Setting Sail: Marine Bounty

Blue sky, white clouds.

Outside Cocoyasi Village, the prototype of a 'fortress' had already been built. It was believed that in time, it could grow into a structure that would shelter the region, but before that:

"Hey, Roman, where's Nami?"

Roman rolled his eyes at Luffy's question.

"You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

"Don't you know girls need an hour to get ready when they go out?"

"No." X3

"Clearly, none of you have any luck with women. Look at Usopp..."

"Ah, no." Usopp shook his head. "Kaya never goes out."

...?

"Alright, just wait for me."

Roman rubbed his temples.

"Without Nami, are you guys going to sail the ship? Aren't you afraid of steering the Golden Merry into a whirlpool?"

"You sail it then." X4

Me?

I have something to say...

"Hey! You guys sail the ship!!"

On the dock, there were all the Cocoyasi villagers who had come to see them off. And in the village, Nami was rushing over at high speed, shouting for them to set sail as she ran.

?

"What does Nami mean?"

Facing Usopp's question, Roman shrugged and looked at Luffy.

"What do you think, Luffy?"

"Hahaha, she told us to set sail, so of course, we'll set sail first."

Splash!

As the anchor was raised, the Golden Merry slowly began to pull away from the shore, and Nami was also rushing towards the crowd seeing them off!

"Nami, wait a moment..."

"We have so many words of thanks—"

"At least let us..."

However, before the villagers could express their 'feelings of farewell,' Nami had already skillfully passed through the crowd. Amidst the chaos, the girl pushed off forcefully from the dock, her slender figure soaring high into the air as she fell towards the already departing Golden Merry!

"Roman~~~"

?

"Catch me!"

???

Whoosh!

With a flash of movement, Roman, who had just been at the helm, had to dart over and catch Nami, who almost failed to leap onto the deck. His face darkened.

"What the hell?"

"You shouldn't be unable to jump this distance, right?"

"Could it be insufficient training..." However, the girl in his arms just laughed heartily, leaving Roman bewildered.

Rustle!

Wallets fell one by one from Nami's embrace, making her stick out her tongue at Roman sheepishly.

"Sorry, I accidentally took a little bit extra~~~"

What should I say at this moment?

Never mind, a smile will do.

"Everyone~~"

Nami, taking out Belly from her wallet, waved and gave a sly smile to the villagers on the dock.

"Take care!"

—

"Little girl, you've got some nerve!!!" X N

"Nami is truly one of a kind," said Usopp, a look of envy on his face.

"Be careful, or she'll sell you out someday," said Zoro, his expression serious.

"Miss Nami has such personality," said Sanji, giving a thumbs-up.

"Hahaha~~" Luffy burst into laughter.

'I've decided. I'm increasing her training regimen by twenty percent.' Roman thought, his face etched with concentration. — When in doubt, muscles will solve it!

And on the dock, there was a commotion.

"My wallet~~"

"You Cat Burglar..."

"Come back here!!"

However, as the Golden Merry gradually sailed away, the angry uproar all turned into:

"Take care—"

"You're welcome back anytime~~~"

"We're all so grateful to you!"

When parting, one should face it with a smile~~ Facing their homeland, which was slowly receding, Nami let the sea breeze blow through her short orange hair. She looked in the direction of the orange grove.

"I'm leaving now, Bellemere."

I've already met a group of the best nakama, a...

Clap, clap, clap.

Roman clapped his hands, drawing the attention of his nakama, who were still reminiscing about the farewell.

"Alright, we're going to make up for the training we missed during this period. We start now."

With that, Roman began to squat, stand, jump, and squat again — his entire body a blur of motion!

"Heh, Roman, let's see who finishes 100 sets first," Zoro said, raising an eyebrow, his fighting spirit ignited.

"Hahaha, no wonder I felt something was off these past few days," Luffy grinned, one hand on his Straw Hat, the other balled into a fist on the ground.

"So it was Roman's 'supervision' that was missing. I'm starting too!"

"123456789!!!"

Luffy, performing one-handed push-ups like a high-speed pile driver, became a blur, his features indistinguishable. Only his signature laughter echoed across the deck.

"Hahaha, I'm definitely going to be the Exercise King!"

... How many kings are you going to be?

"You guys..."

Sanji's cigarette was so shocking it fell onto the deck. Looking at everyone enthusiastically 'exercising' before him, he began to wonder if he hadn't boarded a pirate ship, but stumbled into some kind of devilish muscle training room...

"Ha, this is Roman's idea," Nami said, shrugging as she also started exercising. "According to him, we're all too weak. So we have to seize this time to get stronger..."

"Is that so?" Sanji, the blond, also became interested as he unbuttoned his suit jacket.

"Then I'll join too."

"Reporting, Vice Admiral,"

"Marine Branch 16, Warship No. 16-1, from Captain Rat and below, not a single crew member survived!"

