What Is That Supposed to Be? And It Thinks It Can Compare to Me?

Jogo ultimately boarded the ship with Sai and the others.

The night was dark and the wind was high. The Happo Navy pirate ship had a broad deck, with torches swaying across it.

The pirates bustled about. Some carried large crates taken from the luxury cruise ship, while others explained the rules to those unable to pay their ransom. When they spotted Sai's group, they warmly greeted him as "Don."

Sai and Abu led the two captives, Hina and Jogo, then went their separate ways at the entrance to the cabins.

Hina was to be locked in the prison below deck.

As for Jogo...

After passing through the captain's quarters and several heavily guarded wooden doors, he followed Sai to a tightly locked cabin.

The door opened.

A dazzling golden glow slapped Jogo across the face.

Money! So much money!

Countless treasures of gold, silver, and jewelry lay scattered throughout the room. Gold coins mixed with Beli filled every corner. In the center of the room, gemstones, ornaments, and golden goblets were half-buried in a heap of coins, forming a small hill two meters high.

Just standing there made the air he breathed feel more expensive than outside.

"Wow."

Jogo raised his brows in amazement.

Compared to the wealth in this room, Capone Bege's little treasury seemed downright shabby.

Sai lifted his chin and watched Jogo's surprise with satisfaction.

Every gold coin here had been accumulated through plunder after he took over the Happo Navy.

They were symbols of his personal ability and achievements.

They were also important proof that he could command the Happo Navy and lead it toward revival.

That was why, the moment he heard Jogo was a "historical scholar," he and Abu had impatiently brought him aboard.

"Since you're a historical scholar, appraise all the antiques here!"

Sai pointed his guandao at several large crates scattered around the pile of coins.

The Flower Country had its own appraisers as well.

But for one thing, he and Abu had no plans to return just yet.

As their first operation after taking over as Dons of the Happo Navy, they planned to sail around the entire West Blue.

They would plunder enough wealth to raise morale within their ranks and crack enough skulls to intimidate the outside world.

For another, purely in terms of skill... to be fair, the Flower Country's appraisers truly could not compare to Ohara's historical scholars.

In this era when the World Government prohibited historical research, Ohara stood at the pinnacle of archaeology in the West Blue... no, in the entire world.

The Flower Country's appraisers even had to visit Ohara regularly for further study!

And he and Abu were desperate to learn the value of everything they had stolen.

Since they had caught a proper Ohara scholar like Jogo, naturally they had to squeeze every bit of value out of him.

"There's no rush tonight. I'll get you a hammock later. You'll stay in the room outside for the next few days."

Sai had watched the Flower Country's appraisers work before and knew that appraisal was a task that tested one's eye and experience.

There were countless antiques across the seas, originating from every corner of the world. There would always be things one had never seen before.

For uncertain items, it was normal to spend days and nights consulting all kinds of records and conducting research.

By his estimate, if these crates of antiques were handed to a Flower Country appraiser, one person would need at least three days to identify them all.

And though Jogo came from Ohara, he looked so young that he surely lacked experience.

There were no reference materials on this pirate ship for him to consult, either.

It would take him at least several months.

At that thought, Sai's lips curled into a strange grin as he said to Jogo,

"You'll be released whenever you finish appraising everything!"

"Really?"

Jogo sounded doubtful.

Swish!

The guandao was pressed against his neck the next second.

Sai tilted his head at him.

"Do you think the Happo Navy is some third-rate pirate crew?"

"We keep our word."

"Of course..."

Halfway through, he looked Jogo up and down and sneered.

"If you're not skilled enough, and you haven't finished this batch before the next one arrives, heh... then you can stay on this ship for the rest of your life!"

That had been his plan all along.

Appraisers were extremely scarce talents for a large pirate crew like the Happo Navy!

Naturally, they had to make use of such a good opportunity.

Jogo smiled as though he had not seen through Sai's intentions.

He calmly pushed the guandao away from his neck.

"Then let's begin!" He walked over and reached for a crate.

Watching from behind, Sai frowned. He slammed the guandao heavily against the floor and said coldly,

"Didn't you understand?"

"I told you to rest today and start working tomorrow!"

"What can you even appraise in this little time?"

Jogo waved a hand without looking back.

"There's no need to wait until tomorrow. Your crates can't hold that many antiques. I'll finish them all in an hour or two at most."

Not that many?

Sai was so angry he nearly laughed. He abruptly raised his guandao, his face darkening.

"Are you trying to fool me, bastard?"

"Do you think I've never seen an appraiser at work?"

