Wanted: The Rebel Seth

East Blue – Near Haven Island

A gentle breeze swept over the shining blue sea, carrying with it the sound of playful waves softly lapping against the sides of a small sailing boat.

Perched at the edge of the boat, a teenage boy stared at the island ahead with bright eyes full of excitement.

"Finally! I'm finally home..." he said with a mix of eagerness and relief, then turned around to look at the pale-faced woman with radiant hair behind him.

"Mom, we're finally here..."

Suzanit nodded with a smile, then leaned on her sword and slowly stood up.

"Hmm, thank goodness we made it..." she muttered wearily.

"I'm really exhausted... two straight days of sailing have made my condition worse," she added, gripping Seth's hand. The excitement had long faded from his face, replaced now with sadness and helplessness.

He had lost his father almost six days ago — and just yesterday, his mother had confessed she was suffering from a terminal illness. At best, she had three years left to live.

"One tragedy after another... without pause."

He sighed bitterly.

Placing his arm around her shoulders, he said firmly,

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll definitely find a cure for your illness..."

Suzanit smiled and sighed.

"My boy, I didn't tell you about this so you'd search for a cure. I told you because... I felt you'd grown mature enough to know. Especially..."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Especially after losing your father. You're now the only support your siblings will have if I die. That's why..."

"That's why I told you , not to burden you, but so you know you need to grow stronger. To protect yourself, and your siblings. Especially..."

She stopped and pulled a crumpled wanted poster from her coat, unfolding it.

"'The Rebel Seth , Bounty: 231 million Berries , Wanted: Dead or Alive...'" Suzanit read aloud with dry sarcasm.

"231 million... that's more than I expected. Seems like the World Government is really angry at you."

"They've put this massive price on your head. They've made you a pirate, whether you wanted it or not."

"This kind of bounty will attract all kinds of people , pirates, bounty hunters, the Navy, and of course, World Government agents..." she muttered bitterly.

Seth stared at the poster, focusing on the image. Whoever took that picture , he silently thanked them, because it made him look good. Strangely enough, it was taken when he was standing at the edge of the ship, right after throwing Saint Marcellus to the Sea King.

He shook the thought away and asked,

"I get why the Navy and the Government, and even bounty hunters would come after me, but..."

"What would make pirates want to target me!?"

Suzanit patted his back, lifting the corner of her mouth in a faint smile.

"You tell me what do you think would make pirates chase after you?"

Seth frowned, raised his eyebrows, jumped off the boat, and began pulling it toward shore. Suzanit watched silently, waiting to see if her son would figure it out , and he didn't disappoint.

" Fame!" Seth said after a moment of thought.

"Exactly..." Suzanit replied as she held his hand and stepped off the boat with his help.

"In their eyes, you're currently the most famous pirate in all of East Blue. You should know ,even in the Grand Line, few have a bounty like yours..."

"That's why , if the Navy comes for justice, bounty hunters come for money, and the World Government comes to restore its pride… pirates will come to take your head, just to become more famous."

She patted his shoulder and added,

"But anyway, for now ...don't worry about that..."

Seth nodded. Even without her warning, he hadn't thought much about being hunted.

He had full confidence he could handle anyone who came ,and that confidence came from the strange device on his chest. Especially now, since he possessed:

The ability to transform into either full or hybrid form of the giant serpent Sea King.

The flea Zoan transformation he gained from one of the three Devil Fruits.

The second power from another fruit , a Mythical Zoan that allowed him to transform into an Elephant – Model: Airavata: a massive elephant with long crystalline wings and four fierce tusks.

In addition to the Logia power of the Flame-Flame Fruit, which he copied from Ace, he also possessed several powerful Paramecia abilities:

The create-create Fruit, copied from his mother.

The Aura-Aura Fruit, copied from a CP1 agent.

And the Pressure-Pressure Fruit, copied from one of the three Devil Fruits.

Currently, he had nine transformations stored in his watch. He could switch between them freely and remain transformed until his physical stamina was depleted. At this moment, his transformation time limit was approximately nine and a half hours , but with training, that could be increased.

According to the watch, once he reached a certain power level, he would even be able to use multiple transformations at the same time.

"Hmm... is it really safe to leave these treasures out in the open?" Seth asked, pointing at the treasure chests on the boat, watching his mother walk ahead toward the village.

Suzanit waved her hand dismissively, quickening her pace.

"Do what you want ... just keep in mind, we won't be staying long..."

Seth sighed helplessly, watching her disregard the treasure , but he understood. He knew why she was in such a hurry.

After learning about her husband's death through the Vivre Card, she had collapsed emotionally ,then left her children behind and sailed for days in search of Seth. The battle against CP1 agents had worsened her illness, and now with Seth being a wanted man with a massive bounty, danger loomed over them all.

That's why she wanted to leave the island as soon as possible… and hide.

"World Government..." Seth growled, eyes glowing with rage as he clenched his teeth hard enough to be heard.

"I'll make them pay..." he swore, his voice low and heavy with hatred.

He bent down and opened the chest containing the three rare Devil Fruits.

"It's best not to leave these here..." he muttered cautiously, then took them one by one and placed them in the small pouch strapped to his waist.

To him, these weren't just Devil Fruits ,they were the most valuable treasures of all, even if the rest of the loot was worth a billion Berries. He now understood the true power they contained.

The regular Zoan , flea-type insect ,was nearly worthless compared to the others but still had its uses.

The Paramecia , Pressure-Pressure Fruit had the potential to make its user nearly unbeatable.

But the true jewel… was the Mythical Zoan: Elephant – Model: Airavata, the massive creature said to walk above the clouds and crush mountains with its trunk alone.

"I'll let my siblings eat these..." he thought as he tightened the pouch. "So they'll have a way to defend themselves."

Then he slowly extended his left hand and exhaled softly before activating his ability.

Bzzzt!!

A small red energy bubble formed in his palm. It pulsed and grew, larger and larger, until it reached the size of his head… then a boulder.

He looked up and pointed at the boat.

Fwoooosh!!

The bubble floated through the air, wrapping itself tightly around the boat and forming a hardened dome of shimmering dark red energy.

Ding!!

Ding!!

Seth tapped the surface lightly.

"Hmm..." he murmured, feeling the solid texture. "Tough as metal!"

He couldn't help but smile in admiration as he stepped back.

"Not bad at all… no one on this island could break through this. This ability… is truly amazing."

He stood there a moment longer, eyes fixed on the protected boat and the treasures inside ,then turned around, without hesitation.

And walked into the depths of the island… toward the village.