Originally, Raion walking calmly on the surface of the sea was already enough to leave Joseph and Johnny in shock.
But Raion's [Great Rasengan]—like a symbol of destruction—blasting Krieg's battleships into flying fragments of iron and wood, left the two of them utterly speechless.
Just days ago, the two had barely survived an attack from the Krieg fleet, their lives hanging by a thread. Watching Raion's devastating strike felt like personal revenge for them, and they both breathed a sigh of relief. The display of overwhelming strength ignited a feeling of respect in their hearts, and at that moment, both made the same decision...
When Raion returned triumphantly to his ship, the two immediately dropped to their knees, bowing deeply.
Johnny was the first to speak. "Big Brother (Aniki), your strength leaves us completely convinced…"
Joseph followed up, "So, please allow us to respectfully call you Big Brother. May we know your name, sir?"
Big brother?
Raion felt a metaphorical black line pop on his forehead. "Uh… my name is Raion."
Without hesitation, Joseph grabbed Raion's left pant leg. "Brother Raion! Not only are you strong, but you also avenged our blood feud. I've been a pirate hunter for years, and I've never met someone like you."
Johnny grabbed Raion's right pant leg, dramatically crying out, "Big Brother, please accept us as your little brothers!"
"Hey, hey! You two are so noisy. Let go—I can't even walk like this…"
Unable to shake them off, Raion finally gave in with a sigh.
At that moment, Joseph and Johnny stood at attention in front of him, the words "Sea" and "Thief" carved into their gear, and their twin scimitars hanging at their waists like a matching set.
"My name is Joseph."
"And I'm Johnny."
Together, they declared, "We are pirate hunters of the East Blue! Please take care of us!"
The metaphorical black lines on Raion's forehead grew darker. "Uh… yeah. Sure… fine…"
These two, just like in the original story, really knew how to latch onto a "big brother." Raion could only give a bitter smile and shake his head.
The boat set off once more, and the three began chatting as they sailed.
"Brother," Joseph asked, "now that we know your name is Raion, who exactly are you?"
The two had seen enough of Raion's inhuman strength to know he was far from an ordinary person, so curiosity gnawed at them.
Raion placed his hands behind his head lazily. "I'm a pirate hunter for now. Oh, right—do you guys know where the nearest Marine base is?"
Raion had the chart and log pose given by Farmer, but a log pose needed to fully record the magnetic field of an island before pointing to the next one. Eager to claim his bounty and upgrade his strength, Raion hadn't stopped at any uninhabited islands. Now, with these two seasoned bounty hunters on hand, it made sense to ask—they should know the local Marine bases well.
Joseph thought for a moment and said, "It should be Shells Town."
"Shells Town?"
Raion paused as the name jogged his memory.
In the original One Piece timeline, Shells Town was the very first Marine base that Luffy encountered after setting sail. The highest-ranking officer there had been Colonel "Axe-Hand" Morgan of the Navy's 153rd Branch.
Of course, considering the timeline now, Morgan might not even be stationed there yet.
Joseph continued, "Brother, shall we set course there now?"
Raion nodded.
Johnny scratched his head. "Brother, do you… have a pirate you caught for a bounty exchange?"
"Yes," Raion replied simply.
Johnny's face filled with confusion. "But… we never saw you catch any pirates. Are they locked up in the cabin or something?"
Raion, unwilling to explain, just said, "You'll find out when we get there."
Seeing that he wouldn't elaborate, the two didn't ask further.
A day later, the trio arrived at Shells Town.
Raion had assumed that Shells Town, being home to a Marine base, would be fairly large, but upon arrival, he realized it was smaller than he'd expected.
Without stopping to rest, Raion headed directly toward the Marine base, with Joseph and Johnny trailing behind.
At the gate, four Marine soldiers stood guard. As the trio approached, the guards raised their muskets and aimed them squarely at them.
"Who are you?" one of the Marines barked.
Joseph quickly answered, "Brother Marines, we're pirate hunters. We've brought pirates here to claim their bounty. Please allow us to enter."
The lead Marine, a first-class soldier, narrowed his eyes. "And where are these pirates you've caught?"
There was nothing to show—no living captives, not even a single corpse. Naturally, the Marines were suspicious.
Joseph and Johnny exchanged uneasy glances and turned to Raion.
Raion spoke flatly. "I'll show you once I'm inside."
The two groups were locked in a tense standoff until an officer walked out from inside the base.
"What's going on here?" the officer demanded.
The Marines straightened immediately and saluted. "Sergeant Morgan! These three unidentified individuals claim to be bounty hunters seeking to cash in rewards."
This officer turned out to be none other than Morgan—though at this point, he was just an obscure sergeant, not yet the infamous "Axe-Hand" Morgan. Raion looked at him with mild curiosity. Morgan's jaw hadn't yet been shattered by Captain Kuro at this point in the timeline.
Unexpectedly, Morgan said, "Let them in."
Raion was slightly surprised. In his memories, Morgan wasn't exactly the reasonable type. He hadn't expected to be let through so easily.
The truth was, Morgan wasn't a fool. He suspected they had no real bounty to offer and figured that if they couldn't produce any pirates during processing, he could accuse them of "defrauding the Marines" and have them executed. Morgan was a brutal and sadistic man at heart. Even without a personal grudge against them, spilling blood excited him.
Inside, they were brought to meet the commanding officer—a gentle-looking middle-aged man with glasses, the acting colonel of the 153rd Branch.
The bounty exchange naturally required the colonel's signature and approval.
When asked to present the captured criminals, Raion remained calm. With a casual motion, two scrolls appeared in his hands. He tossed them to the floor, and with a light tap, they unfurled. In a flash of light, two corpses materialized from the seals.
Gasps rippled through the room.
A Marine sergeant stepped forward with a stack of bounty posters, carefully comparing the corpses with the images on the papers.
"The one on the left is Andrin, deputy captain of the [Wolf Pirate Group], wanted for 5 million Berries."
"And the one on the right is Captain Anderson of the [Wolf Pirate Group], with a bounty of… 10 million Berries!"
Even as he read their names and bounties, the sergeant's voice betrayed his surprise.
His gaze involuntarily shifted to Raion, the man who had single-handedly slain these two infamous pirates…