This is the East Blue!
Don gazed calmly at the pirate before him—a man with an arrogant smirk plastered across his face. His name was Dorry, bounty: 2.5 million Berries.
According to stereotypes, most pirates were reckless fools. Unless faced with a genuine crisis, they strutted about with arrogance and self-importance.
A bounty of 2.5 million might sound impressive, but in the weakest of the four seas—the East Blue—it was nothing more than pocket change.
What caught Don's attention, however, was the green tag hovering above Dorry's head:
[Elite Pirate]
So this was how the system evaluated enemies?
Don's eyes swept over the other pirates crowding around him.
Without exception, all their tags were gray:
[Lackey], [Small Fry], [Commoner]
Were these fixed evaluations, or were they relative to him?
He pondered silently.
But his calm demeanor only fueled Dorry's rage.
He had been at sea for a year, raiding several islands. While he hadn't seized anything of great value, he was accustomed to weaklings cowering in fear before him.
Yet now, this brat before him—his blade already resting against the boy's neck—had the audacity to drift off in thought.
And with his men encircling them, Dorry felt his authority being challenged.
"You little bastard, you've got some nerve!"
Dorry's face twisted into a feral snarl. His voice dropped cold and low as he gripped his blade tighter and slashed hard across Don's neck.
Too easy!
He froze. His eyes darted back to Don—who was staring at him with an unsettling calm.
The wound across his neck wasn't bleeding. Instead, it burned with orange-red flames that consumed the cut.
When the fire died out, the wound was gone—completely healed.
[Current HP: 100%]
Dorry stumbled back a step, terror flashing in his eyes.
His wits might have been dull, but even he understood—this was an opponent he couldn't possibly defeat.
Don cast him a fleeting glance. The flames wreathing his body receded, and he walked toward the pirate ship docked at the shore.
The gathered pirates froze like frightened prey, quickly stepping aside to open a path. None dared to stop him.
Gulp!
Dorry swallowed hard.
"C-Captain?"
One of the pirates, seemingly a small-time leader, edged closer and called out nervously, startling Dorry.
"You fool!"
Humiliated by his own fear, Dorry's hand trembled as he clenched his cutlass.
"Board the ship!"
After a long moment of hesitation, he barked the order.
On this deserted island, not boarding meant certain death.
Once the flames consumed it, there'd be nothing left of the island anyway.
As for swimming across the seas to another island? Impossible.
They had only one choice: return to the ship and await whatever fate awaited them.
Don understood this perfectly.
Other than knowing he was in the East Blue, he knew nothing else. Which meant he needed a guide.
And besides… these pirates were nothing but walking purses.
After all, bounty hunters existed in this world.
Moments later, Don sat on a wooden crate, facing several dozen pirates standing uneasily before him.
"Where's the nearest Marine base?"
His question made the group exchange nervous glances before all eyes fell on Dorry.
Dorry cursed inwardly but forced an answer.
"Marine Branch 16!"
"Good. Set sail for Branch 16." Don nodded with a faint smile.
"We're pirates!"
Dorry's eyes nearly bulged from his head. He blurted out the protest before he could stop himself.
The others stirred with unease.
Snap!
Don flicked his fingers. A spark leapt from his fingertip—then exploded into a roaring fireball over a meter wide.
The pirates recoiled in horror, staring at the blazing sphere suspended above his hand.
"Set sail."
This time, no one dared to object. Pirates scrambled across the deck, even those with nothing to do feigning busyness just to avoid his gaze.
Only when the fireball dissipated did they finally breathe again.
Dorry, trembling, gathered the loot they'd plundered from the island into a sack and offered it to Don.
In the face of overwhelming fear, even fools understood the meaning of obedience.
"This is the East Blue, right?"
Don gave the treasure a cursory glance. He wasn't interested in its value. What mattered were answers.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Dorry's arrogance had completely vanished. He answered with the meekness of a beaten dog, one step away from groveling at his feet.
"Do you know Windmill Village?"
Dorry blinked in confusion.
"What about Shimotsuki Village?"
Even more confusion.
"Do you know Garp?"
This time, recognition flickered.
"The Hero of the Marines, Garp?" Dorry asked hesitantly, clearly bewildered at hearing the name from Don.
So he knows Garp.
Don nodded. At least he wasn't completely clueless.
"Who's the current Fleet Admiral?"
Dorry's face went blank again.
This man knew a few things, but not much.
After half an hour of interrogation, Don still hadn't gotten a clear sense of the era.
Dorry only knew Garp as a legendary, unreachable figure. He didn't even realize Garp hailed from the East Blue.
As for the exact year—they were at a complete loss.
Just when Don was about to lose patience, Dorry produced a newspaper and hurriedly slipped away.
Ocean Calendar 1511.
In the corner was Dorry's own photograph with his bounty of 2.5 million Berries. That probably explained why he had been spared so far.
The headline read:
"Empress of Amazon Lily, Captain of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock—Bounty: 80 million Berries—has agreed to an alliance with the Marines as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Don stared at the front-page image of the still-young Pirate Empress and blinked.
"So… about eight or nine years before Luffy sets sail?"
From memory, it should be around year 1520. The details were fuzzy, but it was close enough.
For now, it was enough to orient himself and lay out his plan—his plan to grow stronger.
The Flare-Flare Fruit was his foundation, and the system his hidden trump card.
But Haki and swordsmanship? Those were paths he would not abandon.
Since this was the East Blue, he'd have to make a stop at Shimotsuki Village. It might be the easiest place for him to find a method to train Haki and to learn proper swordsmanship.