The Reason for the Bounty

Chapter 34: The Reason for the Bounty

Section 34: Chapter 34: The Reason for the Bounty

Another night, inside the White Mist Space.

Gathering with his other selves again, Celestial Dragon Shirou was filled with emotion.

Under the same night but different stars, each of them lay on rooftops or beaches, watching the sky.

This was truly very interesting.

However—

Celestial Dragon Shirou suddenly turned his head and stared expressionlessly at Mizukage Shirou and Tohsaka Shirou.

"You two beasts! I despise you."

"What did I do?" the two Shirous asked in unison.

"Hmph! You actually married underage sixteen-year-old girls, let them use your lap as a pillow, and fed them. Beasts! Perverts!"

"Mei and I grew up together. Besides, people in the Naruto World mature earlier. Isn't that perfectly normal?"

"I don't care. You're a beast!"

Without waiting for him to argue, Celestial Dragon Shirou turned to Tohsaka Shirou and said gloomily,

"Last night, you even refused to spare a six-year-old girl. You're even more perverted!"

"Don't say things that make it sound so wrong! We just fell asleep leaning against each other on the sofa. Six-year-old Sakura is basically like a little sister to me."

"I don't care. Either way, you're both beasts."

The two Shirous exchanged glances and asked with smiles,

"Are you... lonely?"

"It must be hard, having no friends and no one you can fully trust and tell everything to, right?"

"How could that be?"

Though his rebuttal was decisive, Celestial Dragon Shirou knew they were right.

They were all himself. With one handshake, every thought became crystal clear. There was no room for lies.

Black Dragon Shirou had companions in the Fairy Tail World. Tohsaka Shirou had Rin and Sakura by his side. Mizukage Shirou was already married. Coachman Shirou had Nero. Slime Shirou also had the goblins as companions.

Only he had no one he could trust completely.

Even old Butler Hyman could handle errands for him, but he could not be given complete trust.

Most obviously, they all had someone to watch the stars with. Only he was alone.

At that moment, Slime Shirou suddenly spoke.

"Thanks to the supplies you sent, my territory has more or less taken shape. I can't keep mooching off you forever, and I won't take your things for nothing."

"In exchange, I left some Recovery Potions I made in the treasury. Take them and use them."

"For the Adventurer's Guild you're about to establish, Recovery Potions should be very appealing."

"Oh... as expected of me. You really get it," Shirou said with a smile.

Although he had already known through their handshake, it still felt nice hearing him say it himself.

Even if someone's limbs were severed, as long as the detached parts remained intact and not much time had passed, a Recovery Potion could restore them completely.

Such medicine was truly incredibly useful to people who ventured at sea.

"I want some Recovery Potions too," Black Dragon Shirou suddenly said. "But I don't have any treasure. The only thing I can probably use for trade is some gold coins from the Fairy Tail World."

Slime Shirou hurriedly said,

"No need to trade anything. We're all ourselves, so just take whatever you need. But the quantity is limited. A small amount is fine, but larger amounts need to be reserved in advance."

"By the way, you all know what the medicinal herbs look like, so look for them in your own worlds too."

"As long as you can find herbs, you can turn into Slimes and synthesize Recovery Potions yourselves."

Indeed.

Shirou nodded slightly. That was a good idea.

However, the Pirate World seemingly did not have herbs that looked like that.

Even so, he could try turning into a Slime and experimenting with herbs from the Pirate World to see what he could synthesize.

"Although we have your Predator ability, we didn't share Great Sage, so we can't determine what effects the potions we make have."

"You can leave the potions you make here. Whenever I have time, I'll come in and use Great Sage to appraise them for you."

"Thanks. Then it's settled."

"No need to thank me. We're all ourselves, after all. What's mine is yours..."

Pirate World.

That morning, the sun had just risen, and the temperature had yet to reach its peak. A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, refreshing their spirits.

In such wonderful weather, a grand opening ceremony was being held on the 31st Island of the Sabaody Archipelago.

"...I hereby announce the official establishment of the Adventurer's Guild!"

Shirou's avatar—Acunologiya—stood before the guild entrance, radiating a faint pressure.

The moment he finished speaking, a group of shills Shirou had arranged beforehand—former slaves—rushed forward impatiently.

"I want to register!"

"Excuse me, can becoming an adventurer really get a wanted notice canceled?"

"I want to post a mission! I need someone to escort me to Water Seven!"

Mixed among the shills were genuine people who had been attracted by the benefits promoted by the guild.

On the third floor of the building opposite the Adventurer's Guild, Shirou and Hyman sat facing each other, drinking tea as they watched the bustling street below.

"Were those all shills you arranged, Hyman?"

