They gathered by common consent in the center of the town. First, they looked at the corpse half-buried in sand with awe and terror, then they all looked toward the horizon where the small boat had disappeared. For a moment, no one broke the silence to speak.
"He... he paid..."
A bounty hunter was the first to break the silence, his voice dry and full of a sense of absurdity.
This discovery stunned everyone.
"That kind of monster... actually has such principles..."
A bounty hunter muttered to himself, his worldview suffering a violent shock at this moment.
A terrifying existence that could casually crush one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to death would actually... pay for taking some supplies from the ruins?
The terrifying image in their minds of someone decisive in killing and viewing human life as grass clashed violently with the image of him paying at the bar.
"Should... should we report this to the Marines!" someone shouted subconsciously.
"Report what?"
The person next to him immediately doused him with cold water.
"Are you crazy! Will the Marines believe that one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was taken out so easily by one person? If this leaks out, do you think the World Government will avenge Crocodile?"
"And..."
An older bounty hunter added with a dry voice, "In case... in case that man finds out it was us who spoke, are you sure what he would do?"
That one sentence made everyone present feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, a wave of cold air rushing from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads.
The crowd fell into a dead silence once more; no one mentioned the word "report" again.
At this moment, Lorne, sailing upon the Grand Line, was in a quite relaxed mood.
As the highest combat power of the World Government, Marine Admirals usually have to handle a great deal of affairs. Most of their energy must be spent on monitoring the Four Emperors of the New World, and the Headquarters must always have top-tier combat power stationed there.
Kizaru had personally set out before entirely because it involved a major event like the Celestial Dragons, and because the Marine Headquarters had roughly locked onto his sailing route, allowing for a precise interception before Reverse Mountain.
But now, entering the Grand Line was like a fish returning to the sea.
This vast and climatically volatile sea area was itself the best barrier. To precisely track a small boat with no fixed destination here, even a Marine Admiral would be stretched too thin.
This allowed Lorne to enjoy a rare period of leisurely sailing time.
His daily life was extremely regular. Besides necessary physical and Haki training, he would lie on the deck using a fishing rod made of ice crystals to catch the strangely shaped fish in the deep sea.
The caught fish were directly flash-frozen using his ice ability to keep them fresh. Occasionally, he could improve his meals; sprinkling a handful of spices "bought" from Whiskey Peak on grilled fish tasted much better than gnawing on dry meat.
Except for the bizarre weather unique to the Grand Line, which would cause some minor trouble.
One second it was perfectly clear, and the next it was a torrential downpour, with the rain even mixed with hail the size of fists.
Several small waterspouts would rise from the calm sea without any warning.
Lorne was too lazy to detour; under the extreme cold air, the violent waterspouts would be instantly frozen into spiral ice pillars, which he would then casually shatter with a single sword strike.
After sailing like this for more than ten days, the outline of an island finally appeared on the distant horizon.
There seemed to be two incredibly massive skulls lying parallel at opposite ends of the island, and several towering volcanoes on the island were spewing thick billows of smoke.
As the small boat continued to approach, the full view of Little Garden gradually became clear before Lorne's eyes.
The entire island was covered by extremely dense primitive vegetation, presenting a wild, prehistoric style. At least four active volcanoes were in an active phase, adding a bit of violent atmosphere to this green world.
Lorne steered the small boat along the coastline for a long time before finally finding a suitable small bay to dock.
He steered the boat into the bay and then reached out his right hand to press on the gunwale.
Several crystal-clear ice spikes spread out from his palm, firmly freezing the hull to the reefs on both sides of the bay, forming a stable natural dock.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"