"The Falling Gull Club gives pirates a life card for events," Mafei said. He pulled a white card marked "M" from his bag. "This points to the next meeting. It is on Coralshade Island."
Nobita nodded, curious. In *One Piece*, Luffy sailed from the East Blue to the Grand Line. The South Blue, rarely seen, felt wild.
"Let us check this Falling Gull Club," Nobita said.
They stepped onto Coralshade Island and entered the town. Colored lights shone. Lanterns hung high. Mascot dolls walked around. Crowds moved without end.
Mafei led Nobita to a tavern in a dark alley, holding the "M" card. A "Closed Today" sign hung on the door. Mafei knocked hard and slid the card through a small slot.
The door creaked open. A young woman in a bunny outfit appeared. Her face was beautiful, with fair skin and tea-red hair that seemed cold yet warm. She smiled, her charm strong.
"Follow me," she said.
Her bunny outfit fit tightly. Her tea-red hair swayed, showing pale skin. Black high heels clicked on the floor. She moved smoothly.
Nobita glanced at her, then looked away, his cheeks red. Mafei stared, his mouth open. Nobita elbowed him. "Stop it," he whispered.
The tavern was empty and smelled of old wine. In the back kitchen, the woman bowed slightly. "Are you here to claim a reward or offer one?"
"Claim a reward," Mafei said.
"Offer one, too," Nobita added.
The woman's eyes sparkled at "claim a reward." She looked at Nobita, her nose twitching like she smelled something.
Nobita blushed and stepped back.
"This way," she said, her black rabbit tail moving. She led them to the basement.
The corridor was long. A guard stood every ten meters. Moss covered the walls. Boxes blocked parts of the path, showing a quick setup.
After 500 meters, they reached a T-shaped fork. A red curtain hung on the right, a black one on the left.
"Left is for claiming rewards, right for offering," the woman said. "I stop here. Go on."
Nobita looked at the red curtain. "Mafei, get the money. I will see the reward area."
"Got it!" Mafei said, shaking the sack with Miller's head. He ran through the black curtain.
Nobita walked toward the red curtain. Money did not interest him.
The woman stepped closer. She was tall, towering over Nobita. "Need company, sir?"
"Uh, sure," Nobita said, smelling her faint perfume. He stayed careful.
She smiled and lifted the red curtain. Her smile felt empty, like a mask.
Beyond the curtain, a bright corridor stretched out. Hundreds of Navy portraits lined the walls, each a bounty target.
Nobita walked, keeping space from the woman. She followed quietly.
"These are Falling Gull orders," she said. "Anyone here could be targeted. Some come and see their own faces, then get killed."
"What happens then?" Nobita asked.
"We keep order. We do not deal with the rest," she said.
Deeper in, the portraits got bigger, bounties rising from a few million Berries to hundreds of millions. The faces became famous: Smoker, a colonel with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that turns him into smoke, at 100 million Berries; then Stolobery, Burning Mountain, Spider Demon, Mole, Tsuru, and Monkey D. Garp.
At the corridor's end, Nobita's eyes widened. Three huge portraits loomed, each filling a wall. Their presence felt heavy, like a storm.
The Navy's three admirals: Akainu Sakazuki, Aokiji Kuzan, Kizaru Borsalino.
Their bounties were low: Akainu at 300 million Berries, Aokiji at 200 million, Kizaru at 920 million.
"Strange, right?" the woman said, smiling. "Pirates fund bounties they think can be taken. Nobody believes these heads will fall, so the rewards stay small."
Nobita grinned, understanding.
"Want to take a job? Or offer a bounty?" she asked, her smile polite.
Nobita's face showed mischief. "Must it be a Marine?"
"Not always," she said. "We take other targets, but they do not get Falling Gull orders. The impact is less."
"Then I have a target," Nobita said, smirking. "I want to bounty a blue raccoon cat."