Chapter 159: Chapter 159: One Piece (Part 3)
"It's too early to think about that. For now, improving my strength is the most important thing." Shaking his head vigorously, Daniel Davis dismissed these thoughts from his mind. He then conjured a large fireball in his right hand, incinerating the pirate corpses along with their ship until nothing was left but ashes sinking into the sea.
Once the pirate ship was completely destroyed, Daniel stood on his hoverboard and changed direction, flying left.
The Philosopher's Stone transmutation circle was too dark a secret. If it were leaked, he would become a target for everyone. To avoid that, thorough cleanup was necessary, even in the One Piece world.
The reason for his change in direction was the map he had found on the pirates. In the One Piece world, nothing was more important than a map. To become the Pirate King, one first needed a map to Raftel.
Even in the modern world, nautical maps were invaluable, created through countless sacrifices.
"Didn't expect these guys to have a Grand Line map. I wonder who is distributing these things." Only powerful pirates usually knew about the Grand Line. This world had no internet, and news traveled slowly. Only those who reached a certain level of notoriety learned about the Grand Line.
Luffy was an exception, having Shanks, a powerful figure, by his side from the start.
Pirates from the four seas who obtained a Grand Line map and ventured there were considered true pirates. Those who hadn't been to the Grand Line weren't considered real pirates.
While the Grand Line map wasn't particularly useful to Daniel, it served as a reference. Getting to the Grand Line would be easy for him; he could simply fly over the Calm Belt.
Ships generally needed significant power to ignore the sea kings of the Calm Belt, or they had to be like the Navy, with ships embedded with Sea-Prism Stone.
With the map in hand, Daniel's first stop was the famous East Blue town of Loguetown, the place where the Pirate King Roger was executed. It was a pilgrimage to a legendary location in another world.
The journey was long, so Daniel found an uninhabited island and switched to a Quinjet, flying at full speed towards Loguetown.
In terms of speed, the Quinjet couldn't match the Iron Man armor at full throttle. Daniel chose the Quinjet for comfort over long distances. The Iron Man armor was too cramped for such a journey. If there were no other choice, the armor would suffice, but given an option, comfort was preferable.
"It's great not having surveillance." Blending into the crowd at Loguetown's port, Daniel felt a sense of satisfaction. In the modern world, even with teleportation, one had to stay low-key to avoid raising questions about how they traveled so quickly.
In the One Piece world, things were different. Daniel didn't even need a fake identity unless he became incredibly famous, like a Yonko or a major criminal, prompting someone to investigate his background.
"Marines are checking for pirates, huh?" Several Marines at the port were scanning people with wanted posters in hand. Opposite them, a few others were also checking posters, but their mismatched attire indicated they weren't part of a unified group.
"Bounty hunters, huh?" From the surrounding conversations, Daniel learned their identity. Loguetown, the site of the former Pirate King's execution and the last supply point in East Blue before the Grand Line, had once been rife with pirates.
Only in recent years, under the command of Captain Smoker, were many pirates captured, restoring order in Loguetown.
Another reason for the reduced pirate activity was the lack of news from Raftel over the past twenty years, leading many to believe Roger's words were a dying joke, reducing the number of pilgrim pirates.
With the Navy's propaganda, Roger's reputation had become infamous among the general populace.
"I have to admit, the Marine uniforms are really cool." Watching a Marine lieutenant with a white 'Justice' cape, Daniel imagined himself wearing one. In the Marines, only officers could wear the white 'Justice' capes.
Bang, bang, bang.
As Daniel admired the Marine uniforms, gunshots rang out, causing chaos at the previously bustling port. People fled in all directions, creating a mess for the Marines.
"Are you kidding me?" The sudden chaos made Daniel cast a Protego charm on himself as he moved to take cover.
"Get down! Everyone, get down!" The Marine lieutenant shouted, but only a few obeyed, while most continued to flee, some falling in pools of blood amidst the chaos.
"Brothers, charge! We must rescue the captain today!" Hearing the shout, Daniel realized what was happening. Two recently docked merchant ships had disgorged nearly a hundred armed pirates.
From their shouts, Daniel guessed their captain had been captured, and they were here to rescue him. Admirable loyalty, but lacking intelligence. Loguetown had a Marine base led by Captain Smoker. Even the mighty Krieg Pirates wouldn't dare a frontal assault.
Bang.
As the pirates emerged, the Marines fired a signal flare for reinforcements. Led by the Marine lieutenant, they began resisting the pirates.
The bounty hunters, seeing the situation, fled immediately. In the One Piece world, bounty hunters were often opportunistic, not daring to be pirates for fear of Marine pursuit and unwilling to be Marines due to the constraints. They turned to bounty hunting, acting only when profitable. Faced with overwhelming odds, they naturally ran.
