Algaro Town, Sounding Pier, the merchant ship 'Croissant' slowly docked.
The ship bore some traces of cannon fire, which was not surprising. Since the year 1500 of the Sea Calendar, when the Pirate King Gol D. Roger uttered those era-changing words before his execution, the Great Pirate Era had begun. Countless pirates flocked to the sea, eager to claim the legendary One Piece, representing endless wealth. Of course, there were also those traditional pirates who enjoyed plundering and robbing.
On their return from the Land of Flowers, Victor and his crew encountered at least four pirate attacks. One pirate crew was quite clever; before making a move, they recognized 'Coral''s flag and, connecting it with recent newspaper reports, dared not approach to rob. They didn't even bother with pleasantries, speeding away in escape.
The other three pirate crews were not so lucky. Not only were their pirate ships all sunk, but the surviving pirates were all forced to walk the plank and fed to the sharks.
Capone Bege had a particular knack for this, so Victor left the handling of it to him and Kuranthna. However, these pirate crews were all particularly low-tier, with no captain having a bounty over 10 million. During the battles, Victor had Perona handle them with long-range bombardments, and unexpectedly discovered that Mym had a great talent as a gunner, which was a pleasant surprise.
At Sounding Pier, a large crowd of black-clad gang members stood in neat rows, waiting for the ship to fully dock.
First to disembark was Victor, his mid-length golden hair casually falling, dressed in a refined black suit. Perona had originally intended to drape a black velvet cloak over him, but he refused, citing the hot weather.
Next was Perona, wearing a black pleated mini-dress and red-and-black striped over-the-knee socks, holding a small parasol and following closely behind Victor.
Then came Capone Bege in a striped suit, Kuranthna in a black overcoat with a cane sword, and Mym in a shirt and suspenders.
Last to emerge was Mai Hime, wearing a red dress that Perona had helped her buy in the Land of Flowers, carrying the famous sword 'Seimasun Hime,' looking a little uneasy.
All the gang members present put a hand to their chest, bowed deeply, and loudly shouted, "Welcome back, Boss (Master)!"
Victor smiled and waved his hand, gently saying, "You all worked hard while I was away. Let's head back to headquarters."
Not far away, a middle-aged man with deep forehead wrinkles, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, frowned as he watched Victor and his group at the dock. He asked in a low voice, "Who is that woman in the red dress?"
A plainclothes Marine next to him carefully checked his intelligence and replied, "No specific information, only that she was the fuse that ignited the battle between 'Ferocious Chains' and 'Charcoal Eyebrows'."
"Ferocious Chains?" Middle-aged Marine Captain Krone turned to look at the plainclothes Marine.
"It's the nickname the branch gave him.
After all, this guy's methods are too brutal; 'Charcoal Eyebrows' was completely covered in blood..."
"Alright, alright, I get it." Krone waved his hand, signaling the Marine to quickly shut up. After seeing the crime scene photos of 'Charcoal Eyebrows'' body, he wondered if this Victor had some kind of psychological trauma or tragic past in his childhood, otherwise, how could he be so twisted?
"Young people, full of vigor, understandable." Krone looked at the red-dressed beauty whose face was slightly flushed, and nodded. "A girl like that, anywhere she goes, there'll be a bunch of young men fighting to the death for her. Victor is only a 17-year-old boy, haha."
"So, should we continue monitoring him, Captain Krone?"
"Monitoring what? Same as usual, just guard the Reverse Mountain entrance."
Krone rummaged through his pockets. "Did you bring any money?"
"Huh? I... I did. I have 20,000 Berries." The Marine fumbled for his wallet, looking bewildered.
"20,000 Berries? That's enough. Come on, let's go to 'Simon's Cheese Ring' and buy some baked cheese bagels." Krone nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave with the Marine.
Victor, surrounded by his gang members, glanced in the direction Krone had left, a slight smile on his face.
Algaro Town, 'Coral' Headquarters, 3rd Floor Grand Conference Hall.
A white-haired old man in a neat suit was presenting a stack of documents to the returning Victor, reporting on various matters.
"...That concludes the general situation of the gang over the past month. All specific details are thoroughly documented in these files; please review them at your convenience." The old man respectfully handed the documents to Victor with both hands.
Victor took the documents and placed them aside, smiling gently. "Mr. Windrew, you've gone to a lot of trouble these past few days. However, I have one more matter. The person I asked you to look into before I left last time..."
Windrew's expression became more serious. "Boss, the person you asked me to find... I actually found them."
Victor's spirits lifted, and he sat up straight. "Please sit, Mr. Windrew. Please elaborate on the specific situation."
Windrew did not decline, sitting in a chair at the side of the round table. After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he began, "It's like this. After you departed last time, I began to collect any relevant information that person might have, as you instructed. Initially, I had no clue, but on the fourth day..."
Time rewound to 21 days ago.
The fourth day after Victor and his group departed for the Land of Flowers.
Algaro Town.
Windrew, the white-haired old man with gold-rimmed glasses, sat in his office, looking at a pile of scattered documents on his desk with a worried expression.
The new boss, Victor, was undoubtedly far more outstanding than the previous Talma Piping. He was gentle, polite, exceptionally strong, and very intelligent, making him truly the most suitable leader. Because of this, Windrew didn't want the first task assigned by the boss to fail at the starting line.
A knock came from the door. After receiving permission, a tall, blue-haired man pushed the door open. "Mr. Windrew, the repair work in the town center is almost finished."
"Understood, Mr. Taru." Windrew took off his gold-rimmed glasses and rubbed his brow.
"Where's Little Jack?"
The blue-haired strongman Taru hadn't spoken yet when a red-haired young man squeezed in from behind him, energetically shouting, "Old man, you looking for me?"
"...Be more composed. You haven't improved at all even after following Mr. Taru for so long." Windrew felt a few more of his white hairs were about to fall out. "Have all those gang members from the 'Suleiman Family' who stayed in Kutsuri Town been brought back?"
"Oh, oh! Brought them back. Here's the list and photos." Little Jack babbled as he handed over the list. "A few of them were disobedient, so I, Little Jack the great, gave them a flying kick! CRUNCH! Just like that..."
Windrew filtered out Little Jack's rambling, flipping through the list and photos.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his entire body abruptly leaned forward.
Little Jack, who had been rambling on, was startled. He chuckled softly and awkwardly, "Old man, if you don't like me talking, then I won't. Who knew Little Jack was so smart, cute, and understanding..."
"Go bring this person immediately. Remember, act normal, and don't say any unnecessary words." Windrew sternly spread one of the lists on the table, pointing to a photo as he spoke to Little Jack.
30 minutes later.
Windrew's office was knocked on again. Windrew, who had adjusted his demeanor, cleared his throat and said gently, "Please come in."
Click.
The door was pushed open, and a young black-haired woman stood at the doorway, her expression calm.
Windrew smiled, extending his left hand.
"Please, Ms. Robin."
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