"How did this guy end up here?"
Ordinary people had long forgotten about the Silver Pirates. A whole month had passed without them appearing in the public eye, and memories had faded.
But for some pirates and those with power, the Silver Pirates were still fresh in their minds. After all, they didn't have the nerve to massacre an entire Marine branch themselves.
The moment Bai Chuan and his crew arrived at Raye Town's port, someone spotted them and immediately reported to their captains and leaders.
The order they all received was the same: Do not act rashly. The North Blue might be called the strongest of the Four Seas, but compared to the pirates of the Grand Line, it still fell a bit short.
Not everyone was that rational, though. A few had already set their sights on the Silver Pirates. To them, the Silver Pirates were a chance to skyrocket to fame and fortune in one leap.
The Marines stationed in the North Blue naturally received word of the Silver Pirates' arrival as well. They hurriedly sent word to headquarters, hoping reinforcements could be dispatched.
Headquarters agreed, but the Marines they sent couldn't possibly be those three Logia-type Vice Admirals; they were already tied up with their own missions.
Only two ordinary HQ Vice Admirals were dispatched, along with three HQ Rear Admirals. The arrival of these five flag officers anywhere would tip the local balance of power.
It was estimated that once these five generals reached the North Blue, the local Marine forces would become even stronger, and their voice would carry more weight.
Seeing everyone disembark one by one, Liddell couldn't bear to stay on the ship.
By now, he had zero interest in guarding the boat. This was the Four Seas, not the Grand Line. These people wouldn't dare touch their ship.
No one knew the real reason Bai Chuan and his crew had come to the North Blue. Some who had influence on the Grand Line grew a bit timid, afraid that maybe their subordinates on the Grand Line had offended them, and now they'd come here for revenge.
If Bai Chuan knew what they were thinking, he might find it funny. Even if someone had provoked them, they wouldn't go all the way from the Grand Line to the Four Seas just for that. They weren't that bored, like Hawkeye.
Chasing after Krieg and playing a cat-and-mouse game from the Grand Line to the East Blue... that guy really had too much time on his hands.
The Bai Chuan crew might pose a deterrent to some factions, but to ordinary people, they'd long forgotten who they were. With so many wanted posters every day, no one could possibly remember every single face.
So as they walked through the bustling city, surprisingly, nobody treated them with any sort of rejection.
Some aunties even called out to Bai Chuan, inviting him to see if there was anything he fancied at their stalls. If there was, they'd give him a discount, leave a good impression, and maybe even introduce their daughters to him later.
But these enthusiastic stall-owner aunties were a bit too much for Bai Chuan to handle. He liked a lively atmosphere, just not when it revolved around him.
Watching Bai Chuan beat a flustered retreat, one auntie smiled with pursed lips. "What an interesting young man."
Still, it had to be said: as the last stop from the North Blue to the Grand Line, this city was truly prosperous and bustling.
It was even comparable to some of the royal capitals Bai Chuan had seen. Almost every faction had its own foothold and territory in Raye Town.
All these footholds and territories came together to form one flourishing city.
Bai Chuan could already sense several people secretly following him. He didn't know their goal: whether they were targeting his crew or just wanted to monitor them.
But either way, Bai Chuan had no desire to live under anyone's watch. A few quick sidesteps, a couple of flash steps, and he immediately shook off the tails behind him.
"Damn, how did he notice?" Seeing Bai Chuan's movements, they knew they'd been made.
"It must be that the other factions' tracking skills are lousy, that's why we got caught." Everyone assigned to tail important figures definitely had their own methods and skills.
But now they'd actually failed. The target had vanished, so naturally they started shifting the blame onto each other.
What they didn't realize was that with their petty tricks, even without using Kenbunshoku Haki, Bai Chuan could easily detect them with his senses alone.
As one's strength grew, all the body's senses became extremely sharp.
Though the city was bustling, after looking around for a while it all started looking the same. Bai Chuan noticed there were many large taverns here, each one lavishly decorated. It was as if the decor alone flaunted the power of the forces behind them.
Compared to Bai Chuan's aimless wandering, Salar clearly had his own objective. He asked where the local delicacies were, then headed straight there without a second thought.
As the ship's cook, he naturally had to understand all kinds of cuisine to improve the crew's meals.
The world was full of diverse foods, and one of Salar's current goals was to sample delicacies from all over the world, then create dishes with his own unique style.
Of course, there were people tailing Salar too, but he shook them all off with his sheer speed.
Jora, though he'd been chewed out by Bai Chuan, was the self-proclaimed second-in-command, so he had to push himself. He headed straight for a weapon shop. He'd always wanted a good pair of swords, but for all this time it hadn't happened.
Since Salar had been followed, Jora was no exception. But Bai Chuan calling Jora weak was only relative to the top powerhouses of the sea. Those tails behind him were nothing Jora couldn't easily slip away from.
Eurystin was the same. With his formidable Kenbunshoku Haki, nobody could hide anywhere near him. If he didn't want to stir up trouble, the guys following him would've been shot dead long ago.
Liddell's method of ditching his tail was also very simple. He transformed into a lizard, scurried into an alley, and clung to the wall. When the trackers turned into that alley, there was no sign of Liddell.
It had to be said, Liddell was pretty lucky. If those tracking him had bothered to glance up, they would've seen a lizard's head staring right at them.
From that moment on, all the tails monitoring the Silver Pirates ended in complete failure.
They reported the results to their bosses, but the bosses didn't punish them. They would've found it strange if the crew had actually been successfully followed.
After all, the lowest bounty among these people was 70 million berries, higher than the highest bounty of any pirate currently in the North Blue.
/-\
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