"This batch of antiques would take the Flower Country's appraisers at least three days to..."

Before he could finish, his voice abruptly stopped, and his movement froze midair.

Ahead of him,

Jogo had turned halfway around and glanced back at him.

What sort of look was that?

It was like someone boasting about Hasshoken in front of Sai, or bragging about being the strongest pirate in the West Blue before the Happo Navy.

Gone was his previous gentle and easygoing manner.

On the half of Jogo's face illuminated by firelight was undisguised arrogance and contempt.

"The Flower Country's appraisers?"

Jogo looked Sai up and down, his tone lifting slightly as if he were genuinely confused.

"What are they supposed to be? And they think they can compare to me?"

Sai's mouth fell open. He was shocked and furious, yet he could not find any words to refute him.

The voice in his ears had been soft and natural... so natural that it made the words seem entirely justified!

That gaze, as though Sai were trash, even made him feel ashamed.

Come on, I'm a historical scholar certified by Ohara, one of the world's top institutions!

Even in Ohara, there weren't many historical scholars who would dare compete with me, alright?

What cockroach crawled out of some backwater hole and thinks it can challenge me?

You actually dare compare garbage with a master!

But Sai quickly came to his senses.

He snorted.

"You talk big. Then appraise them and let me see?"

"If I find out you're deceiving me, you're dead!"

Jogo shook his head, too lazy to argue with such a layman. Rolling up his sleeves, he turned around, squatted under Sai's watchful gaze, opened the crates, took out the luxuriously wrapped boxes one by one, and carefully removed the antiques within.

He began his appraisal.

The first antique was a necklace.

"Violet Island craftsmanship. It must be over three hundred years old."

Jogo had Sai hold the torch closer. Turning the item in his hand, he gave his assessment.

"It's been preserved well. Look at the number of pearls on it. This was a gift intended for the king, but the gemstones are wrong... did freedom replace royal authority?"

"Rare... it's a typical product of the rebellion period. Three hundred years ago, the king of Violet Island..."

It was not merely an appraisal.

As Jogo spoke, a sealed history surrounding the necklace slowly lifted its mysterious veil.

Sai listened quietly.

He had never seen an appraisal done this way before.

Instead of thinking for a long time and squeezing out a string of reference figures,

Jogo spoke as if he were telling a story, weaving the tale with ease.

The second, the third...

At first, Sai could still be heard picking at flaws in his explanations.

Gradually, Sai's questions became fewer and fewer.

By the end, no one knew when it had happened, but he had fallen completely silent.

Some things, after being washed by time, seemed to naturally possess the power to draw people in and make them quietly listen.

He listened as nations collapsed amid plague, as heroes turned the tide with furious roars... the heavy, enduring river of history unfolded before his eyes.

Across the West Blue, countless grand upheavals, countless rises and falls, countless ambitions, countless joys and sorrows... had become a scratch on an antique today, tugging at his heart.

The antiques in Jogo's hands were picked up and set down, replaced one after another.

"Archaeology Enthusiast (White)" → "Archaeologist (Blue)"

A notification of a trait breakthrough echoed in his mind.

Jogo did not seem to notice. His clear voice reverberated through the treasure room, while his black eyes under the firelight remained clear and tranquil, as though they reflected the river of time.

At this moment, even a rough brute like Sai, who was practically illiterate, had to admit that the Flower Country's appraisers were like little brothers before Jogo!

No, they did not even qualify as little brothers.

They were simply not on the same level at all!

Jogo's appraisals were pure art!

Though Sai did not understand what art was.

Still, he had never seen an appraisal so pleasing to watch in his life.

During this time, Abu came to report that Hina had been locked up. After finishing, he stood behind Jogo with Sai and quietly listened to Jogo's explanations.

Time passed bit by bit. No one knew how long had gone by before Jogo's voice finally stopped.

The treasure room suddenly fell silent.

Sai and Abu snapped out of their daze.

Only then did they realize that every antique in the crates had already been appraised.

"It's over already?"

For the first time, the two of them regretted not robbing more enthusiastically before.

It was not their fault.

In truth, antiques were not the preferred loot of most pirate crews.

Everyone knew antiques could fetch enormous prices.

But because they lacked the means to identify them, being deceived or cheated by the black market was all too common.

Over time, antiques had become something optional on most pirates' lists of loot.

The Happo Navy was the same.

Like the ransom paid for the hostages on the luxury cruise ship earlier, antiques were often discounted when used as payment.

But things were different now.

After Jogo's explanations, Sai and Abu felt as though their intelligence had broken through some invisible barrier.

