One Piece: Starting With Flame-Flame Fruit

On the other side, Tony lounged leisurely on the sun chair under the parasol, wearing sunglasses and sipping on an ice-cold drink Shakky had specially prepared for him in the kitchen.

It was summer, and though Tony was immune to heat after eating the Flame-Flame Fruit, nothing beat a sunny day with a cool drink in hand.

In his mind, Tony had already charted his course: he would head to the East Blue, known as the weakest of the four seas. His first destination was Loguetown.

Called the "Town of Beginnings and Ends," it was where Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, had been born and executed. Tony was eager to see what this legendary place was like.

But beyond that, there were a few matters in the East Blue that intrigued Tony even more, things he needed to attend to.

...

On the third day after Tony left the Sabaody Archipelago, he ran into an unlucky encounter—a pirate crew headed toward the archipelago. Known as the last island in the first half of the Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago is the only gateway to the New World.

Any pirate crew that manages to survive the dozens of towns and islands leading up to it is bound to be fairly powerful.

As Tony's and the pirate crew's ships passed within sight of each other, Tony didn't think much of it. Preferring to avoid unnecessary trouble, he assumed the pirates would pass him by without incident.

After all, he had only just started his journey, and with a long way to go to reach his destination in the East Blue, he didn't see any reason to waste time dealing with them.

But as fate would have it, Tony's peaceful plan was short-lived. Just when he thought the pirate crew would sail on, their ship stopped abruptly, turned around, and started chasing after him.

Tony's initial indifference gave way to annoyance—he wasn't looking for trouble, but that didn't mean he feared it. If anyone was foolish enough to provoke him, he was more than ready to respond in kind.

The sound of waves crashed as the pirate ship accelerated, bearing down on Tony's Starry Night. Rather than flee, Tony intentionally stopped his own ship and waited for them, standing on the deck with his Ryūjin Jakka Zanpakutō in hand.

It didn't take long for the pirate ship to pull alongside the Starry Night. A skinny, rat-faced man with a long spear slung over his shoulder jumped onto Tony's deck. Seeing only Tony on board, the man sneered with a smug, mocking expression.

"Well, well, kid, with a sword, huh? So, you're some kind of junior swordsman? Did you just come out of Sabaody Archipelago? Where do you think you're going? Didn't even bother giving way to the great Tiger Pirates, huh? Almost crashed right into us, didn't you know?"

Ignoring the pirate's words, Tony simply observed the pirate ship, noting the crew size and structure. The sail bore a skull emblem typical of pirates, with a double-masted design that indicated a mid-sized vessel with a fair number of crew members. He noticed the tiger design painted on the deck.

"Five… eight… nine."

Counting the rat-faced man in front of him, there were ten pirates altogether—a small crew.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf, or just plain stupid?" The pirate holding the spear grew visibly agitated, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at Tony, who still didn't appear to care. The pirate's eyes started to flash with a hint of murderous intent.

Seeing Tony alone on his boat, the pirate's greed naturally took over. To a pirate, robbing and killing were second nature—he'd done it more times than he could count, and it never failed to work.

One of the pirates leaning on the rail of the Tiger Pirates' ship sneered and chimed in.

"Hmph! Guess he's already scared stiff after hearing our name."

"Can't blame him, really. Our captain has a bounty of seventy million berries—he's a notorious pirate on the first half of the Grand Line."

"He's just one guy! Ran into us—must be wetting his pants by now! But don't worry, we're just planning on borrowing your ship and taking all your valuables. Get on your knees and beg a little, and we might just let you live!"

"Hahaha! You're a real bully, Klen, making him beg," another pirate laughed mockingly.

"Last time, wasn't it just the same? That poor guy knelt down, but Klen here still killed him!"

"Hahahaha!"

Everyone on board burst into a sickening laugh, except for the man sitting calmly at the center, who remained silent and stoic.

The pirate referred to as Vice-Captain Klen, with a bounty of 25 million berries, was a notorious criminal who had fled from the West Blue. Since joining the Tiger Pirates six months ago, he had quickly risen to the rank of second-in-command.

His twisted nature and cruel methods—often deceiving and torturing victims to death for his own pleasure—earned him his place in the crew. He was feared for his ruthless brutality.

Tony's gaze shifted to the man sitting in the middle. From the aura of power radiating off him, as sensed through his Observation Haki, Tony could tell he was the Tiger Pirates' captain.

His towering frame and muscular arms suggested he was about three meters tall, making Tony's 1.8-meter height seem slight in comparison.

But Tony felt no fear. Three years ago, he might have hesitated, but now.....Nah.

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T/N:

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