Marine Base 153, Shells Town.
Morgan sat behind his desk in his office, the grin on his face so wide it looked like it might split his cheeks.
He had never imagined that after years of tirelessly chasing pirates across East Blue without a single promotion, a rabbit would suddenly change his fate.
Because of the capture of the Red Rabbit, he had been recommended for a direct promotion to Colonel of the 153rd Branch.
The official appointment had not yet been issued, but both Admiral Kizaru and Vice Admiral Garp had personally acknowledged his contribution.
For Morgan, that was already enough.
Of course, he knew exactly who he needed to thank—
the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro.
Without Zoro delivering the Red Rabbit to the base, none of this would have happened.
Across the desk, Zoro sat stiffly on a sofa, looking deeply uncomfortable under the flood of praise and admiration.
Especially when Admiral Borsalino had arrived earlier as a beam of light—Zoro had nearly felt his heart leap out of his throat.
The entire situation felt strange.
Extremely strange.
The dog named Droopy was clearly the Red Rabbit's partner.
Yet he had willingly handed Da Hong over to the Marines for the five-hundred-million-beli bounty.
Even worse, Da Hong himself had not resisted.
Instead, he had encouraged Zoro to claim the reward.
He had even warned Zoro not to run off with the money.
Run away with the money?
Even if Zoro wanted to, he doubted he could escape.
That dog could somehow appear in front of him no matter where he ran.
It was absurd.
But none of that was the real issue.
Zoro's instincts told him that Droopy handing Da Hong over to the Marines had to be part of some bigger plan.
"Mr. Zoro, please have some tea."
Morgan finally broke the silence, standing up and approaching him with exaggerated politeness.
"Don't worry. The Marines and the World Government would never break their word over a mere five hundred million. Your bounty payment will be ready very soon."
Zoro nodded.
At this point, he had only one goal—
get the money, give it to that strange dog, and get as far away from this mess as possible.
Bang!
Suddenly, the office door was shoved open.
A middle-aged man wearing a white government robe walked in briskly.
"Bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro."
Without wasting a second, the man tossed an identification badge onto Morgan's desk and sat down on the sofa opposite Zoro.
"I need to verify a few things with you. If your answers match the information we've already gathered, you'll be free to leave with your bounty."
Before Zoro could respond, the man continued,
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hatori Yuto, an agent of the Government Intelligence Department. I am specifically assigned to investigate the murder of World Noble Saint Charloss."
He suddenly leaned forward slightly.
"First question. Where exactly did you capture the Red Rabbit, Kirilenko?"
"In the waters near Shells Town."
Zoro answered without hesitation.
"At the time, I was relaxing on my boat—just lying in the sun and enjoying the breeze. Suddenly, the Red Rabbit fell onto my deck."
"I didn't know he had caused such huge trouble. So I didn't think much about it and pulled him aboard."
"When I reached the shore, he looked weak—barely breathing. I thought I should find a veterinarian in town."
"But after arriving in town, I discovered the rabbit I had saved was actually a criminal."
"So while he was still weak, I brought him to the Marine base gate. That's where I ran into Lieutenant Morgan."
Hatori nodded slowly.
"Mhm. Go on. I'm listening."
Zoro blinked.
"…That's it."
"Ah, right." Hatori nodded again.
"Second question. According to our information, when you delivered the Red Rabbit to the gate, he was not weak at all. In fact, he punched a Marine soldier and sent him flying."
"That soldier is still in the hospital. Twenty-five ribs are broken. He likely won't survive."
Zoro stared at him.
"Humans only have twenty-four ribs!"
"Third question," Hatori said calmly, ignoring the correction.
"When you pulled the Red Rabbit onto your boat, did you see a Droopy dog? Or at any point before bringing the rabbit to the base gate?"
Zoro felt his heart skip a beat.
But he kept his expression steady.
"No."
"According to our intelligence," Hatori continued, "the one responsible for slaughtering the Goa Kingdom royal family and Saint Charloss was indeed the Red Rabbit. However, his escape from the kingdom was made possible by a Droopy dog with teleportation abilities."
Zoro's mouth twitched slightly.
Teleportation?
Officer… that dog could practically predict our predictions.
"If you happen to encounter that Droopy dog again," Hatori said, pushing a briefcase across the table, "you must contact us immediately."
"There is no official bounty on the dog yet, but any useful intelligence will be generously rewarded."
Zoro nodded.
"I will."
Hatori finally smiled.
"You're free to go."
Zoro did not leave immediately.
Instead, he opened the briefcase in front of both men.
Inside were neatly stacked bundles of brand-new beli notes, along with several gold bars.
Seeing that, Zoro wasted no time.
He snapped the briefcase shut, stood up, and walked out of the office.
The moment the door closed behind him, the smile on Hatori's face disappeared.
He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and issued an order:
"Follow the bounty hunter. Observe where he goes and who he meets. If anything suspicious occurs, arrest him immediately."
Morgan, who had been standing quietly nearby, looked puzzled.
After the call ended, he finally asked cautiously,
"Agent Hatori… what is the meaning of this?"
Hatori glanced at him and replied calmly,
"I simply find the situation unusual."
"Think about it. We deployed so many warships and Marines across East Blue and still failed to locate the Red Rabbit."
"And yet a rookie bounty hunter somehow stumbled upon him?"
"More importantly, the Red Rabbit is extremely strong. This man clearly doesn't have the strength to capture him."
"Yes, he claimed the rabbit was weak when he found him."
"But something about this entire situation doesn't add up."
He paused.
"Of course… sometimes luck itself can be a form of strength."
"Perhaps the boy truly did just get lucky."
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto