Soon, the two newcomers signed the agreement excitedly and left.
The woman in the cowboy hat watched their backs fade away, lost in thought.
The radio snail on the table suddenly rang with a "Broo broo" sound.
She didn't pay any attention, continuing to sit quietly until the radio snail's voice grew dry, finally picking up the receiver gently:
"What's up, boss?"
"Those two newcomers, you've finished recruiting them, right?"
The low and magnetic male voice came from the other end of the line, "When you finish this task, head straight to Canola Flower Port and put everything else on hold."
"Did something happen?"
"That girl escaped, Mr. 1 has already left the Royal Capital to hunt her down. You encircle from Canola Flower Port, it's almost time for the hanafuda transaction. She's a key bargaining chip, and must not be allowed to escape Alabasta."
"Understood, but boss, aren't you nearby Canola Flower Port now? Why send me back for this?"
"Because I have more important business to attend to."
His deep voice let out a cold snort, "Navy Headquarters has just assigned me a tricky target that I need to prioritize; otherwise, the charade I've maintained for so long would be for nothing."
Clack!
The call ended, and the woman in the cowboy hat propped her chin in her hand and tilted her head slightly.
A tricky target?
The boss has tirelessly played the role of a national hero in recent years.
He spent considerable time hunting pirates, delivering batches of them to the Navy, earning him the praise of Navy Headquarters as the most trustworthy ally among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
So this time, the target must be a pirate.
However, joining the Baroque Workshop several months ago, it's the first time facing such a description from the proud boss, referring to rookies in Paradise as troublesome.
She raised her brow slightly.
Ala ala, could it be...
Navy Headquarters has tasked the boss to deal with that recently famous newcomer?
...
Under the lighthouse at Twin Cape.
Four to five hours passed quickly, leading to the afternoon, the minimum time needed for the Log Pose to fill with magnetic force at Twin Cape.
Now that it's filled, it's time to set sail.
After the banquet, the scattered mess had been cleaned up, everyone rested and then stepped out of the cabin, surprised at the spotless deck.
"Wow! Cleaned up so quickly! And it's so spotless!"
"Looks newer than when it first left the dock!"
"Of course."
Smoker tossed the broom and mop aside arrogantly, puffing out a cloud of smoke, "With the help of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, these trivial tasks are insignificant and not worth mentioning."
Pairing "Soru" with the elemental smoke body, he achieved a thorough, cornerless cleaning by flushing out dirt and sweeping away dust.
Even typically hard-to-clean spots couldn't escape his grip.
Nami held her forehead.
Speaking of which, everyone is a dignified Logia-type Devil Fruit Ability User.
Your sense of pride... isn't it somewhat misplaced?
"Let's go, let's go, thanks for the hospitality~!" Crocus had already boarded his small boat, waving goodbye with laughter, while Laboon beside him raised its head and let out a long, mournful wail.
Zeff went up and gave a big bear hug, reconciling with the other old man with whom he had a minor grudge from their last meeting like old friends after the banquet.
Before turning around.
Crocus gazed deeply at the twin lighthouse shining in the golden sunlight.
Everyone expected this elderly keeper of the lighthouse to offer some heartfelt farewell words to his long-time companions.
But instead, Crocus lamented in distress:
"It's already the 29th, curse it, just a few more days of work, and I could've gotten my salary for this month!"
So that's what you care about!! The crew fell over in disbelief.
...
After leaving Twin Cape, the Endgame continued forward.
The Grand Line has seven sea routes, and Shano, as captain, naturally chose the Whiskey Peak-Little Garden route.
He's eagerly awaiting the chance to encounter those legendary giants from a century ago, ready to gather resources along the way.
[You sacrificed Crocus' single bed, receiving points 1100]
[You sacrificed Smoker's cigar box, receiving points 900]
[You sacrificed Jabba's cloak, receiving points 3200]
These fresh finds added with the previously acquired 400 from Laboon, causing Shano's remaining points to balloon by 5600, reaching 41100.
Shano felt quite satisfied with this.
It's only the first stop after entering the Grand Line, and the harvest is already so abundant, far exceeding expectations.
After the voyage stabilized, he glanced at Nami who was lying on the table drawing a nautical chart. He quietly brought over a cup of orange soda and then headed to the training room to cultivate.
Passing by the other two training rooms, he could hear the continuous dull thumping sounds coming from inside.
Kuina was on the second floor at the outdoor Sword Dao training ground, so the two inside must be Nojiko, and the other seems likely to be Smoker.
It seems, as they officially entered the Grand Line and the number of crew members continues to grow.
