Tashigi didn't respond immediately. She couldn't. Accepting Allen's invitation would mean abandoning her identity as a Marine.
She didn't work as a Marine just for the sake of having a job. She genuinely had her own sense of justice, and, in general, she was a woman who preferred doing good for others.
On the other hand, there was the harsh reality that her dream was impossible. She didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't imagine the day when she would simply walk up and take a sword from the world's strongest swordsman—or from the world's strongest man.
Did she really have to choose?
Her justice or her dream?
Once they snapped out of the daze caused by Allen's words, the other girls fell silent.
This wasn't a decision Tashigi could make lightly. Her situation wasn't like Kaya's, where joining the crew was essentially fulfilling a dream of seeing the world, or Nami's, who wanted to draw a map of the entire world and help Allen.
This meant deserting the Marines, basically doing the complete opposite of how she had lived until now.
Hina was the one with the gravest expression among them all. It wasn't just a tempting offer; even she was affected by this situation and wasn't sure she could refuse if she were in Tashigi's place.
The black-haired girl stood up from the floor.
All the girls held their breath as they watched her raise her hand toward Allen, but just when everyone thought she would accept, she clenched her fist and pointed at him.
"Don't underestimate me, pirate! I won't be seduced by your promises so easily! I'm a Marine! And when I'm free, I'll arrest you!" she declared firmly.
That left everyone speechless. Even Nojiko and Mikita, who had just come out of the kitchen, reacted the same way.
"Hina is proud," Hina said.
As for Allen, instead of being angry or disappointed, he started laughing.
"Haha!"
"What's so funny?!" Tashigi growled, clenching her fists.
To be honest with herself, Tashigi had almost given in a moment ago. She didn't even know where she found the willpower to reject Allen.
When Allen stopped laughing, he suddenly appeared in front of Tashigi. She immediately drew her katana and attacked him, but he effortlessly caught her hand before leaning his face closer, causing Tashigi to blush in anger.
"W-What are you planning?"
"Nothing. It's just that now I want you even more..." he replied without the slightest embarrassment.
Tashigi turned even redder. Not just her—the rest of the girls blushed to varying degrees as well.
[You're a dangerous guy...]
Lenalee was speechless. If Allen weren't such a self-centered bastard with a few screws loose, he could easily become a dangerous womanizer. Or perhaps he would become one in the future, and this was simply proof of his potential.
....
Meanwhile...
The Calm Belt was the border between the Grand Line and the Four Seas.
It was only two strips of water separating the Grand Line from the seas, but they were impossible for ordinary ships to cross because of the Sea Kings that inhabited the area.
Sea Kings were already enormous creatures capable of sinking ships, but the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt were on a completely different level. It was like comparing a sardine to a whale. Some of them were even larger than many islands.
Needless to say, they attacked any ship they saw. That was why people risked crossing through Reverse Mountain. However, at this moment, while Allen's crew headed toward their next destination, there was a ship crossing that very place.
It wasn't just any ship, but a massive Marine warship. Even so, beneath it lurked shadows of creatures so large that they made the vessel look like a flea. Yet those creatures didn't attack it.
"As expected..." Captain Smoker said while looking over the railing.
Bogard, who wasn't far away, adjusted his hat before responding.
"The seastone coating on the hull made traveling through the Calm Belt stop being a life-or-death gamble," Bogard replied.
"Perfect. At this rate, we'll catch up to White Hair at his second island!" Smoker gritted his teeth.
He was furious. How could he not be?
Allen had escaped from Loguetown after making him look like an idiot. Not only that, he had humiliated two Vice Admirals and destroyed Loguetown's square, a place meant to remind everyone what would happen to pirates since Roger had been executed there.
But beyond that, what truly enraged Smoker was that Allen had taken Tashigi, his lieutenant, and Hina with him. It wasn't just a defeat—it was complete humiliation.
Smoker had decided to hunt Allen down. Of course, after following Garp and Bogard. Both of them had suffered similar losses against that brat and were pursuing him as well.
"To be honest, it's somewhat poetic," Bogard said.
"What?"
Bogard slightly lifted his hat, revealing one of his eyes.
"It's been twenty years since Roger was executed, and with his final words, he sent countless pirates out to sea. However, the reality is that no matter how many searched for that treasure, nobody found it," Bogard said before looking toward the horizon where the sea stretched endlessly.
