Heading to Reverse Mountain

The villagers left one after another. Colonel Mouse's face was as dark as water, and the Marines behind him shakily raised their guns and aimed them at Rodney.

"Oh? You're really going to do this? You're really going to shoot me? It'll be horrible. You might die." Rodney looked at them, a streak of scarlet gleaming in his eyes.

He released his illusion. The Marines with weak mental strength stiffened one after another, unable to move. It felt as if a ghost were pinning them down. They could only widen their eyes and stare at Rodney and the others in terror.

"You, you..."

Colonel Mouse could still move. Rodney had done that deliberately, so he could experience the fear.

"Don't even think about running." Rodney smiled. "Scum like you only cause trouble. Today, I'll bring justice on behalf of Heaven!"

"No! Don't kill me! I-I have money! I can give you all of it!" Colonel Mouse was so frightened that he dropped onto the ground and scrambled backward until he leaned against an orange tree.

His body trembled, his face was bloodless, and his crotch grew wet.

"What a coward." Rodney curled his lip. Still, his eyes really were frightening now. Aside from their powerful abilities, the Sharingan probably gave the highest boost to one's looks. It also carried a terrifying sense of oppression.

"Lord Rodney, what should we do with this man?" Big Slug Sister asked.

"Get rid of him. I can't stay here forever. To prevent future trouble, we might as well kill him now. As for how he died... The people of Cocoyasi Village never saw them." Rodney smiled.

He looked at Colonel Mouse and said, "After all, I'm not a demon. I'll give you a forty-meter head start."

"Ahhhhh!"

The moment he heard that, Colonel Mouse scrambled to his feet on all fours and sprinted forward as if his life depended on it.

"Now then..." Once Colonel Mouse had run far enough, Rodney grabbed a kunai and threw it at him.

"Argh!"

Colonel Mouse let out a scream as his chest was pierced. He collapsed and lay still.

"Th-this... Mr. Rodney, are you sure there won't be a problem?" Mr. Arlong asked.

"It'll be fine. If anyone comes asking, the villagers only need to agree that they never saw that man. As for them..." He walked over to the Marines.

"You've done plenty of wrong, but your crimes don't warrant death. Look into my eyes." The Three Tomoe in his eyes began to spin. The Marines' expressions grew dazed, and they collapsed one after another.

"What happened?"

"Don't worry. It's fine now. Once these people wake up, they'll leave on their own."

He used an illusion to alter the cause of Colonel Mouse's death. He had encountered a disaster at sea and been swallowed by a Sea King, dying in the line of duty. He hadn't come to Cocoyasi Village and been killed by Rodney. Instead, he had come to Cocoyasi Village to hide for a while from the disaster at sea, and the villagers had welcomed them warmly.

Yes, that was it. Unless someone skilled in hypnosis dispelled the illusion, it would remain forever and influence them. As time passed, they would come to believe it themselves.

It was a very simple application of illusion techniques. Unfortunately, it had no effect on people with firm wills or mental strength greater than his own.

Rodney rubbed his eyes, which felt somewhat sore. Because he was low on Chakra, he had Big Slug Sister dissolve Colonel Mouse's corpse with acid, destroying all evidence so that no trace could ever be found.

Although Nojiko and Nami were somewhat unwilling, there was nothing they could do now that Rodney had decided.

Three days later, Rodney's Chakra had completely recovered, and he was full of energy again.

He was heading to Reverse Mountain. The Mission Points he earned in East Blue were still too few. He needed to enter the Grand Line, and he would leave this place aboard the Arlong Pirates' ship.

The Shark Subab.

It was an incredibly ugly ship. Its bow even had a jagged, saw-like nose resembling Arlong's. It had no aesthetic value whatsoever.

Under Nami's guidance, Rodney's Shadow Clones began sailing the ship.

It was truly fortunate that they hadn't damaged the ship during the battle.

"Mr. Rodney, your ability is really useful. You're practically an entire pirate crew by yourself." Nami held a sea chart and compass, confirming their direction as she spoke with a smile.

Before entering the Grand Line, people in the Four Seas still used compasses to determine their direction. The magnetism here wasn't as powerful as that of the Grand Line, so compasses could still be used.

"It's all right." Rodney lay on a deck chair beneath a parasol, enjoying a chilled drink in comfort.

