There are many ways to categorize pirate crews. Small, elite pirate crews and massive grand fleets coexist.
If it’s a very large fleet, the ship’s doctor might only handle medical treatment. But the smaller the crew, the more common it is for members to hold multiple roles.
Combat is an unavoidable part of being a pirate. Even the ship’s doctor and cook usually need a certain level of fighting ability.
Anyone capable of becoming an officer, regardless of their profession, can generally be used as a combatant without issue.
After bidding farewell to Crocus, Laboon carried Brook on his back and followed Nereus and the others on their journey to Fish-Man Island.
Along the way, the changes of the era were evident. The age known as the “Great Pirate Era” had truly arrived. Not only near Reverse Mountain, but throughout the voyage, pirate ship wreckage could often be seen.
People set sail for all kinds of personal reasons, but Roger’s words seemed to have given pirates a common goal.
No matter what they were actually doing, they could all claim that One Piece was their objective.
Pirates did not only come from the Four Seas. Among the many islands of the Grand Line, countless people had already hoisted their sails and embarked on the path of pirates.
However, being born in the Grand Line did not mean they were naturally strong. Aside from a small minority, pirates who began their voyages directly in the Grand Line often suffered even heavier losses.
The New World was also undergoing tremendous upheaval. More accurately, it was the region most heavily affected.
In other seas, the source of change was Roger alone. In the New World, however, there were two people causing the upheaval.
Roger’s declaration was only a spiritual influence, but the imprisonment of the Golden Lion had tangible consequences.
Many of the Golden Lion’s plans had failed before, whether it was his Flying Empire or the defeat at the Battle of Edd War, both of which caused him considerable losses.
Yet none of that had shaken the Flying Pirates’ position. Golden Lion remained one of the New World’s rulers.
The reason was simple: the Golden Lion himself was still there, and his combat strength remained intact.
Whether it was the great pirate forces of today or the Yonko crews of the original timeline, the captain’s strength was always the most important factor.
Even if they lost all their officers and subordinates, they would still remain overlords and could simply recruit new followers.
But once they lost the “Emperor” himself, the strength of those forces would be greatly diminished.
With the Golden Lion’s imprisonment, his sphere of influence completely collapsed and began to be swallowed up and absorbed by neighboring pirates.
The pirate crews that had once been affiliated with him started fighting over territory and acting independently.
A small number who still believed in the Golden Lion and believed he could escape Impel Down went into hiding, waiting for the day he would reappear.
The influx of newly departed pirates turned the New World into an even more chaotic powder keg. However, as various major powers stepped in, the territories of the New World began to be redistributed.
The Big Mom Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were the two forces that benefited the most from this turmoil.
Whitebeard was still a pirate. His territory had not been handed to him by others, and he still needed tax revenue; otherwise, he could not maintain the daily expenses of his pirate crew.
However, compared to ordinary brutal pirates, Whitebeard’s methods were relatively gentle.
Living in the New World, the local people had long grown accustomed to paying protection fees in exchange for safety. The pirates occupying their islands changed again and again, and among them, Whitebeard was one of the best.
In the current environment, flying the flag of Whitebeard or Charlotte Linlin meant safety. Aside from reckless fools, anyone who had spent time in the New World would choose to avoid them.
A single pirate flag was enough to allow an island to survive in this turbulent age.
Wang Zhi and the others also gained benefits, obtaining what they wanted amid the chaos of the era.
Yet gradually, a new title began to be associated with Whitebeard. People seemed to believe that he was the man closest to becoming the Pirate King.
Aside from the forces that occupied vast territories in the New World, there were many other noteworthy figures. Kaido’s Beasts Pirates were also on the rise, though they were currently holed up in Wano Country and did not yet control much territory.
There were also several active lone wolves, such as Redfield and Douglas Bullet.
Redfield now acted entirely on his own whims. With no subordinates or companions, where he would appear next and what he would do were complete mysteries.
Although Redfield was considered an unstable factor by the Marines, compared to Bullet, he was practically a model citizen.
The period when Bullet sailed with Roger was actually the time when the Marines felt the most at ease. Aside from challenging Roger, Bullet did not concern himself with anything else.
