The Kitty Pass

After switching to his new weapons and parting ways with Cody and Bax for the time being, Xie Wen carried the two cats on his shoulders and wandered around the village. He also held the Hunter's Notes open in his hands, keeping a constant eye on any changes...

Even with his expanded "field of view," Xie Wen couldn't possibly have explored the entire island where Paper Lantern Town stood. Yet the map showed that it had been fully revealed, so there had to be another rule he hadn't figured out.

Sure enough, after Xie Wen took the cats on a complete circuit of the village, the dynamic map in the notes changed again-

A huge circular area centered on the village lit up instantly, even revealing part of the nearby sea. The circle wasn't complete, however. A small patch along its northwestern edge remained dark.

That unrevealed area was also circular. More precisely, it was a circle with a chunk cut out of it by another circle, rather like the Apple logo. It was much smaller than the revealed circle, and right in its center sat a seagull-shaped symbol representing the Marines.

Anyone who played games regularly would recognize this: the watchtower system found in plenty of games. Capturing or even simply reaching a landmark would reveal a large surrounding area. Heroes of Might and Magic, The Legend of Zelda, and others all had similar systems.

Even the surrounding waters lighting up when Xie Wen filled the starting island's progress bar had been part of this watchtower system.

So, to reveal that last little patch of map, Xie Wen either had to take a stroll inside the Marine Base or use his expanded field of view to make a circuit around it.

Xie Wen scratched his chin. Neither option sounded particularly easy...

The Marine Base clearly wasn't somewhere he could just walk into. Even circling its perimeter posed a slight problem-he would look far too much like a spy gathering intelligence, which would surely attract the attention of the Marines stationed there.

Maybe... I could ask Uncle Cody for help?

After thinking it over for a moment, Xie Wen abandoned the idea.

The main issue was that he didn't have a convincing reason... Granted, most minor characters in One Piece were incredibly unwary, and trusting people readily was practically standard procedure. Cody might believe whatever excuse Xie Wen came up with, but he still intended to try on his own first.

Besides, when it came to being unwary, the Marines were no different.

So Xie Wen put his newly acquired twin blades into his bag and headed toward the Marine Base with the two cats.

He had assumed the Marine Base would at least have a sentry post or a security perimeter. Instead, he made it all the way to the front gates without a single person stopping him...

There wasn't even a guard at the entrance!

Was the gap in standards between headquarters and the branches really this big? Or was this meant to make it easier for bounty hunters to collect their rewards?

Even so, shouldn't there at least be someone watching the gate? Even "Axe Emperor" Morgan's base had plenty of guards.

Xie Wen glanced around and quietly checked with the two cats. Once he confirmed that no one nearby was secretly watching them, he stopped bothering to think about it and walked straight into the Marine Base.

After passing through the gates and walking a little farther inside, Xie Wen and the cats finally encountered someone.

"Kid, what are you doing here? This is a Marine Base!" a Marine shouted.

So you do know this is a Marine Base...

The corner of Xie Wen's mouth twitched as he stared speechlessly at the Marine running toward him.

"Huh? I don't think I've seen you in the village before... Oh, I get it. Colonel Cody brought you here, right? Are you planning to join the Marines?"

Before Xie Wen could even open his mouth, the man launched into a whole stream of chatter, incidentally revealing that Cody had actually been a colonel.

From the sound of it, Cody had often rescued people and brought them here to become Marines. No wonder security was so lax... Though it was still terribly unreliable.

"Are these two cats yours? You even dressed them up. Their clothes are nicer than mine." The Marine was apparently a chatterbox; his mouth hadn't stopped moving since they met. "They're so well-behaved, lying on your shoulders without making a fuss..."

As he spoke, he reached out to pet Klee Meow, only for Sanji Meow on the other shoulder to kick his hand away.

"Don't just reach out and pet someone else's little sister! We're not that kind of cat, meow!"

"I-it talked!" The Marine looked stunned.

Xie Wen finally found an opening to speak. "I'm not here to join the Marines. My cats were just curious about the Marine Base and wanted to look around."

He had thought up plenty of excuses earlier, but at this point, Xie Wen figured this one would do.

The Marine, however, was still in shock. Pointing at Sanji Meow, he shouted at Xie Wen, "Your cat just talked!"

Xie Wen: "..."

This is exhausting... I think I'm starting to understand Trafalgar Law.

The commotion finally attracted other Marines, and before long, a crowd had surrounded Xie Wen.

Well, to be precise, they had surrounded Klee Meow and Sanji Meow.

"Want some dried fish?"

"You're from the Mink Tribe, right? I heard a lieutenant commander from headquarters mention you before."

"Interested in joining the Marines? We offer excellent benefits."

"What are you all doing?! Can't you see you're scaring Klee? Back off!"

The base's commanding officer, Marine Branch Colonel Hilnans, used his authority to drive everyone else away, only to sidle up himself with a broad smile.

"Officer Cody brought you here, right? Are you sure you won't consider joining the Marines?"

As he spoke, his gaze remained on Xie Wen. Clearly, he had already realized who was in a position to make that decision.

"Sorry, I still have to help Klee and the others find their missing kin." Xie Wen shook his head and gave a half-true answer. "After that, I have to take them to see the Mink Tribe's homeland, so I don't have time to join the Marines."

"The Mink Tribe's homeland? That's in the second half of the Grand Line." As a branch colonel, Hilnans clearly knew a little more, and he offered the warning with a serious expression.

Xie Wen smiled without answering.

Seeing that his mind was made up, Hilnans didn't press the issue.

After all, this was a world where dreams and promises came before everything else. Invoke either of those, and you could often get your way without a hitch. With help from the "rules of the world," you might even get a little cheat or a trial pass to being the protagonist...

Of course, there was another possibility: you could become part of someone else's "dream" or "promise." Like Kuina, who died to the "Supreme Grand Staircase," Flame Man, who shielded the Sun God from magma, or the Emperor whose arm was bitten off by the Lord of the Coast.

In short, with the two concept-level bonuses of the palicoes' adorable looks and Xie Wen's "a man's promise," Hilnans readily agreed to let them tour the Marine Base.

Well, Uncle Cody's reputation probably played some part in it, too.

And so, with the chatterbox Marine they had first encountered as their guide, Xie Wen and the cats not only toured the entire base, but also learned its full personnel makeup and weapons loadout from him. He even spilled every last detail about the specialties of the base's strongest fighters...

Seriously, wasn't this base a little too lax about security?!

I suddenly found a bug in my stockpiled chapters... Fixing it will take an almost complete rewrite... I'm numb...