Chapter 16: Two Matters

They walked briskly along the coastline.

Along the way, Bepo kept chattering on and on about the moo-moo.

Unable to bear it any longer, Mord dropped Bepo and made him walk on his own.

It did not take long before Mord and the others reached the spot where their small sailboat was docked.

In order to load the money bags onto the boat, Mord and Laffitte first cleared out the navigational supplies stored on board.

Ultimately, they left behind only two days' worth of food and four days' worth of fresh water, which barely made enough room to load the large money bags onto the boat, securing them tightly with multiple ropes.

Once that was done, they hoisted the sails and departed from the area.

Four days later.

The small sailboat arrived in the offshore waters near Ronca Island.

"We've finally arrived."

After a four-day voyage, Mord stood at the bow of the ship, gazing out at the harbor of Ronca Island.

Fishing boats were moored in an orderly fashion within the harbor. Not far away were several merchant ships of a much larger scale, as well as a warship whose mere presence alone was enough to deter any passing pirates.

Ignoring the warship, Mord carefully observed the situation on the dock.

Although the place was small, the foot traffic was quite dense, making it look lively and bustling.

Even from several hundred meters away, Mord could hear the murmur of voices drifting across the water.

"Laffitte, if anything happens later, the safety of the money bags will be in your hands."

Mord glanced back at Laffitte.

"Understood."

Laffitte nodded.

Combined, their bounties already exceeded one hundred million. As high-bounty wanted pirates, ordinary citizens might not immediately recognize Mord and Laffitte, but the Marines were different.

Memorizing the face of every target on the wanted posters was a basic requirement for every Marine.

Not to mention high-bounty pirates like Mord and Laffitte, who might be recognized at a single glance.

As Mord had anticipated, the Marines stationed at the harbor soon noticed their small sailboat.

Out of habit, the Marine in the crow's nest of the warship picked up his telescope and carefully inspected the situation on the small sailboat.

Upon seeing the faces of Mord and Laffitte, that Marine turned pale with terror.

"Clatter."

The telescope slipped from his hands and fell to the deck.

"Laffitte, with a bounty of 42.2 million, and... Mord, with a bounty of 68 million?!"

"What are they doing in the East Blue?!"

The Marine muttered to himself. Two seconds later, overwhelmed by extreme tension, he raised his voice to a scream.

"Pirates are attacking us!"

"The enemy is...!"

The harbor fell instantly silent.

Immediately afterward, chaos erupted in all directions.

The warship turned its bow around with the utmost speed, pointing a row of cannon barrels directly at Mord's small sailboat.

"As expected, docking smoothly was out of the question."

Looking at the warship maneuvering with such rapid coordination, Mord felt a deep sense of regret.

Laffitte cleanly sliced through the ropes binding the money bags and hoisted the heavy sacks onto his shoulder.

Bepo leaped onto the money bags, preparing to hitch a ride with Laffitte.

At that very moment, several deafening cannon roars echoed from the direction of the harbor.

Four dark cannonballs came hurtling through the air toward their small sailboat.

Mord stepped on the Moon Walk to ascend into the sky, while Laffitte sprouted pure white wings from his back, lifting the money bags and Bepo as he flew upward.

"Boom!"

The cannonballs arrived right on cue.

One of the cannonballs struck the small sailboat dead center.

The violent explosion instantly tore the small sailboat apart, turning it into countless fragments drifting across the surface of the sea.

Having successfully sunk their target, the Marines on the warship had no time to rejoice before they saw Mord approaching via the Moon Walk.

"Shoot him down!"

The highest-ranking lieutenant commander in the area roared at the top of his lungs, raising his rifled musket first and pulling the trigger while aiming at Mord.

"Bang, bang...!"

Countless lead bullets rained down toward Mord, who was walking through the air.

Mord easily evaded them, and under the despairing gazes of the surrounding Marines, descended from the sky straight onto the deck.

A few minutes later.

Winding red streams of blood flowed across the deck of the warship.

Except for the lieutenant commander whom Mord intentionally kept alive, every single Marine had been turned into a corpse.

Only after the battle concluded did Laffitte descend onto the deck.

