Transaction

The village chief's words silenced everyone.

Before they'd set sail, the village chief had already warned them that the outside world was dangerous.

Unlike their village, the outside world had no fortifications, and they couldn't call on the Marines for help. One wrong move, and a pirate crew could wipe them all out.

But at the time, they hadn't taken his warning to heart. The temptation of 100 million Beli was just too great. With that money, the village wouldn't have to worry about the Celestial Gold for many years, and their living conditions would improve considerably.

"My opinion is that we should turn back now! Bran is already dead. I can't take any more people to their deaths." The village chief broke the silence.

"No! If we go back now, won't Bran have died for nothing?" Charl was the first to object.

"That's right, Chief. We can't let Bran have died in vain." The villager who had just argued with Charl chimed in.

The other villagers also opposed turning back.

The village chief sighed. "Alas! I know you can't bear to give up that 100 million Beli, but we have to survive long enough to reach the Sabaody Archipelago!

"We're still in West Blue. We won't enter the Grand Line until we cross Reverse Mountain ahead, and from the entrance to the Grand Line to the Sabaody Archipelago will take at least several months.

"We don't know how many pirates we'll encounter along the way. Compared to the pirates of the Grand Line, the crew we just faced were nothing but ants.

"We couldn't even beat a bunch of ants, let alone the monster-like pirates waiting for us farther ahead."

"Since the journey ahead is so dangerous, why did you agree to let us set sail in the first place, Chief?" Charl asked.

"Because when I used to sail, the seas weren't this chaotic. At least in West Blue, it was rare to run into pirates. But now..."

"Now, because of the words Pirate King Roger spoke before his execution, the Great Age of Pirates has begun.

"Ordinary people who were oppressed by the Celestial Dragons and couldn't afford the Celestial Gold now have another way out. They're setting sail and becoming pirates, chasing the legendary One Piece.

"That's made these seas even more chaotic." Mosen, who had been silent until then, spoke up.

The village chief was taken aback and turned to look at Mosen. "And you are, sir?"

"Chief, he's the one who just saved us and took down that pirate crew," Charl quickly explained.

"I see. Sir, thank you very much for your help. We're villagers from Westmoon Village on Leo Island. If we hadn't run into you, that pirate crew would probably have wiped us all out."

"Please, there's no need to thank me. It was nothing."

"That small kindness saved our lives! May we know your name? If we're lucky enough to make it back alive, we'll be sure to repay you."

"So you've still decided to go to the Sabaody Archipelago?" Mosen asked.

The village chief sighed without answering. Mosen glanced over the villagers on deck. Some clearly wanted to turn back, but most still looked resolute.

Mosen understood now. Part of the reason these villagers had set sail was to sell the Devil Fruit for money, but more than that, they wanted to go to sea. They, too, had been inspired by the words Roger spoke before his death.

At that moment, Mosen finally understood just how deeply Roger's words had affected ordinary people in the world of pirates.

People who had once seen no hope had made the One Piece their hope. They'd chosen to put to sea in pursuit of the One Piece, in pursuit of their own hopes.

In a sense, the moment they chose to set sail, they had already changed their fate.

But would that change be for the better or the worse?

Turning a decaying world into one of total chaos could lead to only two outcomes:

First, the old, rotten order would crumble under the constant assault, and a new order would arise, bringing the world a new beginning.

Second, the chaos wouldn't be enough to shake the old order. In the end, everything would return to calm, and nothing would change. The only ones truly hurt would be the ordinary people who had been stirred up by Roger's vague promise of the One Piece and driven from their homes.

Mosen didn't agree with what Roger had done, but he understood his reasons.

One reason Roger had done it was that he was terminally ill by the time he turned himself in. He no longer had the strength or the time to make a more cautious change, so he could only choose this radical approach and use his life to set off a wave of change across the world.

Another reason was that Roger had learned certain secrets on the Final Island. Those secrets had told him that the opportunity to change the world would come more than twenty years later. That was why Roger had said they had arrived more than twenty years too early. Kozuki Oden's logbook also supported this.

All Roger could do was use his life to plunge the world into chaos and create an opportunity for change later—a case of resorting to drastic measures in troubled times.

"Sir, you just defeated that pirate crew. You must be very strong. Could I hire you?"

The village chief's words interrupted Mosen's thoughts.

"Hire me? I'm sorry, but I came to West Blue for something I need to take care of, and I won't be leaving anytime soon."

"I see. What a shame," the village chief said, disappointed.

"Though I can't accept your offer, I can make a deal with you." Mosen considered it for a moment before speaking.

"What kind of deal?" The village chief asked, surprised.

"The pirates who attacked your ship earlier had a captain with a bounty of 21 million Beli. With the rest of the underlings, their total bounties should add up to somewhere between 40 and 50 million.

"I can let you take them. Bring these pirates to a nearby Marine Branch, and you can collect their bounties."

"Then what would we have to give up?"

"The only thing of value you have is that Devil Fruit, right?"

"No way! That Devil Fruit is worth 100 million Beli. If we trade with you, won't we be losing 50 million for nothing?" one villager immediately objected.

As soon as he spoke, several other villagers chimed in, agreeing that a deal with Mosen would be a bad bargain.

The others disagreed. Their encounter with the pirates had already made them want to turn back. If they made a deal with Mosen, they could return with a large sum of money instead of risking their lives in the Grand Line. That seemed like a good choice, too.

Seeing the two sides about to start arguing again, the village chief quickly stepped in and quieted the villagers. Then he turned to Mosen. "Sir, you just saved our lives. It's only right that we repay you.

"You're interested in this fruit. By rights, we should hand it over to you, and we shouldn't take the pirates either, as a sign of our gratitude. But we've already lost one of our companions on this voyage. If we return with nothing, we won't even be able to provide for his family.

"So please forgive my audacity and let us trade the fruit for the pirates, so we can help support the village."

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