"Hey! Watch where your hands are!!!"
Bai Ye's fist shot out on reflex—wrapped in a flash of golden light.
BAM!
Luffy, despite his rubber body, flew backward and hit the deck, a cartoonish lump swelling on his head.
"OW! That hurt!" Luffy rubbed his skull, more shocked than angry. Getting smacked around was almost routine for him anyway.
"Bai Ye, how'd you make that hurt!? You hit just like my grandpa!"
Bai Ye froze for half a second. Wait… what?
Luffy's Nika Fruit should make him immune to blunt force—unless the attack carried Haki.
But Bai Ye didn't have Haki.
So…
Was that my Qi acting like Haki?
His eyes narrowed in thought. To test it, he raised his fist again and struck Luffy lightly.
BAM!
"Hey! Why'd you hit me again— huh? That one didn't hurt?" Luffy blinked in confusion. "Did I imagine the first one?"
Bai Ye stared at his own hand—this time plain and uncharged. His suspicion solidified.
Qi and Haki… they were probably the same fundamental energy, born of will and life-force.
If that were true, then he wouldn't need to worry about finding a "Haki teacher" later in the Grand Line—he could cultivate it himself.
A slow grin spread across his face. That's going to come in handy.
While Bai Ye was lost in thought, Luffy piped up again.
"Hey, Bai Ye! You still haven't told me—where'd that big treasure bundle go!?"
"Ah." Bai Ye snapped back to reality. "You remember that 'other place' I mentioned before?"
Luffy's eyes widened. "You mean you put all the treasure in there? Can I go play in it too!?"
Bai Ye sighed. "Alright, alright. Once I can bring people in, you'll be the first, okay?"
"Yatta!!!"
Bai Ye smiled helplessly and reached into the inner world. With a flick of his wrist, a fat stack of Berries appeared in his palm, which he handed to Luffy.
"I heard the roast here's famous. Go have some meat, Captain. Take Koby with you."
He knew from experience—the best way to motivate Luffy was simple: food.
"MEAT!!!"
Luffy's eyes turned into hearts. "I'm going! I'm going!!!"
"Gomu Gomu no… Rocket!!!"
With Koby in tow, Luffy stretched his arms to the harbor pillars and launched both of them screaming toward town.
Bai Ye chuckled as their voices faded. "Alright, my turn."
The Love Heart pirate flag fluttered above the ship. Once the symbol of Iron-Mace Alvida's crew—worth five million Berries—it now sat eerily still.
In the East Blue, that was a major bounty. So when the Marine watchmen spotted it entering port, panic spread fast. Within minutes, a full squad marched toward the docks, rifles ready, faces pale but determined.
"At least they're not completely corrupt yet," Bai Ye murmured.
A Marine officer shouted from the shore:
"Attention! Alvida Pirates! Leave port immediately! This is the Marine base of Captain Morgan!"
"Repeat! Alvida Pirates—!"
THUD!
Something massive landed in front of them with a crash, shaking the pier.
"Alvida? You mean this auntie?"
Bai Ye stood on deck, pointing casually at the bound, unconscious Alvida lying in the sand.
The Marines blinked, recognition dawning. The round, tied-up blob before them was indeed the five-million-Berry Iron-Mace Alvida.
And that could only mean… the man standing over her was her captor.
"I'm a passing bounty hunter," Bai Ye said with an easy smile. "Thought I'd trade her in for the bounty. That's allowed, right?"
He gestured behind him, where a line of terrified pirates—Alvida's crew—were tied together wrist-to-wrist like a human centipede.
"These guys too. No bounties, but pirates all the same. Might as well hand them over."
He played the polite bounty-hunter act perfectly—though, of course, he had his own reasons for doing so.
🪙 Later, inside the Marine base…
"Here's your reward, sir," the officer said respectfully. "Five hundred and thirty-four thousand Berries total—five million for Alvida, and the rest for her crew. Please count it."
Bai Ye chuckled, waving a hand. "No need. I trust the Marines."
Honestly, he was just relieved they had the money. In the original story, Captain Morgan had squeezed the townspeople dry by building a giant statue of himself. Bai Ye half-expected the treasury to be empty.
But even Morgan wouldn't dare touch funds earmarked by Marine Headquarters for bounty payments.
He rested his palm on the neat stacks of Berries—
and in a blink, they vanished.
The nearby Marines gawked, mouths open, eyes bulging.
"W-what… what was that?!"
"Just a little trick," Bai Ye said smoothly, brushing off the shock.
The Marines exchanged glances, and one stammered,
"No wonder you took down Alvida's whole crew! You must be a Devil Fruit user!"
Bai Ye didn't deny it. He simply smiled and changed the subject.
"Speaking of which," he said, "there's actually a little business I'd like to discuss with you Marines…"
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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