One Piece: Marine to Warlord to Conqueror

"Are the details of those troublemaker pirates registered too?"

"They're registered." Robin nodded again. "From the intelligence gathered among the crews that came to sign up, we are already aware of the routes and details of those troublemakers."

Once a portion of the pirates stepped into the open, combined with the defense network across the region, those evil Pirates would no longer be able to hide. After all, with their living space shrinking and no way into the Grand Line, where else could they hide?

"Dispatch marines to wipe them out, then intimidate the wavering pirates." Dante paused before continuing, "After that, we keep compressing their operating area."

Lately, they had begun advancing into the other half of the East Blue as well, though it remained a small-scale expansion, pushing forward step by step. They couldn't help it, they still lacked manpower. He advocated for steady, methodical progress. Right now, their strength could not yet support taking control of the entire region. Naturally, given another year or two, and with Vegapunk's assistance, they should be ready by then.

The thought sparked a memory. Dante looked at Viola and Robin. "Is there anything else? If not, I'll head over to Vegapunk's place. It seems that guy has finished his secluded research."

Honestly, calling him out of the blue late last night, didn't he know Dante was busy?

Seeing that Robin and Viola had no further business, Dante stood up, planning to see what Vegapunk had cooked up during this latest stint of isolation. And those clones... had he gotten them sorted out or not?! One person doing the work of seven... well, excluding that Greed clone, York, but even then, that was six Vegapunks! Having six people with the World's Greatest Brain, just thinking about it was thrilling!

Meanwhile.

The New Pirate Regulations continued to impact the various islands across the East Blue. This was a small island in the Goa Kingdom waters. Following two years of massive construction, development work here had entered its final phase.

Right now, it was lunchtime on the island.

"The work here is almost done. Once the final finishing touches are complete, we'll be leaving."

"Eh? Won't I be out of a job then?"

"Don't worry. Anyone who wants to keep working under me can do so. There's no shortage of work out there, construction on quite a few islands has only just begun, and they need a huge workforce." Hearing Luffy's concern, the foreman spoke earnestly between bites. "Especially you three... Luffy, Zoro, Helmeppo. I have high hopes for you." He sighed. "Maybe one day... one of you will take over my position!"

Even though two of them had their fair share of quirks, aside from Helmeppo, he still saw great potential in the three brats.

However.

"Eh, is that so?" Luffy, cheeks stuffed with food, looked up in distress. "But I'll be 17 years old next year!"

"17? What about 17? You think you can't haul bricks at 17?"

"No, I'm setting sail!"

"You still haven't given up on going out to sea, brat?"

"Of course!"

Hearing the foreman's words, a switch flipped in Luffy. He stopped eating, set down the rice bucket that was half his height, and shot to his feet. He swallowed the food in his mouth, took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and summoned every ounce of strength in his body to shout, "I am going to become the King of the Pirates!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're going to become the Pirate King! We're eating here! Can you stop spraying spit everywhere?" The foreman smoothly shielded his rice bowl. Every time this kid talked about this, he had to yell that phrase at the top of his lungs.

There was an edge of resignation in his voice as he added, "What's so good about being a pirate? Look at you, stuffing your face like a rice bucket, will being a pirate even keep you fed? Plus, the East Blue Marines crack down on pirates hard. Aren't you afraid of getting caught?"

He turned to look at Zoro and Helmeppo. "What about you two? Are you planning to go along with this nonsense?"

Zoro, who was eating in huge mouthfuls, raised his head. After a brief silence, he said, "The training here can no longer satisfy me!"

"You're planning to become a pirate too? Aren't you afraid of getting lost?"

"Who got lost? I just didn't recognize the route! And it's not like I have to become a pirate!" Zoro scowled at the foreman's suspicion. "I'm just preparing to set sail to hone my swordsmanship!"

"As for me, I haven't figured it out yet, but..." Helmeppo paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "The foreman is right. Becoming a pirate here isn't a good idea. Luffy, maybe you should think it over!"

"I am going to become King of the Pirates..."

"Alright, just keep eating!" Seeing Luffy try to stand again, the foreman cut him off, telling him to eat quietly before speaking with a sigh. "Looks like besides Helmeppo, you two have made up your minds. What a pity. I had high hopes for you. Losing three strong ones like you will probably drop my construction crew's ranking!"

He swept his gaze across the surroundings and immediately frowned.

"By the way, where is that brat Usopp? Where did he run off to brag this time? I haven't seen him on the site all day. Does he still want to work or not?"

At those words, the three finally remembered Usopp. Ever since the Year-End Party, when Usopp had taken the ship with them and ended up on the wrong route, he hadn't had the money for another ticket, so he had stayed here working with them. He might skip shifts normally, but he would absolutely show up for lunch! Where had Usopp run off to?

'Forget it, I'm full anyway.'

Helmeppo stood up. "I'll go look for, "

However, before he could start looking, a shout erupted from behind them.

"There's a huge incident! My Usopp Pirates can finally be formed!"

"What are you talking about, brat?" Seeing Usopp running over, the foreman immediately scolded him. "There are no pirates here. Stop making things up, or you'll get arrested you idiot! Even though East Blue is peaceful last few years, you need to mind your words."

But Usopp didn't calm down under the glaring stare. Agitated, he puffed out his chest, tilted his long nose up at a forty-five-degree angle, and waved the paper in his hand. "I'm not lying this time! As long as you pass the exam, the East Blue Marines will never stop pirates from entering the Grand Line again. This is the New Pirate Regulations."

Everyone froze, except Luffy, who kept eating.

New Pirate Regulations? What was he talking about?

"Impossible!" The foreman was the first to snap out of it. "What are you spouting, brat? We let your usual bragging slide, but you dare make up stuff like this? Aren't you afraid of getting arrested?"

"That's right, Usopp, you can't just say things like that!" Helmeppo nodded seriously. "You really will get arrested!"

"Why don't..." Zoro gave a excited grin and partially drew his sword, "...we just arrest him ourselves?"

"This time, I'm not lying, I'm really not lying!" Seeing the scene before him, Usopp grew anxious and shook the paper in his hand. "This is a new regulation officially issued by the East Blue Marines!" He shoved the paper into Helmeppo's hands. "Really, if you don't believe me, see for yourselves!"

Seeing how serious Usopp looked, Helmeppo took the paper in confusion. The other three leaned in curiously to read it.

A moment later...

"Damn, it's actually real!"

"Didn't we hear a while ago that they were catching pirates everywhere? Zoro, what is your senpai trying to do?"

"I don't know. Could someone else have come up with this?"

"Helmeppo, what is this?"

The three of them widened their eyes, excluding Luffy.

"I told you I wasn't lying!" Seeing their reactions, Usopp proudly swiped a thumb across his nose. "I worked hard to get this news! How about it? Didn't trick you, right?"

"You didn't trick us, but this New Pirate Regulations..." Helmeppo looked speechlessly at the documents in his hand. "You have to take an exam to be a pirate? What's the point of this? Will anyone actually listen?"

"Forget it, doesn't matter. I only want to hone my swordsman skills anyway." Zoro glanced at it. Shocked for a second, he ignored it once he finished reading. "You can ask Luffy! He's the brat who wants to be a pirate."

"That's right, I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"

"Then will you go get certified?" Hearing Luffy's words, Helmeppo shook the documents in his hand, looked at Luffy, and said, "You can only be a pirate if you get certified?"

"Why? Can't you be a pirate just by setting sail?"

"It's stipulated right here that pirates inside the East Blue can only be pirates if they get certified, and they'll get the chance to enter the Grand Line. Otherwise, the Marines will directly arrest the entire crew!"

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