The moment Cyrus said this, Captain Nezumi's suspicious expression froze.
He pointed at Cyrus, dumbfounded, his mouth agape, revealing a set of sharp teeth.
"You... you... you... you're that Pirate Hunter? You're still in the East Blue?"
Captain Nezumi was completely bewildered.
"Of course I'm still in the East Blue. Where else would I be?"
Cyrus stared at Captain Nezumi with a faint smile, his words seemingly carrying a hidden meaning.
From Dragon's earlier warning and Garp's arrival, Cyrus knew this guy had reported his information up the chain.
"You didn't join the Marines? Did Vice Admiral Garp not find you?"
Captain Nezumi made no effort to hide what he knew, staring wide-eyed at Cyrus.
He knew the Marines had sent Vice Admiral Garp to find the person.
But as for the result, he truly had no idea.
He had just assumed that since Vice Admiral Garp himself had made a move, the person had most likely been found and taken back to Marine Headquarters.
He had always believed this, which was why he was so stunned upon recognizing Cyrus.
Cyrus looked at Captain Nezumi, studying him for a few moments, unable to tell if the man was genuinely foolish or just pretending.
However, he wasn't too concerned about it now.
"Two pirates, bounty totaling 3.9 million Belly. Let's round it up to an even four million Belly."
With that, Cyrus stood up and started walking out.
"Oh, and deliver the money to the old place."
Only when Cyrus stood up did Captain Nezumi notice the immense change in his physique.
"Sir!"
A Marine beside him called out cautiously, seeing Captain Nezumi staring blankly in the direction Cyrus had left.
"Oh, right. Lock these two bastard pirates up and prepare the bounty money."
Snapping back to his senses, Captain Nezumi kicked the two bound pirates, gave the order, and then walked outside.
Cyrus's sudden appearance had left Captain Nezumi deeply puzzled.
He was wondering if he should report Cyrus's presence again.
But what had happened with the Marines before?
Had they really failed to find him?
Thinking of this, Captain Nezumi returned to his office and immediately picked up a Den Den Mushi to contact Headquarters.
Purupurupuru.
Shortly after the Den Den Mushi's ringing sound, its appearance changed.
Seeing this, Captain Nezumi instinctively stood at attention.
"This is Captain Nezumi, Base Commander of the East Blue's 16th Base, serial number 00733. I have something to report."
Nezumi then reported that Cyrus, who had appeared a year ago, had shown up again, and asked why Cyrus was still in the East Blue.
"Please hold, Captain Nezumi."
The voice from Headquarters was a woman's. A moment later, the voice spoke again.
"Regarding the matter you mentioned, Captain, Headquarters dispatched Vice Admiral Garp to the East Blue a year ago to search, but he was not found."
So they really didn't find him.
Captain Nezumi understood now. He then asked Headquarters how he should proceed.
"Captain Nezumi, you may extend an invitation yourself. If the individual is indeed an ability user, Headquarters will record your contribution. Headquarters will also report this matter up the chain."
"Understood!"
Hearing this, Captain Nezumi immediately nodded.
An invitation, eh? This was a chance to earn merit. Nothing shameful about that.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, a Marine arrived to report that the bounty money had been prepared. Without hesitation, Nezumi personally took the men to find Cyrus.
...
At the town's tavern.
It was no different from a year ago; the owner was still the same.
"A glass of juice!"
Cyrus placed his sword on the counter as he spoke.
The tavern owner was used to this and skillfully poured a glass of orange juice.
It was very fresh!
Cyrus's eyes lit up after taking a sip.
It had just the right amount of tartness, with crushed pulp mixed in, giving it a superb texture.
"This tastes good, doesn't it, young man? These are oranges from Cocoyasi Village, famous throughout the East Blue. If the base weren't so close to Cocoyasi Village, we wouldn't be able to get such fresh oranges."
Seeing Cyrus's expression, the tavern owner said with a grin.
Hearing the village's name, Cyrus's expression shifted.
"Is Cocoyasi Village very close to here?"
"Of course it is! It's only about half a day's boat ride away!"
This answer came not from the tavern owner, but from another customer in the tavern.
Cyrus turned to look at the speaker, a middle-aged man dressed as a sailor, holding a large mug of ale and looking his way.
