Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

Chapter 104 Your Bounty is My Wallet Balance

Diuss shook his head slightly.

He looked intently into Ace's face and said, "Whatever decision you make, we will support you."

"Don't forget, we've all come together on the same ship because we respect you. Although we all have our own dreams and goals, it's also our duty to support our captain's ideas."

"Diuss————"

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Deus still expressed his support and did not blame himself for wavering.

Ace stood there stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

call! !

A sea breeze, seemingly coming from nowhere, brushed against their faces. At that moment, the sound of sails billowing behind Deus and Ace could be heard.

Not long after, they heard the crew's voices.

"Ace! The wind direction is right, we're ready to set sail!"

Ace turned around and looked behind him. The person who was speaking to him hurriedly was sniper Mikhail.

This man, who held the title of teacher, was called "Teacher" by the crew on the ship.

His dream was to cross the ocean and reach the children in the world who could not receive an education, because only Ace was willing to support his dream and join the Spade Pirates.

"See, Ace, everyone's waiting for you."

"The only person who has ever steered the ship is you."

Deus's words reached Ace's ears from the side, making his heart tremble.

Ace couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"The Spade Pirates, set sail!!"

Ace shouted to the sky.

"oh--!!"

From all directions, the crew's voices echoed in unison, resounding throughout the entire pirate ship.

With the exhilaration and fervor of pirates, the Spedil set sail for the sea.

As Ace witnessed this scene, his resolve gradually hardened.

Despite his wavering and confusion, his duty as captain of the Spade Pirates remains unchanged: to carry his crew across the ocean.

As for other things.

Since we can't figure out the answer, let's just put it aside for now.

"Who cares? Anyway, as a pirate captain, why would I become a bounty hunter?"

Ace laughed with relief, "If you want me to join your team, the bounty will have to be higher than mine in the future!"

And so, the Spade Pirates officially set sail.

Not long after setting sail, the silhouette of the pirate ship disappeared on the horizon.

On Golden Island.

As Li Mingyuan watched the Spade Pirates leave, the last lingering concern in his heart quietly faded away.

Filled with anticipation for his next meeting with Ace, Li Mingyuan, following Nami's directions, also led the ship away from the island.

Although Li Mingyuan's ship did not raise its sails due to the unfavorable wind direction, thanks to Nami's superb navigator skills, the large ship, which was converted from Arlong Pirates' vessel, still moved forward at an extremely smooth speed.

Some time passed again.

Not to mention the Spade Pirates' ship, even Golden Island has disappeared from sight.

On Li Mingyuan's ship, the lively atmosphere of the past ten days or so had been replaced by the silence that had returned to before Ace and the others arrived.

"How should I put it? Although when these guys were around, they were so noisy that it kept me up every morning, it feels quite strange now that they're suddenly gone."

"This is so quiet! Was it always like this on our ship?"

Wearing slightly revealing shorts and a shirt, with sunglasses on her face, Karina, who was lying on a deck chair in the center of the deck, couldn't help but sigh.

"No wonder the captain suddenly mentioned musicians to me before and even wanted me to study music."

"If that's the case, it seems like the ship really needs a musician to change the atmosphere."

Leisurely and carefree.

At this moment, on the deck of the ship, three deck chairs were arranged side by side, and Li Mingyuan, Nami, and Karina were sunbathing together.

Not only was Karina dressed casually, but Nami also changed into a cool sunbathing outfit.

These are clothes I never wore when I was with the Spade Pirates.

In the One Piece manga, Nami's outfits become increasingly provocative over time. However, in the early stages of the manga, Nami's clothing was actually quite normal. Especially now that we're three years ahead of the original manga timeline, it's even less likely that Nami would be bold enough to dress casually in front of so many "disgusting" pirates.

So only now, after the Spade Pirates have left, has Nami put those clothes back on and is enjoying the sunlight with Karina.

