**Chapter 7: I Am the Man Who Wants to Become the Home-Stealing King**
The Moonlight Archipelago covered a fairly wide area, with over twenty islands of various sizes, both inhabited and uninhabited. The furthest distance from one end to the other would take about a day's sailing.
On the other side of the archipelago from Allen's current location was a small island with several villages. One village name in particular caught his attention.
Sure enough, Syrup Village...
Allen murmured silently to himself. Looking back at the kneeling pirates before him, he already had his answer.
The time he had crossed over was the same day Luffy recruited Zoro. Adding the two days of sailing, the timing suggested it was about time for Kuro, who had been lying low for years, to make his move and close the net.
Based on his memory, after Kuro faked his death back then, he infiltrated the mansion of a wealthy man in Syrup Village under the guise of a butler, plotting to seize their fortune.
Later, the wealthy couple died, and their fortune passed to their only daughter, Kaya.
Kuro's plan was to have his underlings attack the village, with his hypnotist Jango taking advantage of the chaos to kill the young lady. Before doing so, he would use hypnosis to make her write a will leaving her inheritance to the butler.
Thinking of this, a cold sweat broke out on Allen's back.
What a meticulous plan! Truly terrifying when you think about it deeply. It could be called the pinnacle of intellectual combat.
Allen would like to call it "Kuro's Faked Death"!!
...
Let's not discuss how messed up Kuro's "Three-Year Plan to Live a Quiet Life" was for now. Allen looked back at the pirates.
"Where are your comrades? Are they all on this island?"
"Y... yes. Our ship is moored behind the cliff on the other side. The Cat Brothers are also on board."
One pirate nodded and answered honestly.
He also hoped the reputation of the Cat Brothers might intimidate Allen a little.
But he had no understanding of Allen's strength.
As for the Black Cat Pirates, Allen already had a plan in mind. He smiled and said:
"Let's go. We're heading back to the ship."
"Huh? Back to the ship?"
Hearing this, the pirates looked at each other, confused.
Allen kicked one of them, urging them to get up and lead the way.
"Hurry up. It'll be dark soon, and we might miss dinner with the brothers."
Pirates: "???"
Although utterly baffled, pressured by Allen's strength, the pirates turned and led the way towards the coast where their pirate ship was moored.
Allen followed them as they wove through the layers of tree shadows. The pirates carried the wild boar ahead, whispering and discussing something among themselves.
"Talking about having dinner with the brothers... This guy might actually want to join us."
"He might really be. After all, he's a lone Marine."
"I've got it."
A pirate wearing a white headband had a flash of insight and lowered his voice:
"Maybe he wasn't separated from his team. Maybe he stole loot from a warship and ran away?"
"—Hiss, so that's it."
Hearing this, the other pirates inhaled sharply, nodding in approval of his deduction.
Finally, the white-headband pirate couldn't help but look back at Allen, cautiously testing the waters:
"Um... Sir Marine, could it be that you want to..."
"I'm not a Marine."
Allen interrupted him, then added: "I quit a couple of days ago to become a pirate."
"Oh, I see."
The white-headband pirate chuckled sheepishly. Hearing Allen's words, he and the others all wore expressions of 'just as we thought.'
The pirates had already firmly decided that Allen's situation was exactly as they had deduced, and that he was now planning to join their pirate crew.
Thinking this, the pirates' fear immediately lessened considerably.
The white-headband man turned his head and grinned, saying:
"I get it, I get it. Don't worry, nobody on our ship asks about your past. Once you're on board, you're one of us."
"Really? That's good, hahaha. I was afraid you guys might not accept me since I just beat you up."
Allen laughed along.
Seeing this, the pirates completely let down their guard. The white-headband man continued, smiling:
"Not at all, not at all. By the way, brother, what should we call you?"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. As for what to call me..."
Allen raised a thumb and pointed at himself.
He smiled slightly and said:
"Just call me Captain Allen."
"Where is that 'just'?!!"
The pirates glared at him, baring their teeth in anger.
Allen stopped walking. The smile on his face gradually faded. He clenched his fist and swung it towards a thick, sturdy tree beside him.
*Thump!*
*Crack—Crack—!*
A crack appeared on the tree trunk, spreading around it. Finally, the entire tree came crashing down with a crash!
"I won't say anything if you call me by my name before boarding the ship, but once on board..."
Allen's tone was mocking, his voice cold: "What should you call me, do you think?"
"Yes! Captain Allen!!"
The pirates dropped the wild boar they were carrying, bending at the waist in a synchronized bow, their posture stiff and extremely respectful.
Allen nodded, looking satisfied. "Good, good. As my first batch of subordinates, when we get back, you four will be squad leaders."
"Thank you, Captain!!"
The pirates stood up and bowed again respectfully.
...
Soon, the group was on the move again. As he walked, Allen pondered.
His ultimate goal was to form a large fleet. Recruiting slowly himself definitely couldn't compare to directly seizing ships and taking crews. Originally, he planned to target another pirate crew, but he hadn't expected to run into this group first.
Thinking about it carefully, the Black Cat Pirates were quite suitable. Their captain had been gone for three years, so the bond with his underlings had probably faded considerably. Especially with someone as cruel as Kuro.
There probably wasn't much camaraderie to begin with.
As for Syrup Village, he didn't plan to go there. His primary target now was to recruit Sanji before Straw Hat Luffy did. Naturally, the faster, the better.
Usopp and Kuro weren't worth him wasting time making a special trip.
Ever since the scapegoat 'Kuro' was executed three years ago, the Marines had even revoked his bounty. There was no need to recruit him onto a ship.
Someone who, in order to live a quiet life, planned to eliminate all his knowing underlings after the plan succeeded—asking someone like that to follow him and become a pirate simply wasn't realistic.
Using someone who might run off at any moment wasn't reassuring either.
His goal was clear now. Knock out all the pirates on the ship, then take both the ship and the men and leave directly.
After stealing Kuro's home base, set sail immediately, head to the Baratie to steal Sanji, then head straight to the nearby Conomi Islands to steal Nami from Arlong Park.
With that lineup, he could pretty much start venturing into the Grand Line. The rest could be dealt with later—after all, what kind of talent isn't found in the Grand Line?
Starting out with just his fists, ships and crew all stolen.
...
A little later, the pirates finally led Allen out of the forest.
"This is the place, Captain Allen. Our ship is moored down below."
The white-headband pirate walked to the edge of the cliff, pointed down towards the coast, and turned back to say.
Allen gave him a strange glance.
You changed your tune pretty fast, kid.