Chapter 31: A Big Blunder
Seeing these soldiers pointing their guns at him, Coby knew they were Marines, but he still couldn't help his legs trembling, his teeth chattering with a shaky sound. He couldn't help it; he was just that timid.
Ian was also seeing Marines for the first time and couldn't help taking a few extra looks. The group of Marine soldiers before him seemed to be ordinary lower-ranking soldiers. They wore white short-sleeved shirts and hats with a seagull emblem on them, all looking well-trained.
"Speak! Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Among the Marines, a middle-aged soldier with a bushy beard asked again.
It was clear that this bearded middle-aged Marine held a higher rank. Ian lifted Kabaji, whom he was holding, and gestured toward him, saying, "I caught an executive of the Buggy Pirates. I'm here to claim the bounty. Is this where the handover happens at your Marine base?"
The middle-aged Marine was stunned, looking at Ian in disbelief. "You're a bounty hunter? This young?"
Ian was a bit annoyed. His current appearance was indeed too young, constantly being called "kid" or underestimated. In his heart, he was an adult.
So he said displeasedly, "What, is there an age limit for being a bounty hunter?"
"No, that's not it!" The bearded middle-aged Marine quickly waved his hand. "I'm just surprised."
With that, he coughed into his fist, straightened up, and said seriously, "Captured pirates are handed over at our Marine base. Follow me; I'll process the paperwork."
The Marine soldiers then dispersed, making way as they watched Ian drag Kabaji inside. Coby followed closely behind, clutching Ian's clothes like a frightened little animal.
Once inside the base, Ian looked around and saw what seemed to be the Marine office area. Several desks were piled high with documents, and on the desks were lamps and Den Den Mushi.
"Who did you say you caught?" the middle-aged Marine asked Ian. "I need to confirm."
"An executive of the Buggy Pirates, named Kabaji," Ian replied.
"Buggy Pirates, right? Please wait." The middle-aged Marine pulled out a stack of wanted posters and began searching through them.
Before he could find it, Kabaji, still being held, lifted his head weakly and said in a feeble voice, "Hey... can someone treat my wounds first? I really am Kabaji, but I'm about to die..."
The middle-aged Marine glanced at the long gash on Kabaji's body, clicked his tongue in amazement, and called a few Marine soldiers over.
Amidst the noisy commotion, Ian watched the Marines bandaging Kabaji, when suddenly a gruff voice rang out.
"What's going on? What's all the noise?"
Turning around, Ian saw a Marine coming down from the second floor of the base. This man was bald, with an iron chin strap attached under his jaw, and his eyes looked quite fierce. His right hand was missing, replaced by an axe.
Seeing this man appear, the middle-aged Marine who had been talking to Ian immediately stood at attention, saluted him, and said with admiration, "Lieutenant Morgan, is your injury better?"
"Hmm, much better," Morgan nodded, raising his right hand. "It's just that this hand has been replaced with a weapon; I'm still not used to it."
After exchanging a few words, Morgan pressed further, "What's all this? It's so chaotic. This is our base!"
The middle-aged Marine smiled and pointed at Ian. "Oh, this young man is a bounty hunter. He says he caught a member of the Buggy Pirates and came to claim the reward. We were just treating the pirate's wounds."
Morgan glanced at Ian and snorted disdainfully. "A bounty hunter? Tch, these people are nothing but bloodthirsty hyenas, doing this purely for money. I don't know what the higher-ups were thinking, allowing such people to exist."
The middle-aged Marine didn't know how to respond to that, so he just chuckled awkwardly. Ian, however, stared at Morgan, noticing that at this point, Morgan didn't seem to have the same tyrannical attitude he would later develop. Perhaps it was because he hadn't fully taken control of the Marine base yet. Still, his words and demeanor revealed a sense of superiority, and he didn't hide his contempt for bounty hunters.
This guy's arrogant personality was already showing its first signs.
Ian kept quiet, but Morgan wasn't finished. "If you ask me, fighting pirates should be left to the Marines. Bounty hunters are in it for the money, but we represent absolute justice!"
This guy even shouted the Marine slogan, so the middle-aged Marine had no choice but to flatter him, "Of course, just like when Lieutenant Morgan wiped out the Black Cat Pirates!"
That comment hit Morgan's sweet spot—it was his greatest source of pride for his promotion—and he burst into loud laughter.
"By the way, have you found the wanted poster?" Morgan asked. "Let me see what kind of character this bounty hunter kid caught."
Ian couldn't help rolling his eyes. He knew well that Morgan, now full of himself, would naturally look down on bounty hunters.
