A Person Must Rely on Themselves

"Judging by the direction it ran from, it seems to be from the tavern area too."

"Could it have seen what happened earlier and chased after us specifically to express gratitude?"

"Are animals in this pirate world really this intelligent?"

A flicker of contemplation passed through Will's eyes.

But this clearly wasn't something that could be figured out in a short time.

So he couldn't be bothered to think further and simply said, "Let's go. Don't mind it."

"Once those townspeople realize the pirates have stopped moving, they'll naturally come back to clean up the mess."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something else. He raised his hand from the huge bundle on his shoulder, pulled out two sausages, and tossed them toward the little dog.

Then Will didn't linger. He turned and continued walking toward the harbor.

Watching Will's tall retreating figure, Nami and Carina exchanged a glance, then smiled and quickened their pace to follow.

Woof woof!!

The little dog looked at the two sausages that had landed in front of it. It didn't eat them right away but gave two more soft barks toward Will before lowering its head to pick them up and start eating.

After a few bites.

A glimmer of intelligence flashed in its eyes. It turned and ran back toward the outskirts of town.

Some time later.

Led by the little dog Xiu Xiu and the mayor Buttel, who sported a poodle-like hairstyle, the townspeople hurriedly arrived at the town's harbor.

But by then, Will and his two companions had already set sail and left the harbor.

In truth, the townspeople had heard the commotion in town earlier.

But they hadn't dared to go check it out rashly.

It wasn't until the little dog Xiu Xiu suddenly ran over barking loudly that Mayor Buttel realized something was up.

So Mayor Buttel decisively led the townspeople back into town, only to discover that the Buggy Pirates had been completely taken care of.

Even that terrifying Clown Buggy was nowhere to be seen.

Then Xiu Xiu led the mayor and townspeople to the harbor, trying to find the benefactor who had saved the town.

Unfortunately, they were still a step too late.

"Hm?"

Mayor Buttel felt a deep sense of regret, but then he noticed with surprise that a large bundle had been left at the harbor.

He walked over and opened it, and his face filled with shock.

Because inside were nothing but gold and treasure, gleaming brilliantly under the sunlight.

"Oh? What's this?"

Then Mayor Buttel noticed with confusion that on top of the treasure lay a book that didn't seem particularly valuable.

But thinking it was likely something left by their benefactor.

Mayor Buttel didn't dismiss it. Instead, he carefully picked it up and opened it.

Reading the simple and straightforward content, he recited line by line from top to bottom:

"A man must rely on himself."

"Six Powers?"

"Such a kind heart, Captain Will."

Carina rested her chin on her hand, looking at Will, who sat silently drinking in a large chair nearby, and said with a warm smile:

"After helping the townspeople deal with those pirates, you even left behind a bag of treasure."

"Honestly, I've never met anyone like you."

"Even those so-called Marines, after wiping out pirates and seizing treasure, never voluntarily share it with civilians."

Nami, steering the helm, still felt a pang of regret over that bag of treasure in her heart, but she still acknowledged Will's actions:

"I think Will did the right thing. The Buggy Pirates didn't completely wreck the town."

"But those townspeople definitely had all their money stripped away. Leaving them some treasure will help that town recover faster."

"Uhehe." Carina glanced at Nami and smiled, unable to resist teasing:

"I don't really mind either way. I enjoy the process of getting treasure more."

"But I remember someone's eyes looking pretty reluctant when they saw that bag of treasure left at the harbor."

"Uh..." Nami's expression stiffened.

But she didn't bother to argue. She just snorted coldly and ignored that insufferable sly female fox.

At this moment, Nami seemed to remember something. She turned to look at Will and asked with a curious tone:

"By the way, Will."

"I saw you put a book in that bag of treasure back then. What was written in it?"

The corner of Will's mouth curled slightly as he said with profound meaning:

"Nothing much. Just giving those weak people a little ability to protect themselves."

"Ability to protect themselves?" Carina and Nami exchanged a puzzled glance, feeling somewhat confused by this.

Will didn't bother to explain further. He turned his head to look at the waves on the sea outside the ship and continued silently drinking the wine in his hand.

At the same time, he shifted his attention to the system panel.

[Acquired 1800 Purity Points]

[Purity Points: 25200]

Will was fairly satisfied with the gains from this battle.

After some consideration, he chose to consume 10000 Purity Points to perform a long-awaited ten-draw on the talent skill gacha.

[Acquired one instance of minor physique enhancement, one instance of minor mental enhancement]

[Acquired Skill: Explosive Clothes Amplification]

[Explosive Clothes Amplification: After clothes explode, one's aura and overall strength receive a certain boost.]

"I actually drew a skill. Looks pretty good."

Will was somewhat surprised by this, as it was his first time drawing a skill.

"Never thought clothes exploding could become a skill."

"Seems like these talents and skills don't always follow common sense."

"I'll find a chance to test it out later."

While feeling the minor enhancements to his physique and mind, Will took a large gulp of the Sherry Wine in his hand, a glimmer of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

On the other side of the story.

While Will was chatting and resting with Nami and Carina on the ship, Clown Buggy was having a rough time.

After flying out of the town and falling into the sea.

The land-lubber Buggy immediately snapped awake, then started frantically choking on water, eventually losing consciousness again.

When he woke up next.

He found himself washed ashore on some unknown island, his stomach bloated several times its normal size.

Pfft--!

Buggy pressed one hand on his belly, spewing out seawater like a fountain. After he finished, he stood up with a weary expression, looking around with confused eyes:

"Damn... where the hell did this blast wash me off to?"

"There's not a single person around."

Then Buggy walked to the edge of the jungle ahead, facing the sea, and carefully scanned left and right to see if anyone else was there.

But just then.

Buggy suddenly noticed a massive shadow appearing before him, completely engulfing his entire body. He instantly froze in place.

He quickly turned his head.

And immediately saw a gigantic, strange creature with a tiger's head and a bear's body, its mouth wide open and drool flying everywhere, lunging at him to bite!

Crunch--!

"Ahhh--! Help me--!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound of teeth clashing.

Just as he was about to be bitten, Buggy's whole body abruptly split into two halves to dodge, tears streaming from his eyes as he let out a loud roar!

Seeing the food that should have entered its mouth split into two pieces, then rejoin and run away.

The Tiger-Headed Bear stood dumbfounded on the spot, a look of pure confusion in its eyes.

Roar--!

But it didn't bother to think much. It immediately dropped to all fours, running and roaring as it chased after Buggy!

"Ahhh--! Don't chase me--!"

Buggy turned his head and saw this terrifying sight. He was so scared he couldn't help but shriek, tears shooting out instantly, and his pace quickened even more.

And so, one man and one beast, one chasing and one fleeing, plunged together into the jungle.

Beginning a contest of speed and stamina.