Pirates: Beginning with the Patrolman

Smoker is shocked, as he remembers that Remos doesn't have a Devil Fruit.

"I was lucky and got a fruit."

Remos put the pistol back into its holster.

"That just now... was an illusion, right? Did you get the Illusion Fruit?"

Smoker thought about it and quickly came up with the answer.

"So I said I was lucky. After killing the Shadow Rat, I found this fruit on my ship."

Remus said.

He thought about whether he should tell others that he had a devil fruit. Originally, he wanted to use the power of the fruit as a trump card, but then he thought again that there was no point in doing so.

When facing an opponent stronger than himself, his trump card cannot kill the opponent instantly, as the Illusion Fruit has no lethality.

What does it matter if the enemy is weaker than you even if he knows all your abilities?

Only when facing an equally powerful opponent will the killer move have some effect, but not too much, because at this time the victory or defeat depends on the overall strength, unless the fruit is really powerful.

What's more, the transmission of information in the world of pirates is sometimes really unreasonable. Not to mention the existence of Den Den Mushi that can communicate at will regardless of distance, just the reporters and paparazzi are hard to guard against.

The most famous photographer among them can be said to be omnipresent. All the photos on the bounty warrants were taken by this person. What's even more outrageous is that no matter how he takes photos, no one at the scene will notice his trace. He is known as the paparazzi among paparazzi.

With such people around, hiding one's abilities is a joke. Unless one never uses the power of the fruit, the relevant information will leak out sooner or later.

In this case, Remos decided not to hide his abilities intentionally anymore. Instead of hiding them until they could no longer be hidden, it would be better to use them openly and strive to develop his abilities to a higher level as soon as possible.

"Then you are really lucky..."

After hearing what Remos said, Smoker didn't know what to say.

He was very familiar with all the information about devil fruits, so he understood how lucky Remos was to get the Illusion Fruit.

"Well, I lose this time."

Smoker stood up straight and put his ten hands back on his back.

"Let's call it a draw, right? I can't hurt you anyway."

In fact, it is still possible to hurt Smoker.

For example, using illusions to affect his consciousness and perception might have a chance to temporarily seal his elemental ability. Another example is to keep consuming Smoker's physical strength until he can no longer use elementalization.

But the former is still just Remos's guess, and the latter is impossible to achieve to this extent unless he tries his best.

"Then let's just call it a draw."

Smoker thought about it and nodded.

He actually didn't care about winning or losing, but as a colonel of the Navy Headquarters, if he lost to a bounty hunter, it would be embarrassing for the Navy to tell others, so the best option was to back down.

"When are you going to leave? I want to give you a gift."

Smoker changed the subject and said.

"Huh? You actually know how to give gifts?"

Remos looked at the other person with some surprise.

"This is a gift between friends, don't say anything nonsense!"

Smoker's face darkened.

"Okay, okay, I said the wrong thing. I was planning to leave after collecting the bounty. Now that the sparring is over, it's time to give me the bounty, right?"

Remus shrugged and smiled.

"The bounty, well, I'm afraid I can't give it to you."

Smoker paused, suddenly looking embarrassed.

"Ah? What do you mean? You don't plan to give it to me? Do you want to keep it for yourself?"

"..."

"Just kidding, keep going."

"It's not that I don't want to give you the bounty, but the Rogue Town Naval Base just paid out several bounties not long ago, and we don't have much money in the account right now. The bounty for you destroying the Dragon Pirates this time is over 30 million. It's not impossible to give it to you, but if I give it to you, the funds on the books will be even less. It will take some time for the next allocation from the headquarters, so we need to keep some money in the base for backup."

"so what?"

"How about I give you a physical reward instead?"

"Um... I don't quite understand. What kind of reward do you mean?"

This time it was Remos' turn to look embarrassed.

Physical rewards, he doesn't seem to need anything, give him a pair of guns? What kind of guns would cost more than 30 million?

Or give me some supplies? But the question is, how much supplies can my small boat hold?

It certainly couldn't be gold. If payment could be made with gold, Smoker wouldn't have said that.

"Come with me, you'll know when we get there."

Smoker did not give a direct answer, but took Remos, Nami and Tashigi towards the port.

On the way, Smoker also explained in detail the funding situation of the Rogue Town Naval Base.

He would not reveal the exact figures, he just described in detail how the base had been spending money recently and why it was short of funds, mainly to prove that he was not lying and that he was indeed facing difficulties.

Just explaining these things is quite difficult for Smoker. He has never been such a careful person. From this, it can be seen that he really attaches great importance to Remos and does not want Remos to have misunderstandings about the navy because of a trivial matter.

"In fact, if you plan to stay in the East China Sea for a while, I can give you all the cash, but you said you want to go to sea now, so I can only use another method."

Smoker concluded.

Nami followed behind, looking at Smoker with gritted teeth. The 30 million she had earned was gone, which was more painful than killing her.

Tashigi kept comforting Nami and told her not to worry.

The group soon arrived at the port.

"So what's the plan you're talking about?"

Remus asked.

"Look over there."

Smoker raised his hand and pointed.

Remos and Nami looked over there, but saw nothing but a ship... Wait!

"Isn't that the ship you're talking about?"

Remus asked in disbelief.

Smoker nodded.

"Yes, this is the ship. It was the trophy I got after I wiped out a pirate group not long ago. It's a fast triangular sailing ship. If you go to the shipyard to buy it yourself, it's worth at least 50 million, and you may not be able to buy it.

I've had the boatman check it out. This boat was launched three years ago and is in good condition. I had someone do some minor repairs on it. It should be enough to pay your 30 million bounty, right?"

"No problem, of course no problem!"

Before Remos could answer, Nami spoke first.

There is no need to think about it. Thirty million for fifty million, even a fool would agree. Even if the ship is an old one, as far as Nami knows, a fast sailing ship of this specification cannot be bought for thirty million, even if it is bought second-hand.

So no matter what, they made a lot of money from this deal!