Dragon's Thoughts

"Village Chief! We can't make a deal with him!"

"That's right, Chief. If we make a deal with him now, Bran will have died for nothing."

"Chief, please reconsider!"

After hearing the Village Chief's words, many villagers on the deck voiced their opposition.

The Village Chief's expression darkened as he said, "I know you oppose the deal because you want to go out to sea, to see the world outside. But I can't risk everyone's lives for your adventure.

I'll give you two choices. Those who want to continue sailing to the Grand Line can go onto that Pirate ship themselves. Those who don't want to go can stay on this ship.

As for this Devil Fruit, it's the village's property. How it's handled is the village's business, not yours."

The young people on deck who had spoken out in opposition fell silent.

A moment later, one young man took the lead and jumped onto the Pirate ship.

Seeing this, the rest followed suit.

A few minutes later, three-fifths of the villagers on the merchant ship had jumped onto the Pirate ship, including two gunmen armed with flintlock pistols.

The Village Chief sighed at the sight and ordered the others to bring the Pirates onto the merchant ship.

Seeing this, Mosen quickly went to deal with the Pirate with a bounty of 21 million Berries himself. Because he had used the Frozen Lineage Factor ability on this Pirate, his body couldn't be handed over to the Navy branch. It would be troublesome if anyone found out, so only the head needed to be kept.

After the Pirates were brought onto the merchant ship, the Village Chief handed the Devil Fruit to Mosen.

Mosen took the fruit and examined it. It was his first time seeing a Devil Fruit, and he was naturally very curious.

This Devil Fruit looked like a set of biting steel teeth, but there were no sharp parts to be felt. Its texture was similar to an ordinary apple, but it had no fruity aroma.

"Sir, is this your first time seeing a Devil Fruit?" the Village Chief asked, walking over.

"Yes. Speaking of which, I've taken advantage of you this time. As repayment, I will escort you to a nearby Navy branch."

"Really? That would be wonderful! Thank you for your help," the Village Chief said excitedly.

With Mosen escorting them, they wouldn't have to worry about Pirate attacks along the way.

"By the way, Village Chief, do you know where I can buy Log Pose and navigational charts?"

"I don't know about navigational charts, but I have some Log Pose here. I'm just not sure if it points to where you're going." As he spoke, the Village Chief took out a small box from his pocket.

Mosen opened the box and found five Log Pose inside.

The Village Chief pointed to the five pointers and said, "Of these five pointers, the leftmost one is a permanent pointer pointing to Fish-Man Island, below Sabaody Archipelago. The others are Log Pose. The one on the far right points to the Land of Flowers, and the one in the middle points to Water 7.

The remaining two both point to islands within the West Blue. One points to our Leo Island, and the other to Ohara."

"Don't you not need pointers within the four seas?" Mosen asked, slightly taken aback.

"You don't, but pointers are more convenient than navigational charts! And Ohara holds special significance for us West Blue people. Ohara pointers sell the best here."

"Special significance?"

"That's right. Ohara holds a very special position in our West Blue. Most people on their first voyage will head to Ohara to marvel at what the legendary largest library in the world, the Tree of Knowledge, looks like.

I bought this pointer when I first went to Ohara in my youth," the Village Chief said with a hint of sadness.

Mosen could tell from the Village Chief's expression that he was also a man with a story.

If it were his past life, Mosen would have been very willing to listen to the Village Chief's story, but now he was no longer interested in such things.

A day later, under Mosen's escort, the merchant ship successfully arrived at a nearby Navy branch.

Along the way, they encountered another group of Pirates. This time, the leader had a bounty of 13 million Berries. Mosen dealt with them casually and handed their bodies over to the Village Chief.

"The Navy branch is up ahead. You can use these Pirates to exchange for money! I won't be going with you. I'll borrow the lifeboat from your ship. Goodbye!" With that, Mosen lowered the lifeboat and rowed away in his small boat.

For the next week, Mosen headed towards Ohara, guided by the Log Pose.

Along the way, Mosen encountered several waves of Pirates, and his ship transformed from a dilapidated lifeboat into a "luxury cruise ship."

"I didn't realize you guys were quite wealthy!" Mosen stood at the entrance of the "luxury cruise ship's" storage room, pointing at a large chest of Berries inside.

The Pirates, beaten black and blue by Mosen, didn't dare to reply, fearing that Mosen might get annoyed and kill them too.

After all, their invincible captain hadn't lasted even a minute in this young man's hands, let alone them, the small fries.

"By the way, how much money is there in total?" Mosen asked.

"It... it's a total of 60 million Berries."

"Where did you get so much money?" Mosen asked with interest.

"W-we just plundered a town."

"It seems your captain didn't die unjustly! I knew it! Those who attack others without reason are not good people. Do you want to live?" Mosen asked expressionlessly.

"Yes, of course we do!"

"In that case, then have your ship sail towards Ohara."

"O-Ohara! It's... it's been quite turbulent there recently. There are a lot of Navy ships around!"

"What are you afraid of? I'm not a Pirate." After saying that, Mosen stopped paying attention to the Pirates and went to the deck.

According to the Log Pose, they shouldn't be far from Ohara. Mosen took out his 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'm already near Ohara and will arrive in at most one to two days. What's the situation there now?"

"It's not optimistic. Ohara has been completely infiltrated by CP9, and the Navy is guarding the perimeter. I feel the World Government is very likely to purge the scholars of Ohara."

"Then Mr. Dragon, have you found any scholars to help you translate the Poneglyph?" Mosen asked.

"No, I haven't landed on Ohara yet. The situation below is too complicated. I'm afraid I'll be discovered by CP9 the moment I set foot on the island."

"Mr. Dragon, are you planning to sneak on after the World Government starts its operation?" Mosen continued to ask.

"Yeah, that should be the best plan. Judging by the World Government's usual style, they wouldn't make such a big fuss unless Ohara is definitely going to experience major upheaval. It will be chaotic inside Ohara, and the more chaotic it is, the more suitable it will be for us to act."

Mosen frowned slightly upon hearing this. Logically, Dragon's choice was correct; stirring up trouble to fish in troubled waters was indeed the best course of action.

However, Dragon hadn't expected the World Government to be so ruthless as to directly issue a Buster Call on Ohara.

Mosen felt it was necessary to remind Dragon, so he directly asked, "Mr. Dragon, do you think it's possible for the World Government to issue a Buster Call on Ohara?"

"Buster Call? It's unlikely. Mosen, you're still young and might not know what it means to issue a Buster Call. Even the World Government wouldn't do it lightly," Dragon replied after some thought.

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