Ron had been away from Logue Town for quite some time, and if one were to count the days in detail, it had been almost a month since he left.
The incident in Logue Town had caused quite a stir, with Smoker's call to the navy base being intercepted. As a result, the navy base in the East Blue Sea didn't dare to act. There were no navy warships sent after Ron had hijacked the merchant ship.
In the windmill village, inside Makino's bar, a group of burly men sat around, drinking and enjoying themselves.
A newspaper was slapped onto the table, and one of the men laughed, saying, "Who would have thought there's a pirate with a bounty of thirty million Berries right here in the East Blue! Haha, that's the highest bounty I've seen in this Sea!"
"What?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Really?"
"It's unbelievable, isn't it?"
"Who could it be? Buggy the clown?"
"I think it might be Krieg!"
"Krieg is on the Grand Voyage!"
The whole bar suddenly buzzed with excitement. Makino, the bar owner, furrowed her brow, puzzled by the commotion. She strained to listen and eventually understood what was going on.
"Who has a bounty of thirty million Berries?" Makino inquired.
None of the pirates in the East Blue had bounties exceeding thirty million, so she was curious upon hearing the men's chatter.
"I've heard of this guy before; he's too fearsome!" An enthusiastic bald man said, "He actually killed people in Logue Town! Haha, that's truly befitting a pirate with a thirty-million-Berry bounty!"
"Logue Town? That's impressive!" A pirate sitting nearby squinted his eyes, "Isn't Logue Town right next to the navy headquarters in the East Blue? He had the guts to do that? Unbelievable!"
"So, why do we only have bounties in the hundreds of thousands?"
Makino pursed her lips and got up to walk over to a table, where a newspaper lay. She picked it up and started reading.
"It's him..."
As she looked at the news in the newspaper, the figure of a handsome young man with a sword struck her. It reminded her of the teenager who had visited her bar over a month ago.
"It's really him, what a surprise..."
Syrup Village, at Kaya's home.
A news bird landed, and Ron tossed a coin to it before taking a newspaper to read.
"Huh? My new bounty... Thirty million Berries, huh!"
Ron smiled and continued to read other news articles.
"Teacher, you..."
Beside him, Kaya appeared astonished.
"How?" Ron smiled faintly, "Did you see my article?"
"Uh-huh..." Kaya mumbled and lowered her head.
"Yes, I'm a pirate as well," Ron responded, "The World Government has issued a wanted poster for me, so it's definitely not a mistake."
"You...," Kaya started but hesitated. "Teacher, are you really a pirate?"
"Yes," Ron said calmly, "Do you think all pirates are bad people?"
"Aren't they?" Kaya inquired, her thoughts influenced by the constant education and propaganda by the World Government and the Marines. Pirates were portrayed as villains, and Ron, who had come to her village to eliminate Klahadore, who was also a pirate. Now, as she was about to set sail with Ron, she discovered he had a bounty of thirty million Berries, making him the most wanted pirate in the entire East Blue. Even the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Sea was not on the same level. She couldn't help but wonder what to make of this revelation.
She was just an ordinary girl, and she couldn't help but worry that she might fall into the hands of Ron, that she might be taken hostage...
"Kaya!" Ron interrupted her thoughts by playfully tapping her on the head. "Read the book to me. We haven't finished this medical lesson yet. So don't dwell on these things right now. Focus on being my student first. The rest can wait."
"Oh, Brother Ron..." Kaya suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ron with some embarrassment, her pouting lips giving Ron various ideas.
"Cough, cough..." Ron adopted a righteous and gentlemanly expression. "As I've said, don't dwell on those thoughts. Your current task is to focus on learning medical skills. Was my assignment too easy for you?"
Coming from the real world, Ron was no stranger to assigning homework, and now, as a teacher, he relished the feeling of giving assignments to his students. He couldn't just throw that experience away.
Seeing the mischievous look on Ron's face, Kaya shivered and immediately lowered her head to do her medical assignments, completely pushing aside any thoughts of reading the news and questioning Ron.
Ron lounged in a chair, the picture of a wealthy landowner, as servants nearby brought him a variety of fruits to enjoy. Life was indeed good.
"World Government, the Navy... Oh, they've raised my bounty from twenty million Berries, adding ten million, it's now thirty million!" Ron smiled leisurely. "Thirty million Berries. Those guys..."
Ron shook his head in secret, watching Kaya diligently studying nearby and Tashigi practicing in the garden. He contemplated his own strength and couldn't help but chuckle. "For someone at my current level, a bounty of thirty million Berries is a great insult to me! East Blue navy!"