"Ah, I'm still looking," the middle-aged Marine said, frantically searching through the wanted posters.
But after going through them once, he looked puzzled and then searched again.
"Strange, it's not here," the middle-aged Marine finally said, looking up at Ian. "All the wanted posters for pirates in the East Blue are here, but I couldn't find anyone named Kabaji. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
Ian's eyes widened. "How is that possible? Look again! This guy is definitely named Kabaji, from the Buggy Pirates!"
"I've checked," the middle-aged Marine said. "The captain of the Buggy Pirates, 'Clown' Buggy, does have a wanted poster—a bounty of seven million Berries—but he's the only one in that crew with a bounty."
Ian spat out in disbelief. Seven million Berries!? What the hell? Shouldn't it be fifteen million?
Ian was stunned. He realized he had messed something up. He had set sail two years before Zoro, which meant three years before Luffy. So the current Buggy Pirates weren't the same as the ones three years later. Clown Buggy's bounty hadn't reached fifteen million yet!
Even his two executives didn't have bounties.
Damn it, after all that, the Kabaji he caught had no bounty!?
Seeing Ian's dazed expression, Morgan couldn't hold back anymore. He doubled over laughing, clutching his stomach. "Haha, clearly a rookie bounty hunter! You don't even know which pirates have bounties! I thought you were something special, but in the end, you just caught some small-time thief!"
The middle-aged Marine also looked like he was struggling not to laugh. He handed the stack of wanted posters to Ian. "Look through them yourself. It's really not there. Also, you can take these wanted posters to avoid making the same mistake in the future."
Ian took the posters gloomily and searched through them carefully. Sure enough, there was no wanted poster for Kabaji. Besides Clown Buggy, Ian also saw wanted posters for Arlong the Fish-Man and Krieg the Pirate Commodore, but their bounties were also lower than what Ian remembered. The wanted poster for Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates was missing entirely, probably because Morgan had "caught" him, and the bounty had been canceled.
Ian was furious. He kicked Kabaji, who was still being bandaged. "Damn it! You weren't wanted! Why didn't you say so! Why didn't you say so!"
Kabaji had been sitting quietly, letting the Marine soldiers treat his wounds, when Ian suddenly lashed out. He was kicked hard, screaming in pain as his wounds reopened.
By the time the Marines managed to restrain the agitated Ian, Kabaji was barely breathing. He said weakly, "It's not... it's not that I didn't say... you didn't let me talk... you insisted on taking me away..."
Hearing this, Ian wanted to kick him again. "You dare talk back! What's the point of being a pirate if you don't even have a bounty? Might as well go die!"
Kabaji was on the verge of tears. In his eyes, Ian had become a demon worse than Captain Buggy. First, he tortured him physically, and now he was tormenting him mentally. Was it his fault for being a pirate without a bounty?
The Marine base was in an uproar because of this incident. Many soldiers were peeking in from outside, and when they learned about the farce, they couldn't help covering their mouths and snickering.
Morgan was laughing so hard he could barely stand. Earlier, when he heard Ian was a bounty hunter, he had felt hostile toward him. He had just caught Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates (or so he thought), and now a bounty hunter suddenly appeared, claiming to have caught an executive of the Buggy Pirates. It felt like someone was stealing his spotlight, and he didn't like it.
But now, realizing Ian had made such a blunder, his hostility vanished. He even kindly said to Ian, "Kid, being a bounty hunter has no future. Why not join the Marines?"
Ian was still annoyed and ignored him. He walked over, grabbed Kabaji, and said, "Forget it. Since this guy has no bounty, I'll take him away!"
"No!" Before the Marines could respond, Kabaji screamed in terror. "I really am an executive of the Buggy Pirates! Arrest me! I don't want to go with this guy!"
The middle-aged Marine also said to Ian, "Young man, this doesn't follow the rules. Even if this man has no bounty, he's still a pirate. If he hadn't shown up here, it might be one thing, but since he's here now, we have to arrest him."
"No," Ian shook his head. "I'll wait until he gets a bounty before bringing him back."
The middle-aged Marine was about to stop him, but surprisingly, Morgan spoke up for Ian. "Let it go. If he wants to take him, let him. Our prison can't hold too many people anyway. Small-time pirates like this with no bounties would just waste our base's food if locked up, and who knows when they'd be transferred."
Since Morgan was a lieutenant, albeit newly promoted, he was still their superior. The middle-aged Marine said nothing more, allowing Ian to drag Kabaji away.