Chapter 48: My Name is Karina

Ah Long covered one eye with his hand and burst into loud laughter, only barely stopping when Xiang Keluo beside him began to look slightly uneasy.

"Eighty-five million?!"

"In a place like the New World, such a bounty wouldn't even be enough to support a pirate flag."

"Moreover, even though I'm reluctant to admit it, my own bounty has failed to rise for so many years due to the existence of that guy and the rat; otherwise, it would have long surpassed this figure..."

"On such barren land as the East Blue, what kind of strong individual could possibly be bred? Humans who were born to be enslaved by fish-men..."

Ah Long sneered disdainfully.

Xiang Keluo standing nearby nodded upon hearing this.

Having arrived in the East Blue several years ago,

countless great pirates who dominated their respective regions met nothing but miserable defeat when facing the sharp teeth and claws of the fish-men.

These continuous victories had also granted them confidence beyond imagination.

"But such a high bounty, and in the East Blue..."

Ah Long frowned slightly; out of caution, he took the wanted poster from Xiang Keluo's hands, and after a brief moment of stunned silence, the corners of his mouth curled into a playful smile.

"I know who this guy is."

"Knight Gao Wen, formerly a knight of the Goa Kingdom, said to have been wanted for sleeping with the Wang Fei; back in the underworld, his bounty once reached fifty million Berries."

"The sudden surge in his bounty might also be related to this; after all, in the East Blue, which kingdom's nobility lacks connections with the Marines?!"

Xiang Keluo nodded; hearing Ah Long speak thus, he finally let go of his doubts, and upon examining the wanted poster more closely, realization dawned on him.

"Is he the... prototype for the movie that Chuu likes the most?!"

"Ah~"

Ah Long bared his teeth in a ferocious grin.

"Once the matter with Nami is concluded, we'll make a trip there; after all, it's a head worth eighty-five million~"

"Shark hahahaha~"

Inside the office,

a piercing laughter echoed, causing humans passing by to quietly lower their heads and hurry away.

Several days later.

In the East Blue.

The wind was gentle and the waves calm, the sky high and the clouds pale, as a small pirate ship sailed across the sea.

Atop the mast,

a pirate flag featuring a skull carved upon a round shield base stood out prominently.

Pirates familiar with the situation in the East Blue would flee in panic the instant they saw this flag.

This was simply because the owner of this flag was none other than the man currently holding the highest bounty in the East Blue, even bearing the implicit title of the East Blue's greatest swordsman.

Knight—Gao Wen.

Gao Wen sat on the deck at this moment, gazing at the undulating sea in the distance, yet his attention remained focused on the system panel.

Recently,

Kuro and Ah Jin had secretly begun competing against each other; even during the voyage, they engaged in their respective training within the activity room.

If you train for twelve hours, I'll train for thirteen; the main idea being to outwork each other to death unless one dies first from overexertion.

The two spared no effort, and in the end, Gao Wen naturally reaped all the benefits.

In just a short week, his physique gained over a thousand experience points again, while both Shikai and Observation Haki also saw significant growth.

Although there was still a considerable distance to the next level-up, who could not love such hardworking employees?

The only drawback was that, accompanied by the massive consumption from their training, the appetites of these two had multiplied several times over.

The direct consequence of this was that the ship's food reserves were no longer sufficient.

A pirate dressed as a chef hurried out of the cabin, his face showing some difficulty as he spoke to Gao Wen.

"Captain, our remaining food supplies will only last three more days; if we continue sailing without resupply, I'm afraid..."

Gao Wen nodded.

"It's no problem."

"There is a port within a few hundred nautical miles nearby that is not under Marine supervision; we will go there to replenish our food and fresh water."

"Yes."

Only then did the pirate dressed as a chef breathe a sigh of relief; he nodded, turned around, and entered the cabin to prepare the day's dinner.

The ship changed course, heading straight toward the nearby Dia Port.

As the sky gradually darkened, a pirate standing in the lookout tower suddenly let out a startled cry.

"Captain, there's a small boat over there!"

"Damn it, how could something like that possibly be sailing at sea?!"

"It's a woman!"

Hearing the commotion, Gao Wen looked out into the distance.

At the end of his line of sight,

a young girl sat in a small boat; she appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with an immature face and short orange hair.

With Gao Wen's vision, he could even see the girl's pale complexion and cracked lips, clearly indicating she had gone without water or food for some time; if she did not receive timely supplies, death was inevitable sooner or later.

Gao Wen paused for a moment before finally connecting the young girl before him with the image in his memory.

"Though she's much more youthful than I remembered, there's no mistake—it's Nami."

"This truly came without any effort."

Gao Wen's lips curled into a smile as he turned to look at the helmsman:

"Pull alongside!"

A few minutes later.

Nami sat on the deck, gulping down several large bowls of fresh water, then eating some bread and oranges before finally letting out a long sigh.

"I'm saved~"

She then turned to look at Gao Wen beside her, revealing an expression of eagerness:

"Thank you, handsome~"

"As long as I can repay you, I'll do anything~"

Gao Wen glanced at Nami's flat chest and immediately felt utterly uninterested:

"If you want to repay me, you might as well join my pirate crew. I need an excellent navigator."

Nami was slightly stunned.

Does he know my information?

No, only the Arlong Pirates and the villagers know about me drawing sea charts for Arlong; I must have misunderstood.

However.

Since Carina hasn't been found, this pirate crew must have quite a bit of treasure; perhaps enough to gather the ransom to pay Arlong.

Thinking of this,

Nami gritted her teeth inwardly but put on an infatuated expression for Gao Wen:

"To be a crew member for such a handsome captain is my honor."

"What is your name?"

Nami's lips curled:

"My name is Carina~"

Gao Wen instantly understood what Nami was planning.

His lips twitched slightly.

Came once, now coming again?

So they really think I'm a fat sheep, huh?

But, the monk can run, but the temple cannot; as long as you can't leave Cocoyasi, you can't escape my grasp.

Gao Wen's lips revealed a slight smile as he spoke:

"My name is Lancelot."

The crowd who had just walked onto the deck was slightly stunned but did not speak up to interrupt Gao Wen.

Xiang Keluo, familiar with Gao Wen's methods, stepped forward directly, nodded at Nami, and said:

"My name is Locke, the first mate of this pirate crew."

Then, without waiting for Gao Wen to interrupt, Xiang Keluo continued:

"We fought a great battle with the great pirate Gao Wen in the rear seas; fortunately, we escaped quickly and suffered no major casualties."

Gao Wen: "..."

Fine, fine, fine, so everyone plays like this?!

Just you wait; next time, I certainly won't let you speak first.

Xiang Keluo ignored Gao Wen's murderous gaze and quietly retreated behind Akkin.

The psychological shadow left by the previous incident was still too large, so he harbored a faint wariness toward Gao Wen's style in his heart.

Now seeing this,

Heh.

As expected~

Akkin looked at the two with strange expressions, especially after hearing the familiar lines; his lips twitched imperceptibly as he introduced himself:

"My name is Akkin, the combat captain of this pirate crew."

Nami looked at the three with gratitude in her eyes, her gaze then settling on Gao Wen's face:

"Captain, why do I feel like you look somewhat familiar?"

"Is that so?"

Gao Wen reached out to touch his own face; worried Nami might notice something, he instinctively defended himself:

"People always used to say I looked like a movie star."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Nami nodded repeatedly:

"It's that... the male lead from 'The Enchanting Wang Fei Falls for the Loyal Knight'!"

(End of this chapter)