18. Tom's Reward Order! Al Was Furious!

In the East Blue.

A small sailing vessel, its prow shaped like a sheep's head, drifted lazily on the calm sea.

Usopp, sporting a pointed nose and a cap, retrieved a newspaper from a seagull's beak and grumbled, "Why do newspapers have to cost more now?"

Before Usopp could glance at the paper, Luffy eagerly pulled him towards the starboard deck.

Relieved, Usopp chuckled, saying, "Phew, I was just about to practice shooting."

"Haha, Luffy, watch me show off my sharpshooting skills!"

With confidence, Usopp loaded shells into his gun's barrel and gestured with his thumb.

A single shot shattered a distant rock, showcasing his prowess.

"That was incredible, you nailed it in just one shot!" Luffy praised enthusiastically.

Usopp gave himself a thumbs up and chuckled with a hint of embarrassment, "Pretty impressive, huh? That's the skill of a true marksman."

Zoro, awakened by their commotion, inquired, "What's going on?"

Luffy was about to explain when suddenly a shout came from the bow, "The no-name pirate dares to threaten my partner, get out!"

Hurrying to the bow, Luffy yelled, "What's happening here?"

There stood a man with "sea" engraved on his face, wielding a machete and slashing fiercely at Luffy.

Swiftly dodging the attack, Luffy retorted with irritation, "I don't care who you are, but don't mess with my ship!"

The man was sent crashing onto the deck by Luffy's blow. Recognizing the vast difference in strength between them, he muttered to himself:

"Close call, isn't it?" 

Zoro rushed over upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the man, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, exclaiming, 

"Isn't this Johnny? What are you doing here?"

Johnny, upon hearing his name, opened his eyes in surprise, locking eyes with Zoro. 

"Zoro? What are you doing on a pirate ship?" he exclaimed, equally astonished.

Ignoring the question, Zoro inquired further, 

"Where's Yosaku? Wasn't he with you?"

At Zoro's inquiry, Johnny couldn't hold back his tears. As he helped Yosaku, who was still unconscious, he began recounting their ordeal to everyone.

A week ago.

Originally, their plan was to capture Arlong to claim the bounty on his head. However, they were ambushed by his fish-men underlings even before they could confront Arlong himself. Yosaku suffered severe injuries during the encounter and has been in a coma ever since.

As Johnny continued his account, his emotions heightened, tears flowing freely. 

"I thought it would be safe for Yosaku to rest under that rock for a while, but..."

"Poor Yosaku," Luffy and Usopp lamented as they looked at Yosaku lying motionless on the deck, feeling remorseful for their actions.

Then, Usopp suddenly recalled something. He retrieved a newspaper from his belongings, pointed to a picture, and asked, 

"Is this the Arlong you're talking about?"

Johnny glanced at the wanted poster, then pulled out Arlong's bounty notice from his pocket. 

After comparing the two for a while, he couldn't find any resemblance between the man in the newspaper and Arlong.

Usopp raised his hands in frustration and exclaimed, 

"Why are you gesturing like that? Can't you see the bold title above?"

Apologizing, Johnny shifted his attention to the title.

"How is that possible!"

Johnny's expression froze instantly, his eyes widening as he snatched the newspaper from Usopp's hand. 

Staring at the headline, Johnny's heart was tossed into a tempestuous sea by the striking words on the page!

In the newspaper, it read:

[Shock! The Arlong Pirates defeated by Tom and his crew!]

Johnny flipped the paper over, revealing wanted posters for Al and Tom.

"How is this possible? That kid and his cat are so strong!" exclaimed Johnny in disbelief.

Luffy snatched the newspaper, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the images of Tom and Al on the cover, then shouted, "So Cool!"

Usopp, intrigued, grabbed the newspaper to see.

Meanwhile, Zoro asked calmly, "Is Arlong really that powerful?"

Johnny's expression turned grave instantly as he recounted to Zoro the strength of Arlong's gang.

Surprisingly, as Johnny spoke passionately, even Luffy listened intently, showing a rare seriousness.

After Johnny's detailed explanation, Luffy and his crew gained a better understanding of Arlong's terrifying reputation.

Usopp was particularly shaken, his legs trembling as he exclaimed, "And such a terrifying guy got defeated!"

In contrast, Luffy chuckled and remarked, "That's pretty amusing. I'd love to go up against these Tom and Al guys!"

"Shishishi..."

Meanwhile, in Cocoyasi Village.

Nami received the newspaper from News Coo, but her smile gradually faded, replaced by a sense of unease.

"Captain Al, something's not right!" she shouted, causing all the villagers in Cocoyasi Village to turn their attention to her.

With puzzled expressions, they watched Nami sprinting frantically and asked:

"Nami, what's going on?" the villagers inquired.

Ignoring their questions, Nami hurried over to Al, who was overseeing the construction of Hachiko's takoyaki.

Upon seeing Nami's anxious expression, Al jokingly remarked, "Nami, what's the matter? Did the Marines send warships to surround us?"

"Ah~ah~ah..."

Breathless, Nami shook her head and replied, "It's worse than that!"

Al's smile faded as he furrowed his brow, asking Nami to explain what had happened.

Could there be something worse than being surrounded by warships?

Nami held up the newspaper with a fearful expression, saying, "Captain Al, you need to see this news!"

Al took the newspaper from Nami, then sat down in a nearby chair and read it alongside Tom.

As Tom glimpsed Arlong's pitiful appearance on the cover, he burst into tears of laughter.

Witnessing this, Nami quickly flipped the newspaper over.

There, prominently displayed, were wanted posters of Al and Tom clad in denim attire.

"Looks like quite the photo op," remarked Nami, noticing their bounties.

Chuckling at Tom's bounty, Al affectionately patted Tom's head.

"Tom, your bounty's at 30 million Berries for the first time. Seems the Marines have acknowledged your strength."

Though Tom didn't fully grasp the significance of the bounty, he understood that Al was praising him.

Proudly, he raised his little head, flexing his biceps in front of everyone.

However, in the next moment...

Al's angry roar suddenly erupted, "Are you kidding me?!"

"Why am I only worth 50 Baileys?!" (T/N: Now he understood the pain of chopper)

In that moment, the mood shifted dramatically for the handsome young man.

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