The Marine 77th Branch was different from the Marine branches on the Grand Line.
Because the bases in the Four Blues were located in a different sea region, they did not carry the “G” prefix used by Grand Line branches.
The difference was not only in their names, but also in the combat strength of the Marines stationed there.
Compared to the Grand Line, where talent appeared in waves, the Four Blues had plenty of pirates, but their overall quality was nowhere near as high.
Naturally, that meant the strength of the Marines in the Four Blues was also far below that of the Marines on the Grand Line.
Carrying eight-point-three million Berries’ worth of “exchange vouchers,” Gavin stopped outside a building and looked up at the Marine emblem hanging above it.
After confirming that it matched the symbol in his memories, he slowly walked into the Marine base’s lobby.
There were no dazzling decorations or fancy furnishings inside.
The cramped room held only a few chairs.
At the far end stood an iron door, and a floor guide hung on the wall beside it.
“This is only an office set up by the Marine 77th Branch in Cober Town.
It mainly exists to make bounty exchanges more convenient for bounty hunters and to collect pirate-related information.” A Marine in a captain’s uniform walked over and introduced the building with a smile.
Gavin turned to look at him.
“Forgive my manners.
I’m Captain Purin Purin of the 77th Branch.
Is there anything I can help you with?” ‘Purin Purin?’ After haring that name, Gavin’s eyes flashed with a strange look.
Sure enough, wherever there were people, there would be weirdos.
Names really could be anything in this world.
“Ahem!
I’m here to exchange bounties.
Sorry for the trouble.” “No, strictly speaking, we Marines should be thanking you.” Purin Purin took the two covered jars from him, placed them on the table, and removed the black cloth disguising them.
“Hmm, formalin?
It seems you know a little about preservation.
Please wait a moment while I check the bounty records.” He pulled a thick stack of bounty catalogues from a drawer and quickly flipped through them.
“Found one!” “Divine Blade Jax, bounty of four and a half million Berries.
And this one is…” “Ripper Zack, bounty of three-point-eight million Berries.
You really are impressive.
The East Blue Marines have been hunting these two for a while.” “Ever since the Great Pirate Era began last year, these two set out to sea under the name of free pirates and started burning, killing, and looting.
Tch.” Purin Purin lightly tapped the surface of one jar with his finger, almost as if mocking the head inside.
“Sorry, sorry.
I’m talking too much.
It’s mainly because we rarely see bounty hunters around here.” “Here are your eight-point-three million Berries.
Please take them.
I hope you’ll continue hunting pirates for the peace and stability of East Blue.” Gavin took the brown paper bag from Purin Purin and opened it for a quick look.
“Please rest assured, there’s no mistake on it.
We at least have that much professional integrity.” Purin Purin patiently explained, “After all, we still need bounty hunters to help us hunt pirates.
If we made mistakes with the Berry payments, I’m afraid no one would be willing to help the Marines anymore.” “Then I’ll be going.” Gavin smiled and nodded to the Marine, then turned and left the Marine office.
Purin Purin looked at the two heads soaking in formalin on the table and sighed in relief.
“Two more troublesome pirates dealt with.
Once news of their deaths spreads, East Blue should be peaceful for a while, right?” …
At two in the afternoon, a gentle breeze brushed through the town.
The early spring wind still carried a little of winter’s lingering chill, but compared to the harsh cold of the previous season, the temperature under the warm sun was much more comfortable.
At the very least, some of the young women on the street had already ignored the chill and begun showing off their lovely figures.
“No matter what world it is, beautiful scenery like this will always exist.” Gavin crouched by the roadside with a hot drink in his left hand and Cober Town’s special chicken-leg burger in his right, taking a big bite as he looked around.
His eyes swept across the pale, well-kept sights that had been hidden away all winter, and he clicked his tongue in appreciation.
“Smooth, fair, firm, and flawless.
Now those are good legs!” “Hey, Gavin, aren’t you getting a little too relaxed?!” Shanks walked over from the side with a dark expression, carrying a massive backpack on his back that was taller than he was.
“I’m the captain here, right?!
And you’re hiding here enjoying the scenery?!” Gavin smiled and pulled a bottle of wine with a slightly oxidized label from his coat.
“Oh my, Captain, saying that really hurts me.
I even went through the trouble of finding an extremely old bottle of wine.” Shanks instantly turned into sunshine.
“How could we possibly trouble our great vice-captain with such a small thing?
Hey, Hongo, stop slacking off and get over here!” After dumping the huge backpack on Hongo, Shanks snatched the wine bottle and crouched beside Gavin.
He pulled out the cork and carefully took a tiny sip.
