"Wait, we can talk!"
Buggy, with his head soaking in the sea, tried to force a flattering smile. "We're all pirates, we're all villains..."
"Gurgle..."
"Who's a villain with you?"
Before he could finish, Hiroto pushed him back into the seawater, only pulling him out when he was nearly drowning.
After repeating this several times, Buggy was left gasping for breath.
'This guy is really weak.' Hiroto thought while dealing with Buggy.
In the original story, Buggy was a part of the Pirate King Roger's crew in his early years. Although he was young at the time, he showed some combat power when fighting the Whitebeard Pirates. It's just that compared to Shanks from the same period, he was countless times weaker.
Perhaps the only explanation is his mindset. After all, Buggy is a pure pirate and believes the true nature of a pirate is to plunder wealth.
However, it's not to say he's completely useless.
Hiroto pulled Buggy out of the seawater again, eyeing the clown face—bruised, swollen, and still trying to be obsequious—with an amused look.
Buggy's network of connections is actually quite great. He could get in touch with Shanks, Rayleigh, and even Gaban.
As for killing him directly... he would go to the New World sooner or later and didn't want to start a fight with Shanks as soon as he entered. Rayleigh's side also had considerable value.
"Captain."
Carina walked over, carrying several rope mesh bags filled with Buggy's body parts.
After dealing with a bunch of pirates from the Buggy Pirates, she encountered Hiroto playing football with a head, with a large number of body parts flying behind him. Since Hiroto had asked her to clean up those pieces, Carina had stepped in and trapped them all.
"Hold him down. If he moves, shove him into the seawater."
Hiroto handed Buggy's head to Carina, then slashed at Buggy's fragments with Wado Ichimonji. A square piece of heart was cut out and fell into his hand.
"You... what are you going to do!"
Buggy's expression changed drastically, and then he was pushed into the seawater by Carina.
"Some arrangements, in case you can escape from the Marines."
Hiroto put away Buggy's heart fragment and then had Carina tie Buggy up tightly.
At this moment, Carina seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Captain, Nami wants to talk to you."
"?"
Hiroto was surprised at first, but then he seemed to understand something.
With the corners of his lips curling up slightly, he carried the bag full of Buggy and walked toward the Marine base.
"Let her wait."
...
Marine Branch 153 Base.
The remnants of the Buggy Pirates were completely wiped out. With Zoro taking action, there were almost no opponents.
The Marine Staff Officer stood alone before Hiroto with a complex expression. The bearded Lieutenant was behind him, seemingly wanting to say something, but was stopped by the Marine Staff Officer.
"What are the specific details of the deal you mentioned?"
"Dead pirates."
Hiroto said, "Jango and the Catman Brothers from the Black Cat Pirates. I'll trade their heads for the bounty. And the Buggy from just now, but this one is alive, so you have to pay the full price."
Saying that, he threw the bag full of Buggy over.
The Marine Staff Officer glanced at the bruised and swollen Buggy. The other party's body seemed to have shrunk quite a bit, and he was tied up tightly with iron chains.
He hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Okay."
"Then it's settled. My subordinates will deliver them to you."
Hiroto turned and left, leaving behind the utterly stunned Marine Staff Officer, who instinctively looked at the bearded Lieutenant.
"Is this the 'huge price' you said we'd have to pay?"
"I don't know."
The bearded Lieutenant looked bewildered. He had thought that if the other party offered a deal, there must be some massive ulterior motive.
In the end, it was just to collect a bounty?
A pirate using other pirates' heads to collect bounties—this was the first time the East Blue had seen such a thing in years.
"..."
The Marine Staff Officer seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed slightly. "Wait two days after they leave, then we will report this to Headquarters."
"This..." The Lieutenant hesitated.
But the Marine Staff Officer shook his head and said, "This is exactly what he wants."
As he spoke, his gaze followed the receding figure of Hiroto, his eyes becoming deep.
—
In the town, the surviving civilians hadn't yet recovered from the recent crisis and were searching everywhere for their relatives. When they encountered Hiroto and the others, they retreated into corners in fear.
However, after spotting Carina among them, they gathered around with looks of gratitude. It was Carina who had saved their lives just now.
After these interludes, Hiroto and the others returned to the sloop.
Zoro and Carina took the 'merchandise' to the Marine Branch Base to complete the subsequent transaction.
If nothing goes wrong, this should bring in about 28 million berries. For a Marine base, this was a significant amount of money, but presumably, no one would dare to renege on the debt.
At this time, inside the Captain's cabin, Nami was massaging Hiroto's shoulders with a flattering expression.
Only when her hands were sore did she hear him say indifferently, "Just say what's on your mind. If you want a raise, that's not happening. That's a request only a crew member like Carina can make. As for you, once we find a way to sell the treasures on the ship, you can pick one item you want and then leave."
"Don't say that, Captain. I want to be your crew member too."
Nami thought of Carina's words, gritted her teeth, and hugged Hiroto's neck. Her full chest pressed against his broad back as the two of them clung together intimately.
"Didn't you feel like you were in prison?" Hiroto asked.
"No, no, Captain, your kindness to me is very real."
"And you thought I couldn't beat so-and-so."
"Doesn't that just show how powerful you are?"
Nami had a flattering look, intentionally rubbing against him in a way that made Hiroto feel a bit unfamiliar.
He said irritably, "Just tell me, what is it exactly?"
Nami gritted her teeth and stated her request, "I want to ask you to kill someone, Captain."
Hiroto raised an eyebrow. "You call the Arlong Pirates 'someone'? And why should I help you?"
"Help you deal with the Arlong Pirates just because of these few rubs?"
"As long as you can save Cocoyasi Village and kill Arlong who shot my mother, no matter what you want, Captain, I will give it to you."
Thinking of the past, Nami's eyes reddened. She let go and came in front of Hiroto, standing straight as if showing herself off.
"No matter what?" Hiroto looked Nami up and down unscrupulously.
The blatant gaze made Nami instinctively shrink back for a moment, but in the next second, she nodded with absolute determination. "No matter what."