"Oh no, this is bad!!"
Luffy, who was watching the Arlong execution Ceremony from the sidelines, suddenly slapped his head and exclaimed.
"What's wrong?"
Zoro immediately placed his hand on his sword, and his Observation Haki was released instantly.
Usopp, Sanji, and Buggy also became alert.
"Money! So much money!"
Luffy suddenly scratched his head and grimaced, saying, "Ah! We should have kept his heads! Arlong's head is worth 20 million berries! Ahhhhh!!!"
Looking at Arlong that had slowly turned to ashes in the flames, Luffy's heart was bleeding.
Ever since he learned that pirates could exchange bounties for money, Luffy finally dared to eat openly.
But if he didn't pay attention to "earning money" in his daily life, his savings would eventually be depleted.
Just the thought of losing 20 million berries like this, Luffy was frustrated and jumped in place.
"No, we have to hurry to Arlong Park. The fishmen's heads are still there. Let's pack them up and exchange them for money!"
With this in mind, Luffy quickly pulled everyone along.
When they arrived at Arlong Park, they happened to see Nojiko there.
Luffy asked everyone to quickly pack the heads while he had something to ask Nojiko.
"Beautiful miss, did we do a good job?" Sanji approached Nami, trying to strike up a conversation.
"That was Luffy's doing. What does it have to do with you?" Zoro directly pulled Sanji away.
"How did you get here?" Luffy came to Nojiko's side and asked with some confusion.
According to reason, at this time, everyone should be participating in the Dragon Execution Ceremony.
It was very unreasonable for Nojiko to appear here.
"Nami isn't in the village, so I came here to check. If she's not here either, then Nami might have gone out to steal money again."
Thinking that Nami still didn't know that the whole village had regained its freedom, Nojiko felt extremely sorry for her.
"By the way, I haven't properly thanked you yet, Luffy, for saving all of us..."
Suddenly remembering Luffy's great kindness, Nojiko knelt directly in front of Luffy.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
Luffy quickly lifted Nojiko up.
He said seriously, "I defeated the Arlong Pirate not because of your story, but because they deserved it! Relax, you don't owe me anything."
However, Nami was very persistent. "No matter what you say, you are the great benefactor of all of us in the Conami Island."
Luffy waved his hand. "Alright, let's not talk about this. I have a question for you. I want to invite your sister, Nami, to be my navigator. Do you think she will agree?"
Upon hearing this, Nami's eyes lit up. "She will definitely agree!"
Nami's dream was something Nojiko knew very well.
Since she was a child, she dreamed of drawing a map of the entire world.
Previously, because of the havoc caused by the Arlong Pirates, Nami's dream had been completely locked away.
And now... the Arlong Pirates have been completely wiped out!!! Nami should also go pursue her own dream
And isn't a captain as righteous as Luffy the perfect captain that Nami has always dreamed of???
Thinking about this, from the bottom of her heart, Nojiko feels happy
However... her response left Luffy stunned!
"Uh... are you sure?" Luffy looked at Nami with confusion.
"Yes! Nami's dream since she was little was to become an excellent navigator..." Suddenly, Nojiko explained to Luffy in detail
After finishing Nami's dream, Nojiko excitedly patted Luffy's shoulder and said, "So, you see, you two are a perfect match, right?"
"That's true, but... I had a little unpleasant incident with Nami before. I wonder if she holds a grudge..." Luffy's face looked troubled like a frostbitten eggplant
"Hahaha You see, when you're in this world, you'll eventually have to pay for your actions" Nojiko laughed.
"Who made him treat Nami-chan like that in the first place? Serves him right!" Sanji said.
"Hmph, now you know, my dear? Why didn't you go easy on her when you had the chance?" Nojiko said.
"Hahahaha!!!" Usopp laughed.
Nojiko glanced sideways and whispered, "How unpleasant was it...???"
"Very unpleasant..." Luffy replied.
So, Luffy recounted the story of how he tried to lure Nami, then used Conqueror's Haki to knock her out, and finally threw her back onto the small boat
"Phew..."
