Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Time flies by unnoticed.

Perhaps because he was thinking too much and too deeply, Li Mingyuan didn't notice the scene outside at all. When he came to his senses again, he found that it was already dawn.

Looking out the window at the sun that had risen sometime earlier, and hearing the animal calls gradually coming from the nearby pasture, Li Mingyuan managed to pull himself out of the vortex of thought. For a moment, he didn't know what to say, so he could only give a wry smile, sit on the edge of the bed, and keep rubbing his temples with both hands.

A sleepless night and a hangover had left him in a somewhat bad state.

The main problem was that Joseph and Johnny arrived at such an inopportune time.

Who is this kind person who comes to say goodbye in the middle of the night?

This sudden turn of events not only completely dispelled his sleepiness, but also made him subconsciously concentrate on thinking about important intelligence.

Fortunately, no one woke him up the next morning. The village chief didn't come. He didn't know if he hadn't found any cargo ships that could go along the way, or if no ships dared to go to Alon Amusement Park. Apart from that, there wasn't much noise in the whole village. He guessed that many of the villagers were probably still asleep, since they had drunk quite a bit the night before.

Otherwise, his head might really be about to explode right now.

"Phew! Let's just wander around somewhere for now."

Li Mingyuan stood up, walked to the window, looked outside, and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

With less noise, his nerves seemed to gradually relax with the massage.

He definitely couldn't fall asleep again now. He had been thinking about those situations that were making him feel a bit down, and he really wasn't sleepy. Rather than tossing and turning in bed, he decided to go for a walk outside to clear his head.

They could just pack up and go.

After leaving the room, Li Mingyuan walked to the edge of the ranch next to him.

Bathed in the morning sunlight, with a gentle breeze ruffling his simple clothes, Li Mingyuan stretched lazily, and then a relaxed expression gradually appeared on his face.

Following the path of his battle with the bandit Dick the day before, he walked towards the village streets where he had attended the banquet the previous night. He wandered through the mess left behind by the celebrations, and soon arrived at a place he had never seen before.

The village's port.

As a typical island in One Piece that isn't very large, the village is naturally located very close to the sea. This is why they found Li Mingyuan on the shore earlier, because many people in the village make a living by fishing, and some even travel by boat to trade with the outside world.

Having unlocked the new map, Li Mingyuan gazed at the boundless sea before him, feeling the sea breeze and watching the rippling waves, and inexplicably felt quite pleased.

This was the first time he had ever seen the sea in the world of One Piece.

It's even more beautiful than I expected; it truly lives up to its reputation as the land of dreams depicted in the comics.

In the Great Pirate Era, countless people, filled with passion and ambition, headed towards this ocean.

Li Mingyuan knew that the scene he was seeing would likely become a common sight for him in the future, and might even last longer than the scene he saw after going ashore, encompassing most of his future life.

"There are probably fewer than five cargo ships docked, and they are all of average size."

"According to the villagers yesterday, besides their village, there are seven or eight other villages scattered across the island, most of which are near the sea, and some of these villages have a much larger number of merchants than their village."

Li Mingyuan looked at the ships not far away.

Although they are taller and more imposing than people, to the pirate king's navy warships in his memory, these are just small to medium-sized ships. In the future, the things he will spend the most time with will be these ships.

I really don't know what kind of ship I'll own in the future.

It would be nice if we could stay more comfortable.

As a novice transmigrator from the One Piece world, Li Mingyuan's knowledge of the sea is comparable to Luffy's. He's good at ninjutsu, but he really knows nothing about how to live at sea.

According to Li Mingyuan's original plan, ideally, he intended to let professionals handle professional tasks, while he would be responsible for providing money and force, and spend the rest of his time in the captain's cabin. Of course, if all else failed, he would pretend to be a sailor if a capable person was in charge, as long as the ship didn't sink.

I just don't know if such an idea is unrealistic and fanciful in the world of One Piece.

In the early morning, while many villagers were still resting, many of the sailors on cargo ships or fishing boats had already gotten up early to work hard or unload cargo.

Li Mingyuan could see that on the largest cargo ship not far away, people were constantly getting on and off, and occasionally he could hear voices coming from afar, but most of them were commands or the sounds of people exerting force when moving cargo.

And so, as Li Mingyuan observed the seaside scenery and leisurely whiled away the time.

"Huh...? It's gone?"

"Hey! What are you slacking off for? Get back to work and move the load!"

"But, this...!?"

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the previously orderly transport queue.

Li Mingyuan glanced over casually and saw several sailors arguing around a box. One of the sailors looked terrified. After discussing for a while, they seemed to be unable to make up their minds and quickly ran into the merchant ship.

Just a few minutes later, a burly man dressed in neat clothes with a full beard, who appeared to be the captain, hurriedly walked out of the cabin. He walked to the box with a grim expression, said something to the people nearby, took a deep breath, and opened the box.

Boom!

With a heavy thud, the wooden planks of the box were overturned and fell to the ground.

The opened box was completely empty; there was nothing inside.

"Impossible! Where are the jewels inside?"

"That's a gift to the kingdom! Are you kidding me?! If we lose it, we'll all lose our heads!"

"Everyone, get to it and go find it right now!!"

The burly man's angry voice echoed throughout the harbor, "The cargo ship has only been docked for a short time, the thief can't have gone far. I'll reward him handsomely if he's found!"

Not long after he finished speaking, Li Mingyuan saw even more sailors rushing out of the cargo ship's deck.

However, a short while later, the group disappeared into the village port.

Only the burly man remained, still standing in front of the empty box, staring blankly at its emptiness. It took him an unknown amount of time to come to his senses, a deep fear flashing across his face.

Li Mingyuan was watching this scene from not far away.