Instead, it was Bullet, who had left Roger’s crew and begun acting on his own, who caused considerable destruction.
And all of this reached its peak after Roger’s death.
However, compared to the indiscriminate destruction of the original timeline, Bullet now had a new goal.
The reason for Bullet’s rampage in the original timeline was simple—Roger had died.
For Bullet, who had always regarded Roger as his target and sought to surpass him, Roger’s death meant he would never have the chance to do so.
But things were different now.
Although Roger was dead, there was still someone alive in this world whom Roger himself had acknowledged as being stronger than him.
After a brief period of rampaging, this allowed Bullet to quickly calm down and find a new goal.
At this time, Bullet was on an island in the New World near Fish-Man Island. In a sense, Bullet was very straightforward—once he had decided on a goal, he intended to act on it directly.
When he was applying for a travel permit in the New World, the staff at the office casually asked:
“What is your purpose for going to Fish-Man Island?”
“To challenge Nereus.”
This blunt answer left the office staff stunned. In the end, the information was reported back to Ryugu Palace, and Nanamo, who was acting as regent, naturally refused entry to such an unstable element.
She did not think she would lose to him, but she could not guarantee that any destruction caused after Bullet landed could be contained within acceptable limits.
In the end, she rejected Bullet on the grounds that Nereus was not currently present and that his challenge would be relayed once Nereus returned.
Perhaps because his earlier rampage had already vented most of his irrational impulses, Bullet merely asked for an approximate timeframe after hearing the answer and honestly waited where he was.
“So that’s the situation. That guy is still waiting over in the New World. But I think if he keeps waiting without getting an answer, he might go crazy. What do you think, Dad?”
Looking at Nereus, who had completed his journey and returned to Fish-Man Island, Nanamo explained everything that had happened and waited for his response.
“You mean he hasn’t done anything and has just been waiting there?”
“Yes. Originally, I wanted to fight him, but he said he needed to conserve his strength and couldn’t waste stamina on me. Since he showed no intention of making a move, I only kept him under observation.”
Without a travel permit, Bullet, as a Devil Fruit user, did not dare dive into the sea recklessly. If he were allowed to land, Nanamo truly could not control the extent of the destruction.
But underwater, Bullet’s threat level was effectively zero.
“He is indeed a troublesome fellow. I’ll go take a look. We can’t leave an unstable factor like that there forever.”
As he spoke, Nereus casually tossed a wallet to Nanamo and then headed toward the exit of Fish-Man Island.
“Your gift.”
Getting a gift for Nanamo was actually very simple. She had no interest in any novel things. The wallet contained a number of checks that could be directly exchanged for cash at the currency exchange houses in the Sabaody Archipelago.
As for where the checks came from, they had encountered some pirates on the return journey. Since those pirates had entertained evil intentions, Nereus had naturally chosen to “maximize their value.”
Their blood and souls were used to fill the River of Death, while their corpses were handed over to the Marines for bounty money.
Nothing had gone to waste.
While Nanamo was still counting the checks, Nereus had already left.
Meanwhile, Chloe carried a small pouch around, handing out gifts to people she knew.
By the time she arrived at Nanamo’s place with a new wallet alongside Amphitrite, Nereus was already nowhere to be seen.
Chloe had not yet participated much in combat, so the gift she gave Nanamo was merely an empty wallet. Even so, Nanamo happily accepted it and placed it in her display cabinet.
Only when her current wallet was completely worn out would she consider replacing it with the new one.
“A battle like this… don’t you want to go watch it?”
After hearing that Nereus had likely gone off to fight someone, Amphitrite was somewhat curious as to why Nanamo had not followed him.
The battles of the strong could provide valuable experience even to spectators, especially when it involved someone of Nereus’s caliber. Opportunities to witness people like him fight were exceedingly rare.
A battle that occurred under these circumstances would also be very different from ordinary training.
“Hmm… Dad’s fights actually aren’t very entertaining to watch. If it were Roger and Whitebeard fighting, maybe there’d be something to gain from watching.”
“But Dad’s bad habits… Sister Amphy, you should know them.
Sometimes Dad lets his opponent have a few moves first, then instantly defeats them in return. If he’s in a bad mood, the other side can’t even break through his defenses.
