Adventure on Golden Island (2)

"Woonan? You mean the Golden Thief?" Zoro asked thoughtfully.

"I heard Eldoraggo and the others were going to Golden Island to search for Woonan's treasure," Tobio said.

"Golden Island?" Nami, who loved treasure dearly, was already calculating how to find the legendary treasure of Golden Island while reclaiming her own wealth. As long as she pulled off this job, not only could she gather one hundred million Beli to buy a certain village, she could also gain a vast fortune.

"Woonan is already dead!" Tobio's grandfather was cooking oden. When his grandson mentioned Woonan again, the old man went shopping with you.

"No, Woonan must still be alive! I have to become Woonan's partner!"

"If Woonan is a decent guy, then let him join us!" After hearing of Woonan's exploits, Luffy became interested in him as well. He thought having Woonan, the man known as the Golden Thief, become his partner would be a fine idea.

"Why does Woonan have to join you?" Hearing Luffy shamelessly say he wanted to invite Woonan into the Straw Hat Pirates, Tobio could no longer stay calm. His idol was supposed to become the partner of a goofy pirate like Luffy?

"Because I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King! Hehehe!" Though there was no grand declaration, the single sentence, "I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King," was enough to leave Tobio and his grandfather stunned.

No matter how casually those words had been spoken, the meaning they carried was enough to shake anyone who heard them. Only one person had ever earned the title of Pirate King: Gol D. Roger, who had already been executed. Years ago, Roger and his companions had sailed aboard the Oro Jackson, and after three years, he became the only human to reach the final island.

"If Woonan is alive, we'll have him bring his gold and join us. If he's dead, then the gold he left behind will belong to us! What do you think, everyone?" William did not believe Woonan was still alive, and he did not even know whether the gold still existed. Still, it was a good way to tempt a certain money-loving woman.

"Great, Luffy, it's decided then!" Just as William had expected, Nami not only agreed with the plan, but also began urging Luffy to find Captain Eldoraggo.

"I don't care what you plan to do, but don't forget one important thing." Tobio's grandfather suddenly interrupted everyone. With a very serious expression, he asked his question.

"What is it?" Everyone looked at Tobio's grandfather in confusion, wondering whether this old man selling oden was about to offer some clue.

After all, someone who could sail a ship like this could not possibly be an ordinary old man. And he was traveling through waters where hardly any ships passed. If someone claimed he was ordinary, no one except Luffy would believe it.

"Did you bring money?" Tobio's grandfather took out an abacus and said, "Fish balls, kelp, daikon, fish cakes, eggs, and oden. The total comes to Beli."

"Beli?"

"Is that expensive?" Seeing everyone's shocked reactions, Luffy, who had never had much concept of money, thought Beli must be a huge amount.

"No, it's cheap! So cheap it's unbelievable!" They could hardly believe their ears. They had eaten so much food, yet it cost only Beli. Was this old man really doing business?

The last time they bought a newspaper from a news-carrying seagull, it had cost more than that. Beli was probably so little that few people would even bother bending down to pick it up if it fell on the ground.

"That's good!" Once he learned that Beli was only a small amount of money, Luffy relaxed and continued eating. He had completely forgotten that they had just been robbed and did not have a single coin on them.

In other words, the future Pirate King and the future world's greatest swordsman were not merely about to dine and dash—they were about to dine and dash over a meal worth only Beli.

"But we don't have any money," Zoro answered without hesitation, as if eating without paying was nothing unusual to him.

"So you mean you want to eat without paying?" Tobio's grandfather's face suddenly darkened. He did not seem to regard Luffy and the other pirates as much of a threat.

But if this old man did not have some real skills, how would he dare sell oden out at sea? Never mind whether he could make money—an ordinary old man would not be capable of sailing the ocean in a ship like this. If he encountered bad weather or vicious pirates, would he not be finished?

"I do. Here's Beli." William's calm words resolved everyone's awkward predicament. Fortunately, William had some private savings of his own. There was nothing wrong with handing all their money over to Nami, but Luffy and Zoro had remained completely unfazed after discovering their treasure had been stolen. Now they could not even pay for a meal that cost only Beli.

When they truly needed money in the future and had to borrow it from Nami at "high interest," they would understand the importance of wealth.

"Only Beli is enough," Tobio's grandfather said seriously.

"Exactly. Why give an extra one Beli?" Nami pointed at William's head and lectured him that even one Beli was money, though it seemed rather useless.

"The extra one Beli is to buy information about Golden Island. Old man, you know Woonan, don't you?" William placed the money before Tobio's grandfather.

"I'm just an old man who sells oden. How could I possibly know a legendary pirate?" the old man replied calmly. Yet it was precisely this calm reaction that made everyone except Luffy and Tobio feel that he was being far too calm—at least, not like an ordinary person should be.

"Exactly! How could Grandpa possibly know a hero like Woonan?" Tobio once again looked down on his grandfather, who only knew how to sell oden—and oden so cheap he was probably losing money on it.

"Quit rambling! All you need to do is inherit my business!" Tobio's grandfather shouted at him.

"What kind of business is that? I don't want to sell oden with you!" Tobio retorted just as stubbornly. In his eyes, becoming the subordinate of Woonan, the Golden Thief, was far more promising than selling oden with his grandfather.

"Is that so? Then I must have been mistaken." Since the old man refused to admit any relationship with Woonan, William could not force him. If he had not watched the movie, William would not have known that the old man and Woonan had been childhood friends—but how could he explain something like that?

"But what was that guy's name again? He dared to rob us, so he has to pay the price! Let's go!" Having just eaten his fill, Luffy finally became serious. Whether he was interested in Woonan or wanted to recover the treasure Eldoraggo had stolen, however, it was hard to say just how serious he truly was.

"He's right. We'll definitely cut those bastards down!" Zoro declared arrogantly. He had no interest in gold, but he felt that failing to teach their enemies a lesson would damage his reputation.

"Forget it. We don't even know where Golden Island is." Usopp wanted to see the treasure left behind by the Golden Thief too, but after witnessing Eldoraggo's terrifying technique, he had already begun to lose his nerve.

"That's my treasure. We have to get it back!" Even setting aside the treasure Woonan had left behind, Nami had every reason to risk finding Eldoraggo just to recover the treasure stolen from her.

"Do you know where Golden Island is?" Tobio's grandfather asked curiously.

"Who knows? But if we're lucky, we'll run into it soon enough." William's casual answer made Tobio's grandfather see the entire Straw Hat Pirates in a new light.

"What a strange bunch!" As he watched the Straw Hat Pirates board the Golden Merry, Tobio stared at the Beli left on the table, seeming to recall something.