Loguetown, the town of the beginning and the end. It was here that the Pirate King's final words ignited the Great Age of Pirates.
Because of this, this once-obscure little town had become a frequent destination for numerous pirates over the last four years. Like a religious pilgrimage to a holy land, the execution platform in Loguetown had effectively become a crucial scenic spot in the East Blue.
Furthermore, although many pirates came to Loguetown, they maintained a tacit understanding not to harass the townspeople. It seemed these pirates used this behavior to express their high esteem for the Pirate King.
Though pirates were mostly lawless, sometimes these unwritten rules held more binding power over them than the actual law.
However, today, the situation had changed.
Loguetown, Eastern Port. A fierce battle was underway. At a street corner in the distance, a black-haired young boy and a silver-haired little girl were intently observing the spectacle.
"So cool! They're both so cool!"
"That big glutton actually isn't afraid of bullets, and he can stretch! And that big pirate guy can actually turn into a dog! Pfft—hahaha, what an ugly dog!"
Little stars twinkled in Lisanna's beautiful big eyes. Judging by her excitement, if Sherlock hadn't been holding her back, she would have already run up for a closer look.
"They are both Devil Fruit users."
Compared to his older sister, Sherlock was much more composed. He pulled out a wanted poster and said calmly, "Captain of the Wolf King Pirates: The Gnoll, Hogg. Bounty: 27 million Berries. That's right, that's the guy—a super rookie who debuted in the East Blue a few days ago."
In order to test Luffy's strength, Sherlock had used a little trick to get this straw-hatted idiot into a fight with a group of extremely ill-tempered pirates. Judging by the current state of the battle, this 27-million-Berry Zoan-type Devil Fruit user was clearly no match for Luffy.
(30 million Berries... this guy seems to be worth more than just 30 million. And if what he says is true...)
Sherlock's expression changed slightly as a rather inconceivable hypothesis formed in his mind.
Although he felt the hypothesis was a bit too bizarre, the facts proved that this "hypothesis" was no longer just a guess.
On the other side, the battle Sherlock had orchestrated was drawing to a close.
"Gum-Gum... Bazooka!!!!"
With a loud roar from Luffy, his arms—stretched to an exaggerated length—suddenly snapped back, slamming with immense force into the stomach of the dog-headed man. Under the impact of this colossal force, the latter flew out like a cannonball, crashing into a distant building and reducing it to rubble.
As the dust settled, it revealed the dog-headed man lying unconscious, eyes rolled back in his head.
"Captain! Captain Hogg!!!!!"
"How is that possible?! The Captain was actually defeated by that guy in the straw hat!"
"When did the East Blue get such a powerful rookie?!"
Seeing their captain hit the deck, the minions of the Wolf King Pirates began to scream in panic. Then, quite decisively, they scattered and fled in all directions, showing absolutely no intention of avenging their captain.
Are you kidding? Even the strongest rookie in the East Blue got flattened by this guy; what use would a bunch of ragtag stragglers like them be?!
The heat is on, scram! The pirates ran for their lives, leaving behind a ground littered with broken spears and shattered swords, causing the originally bustling port to suddenly become somewhat empty.
"Phew~ Finally won. That guy could really take a beating." The simpleton captain rotated his wrist and then looked toward the two children walking his way.
"Hey, Big Glutton, I didn't expect you to be so good at fighting." The silver-haired little girl's eyes flashed with brilliance, her face full of adoration.
Luffy grinned wide and struck a pose to show off his muscles. "Shishishi, didn't I tell you? I'm really strong!"
Sherlock curled his lips, feeling a little salty. It seemed the little boy was slightly displeased that Lisanna was praising someone else. He then turned his head to look at Hogg the Gnoll, who was lying in the distance like a dead dog.
(27 million Berries. After setting aside a portion to buy delicious food for Lisanna, a new oven for Mom, and some high-end black tea for Dad, I'll still have plenty left. I can take over a shop to test the waters.)
