Chapter 9

and were left on this land,

then once Li Xiao left,

Cocoyasi Village would likely return to the days of being oppressed!

After all,

it wasn't just Arlong who had been weighing down on Cocoyasi Village,

but the entire Arlong Pirates!

Given the strength of the ordinary villagers in Cocoyasi Village,

they weren't even a match for one of the Arlong Pirates' officers!

Li Xiao pointed to the Arlong Pirates boarding the ship on the shore,

and replied:

"I was just about to tell you about that. I plan to set off now and send them to the Navy’s G-16 Branch."

"Since they are pirates, it’s best to leave them to the Navy to handle. After all, they’re the professionals!"

Hearing this,

Nami couldn't help but nod,

clearly agreeing with Li Xiao’s idea.

If Arlong and his crew were truly imprisoned by the Navy,

then Cocoyasi Village could truly return to peace!

But soon,

Nami thought of another question,

and couldn't help but ask:

"Then, after things are resolved, will you come back?"

Li Xiao was slightly stunned, then smiled:

"We'll see. I'll likely come back, but it's also possible I might change my itinerary."

Hearing this,

Nami felt a little disappointed,

but she still nodded,

and didn't say anything more.

A moment later,

the members of the Arlong Pirates had all boarded the ship.

Li Xiao waved at Nami,

and turned to board the ship to set off.

However,

after taking only two steps,

Li Xiao felt a pair of hands wrap around his front,

and a soft, warm body hugged him from behind.

Immediately following,

Nami’s voice reached his ears.

"Thank you!"

Having said that,

before Li Xiao could react,

Nami let go.

Li Xiao turned to look,

and saw Nami had already stepped back several paces,

waving at him with a smile.

Seeing this,

Li Xiao shook his head with a light laugh,

didn't say anything more,

turned and boarded the ship,

and set sail!

Li Xiao stood at the bow,

and could clearly see Nami’s figure still standing on the shore,

watching the ship sail away.

Not far behind her,

one could vaguely see people running over in groups,

which must have been the villagers of Cocoyasi Village arriving.

…………

Generally speaking,

in a normal pirate crew,

it is usually the navigator who is responsible for sailing the ship,

and the navigator of the Arlong Pirates was Nami!

However, because Nami’s situation was special,

she was a semi-outsider,

and at most would draw sea charts,

basically never helping the Arlong Pirates sail the ship.

Therefore,

there were other navigators in the Arlong Pirates,

and the current ship was being steered by one of them.

The other Fish-Men were all staying honestly on the deck,

while Li Xiao had moved a lounge chair onto the deck,

lying on it quite comfortably while basking in the sun,

with a Fish-Man behind him helping him massage,

which was quite pleasant!

The only fly in the ointment was that

this Fish-Man’s massage technique was truly not great,

with the pressure either too light or too heavy,

making Li Xiao miss Nami’s massage technique.

Should he,

in the future, find an opportunity to stay on the Straw Hat crew for a while,

and enjoy Nami’s massage again?

But then again,

he had packed up the entire Arlong Pirates,

so would Nami still board Luffy’s ship in the future?

…………

While Li Xiao’s thoughts wandered,

the ship cut through the sea,

moving steadily toward the target Navy G-16 Branch. ===== CHAPTER 28 =====

On the way,

Arlong woke up from his unconsciousness. ===== CHAPTER 29 =====

After learning the destination of this trip, he didn't have much of a reaction,

just sitting silently at the edge of the deck surrounded by a group of Fish-Men,

wondering what he was thinking.

Regarding this,

Li Xiao didn't pay much attention.

In any case, given Arlong’s current state,

let alone causing trouble,

he had to be supported just to walk two steps!

About three or four hours later,

Li Xiao arrived at the island where the Navy G-16 Branch was located with the group of Arlong Pirates members who were about to be exchanged for berries.

Li Xiao stood at the bow and looked into the distance,

seeing that one side of the island was covered with scattered houses,

with faint smoke rising,

clearly the village on this small island.

And on the other side of the island,

stood a blue and white building,

with a flag depicting a seagull flying above it,

which was clearly the Navy flag.

That was the Navy G-16 Branch Li Xiao was looking for!

After a little thought,

Li Xiao had the Fish-Man navigator steer the ship around,

and dock directly on the side of the Navy G-16 Branch.

This way,

after everyone went ashore, they would only need to walk a short distance to reach the Navy G-16 Branch,

which was much faster than going through the town!

However, whether the distance was short or not

was secondary!

The main thing was that walking through the streets with such a group of fierce-looking Fish-Men

would probably scare the town’s residents into running home on the spot,

or even scattering and fleeing,

to the point where they might even drop their grocery baskets!

It would look like pirates coming into the village to raid!

Hmm...

Although that didn't seem to be a problem,

since they were indeed a genuine, proper pirate crew...

But the key was,

I, Li, am not a pirate!

I am just the only ordinary cultivator in this world!

A moment later,

the ship docked.

Li Xiao was the first to leap ashore,

followed closely by the Fish-Men of the Arlong Pirates.

After resting along the way,

Arlong’s body seemed to have recovered a bit,

but he still needed two Fish-Men to help him off the ship.

Li Xiao’s final strike had landed squarely on his chest,

leaving his upper body wrapped in bandages,

looking exactly like a half-finished mummy.

The group walked up a mountain path,

and before long, they saw the gate of the Navy G-16 Branch.

At this time,

a table was placed on one side of the gate,

and a Navy soldier was sitting at the table, looking down at something,

so engrossed

that he didn't even notice Li Xiao and the group of Fish-Men standing in front of him!

Li Xiao leaned forward slightly,

looking at the book in his hand with some curiosity.

After seeing the content clearly,

Li Xiao’s expression became a bit strange.

Ah, this...

In this day and age,

has "Icha Icha Paradise" already crossed dimensions to be sold here?

As a Navy soldier,

it would be one thing if you were secretly reading this stuff in private,

but why are you reading it while on duty!

In broad daylight,

you are truly shameless!

Seeing that the Navy soldier showed no signs of noticing him,

Li Xiao gave a helpless cough and said:

"Ahem, may I ask if I can collect a bounty here?"

Li Xiao had thought that by speaking up,

the Navy soldier would realize someone was there,

and at least restrain himself and put the book away!

However, Li Xiao realized

he had clearly thought too much!

The Navy soldier didn't even lift his head,

his eyes still fixed on the contents of the book,

and he just asked indifferently.

"Which pirate?"

"Here, they're right behind me!"

"Can't you just give me the name?"

Li Xiao frowned slightly and said:

"There are a lot of people, you should see for yourself."

Hearing this,

the Navy soldier became impatient,

and suddenly looked up, cursing:

"How much trouble can it be to just collect a bounty..."

"Holy crap!!!"

Before he could finish his sentence,

looking at the group of Fish-Men standing there in unison, ===== CHAPTER 30 =====