When the fisherman heard that Gojo was willing to give him one million berries, it felt as if a sudden rain of wealth had fallen from the sky. For a few moments, his mind went completely blank. Then he slowly came back to his senses and asked, "But why don't you go yourself and claim the bounty? Why ask me to do it on your behalf, when you're the one who killed him and you already have Arlong's body?"
Gojo looked at the fisherman calmly and replied, "The reason is quite simple. I already have a bounty on my head, so I can't walk into a Marine base and claim a bounty myself. So, can you do it or not?"
The moment the fisherman heard that Gojo himself had a bounty, his thoughts fell into chaos. Should he do what this man was asking? Would it be right, or would it bring trouble upon him later? He hesitated, caught in a dilemma, when Gojo spoke again.
"Sometimes in this world," Gojo said evenly, "you can't stay in doubt for too long, or you'll miss your opportunity. I'll give you ten seconds. Otherwise, I'll find someone else. You're an honest man, and you're in need of money—that's why I'm giving you this chance. If you don't want it, I won't waste my time with you."
The fisherman stood there, thinking for a few more moments as the invisible countdown pressed on him. Finally, as the ten seconds were about to run out, his expression hardened with resolve. He looked at Gojo and said, "I am willing to claim the bounty on your behalf."
As soon as Gojo heard those words, he smiled. He handed over Arlong's body. When the fisherman grabbed hold of it, he immediately felt how heavy it was. If he hadn't been a hard worker all his life, he wouldn't have been able to lift it at all. Even then, he had no choice but to drag Arlong's body along with effort.
From behind the fisherman, Gojo's calm voice reached him. "Remember," he said quietly, "I will be watching you." That was all he said, but it was more than enough. The fisherman understood the warning clearly—this was not a threat to be taken lightly. If he tried to cross Gojo, he would pay a heavy price.
Not long after, the fisherman made his way to the Marine base. One of the Marine soldiers on duty noticed him and called out, "Tom? What are you doing here? Did you come to sell your fish or something?"
Tom let out a light, nervous laugh. "No, it's not like that," he replied. "I came here to claim the bounty of a pirate."
The Marine soldier froze for a brief second, then chuckled. "Did you find some severely injured pirate or something?" he said jokingly. "Because with your strength, I don't think you can capture a pirate who actually has a bounty on his head."
Tom nodded. "Yes, it's as you said. I found this body while I was fishing. And I know this person has a bounty on his head, alive or dead. So I came here to claim it."
As he spoke, Tom immediately opened the body bag. The moment the Marine soldier leaned forward out of curiosity and saw who was inside, his expression stiffened completely. His eyes widened, and within moments, shouts rang out across the base. The alarm was raised—the dead body of Arlong had been found.
Soon, the Commodore of the base, who was also its commanding officer, arrived at the scene. He looked at Tom with a stern expression and asked seriously, "Did you really capture him?"
Tom swallowed and said, "Yes, I did capture him. And according to the bounty notice, whether I bring him in alive or dead, I'm supposed to receive the reward. That's why I came here—to claim the bounty for Arlong, the captain of the Arlong Pirates."
The commodore suddenly drew his gun and pointed it straight at Tom. "Are you telling the truth?" he demanded. "Or did someone else give you this body?"
Tom stiffened, fear rushing through him. His hands trembled, but the thought of the promised money steadied him just enough. In a shaky voice, he replied, "Are you Marines going to go back on your own words? Are you really going to refuse the bounty even after I brought you Arlong's dead body? Is this the so-called justice of the Marines?"
The commodore stared at Tom in silence for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Then he finally lowered the gun. "Very well," he said. "Give him his bounty money."
After the commodore's approval, the Marines began arranging the payment. Time passed, and within an hour or so, dusk had fallen outside and night was beginning to settle in. Finally, the commodore handed Tom a heavy bag filled with money—twenty million berries, the full bounty placed on Arlong.
Arlong's bounty had not been increased even after the recent incident. Technically, it should have been, but it wasn't. Since Arlong had not caused any direct damage to the Marines or carried out any additional acts that affected them, the World Government had left his bounty unchanged.
After taking the money, Tom walked out of the Marine base. As he moved through the streets, countless thoughts crossed his mind. With such a large amount of money in his hands, the idea of hiding it—or even disappearing somewhere far away—briefly tempted him. But then Gojo's words echoed clearly in his head: I will be watching. A shiver ran down Tom's spine, and he immediately abandoned the thought.
After walking a few streets away from the Marine base, into an area where the people were sparse and the surroundings quieter, Gojo suddenly appeared in front of him. The suddenness of it made Tom jolt in shock; Gojo had emerged as if from thin air.
Recovering quickly, Tom handed over the bag and said, "I didn't fail your task. The bounty money is inside this bag."
Gojo took the bag, opened it, and without hesitation pulled out one and a half million berries. He handed the amount back to Tom and said, "You did well. Consider the extra a price for your honesty."
Before Tom could say anything more, Gojo disappeared from in front of him.
With this money in his hands, Tom would be able to improve his family's situation, and in the future, he would undoubtedly remain grateful to Gojo. Meanwhile, Gojo reappeared on his ship, placed the money bag inside the cabin where he usually stored his funds, and without delay, set sail and departed from the island.
…
As Gojo's ship sailed away, the commodore—who had interrogated Tom earlier with such intensity—slowly emerged from the bushes nearby. Cold sweat covered his face, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably. His breathing was shallow as memories replayed in his mind.
The moment Tom had arrived at the Marine base, the commodore had questioned him. Tom had tried his best to hide everything, but the commodore was a man of experience. How could someone like him fool me so easily? From the very beginning, he had known Tom was lying. Because of that suspicion, he had immediately ordered the Marine soldiers to search the surrounding area for any unknown ships near the island. And they had found one.
That was why the commodore had set up this ambush, hiding and waiting for the true owner of that ship to reveal himself.
Gojo's ship had no distinguishing signs. There were no pirate Jolly Roger and no unique figurehead carved into the bow. Even the sails were plain. Because of that, the commodore hadn't immediately realized that the ship belonged to Gojo. Still, one thing was clear to him—anyone who avoided docking at the main port and instead hid their ship at a remote corner of the island was definitely hiding something.
Then he saw him.
The figure that appeared on the ship was none other than Gojo Satoru.
The commodore's fingers tightened around his gun. He raised it slightly, preparing to shoot—but in that instant, Gojo calmly slid his sunglasses down just enough. In the darkness of the night, those glowing sky-blue eyes locked directly onto the commodore's gaze, sharp and unflinching, as if daring him to pull the trigger.
An invisible pressure crashed down on the commodore's body.
It felt as though the moment he fired, his head would roll onto the ground. That overwhelming premonition, that instinctive terror, was more than enough. His arm froze. He couldn't pull the trigger.
Gojo continued sailing away, his ship cutting through the dark sea without slowing down. The commodore could only stand there, drenched in cold sweat, watching helplessly as Gojo's ship disappeared into the distance.
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