Just as the villagers were cheering at the news of the Marine's arrival, Sammy and his group, though their faces also bloomed with smiles, had a cold light flashing deep in their eyes.
"The Marine are here? That is indeed quite reassuring."
Sammy echoed with a laugh, but his brain was rapidly analyzing this sudden variable.
The Marine landing on the island might be a form of protection for Mushroom Village, but for them, as pirates, it was not a good thing.
However, the log pose's magnetic force wasn't fully stored yet, so setting sail now wasn't safe. Still, staying near a village that would clearly become a Marine activity zone was obviously not a good idea.
While he wasn't worried about the consequences of fighting the Marine, there was absolutely no reason to have a conflict with them!
His goal was Sky Island; there was no need to cause unnecessary trouble!
They had to evacuate, and they had to do it naturally, without raising any suspicion.
After all, in the eyes of these villagers, they were still just a group of curious "adventurers."
The thought flashed by in a split second, and the expression on Sammy's face became more vivid, even carrying a hint of perfectly measured worry.
He walked up to the village chief, Old Mushroom Head, and pointed toward the forest with a frown.
"Chief, something is bothering me. After that group of pirates landed, they didn't plunder the village, nor did they seem to be looking for supplies. Instead, they dove straight into the depths of the forest. This is too abnormal! I feel like they might be plotting something dangerous."
"So, I plan to take my people over to check it out! We absolutely cannot let those suspicious guys run wild on the island. If they cause any destruction that threatens your village, it would be terrible!"
"Wh-what?!"
Old Mushroom Head and the other villagers were all startled and waved their hands repeatedly.
"You mustn't, you mustn't! Young man, those are vicious pirates! It's far too dangerous! You should stay here and leave it to the Marine to handle!"
"Don't worry, Chief!"
Sammy patted his chest and revealed a confident smile.
"Since we dare to sail the Grand Line, we have at least some ability to protect ourselves. Even if we can't win, we're confident we can make a clean getaway! We can't just stand by and watch something bad happen without doing anything, can we? That's not the style of an adventurer!"
Aldo and the others behind him also straightened their backs in coordination, emitting an aura of excessive justice and decent strength, playing the role of a hot-blooded adventure team to perfection.
Old Mushroom Head looked at this group of high-spirited young people; the words of dissuasion on the tip of his tongue turned into a sigh.
He could see that their minds were made up.
"Sigh... since you insist... you must, must be careful! If you find that things aren't right, run back immediately!"
"Don't worry, Chief, we'll be careful. By the way, Chief, just to ask, about how long does it take for the log pose here to finish storing its magnetic force?"
"The magnetic force of our Rongrong Island is recorded very quickly; just one day is enough."
"One day? I see, thank you!"
Soon, under the worried and blessing-filled gazes of the villagers, the "brave adventurers" shouldered the large and small bags they had bought in the village (mainly dried mushrooms and local specialties) and resolutely set foot on the path leading to the island's central forest, their figures gradually disappearing into the mushroom-shaded woods.
"What a group of brave and kind young people..."
"I hope they'll be safe..."
The villagers discussed amongst themselves as they watched them depart.
However, once they had gone some distance into the forest and confirmed they were completely out of the villagers' sight, the hot-blooded expression on Sammy's face instantly vanished.
He made a gesture, and the team stopped immediately.
"Change direction, full speed back to the swordfish."
"Yes, Boss."
Without further explanation, this team that had just been passionately heading toward the island's center instantly changed direction and sped toward the southeast coast where the swordfish was anchored.
Rongrong Island · West Coast
"Colonel! Look over there! It's the Mushroom Pirates' ship!"
Colonel Ronald of the G-10 Branch stood at the bow of the warship, his sharp gaze sweeping across the messy stone beach.
That pirate ship, entirely greyish-green, was tilted and stranded there like a dead fish.
Colonel Ronald was about forty years old with a resolute face and a shallow scar on his chin—a mark left by many years of suppressing bandits at sea.
He narrowed his eyes, his cold face showing no surprise.
"As expected, they fled here... that madman Morris."
He muttered to himself, then decisively waved his hand.
"First Reconnaissance Squad, board and inspect! The rest of you maintain vigilance and prepare to land!"
"Yes!"
A squad of elite Marine Soldiers quickly took a small boat to the shore and boarded the silent pirate ship.
A moment later.
"Reporting to the Colonel! The ship is empty, with only a few miscellaneous items that weren't taken in time. It is judged that everyone has landed, no more than two hours ago!"
"Hmph, a deathbed struggle." Colonel Ronald snorted coldly. "All hands land! Advance into the island's interior in combat formation! Morris's fruit ability might be enhanced on this island; everyone stay alert and watch for any abnormal fungal activity! Our mission is to capture or annihilate Mushroom Tyrant Morris and his cronies, uphold justice, and eliminate the cancer!"
"Yes! For Justice!"
(Rongrong Island · Southeast Coast, swordfish)
On the deck, the outing team had all returned and were exchanging their respective situations.
"Hahaha! Aldo, we almost brought back the entire forest."
Marcus crossed his arms and leaned against the mountain of prey piled up nearby, taking the initiative to tease him.
"Look at you with empty hands! Don't tell me you didn't even catch a single hair?"
"Bull..."
Aldo's eyes widened, and just as he was about to retort, Sammy's voice came over.
"Alright, stop messing around. The situation has changed; the Marine have arrived on the island."
"The Marine?"
Marcus frowned, instantly putting away his joking expression.
"Is it that warship from a few days ago? Could it be we didn't shake them off properly and they followed us here?"
"No, it's another group, landing from the west coast. Their target isn't us, it's another pirate group; the warship is chasing them."
"Another pirate group?" Isaac said thoughtfully as he walked out of the cabin. "It seems Rongrong Island is indeed very lively today."
"Another pirate group? I did indeed see another group of pirates on the island."
Marcus then gave a brief explanation of the encounter with Morris's group in the forest earlier and the ability they displayed to control mushrooms.
"That group was in bad shape, but they talked big, and they were muttering something about becoming the masters of the island."
The ability to control mushrooms... Sammy frowned and lightly tapped on the ship's railing.
Could it be the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit? No way, the Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit isn't something from the main plot!
"Oh right, the Captain of that pirate group also announced his name, Mushroom Tyrant Morris, claiming to be a Great Pirate with a bounty of forty million."