What Did This Bastard Mean?

Although that's what he said, Xi Yan didn't really think so, because the bounties for Merry and Chopper were too strange.

Normally, a player with such strong individual combat ability shouldn't only have such a small bounty.

Especially Merry, she's capable of destroying a warship all by herself!

Even so, their bounty was still very low... which made Xi Yan feel that something was wrong.

He simply doesn't believe there's nothing fishy going on here.

But he couldn't say it directly, because that would easily hurt their Little Cutie.

So... all we can do for now is promise her the future.

'Speaking of which... could it be that the Navy did this on purpose?' Xi Yan muttered to himself.

However, Xi Yan rejected this idea as soon as it came to mind; the Navy shouldn't be that bored.

Really?

Merry looked at Xi Yan expectantly and said, "Will I really become a pirate with a bounty of one billion Beli one day?"

Looking at the little guy whose eyes seemed to be sparkling, Xi Yan touched his nose and said, "Really, so you should work hard."

"Yay!"

Merry happily put her hands on her hips and said, "I'll try my best!"

"One day, I, Merry, will become a great pirate!"

Hahaha~

Perona, who was drinking below, heard the voice, looked up at Merry in the air, and laughed, "Is our Merry going to become a great pirate?"

"Of course it's spicy!"

"Hala hala hala~"

Perona immediately laughed and said, "You can definitely do it!"

"That's right!"

Bartolomeo exclaimed, "Senpai Merry will become a world-renowned pirate sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, the main body of Xi Yan, who was not far away, chuckled and said, "Our Merry is already world-renowned."

How so?

"Because she can melt the whole world's heart with her cuteness!"

Hahaha~

"That's right!"

Everyone burst into laughter. They all agreed that the little girl, Merry, was indeed very cute.

Merry's face flushed red instantly. Why was Xi Yan acting like this?

Merry's reaction immediately made everyone laugh even harder.

Xi Yan is absolutely right, Merry's appearance is cute enough to melt the whole world!

"I'm not... I'm ignoring you guys."

Hahaha~

Happy times always pass quickly, and after a day-long banquet, everyone went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat Pirates followed Bartolomeo to his most prized pirate ship.

"Look, everyone!" Bartolomeo pointed proudly at his pirate ship and said, "This is my pirate ship, imbued with the scent of my Straw Hat Crew crew!"

"Its name is... Forward Luffy Senpai!"

"Profound!"

Looking at the huge statue at the bow of the ship, Luffy and Merry both showed excited expressions. This pirate ship is so cool!

"So cool!"

"What's so cool about it...?"

Perona's lips twitched. What was the meaning of hanging a statue of Luffy on the bow of their pirate ship?

Usopp nodded in agreement, then retorted, "Yeah, and... you guys are really weird... it's like Luffy has become one of your crew members."

"Senior Sniper King, I'm so happy to hear you praise me like that!"

Usopp:???

Seeing Bartolomeo's excited expression, Usopp opened his shark mouth and roared, "I wasn't praising you!"

He was clearly complaining!

"Hey, look at that!" Luffy pointed at the sheep model on the pirate ship, his expression becoming even more excited.

"You've got a very keen eye." Bartolomeo proudly raised his head and said, "This is what the Straw Hat Pirates ' first pirate ship looks like, and it's also your most important partner— the Going Merry!"

"That ship is the predecessor of Senior Merry, so... this is a tribute to Senior Merry!"

"Is that really me?"

Merry flew over quickly and examined it carefully from head to toe, feeling that they did indeed look somewhat similar.

but...

Am I that fierce?

Merry blinked; why did Bartolomeo look a little fierce?

No, I didn't.

Perona hugged Merry tightly, nuzzled her face, and said, "Our Merry is the cutest."

Although she had never seen what the Straw Hat Pirates ' first pirate ship looked like, she figured that since Merry was so cute, the ship couldn't possibly be that fierce.

