CHAPTER 53: First Bounty and Future Navigation

There weren't many rooms on the ship, and the last available one had just been arranged for Lilith.

That Night

Out on the deck, Mio was sparring with Warwick to familiarize himself with the power he had gained from Lilith.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their fists clashed over and over again in a heated hand-to-hand exchange. Warwick's fists were coated with Armament Haki, resembling hardened iron. Clearly, Warwick had a natural talent for Armament Haki. Though he could currently only coat his fists, he was already far ahead of Mio in this area.

On the other hand, Warwick's Observation Haki wasn't quite as developed—it was notably weaker than Mio's. But to make up for it, he had an extraordinary sense of smell, almost beast-like, which gave him an edge in combat situations.

"Roar!"

With a growl like distant thunder, Warwick kicked out, sending a powerful shockwave through the air.

Mio lightly dodged the attack, leaping back as the strike slammed into the sea behind him, sending waves crashing outward.

Without pause, Mio dashed forward, his fist wrapped in his own Armament Haki. He threw a punch.

Boom!

Warwick met the punch with his own. Their fists collided mid-air, and a powerful shockwave exploded from the impact, stirring up the air around them.

"Hah…"

Breathing lightly, the two separated. Mio flexed his hands slightly, feeling out the improvements in his physical attributes from Lilith's gene draw.

Under the pale glow of moonlight, the deck shimmered faintly.

Later, Mio sat cross-legged, catching his breath. Warwick returned from the cabin with a couple of bottles of rum—one of which he handed to Mio. Taking a seat beside him, Warwick drank from his own bottle with a grunt of satisfaction.

Mio uncorked his bottle and took a long swig, then pulled out the eternal pointer he had taken from the giant's belongings. With it, he checked their current course. Spreading out the rough map in his hands, he glanced at their position and couldn't help but smile in anticipation.

Alabasta.

That would be their next destination.

The pointer was marked with the routes that Dongli's crew had once used. With such a tool in hand, their future travels would be much smoother.

Alabasta was a massive kingdom, home to the Nefertari family—one of the few who had refused to become Celestial Dragons. Many key events in the world's political landscape had begun there.

But what excited Mio the most was the ancient Poneglyph hidden on the island.

It was rumored to contain the location of Pluton, one of the Ancient Weapons.

If that turned out to be true, then it was something Mio would definitely have to consider seriously.

But acquiring such knowledge came with a price. If the World Government ever learned he had access to such information, they would either attempt to take it from him—or, more likely, eliminate him outright. Pluton posed too great a threat.

This was something Mio couldn't decide on lightly.

In the end, he sighed and shook his head, setting the map aside. It wasn't something he could solve just by thinking about it now. He stood up and stretched, heading back toward his room to get some rest.

Meanwhile, Warwick remained seated on the deck, sipping his rum. As a werewolf, perhaps he felt more alive at night. Mio had already gotten used to Warwick's odd sleeping habits. The wolfman rarely slept, and when he did, it was never for long.

The Next Morning

Mio woke up early and, after enjoying a hearty breakfast prepared by Erica, stepped out onto the deck.

Just then, a News Coo flew down and landed gracefully on the ship's bow.

"Here you go." Mio tossed the bird a coin and accepted the newspaper in exchange.

As the bird flapped its wings and flew off into the sky, Mio sat down on the deck, unfolded the newspaper, and began to read.

There wasn't anything particularly shocking in the headlines today.

But what caught his attention—what really surprised him—was a new list of bounty posters.

Mio's eyes widened.

His own face was on it—along with Erica's and Warwick's.

[Name: Kurokawa Mio]

[Bounty: 45 million Berries]

[Name: Erica]

[Bounty: 33 million Berries]

[Name: Warwick]

[Bounty: 30 million Berries]

Seeing the numbers, Mio couldn't help but grin in satisfaction.

"Not bad at all. A first-time bounty this high? Pretty impressive."

Still, he couldn't help but wonder—how exactly had the Navy learned their names? Did the Marines have a special intel unit constantly collecting information about new pirates?

His eyes then fell on another familiar name.

[Name: Nico Robin]

[Bounty: 80 million Berries]

It had increased by a single million since her last known bounty. Not by much, but enough to match her bounty at the beginning of the original storyline.

Mio chuckled to himself.

"Erica! Come take a look! Put these bounty posters in the restaurant—they're our first ones!"

Hearing her name, Erica came skipping over excitedly, and Warwick turned his head with curiosity.

"Are we bountied?" Erica asked eagerly, tail practically wagging.

"Yes, we're all on the list now," Mio said with a grin. "Except for Lilith—she wasn't spotted by the Navy yet. Otherwise, she might've had one too."

Erica grabbed the posters and flipped through them. When she saw her own bounty poster, her face twisted in mild disgust.

"Master, Erica looks so ugly in this!"

Mio burst out laughing and rubbed her head. "Don't worry, you'll always be cute to me."

"Hehehe~"

Erica giggled at the praise and cheerfully skipped away with the posters toward the dining hall.

Meanwhile, Warwick picked up his own wanted poster, glanced at it, and frowned deeply.

"This picture of me looks… really ugly."

"Come on, you're a grown man. Since when do men care about being pretty?" Mio rolled his eyes.

Warwick said nothing, lowering his head in silent disappointment. His shoulders slumped dramatically like someone had stolen his last bottle of booze.

Seeing his reaction, Erica couldn't help but giggle from the doorway before disappearing into the cabin with a skip in her step.

Soon enough, the bounty posters became a hot topic among the girls on the ship. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement over their newly recognized outlaw status.

Back on the deck, Mio spread out the rough map Kurokas had drawn. Steering the ship toward their next destination, he scratched his head.

"We really need to find a proper navigator. This map is drawn beautifully, but if you're not a pro, it's hard to make sense of it."

It had taken him quite a while to decipher the route. At first glance, the map had looked fine—but the more he studied it, the more complicated it seemed.

Still, he eventually got it. The ship began to change course and head toward the Calm Belt.

Just then, Lilith stepped out of the cabin, holding something in her hand.

"Master, your Den Den Mushi."

"Huh?"

Mio raised an eyebrow, taking the snail-phone from her.

It was the one Vegapunk had given him.

Looks like the genius scientist had something to say…