The Shark Subab cut through the waves with the wind at its back, while a Sea Cow pulled the ship from ahead.

The Sea Cow MooMoo was a Sea King that Arlong and the others had brought from the Grand Line. It was considered powerful even in East Blue. Unfortunately, it had run into Rodney and been knocked unconscious. When it woke up and discovered that the Arlong Pirates were gone, it had let itself go. A few days ago, it attacked the dried fish the villagers of Cocoyasi Village had laid out by the sea, so Rodney captured it and put it to work.

With a lump on its head, the Sea Cow MooMoo wanted to cry but had no tears. It had only wanted to find something to eat. How had it ended up encountering such a calamity?

Damn it, why was its luck so terrible?

Nami held up the sea chart. "Mr. Rodney, we'll go to Loguetown first and exchange Arlong's bounty. Then we'll find a way to sell this ship, buy a smaller one, and take you to Reverse Mountain. That's roughly the route."

Rodney nodded. "No problem. You arrange everything."

If Nami's strength hadn't been so weak, making it difficult for him to protect his companions when he encountered powerful opponents at sea, and if only he could refine Chakra and couldn't teach it to others, he would have taken Nami with him. Having a navigator at sea could avoid quite a few dangers. Besides, Nami would grow into a great beauty later...

Forget it...

He painfully threw away several hundred million and shook his head. He would consider this an act of goodwill.

Then he continued sunbathing.

They ate braised Sea King for lunch, with Sea Cow MooMoo eating the most. After all, it was doing physical labor, and they couldn't exactly refuse to feed it. They had dinner at the sea restaurant Baratie.

They happened to encounter it along the way, so he took Nami there for a wonderful meal.

During the meal, the lecherous chef Sanji prepared a great deal of food for Nami, but most of it ended up in Rodney's stomach. Nami was a beautiful girl who didn't fight, so she didn't expend much energy and couldn't eat that much. Naturally, the rest went to Rodney.

Well, Sanji's cooking was pretty good...

This made Sanji furious and extremely dissatisfied. He almost picked a fight with Rodney by himself.

In the end, Nami was the one who settled it.

"Yesterday's dinner was so good," Nami said, still savoring Sanji's cooking.

Rodney held a packet of spicy strips. He had asked one of Baratie's chefs to make them for him the previous night. There weren't many, but they tasted excellent. He handed them to Nami and asked, "Want some?"

"Thanks."

"So spicy, but so fragrant..." Nami immediately fell in love with the flavor. As the two chatted, they finished the packet of spicy strips.

Over the course of the day, the two of them chatted on the ship, ate, played cards, and read newspapers and novels.

Life at sea really was boring...

With Nami by his side, Make Out Paradise wasn't much fun. She was still underage, after all...

And so, the two of them continued like that until they reached Loguetown.

They exchanged Arlong's bounty with Smoker and sold the Shark Subab as well. In accordance with their earlier agreement, Rodney split the bounty with Nami, then bought a small, light boat and headed for Reverse Mountain.

The Shark Subab was simply too large. Nami couldn't operate it by herself, so they might as well sell it.

Rodney obtained the sea chart to Reverse Mountain from Smoker. That bastard had been reluctant to hand it over, afraid that Rodney would become a pirate after entering the Grand Line for some reason.

In his eyes, Rodney might become a pirate. He had no sense of justice, only an intense desire for money. If someone like that became a pirate, he would definitely be the slippery sort—an enormous nuisance who would cause the Marines plenty of trouble.

Still, Smoker eventually gave it to him. Although such charts were rare in East Blue, they weren't impossible to find. If Rodney couldn't get one from him, he could get one somewhere else.

With the sea chart in hand and Nami guiding him, Rodney and the others reached a place where they could see Reverse Mountain.

It was there that Rodney told Nami to stop. If they got any closer, the current would carry away the boat, and things would become troublesome.

"Goodbye, Nami." Standing atop Sea Cow MooMoo's head, he waved to Nami on the boat.

"Goodbye, Mr. Rodney. In a few years, I'll go to the Grand Line too and draw a sea chart. When that happens, you'll have to be my backer."

"Deal!" Rodney waved his hand and had Sea Cow MooMoo swim toward Reverse Mountain.