Chapter 67

Chapter 67 - T-Bone

By the side of the large ship, Adrian took off his coat and used it to dry Tom's body.

Even though Tom is a magical cat, he can still catch a cold if he gets chilly. Isn't that surprising?

Adrian and Rui Mengmeng climbed aboard the ship using a rope ladder. Tom, tired from playing, lazily hopped onto the ship using the Adrianr carriage.

"The deck is dirty and in bad shape," Adrian said as he stepped onto the deck, the wooden planks creaking beneath his feet.

If this wooden deck isn't cleaned regularly, it can easily corrode and deteriorate. These people don't seem to take good care of their ship; the whole vessel looks like it's been mistreated.

Rui Mengmeng tied up the two people Artoria had knocked out and looked around curiously.

"There's no one else on the ship," Artoria said after standing there for a while, "I already know how to operate this ship."

"Alright, I'll call the Marines to come pick them up. It's not easy for us to transport so many people," Adrian said as he took out a Transponder Snail, dialing the number he had saved from his last visit to the Marine base to exchange bounties.

The call connected, and a calm voice came from the other end, "This is the 66GR Marine Base in the Sabaody Archipelago. How can I assist you?"

"This is the 58GR East Coast. We've subdued a group of pirates, a total of 34 people, but we can't escort them. Can you send someone to take them away?" Worried that they might refuse, Adrian emphasized, "Their captain claims to have a bounty of 76 million, but I don't know him."

"Please try to keep them under control. We will send support immediately!" The operator's tone became urgent; a bounty of over 70 million was worth taking seriously for their branch.

Ending the call, Adrian walked around the ship, preparing to check the cabins for any unexpected gains.

However, the smell inside the cabin was hard to describe. As soon as he entered, he almost stumbled back due to the stench.

Not every pirate crew is as clean and tidy as the Straw Hat Pirates, for example. This ship was even messier than Bartolomeo's ship, which was covered in chewing gum all over the deck.

Tom jumped off Adrian and ran outside, refusing to enter due to the overpowering smell.

Inside the cabin, there were several large rooms, each meant to accommodate eight to ten people. The conditions inside were just plain dirty, messy, and poor.

There was only one single room on the ship, which was the captain's quarters, but the environment wasn't any better than that of the crew.

Inside the room, there was a single bed, a desk, and a chair. On the table, there was a simple nautical chart and a compass.

Adrian was somewhat interested in these two items. He picked up the compass, which was embedded with a hollow glass ball, with a thin thread holding a small compass inside.

The red end of the pointer inclined downward, indicating the direction of Fish-Man Island.

The nautical chart didn't have scales, latitudes, or longitudes. It only marked the position of the Red Line and their sailing route. Adrian decided to put these items away for further study.

This pirate crew was quite poor. After searching the cabin, Adrian only found a few hundred thousand berries. There were no gold treasures or valuables; just rubbish.

Disappointed, Adrian left the cabin and went to the deck to catch his breath, feeling like he had regained control of his nose.

Seeing him come out, Tom trotted over and saluted in military fashion. He was wearing a blue sailor uniform and a small white hat on his head, his expression very serious.

Adrian returned the salute, mimicking Tom's actions. Tom then relaxed, patrolling the deck like he was on duty.

"Adrian, come and listen too," Artoria called, teaching Rui Mengmeng how to steer the ship, lower the sails, and anchor.

Adrian found it interesting and decided to join in, thinking that learning more skills wouldn't hurt. Under Artoria's guidance, he and Rui Mengmeng attempted to lower and raise the sails together.

Even tying knots in the ropes was a skill they had to learn. Tom didn't join in the excitement; he already knew all of this. Although he had worked as a sailor on a cruise ship, it was quite different from this old-fashioned sailing ship.

"Beep, beep—"

Out of nowhere, Tom, who had been patrolling, climbed up to the crow's nest and blew a whistle, alerting others to a situation.

Artoria's impromptu sailing lesson came to a halt.

"It's the reinforcements sent by the Marines," Adrian said as he picked up the telescope Tom had given him. He saw a group of Marines jogging towards them. "Let's go ashore first."

The leader of the Marines was two meters tall, with a sword even taller than Artoria. His black curly hair flowed down his shoulders, and his appearance was somewhat intimidating:

"I am Rear Admiral T-Bone from Marine Headquarters, here to receive the pirates!" His voice was loud, and although he looked scary, he gave off a reliable vibe.

"Ah, hello. I'm the owner of a tavern in 59GR. I encountered these pirates while out shopping and have already subdued them," Adrian recognized this person, as he was nicknamed "Ship-Cutting Hero."

"I apologize for not discovering the pirates in time!" T-Bone bowed sincerely, his body bent at a right angle.

"Rear Admiral apologizing for us! It should be our patrol's failure!" The Marines were moved to tears, the scene quite dramatic.

"Don't talk nonsense. The responsibility of my subordinates is my responsibility!"

"Rear Admiral T-Bone!"

...

Adrian felt a bit overwhelmed. These people were truly something else.

T-Bone looked at Adrian's hand and asked, "May I ask what the blood on your hand is from?"

"Huh?" Adrian just noticed a bit of blood on the back of his hand. "Oh, that's from those pirates. I must've accidentally touched it."

"To let the blood of a civilian stain your hands is a dereliction of duty for us Marines!" T-Bone tore a piece of cloth from his white cloak and handed it to Adrian. "If you don't mind, please use this to clean it."

"Rear Admiral T-Bone!" The Marines continued to weep.

Adrian awkwardly took the cloth. These people were truly something... but these Marines seemed kind of adorable?

After a while, a soldier ran over and saluted. "I'm very sorry, there was a mistake in identifying the pirates you captured."

"Huh? Weren't they pirates?" Adrian was puzzled. Did they accidentally arrest the wrong people? The pirates themselves claimed to be pirates, after all.

"They are indeed pirates, but the captain isn't the high bounty pirate of 76 million you reported. Instead, he's 'Smooth-Talker' Demaro Black, with a bounty of 16 million."

Demaro Black of the Black Dealers? Some people recognized the name and realized it was a fake Luffy...

Impressive, considering how obscure it seemed.

Demaro Black, also known as "Three-Tongues," or "Smooth-Talker." He must be good at deceiving people or acting.