The crew, who prided themselves on being the combat mainstays, are starting to feel some pressure now, silently beginning to compete with each other.
Shano chuckled softly.
Compete, compete, the enemies they face will only get stronger, a bit of competition now is good.
A day or two may show no difference, but over time, the crew will surely soon feel how powerful the halo effect of the Hawk Statue is.
When the positive feedback comes more frequently and earlier, they will throw themselves into training with more energy.
With such a virtuous cycle, Shano believes that it won't take long for the overall strength of the Endgame Adventurer Group to reach a new level again.
...
In the blink of an eye, it's five days later.
Whiskey Peak.
This island, with desert-style architecture as its main feature, scattered along the sides of the port, is dotted with hundreds of houses.
It seems like nothing more than a small town, but as one of the starting points of seven routes, how could it be as simple as it looks on the surface.
Here is actually the lair of bounty hunters.
Hundreds and thousands of hunters are entrenched here, they prey on the rookie pirates who have just entered the Grand Line, sometimes working alone, sometimes teaming up.
In this seemingly calm port, a shapeless hunting net has been woven.
Snap.
Two unfamiliar figures stepped onto this land.
One was a man with a bombastic hairstyle wearing a high-collared outfit, the other a golden short-haired girl who kept an umbrella even at night.
Behind the windows of the surrounding houses, several malicious eyes immediately focused, but upon seeing the large group of bounty hunters that immediately gathered around, they withdrew their gazes in fear.
"Is this Whiskey Peak?"
The man with the bombastic hairstyle, named Mr. 5, walked in the forefront with hands behind his back, casually asking, "How many hunters are there in total here, and how many belong to us?"
"Honored High-level Special Agent."
The elder billionaire in front of him bent deeply, smiling broadly as he replied:
"Although our Baroque Workshop only started activities here a few months ago, the progress is obvious. Currently, among the total of 1,200 bounty hunters here, over 500 are our people, almost half, and still expanding!"
"Oh? Not bad."
The man with the bombastic hairstyle raised his eyebrows in praise, "I will report your progress truthfully. This achievement might just make you an Executive Agent."
"If I really can get promoted, I would be deeply grateful!" The elder billionaire immediately expressed his excitement, giving Mr. 5, who had just become a high-level special agent a few days ago, a comfortable feeling.
"Having the fortune to be a Devil Fruit ability user is truly gratifying."
He pondered, thinking his Pop-Pop Fruit was remarkably powerful, beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Otherwise, with his credentials, how could he have immediately become a high-level special agent upon joining?
It is important to note that the Baroque Workshop has clearly defined levels, structured like a pyramid.
At the top is the mysterious president and vice-president;
In the middle are nine high-level special agents and over a dozen executive agents;
The dividing line is the number 5.
That is to say, male-female pairs ranked within the top five digitally will be promoted from executive agents to high-level special agents.
Originally, there should be exactly ten individuals, but it is said that Mr. 2 is a genderless transvestite, so he requires no partner, taking two spots and leaving only nine positions.
And at the bottom are the vast numbers of billionaire elders and millionaire elders.
The elder billionaire before him had considerable seniority, yet he was several levels lower than himself, and just a word could decide the fate of the other.
"Cough, cough."
Mr. 5 put a fist over his mouth, coughing to disguise the redness in his face caused by excitement, then asked in a low voice:
"Speaking of which, your main task is ultimately to collect pirate heads here for the Workshop to gather funds. But it seems the target amount for this month hasn't been sent up yet. That's why I received an order, and together with Ms. Valentine came here specifically, to see what's going on."
"This, this... Have those above started urging?"
The elder billionaire showed a face full of fear, hurrying to explain: "You can't blame us for that, sir, you have to explain it well for us to those above!"
"The reason we can't meet the target is that recently there has been a noticeable drop in the number of pirates coming over the Inverted Mountain to the Grand Line!"
"Even if we are well-prepared, and our hunting success rate is high, without enough prey coming to us, we're just staring blankly, helpless!"
"Has there suddenly been a significant decrease in the number of new pirate arrivals during this period?"
Mr. 5 frowned, turned and exchanged glances with Miss Valentine's Day, then suddenly sneered:
"What kind of logic is that! Do you think pirates are fish, and you can catch them divided by off-season and peak-season?"
"It is quite odd, but this is undeniably true..."
The elder billionaire was sweating profusely, just about to order his subordinates to bring this month's records when suddenly a shout of joy came from afar:
"Hey! There's prey taking the bait, about to enter the port. Everyone be ready, get in position, prepare for the hunt!!!"