Chapter 29: Ian’s Grand Money-Making Scheme
Watching the small boat gradually fade into the distance, the underlings still aboard the Buggy Pirates’ ship cautiously asked Buggy, “Captain, should we fire the cannons?”
But Buggy, who was already fuming, didn’t even think before kicking one of them. “Are you idiots? A boat that small—with your lousy aim, could you even hit it!?”
Mochi spoke up from the side, “We can’t fire the cannons. Cabaji was taken aboard by him, and we don’t even know if he’s still alive. If a cannonball hits him, he really might die!”
His relationship with Cabaji wasn’t great, since Cabaji often bullied his lion, Richie. But regardless, Cabaji was still the chief of staff of the Buggy Pirates, so Mochi had to show some consideration in front of Buggy.
“Fix the rudder immediately!” Buggy roared at his underlings. “Once it’s repaired, chase after him at once!”
“Yes, Captain Buggy!” The underlings didn’t dare argue and scrambled into action.
Mochi then lowered his voice and said to Buggy, “Captain, do you think that kid taking Cabaji away might be more than just taking a hostage?”
Buggy was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, is it possible he’s taking Cabaji to the Marines to claim a bounty?” Mochi said. “Since that kid isn’t a pirate but doesn’t look like a Marine either, maybe he’s a bounty hunter?”
“Hmm, that’s very possible!” Buggy rubbed his chin, thinking it over. “Damn it, we need to catch up quickly. If Cabaji’s already dead, that’s fine, but if he’s alive and that kid hands him over to the Marines, we’ll have to storm the Marine base to break him out!”
At this, Buggy suddenly asked, “Hey, Mochi, you said that kid might be a Devil Fruit user, but why didn’t I see him use any strange abilities? Aside from that really long sword, there was nothing special about him!”
Mochi was also puzzled. That really seemed to be the case.
A thick-lipped pirate nearby overheard Buggy and couldn’t help but speak up, “Captain Buggy, that guy didn’t seem like a Devil Fruit user. When he came aboard, he was soaking wet, so he must have swum over from the sea…”
Buggy’s temper flared, and he grabbed Mochi by the collar, spraying spit everywhere. “Are you an idiot? You couldn’t see something that obvious?”
“I’m sorry!” Mochi quickly apologized. “But that big sword really did appear out of nowhere in his hand. I’m absolutely sure I didn’t see that wrong!”
“Oh!?” Buggy’s interest was piqued. “Could it be that kid has some kind of treasure that can hide the weapons he’s carrying?”
The one thing Buggy couldn’t stand to hear was the word “treasure.” His eyes lit up immediately, and he became even more determined to chase after Ian, hoping to snatch this so-called “treasure” from him.
While Buggy and his crew were busy repairing the rudder, Ian had already rowed his small boat a long way off.
Certain that Buggy and his crew wouldn’t catch up anytime soon, Ian stopped rowing, raised the sail on his small boat, and let the wind carry him forward.
Only then did he have time to check whether Cabaji was dead or alive.
To be honest, he felt this fight had been a bit bizarre. When his things were stolen, he never expected to run into the Buggy Pirates here.
But since he had, he had to fight. However, after the fight, he wanted to come away with something.
Ian’s prize was Cabaji. Mochi had guessed correctly—the reason he took Cabaji along when he left was for the bounty.
He didn’t know how much Cabaji was worth, but logically, since Buggy had a bounty, his senior officers should have bounties too. Wanted posters usually covered an entire pirate crew. Ian had slashed Cabaji once and didn’t know if he was dead, but in most cases, wanted pirates were taken dead or alive.
Someone might ask, why not take down Mochi too and bring him along for the bounty?
Don’t be ridiculous. Ian was alone and didn’t even have a rope. Even if he could carry two people, his little fishing boat wouldn’t fit them. So Ian could only take Cabaji for now. As for Mochi and Buggy, that would have to wait for another time.
That’s right—in Ian’s eyes, the entire Buggy Pirates were his bounty targets. If he could, he wouldn’t mind wiping them all out.
