Set Sail, New Hope!

"The Marines?"

Hearing Bullet's question, Xia Luo froze on the spot and could not help glancing at him. That wasn't like him. Had he finally gotten a clue? It was rare for him to ask a question like that.

Xia Luo raised his head, his tone somewhat wistful. "The Marines, huh..."

"The Marines are rather complicated. In my view, most low-ranking Marines can still be saved, and some of the middle ranks too. As for the top brass..."

After a slight pause, Xia Luo smiled. "Heh, I'll tell you next time I get the chance."

"Ah! Why?"

Bullet was immediately dissatisfied. He was just getting interested, and what he hated most were people who only told half the story. He wished he could grab them all and beat them senseless.

Seeing that, Xia Luo wore a triumphant expression. He lifted his chin, signaling for Bullet to look ahead. "The ship has docked."

Bullet looked utterly deflated, his agreement extremely reluctant. "Fine... then!"

Xia Luo did not care about that and continued, "Go on. Don't forget what I just told you. I'll get off and take a look first, so make it quick."

"Boss, wait for me!"

Watching Xia Luo's carefree departing figure, Bullet hurried back into the cabin, released the "pirates" inside, and dealt with them according to Xia Luo's instructions.

First, he dug out the pirate flag from a corner and burned it in one go, declaring that from this day forward, they would have nothing to do with pirates ever again.

He also promised to leave the ship to them and give them some money so they could start their lives anew.

After that series of actions, the group first stood stunned, then their bodies trembled as they dropped to their knees, tears streaming down their faces while they continuously voiced their gratitude.

But Bullet ignored them. He strictly followed Xia Luo's instructions and viciously warned them.

After the verbal warning, Bullet felt it lacked enough intimidation, so he transformed directly into a Tyrannosaurus to scare them. Finally, he left beneath their grateful gazes.

"Sniff, sniff... I never thought there were such good people in the world, and that we'd actually meet them. This is so moving!"

"Yeah! Not only did they not kill us, they even gave us the ship and left us money. Am I dreaming?"

"Though he warned us afterward, he wasn't scary at all. You could tell he wasn't very old. If my daughter were still alive, she should have been around his age." A middle-aged man smiled bitterly. As he smiled, tears suddenly rolled down his face, his eyes filled with memories and sorrow.

"This damned world... If the taxes hadn't become heavier every year until we could barely afford food, why would we have gone to sea and become pirates?"

"Heh, who would have thought that these days, even eating required paying taxes?"

"Compared to the terrifying taxes back home, the Tyrannosaurus that boy turned into just now wasn't scary at all. It was even a little cute. We mustn't betray their good intentions, right?"

"Do you even need to ask? A man's promise must be kept!!"

"Then where are we going next?"

"Let's go to Alabasta. I heard their king is a decent man, and it's a major country too. We won't have to worry about going hungry."

"Then let's go! Raise the sails, set off!"

Soon, the group set out once more with new hope, their faces full of smiles and longing for the future.

At the same time,

Bullet was muttering under his breath, "Strange. It felt like that scare tactic didn't work on them at all. They weren't afraid in the slightest!"

"Was my Tyrannosaurus not scary enough? That can't be right!"

Just as Bullet was puzzled, Xia Luo's voice drifted over.

"Of course not. With your size, ordinary people would be scared half to death at the sight of you. The reason they weren't afraid was because they had experienced things even more terrifying..."

"Besides, who would be afraid of a good person who had helped them?" Xia Luo smiled faintly.

"Huh? But I'm not a good person." Bullet had never considered himself a good person. What kind of good person went to war at only a few years old, with hands stained in blood?

"Besides, I only did it because I was following your orders, Boss. If we're talking about good people, you're the good one. If it were me, killing them would have been much more convenient."

"Heh, let's not talk about whether anyone is good or not. Tell me, how did it feel to do a good deed?" Xia Luo's lips curled up as he examined Bullet with interest.

Bullet scratched his head and grinned foolishly. "Hehe, it wasn't bad. Turns out fighting isn't the only thing that can make people feel good. Helping others can too, and that feeling seems... ah, I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, it felt pretty good."

"Hahaha."

Xia Luo laughed heartily. Bullet's change made him very happy.

Just like that, the two chatted and laughed as they walked. Occasionally, Bullet would cry out in surprise, or Xia Luo would burst into laughter. They made quite a commotion and stood out enough already, not to mention the two large chests Bullet was carrying.

Just two people, carrying large chests in their hands—they were obviously fat sheep.

"Stop!"

"Hey, I'm talking to you two! Can't you hear me, you deaf idiots?!"

A group of burly men dressed as pirates, with savage faces and bodies reeking of alcohol, blocked Xia Luo and Bullet's path. They looked aggressive and clearly meant trouble.

Xia Luo did not stop walking and did not even spare them a glance. He softly called out, "Bullet."

Bullet understood immediately. He set down the chests in his hands and revealed a ferocious grin. "Boss, give me one minute."

"One minute? Hahaha, what big words!"

"Hey, you ignorant little brat, do you know who we are?!"

"No, Captain, I think he's right. One minute is indeed enough—just enough time for us to beat him flat on the ground."

"Zehahaha, go on! Show them what we're made of. I'm very interested in their chests."

The man addressed as captain stared at the two large chests beside Bullet, greed gleaming in his eyes.

"Oho, looks like we've got a show. The Jackal Pirates are bullying newcomers again."

"There are only two of them. Are they really pirates? Did they just set sail? Getting targeted by the Jackal Pirates right after going to sea is truly rotten luck."

"Don't mention it. We were robbed by those Jackal Pirates bastards not long ago. Even our captain got injured. We're no match for them at all!"

Listening to the crowd's discussion, Xia Luo somehow pulled out a stack of bounty posters and flipped through them with great interest.

"The Jackal Pirates, right? Found it. Captain Heinrich Böll, from the North Blue, a Zoan-type Jackal Fruit user, bounty of 70 million."

???

Holy shit!

They were bounty hunters?!

Watching Xia Luo's actions, the pirates watching nearby could not help widening their eyes.

Normally, only two kinds of people carried a large number of wanted posters with them.

One was bounty hunters who made their living hunting pirates and occasionally moonlighted as pirates themselves. The other was the Marines, the self-proclaimed righteous lapdogs of the World Government.

Judging by how the two were dressed, they did not look like Marines. No one had heard of Marines operating in pairs, and there had been no news of a Marine warship arriving nearby.

So, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that they were bounty hunters.

But!

Since when did bounty hunters dare set foot in Mock Town? Did they really not take them seriously? This place was a stronghold for pirates and outlaws!

And they had even swaggered in openly. They were utterly lawless! This was outrageous!

For a moment, everyone around them looked at Xia Luo and Bullet with hostility, as if ready to rush forward and tear them apart at any moment.