Weiker Town.
It was a city with a flourishing trade and commerce sector.
Just like Cocoyasi Village, it belonged to the Oykot Kingdom. A Marine branch was stationed here, making it the safest town in the surrounding waters.
Ordinary pirates who came here never dared to stir up trouble.
Inside the office building of the Marine base.
"Oh my god! Arlong was defeated?"
"Are you serious? He is the Captain of the Arlong Pirates that dominated the East Blue for ten long years!"
"Words might be fake, but the severed head of Arlong and his crew..."
"Where did these two monsters come from?"
"I have never seen them in the East Blue before!"
"That girl with short orange hair doesn't look very strong, but for some reason, I absolutely cannot see through the boy standing behind her."
"This is way too terrifying, right? They actually killed Arlong!"
Clamor and discussions erupted in the bounty office, lingering for a long time.
Three boxes sat open on the desk, revealing the hideous heads of fishmen.
One of them clearly belonged to Arlong.
The pirate hunters and members of other factions who came to collect their bounties all felt incomparably shocked.
There was no lack of renowned pirate hunters among the people present.
Arlong Pirates were able to dominate the East Blue for ten years. Although the corruption of the Marines played a part in this, it was largely due to the strength the fishmen possessed in the sea, which was enough to tear apart the warships sent to crusade against them.
Without a doubt, they were a tyrannical pirate crew in the East Blue.
But now.
Arlong and two of his wanted officers were neatly lined up and placed right here.
And the ones who killed them and brought their heads in were actually just a teenage boy and girl.
This was simply news that would sweep through the East Blue like a violent storm.
"Please wait a moment. The Marines need to verify the wanted criminals!"
A Marine lieutenant was responsible for receiving Lius and Nami.
He ordered his soldiers to take the wooden boxes containing Arlong's head inside to verify the authenticity of the bounty.
Only then did he turn around to face the two.
The lieutenant immediately dropped any ulterior motives as he looked at Lius, who radiated a monstrous and vicious aura despite his young appearance.
"You two still need to fill out some information!"
The lieutenant pushed two forms in front of Lius, speaking in a gentle tone.
For some reason, he actually did not dare to show the slightest bit of disrespect when facing the black-haired boy.
"Yeah."
Lius nodded indifferently.
He then looked sideways at Nami.
This meant he wanted her to fill them out.
After all, he needed to maintain his intimidating presence without letting the other party notice. This was much harder than mindlessly crushing his enemies.
Nami quickly took the forms, casually filled out their information, and handed them back to the man.
"Hmm? Lius, Nami?"
A trace of surprise flashed through the lieutenant's eyes as he looked at the completed forms.
"That is right. Those are our names. We don't have any surnames."
Lius took a step forward and looked down at the lieutenant. He chuckled. "Of course, I might be an unknown nobody right now, but I believe the name Lius will ring across the East Blue in a few days."
"You must be joking, Mr. Lius. The news of you defeating Arlong and his crew will spread throughout the entire East Blue in less than three days!"
Rather than getting angry at the boy's arrogant words, the lieutenant agreed as if it was only natural.
The other people in the office also nodded in agreement.
What a joke!
Someone capable of killing Arlong and wiping out the Arlong Pirates was destined to make a name for themselves in the East Blue.
Only a few individuals who had not been subjected to his intimidating aura harbored suspicion in their eyes.
But this was a Marine branch, so naturally, no one would come looking for trouble.
Following that.
Collecting the bounty went very smoothly. In less than ten minutes, Lius was already walking out of the Marine branch building side by side with Nami, carrying a bundle in one hand.
"Enjoy this last day of peace and quiet. We'll be wanted criminals with bounties on our heads starting tomorrow."
Nami followed behind him, taking out a small notebook to scribble and draw.
The notebook was used to record their sailing route as well as their financial income and expenses.
Yeah, Nami essentially handled all matters big and small right now.
"I'm really looking forward to that!"
Holding the bundle filled with beli, Lius grinned with a blazing light flashing in his eyes. "The East Blue is still too weak," he sighed with a hint of regret. "Only by entering the Grand Line will the experts there make my blood boil!"
Having trained bitterly under the Shiki for two years, he was already impatient, his entire body surging with battle intent.
"Hmph, don't get happy too early. Even though our next stop is Loguetown, we still need to find a large ship suitable for long voyages before entering the Grand Line. Otherwise, we won't be able to pass through Reverse..."
Nami suddenly cried out in pain, raising a hand to rub her forehead. She had been too busy scribbling in her notebook and bumped straight into his back.
"Baka..." She was just about to lose her temper, realizing that Lius had suddenly stopped in his tracks.
However, she sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the next moment, hastily poking her head out from behind him.
Dozens of burly men had blocked the road leading to the docks.
A man with a scar on his cheek and a captain's hat wielded a long saber, pointing it straight at Lius from a distance.
"Hey brat, Drop the bundle of beli in your hands! Or else!" the man shouted with a cold sneer.
"Oh? Or else what?"
Lius raised an eyebrow, his gaze gradually turning dangerous.
"Wait!"
A small hand rested on the boy's shoulder. Nami stepped out from behind him with a perfectly timed look of fear on her face. She asked the scarred man, "Mister, are you all wanted pirates with bounties?"
"Hahaha, our captain has a bounty of six million beli! We are the Black Tiger Pirates! I advise you not to resist, or the consequences will be very severe!"
Before the scarred man could speak, one of the pirate lackeys lifted his chin and boasted.
"Ah, so you are the Black Tiger Pirates. Then you guys must have a very big pirate ship, right?"
Nami opened her mouth wide in feigned surprise upon hearing his words, putting on a terrified expression.
"Of course we do! That over there is the ship of our Black Tiger Pirates!"
The lackey pointed at the docks several dozen meters away, speaking with immense pride. "See that? That is a large ship capable of holding fifty people! Our captain..."
Having obtained the information she wanted, she didn't wait for the lackey to finish his sentence.
Nami waved her hand dramatically and shouted. "Liu~"
Buzz!
A wave of Conqueror's Haki poured out frantically. It instantly washed over the entire Black Tiger Pirates.
….
Twenty minutes later.
Lius returned to the docks with Nami. He was now carrying three bundles of beli. They jumped directly onto the deck of the newly masterless ship.
"We have our ship for the long voyage. Next stop, Loguetown!"
"Yeah, they have the weapons I need there!" Lius said with a smile.