When they looked at these antiques again, they no longer saw junk. They saw weighty fragments of the past and countless wonderful stories.

Jogo had even estimated the approximate value of every antique for them.

This was wonderful!

Jogo ignored their lingering expressions and seriously reminded them,

"I can only tell you their origins and approximate periods.

"As for exact prices, black market valuations change every day. If you find the right buyer, it's normal for the price to multiply several times over..."

"I don't think I need to tell you this, but sea travel is extremely humid. A few of these items have not been properly maintained. If you keep storing them like this, their value will drop heavily.

"I'll write down the specific preservation methods later. Make sure you take good care of them."

As he spoke, he asked Sai for a sheet of paper and quickly wrote down the maintenance points for several antiques.

Then, under Sai and Abu's eager gazes, he was led by the bald pirate from earlier to a cabin the Happo Navy had specially prepared for distinguished guests.

His figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Behind him, inside the captain's quarters, Sai and Abu exchanged a glance and smiled meaningfully at the same time.

They had struck gold!

"Big Brother, are you really going to let him leave?"

Abu's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

This was a real talent!

Sai watched Jogo's back vanish into the darkness, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Of course not!"

Abu scratched his head, seeming to recall something. He looked troubled.

"But... didn't you promise to let him go before, Boss?"

"The Happo Navy has always kept its word. If we break our promise, Grandpa Chinjao will look down on us, won't he?"

Sai shook his head.

"Who said I wasn't letting him go?"

Abu froze, unable to process it.

Didn't you just say it was impossible?

"You're so stupid, Abu!"

Sai said with the air of someone disappointed by his failure to meet expectations.

"We're pirates. If there's something we want, of course we'll do whatever it takes to snatch it!"

"I only promised to let Jogo leave on a nearby island."

"But what if Jogo gets caught by us again after leaving?"

As Abu's expression turned to realization, Sai said smugly.

"If we catch him again this time, it won't be so easy for him."

"He'll start as a slave and spend the rest of his life in the Happo Navy!"

Jogo?

Still too naive. Pirates were cunning creatures!

After passing through the noisy ship's cabin, Jogo quickly followed the bald pirate to the upper-level lounge.

"This is a room reserved for distinguished guests of the Happo Navy."

"If you need anything, come find me on deck."

The bald man spoke warmly to Jogo.

His smile was fawning, with none of the contempt he had shown when calling Jogo a pervert aboard the cruise ship.

Jogo did not stand on ceremony. He waved him away, then entered the cabin and shut the door.

In the corridor, the bald man summoned two people and told them to clean the area regularly. He glanced at the cabin door before leaving.

More than ten minutes later, a passing pirate suddenly collapsed. The door opened, and Jogo stepped out, dragging the man inside.

When he emerged from the room again, he was already wearing that pirate's clothes.

He tied a bandana around his head and hurried toward the lower deck.

[...

Conqueror's Haki (Awakened):

Trait Equipped: "Spy (Blue)" "Beheading Tactics (White)"

...]

Conqueror's Haki Release: 1%

...

Lower deck, prison.

It was pitch-black.

Hina wore heavy Seastone handcuffs and sat weakly on the ground, her legs together as she leaned sideways against the iron cage.

As a Devil Fruit user, as long as half her body was submerged in seawater or she touched Seastone, she would immediately lose her strength and become a lamb at others' mercy.

This was a weakness no Devil Fruit user could avoid.

Compared to that, the iron cage seemed somewhat unnecessary.

She knew the Happo Navy was deliberately humiliating her.

But she did not feel humiliated at all.

Instead, she was a little excited!

—This time, Hina had obtained the Happo Navy's location!

Listening carefully to the footsteps outside the cabin and confirming that no one would suddenly enter, she bent down and pulled a miniature Den Den Mushi watch from the deep cleavage of her snowy-white breasts.

She opened the cover, preparing to call the major.

Then she suddenly tucked the watch between her full thighs to hide it.

Her face returned to its previous rebellious, icy expression.

A commotion came from outside the cabin.

"Here to deliver food? Who are you... You look familiar. Where's Old Yin... making someone else run errands again? Go in, but remember not to touch that female Marine."

The door opened, and light spilled down.

A figure carrying a tray descended the stairs.

Hina coldly watched the pirate delivering food.

She coldly watched him place the meal inside the iron cage, like feeding a dog.

She said coldly, "Is the Happo Navy trying to humiliate me? Take it away. Hina won't eat it!"

"You really won't eat?" Jogo raised his head.

The ice in Hina's eyes instantly turned to delight.

"Jogo!" she said softly.