As Ryuen's anger settled, the dark clouds in the sky slowly faded.
The Wild Boar Pirates—Sengoku had deliberately allowed them to act freely, just to ignite the fire of rage in Ryuen's heart.
Rage against the Figarland family.
For that purpose, Sengoku had even turned a blind eye to the Wild Boar Pirates looting and slaughtering in Paradise, ensuring they would eventually cross paths with the Dream Exploration Crew.
Perhaps the events at Sabaody Archipelago had made Marine Headquarters pay attention to Lindgas' attitude toward the Dream Crew.
"So you let the Wild Boar Pirates run wild just for this...?"
"The ways of those in power can be so shameless. But old man Sengoku, you might have miscalculated this time..." Ryuen murmured as he gazed at the calm sea.
While Ryuen was lost in thought, inside the pirate ship's cabin, the twenty or so women had already changed out of their tattered clothes.
With Nami and the others comforting them, their initial panic was slowly easing, but the sorrow on their faces remained.
As they talked, Nami and the others learned that these women were all ordinary villagers from Clarkde Island.
Two days ago, their village had been raided by the Wild Boar Pirates, and hundreds of villagers had been slaughtered.
As for the women, they were kept because of their beauty. Originally, there were more than thirty of them, but over a dozen had been taken away and never returned. Now, they were nowhere to be seen on the pirate ship.
The remaining twenty or so were meant to be sold at a slave auction by the Wild Boar Pirates.
Since Clarkd Island wasn't far from Sabaody Archipelago, they would soon be able to make a large profit from the sale.
Most of the money would have to be handed over as tribute, but in return, they could secure protection from certain Marines, which they thought was worth it.
However, the Wild Boar Pirates didn't expect to run into the Dream Exploration Team before even reaching Sabaody Archipelago.
They knew about this group, but since they had never faced any obstacles along the way, they had grown overconfident.
That's why they fired that first shot at the beginning. They thought the Dream Exploration Team was just another weak group under the World Government's protection.
Who would have thought that they would end up failing so miserably?
"Ryuen, this came from Marine Headquarters," Hog said as he walked over with a piece of paper.
Ryuen took it and looked at the names on the list. Memories of these people slowly surfaced in his mind.
Tucha, Boshichi, Bluegrass, Urban…
They were all Vice Admirals who had taken part in the Egghead Island incident. But in the face of Joy Boy's Conqueror's Haki, which had been sealed away for 800 years, they couldn't hold their ground and fell.
"According to this report, among these Vice Admirals, only Boshichi is stationed in Paradise. And the one protecting the Wild Boar Pirates is this Vice Admiral Boshichi," Hog said seriously.
"Then let's get rid of this Boshichi," Ryuen said coldly.
He had no way of dealing with the Figarland family yet, and he wasn't strong enough to take on the Holy Knights.
"Ryuen, that woman has been saved," Daisy reported as she walked up.
"That's good…" Ryuen turned to look at Daisy, whose face was filled with killing intent. It seemed the woman's experience had enraged her.
At that moment, Nami and the others arrived as well. Only Anya, Robin, and the two short ones were still below deck.
Anya was planning to cook something for the rescued women using the pirates' supplies, while the others stayed behind to help.
"Ryuen, we need to take them back to their village. There are still survivors there," Nami said, looking at him.
"Our next destination was Clarkd Island anyway, so returning them won't be a problem. But… they don't have any thoughts of ending their own lives, do they?" Ryuen asked with a slight frown.
"For people at the bottom of society, just being alive is already a blessing. Ryuen, I think you understand that…" Robin said as she walked up.
Hearing that, Ryuen fell silent.
It was true. As long as they were alive, the common people of this world had learned to endure almost anything.
"Then let's head straight to the Marine base near Clarkd Island, cash in the bounty, take Boshichi away, and then go to their village," Ryuen ordered in a low voice.
"Understood," Hog responded.
With Ryuen's command, the two ships adjusted their course and sailed toward Clarkd Island.
However, unlike usual, Nami and the others weren't chatting energetically. A heavy silence hung over the entire fleet. Each person was lost in their thoughts.
It couldn't be helped. They were all women, and it was easy for them to empathize with what those women had gone through. Their suffering was deeply upsetting.
Meanwhile, the pirates that Hog had knocked out were now tightly bound and thrown into the ship's hold.
Fear and confusion were still written on their faces—they had no idea what fate awaited them.
Looking at the prisoners, Ryuen made up his mind: after claiming the Wild Boar Pirates' bounty, he would take Boshichi away.
Then, he would bring this scum to Clarkd Island and let him face the justice he deserved.
It was also a way to satisfy that little bit of righteousness still burning inside him.
After all, he wasn't a heartless killer. Thinking of this, Ryuen clenched his fist and gazed firmly into the distance.
~~~~~~
After two days at sea, the two ships arrived at a Marine base not far from Clarkd Island.
It was Marine G9, a stronghold in Paradise.
Like Vice Admiral Jonathan's G8 base, G9 was built on a small island, turning it into a fortress.
As the Dream sailed closer to G9, the fortress's cannons immediately locked onto them. But the moment the Marines recognized the Dream's flag, the gates quickly opened.
"Report to Vice Admiral Boshichi! The Dream Exploration Team has arrived, and…" Inside the fortress, an officer hurriedly reported to Boshichi.
"Dream Exploration Crew?"
"What are they doing here? And what was that 'also' you mentioned?" Boshichi asked with some confusion.
He didn't have a good impression of the Dream Exploration Crew.
"Also, behind the Dream, the Wild Boar Pirates' ship is following them. It looks like they've already taken down the Wild Boar Pirates," the adjutant reported nervously.
*Bang!*
Upon hearing this, Boshichi crushed the wine glass in his hand.
"Heh heh heh~~~"
"Get ready, let's give this famous Dream Exploration Crew a proper welcome!" Vice Admiral Boshichi said coldly.
"Yes, sir!"
"Vice Admiral Boshichi!" The adjutant saluted and immediately went to make arrangements.
Nami: Do I look good in this picture? Can I get two free gifts~~~
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