No Change of Name, No Change of Surname!

The top-floor office gradually fell silent.

Xianuo casually tossed the Mouse's corpse aside like a rag doll. It landed squarely on the desk, its eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling in death.

Perhaps he had never imagined.

The very safe he cherished, the one he wished he could touch and polish every single day, would ultimately become the weapon that killed him.

"..."

The Den Den Mushi remained silent, merely puffing on a cigar.

"Good, good, good."

After a long while, a deep, magnetic voice finally spoke, "It seems the Mouse's worries were well-founded. The East Blue truly has hidden pirates. How audacious, to dare infiltrate a Marine base and murder its esteemed base commander!"

Was it assuming he was a pirate by default?

Or was it trying to extract information?

Xianuo glanced at it, too lazy to bother.

He simply tidied up the money in the safe and prepared to leave, saying casually, "Can't be helped. Who told him he had so much money? Let me see, there must be at least four to five hundred million Belly in this safe. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm rich!"

In reality, there wasn't that much. It was just a little over a hundred million in total. He was just messing with the fool.

"Four to five hundred million Belly?!"

The Den Den Mushi's eyes widened, and it jumped up in a rage, "Damn it, I knew that Mouse couldn't be trusted! He even dared to embezzle my money!"

It gritted its teeth and said, "Hey! Kid, if you've got the guts, tell me, who exactly are you! You don't have the guts to come to my door, kill someone, and provoke the Marines, but you don't have the guts to give your name?"

"Easy, easy."

Xianuo mimicked the tone of a storyteller, grinning as he said, "Your grandpa here doesn't change his name or his surname. I am Buggy the Clown. I was a crew member on the Roger Pirates' ship for a few years and traveled the New World. I just don't know if you have the guts to come and pursue this grandpa yourself!"

A crew member of the Roger Pirates?!

The person on the other end of the line gasped. No wonder the Mouse had been so timid before, and so certain that his opponent was a hidden powerhouse...

His identity was actually that terrifying?

There was such a great figure in the East Blue, and no news had spread for so many years. He was truly too good at hiding!

Just as he was about to say something, Xianuo abruptly hung up the phone.

He had already collected all the money into his backpack and then casually sacrificed the safe.

200 points received.

Considering the Mouse's character weight and strength, this was more than he had expected.

It seemed the Mouse truly loved his safe.

Before leaving, Xianuo remembered something. He took out a few red bean buns from his backpack, ate the outer bread, and scooped out the red bean filling.

Then he rolled it into a small red ball and stuck it onto the Mouse's nose with a pop.

"Done. If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way."

He nodded with satisfaction, then climbed out the window, stepped onto the roof, and disappeared into the night in a few leaps.

At the entrance of the building below, the two Marines on guard were completely unaware, yawning out of boredom...

--Swish!

In the morning light, Xianuo stepped onto the deck with a Geppo.

Scarred and the others, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly opened the bottom hatch of the Orange Garden and retracted the speedboat into the ship's cabin.

"Is everything settled with Branch 77?" Xianuo threw his backpack on the ground.

"Yes, boss. We've received all the Bounties."

Scarred nodded busily. "82 million Belly, not a single cent short. That Captain Mouse was really shameless, saying half the Bounty would be taken away. Oh, right, that guy now..."

Xianuo glanced at the two sisters who had come closer and raised an eyebrow without speaking.

Scarred immediately understood and didn't ask further. He couldn't help but marvel internally. He had finished his business and returned in less than two days. The boss's efficiency was too high...

"What? It's money again?"

An dissatisfied voice came from behind. Xianuo turned his head to look.

It was Nami, who had somehow sneakily opened his backpack. Her small face immediately fell, and she grabbed a handful of banknotes and threw them back.

"So boring. I thought you brought back some good food. Money, money, money. I'm annoyed just seeing these bills."

Money was the least of their worries at home!

Xianuo chuckled dumbly. These were not the words a Thief Cat should be saying. He couldn't help but reach out and flick her nose.

"Don't rush. We're going to Shimotsuki Village now. The amazing chef I mentioned to you last time is in that village. When we get there, you can ask for whatever you want to eat, and I'll have him make it all for you, okay?"

"Really!"

Nami's eyes lit up, and she began counting on her fingers, "Then I want seven dishes! Four... no, five desserts. For the main course, how about orange jam omelet rice..."

"I want tempura squid, and a super deluxe tamagoyaki!" Nojiko also excitedly raised her hand.

"Everything, everything."

Xianuo laughed heartily, ruffled his two younger sisters' heads, and waved his hand with high spirits, "Let's go, set sail! Full right rudder, next stop, Shimotsuki Village!"

During the few days it took the "Orange Garden" to sail towards Shimotsuki Village.

Two pieces of news were successively released, shaking the entire East Blue.

First, the Arlong Pirates, who had previously intruded into the East Blue from the Grand Line and caused widespread panic, were annihilated by a single swordsman.

Reporters had already confirmed at Marine Branch 77 that this swordsman was none other than Xianuo, who had previously won the Kendo Tournament on Asagiri Island.

This immediately awakened the memories of many East Blue residents; they had a strong impression of the clean-cut, dark-haired young man in the photo from back then.

Who would have thought that after only one year, his swordsmanship realm had already reached such a level? Even pirates from the Grand Line were no match for him!

For a time, Xianuo's deeds became a hot topic in the East Blue once again.

And as public opinion gradually fermented.

Unknowingly, the title he held had also shifted from being recognized by some as the "Strongest Swordsman of the Younger Generation" to the universally acknowledged "Strongest Swordsman of the East Blue."

The other piece of news was equally shocking.

Captain Mouse of Branch 16 was found dead in his office in broad daylight, his nose twisted into the shape of a circus clown as a form of provocation.

And the person who killed him was Buggy the Clown, with a bounty of 15 million Belly.

This wouldn't have been much, but Buggy the Clown himself revealed that he was once a crew member under Pirate King Roger!

Once his identity spread, there was an uproar in the East Blue. If Xianuo brought a sense of security and pride to the public, Buggy brought the exact opposite: extreme panic.

--What were the Marines doing! How could they allow such a notorious pirate 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, completely unprepared for the fact that such a large shark was hidden in the small pond of the East Blue.

They immediately responded urgently, issuing a new bounty, raising Buggy the Clown's bounty to 80 million Belly!

And they officially announced that they would dispatch a fleet personally led by a Vice Admiral from Headquarters to conduct a special crackdown on the Buggy Pirates occupying the East Blue!