Whiskey Peak

The sailing days were still the same, but unlike before, Laboon's body was large enough to be inside its stomach.

The blue sky and white clouds overhead were painted by Crocus out of boredom. It wasn't dark, but very bright. It was unknown what kind of paint he used that wasn't corroded by Laboon's stomach acid.

The light blue stomach acid was as wide as a lake, with a small island floating in the center. A small wooden house was built on the island, and a coconut tree was planted next to the house.

Several pieces of clothing were hung on a clothes rack between the tree and the wooden house.

If you ignored the noise, this place would be suitable for a relaxing vacation.

As for why it was noisy?

Because Rodney had created a group of Shadow Clones who were training in Rokushiki and Fish-Man Karate.

His current Chakra allowed him to create hundreds of Shadow Clones in one go, each training and bringing their experience back to him, gaining a geometrically increasing training speed. A training accelerator, terrifying!

Crocus couldn't help but exclaim, "Young people these days are truly surprising. Just the ability to walk on water is amazing enough. I wonder what kind of Devil Fruit this kid ate?"

So many abilities: prophecy, healing, clones, walking on water... he must have more tricks up his sleeve. If these abilities are developed properly, this kid will definitely have a place in the sea one day.

He suddenly felt like he was being abandoned by the times, no, he couldn't keep up with the times. This kind of tricky ability was terrifying even in their era. It's just that the clones are too weak, otherwise, he could dominate the sea with just this clone ability. No wonder this kid said that no one could catch him if he wanted to.

He refocused his attention on the book in his hand, his gaze gradually deepening. "Hmm, this author is really awesome. As I read, even this old man feels his blood boiling!"

"Jiraiya? Truly a remarkable author."

Laboon swam in the deep sea, following the direction Crocus pointed. With its massive size, those creatures several times larger than the Sea Kings of the East Blue didn't dare to cause trouble. The unpredictable weather on the sea surface didn't need to be considered either. No matter how big the waves were on the surface, they couldn't affect the depth of several hundred meters below.

This depth was shallow for Laboon.

"Woo~"

Before long, Laboon rose from the sea. Crocus poked his head out of the valve on its back. Land had already appeared in the distance, a large island with many giant spherical cacti, covered in a thin mist, making it look somewhat hazy.

He glanced at the Log Pose on his wrist and said to Rodney, who had just come up, "Rodney, the Log Pose's magnetism isn't strong enough. We need to pause here and store magnetism." Because Rodney was still learning, this was still in Crocus's hands for the time being.

Each island has a different magnetic force. The Log Pose needs to record in the local area for a period of time and only point to the next island after it is full of magnetic force, so they have to wait here for a while, but it is not known how long they will have to wait. It may be a few hours, or it may be a year, the time is uncertain.

"We haven't been traveling for many days," Rodney said. "Is it that fast?"

"Haha, don't underestimate Laboon's speed. It's very fast. Laboon's size means it can only stay in the deep sea area and cannot enter the shallow sea area, so only the two of us can go up first."

He patted Laboon's skin. "Laboon, we're going up first. We'll set off again when the magnetism is full."

"Woo~" Laboon called out in response.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Rodney." He threw out a rope and took out a piece of wood similar to a surfboard.

"Easy."

Rodney tied the rope around his waist and jumped off Laboon's back before Crocus.

He landed steadily on the sea surface, "Soru!"

With a whoosh, he took Crocus and dashed across the water, while Crocus pulled the rope, and the wooden board acted as a surfboard, cutting through the waves at an extremely fast speed towards the island ahead.

Before long, they landed on the shore. Crocus said, "This is Whiskey Peak. I know it, but I haven't been here much."

Whiskey Peak is relatively close to Twin Capes, but only in terms of location. He doesn't know what the specific situation is here.

He doesn't know, but Rodney does.

This is a town that welcomes pirates, but in reality, it is a gathering place for bounty hunters and a subordinate branch of the secret criminal organization Baroque Works.

He smiled slightly and said, "Old man, let's go take a look at the town first. Since it's called Whiskey Peak, I wonder if they have any whiskey."

"That's true," Crocus agreed. Most of the pirates on the sea are alcoholics and yearn for good wine.

The old and the young walked together towards the town under the giant spherical cacti.

Because they came in a low-key manner, there was no scene of townspeople welcoming them on both sides of the road, but two unfamiliar faces entering this town would still attract the attention of others.

In the dark, a person holding Rodney's previous wanted poster said, "Joestar J. Rodney, a bounty hunter from the East Blue, with a bounty of three million Belly. He can be considered a fat sheep. I don't know who the old man next to him is."

It's a pity that he doesn't know that Rodney's wanted poster at the Marines has been revoked by Garp's people. This wanted poster is useless.

This wanted poster was obtained before, but it's a pity that the speed at which the wanted poster was revoked was a bit fast, and they don't know the specific information yet.

The bounty hunters in the town have already set their sights on Rodney, wanting to capture him and earn a bounty from the Marines.

"Then let's prepare a banquet and give this bounty hunter a wonderful evening."

"No problem." They gathered together and smiled, sounding like they weren't good people.

They have always been like this. Knowing that their strength is weak, they decided to gather together, use the arrogance of this group of people, deceive them, and let these newbies who don't know the dangers of society suffer a beating.

Many young and inexperienced pirates have become their prey and exchanged for bounties.

It's a pity that Rodney knows their true colors, and he's also acting with an old veteran.

Rodney and Crocus didn't wander around for long before they were surrounded by a group of people. Their faces were full of longing, and one of them asked expectantly, "Excuse me, are you two pirates?"

So, they're here?

Crocus chuckled, "This old man was a pirate for a few years before, but now, I'm retired."

"Wow, why is the old man retiring? Pirates are heroes of the sea!" someone asked.

"I'm getting old, and my body can't take it anymore," Crocus said with a smile. He felt strange in his heart. Pirates didn't have a good reputation on the sea. He had come up that way himself, and it was impossible for anyone to welcome and worship pirates like this. It was good if they didn't run away when they saw them.

This was the first time he had seen a town that welcomed pirates. Something felt strange.

"Is that your grandson next to you?"

Rodney: "..."

He kept the smile on his face and didn't say anything.

Before Crocus could answer, the man immediately started flattering him, "Your grandson must be a very powerful pirate, right?"

Rodney continued to smile, listening to these people flattering him. Crocus originally wanted to explain, but seeing the smile on his face, he felt like he was holding back something bad, so he didn't say anything.

At this time, Rodney spoke, "Actually..." He drew out the word, attracting everyone's attention, "...I'm a Bounty Hunter."

Everyone: "..."

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. The guys who didn't know the truth didn't know what to say. Their flattery had completely missed the mark.

With an eerie silence, Crocus laughed and left with Rodney.

"Damn it! This kid is playing us!"

"That's right, but we have to find a way to catch them!"

"Isn't he a Bounty Hunter like us? He's not worth any money!"

"No, you're overthinking it. Looking at that cheap-looking face of his when he smiles, I especially want to punch him in the face for some reason."

"Count me in."

"Yeah, yeah, me too."

"Me too!"