Decisive Battle

The crew had probably deliberately avoided coming in head-on when they sailed toward the island.

Looking at the other small boats nearby, Li Mingyuan saw that the sailors were either unloading cargo or urgently carrying away injured and unconscious crewmen, most likely planning to take them to the nearest village.

For people who had just survived a disaster, they had adapted a little too quickly. He did not even see a single person leaning against a tree to rest.

It seemed that while he had not been paying attention, the first mate or someone else had organized them and restored discipline.

Who knew what exactly they had promised to achieve such results.

At the same time, perhaps having noticed Li Mingyuan looking their way, the crew members who had been busy stopped what they were doing. Shortly afterward, the first mate and boatswain walked over to him.

"It seems that unlike us, you still intend to go to Arlong Park."

"Could it be that you're a bounty hunter?"

The first mate came before Li Mingyuan. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "To be honest, were those Fish-Men your purpose for boarding our ship from the very beginning?"

"You can think of it that way."

Li Mingyuan remained calm and gave a noncommittal reply.

The first mate chuckled at that, then shook his head.

"No matter what, none of that really matters. What I truly want to say is this—we, everyone aboard this ship, sincerely thank you for protecting us. Without you, we probably would all be dead by now."

"To be honest, I opposed the captain letting you aboard back then. Bringing someone whose background we knew nothing about onto the ship—what if you were a pirate? Even if you weren't, you could still have been an unforeseen risk. No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't a rational choice. Not to mention, the captain's reason for letting you aboard was just some vague notion that you looked strong, and that the ship would be safer if we could hire you as a guard."

"But now, it seems the captain truly is the captain. He has a better eye than I do. You stepped forward in such a dangerous situation. You are more than qualified as a guard."

The first mate spoke with feeling.

Then, under Li Mingyuan's gaze, the first mate reached down and removed a pouch from his waist.

His expression turned grave as he handed the pouch to Li Mingyuan.

"This is the payment we promised for your help. The captain said one hundred thousand Beli, right? There are five hundred thousand Beli here in total. It is the money you recovered from those thieves earlier. The boatswain and I deducted the portions we could actually receive, and we are giving it to you as thanks. Please accept it. It may not be much to you, but it is a token of our appreciation."

"There are too many places in this sea where money is needed. Just like us now, no one knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first. Having even one more Beli on hand is another layer of security."

Five hundred thousand Beli?

Adding the bounties on the two Arlong Pirates officers, along with the fifteen million Beli he had originally brought with him, he now had thirty million Beli to his name.

Li Mingyuan did not hesitate. He took the pouch directly from the first mate.

"Then I'll accept it."

Li Mingyuan nodded. "And thank you for how you treated me along the way. The sailors' meals were pretty good."

As always, Li Mingyuan accepted money given in gratitude without any ceremony.

He had always been like this.

If someone wanted to give it, he would take it. He would never put on some polite act.

In Li Mingyuan's view, such reward money was both recognition for what he had done and an expression of the other party's goodwill. Refusing that money would be disrespectful to both sides. Especially when he was short on funds to begin with, refusing someone else's money would only reveal his own hypocrisy.

When it came to this sort of gift, Li Mingyuan would only consider refusing it if he truly felt he did not deserve it, or if the reward exceeded the other party's means.

Clearly, the current situation did not meet his standards for refusing it.

Seeing Li Mingyuan accept the money, the first mate and boatswain exchanged glances and both breathed a sigh of relief.

After bowing to Li Mingyuan in thanks once more, the two turned and left.

Li Mingyuan remained standing in his small boat. He combined the money from both pouches and tied them to his belt, while behind him, Carina silently watched everything.

About ten more minutes passed after that.

Since unloading and transporting the cargo would still take quite some time, Li Mingyuan did not intend to linger. After checking the items he would bring with him, he set off with Carina along the coast toward Arlong Park.

As for the two Arlong Pirates officers, he had the sailors watch over them for now. Once he crushed the Arlong Pirates, he would return with Arlong, then take all three wanted criminals to the nearest Marine base to claim their bounties.

As he walked, Li Mingyuan continuously observed his surroundings.

If he remembered correctly, in the original One Piece, Arlong Park was located somewhere along the island's shore. Combined with the direction the sailors had pointed out earlier, he would probably see Arlong Park before long.

Along the way, Li Mingyuan passed through two more villages. He could not help staring at them several times, because they looked exactly like they did in the manga.

"This is way too similar."

"Since I arrived in the Naruto world relatively early, its architecture differs somewhat from the main story. But this One Piece world is practically a one-to-one recreation. It's incredible."

Li Mingyuan found it all remarkably fresh.

The feeling of being personally inside a manga left him awestruck for no clear reason.

But unlike Li Mingyuan, who was in a relaxed mood and still had the leisure to let his thoughts wander, Carina, walking not far behind him, grew increasingly despondent as they seemed to draw closer and closer to Arlong Park. Her body was already exhausted, and the long walk made it difficult for her even to lift her feet.

The two walked along the coast for who knew how long, until the nearby forest gradually disappeared, replaced by a looming silhouette that rose into view like an immense shadow.

"We really made it... Arlong Park."

Carina's face turned pale as she murmured, "What are we supposed to do now?"

Li Mingyuan turned back and glanced at Carina.

"Are you afraid?"

"How could I not be? If you're no match for the Fish-Men, then I'm as good as dead too."

Carina spoke bitterly.

"But no matter how much you hate this, I can't let you leave my sight."

Li Mingyuan spoke calmly. "I'll protect you in the battle ahead."