Nojiko rubbed her forehead a bit, they really were a pair of love-hate enemies
She smiled and said, "I understand. Don't worry, I'll be your mediator!"
"Ahaha! Thank you so much!" Upon hearing this, Luffy happily showed a big grin
Then, he thought of something and asked, "Oh, almost forgot, where is the Marine branch base nearby?"
"Marine Base?"
Upon hearing this, Nojiko's face immediately showed a not-so-good expression.
Luffy sensed something from her reaction.
He had been wondering why the Marine hadn't come to rescue the Conami Island for five years, and the only explanation was that the news here had been completely blocked!!!
And the ones capable of doing such a thing must be the Marine branch responsible for the security of this sea area!!
Luffy calmly asked, "Are the Marines and the Arlong actually working together in this area?"
Nami was surprised, "How did you know?"
Luffy shrugged, "It's easy to guess"
"Luffy!! Please don't do anything stupid!!" Nojiko's eyes suddenly filled with fear. She grabbed Luffy's arm and earnestly advised, "Listen to me, by eliminating the Arlong Pirates and taking away Captain Nezumi's money tree, although Captain Nezumi is not happy, he can't do anything to you guys, right?"
"But if you dare to lay a hand on Captain Nezumi, Marine will absolutely not tolerate it!!"
Nojiko wasn't trying to defend Captain Mouse, but she didn't want Luffy to face even greater persecution because of what happened in Conami Island!!
"Ahaha!! Don't worry, I'm not dumb enough to go against the Marines!" Luffy laughed and then pointed to the fishmen heads in the Arlong Park behind him, "I plan to exchange these fishmen heads for bounties"
Hearing what Luffy said, Nami breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, as long as you're not causing trouble with the Marines"
The next day, Luffy and his crew temporarily left Cocoyasi Village with the packed fishmen heads....
Nami still hasn't come back, but with Nojiko here, Luffy isn't too worried about anything.
Just thinking about how he coldly knocked her out back then, Luffy couldn't help but feel guilty and rub his nose...
That girl probably doesn't hold grudges, right
Hmm, a girl who looks that good definitely doesn't hold grudges
"Look, it's right up ahead!" Buggy pointed at a mark on the navigation chart.
This mark was made by Nojiko yesterday, indicating the location of Marine's 16th branch base.
"So many fishman pirate heads, it must be worth at least 100 million berries!!"
Usopp carried a large bag of fishman heads on his back, excitedly rubbing his hands
"Let's not rush, let's put the fishman heads on the deck first, and then we'll go to the 77th branch to exchange them for bounties with Commodore Pudding Pudding," Luffy said.
Usopp was immediately stunned, "The 77th branch?"
Zoro also looked surprised, "Is it the branch where we exchanged bounties with the Black Cat Pirates last time?"
"Yes," Luffy affirmed.
When it came to Commodore Pudding Pudding, Luffy was very approving.
Last time, after he, Zoro, and Buggy exchanged their bounties, the three of them ate at a restaurant in the town where the 77th base was located and found that everyone spoke highly of Commodore Pudding Pudding
He's definitely a good person!
"Not... if we're going to the 77th branch, why did we come here...???" Buggy asked, puzzled.
"To kill people," Luffy calmly replied.
Sengoku: "What!!! That Luffy over there, he's really daring!!!"
When Sengoku saw the red-border Luffy speaking with such calmness, he was instantly stunned.
Monkey D. Garp: "Damn it!!! That grandson over there, he better not do anything stupid!!"
Tsuru: "Once you lay hands on the Marines, there's no turning back..."
Sakazuki: "I thought highly of him at first, but I didn't expect him to be so lawless!!!"
Gol D. Roger: "Hahaha!!! Even a blind man can see that the one who's lawless is that rat Captain!!! The red-border Luffy over there is about to do something to benefit the people!!"
Marco: "It's because there are too many rat Captaib like that, that many people in the sea were forced to become pirates."
