One Piece: Start by Rebuilding Kuri

"Who the hell are you?"

Harlow flung his wine glass aside and stood up abruptly. He was a towering figure, nearly three meters tall. The two scantily clad women who had been by his side wisely retreated.

"Did Rocks send you?" Harlow demanded loudly, but he quickly realized that he had just defeated a group of Rocks' followers earlier that day. There was no way Rocks could have sent someone so quickly.

Seeing that Dan remained silent, Harlow's anger overwhelmed his confusion and the faint trace of fear he had felt. He quickly reminded himself that he had no reason to fear—he was an invincible Logia user!

"If you won't answer, then just die!" Harlow sneered, his hair bursting into flames. However, he didn't immediately attack. If he had to handle everything himself, what was the point of having a crew?

"Men, kill him! No—capture him! He's a valuable catch. If we sell him to the slave traders, we'll make a fortune!" Harlow laughed cruelly. The rest of the crew grew excited at the prospect.

The Nightlight Pirates had been involved in the slave trade during their time in the first half of the Grand Line. They had defeated numerous pirate crews and taken many prisoners, selling them to slave traders on Sabaody Archipelago for a hefty profit.

Even those broken and battered slaves had fetched a good price. Someone like Dan, with his refined appearance, would surely attract the interest of many nobles.

"You people are truly disgusting," Dan said softly, his face filled with disdain. These scum didn't deserve a quick death—it would be too merciful.

If Wano Country had already begun building factories, Dan would have sent them there to mine. Establishing factories in Wano was inevitable, but before that, Dan needed to figure out how to handle pollution. Ideally, he would find a Devil Fruit that could purify pollutants.

The pirates closed in, with those wielding guns staying back while the swordsmen charged forward without hesitation.

Dan didn't move a muscle as they approached. He simply raised his eyes slightly, and an invisible aura erupted from his body. In an instant, Dan seemed to transform into a terrifying monster, his cold gaze piercing through the pitiful men before him.

Their minds went blank, unable to think.

Thud—

Before the pirates could even get within a meter of Dan, they collapsed as if struck by an invisible force.

This was Conqueror's Haki!

Dan had awakened his Conqueror's Haki after the completion of the Daimyo's residence in Kuri.

At that time, he had been sitting atop the highest tower, overlooking all of Kuri, when he suddenly felt how small the world was. In that moment, his Conqueror's Haki had awakened.

Harlow, who had never encountered Haki before, had no idea what had just happened. He only saw his men collapse to the ground, their eyes rolling back, without even lifting a finger.

In truth, if Dan hadn't controlled the range of his Conqueror's Haki, Harlow would have been among the fallen.

"Dammit, a Devil Fruit user? Some kind of mental attack?" Harlow gritted his teeth. With countless strange Devil Fruit abilities out there, he figured anything he couldn't understand must be the work of a Devil Fruit.

Although Conqueror's Haki was more about intimidation than direct mental attack, Harlow was at least partially correct.

Harlow's expression darkened. If this was a mental attack, then even as a Logia-type user, he might not be immune.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Harlow demanded, the flames on his body growing hotter. He was ready to attack at any moment. "We have no grudge, do we? Or are you sent by Rocks?"

"How amusing. Since when do pirates talk about grudges? Did the ordinary people you killed have any grudge against you?" Dan sneered. "Unfortunately for you, I've just decided to become a pirate hunter."

Hearing this, Harlow knew he was in trouble.

"You want to collect my bounty? Fine, then you can die first! A Thousand Degrees: Flame Serpent!" Harlow's body erupted with a blazing yellow flame, and a massive serpent of fire shot from his hands, its gaping maw lunging toward Dan.

A thousand degrees—enough to melt rock!

While flames were common in the New World, leading to the saying that the Flame-Flame Fruit wasn't even worth a dog's attention, most people's flames were only as hot as burning paper or wood. The flames of the Flame-Flame Fruit, however, far exceeded that.

But to Dan, the flaming serpent, though intense, posed no threat.

As the flaming serpent approached, Dan didn't even move. He simply waved his arm, and a wave of icy cold erupted from his body. The frigid air instantly froze the seawater around the pirate ship, and the heat of the flaming serpent was completely absorbed. By the time the flames reached Dan, they were nothing more than a harmless flicker.

The flames danced around him but failed to even singe his clothes. It was as if Harlow's efforts had only served to give Dan a fiery special effect.

"Such weak flames."

Dan stepped forward through the flames, his calm demeanor filling Harlow with genuine fear for the first time.

Harlow took a step back, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"An ice-based Devil Fruit user? Are you a Logia too?" Harlow had initially thought Dan was a psychic-type user, but now it seemed he was an ice-based user, possibly even a rare Logia like himself.

Normally, fire should counter ice, but in their clash, Harlow had been completely outmatched.

This realization filled Harlow with terror. He knew he was no match for Dan, but he didn't want to die. Swallowing his fear, he said, "How about we call it even? Even if I can't beat you, you can't capture me either. I'm a Logia user—you can't hurt me.

"You said you're a pirate hunter, so all you want is money, right? There are a few bounties among those worthless men. Take them and cash in! You can have all the treasures on this ship too!"