Hearing Karina's voice beside her, Nami couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

"Hmph, what's with all this talk about liveliness? I actually feel much safer on the ship right now."

"A bunch of idiots who came out of nowhere. They're clearly not cut out to be pirates. They have the chance not to be pirates, but they still insist on being pirates. They're excitedly talking about becoming the Pirate King. These guys are just annoying to look at. It's better if they just disappear."

As she said this, Nami picked up the orange juice from the small table next to her and took a sip.

In an instant, Nami let out a satisfied sigh.

"Ah! I feel alive again!"

"The oranges brought from home are definitely the best. These past few days on that desolate island with nothing at all, we couldn't even find a single fruit tree, and there was no fresh fruit to replenish our supplies. It was truly awful."

Looking back on the past ten days or so, not only did he have to outwit and outmaneuver the pirates and guard against them ruining his orange trees, but he also had to search for non-existent gold every day on this barren island.

Nami sincerely felt that even the air on the ship was so refreshing.

Finally, we've left that golden island!

Nami and Karina were lying on a deckchair, chatting idly.

Li Mingyuan was in the lounge chair closest to the bow of the ship, watching Karina and Nami interact, his gaze lingering on Karina.

Normally, the three of them would be taking turns keeping watch and resting at this time. However, they have just left Golden Island, and Karina no longer needs to be kept watch. Compared to the journey they took, the ship is much more spacious now, and it's not a problem for them to relax together like this.

It is worth noting that.

As of today, this is actually the first time Li Mingyuan has seen Karina dressed like this.

After all, Karina was in a special situation before, and basically only Nami would sunbathe with her. Although the characters in the movie appeared later, even when Karina, the songstress, recalled her and Nami's appearance in the East Blue when they were young, they were still dressed in a very conservative and unfashionable style.

He never expected to see Karina dressed like this.

Does this mean that Karina, like Nami, is gradually opening up to herself?

Thinking about this, Li Mingyuan felt quite good.

"Speaking of which—"

Suddenly, Karina seemed to remember something and looked at Li Mingyuan.

"By the way, Captain, have you and Nami finalized the route to the black market island you chose earlier?"

"To be honest, I was a little curious before this. Although I know you're very rich, Captain, the amount of Seastone you bought must have been quite substantial."

Karina asked curiously, "Are you sure you'll have enough money to pay Nami's commission after buying the Seastone?"

"Um?"

Upon hearing Karina's question, Li Mingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even Nami, who had been somewhat indifferent, widened her eyes and subconsciously looked at Li Mingyuan.

"I know this topic came up suddenly, but there's nothing I can do. Even if I pretend I don't know and stay silent, I can't just pretend it never happened. After all, she's already a full-fledged crew member, and I don't want to see Nami leave the ship halfway through the journey."

"It will be too late if we wait until you've spent all the money, Captain."

At this point, Karina chuckled and said, "Besides, even if we don't mention Nami, I can't pretend I don't know about the bonus you promised me, Captain."

Li Mingyuan couldn't help but rub his forehead in exasperation as he looked at Nami and Karina, who were staring at each other with wide eyes and secretly glancing at him.

Is it a bad thing that there are two money-grubbers on the ship? Without some money, it seems like you don't have the confidence to even speak to them.

Although he didn't intend to reveal his Devil Fruit powers to the two of them at this point, so as not to let them discover the secret of his hunting abilities, the two thieves were keeping such a close eye on him that not giving them a reassuring plan might easily shake their morale.

It seems like it's time to make some grand promises.

"I really can't do anything with you guys."

"Perfect timing, let me take this opportunity to tell you about my plans for entering the Grand Line."

Li Mingyuan reluctantly got up from the lounge chair, looked at the two people in front of him, and said, "Come with me. I left the route map in the captain's cabin."

After saying that, Li Mingyuan walked straight towards the cabin without turning his head.

