Everything continued on as usual on Zou Island. Perona, who had come to the island with her foster parents, was enjoying the living environment of the Minks. The furry Mink perfectly aligned with her fondness for cute things, especially the bear Minks. The only downside is that all the Minks can talk.
She still preferred the furry creatures that couldn’t speak, such as her own Bewear. However, this time, Bewear did not accompany her to Zou Island.
Everything on Zou Island was proceeding as usual. During the time Setsuna hadn’t left Zou Island, Hitsugisukan, claiming that she needed to learn how to manage the island, had her and Zeraora constantly by his side—a subtle way of getting back at Setsuna.
Soon after, Setsuna also found Pedro and others who had returned.
“Pekoms is fine. Luckily, he was able to join another pirate crew. He wanted me to pass on the message that you don’t need to worry.”
She had already passed this information to Pekoms’ parents. Although they didn’t say much about their son’s decision to venture out, they did inquire about his situation.
Pekoms had left with Pedro and the others, so he needed to let them know. However, there was both good and bad news, with the bad news coming from Hitsugisukan.
“Zepo, your brother Bepo, he…”
“Bepo? What happened to Bepo?”
A slightly taller Mink with a tuft of black fur on its head asked anxiously.
“Earlier, when the Musketeer Squad left Zou Island to observe the situation at sea, he secretly hid in the basket. They didn’t notice Bepo, so he accidentally drifted away.”
Most likely influenced by others, Minks had been leaving Zou Island. Two years after Inuarashi and Nekomamushi left, Setsuna left secretly out of defiance.
When Pedro decided to go out, Pekoms chose to follow suit. At that time, Bepo was still quite small, so Zepo didn’t bring him along. Unfortunately, Bepo got lost while chasing after his big brother’s footsteps.
“Does he have a Vivre Card?”
“We’re not sure about that.”
To return to Zou Island, Minks needed a Vivre Card. At that time, even Setsuna had struggled to find her way home without one, so there is no need to mention Bepo who was quite young.
Now, the Nox Expedition had a new goal—to look for Bepo while continuing their previous mission. As for whether they could find him or not, it would depend on luck.
However, due to their previous encounter, Pedro decided to leave behind all members who couldn’t control Sulong transformation. He had underestimated the dangers of the sea before.
“Pedro, I suggest you change the name of your expedition team.”
“Why? What’s the reason?”
“The pronunciation is somewhat similar to ‘Rocks.’ I guess your high bounty is related to the World Government.” [TN: The pronunciation sounds similar in chinese.]
A bounty of 382 million Berries in the New World is quite substantial. This bounty is even higher than Setsuna’s, though Zeraora is basically fully responsible for her bounty not going up.
Although Lucario is quite formidable in melee combat, most of the time, others don’t even get a chance to approach Setsuna. As long as she can provide long-range firepower support, it’s enough. Once someone manages to get close to her, they realize their predictions were off.
She was an archer, and archers had a significant difference from gunners. With a bit of training, even the elderly and weak could handle old-fashioned flintlock guns and fire them.
The advantage of a firearm lay in its range. Facing opponents who had closed in, gunmen would struggle, but archers were different. Just because archers fight from long-range didn’t mean they were weak in close combat.
Since ancient times, archers have been the elite in armies. Drawing a strong bow is much more tiring than swinging a sword, and archers wielding melee weapons can even surpass infantry soldiers in strength.
However, infantry forms quickly, while a master archer takes time to cultivate. So, no one is willing to let these elites engage in close combat.
Archery is Setsuna’s strength, but close combat is not her weakness. However, facing Zeraora’s speed, few enemies have the opportunity to engage her in melee combat.
This resulted in Setsuna being considered a mascot in Marines’ intelligence. Her bounty is quite ordinary, on par with the Vice-Captain of Mandrell, Pierman.
Even Shayna’s Vice-Captain, Amalee, has a higher bounty than her.
However, Pedro’s bounty is not low due to the amplification of the Mink transformation. They cannot set the bounty amount according to the normal state, and it was arranged based on the enemy’s strongest form.
Of course, Setsuna felt that Pedro’s high bounty might be related to someone with a bad hearing.
The spellings of “Rocks” and “Nox” are somewhat similar. Although the government has vehemently concealed Rocks’ existence, and even the new generation Vice Admirals doesn’t know this name. Kaido, being the remnant of Rocks Pirates, would naturally tell his people about the past.
“I quite like this name…”
“It’s just my suggestion. If you don’t change it, it doesn’t matter. After all, you’ve already been marked.”
Afterwards, she began advising Pedro on things to be cautious of on the sea. She had spent much more time mingling overseas than Pedro, who had been out at sea for less than a year.
She knew much clearer about where to be careful and which people Pedro shouldn’t provoke.
Later, Setsuna and Zeraora, accompanied by Yamato and others, played on Zou Island for a while. After that, they left Zou Island under Hitsugisukan’s somewhat resentful gaze. They would probably come back for a visit in a few months, or when Zunesha arrived near Wano Country for repairs, she would return.
That was something she communicated with Zunesha before leaving. As a creature that had lived for over a thousand years, Zunesha wouldn’t get lost in ocean currents like a regular ship. It had a unique ability to discern directions.
After resting, Pedro and Zepo set sail again. He had no objections to Setsuna becoming the new Duke. In fact, according to the original plan, he had intended to stay on Zou Island for a while longer.
However, he found that Hitsugisukan had intentions of involving him in management. Not wanting to be entangled in administrative matters, he decisively chose to continue sailing.
Taking advantage of Zeraora and Setsuna’s wedding, the Beasts Pirates finalized quite a few new deals. Some were delighted, and some were worried. Those who succeeded in their businesses were naturally happy, but some were not so pleased.
Umit, for example, known as the Deep Ocean Current, has almost monopolized the underworld’s shipping routes in the New World due to his control of special sea channels. Others had options, but in terms of speed and safety, they couldn’t compete with him.
When Beasts Pirates transported goods through him, he also earned a lot. However, the situation has changed recently. Berry had been steadily devaluing for years, and as the currency depreciated, the prices of many things started to rise.
This was especially true for the Underworld. While prices outside might have only increased by a few thousand berries, here they had directly multiplied several times.
Most people had no way to counter this monopoly, but Beasts Pirates were different. They could transport most things themselves, and what they relied on Umit for were some secretive items.
Since he raised his prices, Beasts Pirates chose to go solo.
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