The first stop on the crew's Grand Line journey wasn't Whisky Peak, the "Cactus Island" from the original story, but an island that was both ordinary and extraordinary.
Ordinary, because there was a town here that was just one step below Loguetown in scale, with a population of over a hundred thousand.
Extraordinary, because as the first stop on one of the seven Grand Line routes, this town was not part of any World Government–affiliated country, had no Marine branch, and no stationed national army—yet had never been destroyed or occupied.
You had to remember: the pirates who entered the Grand Line from the Four Seas were all, without exception, arrogant and unruly.
Some careful crews held back out of fear of the unknown and avoided making trouble in this town. But there were always more brainless pirates, eager to announce to the world that they had arrived on the Grand Line and desperate to act recklessly.
For such a town to remain intact until now, there had to be a reason so many pirate crews didn't dare stir up trouble.
When the four of them came ashore, El quietly used his heart-reading ability on a local resident and pulled up the man's memories.
That was how he learned the truth: this town was under the protection of the black market.
The black market, also called the illegal market, shadow market, or underground market, wasn't a single organization, but a vast alliance.
It was a huge network led by several "kings" of the underworld, followed by countless gray and black forces spread all across the world.
In the black market, almost anything could be bought.
Weapons. Banned drugs. Slaves. Dance Powder. Organs. Information.Anything prohibited—even people—could be traded there.
There was a saying in the pirate world:
"You can afford to offend the Marines and even Mary Geoise—but you can't afford to offend the black market."
Pirates were a profession that consumed weapons. They couldn't produce ammunition or guns on their own. Unless they stormed Marine bases, even if they seized some loot from enemy ships, it was never enough to sustain them for long.
The only reliable place they could resupply was the black market.
And not just pirates—Even the Marines, when they ran low on ammunition at sea, would often quietly head to the nearest black market stronghold to buy supplies, rather than risk returning to base defenseless and being ambushed by pirates along the way.
Standing at one of the peaks of this black market world was a man named Donquixote Doflamingo, "Heavenly Demon" and underworld broker "Joker". He supplied arms even to Mary Geoise—the so-called rulers of the world for the past 800 years.
Yes, even the "true hegemons" of the world bought weapons from Doflamingo.
And Doflamingo was just one of the kings ruling the black market.
That alone showed how terrifyingly powerful this network was.
For pirates, a Marine bounty was a sort of honor.But being placed on the black market's blacklist? That was a catastrophe.
Once blacklisted, unless they paid a price far greater than usual, no black market branch would do business with them. Losing that supply chain was no different from having their lifeline cut.
So no matter how rebellious a pirate crew was, they never dared to cause trouble in any town under black market protection.
And that… was why this dark little town had survived unscathed until now.
"I didn't expect our very first stop on the Grand Line to be one of the black market's strongholds," Carina said with a low whistle after El finished explaining.
There had been a black market in East Blue as well, and among the four of them, Carina alone had actually been inside one.
After meeting El, she had never needed to go back.
"The first stop being a black market town is actually a blessing from the sea for us," El said, the corners of his mouth lifting as he started walking toward the clustered buildings. "Come on. Let's go shopping."
By reading the memories of a few locals and sweeping the entire town with his Observation Haki, El had already grasped all the important information here.
And in this town, there might just be something he needed.
On the surface, everything looked like a normal, lively town.The real black market was hidden in one particular building—a shop that specialized in arms and contraband.
It wasn't that they didn't sell other things.It was just that the prices for those items were outrageously high.
Buying what El wanted in that place wouldn't be any different from buying a Log Pose at the sailing tools shop in Loguetown: he would be walking in with a sign on his forehead that said "please rip me off".
The black market's appetite was far larger than any ordinary store's.Everything was for sale here—but at prices several times higher than on the open market.
Only those truly desperate would step into the black market to buy.
If you went inside, you were basically volunteering to be bled dry.
So—
Unless he couldn't find what he needed in a normal shop, El had no intention of stepping into that black market den.
Before long, he led the three girls to a sailing tools shop in town.
Yes—A nautical tools shop.
Because what El wanted to buy was another pointer.
Specifically: an Eternal Pose.
"Welcome," a clerk's voice chimed as the four of them pushed open the door.
El walked straight to the counter.
"Do you have an Eternal Pose for Drum Island?" he asked without any small talk.
"…We do," the clerk replied, blinking in mild surprise.
"Drum Island is famous across the Grand Line for its medical expertise. Eternal Poses for that country are one of our most popular items. No matter which island you're on, any branch of our company will always keep a Drum Island Eternal Pose in stock."
From the way she looked at him, it was clear she hadn't expected a boy his age to know about Eternal Poses at all. That meant, in her eyes, he probably wasn't some fresh Grand Line rookie.
After a brief moment of surprise, she snapped back into her professional smile. She bent down and rummaged through a display case filled with glass spheres, then carefully took out one mounted in a wooden frame shaped a bit like an hourglass.
She set it on the counter for them to see.
"I'll take that," El said. "And these Eternal Poses too. Please pack them together."
His gaze swept across the labeled glass spheres beneath the counter. After quickly reading the names on the small tags, he pointed out several of them for the clerk to include.
"Thank you for your purchase. Please come again," the clerk said politely as they left.
From the moment they entered to the moment they stepped back outside, El had spent less than three minutes in the shop.
"Nii-san, why did you buy so many Eternal Poses?" Nami asked, hugging the wooden box full of glass spheres to her chest.
As a navigator, she felt a little ashamed.
She had known about Log Poses, but until now, she hadn't realized there were that many types of recording devices: standard Log Poses, Eternal Poses, and even specialized versions for the New World.
But more than her embarrassment, curiosity burned brighter.
What was El planning with all of these?
"Drum Island… the famous medical country on the Grand Line," Carina said thoughtfully, watching El's profile. "Nii-san, what are you planning to do there?"
"To go to the most professional doctors in this sea," El answered calmly, "and have them help us create—and teach us how to make—nutrients."
That was also why he hadn't wanted to risk waiting around for Crocus at Twin Cape.
"The Grand Line isn't East Blue," he continued. "There are countless dangers here. We could run into someone powerful at any time. Training step by step is too slow. We need external help if we want to grow stronger faster."
"So that's it…" Carina's eyes lit up, understanding dawning.
"Those 'nutrients' are to help us speed up our physical growth and recovery. To boost our training beyond natural limits. There's even such a method, huh… As expected of you, Nii-san!"
PS :
Drum IslandA famous medical country in the Grand Line.
Renowned for its doctors and medical technology.
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