"I somehow feel like you just said something very dangerous…"
Aokiji mulled over Storm's recent remarks carefully, shaking his head involuntarily.
Did Storm truly believe he could stand on equal footing with the Four Emperors, the rulers of the New World, all on his own?
In the past few decades, only one man had ever come close to such a feat—Patrick Redfield the Aloof Red.
But even the legendary Aloof Red, despite his formidable strength and independent dominance, ultimately met his downfall. Defeated by the Marines, he was sent to Impel Down, where he was imprisoned in Infinite Hell.
The power of the Four Emperors didn't stem from their own individual strength alone.
Fame, status, wealth, power, territory—so many elements factored into their rise. Without these, no matter how strong an individual was, they could never hope to be recognized as an Emperor of the Sea.
If strength alone were enough, then it wouldn't have taken Red-Haired Shanks so long to be officially acknowledged as one of the Four Emperors alongside Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom.
Aokiji felt that Storm's ambitions were dangerously idealistic. But he had no intention of dissuading him.
After all, members of SWORD had the freedom to act independently, disregarding direct orders from their superiors. This was a core principle established when the unit was formed—even an Admiral like Aokiji had no authority to interfere.
The only thing left to do was watch and see how far Storm could go.
"But the idea of looking for allies is a smart one," Aokiji admitted.
He glanced at the Den Den Mushi and asked, "Do you want me to introduce you to some members of SWORD?"
"Other members of SWORD?"
Storm hadn't expected Aokiji to bring this up. But after a brief pause, he rejected the offer outright.
"No need! If every member of SWORD is as weak as Kujaku, they'd just drag me down."
"I'm looking for strong and like-minded allies—I'm not interested in babysitting weaklings!"
Aokiji raised an eyebrow.
At first, he had thought sending Storm into the New World alone would be a death sentence.
Now, Storm himself was the one looking down on his fellow SWORD members.
At this moment, Storm didn't think they were worthy of following him—not yet, at least.
Take X Drake, for example—the future captain of SWORD.
Despite being considered part of the Worst Generation, many of his peers had already risen to unimaginable heights. Some had even become Emperors of the Sea.
And yet, X Drake's strength?
It wasn't even enough to contend with Kaido's top commanders.
To Storm, that was unacceptable.
Even the captain of SWORD wasn't strong enough to leave an impact. So what did that say about the rest of the group?
At this stage, Storm had no intention of training new people.
"Being a pirate" wasn't something just anyone could do.
Not unless they had the legacy and destiny of a Sun God on their side.
"You think this is a game?!"
Storm scoffed at the mere thought.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he changed the subject.
"But speaking of SWORD…"
A mischievous grin spread across Storm's face.
"Admiral Aokiji, there is one person in SWORD I have my eye on."
Aokiji raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Who?"
"Kuzan."
Aokiji blinked.
"...Huh? Who?"
"You."
Storm's voice was completely serious.
"The top combat force of the World Government. The Admiral of the Marine Headquarters. The wielder of the Ice-Ice Fruit. Aokiji Kuzan."
"Me?"
Aokiji was stunned.
"Wait, wait, wait—hold on! Let me process this…"
"You mean to tell me… you want me to go undercover as a pirate with you?"
"That's right!"
Storm's voice burst with excitement.
"Admiral Aokiji, you're also a member of SWORD, aren't you?"
"Every member of SWORD should have the resolve to pursue pirates behind enemy lines!"
Aokiji opened his mouth.
For a solid moment, he couldn't even find the words to respond.
Let a Marine Admiral become a pirate under his command?
Storm, you're out of your mind.
It was so absurd, that Aokiji almost laughed.
But Storm wasn't joking.
He was completely serious.
"Ah la la…" Aokiji sighed, rubbing his temples as if trying to fend off an oncoming migraine.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
"Well, just keep doing what you think is best, kid."
"If anything important comes up, I'll contact you."
He reached for the Den Den Mushi, about to hang up—
"Wait, Admiral Aokiji!"
Storm suddenly shouted, stopping him in his tracks.
"Are you really sure you don't want to consider becoming a pirate?"
Aokiji froze.
Then, for the first time, his voice turned serious.
"Storm… don't forget who you are."
A brief silence stretched between them.
Aokiji's tone was firm.
"Even in the SWORD task force… even if we can't openly wear the Cloak of Justice…"
"We are still Marines."
"Justice?" Storm scoffed.
"Do you mean justice that upholds the rule of the World Government?"
"Justice that defends the tyranny of the Celestial Dragons?"
Aokiji narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
"Forget it, Admiral Kuzan," Storm said with a sigh.
"I don't feel like arguing with you about what justice is."
"Just tell me—how much is my bounty this time?"
