Long Time No See, Major Nezumi

But it was hard to say.

The thought had barely crossed Dunn's mind when he shook his head.

He knew what this world was really like. The Red Line and the Grand Line crossed in bands, dividing the world into four seas.

But compared with the East, West, North, and South Blues, the Grand Line wasn't all that large.

Of course, that was only in comparison with the Four Blues.

The Marines had only limited control over the Four Blues. After all, they focused their efforts on the Grand Line.

With so much sea in the Four Blues, the Marine Branches alone couldn't completely clear out the pirates. The sea was simply too vast.

Or rather, the islands Monkey D. Luffy had visited on his adventures were only a tiny corner of the East Blue.

Dunn forced himself to step out of the story.

This was a real world.

A world where people killing people was nothing unusual.

"Sir!"

As Dunn was trying to talk himself through it, the female captain brought over the pirates who had regained consciousness, along with her crew.

"You bastards! You actually dared to capture me? Admiral Krieg won't let you get away with this!"

The pirate roared as they dragged him over, but when he saw Dunn, fear flickered in his eyes.

Dunn's blow earlier had shown him just how vast the difference between them was.

Now he hoped to use Krieg's name to intimidate them.

"Krieg?"

Dunn was taken aback. He stared at the pirate, who was still preparing to bluster.

"Scared now, huh? If you are, then hurry up and let me go! Otherwise, when Admiral Krieg gets here, everyone will die—including you!"

At Dunn's words, the pirate assumed Krieg's name had frightened him and threatened him again.

Dunn's expression barely changed, but in his mind, he saw the enormous ship split in two by Hawkeye's sword.

A pirate crew of five thousand had encountered the sea-roaming Hawkeye just after entering the Grand Line. Bored, Hawkeye had chased them all the way back to the East Blue.

Of course, that had happened in the story, and it was the first time the story had shown how powerful a great swordsman could be.

Or rather, Hawkeye was the first top-tier powerhouse to appear in the story.

So those scenes had left a deep impression on Dunn.

But now Krieg had already formed a pirate crew in the East Blue?

Dunn fell into thought. Seeing that Dunn didn't react, the bound pirate struggled furiously.

"Let me go! Aren't you afraid of Admiral Krieg?"

"Do you know where Krieg is?"

The pirate interrupted Dunn's train of thought. He looked up and calmly stared at him.

"As a great pirate, Admiral Krieg is naturally sailing aboard the Dreadnaught Sabre to conquer islands."

Dunn's question made the pirate answer without thinking.

"So you don't know where Krieg is now?"

Dunn nodded, then waved a hand.

"Uh, Sir Dunn?"

The female captain looked puzzled by his gesture.

"Take him away and question him. If there's no bounty on him, deal with him yourselves."

"What if there is a bounty?"

The female captain was startled.

"Then keep him. We'll collect the bounty when we reach our destination."

Dunn said it as if it were obvious.

He wasn't going to use his strength to get things for free. These pirates would be his cash machines from now on.

"Understood!"

"You bastard, you actually want to trade me in for—"

The pirate flew into a rage, but before he could finish, the female captain punched him in the nose. His next words turned into a cry of pain.

Dunn never saw that pirate again.

Over the next while, they encountered more than a dozen groups of pirates. From the ones they captured, Dunn pieced together what was going on with Krieg.

Krieg was indeed active, and the pirates gathering here really had been summoned by him to be recruited.

However, these were the rejects—the scraps left over.

Or rather, they weren't good enough to join Krieg's crew, which was why so many had gathered here.

As for Krieg, no one knew where he was.

That made sense. Going by the story, Krieg had operated in the East Blue until Monkey D. Luffy set sail. Only then had he entered the Grand Line, where he was hunted and driven back.

After they passed through the stretch of sea where the pirates had gathered, they encountered a few more groups and captured two pirates with bounties.

Two months later.

The 16th Marine Branch.

