Gojo exhaled slowly after Bellamy died. He didn't care about the threat Bellamy had thrown at him with his dying breath—that Doffy would kill him. Bellamy had clearly been talking about Doflamingo.
Anyways, Gojo was going to clash with Doflamingo sooner or later, so he didn't mind forming any kind of enmity with him. Because of that, he was quite chill about it and didn't care about the fact that he would now be considered an enemy of the Warlord Doflamingo. On the contrary, a faint grin tugged at his lips as he thought about it.
I wonder what kind of move Doflamingo will make once he hears about this.
If anything, he was actually looking forward to what Doflamingo would do to take his revenge.
Currently, what Gojo needed was the Eternal Pose to Water 7.
So he turned towards the onlookers who had gathered around the area to watch the clash between him and the Bellamy Pirates. The crowd was still tense, some standing near the broken edges of the street, others peeking from the tavern entrance, their eyes shifting between Gojo and the unconscious or dead Bellamy pirates scattered around.
Gojo raised his voice, making sure everyone could hear him clearly.
"I need an Eternal Pose to Water 7. Whoever can give me the Eternal Pose, I will give you all the heads of these Bellamy Pirates. You can take all these Bellamy Pirates with you and claim the bounty on their heads as you please. What I need is the Eternal Pose to Water 7."
His words spread through the small crowd like a ripple across water.
As soon as Gojo said this, a few people instinctively looked around at each other. Some whispered under their breath, while others glanced cautiously at the fallen pirates lying around the area.
Clearly, some of them were doubtful about whether Gojo was telling the truth or not—whether he would actually honor the promise he was making right now.
Gojo noticed their hesitation immediately. Their guarded eyes, their stiff posture, the way none of them stepped forward.
He understood why.
These people lived in a world where betrayal was common and trust was expensive. Pirates, bounty hunters, smugglers—everyone survived by being cautious.
And because of that, there was nothing he could really do about their suspicion.
After all, this was simply how they lived. Being cautious was normal for them, and Gojo knew he couldn't change that. So he simply stood there calmly, waiting to see if anyone would step forward with the Eternal Pose he needed.
One of them finally stepped forward from the crowd and asked with a serious face, "Are you sure that we will be able to take all these Bellamy Pirates with us and claim the bounty as our own?"
As soon as Gojo heard this, he looked at the man calmly and replied, "I do not repeat myself or like to speak more than once. What I said is the promise."
He gestured casually toward the scattered bodies of the Bellamy Pirates lying around the area.
"If you have the Eternal Pose, you can have these Bellamy pirates. You can take these Bellamy Pirates as captives or the dead ones with you; I don't care."
The wind carried the faint smell of spilled alcohol from the nearby tavern as the crowd watched the exchange in silence.
After hearing this, the person who had stepped forward spoke again.
"I have an Eternal Pose to Water 7. Let's make a deal."
Gojo nodded once.
"Very well. I like direct people like you."
After saying this, he walked towards the person. His footsteps were slow and steady, crunching lightly over bits of broken wood and debris left behind from the earlier clash.
Clearly, from the behavior of that man, it seemed as if he was a pirate hunter rather than a pirate. His posture was disciplined, and the way he observed the fallen pirates around him felt more calculating than greedy.
But Gojo didn't care about the identity of this person.
Why would he care about the identity of some nobody?
Gojo stretched his hand outwards, palm open.
Without hesitation, the man placed the Eternal Pose into Gojo's hand.
Gojo glanced down at it. The needle inside the Eternal Pose trembled slightly before settling, pointing firmly in the same direction as the Eternal Pose that Bellamy had earlier.
Seeing that, Gojo gave a small nod.
So with this, Gojo could tell that, yes, this Eternal Pose was the real one, not a fake.
He then turned his head toward one of the officer-looking members of the Bellamy Pirates who was still conscious, though clearly injured.
"Where is all the treasure of your pirate group?" Gojo asked casually.
