For the first time throughout all of this, Bill took a deep breath. Turning around, he saw that his teammates had already finished their battles and were staring at him with their mouths open.
A girl with orange hair was holding a can with a crying face depicted on it. Rans was standing with his foot on Wall One, the jester was slashed from shoulder to thigh, and Ricky was sitting on a fat pirate who was missing a couple of teeth.
As they gathered, Rans was the first to speak, laughing and clapping Bill on the shoulder: "Damn, Bill! It seems you almost brought down the whole island!"
Awkwardly chuckling, Bill responded that he didn't think the island would collapse if the key wasn't damaged.
Afterward, Bill learned the girl's name. She introduced herself as Nami and said her village was nearby.
In conversation with her, he also found out the pirates' real names, as he didn't have their wanted posters and didn't know them.
The fat pirate's name was Boo Jack, and he had a bounty of 3.2 million Beli.
The jester was Pin Joker, with a bounty of 9.9 million Beli.
The girl with the Natural system ability, who turned out to be a coward, was Honey Queen, worth 7.8 million Beli.
He knew Wall One's name and learned he was worth 6 million Beli.
And finally, King Bear, who had a bounty of 11.6 million Beli.
To Bill's surprise, Nami insisted that she deserved the entire bounty for Honey Queen because she had caught her, and half the bounties for the others because she provided information about them.
Bill didn't know whether to laugh or cry when this seemingly innocent girl suddenly turned into quite the lawyer when it came to money.
In the end, he simply said: "We'll take you to your island, and we can discuss payment there. For now, I need to tie up King Bear, okay?Upon hearing this, the girl softened her tone and said, "I... can't go back home. Just give me 15 million Beli for Honey Queen, and we'll settle it."
Bill was about to say that the bounty for Honey Queen wasn't 15 million Beli when he heard a noise on the lower level of the castle. "Is he awake?!" thought Bill.
And just as he was about to jump into the hole made by King Bear, Bill saw a blond man burst from the stairs, launching an attack at Rans, who was standing closest to Nami, shouting, "Nami-swan!"
"Strong!"
Seeing how Rans blocked the blond's attack, Bill noticed that it pushed his friend back by about half a step.
Just as Bill was about to act, his instincts made him focus on the doorway leading to the stairs.
Four people emerged from there. Bill didn't recognize three of them, but he identified one from a wanted poster he'd seen a few months ago.
"Loffy's Hat!"
Bill only knew what the newspapers had reported — this person destroyed half an island... could he be an ally of King Bear?
This seemed possible!
Without his hammer, Bill prepared for battle, his fists starting to thicken, and the bones of his forearms, elbows, shins, and knees hardening. Getting ready for a fierce fight, Bill sternly said over his shoulder:
"Ricky, take Nami, carry her to Miyagi, and tell him to immediately take her and Yoko to the ship. Come back as soon as you can."
Before the orange-haired girl could say anything, Ricky scooped her up like a princess and jumped into the hole made by King Bear.
Seeing this, the green-haired swordsman from Loffy's crew dashed forward, but Sasha stopped him.
Focusing on Loffy, Bill only now realized his instincts were telling him — this swordsman was as dangerous as a man with a 30 million Beli bounty.
"Sasha, he's strong!" Bill shouted, although he wasn't sure she heard him.
Loffy rushed forward, shouting something about his "nakama," but Bill had no time for that.
Loffy's Hat was small, almost half Bill's size, but devilishly fast.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
"Devil Fruit?!"
Barely dodging at the last moment, Bill grabbed the outstretched arm and tried to flip the pirate captain.
But it proved impossible, and Bill realized this almost immediately upon trying.
Loffy's arm stretched out, and instead of pulling his body along, he was able to launch a new attack with his legs.
"Gum-Gum Spear!"
Knowing he wouldn't dodge in time, Bill leapt forward to soften the blow.
Since he mastered the Iron Body technique, the force of any hit would be reduced, and with the forward jump, the attack was completely neutralized.
Falling forward and landing on his hands, Bill sensed a presence behind him and, balancing on his wrists, quickly spun around to deliver a low kick.
The attack missed its mark, but it gave Bill time to adjust his position.
Seeing the pirate retreat, Bill charged forward, shouting, "Three-Hit Combo!"
Using the Art of 9 Limbs, Bill delivered a powerful knee strike, followed by a blow with his right elbow, and finished with a fierce headbutt.
After a muffled "umph!" sound, the small pirate was sent flying several meters back, and Bill quickly turned to Rans and Sasha.
Rans was engaged in a fierce battle. Surprisingly, the barefoot blond was able to keep up with him, and their strikes were causing the building to crumble.