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[TIOP] Chapter : 28
🕑 Added 2025-02-10 14:13:22 +0000 UTCAs expected, Luffy emerged victorious in his battle against Arlong. Though the fight had been tough, the moment Luffy delivered the final blow—bringing down Arlong’s entire stronghold—and declared, "Nami, you are my friend!" Jack knew it was over.
Standing outside a small window, Jack watched as the village doctor carefully altered the tattoo on Nami’s arm, replacing Arlong’s mark with a delicate orange windmill. He smirked. "Changing your tattoo again, little girl?" he teased.
Nami turned, playfully sticking out her tongue. "Isn't it rude to spy on a beautiful woman like this? But if you're willing to pay some Berries, I might let it slide."
Jack chuckled. "Ah~ You haven’t changed one bit. It’s good to see you full of energy again. I’m actually here to say goodbye."
Nami blinked in surprise. "So soon? Why not wait until morning?"
Though it was Luffy who ultimately freed Cocoyasi Village, Nami understood that if Luffy hadn’t stepped in, Jack would have taken down Arlong himself. She now grasped the connection between the two and suspected that Jack had deliberately left Arlong for Luffy to defeat.
"After all, Luffy is a pirate now. The fact that I’m not arresting him is already generous enough. If I sailed alongside him, people would start talking," Jack shrugged, flashing a playful smile.
"Is that so?" Nami glanced outside, where the Marines were unexpectedly mingling with Luffy and his crew, celebrating together in rare harmony.
"Of course, otherwise, it would be—"
"What’s your dream?"
Before Jack could finish, Nami cut him off with a serious expression.
"My dream?" Jack blinked, momentarily taken aback. Seeing the intensity in Nami’s gaze, he chuckled. "If I told you, you probably wouldn’t believe me."
"Why not?" Nami asked, now even more curious.
Instead of answering, Jack turned to Luffy, who had just waddled over, his belly stuffed full of food. "Luffy, tell me your dream."
Grinning ear to ear, Luffy declared without hesitation, "To be the Pirate King! I’m gonna be the man who becomes the Pirate King!"
Jack smirked. "Well~ if you want to be the man who becomes the Pirate King, shouldn’t you first find a woman who can be the Pirate Queen?"
Luffy just looked puzzled at the question and tilted his head to the side, showing his confusion.
Jack couldn't help but chuckle, recalling a joke from his past life.
"Then, what kind of person do you think deserves the title of Pirate King?" Jack asked with a grin, deliberately keeping his own thoughts to himself.
"The freest person, of course!" Luffy answered without hesitation, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jack chuckled, slapping his thigh. "Haha, I knew you’d say that! Being the freest person sounds great, but if you want to roam the seas freely, your current strength won’t cut it!"
"Just you wait, I’m going to get way stronger!" Luffy stuck out his tongue playfully, like a child declaring his future triumphs.
Turning to Nami, Jack smirked. "And what about your dream?"
Nami’s eyes sparkled with determination. "I want to draw a map of the entire world!"
"Hah! Then you’ve chosen the right crew to sail with! Wouldn’t you agree, future world’s greatest swordsman?" Jack accepted the cup of sake Zoro handed him, raising a brow.
Zoro, with his body once again wrapped in bandages, took a swig from a large barrel of sake. "What about you? Is your dream to become an admiral?"
Jack shook his head, taking a slow sip of his drink. "Admiral? If something can be achieved that easily, it’s hardly worth calling a dream."
Sanji, cigarette between his lips, strolled over with a knowing smirk. "Then what is it? Wiping out all the pirates in the world?"
"That’s not very realistic. Wiping out all pirates entirely? That’s impossible," Jack said, shaking his head as he took another sip of his drink. His gaze drifted to Zoro, who was locked in a heated argument with the doctor.
That guy was covered in wounds, yet here he was, still downing sake in front of the very person trying to patch him up. "Tch, he’s really asking for it."
Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke and smirked. "You’re the strangest marine I’ve ever met."
Jack grinned. "Really? Funny, I have a strong impression of you too. Where have I seen you before? The North Blue, maybe? Somewhere else?" He gave Sanji a playful wink.
As expected, Sanji’s expression shifted, and he fell silent.
Meanwhile, Usopp, already tipsy, had launched into yet another dramatic retelling of his supposed heroics. "What’s wrong? Don’t you guys want to hear the thrilling tale of how I single-handedly took down the Fish-Man Pirates’ commanders?"
Jack chuckled, watching as the Straw Hats unconsciously gathered around him.
