After the pirate captains, driven by a strong desire to survive, finished their meal, Zyhark re-gagged them and exited the storage hold with Aqua.
Considering the current situation on the ship, after carefully examining the East Blue sea chart, he decisively changed course, deciding to head to a nearby island to drop off the civilians.
Because the nearest island town to their location was Shellstown, which is also where Marine Branch 153 is located!
There, they could collect the bounties for the pirate captains, and also resupply the ship, killing three birds with one stone.
'Wonder who's in charge of Branch 153 at this point in time...' Zyhark was quite curious.
In the original story, "Axe-Hand" Morgan, became a captain at Branch 153 around the year 1507 of the Sea Circle Calendar, which is still six or seven years away from now.
And Zoro, who will be tied to the cross in the town square to suffer under the sun, is still in Shimotsuki Village sparring with Kuina!
…
Today, the sea breeze was particularly strong, and with Aqua controlling a small area of seawater to accelerate, the Endless Dreams quickly arrived at the port of Shellstown in just over two hours.
After paying a docking fee of one hundred thousand Belly to the port manager, Zyhark, Aqua, and the anxious-looking cultists stepped onto this prosperous town where Luffy and Zoro first met.
The five wanted pirates were knocked unconscious and carried over his shoulder — a weight that posed no problem to him now.
"Zyhark, that green-striped tower ahead should be the exchange for money, right?" Aqua spotted the tall tower standing in the center of the town.
"That's not an exchange. It's Marine Branch 153 of the East Blue," Zyhark corrected Aqua's assumption.
In her view, bounties were similar to quests in the adventurer's world, where you exchange a mission for money.
And the place to exchange money in the adventurer's world would naturally be the Adventurers' Guild.
"It's all the same!"
Aqua seemed quite pleased, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, "After getting the bounty, let's go have a few drinks to celebrate!"
"Speaking of drinks, Aqua, I just remembered, aren't we missing about a dozen bottles of red wine from our cellar?" Zyhark asked with a serious tone.
"Eh? Is there? Maybe a thief got in?" Aqua's hopeful gaze suddenly dodged.
"Oh, I thought you drank them. Since it might be thieves, we better buy a lock for it," Zyhark suggested, feigning seriousness.
"No, it was me who drank them!" Aqua quickly became resolute, admitting it outright.
"Then we definitely need a lock," Zyhark was not indulging her bad habits.
"No, Zyhark-sama! That's my life's elixir, my spiritual comfort after a day's hard work!"
Aqua broke down, if not for the devout followers behind her needing to maintain the dignity of a goddess, she would have clung to Zyhark's legs, crying and making a fuss...
Zyhark, having successfully negotiated, didn't respond and walked towards the center of Shellstown, with Aqua quickly following, begging him not to lock the wine cellar.
The dozen or so civilian believers watched Aqua's side very different from her divine image until Zyhark and she were far away. Only then did they shake off the illusion in their hearts and hurriedly followed.
At the end of the street, through a spacious Marine drill square, they arrived at Marine Branch 153.
The entrance was filled with muscular, fierce-looking men — bounty hunters living in the area.
Zyhark, carrying the pirates, passed by them, sensing their emotions being stirred instantly with the aid of Observation Haki.
Greed, envy, indifference, agitation...
'These bounty hunters sure have a strong aura of hostility.'
Zyhark merely sighed internally and withdrew his Haki.
This was the entrance to the Marine branch. Even knowing he was carrying bounties, they dared not make a big move.
He wasn't afraid if they did.
"Aqua, you and they wait here."
Zyhark turned to instruct Aqua, worried she might cause a scene during the bounty exchange.
"No problem, go ahead," Aqua agreed readily.
After much persuasion, Zyhark finally agreed not to lock the wine cellar, so she was in a good mood.
Zyhark entered the branch without further ado, carrying the pirate captains.
Immediately upon entering, a Marine approached to inquire if he was there to exchange bounties.
Seeing Zyhark nod, the Marine enthusiastically offered to help, saying it would only take a few minutes.
The quality of service was commendable — if only his hand hadn't made a money-counting gesture.
The process to exchange bounties was unexpectedly straightforward.
Zyhark found it all too real but didn't fuss much, handing over a few Belly notes: "Thank you, Marine sir."
The young Marine brightened: "Of course, of course."
Then, he took Smophis and the others from Zyhark, dragging them to a special counter for processing bounties.
Zyhark glanced back at Aqua outside the door, ensuring she wasn't causing trouble, then sat down in the branch's lobby to wait for the bounty settlement.
Suddenly, the conversation of two young Marines nearby caught his attention.
"The Black Cat Pirate Crew attacked a village very close to here, Colonel Morse has already taken people there, we might catch them all this time!"
"Just recently, their captain, Kuro of a Hundred Plans, had his bounty raised to 14 million Belly!"
"Hopefully, Colonel Morse will successfully capture them this time."
The Black Cat Pirates, Kuro?
Zyhark pondered.
When he first watched One Piece, this guy lurking in Usopp's hometown planning to seize Kaya's fortune had left a significant impression on him.
Especially that classic gesture of pushing up glasses with his palm, exuding a villainous vibe with a hint of a suited thug.
He hadn't expected Kuro's bounty to be so high at this point...
Since Kuro's new bounty had only recently been issued, the bounty book Zyhark had was not updated.
In the so-called weakest sea, the East Blue, a bounty over ten million was considered a significant pirate!
"Sir, your bounty has been successfully exchanged, totaling 10.3 million Belly after fees. Thank you for your support and contribution to our Marine work!"
The Marine who helped with the exchange reappeared, interrupting Zyhark's thoughts.
Taking the large sum of money handed to him, Zyhark thanked the Marine after a quick count to ensure it was correct.
"By the way, we encountered several civilians captured by pirates while sailing. Could you help send them back to their village?"
"Once their identities are verified, there should be no problem."
(End of Chapter)