"It doesn't exist," Smoker said while lighting two cigars and smoking them simultaneously.
"Whether it exists or not, an entire generation has passed without anyone finding it, so the fever for the One Piece had begun to fade. Yet that young man's arrival with the destruction of Loguetown, almost as if he were announcing that Roger's era was ending and his own was beginning."
"Tsk, nonsense! He's just an arrogant brat! A common pirate! A—"
"A pirate who faced Garp and survived... doesn't that remind you of someone?"
Smoker fell silent.
Since Gold Roger's execution, some things had changed, including Garp's partial retirement.
Even though that monster never left the Marines, he stopped chasing pirates. Gradually, his missions became limited to orders from Sengoku or the government, and even then he did the bare minimum. However...
Smoker turned toward the deck. There was Garp, doing push-ups with a twenty-five-ton iron weight on his back.
The old man had been training like crazy ever since they set sail. He seemed determined to recover his former strength, absurd as that sounded.
"Is this because of the humiliation?" Smoker asked.
"No... perhaps there was a time when Garp was prouder, and that alone would have been enough to make him chase that young man across the world. But at his current age, Garp is no longer that emotional. At the very least, it would be difficult for him to place his feelings above his duty as a Marine," Bogard said.
"Then why?" Smoker frowned.
"Perhaps it's something else..."
As Garp's loyal companion for decades, Bogard could sense it. It wasn't anger—it was fire. In Garp's eyes burned something that had gone out a long time ago.
Puru puru puru...
Bogard's Den Den Mushi began ringing. He pulled it from his coat and answered, already knowing who it was.
"It's been a while, Dr. Vegapunk..."
Smoker's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Vegapunk wasn't just the smartest man in the world; he was also the genius inventor behind countless innovations.
"Indeed, Bogard-kun. What was so important that you went to such lengths to contact me?" Vegapunk asked.
His voice sounded tired. Perhaps he had immersed himself in research that kept him awake for days, or maybe he was working on a new invention.
"It's not me, it's—"
Garp dropped the weight from his back, making the warship tremble, then walked over to them.
"Vegapunk, I need your help! Do you have any medicine that can make me younger?!"
...
On the other side of the Den Den Mushi, on an island in the New World known as Egghead, an old man with an enormous head and an extremely long tongue stared at the snail in shock.
Rejuvenation?
In this world, people were willing to sacrifice others—even betray those who trusted them most—for the promise of immortality. But Vegapunk could swear that Garp wasn't one of those people.
"Garp-san... why?"
"Vegapunk... there's someone I need to catch!" Garp said with a serious expression.
Bogard and Smoker remained silent. In recent years, rather than being active, Garp had devoted himself to raising the next generation of Marines, including SWORD, which was practically his personal unit of promising young recruits. Yet this time, there was none of that. He had personally declared that he would act.
"You? Who?"
"That white-haired brat."
"..."
Of course, Vegapunk knew who Garp was referring to. News of the new super rookie had reached even the New World.
"Vegapunk, I felt it. I truly felt it. That urge to catch him with my own hands! It's not resentment, it's not anger. It's the same feeling I had with Roger, and with Rocks before him. So help me!"
Vegapunk remained silent for a moment before answering.
"There's no such thing as a medicine for youth, and becoming a cyborg is out of the question..."
"Tsk, well, that was expected! Buahahaha!" Garp laughed.
He had anticipated that answer from the start, so he hadn't had much hope.
"However, I may be able to improve your current condition. After all, the human body is a wonderful thing capable of enduring a great deal. With proper maintenance and a special nutrient cocktail to complement your training, perhaps you can recover some of your former glory..."
Garp stopped laughing and smiled.
"Then I'm counting on you, Vegapunk."
Garp turned around and resumed training, leaving Bogard to thank Vegapunk for his help. Meanwhile, the Marines aboard the ship, who had only witnessed the conversation from afar, were left stunned.
Without realizing it, Allen had pulled Monkey D. Garp out of semi-retirement.
....
Back on the Black Pearl, Allen's crew, along with Vivi and Mikita, gathered in the kitchen to discuss their plans.
Having already made their positions clear, Hina and Tashigi didn't participate and merely watched from outside the kitchen door.
"Alright... so that's how it works," Allen said thoughtfully.
