In the end, after purchasing supplies in Gosa Village, Luo Chen and Nami returned to Orange Town.
This was the base that Buggy had previously occupied.
He led Luo Chen to a shop and told him that all the treasure was hidden underground.
Luo Chen controlled the trees to overturn the ground, revealing three wooden chests. After opening them, they found them filled with Berries, gold bars, gems, and various other treasures.
'System, deposit.'
Luo Chen said silently in his mind.
Buggy was buying his life with money, so all this treasure was now his. As for the deposit amount, the system would convert all the various treasures into their equivalent value in Berries based on the market price in the One Piece world.
[15 million Berries have been deposited, exchanged for 1,500 Cultivation Points.]
[Cultivation Point Balance: 4600]
Luo Chen looked at Buggy with a displeased expression.
"Fifteen million? That's it?"
Buggy opened his mouth, but in the end, could only manage a sheepish smile. "Money isn't that easy to make. The civilians on these islands are poorer than poor."
He said worriedly, "This is really all my wealth. You said you would let me go."
Luo Chen nodded. "Naturally."
Buggy breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that generally, powerful people, even pirates, would keep their word. The stronger they were, the more this was true.
Luo Chen controlled the trees to wrap up the three chests of treasure and went outside the shop.
He waved his hand, and the cage imprisoning Buggy disappeared.
"You can go."
Hearing this, a surprised smile appeared on Buggy's clown-like face.
He said gratefully, "Thank you, you're a really good person."
He held up his hands, which were cuffed in Seastone, and asked, "Could you help me take this off?"
Luo Chen smiled.
Just then, a man walked out from the alley next to the shop.
The man wore jeans and a denim jacket, along with a cowboy hat. He looked middle-aged, and his messy stubble gave him a weathered look.
He had a revolver at his waist. He walked up to Buggy.
"Come with me."
The middle-aged cowboy's words stunned Buggy, who subconsciously asked, "Where to?"
"The Marine base. You're worth fifteen million Berries, you know," the middle-aged cowboy said, picking Buggy up and walking into the distance.
The realization dawned on Buggy. He whipped his head around to look at Luo Chen and cursed angrily:
"You bastard! You never planned on letting me go from the start! You dishonorable villain!"
"Luo Chen, you're utterly shameless!"
It was obvious that the middle-aged cowboy and Luo Chen were in cahoots. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to be so perfectly coordinated.
Luo Chen shook his head, turning a deaf ear to him. He took Nami and headed for the shore.
The middle-aged cowboy was a Wood Clone he had just created when no one was paying attention. It possessed half of the original body's strength.
Luo Chen had given this Wood Clone a name.
McCrae.
He would have McCrae go to the Marine base to exchange Buggy for the bounty.
Firstly, his real body would not be in danger.
Secondly, the Wood Clone could remotely use the system to make deposits.
'It's a pity. The Marine Branch bases don't usually keep huge sums of money on hand. Otherwise, robbing the Marines would definitely be a fast way to get money.'
As a former Major of the 16th Branch, Luo Chen knew that when someone captured a pirate to claim a bounty, these bases had to make a temporary request and wait for the Berries to be transported from Headquarters.
'McCrae will go collect the bounty and then deposit it.'
'In the meantime, I'll continue my journey at sea. Neither will delay the other.'
Luo Chen and Nami returned to the port, boarded their ship, raised the sails, and set off.
Tashigi sat limply in the wooden cage, her face ashen.
After Buggy's precedent, she was certain that Luo Chen would absolutely not let her go.
'It's all my fault for being too weak and dragging Captain Smoker down.'
Tashigi was filled with self-reproach.
Seeing Luo Chen walk over, she suppressed her fear and said angrily:
"Luo Chen, all the Marines in the East Blue are looking for you! You can't escape!"
"Captain Smoker will definitely arrest you!"
"Kill me! A despicable trick like this will only work once!"
Tashigi had the fearless look of a valiant martyr, ready to offer her neck for execution.
Luo Chen couldn't be bothered with her. This woman had a strong sense of justice, but she didn't seem very bright.
He picked up Tashigi's wooden cage and forcefully threw it into the distance.
The wooden cage drew a black line through the air as it soared toward the distant sea.
Tashigi's terrified screams echoed across the sky.
A moment later, Luo Chen looked out into the distance. The wooden cage was slowly floating and bobbing on the sea surface. He could vaguely see Tashigi clinging to the edge of the cage, her mouth wide open, "dumping trash" into the sea.
"She's even throwing up from that."
Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Nami rolled her eyes beside him. "You still have the heart to fool around? Didn't you hear her say that all the Marines in the East Blue are looking for you?"
Luo Chen smiled. "Of all the Marines in the East Blue, the only one who's a threat is Smoker."
"As long as the warship from Headquarters hasn't arrived, we don't need to worry."
Hearing this, a worried look appeared on Nami's pretty face. "That Marine named Smoker is very strong. A Logia-type Devil Fruit is just too invincible."
Luo Chen nodded. "For the time being, there's really no good way to deal with Smoker."
He glanced at Tashigi's cage on the distant sea and sighed. "Next time, Smoker won't bring any burdens with him."
The high speed of Shave had exceeded Smoker's expectations. Even the speed of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit couldn't compare to Shave over short distances. That was why he had been able to capture Tashigi as a hostage.
Next time, Smoker would probably keep Tashigi or his subordinates at a distance, not giving Luo Chen a chance to take a hostage.
Nami's brow furrowed, and she said gloomily, "Then what do we do? Once Smoker catches up to us, we won't be able to escape."
Luo Chen patted her shoulder. "For now, we'll just avoid him. I'll also think of a way to deal with elementalization."
To deal with a Logia's elemental form, one either had to use Conqueror's Haki as strong as that of an Emperor like Red-Haired Shanks, or use Armament Haki. To deal with Smoker, Luo Chen needed to save up 500 million Berries to learn introductory Armament Haki. Even just the introductory level would be enough. In terms of speed and strength, Smoker was no match for him.
Although Nami was still worried, she couldn't help at all when it came to fighting. She couldn't think of any way to deal with Smoker.
She asked, "Where are we going next? Are we still looking for pirates?"
Luo Chen's face grew thoughtful.
After capturing Buggy, he had discovered that these pirates might be far poorer than he had imagined. Buggy, with a bounty of 15 million, only had a total treasure of 15 million. To earn 500 million Berries, he would have to deal with more than ten Buggys. The East Blue might not even have that many major pirates.
And there wasn't enough time. The longer he delayed, the closer the enemy from Marine Headquarters would get.
Five hundred million Berries, or even several hundred million, was not enough to give Luo Chen the strength to escape the crisis.
'I have to make a big score,' Luo Chen judged internally.
'At least one billion Berries to get another significant boost in my strength.'
'There aren't many villains in the East Blue with that kind of wealth.'
He frowned and thought for a long time before an idea gradually formed.
"Let's go to the sea restaurant, Baratie, first," Luo Chen said.
Nami was taken aback. "What are we going there for?"
Luo Chen rubbed his chin and said, "To find someone. There's something I need to confirm."
Nami's expression turned serious. "Luo Chen, you're currently being hunted by all the Marines in the East Blue. The sea restaurant Baratie is very famous. Many Marines go there to enjoy the food. It's very dangerous there."
Luo Chen reassured her, "I know, but I have to go."
Hearing this, Nami sighed silently and said no more.
She couldn't understand many of Luo Chen's ideas. It seemed he also had many secrets she didn't know about. But since Luo Chen didn't say, Nami didn't feel it was her place to ask. She could only follow his orders and head for the sea restaurant, Baratie.