Without needing Mord to issue a command, Laffitte set the money bags aside and immediately hypnotized the lieutenant commander.

"Name."

"Abilities."

"What are you best at?"

After a few brief questions, the intelligence was easily extracted.

Mord recorded the gathered information into his notebook, and then decisively snapped the lieutenant commander's neck.

Laffitte asked curiously, "How were the results?"

"Mediocre."

Mord glanced at the corpse of the lieutenant commander. Despite having detailed intelligence to pave the way, the rewards gained were roughly equivalent to defeating three Fish-men grunts.

"After all, they are just branch Marines. Though their ranks are high, their actual strength is nothing much."

"Hoh-hoh."

Laffitte chuckled softly and said, "Once we enter the Grand Line, that situation will change for the better."

"Indeed, there are plenty of high-quality preys there."

In Mord's mind, numerous targets offering high returns at the current stage flashed rapidly by.

"Where's Bepo?"

Scanning his surroundings, Mord could not find Bepo anywhere.

"He probably went to find the kitchen."

"..."

Before switching ships, Mord and the others had completely ignored the commotion in the harbor and the town, helping themselves to a hearty meal in the warship's kitchen instead.

Afterward, Mord hijacked a nearby armed masted merchant ship and left the harbor without a moment's delay.

He had originally considered simply taking the warship, but it was too large and conspicuous, and since a properly sized armed masted merchant ship happened to be docked right there in the harbor, Mord changed his mind on the spot.

The townspeople watched in terror as the masted ship sailed away. It was only long afterward that a few braver men dared to approach the warship to check on the situation.

Upon inspection, all they found was a deck covered entirely in corpses.

Two hours after Mord's departure, two reinforcement warships sent from a neighboring branch finally arrived, tardy and unhurried.

Upon witnessing the gruesome state of the warship's deck, the commodore of the branch leading the detachment turned deathly pale.

"Why are those two in the East Blue...!"

As if suddenly remembering something, the branch commodore whipped his head around to stare at his second-in-command.

"Have you notified Marine Headquarters?!"

............

At this moment.

The masted ship carrying Mord was sailing smoothly across the ocean.

Unlike the bumpy and cramped conditions of the small sailboat, this medium-sized masted ship finally provided Mord with a pleasant sailing experience.

"Laffitte, once we reach Syrup Village, you and Bepo take a trip to Gecko Islands."

"Understood."

Laffitte, who had just finished inspecting the entire masted ship, was busy counting money.

Today's sea breeze was gentle and could not blow away the stacks of paper bills.

Bepo was not idle either, having been forcibly tossed up into the crow's nest to keep watch.

Mord stood at the bow of the ship, letting the sea breeze wash over him as he held a wanted poster of Captain Kuro in his hand.

This had been recovered from the warship at Ronca Island.

Before heading to the Grand Line, Mord still had two matters to deal with.

One was visiting Syrup Village to see Usopp, which was a promise Mord had made to Yasopp.

Captain Kuro, who was living under an assumed identity, was right there in Syrup Village, and since Mord was going anyway, he certainly wouldn't let him slip away.

The other matter was going to Gecko Islands to pick up Kaya and bring her aboard. If Kaya was unwilling, Mord would not force her.

Regardless of the outcome, Mord would wait at Syrup Village for Laffitte and Bepo to return.

"Boss, we've got company."

Suddenly, Bepo's voice drifted down from the crow's nest.

Guided by his directions, Mord looked toward the three o'clock position.

On the distant sea surface, three vessels could be seen sailing abreast.

Upon closer inspection, they consisted of two warships escorting a magnificent, grand ship.

"Could that be... a ship heading to the Reverie?"

Watching the luxurious vessel escorted by the two warships, a strange glint flickered in Mord's eyes.

.........

Meanwhile.

A warship arrived at Arlong Park's territory.

After docking and mooring, Marines poured out of the warship in a steady stream, setting foot onto dry land.

At the head of the group was Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch, whose appearance matched his name all too well, bearing a striking resemblance to a rat.

"Who did this?"

Captain Nezumi stared at the ruins that had once been Arlong Park.

Amidst his shock, his first thought immediately turned toward the accumulated assets of the Arlong Pirates.