Chapter 36 Claiming the Bounty

Looking at Butch kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, a hint of hesitation flashed in Nojiko’s eyes.

“Nojiko, he is a pirate.

He doesn’t deserve pity.”

Kaguya’s faint voice came from behind.

The next second, Nojiko felt her right hand being grabbed.

With a squelch, a gruesome wound was slashed across Butch’s neck.

Butch’s eyes widened, his hands fruitlessly clutching the gushing blood, before he finally collapsed heavily onto the deck.

Sam had just climbed up from the sea when he saw this scene.

Terrified out of his wits, he turned to jump back into the ocean to escape.

“Trying to leave?”

Kaguya’s figure appeared behind him like a ghost, landing a precise hand-chop to the back of his neck.

Before Sam could even let out a scream, he slumped to the ground like a pile of mud.

“Nojiko, this one is for you.”

Nojiko took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the Yubashiri.

She understood that Kaguya was training her, but the feeling of ending a life with her own hands still made her fingertips tremble slightly.

Sam’s limp body twitched on the deck.

Nojiko raised her long blade, the tip glinting coldly in the sunlight.

“Remember, kindness to the enemy is cruelty to yourself.”

Kaguya’s voice came from behind, filled with unquestionable firmness.

Nojiko closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were clear and resolute.

The Yubashiri sliced through the air, tracing a silver arc.

Sam’s pleas for mercy came to an abrupt end, and another corpse was added to the deck.

“Well done.

If you feel nauseous, just throw up.”

“You’ll feel much better after letting it out.”

Kaguya looked at the pale Nojiko and comforted her softly.

Nojiko shook her head, suppressing the churning in her stomach, but her trembling hands still betrayed her discomfort.

“Kaguya, I’ve taken care of that Kuro.”

“The Barrier-Barrier Fruit is so useful!”

“Hiding inside, he couldn’t break through at all.”

“I caught an opening and killed him on the spot.”

Nami’s psychological fortitude was much stronger than Nojiko’s; even though Kuro’s death was gruesome, she didn’t feel any discomfort.

“Well done.

With your current strength, you’re unrivaled in the East Blue.”

Kaguya patted Nami’s shoulder with satisfaction.

“Really!

Even you can’t beat me?”

“Really, even I can’t beat you.”

“But don’t get arrogant.

You still need to continue training when we get back.”

“Using Devil Fruit abilities consumes a lot of stamina, so a strong body is the foundation of power.”

“I know, don’t worry, I’ll train seriously.”

Nami smilingly linked her arm with Kaguya’s, while Nojiko felt a bit envious of Nami’s luck.

Having accidentally eaten a Devil Fruit, her strength had directly surpassed Kaguya’s.

Nojiko had absolute faith in Kaguya’s words.

Since he said he couldn’t beat the current Nami, then he definitely couldn’t.

“I wonder when I’ll be lucky enough to eat a Devil Fruit…”

Nojiko thought expectantly to herself.

Kaguya noticed Nojiko’s somewhat downcast mood and thought she was feeling unwell because it was her first time killing someone.

“Nami, take Nojiko back to the ship first.”

“I’ll deal with Kuro and the others’ bodies.”

“They all have bounties on their heads.”

Previously, Kaguya hadn’t claimed the bounties for Buggy and Arlong because they were backed by Red Hair and Jinbe respectively.

Neither of them was someone he could handle right now.

If they found out he had killed their friend and clansman and came back from the New World to the East Blue for revenge, he wouldn’t even have a place to hide.

“Okay, I’ll take my sister back first.”

After Nami and Nojiko left, Kaguya cut off the heads of Sam and Butch.

He entered the cabin looking for Jango, only to find that the guy had vanished.

“Did he escape?”

“Interesting.”

“Forget it, if he escaped, he escaped.

Consider him lucky.”

Kaguya carried the two heads onto the warship.

“Tsk, Nami is really ruthless.”

Looking at Kuro’s mangled corpse, Kaguya couldn’t help but shiver.

Just by looking at Kuro’s corpse, he could tell how Nami had killed him.

Kaguya realized that if he were trapped by Nami, he would have zero chance of survival against that move.

“Some Devil Fruits really are bugs; others train hard for years, yet they still can’t improve as fast as someone with a Devil Fruit.”

While sighing, Kaguya packed the three heads into a cloth bag he had just found.

Carrying the cloth bag, Kaguya used Moonwalk to fly toward the Riding the Wind for Ten Thousand Miles.

After landing back on the ship, Kaguya said to the sailors, “Sorry for the trouble, everyone, but let’s head back to Loguetown once more.”

The sailors responded and began to turn the Riding the Wind for Ten Thousand Miles around, heading toward Loguetown.

By noon, the Riding the Wind for Ten Thousand Miles had returned to the port of Loguetown.

“I’m going to claim the bounty.

You two rest on the ship for a while,”

Kaguya said, looking at the two girls.

Neither girl had any objection; after all, they had just finished exploring Loguetown yesterday, so there was no need to disembark again.

Kaguya walked toward the Marine Base carrying the heads.

When he reached the gate of the Marine Base, the same two Marine soldiers were still on guard duty.

Seeing Kaguya approach, both of them curled their lips in dissatisfaction.

“Training is underway inside the base; we cannot contact Sergeant Tashigi for you.”

“Uh…

I’m not here for Tashigi.

I’m here to claim a bounty.”

“On my way back just now, I happened to run into a group of pirates and took care of them.”

“Here, these are their heads.”

Kaguya placed the cloth bag on the ground and untied the string, revealing the three heads inside.

When the two Marine soldiers saw Kuro’s distorted face, their complexions instantly turned pale.

“This…

this is Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates!”

One of the soldiers stammered.

“A bounty of 16 million Berries!”

The other soldier hurriedly ran into the base to report.

Before long, a Major wearing a Justice coat walked over quickly with a few soldiers.

After carefully inspecting the heads, he scrutinized Kaguya with a sharp gaze.

“Young man, did you take them down alone?”

“I killed them together with my crew.”

The Lieutenant Colonel nodded thoughtfully.

“Kuro was a troublesome fellow.

Come with me to process the paperwork.”

In the Financial Office of the Marine Base, Kaguya received a total bounty of 23 million Berries.

As he was leaving, Kaguya saw Tashigi training on the Training Grounds, but he didn’t go forward to disturb her.

After all, he had just sent her back this morning; looking for her again within half a day would be a bit much.

If Smoker noticed, it would be another heap of trouble.

Leaving the Marine Base, Kaguya went back to the Chamber of Commerce where he had previously bought Sea King meat.

He ordered another batch of Sea King meat from the owner.

After paying the deposit, Kaguya returned to the Riding the Wind for Ten Thousand Miles with the remaining Berries.