"Boss, I found a sea chart and two Eternal Poses." Additionally, Ross had also found a large bag of treasure and some loose Beli.
"Let me see." Bellamy took the sea chart and carefully looked it over. It was indeed a detailed chart for this route, saving him quite a bit of trouble. As for the Eternal Poses, they were likely for the next two islands.
In that short time, their ship had already sailed near Stilt Island. As the first stop upon entering the Grand Line, its port was very well-developed. Bellamy's ship docked easily, and incidentally, he casually parked Foxy's pirate ship alongside it. He planned to switch to a warship this time he went ashore; if he couldn't find a good one, Foxy's ship could serve as a makeshift option.
They had just docked, and Bellamy's crew hadn't even had a chance to disembark, when several short figures, less than a meter tall and walking on stilts, approached from the side.
"Hey, newcomers!"
"Need to resupply? Come to my shop, I'll give you a discount."
"Kid, you selling this ship? I'll take it cheap."
"Newcomers, hurry up and pay the docking fee, 100,000 Beli!"
This group of Stilt Island natives impatiently urged Bellamy, showing no regard for him whatsoever. Looking at these arrogant fellows, Bellamy couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "It's been a long time since anyone dared to be so presumptuous in front of me." The last guy who did that – the grass on his grave was already three meters tall.
Before Bellamy could even get angry, his underling Ross couldn't hold back.
"Moo!" With a savage roar, two long rhinoceros horns rapidly sprouted from his nose and forehead.
"Rhino Charge!" Ross lowered his head and charged directly off the ship.
These island natives, daring to try and squeeze profits from pirates, naturally had some skill. They nimbly leaped about on their stilts, surprisingly dodging Ross's charge with ease.
"Their movement is quite agile." As expected of Grand Line natives, they did have some ability. It was just that they had provoked the wrong people.
There was no need for Bellamy to act. Drake, along with Mia and Muret, quickly apprehended them.
"Leave one alive." The implication was that the rest could die. Drake, hearing this, directly snapped the necks of several of the short figures, leaving only the one who looked most obedient, whom he personally kept by his side.
"Take me for a tour of the island." This island was far from peaceful. Bellamy thought for a moment and decided not to leave anyone behind, instead taking several important items with him. As for the ship, they'd just leave it docked at the pier.
Under the guidance of the local native, Bellamy led his entire pirate crew, including the Clone Soldiers, to the nearest pirate gathering place. The ruler of Stilt Island was a fellow named the Stilt King. The natives of this island had an average height of less than a meter, resembling dwarves, though unlike dwarves, they didn't fancy growing beards. According to this native, walking on stilts was their racial tradition. The people of Stilt Island lived on stilts from birth. As for why, no one knew. The so-called Stilt King was the most skilled stilt-walker among their race. This race had no nobles, no king in the traditional sense; each ruler rose to power through their own abilities. In a way, this system was actually quite advanced. However, if this king had no one to restrict him, such a system would sooner or later run into trouble.
Bellamy couldn't care less about the island's ecology. In the Grand Line, bizarre races like this were innumerable. This world even had Moon People; a mere Stilt Tribe was truly too insignificant.
"This street is the pirates' gathering place. As long as you have money, you can buy anything here."
"Can you let me go now?"
Bellamy slammed the short fellow's head down into his neck with one palm. "Did I say I was letting you go?"
Black markets, or rather, openly existing black markets, were not uncommon in the Grand Line. Once one left the Four Blues, the deterrent power of the Marines dropped significantly. The most direct manifestation of this was that pirates could swagger around openly, no longer needing to hide from the Marines. The street before them was a gathering place prepared entirely for pirates.
" Quite lively, isn't it.' Upon entering, the bustling prosperity here made Bellamy sigh with a sense of wonder and reflection. This place was unusually lively. The entire street was teeming with people, all sorts of shouts merging into a continuous clamor, making one feel quite overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. Both sides of the street were lined with lavishly decorated shops, and the stalls in the corners were filled with all sorts of spoils of war. At street corners and alley entrances, people were openly hawking large numbers of slaves. Compared to the dilapidated black market streets of the Four Blues, this place was practically a pirate paradise.
Walking down this street, Bellamy most directly felt the impact of the Great Pirate Era on this world. A stranger like him, leading a group of Clone Soldiers and wandering around, had already attracted the attention of many. How could Bellamy not have noticed the several dark gazes that had already locked onto him? It was just that in a place like this, such things were far too common – so common that Bellamy couldn't even be bothered to act, simply continuing to stroll around with his men.
"Boss, where are we going?"
"Find a place to buy some intelligence." But there were simply too many pirates on this street. They had only walked a short distance before being forced to stop due to the dense crowd.
Bellamy frowned, then a cruel smile suddenly appeared on his face. "So many pirates gathered here, what are they planning to do?" He casually picked up a longsword from a nearby stall. "Let me help the Marines clean up some trash then."
Bellamy weighed the longsword in his hand, then suddenly slashed fiercely in front of him. A sword aura tens of meters long shot up into the sky, instantly slicing all the pedestrians ahead in two. Countless sprays of blood erupted. The street, which had been bustling with excitement just moments ago, became deserted in the blink of an eye. Bellamy casually tossed the longsword back onto the roadside stall. "Much quieter now."
"Boss, should we kill them all?" Drake was also a ruthless fellow; the moment he opened his mouth, it was to clear the field. Bellamy had only casually cleared a path just now; there were still a large number of pirates gathered in the shops along this street. A place like this definitely had someone maintaining order behind the scenes. Since he had already made a move, it certainly wouldn't end peacefully.
"No rush. Let's go to the intelligence office first."
"As for this trash, we'll deal with them when we leave." It would depend on his mood then. If he was in a good mood, he'd let them off; if he was in a bad mood, he'd just kill them all.