Shiki: "Kehahaha!!! Can you see it? The Marines have reached a point where they can't distinguish between right and wrong!"
Rocks D. Xebec: "Hahaha! Kill! Kill all these dogs!!"
Boa Hancock: "That Luffy over there is doing the right thing"
Usopp: "Why did that Luffy over there suddenly change his mind??? I remember he just told Nojiko that he was going to the 16th branch to exchange bounties?"
Roronoa Zoro: "No... that Luffy over there didn't change his mind, he was originally planning to deal with the rat Captain!"
Nami: "Yeah, the reason he said that to Nojiko was just to prevent her from worrying..."
Usopp: "That Luffy over there actually likes to lie"
Nico Robin: "A kind lie is even warmer... our Captain Luffy can learn from it"
Monkey D. Luffy: "Om"
When Luffy uttered words of killing, the four people around him were all stunned!!!
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, blew out a long smoke ring: "These guys are indeed despicable!!! But... Luffy, have you really decided to take action against the Marines?"
Zoro adjusted his sword handle: "These Marines are scum, I have no objections to killing them. But Luffy, you have to think carefully. After killing the Marines, you will become a wanted criminal of the World Government. Then, you can only walk the path of a pirate. As for your grandfather..."
Zoro was the first person to become Luffy's companion. They trained together in the mountains and would chat during breaks, so they knew a lot about each other's past.
Usopp: "And also, once we become pirates, we won't be able to exchange all the bounties for pirates."
"Yeah, I've considered everything you've said." Luffy nodded, took a few steps towards the middle of the deck, cleared some space, and then...
Did some stretching exercises
"Although it's an irreversible path against the Marines, but... I've thought carefully. The reason why the Conami Island has been ravaged by the Arlong Pirates for so many years is actually because of these scum led by Captain Nezumi the Rat!"
"Although we have eliminated the Arlong Pirates and brought temporary peace to the island, who can guarantee that there won't be other pirate crews coming to harm this place in the future?"
"As long as Captain Nezumi and his lackeys are still here, today it's the Arlong Pirates, tomorrow it will be the Tiger Pirates, Leopard Pirates, Dog Pirates..."
"As long as there are pirate crews willing to pay tribute to Captain Nezumi, the nightmare of the civilians here will never end!"
While doing stretching exercises, Luffy said these words
It seemed casual, but everyone present knew that this decision was actually very difficult for Luffy!!!
Once he takes action against the Marines, Luffy won't be able to explain it to his grandfather!!!
Sanji pondered for a moment: "How about... we try reporting to Captain Nezumi's superiors?"
"No need!"
After finishing the stretching exercises, Luffy turned his head to look at everyone and smiled: "What if Captain Nezumi's superiors are his protectors? Although it's only a possibility, it's still a gamble"
"We can afford to gamble, but the civilians of Conami Island can't!"
"If we lose the gamble, although we won't be affected at all, the civilians will likely face even greater retaliation!"
"Since we've taken on this matter, we should see it through to the end! Otherwise, the subsequent backlash suffered by these civilians will be because of us..."
Luffy spread his feet apart, struck another silly pose, and pointed at the sky with one hand: "Haha!!!! I, Monkey D. Luffy, will take care of this trivial matter today!!"
But at this moment, Buggy grabbed Luffy's hand and pushed it back: "Luffy... it's not the time yet!"
Huh?
Everyone looked at Buggy in confusion, wondering what was going on
Buggy walked to a nearby barrel and sat on one leg.
He looked at everyone, shrugged his shoulders: "You guys are not pirates yet, there's no need to get yourselves involved in the quagmire of pirates because of this matter.
"But as for me... it's different!"
"I became a pirate twenty-five years ago, and I've long been a guy wanted by the World Government and the Marines..."
"Luffy, you pointed me in the direction of training, which is important to me!"
"But I haven't been able to repay you."
"Isn't it time for us to part ways? Then... it's also time for me to repay you!"
"Luffy, I'll bear the blame for killing Marines on your behalf!"
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