Xia Chen stood atop the Marine Base, watching Nami carry away piles of treasure below. A smile spread across his face.
Although he had indeed come here for that treasure, too.
He had simply wanted to add to his savings.
The Beli he had left was actually enough to last the three of them a while.
So when he ran into Nami, he gave it straight to her.
Trading this bit of treasure for one condition from Nami was well worth it in his eyes.
Besides, Nami would eventually hand all her money over to Arlong.
When the time came, he could just ask Arlong for a little financial assistance.
Simple enough. It would end up back in his pocket anyway. Same difference!
All right, back to sleep!
Early the next morning.
"Luffy, if you keep eating this much, you're paying for your own meals!"
"And you too, Zoro! Who told you to order the most expensive booze every time?!"
Inside a tavern in town, veins bulged on Xia Chen's forehead as he angrily addressed Luffy and Zoro.
Damn it, I didn't think this through. Is it too late to ask Nami for that treasure back?
These two money pits, Luffy and Zoro, were absolutely burning through his remaining Beli!
"What's the big deal, Xia Chen? Don't be so stingy!" Luffy said as he stuffed meat into his mouth.
"Exactly, exactly. See? You're thinking too small!" Zoro chimed in beside him.
(•́へ•́╬)!
Clang!
Clang!
Xia Chen instantly appeared beside Luffy and Zoro and delivered a knuckle to each of their heads.
Watching from the side, Koby trembled in fright.
A thought popped into his head.
Mr. Xia Chen is so scary!
Luffy and Zoro's heads hit the floor at the same time. But their reactions were completely different.
"Xia Chen, you bastard! I'll cut you down!" Zoro raged.
"Hehe, Xia Chen, I'm a Rubber Man! Your punches can't hurt me!" Luffy said provocatively.
Damn it! Xia Chen's anger surged again.
He looked at Luffy and thought viciously:
Once I master Haki, I'll beat you so badly even your grandpa won't recognize you!
But what could Xia Chen do now, with his anger still simmering?
Take it out on a certain third-rate swordsman who wanted to cut him down, of course!
"Hehehe!"
A while later~
Xia Chen happily ate meat, while Zoro drank with his face swollen like a pig's head, glaring at Xia Chen with resentment.
Bang, bang!
Just then, a group of Marines came in through the door.
They addressed Xia Chen and the others:
"Although we're very grateful that you freed us from our suffering..."
"I'm a Marine, and you're pirates. Please leave this island!"
As soon as he finished, many disgruntled voices rose throughout the tavern.
"What's wrong with you Marines? Is that how you treat our benefactors?"
"I won't stand for it! Our benefactors can leave whenever they want. That's not for you to decide!"
Hearing the villagers' words, Luffy fell silent for a while.
Then he said:
"All right, let's go!"
"Xia Chen, Zoro, we're off!"
Xia Chen and Zoro stood up and followed Luffy outside.
Just then, the Marine's voice came from behind them.
"Aren't you with them, too?"
Hearing this, Luffy turned around and looked at Koby, who stood behind them at a loss.
Then a smile appeared on Luffy's face.
He walked up to Koby and told them everything about his time aboard Alvida's ship.
Koby, meanwhile, worried that if the Marines learned he had been aboard a pirate ship, they would refuse to let him enlist.
So as Luffy kept talking, Koby finally couldn't take it anymore and punched him.
"You bastard!"
"Hey! How dare you hit me!" Luffy said angrily.
Then the two kept trading punches, one after another.
Seeing this, the Marine hurriedly said:
"Hey, stop! I won't allow you to cause any more trouble on this island!"
"I believe you're not together!"
Hearing this, Luffy stopped what he was doing, then slowly walked outside.
The three walked along the path leading off the island.
"Hey! Didn't you go a little too far?" Zoro asked Luffy.
"Nope! Koby can handle it himself! Let's trust him!" Luffy said with a grin.
Xia Chen nodded as well.
After all, Koby would become the Deserter King. How could he fail to handle something this trivial?
At the thought, Xia Chen couldn't help smiling.
Koby, I'll give you a few months to see how you've changed!
Luffy reached the shore and untied the boat's mooring rope, and the three jumped aboard.
Just then, Koby suddenly came running up to the shore.
Looking at Xia Chen and the others, he said:
"Thank you! Thank you so much for looking after me all this way!"
"But I won't go easy on you the next time we meet!"
"First time I've seen a Marine thanking pirates. How strange!" Zoro curled his lip.
"You'll see more of it in the future!" Xia Chen said casually.
"Bye, Koby! See you next time!" Luffy shouted, waving.
The little boat slowly sailed away under the townspeople's gazes.
A day later...
"Ugh, I'm so hungry!" Luffy lay sprawled weakly in the boat.
His stomach kept rumbling.
"Yeah, I'm a little hungry too!" Xia Chen agreed with a nod.
Then Xia Chen took a piece of meat straight out of his space and started gnawing on it.
"Mmm~ Delicious!"
Seeing Xia Chen eating, Luffy immediately crowded over.
"Me too! Me too!"
Xia Chen casually took two more pieces of meat out of his System Space and tossed one each to Luffy and Zoro.
"Xia Chen, your fruit ability is so handy!" Luffy said enviously.
"If I could do that too, I could take loads and loads of meat wherever I went! I'd be so happy!"
Hearing this, Xia Chen and Zoro were both speechless.
They exchanged a glance, the same thought rising in their minds.
What rotten luck, getting stuck with a captain like this!
"Anyway, how long are we going to keep drifting like this?!" Zoro suddenly asked.
"No idea. We'll just drift wherever. That's how Luffy and I did it when we set out to sea!"
Xia Chen answered casually.
"Besides..."
At this point, a smile curled Xia Chen's lips.
"Something will take us there in a moment!"
"What do you mean?" Before Zoro could figure out what Xia Chen meant, he saw Xia Chen suddenly look up at the sky.
"Look, here it comes!"
Zoro looked up and saw a huge bird flying overhead.
"You mean... that bird is going to take us there?"
"Correct!" Xia Chen casually snapped his fingers.
"You're kidding, right? That bird flies so fast. How could our boat possibly catch up?" Zoro looked at Xia Chen as though he were an idiot.
"Who said we're taking the boat?" A meaningful smile appeared on Xia Chen's face.
"What we're riding is... a bird!"
Then Xia Chen grabbed Zoro and Luffy, one in each hand, and used Geppo to race toward the bird.
"Aah~ You bastard, what are you doing?!" Zoro's eyes widened.
Luffy, by contrast, was laughing away.
"Woohoo! This is so exciting!"
Bang!
Bang!
With a few steps through the air, Xia Chen had already closed in on the bird. One more step brought him down onto its back.