INIIDF-Chapter 58 Growth
"Where did this little guy come from, so rash?"
The Marines in the office grumbled.
Liam turned around and said, "That Big Brother in the trench coat just now, he looked so cool!"
"Don't provoke those people, kid," A Marine reminded him. "It's very dangerous! So, what's your name..."
"I'm Giorno," Liam said, raising the bounty collection book in his hand and signaling for them to stop chatting and get down to business.
The Marines looked at the page of the bounty book the boy was holding - a photo of a pirate with a scar running from his left eyebrow to the corner of his mouth, named Suler, with a bounty of 130,000 beli.
"Boy, it's good that you want to catch pirates, you have spirit!" The Marine on the other side of the desk said to Liam, "But it's too soon! Come back in a couple of years."
Another Marine with guns on his shoulder laughed, "Join the Marines, become a part of justice, and train yourself to deal with pirates. It's a better way."
Liam said, "But I want to catch pirates now. And I don't want to join the Marines."
"Why not?" The Marines were surprised, but not angry. To them, the boy's whims were just childish whims. But they were curious. "Don't you like us Marines? We are the army that protects justice!"
Liam said loudly, "The Marine uniform with the big 'Justice' on the back... It's way too embarrassing! Who can stand to wear that?"
The Marines collapsed laughing and covered their faces. "What an ignorant little brat! The 'Justice' uniform is an honor! Only high-ranking officers get to wear it..."
"Who cares!" Liam said. "I want information on pirates..."
The Marine thought, "No, you're too young to get information about dangerous pirates..."
A hotheaded kid like that, given pirate information, might run off and get himself killed.
"Okay, then," Liam closed the book and turned to leave. He was polite enough to close the office door behind him.
"..." The Marines in the room looked at each other, speechless. "What a strange guy..." Whether it was the silent man in the trench coat or the boy named Giorno.
...
Liam walked briskly out of the Marine base with the book under his arm.
After a few streets he found the trench coat and the star mask on a corner. There was also a box, which he opened with a click, revealing brand new bills.
"Wow, so much money..."
A voice shouted behind Liam. Without turning around, he knew it was some local thugs who had set their sights on him, or rather the box 'B.I.B.' had been carrying earlier.
With a click, Liam closed the money box, tucked the trench coat, star mask, and bounty collection book under his arm, and walked on, paying no attention to the thugs yelling behind him.
"Hey! Are you deaf? We told you to stop!" The thugs shouted and ran after him.
But when they turned the corner, the boy was gone!
The thugs were stunned, staring at the dead end, touching the thick walls and looking up.
"How could he have climbed over such a high wall with a box in the blink of an eye?"
As they thought this, they simultaneously felt a sharp pain in their heads.
B.I.B.' hovered behind them like a ghost, delivering an iron fist to each of them, causing them to roll their eyes and pass out.
...
"So much money!"
At the inn, Liam opened the money box, the bills scattered across the bed and floor.
'B.I.B.' phased through the wall, and they lightly bumped fists.
"Funds are in place, time to continue training?"
...
Morning, in the woods outside of town.
A black-haired boy ran wildly through the wilderness, parkouring through bushes and jumping over streams.
Not far away, the ghostly black armor silently performed basic training.
Green Den Mushi was glued to the armor, squinting his eyes and dozing contentedly.
...
Liam, exhausted, almost crawled back to his room at the inn.
He lay on the floor, turning his head to see the mechanical black feet of the armored Stand approaching.
"Liam swallowed hard, then rolled over and lay spread-eagle, eyes closed, shouting, 'Come on! Don't hold back!
A passing staff member heard strange noises coming from Liam's room, sounding like pain or some kind of moaning. They looked up at the room number and showed a strange expression...
Kids these days develop really fast...' the employee muttered as they stealthily walked away.
...
Liam was fast asleep on the bed in the inn.
Mommy...' he mumbled in his sleep, turning over and kicking the green Den Den Mushi off the bed.
...
At night, the bar in the city was brightly lit, and opening the door revealed a noisy and bustling scene.
The ghostly black armor wandered among the drinkers at each table.
He listened to the snippets of conversation as people bragged and drank, but found no talk of pirates.
Meanwhile, its white-glowing eyes kept "remembering" the bounty collection book its main body had been flipping through, constantly comparing faces.
...
On the street, Liam, wearing flip-flops, bought a few bunches of flowers.
...
On the shore, 'B.I.B.' checked for suspicious ships docked as he walked around.
...
A sweaty Liam returned to his room at the inn, heated a large cup of milk, sprinkled some flower petals into it, and nodded in satisfaction.
He drank the floral milk tea in one gulp, then dropped to the floor and did a few push-ups with ease.
...
At the naval base, the man in the trench coat with the star mask reappeared.
He dragged a frightened person into the Marine office and threw him inside.
Seeing the Marines in uniform, the person crawled over, crying and screaming about the terrifying trenchcoat man.
The Marines looked at each other.
B.I.B.' stood with his hands in his pockets and said nothing - they couldn't hear him even if he did, because they didn't have Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki).
...
Days passed by.
...
The name of the Bounty Hunter with the Star Mask, Kujo Jotaro, began to spread throughout the island and beyond through merchants and bounty hunters.
There were rumors that the silent bounty hunter was a real monster.
According to the Marines, Captain Tron Pilot had a bounty of 210,000,000, and the Vice Captain 19,000,000, a notorious pirate crew in West Blue, was wiped out by this Kujo Jotaro.
Many were interested in this powerful new hunter.
Even the big gangs of West Blue, "Hunter Guns", "Gunpowder", "Dagger", "Venom" and the strongest "Bullet", inquired about Kujo Jotaro through their channels.
Unfortunately, his origin and movements remained a mystery.
Even the Marines who exchanged bounty money for him knew nothing about him.
'It's him!!!' On another island in West Blue, a doctor who looked like a humanoid goblet spat out his wine in shock when he turned to a page in the newspaper. Kujo Jotaro... that trench coat, that mask... damn it, it's definitely him! That scoundrel, a thief himself, becoming a pirate hunter...'
Hogback gloomily went for a walk, only to be blocked by a tall figure: 'Hee hee hee hee, interested in working for me?
...
The door to the bar was kicked open.
The noise inside quieted for a moment as many turned to look at the entrance.
A boy, steaming and sweaty, strutted in, taking off his soaked vest and casually draping it over his shoulder, revealing a well-toned, muscular frame.
Damn...' he muttered, covering his mouth; a tooth had been chipped during training. It hurts like hell.
Liam jumped onto a stool by the bar and slapped the counter, 'Give me a glass of milk!
'Hahaha! Milk?!'
The bar erupted in laughter. The barmaid stifled her laughter as she served the burly young man a glass of milk.
Liam didn't care, he drank the milk all by himself.
Then a ghostly hand, covered in blue flame patterns, tapped him on the shoulder from behind, pointing in the direction of the bar.
'Hmm?'
Liam licked the 'white mustache' on his upper lip and followed 'B.I.B.'s direction, seeing a familiar face among the laughing crowd.
'B.I.B.' pulled out the memory of the bounty poster Liam had seen half a month ago at the Marine base, of the pirate named Suler, worth 130,000 Beli.
'130,000... not bad for a first real battle practice.'
Liam flicked his newly grown white tooth in the chipped spot and grinned."
...
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