Chapter 16: Xiluobu Village

  Jieke Archipelago, Xiluobu Village Harbour.

  A small boat slowly came ashore from the coastline, a tall man with pink hair got off the boat, one hand carrying a backpack and the other pulling on the rope, towing the boat to the shore. He casually found a branch by the shore, forcefully inserted it into the ground, and tied the rope around the branch.

  He then looked up and saw four little kids staring at him from the steep slope in front of him.

  "This guy must have come down from a warship!"

  "He's definitely an extraordinary figure."

  "Could it be the Navy? Quick, escape, Captain! He must have heard about your incident and come to arrest you."

  Three little kids, each about one meter high, were discussing something, and the one that stood out was a long nose. Hobodi saw his face and felt a sense of familiarity.

  Isn't this guy a companion of Monkey D. Luffy four years after the Water 7 Arc? And he's still just a kid now.

  Looking at his legs trembling, the pupils hiding uncontrollable fear, Hobodi flashed a hint of mockery. This kid really believed those three little ghosts, thinking they came to catch him?

  Hobbit didn't want to continue wasting time with these four kids, the scorching sun above was making him feel hot and thirsty in the afternoon, one hand reached into the backpack on his back...

  At this moment, Usopp's pupils suddenly contracted, and the beads of sweat on his forehead fell continuously. He saw something... The tall man in front of him, the huge black gun muzzle exposed from the backpack behind him.

  Is that... a shotgun?

  Does he want to kill me directly?

  Usopp thought of this, and his fear couldn't be concealed, hastily saying: "Wait a minute, although I am the captain of the Usopp Pirates, but I haven't done anything bad to the villagers, in fact, I even protected them."

  "Right? Onion head, green pepper head, radish head?" Usopp turned around and the three kids nodded immediately.

  "So, please don't shoot me with that rifle. I won't pretend to be a pirate again..." Usopp, fearing Hopper would make another move, quickly used his 45-degree slide technique to get in front of Hopper and grabbed onto his leg tightly.

  What's all this... Hoboldy was speechless, took out a water bottle from the backpack behind him and gulped down several mouthfuls.

  "Put those things aside! Do you know where the 76th Naval Division is located?"

  "Huh? Naval 76th Branch?" Usopp saw that the gun Hopodi pulled out of his backpack was not a repeater, and finally let out a sigh of relief: "What's this, you're not here to catch me after all."

  "I'm the new commander stationed on this island, and as long as you're a pirate, you're within my arrest range." Hordy didn't mind intimidating the kid a bit more.

  "Don't you dare!" Ussop, who had let out a sigh of relief, once again clung to Hopper's leg, afraid that he would make his move.

  "Hop to it! I'm not interested in catching a little imp like you."

  After a while, Hobodi asked several more questions and then requested that they take him to the naval branch base stationed on this island.

  Three little kids were excited about the new things they discovered, on the other hand, Usopp was trembling with fear all the way, his mind filled with conspiracy theories, thinking that he would be arrested by the men in front of him as soon as he arrived at the naval base, despair already on his face.

  "But isn't it strange, since you're headed to the 76th Branch, and there's a dedicated naval transport port in the neighboring town, why did you stop at our village?" Onionhead stared at Hobody in puzzlement.

  Hobbiti was silent for a moment, then slapped his forehead: "What's the point of knowing so much, kid?"

  Hobbit couldn't say in front of these little devils that he had taken a wrong turn.

  As he walked up the slope into the village, Hobodi saw a series of winding mountain roads, and gradually saw signs of life in this small village. On the road, some villagers cast strange glances at him, and he faintly heard some unpleasant words.

  Looks like some "little rascals are at it again", "Are the pirates here again?", "It's a bit strange, have they finally been caught?"

  "What's going on?" Hobody asked in confusion.

  The three little demons looked at Usopp in unison: "Because the captain loves to lie!"

  "What are you three talking about?!" Usopp shouted in exasperation.

  Three little imps looked at Hobodi with an expression of "See, the captain thinks so too."

  As Usopp led the way, they passed several mountain village roads and were now on an uphill road leading to a luxurious mansion.

  "Ah, isn't that Usopp~!" A gentle-looking man with hair combed like a pair of sheep's horns turned around and said. He then cautiously sized up Hopodi's attire, looking at the cape on his back, and hesitated: "You're... a Navy officer? You caught Usopp because he's a pirate? But Usopp isn't a pirate, you know! He just plays pirate games with the village kids and has a bit of a habit of telling lies."

  "Ah, Mary!" Usopp exclaimed, as if grasping at a lifeline. "You come and talk to him too! This guy says he wants me to guide him, but once we get to the Marine base, they'll definitely arrest me."

  "I was just letting you lead the way, catching a fake pirate like you is beneath me." Hobopody said helplessly.

  Next to the man in the suit called Mary, there was a tall and thin man with a big bun and round glasses. He stared at Hobodi suspiciously: "Is this naval officer the new commander who came from the naval base in the neighboring town?"

  "Huh?" Hobbit looked at him: "Who are you?"

  "I am Klara Buttermann, the housekeeper of Villa Kaya." The man pushed his glasses up, a strange gesture that caught Hopodi's attention.

  Hobbit looked puzzled and said: "How did you know this news?"

  "Because I often go to the neighboring town for shopping and will pass by the naval base, I heard about it some time ago." Krabatelle said with a gentle smile.

  "Is that so?" Hoboldi gazed at him with profound meaning, and intuitively felt that this butler was somewhat suspicious. Although the eyes behind the glasses were unclear, he absolutely wouldn't misinterpret the action of pushing up his glasses just now.

  Ordinary people would never use the joints of their palms to push glasses, only those who have held weapons in their hands for many years, whether it's a knife, gun or sword, because they are afraid that the weapon in their hand will scratch the lens, so they carefully use their joints to push the glasses.

  But this one doubt cannot prove anything, and since Hobodi has just arrived in his own jurisdiction and has not yet taken office, it is too early to be overly suspicious.

  There will be plenty of time for investigation later on.

  "I'm a lieutenant from the Marine Headquarters, and starting today I'll also be the new commander of the naval base stationed on Jaya Island. Although it's not far away, if any pirates with no eyes land, you can notify me at Branch 76 in the first place."

  "Is Mr. Navy from the Great Voyage?" Merry exclaimed with delight: "This is indeed reassuring for us residents of Jeku Islands."

  "That's right ~ With this, the safety of our island is also guaranteed." Krabatelle smiled too, and under the reflective lens, a mysterious light flickered.

  Chopper smiled and nodded at the two, then continued on his way: "Let's go, Usopp."

  Usopp hastily responded, still stuck on Mery's words.

  This man is actually back from the Great Voyage!?!

  Is it in the same ocean as your pirate father?