(Plus, there will be other stupid pirates coming to Loguetown in the future... this free hired thug is just too useful!)
Thinking of this, Sherlock revealed a genuinely warm and gentle smile.
"By the way, Little Sherlock," Luffy asked suddenly, "Didn't you say that as long as I beat these guys, I'd find out how to locate my crew?"
Incidentally, the reason Luffy called Sherlock "Little Sherlock" was to distinguish him from "that Sherlock with the glasses." Who could blame the Straw Hat idiot for not realizing that these two Sherlocks were actually the same person...?
"Mm, that's right. Once we send this pirate to the Marines, you'll find out," Little Sherlock spouted nonsense with a straight face.
At that moment, Lisanna gently tugged at her brother's clothes, extending a small hand to point in a certain direction.
"No need to look for them, Sherlock. Look, the Marines are already here."
Hearing this, both Sherlock and Luffy turned their heads simultaneously to find a large group of Marine soldiers marching toward them. Leading them was a tall, burly Marine with a back like a tiger and the waist of a bear.
This Marine had graying sideburns, a thick beard, and a crescent-shaped scar at the corner of his eye. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, he commanded authority without needing to get angry. He wore a black suit with a Marine officer's coat draped over his shoulders. Although he was getting on in years, he still walked with the stride of a dragon and the step of a tiger, radiating an imposing aura.
"This Marine..." Sherlock narrowed his eyes slightly. Although it was his first time seeing this Marine officer, he inexplicably felt that this tall man, grinning to reveal a mouthful of snow-white teeth, was absolutely extraordinary!
As for Luffy, he froze the moment he laid eyes on the Marine. His entire body began to tremble slightly, and his forehead was instantly covered in beads of sweat.
"Oi, oi, oi, Big Glutton, you... what's wrong with you?" Seeing this, Lisanna furrowed her delicate brows. "Even if you are a pirate, you don't need to be this scared just seeing a Marine. It's like a mouse meeting a cat."
Sherlock also looked puzzled. "Do you know this Marine? Luffy."
Nodding his head, Luffy swallowed hard, then spoke in a trembling voice that stunned everyone present:
"Grand... Grandpa?!"
Books. Nothing but books. Densely packed books, piled up like mountains. This was Sherlock's first impression upon entering the Tree of Knowledge.
He took a deep breath; even the air seemed to faintly contain the scent of ink that had been passed down for ages.
It was the unique smell of knowledge.
"Truly worthy of being the world's largest library..." Sherlock whispered in admiration. Immediately after, he suddenly remembered that this place would be burned to the ground in the near future, and a look of regret couldn't help but ripple through his calm, water-like eyes.
"Um, Sherlock, I'm going to return my book first. You can look around casually by yourself." After speaking, Little Robin hugged her copy of the Alabasta Chronicles and walked off in a certain direction.
After Little Robin had walked far away, Sherlock looked around and gently pushed up his glasses.
(So this is the place where my grandfather used to research and study? It feels really nice. And it is right here that those scholars are secretly researching the Poneglyphs. I wonder if my half-baked knowledge of ancient scripts will be enough to understand them.)
Just as Sherlock was lost in his secret thoughts, an aged voice came from behind him.
"Fresnel?"
Sherlock was slightly stunned, then turned around.
The speaker was a tall, thin old man. He had a long white beard and a strictly non-mainstream hairstyle shaped like flower petals. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a scholar of the Tree of Knowledge.
"Uh, I'm terribly sorry, young man. I mistook you for someone else." The old gentleman looked closely at Sherlock's appearance and smiled apologetically. "But you really do look like an old friend of mine. When he was young, he looked almost exactly like you."
Speaking of this, the old gentleman's expression changed, and he asked tentatively, "You... you wouldn't happen to be Fresnel's youngest son, would you?"
"..." Sherlock was momentarily at a loss for words. If he guessed correctly, the old man before him should be the Professor Clover that Robin had mentioned.
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