Chapter Twenty-Six: The Disgust of TM

When the two ships met, Luo Lan brought Jason back to Creek’s ship and introduced them to each other. “Uncle Jason, this is Akin. He’s my subordinate now. Akin, this is Uncle Jason—my father once served as a pirate on his ship.”

“Hello, Captain Jason. I’ve long heard of your reputation,” Akin greeted first, aware of his position as Luo Lan’s subordinate. Since Luo Lan addressed Jason as “Uncle,” their respective standings were clearly different.

“The Demon Man Akin—your name is far more famous than mine,” Jason replied, not putting on any airs. He understood well enough: if it weren’t for Luo Lan, Akin would never treat him with such respect.

Even though he himself was a pirate with a bounty of fifteen million, they all knew that a bounty wasn’t a direct measure of strength. If it came down to a real fight, who would win or lose between him and Akin was far from certain.

“All right, enough with the formalities; we’re all on the same side,” Luo Lan said, letting out a sigh of relief at their amicable interaction. He had truly been worried they might not get along, and if conflict did arise, he wouldn’t know whom to support.

One was his subordinate—he couldn’t possibly let down the first person he’d brought under his command. The other was the uncle who had once helped him, even sparing his life after he’d tried to assassinate him; it would hardly be right not to stand by him.

“By the way, Akin, you’ve always wanted to know what I have planned for you, haven’t you? Today, I can finally tell you,” Luo Lan said, looking at Akin.

“No matter what you ask of me, I’ll have no complaints, Lord Luo Lan,” Akin replied without hesitation.

“I won’t let you suffer any loss, of course,” Luo Lan said with a smile, shaking his head. Then he turned to Jason. “Uncle Jason, it’s not convenient to talk here. Could we continue this conversation on your ship?”

Although Luo Lan was fairly satisfied with the pirates on this ship in recent days, they were not truly his men—just captives. There were some things they simply could not be allowed to overhear.

With Jason, however, Luo Lan had no such concern. Based on their brief interaction and his own memories, Luo Lan judged Jason to be someone he could trust, even though it was technically their first meeting.

But if you can’t trust anyone, who is there left to trust? This thought had only just crossed Luo Lan’s mind when he saw little Donna earlier.

Having finally arrived in the world of One Piece, Luo Lan hadn’t previously considered what he wanted to do. But now he knew: he was going to change this twisted world.

If he wanted to change the world, Luo Lan was under no illusion that he could do it alone; otherwise, Dragon wouldn’t have founded the Revolutionary Army to spark revolutions across the globe.

“Of course, no problem,” Jason agreed without hesitation, appreciating Luo Lan’s trust in him and his crew.

The three of them—apart from Luo Lan, both Akin and Jason were strong in their own right—had no trouble leaping from one ship to the other, just a few meters apart.

Once aboard Jason’s vessel, Jason dismissed most of his crew, retaining only a few trusted confidants. “Nephew, since you didn’t avoid me when you spoke just now, I assume your plans for Mr. Akin involve me as well?”

Luo Lan nodded. “Uncle Jason, to be honest, I’m about to embark on something major. My current plan is to join the Navy. In the future, I don’t want us to end up in conflict on the seas because of opposing allegiances, so—”

“Haha! Luo Lan, are you telling me to quit being a pirate?” Jason burst out laughing instead of taking offense. “Do you know why I became a pirate in the first place?”

“Why?” Luo Lan was taken aback. Wasn’t being a pirate the way of the times? For a great man to venture out to sea and become a brave warrior of the waves—that was the dream of every ambitious fellow, wasn’t it?

“It was because we were forced into it,” Jason said, spitting to the side, his tone growing heavier as he continued. “Back then, we were just ordinary members of a circus troupe. But we couldn’t stand to see the local Navy oppressing the villagers, so we stood up to them.”

“That led to a fight. I was strong, and after a few drinks, I lost control. I ended up killing those arrogant Navy men. After that, we fled—and then my wanted poster went up.”

“I was only in my teens at the time—I couldn’t stomach that kind of injustice. In a fit of rage, I took my brothers to sea as pirates, targeting those corrupt Navy officers who preyed on their own people.”

“Over time, our reputation grew, our bounty rose, and people began joining us. But we never took in just anyone. Every man on this ship is here because he couldn’t stand the Navy’s tyranny.”

“As for your father, I knew he was an undercover agent. When I first found out, I wanted nothing more than to kill him, because back then, the Navy made me sick to my stomach.”

“But as he got to know me better, he told me the truth: he’d gone undercover to root out pirates and protect the innocent. That made me realize—not all Navy men are scum. There are those like your father who truly take responsibility.”

“Sadly, he sacrificed himself to protect me in a fight against another pirate crew.”

“After that, I stopped attacking Navy ships indiscriminately. I would only target those I was sure were corrupt.”

“That’s why my bounty has kept rising over the years,” Jason finished, his tone dropping, the weight of Luo Lan’s father’s death clearly affecting him.

Luo Lan fell silent as well. His father might not have been a perfect parent, but he had been a good Navy man.

It was his father’s sacrifice as a sailor that earned Jason’s trust in the Navy, that proved not all Navy men were villains.

“So, Luo Lan, if you want to join the Navy and hope to change its culture, you’ll have my full support. It’s the least I owe you,” Jason said, suddenly clapping Luo Lan on the shoulder with a hearty laugh. “Disband the pirate crew, turn myself in—whatever you ask, I’ll do it.”

Luo Lan shook his head. He only felt admiration for this father of his; like his father from his previous life, he was an extraordinary man.

“Uncle Jason, the crew does need to disband. I don’t want to fight you in the future. But there’s no need for you to dissolve your fleet altogether—because I’ve already included you in my plans for Akin.”