East Blue — Loguetown.
This was the hometown of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger — the place where he was born, began his journey, and ultimately met his end.
Twenty-two years ago, the world-famous Pirate King's legend came to a close here.
Ever since then, people had called this place "The Town of Beginnings and Endings."
It was also the final supply town before entering the Grand Line.
Sullivan and his group had come here with a simple goal: To resupply in preparation for their journey ahead.
Thanks to Sullivan's new title as an "80-million bounty pirate," the group's shopping went surprisingly smoothly.
None of the shopkeepers dared scam outsiders. In fact, some were so nervous they didn't even accept payment for meals — fearing they might anger the infamous pirate crew.
Of course…
Sullivan wasn't the kind to take advantage of that. He paid the full price — not a single berry short.
During the supply run, Sullivan also took the time to explain some basic knowledge about the world to Erza and Mirajane.
After all, they were about to enter the Grand Line — a sea a hundred or even a thousand times more dangerous than the East Blue.
To venture in without preparation or intelligence would be the height of foolishness.
"Pirate King? What's that? Pirates have a monarchy or something?"
Erza tilted her head adorably in confusion.
"Not exactly," Nami answered.
"Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, was the most legendary pirate — the only one who conquered the Grand Line. Haven't you heard of him?"
"Nope," Erza and Mirajane both shook their heads.
"Well, no worries if you haven't. You'll learn more eventually. What's more important right now is understanding this world's special power systems," Sullivan said.
"You mean Devil Fruits?" Erza asked, intrigued. "Yes, I've encountered several ability users during my missions. Some could turn into animals. One even got chopped into pieces and was still alive!"
"Chopped up and still alive? That's inhuman! How do you even fight something like that?" Mirajane exclaimed.
"It's not that difficult," Erza replied coolly. "He wasn't immune to blunt attacks. I just smacked him a few times and took him down."
"Oh, right! That reminds me—Master, a few days ago while on a mission, I met an interesting swordsman who uses three swords!" Erza suddenly recalled.
Sullivan's eyebrows raised with interest. A three-sword-style swordsman in a pirate world? That could only be one man.
"From what I saw, his heart is in the right place, and he's pretty strong. So I took the liberty of inviting him to join our guild!" Erza added proudly.
"And? Did he accept?" Mirajane asked.
"Well, he didn't outright refuse. He seemed kind of interested in Fairy Tail. We agreed to meet at the harbor after I finished my mission, but… I waited a long time and he never showed up," Erza said regretfully.
"He probably changed his mind. Happens all the time," Mirajane said.
"No… that's not it," Sullivan said, shaking his head.
Erza looked confused.
"That green-haired guy probably just got lost," Sullivan said with a chuckle.
He was, of course, very familiar with Zoro's terrible sense of direction.
"Got lost?" Erza asked, full of question marks.
"But the island where I met him wasn't even that big! How could anyone get lost there? And Master, how do you even know he has green hair? Do you know him?"
"Let's just say… sort of," Sullivan said, not offering further details.
"So, should we go look for him?" Mirajane asked.
"No need. If fate allows, we'll meet again," Sullivan said, waving it off.
Missing the chance to recruit Zoro was a slight regret, but not enough to derail their plans or backtrack to look for him.
First of all, they had no clue where Zoro might've wandered off to…
And more importantly — on the other side of the Red Line — another companion was waiting for them.
"Alright, we've bought everything we need. Let's head back to the ship and set off for the Grand Line!" Sullivan declared, raising his arm.
However…
Just then — an unexpected event unfolded.
"Trying to reach the Grand Line? Wishful thinking!"
"As a Marine Captain of Loguetown, I won't let you set foot on the Grand Line — Sullivan, Captain of the Fairy Tail Pirates, you're under arrest!"
A large cloud of white smoke engulfed the entire street.
The Marine Captain Smoker — the White Hunter — had arrived!
Better late than never!