"This... isn't that a bit high? Chinjao, the leader of the Happo Navy, only has a bounty of 500 million."
Zephyr also thought Tsuru's suggestion was good, but the bounty was too steep.
Just a Rear Admiral.
Sengoku's gaze was deep, his expression grave, "No! It's not high. Noro's talent is terrifying, and that's while he was hiding his strength.
Now he's teamed up with Kaido. If we let him develop, he'll become a major enemy of the Marines!"
Zephyr nodded, his voice heavy, "Indeed."
"What about Kaido and the Lunarian?" Sengoku asked.
Sengoku rubbed his chin, "Let's leave Kaido's bounty as it is. Do we have a picture of the Lunarian?"
Looking at the Fleet Admiral's gaze, Tsuru shook her head slightly, "No, it happened so suddenly, and no one thought they would escape."
"The World Government is very concerned about this Lunarian. Let's do this: a reward of 100 million for information leading to their capture."
Sengoku made the final decision and ordered the soldiers to publish the newspapers and print the wanted posters immediately.
...
The first half of the Grand Line.
A ship flying the Beasts Pirates flag cut through the waves, moving slowly forward.
Noro didn't go through Fish-Man Island, too lazy to coat the ship. Instead, he had Kaido use Flame Clouds to lift the entire pirate ship and fly over the Red Line.
King waved at a news seagull in the sky. The seagull landed steadily on the railing, took the Beli for the newspaper, and delivered the newspaper and the latest wanted posters to Noro.
"Mr. Noro, the latest newspaper and wanted posters."
Noro was lying on a beach chair on the deck, soaking up the sun. Kaido had been sent to steer the ship.
He couldn't stand Kaido doing nothing, living such a comfortable life of eating and sleeping all day.
Noro lazily took the newspaper, and after reading it carefully, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Five hundred million for a Rear Admiral!
Kaido, who was at the helm, couldn't help but lean over. After seeing Noro's bounty, he patted Noro's shoulder hard and laughed,
"Five hundred million, not bad, as expected of my Beasts Pirates' vice-captain!"
He didn't notice Noro's increasingly gloomy face. Noro, unable to bear it any longer, jumped up and punched Kaido on the head, leaving a large bump.
"Pat yourself! Go steer the ship."
"I'm going, I'm going!"
After some time at sea, the Beasts Pirates arrived at this city on the water, the Venice of the pirate world.
The first thing to do wasn't to find a shipyard and start building a ship, but to inquire in the underworld about whether there was any Adam Wood for sale.
Noro knew that Elbaf occasionally cut off branches of Adam Wood that had been struck by lightning and sold them on the black market.
Noro walked in front, carrying a small bag containing the artificial Azure Dragon Fruit. Kaido, carrying "Hassaikai," and King followed behind.
After seeing the newspaper, King had wrapped himself up tightly, revealing only his eyes.
Kaido and Noro were helpless. There were many pirates on the sea, especially in Water 7, the world's shipbuilding capital. Pirates came and went, and everyone was used to it.
Moreover, with their bounties, most people wouldn't have any ideas.
But King was different. His features were too obvious, and he didn't need to fight, just provide information to get 100 million Beli. Who could resist that?
They still needed to build a ship here. Once someone recognized him and provided information to the Marines, would they still be able to build a ship?
The Marines' move was too ruthless!
But Noro felt a little sorry for King, so he spread his wings as well.
To accompany him!
Kaido felt isolated again.
The people in the black market were all shrewd. The boss recognized Kaido and Noro, the protagonists of the latest newspaper, at a glance.
As for the strange-looking guy behind them...
The boss didn't have the slightest curiosity.
The first rule of survival in the underworld: don't know what you shouldn't know, don't ask what you shouldn't ask.
The black market boss had a professional smile on his face, his tone respectful, "Honorable guests, what do you need?"
Noro went straight to the point, "Boss, do you have any Adam Wood for sale?"
The boss's eyes lit up.
Everyone in the world knew that Adam Wood was strong and durable, but it was a rare commodity with no fixed price, and not many people bought it.
Which pirate would be willing to spend so much money to buy a piece of wood to build a ship, they'd rather spend it on pleasure. The Marines used warships, so they didn't need it either.
So there was still a lot of it stored in the black market.
Big customers!
The boss's smile widened, looking at Noro as if he were a god of wealth, his tone more respectful than ever, "Yes, yes, yes, this way, please."
Saying that, he quickly led the group to the warehouse where the Adam Wood was stored.
Kaido and Noro's gazes met, locking onto the largest piece of wood.
If they were going to build, they would build the biggest!
Kaido pointed at the Adam Wood, shouting, "Noro, we'll take that piece."
Noro smiled and asked the boss, "How much is that piece?"
The boss's eyes instantly turned into money symbols, looking at Noro as if he were a god of wealth, his tone unprecedentedly respectful, "Honorable guest, that piece of Adam Wood requires 2 billion Beli."
"Oh, then forget it, too expensive," Noro said, turning to leave, leaving the three of them in a mess.
Although the wood was indeed very large, estimated to be more than 500 meters, it wasn't worth that much money.
Luffy's Sunny, which was fifty-some meters, cost 200 million for the wood. This was ten times that, so 2 billion seemed normal.
But don't forget, this was thirty-four years ago, prices were different.
Chinese mother-style bargaining, turn around and leave.
Sure enough, the boss quickly caught up, "Honorable guest, honorable guest, make an offer!"
A sly glint flashed in Noro's eyes, no wonder it was called the essence of Chinese culture.
After some haggling, Noro managed to cut the price down to 1 billion Beli and agreed to pick it up in a week.
Cash on delivery.
The boss happily agreed. Pirates, after all, were going to rob someone. But what did it matter to him? He did his business.
On the way out, Kaido said somewhat awkwardly, "Noro, we don't have that much money."
The joy of having their own pirate ship as soon as they arrived in Water 7 was washed away by the cold 1 billion.
He and King were test subjects who had just escaped, penniless, and they were spending Noro's money.
And how could Noro, a mere Rear Admiral, possibly come up with 1 billion?
Noro lowered his head, thinking about something, "Don't worry, I have a plan."
Kaido wanted to steal the wood, that's what pirates did, but Noro stopped him.
It was just a big piece of wood now. If they stole it, would they still be able to build a ship in Water 7?
And doing so would definitely put them on the blacklist of the entire underworld.
It wasn't that Noro was afraid of them, but when they invaded Wano Country, they would need to buy weapons from the black market.
"What plan? Steal the Celestial Tribute?" Kaido asked excitedly.
This was the fastest way he could think of to get 1 billion Beli, and he could also stretch his muscles.
Back in the Rocks Pirates, their favorite thing to do was steal the Celestial Tribute.
Noro pointed his index finger to the sky, a mysterious look in his eyes, "Celestial Tribute? Close, but not quite. We're going to take gold from the sky."
===
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