Chapter 119: Flaunting Wealth, the Rocky Port

"Bang!"

"Nine of Bamboo!"

"Win!" x3

"Aaaah!!!"

Whitebeard's face darkened completely. The triplets had him cornered.

With no money left, Whitebeard could only lower his head and endure the "services" of the three beautiful women.

"See? What's so great about marriage?" Whitebeard suddenly turned to Roy with a smug grin.

"…"

For the first time, Roy felt this old man was downright shameless, utterly lacking in dignity.

No wonder Sengoku turned out the way he did after retiring.

Back in the hospital, Roy had seen plenty of old men acting like children. No wonder people find geezers annoying.

"So, are you coming or not?

"No. What's there to see in a place like that? And I don't want to run into Wang Zhi, I might not be able to stop myself from cutting him down." Three more pieces of paper were stuck to Whitebeard's face as he continued playing mahjong.

"If you dislike him that much, I'll go chop him up for you," Roy said.

"Do whatever you want." Whitebeard couldn't care less.

Leaving the base, Roy didn't bring many people with him this time. Because of the threat from the Blackbeard Pirates, he only took some of Whitey Bay's subordinates. As for Whitey Bay herself, she was now pregnant and remained at the base.

"I wonder if we'll run into little Loxus."

"If he finds out his mom's pregnant again, he's gonna lose it."

"Seriously, what kind of parents are they?"

"Your son's already in another pirate crew, and now you're having another baby? Poor Loxus…"

"Totally irresponsible parents."

These guys were practically shouting their gossip right in front of Roy.

Roy ignored them. He knew his son better than anyone. It's because of these idiots spoiling him that he turned out like that.

At least now he had a good teacher. A few more years of training would do him good.

Three days later, their icebreaker arrived at Pirate Island, Hachinosu.

This was the biggest underground trading hub in the New World, full of all sorts of shady goods. It was essentially a pirate's paradise.

It was the equivalent of Mock Town on Jaya in the first half of the Grand Line, but compared to Mock Town, Hachinosu was far more lawless.

"We're almost there."

"Dock here. You all wait for me. If anything goes wrong, send the signal," Roy said calmly.

They nodded. With the boss not around, Roy was the acting leader. And even flying the Whitebeard Pirates' flag didn't guarantee safety on Hachinosu.

Roy disembarked alone, wearing a cloak. The situation here was delicate; he only came to pick something up and didn't want to attract attention.

But as soon as he stepped off the ship, people started following him, mostly because he was dragging a cart full of treasure chests.

With that much treasure in plain sight, there was no way local pirates wouldn't notice.

"I smell berries."

"That's the scent of money."

"So much money..."

"Who is this guy?"

"Should we make a move?"

"Kill him."

Roy's flamboyant display drew a crowd before he even reached the town. Pirates swarmed the docks, eyeing the treasure.

"He got off that ship."

"The icebreaker…"

"That's Whitey Bay's ship!"

"Whitebeard Pirates?!!"

Just hearing that name made all the pirates freeze in their tracks.

The Whitebeard Pirates, the name alone was enough to shut them down.

"Oi, oi, what's going on here?!"

A towering man clad in armor pushed through the crowd.

"The Wang Zhi Pirates!"

Hachinosu still had its rulers, the Wang Zhi Pirates, remnants of the legendary Rocks Pirates.

"Hey, punk, who do you think you are? Walking around with treasure like that, just asking to be robbed? You trying to get yourself killed?"

The man blocked Roy's path, looking down on him with barely concealed greed.

That amount of treasure was no small sum. If he could get his hands on it, he'd be living large for a long time.

"Walking around with this much money is dangerous. This is Hachinosu. Even if you're with the Whitebeard Pirates, you're not safe here. How about you hand it over? I'll keep it safe for you."

"You think you can protect this money?"

Roy looked up at him. The moment their eyes met, the armored man suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud.

Sweat poured from his face inside the helmet as he stared in terror at Roy. In that instant, he had felt death looming over him.

"Y-You... You're—"

"Lead the way. I'm here to buy something," Roy's voice was ice.

"Y-Yes, sir! My name's Kuha! Just give the order!"

This eight-meter-tall man knelt before Roy, bowing his head.

The people around them were stunned by the sudden turnaround; they couldn't make sense of it.

"My time is precious. I already talked to Wang Zhi. Has the Adam Wood arrived?"

"Yes, yes! It has!"

"Then lead the way."

"Right away!"

Kuha stood and barked at the crowd: "All of you, scram! You wanna die?!"

Being Wang Zhi's subordinate, most pirates didn't dare provoke Kuha and obediently moved aside, though a few sneaky ones slipped away.

Kuha led Roy to the central trading zone. The black market here was massive; if you had the money, you could buy anything.

The island's main structure was shaped like a skull. Though the island wasn't large, it had many old-style buildings.

No one knew exactly when the name "Hachinosu" came into use, but it had been called that for a very long time. It was once the base of the legendary Rocks Pirates.

Elsewhere on the island

"Lord Wang Zhi, a big spender just landed."

Under golden armor was a man in his seventies, with long hair and a massive sword. His eyes were as sharp as blades.

"A big spender? That's great news," Wang Zhi said calmly.

"Kuha wants to pocket the goods."

"He wants to keep it for himself? That bold? Didn't I say anyone coming here to trade is fair game for commission only? No funny business. Go drag him back."

"Looks like he's about to make a move. If we wait too long, he'll get away with it."

"Hmph. Damn fool. Go get him."

"I'm worried he'll run once he gets the goods."

"How much money are we talking?"

"Estimated over a billion Berries."

"How much?!"

"Judging by the number and size of the chests, it should be over a billion."

"Sigh… Lord Wang Zhi, what should we do?"

"Take me to Kuha."

At the same time, aboard a ship.

A vessel that looked more fit for royalty or nobles was silently approaching Pirate Island.

"Captain, we're about to reach Pirate Island."

"I see it. Whether we succeed or fail depends on this. If we can take out those guys, we can contact the Marines."

"But what about the people onboard?"

"Hopefully, they survive. Maybe we can hand them over to the Marines, too."

"Seems the intel's already been passed to the Navy. They're probably on their way."

"Make it quick. Finish the job and leave."

"Aye, Captain!"

.....

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