Ren thought for a moment before speaking."It's normal. There will always be all kinds of tragedies in this world. We can't save everyone, nor could we even if we tried. A person's energy is limited, but calamity is endless."
He sighed softly. "That's what I hate the most. So I want to destroy the things I find unbearable. But I also know—only by eradicating the source of the calamity can everything finally become bearable."
Nami tilted her head, studying him. "Looks like you really do have your own goals. Zoro was right—you're such a troublesome man."
She stood up and lazily stretched her arms. The motion lifted the hem of her orange short-sleeved shirt, revealing a sliver of smooth, pale skin.
Ren instinctively glanced over—and then couldn't look away.
Unfortunately, beauty always vanished in an instant.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
Then Nami suddenly said, "Don't be so disappointed. You'll have plenty of chances to look later."
"That's it?"
Ren propped his chin in his hand, unimpressed.
"Of course not just that."
Nami winked playfully and extended her fair, delicate hand toward him. "Your Nami has also brought you seventy million Beli, Captain."
"Just so you know," she added quickly, "the Shell Company's total assets only amount to about one hundred and twenty million.
"But since you already have plenty of gold and treasure, and we couldn't carry all the supplies anyway, I told them to hand over their Beli in exchange for keeping the materials. That's how I gathered seventy million for you.
"So, how about a little reward for your Nami? Maybe… wiping off ten million of my debt?"
She batted her eyes, turning on the charm—but the moment money came up, Ren's heart froze solid.
"No money. Only death."
Ren flopped back onto the ground, giving up completely. He did believe everything Nami said… but to think she hadn't secretly stashed some away would be an insult to her character.
"Then let's go, my dear Captain."
Nami huffed, stepping on him in mock disgust before grabbing his hand and pulling him upright. "The people of Mys Island have been wanting to meet their savior—the captain who saved their home. They want to thank you properly."
"That kind of thing sounds boring. I'd rather—"
Before he could finish, flames suddenly flared up on the edge of the town beneath the night sky, followed by a thunderous explosion.
BOOM!
"Enemies!?"
Ren's face darkened. All he could see through the darkness was the glow of fire.
He was about to move when Nami grabbed his arm.
"Take me with you! I want to see who dares cause trouble on my island!"
Eyes flashing with anger, Nami leapt onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck as his strong arm caught her in midair.
"Let's go."
Ren cast a quick Blessing of Arrow Avoidance, then leapt down from the hill.
They were standing on an artificial rock formation built by the Shell Company—not too high, with plenty of footholds.
Moments later, Ren landed at the explosion site, still holding Nami in a princess carry.
The blast had created a massive crater at the town's edge, as if a mountain of explosives had gone off.
Even a full cannon volley couldn't have caused such devastation.
The power was immense—and the losses, severe. Half of Mys Island's hastily formed patrol team had been wiped out.
The survivors were all maimed or barely clinging to life.
Zoro and Nojiko arrived soon after, Chester hopping nervously at their feet.
Other islanders gathered as well—the explosion had been far too loud to ignore.
"What happened?"
Ren set Nami down, then took a vial of Health Potion from Chester's mouth and poured it down the throats of several dying patrolmen.
As the potion took effect, one of the survivors finally managed to explain.
"An attack—it was pirates. They looked… weird. Like circus performers in bright costumes. They asked where the Shell Company was.
"When they found it had been destroyed, they left. We were about to report it when one of our men went missing—they'd captured him and tortured him for information.
"When we found them, they dropped a tiny red bead… then everything exploded. The blast wiped out half our unit. This… this is what's left."
The patrol captain, clutching his severed arm, forced a bitter smile. "They might be pirates who used to work with the Shell Company. I heard what the Company did on Mys Island wasn't their first time.
"Usually, once they've drained a place dry, they summon pirates to slaughter everyone and erase their crimes along with the witnesses."
"Do you know which crew it was?"
Nami demanded, glancing back at Ren. Seeing him silent, she put her hands on her hips and snapped, "Whoever they are, causing trouble here means they'll pay for it!"
"No idea," the captain admitted with a grimace. "There are too many pirates who've done dirty work for the Shell Company. Sometimes it's not even loyalty—just business.
"Really, you don't need to take revenge for us. Our lives aren't worth that. Once those pirates realize the Shell Company's gone, they'll probably back off anyway."
"No… that's not it," rasped one of the wounded patrolmen, newly revived by the potion.
He struggled to sit up, pointing a trembling finger at Zoro. "I heard them talking… They said they got lucky and found him—the green-haired swordsman. A billion-Beli jackpot. And something about a demon… and a cat…"
Ren frowned in confusion.
Green-haired swordsman—that fit Zoro. But a billion Beli? That was absurd.
The only one with a sum even close was Ren himself—and his had under four hundred million.
And what were "demon" and "cat" supposed to mean?
"I think… I might know something about this," said Amper, the leader of Mys Island. His face grew grim as he rummaged through his coat and produced a folded newspaper, handing it to Ren.
"Take a look. It's from a few days ago."
Ren took it absentmindedly—and his eyes widened in shock.
Printed clearly were the new wanted posters… of himself, Nami, and Zoro. Nojiko, thankfully, wasn't on the list.
"'Demon'? Me? Four million Beli!?"
Ren stared at the paper in disbelief, question marks practically floating above his head.
Nami peeked over his shoulder and her face twisted in dismay.
"What!? I'm wanted too? No way!"
"Zoro's on it too," Ren added dryly. "Three million Beli. Just one less than me."
"What!? Why am I lower than him!?" Zoro demanded, storming over to see for himself.
Ren tapped the date printed on the paper. "Did no one notice this was from a few days ago? How did we not hear about it sooner?"
"I only handle the cooking, Ren."
"I handle security."
"Nami!"
Ren grabbed her cheeks and squished them until her lips puckered like a fish. "You didn't even bother collecting newspaper intel!?"
Smart readers could already guess who was about to get beaten next—after all, how often does a wanted poster feature such a hilariously incompetent group of "vile pirates"?
(End of Chapter)