"Daoist Secret Technique."

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The next afternoon, Shells Town harbor was packed with people.

"Big bro~"

Little Rika sat in her mom's arms, looking at Zoro with eyes full of sadness.

But she knew—her big brother was destined to go out to sea. She had no reason to stop him.

So, for this one last time...

"I made these rice balls myself, with sugar! They're sweet."

"I want to give them to you~"

Rika took out the rice balls she'd made earlier and handed them to Zoro.

"We'll never forget the kindness you've shown us, Mr. Zoro."

Rika's mother bowed deeply as she spoke, her tone sincere.

Zoro looked at the rice ball in his hand, then at Rika and her mom, who were both watching him closely.

He didn't say a word. He just quietly unwrapped the rice ball and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.

His cheeks puffed up from how much it filled his mouth, but Zoro didn't care.

While chewing, he mumbled, "Delicious. Really good rice ball."

Then he turned around and walked off, without glancing back at the mother and daughter.

"Mr. Luffy, I've officially joined the Navy now."

Coby, with his pink hair and tears streaming down his face, looked at Luffy, who was still smiling as always.

"I'm so grateful for everything you did for me!"

If he hadn't met Luffy out at sea, maybe he'd still be stuck living in fear on that pirate ship.

If he hadn't seen Luffy's courage—willing to risk his life for his dream—maybe he'd still be scared and too afraid to move forward.

But… but Mr. Luffy, please forgive me.

"Starting today, we're enemies, Mr. Luffy."

Tears welled up in Coby's eyes, but his voice was firm as he declared:

"I'm gonna train hard, and someday soon, I'll catch every pirate on these seas—including your crew, Mr. Luffy—and throw you all in jail!!!"

"Because the Navy stands for justice!!!"

Even though Coby was shouting at Luffy, deep down, he knew… he was making this promise to himself.

"Alright, but you're not gonna catch me,"

Luffy grinned brightly, full of confidence and excitement.

"'Cause I'm not stopping until I become the Pirate King!!!"

"Yeah… see you out there on the seas, Mr. Luffy!!!"

"Mr. Bai Ye."

Navy officer Brian was now in plain clothes, standing face-to-face with Bai Ye.

He looked at the man who had saved Shells Town—and the entire 153rd branch—with a complicated expression.

On one hand, he was grateful for everything Bai Ye had done.

Sure, Bai Ye had asked for a lot in return, made a bunch of demands.

But compared to what he'd done, all that stuff didn't even matter.

On the other hand, Brian was a righteous Navy officer, and his beliefs didn't allow him to thank a pirate. No matter what, this man had clearly chosen the path of piracy.

What Brian should be doing… is arresting him. Not saying goodbye.

"…Here's the transponder snail you wanted, and also…"

Brian hesitated. He wasn't sure if handing this over was right or wrong.

But honestly, at this point, even if he didn't give it to him, this guy could probably just take it by force.

"…Also, here's a map of the Grand Line."

In the end, Brian handed over the sea chart.

"Knew it—Mr. Brian really sticks to his word," Bai Ye said with a grin, pocketing the snail and stashing the chart inside his inner dimension.

He had no choice. Whether it was his personal training space or the Taoist spellbook's inner world, no living creatures were allowed in—except him.

"A hero who saved this town and the Navy base deserves it,"

Brian replied calmly, already accepting what was to come.

"So, we're agreed, Mr. Bai Ye—until you raise your own pirate flag, the 153rd branch won't treat you as pirates."

"During that time, if you need to contact us based on our previous arrangement, we'll answer as quickly as possible."

"But the moment you raise your pirate flag… that's when we stop hiding your identity."

"Sound about right, Mr. Bai Ye?"

Brian finished speaking and looked at him.

"Yeah… that's pretty much it,"

Bai Ye nodded. "Don't worry, Mr. Brian. You're only hiding our identity temporarily."

"Trust me, it won't be long before you see our wanted posters."

"After all, that's something our captain really cares about."

Just then, a voice called from the port behind them.

"Hey! Bai Ye, let's go already!"

Bai Ye turned and gave Brian a respectful bow.

"Looking forward to seeing you again, Mr. Brian~"

"Yeah… I hope when that day comes, we're not enemies, Mr. Bai Ye."

Brian watched Bai Ye board the ship, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Alright!!"

As soon as Bai Ye stepped onboard, Luffy clapped his hands, excited.

"Let's get moving! Time to keep sailing!!!"

"…Are you stupid?"

Zoro's voice came from nearby. He stood with his arms crossed, looking at Luffy with exasperation.

"Take a good look at the ship under your feet."

"Huh?"

Luffy looked around. It was still Alvida's swan-headed pirate ship, nothing had changed.

Seeing Luffy's blank expression, Zoro rolled his eyes.

"This ship's huge. The three of us can't sail it alone."

"Right now, it's either we switch to a smaller boat, or we hire some crew."

"But we're pirates. Not like people are lining up to work for us."

He started to analyze the situation more seriously toward the end.

"I see…"

Luffy suddenly got it. "Then let's switch to a smaller boat."

He clearly wasn't planning to hire anyone. To Luffy, sailing should only be done with true crewmates.

Just like Shanks.

"No need to switch ships,"

Bai Ye said, appearing with a stack of yellow paper figures covered in strange markings.

"I can handle the manpower issue."

He didn't have a sentimental attachment to Alvida's ship—he just had other reasons.

One, he didn't want them crammed onto a tiny boat like in the original story before they got the Going Merry.

No place to even sleep.

Two, this ship actually played a role in his future plans. Sure, it wasn't irreplaceable—but there was no reason to toss it either.

"Whoa!!"

As Bai Ye pulled out yet another mysterious thing, Luffy—already used to his surprises—rushed over immediately, eyes shining at the yellow paper figures.

"That looks so cool! Awesome!!!"

Zoro: …

Come on, it's literally just some paper. How do you even find that amazing???

Even though he was mentally grumbling, Zoro also turned to look at the stack of paper.

They hadn't known Bai Ye for long, but from what they'd seen, anything he pulled out of nowhere… was definitely something special.

Seeing their reactions, Bai Ye didn't keep them guessing.

These paper figures came from a Taoist technique he'd learned called:

[Taoist Secret Art: Paper Soldiers]

"....."