Luo Chen looked out into the deep sea. One by one, giant trees grew and broke through the water's surface. On the branches of the trees rested several wooden chests.
These were the items he had controlled the trees to pick up when the enemy pirate ship broke apart and fell into the sea. He just didn't know if there was any treasure inside.
Luo Chen placed the dozens of wooden chests onto the deck of the Baratie and used the branches to lift the lids.
Seven of the chests were filled with Berries, diamonds, gold, and other valuable items.
Nami gazed at the seven chests, her beautiful eyes shining with a golden light, as if gold ingots were floating in them.
Luo Chen immediately made the deposit.
[230 million Berries have been deposited, exchanged for 23,000 Cultivation Points.]
'As expected of the ruler of the East Blue. He's much richer than Buggy.'
Luo Chen sighed inwardly.
The system valued this haul of treasure at 230 million Berries, far exceeding his expectations.
'Krieg and Gin are still worth another 29 million Berries.'
'This battle has yielded nearly 260 million Berries. Not bad.'
Luo Chen was very satisfied. He smiled at Nami and said, "This haul is probably worth over two hundred million Berries. I'll leave it in your care."
Nami's smile was as radiant as a flower.
Her favorite part of Luo Chen defeating pirates was the "dividing the spoils" session.
Luo Chen seemed to only enjoy collecting treasure but not using it. Whether it was Arlong's fortune, Buggy's fortune, or Krieg's fortune, he either gave it all to others or handed it over to her for safekeeping.
Nami felt that going to sea with Luo Chen was absolutely the right decision. She was on her way to becoming the richest woman in the East Blue.
Usopp and Carina swallowed hard.
Over two hundred million Berries!
My god, that's so much money.
Carina looked at Nami with great envy. How did that little cat burglar find such a great captain? Her own silly straw-hat captain had no idea about looting money after a battle.
...
Zeff walked up and said gratefully, "Thank you for your help, sir."
If it weren't for this young man in the black trench coat today, the Baratie would have surely been taken by the Don Krieg Pirates. Even their lives would have been in danger.
Luo Chen chatted for a bit with this former pirate who had returned from the Grand Line.
Sanji, however, with hearts in his eyes, zipped over to Nami's side.
"My beautiful lady, thank you so much for saving us. Please, you must let me become a pirate with you to repay this kindness."
Luffy coughed painfully and quickly shouted, "Hey, Sanji! You're the cook I had my eye on!"
Zeff's face darkened. He rushed to Sanji's side and sent him flying back into the restaurant hall with a kick.
"Get back to mopping the floor for me!" Zeff roared.
This kid Sanji was really crazy. He dared to hit on anyone's woman. Was he not afraid that Luo Chen would destroy the Baratie in a fit of rage?
Zeff looked at Krieg's crew, who were tied up by the trees, and reminded them, "They might have the antidote for the poison gas on them. Look for it, and you can save Luffy."
Hearing this, Zoro immediately rushed over.
Before long, he successfully got a bottle of antidote from Gin and poured it into Luffy's mouth. In a short while, Luffy was cured and back to his lively self.
Nami whispered to Luo Chen, "This guy seems kind of dumb."
Luo Chen smiled. "You can probably drop the 'kind of'."
Luffy glanced at them. Although he heard them, he didn't care at all. He patted his straw hat and said with a laugh, "Thanks for saving us."
Luo Chen nodded and asked, "You guys are going to the Grand Line too, right? Our ship probably can't get over Reverse Mountain. Could you give us a ride?"
He pointed to the tiny boat moored next to the Baratie.
Luffy took one look and said in surprise, "It is small. It's about the same size as my boat when I first set out."
Zoro's expression was rather strange. He had seen Luffy's first boat; it was so small it could only fit two or three people. It was hard to imagine that a pirate as powerful as Luo Chen would go to sea in such a small boat. But seeing that Luo Chen only had a crew of two, Zoro was relieved. Two people couldn't possibly manage a large ship.
Luffy agreed almost without hesitation, smiling. "Of course, it's no problem to give you a ride."
"Thanks."
Luo Chen controlled the branches to move their luggage and treasure from their boat to the Going Merry.
Although Carina was worried about Nami getting back at her, since Luffy had agreed and there was also the freakishly strong Luo Chen, she didn't dare say anything.
Meeting Nami's triumphant smile, Carina could only force a smile in return, her eyes darting away.
Usopp whispered again, "You should just apologize quickly. Be careful Luo Chen doesn't throw you into the sea to feed the fish."
Carina kicked him away in annoyance.
Sanji, inside the restaurant, heard that Luo Chen and Nami were temporarily boarding their ship. He quickly ran over, slung an arm around Luffy's shoulder, and said with a grin, "I've decided to be your cook!"
His shining eyes wandered between Carina and Nami as he murmured, "Two beautiful ladies..."
Zoro snorted coldly. "A pervy cook. Luffy, let's just forget about him."
Sanji flew into a rage and retorted, "Shut up, moss head."
Zoro's eyebrows knitted together, and his hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
Sanji, not to be outdone, raised his right leg.
Luo Chen walked past Sanji and said with a faint smile, "Don't harass my companion, unless you want to end up like them."
As his voice fell, the dozen or so pirates tied up by the large trees on the sea's surface, all except for Krieg and Gin, let out sky-shattering screams. A multitude of wooden spikes pierced through their bodies from the inside, their blood and flesh hanging from the spikes in a truly horrifying sight.
Sanji's expression froze, and he looked at Luo Chen's back with apprehension.
Zoro's eyes were grave. "What a ruthless guy."
He warned Sanji, "He's different from us. He's probably a real pirate. Be careful you don't get yourself killed."
Sanji was silent.
Usopp's face was pale. He looked at Carina once more.
"I know, I'll apologize," Carina said dejectedly. Looking at the bloody scene, her own pretty face had turned slightly pale.
Such a cruel way of killing.
Luo Chen was definitely not as gentle as he appeared on the surface.
'Maybe he's a psychopathic murderer...' Carina grumbled internally.
She couldn't help but worry a little for Nami.
'Could she have been forced onto his ship?'
Being with a pirate like Luo Chen, Nami was surely in great danger.
Carina decided to secretly ask her tonight. If it was as she thought, perhaps she could find a way to help Nami escape from Luo Chen's demonic clutches.
...
Two hours later, the Going Merry sailed away from the sea restaurant Baratie.
During that time, in a place where no one was looking, Luo Chen had summoned a Wood Clone.
He handed Krieg and Gin over to the clone and had it take them to a Marine Branch base to exchange them for their bounties.
McCrae, who had taken Buggy away earlier, had not yet received the bounty money, so he was still drifting at sea.
Luo Chen sat on the deck of the Going Merry, checking his cultivation point balance.
[Cultivation Point Balance: 27600]
'Twenty-seven thousand, six hundred cultivation points.'
'Buggy's bounty is worth 1,500 cultivation points. Krieg and Gin together are worth 2,900 cultivation points.'
'If I get all of it, I'll have 32,000 cultivation points.'
'I'm still short over one hundred million Berries to learn Armament Haki.'
'Wait, have I reached the ten billion Berry cumulative deposit mark? I should be able to receive a new ninjutsu.'
Luo Chen suddenly remembered something and quickly checked the system.
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