The top-floor office gradually fell silent.
Xia Nuo casually tossed the rat's corpse aside like a discarded rag doll. It landed sprawled across the desk, its dead eyes still glaring at the ceiling.
Perhaps he had never imagined that the safe he had treasured so dearly, the one he could not resist touching and polishing every day, would ultimately become the weapon that killed him.
"..."
The Den Den Mushi remained silent, merely puffing away at its cigar.
"Good, good, good."
After a long while, a deep, magnetic voice finally sounded. "Looks like Rat was right to be worried. There really are pirates hiding their strength in the East Blue. What unbelievable nerve—to break into a Marine base and murder the base commander!"
Is he taking it for granted that I'm a pirate?
Or is he trying to sound me out?
Xia Nuo glanced at it and could not be bothered to say more.
He quickly gathered up the money in the safe and prepared to leave, saying casually, "Can't be helped. Who told this guy to be so rich? Let me see... There must be at least four or five hundred million Berries in this safe. Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a fortune!"
In reality, there was nowhere near that much. Altogether, it was only a little over one hundred million—he was purely messing with the idiot.
"Four or five hundred million Berries?!!"
The Den Den Mushi's eyes really did widen. It leaped up in fury. "Damn it, I knew that Rat couldn't be trusted! He even dared to pocket my money!"
Then it ground its teeth and said, "Hey, brat! If you've got the guts, tell me who you really are! Don't tell me you have the nerve to come to my doorstep, kill someone, and provoke the Marines, but not the courage to give me your name!"
"Of course, of course."
Xia Nuo mimicked the theatrical tone of a storyteller and said with a grin, "Your uncle never changes his name or surname. I am Buggy the Clown! I served as a crew member aboard the Roger Pirates for several years and even traveled throughout the New World. I wonder if you have the guts to come capture your uncle in person!"
"A crew member of the Roger Pirates?!"
The person on the other end sucked in a sharp breath. No wonder Rat had been so timid earlier, yet so certain that the other party was a hidden powerhouse...
His identity was actually that terrifying?
There was such a mighty figure in the East Blue, and not a single word about him had gotten out all these years. He had hidden himself far too well!
Just as he was about to say something, Xia Nuo had already slammed the phone down.
The money had all been stored in his backpack. Xia Nuo then casually sacrificed the safe as well.
Two hundred points were credited.
Considering Rat's character weight and strength, receiving this many points was already beyond his expectations.
It seemed Rat really had loved his safe.
Before leaving, Xia Nuo suddenly remembered something. He took several red-bean buns from his backpack, wolfed down the outer bread, and dug out the red-bean filling.
He then kneaded it into a small red ball and slapped it onto Rat's nose.
"Done. If you're going to put on a show, you have to see it through."
Only then did he nod in satisfaction. He climbed out through the window, stepped onto the roof, and vanished into the night after a few leaps.
Down below, at the entrance to the building, the two Marines on guard remained completely unaware. They were even bored enough to raise their hands and yawn...
--Whoosh!
Beneath the dawn's first light, Xia Nuo used Geppo to land on the deck.
Man Scar and the others had been waiting for a long time. They hurriedly opened the bottom hatch of the Orange Garden and hauled the speedboat back into the hold.
"Is everything at Branch 77 taken care of?" Xia Nuo tossed his backpack onto the ground.
"Yes, boss. The entire bounty has been handed over to us."
Man Scar nodded repeatedly. "Eighty-two million Berries, not a single coin short. That Rat Colonel really had no shame lying through his teeth, claiming most of the bounty would have to be divided up. By the way, that guy now..."
Xia Nuo glanced at the two sisters who had come over and raised his eyebrows without saying anything.
Man Scar immediately understood and did not ask further. He could not help clicking his tongue in amazement. They had finished everything and returned in less than two days. The boss's efficiency was simply too high...
"What? Why is it money again?"
The dissatisfied voice came from behind. Xia Nuo turned around.
At some point, Nami had sneaked over and opened his backpack. Her little face fell at once. She grabbed a handful of banknotes and tossed them back inside.
"How boring. I thought you had specially brought back something delicious, big brother. Money, money, money! I'm sick of seeing these banknotes."
Their family had no shortage of money at all!
Xia Nuo laughed helplessly. That was hardly something the Thief Cat should be saying. He could not resist reaching out and flicking her on the nose.
"Don't rush. We're heading to Shimotsuki Village right now. That amazing chef I mentioned last time lives in that village. When we get there, tell him whatever you want to eat, and I'll have him make it all for you, okay?"
"Really!"
Nami's eyes lit up. She began counting on her fingers. "Then I want seven dishes! Four... no, five desserts. For the main course, I'll have orange-jam omurice..."
"I want squid tempura, and an extra-luxurious tamagoyaki!" Nojiko raised her hand excitedly.
"We'll have them all, we'll have them all."
Xia Nuo laughed heartily and ruffled both sisters' heads. Then, full of confidence, he waved his hand and gave the order. "Let's go! Set the helm hard to starboard. Next stop, Shimotsuki Village!"
During the several days that the Orange Garden sailed toward Shimotsuki Village,
two pieces of news spread one after another, causing a sensation throughout the entire East Blue.
First, the Arlong Pirates, who had broken into the East Blue from the Grand Line some time ago and thrown everyone into a panic, had actually been wiped out single-handedly by a swordsman.
A reporter had already confirmed the news at Marine Branch 77. The swordsman was none other than Xia Nuo, who had once won the Kendo Tournament on Asagiri Island.
This immediately awakened the memories of many people in the East Blue. They still remembered the clean-cut, handsome black-haired youth from those photographs.
Who would have thought that in just one year, his swordsmanship would have reached such a level? Even pirates from the Grand Line were no match for him!
For a time, Xia Nuo's exploits once again became a hot topic throughout the East Blue.
As public opinion gradually fermented,
his reputation also changed without anyone realizing it. He went from being the "strongest swordsman of the younger generation," a title acknowledged by only some people, to the universally recognized "strongest swordsman in the East Blue."
The other piece of news was just as shocking.
Colonel Rat, the commander of Branch 16, had been found dead in his office in broad daylight. His nose had even been pinched into the shape of a circus clown's nose as a provocation.
The person who killed him was Buggy the Clown, whose bounty stood at fifteen million Berries.
That alone would not have been anything special, but Buggy the Clown had taken the initiative to reveal that he had once been a crew member under the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!
When his identity spread, the East Blue erupted in an uproar. If Xia Nuo had given the people a sense of security and pride, then Buggy had brought the exact opposite: extreme panic.
--What the hell are the Marines doing?! How could they allow a pirate with such a background to operate in the East Blue!
The royal families of several countries, including the Goa Kingdom, jointly pressured Marine Headquarters. Marine Headquarters was caught off guard as well. They had never expected that such a small pond as the East Blue could conceal such an enormous shark.
They immediately responded with emergency measures and issued a new bounty, raising Buggy the Clown's bounty to eighty million Berries in one stroke!
They also officially announced that they would dispatch a fleet personally led by a Vice Admiral from Headquarters to carry out a special purge of the Buggy Pirates, who were entrenched in the East Blue!
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