"Kid, get out of the way." Just as Daniel Davis was absorbed in watching Roger's execution platform, a sudden force from behind sent him stumbling to the side. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and managed to avoid falling to the ground.
As he regained his footing, Daniel turned around angrily, only to find himself facing a giant of a man, nearly 2.5 meters tall and massively built. Behind this brute stood six more men, each armed with different weapons.
"Move aside." Seeing Daniel still standing in his way, the giant swung his huge hand towards Daniel's head. Feeling the gust of wind from the swing, Daniel realized the force behind it was no joke.
Seeing this, the crowd around them either showed pity or smirked, anticipating the smaller Daniel getting knocked down.
A piercing scream suddenly filled the square. The onlookers' smiles froze as they witnessed the unexpected: the giant was clutching his now bent arm, howling in pain.
"Boss! Damn it, he dared to ambush the boss!" The giant's companions drew their weapons and charged at Daniel, enraged.
"Ambush?" Daniel sneered. Dodging the first attacker's swing, he kicked the man's arm, breaking it with a snap. The sword flew from the man's hand, nearly hitting some onlookers who quickly backed away further.
"Everyone, stop!" Just as Daniel felled a second attacker, the surrounding Marines intervened. Seeing the Marines, the attackers reluctantly stopped.
"What happened here?" The leading Marine, a lieutenant, asked, tasked with maintaining order in the square.
"They attacked me, so I had to defend myself," Daniel said calmly, spreading his hands.
While Daniel's physical strength wasn't top-tier in the One Piece world, it was well above average. He could easily handle newly embarking Luffy, let alone these nobodies.
"Is that so?" The Marine lieutenant eyed Daniel skeptically, noting that only his attackers were injured, while Daniel remained unscathed.
"I am the Pirate King!" A young man suddenly climbed onto Roger's execution platform, shouting loudly.
"Get down, you idiot!" The crowd's anger was palpable, but the man continued, "Want my treasure? It's yours for the taking. Find it! I left everything I own in one piece."
Boom!
As the man laughed maniacally, a burst of flame shot from the side, engulfing him. Screaming, he fell from the platform, still ablaze.
"That's Ace." Daniel quickly spotted the source of the flame: a young man with a yellow hat, grinning from the edge of the square. Recognizing him by his distinctive hat with two expressive faces, Daniel realized it was Portgas D. Ace.
"Why is Ace here? Did he just set out to sea? If so, he must have just obtained the Mera Mera no Mi. That's incredible luck."
The Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type fruit, was immensely powerful. Even with minimal development, it could make its user a significant force.
Ace's fruit made Daniel envious. Compared to Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi, Ace's fruit seemed far superior. Although Daniel knew there were no weak fruits, only weak users, he couldn't help but feel envious.
Devil Fruits had specific abilities that could solve problems more easily than pure physical strength. For example, the gravity power of Fujitora's fruit could be easily countered by Law's Ope Ope no Mi or Doflamingo's Ito Ito no Mi.
Of course, if one's strength reached Mihawk's level, such issues became irrelevant. A single sword swing could handle almost anything.
"Ace didn't develop his fruit to its full potential," Daniel thought. Theoretically, the Mera Mera no Mi could surpass Akainu's Magu Magu no Mi, as fire had no upper limit. If Ace had reached such potential, he wouldn't have died so easily.
Perhaps Ace's limited development was due to his lack of knowledge about fire. This mirrored how Law's development of the Ope Ope no Mi lagged behind Daniel's.
"Devil Fruit development is similar to alchemy." Comparing his use of the Ope Ope no Mi to Law's, Daniel saw parallels with alchemy, which also required extensive knowledge.
"By that logic, my fruit should be considered an alchemical fruit." With this in mind, Daniel decided to leave the square, as Ace's antics had drawn the Marines' attention, giving him and the other group a chance to slip away.
Neither Daniel nor the attackers wanted to deal with the Marines further.
Ace, despite being relatively new to his powers, wouldn't be easily captured by a few Marines, given his Logia abilities.
"Despite his hatred for Roger, Ace still seems to have some affection for him, judging by his actions," Daniel mused. While seeing Ace was exciting, he had no desire to introduce himself.
