—
B.I.B. walked straight over, of course, with his arms crossed, leaning against the edge of the bar.
On the other side, Liam, tidying up leftover breakfast, played with a pitch-black Stand Energy “earpiece” in one hand. With a flick of his thumb, he inserted it into his ear.
*Tap, tap*-a light double tap.
A virtual screen instantly unfolded in front of Liam, showing what B.I.B. was seeing.
Liam’s attention was drawn to the virtual screen. The conversation of the few people B.I.B. was “eavesdropping” on at the bar also flowed into Liam’s ears like a flood…
“We really hit the jackpot this time. Let me count, adding up the heads of these little fries, this haul should be around 10 million Berries! We can live it up on a pleasure ship for a long time~”
“That’s nothing. One day, we brothers will hunt down pirates with bounties of 10 million, 20 million! Then we’ll return to the village and get married in a big way!”
“Pfft, small stuff! Don’t just talk about 10 or 20 million. How about 50 million, 100 million berries? Pirates are just pirates, nothing but low-level scum… One day we’ll kill them all!”
“Haha…”
Even without the earpiece and the virtual screen, Liam could hear the unrestrained laughter coming from the bar not far away.
“Lost track of the guy who was whoring on the pleasure ship…” Liam rolled his eyes. “And he still has the nerve to call others scum?”
“Are you interested in pirate hunters?” Shanks, spoon in mouth, legs crossed, looked around and said, “You’re using your ‘ghost’ to gather information, huh? That’s very convenient… Oh, I remember now, you said you wanted to be a pirate hunter next”.
Liam continued to eat, smiling: “But you are a pirate!”
“Catch me if you can?” Shanks laughed mischievously, then became a bit serious: “I think with your current skills, being a pirate hunter is still a bit too much… You could lose your life if you’re not careful.”
Liam pointed to B.I.B. at the bar.
“Mm…” Shanks thought, “But if that’s the case, you won’t be getting any real training yourself, will you?”
“Please! Even if not for strength, I need money! Big Brother.”
Liam tapped the edge of his plate with a spoon in desperation, “You’ve seen my appetite. How can I train without money? The money you spent on this ship, you took from my wallet!”
Shanks laughed heartily, “Haha, I forgot, sorry!”
As they ate and chatted, Liam’s attention drifted in and out of the virtual screen. He picked up bits and pieces of the pirate hunters’ conversation, mostly boasting and nothing particularly useful.
“Why not just ask them directly?” Shanks laughed, waving toward the bar, “Hey, friends over there, want to come over for a drink?”
“Huh?” The pirate hunters were stunned.
Liam gave Shanks a blank stare, pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket, and threw it on the table. Shanks reached over and ruffled his hair.
The pirate hunters, drinks in hand and armed with blades and guns, walked over, looking rather imposing.
When they learned they were inquiring about pirate hunters, they sized up Shanks and shook their heads, “Give it up. A spoiled young master like you can’t be a pirate hunter!”
“That’s right!” Another pirate hunter, his face shaded, said seriously, “This isn’t a job for ordinary people. You can lose your life in a heartbeat!”
Shanks, legs crossed, propped his cheek and smiled, “Then you must be really impressive!”
Liam couldn’t help but slip the spoon into his plate.
After a pause, the pirate hunters burst out laughing.
“How does one become a pirate hunter?” Liam asked, “Mainly, how do you find the information about the pirates you want to hunt? At least you have to know where the pirates are, right?”
“That’s easy!”
Although the pirate hunters found it odd that a child was joining their conversation, they didn’t mind too much. “Just walk into any bar in this town and you’ll hear information about at least one or two pirates. Small-time crooks with bounties of tens or hundreds of thousands of berries scurry around like cockroaches and rats. You might even find them right in the bar! The Marines either don’t care or can’t handle them all.”
The pirate hunter named Zoe slammed the table, “It’s all because of that Roger! So many useless idiots think they can be pirates now! They don’t even know the way to the Grand Line. They’re a bunch of fools! But thanks to these idiot pirates, our income has gone up quite a bit, haha.”
“In that sense, we should thank the Pirate King!”
The pirate hunters, getting more excited, clinked their glasses and drank.
“As for information on larger pirate crews…” Zoe hiccuped, before draping an arm around Shanks’ neck, and laughed, “Either you exchange information with other pirate hunters you know, or you hear it from other pirates. Or, even easier… just go to a Marine base and ask! The Marines are more than happy to have someone help them deal with pirates; it saves them some military expenses. The bounties are chump change compared to the cost of deploying a battleship…”
“A pirate with a bounty of 10 million, 50 million, or 100 million berries? What’s the difference?” A drunken pirate hunter sneered. “It’s all just the price of the bones the Marines throw at them! These stupid pirates are proud of the bounties the Marines put on their heads. Even pirates with bounties of 10 or 20 million berries are just idiots… Those who rush to the Grand Line are the biggest idiots of all!”
Shanks smiled, “Idiots, maybe!”
Liam asked, “If the bounties are just bones, what does that make you, uncles, who chase after them?”
“Huh?”
The pirate hunters didn’t get it at first. Then, when they realized what Liam meant, their faces turned red with anger. “Who are you calling dogs, you little brat?”
One of the drunken hunters raised his hand to strike Liam on the head.
Shanks grabbed the man’s wrist and held it so tight he couldn’t move. Under his straw hat, Shanks looked up and said in a low voice, “Calm down…”
He looked at the “ghost” behind the drunk, who had already reached into the man’s body.
B.I.B. looked at Shanks and withdrew his hand.
Liam continued to eat innocently, not wasting a single bit of the last of his fried noodles.
……
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