Aokiji hesitated.
Then, he sighed.
"…There's no bounty."
Snap—
Storm slammed the Den Den Mushi shut.
"Are you kidding me?!"
He fumed, pacing back and forth.
"If Impel Down just had a major breach, the least they could do is issue a bounty for me!"
"This is ridiculous!"
Storm had originally planned to use his bounty as a stepping stone to gain notoriety.
If he wanted to become a great pirate, he needed to build a reputation first.
A bounty would have been the perfect start.
Without one, recruiting subordinates would be much harder.
An unknown newcomer showing up and asking powerful individuals to join his crew?
That was laughable.
"The World Government is trying to erase my existence…"
Storm's expression turned cold.
"Looks like I'll have to force them to take me seriously."
As he pondered his next move, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon continued soaring over the sea.
After hours of flight, Storm finally spotted a small island in the distance.
"Perfect."
But as he landed, he quickly realized—
The island was completely deserted.
"Great… looks like I'll have to catch my own dinner tonight."
Storm turned toward the ocean, eyes gleaming.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon followed his gaze, then opened its massive maw.
A sphere of white clay formed in its throat—
BOOM!
An explosion erupted over the sea, sending massive waves rolling across the surface.
Only a few seconds passed.
Dark shadows slid beneath the surface of the blue sea, one after another.
The power of the "explosive clay" had attracted them.
Sea Kings.
This was the Calm Belt, the nest of Sea Kings.
Even the slightest movement on the water could draw their attention.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon flapped its wings and dove into the sea.
Ordinary clay would soften and dissolve in water, but hardened porcelain clay was different—it remained solid even in the depths of the ocean.
CRASH—
Waves surged high into the sky as the sound of an intense battle erupted beneath the sea.
Storm stood on the shore, waiting.
A moment later, several trophies materialized in front of him.
All of them were—
[Silver Trophy: Sea King]
Storm smirked.
"Back in Impel Down, if I hadn't trained with those Blugoris, fishing in the Calm Belt would've been a great way to hunt trophies too…"
His gaze shifted toward the sea.
Before long, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon crawled onto the shore, dragging several massive Sea Kings behind it.
Storm unsheathed the Blazing Saber at his waist and clumsily swung it.
Suddenly—
A flood of swordsmanship inspiration exploded in his mind.
He felt the "breath" of everything around him—
The breathing of the sky, the breathing of the sea, the breathing of the stones, and the breathing of the Sea King corpses before him…
Storm lightly swung the Blazing Saber.
In an instant—
A smoldering flying slash tore through the air and shot toward the massive corpses.
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—
The unstoppable slash easily sliced through the bodies, severing them into clean, precise pieces.
Without delay, Storm started a fire and began grilling the Sea King meat.
His cooking skills were… questionable.
But that didn't matter.
After using several silver trophies to enhance his skills.
Storm now had a four-star Cooking Skill!
As the rich aroma of roasting meat spread across the uninhabited island, Storm summoned the remaining diamond trophy in his system.
After using it to enhance his endurance attribute...
[Endurance: ★★★★★★☆] (6.5 stars)
A familiar hunger surged through his body.
Storm ravaged the food in front of him.
Two days later...
Storm remained stranded on the desolate island.
Hunting Sea Kings for food, enhancing his physical endurance, and improving his physique had become his daily routine.
He had also mastered all the abilities he previously obtained, including two new Devil Fruit abilities.
But that wasn't all.
The three unused Death Platinum Trophies had finally been used over the past two days.
[Platinum Trophy: Brynddi World]
[Platinum Trophy: Percy]
[Platinum Trophy: Brad Grace]
The rewards granted him three new five-star abilities.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon flapped its mighty wings and soared into the sky, leaving the uninhabited island behind.
In Storm's hand was a Marine Headquarters Log Pose—a "gift" from the Equipment Department.
However, he had no intention of heading to Marine Headquarters.
Instead, he flew in the opposite direction, deeper into the unknown seas.
Days passed as he traveled from one deserted island to another.
Then—
Finally, he spotted a small inhabited island.
He guided the Blue-Eyes White Dragon downward, landing at the island's dock.
The sight of the mythical white dragon sent waves of panic through the people.
Storm ignored the chaos and calmly approached a passerby who seemed relatively composed.
"Excuse me," he asked, "what is the name of this island?"
The man hesitated before answering.
"B-Belfast Island."
Storm frowned.
"Never heard of it… What is the closest hub island here? Enies Lobby? Water 7?"
The local looked confused.
"I've never heard of those places, sir…"
"...Wait."
Storm narrowed his eyes.
"This isn't the Grand Line?"
The man shook his head.
"No, sir… This is the South Blue."
*******************************
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