Chapter 637: The First Generation Appears!
Compared to the Dragon Hunter Pirates' familiarity, Luffy and his crew were completely stunned.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates already knew this was Ryuunosuke's method of recruiting crew members, because they themselves had arrived the same way.
But Luffy and the others had never seen it.
Before this, they assumed Ryuunosuke's crew were simply monsters he had found across the seas, geniuses gathered from every corner of the world.
And now, right in front of their eyes, a strange girl appeared out of thin air.
"So cool!"
"What is that?!" Luffy's eyes practically turned into stars.
Chopper and Usopp were frozen in shock too.
Sabo stood there dumbfounded, because this was far beyond anything he understood about the world.
"So this is how Captain Ryuunosuke's crew members all got here?" Sabo muttered. "And he also mixes it with recruits from this world…?"
Zoro, on the other hand, stayed calm.
He had witnessed too many impossible things around Ryuunosuke.
At this point, if a miracle happened near him, Zoro would just accept it as normal.
As everyone stood stunned, Elma finally appeared fully in their sight.
"Kobayashi?"
The moment Elma opened her eyes, she spotted Kobayashi immediately.
At the same time, the loyalty the system forced into her mind made her turn toward Ryuunosuke the instant she recognized the situation.
"Captain?"
That word came out exactly the same way the others had said it when they were first pulled into this world.
"Hahahaha!" Ban burst out laughing. "Wasn't that my face when I first got dragged here?"
For Ban, being recruited by Ryuunosuke felt like yesterday.
"Kobayashi, tell Elma what's going on here," Ryuunosuke said quickly.
"Elma, if you have questions, save them for after we stabilize the situation."
"There's no time for pleasantries."
Then his gaze shifted.
"Kuina, you stay here."
"Akame, you go with Captain Najenda."
Ryuunosuke's tone was decisive.
What they were about to face was clearly not as simple as Koushirou understood.
And that claim about him learning forging techniques here?
That was probably bait, meant to mislead anyone who got curious.
The secret of this island was the kind that outsiders were never meant to learn.
"Yo!"
"You guys came too?"
A familiar voice suddenly rolled over the sea and reached everyone's ears.
They turned toward the water.
A familiar figure strode closer, as if he had been waiting to make his entrance.
"Jin?"
"No… I should call you the First Generation."
Ryuunosuke looked at him and let out a breath he did not realize he was holding.
If this man showed up now, it meant he had come because of what was hidden here.
And with him here, dealing with the situation would become much easier.
"Captain Ryuunosuke," the First Generation said with a grin, "I have to say, you're really lucky."
"You got here before me."
"Looks like all that running around to check other places first was a mistake."
"So tell me. Have you uncovered the secret of this island?"
After taking over Jin's body, the First Generation had gone to retrieve what he had left behind long ago.
The moment he finished, he rushed here.
He had not expected Ryuunosuke to already be standing on the shore.
"Joy Boy?"
Shirahoshi suddenly stared at the First Generation, a strange emotion rising in her face as the words slipped out.
"Little girl," the First Generation said, and for the first time his expression carried a trace of old memory, "I originally wanted to awaken your memories."
"But Captain Ryuunosuke stopped me."
"I thought I would end up devouring you."
"But you're lucky."
"You met a Joy Boy like him."
"I won't awaken your memories."
His eyes lingered on Shirahoshi.
After all, Poseidon had been one of Poseidon's closest companions in the distant past.
"But I…" Shirahoshi's voice shook. "Captain…"
In her blood, in her instincts, was the expectation of Joy Boy.
But if fulfilling that expectation meant leaving Ryuunosuke, she realized something she did not want to admit.
She did not want to leave.
Shirahoshi glanced toward Ryuunosuke, seemed to reach a decision, and fell silent.
Compared to Shirahoshi, Nojiko and Nami were far less affected.
First, they were not complete Ancient Weapons.
Second, they had lived as humans for a long time, touched too many things, endured too many realities.
They were not like Shirahoshi, raised in a sheltered world and still close to blank.
That difference shaped their reactions the moment the First Generation appeared.
As for Gaino, even though he had devoured and fused with Pluton, his true form was still that small worn out boat Ryuunosuke had used when he first set sail.
More importantly, Gaino now held five Hearts of Eternity.
In essence, he had already risen to the same tier as the First Generation.
He would not be influenced at all.
"First Generation," Ryuunosuke asked directly, "what brings you here?"
"And what are those monsters on this island?"
Since someone clearly knowledgeable had arrived, there was no need to waste time stumbling through blind investigation.
Ryuunosuke was not the type to insist on figuring out everything alone when a shortcut was right in front of him.
The First Generation blinked, surprised.
"Captain Ryuunosuke… you didn't come here without knowing anything, did you?"
"This is the end of the Calm Belt."
"I thought you came because of the clue I gave you."
"A clue?" Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes. "Back then, weren't you talking about what's beneath the Red Line?"
The First Generation looked momentarily blank.
"Didn't I tell you?"
"The Calm Belt and the Red Line are both remnants of our battles."
"I remember I told you that…"
Hearing that, Ryuunosuke unconsciously clenched his fist.
Back when this man had been explaining the past, he had reached the most crucial part…
And then he ran.
If Ryuunosuke did not have discipline, he would have thrown verbal blades at him until the sea turned red.
Getting a half answer like that was worse than knowing nothing.
"Hahaha…" The First Generation laughed, like it was no big deal.
"Looks like I didn't finish what I was saying back then."
"In truth, neither the Calm Belt nor the Red Line existed in the beginning."
"To put it simply, the sea back then wasn't divided."
"There were no separate sea regions at all."
"The four seas only gained their official names after the Calm Belt and the Red Line appeared."
Ryuunosuke's eyes widened.
"The Red Line and the Calm Belt were created by your battle back then?"
That kind of scale was insane.
Ryuunosuke could destroy an island with a single strike now, and keep destroying without difficulty.
But an attack that could reshape the entire One Piece world in one sweep?
That was something else entirely.
Yet he did not think the First Generation was bragging.
It did not fit the man's presence.
And there was no reason to lie about something like that.
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]