Grasscutter_Resources/Resources/Readable/EN/Book304_EN.txt

Yarr harr, you bilge-rats!
Forgotten all about yer old captain after not seein' him fer so long?
Heartless rats, the lot of ya!
Sorry, but ol' Rinzou, yours truly, has decided to retire!
Well then, you rats. Whether you want out, or you wanna set up yer own crew, don't forget this old sea dog's words!
Might be a few too many of 'em, and I might've had a few too many drinks, but don't you dare think that I'm naggy or addled none!

Right, ah, where was I... Ah yes. Let's begin with a wee brat.
Now then! That brat wasn't yet more scars than flesh, and his belly weren't yet filled with wine from all seven nations.
At that time, the call of the great sea and its perils, the instability and rules of life... None o' this had anything to do with the lad.
All 'e had was boundless innocence, and he was truly happy with that... or maybe he was just falsely happy.

Later, an old man would come drifting in with the tide. Sprawled out on the shallows 'e was, not movin' a muscle.
The pale old geezer was all tangled up with seagrass, and seaweed as all stuck in his hair. Looked like an old corpse he did! Or maybe like a king...

"The depths of the sea... The depths of the sea..." said he...
...And he never spoke again.
The sunset shone on his drenched face, and there I thought, ah, this here fellow must be an outlander king.

What was there in the ocean depths? What had the furthest edge of the sea promised? Ah, who knew? Perhaps it was all a load of rubbish.
Then, them grownups would say that we shouldn't stare at the ocean in midsummer for too long, or else we might get dizzy, and we might even die for a short time.
Ah, but what use would these sayings have on a simple kid, eh?

So that kid put together a wooden raft of his very own and put out to sea.
The ocean depths, the distant seas, ah, they were not like the peaceful, never-changing sandy beaches.
The small wooden raft was shattered by the raging waves, and as the young lad was tossed this way and that by them, he found the thing that he loved...

...And so he became a pirate.
I'm sure you've heard me brag enough about the things that came after. No point talking about them here.
In conclusion... In conclusion, even today, and perhaps even the day after the tomorrow, the thing that will always consume me is...
...The dream of surpassing Ako Domeki, setting up a free nation for pirates. It remains so far out of reach, and I'm about to give it up, too!
A shame. What a shame... Well, but at the same time, there's nothing worth being sad about!
I mean, that wee lad I was has seen too many storms, fought too many people and sea beasts. He's escaped the authorities and Doushin countless times...
He's gained so much, and lost so much.
When that brat finally sailed to the furthest edge of the ocean, only then did he realize that he was wee no more.
So he decided to return. Back to where it all began. That cave in Watatsumi Island.
All the booty he'd gathered over the years: cut gems by human hands, Mora from an Archon's body... Now then, you little rats, yer old captain has put them all in that cave for you.

Even that thing that belonged only to him — his sole, true treasure in all the world.
Now, if you think you've got the guts, go searching for it!
If the thing I treasured most is not what you imagine, you might be disappointed.
But you know what?
I don't care. Not at all!

I mean, it's treasure unique to me, after all! Hahahaha!