Dunn stepped off the merchant ship, sword in hand. He looked at the pier, which hadn't changed much in over a year, and at the 16th Marine Branch, visible in the distance.

"Contract's over!"

Dunn said.

"Yes, Sir Dunn. Thank you for protecting us all this time!"

The female captain answered respectfully. She handed him a money pouch and waved.

Two disheveled pirates, bound with rope, were hauled off the ship.

Dunn turned to look at them, then took the rope and headed toward the Marine Base.

People on the pier cast curious glances his way, but no one came over to ask questions.

Even the Marines on patrol didn't approach.

After all, Dunn was heading toward the 16th Branch.

Dragging the two pirates, Dunn crossed the town under the curious gazes of the residents and arrived at the Marine Base's entrance.

"Stop! Who are you?"

The Marines at the gate immediately went on alert when Dunn approached.

"Pirate Hunter. I'm here to collect a bounty."

As Dunn spoke, he yanked the rope and tossed the two pirates at the other end toward them.

The Marines at the gate flinched at his move and nearly pulled the triggers of their pistols.

A Pirate Hunter?

The Marines had heard Dunn clearly. They looked at him, then at the two listless men. One of them immediately hurried off to report while Dunn was ushered inside.

The base commander's office.

Colonel Nezumi happily admired himself in a full-length mirror, occasionally straightening his collar.

After the base commander had returned to Headquarters to report and been promoted directly to Marine Headquarters Major, Nezumi had been promoted in turn to command a Marine Branch Base.

Naturally, a promotion made him happy.

Of course, it was also possible that the intelligence he'd provided a year ago had earned him the promotion.

After all, he remembered that a Headquarters Vice Admiral had even contacted him to ask about the situation.

That was a genuine high-ranking Marine officer.

"Sir!"

The shout from a Marine outside made Colonel Nezumi jump. He turned toward the open office door, looking annoyed.

"What is it?"

Colonel Nezumi put on an air of authority, though his mouse-like whiskers made him look rather shifty.

"Sir, a Pirate Hunter has brought in two pirates to collect their bounties!"

A Pirate Hunter?

The words made Colonel Nezumi jump.

The Marines had issued plenty of wanted posters, but not many people actually captured wanted pirates and came to collect the reward.

Of course, that had something to do with the East Blue's general state of affairs.

The last time a Pirate Hunter had collected a bounty, it had been that boy who seemed to have a Devil Fruit ability. What was his name again? Dunn, maybe.

Colonel Nezumi stroked his whiskers, recalling what had happened a year earlier.

His own promotion seemed to have had something to do with that young man, too.

But by now, if the boy had been found, he might have made it to Headquarters.

Maybe the next time they met, the boy would be his superior.

After all, a Marine Headquarters Major was on par with a Branch Base Commander.

At the thought, Nezumi felt envious.

But the feeling passed quickly.

Promotions came fast at Headquarters, but at a Branch Base, he was in charge of an entire base.

Both had their advantages.

"Sir?"

Seeing Colonel Nezumi smiling without answering, the reporting Marine cautiously called out.

"Ahem!"

Startled back to attention, Colonel Nezumi cleared his throat twice.

"Since a Pirate Hunter has captured pirates, naturally I, as the base commander, should meet him and offer some encouragement."

Colonel Nezumi spoke with a serious expression, but inwardly he was thinking about how to pocket part of the bounty.

It was hard to learn good habits, but easy to fall into bad ones.

After suffering for half his life, couldn't he skim a little money and enjoy life?

He wouldn't dare touch Marine funds, but he had the nerve to shave some off a bounty hunter's reward.

More than the nerve, in fact—he had plenty of it.

Colonel Nezumi led a squad of Marines to where Dunn was waiting.

"Ahem. I'm Colonel Nezumi, commander of this Marine Branch Base. You're the one who captured the pirates?"

Nezumi saw Dunn sitting there and cleared his throat before speaking. But then he thought Dunn looked familiar, as if they'd met somewhere before.

"Long time no see, Major Nezumi. You've been promoted in just a year!"