Chapter 37: Crocodile
"We could use someone else's knife—let the Navy deal with them!" a fat, vicious-looking man said coldly.
"You out of your mind? If the Navy sets up a branch here, we'll never have a good day again. What if one of those bloodsuckers shows up? We won't be able to earn a single berry!"
Someone immediately shot back.
"Yeah, I'm against that too."
"They can't stay here forever. Let's wait two days. If they're still around after that, we'll report it to the Navy."
"Agreed."
Although they were bounty hunters, they weren't the same kind of people as the Navy—so unless it was absolutely necessary, they wouldn't go running to them.
…
About fifty li away from Whisky Peak, a small ten-meter-long boat drifted slowly across the sea.
At the bow stood a tall figure. His hair was slicked back, a long scar stretched horizontally across his face, and a golden earring gleamed on his right ear. A cigar hung between his lips. His left hand was a golden hook, and he wore a black fur coat over an orange checkered shirt.
He was Crocodile.
Though younger than the version known in later years, his left hand was already gone.
"Whitebeard… once I get that thing, I'll return to the New World. Wait for me."
Crocodile's sharp eyes gazed out over the endless sea.
Perhaps because of Jiang Qize's presence, the original course of events had shifted. Even with his hand severed, Crocodile's spirit hadn't sunk into despair like in the anime.
…
The next morning.
Inside a small inn in Whisky Peak—
Jiang Qize woke up.
"Ah~ that feels great!"
He stretched lazily.
It had been a long time since he'd had such a good night's sleep. Sleeping on the ship was always unsteady—the vessel never stopped moving because the Mosasaurus carried it forward nonstop.
He then brought up the system interface, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
[Host]: Jiang Qize
[Age]: 18
[Rank]: Navy Headquarters – Junior Lieutenant
[Beli]: 13,000,000
[Abilities]: Armament Haki, Observation Haki
[Functions]: Summon, Enhance, Synthesize
He had gained another eight million Beli—partly from the protection fees local shopkeepers had paid, and partly from looting dead bounty hunters.
With the five million he had left before, his total now reached thirteen million.
"This time, I'll summon again—and keep three million as backup."
Jiang Qize thought it over and made his decision.
He chose Designated Summon, the ten-million-per-summon option.
Random summons were too unreliable—a waste of money.
He opened the designated summon list.
This time, he selected Land-based Carnivorous Dinosaurs.
It wasn't the most strategic choice, but he already had the Mosasaurus for sea combat. A land predator could later be synthesized into a humanoid form, which would solve the problem of mobility.
[Tyrannosaurus Rex]: 10,000,000
[Spinosaurus]: 10,000,000
[Giganotosaurus]: 10,000,000
[…]
One after another, the names of ferocious predators appeared on the list—the first being the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
He examined their details and found that while the T-Rex wasn't the largest, it had the strongest bite force—up to 200,000 newtons, or twenty tons—equivalent to forty thousand jin.
With that kind of bite, even Garp would have a hard time shrugging it off.
"This one."
Jiang Qize grinned.
He loved this kind of raw, destructive power—
the purest expression of violent beauty.
Every strong companion he had so far, including the little gorilla, was a walking embodiment of that same brutal strength.
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