The East Blue – Aboard the ship seized by Seth after killing the crew.
[ I am a high-tech device, designed for genetic transformation techniques... ]
"Haah!?..." Seth paused mid-bite into the apple in his hand and scratched his head dumbly when he heard the watch's
response.
"Am I stupid!?" he muttered bitterly, unable to fully understand what the watch meant.
He coughed to hide his embarrassment and asked a different question.
"Ahem!!... Anyway ! , How were you able to turn me into that Sea King!?"
[By scanning the DNA of entity XT003, its genes were stored in the genetic library, and the transformation into this entity was unlocked.]
This time, the watch replied in simpler language.
Even though he didn't understand what DNA or genetic library meant, he did understand one phrase , "transformation was unlocked," a phrase he remembered hearing when he first transformed into the Sea King.
He had hundreds of questions, but he set them aside and focused his mind on the watch. Ever since his wrist was severed and the watch embedded itself in his chest, Seth found that he could transform simply by thinking about it , no need to press any button or anything of the sort. It had become as natural as breathing. Even the other creatures in the watch seemed familiar to him.
"Hmmm, since I've regained my energy, let's try the other transformations..." Seth whispered, then triggered a change with a single thought.
His body began to shift. His skin turned gray, and his head's shape deformed slightly. Unlike the previous transformation, this time he shrank rather than expanded.
His body quickly shrank until he was about 50 centimeters tall, or even smaller.
"Haah!!..." His eyes widened in astonishment, as he felt his thoughts accelerate by hundreds of times. The gears in his brain began to turn.
"This is truly amazing! I feel incredibly smart..." Seth jumped in place like a monkey, but his excitement quickly faded.
"Pathetic!! Is enhanced intelligence all this transformation can do..." he muttered in disappointment.
"Better return to my normal form before I become bird food..." he whispered as he glanced at the seagull circling the ship.
He returned to his human form and looked curiously at the seagull that landed upon noticing a human presence.
"Oh! It's a news bird..." Seth thought as he eyed the basket full of newspapers. He pulled out some money and handed it over, then took the newspaper.
He ignored the seagull, who hopped joyfully at the generosity of this human, and opened the paper to read.
"Hmmm! Death of Captain Kuro, leader of the Black Cat Pirates..." Seth read a small article about the death of the Black Cat Pirates' captain.
He was familiar with this pirate crew, as he used to gather news about East Blue pirates.
He hadn't expected a pirate with a bounty of 16 million Berries to die.
"Hmmm! Too bad... If I had taken his head to the Marines, I would have gotten those 16 million Berries..."
Seth said regretfully, but suddenly his eyes lit up. "I'm a genius, hahaha! With the help of the watch, I can become a pirate hunter, I could earn millions of Berries..."
Having finally found a goal, he continued flipping through the newspaper.
"Fire Fist Ace..." His gaze fell on the image of a young man with a cowboy hat. "50 million Berries!!" His eyes widened in shock and amazement when he saw the number of zeros behind Ace's bounty.
"If I could get his head, I could live like a king..." Seth laughed heartily, imagining himself swimming in money, with his family never having to worry about finances again.
He snapped out of his daydream, put his hand to his chin, and thought:
"But sadly, this man is probably heading into the Grand Line..."
He tossed the bounty poster and newspaper aside, sat on a chair, and closed his eyes to rest from accumulated fatigue. He didn't know how to navigate, so it was best to take a nap and see where fate would take him.
"Better to return home first, then I can seriously think about becoming a pirate hunter..."
...
Far from Seth's ship, out at sea aboard a small sailboat.
Gentle sea breezes danced with the sails of the boat, while Deiss stood at the bow, holding a marine spyglass and scanning the horizon with alert eyes.
Without warning, he kicked the sleeping young man beside him and said loudly:
"Oi! Ace, wake up!"
"Waaah... Meat?! Huh?!" Ace mumbled as he rubbed his side where he had been kicked, then looked up at Deiss with a pained and offended expression. "Stop kicking me, you brute..."
But Deiss completely ignored him, pointing ahead with a serious tone:
"There... A mysterious ship is appearing on the horizon!"
Ace's eyebrows shot up instantly, and the sleep in his eyes turned into a fiery glint of curiosity. He sat up quickly, then jumped to his feet.
"A ship?! Oh! Really?! Where?!"
Ace snatched the spyglass from Deiss's hand with excitement, saying eagerly:
"Let me see! Let me see!"
He lifted the spyglass to his eyes and adjusted the lens with casual skill, then froze for a moment, his eyes focused intently on the ship looming in the distance.
Silent seconds passed before he slowly lowered the spyglass and spoke in a doubtful, puzzled tone
"Strange... I don't see anyone on deck. The ship looks completely abandoned."
"Abandoned?" Deiss muttered, frowning. "Pirates don't just leave their ships like that... This is odd."
They exchanged a brief look before Ace smiled widely and said:
"Let's go check it out ourselves!"
"Huh?! Are you serious?!" Deiss said anxiously, but Ace was already getting ready.
"Of course I'm serious! What if there's treasure? Or supplies? Or even... meat?!"
Deiss exhaled slowly, then moved to his side and grabbed the oar.
"Alright, but if ghosts show up, you're fighting them alone."
Ace laughed loudly as he jumped to the stern and began rowing.
"Deal! But if I find meat, I'm not giving you a single bite!"
The small sailboat approached the mysterious ship swiftly, swaying lightly as the waves pushed it toward the unknown.
Ace's excitement had reached its peak. He didn't wait another moment.
"I've run out of patience!"
Without warning, his upper body ignited into dancing flames, and he launched into the air, leaving behind a blazing trail.
"Ace!! Slow down, you idiot!!" shouted Deiss, nearly falling from the boat as he tried to grab him in vain.
"That kid doesn't know the meaning of patience..." Deiss muttered in frustration as he picked up the oar again, continuing to row alone.
He sighed bitterly while watching his friend shoot toward the abandoned ship like a meteor, then muttered reassuringly to himself:
"Forget it... With his strange powers, no one can harm him."
He ran his hand through his hair impatiently, then looked back toward the horizon where Ace had landed on the ship's deck, the flames still flickering along his body before slowly fading.