Inside the Tabebuia Bar at the harbor.
Noah was looking at the newspaper, while Ray chatting with the bartender.
After flipping through this month's South Blue Weekly, he looked up at the wanted poster wall next to the bar's liquor cabinet, which displayed the names of some of the more famous pirates in the South Blue.
Noah's gaze swept over the row of bounty posters.
They didn't find many familiar faces; the later Supernovas like Kid and Killer were just kids at this point.
There was one rather unexpected person among these bounty posters.
Catarina Devon.
Captain of the Crescent Moon Pirates, collector of beautiful women's heads, Crescent Moon Hunter, user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Nine-Tailed Fox, and later captain of the sixth ship of the Blackbeard Pirates.
Don't let her middle- Big Mom appearance fool you; she was only 34 when she first joined the Blackbeard Pirates, and now she's just 20.
Noah had no idea that this guy was born in the South Blue.
According to the bounty poster, Catarina Devon has eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Nine-Tailed Fox and has recently hunted down young girls from several Affiliated Nation.
Suddenly, the bar door was slowly pushed open.
"A cup of Gray Earl tea and a plate of cookies, please."
'Huh? It's him? Interesting!' Noah's lips curled up slightly.
The visitor was wearing a blue and white striped short-sleeved shirt and blue and white striped framed glasses.
Although the bartender wanted to complain about the other person coming to the bar for tea, he thought about how there were all sorts of strange people on the sea, and as a bartender, he had to be self-aware, otherwise he could easily attract unnecessary trouble. So he quickly brewed some black tea for the other person.
The man sitting not far from Noah casually picked up the newspaper and the wanted poster from the counter.
A short while later.
The bartender will quietly place the teapot, teacups, and a plate of cookies on the person's left.
"Are you a bounty hunter?" Noah asked with great interest.
The man put down his newspaper, took a sip of black tea, and asked, "A fellow traveler?"
"No, I'm just an ordinary businessman. I'd like to travel to the Black Sea Kingdom in the next few days. If you're willing to take on an escort mission, I'm willing to pay a reward of 500,000 Beli."
" The Black Sea Kingdom?" The man frowned, clearly aware of the recent situation in the waters near the Black Sea Kingdom. However, 500,000 Beli per trip was already a very good price for merchant escort missions. He pondered for a moment:
"Yes, I accept this mission. I am the bounty hunter Galdino."
Noah smiled and raised his teacup, "I am Noah, the president of Noah Trading Company. Mr. Galdino, I look forward to your guidance over the next two weeks."
The two offered each other a cup of tea from afar.
Two hours later, a commercial transport ship stored in the cards, loaded with Rum, appeared in the port of White Wood Island.
Noah, along with Ray, and Kuro and others who were disguised and had come for an internship, boarded the commercial transport ship named " Wangcai ".
As for Wyper, Laki, and Mantis, their Skypieans characteristics were too obvious. After entering the South Blue, Noah planned to conduct normal sea navigation and sent them back to the Sky Island.
" Kuro, are you getting used to it?"
"President, I'm doing very well." Kuro nodded.
After more than a year of transformation, Kuro not only became much stronger physically, but also underwent a tremendous change in his mindset.
Kuro's skills training at the camp included navigation and staff coordination, so he served as a temporary navigator on the ship.
Ray was the first mate.
After Galdino lay on a beach chair on the deck, the Sun, unaware of the strength of the trading company members on board.
This is mainly because the difference in strength between the two sides is too great. Even after eating the Wax-Wax Fruit, Galdino's unorthodox physical skills are still difficult to contend with those of the trainees from the training camp.
Because in the Noah Family training camp, the graduation requirement is to learn the Six Powers and Awakening a Haki.
The dozen or so temporary crew members on the ship at this time were all elite members of their families who had mastered both types of Haki and were proficient in the Six Powers.
Noah was in the captain's cabin reviewing various intelligence reports that the Distillery had gathered in the South Blue, including information on Galdino, a bounty hunter in the South Blue, and Catarina Devon, a pirate in the South Blue Sea.
"Big brother, Tequila from the Distillery just sent word that the Crescent Moon Pirates appeared on Fuli Island. After killing several young girls, they also looted supplies. Tequila has already hidden his Vivre Card among those supplies."
After saying that, Ray took out a glass bottle containing Vivre Card, and the Vivre Card inside the bottle were pointing in a certain direction.
Noah put down the documents in his hand. "Proceed in this direction."
"Yes."
One week later.
On a calm sea, the Wangcai continued to move forward at full speed.
Meanwhile, Galdino was on tenterhooks. Although Noah hadn't revealed his hand in these past few days, he had still managed to let Galdino "accidentally" see many books through indirect means.
After browsing through books such as " The Five Volumes on Slaying Dragons," "Analysis Report of the Countries of the East Blue," " The Kingdom of Flevance Incident," and " Human Hunting and the Destruction of Nations," Galdino was completely distraught.
Now, Galdino just wants to finish the escort mission as soon as possible and leave Noah and the others to avoid being implicated. After all, he's not stupid; he knows that this kind of thing is not something he can get involved in.
Just as Galdino lost in thought...
"President, there's a small island to the southeast. Should we dock for a rest and replenish our fresh water?" Kuro asked Noah on the deck.
Noah's lips curled into a smile, "Okay."
Because they have reached their destination.
At this moment, the piece of Vivre Card Vivre Card in the glass bottle in the captain's cabin is pointing towards this deserted island.
at the same time.
On the other side of the deserted island, in a secluded bay, a large sailing ship was moored. In the camp on the shore, several pirates were roasting meat, while inside one of the largest tents, several white, fleshy worms were entangled in a chaotic mess, and indescribable sounds echoed throughout the camp.
"Big sister is really amazing!"
"I wonder if those three teenagers can hold out?"
"Heh, you guys should worry about yourselves!"
Several of the stronger pirates' expressions changed instantly, as if they were recalling some nightmarish experience.
Just then, a pirate who was on guard duty on the mountaintop rushed into the camp, panting heavily.
" Shawn Sean, there's a merchant ship approaching from the other side of the island. It looks like they're planning to land."
First mate Shawn, a thin, bespectacled man, could only stand up and go to Catarina's tent to report the news upon hearing it.
Upon reaching the tent, Shawn shouted, "Sister Devon, a merchant ship is landing on the other side of the island. Get it sorted out as soon as possible!"
"Tch! What a spoilsport!" Catarina Devon's disgruntled voice came from inside.
Despite her dissatisfaction, she quickly dressed, grabbed her weapons, and left the tent.
Has the ship landed yet?
"It should be about right. When the little monkey came to report earlier, it was about a kilometer from the coast," Shawn quickly explained.
After lighting a cigarette, Catarina Devon sneered, "I'm just getting into it. These guys came at the perfect time. I'm going to chop off their limbs myself later!"
Shawn quickly chimed in, "Haha, with Big Sister's intervention, they're doomed! But to prevent them from escaping, why don't we split into two groups?"
"Not bad! Shawn, you've even learned to use schemes now. You truly are worthy of being my first mate!"