"Wow—100 million Belly right off the bat! Sister Kuina, your first bounty is insanely high!"
"And you look so cool in this picture!"
"And Nii-san's bounty went up too," Nami added excitedly.
"From 80 million to 120 million Belly—that's amazing!"
On the deck of the ship, Carina and Nami each held a bounty poster as they excitedly gathered around Kuina and El.
Kuina simply smiled and said calmly,
"That's only because you two didn't make a move. Otherwise, whether it's you, Carina, or Nami, you'd be just as famous as I am."
"You're too modest, Sister Kuina," Carina said with a grin.
"In terms of fame alone, Nami's Devil Fruit might only be second to yours. But unless the Navy or Mary Geoise learns about my ability—Three Heads and Six Arms—they won't really value me."
El reached out and lightly pinched Nami's cheek, saying indifferently,
"With our potential, sooner or later we'll completely shock the entire world. What's happening now is only the beginning."
"Rather than worrying about fame, it's better to train seriously. Once your physiques improve and you fully master Haki and the Six Styles (Rokushiki), they won't just pay attention to our potential—"
"They'll fear our strength."
"We got it, Nii-san."
The three girls nodded together, the excitement on their faces quickly settling.
El and Kuina were still children, yet they had already become Supernovas in the first half of the Grand Line.
That was entirely due to their monstrous sword talent—and the terrifying reputation of the Goro Goro no Mi, known as the strongest Logia-type Devil Fruit.
They were currently surrounded by nothing but potential.
But just like the true powerhouses of the New World, very few people actually took Supernovas in Paradise seriously.
A Supernova only meant someone had outstanding potential.
Only a great pirate was acknowledged by the world for true strength.
Before their talent was fully realized, there were still countless people in the New World who could kill El or Kuina in an instant.
If they became arrogant over a little success, the world would crush them sooner or later.
After calming down, the three girls resumed their usual training with El.
While training, the four continued sailing toward Drum Island.
Along the way, they passed Sandy Island and stopped at the port city of Nanohana in the Kingdom of Alabasta.
There, they sold the stolen pirate ship at a low price and purchased a new small ship instead.
Both El and the three girls valued cleanliness.
They disliked living in places others had used, or using items that belonged to someone else.
That was why El personally went shopping with them to buy futons and daily necessities, replacing everything.
During this time, a medium-sized box was used to store the gold that Carina had compressed into golden balls.
When switching ships, the four made a special trip to Alubarna, the capital of Alabasta, where they found the largest local gold exchange.
They sold part of the gold that had been stored in Baku Baku Space, earning 1.5 billion Belly.
As for the remaining gold, they chose not to sell it yet.
After all, the three girls liked gold as well.
With Carina's Synthesis and Kuina's electricity, they could reshape gold into almost anything.
Their plan was simple:
Keep most of the gold for now, and once they had a new ship, decorate the cabin with gold ornaments.
Only if they were short on money—or needed funds urgently—would they convert the rest into Belly.
After buying all their necessities, the four boarded their temporary ship and headed back toward Drum Island.
Half a month later, they arrived at the Medical Country once again.
After landing, they divided their tasks as usual.
El went to the largest pharmacy to purchase large quantities of medicinal herbs needed to make the Nutritional Supplement.
The three girls went to the bank, withdrew the two Zoan-type Devil Fruits they had stored earlier, along with the equipment for producing the supplements.
After regrouping, the four moved everything into the ship's warehouse and set sail again.
By the end of February, Year 1511, they returned to their very first stop on the Grand Line.
At the Black Market, El purchased another batch of Bubbly Coral, several pairs of Seastone handcuffs, and multiple Eternal Poses that were extremely rare.
He even bought a detailed map marking the locations of other black-market strongholds in the first half of the Grand Line.
Finally, after picking up several barrels of swords from a local weapons store, El and the three girls followed the same route back, spending another half month returning to the special sea area beneath Sky Island.
On March 30, Year 1511, after a long detour, the four finally arrived at their destination—
Water 7.
Water 7 was one of the seven most famous islands in the first half of the Grand Line—
Just as Drum Island was renowned for medicine, Water 7 was famous for shipbuilding.
It possessed the largest shipbuilding industry in the world and the finest shipwrights.
Even the warships of Mary Geoise and Marine Headquarters were commissioned here.
Countless legendary ships had been born in Water 7.
The most famous among them were the Pirate King's ship, the Oro Jackson, and the ancient weapon Pluton.
This alone was enough to show just how terrifying Water 7's background was.
For anyone intending to buy or customize a ship, Water 7 was an unavoidable destination—
Including El and the three girls.
Following the waterways, the four sailed into Water 7's port.
After anchoring and going ashore, they bought a city map and rented two Yagara Bulls, the local water-based means of transportation.
Then, without hesitation, they headed straight toward a newly established shipbuilding company—
The Galley-La Company.
This was the company that would merge several major shipyards and become the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Water 7 within the next nine years.
Among all the shipwrights in Water 7, El was most optimistic about one person—
Iceburg, the first disciple of Master Tom and the future mayor of Water 7.
As for Franky—
At this stage, aside from weapon construction, his shipbuilding skills were still clearly inferior to his senior brother's.
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