"Are there boats that go there?" Cyrus asked.
"Of course there are, every day. You see, Cocoyasi Village is in the Conomi Archipelago, which produces all sorts of fruits. Especially when the fruits are ripe, there are boats going every day."
Cyrus nodded at this and said no more, then turned his head to look at the tavern wall.
Rows of bounty posters were hanging there.
There were no posters for the great pirates of the New World; they were basically all pirates from the East Blue, along with some who had gone from the East Blue to the New World.
Admiral Krieg, bounty 12,000,000.
Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, "Kuro of a Hundred Plans," bounty 10,000,000.
Cyrus's gaze swept over the two conspicuous bounty posters, examining them closely.
"These two are major pirates in the East Blue," the tavern owner said, putting down the glass he was wiping, seeming to notice Cyrus's gaze.
"Ten million makes you a major pirate?" Cyrus asked, his expression a little odd.
"But of course. The East Blue is the weakest of the seas. Pirates here don't dare to stay for too long. As soon as a pirate's bounty gets too high, it attracts the attention of the Marines. This is the homeland of the Marine Hero, Garp, after all," the tavern owner said with a look of reverence.
"Homeland? The East Blue is huge."
Cyrus could understand the tavern owner's sentiment, but this was an area covering roughly a quarter of the planet's surface.
Cyrus shook his head slightly.
"Yes, the East Blue is very large. Even the Marines can't eliminate all the pirates. You should be careful when you go out to sea in the future, young man," the tavern owner said, clearly not understanding Cyrus's meaning, offering a well-intentioned warning.
"I will."
Cyrus would always appreciate others' kindness.
However, the ones who needed to be careful were probably the pirates.
Cyrus's eyes scanned the bounty posters one by one.
Apart from the first two, which exceeded ten million Belly, the rest were all in the several-million range.
But in the East Blue, these were already considered relatively high-bounty pirates.
Of course, the photos were also quite abstract.
Very much in line with the style of this world.
"This is a collection of bounty posters for pirates in the East Blue who haven't been caught yet."
Just then, the tavern owner revealed his true intentions, pulling out a stack of bounty posters as if by magic and placing them in front of Cyrus.
"Only one hundred and fifty thousand Belly."
At these words, the other people in the tavern couldn't hold back.
"Old Man, you're too much of a crook!"
Clearly, 150,000 Belly was no small sum for these people.
"What do you bastards know? I spent a lot of time gathering information to compile these. Look, the back of each one has the locations where the pirate has appeared."
As he spoke, he picked one up to show the others.
Sure enough, there was a lot of writing on the back of the bounty poster, recording all the places the pirate had appeared and their general area of activity.
It even noted what they had done in the past.
It was indeed very detailed.
"You recognized me?" Cyrus asked after a moment of silence.
"Hehe, your build has changed, young man, but I'm Old Man Croc. I have very good eyes. A year ago, you caught some pirates and came to collect the bounty."
The tavern owner, Old Man Croc, didn't deny it.
But countless people must pass through here every day.
To be able to remember him, his memory was indeed quite good.
"After all, those guys don't even look human, not like you, young man."
Was that a compliment?
Cyrus was taken aback, feeling rather speechless.
But it was true that his art style was different from the others in the tavern.
"How about it? Want a set, young man? One hundred thousand Belly will do."
"I'll take a set, then."
Cyrus nodded in agreement.
It was perfect. While waiting for Arlong, he planned to get some exercise anyway.
If he could find Krieg or Kuro, that would be great.
But at this point in time, Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates probably hadn't faked his death to go into hiding yet.
As for Krieg, his range of activity was likely very large.
After all, when he later set sail, the man claimed to be the overlord of the East Blue.
However, to be able to assemble a pirate crew of five thousand men, it was uncertain whether he, like the later Arlong, had some sort of collusion with the Marines.
Tossing the money pouch onto the counter, Cyrus leisurely drank his juice and picked up a bounty poster, looking at the record on the back.
"A pirate with a bounty of only three million Belly, along with his crew, massacred three island villages and killed at least five hundred people?"
Cyrus's eyelid twitched as he read the record on the back.
Although it was just a record, it represented several hundred lives.