Vivi and Mikita had explained the structure of Baroque Works and how it operated. Through that explanation, both girls realized what a huge lie it was.
Baroque Works had two faces. On one side, it was an organization of bounty hunters and mercenaries operating on the fringes of the law.
But there was also a hidden side. Baroque Works employed assassins and criminals, accepting underworld jobs, including murder.
Vivi seemed to have much more to say, but she didn't. There was no point discussing her personal issues with Crocodile when she was merely a hostage, and for now, Allen only cared about money.
Allen raised his head and looked at the girls.
"We'll use Vivi's Eternal Pose to reach Alabasta."
That was where Baroque Works' main headquarters were located and, of course, where Crocodile was.
As for what an Eternal Pose was, unlike a Log Pose, it didn't need to recalibrate at each island. Instead, it permanently recorded the magnetic field of a specific island, allowing someone to return there regardless of their current location.
"Along the way, we'll attack Baroque Works' transport routes and plunder their ships. We'll decide later whether or not we enter Alabasta," Allen declared confidently.
The plan seemed simple.
Vivi lightly clenched her fists, which only strengthened her resolve. Among the girls, Uta was the only one who noticed and narrowed her eyes.
'Something tells me Vivi has a special grudge against Crocodile... Hehe, but you'll have to work hard, because our captain isn't a hero~'
"Does everyone understand?" Allen asked.
All the girls nodded.
"I wonder what kind of loot we'll find?~" Nami said eagerly.
The loot would mainly consist of black-market weapons, the bounty money collected from hunting Baroque Works members, supplies for the organization, smuggled goods, and several other things that weren't exactly legal.
"Good! We'll exploit their weakness—in other words, their arrogance. Baroque Works has dominated the black market in this part of the sea for so long that they've grown complacent. Crocodile is a Shichibukai. He may have already forgotten what it's like to be attacked." Allen stood up and smiled. "We'll strike their sea first. We'll move fast and hit hard, giving Crocodile no time to react or alter his routes!"
Allen walked toward the kitchen exit, passing between the girls, who wore confident smiles.
"So what if we haven't even spent a full day in the Grand Line? I didn't come here to bow my head. I'm a great pirate, a scoundrel, a man who takes what he wants from whomever he wants. It doesn't matter if the opponent is the World Government, the Marines, or a Shichibukai. I'll become their worst nightmare..." Allen smiled mockingly, with a hint of malice.
Mikita swallowed nervously before feeling strangely motivated. One would think that someone as young as Allen wouldn't make a good captain, yet his words could inspire the dead, and his personality was magnetic.
As for Vivi, she reaffirmed her determination to make Allen her ally, no matter what she had to do.
That final thought made her blush.
....
Of course, for this grand plan to work, it was necessary to improve the Black Pearl once again, so Allen stood at the bow with the scroll in his hands.
A complete structural upgrade wasn't necessary. Independent improvements would be enough.
The main reason was that the ship's next level would restore the Black Pearl to its original size, and a fifty-meter (146 ft) brigantine was far too large for the current crew.
[Will you create rooms for Vivi and Mikita?]
'One room will be enough. Put it next to the kitchen below deck. I don't care if it reduces the storage space. The ship is already too large for the number of people we have anyway.'
[Won't Nojiko get angry?]
Allen thought for a moment before coughing.
"Fine, increase the ship's size a little more."
[Oh, you don't want to anger your future wife?~]
'Just do it and stop bothering me.'
[Yes~]
Allen had sixteen million available for upgrades: eleven million from the bounty in Loguetown and another five million from Whisky Peak.
The ship upgrades were as follows:
— Level 5 Brigantine:
The Black Pearl: Property of Allen Walker.
— Speed Upgrade: 1 Copper Coin
— Hull Upgrade "Hydrodynamic": 1 Copper Coin
— Hull Upgrade "Defense": 1 Copper Coin
He also added a legendary feature to the ship, the last one possible.
Slot 5: "Transcendent" — The Black Pearl now possesses the ability to sail through storms, withstand the depths of the sea and the heights of the sky, making it extremely difficult to damage no matter how harsh the surrounding conditions.
Ships, like people, have a lifespan. As they sail, they wear down, suffer damage, and age. Allen had no intention of allowing the Black Pearl to end up at the bottom of the ocean, so this legendary trait was necessary.
