C9 Kasha Pirates
The next day at the Tama Town docks.
"The Krieg Pirates? That rings a bell."
Esaki, clutching a stack of wanted posters, studied the image of a young man clad in golden armor and murmured to himself.
"Isn't this the pirate crew Luffy encountered at that sea restaurant years later? They've formed already?"
He suddenly recalled this character from the storyline when Sanji joined the crew.
But in this year, 1500, Luffy was likely not even born, and Sanji was probably just a few years old, making Krieg a young man.
"10 million Belly. Not too shabby..."
"The Kasha Pirates, a bounty of 600 Belly..."
"The Reiki Pirates, 5 million."
He reviewed all the bounties from the East Blue and noted there were no pirates with bounties over 20 million. Yet, there were many minor pirate crews he'd never heard of.
Given it was only the second year of the Great Pirate Era, and with Garp's hometown in the East Blue, it made sense there weren't many pirates around.
"It's a little on the low side, but it's still something. Time to head out."
Esaki pocketed the posters with a grin, gave his Australovenator a pat on the head, and stepped onto his modest boat.
He had no intention of replacing his humble vessel. If it weren't for the Australovenator, he'd be sailing the seas atop a mosasaur.
The mosasaur's head breached the ocean's surface, letting out a call to him.
Simultaneously, the creature's stats appeared before Esaki's eyes.
Name: Mosasaur
Type: Deep Sea Predator
Abilities: Super Hearing (can detect sounds within 10,000 meters underwater), Super Smell (can track blood scents within 10,000 meters), Death Roll (fatal if bitten), Godspeed (extremely fast in water), Iron Hide (robust defense), Busoshoku Haki.
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel at Naval Headquarters!
"A small promotion, but not bad at all. My combat strength in water has grown even more formidable."
Esaki nodded, contented.
Their strength was his strength.
"Let's set sail!"
He stood at the prow, gazing out over the vast ocean, and declared with a spirited whisper.
The Mosasaur let out a roar, its immense body stirring into motion, picking up speed as it surged forward.
...
"Captain, is there really treasure on this island?"
Beside a massive island cloaked in dark green foliage, a twenty-meter-long pirate ship approached slowly.
A burly man, standing at one and a half meters tall in black and gray attire with an eyepatch over one eye and a face framed by a beard, gazed at the island before him. He turned to his companion, a similarly large man with golden hair tied in a dirty braid and wearing a sea cap, and asked,
Onboard, there was a motley crew of dozens—tall and short, plump and lean, each unique in stature.
"Of course, I bought the map from an old man. Rumor has it, it's his family's treasure."
Kasha's laugh was laced with malice.
"Captain, you actually paid that old man?" the other pirates exclaimed in surprise.
"I did, but he's not around to spend it anymore. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Hahaha, that's what I thought. We're pirates, aren't we? If we want something, we take it!"
"Exactly. Captain Kasha is the man destined to be the Pirate King."
"Once we lay our hands on the treasure of this island, we'll buy a fine ship and set sail to conquer the grand seas."
"Wuwuwu..."
The entire pirate crew erupted into raucous laughter, their minds adrift with visions of a glorious future.
Yet, at the helm, a young man barely 1.3 meters tall with an unusually large head watched them with a timid look, too scared to utter a word.
"Let's head ashore."
"Gaimon, you stay here and guard the ship," Kasha commanded, looking at the young man.
"Yes, Captain," Gaimon responded with a nod.
Boom!
The pirate ship made landfall, and with wild cries, the pirates brandished their swords and charged onto the island.