East Sea.
The Goe Island Archipelago.
A ship with a ram's head was docked at a simple pier outside Coco Village.
A red flag bearing a yellow windmill fluttered from the top of the ship's mast.
The yellow windmill, from afar, looked as if it were constantly spinning.
It exuded warmth and joy.
On the Pseudo Merry.
No.
It should be the "Going Merry" now. Kong Tai and the other four had woken up early, standing by the ship's side and looking towards Coco Village.
Last night, the villagers, too excited, had drunk themselves into a stupor.
It seemed no one would wake up until noon today.
Although Kong Tai and the others had also had a bit too much to drink last night, their long-term training meant they were not as deeply intoxicated as the villagers, so they woke up early in the morning.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"
Gu Yina stared in the direction of the village, a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
Here, for the first time, she had felt so happy.
This was not the happiness derived from improving her strength; it was a happiness that brought immense satisfaction to both heart and spirit.
Kong Tai ruffled Gu Yina's hair, looking towards the village with a smile.
"There's nothing to say goodbye to. This is just a beautiful memory in our lives."
"And our journey, it's only just begun, moving towards more unknowns, more adventures."
"Believe me, on our future adventures, we will surely find more satisfaction and joy."
As he spoke, a flicker of regret crossed Kong Tai's eyes.
If there was anything to regret, it was not meeting Nami.
He imagined she must be on some pirate ship right now, fighting thrilling battles with pirates!
"Mm! I've always believed in you, Kong Tai."
Hearing this, Gu Yina's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Ah Hua and the other two also nodded quickly.
They all believed that their future adventures would be filled with more wonderful people and scenery.
Kong Tai withdrew his gaze and turned towards the sea.
His voice, full of excitement and anticipation, rang out.
"Alright, everyone, the Going Merry sets sail! Our adventure begins now!"
...
A day after leaving the Goe Island Archipelago, their excitement had subsided, and they returned to their usual selves.
Kong Tai continued his sunbathing endeavor on the ship's bow.
He hardly trained now.
This was because ordinary training equipment was no longer useful to him.
All he could do now was to endlessly expend his Armament Haki, hoping to improve the quality of his Haki and his Slash-like Void sooner rather than later. Gu Yina spent most of her time training, much like Zoro on the Going Merry.
The rest of the time, she drank tea and read newspapers on the deck, chatting with Kong Tai and sunbathing.
As for Ah Hua and the other two, they were either in the kitchen or lying on the deck, idly chatting and gossiping.
The sea was so boring. Only the islands, full of unknowns, could restore their vitality.
Just then, A Luo, from the crow's nest, holding a telescope, shouted down.
"Ship, directly ahead at twelve o'clock, a pirate ship spotted."
Upon hearing A Luo's shout, everyone on the ship's spirits instantly lifted.
There was one form of entertainment on this incredibly boring sea.
That was, of course, encountering other pirate crews!
As they were all small sailing ships, they were fast. In no time, the two ships met at sea.
Looking at the Jolly Roger on the opposing pirate ship.
Ah Hua, holding a stack of bounty posters, flipped through them. Finally, he stopped at a not-so-conspicuous bounty poster.
He looked up at the pirate flag again, pushed his glasses up, and calmly stated.
"The Mad Bull Pirates!"
"Captain, 'Kuby Rad'."
"Bounty: 15,000,000 Berries."
He then reached behind him and pulled out a stack of newspapers, extracting one and saying.
"From the news a few months ago, Kuby Rad is a rookie pirate who set sail only a few months ago."
"A rookie pirate?"
Kong Tai stroked his chin, contemplating. "Then, with a bounty of 15,000,000 Berries on his first bounty, this guy must either be very strong or a very cruel individual."
As he spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He clearly leaned towards the latter.
In the East Blue, where the average bounty didn't exceed 10,000,000, to have such a high bounty on their first outing could only mean one of these two situations.
After all, Krieg only had a bounty of 17,000,000.
He wondered what kind of cruel acts this guy had committed to warrant such a high bounty.
He looked up at Ah Hua, signaling him to continue.
Ah Hua looked at the newspaper and continued.
"Don't let the fact that he's only been sailing for a few months fool you. He has already raided six small towns."
"Mm!"
Just then, Ah Hua's eyes lit up, and he said urgently.
"After each town raid, this guy transforms into a massive bull-headed monster covered in thick fur, wreaking havoc on the raided towns."
"That's why the Navy gave him the nickname 'Mad Bull'."
"A bull-headed monster?"
"Could this guy be a Devil Fruit user, just like Kong Tai said!"
A Luo and A Tao had initially been indifferent to this "Mad Bull Pirates" captain.
After all, they weren't the ones who had to deal with him.
But after hearing Ah Hua's words, they both couldn't help but show excited expressions.
A Devil Fruit user!
This was the first time they had encountered one!
What they didn't know was that they had actually met Devil Fruit users before.
One was the Okama King, "Emporio Ivankov."
Ivankov was a miracle person who ate the "Hormone-Hormone Fruit."
His fruit's ability could control a person's body temperature, pigment, growth, and emotions, transforming humans from within, even changing their sex to become Newkama, or okama.
If Ivankov had used his fruit's abilities during his fight with Kong Tai, Kong Tai would probably have been defeated even faster.
Another was "Inazuma," also known as "Lightning," who always followed Ivankov and could be either male or female.
Inazuma was a Newkama transformed by Ivankov's fruit abilities.
He ate the "Choki-Choki Fruit" and became a scissor person.
His ability was to transform any part of his body into scissors, capable of cutting through anything.
What he cut with his abilities could be used like cloth for a certain period.
As of now, it was uncertain if he could cut through living things as easily as he could cut through the ground.
If he could cut through living things, then his ability would be quite invincible.
What he cut with his abilities was different from the "Ope Ope no Mi."
The Ope Ope no Mi could restore what it cut.
And the human body cut by it would be no different than usual.
But the Choki-Choki Fruit was different.
This thing could only destroy. If it could be used on a human body, it could easily kill anyone.
He figured that such a buggy ability probably couldn't be used on living beings, right?