"I was once saddened by Ace's death. Seeing him in person, I'm only mildly pleased and have no urge to meet him. Is this the difference between fantasy and reality? Perhaps it's a 'Lord Ye loves dragons' situation."
"Not just Ace; I have no plans to meet Luffy either, let alone join the Straw Hat Pirates." With these thoughts, Daniel shook his head and smiled.
"What's this?" As he was about to leave the square, Daniel's eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Freezing momentarily, he quickly continued walking normally.
"Dragon, he's here too." Heart racing, Daniel hurried away, recalling the faces he'd just seen. One was unmistakably Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and another seemed to be Ivankov, the king of Kamabakka Kingdom.
Though they were hooded and cloaked, Daniel recognized them from a brief glance. Dragon's face was unforgettable.
"If Ivankov's abilities existed in the Marvel universe, many would be thrilled." In the U.S., many sought to change their gender, even superficially. Despite the hardships involved, the demand was immense.
Marvel's advanced technology had yet to offer a complete gender transformation. Even with the Ope Ope no Mi, Daniel couldn't achieve such a change.
Ivankov's power, a simple injection, could swap genders entirely. Such a power was incredible.
"Sir." Behind Daniel, one of Dragon's men spoke quietly. Although Daniel's movements were subtle, they hadn't escaped the keen eyes of Dragon and his companions.
Dragon merely shook his head, his gaze returning to Ace, who was still fighting the Marines.
With reinforcements called, the civilians began to disperse, avoiding the coming conflict. The uneasy peace in Loguetown relied on an unspoken agreement: pirates wouldn't cause trouble, and Marines would turn a blind eye.
In a world dominated by pirates, distinguishing them from civilians was impossible. Many pirates foolishly announced their identity, making them easy targets. Without fame, most pirates went unnoticed by the Marines.
"Let's stay here for now." The square's chaos hadn't reached Daniel. After scouting Loguetown, he decided to stay and focus on connecting the dimensional space. Once that was done, the One Piece world would be his playground.
"Opening a large portal and sending the Revolutionary Army to the Red Line would be interesting." The One Piece world had spatial powers like the Door Door Fruit, but its range was limited. Dimensional magic, almost ignoring distance, was far superior.
Beyond spatial powers, the One Piece world even had time-manipulating fruits.
"To avoid Smoker's suspicion, let's open a small shop." With this idea, Daniel quickly set up a general store in Loguetown. With plenty of Beli, the process was swift.
The so-called general store was actually a weapon shop. Loguetown once had many weapon stores, but under Smoker's administration, profits dwindled, and many closed.
Of course, this was only on the surface. Loguetown's black market still thrived, catering to pirates needing weapons and supplies before entering the Grand Line.
Smoker's Marines could guard the port, but the island was too large to cover entirely. Pirates could easily land elsewhere and still need supplies.
Daniel had no interest in black market profits. The shop was a pastime, not a moneymaker. He couldn't spend all day connecting dimensions.
He didn't expect to make money, but soon his shop had a major customer: Captain Smoker, purchasing for the Marines.
Weapons crafted through alchemy might not match renowned blades but were far superior to ordinary ones in hardness and sharpness.
Had Daniel flooded the market, other weapon merchants would be out of business.
Because of Smoker, these merchants didn't dare trouble Daniel. His weapons were only for the Marines, not the black market, maintaining peace.
"Buying swords—why doesn't the Navy fully equip with firearms? Is it a budget issue?" The prevalence of swords and such weapons puzzled Daniel, given the available technology.
Both Marines and pirates seemed equally reliant on melee weapons.
"This should be equivalent to a famous blade." Daniel admired a newly forged black katana, smiling. It was modeled after the Sandai Kitetsu from Loguetown's weapon shop. Though it lacked the cursed qualities, its appearance and durability were similar.
"Nice weapon." A stranger's voice startled Daniel. Turning, he saw a tall figure sitting calmly—Dragon.
"Found out, huh? Is it Observation Haki?" Dragon's appearance startled Daniel. He quickly put down the katana, knowing it wouldn't help against Dragon's strength.
"You seem to recognize me," Dragon said calmly.
"I've seen your wanted poster," Daniel replied. As the Revolutionary Army leader, Dragon was wanted worldwide.
"Oh." Dragon nodded noncommittally.
"What brings you here?"
"I want to buy some weapons."
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