Under Klein's pressure, the warship quickly changed course and began sailing toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
Seeing Os pacing nervously with a worried look, Klein asked curiously,
"Hey, Os, isn't your dream to be the world's greatest sniper?"
"Huh?!" Os jumped, quickly shaking his head.
"Sir Klein, I—I don't have such big dreams."
The world's greatest sniper? That dream is just… way too far-fetched!
Klein looked a little disappointed at that.
How can a man have no dreams?
What's the difference between that and being a salted fish?
He stared at Os and asked,
"Then what is your dream?"
"I... I..." Os couldn't meet Klein's eyes and struggled to answer.
"I'm your superior, you know!"
Os shuddered and blurted out,
"My dream is... to marry a fertile wife!"
The moment he said it, his face flushed purple like a pig's liver.
But Klein didn't laugh at all. Instead, he clapped him on the shoulder.
"Not bad, not bad! A simple, honest dream. Straight from the heart!"
"To be honest, I also like mature women with some charm. Heh."
Os was at least twenty centimeters shorter than Klein, making shoulder-patting feel way more natural than with folks like Garp or Sengoku.
Klein enjoyed the feeling and continued,
"So what's your standard for a 'fertile' wife?"
"I-I don't think I should say..." Os replied, blushing shyly.
"Hahaha—" Klein suddenly slung an arm around his shoulder.
"What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"My old man said, 'Pick a woman with a big butt—means she'll give birth easy. And big... assets mean the kids won't go hungry.'"
Os turned beet red, steam practically rising from his scalp.
"Back then, I had such a pure and simple dream too..." Klein reminisced.
After a few years in this world, reality had sunk in.
In the future, he just wanted to become a branch commander, marry seven or eight wives, and live a comfortable life.
If he didn't make it, maybe his son—or even grandson—would catch the wave of the new era and play some supporting role.
Klein found 'Os' quite interesting. After all, he had a cool name, and there was little entertainment aboard the ship.
"Os, do you have a nickname or alias?"
"No." Os shook his head.
"Stick with me, and next time you show up, call yourself 'Black Gun Os'!"
Os instinctively glanced at his sniper rifle.
It's not even black...
"Hahaha! Once you learn Armament Haki, you'll have two black guns."
Klein grinned with a not-so-subtle double entendre.
"Oh right, bring me the recent pirate bounty posters."
He then hopped onto a triple-barreled cannon mounted at the ship's bow, arms crossed as he gazed out at the sparkling blue sea.
"Ah—ocean, you are made of water!"
[Ah—Author, you are made of filler!]
Os was quick and efficient, soon returning with a thick stack of bounty posters.
"Sir, here are the latest bounties issued by HQ."
Klein hopped down and began flipping through them one by one.
Familiar faces like Charlotte Linlin and Shiki appeared...
But he didn't find the one he wanted.
"Tch. Guess that guy's not a pirate yet. This ocean's a little too boring for now."
With a grin, Klein shrugged.
"Well, whatever. First, let's make money!"
The air was filled with bubbles—naturally produced by the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove through respiration.
Under sunlight, they shimmered in all colors.
Bars lined both sides of the street.
In the middle of the road—
"Someone, please help!!"
A beautiful, tear-streaked young woman was being dragged by two pirates, one gripping each arm.
Her voice was hoarse and full of terror.
"Please... someone help me... they're pirates!!"
On either side of the street, civilians watched with clenched fists and pained expressions.
But no one stepped forward to help.
The pirate crew's leader stood out—a massive man, at least three to four meters tall, clad in a sleeveless shirt that showed off arms thicker than elephant legs.
On his shoulder rested a huge warhammer, adding to his terrifying presence.
He glared with ferocious, bloodthirsty eyes and bellowed:
"Oi! Unless you want to end up a pile of meat paste, you'd better pretend you didn't see anything! Got it!?"
A chilling bloodlust radiated off him, so strong it made cold sweat bead on everyone's backs. No one dared meet his eyes.
Seeing the crowd shrink back only emboldened him further.
"Hahaha! So this is what people on the Grand Line are like, huh? Hope the monster-ridden New World won't disappoint me!!"
In a bar on the side of the street, a man with long white hair—his bangs covering most of his eyes—tilted a bottle back and took a swig.
In the lower corner of the bar—
He murmured to himself as he drank:
"A Supernova, 'Innate Brute Strength' Powell. Bounty: 65 million Berries..."
"Has around 200 to 300 bloodthirsty pirates under him. Unless he causes real chaos, that guy El won't get involved."
As if on cue, over at the Marine base in Area 66—
A Den Den Mushi received a call.
"Hello—Marine HQ? There's a pirate in Area 21 kidnapping a woman! It's 'Innate Brute Strength' Powell!!"
The Marine operator stiffened.
"Powell? The 65 million Berry guy? Captain of the Heavy Hammer Pirates?"
"Yes! That's him! Please, send help immediately! If you don't, that poor woman will be taken away!"
Just as the operator was about to respond—
A hand snatched the receiver away.
Looking up, he paled.
The Marine captain spoke into the Den Den Mushi.
"We'll dispatch troops immediately to capture Powell."
"Oh, thank goodness! You Marines are true heroes. Please—save that poor lady!"
The call ended. The captain turned and sat down on the couch, lighting a cigar and blowing out smoke.
The operator stared in stunned silence for a moment before asking:
"Captain Bill... aren't we going to send Marines after Powell?"
Captain Bill scoffed and stood. He was a head taller and far bulkier than the operator.
His presence alone made the operator instinctively retreat a step.
Bill exhaled smoke and said coldly:
"That guy's bounty is 65 million Berries, and he's got hundreds of pirates under him. To take him down, we'd need to mobilize at least a thousand Marines."
"In a battle like that, we'd lose a hundred men—if we win."
His eyes gleamed like a venomous serpent. His voice dropped.
"For the sake of a single civilian, would you risk so many Marine lives? Risk Vice Admiral El's future?" Follow current novᴇls on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Those Marines have families too. They're living, breathing people!"
The operator was speechless. The weight of those words hit him like a ton of bricks.
Captain Bill patted him on the shoulder.
"Get back to work. Just remember—unless the pirates cause real chaos, keep Sabaody's balance intact. Don't get involved."
"Send a few soldiers for show. That's enough."