On a very 'unique' ship, a Marine Headquarters Captain was diligently reporting his findings. However, his report was directed to:

A tall (nearly three meters), broad-chested, muscular old man. He wore a dog-headed hat that obscured his face, making his expression unreadable. Behind him, a Marine "Justice" cape with red and black shoulder pads billowed in the wind. A powerful aura emanated from him!

However:

"Vice Admiral, Vice Admiral Garp, are you listening?"

"Vice Admiral... perhaps he's asleep?" a newly arrived officer cautiously asked. The reporting Captain glanced sternly at his colleague, pulling down his hat.

"Be more confident, drop the 'perhaps'."

???

"What do we do now..." The Captain, holding a stack of 'evidence,' was also troubled. It wasn't that the culprit couldn't be found, but rather:

"Let me see."

A large-knuckled hand snatched the papers from the Captain's grasp. The old Vice Admiral named Garp had 'woken up' at some unknown point. He flipped through the documents in his hand, becoming more and more alert. Then:

"Hahahahaha~~~"

Amidst the unrestrained laughter, an invisible pressure descended, making the surrounding Marines feel as if their bones were creaking, as if a thousand pounds were resting on their backs.

"Good, I never expected the Marines at the branch to have such 'business acumen'!"

"Working hand-in-hand with pirates, splitting the profits three-seven, doing nothing and letting the East Blue be 'peaceful and prosperous,' even managing to build a substantial fortune! Brilliant..."

As Vice Admiral Garp spoke, the pressure on the ship grew heavier, and the air crackled with a 'creaking' sound! Those low-ranking sailors, unable to withstand it, simply rolled their eyes and fainted.

"Vice Admiral, Vice Admiral Garp!"

The exasperated Captain next to him finally raised his voice, getting the attention of the tall, elderly Vice Admiral. He glanced at the sailors who had been overwhelmed by his aura and even fainted, and pouted in displeasure.

"If they can't even withstand a mere 'aura,' what kind of Marines are they?"

Well, you can't really say that. In this world, how many people can withstand your serious 'aura'?

The Captain was helpless, but now wasn't the time to discuss that.

"According to the intelligence we've gathered, the person responsible is the former combat captain of the Silver Light Pirates, 'The Counterattacker' Tokovich Roman. As for the reason..."

The Captain glanced up at the documents in Vice Admiral Garp's hand. These were items left at the scene by the 'culprit,' clearly explaining their motive.

"However, this Roman has now joined the newly emerged 'Straw Hat Pirates,' and the captain of this pirate crew..."

The Captain glanced again at his direct superior.

"Is named 'Monkey D. Luffy'."

"Hahahaha, that brat has set sail too~~~"

Faced with his superior's 'proud' expression, the Captain felt utterly exhausted.

"How should this matter be handled?"

"Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp."

Monkey D. Garp, Monkey D. Luffy. Anyone with eyes could see there was a problem here, right? Especially since, as a direct officer under Vice Admiral Garp, the Captain wearing a formal hat naturally knew his superior had come to the East Blue to visit his grandson. But:

He now wished he could throw the wanted poster in his hand in his superior's face, telling him to properly educate his grandson! Look at what your grandson has become!

Ah, forget it, the world isn't worth it...

Tokovich Roman?

Faced with the fact that his grandson had run off to become a pirate, Garp, at the Marines, still had the leisure to consider other matters.

Hmm, that name sounds a bit familiar, could it be...

"Hahaha, that kind of thing is definitely an order from that 'Straw Hat' Luffy. Just leave it to those people at Headquarters to handle. Why should I care about him~~"

Mm, the old man who casually framed his grandson waved his hand dominantly.

Grand Line, Marine Headquarters.

Marine Secretary Brannew, who was always presiding over meetings... ah, no, Marine Captain Brannew, slammed three bounty posters onto the table.

"15 Million for 'Clown' Buggy;"

"17 Million for 'Admiral' Krieg;"

"20 Million for 'Fish-Man Pirates' Arlong..."

"These three pirate crews, each with bounties in the tens of millions, were all dealt with by this—" He slapped his palm onto a brand-new wanted poster hanging on the wall behind him, showing a smiling Luffy wearing a straw hat!

"The newly appeared Straw Hat Luffy! The branches were helpless against these people."

"A bounty of 30 Million for his first wanted poster! Although the price isn't particularly high, it shows the problem of new-generation pirates emerging endlessly."

"Therefore, we must nip evil in the bud..."

As Captain Brannew delivered his impassioned speech, a group of officers roared their assent!

"Justice!"

The Marines on the Grand Line were finally starting to look like they embodied 'justice.'

However—

The assembled officers fell into thought as they looked at the strangely familiar name.

Monkey D... huh?

PS: These are today's two chapters, I'll add yesterday's later.