But it doesn't matter.
Here in Shampodi, it's too close to the Navy Headquarters, not the right place to start a conflict. Once they enter the New World and meet again, he'll prove everything with strength.
The remaining ten Super Rookies...
Let's kill them all, hehehe.
...
Several kilometers away, a small boat was speeding towards this direction.
"Up ahead is Shampodi. In at most half an hour, we'll be there."
Chopper wiped off some sweat, looked back worriedly at the person curled up on the ground, "Once we're on the island, I can replenish my medicines and help treat your illness. How are you holding up, Sanji?"
The reason it's described as a "curl".
Is because Sanji at this moment was curled up into a ball, even curlier than his eyebrows, his arms tightly hugging his head, as if trying to seal himself up and isolate from the outside world.
"Sanji? Hey, Sanji?"
"Don't call me Chopper..."
Sanji finally weakly lifted his head, waving his hand tearfully, "I'm begging you, let me be alone in peace... Hearing my own name makes me uncomfortable right now, sob sob..."
What on earth is going on?
Chopper was a bit confused. He suddenly noticed something, picked up a stack of newspapers from the ground next to Sanji, and started flipping through them.
It seems Sanji turned out this way after reading this?
"Recently arrived, and soon to arrive in Shampodi, eleven Super Rookies..."
Chopper scratched his head. Oh, it's been a while since he paid attention to this. Speaking of which, what's the bounty for both him and Sanji right now?
His gaze slid downward, and the newspaper's headlines listed photos of the eleven along with introductions —
["Black Fist" Portgas D. Ace, bounty 330 million Belly]
["Captain Human Killer" Eustass Kid, bounty 300 million Belly]
["Death Surgeon" Trefalgar D. Law, bounty 200 million Belly]
["Slaughter Samurai" Kira, bounty 165 million Belly]
["Noble Pirate" Cavendish, bounty 159.99 million Belly]
["Fallen Rear Admiral" X·Drake, bounty 150 million Belly]
["Dual Sword Master" Roronoa Zoro, captain of Two-blade Pirates, bounty 121 million Belly]
["Green-headed Turtle" Bartolomeo, captain of Barto Club, bounty 111 million Belly]
["Cross-eyed Sword Master" Tashigi, bounty 107 million Belly]
["Hyena" Bellamy, captain of Bellamy Pirates, bounty 100 million Belly]
This makes ten people.
The last one, if guessed correctly, must be Sanji, right?
After all, last month, he was with Sanji when they did something incredible!
—— Not only did they stand up for justice and beat up a brutal allied nation's king, but also, after a tough battle, they repelled the invading Navy Fleet.
Bear in mind, the leader of this fleet was a Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral!
This achievement should surely make Sanji's bounty exceed a hundred million, shouldn't it?
But, the outcome...
"Eh eh eh?!"
Chopper looked devastated, trembling hoof pointed at the newspaper, "Why, why is it like this!"
Under the warrant at the bottom, it was his own photo!
Next to it, the introduction reads —
["Poison Doctor" Tony Tony Chopper, ship doctor of Chef Pirates, bounty, 166 million Belly]
Turns out, the last Super Rookie is actually me!!!
How could it be, why is the bounty so high?
Clearly, in this battle, it was just handling the distractions. That Navy Vice Admiral was defeated by Sanji alone after struggling critically!
What a disaster, what a disaster!
Although it's unclear what the Navy Headquarters is doing, but this bounty is too high, and it has to be a bad sign, right?
They're likely to send stronger Navy to capture me, right?
With my strength, how can I cope with such a level of pursuit!
"Hey, Sanji..." Chopper broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, turned to look at Sanji, "What's your bounty, anyway?"
Upon hearing this, Sanji curled up even tighter, letting out a painful whimper: "Look at the back by yourself, it mentions me..."
Eh, really?
