This was the East Blue.
Dunn watched the pirate before him with a calm expression. This was Doru, a man with a 2.5-million-Berry bounty and a face full of arrogance.
True to the stereotype, most pirates lacked self-awareness. Until they faced a true crisis, they were usually boastful and overconfident. A bounty of 2.5 million, even in the "weakest" East Blue, made him nothing more than a small fry.
However, what caught Dunn's attention was a green label floating above Doru's head.
[Elite Pirate]
Is this the system's evaluation of enemies?
Dunn's gaze swept across the other pirates gathering around. They were marked with uniform grey labels:
[Lackey], [Small Fry], [Civilian].
Is this a fixed rating, or is it relative to my own strength? Dunn wondered.
But his calm, distant demeanor only fueled Doru's rage. Doru had been at sea for a year and had raided several islands.
Though he hadn't found much treasure, every weakling he encountered had looked at him with abject terror. Now, this kid—with a blade literally pressed against his throat—actually had the audacity to zone out.
Feeling the eyes of his crew on him, Doru felt his authority was being challenged.
"You arrogant little brat!"
Doru's face twisted into a snarl. His tone turned cold and murderous. With a sudden burst of strength, he swung his cutlass, slicing clean through Dunn's neck.
Too easy!
Doru froze. He stared as Dunn slowly shifted his gaze back toward him. The wound on Dunn's neck where the blade had passed was flickering with orange flames; not a single drop of blood spilled. Once the fire subsided, the flesh was perfectly intact.
[Current HP: 100%]
Doru instinctively took a step back, his eyes wide with horror. Though he wasn't the smartest man, that single exchange made it clear: this was someone he couldn't touch.
Dunn gave Doru a passing glance, then retracted the flames swirling around his body and began walking toward the pirate ship anchored at the shore.
The surrounding pirates were as silent as cicadas in winter, frantically scrambling out of his way as they watched his retreating back.
Gulp.
Doru swallowed hard.
"Captain?" a small-time pirate leader whispered, snapping a terrified Doru back to reality.
"Dammit!"
Shame flared in Doru's chest, making his hand tremble on the hilt of his cutlass. Under the gaze of his crew, he finally managed to squeeze out a command: "Board the ship!"
They were on a deserted island. If they didn't get back on that ship, they were dead. Once the fire burned out, there would be nothing left here. As for swimming to another island? Impossible. Their only choice was to follow the boy onto the ship and wait for their fate to be decided.
Dunn understood this perfectly. Aside from knowing he was in the East Blue, he was completely in the dark. He needed guides. Moreover, these pirates were effectively walking wallets. After all, this world had bounty hunters.
A short while later, Dunn sat atop a wooden crate. Before him, dozens of pirates stood in a line, looking incredibly anxious.
"Where is the nearest Marine base?" Dunn asked, scanning the group.
The pirates exchanged glances before looking toward Doru, who stood at the front. Doru cursed inwardly but didn't dare hesitate.
"The 16th Branch!"
"Set sail," Dunn nodded with a smile. "We're going to the 16th Branch."
"But we're pirates!" Doru blurted out, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. A stir of unease rippled through the rest of the crew.
Snap!
Dunn snapped his fingers. A tiny spark ignited at his fingertip. The next second—Boom!—the spark expanded, swelling into a massive fireball over a meter in diameter.
The pirates recoiled in terror, staring at the sun-like sphere hovering at Dunn's finger.
"Set sail!"
Dunn spoke again. This time, the pirates didn't waste a second. No one wanted to find out what it felt like to be hit by that fireball.
Every pirate became frantically busy; even those with nothing to do pretended to be working, terrified of catching Dunn's eye.
Only when the fireball vanished did the crew breathe a collective sigh of relief. Doru, trembling, gathered the treasure salvaged from the island into a bag and presented it to Dunn. In the face of overwhelming power, even a fool knows how to choose.
"This is the East Blue?" Dunn glanced at the treasure. He didn't know its exact value yet, so he focused on the information he needed.
"Yes, my Lord!" Doru's arrogance was gone, replaced by a subservience so deep he was practically kneeling.
"Do you know Foosha Village?" Dunn asked.
Doru looked blank.
"Shimotsuki Village?"
Doru looked even more confused.
"Do you know Garp?" Dunn tried again.
"Marine Hero Garp?" Doru asked hesitantly. He seemed confused as to why Dunn would bring up such a legendary name.
Okay, so he knows Garp. Dunn nodded. He wasn't completely ignorant then.
"Who is the Fleet Admiral?"
Doru's expression went blank again. This guy knew things, but not much. After thirty minutes of interrogation, Dunn still hadn't figured out the exact state of the world.
While Doru knew the name Garp, to him, Garp was a mythical figure he could never hope to reach—he didn't even know Garp was from the East Blue. As for the current date, he was utterly clueless.
Sensing Dunn's growing frustration, Doru frantically pulled out a newspaper and handed it over before scurrying away.
Sea Calendar, Year 1511.
In the corner of the paper was a small picture of Doru and his 2.5-million-Berry bounty. That was likely why he had kept the paper.
Dunn looked at the headline dominating the front page: "Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, Captain of the Kuja Pirates, Boa Hancock, accepts the Marine's offer with an 80-million-Berry bounty to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Dunn blinked, looking at the image of the slightly younger Pirate Empress.
"So, it's about eight or nine years before Luffy sets out to sea?"
Dunn racked his memory. He couldn't remember the exact dates, but he knew Luffy's journey started around 1520.
Knowing the timeline helped him plan his next move. The Flame-Flame Fruit was his safety net, and Digitization was his trump card.
But he wouldn't neglect Haki or swordsmanship. Since he was in the East Blue, he had to visit Shimotsuki Village. It was likely the easiest place to find a way to train in Haki and learn high-level sword skills.
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