After this fight, Ian had gained some confidence in his strength. He realized that even though his level was still low and he only had one card’s boost, he could still handle ordinary pirate crew officers. As for Devil Fruit users like Buggy, they were a headache, but not unbeatable. For instance, all he had to do was wait for Buggy to split his body, grab his head, jump into the sea, and let him drown. That would take care of him.
The reason he chose to leave was simply that dragging things out any longer wasn’t worth it.
He had already thought it through. Even if he captured Buggy too, the pirate underlings would scatter into the sea, and he’d be left alone, unable to sail Buggy’s ship back. His little boat couldn’t hold that many people, so it was better to catch them one at a time.
As a bounty hunter, making money from bounties was like doing business—it was better to take it slow and steady.
He didn’t know how much Cabaji was worth yet, but even if it was just one million Berries, that would be enough for Ian to do his first ten-pull. With an extra four-star orange card, his strength would improve again.
Kneeling down, Ian checked Cabaji’s breathing and found that the guy was actually still alive!
The slash Ian had given him ran from his shoulder to his chest, a long wound. But when Ian examined it, he found it wasn’t as deep as he’d thought. Cabaji seemed to have instinctively pulled back when his sword was cut, which was why Ian hadn’t killed him in one blow.
Still, Cabaji had lost a lot of blood and was now very weak.
Ian didn’t care about the life of someone he disliked. He patted Cabaji’s face a few times and said, “Wake up! Wake up!”
Cabaji slowly came to, pale-faced with swollen eyelids. He looked dazedly at Ian, then around, and realized he’d been captured. With a weak, cold laugh, he said, “Looks like you’re planning to hand me over to the Marines…”
“Yeah, that’s right. My meal money from now on depends on you!” Ian nodded with a smile.
“Hmph!” Cabaji snorted coldly, but the movement pulled at his chest wound, making him hiss in pain. After a long pause, he said slowly, “You’ve provoked our Buggy Pirates and think you’ll get away with it? Just wait. Even if you hand me over to the Marines, Captain Buggy will come to rescue me. And when he does, I’ll be watching to see how you die!”
But to Cabaji’s surprise, Ian let out a whistle and said cheerfully, “Oh, that would be fantastic!”
“Fantastic…?” Cabaji stared blankly at Ian, not understanding what he meant.
Ian then counted on his fingers, explaining, “Look at it this way: I hand you over to the Marines now and collect the bounty first. Then when Buggy rescues you, your bounty will go up because of the jailbreak, right? Then I catch you again and get even more money. If Buggy keeps rescuing you, your bounty keeps rising, and I keep catching you for the bounty… Damn! Just by repeatedly nabbing you, I could get rich!”
Ian’s eyes lit up as if he could already see his golden future. He patted Cabaji’s shoulder earnestly and said, “Don’t let me down, okay? After I hand you over to the Marines, you’d better escape! My grand money-making scheme depends on you!”
Cabaji was dumbfounded. He never expected Ian to say something like that. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond. Finally, he said in disbelief, “You… you must be crazy for money!”
Ian sighed. He realized that Cabaji was right. In a way, stuck with this money-draining system, Ian was probably even greedier than Buggy.
Putting that aside for now, Ian asked Cabaji, “By the way, you know something about navigation, right? Which island with a Marine base is closest to here?”
“Of course I do!” Cabaji sneered. “I’m the chief of staff of the Buggy Pirates. I’ve been at sea for so long—how could a greenhorn like you compare? But why should I tell you? So you can take me to the Marines?”
Ian nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair. I get it. If it were me, I wouldn’t point the way for someone trying to throw me in jail either. But I should remind you: if your wound isn’t treated soon, you’ll bleed to death. I don’t have any medicine on board to bandage you. If you don’t point the way, then just wait for it. And don’t count on Buggy catching up to save you—I cut the rudder when I left. The choice is yours!”
Cabaji fell silent. After a long moment, he said hoarsely, “Turn east. That’s where the nearest Marine branch is…!”
It seemed that between life and pride, Cabaji chose to live, even if it meant going to a Marine prison. Ian wasn’t surprised by this. It would have been strange if this despicable guy hadn’t chosen that.
So, looking at the sun overhead, Ian found the eastern direction, adjusted the sail, and set off with the wind…