Then Ricky spoke: "Is your name Monkey D. Luffy?"
Hearing this name, Bill became wary, as every Marine knew of the Marine Hero. When Luffy nodded, Ricky quickly continued, "Do you know Monkey D. Garp?"
Luffy: "Oh, you know Grandpa too?"
At this statement, everyone fell silent for a moment until the pirate crew shouted in unison: "Your grandfather is the Marine Hero Garp?!"
Clearly realizing that there was more going on than met the eye, Bill spoke, interrupting the flow of questions: "If that's the case, why were you given the highest initial bounty ever assigned by the Marines in East Blue?"
"Wait! I can explain!" said Nami.
"Captain Ox, our village was taken over by a terrible pirate named Arlong... There's a Marine Base on our island, but they were bribed to stay out of it!
For many years..." the girl's voice trembled: "They did nothing, even when our people were killed for failing to pay rent... "These pirates were fish-men, do you know about them?" Nami asked, and Bill nodded. He was very familiar with the fish-men.
Seeing this, Nami continued, describing the situation further—how Luffy and the others defeated Arlong, and then Marine Captain Nezumi falsified reports to claim credit for the victory over Arlong's pirates.
This story noticeably calmed everyone involved, but Bill still had questions: "Then why are you here? It seems too suspicious—just months after you were accused of destroying half the island, I find you here where the Trump Pirates have done practically the same thing, claiming the same reasons Arlong did."
The coincidence didn't go unnoticed, but a stout man spoke up, "Um... Captain Ox, if you will, it's my fault..."
As soon as he spoke, all eyes turned to him, and he introduced himself as Borodo.
"For many years, I've been trying to find help for this island, but since the Bear King paid tribute for the island, the local Marines found nothing in their investigations... so I stole Luffy's ship so they could free this island."
After his words, Luffy's crew stared at him, but he quickly added, "But I didn't know Nami would be kidnapped here! Honestly!"
A little boy also stepped up in defense and exclaimed, "Hey, my big brother is a hero! Don't you dare look down on him!"
After that, Rans began questioning Borodo, who was also known as a navigation expert and a thief, as the younger boy added, much to Borodo's displeasure.
If all this is true, Bill thought, then it's an incredible coincidence. As he pondered this, he suddenly heard a familiar shout from the stairs.
"Let me go, Miyagi!"
Bill first saw Yoko's chestnut hair and her Marine hat. She broke free from the grip of the Mink goat, who was trying to persuade her to stop, but upon noticing Bill and the others, she ran even faster.
When she reached them, Yoko shouted that they had caught the Trump pirates without her involvement and offered her help in capturing the rest, pointing at Luffy and his crew.
Seeing this, Bill looked closely at the goat, who appeared guilty.
"Sorry, Captain, she outsmarted me quite cleverly..."
Not in the mood to listen to apologies, Bill decided to reprimand the girl later but first turned his attention back to Luffy's crew.
"If what you're saying is true, come with me to Loguetown, and we will clear your names. If you're not pirates, I guarantee justice will prevail, and the guilty will be punished."
Having said this, Bill thought he was being generous, but he was shocked when Sanji laughed, saying they were "pirates," and Luffy raised his hands and shouted, "I will become the King of the Pirates!!"
Before Bill could do anything, there was a crash, and a section of the floor rose up.
Seeing the Bear King laughing, sitting in a strange-looking tank, Bill's instincts kicked in, and he dashed forward, grabbing Yoko and the boy, pulling them out of harm's way.
"Try my ultimate weapon! "Royal Cannon!"
Barely had he said this when the massive pirate fired from his gigantic cannon, scattering everyone except Luffy, who caught the projectile and redirected it upwards. In doing so, Luffy's arms twisted and stretched far across the horizon.
Bill watched in horror as the enormous projectile began to fall back down.
Leaping, Bill grabbed Borodo and Miyagi, who were closest, and ran to the edge of the terrace.
"Rans! Get the prisoners!"
The cowboy quickly reacted, and when Luffy sent the projectile back at the Bear King, they jumped as the castle crumbled into dust.
"Ah! They destroyed the key! The island is going to collapse!" Borodo shouted, and as soon as he said it, the island's mechanisms began to lock up.
Thinking they needed to evacuate, Bill and the others rushed into the city. The island shook and rumbled, enough that no one needed to be persuaded to leave it. But even if the townspeople immediately began to leave, they had little time to reach the beach, where Bill had seen over thirty ships in the harbor.
Sending Rans, Ricky, and Borodo to the ships to clear them of pirates and prepare for sailing, Bill also sent Yoko and the boy named Akisu along with them to board the "Frontier Run."