Chapter 10

he was so scared he jumped up,

retreated several steps,

and didn't even know where his beloved book had been flung!

Seeing this,

Li Xiao rubbed his temples helplessly,

and said:

"I’m just here to collect a bounty, why are you so jumpy?"

Hearing this,

the Navy soldier swallowed hard,

pointed at the group of Fish-Men behind Li Xiao, and confirmed in a low voice:

"Are you sure these are all for bounty exchange?"

"Oh, I don't know exactly which of them has a bounty, so I packed them all up and brought them here. You can check them one by one yourselves; those without a bounty can be considered a gift from me!"

After a moment of silence,

the Navy soldier said slowly:

"Uh, please wait a moment, I’m going to notify the Colonel!"

Having said that,

he turned and ran,

heading straight for the deepest part of the branch base! ===== CHAPTER 31 =====

A moment later,

the Navy soldier hurried back,

followed by another person,

who was clearly the Navy Colonel he had mentioned.

However,

when Li Xiao saw the appearance of the Navy Colonel behind him, he was stunned!

A thin, tall body,

a narrow face,

three whiskers like a mouse on each side of his face,

and a hat with mouse ears on his head—

this person was none other than Colonel Mouse, who would later lead the team to seize the one hundred million berries Nami had worked so hard to save!

Li Xiao suddenly realized,

no wonder he had felt the name Navy G-16 Branch sounded familiar before,

it was the Navy branch where Colonel Mouse was stationed!

So that was why Arlong had been so calm along the way!

Thinking of this,

Li Xiao turned to look,

and saw that in the crowd,

Arlong was being supported by two Fish-Men,

his face pale,

but a smile he couldn't hide was on his lips!

Just as Li Xiao had thought,

the moment he learned that Li Xiao was going to escort them to the Navy G-16 Branch to exchange for a bounty,

Arlong was not only not panicked,

but even felt like laughing!

Colonel Mouse of the Navy G-16 Branch had long been receiving his bribes,

and their interests were already tied together,

making them like grasshoppers on the same rope.

Arriving at the G-16 Branch Navy base,

it was almost like coming home!

Arlong didn't want to use Colonel Mouse to deal with Li Xiao,

after all, Arlong knew in his heart

that given the strength of this Navy G-16 Branch where Colonel Mouse was,

it would be difficult for them to even deal with his Arlong Pirates,

let alone Li Xiao!

If they really started fighting,

it would be one sword strike per person for Li Xiao!

Although if Colonel Mouse really died by Li Xiao’s sword,

the Navy Headquarters would inevitably send someone to deal with Li Xiao,

but in that case,

Arlong’s own situation wouldn't be any better!

Therefore,

he just hoped Colonel Mouse would honestly hand over the bounty,

and after Li Xiao left,

release him along with the entire Arlong Pirates.

Arlong had no impression of Li Xiao,

and he clearly wasn't from Cocoyasi Village,

so he likely wouldn't stay in Cocoyasi Village for long!

After he left,

he could return to Cocoyasi Village,

and continue to act as a tyrant!

By that time,

whether it was Nami or the other villagers of Cocoyasi Village,

they would all have to pay an even greater price!

Thinking of this,

the smile on Arlong’s lips became even more exaggerated!

At the same time,

Colonel Mouse had already arrived in front of Li Xiao,

scanned the group of Fish-Men behind him,

gave an imperceptible nod to Arlong,

and then turned his gaze to Li Xiao,

extended his hand, and said:

"Hello, I am the highest-ranking officer of this G-16 Branch Navy base—Colonel Mouse. Are you here to collect a bounty?"

However,

Li Xiao was deep in thought at this moment,

and just responded subconsciously,

completely ignoring his extended hand.

According to Li Xiao’s initial plan, ===== CHAPTER 32 =====

He did not pay the slightest attention to the hand he had extended.

According to Li Xiao's initial plan,

the reason he hadn't wiped out the Arlong Pirates,

but chose to pack them up and hand them over to the Navy,

was partly because Li Xiao wasn't a bloodthirsty person,

and rather than wiping them out, it was better to hand them over to the Navy for imprisonment,

and partly because he was following the principle of making use of waste to prepare some meal money for himself.

But now it seemed,

handing them over to the Navy for imprisonment was clearly not very realistic,

unless he escorted the Arlong Pirates to another Navy branch,

or even escorted them all the way to Navy Headquarters!

That was clearly impossible,

Li Xiao didn't have that kind of spare time!

But if he just handed them over to Colonel Mouse,

if nothing went wrong,

not long after he left,

the Arlong Pirates would be walking away freely,

and maybe even have a military doctor help treat their injuries!

And once Arlong left,

he would inevitably return to Cocoyasi Village,

and launch a series of retaliatory actions against the villagers!

Sigh...

What a pain!

Should I just finish them all off?

Although Li Xiao wasn't a bloodthirsty person,

he wasn't a wishy-washy saint either!

If necessary,

he would draw his sword and strike without hesitation!

Just as Li Xiao felt it would be more appropriate to simply draw his sword and finish off the Arlong Pirates,

Colonel Mouse awkwardly retracted his hand,

picked up a stack of wanted posters and flipped through them,

pondered for a moment,

and said slowly:

"Hmm, this group of Fish-Men are all from the Arlong Pirates. The Arlong Pirates are a small pirate crew in the East Blue. Aside from the captain, Arlong, who has a bounty of three million berries, the rest of the crew have no bounties."

"However, in view of the fact that you have captured the entire Arlong Pirates, I will add two million berries for you, for a total of five million berries. No problem, right?"

Hearing this,

Arlong, who was being supported by two Fish-Men, changed his expression instantly,

and cursed inwardly that things were going wrong!

Being greedy for money on a daily basis was one thing,

but you actually dare to deduct the bounty in front of such a fierce person!

Is your brain really only as big as a mouse’s?

If you’re tired of living, go hang yourself,

don't drag me down to die with you! ===== CHAPTER 33 =====