Chapter 32:
Victor saw the Kuja Pirates approaching them and was momentarily stunned.
"Oh? Looks like they're quite interested in us too."
Victor said with a smile.
"Victor, should we prepare for battle?"
Heracles asked.
"No need—they probably have no ill intentions. Just watch."
Victor shook his head and said.
When the Kuja Pirates' ship got close, everyone on the Plant Scholars instantly erupted in cheers.
"It's her—the number one beauty on the seas!"
Crocus turned completely into heart-eyes at that moment.
Everyone present, except Victor, had hearts in their eyes, their hearts nearly jumping out.
"Hey hey, is this necessary? It's just Shakky."
Actually, even Victor had a brief moment of attraction when he saw Shakky, but he quickly recovered.
Victor saw even the twin sisters were captivated by Shakky's charm and really didn't know what to say.
"So it's true—beauty is truth. No wonder Hancock later is the same. Looks like the beauty of Amazon Lily's empresses can be inherited."
Victor shook his head looking at everyone's reaction.
Finally, he glanced at Beli—this guy was lucky, not human, completely unaffected.
"Victor, captain of the Plant Scholars pirate crew. Became famous in one battle against Sengoku on Sabaody Archipelago, bounty of one billion five hundred million."
"You're really something, handsome boy."
Shakky said to Victor with a smile.
Victor's earlier performance had piqued her interest.
After all, very few people could resist her charm—Victor was one.
"Getting a bounty is within expectations, I just didn't expect it to start directly at ten billion. The Navy really gave me face."
"Hey, Shakky—got a newspaper? Send me a copy."
Victor looked at Shakky's perfect face—it was indeed very pleasing to the eye.
If Shakky were his crew member, he would be very happy.
"Here you go, handsome boy. You're quite famous in the New World now."
"A strong newcomer like you is rare. But be careful—you could be targeted anytime."
Shakky said with a smile.
"Sigh, being famous is unavoidable. Thanks for the reminder, Shakky-nee."
Victor had anticipated this day—he just didn't expect it to come so fast.
"Alright, seeing an interesting handsome boy is enough. I'm leaving, handsome boy."
"If you get the chance, come to the Hive bar—I'll treat you to drinks."
Shakky said as she prepared to leave.
"Eh, Shakky-nee—wait a moment. There's something I'd like to ask for your help with."
Victor saw Shakky leaving so quickly and hurriedly called out to stop her.
"Oh? What can I help you with, little brother?"
Hearing that Victor, who had just entered the New World, already needed her help, made her feel somewhat curious.
"I'd like Miss Shakky to help gather information on the Baku Baku no Mi—consider it me owing you a personal favor."
Victor looked at Shakky and said seriously.
"Oh, so that's it. Okay, I accept. Remember—you owe me a favor."
Shakky agreed quickly—this was too easy for her.
"Good, no problem. Thanks in advance, Shakky-nee."
Victor nodded and said.
With that, he tossed her a Den Den Mushi.
Shakky caught the Den Den Mushi and left directly.
After Shakky left, everyone on the scene finally returned to normal.
"Phew… that was too weird. I never expected the treasure of the seas to be this ridiculous. I couldn't control myself at all."
Heracles exhaled heavily, very helplessly.
"Yeah, it made my heart race so much. One person's charm can actually reach this level."
Crocus nodded in agreement.
"I just didn't expect the captain to stay so calm in front of Shakky. Too impressive."
Declan said in great admiration.
"What's so strange about that? I wasn't affected either."
At this moment, Beli chimed in.
"Shut up—you're not human, you're a polar bear!"
Instantly, all the crew members shouted at Beli in unison.
This immediately scared Beli into jumping up and quickly hiding behind Victor.
"Alright. Let's keep moving forward. Beli—do you know the location of Zunesha? How can we find it?"
Victor lifted Beli over, rubbed his head, and asked.
"Captain, I don't know either. Zunesha is constantly walking—it's hard to know where it is now."
Beli indicated he had no way to find Zunesha's location.
Victor understood—Beli wanting to go home still depended on luck.
Or maybe this guy was just unlucky and didn't know the way.
"Alright then—we'll just keep sailing."
Victor said helplessly after hearing this.
The following voyage continued to welcome challenges from various pirate groups.
There were so many pirate crews in the New World—far more than in the four seas.
Not only that—the pirate crews in the New World were incomparable to those in other seas.
In most cases, Victor didn't need to act.
Victor only needed to stand on the deck, eating while watching the battlefield and providing support.
After all, he only needed to rescue crew members when they were in danger.
Except for the Elli and Eni twin doctors who hadn't participated in battle, everyone else had fought.
Almost every few days there was a battle—even if the pirate groups didn't provoke Victor first.
Victor would actively attack any pirate ship he saw.
After all, Victor had become somewhat famous in the New World. In the early stages, many pirate groups came looking for trouble with Victor, but they were all killed by him.
This caused the pirates in the New World to basically recognize Victor's ship. Weaker pirate groups would turn and run the moment they saw them.
As for crews stronger than Victor, only the Rocks Pirates, Roger Pirates, Kuja Pirates, and other top-tier pirate forces were left.
Therefore, Victor's bounty rose rapidly.
His crew members also got their own bounties.
Victor's current bounty was thirteen billion Berries.
Heracles: five billion Berries.
Crocus: three billion Berries.
Declan: ninety million Berries.
Beli: eighty million Berries.
Gavin: eighty million Berries.
The others' bounties were all below fifty million—except the twin doctors, everyone else had over two million.
After so many battles, his crew members' strength had improved to varying degrees.
Not only that—they had also harvested several Zoan Devil Fruits.
Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Tyrannosaurus—Ancient Zoan.
This fruit was eaten by botanist Theodore—he could now be considered Declan's brother.
There was also a Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon—this Devil Fruit was eaten by botanist Aaron.
This flight fruit made up for the Plant Scholars' lack of long-range scouting capability.
Now Victor could use Aaron to get advance information on nearby sea areas.
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