"Sold out?"
Ian looked surprised, seemingly not expecting the old man to actually sell out the wine. "So fast?"
"Of course, if I had been serious, I would have sold it all in no time."
Garp laughed heartily, saying smugly: "Of course, it's also thanks to... you! If you hadn't introduced me to clients, I wouldn't have been able to sell them all so quickly!"
"Me? When did I introduce you to clients?"
"The Cocoyasi Village!"
Garp said cheerfully, "I never expected that there would be such a wealthy family in that little village, spending 60 million Belly to buy all that wine from me, without even wanting the wine itself. But am I that kind of person? I'm very honest in business, so I gave them all the wine."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
Ian said leisurely, "I guess a little girl who just got home is going to cry. Also, I remember the remaining wine couldn't sell for 60 million Belly; that's embezzlement, Mr. Hero of the Marines."
Meanwhile, in the East Blue, in a forest somewhere on the Conomi Islands.
Bang!
A loud crash suddenly rang out, as if something had fallen from the sky and smashed to the ground.
Following closely...
"Ouch! Kuma, didn't you say you'd be more careful?"
A groan rang out, and then Nami, rubbing her bottom, got up from the ground while glancing around with a puzzled look. "This place looks so familiar!"
Seemingly noticing something, a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.
"This is..."
But before she could finish speaking, a voice came from the side.
"Nami? Is that you?"
"...?!"
This immediately drew Nami's attention, who was pondering where she was. She turned around, and upon seeing the group before her, a look of surprise crossed her face. "Genzo, Nojiko, and everyone else, what are you doing here?"
"We were just wondering what you were doing here!"
The blue-haired girl, Nojiko, rolled her eyes helplessly while looking at Nami with curiosity. "We thought a meteorite had fallen, but it's just you coming back. But you look like you fell from the sky! And you landed right here on this mountain!"
"Oh, so this is the back mountain!"
Hearing Nojiko's words, Nami suddenly realized. "No wonder it felt so familiar. I was worried I'd flown far away, but it's actually quite close?"
Although the back mountain wasn't right next to Cocoyasi village, it wasn't far from the village and the Arlong Park...
Thinking of this, Nami looked at the outline of Arlong Park, still visible in the distance, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
This scene caused Nojiko and the others to exchange glances, and then they smiled as they looked at the girl who had worked so hard for Cocoyasi village.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, Nami. We have something very important to tell you, and that is, Arlong..."
"I know."
Before Nojiko could finish speaking, Nami turned around, took a deep breath, and revealed a happy expression, saying, "The Arlong Pirates have been dealt with!"
"You already know?!"
Hearing Nami's words... the group of people around Nami was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something and exclaimed: "That's right, you must have sent that marine!"
"That's right, I sent him!"
Feeling everyone's gaze, Nami put her hands on her hips and said triumphantly: "You all should thank me properly!"
"Is that so?"
Nojiko also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, "It seems you already know. To be honest, I don't know how to explain it to you, after all, that's money you worked hard for!"
Nami: "...?"
"Wait a minute... money?"
Nami was taken aback and stared intently at Nojiko. "What money?"
"It's the money you hid in the cellar!"
Nojiko smiled at Nami and said, "We've already given it all to that enthusiastic marine."
"That marine actually stole my money? Wasn't he supposed to be a righteous marine?"
"How can you call it robbery? We just bought some wine from him. That marine gentleman seemed to be struggling to sell his wine, so it should be considered a transaction!"
"What wine?"
"What... wine?"
Nojiko frowned, seemingly trying to recall something, and said: "Hmm, I think it's called Sibia Green Grape Wine?"
As she spoke, she seemed to notice something, and seeing Nami suddenly looking like she was about to faint in despair, she hurriedly said anxiously: "Hey, what's wrong? Nami, what's wrong with you?"
...
In one of the four seas, North Blue.
Because it has produced many powerful individuals, North Blue is praised by the seas as the strongest sea, the sea with the highest overall strength among the four seas.
It is even considered to be on par with the Paradise in overall strength.
After Ian and his group arrived at the designated island in the North Blue, Gini was already waiting there.
He had already prepared the ship, and without any delay, everyone boarded Gini's ship and headed toward their current destination, Swallow Island.
"Boss, that kid you mentioned has already been found."
Seeing that the boss had finally arrived, Gini looked especially happy and said, "It's just that the kid is extremely stubborn, and also very vigilant."
He spread his hands, sounding rather helpless: "I don't know where that little kid got such strong vigilance from. I clearly haven't done anything."
"That kid has gone through a lot. Being a bit cautious is only natural."
Ian wasn't surprised by Gini's words. Thinking of that kid's experiences, if he wasn't cautious by now, he would've been found by the Donquixote Family already.
Ian paused in thought, then looked at Gini and said, "You didn't do anything unnecessary, right?"
"Of course not, I followed your instructions the whole time and didn't do anything unnecessary, boss."
Gini confidently patted his chest and said, "After finding the island, to get along with the local residents, I claimed to be an investor from the West Blue and said I was passing by here to invest."
Then he grumbled, "But no matter how much money I invested, that kid remained extremely cautious, even more cautious than before. I really can't handle him. Sorry, boss, you'll probably have to deal with him yourself."
"It's fine, I'll handle it."
Ian didn't refuse. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked at G
ini again and asked: "And the Karakuri Island that I asked you to find, did you find it?"
"I did. And I have to say that the island is hidden pretty well."
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