That Bullet guy can’t even beat me, so there’s probably nothing worth learning from him. Dad always says not to imitate his ‘bad habits’ in battle…
Though, Sister Amphy, you might actually be able to learn them. With the mechanics of your Phoenix fruit…”
Nanamo thought about the regenerative abilities of the Phoenix and felt that perhaps Nereus’s “bad habits” were not something nobody could replicate.
Meanwhile, at the Fish-Man Island immigration office on the New World side, Hermes was working overtime.
After the appearance of Bullet, whom Nanamo considered an unstable element, she had withdrawn the regular staff on duty and replaced them with Hermes.
After all, Bullet had no means of harming Hermes. Even if something unexpected happened, it would only result in a bit of property damage.
The moment Nereus arrived on the island, he saw Bullet sitting cross-legged like a meditating monk. Before Bullet could even speak, Hermes had already flown over.
“That’s right, Lord Nereus. This big guy has been sitting there like a pillar, doing absolutely nothing. Some tourists have even been scared away by him.”
Hermes criticized Bullet right to his face, at a volume Bullet could hear perfectly clearly.
Although this was an era dominated by pirates, tourists still existed. The number of tourists in the Sabaody Archipelago could even be described as endless.
As Fish-Man Island developed, many people had also begun trying to visit this deep-sea kingdom.
Compared to pirates, who were full of uncertainties, these tourists were the true backbone of the service industry. After all, in this era, anyone without a certain amount of wealth and influence couldn’t even go out to sea.
“You can go back and rest. Notify someone else to come take over. I’ll handle things here.”
“Understood, Lord Nereus~”
That was exactly what Hermes had been waiting to hear. Its eyes were practically turning into black clouds. Even a soul-based lifeform could become irritated from working overtime.
“Douglas Bullet, I heard you’ve been waiting for me.”
Hearing Nereus’s voice, Bullet finally raised his head. Although Roger had spoken of him before, this was Bullet’s first time meeting Nereus. Previously, he had only seen his appearance on old bounty posters.
“Roger personally said that you’re stronger than he was. So as long as I defeat you, it means I’ve surpassed Roger. I assume your body isn’t suffering from any abnormalities?”
Roger’s illness had been one of the reasons Bullet left Roger’s crew. The lone-wolf-minded Bullet had hesitated at that moment.
He feared Roger would die from illness before he could fulfill his vow of challenging him. The confusion born from that anxiety had caused him to develop thoughts about needing to protect his companion.
As a result, he became less decisive when fighting. Eventually, he felt he had grown weaker and began questioning Roger’s strength.
Although Roger still emerged victorious in the end, Bullet left the crew anyway, unwilling to let those feelings continue affecting him.
Therefore, Bullet hoped Nereus possessed a healthy body, avoiding Roger’s situation.
“I assume you can’t fight freely here. I don’t want to battle an opponent who’s holding back. Choose a place and fight me with your full strength! Let me see what kind of powerful expert Roger spoke of really is!”
Bullet rose from his seated position, battle intent surging from his eyes. Yet Nereus remained as casual as ever.
“Full strength? Why would you think defeating you requires me to use my full strength?”
In the current seas, Bullet could indeed be considered a powerful expert.
But in Nereus’s eyes, he was still a rookie. Perhaps after spending another twenty years developing himself in Impel Down, he might become somewhat interesting.
“I haven’t been very active lately, but there’s no need to pick another location. This place is sufficient.”
Bullet had little reaction to the first statement. The second, however, made him even more excited.
“Excellent. It seems you don’t care what happens to this place. That’s how it should be. Hesitating because of companions and such only makes people weaker…”
In Bullet’s view, the shockwaves from a battle between the two of them would inevitably inflict severe damage to the island. After years of training, he was no longer the same person he had once been.
Nereus must have understood that as well. Making such a choice only proved that he didn’t care about the surroundings.
If a man like that was stronger than Roger, then it meant his own beliefs were correct.
“No. I don’t want this place to be damaged. The reason we’re fighting here is because the battle between you and me isn’t going to be as complicated as you think.
An instant… is all it will take.”
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