1: Chapter 1 Makino's High-Stakes Gamble

"Rice, are you really not considering becoming a pirate with me? If Grandpa finds out you snuck away today, he'll definitely smash this whole ocean to pieces!"

East Blue, Foosha Village.

The summer sun poured unreservedly onto the small, salty-smelling harbor, steaming the sea surface into a hazy mist.

Luffy grabbed the corner of the young man's white shirt tightly, his youthful face full of confusion.

Even though he had "Pirate King" on his lips every day, when facing this "Big Brother" who had protected him countless times under Garp's whip since childhood, Luffy's thoughts were always the purest.

The young man named Rice just lazily glanced at Luffy, then raised his right hand and leisurely scratched his messy black hair.

At one meter ninety-two, he stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens among the ordinary people of Foosha Village.

What was even more eye-catching was his physique—having been tempered as a monster by the Marine hero Garp for years, Rice's body lines had almost reached the limit of human aesthetics.

Because he felt hot, the top buttons of his shirt were left undone. As the strong sea breeze blew, the front of his shirt opened wide, vaguely revealing a large expanse of bronze, well-defined pectoral muscles.

Those broad abdominal muscles extended downward, finally disappearing into the washed-out, tight jeans at his waist.

His whole body exuded a strong hormonal aura that made women's heart rates accelerate just by looking at him.

"Pirate?"

Rice lowered his head, switching the dogtail grass in his mouth from the left side to the right. His voice was low and magnetic, carrying a touch of the frivolity unique to a transmigrator.

"Shouting 'Long live freedom' every day to go find the elusive Great Treasure? I'm thinking much further ahead than that."

As a transmigrator familiar with the plot, Rice knew better than anyone the cruelty beneath the world's shiny exterior.

Most pirates were low-end thugs who burned, killed, and looted, and the so-called justice of the Marine was, in the end, a joke in front of that trash in Mary Geoise.

Since both sides were rotten to the core, I'll do it myself.

I'm going to build my own harem fleet.

And the first step starts here in Foosha Village.

"Listen up, Luffy."

Rice raised his right hand and tapped lightly on Luffy's precious straw hat.

"The martial arts that Old Man Garp taught me aren't for me to become a watchdog for the World Government. I want to find something truly interesting to do on this boundless ocean. For example... establishing a sanctuary that belongs only to me. A sanctuary that no one can touch."

"A sanctuary?"

Luffy rubbed his head, his big eyes full of confusion; clearly, with his current brain capacity, he couldn't understand such profound vocabulary.

Rice shook his head with some amusement and didn't explain further.

He turned around and looked at the large ship docked at the harbor.

It was a three-masted sailing ship he had secretly built with the bounty money from taking down the Mountain Bandit King and others; the wood was sturdy. At this moment, a large flag was flapping in the sea breeze at the top of the main mast.

In the center of the azure background was a pure white giant dove with sharp lines, spreading its wings to fly.

[White Dove Adventure Group].

Facing the world with a gentle attitude, protecting tenderness with fists—this was the life philosophy of Garp's top disciple, Rice.

"That old man, the village chief, really has a toothache and doesn't want to come see me off?" Rice withdrew his gaze and looked at the villagers watching from the sidelines.

"The village chief said he was afraid that if he saw you, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from having a cerebral hemorrhage, so he told you to get lost quickly."

The villagers nearby sighed helplessly.

Everyone looked at Rice with extremely complicated expressions.

The villagers all knew that although Rice didn't look serious on a daily basis, walking around the village with his hands in his pockets and a blade of grass in his mouth, his strength was a real monster. By the time he reached adulthood, his martial arts were enough to rival a young Garp.

If he didn't become a Marine or a pirate, the World Government would target him sooner or later.

"Alright then, I'm really leaving."

Rice grinned, put his hands back into his jeans pockets, and was just about to step onto the ship.

"Wait! Rice!"

Just at this critical moment, a soft, gentle voice, panting from running in a hurry, exploded abruptly from behind the crowd.

Rice's footsteps stopped abruptly, the dogtail grass twitching at the corner of his mouth, and he turned around leisurely.

The watching villagers made way for a path.

Makino, wearing a light green plaid dress, was running quickly toward the harbor, clutching a lightweight suitcase in both hands, stumbling slightly.

Perhaps because she ran too fast, the beautiful, usually dignified, steady, and gentle bar owner had a flushed face.

A few strands of smooth hair on her forehead were stuck to her fair skin by fine, fragrant sweat, adding a touch of fragility.

In the air, there seemed to be a faint scent of berries because of her arrival.

"Yo, Boss Makino."

Rice stood where he was, his pitch-black eyes sweeping over her, finally resting on her eyes, and he smirked.

"Running so urgently—are you reluctant to let me go and planning to give me a lingering farewell kiss before I leave?"

