“It’s daytime already…”
Karl muttered to himself.
“Yeah!
A brand-new day!”
Sitting cross-legged at the bow, Luffy stretched both arms out to the sides and gave a long yawn.
“We should be arriving today, right?”
“Most likely.”
Karl nodded before tossing the same question toward a figure standing on the deck.
“What do you think, Nami?”
“We should arrive in about three hours.”
Nami answered honestly.
The notebook in her pocket—the one that had once been filled with debt calculations—had long since been reduced to a balance of zero.
“Three hours, huh…”
A smile appeared on Karl’s face.
“That’s when things will be lively.”
After spending so long at sea, they were finally about to see land again.
Karl found himself unexpectedly nostalgic for life on solid ground.
“Hey, Luffy, let’s take a walk through the town while we’re there.”
“We can buy supplies and ask around about that bounty hunter.”
“A market?” Luffy’s eyes lit up.
“That sounds fun!”
“Yeah…
a market…”
Karl stared toward the horizon.
“It’ll definitely be crowded.”
Ever since arriving in this world, he had lived a largely isolated life.
The three months spent alone on that deserted island had nearly made him forget how to talk.
His mental state had come dangerously close to collapsing.
Then Luffy had appeared.
After that, the two of them had drifted across the sea in a tiny boat for two days, followed by their bizarre adventure inside a barrel before finally being rescued by pirates.
Only then had Karl encountered signs of civilization again.
But those three months of isolation had left their mark.
They had made him somewhat withdrawn.
Luffy often said Karl was entertaining to talk to.
The truth was that Karl rarely spoke much at all.
Most of the time, he preferred focusing on his own projects.
“Finally…”
Karl sighed.
“I’m going to see ordinary people again.”
There were dozens of pirates aboard this ship.
But Karl had never really counted them.
What he wanted to see were regular civilians.
The bustle of everyday life.
Not pirates.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
After a moment, Karl turned his attention back to more practical matters.
“By the way, Luffy, what are we doing with this ship?”
“Huh?” Luffy blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“Are we selling it, or are we keeping it?”
“Oh, whatever’s fine.”
Luffy waved his hand casually.
“You decide.”
“You’re the captain.
That’s why I’m asking.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Karl immediately felt a headache coming on.
Luffy’s ability to dump responsibilities on other people was truly remarkable.
“Let me explain the situation first, then you can make the final decision.”
He pointed toward the ship beneath them.
“First of all, this is a secondhand ship.
If you don’t mind that, we can hire some shipwrights at the port and modify it into our own vessel.”
“But there’s still a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The ship is too big.”
Karl paused before continuing.
“Even if you count that bounty hunter we’re planning to recruit, the four of us still won’t be enough to operate it properly.”
“Four people isn’t enough?”
“Of course not.
Look at the size of this thing.”
Karl wasn’t exactly an expert in sailing, but even he could tell the ship required a substantial crew.
“I’d say we need at least ten people.”
“Then what about these guys?”
Luffy pointed at the pirates.
Karl immediately smacked him on the head.
“Are you stupid?
I already told you we’re handing these pirates over to the Marines!”
To be fair, punching Luffy was oddly satisfying.
His rubber body felt soft and bouncy.
Luffy himself didn’t seem to mind.
As a Rubber Human, he barely felt pain anyway.
He simply rubbed his head and laughed.
“Oh, right.”
“If we sell the ship,” Karl continued, “we can buy a smaller one first and upgrade later after we recruit more crew members.”
“What do you think?”
Luffy thought for a moment.
Then he grinned.
“Let’s sell it.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t want some old ship that belonged to somebody else.”
Luffy’s eyes sparkled.
“I’m going to have a ship that’s truly my own!”
“I see.”
Karl nodded.
“In that case, we’ll find a place that builds ships and have one custom-made.”
A confident smile spread across his face.
“I’ve got some ideas already.”
“Luffy, when the time comes, our ship will be one of a kind.”
“Then it’s settled!”
Clap!
Clap!
After finishing the discussion, Karl walked down from the bow and clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention.
The pirates immediately turned toward him.
“Alright.”
“You all know what’s happening.”
“We’re about to reach shore.”
“And according to our agreement, you’re all about to begin new lives.”
Karl’s gaze swept across the crowd.
“So these are your final moments aboard this ship.”
“Make them count.”
“I’m giving you two hours for a complete deep cleaning.”
“When I inspect it later, even the cracks around the windows had better be spotless.”
His smile widened.
“And if any of you cause this ship to sell for less than it’s worth…”
“I’ll send you to work in a mining camp until you’ve paid back the difference.”
“Understood?”
“YES, SIR!”
The pirates responded in unison.
Without delay, they immediately began cleaning every corner of the ship.
Karl nodded in satisfaction.
Then he beckoned toward Nami.
At the moment, she was holding a wooden clipboard filled with papers.
If she changed into formal clothing, she would look exactly like a professional secretary.
“You’ve been a big help these past few days.”
Karl took the clipboard and began reviewing its contents.
Nami merely pouted.
She was clearly still upset about his earlier warning.
“The ten million Berriesshould be fully paid off by now.”
Karl spoke casually.
“I…”
Nami started to explain, but Karl interrupted her.
“You don’t need to explain.”
“I don’t care, and I don’t want to.”
He shook his head.
“Our captain is just too soft-hearted.”
“You can consider that money payment for taking care of him.”
“Now that the debt is settled, it’s time to fulfill our original agreement.”
Karl continued scanning the documents.
“When we reach the island, I’ll hand you over to the Marines together with the rest of them.”
He pointed toward the pirates.
“They’re the main delivery.”
“You’re just an extra bonus.”
“I’m sure the Marines won’t make things difficult for you.”
Then he added:
“I hope you’ll turn over a new leaf in prison.”
“Try not to steal anymore.”
“With your abilities, you could easily find stable work.”
“After all, you’re not going to keep running into pirates like me.”
“If you fall into the hands of truly vicious people, you know better than I do how that’ll end.”
Karl never looked up from the papers.
The documents contained estimates of the ship’s value, along with inventories of Alvida’s treasure.
Once they reached port, he planned to convert everything into cash.
Money would be much easier to carry around.
“Can you…
not send me to prison?”
Nami’s eyes reddened.
Her voice trembled.
“I can pay back even more money.”
“As long as you don’t hand me over to the Marines.”
Her fists clenched tightly.
“If I end up in prison…”
“I’ll be finished.”