"No. Without your instructions, Young Master, I did not make any decisions on my own."

"Then it looks like we're off to a good start. Once we recruit more people, we can try opening branches elsewhere. But if there are too many avatars, I won't be able to keep up."

Temporary avatars were fine, but if he wanted one to remain stationed at a guild for the long term, he needed to split off at least one-third of his Chakra.

At the avatar's normal rate of Chakra depletion, maintaining it for three to five years would not be a problem.

Of course, battle consumed a great deal of Chakra. After a major fight, its Chakra would quickly be exhausted.

But the issue was that Chakra was only part of his strength. Even without using Chakra in combat, his overall strength would not be affected much.

"By that calculation, if I maintain avatars for one year, I can probably create fifteen."

"Fifteen guild branches would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the entire sea."

"If Young Master lacks manpower, you can transfer some from CP0 or the Marines," Butler Hyman said hesitantly.

"Absolutely not!"

Shirou objected without a second thought.

He was going to compete against the Marines and the World Government. How could he possibly do that?

However, retired or disabled Marines would not be a problem.

On the island where Fisher Tiger's fleet had docked.

Spotting a News Coo flying overhead, the marine captain, who had been discussing the return of slaves to their homes with Fisher Tiger, suddenly said,

"Wait a moment, Mr. Fisher Tiger. Let me buy a newspaper first."

"Alright. Get one for me too."

After paying, the two picked up the newspapers and began reading.

The front page carried news that the Adventurer's Guild would soon open.

It listed the benefits offered by the Adventurer's Guild. The most eye-catching one was that those who sailed under the Adventurer's Guild flag would not need to carry Wanted Posters.

The flag itself was very conspicuous: the image of a small bird standing on a branch.

"What kind of flag is that? A flying bird?"

"But if that's the case, the number of Pirates should decrease somewhat."

The next moment, a wanted notice suddenly fell from the newspaper.

Fisher Tiger, bounty: 300 million Berries.

Crime: Infiltrating Mary Geoise and killing multiple Celestial Dragons.

As for rescuing slaves, it was not mentioned at all.

The marine captain's expression changed, and he immediately said,

"Mr. Fisher Tiger, please leave at once. I'll pretend I never saw you. As for the civilians who were previously slaves, I'll arrange for people to send them home."

"Thank you very much. Then I'll leave them to you."

Fisher Tiger nodded slightly and did not refuse his kindness.

Chapter 35: Aren't You Running Away?

Section 35: Chapter 35: Aren't You Running Away?

Boa Hancock was sixteen this year. More than three years had passed since she had been sold into slavery.

For the past three years, she had lived a life like hell.

She often had to fight beasts and other slaves in gladiatorial matches for the Celestial Dragons' amusement.

At the same time, she had to do odd jobs such as cleaning toilets and hauling garbage, while never getting enough to eat.

Occasionally, she also had to participate in performances.

For example, if a Celestial Dragon wanted to watch a realistic stage play, it would certainly need corpses, animals, and enemies. Most of those roles were played by slaves.

Fortunately, she was a petite woman and did not have to let Celestial Dragons ride on her back while she crawled forward like the male slaves did.

But even so, as she watched the slaves around her die day after day, her hatred for the Celestial Dragons deepened with every passing day.

Such a life was simply too hopeless.

Countless times, she had wanted to end her own life. But when she thought of her two younger sisters, she could only force herself to stay strong, comforting herself as she comforted them.

Not long ago, her master's family lost her in a wager to another Celestial Dragon family.

She was forced to separate from her two sisters, but as a slave, she had no way to refuse. She could only pray that the two of them would remain safe.

On the fifth day after being transferred to the new place, a servant of the Celestial Dragons suddenly summoned her and another girl her age and ordered them to fight a gladiatorial match.

This was nothing new to her. Celestial Dragons were all so willful, doing whatever whim struck them.

It was also that day that she met her current master, a little boy of eight or nine.

As she watched him cautiously, she suddenly heard him say that whoever lost would have to eat the Zoan Caterpillar Fruit.

Not having to fight to the death was a good thing, but eating the Caterpillar-Caterpillar Fruit—no, absolutely not!

Though she thought so inwardly, in order to avoid exposing her origins from Amazon Lily, she neither used the Nine Snake Secret Technique nor the Armament Haki she had secretly trained.

Her opponent, on the other hand, refused to let up after gaining the upper hand and kept desperately attacking her.

In the end, Hancock lost the match.

At that moment, her heart was utterly dead.

However, the young Celestial Dragon did not take out a Devil Fruit. Instead, he smiled and said he had only been joking.

What a nasty bastard. When he grows up, he'll definitely become scum.

After changing masters, her life seemed unchanged, yet somehow, it also seemed different.