Chapter 407: New Sandbags!
After a moment of thought, Ryuunosuke pieced together the information he had gathered. Between his own deductions and the half-truths Garp had spouted, he could already see the outlines of the problem.
"So after I take over the Kingdom of Goa as Dragon Hunter territory… there's basically nothing else to do?" Ryuunosuke said, a little disappointed.
The East Blue might have been filled with whispers of hidden secrets, but aside from the Infinity Green Stone Garp had long known about, there didn't seem to be much else worth his attention.
"That's about right," Sengoku replied. "We need to return to Marine Headquarters. The situation there must already be chaotic. The Navy has officially severed ties with the World Government, and our presence is needed. These people—" he gestured at the bound prisoners, traitorous marines and government spies, "—we'll leave them in your care. Handle them however you see fit."
Ryuunosuke nodded, watching as Sengoku returned to the daughter ship.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, the East Blue matters are in your hands now," Tsuru said firmly. "If you need our cooperation, reach out immediately." With that, she too departed.
"Damn brat—bang!"
Garp's farewell was less polite. He slammed his fist, coated in Armament Haki, into Ryuunosuke's chest. The blow sent a shock through the deck, though Ryuunosuke only grinned.
"Old man," he teased, rubbing his chest, "instead of throwing punches at me, you could just capture Luffy and start asking for great-grandkids. At your age, you should be home enjoying family life."
Garp snorted, but his laughter rumbled across the deck as he followed the others back.
With the navy ships sailing off, Ryuunosuke turned to the group of traitors left behind. An idea sparked in his mind, and his gaze settled on Bullet, who was watching the crew sparring.
"Bullet," Ryuunosuke called. "I have something for you."
Bullet glanced over, frowning. He had been quietly enjoying the break, free from being used as everyone's living punching bag. "What now?" he muttered, irritation in his voice.
"These marines are our captives," Ryuunosuke said with a sly smile. "And you've always needed sandbags for training, haven't you?"
The scowl vanished instantly from Bullet face. His eyes lit up with genuine excitement, the kind he hadn't shown in weeks. Finally—finally—the tables had turned. No longer would he be the perpetual sandbag.
"Of course!" Bullet barked, grinning wide. "I'll get them sorted right away. Young Marines, welcome to the Dragon Hunter Pirates! Though… in your case, that's not much of a blessing."
Laughing, Bullet herded the group across the deck, where the crew normally sparred.
"Tatsumi!" Bullet called out as he dragged the prisoners forward.
Tatsumi, who had been fiddling with his sword techniques, perked up. "Bullet, you're here. Perfect timing! I just came up with a move to counter that ridiculous punch of yours. Want to test it out?"
Bullet smirked. "Not today. There's something more fun. Look!" He tossed the captured marines at Tatsumi's feet.
Tatsumi blinked. "Marines? But didn't we just fight alongside them? Why attack them now?"
"These ones are traitors," Bullet explained. "The Navy didn't know how to handle them, so they handed them to us. And our captain decided…" He grinned wickedly. "They're the new sandbags."
Tatsumi's confusion faded into amusement. "New sandbags, huh? Well then…" He turned toward a woman quietly stitching Feitan's wounds nearby. "Machi, these are from the captain. Make sure they don't die too quickly—we'll be needing them for training."
Without looking up, Machi gave a small smile. "Leave it to me. I'll keep them alive, whether they like it or not."
Bullet stiffened slightly. "Wait. Did you just say new sandbags? Then what about the old ones…?"
Tatsumi chuckled. "On this ship, every one of us has been a sandbag at some point. Our battles were too fierce to go all-out on each other, so we used whatever we had. These poor fools? They're the replacement sandbags. Enjoy your retirement, Bullet."
The hulking man's grin faltered. Retirement? From being a sandbag? That didn't sound as glorious as he'd imagined. But as Tatsumi dragged the marines toward Chrollo and the others to discuss "distribution," Bullet decided he could live with it.
At least, for once, someone else would be taking the hits.
Ryuunosuke, meanwhile, ignored the commotion. His mind was elsewhere.
The war with the World Government had pushed the Dragon Hunter Pirates' fame to unprecedented heights. Across the seas, their name was now spoken with both awe and dread.
And with that fame came tangible power. The reputation points he had carefully accumulated had just passed 210,000. Enough to summon two members of the Seven Deadly Sins… or four from Night Raid.
It was a tantalizing choice. The Sins brought overwhelming combat strength, while Night Raid added assassins and spies who could tilt wars in subtler ways.
He leaned back, fingers drumming against the railing. "First, decide how to use the points," he murmured. "Then, decide where we go next. Raftel's location is within reach, and Pluto still waits to be uncovered."
But what nagged him most was the silence. The World Government had done nothing—no retaliation, no scheme, not even a token display of power.
They weren't beaten. They were waiting.
And the next move they made would be far more dangerous.
"Ooooo…"
A familiar caw echoed overhead. A Newsbird swooped down, landing gracefully before Ryuunosuke. From its pouch, it produced not a newspaper, but a small Den Den Mushi.
"For me?" Ryuunosuke muttered, surprised.
He already had his own communication lines. Morgans had no reason to send him another. Which meant… someone else wanted to reach him.
"Beri-beri-beri…"
Before he could speculate, the Den Den Mushi rang loudly in his hand.
Ryuunosuke stared at it, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Interesting. Let's see who dares to call me this way."
He reached out, and the receiver clicked into place.
<><><><><><>
Read Advanced Chapters on:
~ [email protected]/FanficLord03
~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the story in the rankings using your
[Power Stones]
~ https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9