On the two Marine warships, the fifty-something Marines had already lost the will to fight the moment Colonel Nezumi died.
Once they escaped the Thunder Pirates' threat, they hurriedly brought Nezumi's corpse back to a Marine garrison near Cocoyasi Village.
Colonel Nezumi belonged to the 16th Marine Branch.
When the officers there heard he had been killed while pursuing the Thunder Pirates, they were instantly furious.
"A bunch of deranged criminals—how dare they strike a Marine?!"
And so, the next day—
The bounties for the Thunder Pirates were issued.
Newspaper seagulls scattered the posters across every corner of the East Blue.
Red, Captain of the Thunder Pirates: 20 million Beli
Lucky Drake, Thunder Pirates: 15 million Beli
Alvida, Thunder Pirates: 10 million Beli
Awei, Thunder Pirates: 2 million Beli
Nami, Thunder Pirates: 1 million Beli
Nojiko in Cocoyasi Village pressed her hands together and prayed softly:
"Nami… I hope you all go far, and that your adventure is safe."
The villagers of Cocoyasi cheered as well.
After all, the fall of Arlong Park had spread quickly—dozens of villages learned the news.
Their gratitude toward the Thunder Pirates was heartfelt.
Without them, they would still be living under Arlong's tyranny.
As for the Thunder Pirates killing the Marine Colonel Nezumi?
They secretly celebrated it.
Nezumi may have been a Marine officer, but he was vile, corrupt, and in league with Arlong.
The villagers had hated him for years.
Meanwhile—
Luffy and Zoro, stuck in Orange Town, couldn't help feeling jealous when they saw the posters.
"So cool!!" Luffy said excitedly. "Zoro, when do you think we'll get bounties? You're not a real pirate without one!"
Zoro felt exhausted listening to this idiot.
Normal people don't want the Marines after them.
But what puzzled him more—
The Thunder Pirates had grown so strong so quickly?
When Zoro was still a bounty hunter, he'd looked down on small crews like them.
Their bounty hadn't even reached five million then.
But this wasn't the time to think about that.
He and Luffy were still tied up by the Buggy Pirates.
They needed to escape.
Still, Luffy's protagonist aura didn't fail him.
Even though Lucky Drake had stolen some of his "experience" and even whisked Nami away first, Luffy didn't face true danger.
Buggy had only captured them for intimidation.
Two days later, he let them go.
Why?
Because of Luffy's straw hat—it looked painfully familiar.
After questioning him, Buggy realized Luffy was connected to Shanks.
And so he released them.
Meanwhile, the Thunder Pirates arrived at Syrup Village.
There, Lucky Drake activated a new mission.
Defeat the sly Kuro and Hypnotist Jango to earn more lottery points.
From defeating Arlong and completing Nami's quest, Lucky Drake had gained 3500 lottery points, enough for seven five-pulls.
His rewards:
— 30 more years of inner strength
— Purple Qi Divine Art
— Six Meridians Divine Sword
— +20 spiritual power
With Nami's help, he circulated all the internal energy through a Great Zhou Tian cycle and stabilized it.
But his body had reached its limit.
If he didn't strengthen his physique, absorbing any more inner strength—even compressed—would burst him apart.
Fortunately, the seven draws hadn't only given inner strength.
He also received Purple Qi Divine Art, a supreme body-tempering technique. Once mastered, one's blood turns golden, and even the bones become golden.
Training it was simple:
Every morning, practice tai chi facing the rising sun.
The body and bones would grow stronger day by day.
Total cheat-mode.
He also learned the Six Meridians Divine Sword, a technique that creates invisible blades of energy fueled by internal power.
Lucky Drake had reached the first stage—able to unleash one meridian sword.
"Lucky Drake, is it true someone on this island can repair ships?" Captain Red asked.
"Yes. I've heard of him before," Lucky Drake said.
He planned to gather EXP, find Usopp, and get their ship repaired.
At that moment—
On a hill above the village, a long-nosed boy had already spotted the Thunder Pirates.
"Oh no! Too many of them!"
"They're coming ashore—I've got to warn everyone!"
It was Usopp, holding his slingshot. He aimed at them, hesitated, then chose not to fire.
Instead, he turned and sprinted back toward the village, shouting from afar:
"Everyone! Listen! This time it's real—pirates are here!"
But the adults didn't believe him.
Usopp was known as a chronic liar; he'd cried wolf for over ten years.
Even the kids no longer trusted him.
Only Kaya, the wealthy girl, believed him.
They shared a special bond.
"Haha! Usopp, adults will never believe you!" some children mocked, emerging from the grass.
Usopp panted heavily. "It's real this time! Pirates are coming—lots of them! They might kidnap kids!"
"Waaahhh!!"
A little girl burst into tears.
"Usopp! Are you scaring my child again?! Get away from her!"
A furious woman stormed out and yelled at him.
Usopp, dejected, ran straight toward Kaya's mansion.
She would believe him.
Not long after he left—
Lucky Drake led the Thunder Pirates into Syrup Village.
The villagers screamed and fled into their homes, locking windows and doors.
~~--------------------------------
HeadOver my pat reon for advance chapter:
patreon.com/FicWarden