Chapter Eleven: Setting Sail

Blue skies and white clouds, the endless azure sea, and a gentle breeze.
It was a radiant morning, yet tinged with the sadness of parting.

Ten years had passed since Luolan left the East Sea.
During the first five years, he repeated mechanical training day after day, but the latter five had been far more fulfilling.
While at the royal palace, Luolan followed the Golden Lion, learning the dual-blade sword style, as well as Observation and Armament Haki. From a year ago, he even began to study sea survival skills and navigation.
Within the forests, Luolan battled exotic beasts daily, accumulating hard-earned combat experience.
Five years flashed by, and Luolan lived up to the Golden Lion’s expectations—he mastered two colors of Haki two years ago, and his swordsmanship was all but perfected.
Yet, a trace of melancholy lingered in Luolan’s heart: in recent years, the Golden Lion had become more and more like an ordinary old man, his once-brilliant golden hair now faded and dull.
Only when instructing swordsmanship did he reveal faint traces of his former self.
At all other times, the Golden Lion was no different from any old man, tending flowers, fishing, and reading.

Luolan understood this change was his doing. Otherwise, in the original story, the Golden Lion would still be an ambitious pirate of the high seas.
And so, when faced with this parting, Luolan was filled with reluctance.

A month ago, when Luolan expressed his wish to set out to sea for further tempering, the Golden Lion agreed without hesitation.
But when he learned Luolan intended to return to the East Sea to visit his home, the Golden Lion personally steered his enormous pirate ship from the floating island, sending Luolan back to the East Sea.

Throughout the past month, neither spoke much, for neither knew what to say.
As a pirate who had ruled the seas, the Golden Lion understood that only the ocean could be a man's true destiny.
Luolan, on the other hand, was simply unaccustomed to such scenes; in his previous life, he had always been alone, without friends or family.

“A fledgling eagle must leave the nest sooner or later.”
Standing on Luolan’s small boat, the Golden Lion patted the young man—now over 1.9 meters tall—on his shoulder, sighing with emotion.
He recalled how, ten years ago, he had met Luolan in the East Sea—a mere child then, now grown so tall.

“I will see to it that, in the future, the Flying Sky Pirates resound across these seas once again.”
Luolan looked at the Golden Lion, his tone resolute.

He would not forget the words spoken to him when he was accepted as a disciple: “Do you wish to inherit the Flying Sky Pirates?”
Even if this was not his ultimate dream, Luolan was determined to restore the name of the Flying Sky Pirates to the seas.

“I no longer care about such things. So long as you never regret your choices, I will support you, no matter the path you walk.”
“The Flying Sky Pirates are your support—not your burden.”

The Golden Lion understood Luolan well. At his core, Luolan was a man of justice. To make him into a ruthless pirate was impossible.
Thus, the Golden Lion had long since abandoned his ambitions—dominating the seas, making his name resound throughout the world—none of it mattered anymore.

As he said, he did not wish for the Flying Sky Pirates to become Luolan’s burden.
He hoped Luolan would inherit the crew only so that, should trouble arise, Luolan would have a force to aid him.

Luolan shook his head, saying nothing more.
A promise made would be a promise kept—he had sworn to make the Flying Sky Pirates feared across the entire sea, and so it would be.

Watching the Golden Lion steer the pirate ship into the sky, Luolan stood on the spot for a long time before gradually regaining his composure.
From this moment on, his adventure would truly begin.

“System.”
At his soft invocation, the system panel appeared before Luolan’s eyes.

“Host: Luolan.”
“Race: Human.”
“Special Ability: Zoan-type, Human-Human Fruit, Devil Form, Current Stage 3.”
“Strength Level: 5 (3560/10000)”
“Speed Level: 5 (4860/10000)”
“Constitution Level: 5 (1860/10000)”
“Swordsmanship Level: 6 (21000/70000)”
“Observation Haki Level: 3 (6490/10000)”
“Armament Haki Level: 4 (2580/10000)”
“Daily completion of training yields random attribute experience.”
“Normal human attributes are all Level 1; an ordinary marine or pirate will have at least one attribute at Level 2.”
“Consistent self-discipline training grants cumulative rewards—the longer, the richer.”
“Current consecutive training days: 3650/3900, Reward: ???”

Over these five years, Luolan’s strength had changed beyond recognition.
With all three main stats at level 5 and swordsmanship at level 6, he could roam the East Sea unhindered, without a worthy opponent.
Thanks to the system, his Devil Fruit had developed a three-stage transformation—Luolan’s trump card, his reason for confidence.
In the first stage, his attributes could surge to level 6—what of the second and third stages?

But thinking of the cumulative training rewards, Luolan felt a bit exasperated.
Ten years had passed, and apart from double experience cards, all he ever received were more double experience cards.
At first, he looked forward to them; now, he was numb to it.

Where were the promised mysterious rewards? In the end, all he got were double experience cards.
He still had over a hundred unused cards in his system’s inventory, and none were single-use—the minimum was five uses each.
Had he not used a few in recent years to boost his strength, he would have accumulated even more by now.

After closing the system panel, Luolan gazed back at the vast sea, and plans began to take shape in his mind.

“In the East Sea, I must take that person away.”

He thought of the Straw Hat crew’s navigator, the one whose involvement led to the Golden Lion’s demise.
The Cat Burglar Nami—the world’s most talented and formidable navigator.

He wanted to bring her for his plan, and to prevent that scene from the movie.
In the film, wasn’t it because the Golden Lion coveted Nami’s—well, not her body, but her navigation skills—that he forcibly took her?
If he took Nami now, surely that scenario would never come to pass.
After all, the current Golden Lion had no reason to clash with Luffy.

As long as he avoided that cheat called Luffy, Luolan believed the Golden Lion, even in old age, was not someone ordinary people could handle.

“According to the chart, Cocoyasi Village should be in that direction.”
Luolan took out his map and compass, confirmed his course, and set his destination.

As for why he’d seek Nami first—he simply didn’t want to worry about navigation. That time could be better spent on daily self-discipline training.

With the sail raised, his journey officially began.

The Golden Lion had originally intended for Luolan to set out with a fleet, but Luolan refused.
He wanted a solo adventure, not a fleet rampaging through the East Sea.

Had he brought the crew, he was certain he’d never need to fight himself; the Golden Lion’s men could settle any pirate encountered.
After all, these were pirates hardened in the New World and Grand Line—how could those hiding in the East Sea compare?

After more than a year of navigation studies and related knowledge, Luolan operated the small boat with ease. The weather was favorable, and he sailed smoothly toward Cocoyasi Village.

Once the boat was moving, Luolan left it to its course, drew his short blade, and began his daily self-discipline practice.

Ever since mastering the art of the perfect slash, Luolan’s self-discipline training always began with sword swings. At first, the Golden Lion was puzzled, but as Luolan’s swordsmanship improved, the old man ceased to question him.

But as Luolan practiced, he didn’t realize that, in the distance, a fleet had already trained their cannons on him.