“I’m going to be the King of the Pirates!”

With an explosive shout—

Luffy unleashed a powerful punch, sending the tyrant of the East Blue, Krieg, flying.

The pirate with a bounty of 17 million berries, the so-called strongest pirate in the East Blue, had become another one of Luffy’s defeated foes.

The scene shocked everyone present.

Zoro watched his captain with an approving smile.

Sanji, who had looked down on Luffy at first, now regarded him seriously for the first time.

Usopp had already started screaming.

Nami, too, was a little surprised by Luffy’s strength.

Boom!

Krieg crashed into his massive ship, barely clinging to life.

“A loser like you should stop spouting such annoying nonsense,” Luffy said, staring at Krieg.

He wasn’t going to attack anymore—

But he made sure to express his frustration over Krieg’s words during their battle.

Throughout the fight—

Krieg had repeatedly mocked Luffy.

Mocked his dream.

And that really pissed Luffy off.

Krieg gritted his teeth, staring at Luffy with hatred.

“Ridiculous. You think that just because you defeated me, you can go to the Grand Line and become the Pirate King? What a joke.”

Still mocking him.

“Just because you failed doesn’t mean I will. Just watch! I will become the Pirate King!”

Luffy shouted back, his resolve unwavering.

“Hahaha! You? Succeed? What a joke! Do you even know how terrifying the Grand Line is? It’s a graveyard for pirates! Every pirate that enters is doomed to die!”

Krieg laughed wildly.

Luffy scowled, clearly annoyed.

Zoro quickly stopped him before he could attack again.

Instead, Zoro looked at Krieg seriously.

“Why do you say the Grand Line is a graveyard for pirates?”

Zoro was more concerned with the reality of the Grand Line.

Unlike Luffy, who charged forward blindly—

Zoro wanted to know what they were about to face.

After all, they were heading there next.

Krieg recalled his own miserable experience.

He had sailed into the Grand Line with a fleet of fifty massive ships.

Dreaming of conquering the legendary sea.

In the original timeline, he had encountered Dracule Mihawk.

This time—

It wasn’t Mihawk that crushed him.

It was the Navy.

『The Navy’s forces were overwhelming.』

And the result?

The same as meeting Mihawk.

The Navy officers stationed in the Grand Line had effortlessly crushed his entire fleet.

“One single warship. One single Rear Admiral… wiped out thousands of my men like they were nothing.”

Krieg’s face twisted in horror.

That battle had broken him.

“And above a Rear Admiral, there are Vice Admirals… then Admirals… then the Fleet Admiral himself.

Pirates have no future in the Grand Line.”

Zoro narrowed his eyes.

Even he was surprised by how overwhelming the Navy’s strength was in the Grand Line.

In the East Blue—

The Navy had seemed weak.

Almost unworthy of real concern.

But in the Grand Line?

The Navy was terrifying.

“What?! The Navy is that scary?”

Even Luffy was shocked.

The Navy officers he fought in the East Blue had been nothing.

“But there are so many pirates in the Grand Line! You’re telling me they can’t fight back?”

Nami remained silent.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

Something didn’t add up.

She still remembered Kuke and his crew.

That memory was carved into her mind.

She knew there was no way the Navy could do anything to them.

But after hearing this—

Nami began to worry.

“Fight back? Pirates are lucky if they even survive against the Navy.”

“No way! I refuse to believe all pirates are scared of the Navy! Ace wouldn’t be afraid!”

Luffy suddenly argued back.

“Ace?”

Krieg’s pupils shrank.

He had only been in the Grand Line for a short time.

But even he had heard of Fire Fist Ace.

With the Four Emperors keeping a low profile in recent years—

The most famous name among rising pirates was Ace.

“I heard about the Four Emperors. They rule the seas, right? Are they afraid of the Navy too?”

Zoro questioned.

He wasn’t as clueless as Luffy.

Even in the East Blue, he had heard of the Four Emperors.

“The Four Emperors?”

Krieg scoffed.

“I don’t know… but I haven’t heard about them doing anything lately.”

To Krieg, the Four Emperors weren’t even worth mentioning.

“But what about Kuke?”

Zoro asked.

That was what he really wanted to know.

His dream was to become the world’s greatest swordsman.

And to him—

Kuke was the strongest swordsman he had ever encountered.

Even if Kuke hadn’t officially trained him,

He was still the reason Zoro had developed his Three-Sword Style.

And more than anything—

Kuke had taken Kuina away.

Zoro had to find him.

“Kuke?”

Krieg frowned.

He had heard the name somewhere before…

But he couldn’t recall the details.

In reality—

Aside from her brief appearance in Golden City two years ago,

Kuina had done little to make headlines.

The World Government had also worked hard to suppress information about her.

Even in the New World, she wasn’t that well-known.

With a bounty of just one hundred million berries—

She was barely above the countless other pirates in the New World.

…

One hundred million might sound like a lot.

But in the New World?

It was nothing special.

“How can this be?”

Nami’s heart wavered.

How could Kuke and his crew not be famous?

Then how was she supposed to find them?

She started to panic.

Sanji, meanwhile, had no reaction.

He had no connection to Kuke whatsoever.

“Kuke… I feel like I’ve heard that name before…”

Luffy scratched his head.

But he couldn’t remember where.

Oh well.

He gave up trying to remember.

And despite everything Krieg had said—

His spirit remained as strong as ever.

The Grand Line still called to him.

Soon—

The Straw Hat Pirates arrived at Reverse Mountain.

The entrance to the Grand Line was right before them.

“I will become the Pirate King!”

“I will become the strongest swordsman!”

“I will find—”

The crew declared their dreams one by one.

But Nami—

She remained silent.

Luffy looked at her in confusion.

“Nami, why aren’t you saying yours?”

Zoro, meanwhile, eyed her warily.

Unlike Luffy, he knew Nami wasn’t fully committed to their crew yet.

Unlike the rest of them—

She hadn’t gone through life-and-death experiences with them.

Their bonds weren’t that deep.

Nami hesitated for a moment.

Then—

She clenched her fists.

And made her decision.

“I… I want to find someone.

I want to join their pirate crew.”

“What?! Nami, you’re leaving?!”

Luffy’s face twisted in shock.

Sanji, meanwhile, practically screamed.

“Nami~~~! Don’t go!”

That day—

The Straw Hat Pirates officially entered the Grand Line.

Beginning their journey.

One that would be anything but easy.

——

Try this book here under author’s THOUGHT, it is very similar to this but darker

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep