"Tomorrow at noon, does that mean about sixteen or seventeen hours from now?"
Shano nodded. This charging speed was indeed considered fast on the Grand Line.
Each island on the Grand Line had a different magnetic charging speed.
The fastest ones might only take one or two hours, while the slow ones could take days, weeks, or even years.
"Anyway, everyone should rest well. Ah Yin slept during the day, so he'll be on night watch. Tomorrow morning, we'll restock food and fresh water in this town, then set sail for the next stop!"
These were his final orders as captain before dismissing the meeting.
No one had any objections, of course.
Only Ah Yin threw his head back and howled, wanting to cry but unable to. - No, chief, taking a nap on the deck at noon counts as sleeping too?
Can't we get another pet? I'm not even an adult yet, can't keep exploiting one laborer, right?
But he didn't dare protest in front of the boss. Only when Shano turned away did he sneakily pee on the elongated shadow in the sand to show his dissatisfaction.
...
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, everyone split up, heading to a few shops in town to buy food and fresh water.
As for the shop owners having been scared out of their wits and not returning?
That didn't matter. The Endgame Adventurer Group was principled.
Since they hadn't attacked us, we pretended not to know they were bounty hunters, and conducted transactions like normal merchants, paying market prices, slapping cash on the counter.
Meanwhile, Shano was also cleaning the battlefield and taking advantage while he could.
[You sacrificed Mr. 5's sunglasses and gained 120 points]
[You sacrificed Miss Valentine's Day's parasol and gained 80 points]
[You sacrificed Crocodile's hook and gained 2700 points]
[Remaining points: 44000]
Crocodile and Mr. 5 were as dead as can be.
But Miss Valentine's Day, nearly burned to a crisp, had only fainted. After being shaken awake by Nami in the morning, she finally came to.
Seeing her partner's mummified corpse, the teenage lemon girl almost fainted again in fright.
She collapsed into Nami's arms, bawling her eyes out.
She said she never wanted to be an agent again, fighting and killing was too scary, and now she just wanted to go home and open her own little café, and so on.
It made even Nami feel a bit guilty. She comforted her with kind words, personally untied and escorted her out, even sharing some of the food and water she bought.
Shano watched all this.
Aside from sighing at his sister's overly kind-heartedness, he didn't intervene.
This was Nami's defeated opponent, so naturally, Nami should decide her fate. He wouldn't interfere.
Besides, Miss Valentine's Day was too weak... Whether she was truly scared out of her wits and retiring or not, her laughable strength posed no threat.
What was her Devil Fruit power that claimed to weigh down with ten-thousand kilograms? In his view, it was just a flying dumbbell.
Why seriously compete with a piece of gym equipment?
...
In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
The Log Pose was fully charged with magnetic force, and the Endgame finally set sail from Whiskey Peak's harbor under numerous discreet gazes, heading to the next destination.
Not until the ship became a small black dot on the horizon did the bounty hunters, hiding behind Cactus Mountain, dare to emerge one by one.
"Gone... they're finally really gone..."
A hunter wearing a cowboy hat collapsed in the sand, his binoculars slipping from his hand to the ground with a clatter, only then realizing his back was soaked with cold sweat.
In the tavern, a few bold hunters gathered around the bar, whispering.
"Hey, last night... was that really the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile?"
A young hunter asked in a low voice.
"What do you think? No kidding!"
The bearded hunter beside him took a big swig of his drink, his hands still a bit shaky:
"The entire harbor turned to sand... who else besides him? His body's already been found. Damn, I've been in this business for over ten years, and this is the first time I've seen anything like this."
He wasn't the only one.
Recalling that awe-inspiring battle under the moonlight last night, witnessed from afar, many bounty hunters still felt like they were in a dreamlike state, almost unable to believe it.
— That was the infamous Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!
Just, just like that, he was dead?
Even after showcasing terrifying Devil Fruit abilities, even though he nearly turned half of Whiskey Peak into dust...
He was still no match for the captain of the Endgame Pirates, Shano!
So how frighteningly powerful was this monstrous newcomer, who had just entered the Grand Line and already had a bounty exceeding 100 million?
"Reporters should soon rush here, and once the news spreads, Captain Shano's bounty will skyrocket even higher, right?"
The young hunter, full of longing and envy, said, "Only in his teens and already famed across the seas... though I'm a hunter, if I could have such a high bounty and fame, I'd gladly become a pirate right away!"
"Get out of here."
The bearded hunter kicked him lightly, then couldn't help but sigh while holding his drink: "Damn, in a way, we actually got really lucky this time."
"Not only survived, without losing an arm or a leg, but also personally witnessed the rise of a new legend on the seas. When we're old and return to our hometown, today's events will be enough to brag to the village kids for a lifetime, right?"
A new legend, huh...
The other hunters looked out at the ocean, vaguely recalling that excessively young face, instinctively nodding their heads.