Chapter 9 : Loguetown

Loguetown is a city on the Polestar Islands, in the East Blue, covering almost the entire island, except for a few steep hills. The town is also known as the "Town of Beginnings and Ends", because the former Pirate King Gol D. Roger was born and executed here.

Almost all boats in East Blue, especially pirate ships, pass through to stock up on supplies for the Grand Line, as Loguetown is conveniently located very close to Reverse Mountain, just beyond Red's line of sight Line.

Just as Gun had predicted, he had arrived at Loguetown after two days at sea, now he could see it in the distance.

When the ship docked, Gun took out a huge canvas bag with the heads of many of the pirates he had killed.

"I will take this to the naval branch here to pay the bounty. In the meantime, go buy the necessary necessities." Gun said and then packed a bag full of Beli for Nojiko.

"Rize, follow to protect her. As for Akaza, stay here to watch over the ship."

"So what about us?" John Cane said.

"Well, you guys can do whatever you want. Akaza already knows how to use the boat so you guys are basically worthless."

"Ehhh… Are you going to leave us here… Didn't we work so hard when we were together." Cane immediately knelt down to hug Gun's leg, he kept begging him while tears ran down his nose.

'Accompanying together? We've only known each other for a week and I consider you guys nothing more than people who do errands.' was what Gun thought as he looked down at Cane's group, which seemed pretty useless to him. Other than the ability to do odd jobs, this group can't do anything, especially in combat. If he had a crew, they would have to be good people, at least in one area.

"Get lost before I hand you over to the navy." Gun muttered with an annoyed expression that scared Cane's group. They immediately ran away before Gun changed his mind. Apparently, within a week of being in the same boat as Gun made the group want to officially join Gun's crew. They clearly understood that Gun would definitely become a great power in the future.

*****

Gun walked away while ignoring the countless gazes directed at him. Mostly they were looking at the large package that Gun was carrying, which for them was too heavy for an ordinary person to carry.

Gun noticed a marine and decided to talk to him.

"Hey, can you tell me where I can find the naval base?" Gun asked.

The Marine looked up at him and gave him a small smile as he answered.

"Sure. Are you a bounty hunter? I can also lead you there if you want to" the marine had guessed that inside the large bag that Gun books on his shoulder was the heads of bandits sea ​​. And when the marine noticed the huge size of the bag, he immediately turned pale with fear.

"Oh thanks, if you don't mind." Gun replied.

Soon they were there, and after a brief thank you to the soldier, he went inside, and again asked for directions so that he could deliver to the pirate and where to get his money. He was led by a soldier to an office, where a beautiful girl was sitting sorting some documents.

"Can you give me a second? I just need to finish these things?" The girl said after giving him an apologetic smile, Gun just nodded and sat down on the waiting chair.

Gun handed the large bag over to a soldier so they could check the heads and prepare the money. After about ten minutes, the marine returned and talked to the girl before the two looked at Gun with apologetic eyes.

"Mr.Gun, sorry to keep you waiting… Right now we only have about 50 million Beli. Please accept them. As for the rest of the money, you can come back tomorrow to get them. We need time to prepare."

Hearing what this secretary said made Gun a little uncomfortable. However, he still agreed to her request. He understands that it is very difficult to prepare a large amount of money in a short time. In addition, his group also decided to stay on this island for a day to see everything.

"Okay, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to get the rest of the money." Gun answered then stood up and left. He thought he might meet Smoker and Tashigi, but they were probably busy on a mission. Gun put his beli bag away and decided to go for a walk to see the town.

Gun bought a delicious-looking meat bun from a street vendor. Its outer layer is crispy while the inner layer is soft.

' This dish is quite delicious but still loses the taste of dishes made by Nojiko .'

He continued to take small bites as he looked at everything before something caught his attention.

*****

A young girl about 20 years old was running cheerfully by the side of the road when a muscular hand suddenly covered her mouth and pulled her into a dark alley. Tears rolled down her cheeks from fear as she struggled. She wanted to scream, but the hand that blocked her mouth made no sound. Closing her eyes, she desperately prayed for a miracle to save her.

Just then, a shrill sound resounded in the deserted dark alley and she felt a warm liquid splash in her face.

The hand that was covering her mouth also loosened. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see that the person who intended to rape her was dead with a large hole in her heart. A stream of crimson blood spewed from the top and dyed the surroundings in a deadly color. The stench of human excrement hung in the air. The body slowly fell backwards, and there was a sound on the ground.

Her eyes widened and her knees yielded as she fell helplessly to the ground. The grotesque sight and disgusting smell made her vomit everything she had for lunch. She even forgot to scream as the terror gripped her neck.

Maybe... maybe the Devil heard her plea instead of God...

*****

Gun still didn't change his speed, he threw the rest of the pie irritably.

"Well, this doesn't taste good now…" Clicking his tongue, he finished the rest of the dumpling in one go. Not in the mood to visit anymore, Gun decided to return to his boat.

At least until he felt himself being watched. He stopped and looked straight in the direction his stalker was.

There was a young girl with blue hair. The girl drew her sword and slashed straight at Gun, but he easily dodged it before grabbing her throat.

Gun lifted the girl up with one hand and asked in an annoyed voice.

"Who are you and why are you attacking me?"

Realizing the girl wouldn't answer, he tightened his grip on her hand making her writhe as she couldn't breathe.

At the same time, a thin cloud of smoke appeared around him before the smoke around him began to gather and condense at one point and take the form of a man.

The man has a muscular body, white hair and brown eyes. He appeared in his thirties and had two cigars in his mouth. He wears brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt, and large brown military leather boots as well as a white jacket that unlocks the front.

"Let her go and we can talk peacefully." The gruff man in front of Gun said in an equally gruff voice.

Gun couldn't feel any hostility but he didn't let his guard down either. He certainly wouldn't spare the her , who had just tried to kill him .

Smoker seemed to understand what Gun was thinking, he immediately spoke.

"I apologize for the trouble my subordinates caused. But this is definitely an unnecessary misunderstanding." Right after that, white smoke appeared around Smoker as if he wanted to say that he is ready to fight if Gun doesn't settle this peacefully.

As for Gun, he clearly has no fear of Smoker's threat. The white-haired man in front of him was a Logia Devil Fruit eater but Gun possessed Haki so it was clear that if they fought it wouldn't be difficult for Gun to kick Smoker's ass. The only reason why Gun decided to temporarily spare Tashigi was because the marines here still hadn't paid him in full.

Gun let go of Tashigi before questioning her.

" What do you want from me?"

"I've seen you at the scene before with my own eyes." Tashigi replied quite aggressively.

Gun decided to pretend he didn't know anything and answered Tashigi.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Y-you." Tashigi almost lost his temper and turned to Smoker.

"Smoker-San! You can't believe this man. He's a demon! How can a human leave a girl alone in such a place?!"

It wasn't that Gun didn't want to help the girl, but he sensed her approach and decided to leave the scene early to avoid trouble. Who knew it could backfire like this.

Smoker was silent for a moment, then spoke in his usual gruff voice.

"I'm the Captain of the Marines, Smoker, in charge of this island. If anything should arise, it's my responsibility to fix it before it explodes and causes trouble for this town. Well then , let me ask you back directly, without wasting any of our questions."

Smoker paused for a moment before his voice carried a deep sense of authority.

"Who are you and what business do you have here?"