The third time was this [Erudite] advancement quest. (Continued)

This was completely different from the two or three a week Crocus had mentioned...

A moment later.

The pirate ship successfully made its way to Twin Capes and docked securely beside the lighthouse.

A band of vicious-looking pirates rushed off the ship, carrying swords and muskets.

The pirate in the lead was tall and thin, wearing a yellowish-brown coat. His black hair was styled into a four-leaf clover, much like Dr. Clover's.

Close beside the clover-haired pirate followed a scrawny pirate, holding a compass with a wildly spinning needle in his trembling hands. Sweat covered his head, and he looked incredibly nervous.

The navigator-looking pirate quickly broke away from the crowd and ran up to Crocus, raising the compass in his left hand while reaching for Crocus's neck with his right.

"Old man! Why doesn't the compass work here?"

Crocus frowned and took a small step back, avoiding the pirate's grasp.

"You rookie pirates know nothing, yet you dare to charge straight into the Grand Line? Are you all looking to get yourselves killed?"

At those words, the clover-haired pirate immediately snarled, "Old man! What the hell are you spouting?! If we knew about the Grand Line, would we need to come ask you?"

A pirate lackey beside him immediately chimed in, "Old man! Our captain is Spiral Dure, whose name strikes fear across the South Blue! His bounty is a full 59.9 million Beli!"

Crocus couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids. "Oh, 59.9 million Beli," he said dismissively.

Spiral Dure scowled. He was about to raise his hand and teach this clueless old man a vicious lesson, showing him what a great pirate with a sixty-million-Beli bounty was capable of.

Just then, one of his underlings reported, "Captain! There's a really impressive ship docked over there too!