"Choosing melee over using guns, quite similar to a wizard engaging in hand-to-hand combat," Daniel mused as he considered intervening. Whom to help was obvious—the Marines. Regardless of the Navy's darker elements, these Marines were genuinely protecting the people.
Bang, bang, bang.
Just as Daniel decided to act, rapid gunfire erupted from the side. Each shot took down a pirate. The relentless gunfire quickly incapacitated dozens of pirates, breaking their momentum.
Soon, dozens of additional Marines arrived, and the remaining pirates were swiftly subdued.
As the last pirate fell, a loud roar heralded the arrival of a stylish motorcycle. Smoker, a cigar in his mouth and a ten-hand on his back, arrived at the scene.
"I wonder if those cigars are real?" Daniel recalled a fan theory from his previous life: Smoker's cigars were just for show, with the smoke produced by his Devil Fruit power.
"These damn pirates." Seeing the chaotic port, Smoker cursed. As the pirates were subdued, the civilians who had been lying down scattered in panic.
"You came too late." A cowboy-dressed middle-aged man nodded at Smoker.
"Thanks to you this time," Smoker nodded back.
"No thanks needed. Just pay me as usual."
"Come to my office later; I'll sign off on it."
Daddy, known as 'Daddy Masterson,' was the middle-aged man's name. Once a top sniper in the Marines, he had even competed in marksmanship with Yasopp from the Red-Haired Pirates. Though he lost, it was a close contest.
Daddy could have advanced in the Marine ranks, but he left to care for his daughter, becoming a bounty hunter targeting pirates with bounties from tens to hundreds of thousands. He avoided higher bounties to ensure his and his daughter's safety.
Even top-ranking Marines like former Admiral Zephyr couldn't protect their families from pirates. Zephyr's family was killed despite his power and status, shattering his 'No Kill' policy.
Daddy carried at least thirty guns, enabling his rapid, sustained fire earlier.
As the Marines cleaned up, Smoker kept an eye on those still at the port, including Daniel. In such chaos, anyone remaining calm was suspicious, but without evidence, Smoker could only watch.
Without IDs or surveillance cameras, distinguishing pirates from civilians was challenging. Not every pirate announced their identity like Luffy's crew, treating piracy as a proud title.
To Luffy, being a pirate was an honorable identity, hence his pride in declaring it.
"Smoker probably doesn't know Haki yet." Under Smoker's watchful gaze, Daniel calmly left the port, heading into Loguetown.
"Tashigi." Walking through Loguetown, Daniel soon encountered a group of Marines led by a glasses-wearing, black-haired girl wielding a fine sword.
"It's lively here." Despite the earlier chaos, Loguetown was bustling, the port quickly returning to normal.
"Should I buy the two swords Zoro will get in the future?" With the wealth he had acquired, Daniel was now a wealthy man in Loguetown.
While he didn't use swords, One Piece's swords were intriguing. Collecting famous swords was like a modern hobby of collecting antiques.
"Roger's execution site attracts many visitors." The execution square was crowded, with people taking photos with Den Den Mushi and some cursing Roger.
Though the four seas were separated by the Calm Belt, there was still some interaction. The World Government ran transport services, albeit at high costs.
This was likely a major revenue source for the World Government, as ordinary people couldn't afford to equip ships with Sea-Prism Stone or powerful guardians to fend off sea kings.
"Zoro's swords can wait, but I must get a Den Den Mushi." Seeing the photo Den Den Mushi reminded Daniel of its importance.
Den Den Mushi were a staple of the One Piece world, used for communication and various functions, like the Golden Den Den Mushi that triggered the Buster Call, a weapon only the Marines possessed.
There were also Silver Den Den Mushi, Black Den Den Mushi, White Den Den Mushi, and others. The Den Den Mushi family was vast, with some large enough to serve as ships, like those used by Germa 66.
These Den Den Mushi were incredible, capable of climbing walls and traversing the Red Line.
"Den Den Mushi's range seems unlimited. I wonder if it can link Marvel's Earth and
the alien base." Although it seemed far-fetched, Daniel planned to test it.
"Vegapunk, huh? To contact him, joining the Marines might be the only way. If I could learn how to make objects eat Devil Fruits, that would be amazing."
Imagining an Ant-Man suit consuming a Devil Fruit excited Daniel. Not just the Ant-Man suit, but Iron Man suits as well. What if dozens of Iron Man suits consumed Devil Fruits?
Pushing the idea further, what if Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, or even the Tesseract consumed Devil Fruits? The possibilities were endless.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone