"Village chief! You can't make a deal with him!"
"Yeah, village chief, if we deal with him now, Bran died for nothing."
"Village chief, please reconsider!"
Hearing the village chief's words, many villagers on the deck voiced their objections.
The village chief's expression darkened as he replied, "I know you oppose the deal because you want to go out to sea and see the outside world, but I can't risk everyone's lives to humor you.
I'll give you two choices: those who want to continue out to sea to the Grand Line can board that pirate ship themselves, and those who don't want to go can stay on this ship.
As for this Devil Fruit, it's the village's property, and how it's handled is the village's business, which has nothing to do with you."
The young people on the deck who had just objected fell silent.
A moment later, one young man took the lead and jumped onto that pirate ship.
Seeing this, the rest followed one after another.
A few minutes later, three-fifths of the villagers on the merchant ship had jumped onto that pirate ship, including two gunmen holding flintlocks.
Seeing this, the village chief sighed and instructed the others to bring the pirates onto this merchant ship.
Seeing this, Mosen quickly went to deal with the pirate with a 21-million-Beli bounty himself. Because he had used the ability of the Frozen Lineage Factor on this pirate, his body could not be handed over to the Marine Branch; it would be troublesome if someone figured it out, so it was best to keep only the head.
After the pirates were all brought onto this merchant ship, the village chief handed the Devil Fruit over to Mosen.
Mosen took the fruit and looked it up and down. This was his first time seeing a Devil Fruit, so he was naturally very curious.
This Devil Fruit looked like a set of biting steel teeth, but one couldn't feel any sharp points, and the texture was about the same as an ordinary apple, though it didn't smell like fruit at all.
"Mister, is this your first time seeing a Devil Fruit?" the village chief walked over and asked.
"Yeah, come to think of it, I got the better of you this time. As repayment, I'll escort you to a nearby Marine Branch."
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you for your help," the village chief said with some excitement.
With Mosen escorting them, they wouldn't have to worry about pirate harassment along the way.
"Right, Mr. Village Chief, do you know where I can buy a Log Pose and navigation charts?"
"I don't know about navigation charts, but as for Log Poses, I have a few right here. I just don't know if any of them point to where you're going." As he spoke, the village chief took a small box from his bosom.
Mosen opened the box, and there were five Log Poses inside.
Pointing to the five poses, the village chief said, "Among these five poses, the one on the far left is an Eternal Pose pointing to Fish-Man Island beneath the Sabaody Archipelago, and the rest are Log Poses. The one on the far right points to the Flower Country, and the middle one points to Water 7.
The remaining two are islands inside West Blue; one points to our Leo Island, and the other is Ohara."
"Aren't Log Poses unnecessary within the Four Blues?" Mosen asked, stunned.
"They aren't necessary, but Log Poses are more convenient than navigation charts! Besides, Ohara has extraordinary significance to us West Blue people, and Ohara's poses are also the best sellers around here."
"Extraordinary significance?"
"That's right. The island of Ohara holds a very special status in our West Blue. The overwhelming majority of people going out to sea for the first time will head to Ohara to pay their respects and see what the legendary world's largest library, the Tree of Knowledge, actually looks like.
I purchased this pose myself when I went out to sea to Ohara in my youth," the village chief said with a hint of sorrow.
Mosen could tell from the village chief's expression that this was also a man with a story.
Had he been his past-life self, Mosen would have been very willing to listen to the village chief's story, but now he had no interest in such things.
A day later, under Mosen's escort, the merchant ship successfully arrived at a nearby Marine Branch.
Along the way they ran into another bunch of pirates; this time the leader had a bounty of 13 million Beli. Mosen casually took care of this bunch of pirates and handed their corpses over to the village chief as well.
"That's the Marine Branch ahead. Go trade these pirates for money! I won't go with you. I'll borrow the life raft on the ship—farewell!" With that, Mosen lowered the life raft and left, rowing the small boat away.
For the following week, Mosen headed toward Ohara guided by the pose.
Along the way Mosen encountered several waves of pirates, and his vessel also transformed from a dilapidated life raft into a "luxury cruise ship."
"I wouldn't have guessed you guys were actually pretty rich!" Mosen stood at the entrance of this "luxury cruise ship's" storage room, pointing to a large box of Beli inside.
The pirates, beaten black and blue by Mosen, didn't dare to answer, terrified that Mosen would get displeased and wipe them out too.
After all, the captain who was invincible in their eyes couldn't even last a minute in this young man's hands, let alone small fries like them.
"Tell me, how much money is in here total?" Mosen asked.
"I-It's a total of 60 million Beli."
"Where did you scoundrels get so much money?" Mosen asked with keen interest.
"W-We just ransacked a town."
"It looks like your captain didn't die unjustly! I said it! Anyone who attacks others without asking questions is no good. Do you want to live?" Mosen asked expressionlessly.
"Yes, of course we do!"
"In that case, go on and steer the ship toward Ohara for me."
"O-Ohara! T-That place has been a bit turbulent lately, there are lots of Marines there!"
"What's to fear? I'm not a pirate." Having said that, Mosen paid those pirates no further mind and turned to go to the deck.
Guided by the pose, this sea area should be close to Ohara. Mosen pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed Dragon's number.
A moment later, Dragon's voice came through the receiver: "Hello~ is that Mosen?"
"It's me, Mr. Dragon. I've already arrived near Ohara and can reach Ohara in a day or two at most. What's the situation in Ohara right now?"
"Not very optimistic. Right now Ohara has been completely infiltrated by CP9, and there are Marines guarding the perimeter. I feel the World Government will likely carry out a purge of Ohara's scholars."
"Then, Mr. Dragon, have you found scholars to help you translate the Poneglyph?" Mosen asked.
"No, I haven't gone ashore on Ohara yet. The situation below is too complicated, and I'm afraid I'll be spotted by CP9 people the moment I step onto the island."
"Mr. Dragon, are you planning to wait until the World Government starts moving before sneaking up?" Mosen continued to ask.
"Yeah, this should be the best method. Given the World Government's style of operation, since they've put up such a massive front, Ohara is bound to undergo a major upheaval. There's sure to be chaos inside Ohara by then, and the more chaotic it is, the more suited it is for our operations."
Hearing this, Mosen furrowed his brow slightly. From a common-sense standpoint, Dragon's choice was correct; fishing in troubled waters really was the best handling method.
Yet Dragon didn't expect the World Government to be so ruthless as to directly launch a Buster Call on Ohara.
Mosen felt it necessary to give Dragon a heads-up, so Mosen asked directly, "Mr. Dragon, do you think there's any possibility the World Government will launch a Buster Call on Ohara?"
"A Buster Call? Probably not. Mosen, you're still young and might not know what launching a Buster Call entails; even the World Government wouldn't easily launch a Buster Call." Dragon thought about it and replied.
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