Stared at by Rice's burning gaze, the blush on Makino's cheeks spread all the way to her neck.

She stopped in front of Rice, her chest heaving violently, and her peach-blossom eyes met Rice's gaze, as if she had made a great determination.

"No, I didn't come to see you off."

Makino bit her red lower lip, her hands twisted tightly in front of her due to nervousness.

She took a deep breath and took a half-step forward.

This half-step shortened the distance between the two to the extreme.

Rice could even feel the heat radiating from her.

Makino lowered her head slightly, not daring to look at Rice's deep eyes that could almost melt her, just letting her gaze fall on his collarbone, and murmured in a low voice:

"Rice... you used to drink too much, grab my hand, and say you wanted to build a harbor on the sea that no one could find, and only recruit beautiful women as crew members for the rest of your life... You even asked me if I wanted to see the outside world..."

She paused, her voice lower, her earlobes red enough to bleed:

"Then... then is your ship today still missing a woman who can help you mix drinks, cook, do laundry... and also, take care of your daily life?"

By the time she finished the last few words, Makino's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, and she was so shy that even her breathing had stalled.

But the water light flickering in her apricot eyes was like fireflies in the night sky.

The surrounding villagers and Luffy were all stunned.

Heavens, this is the gentle Makino from Foosha Village!

She, who usually blushes even when making eye contact with a man, is actually saying this kind of elopement-like confession to Rice in front of the whole village today?!

In the original timeline, she would stay in this small tavern for the rest of her life, silently waiting for Red Hair Shanks, or cleaning up messes for Luffy and Ace, living an ordinary life.

But now, Rice's appearance had completely stirred up the spring water in her heart.

She didn't want to wait anymore; she wanted to bet her life's happiness on this man's future!

Rice looked at the landlady who was usually conservative and reserved, but now exuded an extreme contrast, a rich smile flashing in his eyes.

He spat out the dogtail grass in his mouth.

"Pat."

The weed hit the ground.

Rice took a big step forward, getting closer to Makino.

His powerful body, carrying a crushing masculine pressure, shrouded the tall Makino in his shadow.

The two were extremely close, their clothes rubbing slightly in the sea breeze, and Makino could even clearly feel the scorching heat radiating from Rice's chest.

"Makino, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you want to board my ship?"

Rice lowered his head slightly, bringing his lips close to Makino's earlobe, which was trembling slightly from nervousness.

His warm breath sprayed onto the woman's sensitive ear roots, instantly causing Makino to tremble uncontrollably.

"Once you board the White Dove ship and become my woman, for the rest of your life, even if you die, you can only die in my arms. Do you understand?"

As Rice spoke, his right hand reached out without warning and wrapped around Makino's slender waist.

The hot, rough temperature of his palm pressed against Makino's tense skin through the thin fabric of her dress.

Rice gave a wicked smile and pulled her into his arms with a sudden force!

"Ah..."

A charming exclamation spilled from Makino's lips, and she crashed into Rice's hard, broad chest without any ability to resist under the immense power.

"Mm... I'm not going back, I'll listen to everything Rice says... I'll listen to you for the rest of my life..."

Makino softened into a puddle of water, her fair, tender arms instinctively climbing onto Rice's neck, burying her face tightly in his neck.

"Hahahaha! Very good! Then let's get on the ship!"

Rice laughed, not even bothering to pick up the suitcase, but instead used his arm to exert a little force, domineeringly lifting Makino up horizontally.

Her dress drew an elegant arc in the air due to this sudden lift, revealing Makino's straight, slender legs.

Under the scorching sun, the skin was dazzlingly white.

"Set sail!"

Rice's eyes sharpened, and he slammed his right foot onto the ground.

"Boom!!"

Without any Devil Fruit ability, Rice, relying solely on the terrifying reaction force of his physical body, took off into the air while holding the warm, soft jade in his arms.

The sea breeze made his white shirt flap loudly. Amidst the gasps of the villagers, he resembled a goshawk taking off in a storm, skimming over dozens of meters of sea surface before landing steadily on the deck of the [White Dove ship].

"Rice... just carried Makino-nee away like that..."

On the shore, Luffy looked at the man and woman clinging tightly together on the deck, touched his own empty head, and always felt that the world was really too profound.

On the deck, Rice placed the beauty in his arms onto a soft chair.

He took out another blade of grass from his pocket and put it in his mouth, hands tucked into his jeans pockets, looking down at the blushing woman in his arms.

Makino sat on the soft chair, casting a shy glance at Rice, in which there was no anger, only the infinite charm that could melt iron and stone.

Under the azure sky, the White Dove flag with the iron fist in its beak danced wildly in the gale.

The great age of sailing for the transmigrator Rice, accompanied by the sticky, hot, ambiguous sparks in the air, officially began!