Chopper looked left and right, searching for a long time, and finally, at the very corner in the introduction about him, he found this line of text —
["Prince of Curly Eyebrows" Sanji, Captain of the Chef Pirates, bounty 50 Belly, capture alive only]
This time, Chopper was even more shocked, his mouth wide open, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
Fifty Belly?
Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding, Navy!
How did this get arranged, who would have a bounty this low!
"Is there a mastermind behind the scenes deliberately messing up our achievements?"
Chopper stammered, "But even so, I shouldn't only have fifty, right? Could it be the newspaper printed your bounty wrong..."
"Enough, enough, Chopper!"
Sanji suddenly erupted, grabbed the newspaper, and tore it into pieces, "You have no idea, a low bounty doesn't matter, but we're about to reach Shampodi, about to meet that Green Algae Head! When he sees my bounty, he'll definitely laugh at me hard!"
Just thinking about that Green Algae Head's smug face made him wish he was dead.
Kill me, please!
How can a person live like this?
"Is that what's worrying you?"
Chopper sighed with relief, stood on tiptoes, patted his back, comforted him:
"Then I think you don't need to worry too much, you said it yourself, that guy named Zoro is bad with directions, we haven't even reached Shampodi yet, how could he be there before us?"
Huh?
That's right.
Sanji was taken aback, then laughed heartily with his hands on his hips:
"Oh, it turns out I was fooled by the newspaper saying all the Super Rookies gathered at Shampodi. Exactly! That guy might still be at Inverted Mountain, impossible to run into him here!"
As long as they don't meet soon, he plans to endure the humiliation, enter the New World first, and make a bigger name for himself there.
His bounty will soon be properly corrected, then it will be his turn to show off in front of Green Algae Head!
Understanding this, Sanji suddenly felt refreshed, snapped out a lighter, and lit a cigarette.
"We're almost there, Sanji."
Chopper looked ahead, "Gr 39, we'll dock at this pier."
"Alright, up to you."
Sanji waved his hand, happily fantasizing about the day he reunites with Zoro.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a nearby dock, a black-haired female swordsman with a high ponytail, arms crossed, coldly staring at him...
"Ahhhh!"
Sanji's face turned pale from fright, his soul nearly left his body, reflexively throwing the cigarette butt to the ground, stomping on it hard with his shoe, and raising his hands in surrender:
"Kuina Sister! Don't misunderstand, I-I-I wasn't smoking, I mean, I didn't bring a lighter—not even..."
"Huh?"
The high ponytail female swordsman suddenly snapped out of a daze, raised her head in confusion, "Is someone calling me?"
Then she hurriedly turned around, bowing slightly towards the empty sea, awkwardly but politely saying:
"Sorry, I wasn't looking over here earlier, and didn't hear you clearly. Could you repeat that?"
Looking at this silly girl's back...
Chopper and Sanji glanced bewilderedly at each other, blinked, then suddenly remembered something, turning their gaze toward the newspaper fragments on the ground, momentarily dumbstruck.
No way?
They could look so alike?
...
"Finally, the last three Super Rookies have arrived on this island?"
In an open space under the Red Tree, a sturdy man wearing a blue captain's hat sat on a bench with his legs apart, speaking in a deep voice.
"Yes, Captain Drake."
The officer in front smiled, "As per your instructions, we've focused on those followers of Shano. Do you want to meet them?"
"Of course, and prepare a meeting gift."
Drake lifted his head, expressionless:
"The loyal dogs that follow their master often have a keener nose than ordinary people. Building a good relationship with them and working together increases the chances of successfully joining the Endgame, doesn't it?"
"Understood, I'll do it right away. Captain, it seems you've decided to turn and join the Endgame."
The loyal officer remarked, "I used to think you'd most want to join the Hundred Beasts after entering the New World."
"People change."
Drake shook his head, gently stroking the radio snail in his pocket, his gaze deep, speaking coldly:
"The reputation of Sir Shano keeps growing, and naturally, more and more people will be impressed by him. Anyway, since last month, I've been his most fervent follower."