Free Web NovelChapter 18: Chapter 18
Chapter 18
"50 million berries! That’s 24 million more than Ricky’s bounty. These people really think highly of you," Karina exclaimed in surprise.
"Heh, who are they underestimating?" Rorschach said proudly. "With my strength, anything less than 500 million berries would be an insult to me. If I became a pirate right now, the Navy would have to put at least 1.5 billion on my head."
"Pfft, you really think you’re worth that much?" Karina scoffed.
Without any real comparison, she still couldn’t fully grasp Rorschach’s level of power. Only after reaching the Grand Line and seeing true monsters would she and Nami realize that right now, Rorschach was like a max-level player bullying newbies in the East Blue.
He was completely overqualified for this sea.
Rorschach didn’t mention that Naguri had once fought Gol D. Roger. If he had, their jaws would have dropped.
"Believe it or not, you’ll understand once we reach the Grand Line," Rorschach rolled his eyes. He tossed the letter onto the table and went back to counting the treasure.
"Hey Rorschach, aren’t you going to settle the score with them?" Karina asked, following him. "Since they put a bounty on you, why don’t we just wipe them out? We’d get tons of treasure."
"Not interested," Rorschach replied. "We’ll be leaving this kingdom soon. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble."
"Besides, we’ve already made plenty of money, haven’t we?"
He picked up a thick stack of berries and scattered them playfully.
The Marine branch near Goa Kingdom was surprisingly honest — no corruption or withholding payments. Probably because this was Garp’s hometown. No one dared to skim money here. If the locals complained to Garp, their careers would be finished.
This bounty hunt had gone extremely well.
They had cleared out over a dozen of the highest-bounty pirates in Goa Kingdom and looted every ship thoroughly. Most of the pirates had more treasure on board than their actual bounties.
In total, the four of them had earned roughly 700 million berries.
It was an absolute windfall.
When they finished counting, Nami and Karina hugged each other tightly, their eyes sparkling like dollar signs.
"With this much money, we can finally live comfortably!" Karina said happily. "I’m going to buy so many luxury goods!"
Nami looked a little dazed. The goal she had been chasing for so long was now sitting right in front of her — seven times over.
"Let’s split it," Rorschach said casually. "You can keep my share on the ship to buy ingredients. I don’t really need money anyway."
"You have the nerve to say that?!" Karina exploded. "You ate ten million berries worth of food in just a few days! If we’re sailing on the sea, how are we supposed to afford feeding you?!"
"And because of what you did to us before, you only get 100 million this time! The rest belongs to me, Nami, and Kaya!"
The moment she said that, Karina punched Rorschach in the stomach. Of course, it did nothing.
It looked more like a couple playfully bickering.
"Your body is made of steel or something? Why is it so hard?!" Karina shook her sore hand with a helpless expression.
She had thought the ten million berries worth of ingredients would last a long time, but Rorschach had devoured everything in just a few days.
Thankfully they hadn’t eaten at restaurants, or it would have cost even more. Still, just cooking for him had exhausted all three girls. At least Rorschach’s sword skills were excellent — he could prepare any raw ingredient with ease.
"In that case, you can keep my share for buying ingredients for Lord Rorschach too," Kaya said gently, completely unconcerned about the huge sum of money.
"Huh? Kaya, you’re spoiling him too much! He deserves to go hungry for a few days so he learns some restraint," Karina sighed.
"No way. Without Lord Rorschach, I never would have left home and sailed the seas. Money doesn’t mean much to me. As long as I can help him, I’m happy," Kaya replied with a soft, blissful smile.
"Hehe, at least Kaya treats me well," Rorschach laughed sheepishly.
Karina could only shake her head. This innocent girl is going to get eaten by the big bad wolf sooner or later.
Nami, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.
"Do I really get a share too? I didn’t do anything..."
She looked uneasy, her expression complicated. This money was extremely important to her, but she felt guilty because she hadn’t contributed much since joining the crew.
"What are you talking about?" Karina said. "You’ve been helping cook, haven’t you? Since we’re all on the same ship, of course you get a share."
"Besides, do you really think you can escape this guy’s grasp? He’s already invested so much in us. He has no intention of letting any of us go." freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Plus, this lifestyle isn’t bad at all. We don’t have to steal anymore to have plenty of money."
Karina, who was very perceptive, had noticed that Nami always seemed to be carrying some heavy burden. She often fell into gloomy moods but never explained why.
Nami stayed silent for a long moment, then finally spoke.
"Actually... I’m a member of the Arlong Pirates. My hometown is Cocoyasi Village — the Arlong Pirates’ base."
She unwrapped the bandage that was always on her arm, revealing the Arlong Pirates tattoo.
"Cocoyasi Village... So that’s why you always kept your arm bandaged even though you weren’t injured," Karina said in shock.
She had seen plenty of darkness in this world. Life on many islands and villages was already miserable. Being ruled by fishmen who hated humans made it even worse.
Nami must have been carrying an enormous amount of pressure all this time, Karina thought.
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