East Blue Big Shot

Chapter 3: East Blue Big Shot

"Ohhh, is that so? I understand. Don't worry, I'll handle it."

"You've already been promoted to Commodore? Congratulations, Colonel Sean—no, I should call you Commodore Sean now. You'll be transferred to the New World next? Joyous news, joyous news. If we have the chance, we'll meet again in the New World. The new Loguetown Base Commander? I've got it clear. Rest assured, I'll take care of it."

Xia Che casually tossed the disconnected Den Den Mushi to Miss Robin beside him, then furrowed his brow and sank into thought.

That call just now was to his partner, the former Loguetown Base Commander, Commodore Sean.

Commodore Sean wasn't much in terms of strength, but he wasn't rigid either—he didn't adhere to so-called absolute justice, nor was he overly corrupt or greedy.

In his own words, he was just an ordinary man with limited ability. As long as he could guard his jurisdiction and protect the civilians within it, that was enough.

He and Commodore Sean had worked well together all these years. Honestly, Sean's departure still left Xia Che with some reluctance.

As for the so-called Inspection Team... according to the news Commodore Sean passed to him, it seemed that over this period, Xia Che had been using the resistance against a vicious pirate crew—the Moke Pirates—to demand military funds, and had been doing so for several years. This had led the higher-ups to suspect he was defrauding the military budget.

After all, Marine Headquarters knew the situation in the East Blue well.

Thanks to a certain Marine Hero who kept returning to his hometown to visit, there simply weren't any overly powerful pirate crews in these waters.

And what about their 16th Branch?

For years, they hadn't caught a single pirate crew. They'd spent nearly three years just chasing one crew, driving their bounty from zero to thirty million.

And for those three years, they'd constantly cried poverty, claimed heavy losses, complained about outdated equipment, and demanded military funds for three straight years.

All that time, they'd only hunted one pirate crew. And with such a powerful pirate group, other branches weren't making a fuss—why were they the only ones being bullied by the 16th Branch?

Their strength was even enough to enter the Grand Line, yet they refused to go?

What was that about?

How deep could the grudge be?

Thus, after demanding funds multiple times, the higher-ups finally sensed something was off. After discussions among the relevant departments, they seriously suspected the 16th Branch of defrauding military funds!

"What do we do? What do we do? I heard the Marine Inspection Team has already arrived at the 16th Branch!" Nami paced back and forth in panic, glancing at the brooding Xia Che. After a moment of hesitation, she finally gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go to sea! Why don't we all become pirates? I'll steer the ship, and we'll run together. With my skills, we can definitely evade the Marines!"

Then she tilted her head in despair.

"I don't want to be locked up in prison at such a young age~"

But.

Hearing Nami's words, Xia Che looked at her with a strange yet reassuring expression and said, "Don't worry. Even if they arrest someone, it'll be me. You're just a petty officer in the branch, and you're not registered at Headquarters. The Marines probably don't even know you're a petty officer of the 16th Branch."

Neither Robin nor Nami were registered. Robin because of her identity, and Nami because there hadn't been time to report it yet.

Besides, a branch petty officer was utterly insignificant to Headquarters. Reporting or not made no difference—they weren't going to Headquarters for training anyway.

At his words.

"What are you saying, you idiot?" Seemingly angered by Xia Che's remark, Nami grabbed his collar in fury. "I'm this worried, and you're saying stuff like that? Weren't you the one who invited me to be your partner? Damn it, I don't want to be a pirate either, but there's no other choice now!"

As she spoke, she glared at Xia Che before her.

This guy...

He was infuriating. If he kept this up, she'd quit on the spot—next time he invited her aboard, she wouldn't come.

"That's right, Colonel Xia Che. We know you're not a bad person, but now..." Kensuke, the captain of the Cocoyasi Village Security Force, looked at the furious Nami, sighed inwardly, and then said with concern, "If it really comes to it, just do what Nami says and run. Everyone will help hold off the Marines to buy you time."

"Yeah! Colonel, run! I heard that Marine Hero is coming too."

"Don't worry, we'll definitely keep an eye on Cocoyasi Village. Everyone will always remember your kindness, Colonel."

"Alright, I said don't worry." Xia Che patted Nami's hand and helplessly cut off everyone's pleas.

He understood their concerns.

But right now...

"It's not that serious yet." Scanning the crowd, Xia Che tapped the table with the five fingers of his right hand. Once everyone quieted down, he said expressionlessly, "I'll handle it. Everyone, go back to your work."

He paused slightly.

"If it really doesn't work out, I'll run away, just as you all suggest."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The sudden appearance of the Inspection Team had them all on edge. They didn't want their benefactor to be caught like this.

Colonel Xia Che was a good man—he'd driven away the pirates and the rotten Marines, let everyone eat their fill. How could he be arrested?

But since Colonel Xia Che had said so, they had to accept it. Worried they might disturb him, though still anxious, they quietly dispersed to their tasks, so as not to give him more to worry about.

