
"Do what you're told and stop talking so much nonsense. I'm taking her to see the Captain now. If anything happens here, you'll be punished!"
Sese directly interrupted Mickey's attempt to speak and continued leading Raiden Ei inland.
The two burly men from the Vanguard Pirate Crew and the Fierce Elephant Pirate Crew immediately rushed toward their respective Captains.
The surrounding pirates, seeing that the people from the three major Pirate Crews had left, started discussing Raiden Ei.
"Now the Octopus Pirate Crew is going to gain another Devil Fruit User. Their strength will surely become even greater."
"Who knows? Didn't you see she's a woman? It won't be that easy for her to join."
"Didn't you see the people from the Fierce Elephant Pirate Crew and the Vanguard Pirate Crew already leave? I think there's going to be a good show now, hehe."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.