To Shells Town

Kuro lay sprawled on the deck, letting out weak groans. Though he had suffered such severe injuries, he had merely lost consciousness and had not died.

As an early-game boss, his vitality was far tougher than that of those minor characters.

Seeing that Kuro was still alive, Duen had no intention of finishing him off. Although the bounty poster said "dead or alive," a living person was always more convincing than a dead one.

Duen glanced back at the terrified pirates aboard the Black Cat, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Live, or die?"

The pirates, including first mate Jango and combatant Buchi, all stopped breathing for a moment. Their faces were covered in dense beads of sweat, as if they had just been pulled from the water.

Even Captain Kuro, who had seemed invincible, had been gravely wounded and nearly killed after exchanging blows with Duen. How could they possibly muster the courage to fight him... The man before them was no bounty hunter. He was more like a demon...

Bang, bang, bang...

Weapons clattered onto the deck. The thirty-odd remaining pirates of the Black Cat Pirates all raised their hands in surrender. Since they knew their opponent was unbeatable, holding weapons would only be seen as a sign of danger.

"Very good."

Duen nodded in satisfaction at their choice. He ordered several pirates to remove Kuro's cat claws and throw them into the sea, then had them tie Kuro to the Black Cat's mast. After that, Giant Hammer Lobita's corpse was moved aboard the Black Cat and temporarily covered with a heavy white cloth.

At Duen's call, Nami climbed over from the fishing boat. Looking at the pirates trembling like mice before a cat, she thoughtfully glanced at the badly wounded Kuro before gradually looking away. Then, beaming, she patted Duen on the shoulder. "You're way too reliable! Once we get the bounty, I'll only take fifty percent!"

"Wouldn't fifty percent be too little? Take all of it," Duen said with a smile.

"What? You're too polite. You're making me feel embarrassed!"

Despite her words, there was not the slightest trace of embarrassment on Nami's face. Instead, she wore a smile that clearly said, "I'll remember you said that."

Can't mess with her, can't mess with her...

Duen shook his head inwardly and ordered the Black Cat Pirates' navigator to bring over the sea charts. The other pirates stood at attention where they were.

Negative emotion points from Saxi +...

Negative emotion points from Abel +45...

Negative emotion points from...

Feeling the negative emotion points contributed by these pirate lackeys, Duen ignored them for the moment. He had Nami examine the several sea charts brought over by the navigator, searching for nearby islands with Marine branches stationed on them.

It had to be said that the markings on these sea charts were extremely detailed, covering the economic and military conditions of nearly every surrounding island. It really had the style of Hundred Plans Kuro.

The closest was the Marine's 15th Branch in Shells Town...

Wasn't that town the base ruled by "Axe-Hand" Morgan in the original story?

No, that was supposed to happen a year later... Then again, since Kuro had now fallen into his hands, Morgan probably would not become a Marine colonel. Thinking about it that way, the East Blue would lose an "Axe-Hand" legend in the future.

That sounded rather regrettable...

Shells Town, as Duen remembered it, was not very large. He did not know whether it could produce such a huge bounty. The second closest was Marge Town, where the Marine's 14th Branch was stationed, but sailing there would take an extra day.

While Duen was considering this, Nami boldly walked into the Black Cat Pirates' cabin. Before long, she carried a packed bag of treasure onto the deck, happily plopped down on it, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"At ease!"

Duen swept his cold gaze across the restless pirates. Intimidated by his overwhelming presence, they all took a neat half-step forward and did not dare move again. Yet they also understood that this treasure no longer belonged to them... For now, they should think about how to stay alive.

"How long will it take to reach Shells Town?"

Duen looked at Nami. She glanced at the sea chart, then looked up at the weather and heading. "At our current speed, we'll arrive by tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Then you take the helm. Try to get us there as quickly as possible. It'll be a hard night."

"No problem, no problem."

Nami waved dismissively. When she turned around, Duen saw Beli symbols in her eyes. It seemed that she had automatically converted these pirates into Beli in her mind.

Next, under Duen's coercion, Jango used hypnosis to put the pirates to sleep, after which they were all tied up.

Before long, under the labor of this hardworking hypnotist, every pirate had been firmly bound into oversized rice dumplings. Finally, Duen threw in a "Back-of-the-Head Smash Combo", knocking Jango unconscious as well.

After a night of waiting, dawn finally rose in the east and gradually spread across the entire sea. Perhaps due to the change in temperature, a hazy mist had risen from the water.

Nami yawned and rubbed her eyes. Looking at Duen, who was leaning against the railing, she said, "Shells Town should be up ahead."

Duen raised his head. He first looked at the pirates, who were either pretending to sleep or genuinely asleep, and at Kuro, whose lips had turned pale from blood loss. Then he gazed toward the faint outline of the distant island.

"Keep moving at our current speed, then dock by the shore."

Under Nami's steering, the Black Cat gradually approached the harbor.

However, Shells Town was thrown into complete turmoil by the arrival of this pirate ship. People near the harbor fled in panic.

"Pirates! Pirates!"

"Th-that's the Black Cat Pirates!"

"Someone hurry and report this to the Marine base!"

Voices ten times noisier than a marketplace rang out everywhere. Even from far away, they could still be heard clearly from the Black Cat's deck.

However, unlike what the terrified townspeople expected, after the Black Cat docked at the harbor, there was no further movement.

Marines from the base quickly arrived and lined up along the shore, raising their guns in unison and aiming them at the Black Cat.

Warren, the current base commander and Marine colonel of the 15th Branch, frowned deeply. The moment he received the news, he had rushed over without wasting a second, fearing that the pirates would launch a large-scale invasion and cause massive destruction and losses to the town.

Yet unlike what he had expected, none of that had happened.

And the silence felt like a conspiracy...

"What exactly is going on?" Warren furrowed his brow. The lined-up Marines did not dare relax in the slightest as they waited for their commander's orders.

"Have the Marines arrived?"

Duen stepped onto the bow. "Don't rush to open fire. I'm a bounty hunter."