Ren had no knowledge of the sword-forging efforts. On this departure from Inazuma for overseas, he had brought a considerable number of personnel with him.
With Shutenmaru having returned to Inazuma, manpower was also needed abroad to handle the approaching war. To that end, Yayoi, Nanatsuki — and even Buggy, Enel, Ayame, Felice, and Cat, Dog, and Fish — seven individuals in total had set out to sea.
Of the latter seven, however, everyone except Ayame intended to form an entirely new pirate crew.
At the moment, the two fifteen-year-old boys, Buggy and Enel, were locked in a furious argument over who would serve as captain. Ayame, now twenty, had no interest in sailing the seas with Buggy and Enel — she would much rather remain by Ren's side.
And so Buggy, Enel, and Felice departed from the New World, accompanied by Duke Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu — the three little animals — planning to reach Loguetown before choosing a different route back.
Among them, Felice served as the lookout, while Kawamatsu took on the role of navigator, steering the ship's course. Duke Inuarashi could barely whip up a few dishes, so he assumed the role of temporary cook.
The rest had no standout skills and could only serve as deckhands and combatants.
"Still, if we are forming a pirate crew, we really should have someone who rides a unicycle and breathes fire, and someone who trains lions to jump through flaming hoops to pass the time," Buggy said, pinching his red nose.
"What kind of pirate crew are you trying to turn this into — a circus? Have you completely stopped caring about your own red nose?" Enel retorted.
Buggy was unbelievable — he hated his own red nose so much, yet he wanted to model the crew after a circus. Was he afraid people would not already know he was a clown?
"Not at all!" Buggy grinned wide.
He even pulled out a handkerchief and began polishing his nose to ensure it gleamed at all times.
"Haven't you heard what Lord Ren told us about the Fatui?"
"Yeah, I heard about them. So what?"
"Only the strongest can become Harbingers — don't tell me you are actually entertaining that thought?"
"Hehehe... don't you think the number one Harbinger, Il Dottore, and my red nose are a match made in heaven?" Buggy said with a smug expression.
The very nose that used to disgust him now somehow struck him as dashing and handsome.
"This is the guidance of fate! The First Harbinger of the Fatui — no one but the great Buggy himself is worthy of that title!"
"Are you an idiot?" Enel said, exasperated.
"Qualifying for the Fatui depends on strength first, then value. Whether or not you have a red nose has absolutely nothing to do with it!"
"Shut up. You are just jealous, and I do not blame you."
Buggy's face was full of mockery.
"It is not my fault that none of the Executives have a codename like 'Long Ears!' Maybe you should go back to being a ninja."
"Didn't that snake guy have a subordinate with ears just like yours?"
"You bastard!"
"There they go again, fighting like the idiots they are!" Nekomamushi picked his teeth with a fishbone and watched Buggy and Enel wrestle on the deck.
He shook his head from time to time.
"When will those two morons grow up and be as mature as me, nya?"
"Hey, Nekomamushi — where are the fish in the fridge?" Duke Inuarashi's voice rang out at that moment.
Nekomamushi hastily spat his fishbone into the sea and bellowed back, "How should I know? Are you accusing me of eating them, you stinking dog?!"
"The smell of fish has not even faded from your mouth yet, Nekomamushi!"
"You want to fight, you bastard?!"
Felice: ...
"What kind of sorry excuse for a pirate crew have I joined?"
Meanwhile, as Buggy and the others set sail, another group in Paradise was also launching their voyage upon the winds and waves.
After paying a visit to his former ship's doctor at the Twin Cape, Shanks continued onward with his sole remaining crewmate from his days under Roger.
"Hurry up, Beckman! Pull in the sails — the storm is coming!" Shanks shouted at the top of his lungs while frantically scrambling to furl the sails himself.
Once they entered the New World, the two of them alone were simply not enough hands on deck.
"Hey, Shanks — at this rate, we will be dead from exhaustion before we even reach the next island!" Beckman clambered up the mast and bellowed over the wind and rain. "We have to find a proper navigator, and soon!"
"That depends on luck. A good navigator is not easy to come by," Shanks shouted back. In truth, he was not particularly tired himself — these winds and waves were nothing to someone who had already weathered the New World.
Beckman, however, was still relatively green.
But this was something that could not be rushed. A skilled navigator was absolutely crucial. Hire a mediocre one, and they might steer the entire crew to their doom.
Countless novice pirates met their end at sea every year for precisely this reason. Shanks, adhering to the principle of quality over quantity, had deliberately not recruited a navigator before departing Loguetown.
Fortunately, his years of seafaring experience meant he could read the weather patterns of Paradise well enough. They should be able to manage until they reached the next island.
"The people who live along the Grand Line know these waters far better than we do. We will find a proper navigator once we get there!"
"And do not forget a cook!" Beckman added hastily. Relying on Shanks to prepare meals would be worse than just eating raw fish.
Heaven only knew how dreadful their food had been lately.
The Marines, for their part, were as overworked and frantic as ever.
The colossal mess left behind by both Roger and Shiki had them thoroughly stumped. Had it not been for Roger's final declaration at his execution, they could have deployed their surplus forces to the New World — but the dawn of the Great Pirate Era had caused pirate numbers in Paradise to skyrocket exponentially.
Since the vast majority of the World Government's member nations were located in Paradise and the Four Blues, the Marines had no choice but to scatter their forces across those regions to maintain order.
Even so, the problem currently vexing Sengoku and the others still traced back to Roger himself.
From becoming the Pirate King in Sea Circle Calendar 1495 to turning himself in at Sea Circle Calendar 1500, Roger had vanished for five entire years. Who could say whether he had not left some wicked progeny in some forgotten corner of the world during that time?
But five years was five years.
The number of children born across the entire world during that period was staggering.
They could not very well kill all of them, could they?
The World Government certainly wanted to — but that was as far as it went. If Roger had only disappeared for a single year, they might have been able to pull it off, given that the number of children born in any single town per year was relatively small. But five years? That was simply impossible.
[
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