Straw Hat Obtained

"Is there any other way?"

Luffy, tied to a stone pillar, yelled in frustration, "Of course, we fight! What's the use of hiding in the mountains, old man! Everyone should unite and deal with those detestable noble bastards, and beat them all into the sky!"

It hadn't been long since Sabo's incident, and he still remembered it clearly!

"..." Scarred glanced at Luffy, sighed, and didn't reply.

"Stop shouting nonsense."

Xianuo frowned and patted Luffy's face with his scabbard, "Adults are talking, what is a child doing interrupting."

This unlucky kid, how could he be so thoughtless even after the Five Emperors era.

The Kingdom Army was well-equipped and backed by the World Government; ordinary people couldn't possibly resist.

Even if all the Mountain Bandits in the Colbo Mountains were gathered, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

In a world where power belongs to individuals, resistance from the bottom up is even more difficult, often appearing like a joke.

What was the point of gathering hundreds of thousands or millions of people?

Could they withstand Conqueror's Haki?

Could they afford lava falling from the sky?

A single spark can start a prairie fire, but it simply wouldn't work on this sea. Only a small handful of strong individuals could reach the pinnacle of power and bring about change from the top down.

This was also the main reason why he had never been very interested in joining the Revolutionary Army.

Of course, he didn't agree with their methods.

After all, feeling their way across the river was understandable, and it was commendable that they had maintained their original intentions and taken action for so many years.

In this world that was already bad, having such a group of people was quite rare.

"How many people do you have in total?" Xianuo turned to Scarred and asked.

"Thirteen, including me."

Scarred's expression was dejected, "That night, I originally pulled over twenty people from the sea of fire, risking my life, but the old, the young, women, children, and those who were already ill, ultimately couldn't survive in the harsh conditions of the mountains..."

The other "Mountain Bandits" also showed sadness and lowered their heads.

"You've already done enough," Xianuo shook his head.

The man looked to be only in his early twenties.

When disaster struck, he didn't flee for his own safety but chose to rescue people everywhere. After entering the mountains, to protect these poor civilians, he dared to impersonate a wanted Mountain Bandit, risking danger. He was a man.

He looked around.

The remaining dozen or so people, if they continued to struggle to survive in these mountains, the outcome probably wouldn't be much better.

They would either die from various causes or completely abandon their moral principles and become true Mountain Bandits.

It didn't matter if he hadn't encountered them, but seeing them with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Xianuo pondered for a moment, recalling the four hundred million Belly he had in the bank.

He hadn't intended to withdraw this money, planning to let it earn interest and use it to pay for shipbuilding once he officially set sail.

Now, a plan was vaguely forming.

"Honestly, if I were still penniless, I definitely wouldn't want to get involved with you, and I wouldn't have the ability to,"

Xianuo looked at Scarred and shrugged slightly, "But there's nothing I can do, since I can barely be considered a rich man now, so there should be a way to help you."

"Rich man?"

Luffy's eyes lit up instantly, "So you're very rich, old man? Are you going to give them money? Can you give me some too? I'm also very short on money!!!"

The meals he had with Ace and Sabo at the shops below the mountain were all on credit, and he hadn't paid them yet!

"Old man, my foot!" Xianuo couldn't take it anymore and slapped him, "I'm not that much older than you, if you want to flatter me, you should call me big brother!"

"Oh..." Luffy rubbed the red palm print on his face aggrievedly.

"Pay your own debts!"

After glaring at Luffy irritably, Xianuo looked at the surrounding poor civilians, his eyes filled with thought.

He wasn't planning to just hand out money as Luffy suggested.

After all, they were meeting for the first time, with no emotional foundation. Giving money directly out of pity would be too strange.

Moreover, giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish.

"I have an orange orchard, and I'm planning to expand its scale. I'm short on manpower and need to hire some employees."

He glanced at the Straw Hat on Luffy's head, "I happen to be planning to go home today. Why don't you all leave Goa Kingdom and come back with me? You can settle down there from now on, what do you say?"

He spoke rather vaguely.

In his actual plan, he intended to withdraw tens of millions of Belly, and the rest would remain as his travel fund.

