After defeating Gasparde, Hyaku sheathed his sword and turned around to look at Foxy standing nearby.
"Don't... don't hurt me! I'll do it myself!" Foxy exclaimed, trembling with fear under Hyaku's gaze.
In a comical display, he deliberately slammed his head into the ground, knocking himself unconscious. He had gone to extreme lengths to avoid further suffering.
Splash Splash...
With Foxy's Noro Noro no Mi power no longer in effect, Gasparde's pirate ship immediately resumed sailing.
Boom...!
Moments later, the ship became the first to cross the finish line, crashing into a giant boulder at the endpoint and barely coming to a stop.
Seeing this, Hyaku leaped onto the boulder and surveyed the situation around Hannabal.
Trails of gunfire smoke rose continuously as pirates fled desperately in all directions.
The main Marine forces had now arrived, completely blocking all exits from the island. The pirates had nowhere to escape.
What followed were the screams of pirates as they were captured in large numbers by the Marines. The battlefield had tilted completely in the Marines' favor, and total elimination of the pirates was imminent.
The pirates' fate was inevitable.
The Marines had deployed in large numbers, their overall strength naturally superior to these ragtag pirate crews.
Additionally, Hyaku had already dealt with the stronger pirate captains. Without leadership, the remaining pirates were like scattered sand.
Seeing this, Hyaku had no intention of interfering. The grunt pirates could be left for the Marines' main force to capture.
He turned his attention toward the finish line, where several person-high piles of gleaming gold Berries were stacked in a small depression in the hills. In the center pile sat a specially made wooden box.
"That must be the Devil Fruit reward." Hyaku muttered to himself.
With a few swift jumps, he arrived in front of the small box. The Devil Fruit interested him far more than the gold.
Hyaku picked up the box and slowly opened it.
What met his eyes was a grayish-brown Devil Fruit with unique wing-like patterns on its surface. Without a specialized Devil Fruit Encyclopedia at hand, he couldn't determine what ability this fruit would grant just by looking at it.
At this moment, the system once again demonstrated its power.
〘 Ding! This Devil Fruit is the Ancient Zoan-type Ryū Ryū no Mi, Model: Pteranodon! 〙
{T/N: Yes, from King, the lunarian.}
The system heard Hyaku's thoughts and immediately sent a notification.
Ancient Zoan-type Ryū Ryū no Mi, Model: Pteranodon!
Receiving the system's prompt, Hyaku was secretly surprised. While Zoan-type Devil Fruits weren't rare, Ancient and Mythical types were uncommon, with Mythical being the rarest of all.
He hadn't expected to find one here.
Ancient Pteranodon... that would be quite a cool form, wouldn't it?
"However... with my current strength, there's really no need for me to eat this Devil Fruit." Hyaku thought, having no intention of consuming it.
Transforming into a pteranodon would be impressive, but it would still feel somewhat awkward. As for flying, he already had Geppo as a substitute.
The most critical issue was still the Devil Fruit users' fatal weakness to seawater. He didn't want to become a "land duck" just yet.
"Store it in the system." With that thought, Hyaku naturally wouldn't just hand it over and immediately instructed the system.
The fruit was stored in the system panel.
In his heart, he already had plans for this Devil Fruit.
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On Hannabal.
The Marines' annihilation of the pirates continued.
Just as Hyaku had predicted, the fleeing pirates initially put up stubborn resistance when encountering the Marines.
But as more Marine forces arrived with powerful fighters, the pirates quickly lost ground.
By the end, they abandoned all resistance and focused solely on escape.
This large-scale encirclement lasted from morning until afternoon. By sunset, it finally ended.
Without exception, all pirates were captured and loaded onto Marine battleships. Some special ability users were even fitted with Kairōseki handcuffs.
Due to the sheer number of captives, the Marine battleships could only transport them in batches.
"Report to Captain Hyaku, all pirates who participated in the Dead End Race have been captured. Battleships will be dispatched to send them directly to Impel Down." When Hyaku arrived at the shore, a Commander from the 188th Branch saluted him respectfully before delivering his report.
They had captured over a thousand pirates. Among them, more than a hundred had bounties exceeding 10 million. Most importantly, there was Gasparde with his nearly 100 million bounty.
This news, when transmitted back to Marine Headquarters, would likely shock all the higher-ups!
It was a feat that other branches had been working on for years without success. Capturing Gasparde would also help the Marines regain considerable face.
"Understood." Hyaku nodded in acknowledgment, "As for the 300 million Berry reward, there's no need to hand it over. Take it back to the 188th Branch and distribute part of it to the brothers who contributed."
The ฿300,000,000 reward was a welcome bonus.
As Captain and the operation's major contributor, Hyaku had full authority to determine how the reward would be distributed.
Being generous by nature, he allocated a portion to the Marines from the 188th Branch who had provided support. He designated the remainder for upgrading the Branch's military equipment and weapons.
"Yes, sir!" The Commander's eyes lit up at this news, his gaze toward Hyaku filled with newfound admiration.
How could the Commander not respect a superior who was both powerful and selfless — one who genuinely cared for his subordinates?
What Hyaku didn't realize was that this single decision had cemented his position within the 188th Branch.
But that, of course, is a story for another time.
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Since transporting the large number of pirates would take three days, Hyaku and his group temporarily stayed on Hannabal.
That night, he called Coby and Helmeppo over. The three gathered around a campfire to talk.
"Hehe! After capturing so many pirates this time, I guess our ranks should be promoted, right?" Helmeppo said with a laugh.
In this operation, apart from Hyaku, Coby and Helmeppo were considered the second biggest contributors. In the Marines, one could be promoted by earning enough military achievements.
"Following Captain Hyaku, we don't need to worry about not having our day!"
"Captain Hyaku, I toast to you!" Helmeppo raised his cup and drank it all in one go.
Seeing this, Hyaku smiled. He likewise emptied his cup of strong liquor in one gulp.
"By the way, I have a rare Devil Fruit here. If you're interested, I can give it to you." Hyaku said after a few drinks.
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T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
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