7 Loguetown

Gol D. Roger, more commonly known as Gold Roger, was a legendary pirate who, as captain of the Roger Pirates, held the title of Pirate King.

22 years ago, on his execution platform, the place where he was supposed to be made an example to prevent others from becoming pirates, He laughed–in the face of death and declared to the whole world.

"My treasure? If you want it, I'll grant it! Search on! All the world had to offer, I left in that place!"

And thus, started the new era, which came to be known as "The Great Age of Pirates."

---

Jin Woo quietly strolled around the streets. He planned on doing a little sightseeing before going to a Marine office to claim the bounty.

His farewell with the Strawhats went 'smoothly'. Although Luffy kept trying to recruit him into his pirate crew but the others held him back 'nicely'. He couldn't help but shake his head when he thought about it.

Jin Woo bought a meat bun that looked really appetizing from a vendor. Its outer layer was crispy while the inner layer was soft. The filling was average, but it tasted great, nonetheless. Although it couldn't match up to the cooking he ate on Going Merry.

He kept taking small bites as he looked around. Many people on the streets looked like tourists.

'I should go and check out the execution platform too while I am here.'

---

A young girl, around 15 years old, ran on the side of the street with a cheerful expression when a burly hand suddenly covered her mouth and pulled her into a dark alley.

Tears rolled down her cheeks in dread as she tried to struggle. She wanted to scream but the hand blocked her mouth from making any sound.

Closing her eyes, she desperately prayed for a miracle to save her. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours as she waited but suddenly, a blunt sound resounded in the empty dark alley and she felt a warm liquid splash on her face.

The hand holding her mouth shut also loosened. She reluctantly opened her eyes only to find a headless body standing in front of her. A fountain of crimson blood spewed out from the top and dyed the surroundings in the color of death. The foul stench of human defecates lingered in the air.

The body slowly fell backward, on the ground with a loud sound. There lay a small stone covered with blood near the corpse that went unnoticed by the girl.

Her eyes widened and her knees gave in as she slumped to the ground helplessly. The grotesque sight and the disgusting odor made her vomit out everything she had for lunch. She even forgot to scream due to the horror gripping her neck.

Maybe…maybe the Devil had heard her pleas instead of God…

---

Jin Woo didn't change his pace and continued to stroll around the town.

"Tsk, this doesn't even taste good now…" Clicking his tongue, he finished the rest of the meat bun in one go.

Not in the mood for sightseeing anymore, Jin-Woo decided to finish his business at the Marines office first.

After asking for directions a few times, he finally reached his destination. At the reception desk sat a woman. She had dark brown eyes and blue hair. She looked to be in the early twenties.

"What do you-" The woman's words stuck in her throat and her eyes widened in surprise when she felt a cold metal pressing her neck.

At some point in time, a thin veil of white smoke had appeared around Jin Woo.

"Show yourself." The Dagger in Jin Woo's hand pressed even further on the neck of the woman, causing a drop of blood to roll down. With just a little more push, the woman's throat would be cut.

Jin Woo had no intention of doing so. If things went south, he just needed to make a swift run instead of needlessly shedding blood.

The smoke in the surroundings began to gather and condense at one spot and took the form of a man.

The man had a muscular build, white hair, and brown eyes. He appeared in his thirties and had two cigars stuffed in his mouth. He wore brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt, and large military-issue brown leather boots as well as a white jacket with the front open.

"Unhand her and we can peacefully talk." The gruff man in front of Jin Woo said in an equally gruff voice.

Jin Woo couldn't feel any hostility but he didn't let his guard down. He carefully let the hostage go. After all, he never planned to harm the hostage and probably the man in front of him could tell that too. In such a case, a hostage would be nothing but dead weight.

But the moment he let go of the woman, she hurriedly unsheathed her sword and swung it at Jin Woo.

"Tashigi, what are you doing?" Tashigi's sword was stopped by the long jitte in the hand of the gruff man.

"Captain Smoker, t-that man is dangerous!" Tashigi didn't understand why Smoker had interrupted.

"Idiot, I know. That's why I stopped you!" Smoker literally growled which made Tashigi whimper a little, but she still didn't put her sword away. He then nodded towards Jin Woo. "I am sorry for the trouble caused by my subordinate."

"No, no. I'm glad the situation got resolved…peacefully." Without lowering his guard, Jin-Woo inquired. "What did you want from me?"

"I saw you at the scene earlier with my own eyes." Tashigi nudged at her glasses and spoke rather aggressively.

'I was seen…I did lose my cool, but I thought no one noticed me…' Jin Woo decided to feign ignorance. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Y-you…" Tashigi nearly lost her calm and turned to Smoker. "Smoker-San! You cannot trust this man. He's a fiend! How could a human being leave a little girl alone in a p-place like that?!"

'Madam, you are so energetic…' Jin Woo lampooned inwardly.

It's not like he didn't want to help the girl, but he had sensed her approach and decided to leave the scene early, to avoid trouble. Who knew it could backfire like this?!

Smoker stayed silent for s few moments and then spoke in his usual gruff voice.

"I am Marine Captain, Smoker, in charge of this island. If anything pops up, it's my responsibility to solve it before it blows up and causes trouble in this town. Then, let me ask you again directly, without wasting any of our time." Smoker's voice carried a deep sense of authority with it. "Who are you and what business do you have here?"

Jin Woo could tell that captain wasn't trying to be rude. "I am here to claim a bounty." He stretched his hand forward. "Name is Sung Jin-Woo."

"That is quite a unique name." Smoker nodded slightly and took Jin Woo's hand. "It might not be enough but to show my apologies I will help you bypass the normal procedure and the waiting period. Do you have the proof right now?"

Jin Woo nodded and put the wooden box on the table and opened it. Inside the box was Arlong's half crushed head which had been taken out of the inventory earlier before coming here.

Upon seeing the pus covered head, both Smoker and Tashigi's gaze froze.