"So, what are you doing here?"
Belo Betty, the Eastern Army commander of the Revolutionary Army with an impressive chest, looked toward that very conspicuous presence among the crowd.
When she said this, her attitude was neither warm nor cold, neither good nor bad. Like deliberately maintained "business as usual."
Actually, upon seeing Naruto's figure, Belo Betty knew that her urgent march here had been somewhat unnecessary.
After all, with this man present, he definitely wouldn't just stand by and watch such things happen.
"Just passing through..."
Naruto acted as if he couldn't see the demeanor Belo Betty was displaying, casually greeting her like meeting an acquaintance.
Then he glanced at the Devil Fruit users who had already been entangled by other Revolutionary Army combat personnel, thought for a moment, and still used Conqueror's Haki to precisely strike the opposition.
Pirates from the first half of the Grand Line, even with Devil Fruit abilities, had almost no chance of staying conscious under Naruto's Haki.
With the collapse and unconsciousness of several leading pirates, the other pirates were also quickly captured.
Although the villagers didn't understand exactly what had happened, they were still very happy about defeating the invaders.
Belo Betty glanced at Naruto, wanting to say something, but in the end just pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Seeing her expression, Naruto just smiled.
It seemed something had happened between the two of them in the past, making their atmosphere somewhat awkward when they met again.
At this moment, a flock of crows suddenly flew from the sky, breaking this strange atmosphere.
These were soot crows created by the Revolutionary Army Northern Army commander "Karasu" using his ability, possessing the capability to collect and transmit information. This was why Karasu was called the Revolutionary Army's eyes.
After deciphering the message transmitted by the crow formation using a codebook, a Revolutionary Army combatant ran to Belo Betty and said something to her.
Afterward, she looked back at Naruto and said:
"Leave early after you're done resting."
"A 'big shot' like you always attracts unnecessary attention."
This wasn't wrong. Ever since Naruto had exposed his identity in East Blue, both the Navy and the World Government had already turned their attention to him.
If not for the fact that he never stayed in one place for long, there might already be a bunch of warships following behind him by now.
After saying this, Belo Betty politely declined the village chief's thanks, bound up those pirates, and took them aboard the ship; then the steamship set sail again toward the next location.
On the ship's deck, Belo Betty removed the sunglasses from her face and looked at Naruto from afar.
Then she looked at the crow beside her that was tilting its head to observe her.
"I'm fine."
Putting her sunglasses back on, Belo Betty became once again that Eastern Army commander who rushed to the front lines to inspire people.
The Revolutionary Army came quickly and left just as fast, with quite strong mobility.
Naruto returned to the village with the others.
After finishing that fresh feast, he didn't continue to linger and decisively chose to leave.
It seemed his worries had been unnecessary.
The Revolutionary Army's eyes were always watching this place, and whenever local residents encountered situations they couldn't handle, people would be sent to support them at any time.
However, this method still treated symptoms rather than the root cause...
Thinking this way, Naruto started up Tempest again.
With high-speed airflow jetting from the stern, the entire boat became an arrow cutting through the sea surface, speeding toward another direction.
Sabaody Archipelago was actually an island group formed by the roots of seventy-nine giant trees called "Yarukiman Mangroves."
The resin secreted by these tree roots would form special bubbles that, after processing, would become a tough "coating."
This coating could even withstand deep-sea water pressure.
Therefore, many pirates wanting to reach the New World via the Fishman Island route needed to complete ship coating at Sabaody Archipelago.
Over time, the number of pirates here had increased.
Area 13, "Shakky's Rip-off Bar."
This belonged to an unmanaged gray area, so it was always a mixed bag with all kinds of people.
Bang! Bang!
Again, some pirates who didn't know their place, relying on having some strength, wanted to cause trouble in the bar.
After being taught a lesson by the bar owner, they were directly thrown out.
The passersby outside had long since become accustomed to this.
Dusting off her hands, the bar owner Shakky, who looked only in her thirties, relit her cigarette.
Don't let her youthful appearance fool you. Forty years ago, she was being chased all over by "Naval Hero" Garp.
To be pursued by Garp, her identity probably wasn't simple either.
Just as Shakky was about to push the door and go back inside, she suddenly seemed to sense something and turned to look in another direction.
"Yo! Aunt Shakky, it's been so long, but your skills are still as clean and efficient as ever."
Naruto had somehow already appeared there.
"Ara, isn't this Naruto Uzumaki, who defeated Golden Lion?"
"What brings you to my little bar?"
Hearing Shakky's emotionless "praise," Naruto just laughed foolishly twice and scratched his head.
"Are you here for me? Or are you here for old Rayleigh?"
"Uncle Rayleigh is here too?"
Hearing this, Shakky just muttered:
"Him? Who knows which slave house he's sold himself to again."
This response gave Naruto somewhat of a headache.
"Is that so? I was hoping to have Uncle Rayleigh help me with coating."
This made Shakky laugh out loud.
"Have that old man do it? Others might not know, but don't you understand, Naruto? His craftsmanship is even more fragile than Fishman Island bubbles."
While saying this, Shakky was about to push open the door.
But then another large group of pirates appeared, surrounding this small bar in a dark mass.
"It's her! This damn woman!"
The leading guy was wrapped in bandages all over, looking like he'd been beaten badly.
"Attack! Kill her!"
With his angry roar, all those pirates swarmed over in a mob.
Seeing this scene, Shakky turned her head toward Naruto.
"So, can I entrust this to you?"
"Of course..."
Today's Sabaody Archipelago remained peaceful.
After quickly disposing of this rabble, Naruto finally entered the bar with Shakky.
"So you really came for coating? Where's your ship?"
Shakky was also an old acquaintance of Naruto's, but she'd never seen this kid's ship before.
Speaking of which, hadn't he always randomly selected a lucky sea beast for transportation?
Hearing Shakky's inquiry, Naruto directly took out a sealing scroll and released Tempest.
"Here."
Fortunately, the Rip-off Bar had space inside, or it really might not have been able to accommodate this small boat.
"What a miraculous ability. But who told you to put it directly in here?"
After Shakky said this with a smile, her tone suddenly changed, and her fist knocked lightly but not gently on top of Naruto's head.