"This is to make us look imposing, Senior Merry!" Bartolomeo grinned. "Don't you think this will intimidate a lot of pirates?"

"Um..."

Merry tilted her head. Although she didn't know if this would scare away the other pirates, since Bartolomeo liked to do it this way... then let him do it.

"Whatever makes you happy."

Ah~

"I..." Bartolomeo's tears welled up instantly as he said, "I'm so grateful that you understand me."

He was genuinely afraid that his move would anger Senior Merry.

Bartolomeo then wiped away his tears and continued, "Alright, let me continue explaining the ship."

As he spoke, Bartolomeo ran onto the pirate ship, pointed to a peculiar railing, and said, "Look at this curve! I had the craftsman make it specially for me."

"This is... Luffy's hand?" Usopp asked uncertainly.

"That's right!" Bartolomeo laughed and said, "I've perfectly recreated Luffy's rubber hand."

"That one behind... must be Chopper, right?"

"That's right, Robin -senpai has excellent judgment!"

Bartolomeo excitedly pointed to the huge deer head at the stern of the ship and said, "This is a tribute to Chopper's antlers."

"That Orange Tree up there... is that Nami?"

"Sniper King, you're absolutely right!" Bartolomeo gave Usopp a thumbs up and said, "This is a tribute to the Orange Tree that Nami planted in Cocoyasi Village!"

"Isn't this just an orange?" Zoro said, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

But thinking about it carefully, it really isn't easy to come up with something to pay homage to Nami, since that girl doesn't have anything particularly distinctive about her.

You can't just... put some Beli on it, that would be too outrageous.

"I'm so moved I'm crying," Franky said, sobbing. "This crazy design is so thoughtful, it's brimming with love!"

"Thank you for your appreciation, Franky- senpai!"

Bartolomeo and his brothers burst into tears, tears streaming down their faces.

This feeling of being recognized by my idol... it's just amazing!

Looking at the group of people weeping together, Usopp paused for a moment, then his lips twitched, and he retorted, "Has his insane heart already shaken your twisted heart, Franky?"

"You really know how to compliment people."

"I didn't praise you!" Usopp roared, opening his shark-like mouth.

Does any part of his statement sound like a compliment?

Unfortunately, these words meant nothing to Franky; instead, they only agitated the man further.

Usopp:...

Oh well, whatever.

"What truly moved us was this Vivre Card." Bartolomeo excitedly took out the transparent glass case containing the Vivre Card, saying, "This is Luffy- senpai's Vivre Card!"

With this, no matter where Luffy is, they will be able to find Luffy easily!

As for why the Vivre Card ended up in Bartolomeo's possession?

This was specially brought out when everyone parted, so that it would be convenient for everyone to get together in the future.

"Senior Luffy..."

Seeing Luffy smiling at them, Bartolomeo and the others burst into tears.

We are truly grateful for your presence on our ship.

"Boss, Luffy- senpai is so dazzling, I can't even open my eyes!"

"Me too!"

As they talked, these guys started crying even Lihai.

This scene made Luffy laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha."

"They're so funny."

"Is it interesting...?"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Usopp's face; he found it more absurd than amusing.

"Speaking of which..." Luffy said, taking out his Vivre Card, "I didn't expect Sabo to have made Vivre Card for me."

"As expected of the great master Sabo!" Bartolomeo laughed and said, "He's meticulous and capable, truly remarkable!"

He really owes a debt of gratitude to Sabo, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to obtain Luffy's Vivre Card.

"Sabo has always been amazing!"

Luffy smiled and nodded. Although they had been separated for many years, he still thought that guy was very strong.

"Bartolomeo." Luo glanced at Bartolomeo and said, "Now we need to hurry to Zou."

"Um?"

Bartolomeo glared at him and said, "Who are you talking to?"

This bastard isn't even a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, so what gives him the right to give orders?

Do you really think he's a former Shichibukai and that you'll be afraid of him?