He wasn't just planning to expand the orange orchard, but also to set up several family-style workshops for secondary processing of the harvested citrus.

The citrus produced in Cocoyasi Village was of really good quality; its taste was far inferior to the Pazi and Ugly oranges he had eaten in his previous life.

But the purchase price for primary agricultural products was also really low.

Otherwise, Bellemere wouldn't have been busy managing the orange grove all year round, but before he grew into the pillar of the family, he was so poor he couldn't even afford new clothes for Nami.

And according to his plan, processing high-quality oranges into various salted, sugared products, such as canned goods, jams, and preserves, before selling them would significantly increase their added value.

The daily management of the workshop could be left to Scarred, and Bellemere could be idle if she wished, or continue to tend to her beloved orange grove if she wanted to be busy.

Limited by geographical location and trade channels, they might not make much money.

But while improving their family's financial situation, it would be more than enough to support these starving people and allow them to become self-sufficient.

"R-really, is it possible?!"

Scarred was stunned for a moment, then couldn't suppress his excitement and grabbed Xianuo's hands, "Sir, you are truly willing to take us in and give us a job?!"

"Yes, have everyone pack up. We'll leave together shortly."

Xianuo nodded slightly, "Don't worry about the boat fare, I'll cover that too."

"That's great!"

"We're saved, we're saved!"

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"

The surrounding starving people were initially disbelieving.

It wasn't until Xianuo confirmed it that their long-suppressed emotions erupted. Some cried, some knelt on the spot, and others silently shed tears and hugged each other in relief.

Winter had already arrived, and they had been living in the mountains, constantly on edge, filled with fear, unable to eat their fill or stay warm. Life had been incredibly difficult.

"Thank you so much, thank you so much..."

Scarred's voice choked, "You've saved the lives of more than a dozen of us. I, I'm not good with words, but in short, sir! My life belongs to you from now on! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it!"

"Sir, us too!" The poor people around echoed loudly.

"Wuwuwu." Luffy was also crying beside them, "Can you untie me first, uncle? I can't wipe my tears, it feels so uncomfortable."

Xianuo glanced at the kid speechlessly and drew the Masamune sword from his back.

Swish-swish.

A flash of the blade, and the hemp ropes binding Luffy's limbs were instantly cut.

"Wow, what amazing swordsmanship!"

Luffy moved his wrists, marveling at the sword's precision, when suddenly blood spurted from both his arms simultaneously. Startled, he cried out in panic and hastily tore his shirt into strips to bandage the wounds, "Ah! You even cut my skin!"

"..."

Xianuo coughed to cover his embarrassment, turned back, and sheathed his sword. He then looked at the dark-skinned man before him.

"Xianuo," he said, "What's your real name? What should I call you from now on?"

"Just call me Scarred."

The other man shook his head and said sincerely, "To be honest, I was a guard raised in a noble family. The butler gave me a name casually, and I never liked it. Scarred, on the other hand, I've gotten used to it after a few months. I might as well live with this name from now on."

"Alright, Scarred! Bring your important belongings. We're leaving now!"

Xianuo laughed heartily.

As everyone began to get busy, he shifted his gaze back to Luffy. Before leaving, this most important matter, how could he possibly forget it?

"It hurts, Uncle Xianuo!"

Luffy pointed indignantly at the wounds on his arms, "When you cut the ropes, couldn't you have aimed a little better? You've made me not even want to thank you for saving me!"

Of course, he was just saying that.

Luffy actually had a good impression of this guy who appeared and immediately helped these starving people out of their predicament. And besides, he was finally free!

No longer having to rack his brain trying to figure out how to hunt to repay ten times the amount of roasted meat.

"My apologies, my swordsmanship is indeed not well-honed."

Xianuo smiled slightly, "As compensation, I'll show you a little magic."

"Magic?!!"

Luffy's spirits immediately lifted, and he struck a classic monkey stance on the table, "Okay, okay!"

And so...

The next second, under the boy's dumbfounded gaze, Xianuo suddenly reached out and took the Straw Hat from his head.