His face showed no emotion or interest.

Having witnessed the whole process, even a fool would realize that something had happened. However, Li Mingyuan had no intention of asking any questions or getting involved.

He remained standing there, simply watching.

As everyone knows, in this world, events are often equated with trouble. Li Mingyuan had no intention of meddling in every situation. In the end, unlike the previous incident where villagers were attacked by bandits, the current situation had nothing to do with him. It would be good enough if he could just pay attention to this sudden situation.

Li Mingyuan turned his gaze away, still enjoying the sea breeze and gazing at the coastal scenery.

And so, about another hour passed.

Li Mingyuan sat by a rock, watching the increasing number of villagers and sailors around him, and felt that he had been there long enough.

Unlike him, the villagers have to make a living. Even though last night's banquet made many people get up late today, they still have to get up and work because of the pressure of life.

As a result, the once quiet port has now become very lively.

My headache has eased considerably, so it's time to go back.

"There are so many people."

Li Mingyuan's gaze swept over the noisy crowd and the fishing boats constantly heading out to sea. He thought to himself, "If only some of these boats could go to Alon Paradise."

Standing up and shaking the dust off his clothes, Li Mingyuan didn't hesitate and turned back.

As you walk through the crowd, you can see sailors who recently left a cargo ship suspected of having stolen goods now returning to the ship with gloomy expressions and grim faces.

What caught Li Mingyuan's attention was that these sailors were now carrying weapons similar to machetes, and unlike when they disembarked, these sailors now seemed to be carrying a fierce aura.

Most likely, they failed to catch the petty thief.

Not wanting to cause trouble, Li Mingyuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he silently began to retreat in a diagonal direction.

He could vaguely see in the distance that more cargo ships and sailors were walking towards him, and their faces were all grim. It was clear that it was better to avoid trouble and go around them.

So, bypassing the sailors, Li Mingyuan deliberately entered some dark alleys.

It took a little time to circle back to the main road leading to the village.

Back in the village, Li Mingyuan could see that, unlike when he passed through in the morning, the traces left by the banquet had been mostly cleaned up. In addition, many villagers had opened their shops and started normal transactions. At a glance, a lively and bustling atmosphere of the marketplace was palpable.

Li Mingyuan lowered his head and looked at the two pockets tied around his waist.

Unlike yesterday afternoon when he could only sit there in a daze, he now has the ability to spend money. He is most likely still the richest man in this village. It wouldn't hurt for him to take a stroll around this small village and see what he can buy.

"Speaking of which, I'm a little hungry too."

Li Mingyuan glanced at the breakfast shops along the street. "Let's take a look."

at the same time.

On the other side, near the port.

The burly man on the cargo ship, who appeared to be the captain, looked around at the sailors who had returned empty-handed. He felt a wave of dizziness, and it seemed as if all the strength in his hands and feet had been drained away at that moment.

The cargo was worth millions of Berries. Since the cargo was not found, they simply couldn't come up with that much money to replace it. In other words, this voyage was destined to be unacceptable to the kingdom's nobles.

Even in the East China Sea, there are not many islands with kingdoms, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

Similar to the island they are on now, besides some villages, there is also a ruler in the center of the island. However, in their daily lives, the villagers will tacitly avoid that being and will deliberately not mention it when they talk, as if it does not exist. But even so, the existence of this kingdom alone is enough to bring about different changes to this island.

Trade with other islands led to an increase in the number and size of villages on the islands. The abundant resources also gave rise to bandits, a rare phenomenon in the world of One Piece. Even setting aside the resources themselves, the existence of the kingdom and the presence of naval bases on nearby islands made it easy to quickly exchange bounties for frequently wanted criminals.

The goods they are currently transporting are for the needs of the nobles of the central kingdom of the island.

Moreover, this demand is not as simple as the supply and demand relationship on the surface.

In this barren and weak East Sea, apart from those self-proclaimed kingdoms, the regular member states of the world government are required to pay "Heavenly Gold" every so often. The value of this batch of goods is also very important for the kingdom to raise Heavenly Gold. Without this batch of goods, it would probably not be good news for this remote island kingdom.

"How could this happen!"

The burly man gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his face. "That thief... whatever you do, don't let me catch him, or I'll chop your head off!!"

He took a deep breath, trying to regain what little composure he had left, and looked out at the distant sea.

There's nothing more that can be done now.

Although he hadn't originally planned to go there, he had to fill the gap in his cargo supply, and that was the only route in the entire East China Sea that could meet that demand.

Ah Long Paradise.

Legend has it that fish-men rule over several islands and dozens of villages in the vicinity. They charge the humans they rule a fee under the pretext of establishing an empire, and those who disobey will have their entire village wiped out.

If the trade is conducted with resource-rich fishmen, and if successful, it might be possible to close this loophole.

With that thought in mind, the burly man made up his mind and suddenly raised his head.

"Listen up, my men! The lost jewels are gone forever!"

"So! Now we—"

The burly man's voice gradually faded into the sound of the wind.

In the village.

In stark contrast to the bustling port, the pastures are peaceful and serene.

After finishing breakfast, Li Mingyuan was doing push-ups to exercise his body at his temporary residence when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the road outside the ranch.

Li Mingyuan stopped exercising, grabbed a towel from the side to wipe his forehead, stood up and looked out the window. At that moment, the fat village chief, looking delighted, was running towards him with somewhat hurried steps.

"Good news! A merchant ship has just docked and is on its way to Aaron's Paradise!"

"They are reportedly recruiting because the target is dangerous."

The village chief, still panting, said to Li Mingyuan with a big smile, "The departure time is the morning after tomorrow! You can start preparing now and report for duty before departure."