Chapter 17: The New Commander of the 76th Brigade

  Compared to the sparse village of Xiluobu with only a few dozen households, Begentown next door is bustling with dense crowds, forming a stark contrast with Xiluobu.

  The four members of Usopp's pirate crew also clearly felt that there were many people and were somewhat intimidated.

  But even so, Usopp didn't have the worry of being arrested, and was instead quietly asking Hopody about some interesting things regarding the Grand Line.

  Hobodi didn't think much of Usopp at first, regarding the four-year Straw Hat Pirates' sniper as a timid, boastful, and clever con artist. However, he has now gained a considerable amount of respect for him.

  Merry and Crabbetel, who were talking to themselves earlier, found out that they had returned from the Great Voyage. It was clear in their subsequent conversation that their tone became more cautious.

  Along the way, I observed that the residents of this East Blue still have a perception of the Grand Line as being stuck in the Roger era, thinking it's a terrifying and mysterious sea.

  On the contrary, Usopp, who was asking about some interesting things on the road, didn't care at all and became more and more excited.

  "Are there really whales as big as islands in the Grand Line like you said? You're not just making that up, are you?"

  "That's your strong point." Hobodi glanced at him, knowing that this guy had said those shameless words "Leave the fleeing enemy to us".

  "Alright, I've seen the naval base up ahead. You can stop guiding me here!" Hobodi took out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it into Usopp's hand: "This is your reward for guiding us, go buy something to eat with it!"

  "For the first time I'm seeing real gold coins......" Usopp's mouth was watering, and his mind had already begun to fantasize about what food he would buy next.

  "Mmm!" The other three little ghosts had exactly the same expression.

  Hobbit shook his head and smiled wryly: "Well, goodbye then."

  "Thanks for the gold coins, can't tell you're a good guy after all." Usopp bumped Hopody rudely.

  "Good person? That's a bit too early to say. Don't let me hear that you've got a bounty on your head, or I'll notify my friend, the marine sniper 'God of Accuracy', to come and collect it at the first opportunity."

  Usopp, who was triumphant for only three seconds, heard this and suddenly had a terrified expression: "Sniper King!? Is it that kind of terrifying pirate hunter who kills people from afar without being seen?"

  "That's right."

  "I'll stay quietly in the village!" Usopp immediately changed his expression and ran off.

  ……

  After scaring off Usopp and the others, Hordy arrived at the end of the main street in Bergen Town. He looked up to see a large house with a seagull emblem flag representing the Navy, as well as an iron gate with a sign that read "Navy 76th Branch".

  "The location seems to be correct, but it still looks like there's a need to make some changes." This so-called naval base is even smaller than the elegant villa in the nearby village of Sirob, especially with the cracks on the walls of the houses visible from the entrance, and the faded paint, which seemed to have not been renovated for a long time.

  It doesn't look like a naval base at all, but rather a refugee shelter that has been hit by a storm!

  "Right, my own warship shouldn't be like this!" Hobodi looked towards the not-so-distant harbor and regretfully found a battered, patchwork olive-green warship quietly docked at the transport port, almost indistinguishable from the wrecks in his department.

  Hobodi expressionlessly pushed open the iron gate of the base, he was in a very bad mood now.

  At this time, the two sailors in the courtyard, one fat and one short, were sweeping. The fat soldier immediately put down his broom as soon as he saw him come in, and came to Hobodi's face with a fierce momentum, shouting: "Who are you? Dare to sneak into the naval base privately."

  Hobadi pulled out the letter of appointment signed by the Warring States General from his backpack and handed it to the two men: "I am the new commander of the 76th branch of the Eastern Sea, dispatched by the Navy Headquarters. Is that enough?"

  "Are you kidding me?" The fat sailor didn't take it well, and the short soldier next to him pulled on his sleeve, whispering: "Look at the cloak on his back, he's definitely an officer from Navy HQ. Forget it! Officers from HQ are three ranks above us branch officers. In our branch, he's equivalent to a branch colonel. In all of East Sea, only Colonel Monka 'Axe Hand' from Sheltz Town Fortress outranks him. He's the one who can capture the infamous Captain Kuro, worth 16 million Belli bounty, known as 'Hundred Planner'!"

  The fat naval soldier's face flashed a hint of fear, but he quickly covered it up, taking the appointment letter from Hobody's hand with one hand and humming: "You wait here first, I'll go ask Lieutenant Bulbul to confirm whether this appointment letter is true or false. Only then can you enter the base. Mate, keep an eye on him here."

  "Hurry up!" Hobodi frowned, it seemed that taking over this base directly was not as smooth as he thought. He wasn't stupid, and today's scene was obviously a warning from someone, with the most suspicious one being that lieutenant named Bulubulu.

  Before long, a fat naval soldier led out an even fatter middle-aged man with green hair from the base. The middle-aged man with green hair also wore a lieutenant cloak without the word "Justice" on his back, just like Hobody.

  A stout, green-haired middle-aged man came before Hobodi with a smile and warmly pulled him over: "You've finally come, Commander Hobodi. Since the previous commander was defeated by pirates and retired due to injury, our base really didn't know what to do. Now that we have Lieutenant Junior Grade of this department stationed on Jecu Island, we don't have to worry anymore. Today we must celebrate properly!"

  "Looks like you've also received the headquarters' order?" The old fox, Hoboldy, grunted and didn't give a good face: "Enough, no need to waste words, take me directly to the intelligence room. And in an hour, call all the soldiers on the base to the training ground!"

  Bulu's chubby face stiffened, his eyes flashing with a hint of gloom, and he hesitated: "This... Commander doesn't need to rest for a while after traveling such a long distance? No matter what, being so dedicated just after taking office..."

  "What is it that you don't want me to see?" Hobodi frowned and stared at Bulu.

  Bulu's face looked unpleasant, but he immediately switched to a flattering expression: "How could that be? I'll take you to the commander right now."

  In less than a few minutes, Bulu brought Hobodi to the intelligence room. Hobodi flipped through the stacks of files on the cabinet, his face occasionally darkening as he glanced back at Bulu.

  An hour later, Hobodi held all the documents in his hand and said to Bulubulu: "Have the soldiers gathered yet?"

  "Uh-huh, I had them stand by half an hour ago, ready to receive the commander."

  "Then let's go!"