Corpses Are the Safest
The One Piece crew that was coerced and 'kidnapped' by Oboro Dorans Pirates.
It is named after the captain.
Dorans has been roaming the East Blue for many years, and his One Piece crew's main business, just like Oboro thought, is burning, killing, and plundering.
However, they only roam within their designated territory and generally do not venture into other sea areas.
According to him, this is the current situation for most One Piece crews in the East Blue. Firstly, operating from fixed locations avoids conflict with other One Piece forces. Secondly, accepting bribes from high-ranking Navy officials allows them to make favors. The East Blue is more peaceful than the other three seas, which reduces the pressure on the Navy, leading them to often turn a blind eye. Therefore, this fosters a corrupt chain of interests between One Piece and the Navy.
These are all caused by special environmental factors.
Because of the World Government and Navy's severity of punishment in the Four Blues, the East Blue is the least affected... and will not receive much attention.
Another point is the bandits.
There are many mountain bandits in the East Blue. Their 'comfortable environment' allows them to reap considerable profits without having to go to sea to hide or escape.
Some mountain bandits even had bounties exceeding those of more famous One Piece.
Dorans's current bounty is only five million. Although he is not a big shot in the East Blue, he is 'renowned' in this area and is already a formidable figure.
But I've heard that some powerful bandit leaders have bounties exceeding ten million.
Tens of millions... that's definitely a top-tier figure in the East Blue.
If Oboro remembers correctly, at the beginning of the original story, Buggy only had a bounty of 15 million.
This Dorans is at a similar level to Alvida, both costing five million.
Throughout the journey, Dorans explained to Oboro some information about the local customs and culture of the East Blue.
To outsiders, he might be a vicious One Piece, but at this moment he put on an extremely fawning face and kept groveling before Oboro.
For One Piece, dignity is far less important than life.
During their journey, they passed Glass Bead Island. Oboro disembarked alone and went ashore, leaving Dom behind to keep an eye on the One Piece... He was going to buy something.
The Dorans Pirates only have a few dozen members. Don't underestimate Dom just because he's only one person. Wiping out the entire enemy crew would be a piece of cake.
Glass Bead Island was incredibly prosperous, practically a metropolis, though its architectural style was somewhat similar to the "Nordic" style he was familiar with, and many nobles were among the pedestrians on the streets. The peaceful life allowed the royal class to dominate the East Blue, a situation common in many countries.
Class distinctions are clear, with the upper class being the Melody.
The famous 'Heixiu Panda' is actually just a t-shirt worth 10,000 Beli with a panda design on it.
It seems quite a few people are buying them.
Long made a simple disguise, mainly to find a tailor shop to customize a few pieces of clothing.
His familiar black suit.
I also sewed some face masks and top hats.
To cover their faces.
He put everything into the system's inventory.
However, as he walked out of the shop, he saw a group of people holding his wanted poster and discussing it incessantly.
Judging from their attire, these people are not One Piece... They are mainly discussing the World Government's bounty prices.
Bounty Hunter x Hunter!
Noticing his gaze, one of the swordsmen looked over, glanced at him, and then ignored him, continuing to walk away.
Oboro was dressed in an expensive custom-made suit, wearing a black bowler hat, and a mask covering half of his face... To outsiders, he wouldn't look like One Piece at all; he looked more like a nobleman. The main reason was that his whereabouts were currently completely unknown to the outside world.
The local powers in the East Blue probably never expected that the God Slayer would come to the East Blue.
The cost of just a few pieces of clothing for Long is a huge sum of money.
Of course, he didn't have to pay for it.
All of it was tribute from Dorans.
After leaving Glass Bead Island, the Dorans Pirates set sail again, heading towards the Polestar Archipelago.
The Loguetown is located on the archipelago.
The different conditions in the sea led Long to discover something quite interesting.
Although there are not many Sea Kings in the East Blue, there are many sea beasts, which are different from normal aquatic creatures and look very different.
However, in terms of size, sense of oppression, or threat, they are far inferior to Sea Kings... Basically, these sea beasts, as long as they are not too big or too special, can be dealt with or hunted by ordinary One Piece.
Some marine mammals can also hunt and eat.
One day, on the deck, Long sat with his legs crossed, flipping through the newspaper in his hands.
There was a message that caught his attention.
The navy dispatched a large number of warships, led by an admiral, heading towards the East Blue.
This is almost sending a signal to the outside world that the World Government and the Navy believe that Oboro has fled to the East Blue.
"Quick reaction, huh..."
Long smiled slightly.
After all, the only sea areas bordering that Calm Belt, besides the Grand Line, are the East Blue.
The Navy should be using this time to determine whether he is dead.
"You should have realized that."
A thought flashed through Long's mind.
The World Government noticed that he had some kind of inexplicable means of sailing freely on the seas.
"Then... Loguetown will probably step up its defenses."
He tossed aside the newspaper and asked Dorans, who was kneeling on the ground in front of him, giving him a fawning look and massaging his legs, "How much longer until we get to Loguetown?"
"About a day."
Dorans rubbed his hands together, smiled broadly, and said humbly.
"A day... that goes by quickly."
Long nodded slightly, then uttered a few words: "Let's begin."
Dorans was taken aback.
I don't understand what it means.
But he saw Dom slowly walk toward the nearby crew.
Then... the slaughter began as easily as chopping melons and cutting vegetables!
On the deck, inside the cabin... a constant wailing erupted.
Blood splattered.
The bloody and cruel scene left Dorans pale and his pupils trembling.
"I'm sorry, too many people will talk... To avoid the news getting out, this is the only way... But thank you for your hard work and efforts these past few days," Long said calmly.
He was commenting on something, without any personal thoughts or emotions mixed in.
After getting to know him for a while, Dorans thought the man in front of him was rather 'approachable' and not the kind of ruthless person... but everything that happened at this moment made him realize his mistake.
He's so naive...
From the moment the other party stepped onto the ship, their fate and destiny were already foreshadowed.
"I..."
Dorans swallowed hard, wanting to say something, when Oboro's hand suddenly landed on his head, soothingly saying, "Don't be afraid... You're not on the death list. After all, neither of us can steer, and we need you to get to Loguetown. Besides... I do need an invisible man by my side. You probably know my situation. The government and the navy know both of us well, but as for you... they don't know yet, and that's where your value lies."
"Yes, yes, yes... I will serve you wholeheartedly."
Upon hearing this, the initially fearful Dorans immediately burst into tears of joy and repeatedly kowtowed to Om.
In stark contrast to his relieved, joyful expression were the corpses lying nearby.
Those who died were all his former comrades.
But there was no pain, struggle, or entanglement on his face; he was only thinking of himself.
This scene is both realistic and ironic.
Dorans wouldn't even notice that the way Oboro looked at him was completely different from how he looked at Dom.
It was a cold, emotionless gaze.
He... was just an immediate tool.