One Piece: Starting as the First Mate of the Lothar Pirates

"Let's pause the game for a bit." Luo Chuan pressed the fingertips of his left hand against the palm of his right hand to indicate a pause.

"What's up?"

"Lox, do you know how many people are in our team right now?" Luo Chuan asked.

"Hahaha, Luo Chuan, are you out of your mind? How could you ask such a stupid question? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, isn't that exactly five people?" Lockes laughed.

Clearly, he forgot too.

Luo Chuan nodded. Good, it's fine as long as it's not just him who forgot.

"No!"

Newgate, who was standing to the side, suddenly shook his head.

"There should be seven people!"

"Hahaha, Newgate, you're drunk too? You can't even count anymore," Shiki mocked.

“Idiot, we were already a five-man team before you and Bakkin.” Newgate still remembered the two bear brothers who had been separated from their families.

Back when he stayed on the ship, the two bears brought him delicious food.

"There were already five people before us?"

Miss Bagin was also taken aback, thinking that the Rocks Group actually had a master.

Who exactly are the sixth and seventh members hidden in the Rocks Order?

This team was kept so well hidden that even she, who had been their partner for half a year, didn't know about them, let alone the rest of the world.

"what!"

Only after Newgate's reminder did Lockes finally realize that there were still two menial workers on the ship.

"What happened to them?" Lockes asked seriously.

Although he did odd jobs, he was still one of his crew members.

If something goes wrong, Rocks won't stand idly by.

"Nothing happened. They just called to ask when we plan to hold the official launching ceremony for our ship," Luo Chuan said.

"Ahhh!"

Rocks remembered again.

"Hai Qiu's eyes shone brightly; he was very excited."

"What a terrible name, Rocks Fury! It's so corny!" Young Newgate, the white-bearded man, couldn't help but complain. "Moby Dick would be better."

"What is Moby Dick? It makes absolutely no sense," Lockes retorted.

“Ha, you don’t even know Moby Dick? That’s a legendary beluga whale…” the young white-bearded man said eloquently.

Luo Chuan suddenly remembered that Newgate had been reading a book from time to time lately.

The cover of that book looks like a giant beluga whale, and it's called Moby Dick.

"A whale-themed name? That's even worse. Fury is definitely a better choice..."

"Mobitz is better!"

"Hehehe, listen to me, how about we call it the Golden Lion?" Shiki the Golden Lion joined the conversation. "First of all, it's gold, such a wonderful thing, who wouldn't love it? And then there's the lion, the king of beasts..."

"You're kidding me. A lion is the king of beasts? The tiger is the strongest." Luo Chuan retorted instinctively.

Thus, in addition to arguing over the name of the new ship, a new debate arose about whether the tiger or the lion was stronger.

Miss Bakkin rested her chin on one hand, looking helplessly at the four of them, thinking to herself that men are indeed boys until the very end.

"You two can keep arguing, I'm going to rest now." Miss Bakkin stretched and went back to her room to sleep.

Luo Chuan and the other three did not pay any attention to her departure.

Shiki was later known as the Golden Lion, which, in addition to his appearance, was also related to his love of lions.

Shiki completely disagreed with the claim that the tiger was stronger, and they argued heatedly until their faces turned red.

Before he knew it, Luo Chuan blurted out, "You've already forgotten about being chased away by the tiger so quickly?"

"Ahhh!"

Shiki's eyes widened, as if he had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

"You finally confessed, Luo Chuan. Quickly tell the truth, did you get involved in the tiger incident?"

Luo Chuan looked away and whistled.

“It’s no use denying it. I noticed it a long time ago. There’s something strange about you. You wouldn’t actually be a multi-Fruit Devil Fruit user, would you?” Shiki stared at Luo Chuan.

"Think whatever you want." Luo Chuan neither admitted nor denied it.

……

……

One week later.

Luo Chuan and his party, carrying two ships full of purchased supplies, arrived at an uninhabited island 500 miles south of the Water City.

Because building large ships is so conspicuous, even if it takes place on Shipwreck Island, it is bound to attract attention.

So, as early as six months ago, Tom began transferring supplies and sending materials to the uninhabited island by himself to carry out secret work.

Far away, before even landing on the uninhabited island, Luo Chuan saw a giant object covered in black cloth in a forest clearing not far from the coast.

"Huh, is that a mermaid?"

Shiki's eyes lit up when he spotted Kokoro, a young mermaid girl playing in the water at the beach.

Shiki had seen captured fish-men when he was with the Scarlet Devil, but this was the first time he had ever seen a mermaid, such a rare creature.

"A mermaid is worth over 70 million, don't miss it."

With that thought in mind, the golden lion immediately launched its attack, diving towards the mermaid girl.