Seeing this, Karina and Nami exchanged a glance. Nami nudged Karina with her elbow in dissatisfaction, but Karina still chuckled and gave Nami a V-sign before hurrying after Li Mingyuan.

Inside the captain's cabin.

Li Mingyuan unfolded the blueprint in front of Nami and Karina; it was a general map of the four seas.

The ocean is divided into two major regions by the Red Line, with the Grand Line running through them.

"Although I briefly introduced the Grand Line when I recruited you, Nami, I haven't explained much more. As we all know, the Grand Line is surrounded by the Calm Belt. If you start from the East Blue, the route begins at Reverse Mountain and includes seven routes that converge on the Sabaody Archipelago."

"Of course, according to my plan, we will not follow any particular route step by step. At most, we will use some of the islands in the middle of these routes as resupply stations. Our goal will be to use the Everlasting Beacon to reach the Sabaody Archipelago directly."

Li Mingyuan traced his finger across the drawing.

During this period, two islands were highlighted and marked with red circles.

"Drum Island, known as a medical superpower," and the Sabaody Archipelago, the destination.

Staring at the route on the map, Li Mingyuan's gaze became meaningful, and he continued, "Cigu Island goes without saying. Even for the sake of our navigational safety, I think we must recruit a ship's doctor. In that case, there is no better target than this."

"As for the Sabaody Archipelago, since it is a necessary route to the second half of the voyage, it is home to many pirates, merchants and bounty hunters, and we are no exception. The Sabaody Archipelago is the best place for us to replenish our funds."

"On this route, we will encounter many wanted criminals whose bounties far exceed those of the East Blue pirates. In the East Blue, Arlong's bounty is the highest, but in the first half of the Grand Line, not to mention wanted criminals with bounties in the tens of millions, even pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions often appear. Those guys are usually called Supernovas."

"A wanted criminal with a bounty of over 100 million?!"

At that moment, Nami couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "Are we going to use this kind of person as a source of funding?"

"In fact, the chances of encountering pirates with bounties over 100 million in the first half of the Grand Line are extremely slim. We may not actually encounter them. But you're right, such guys are indeed within my hunting range."

Li Mingyuan chuckled and looked at Nami, "Do you really think I can't do it, Nami?"

"Well----"

Nami looked up at Li Mingyuan, gave an awkward smile, and hesitated to speak.

"Don't panic so much. Perhaps you haven't realized the situation yet, which is why you instinctively feel fear. But actually, pirates with a strength of over 100 million are not as terrifying as you imagine."

"Take Ace for example, what bounty do you think would be appropriate for him if he entered the Grand Line?"

Li Mingyuan said in a calm tone.

Ace?

Upon hearing Li Mingyuan's words, Nami remembered the pirate she had parted ways with not long ago.

It's true, even though Li Mingyuan's presence greatly weakened his strength and presence, Nami still felt that he might be the strongest pirate she had ever seen.

"Could the bounty be over 100 million? Or even more?"

Nami answered tentatively.

Li Mingyuan's answer was unequivocal: "There's no doubt that, given Ace's strength, his final bounty will never be less than 100 million Berries."

"Let's put it this way, even if it was Arlong, the fishman who left you with a nightmare, if he hadn't used some tricks to prevent the situation from being exposed to the World Government, his bounty would never have been 20 million Berries."

"Thinking about this, do you still think that the pirates of the Grand Line are beyond our ability to deal with?"

Nami was in a daze and fell silent for a moment.

Even Arlong, in Ace's hands, would likely be easily defeated.

Such a pirate was easily defeated by Li Mingyuan.

Thinking about it that way, it's true, maybe—it's not a problem to target pirates on the Grand Line.

Seeing Nami's thoughtful expression, Li Mingyuan lowered his head again and focused his gaze on the blueprints.

"Since we are bounty hunters, if we want money, we should naturally target the wanted criminals."

"Eliminating the pirates will not only provide us with funds, but also rid the world of a scourge. It's a win-win situation, so why not do it?"

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