Morgans?
That name sounded familiar — wasn't he the president of the World Economic Journal?
Kuina tilted her head thoughtfully. She'd always been a little curious about how Lord Shanu seemed to know far more about the world than she did.
She'd grown up surrounded by books and had a father — Koushirō — who was practically a walking encyclopedia. So where did he get all this knowledge from?
"Oh, right."
Kuina suddenly remembered something. She pulled out a wanted poster from the stack in her hand.
"This one's strange too. For some reason, it seems Marine Headquarters has decided this guy is part of our crew."
"Smoker?"
Shanu frowned slightly.
It was funny, really. After he'd executed Vice Admiral Onigumo in public, the marines on the island had split into two completely opposite reactions.
Those who had served directly under Onigumo had bolted as fast as their legs could carry them.
But the marines stationed at Loguetown's local base were grateful. In the end, they even cooperated with Shanu's group, helping to rescue the civilians trapped in the houses around the square.
And yet — none of them had seen Captain Smoker, the base commander, even once.
It was as if the man had vanished into thin air.
Later, through newspaper reports, Shanu learned that Smoker had personally killed a King named Altair.
For the Marines, that sort of act could only be seen as unforgivable treason.
Still, how had that somehow turned into "being in league with Shanu"…?
Probably because both events happened at the same time and place, making it look like they were connected.
Then Smoker had left Loguetown right after.
So Marine HQ must have assumed he'd joined Shanu's crew.
"Forget him."
Shanu shook his head. "Once we cross paths again in different circumstances, they'll realize we're not allies. The wanted posters will be corrected then."
That said…
He remembered that Smoker was hot-headed and did whatever he wanted, sure — but he had a deep faith in the Marines and in justice itself.
To drive a man like that to the point of turning on a king, even if it meant quitting the Marines… something truly extreme must've happened on that warship.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
From the ship's figurehead — the Silver Wolf — came the sound of fists pounding against metal.
Shanu sighed. "Nami… you're still at it? It's been minutes already. Haven't vented enough yet?"
"Marine Headquarters! MARINE HEADQUARTERS!!!" Nami yelled through gritted teeth as she kept punching the wolf's head, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Silver. "Ughhh! Stupid Gin! This makes me so mad!!"
Her pet Gin had a bounty of 80 million berries.
Meanwhile, she, the captain's own sister, had been given a measly 8,000 berries.
Exactly one ten-thousandth of Silver's bounty. The nerve! Who could stand for that?!
Were the Marines' intelligence officers complete idiots? Didn't they notice she'd been helping out during the Loguetown incident?
Half the reinforcements from Marine HQ had been blocked by her fire powers! Yet somehow, they hadn't even realized she was a Devil Fruit user!
"Let her be," Shanu said finally, choosing to ignore the tantrum. Then, more casually, "How long until we reach Reverse Mountain?"
"Not long."
Kuina lifted her gaze toward the horizon. The towering Red Line was already faintly visible in the distance.
"By tomorrow morning, if all goes well, we'll be ready to climb Reverse Mountain."
So we're finally heading into the Grand Line…
Kuina felt a surge of emotion. When she'd first set sail, she'd never imagined that before even crossing Reverse Mountain, she'd already become a notorious pirate with a bounty of over 70 million berries.
As for the captain…
Tch. She couldn't help but smirk slightly. She was secretly looking forward to seeing the faces of those Grand Line rookies — all tough talk and swagger — when they realized that her captain's bounty was 180 million berries.
Shanu, oblivious to her thoughts, set down the paper once he'd finished reading it. There didn't seem to be any more useful intel, so he pulled up his system panel instead.
At the top was the latest list of sacrifice results:
[You sacrificed Roger's Execution Platform — earned 18,000 points.]
[You sacrificed the Hound's severed arm — earned 300 points.]
[You sacrificed Onigumo's Helmet — earned 1,000 points.]
[Current total points: 48,600.]
…
Roger's Execution Platform alone had given him a whopping 18,000 points — second only to Luffy's authentic straw hat.
Not a bad reward, considering he'd spent half an hour diving under the sea that night to retrieve it.
Hound's arm, though — that came from one of the four vice admirals he'd captured and bound.
They'd dared to raise their hands against him; losing an arm was a fair price.
He'd made sure none of them walked away unscathed — a warning to others, and maybe a chance to harvest a few useful "spoils."
Unfortunately, only Hound turned out to be a recognizable figure from the manga's original timeline.
Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Hound — a Zoan user who, in the original future six years later, had served under Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders, on Egghead Island.
He was among the eight vice admirals sent to wipe out Vegapunk and the Straw Hats.
As for the lower-ranked marines, they'd fled fast — too much trouble to bother chasing them.
The fainted pirates left in the plaza had all been rounded up by the Loguetown branch anyway.
"Almost fifty thousand points already, huh…"
Looking at the total, Shanu downed his cocktail with satisfaction.
Then he opened the trading market. Points were meant to be spent, after all. He remembered that the listings had recently refreshed — might as well see if there was anything useful.
[Item: Hokage Rock]
[Type: Landmark]
[Price: 5,000 points]
[Description: The massive mountainside behind the Hidden Leaf Village, carved with the faces of the Hokage up to the Sixth.]
[Seller's Note: Just dug this out — perfect for large living rooms. Any takers?]
Shanu rolled his eyes and skipped to the next item.
Sure, he could afford it.
But honestly… what kind of lunatic spends early-game points on landmarks?
…
[Item: Piccolo's Regeneration Serum]
[Type: Special Item]
[Price: 7,000 points]
[Description: A special serum from the Dragon Ball world, derived from Piccolo (the second generation). Once injected, it grants the innate ability of Regeneration — allowing the user to rapidly heal any part of the body except the head by expending personal energy. The energy cost is proportional to the mass of the regenerated body part.]
[Seller's Note: This was a pain to steal. Huh? Something just fell — looks like a round metal ball. I better go check.]
"Regeneration Serum?"
Shanu froze for a moment — then his eyes lit up with pure desire. He immediately added it to his cart.
Even a second of hesitation would be disrespectful to the Great Demon King Piccolo!
His body was already monstrous thanks to the Flesh Forge Technique, pushing physical resilience to an inhuman level.
But even monsters could be broken — Aokiji had lost a leg, Whitebeard half his head. Who could say he wouldn't lose a limb someday in a real fight?
"So it only costs some of your own energy, and you can heal anything except the head?"
Shanu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Might as well test it later in the training room."
Now, where should he start testing…?
He instinctively lowered his gaze toward Sabo.