The Grand Line wind grew sharper as Jasper trained on deck.
Metal objects floated clumsily around him—barrels, iron tools, a chain, a spoon—forming a chaotic orbit.
"Careful!" Theo shouted as a treasure chest zipped past his face. "YOUR CONTROL IS A CRIME!"
"I'M TRYING!" Jasper yelled, sweat dripping down his face. "It's like trying to steer an angry magnet octopus!"
Theo paused.
"That's… actually a terrifying image."
Fushiguro rested against the railing with one leg propped up, watching them with a relaxed expression.
His crew was noisy. Dysfunctional. Chaotic.
And perfect.
The ocean ahead glittered under the sunlight, calm and beautiful.
But beneath that surface, he could feel it.
A pressure.
A storm.
"Hey," Fushiguro called out.
His voice easily cut through the noise.
Both Jasper and Theo stopped immediately and turned toward him.
Theo sheathed his sword.
Jasper accidentally launched the metal spoon into the sky.
"We're here, Captain!"
Fushiguro pushed himself off the railing.
"Pack the treasure. We're heading toward Spider Miles."
Jasper blinked.
"Spider Miles? Isn't that the creepy industrial island?"
Theo's eyes narrowed.
"Isn't that… also territory used by the Rocks Pirates?"
"Rocks," Jasper repeated weakly. "Like… Rocks D. Xebec… Rocks?"
"That's the one," Fushiguro replied.
Silence.
Then both shouted:
"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"
Theo pointed at Fushiguro.
"Don't tell me you plan to pick a fight with the Rocks Pirates."
Fushiguro shrugged.
"Not yet."
"NOT YET?!" they yelled.
He grinned.
"I just want to take a look. God Valley is in about two years. Monsters are already moving. I want to feel the currents. Check the rumors. Maybe test the waters."
Theo frowned.
"Captain, our ship is made of wood. They have Kaido."
"And Whitebeard," Jasper added quickly.
"And Shiki," Theo continued.
"And Captain ROCKS," Jasper said again, as if repeating it made it worse.
Fushiguro's expression didn't waver.
"Relax. I'm not looking for trouble."
He paused.
"But if trouble comes… I won't run."
His tone changed.
Quieter. Heavier. Dangerous.
Jasper and Theo both felt a chill.
Then Fushiguro smiled again, bright and warm.
"We'll be fine. Trust me."
Theo let out a long sigh.
"Sometimes I think your charisma is a curse."
Jasper nodded seriously.
"I blame the hair. He has the 'main character who causes problems' hairstyle."
Fushiguro laughed.
"Good. Means everything's working as intended."
The closer they sailed to Spider Miles, the darker the waters seemed.
Factories rose in the distance, clustered like steel ruins. Thick smoke trailed up from some of them, while others looked abandoned.
Jasper stood at the bow, staring.
"Captain… those factories look dead."
Theo shook his head.
"No. Not dead. Just quiet. And quiet in places like this is never good."
Fushiguro nodded slightly.
"Spider Miles looks empty at first glance. But this island is a nest for people like us… and people much worse."
Pirates. Mercenaries. Smugglers. Worse.
The kind of place the Marines would rather pretend didn't exist.
The perfect place for Rocks-affiliated crews to lurk.
The perfect place to gather information.
They eased the ship into a smaller, half-broken dock.
No guards.
No patrols.
Just broken crates, rusted chains, and the distant hum of machinery.
Jasper shivered.
"This place is creepier than Thriller Bark without the zombies…"
Theo stepped off the ship and onto the dock.
"Stay sharp."
Fushiguro landed behind him with a soft thud.
"We're just here to take a look," he said calmly.
Jasper and Theo glanced at each other.
Then shouted:
"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID BEFORE WE FOUGHT A WHOLE CREW!"
Fushiguro tilted his head.
"And we survived."
"BEING ALIVE SHOULDN'T BE OUR ONLY STANDARD!" Jasper cried.
"Agreed," Theo added.
Still, they followed him.
They always did.
Heavy footsteps echoed from between the warehouses.
Jasper stiffened.
"Captain…"
Theo's hand slid toward his sword.
Fushiguro lifted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.
Someone was coming.
Several someones.
A group of pirates stepped into view, emerging from between rusted metal containers and stacks of crates.
They wore mismatched gear, but they all had the same black armband with a claw-like symbol on it.
