Shano had no idea if the hospitality in the desert was really like this.
In any case, his way of hospitality never changed, remaining as simple as ever.
[You sacrificed Igaram's curling iron, earning 80 points]
[You sacrificed Vivi's bracelet, earning 320 points]
Is it only four hundred in total?
Shano's gaze shifted, and he looked at the duck beside him, who was curiously observing him.
Hmm?
Isn't this Vivi's duck? Always getting lost and running in the wrong direction, seems it's called Kalu.
Speaking of which, could this guy be considered Vivi's pet and sacrificed entirely?
"Quack! Quack quack!"
Kalu suddenly felt an inexplicable chill, all its feathers standing up, and it buried its head in the sand in fear, with its butt sticking up high.
Are you an ostrich or a duck!
Shano, with a bit of annoyance, slapped the plump duck butt, which actually felt quite nice.
Too cautious, you coward!
How could he possibly be so cruel to such a cute little animal?
[You sacrificed Kalu's sunglasses, earning 100 points]
Hmm, now it's finally enough to make five hundred, just barely satisfactory.
Shano glanced at the system panel.
The shop can refresh tomorrow, and now the remaining points have reached as high as 52,200.
That also includes the contributions from the Hanafuda earlier.
But as for that guy, Shano specifically cut off his right arm to sacrifice, providing only a thousand points.
Probably because he lived in the SBS column and never appeared in the manga, his value is far inferior to that of Old Sha, who is also a Warlord of the Sea.
Oh, right, there's also Jack the Disaster.
Shano called Kuina over to inquire about how the subordinates under Hanafuda were dealt with.
The response was that all the top high-bounty officers were taken down by Smoker.
The rest of the ordinary pirates were frozen into ice sculptures by Nojiko and handed over to Alabasta's guards.
As for Jack, who pierced through the ice and sank to the river bottom the moment he appeared…
He had already drifted to who knows where.
Anyway, Shano searched the port area with Observation but didn't see a soul.
So he had to drop it.
...
The banks of the Santora River had been restored to tranquility under the command of the guard soldiers.
The merchant ships began normal navigation.
And Igaram, on behalf of the bedridden King Cobra, invited Shano and his crew to a grand banquet at the palace.
This was exactly what Shano had hoped for, as he was contemplating the historical text in the Royal Capital.
Meeting Cobra was also a good opportunity to clear his name and expose Crocodile's true nature.
However, this place is not suitable for a lasting stay.
Once he got his hands on the historical text, he planned to leave this desert country immediately.
After all, the battle at the river mouth earlier attracted a lot of attention, and the collapse of the Hanafuda Pirates was undoubtedly big news that would likely reach Navy Headquarters soon.
If he stayed too long, he might unwittingly attract some mad dog holding a grudge against him.
——————
The next day, in the morning.
The Endgame was fully sailed, speeding along the Santora River towards the Royal Capital in the heartland.
Igaram had already taken Vivi back to the palace to prepare the banquet the day before.
So at this moment, only their own people remained on the deck of the Endgame, but it was still quite noisy.
To be precise…
It was Nami alone, making everyone a bit annoyed.
"Ahhhhh, what's the News Bird doing, why isn't it here yet!"
Nami leaned over the ship's side, craning her neck to look at the sky, with a glutinous rice cake wobbling on her orange hair as she jiggled her impatient leg.
"It's already eleven in the morning, the efficiency of the World Economic News Agency is too low!"
"From midnight until now, you've complained every ten minutes, it's been fifteen times already."
Kuina, leaning against the mast, was wiping the Wado Ichimonji and the Hua State sword Robin gave her, speaking without lifting her head:
"Can't you give it a rest? Even if Morgans' subordinates work fast, they still have to wait for the news of Hanafuda's defeat to reach the newspaper office, right?"
"A night's time is enough, I finally got to be in the spotlight!"
Nami waved her fist angrily, "My brother took down the Warlord Hanafuda one-on-one, and me? Together with Nojiko and Smoker, we were even faster than him!"
"It only took half an hour to easily take down the entire Hanafuda Pirate Gang! Isn't that kind of big news worth an urgent print?!"
"But even if the news comes out, any bounty adjustments still have to wait for the Navy Headquarters to finish their meeting."
Robin came out holding two cups of black coffee and said with a gentle laugh:
"So Nami, even if you buy an extra edition with urgent news, your bounty won't change, it's still 80,000 Belly."
"I don't care!"
Nami suddenly made a dart to Ah Yin, grabbing its furry ears,
"It's all your fault, you stinky Ah Yin! If it wasn't for you last time taking the limelight and the Navy mistaking my flames for your powers, how could my bounty only be 80,000 Belly!"
"..."
Ah Yin couldn't be bothered, yawned, and continued lounging lazily in the sun, letting Nami twist its ears into a twirl.
"80,000?"
Shano, who had been dozing under a parasol, lifted his sunglasses in surprise and raised an eyebrow:
"I thought it was 80 million."
"…You!"
Nami's face flushed with anger, but seeing Shano looked genuinely surprised, not like he was deliberately teasing her, she couldn't lash out and just stomped her foot indignantly.