Marine Branch

"Ryan, how do you plan to handle these people?"

"Are you really going to send them back one by one?"

"Let's just take them to the Marine branch over in the Goth Kingdom."

On the deck, Beli and Ryan drank while discussing how to send these people back one by one.

A subsequent headcount tallied a total of 113 people, all from various parts of South Blue.

Ryan did not have that much time and energy to send them back one by one.

It just so happened that Ryan planned to make a trip to the Goth Kingdom.

As one of the member countries of the World Government, the Goth Kingdom enjoyed the protection of the World Government as long as it paid the specified amount of the Heavenly Tribute on time every year.

Therefore, the Goth Kingdom had Marines stationed there.

Ryan said to Beli, "Beli, go call that young lady over. I have something I need to ask her."

Before long, Beli led over the girl who had been the first to stand up and converse with Ryan yesterday.

Ryan learned from the girl's mouth that she was not from South Blue, but from the Grand Line.

As for why she came to South Blue, the girl did not say, and Ryan was not the type to relentlessly pursue the bottom of a matter, so he did not ask.

"You're here. Sit down."

Looking at the tidied-up girl before him, Ryan could not help but think of the lolis from his past life on Earth. Twin tails, airport flat chest, pleated skirt. The standard loli setup!

Because she was rescued, the girl walked with light, brisk steps and came to Ryan's side with a beaming smile.

"What do you want with me, benefactor?"

"I already told you not to call me benefactor. Just call me Ryan directly."

The girl extended her hand to Ryan and said, "Alright, Ryan. My name is Lory."

"What? Your name is Lory?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?"

Ryan stroked his forehead and said, "Good name!"

"Thank you." Lory extended her hand once more.

Ryan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately reluctant, he handed the wine in his hand toward Lory.

Lory: ???

With a face full of dark lines, Lory pushed away the wine Ryan handed over.

It turned out Lory did not mean that.

Ryan awkwardly said, "I thought you were craving the wine in my hand."

Lory angrily said, "Are you an idiot?"

Clearing his throat, Ryan said, "Ahem, I called you over to understand the situation in the Grand Line." It was also because Ryan did not know how to continue the conversation.

Since he was going to enter the Grand Line next, Ryan figured he should understand some things first. That way, he could plan his voyage and adventure in advance.

"What do you want to know?"

"Of course I want to know where the good food and fun places are, or if there are any places with treasure."

Hearing Ryan ask this, Lory immediately perked up.

"If it's food, go to Gourmet City Puji. If it's fun, you can go to Spring Queen City..."

"You can also go to Alabasta to explore ancient civilization ruins, or there's the mysterious Florian Triangle..."

Seeing Lory, who had opened the floodgates, endlessly recounting the places she knew and recommending some of her favorite spots to Ryan.

Ryan also formed a preliminary outline of the Grand Line in his mind. Thinking of all the interesting places he could go to adventure next, Ryan also revealed a smile.

Lory curiously asked, "Do you plan to go to all these places?"

"Of course. What a waste it would be not to go to such interesting places."

Hearing Ryan's reply, Lory looked at him expectantly: "Then can I go with you guys?"

"What? Don't you need to go home?!"

Hearing this, Ryan almost choked on his wine. Just as he wanted to refuse, he heard Lory continue.

"My home is in the Grand Line. Once we reach my home, you can drop me off."

"Before that, I can come with you guys to have fun."

"No, your strength is too weak. Following us is too dangerous. We are pirates, after all." Ryan would never admit he was refusing Lory because he found her troublesome.

Seeing Ryan reject her request, Lory immediately panicked.

She directly used both hands to tightly hug Ryan's arm and acted coquettishly toward him.

"Big Brother Ryan~~"

"Just take me with you"

"I'm familiar with the situation in the Grand Line, and I even know some navigation arts."

Ryan carefully felt the friction between his arm and Lory's body. Although small in scale, this was the first time Ryan had physical contact with a girl from childhood to adulthood.

Ryan in his previous life was just a pure little virgin who lived in vain to eighteen years old. How could he withstand such a test!

"Fine. Seeing as you know navigation arts, I'll take you along."

Hearing Ryan agree, Lory immediately withdrew her hand.

Lacking closure, Ryan said on a whim, "Continue, don't stop!"

Stunned for a moment, Lory seemed to think of something, and her face turned instantly red. Ignoring Beli's astonished gaze nearby, she ran back to her room.

After Lory left, Beli asked Ryan like a curious baby.

"Ryan, what's wrong with her?"

"I saw her face was red all over. Did something happen to her body?"

"You're still young. Don't ask what you shouldn't!"

"Oh."

Walking toward his own room while rubbing his arm, Ryan could not help but sigh: "People in the pirate world develop early. Girls in their teens already have a bit of substance to them."

Only, what Ryan did not know was that Lory was actually already 15 years old this year.

After Ryan walked far away, Beli seemed to react and muttered to himself, "Aren't I older than Ryan by a year?"

Only Beli was left on the deck, fluttering in the wind...

The two ships sailed in the ocean for seven days and finally arrived at their destination for this trip: the Goth Kingdom.

The Goth Kingdom was composed of one large island and six other irregularly shaped small islands.

If viewed from the sky, one would find that the Goth Kingdom looked like a human hand, except it had one more finger than a normal person's hand.

That large island was like the palm, and the six small islands were the six fingers beside the palm.

Ryan's group directly sailed their ships into the port in the central district of the Goth Kingdom, and the port appeared extremely bustling.

Looking at the busy workers and the endless stream of incoming and outgoing ships, Ryan also felt the human warmth unique to a city.

After docking the two ships and asking around a bit to find out the location of the Marine branch, Ryan led his grand procession away from the port.

The busy workers nearby seemed accustomed to this kind of situation, only glancing twice before continuing with their own work.

On the way to the Marine branch, Ryan's Observation Haki sensed someone staring at him. He scanned the surroundings and finally locked his gaze onto two people.

Seeing Ryan look over, the two instantly avoided Ryan's gaze, perhaps sensing that Ryan had discovered them.

The two turned around and walked into the crowd.

Before long, they blended into the bustling crowd and vanished from Ryan's sight.

Ryan did not chase after them because he had already memorized the auras and appearances of these two people.

Through the breathing technique, as long as Ryan memorized an aura, he could perceive those two people as long as they appeared within a 20-meter radius of him.

This was also a small trick Ryan had deduced by combining the breathing technique and Observation Haki.

Ryan could roughly guess the identities of those two people as well, and he believed they would come looking for him again.

Before long, the group arrived at the gate of the Marine branch base. Looking at the flags emblematic of the World Government and the Marines, Ryan stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and said to the leading man.

"I won't go in since I'm a pirate, after all. You guys take the others straight inside, find the person in charge, and explain the situation, and they will send you all home safely."

Hearing Ryan's words, everyone did not say anything more. With a final expression of gratitude, they entered the base.

Looking at the two people beside him, Ryan smiled gently. "Next, we'll go play nicely with that group of human traffickers."

Beli beside him also revealed an honest, good-natured smile.