The Bounty Order and the Pirates' Atrocities

As those words left Dunn's mouth, the suspicious expression on Colonel Nezumi's face froze. He pointed a finger at Dunn, stunned, his jagged teeth fully exposed.

"Y-y-y-you... you're that Pirate Hunter? You're still in the East Blue?"

Colonel Nezumi looked completely bewildered.

"Of course I'm still in the East Blue. Where else would I be?"

Dunn stared at Colonel Nezumi with a beaming smile, his tone seemingly implying something more.

Given Dragon's previous warning and Garp's arrival, Dunn knew his information had been reported by this fellow.

"You actually didn't join the Marines? Don't tell me Vice Admiral Garp didn't find you?"

Colonel Nezumi made no effort to hide what he knew, his eyes wide as he stared at Dunn.

He was well aware that the Marines had dispatched Vice Admiral Garp to track the man down.

As for the outcome, however, he truly had no idea.

But he figured that since Vice Admiral Garp had taken action, the man had likely been found and brought back to Marine Headquarters.

That was what he had believed all along, which was exactly why he had been so stunned upon recognizing Dunn.

Dunn looked at Colonel Nezumi, sizing him up for a few moments, but he couldn't tell if the man was genuinely dim-witted or just playing dumb. Regardless, he didn't care much about that anymore.

"Two pirates, a bounty of 3.9 million Belly. Let's round it up to four million."

Dunn stood up and began walking toward the exit.

"Oh, and send the money to the usual place."

It was only when Dunn stood up that Colonel Nezumi noticed the massive change in his physique.

"Sir!"

A nearby marine, seeing Colonel Nezumi staring blankly in the direction of Dunn's departure, called out cautiously.

"Oh, right. Lock these two bastard pirates up and get the bounty money ready."

Coming to his senses, Colonel Nezumi kicked the restrained pirates, issued the order, and headed outside.

Dunn's sudden appearance left Colonel Nezumi filled with doubt.

He wondered whether he should continue reporting on Dunn's activities.

But what was the situation with the Marines earlier?

Could it be that they hadn't found him?

With that thought in mind, Colonel Nezumi returned to his office and immediately pulled out a Den Den Mushi to contact Headquarters.

Brrr-brrr.

The Den Den Mushi didn't ring for long before its appearance shifted to match the recipient.

Seeing this, Colonel Nezumi instinctively snapped to attention.

"This is Colonel Nezumi, base commander of the 16th Marine Base of East Blue, serial number 00733. I have a report to make."

He then reported that Dunn, who had appeared a year ago, had resurfaced, and asked why Dunn was still in the East Blue.

"Please wait a moment, Colonel Nezumi."

The person speaking from Headquarters was a woman. A moment later, her voice returned.

"Regarding the matter you mentioned, Headquarters dispatched Vice Admiral Garp to the East Blue a year ago to search for him, but he was not found."

So they really hadn't found him.

Colonel Nezumi realized the truth, then asked how Headquarters wanted him to handle the situation now.

"Colonel Nezumi, you may extend an invitation yourself. If the individual is truly a power-user, Headquarters will record your contribution and report the matter further."

"Understood!"

Upon hearing this, Colonel Nezumi nodded immediately.

An invitation—that was a chance for merit. Nothing shameful about that.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, a marine arrived to report that the bounty had been collected. Nezumi didn't hesitate; he took his men and set out to find Dunn personally.

At the tavern in town.

It was no different from a year ago; the owner was still the same.

"A glass of juice!"

Dunn placed his sword on the counter as he spoke.

The tavern owner was accustomed to this and skillfully poured a glass of orange juice.

It was very fresh!

Dunn's eyes lit up after taking a sip.

It had the perfect hint of tartness, with bits of crushed pulp inside—the texture was top-tier.

"Not bad, right, young man? These are oranges from Cocoyasi Village, famous throughout the East Blue. If our base weren't so close to Cocoyasi Village, we wouldn't be able to get them this fresh."

Seeing Dunn's expression, the tavern owner smiled and spoke.

Upon hearing the name of the village, Dunn's expression shifted.

"Is this place very close to Cocoyasi Village?"

"Of course it's close, it only takes about half a day by boat!"

This answer didn't come from the tavern owner, but from a customer in the tavern.

