"Let me see! Let me see! Wow, the City of Gold?! Is this actually real?!"
Nami leaned over Bell-mère's arm, her eyes practically sparkling with starlight as she read the newspaper headline. Even at this incredibly young age, she was already demonstrating the innate potential of a massive money-grubber.
"Of course it's real," Bardock smiled warmly. "Do you want to see what all that gold looks like? It's actually much closer than you think."
Bardock's mind had been working furiously to figure out exactly how to deal with Captain Nezumi without alerting Marine Headquarters that they were actively hunting Marines. The answer was incredibly simple: use the old method. Bait the hook. It was time for the White Dragon to shed its wax coat and reveal its true, dazzling form.
"Where?! Where is it?!" Nami spun around, frantically scanning the deck and the surrounding ocean, but she couldn't find a single trace of gold.
"Galdino. Remove the wax camouflage from the hull," Bardock ordered.
"Right away, Captain!"
The small flame atop Galdino's head flared brightly. "Wax-Wax Fruit: Melt!"
With a simple command, the thick, chalky white wax coating the entire exterior of the massive galleon began to rapidly melt, dripping smoothly away like melting ice. As the camouflage receded, the incredibly thick, solid gold plating underneath was finally exposed to the world.
Under the brilliant, glaring sunlight of the East Blue, the ship instantly exploded into a blinding, magnificent aura of pure, solid gold. It was an absolutely breathtaking, jaw-dropping sight.
"T-This...!"
Bell-mère, Nami, and Nojiko stood absolutely paralyzed, their jaws dropping to the deck. They hadn't expected the ship itself to be literally constructed out of solid gold!
"WOW! IT'S REAL GOLD!" Nami shrieked, sprinting over to the railing and aggressively rubbing her cheeks against the solid gold wall. Her pupils had completely transformed into massive Belly symbols.
"As expected of the legendary adventurers who discovered the City of Gold. Using solid gold as shipbuilding material is an incredibly extravagant luxury," Bell-mère noted, quickly regaining her composure. She wasn't a woman who possessed a deep, obsessive desire for wealth. Nojiko's eyes were equally clear and calm, proving that she was truly Bell-mère's daughter in spirit.
After spending a few hours exploring every nook and cranny of the magnificent golden ship, Nami was finally exhausted. She reluctantly bid farewell to the crew.
Right before they disembarked, Bardock handed Bell-mère a thick red envelope containing a massive stack of bills totaling 200,000 Belly. This was an absolute emergency fund, prepared strictly as a precaution in case Bardock somehow missed Arlong's future invasion.
Initially, Bell-mère fiercely refused to accept the cash. However, Bardock explicitly stated that this specific sum could eventually save Nami and Nojiko's lives in a critical, life-or-death moment. Hearing that, her maternal protective instincts overrode her pride, and she reluctantly accepted the envelope. However, she adamantly swore that she would absolutely not touch a single Belly of the money unless it was a true emergency.
Having bid a fond farewell to Bell-mère and her daughters, the solid gold White Dragon set sail, cruising slowly and highly conspicuously around the other villages of the Conomi Archipelago.
The local culture and customs were generally uniform across the entire region—the very same region that would eventually suffer under Arlong's tyrannical extortion, and the exact territory currently under the corrupt jurisdiction of Captain Nezumi.
It didn't take long at all for the rumors to spread. Captain Nezumi quickly caught wind that a massive, unregistered 'Golden Ship'—reportedly built entirely out of genuine, solid gold—was currently sailing through his jurisdiction.
"Chichichichi..."
Captain Nezumi laughed, the sound incredibly shrill and grating. He physically looked exactly like a rat, with beady eyes, a long snout, and prominent whiskers. Naruto Uzumaki also had facial whiskers, but he received the glorious protagonist treatment. Nezumi, on the other hand, just looked like a disgusting rodent.
"Keep an absolute, constant watch on them. Do not engage immediately. Wait until they sail out of our official jurisdiction into open waters, then we strike," Nezumi commanded, his eyes filled with bottomless greed.
"Yes, Captain!"
The Marines under Nezumi's command were all equally corrupt, rotten scum who actively colluded with their Captain. They aggressively rubbed their hands together in anticipation, knowing they were about to secure a massive, life-changing payday.
"Captain, sir," a junior Marine entered the office, nervously holding out a classified dossier. "Headquarters specifically ordered us to keep a sharp lookout for a highly dangerous pirate crew that recently entered the East Blue from the Grand Line. We are ordered to immediately report their location if spotted."
"Ignore it," Nezumi sneered, casually waving his hand without even bothering to look at the file. "Any crew capable of surviving the Grand Line and crossing back into the Four Blues is definitely going to be a massive, terrifying headache. Let some other Branch deal with them."
His mind was completely consumed by the prospect of hijacking a solid gold ship. He didn't have the time or energy to deal with some tedious, high-risk assignment from Headquarters.
In truth, even if the golden ship hadn't appeared, Nezumi wouldn't have bothered to involve himself with Headquarters' orders anyway. He had essentially ignored official dossiers for years. He was already the highest-ranking officer in this remote branch, and he had absolutely zero desire to get promoted to Headquarters where actual, lethal combat was required.
If Nezumi had just bothered to open the dossier and glance at the photographs, he would have instantly realized that the 'terrifying headache' he wanted to avoid was the exact same crew sailing his coveted golden ship... and they were infinitely more dangerous than he could ever possibly imagine.
A week quickly passed. Bardock and his crew finally concluded their highly conspicuous patrol of the archipelago and began sailing away. Nezumi's informants instantly relayed the movement.
The Navy's East Blue 16th Branch immediately mobilized. Captain Nezumi personally led a heavily armed warship out of the harbor, aggressively pursuing Bardock's vessel.
On the deck of the White Dragon, Enel, who had been actively tracking the Marine warship for hours with his Mantra, nodded toward Bardock. Everything was proceeding exactly according to the Captain's plan. The rat had taken the bait.
Once they were a significant distance away from the Conomi Islands and officially in deep, unmonitored waters, Nezumi's warship aggressively accelerated, quickly catching up and blocking the White Dragon's path.
"Chichichichi! You foolish civilians!" Captain Nezumi sneered, standing arrogantly on the bow of his warship, holding a megaphone. "Sailing so brazenly with a ship made entirely of solid gold... are you absolutely not afraid of attracting bloodthirsty pirates?!"
Nezumi attempted to put on a stern, righteous facade of a concerned Marine officer.
Bardock and his crew simply stood on the deck, silently staring at him. They completely refused to play along with his little performance, their expressions utterly deadpan.
Seeing their completely unimpressed silence, Nezumi felt a slight, uneasy twinge in his gut. However, the sheer, blinding allure of the massive golden galleon directly in front of him completely overwhelmed his caution. Even if he wanted to retreat now, his equally greedy subordinates would absolutely refuse.
"I have reason to strongly suspect that your gold was acquired through highly illegal means! I am ordering you to stand down and submit to a full investigation!"
Nezumi finally dropped the pretense, his tone turning highly aggressive.
Bardock and his crew still didn't offer a single reaction.
Furious at being ignored, Nezumi completely exposed his true, rotten nature. He drew his pistol and aimed it at the White Dragon.
"Here is the official report!" Nezumi yelled sadistically. "A vicious pirate crew attacked your ship! Tragically, there were zero survivors! However, I, Captain Nezumi, valiantly arrived just in time to defeat the pirates and secure the golden ship! In your final, dying breath, you officially donated this vessel to the 16th Branch! MEN, OPEN FIRE!"
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