Not Rocks Pirates directly.
But allied.
"Oi," the front man said, cracking his neck. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with an iron jaw and a scar running across his nose. "You brats lost or stupid?"
Fushiguro stared back, expression flat.
Theo subtly stepped slightly in front of Jasper.
Jasper whispered, "Do we… run? Fight? Fake a heart attack?"
Fushiguro answered without looking at him.
"Not unless they start something."
The scarred man snorted.
"This dock belongs to the Claw's Fang Pirates. That means you either pay tribute…"
He grinned, revealing teeth capped with metal.
"Or you pay in blood."
Jasper whispered, "Why is it always blood with these people…"
Theo replied, "Welcome to the Grand Line. Try not to die."
Scar-face stepped closer.
"So? Which is it?"
Fushiguro moved forward.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Dangerous.
"You want tribute?" he asked.
"That's right," the man growled. "Everything you've got."
"And if we don't?"
"Then your corpses will pay instead."
Jasper groaned.
"Knew it."
Theo shook his head.
"We never meet normal people…"
Fushiguro's head tilted slightly.
"You're in my way."
Scar-face sneered.
"Your way? Kid, this is our—"
He never finished.
Fushiguro vanished from where he stood.
The air where he'd been seemed to warp for a split second.
Then he was behind Scar-face.
He raised two fingers.
And flicked the man's neck.
THOCK.
Scar-face collapsed like a felled tree, face-first onto the dock.
The entire pirate gang froze.
One of them whispered, voice shaking.
"D-Did he just… teleport…?"
Another spun around.
"Nope, I'm done, I'm out—"
Theo slashed down.
His blade didn't hit flesh.
It sliced a nearby crate cleanly in half, the pieces dropping on either side of the fleeing pirate.
Theo's eyes were cold.
"Sit."
Jasper lifted his hand, and a metal beam nearby rose from the ground, floating beside him.
"Yeah! Sit down or I bonk you!"
Every pirate sat down immediately.
Smart people.
Fushiguro dusted off his hands.
"Good. Now talk."
They talked.
A lot.
The Claw's Fang pirates didn't know much, but what they did know was enough.
Fushiguro crouched in front of them, listening as they spilled everything.
"So Rocks' main forces haven't been here recently?"
"N-No, sir… they're gathering somewhere else…"
"Where?"
"We don't know! We just heard things! Rumors!"
"What kind of rumors?"
"That something big is coming. Big enough that even Whitebeard passed through here just to move closer to the others…!"
Jasper's eyes went wide.
"Whitebeard?! Like… Whitebeard Whitebeard?!"
Theo's brows furrowed.
"If someone like him is moving, then Rocks is preparing for something insane."
Fushiguro stood.
Whitebeard. Kaido. Big Mom.
All under Rocks right now.
If they were gathering, then the world was about to tremble.
God Valley.
The event that would stain history.
It was getting closer.
Faster than he liked.
Fushiguro walked a few steps ahead, stopping at the edge of the dock.
The wind pulled at his clothes and hair.
"Captain?" Theo called.
"What's wrong?" Jasper asked.
Fushiguro opened his eyes.
The calm in them had sharpened into resolve.
"We're not strong enough yet," he said quietly.
Jasper stiffened.
"Captain…"
Theo clenched his fist.
"…You think we'd die?"
"If we fought the kind of monsters gathering right now?" Fushiguro answered. "Yeah. You would."
He squeezed his hand into a fist.
His knuckles cracked like gunshots.
"I won't let you die. I won't let our flag get erased. I won't let the world decide our ending."
His voice turned cold.
zenin Toji's edge.
Then he smiled.
Bright. Reckless. Kind.
Luffy's warmth.
"Before God Valley… we get stronger."
Jasper's eyes shimmered.
"Captain… you're too cool…"
Theo sighed.
"It's annoying how much I agree with him."
"So what's the plan?" Jasper asked.
Fushiguro looked toward the open sea.
"We train. We hunt. We grow," he said. "Starting with an island I've only heard rumors about."
Jasper and Theo both tensed.
"Captain…"
"You don't mean…"
He smirked.
"Yeah."
"Ruluka Isle."
A dangerous training ground in the Grand Line.
And the place where their real growth would begin.
—
Author Note:
Chapter 2 sets the direction: Spider Miles, Rocks' movement, and Ruluka as a training ground. Power-up arc incoming.