Dunn turned to look at the customer who had spoken, a middle-aged man dressed as a sailor, clutching a large mug of ale as he looked over.

"Are there boats going there?"

Dunn asked.

"Of course there are boats, every single day. You should know, Cocoyasi Village is in the Conomi Islands, which produces all kinds of fruit. Especially when the fruit is ripe, there are boats every day."

Dunn nodded upon hearing this, said nothing more, and then turned his gaze toward the tavern wall.

Hanging there were rows of bounty posters.

They weren't the bounties of those great pirates from the New World; they were basically pirates from the East Blue, or pirates who had left the East Blue for the New World.

Admiral Krieg, bounty of 12 million.

Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Klahadore, bounty of 10 million.

Dunn swept his eyes over the two prominent bounty posters, examining them closely.

"These two are the big-time pirates of the East Blue."

Seeming to notice Dunn's gaze, the tavern owner set down the glass he was wiping and spoke up.

"Ten million makes them big-time pirates?"

Dunn's expression turned somewhat strange at these words.

"That's only natural. The East Blue is the weakest sea; pirates here don't dare stay too long. As long as a pirate's bounty gets too high, it will attract the Navy.

This place is, after all, the hometown of the Hero of the Marines, Garp."

The tavern owner said with a look of reverence.

"Hometown? The East Blue is quite large."

Dunn could understand the tavern owner's sentiment, but this sea covered about a quarter of the planet's surface.

Dunn shook his head slightly.

"Aye, the East Blue is indeed large, and even the Navy can't wipe out all the pirates. You'd best be careful when you head out to sea, young man."

The tavern owner clearly didn't grasp Dunn's meaning and offered a well-intentioned reminder.

"I will!"

Dunn was grateful for others' kindness.

However, the ones who needed to be careful were likely these pirates.

Dunn's eyes swept over the bounty posters one by one.

Except for the first two, which exceeded 10 million Belly, the rest were in the millions.

But in the East Blue, these were already considered pirates with relatively high bounties.

Of course, the photos were also quite abstract.

They fit the temperament of this world perfectly.

"These are the bounty posters I've compiled of pirates in the East Blue who haven't been caught yet."

Just then, the tavern owner revealed his true colors, pulling a stack of bounty posters out like a magic trick and placing them in front of Dunn.

"It's only 150,000 Belly."

As soon as he said this, the others in the tavern couldn't hold back.

"Old Komodo, you're a real crook."

Clearly, 150,000 Belly was not a small sum for these people.

"You bastards don't know a damn thing. I collected a lot of information to compile these. Look, on the back of every single one, there's the location where the pirate appeared."

As he spoke, he picked one up to show the others.

Sure enough, there was quite a bit of text on the back of the bounty poster, recording all the places the pirate had appeared and their general range of activity.

It even noted what they had done in the past.

It was indeed very detailed.

"You recognized me?"

Dunn was silent for a moment, then asked.

"Heh heh, young man, even though your physique has changed, I am Old Komodo, and my eyes are very sharp. A year ago, you brought in pirates to collect bounties."

The tavern owner, Old Komodo, did not deny it.

Still, a large number of people must pass through here every day, so the fact that he could remember him meant his memory was truly quite good.

"After all, those guys don't look like humans, unlike you, little brother."

Was that a compliment?

Dunn was taken aback by these words, rendered somewhat speechless.

However, his style was indeed different from everyone else in the tavern.

"How about it? Would you like a copy, little brother? One hundred thousand Belly will do."

"Then I'll take one."

Dunn nodded upon hearing this.

It was perfect; while waiting for Arlong, he also intended to get some activity in.

If he could find Krieg or Kuro, that would certainly be a good thing.

However, at this point in time, Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates should not have faked his death to hide himself yet.

As for Krieg, that guy's range of activity should be quite vast.

After all, when he eventually set sail, he was known as the hegemon of the East Blue.

But for a pirate crew that could assemble five thousand men, it was uncertain whether this guy was like Arlong later on, colluding with the Navy.

Tossing his coin purse onto the counter, Dunn sipped his juice leisurely and picked up a bounty poster to look at the records on the back.

"A pirate with a bounty of only three million leading a pirate crew, massacring three island villages and killing at least five hundred people?"

Looking at the records on the back, Dunn's eyelids twitched.

Although these were just records, they represented, in no uncertain terms, hundreds of lives.