Are you kidding me!

Thinking this, Bartolomeo was about to say something, but before he could speak, Zoro interrupted him, saying, "I'm counting on you."

"Yes, I'll leave it to you!" Bartolomeo said excitedly.

Since it was Zoro's order, he had no choice but to obey!

Then, Bartolomeo laughed and said to his men, "Men, full speed ahead of Zou!"

"Profound!"

The crowd roared and scattered in different directions, intending to reach Zou as quickly as possible.

"Oh, right..."

Bartolomeo seemed to have thought of something, turned to look at Zoro and asked, "Zoro- senpai, where is Zou?"

Zoro:???

So this guy didn't know?

"No, you're asking how this guy gets to Zou?" Xi Yan looked at Bartolomeo in disbelief, pointed at Zoro's face, and said, "This guy has no sense of direction, didn't you know?"

If Zoro were to give them directions, they might end up somewhere completely different.

He certainly didn't want to end up walking into Navy Base.

While they don't need to concern themselves with ordinary naval forces, it's best to avoid doing such things during this sensitive period.

Bartolomeo blinked upon hearing this. "Zoro- senpai is actually terrible with directions?"

As expected, you're quite different from others!

"Click!"

"What do you mean?"

Zoro's face immediately contorted with rage; was that bastard Xi Yan mocking him for being directionally challenged?

"You don't know what you mean?"

Xi Yan glanced sideways at the Green Algae Head, wondering if he still didn't realize his own limitations.

"Zoro, just accept your fate," Usopp chuckled. "After all, you really don't know your way around."

Zoro:...

No, these guys... how can they all be such scoundrels?

"Then you guys can show me the way!" Zoro said, annoyed.

"That's not our turn."

Xi Yan shrugged and said, "After all, we don't have Nami's Vivre Card or the Permanent Log Pointer for going to Zou, so this task naturally falls to Law."

"Luo?"

Zoro paused for a moment, then, as if struck by a thought, said, "Vivre Card...?"

Yes, Law did mention before that his partner was in Zou, so it makes sense that this guy has Vivre Card.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the other party has Permanent Log Pointer of going to Zou.

"Hmm, Vivre Card." Luo said expressionlessly, "Zou is a very special place. There's no Magnetic Field there, so Log Pointer is naturally useless."

After saying that, Luo took out a Vivre Card from his pocket and gestured for the other party to follow it.

But after considering the importance of this Vivre Card, he withdrew his hand.

"Um?"

Bartolomeo, who was just about to reach for it, suddenly had several question marks pop up above his head.

What does this guy mean?

Xi Yan seemed to have read Luo's mind and said, "Don't worry, once we get to Zou, I'll have Bartolomeo return your Vivre Card to you."

Xi Yan knew very well what the Vivre Card was for.

The reason Law did this was probably because he was afraid that Bartolomeo would use this to find the location of their pirate crew.

Although they are currently allies, as Luo said, their relationship will end sooner or later.

As a pirate, it's understandable that he needs to be on guard, and Xi Yan understands that.

"Oh, I see."

Bartolomeo immediately understood what Luo meant; so this bastard was afraid that he would use the Vivre Card against him in the future?

What a paranoid jerk!

"You think I want this thing of yours?" Bartolomeo said unhappily. "If it weren't for Luffy and his crew going to Zou, I wouldn't bother using it at all."

Do you really think he's interested in the Heart Pirates?

He didn't even take the other person seriously.

"Alright, you'd better shut up."

After taking the Vivre Card from Luo's hand, Xi Yan handed it to Bartolomeo and then continued, "We need to get going first."

"That's right, that's right, let's get going." Usopp said, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes, "I wonder how Sanji and the others are doing."

Did those guys make it to Zou safely?

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Xi Yan reassured him.

I hope so.

Usopp sighed silently. He hadn't made a single phone call in so long, and he was genuinely worried.

Never mind, let's talk about it when we get there.