Of course, that moment of temptation lasted only an instant. After all, Bogard was still a Headquarters Colonel—he quickly regained his composure.
Though the Navy had its fair share of rotten scum, there were indeed many who truly upheld justice in their hearts.
Yet Don's words had left Bogard at a loss for how to respond.
There was no way joining the Navy could yield the same rewards. Unless… you were a corrupt Marine.
As for the meaning of "justice," Bogard wanted to debate it with Don. But clearly, Don had little interest.
"Tell Base Commander Nezumi I'll be waiting at the usual spot. Just calculate the bounty and send it over."
With a casual wave, Don strode toward the town.
By now, the whole place was in an uproar.
Such a spectacle was rarely seen—pirates, one after another, being marched to the base in chains.
The stream never seemed to end, and soon the entire town gathered to watch.
Even the tavern emptied out. Old Komodo, the tavern's owner, stepped outside, craning his neck to get a look.
He even recognized several of the pirates. These were wanted men.
"Did the Navy launch some kind of big operation? Doesn't seem like it. I didn't see the local Marines mobilize at all. Where'd these pirates come from?"
Komodo scratched his head in confusion.
Capturing this many pirates would've taken a sizable Marine force, and whoever caught them would surely claim the credit.
If another base had done it, they certainly wouldn't have dumped the captives here.
"I heard a pirate ship sailed right up to the docks and ran smack into a Marine warship. They surrendered on the spot."
Someone offered an explanation, though it sounded more like gossip than fact.
"Not opening the tavern today?"
A voice spoke behind him. Komodo turned and saw Don—broad-shouldered, sword in hand—watching him.
"Open, open! I just stepped out for a look."
Komodo hurried back inside.
"The usual. A glass of juice."
Don entered, sitting down at the counter.
"Right away."
Komodo didn't press for details. He lowered his head and busied himself with peeling fresh oranges for juice.
"Any new bounty posters?"
Don asked casually while watching him work.
"Bounties?"
Komodo froze, looking up at Don.
Wait a second—don't tell me those pirates outside were his doing?
He knew Don was a pirate hunter.
But no, this was absurd. One man couldn't possibly catch so many pirates.
Komodo gave a half-laugh and shook his head.
"Not many new posters. This is the East Blue—the weakest of the seas. There aren't that many pirates to begin with, and most who set sail don't even have bounties yet. But… there is one big one."
He pushed the glass of juice across the counter.
"A big one? Let's hear it."
Don's interest was piqued.
"They say a pirate crew from the New World slipped back into the East Blue. Nearly clashed with the Navy at Loguetown, but escaped. Word is, it's a whole crew of fish-men, led by some guy named Ryu, or something like that."
Komodo rifled through a stack of bounty posters.
"Arlong."
Don said it plainly.
"Yes, that's it! Arlong. Supposedly he used to serve under a major New World pirate. His bounty's a full twenty million."
Komodo's voice carried awe.
A small fry in the New World, perhaps—but here in the East Blue, that was a monster shark.
"Got a location?"
Don leaned closer as Komodo pulled out Arlong's poster, his sharp features glaring back from the page.
"No. He only just arrived. Even the Navy's in the dark. Apart from fleeing Loguetown's pursuit, nothing else has surfaced."
Don nodded slowly.
"Still, this place isn't far from Loguetown. If he comes sniffing around here, it'll stir up real trouble."
Komodo gave Don a long look, then sighed.
"This whole region's nothing but islands. To pirates, it's prime hunting grounds."
The Conomi Islands were a chain of closely packed isles—likely once connected before the seas rose or land sank, splitting them apart.
Base 16, Cocoyasi Village, and more than twenty nearby settlements all sat within this archipelago.
But Don said nothing.
Outside, the commotion had yet to die down. The sight of so many captured pirates being marched away drew cheer after cheer—some townsfolk even recognized familiar wanted faces.
"You wouldn't happen to know what's going on out there, would you?"
Komodo asked, half idly, glancing toward the crowd.
"I caught them."
Don replied offhandedly.
Komodo froze. His face went slack.
"Don't joke. That wasn't one or two pirates—there were dozens, maybe hundreds! No way you did that alone. Still… you seem awfully informed. How about selling me the real story?"
He grinned slyly.
Such information could easily be turned into coin. At the very least, it would be excellent tavern talk to draw in customers.
"Sure. One hundred and fifty thousand beli."
Don looked back at him with a faint smile, quoting his price without hesitation.
"One-fifty?! That's outrageous. Wait a second—that's the exact amount I charged you for selling you information!"
Komodo glared, half dumbfounded.
This kid really held a grudge. Though in truth, he'd cut Don a deal afterward, charging only a hundred thousand.
"Think about it. Whoever can capture this many pirates in one sweep has to be someone big. You think intelligence on someone like that comes cheap?"
"…Fair point."
Komodo muttered, reluctantly digging one hundred fifty thousand beli from the till and pushing it across.
Don pocketed the money without a second thought.
"The one who caught them all—was me. I stumbled onto a pirate gathering and dragged the lot back."
He said it with complete seriousness.
Komodo's face flickered from pale to flushed.
This kid… was he scamming him?
Just then, two Marines entered the tavern, each hefting a large sack.
Spotting Don, they set the bags down and saluted.
"Sir, this is your bounty payment from the Colonel. The total comes to ninety-one million, seven hundred seventy thousand beli."
"Already done with the processing?" Don asked.
"Not entirely. But the Colonel said we couldn't keep you waiting, so he had us calculate what we could first."
Don gave a small nod.
After saluting once more, the Marines turned and left.
"See? I wasn't lying."
Don spread his hands with a grin.
"…It really was you?"
Komodo was struck dumb.
This young man—he was far beyond what Komodo had imagined.
To capture so many pirates in one sweep—just how powerful was he?
As Komodo wrestled with the shattering of his worldview, Bogard at the docks sent word to Vice Admiral Garp, who had returned home to visit his grandson.
"Vice Admiral Garp, the man has returned."
End of chapter...
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