I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

“We’re tired of the life of bounty hunters, living on the edge. To be honest, we’re not cut out for it. It’s too dangerous and exciting.”

"So after returning to the East China Sea, we became fishermen, and life was pretty good."

The two former bounty hunters exchanged a smile.

Johnny slowly began to speak:

“Not everyone is like Brother Sieg, with such lofty ambitions and the willingness to spend more than ten years crafting a grand plan with subtle foreshadowing and far-reaching implications.”

Joseph replied, "It's not so bad to be a fisherman in the East China Sea, living a peaceful life like us little people in this weakest ocean."

Ah Long and Xiao Ba nodded in agreement, indicating their understanding.

"Arlong, you just said... you're planning to open a chain of amusement parks in the Grand Line, right?"

“In that case, could you go to Loguetown for us? If you run into Brother Sig, could you please pass on a message for us?” Johnny said.

As we were talking, a commotion arose in the distance, and even faint flames appeared in the corners of the amusement park.

"Brother A-Long!" A merman ran over:

"The amusement park is on fire... It was the White Cat Pirates who did it!"

"They've been avoiding our Ah Long Paradise and haven't been collecting protection money from us, but now they've finally made their move!"

"What did you say?" Ah Long's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was filled with murderous intent.

Joseph and Johnny also drew their swords and, together with Arlong and his crew, surrounded the troublemaking pirates.

However, at this moment, Ah Long gradually calmed down.

He bent down, scooped up small droplets of water from the pool with his palm, and then suddenly realized something and looked into the distance.

"I knew it..."

He opened his palm, and the water droplets in his palm flew through the air like bullets, disappearing without a trace.

Hundreds of meters away, Colonel Rat of the naval branch was watching the commotion through binoculars.

"Those two..." Colonel Rat's gaze fell on Johnny and Joseph, and he asked in surprise:

"He looks like a famous bounty hunter from the Grand Line. What's he doing here?"

Before he could finish speaking, several hissing sounds were heard.

The dozen or so water droplets flew through the air and pierced his chest, leaving patches of blood. Colonel Rat collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Although his ambition was to build the Arlong Amusement Park Empire, Arlong had also trained with Jinbe for a period of time during those ten years. His strength did not decline because of his obsession with Arlong Amusement Park; on the contrary, it improved.

"I accidentally killed a naval branch captain and his men."

Ah Long sneered, his face appearing cold and hard in the firelight of the amusement park, showing no remorse.

He turned around and looked at Joseph and Johnny behind him.

“Your previous suggestions were good, but I have another suggestion.”

Ah Long looked back at Ah Long Paradise, where the fire was now under control and the earlier commotion had quickly subsided.

"Your names seem to carry weight within the navy."

"Whether you want to be a fisherman or a bounty hunter is up to you... but after I leave, come and register your name at this Aaron Paradise."

.....................

Several days later.

A thin mist hung over the sea, and two points of blue candlelight illuminated the fog, as well as the coffin-shaped boat where Eagle Eye sat alone.

He looked at the land that appeared ahead, and his face, which was usually impassive, was now filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"It's been three days, have we finally seen land?"

Eagle Eyes looked at the Frostmoon Village dock in front of him and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

"I was clearly heading towards Twin Capes, the entrance to the Grand Line, but somehow I've ended up in Shimotsuki Village again? How come the East Blue is even stranger than the New World?"

He pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on the old man by the roadside, and asked:

How do I get to the Isshin Dojo?

"Turn left at the intersection ahead, it's very close," the old man replied casually.

Hawkeye nodded.

"Whether the Flying Sword Style is real or fake, it's time to find out."

He strode forward toward the Isshin Dojo ahead.

But a few seconds later, he stopped and walked back.

"...Can you take me there?" Hawkeye turned his head and asked.

The old man paused, glanced at Hawkeye a few times, and seemed to understand something, a hint of pity appearing in his eyes.

Half an hour later.

Hawkeye had a friendly exchange with Koushirou, who insisted that he would not use the chainsaw style or the flying sword style.

Koushirou couldn't withstand Hawkeye's pressure either, and aside from not directly revealing Wang Rixiong's identity, he told almost everything.