Then, with a rare sincerity, he spoke from the heart. "My dream? It’s to create a world where everyone is equal. A world where the navy truly protects the people, instead of being feared or hated the way it is now."
"Oh~ That was pretty cool!" Luffy said, smiling with his eyes with an impressed grin.
Jack’s words carried an air of ambition, almost arrogance. But in truth, his goal seemed even harder to achieve than eliminating all pirates. For true equality and a navy that genuinely protected everyone, piracy itself would have to disappear. Yet, both Luffy and Nami could sense that this was Jack’s dream—a belief he truly held.
"I’m starting to like you, Jack. Join my crew!" Luffy suddenly declared with complete seriousness.
Jack chuckled. "Idiot. Even if I joined, what would you do with me? Don’t go making such offers until you’re strong enough to defeat your grandfather."
Luffy immediately froze, then sighed. "Ah, is that so? Never mind then!" He dropped the idea without hesitation.
His quick retreat only made his crew even more curious—who exactly was Luffy’s grandfather? And why did Luffy, who feared nothing, seem so wary at just the mention of him?
Jack stretched, glancing at the completed tattoo on Nami’s arm before finally getting to his feet. "Luffy, you took down Arlong this time, so I won’t arrest you. But if we cross paths again, don’t expect me to go easy on you. Stay sharp."
Luffy tilted his head. "Why?"
Jack smirked. "It’s my rule. On these seas, I only let pirates go if they’ve never oppressed civilians, plundered ordinary people, or slaughtered innocents. But there’s one condition—they have to defeat a pirate crew guilty of those crimes."
"And how do you make sure they actually keep their word?" Sanji asked, his brow furrowed in doubt.
After all, not every pirate crew was like theirs—actively challenging other pirate groups.
Jack chuckled. "Simple. The ones who’ve never oppressed civilians, stolen from ordinary people, or killed the innocent—I trust they’ll honor the deal." With a confident smile, he turned and walked away.
The Straw Hat crew watched him go, lost in thought—except for Luffy, who remained oblivious, happily attacking his food.
Zoro narrowed his eyes at the departing warship. "I’ve got a feeling we’ll cross paths again."
Sanji scoffed. "Tch, you’re not a woman, so what would you know about intuition?" His irritation flared, and just like that, their usual bickering turned into an all-out fight.
The rest of the crew barely reacted—at this point, they were used to it.
Meanwhile, Jack set his course for Loguetown. After turning over Arlong and the captured marines from the 16th Branch to Smoker, he prepared to depart once more. This time, however, he left behind the warship, opting instead for a small triangular sailboat. Taking Krieg and Nezumi with him, he set sail once again.
"This should be the place," Jack muttered, glancing between his compass and the small island ahead before confirming his bearings.
Navigational tools still worked fine in the Four Seas, but once inside the Grand Line, sailors relied on Log Poses and Eternal Poses instead. Jack still wasn't entirely accustomed to the change.
"Looks like this place is thriving." Stepping onto the island, he made his way into town. A small naval outpost was stationed here, but instead of familiar faces, he mostly saw young, unfamiliar recruits.
As for Krieg and Nezumi? Jack had tied them up, knocked them unconscious, and tossed them into the cabin.
Casually strolling into a restaurant, he called out to the waiter, "Boss, bring me your best dishes and some good wine."
"Right away! Please have a seat," the waiter responded enthusiastically before relaying the order to the kitchen.
Jack glanced around the near-empty establishment. "Business seems slow."
The waiter smiled politely. "Yeah, it’s not great. It’s still early for dinner, so we don’t get many customers at this hour. Plus, we don’t see a lot of outsiders here—most people just eat at home."
"Then why not establish some trade routes?" Jack asked, intrigued.
The waiter simply smiled. "If you're looking for information, why not try the tavern? It’s livelier there, and you might find what you need."
Jack blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the indirect response.
Before long, his food arrived, and he focused on eating without pressing further. However, just as he was about to pay the bill and leave, he noticed several marines entering the establishment. The waiter was already speaking with them.
"What’s this about? Am I being treated like some kind of suspicious person?" Jack frowned, rising from his seat and stepping outside.
"Hold it right there. Who are you, and why have you come to this island?" the leading officer demanded.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is this a restricted area? Since when are travelers not allowed to dock?"
"No, this isn't a secret base," the officer clarified. "But we suspect you might be a pirate. This island doesn’t welcome them—for reasons we can’t disclose. So prove yourself."
Jack studied them for a moment before nodding. Their caution was understandable. "I see. My hometown was raided by pirates long ago. I heard from Captain Smoker in Loguetown that the survivors were relocated here, so I came to check on them."