"Do you really have a plan?" Nami rubbed her slightly reddened hand, blew on it, then looked at Xia Che and said irritably, "That was too hard—it hurts! If it really doesn't work, let's just run. That's the Marine Hero we're talking about. Robin, you should talk some sense into the boss too!"

But.

"The boss is a smart man. We don't need to worry." Unlike the others, Robin, who had been leisurely sipping black tea and reading a book, didn't seem concerned. She smiled faintly, looked up, and said gracefully, "Besides, I'm just a little secretary. Why would the boss listen to me?"

She sighed and shook her head.

"If it really comes to it, we'll just have to find a new boss."

"..."

"This guy's tone is so sarcastic."

Xia Che rolled his eyes but continued anyway, "It's just suspicion—Headquarters doesn't have solid evidence yet. You know we're the Marines upholding justice; how could we possibly do something like that?"

However.

Faced with his words, Nami just rolled her eyes. As a navigator, she had given directions on the Moke Pirates' ship before; how could she not know what was really going on?

This guy was even lying to himself!

"Cough, cough." Seeing Nami's look, Xia Che cleared his throat twice and still spoke with righteous indignation, "Every bit of our military funds is applied for according to regulations—legal and compliant. It's just that the Moke Pirates are vicious and ruthless; Marine Branch 16 simply can't hold out. Asking for a bit more money to buy equipment is perfectly normal. It's all for the sake of maintaining peace on the seas!"

He wasn't worried about Garp. That guy's own hands were dirtier than his. He wasn't really a pirate, and he hadn't done anything bad.

As long as he wanted to run, he believed that slacker wouldn't go all out to catch him, just like when they caught the Axe Emperor.

If worst came to worst... he'd just flee.

He'd been operating here for so long; if he wanted to run, he had plenty of ways.

Compared to Garp, the one who gave him more headaches was that guy Smoker. He truly enforced the law impartially, with an iron face. If he really wanted to catch someone, he'd go all out.

Of course~

He wasn't worried about Smoker's current strength either.

Anyway, catching him wouldn't be that easy. But if possible, he really didn't want to go to sea and become a pirate, hiding and running all over the place. And besides...

Xia Che crossed his hands under his chin, his sharp-featured face taking on a serious expression. "I suspect the East Blue is about to produce another big shot. The Moke Pirates... are a bunch of vicious, ruthless pirates!"

As long as they didn't catch Moke, who could say he was colluding with pirates?

With that, he pulled out his Den Den Mushi, dialed a number, and spoke in a grave tone, "Hey, is this Moke?"

"Boss!" A loud voice came from the other end. "I'm heading to Cocoyasi Village right now! Udo's on the ship too, and there are a few unfamiliar faces—are they new recruits you picked up, boss?"

With a cheerful tone, he continued, "We ran into them on the way. They were on a broken ship heading to Cocoyasi Village, so I let them aboard. Oh, right, boss, what's up with the call?"

"...There was something earlier, but it's nothing now. I'm hanging up. If there's nothing else, don't call me 'boss' anymore from now on."

"???"

What did the boss mean by that?

But before the bewildered Moke on the Den Den Mushi could say anything.

"Beep, beep, beep~"

The Den Den Mushi was hung up directly.

Xia Che: ...

Silently staring at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, he let out a long sigh. "What a damn mess..."

Let's rewind a bit.

Before Xia Che and the others held their meeting, in the waters near East Blue's 16th Branch.

A massive pirate ship was slowly sailing across the calm sea surface.

If anyone saw the fluttering pirate flag with the fishbone emblem, they'd recognize it as the notorious East Blue pirate crew that had given Marine Branch 16 headaches for years without being caught—the Moke Pirates.

At this moment.

As if carrying some heavy cargo, the ship's draft was noticeably deep. On the deck.

"Achoo!"

A loud sneeze rang out.

"Boss." A Moke Pirates underling curiously looked at the burly, nearly three-meter-tall bald giant in front of him, who was rubbing his nose, and said, "The 16th Branch is up ahead. Should we stop by?"

However.

"Stop by for what? Don't forget we're pirates now." Facing his underling's question, Moke directly slapped the hand rubbing his nose onto the back of the guy's head. "Don't cause trouble for Boss Xia Che. We'll go see him after we unload the goods at Cocoyasi Village!"

As someone personally trained by Boss Xia Che, he knew the rules well. Even if it wouldn't matter to go now, there was no need to cause trouble for him.

As soon as he finished.

The underling, who'd been smacked hard on the back of the head, pouted with a wronged expression but understood what Moke meant. Still...

He pointed ahead and said in a pitiful tone, "Then what about that small boat coming out of the 16th Branch? Should we just ignore it?"

"What small boat?" Hearing his underling, Moke was startled and looked up toward the 16th Branch. Sure enough, he saw a small boat slowly moving across the sea, seemingly heading toward Cocoyasi Village too.

Coming out of the 16th Branch?

And in a small boat—could something be up?

Moke pondered for a moment, rubbed his bald head, and said, "We're all brothers here. Go ask them if they're in trouble. That little boat would take until sunset to reach Cocoyasi Village!"

He waved his hand grandly. "Bring the ship over and see if they need help."