“Damnn!” “That heavy fruit aroma… Ohhh~~~ and there’s such a rich second-layer aftertaste!
This is good wine!!” “Nice wine, right?
Fine wine, fine scenery, and no regrets in life.” Gavin drank a mouthful of hot milk and continued looking toward the street.
Hongo sighed.
He no longer knew how to complain about the shared hobby of his captain and vice-captain, so he simply squatted down on Gavin’s left, took the hot milk, and drank several big gulps.
“Shouldn’t we head back?
The medicine and food have all been bought.
That eight million Berries is almost gone too, so we need to find a few more pirates and refill our little treasury.” “Ohhh!!!
Gavin, look at that girl!
My god, how can her ass be that big?!” Shanks completely ignored Hongo.
He sniffed hard, but two streams of blood still disappointingly ran from his nose.
“She’s wearing so little in this weather.
Won’t she catch a cold?
Gavin, why don’t we go help her?
Gavin?” Getting no reply, Shanks turned his head in confusion and saw his vice-captain flipping through a thick catalogue.
“What’s that?” “An East Blue pirate bounty catalogue.
I grabbed one when I went to exchange the bounties earlier.” Gavin showed no shame whatsoever over this casual act of “borrowing.” He pointed toward a thin, lanky man in the middle of the street.
“Found him.
That guy is Quickshot Felix, with a bounty of two million Berries.
Seems a little low.” Shanks patted Gavin on the shoulder and spoke with great sincerity.
“A meat is still meat, no matter how small it is.” Gavin stuffed the rest of the burger into his mouth, stood up, and tossed the catalogue to Hongo.
“Shanks, Hongo, wait here for me.
I’ve been watching that scumbag for a while.
He was harassing pretty girls on the street earlier.” “And since we’re not far from the Marine office anyway, I might as well earn another two million to buy some wine!” ‘Buy more wine?!’ A glowing wine-bottle symbol practically lit up in Shanks’s pupils.
He shoved the fingers of his left hand into his mouth and whistled, then pumped his right arm into the air.
“LONG LIVE GAVIN!!!” …
Marine 77th Branch Purin Purin instinctively bent at the waist as he sent off the man he had only met a few hours earlier, who had somehow come back with more business.
“Thank you very much for your patronage.
I hope we can receive your business again next time…” “No need to be so polite.
I’ll visit again next time!” Gavin held two thick stacks of high-denomination Berries and sighed over how easy money was to earn.
Behind him, Quickshot Felix was left with his eyes rolled back, foam spilling from his mouth, his left hand frozen in a six and his right hand frozen in a seven while his body twitched from time to time.
Gavin walked out of the Marine office with a smile.
“Seriously, if your body has problems, don’t go out to the sea.
And with a weak strength like that, he still dared to harass girls of all things?” Purin Purin straightened up, scratched his shoulder-length purple hair, and muttered quietly.
“Aren’t his work efficiency a little too high?
That’s the third bounty he’s exchanged today.” Buru buru buru~~ Buru buru buru~~ Purin Purin quickly gathered his thoughts, pulled a Den Den Mushi out of the drawer, and answered the call.
Kacha— “Hello, this is East Blue 77th Branch.
Temporary duty officer, Captain Purin Purin speaking!” The Den Den Mushi took out a cigar and stuffed it into its mouth.
“Captain Purin Purin, this is Lieutenant Luwen, the liaison officer in charge of updating bounty catalogues at Headquarters.
The newest issue of this year’s pirate bounty catalogue has been distributed.” “After your branch receives the catalogues, please print and distribute copies to the nearby Marine branches.” “Yes, Lieutenant Luwen.
Once I verify them, I’ll report to Commodore Thompson!” Kacha— The Den Den Mushi was hung up immediately.
“Those Headquarters liaison officers really are arrogant.” Purin Purin put the Den Den Mushi away and headed toward the rooftop.
The Marines had quite a bit of cooperation with the World Economic News Paper.
Some of the photos in the bounty catalogues were provided by that seagull-man president.
On top of that, his seagull team occasionally accepted delivery jobs.
For updates like these bounty catalogues, Headquarters would usually send over a few copies of the newest version first.
After the Marine officer in charge of the Four Blues confirmed that there were no mistakes, they would print them in large batches and send them to nearby Marine bases.
Cawww~~~ A seagull wearing a white hat perched on the Marine emblem at the top of the building.
When it saw someone coming, it dropped two thick catalogues from its bag and flew away.
“Only two copies this time?” Purin Purin picked up the two books and started flipping through them as he went downstairs.
“Huh?
East Blue has a list of pirate crews that need special attention this year too?”