Chapter 81: Farewell, Off to Ohara

After giving Morgans his instructions, Ozz didn't pay the matter any further attention.

To him, betrayal simply wasn't an option not as long as those so-called "underworld kings" still valued their lives.

Now that Morgans was under his command, and with global intelligence at his fingertips, limitless teleportation, and advanced Haki mastery, Ozz had become something close to a human-shaped eraser capable of wiping anything or anyone clean off the map.

Reunions always come to an end.

Old Zeek understood that better than anyone.

At the coast of Dullarmos, a massive red ship was docked at the harbor.

Old Zeek stood there, looking up at the vessel with an irritable shake of his head.

"Roger's cursed legacy," he muttered.

Not far from him, Ozz dressed in a deep red suit with a black coat draped over his shoulders was just finishing a call on a Den Den Mushi.

Crates of supplies were being loaded onto the ship under Old Zeek's watchful eye when suddenly, a tall shadow stretched over the dock where he stood.

"Heading out again, are you?"

Without turning around, Old Zeek clasped his hands behind his back. The shadow masked his expression, and his raspy voice gave away nothing.

"Yeah," Ozz nodded. "And it's a tight schedule. We'll need to get there by midday, at the latest."

Mihawk said nothing. He was already aboard the Oro Jackson, inspecting the cargo.

"Then when you're less busy, you'd better come back for a visit," Zeek said, his voice softening just a touch. "You're the grandson of this country's king, you know. This land will be your legacy one day."

Ozz chuckled.

He had only ever meant for this place to be Zeek's retirement retreat. A tiny kingdom like this didn't interest him in the slightest.

After all, even Crocodile and Doflamingo had their eyes on massive nations like Alabasta and Dressrosa. Would he,he, Ozz stoop to scheming over some backwater island?

"Well, in that case, you'd better take care of it for me, old man. Don't go dying on me."

Perhaps picking up on the subtext, Old Zeek suddenly broke into a hearty laugh.

"Of course I will! I'm counting on you to come back and look after me in my old age!"

"Good to hear… Well, I'm off then."

Ozz crouched slightly and gave the old man a one-armed hug around the shoulder.

Zeek scoffed in mock annoyance and swatted at him.

"What's with the hugging, huh? Get going already! You're a ruler of the seas, not some sentimental brat. Don't let your crew see you acting like a kid they'll laugh their guts out!"

Ozz walked up the gangplank while Old Zeek watched in silence.

Soon, the ship began to pull away from the dock at a leisurely pace.

That stoic expression of Zeek's wavered ever so slightly as the Oro Jackson began to disappear from view. He muttered under his breath,

"Come back and visit often, Ozz…"

As if in answer to that whispered plea, a voice rang out from across the waves:

"I will! Take care, old man!!"

"Hahaha…"

With Observation Haki, Ozz caught sight of Old Zeek cursing and muttering something like "damn brat" while suppressing an embarrassed grin. The image made Ozz laugh heartily.

Beside him, Mihawk sipped from a glass of red wine and offered a reminder:

"If you want to make it in time, we'll need to arrive before noon. No one knows exactly when they'll leave."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We're going now."

With a snap of his fingers, Ozz summoned the Eternal Pose into his hand.

He was off to meet two figures who wouldn't become central to the world stage until much later in the story. Ozz was genuinely looking forward to it.

One was Monkey D. Dragon, Garp's son, Luffy's father, and the future head of the Revolutionary Army. He and Ozz had shared a fleeting encounter back in Loguetown.

The other was a scientist whose genius surpassed the current world by centuries: the true Brain-Brain Fruit user, Vegapunk often described as the One Piece universe's version of Einstein.

As for Dragon, Ozz wasn't particularly interested in him. Just another idealist dreaming of overthrowing tyrants. The world had seen no shortage of those.

But history followed cycles, and in the end, might always made right.

In Ozz's view, as long as beings with monopolistic strength still walked the earth, true equality was impossible. Even if it briefly flourished in some corner of the world, it would never last.

Still, if Dragon wanted to chase his ideals, that was his business not Ozz's concern.

But Dragon's subordinate? Now he was interesting.

Or rather, he was the key to one of Ozz's more entertaining side projects:

The Queen of Okama Emporio Ivankov!

Even if Ozz couldn't recruit him outright, he was determined to take control of his abilities.

After all, Ivankov could perform miraculous gender-switching surgeries on pirates and enemies alike, supply Red Light Districts with "talent" on demand, and drastically cut down labor costs.

More importantly…

He had to make sure that Ivankov didn't get his hands on Queen Sacha a.k.a. his favorite underworld dominatrix turning her into some burly beast from the planet Testosteronia.

As for Vegapunk, Ozz's interest was simpler: he just really wanted to check out all the cutting-edge tech.

If he could get his guns upgraded along the way? Even better.

Thinking of the fun ahead, Ozz squinted contentedly and smiled.

His eyes drifted toward a nearby figure practicing swordsmanship.

…Well.

Better not.

If he tried anything funny, that proud guy would chase him to the ends of the earth with sword in hand.

Ozz could already imagine the consequences if the world's greatest swordsman missed his destiny because he'd been turned into a frail and seductive girl by Ivankov's meddling even if it was Ozz's idea of a prank. Ivankov wouldn't just be hunted down he'd be diced into atoms.

"What are you looking at?"

Mihawk's sharp instincts caught the shift in Ozz's gaze. His cold eyes flicked toward him, suspicion brewing.

"Nothing," Ozz said smoothly. "Just thinking… we might be gaining another crewmate soon."

"Is that so."

Mihawk turned back to his sword practice, his strikes sending blades of air across the ocean. Fish corpses floated to the surface, neatly sliced in two.

He didn't care who joined the crew, as long as it didn't interrupt his training.

Besides.

Whoever Ozz had in mind wouldn't escape his antics anyway.

So far, if Ozz set out to do something, he always got it done.

What methods he used?

Well, may the new recruit have mercy on their soul.

"Alright then… Full speed ahead to the West Blue! We'll be back in the New World soon enough!!"

Like a ghost ship in broad daylight, the Oro Jackson cut across the sea, cloaked in Conqueror's Haki, gliding over the Calm Belt.

Its destination: Ohara.

Only an hour or two later…

Off the coast of Ohara, a faint black dot loomed on the horizon like a phantom creeping silently ashore.

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[ Preview for the next chapter: Childhood Memory, The White Trampoline

In the ruins of Ohara, secrets thought buried resurface...Giants fish for forbidden knowledge, Vegapunk panics, and Dragon senses a storm on the horizon.

But when a shadow steps from the sea with a grin and a grip strong enough to stop a Dragon Claw mid-air

the past collides with the present.

And somewhere between memories of white trampolines and a towering female giant…a king of chaos smiles. ]

The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.

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