Finally came Vivi and Mikita's room. For that, the rear section of the ship expanded, causing Nami's, Kaya's, and Allen's cabins to grow larger. The kitchen also expanded, and the storage room was divided in half to create another cabin. At the same time, a new entrance appeared on the central deck leading directly to that room.
All of this set off alarm bells among the girls, who were unaware of Lenalee's abilities.
"What's happening?!" Tashigi exclaimed from the deck.
"Hina is in shock..." Hina muttered, even dropping her cigarette.
Their reaction was understandable. They had just watched the ship grow with their own eyes, and a door had appeared out of nowhere.
"Do you like it?" Allen grinned. "This is my ship, the Black Pearl!"
There was no need to hide it. Sooner or later everyone would realize that his ship transformed after every island. It was obvious that the Black Pearl was no ordinary vessel.
Tashigi and Hina exchanged incredulous looks.
"What's wrong?! Are we under attack?!" Vivi ran out of the kitchen with Karoo waddling nervously behind her.
"Khee! Khee!"
Allen remained completely calm and responded to the girls' panic in the only way he knew how.
"There's nothing to worry about. This ship belongs to the future King of the World. Of course it's unique and special, just like me!"
Yeah, right! the three women thought.
As for Mikita, she trembled. On one hand, her hope of escaping was becoming thinner and thinner. On the other hand, perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing. Allen seemed like a pirate with a tremendous future.
'Maybe if I earn his favor, he'll let me become an official member of his crew~' the girl giggled.
None of this escaped Lenalee's notice as she sank into thought.
[For now, Mikita is still selfish and focused on her own benefit...]
[Vivi prioritizes her own problems and seems to want help...]
[Hina and Tashigi, despite their doubts, are still walking the path of Marines...]
All of that was normal. Only a few days had passed since they met Allen. However, Lenalee thought there might be a way for these women to truly become loyal to him.
Of course, it would require Allen to sacrifice his "purity," but Lenalee snorted because deep down she believed Allen was full of nonsense and was actually a natural-born womanizer.
'I wonder who the first target will be?' Lenalee smiled.
...
That night...
A merchant ship sailed through the waters of the Grand Line on its way to Alabasta.
At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary vessel. However, its crew wore grim expressions, the kind that clearly belonged to men who had killed many people throughout their lives.
The captain stood at the helm alongside his first mate.
"Captain... isn't it strange? Weren't Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine supposed to escort us?" the first mate asked nervously.
This time they were transporting a valuable shipment of weapons. If anything happened, heads would roll.
"Shut up. They probably got assigned to an emergency mission. Let's just do our job like always," the captain said irritably.
He had been smuggling for years, and whenever someone tried to rob them, simply identifying themselves as Baroque Works was enough to make most pirates run away with their tails between their legs. Even so, the unusual calmness made him uneasy.
In the crow's nest—the lookout basket attached to a ship's main mast—a watchman scanned the sea. Everything was quiet. Not a single ship could be seen in the distance.
"Besides, it's not like someone could teleport..."
Approaching a ship without being detected was extremely difficult. Unless there was fog, it was practically impossible. So why worry?
A grave mistake.
The clouds parted, allowing moonlight to shine through. At that moment, a sail as black as the night itself appeared beside the ship.
"What?"
The lookout gasped.
He didn't understand. That ship made no sound while sailing. It cut through the sea, barely disturbing the water, and beyond that, how had he failed to notice it until it was already right beside them?
"A ghost shi—"
Before he could finish speaking, someone appeared and grabbed his throat, preventing him from making a sound.
"A... gu... ngh!"
The moment the man saw Allen, he went pale.
"Good evening, sir. I don't mean to bother you, so you can go to sleep now," Allen said politely.
The man clawed at Allen's hand, trying to free himself, but Allen didn't let go until he lost consciousness.
Allen laid the man down and gave a signal.
Nami nodded and boarded the ship along with Nojiko and Uta.
With Nami leading the operation as an expert thief, this would be easy.
'This shipment contains weapons, bullets, and gunpowder. Attacking with cannons could make everything explode, so this method is better~'
[And it will also let the girls practice stealth, right?]
"Of course," Allen replied with absolute confidence.
The truth was that he simply thought a nighttime stealth raid sounded cool, but he would never admit that. Otherwise, Lenalee might think he was stupid.