A Reckless Idea

The captain's head was worth ten million Beli. He was not particularly strong, just an old hand. His most notorious deed was attacking a town, and he had no other accomplishments after that. He had only earned a ten-million-Beli bounty because he had killed quite a few ordinary people.

The man in the headscarf was the ship's First Mate. He had once been the captain's confidant, but Rogge and the others had talked him into switching sides. Without his deception, they probably would not have been able to kill the captain so easily.

The three of them had not planned to include him in the first place. Since he had failed to read the situation, they had the perfect excuse to kill him. His bounty was three million Beli. Money was money, and they could trade it in with the Marines to buy steamed buns.

The three sailed the ship. Though it was not large, the three of them had no trouble handling it. Rogge had not been in this world for long, but he had already grown used to life at sea.

Jelly and Ham had some fame in the West Blue, so Rogge was tasked with bringing the heads to the Marines for the reward.

There was a Marine fortress not far from here. Rogge found a ship and went there alone. So long as it was a pirate's head, the Marines would not fuss too much over it. Besides, Rogge was not wanted.

While collecting the bounty, Rogge heard a piece of news that caught his attention.

He took the reward money. Fortunately, the fortress had reserve funds; otherwise, he would have had to wait for a while. Every bounty hunter who wanted to exchange a bounty for cash had to see whether the Marine fortress had enough money. If it did not, they had to wait.

After getting the money, Rogge learned that Jelly had already disposed of the black gold in another country and exchanged it for one hundred million Beli, roughly the amount they had expected.

With over one hundred million Beli suddenly in hand, all three of them were excited. It was no small sum. In this world, what drove men mad more than anything else? Power, fame, money, and women.

"I heard something. I don't know whether you two have the guts for it." On the pirate ship, Ron drunkenly spoke to Jelly and Ham.

"What news?" Ham raised his head and looked at him.

"Yeah, what news? We're men who keep our heads on the line. Why would we care whether we dare or not? Everyone only has one life." Jelly laughed.

This man was a little crazy. After killing his own father and betraying his kingdom, he had become a thoroughgoing murderer. Rogge suspected that he had sadistic tendencies. If not for his strength and lack of ambition, Rogge would not have wanted someone like him on the ship.

"This year's Reverie has begun." Rogge gave a mysterious smile.

"The Reverie? That boring meeting? Hahaha! Everyone knows this world belongs to the Celestial Dragons, yet some people still think the Reverie maintains world peace." Jelly burst out laughing.

Rogge and Ham looked at him. Jelly had once been to Mary Geoise. Four years ago, as a member of his kingdom's royal guard, he had accompanied his king there. He had personally seen how his country's king grovelled before the Celestial Dragons. It was precisely because he had seen that that Ron had been able to persuade him to kill the captain and head for the Grand Line.

"What does the Reverie have to do with the news you mentioned?" Ham asked drunkenly.

"The Heavenly Tribute." Rogge smiled.

The moment Ham and Jelly heard Ron say those three words, they jolted awake. They sat up straight, eyes wide as they stared at Ron.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not joking, are you?" Jelly's expression changed. He stared hard at Rogge, and more than half of his drunkenness vanished after hearing Rogge's words.

"I'm not joking. The Heavenly Tribute is being transported from the West Blue to the Grand Line. It seems they have already begun preparations. We just need to wait near the route." Rogge smiled.

"Your nerve is too great. Once we touch the Heavenly Tribute, do you think we can escape the pursuit?" Ham said.

"Even a Madman shouldn't go looking for death. Rogge, are you drunk?" Jelly asked.

"Drunk? Maybe. But I found out that this shipment of Heavenly Tribute from the West Blue to Mary Geoise contains three Devil Fruits. Besides the Heavenly Tribute itself, I'm more interested in those three Devil Fruits." Rogge grinned, his gaze sharp.

"The Devil Fruits, the legendary treasures of the sea. Your idea is to get those three Devil Fruits, right?" Ham asked.

"That's right. The Heavenly Tribute is our target, but with our strength, it would be nearly impossible to seize it from the Marines' elite. So we can only use another method—find a way to steal the three Devil Fruits. You don't seriously think we can achieve anything on the Grand Line with our current strength, do you? We can get by in the West Blue, but on the Grand Line, to put it bluntly, we might not even make it through the first half." Rogge said.

"Heh, it's a good idea, but it won't be that simple." Jelly held up his bottle.

"This money is perfect for investing. You don't think we're the only ones interested in the Heavenly Tribute, do you? There's a saying in my hometown: money can make ghosts turn millstones. We don't need to do it ourselves. We only need to get information on the route." Rogge said, tapping the chest of money with a finger.

"Have other pirates do it." Ham was intelligent enough to immediately guess Rogge's plan, and a broad smile appeared on his face.

"Who wouldn't be tempted by the Heavenly Tribute? It's worth tens or even hundreds of billions of Beli. One ship would be like robbing an entire country. There are plenty of pirates in the West Blue who don't value their lives." Rogge said.

"This is what you meant by reaping the benefits while others fight, right? I think it's wonderful that I met you two. You can go mad with me." Jelly said with a savage expression.

"Looks like we all agree. Jelly, take the money and make the arrangements. I'll look for a chance to infiltrate them. Ham, you'll be responsible for meeting us when the time comes. If I fail, you two run." Rogge said.

"Have you prepared yourself to die, Rogge? I'll remember you, you Madman." Jelly smiled.

The three continued discussing it. After a night passed, they had made their plan. There were only the three of them. Jelly left with part of the money to gather information, while Rogge looked for a chance to infiltrate the Marines and seek an opportunity from within.

Jelly brought him good news on the very first day. The Heavenly Tribute would be transported after the Reverie ended. In other words, the Marine fleet that escorted the kings home would be responsible for escorting the Heavenly Tribute back.

The difficulty of infiltrating them was obvious. It was a fleet from Marine Headquarters; slipping in among them would be absolutely impossible. If so, Rogge might need to change his identity.

Information about the Heavenly Tribute's transport ships suddenly became more common on the black market. Quite a few pirate crews learned of it at the same time. After hesitating briefly, they were ultimately consumed by greed.