"If your daughter Kuina wants to return to headquarters, she needs to go to Loguetown first. From there, she can take a warship back to headquarters. That's why Wang Rixiong will also be in Loguetown..."

"And the so-called Flying Sword Style..." Hawkeye looked at Koushirou.

"Rumors, complete rumors!" Koushirou shook his head decisively.

Chapter 1019: The Beginning and the End

As dawn breaks, the waves of the sea surge.

The Going Merry, a pirate ship with a ram's head emblem on its bow, slowly sailed into the harbor of Loguetown with the waves.

Luffy, perched on the bow of the ship, gazed excitedly at the town ahead and exclaimed in surprise:

"Is this Loguetown? The last stop on the way to the Grand Line, and also the hometown of the Pirate King."

"A town where beginnings and endings begin!"

"Really? Luffy?" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait, how do you know so much? Did you do your homework on Loguetown? How is that possible?"

"I heard about it from Uncle Wang next door when I was a child..."

Luffy stretched out his arms and excitedly went ashore as soon as the ship docked, becoming the first to land in Loguetown.

"Our captain has run away again... but it doesn't matter this time, everyone has to act independently."

Zoro also woke up from his nap and glanced around.

At this time, the Straw Hat Pirates only had five members: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami. They were the original five members.

They each had their own duties and preparations before embarking on the Grand Line.

After Luffy left, the remaining four also went their separate ways.

Before parting ways, Zoro borrowed some money from Nami to buy a new sword.

He was somewhat distracted and didn't even notice that Nami was taking the opportunity to extort a hefty interest fee from him, so he readily agreed.

Zoro walked alone through the streets of Loguetown, searching for a sword shop, but his expression was somewhat dazed.

The scene I experienced a few days ago is still vivid in my mind.

Not only was he utterly defeated by Hawkeye, but all three of his swords were also broken.

He also encountered other swordsmen who were equally powerful.

Joseph and Johnny, the former bounty hunters who used to spend every day with him and who called him "Big Brother" repeatedly, are actually the Sword God and Sword Saint who even Hawkeye looks at with new respect.

Kuina, his childhood sweetheart with whom he had fought thousands of times, ignored him and ran away with a man who called himself Wang Rixiong.

Zoro scratched his head, looking somewhat confused.

Yes, and Wang Rixiong too.

He must be lying; it's impossible for Koushirou to have mastered the Flying Sword Style.

But according to Hawkeye, that ability to manipulate flying swords is not a Devil Fruit ability at all... If that's really the case, then Wang Rixiong is clearly a swordsman far stronger than him.

"After years of hard training, is the world's number one spot still so far away?"

Zoro wandered aimlessly through the streets and alleys of Loguetown.

As I walked, I somehow ended up at the entrance of a knife shop.

Just as Zoro was about to step inside, his attention was drawn to a stall next to the entrance of the sword shop.

The stalls were filled with all sorts of strange and unusual items.

There are wooden forks, chainsaws, electric drills, hidden swords, and a large syringe that looks like a spear. Of course, there are also swords in their sheaths.

But to be precise, Zoro was actually attracted by the street vendor.

The boss was good-looking, with white hair and beard, looking like an old man, but with few wrinkles on his face. He was tall and had two sheathed straight-bladed longswords on his back.

"Do you sell groceries?"

Zoro glanced at the stall owner, a thought flickering in his mind.

Nami didn't give him much money; he might not be able to afford the knife in the knife shop.

“These aren’t miscellaneous items; they are weapons that soldiers used on the battlefield,” the old man retorted.

"Weapons? That's a bit of a bluff."

Zoro first picked up a wooden fork from the stall.

"These are clearly farming tools used by farmers, how can you call them weapons?"

"Don't underestimate it." The old man looked at the wooden fork in Zoro's hand and said in a serious tone:

"As everyone knows, the fork is a symbol of power and authority, and it is a natural enemy of Witchers and a type of Sea King called the Chaga. If you want to go to the Grand Line, you can hardly walk without a fork."

Zoro glanced indifferently at the old man in front of him, secretly thinking to himself: