Chapter 50: I Stand by My Name Wherever I Go!

The top-floor office gradually fell silent.

The corpse of Captain Nezumi was tossed aside by Shano like a ragged doll, sprawling across the desk and staring blankly up at the ceiling with wide, unblinking eyes.

Perhaps he had never imagined this.

The safe that he treasured like a precious jewel, the one he couldn't bear not to polish and stroke every single day, would ultimately become the weapon that killed him.

“……”

The Den Den Mushi remained silent, simply puffing away on a cigar.

“Good, good, good.”

After a long pause, a low, magnetic voice finally sounded. “It seems Nezumi’s worries were entirely justified. There really are hidden, unfathomable pirates lurking in the East Blue. How utterly audacious, daring to break into a Marine base and murder a proper base commander!”

Was this assuming he was a pirate by default?

Or was it fishing for information?

Shano glanced at it, too lazy to bother responding.

He casually tidied up the money inside the safe, preparing to leave, and said offhandedly:

“Can't be helped, who told this guy to be so rich? Let me see, there's got to be at least four or five hundred million Berries in this safe. Tsk tsk tsk, I've really struck it rich.”

In reality, there wasn't nearly that much; combined, it was barely over a hundred million. He was just messing with the fool on the line.

“Four or five hundred million Berries?!!”

True to form, the Den Den Mushi’s eyes bulged as it leaped up in fury. “Damn it! I knew I couldn't rely on that rat! He actually dared to embezzle my money!”

Then, gnashing its teeth, it barked:

“Hey! Brat, if you've got the guts, tell me your true identity! You've got the nerve to break in and provoke the Marines by committing murder, surely you aren't too cowardly to state your name?”

“Easy, easy.”

Shano imitated the tone of a traditional storyteller, chuckling, “Your truly humble grandfather sits without changing his name and walks without hiding his surname—I am Buggy the Star Clown! I served as a crewman on the Roger Pirates for several years and have traveled the entire New World. I just wonder if you have the guts to come and hunt me down yourself!”

A crewman of the Roger Pirates?!

The person on the other end of the line gasped sharply. No wonder Nezumi had been acting so timid beforehand, and so convinced that the intruder was a unfathomably powerful expert...

Could his identity really be that terrifying?

To think there was such a supreme powerhouse hiding in the East Blue all along, with not a single whisper leaking out over all these years—this was hiding one's strength far too deeply!

Just as he was about to speak, Shano snapped the receiver down with a sharp click.

The money had all been stowed away in his inventory, and Shano casually sacrificed the safe as well.

200 points credited.

Considering Nezumi’s character weight and strength, getting this many was already a pleasant surprise.

It seemed Nezumi truly loved his safe.

Before leaving, Shano remembered something. He pulled several red bean buns from his inventory, devoured the pastry crust, and scooped out the red bean paste from inside.

Then, he rolled it into a small red ball and slapped it right onto the tip of Nezumi’s nose.

“Done. If you're going to put on a show, you have to do it right.”

Only then did he nod with satisfaction, climbed out through the window frame, stepped onto the roof, and with a few leaps, vanished into the night.

Down below at the main entrance of the building, the two guards on duty remained completely oblivious, sleepily letting out a yawn...

………………

——Swish!

In the dawn's early light, Shano used Moonwalk to step onto the deck.

Having waited for quite some time, Scarface and the others hurriedly opened the lower hatch of the Orange, pulling the speedboat back into the hull.

“Is everything taken care of at Branch 77?” Shano tossed his backpack onto the deck.

“Yes, Boss. The bounty has been paid to us in full.”

Scarface nodded eagerly. “Eighty-two million Berries, not a single coin missing. That Colonel Nezumi was sure shameless, lying about how most of the bounty would get carved up. Oh, by the way, that guy right now—'

Shano glanced at the two girls approaching and raised an eyebrow in silence.

Scarface instantly caught the hint and stopped asking, though inwardly he clicked his tongue in amazement. They had wrapped things up and returned in less than two days—the Boss's efficiency was simply too terrifying...

“What is this? Why is it money again?”

A dissatisfied voice came from behind. Shano turned around.

It turned out that Nami had secretly unzipped his backpack. Her little face immediately fell as she grabbed a handful of paper bills and tossed them right back in.

“How boring. I thought you specially brought something delicious back, Big Brother. Money, money, money—seeing these banknotes just annoys me.”

Money was the one thing they had plenty of at home!

Shano chuckled dryly. This was hardly something a little cat burglar should be saying, and he couldn't help reaching out to flick her nose.

“Don't be impatient. We're heading to Shimotsuki Village right now. That amazing chef I mentioned to you before is in that village. When we get there, just name whatever you want to eat, and I'll have him make it all for you. How about that?”

“Really?!”

Nami’s eyes lit up as she began counting on her fingers. “Then I want seven dishes! Four... no, five desserts! For the main course, let's go with orange-sauce omurice...”

“I want squid tempura, and an ultra-luxury tamagoyaki!” Nojiko raised her hand excitedly as well.

“You'll have all of it.”

Shano laughed heartily, rubbed the heads of the two girls, and waved his hand with high-spirited command. “Let's go, set sail! Hard to starboard, next stop, Shimotsuki Village!”

…………

During the few days while the Orange was sailing toward Shimotsuki Village.

Two pieces of news broke out one after another, creating a sensation across the entire East Blue.

First, the Arlong Pirates, who had recently burst into the East Blue from the Grand Line and thrown everyone into a panic, had been single-handedly wiped out by a single swordsman.

Reporters had already confirmed at Marine Branch 77 that this swordsman was none other than Shano, who had previously won the championship at the Asazakura Island Kendo Tournament.

This instantly awakened the memories of many people in the East Blue, who still had a very deep impression of that clean, handsome black-haired youth from the photographs.

To think that in just a year, his swordsmanship realm had reached such a terrifying height? Even pirates hailing from the Grand Line were no match for him at all!

For a time, Shano’s exploits once again became the hottest topic of discussion in the East Blue.

And as public opinion gradually fermented,

Unawares, his title shifted from "the strongest swordsman of the younger generation" recognized by some, to the universally acknowledged "Strongest Swordsman of the East Blue."

The second piece of news was equally shocking.

Colonel Nezumi, the base commander of Branch 16, was found murdered in his own office in broad daylight, with his nose pinched into the shape of a circus clown's as an act of provocation.

The one who killed him was Buggy the Star Clown, a pirate with a bounty of 15 million Berries.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a huge deal, but that same Buggy the Clown had proactively leaked the fact that he was once a crewman under the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!

Once his identity spread, public opinion in the East Blue erupted into an uproar. If Shano brought the populace a sense of security and pride, Buggy brought precisely the opposite—extreme panic.

——What on earth are the Marines doing?! How could they allow a pirate with such a formidable background to roam freely in the East Blue!

Several royal families, including the Kingdom of Goa, jointly pressured Marine Headquarters. Caught completely off guard, Headquarters had never anticipated that such a massive shark was hiding in the small pond of the East Blue.

They immediately issued an emergency response, releasing a brand-new bounty that skyrocketed Buggy the Clown's reward to 80 million Berries!

Furthermore, they officially announced the dispatch of a fleet personally led by a Vice Admiral from Headquarters to carry out a targeted annihilation campaign against the Buggy Pirates entrenched in the East Blue!