As soon as the officer of the Bellamy Pirates heard this, he immediately responded with defiance in his voice.
"I am never going to tell you that."
After hearing this, Gojo tilted his head slightly, as if considering something.
"Are you sure?" he asked calmly. "I can let you live. I can let you escape. You won't have to go with that person."
He pointed toward the pirate hunter with whom he had just made the deal.
The injured pirate instinctively glanced in that direction.
Gojo even turned toward the bounty hunter and asked casually, "Right? You won't have any issues with it if he leaves."
The bounty hunter felt a subtle chill run down his spine as Gojo's gaze fell on him.
Even though Gojo had already promised that he would give all the members of the Bellamy Pirates to him, taking one with him and letting him escape was clearly a breach of that promise.
But the bounty hunter didn't dare to show his dissatisfaction.
Not after seeing what Gojo had done to Bellamy.
So he forced a neutral expression and said, "Definitely, I don't have any issue."
Gojo nodded slightly before turning his gaze back toward the officer of the Bellamy Pirates.
Then he spoke again.
"See?"
He looked straight into the pirate's eyes.
"Make your choice."
And before that man could agree or disagree, suddenly another member of the Bellamy Pirates spoke up. He was also one of the officers of the crew.
"I know everything," he said quickly, his voice cutting through the tense air. "I am willing to tell you everything. Let me escape."
As soon as Gojo heard this, he didn't hesitate.
"Deal. Let's go."
The officer who had refused Gojo just moments ago was stunned. His eyes widened as he realized what had just happened.
He had also been about to agree.
But he was too late.
So he hurriedly tried to stop Gojo and said, "I am also willing."
Gojo shook his head calmly.
"You lost your chance."
His voice carried no anger, no emotion—just a simple statement of fact.
After saying this, he turned toward the man who had seized the opportunity and gestured lightly with his hand.
"Let's go."
The officer who had been rejected opened his mouth again, wanting to say more, wanting to plead once more, but the words never came out. Gojo had already ignored him completely.
As Gojo walked away with the Bellamy officer beside him, the pirate hunter didn't waste a single moment.
He immediately began tying up the remaining members of the Bellamy Pirates.
And he wasn't alone.
The people who had come with him—his group of fellow pirate hunters—quickly stepped forward as well. Ropes were pulled tight around wrists and ankles as they secured the injured pirates one by one. Some pirates groaned in pain, others cursed weakly, but none of them dared resist.
The earlier display of power from Gojo was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Meanwhile, Gojo followed the Bellamy officer through the nearby alleys and storage areas where the Bellamy Pirates had hidden their loot.
Under the officer's reluctant guidance, Gojo found all the treasure belonging to the Bellamy Pirates.
In the end, Bellamy only had around thirty million Berries in cash. Along with that were several pieces of jewelry and other treasures that would amount to roughly another thirty to forty million Berries.
Gojo calmly collected all of it.
After gathering everything, he carried the loot back to his ship.
And just as he had promised, Gojo allowed that member of the Bellamy Pirates to escape. He didn't bother with the man after that.
A deal is a deal.
Soon after, Gojo returned to his ship.
Fortunately, no one had tried to rob it while he was away. The ship sat quietly at the dock, gently rocking with the movement of the waves.
That alone prevented Gojo from having an unnecessary headache. Otherwise, if someone had tried to steal from it, he would have had to fight them as well—and most likely kill them.
The same old hassle.
Not long after, Gojo's ship slowly left the dock of Jaya Island. The wooden hull creaked softly as the sails caught the wind and the island gradually began to shrink in the distance.
Although Gojo had learned about the so-called Sky Island here, he simply ignored it as nothing more than a rumor.
And in all honesty, Gojo didn't care much about adventure.
If he happened to see beautiful scenes during his journey, then sure, he would enjoy them.
But that wasn't his main goal.
Right now, what Gojo truly wanted was simple.
To fight strong opponents.
To become stronger.
And eventually, to target the people who were sitting at the very top of the world.
----
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