"Hehehe, mermaid, obediently come into my bowl!"

"Ahhh~ Mr. Tom, help me~" Kokoro cried out in alarm.

His cries for help didn't summon Tom, but they did alert the two bear brothers who were sunbathing on the beach.

"Kokuromopa!"

"We're here!"

The black bear leader and the brown bear second-in-command transformed into their strongest beast-human forms.

The two bear paws, carrying the force of a thousand kilograms, slammed towards Shiki.

Boom!

Shiki, whose eyes were filled with mermaids, was struck squarely by the two brothers' bear paws and was sent flying hundreds of meters away.

Even Hajrudin was able to knock away the world king Im in later generations, so it's within the normal range for the two bear brothers to knock away Shiki.

“Chimera Beastman… no, he’s a Devil Fruit user!” Shiki stopped in mid-air, looking at the Twin Bears with an unfriendly expression.

"Stop, Shiki." With a flash of lightning, Luo Chuan blocked Shiki's path.

Shiki suddenly grinned and said, "Hehehe, just kidding. I just wanted to test the strength of my two new partners."

“So… the hidden sixth and seventh people are two bears…” Miss Bakkin’s lips twitched.

Ok.

She was definitely overthinking it.

The misunderstanding has been cleared up.

"Boss"

"Mr. Luochuan~"

Xiong Da and Xiong Er shed their beastman forms and headed towards Luochuan with Kokoro.

"Mr. Luo Chuan, Captain Lockes, I have accomplished my mission. The ship you requested is now complete." Tom emerged from the forest after finishing the final touches.

“Very good, Tom, take me to see it.” Lox jumped off the spaceship, followed closely by Newgate and Miss Baggins.

Before long, the group arrived at a large clearing in the forest.

Rocks grabbed a corner of the black cloth and swung it violently.

Whoosh!

The black cloth was lifted, revealing a magnificent, exquisitely crafted, and imposing three-masted sailing ship.

“Hahaha, very good, excellent! This is exactly the Fury I had in mind. Tom, your skills are truly first-rate.” Lox nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"Captain Rocks, you flatter me. I was just doing my best," Tom, the chief engineer of the fish-man ship, said modestly.

In fact, Tom really went to great lengths for this ship.

Even if he were the only one building a ship, it would still be considered very slow if he built one ship in six months.

The reason for this was, of course, that Tom was meticulous in the shipbuilding process, striving to perfect every detail.

After all, this was the first time in his life that he had built such a luxurious ship.

"Tom, I'm short one shipwright on my ship. Would you like to come aboard?" Rocks finally couldn't resist inviting Tom to board the ship.

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room became tense.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Tom's cheek.

By now, Tom certainly knows what the Rocks gang represents.

What would happen if I refused his invitation?

But getting him to board the ship and become a seaman was absolutely out of the question.

This goes against his ideals.

After a long pause, Tom took a deep breath, looked seriously at Rocks, and said, "I am truly grateful for Captain Rocks's appreciation, but my ideal is not to become a sea monster. I want to carry on the resounding will of the craftsmen who came to Water 7 eight hundred years ago."

Another moment of silence followed.

"Hahaha"

Rocks laughed.

"I see. So you want to inherit the will of the Great Hammer Chapter. Very well. In that case, I won't force you. I'll be waiting to see the day you become the world's number one ship engineer!"

Tom breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"I will also watch with great fanfare as Captain Rocks and you ascend to the pinnacle of the world."

The previously somber atmosphere melted away like ice and snow.

"Let's not delay, let's begin the launching ceremony now," Luo Chuan said.

As he spoke, he walked to the bow of the Fury.

"Mr. Luochuan, let me..."

Before the shipwright Tom could finish speaking, he saw Luo Chuan stretch out a hand and easily lift the entire three-masted sailboat high into the air, leaving him speechless with astonishment.

"Has the boss's strength become so terrifying after not seeing him for a while?" Xiong Da and Xiong Er exchanged a glance, equally astonished.

As far as I can remember, back when we were on the Sky Island, Luo Chuan's physique was nowhere near as good as it is now.

Sure enough, the boss is a monster among monsters.

"Kuralalala, I'll lend a hand too." The young white-bearded man got excited, strode forward, and also stretched out a hand.

1, 2...

Three seconds later, Luo Chuan and Newgate exerted their strength together, and with a slight flick of their fingers, the huge three-masted sailing ship took off, flew over the coast, and crashed into the near-shore sea, stirring up a surging wave.

The launching ceremony of the Rocks Fury has been successfully completed!

Time flies, and another half month has passed in the blink of an eye.

The repairs to the Fury were also completely finalized.

Each person's room was decorated according to their own preferences, and the common areas were also luxuriously decorated.