Kira scratched her head, clearly overwhelmed by having to make such an important decision so suddenly.
She'd thought there would still be a long voyage ahead before she needed to make a decision, so she hadn't really given it much thought yet.
The girl fell into silence.
"There's no need to rush," Marcus said gently. "We'll be staying on this island for a while anyway. You could even wait until we reach Loguetown before deciding. But once we get there, if you want to come running back here to find Koby, you'll have to spend over a month on a ship again."
"You guys are also heading to the Grand Line, right?" Luffy asked. Naturally, he knew about Loguetown's significance, it was, after all, both the birthplace and the final resting place of the Pirate King.
It was one of the most famous islands in the East Blue.
Of course, he was also eager to see the execution platform where the Pirate King had met his end. It was like a pilgrimage site for anyone with dreams of finding the One Piece.
Marcus thought for a moment before responding hesitantly. "Actually, we haven't really decided yet."
"What's there to think about? As pirates, of course you should go see the Grand Line," Luffy replied without any hesitation.
At that, Marcus shook his head and pointed at Alvida.
"Even though she's a pirate, I'm not. And honestly, in her current state, if she went around calling herself a pirate, who would even recognize her?"
"Huh? You're not a pirate?!" Luffy was genuinely surprised, turning to look at Alvida with confusion.
When he'd learned about Alvida, his first assumption had been that Marcus must also be a pirate, maybe even her subordinate, like Koby had once been.
Alvida just shrugged in response.
She honestly didn't care much whether she was considered a pirate anymore or not.
Before, she'd been a pirate because she had to be, it was the only way she could survive and thrive on the sea.
But now? After seeing that chest full of gold that Marcus possessed, wealth that wasn't obtained through plunder or backbreaking labor, but earned through his own unique abilities, and in such massive quantities, she'd realized something important.
Honestly, just that much gold alone would be enough to live in luxury for the rest of her life without ever working again.
And if Marcus wanted to, he could continue to acquire more wealth. Endlessly, in fact. This was money obtained without the need for fierce competition, dangerous raids, or grueling work. So why bother attacking merchant ships? Why go searching for buried treasure when Marcus himself was like an inexhaustible treasure trove?
At that moment, it wasn't just Luffy who was surprised, Kira was absolutely shocked.
"What?! You are a pirate?!"
They'd been living on the same ship for so long without ever flying a pirate flag or engaging in any raids or criminal activity. She'd honestly assumed the two of them were just on some kind of romantic cruise around the islands.
Kira's shock made the Straw Hat Pirates exchange glances.
Wait, so you three don't actually know each other that well?
Zoro found the entire situation hilarious and slapped his thigh, laughing outright.
"Hahaha, you guys sure make an interesting crew!" Luffy couldn't help but comment with a grin.
Nami, overhearing the conversation, also found their dynamic amusing, and her overall impression of the three travelers improved a lot.
After that revelation, the two groups chatted about various other topics, including recent events in Orange Town and their adventures.
When the meal finally ended, both parties prepared to go their separate ways for the time being.
Now both Kira and Marcus found themselves needing to seriously consider their futures and what they wanted to do next.
---
Back on their ship, Kira retreated to her own cabin to think things over in private.
Meanwhile, Marcus headed down to the ship's hold to visit what he'd come to think of as his primary source of experience points.
The animals had been breeding quite successfully over the past few days.
He fed another round of wheat to the crowded animals, looking at the increasingly packed storage area.
The space was getting seriously overcrowded with cows, sheep, and chickens of various ages.
He drew his iron sword and began what had become a routine culling process, eliminating the excess animals to maintain a manageable population.
When he was finished, only two cows, two sheep, and two chickens remained.
Looking at his character screen, he saw that his level had increased to three.
He let out a frustrated sigh.
This leveling speed was way too slow for his liking.
If this were actually a video game, he wouldn't need to worry about physical space limitations, he could just set up dense, automated farming operations.
Especially with chickens, which were notoriously easy to breed in massive numbers.
In the actual Minecraft game, you could create chicken farms so large and productive they'd lag the entire system.
He picked up some eggs he'd collected from the chickens and threw them against the wall.
Four baby chicks immediately appeared and scattered across the floor.
"Not bad luck," he murmured.
After making that remark, he left the livestock area and climbed back up to the main deck.
At that moment, Alvida was lounging leisurely on a deck chair in a bikini, her figure showing off her unique charm under the warm sunlight. Her smooth skin seemed to reflect a soft glow.
She took a sip of orange juice and noticed Marcus approaching.
Without any hint of shyness or embarrassment, she reached for a bottle of sunscreen.
"Want to help me put some on?"
Marcus didn't hesitate, he walked right over without any awkwardness.
At some point during their travels, Alvida had developed a habit of sunbathing, and she seemed to enjoy having him help apply sunscreen when they had nothing else to do.
It wasn't like sunscreen was actually essential for her anyway. After all, the Slip-Slip Fruit could literally slide away any skin imperfections or damage. Marcus knew that after eating the Devil Fruit, her skin had instantly become flawless, so sunscreen was pretty much optional from a practical standpoint.
"Do you think I should become a pirate?" Marcus asked as he began applying the lotion.
"Become a pirate? Sure, why not," Alvida replied without any objection.
"That's not exactly what I meant," Marcus clarified.
"I thought I'd meet Luffy in Loguetown, so I've been sailing with a tourist's mindset, just enjoying the journey while thinking about what I want to do with my life next."
Alvida understood what he was getting at. She fell silent, turning the question over in her mind. And she too began seriously thinking about their future for the first time.
The way a person thinks when they have money versus when they don't is completely different. It's like when you're starving, all you can think about is filling your stomach. But once you're well-fed, you start considering all sorts of other possibilities and desires.
Similarly, when you're broke, your only focus is figuring out how to make money. But now that they had suddenly become incredibly wealthy, that chest of gold could easily be worth hundreds of millions of berries when sold, their entire perspective had shifted.
For some major nations, that amount might not seem like much. But for smaller countries, that much gold could cover their entire annual tribute to the World Government.
Such massive wealth, now in their possession, meant they could live in comfort and luxury for the rest of their lives without any financial worries.
So naturally, her thinking had shifted to much grander possibilities.
With this kind of wealth, was there even any need to be a pirate anymore? She could think bigger, like founding her own country, becoming a noble ruler, living a life of complete luxury and power.
In this era, who didn't dream of being nobility? To put it bluntly, the Celestial Dragons were the ultimate example of wealth and power, symbols broadcast across the entire world. There were even rumors that they could directly summon Marine Admirals to do their bidding.
If given the chance to become a Celestial Dragon, who would refuse? And even without that specific title, with enough wealth to found a nation and become nobility, what was really the difference between being a World Noble and a local noble with absolute power?
By the time her thoughts had reached this point, Alvida was feeling excited.
While she was getting lost in these increasingly grandiose fantasies, Marcus continued the conversation.
"What do you think about joining the Revolutionary Army?"
---
---
Maybe another chapter later. First, I need to work on SL and MILF.