Whoosh, whoosh~
With a flutter of wings, the newspaper-delivery seagull landed on the deck railing with practiced ease.
"Here you go. Here's the Beli for the newspaper."
Makino took a newspaper with a smile and put the Beli in the pouch on the seagull's chest.
The seagull saluted, then flew toward the next ship.
It was a seagull with a dream, determined to complete all its deliveries with speed and the best service.
It was going to be the Delivery King.
"Let's see what's been happening in the news lately."
"Th-this is..."
Captain of the Blond Hair Pirates, Her Kazi. Bounty: 200 million Beli, dead or alive.
Officer of the Blond Hair Pirates, Delips Carmand. Bounty: 1 million Beli.
Officer of the Blond Hair Pirates, Makino. Bounty: 300,000 Beli.
"Kazu, these are our wanted posters."
Holding the newspaper, Makino walked over to Kazu and handed it to him.
"Wanted posters?"
"Where? I want to see them too."
When Carlmand heard that they actually had wanted posters, he hurried over too.
"Two hundred million Beli?"
"Pwahahaha, one million Beli!"
"Here, Carlmand. Take a good look at your bounty."
Kazu grinned from ear to ear. He tossed the newspaper to Carlmand, then laughed so hard in his deck chair that he nearly got a stitch.
"Nani!"
"Damn it! I'm only worth a million Beli? Those Navy higher-ups really are blind!"
"Kazu, stop laughing! One day, I'll surpass your two-hundred-million-Beli bounty!"
Carlmand was both angry and dejected, feeling that others had underestimated him.
He couldn't beat Kazu, but his bounty shouldn't have been just a million. They should have given him at least a few tens of millions of Beli.
He was an Armament Haki user, after all. The Navy's intelligence department clearly needed improvement if they hadn't even discovered that.
Kazu was in a very good mood. His very first bounty had exceeded a hundred million, something rarely seen on the seas.
"Can't be helped. The Navy has a good eye. They saw that my potential is limitless, and this wanted poster proves it."
Kazu smugly picked up his juice and took a happy sip, feeling quite pleased.
"Tch."
He had come on a whim and left disappointed.
Carlmand returned to the middle of the deck in a huff to train some more, putting noticeably more effort into every move.
"Kazu, look up ahead."
Makino hurriedly tugged at Kazu, who was still basking in his own glory. A large ship had appeared ahead. Although it wasn't a Navy ship and wasn't flying a pirate flag, it looked sizable enough that they needed to be cautious.
Kazu put down the newspaper and looked up into the distance, spotting the ship too.
"Interesting. Bring us alongside. Let's see who they are."
Hearing this, Carlmand stopped training and silently carried out his captain's orders, taking the helm and steering toward the large ship ahead.
"Dragon, that ship seems to be coming toward us. Should we make some preparations?"
Ivankov, whose head took up a third of his body, wasn't particularly nervous. He had considerable faith in his and Dragon's strength.
Pirates in the East Blue were only so strong. A bounty of a few tens of millions made someone a major pirate here, and they didn't even know Haki.
The other ship flew a pirate flag he had never seen before, so they were probably just small-time pirates starting out in the East Blue.
Any preparations would only be a precaution. After all, there were quite a few ordinary people aboard, like-minded comrades in the Revolutionary Army. Although they had guns and cannons, they still needed to be careful.
Dragon frowned. He had returned to the East Blue this time to borrow some money and food from a good friend.
He was also stopping by Foosha Village to see his son. To think he had run into reckless fools like these on his way back to the Goa Kingdom.
He valued peace and freedom, and he loathed the World Government's dark, corrupt rule. That was why he had left the Navy and founded the Freedom Fighters.
Now, they had gone a step further and renamed themselves the Revolutionary Army.
He disliked the existence of evil pirates too. Those scum who burned, killed, plundered, and harmed civilians also ran counter to his ideals.
Only a very few pirates could earn his regard-heroes who simply wanted to sail the seas freely and chase their dreams.
"Tell them to prepare so we can avoid casualties."
"If the enemy is strong, have them prioritize taking cover."
Ivankov nodded. "Understood!"
He then went to relay the orders. Everyone aboard braced themselves and waited for the other ship to arrive.
Kazu stood at the bow, while Makino went back to her room to hide until the fighting was over.
As the two ships drew closer, Kazu was startled by the man he saw standing at the other ship's bow.
Holy shit, isn't that the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon?
Dragon's strength was top-tier in the original story. Although he had rarely fought and was always breaking into cold sweats, even an idiot could figure out that his combat strength wouldn't fall short of an Admiral's.
If the manga's author forced more scenes and new abilities onto him later, who knew how strong he might be?
As for Dragon at this point in time, Kazu felt that, at most, his strength was probably about the same as his own current level.
"Carlmand, watch the ship. Your captain's going to scout things out first."
"Leave it to me."
The two ships drew closer and closer. With a leap, Kazu landed directly aboard the Revolutionary Army's ship.
Dragon's brow furrowed deeply. Kazu had a powerful presence and didn't strike him as weak.
He hadn't expected to casually encounter an expert like this in a place like the East Blue.
"Let's start with a greeting gift."
Kazu's Conqueror's Haki swept over the entire ship. The ordinary soldiers who had been standing ready moments before toppled over unconscious.
Not to be outdone, Dragon unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki and pushed back.
Just as I thought.
Kazu wasn't at all surprised that Dragon also possessed Conqueror's Haki.
His father Garp had Conqueror's Haki, and his own son Luffy had it too. There was no reason he wouldn't possess the qualities of a king.
Perhaps Dragon simply wasn't widely known for it because he had appeared so little in the original story and hadn't had many chances to show what he could do.
Their Conqueror's Haki clashed, black-and-red lightning crackling wildly in every direction.
Ivankov was the only one aboard who could stay conscious to watch. The others weren't particularly strong; they had mainly come to carry food and Beli.
"Damn it, this guy has Conqueror's Haki too? I've never even heard of him before!"
Ivankov stared wide-eyed in shock as Kazu and Dragon faced off.
"Hahaha! I'm Kazu, captain of the Blond Hair Pirates."
"Since fate brought us together, let's start with a fight!"
Kazu used the Space-Space Fruit's ability and appeared behind Dragon the next second. His fist, coated in Armament Haki, shot straight toward the back of Dragon's head.
"Nani!"
Dragon hadn't expected Kazu to move so quickly. If his Observation Haki hadn't sensed it, he probably would have been sent flying by that punch before he could react.
"Dragon Claw!"
Dragon hurriedly turned around, shaping the fingers of his right hand into a dragon's claw and coating them in Armament Haki to block Kazu's surprise punch.
"Wind Blade!"
After blocking Kazu's attack, Dragon refused to be outdone. He flung a pale-green wind blade from his left hand, slashing straight at Kazu in front of him.