Chapter 71 – STATUS

Chapter 71 – STATUS

[Chapter Size: 2004 Words.]

Third Person POV

Cocoyasi Village, East Blue.

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As the Marine ship moved away from the shore, the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates wasted no time and gave the order to move forward.

"Let's set sail!" Luffy commanded, and the imposing ship began to move away from that specific part of the island.

Curious, Nami didn't hesitate to inquire, "Luffy, why did you order us to return to Arlong's old base on the other side of the island?"

"Simple. I'm sure Arlong has a considerable treasure hidden there. He stole money and looted pirates for years. Am I wrong, Hachi?" Luffy directed the question to the fish-man, who shrank back at the Captain's words and looked cautious.

Hachi, having submitted to joining this group of pirates, predominantly composed of humans despite the presence of Neptune's daughter, found it quite peculiar.

"Well... it's just that..." He hesitated in his response, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"You're the only one left from Arlong's group, and your savings are worthless now. So, let's put them to good use. I would have initially given it to the village, but since the Marines are already sending a good amount of money, I thought of keeping whatever Arlong has stored there for the crew's use." Luffy said, and Hachi had no choice but to agree.

Arriving with the ship at the edge of the destroyed Arlong Park, Hachi mentioned that the treasure was at the bottom of the sea.

"Understood, clever for a fish-man. Can you and Shirahoshi get them?" Luffy asked him and the mermaid princess.

"Well... Luffy-San, I'm not sure it's wise to leave the princess with tasks like these..." Hachi said cautiously, as he never imagined the mermaid princess serving a pirate so far from home. He still held great respect for the royal family of the fish-men island.

"Don't worry, Hachi-Sama. If Luffy-Sama needs my help, I'll help him." She said excitedly, and Hachi realized he couldn't argue with her about it.

Shirahoshi transformed into a huge mermaid again, falling into the water along with Hachi shortly after.

It didn't take long for the two to emerge from the water, and three huge chests fell onto the deck with the princess carrying two, one in each hand.

"So much gold!" Some exclaimed, but Luffy took the gold and made it disappear, as most were already accustomed to at this point, without wasting time.

"There were 600 million here, a good amount..." He commented with the addition of the gold to the system's store.

"And now?" Nami asked again, no longer as shocked as when she saw Luffy make the money disappear for the first time; she had already gotten used to it.

"Turn the ship towards the center of the East Blue. Let's continue our journey there and settle some things before heading to the Grand Line..." Luffy announced.

"Yes!" Nami gave the direction for someone to turn the helm in that direction.

"With the ship on course, let's make the most of the rest of the day and have another feast! We have to celebrate the addition of Nojiko, Hugo, and Hachi with the permanent return of Lami and Bepo now!" Luffy announced.

There were 14 people and animals in front of him; his crew was quite large and full of potential, which pleased him greatly, a perfect excuse for another feast, in Luffy's opinion.

"That's right, Captain!" Bepo shouted excitedly.

"Another one?!" Nojiko asked, knowing they had a feast the night before.

"You have to get used to it. Luffy throws feasts for any reason..." Nami said beside her.

While the women engaged in an argument, Luffy wondered how this started.

"Luffy, are they always like this?" Nojiko asked beside him.

"Unfortunately..." Luffy answered with a headache and went back to talking to the women.

"What is this early in the morning?" Luffy stepped into the middle of the fight, as no one else wanted to get involved between the awake individuals.

"Hmm, I see the womanizing captain has arrived," Lami said grumpily while crossing her arms.

Reiju just remained silent.

"Please, the sun is still rising on the horizon, can someone tell me how this happened?" Luffy said yawning.

"She started it, just tell curly eyebrow not to provoke me," Lami said disdainfully.

"Tsk, acts like I started this fight, emo girl."

Luffy, seeing the situation, averted his gaze elsewhere.

"Bepo, who started this fight?" Luffy asked the bear hiding behind the mast next to Hugo.

Bepo began to sweat, especially when the two women glared at him.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted and ran away, and Luffy just sighed once again.

"Please, get along. We're a united crew," Luffy argued.

Both stared at each other for a few seconds.

"NO WAY!" They shouted at the same time.

Luffy sighed again, having no idea how these two could get along.

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Author's note:

* I put 600 million, I believe this could be reasonable; I've seen fanfics that had Arlong with billions of Berries, which I always found surreal. In fact, I still don't understand how Cocoyasi Village can donate 100,000 per month for each adult, as there doesn't seem to be any economy on this island, but I'll follow the anime's logic.