If Su Xiao exchanged Roger's pistol for 10,000 points of pirate prestige right now, Kutu and Qian Meng would definitely pursue him with all their might.
Su Xiao would not only refrain from exchanging Roger's pistol; he would also slow down his rate of acquiring pirate prestige. For the top five, higher prestige did not mean greater rewards. The rewards for the top five were fixed.
That way, when Kutu and Qian Meng overtook Su Xiao again and maintained a lead of 3,000 or 5,000 points, they would not relax, but neither would they be as pressed for time as they were now.
All Su Xiao had to do now was wait—for Qian Meng and Kutu to overtake him in pirate prestige again.
After dealing with the pistol, Su Xiao headed straight for District 21. It was a very risky move, but he needed to deal with the huge crater caused by Apollo's explosion.
The Marines could not openly enter Districts 1 through 29, as that would create conflicts with large numbers of pirates. Besides, the mangroves on Sabaody Archipelago were extremely dense. The Marines stationed in District 60 could at most hear the sound of Apollo's explosion.
Su Xiao needed to clean up the traces left by Apollo's explosion, lest he attract Garp, Kizaru, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the others.
It took Su Xiao an entire afternoon to clean up the traces at the blast site. There were no civilians left in District 21, so there were no witnesses.
After finishing everything, Su Xiao headed for District 42, an area by the sea with a well-developed fishing industry.
Su Xiao rented a boat and a fishing rod and began fishing. Or rather, he needed to disappear for a while to prepare for his plans.
Five days later, a small