Commodore-Level Pirate

"Bzzzt—!"

The instant he saw that string of zeros, an extremely fervent, savage crimson gleam erupted from Rochi's dark, unfathomable eyes like a long-suppressed volcano bursting to life!

A pirate worth seventy-five million?!

This was an unprecedented, ultra-luxurious experience package!!!

He had been worrying about having no monsters to fight, yet those arrogant suit-wearing idiots had actually delivered such a top-tier prey right to his doorstep!

Definitely Commodore Level!

"Cooperate?"

Rochi slowly rose to his feet, his tall, straight figure casting an intensely oppressive shadow beneath the lights.

The corners of his lips slowly curled upward, revealing a bloodthirsty grin that made all three Cipher Pol Agents shudder involuntarily:

"No problem. As a Navy officer, cooperating with the World Government is only natural."

At his words, a disdainful sneer flashed through the masked man's eyes. So this so-called genius Navy Colonel is just another spineless coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong.

"Hmph, at least you know what's good for you. Immediately gather those eight hundred useless—"

"Gather who?"

Rochi kicked over the executive chair and strode out from behind the desk. His violent killing intent instantly flooded the entire room like a tsunami.

He stopped before the masked man, his voice low, domineering, and filled with suffocating madness:

"Do we need eight hundred men to die for a piece of trash worth seventy-five million?"

"Tell me his exact location."

"Then you three can fuck off to the side, open your dog eyes wide, and watch how I crush him to death!"

The masked man froze, as though he had just heard the greatest joke in the world:

"Have you lost your mind?! He's a monster who escaped from the New World, and you want to capture him alone?! If you screw this operation—"

"Boom—!!!"

Before the masked man could finish, a terrifying Haki pressure descended upon them like Mount Tai!

"Thud! Thud!"

Crushed beneath Rochi's almost tangible killing intent, the three Cipher Pol Agents who had been so arrogant moments ago had their legs go limp and slammed to their knees on the hard floor at the same time!

Their kneecaps cracked with a crisp snap!

"I didn't tell you to speak."

Rochi looked down at the agents, their faces drenched in cold sweat and their eyes filled with terror. He spoke each word slowly: "Lead the way, or die."

"Gulp..."

The masked man at the head of the group swallowed with difficulty, the saliva in his throat mixed with fear and humiliation.

The shattering pain in his knees and the blood-sea-like killing intent pressing down from above completely ground his proud Cipher Pol Agent dignity into dust.

He looked in horror at the eighteen-year-old Navy Colonel before him.

"It... it's on Aoki Island, at the edge of the West Sea..."

The masked man's voice trembled, and cold sweat had already soaked through his expensive white suit.

"According to our intelligence network, he has been hiding there ever since he fled the New World three years ago!"

"Good."

A sickly excitement curled across Rochi's lips as he casually withdrew the terrifying pressure that had weighed down on them like a mountain.

He turned toward his adjutant, Major Lace, who stood to one side with an equally pale face from the shock, and gave a cold command:

"Lace, prepare the fastest assault ship. Bring only thirty elites!"

"Don't alert the main force. Today, I'm personally going to crush that seventy-five-million big rat!"

"Yes, Colonel!" Lace immediately accepted the order and rushed out of the office as though the wind were beneath her feet.

Two hours later.

A sleek Navy assault ship equipped with the highest-grade engines tore through the unpredictable waves of the Grand Line like an arrow loosed from its bow, racing toward Aoki Island.

On the deck.

"Sir."

Major Lace adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and approached Rochi with a file freshly retrieved from the intelligence archives, her expression somewhat grave.

"This bald brute named Kerl is known as the Bone Carver."

"Three years ago, he was extremely rampant in the New World. He even robbed a Heavenly Tribute ship and injured a Celestial Dragon's attendants and guards, which was why the World Government placed a seventy-five-million bounty on his head!"

"More than ten Navy officers have died at his hands! He is absolutely a vicious criminal!"

Rochi stood with his arms crossed, listening to Lace's report without the slightest ripple in his dark eyes.

"Whether he killed Navy officers or beat up Celestial Dragons, he's nothing more than a walking oversized experience package in my eyes."

After several hours of high-speed sailing.

As the verdant outline of an island gradually rose at the end of the horizon, they arrived at Aoki Island.

The assault ship silently docked beside a secluded rocky beach.

Rochi strode down from the warship. Under the soldiers' escort, the three limping Cipher Pol Agents could only obediently lead the way ahead of them.

Yet as the group made their way deeper into the island town, the sight before them left every Navy soldier stunned.

There were no devastated ruins as they had imagined, no wreckage left behind after pirate raids, and no desperate wails from civilians.

The streets throughout Aoki Island's town were clean and orderly.

Some residents along the way repaired fishing nets, some set up stalls selling fruit, and children chased and played at the street corners.

Every face was filled with the happy smiles of people genuinely living in peace and contentment!

In the first half of the Grand Line, a place like a meat grinder, such a tranquil scene that resembled a paradise beyond the world carried an indescribable strangeness!

"Uncle, that's a great catch today!"

"Indeed! Thanks to Doctor Kerl teaching us how to improve the design of our fishing boats, we can bring him a few fresh sea fish again today!"

Two passing fishermen carried their fishing rods on their shoulders, laughing heartily.

At the name "Kerl," Rochi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What's going on?"

Rochi turned his head and cast a cold glance at the masked Cipher Pol Agent leader:

"The vicious Bone Carver from your intelligence reports is actually a beloved doctor here?"

The agent leader gritted his teeth, his face full of contempt and disdain:

"Who knows what kind of nonsense these ignorant fools have been fed!"

"According to our investigation, this bastard Kerl fled to this island two years ago and used his stolen fortune to build a clinic. Not only does he treat these lowly commoners for free, he also hands out food regularly!"

"Every resident here treats him like a living saint! They spread nonsense everywhere about how pirates can be good pirates too! What an utter farce!"

The agent leader sneered repeatedly.

To the World Government, anyone who offended the dignity of the Celestial Dragons deserved death for an unforgivable crime, even if they had saved tens of thousands of people on this island!

After hearing that, Rochi's lips twisted into a mocking sneer.

A great pirate who had killed without blinking in the New World and dared to confront Celestial Dragon guards head-on had come to this backwater to play saint and do charity work?

"Lead the way. Take me to his clinic."

Rochi could not even be bothered to spread his Advanced Observation Haki over a wide area. All he wanted now was to crush this seventy-five-million gift package as soon as possible and see how many levels it could raise him.

Before long, the group arrived before a large white building in the center of town.

A long line stretched outside the clinic.

Through the spacious entrance, Rochi could clearly see a massive bald middle-aged man seated behind a clean examination table.

Compared with the vicious-looking face in his wanted poster.

Kerl now wore a neat white coat, and his expression was unexpectedly gentle.

He patiently bandaged an old man's injured arm, even turning to offer the waiting crowd a warm smile.