[A few days later, in the first half of the Grand Line]
A small boat was flying low, just ten meters above the sea surface. It had no visible propulsion, yet it continued moving steadily through the air.
On the boat were two figures, one large and one small Roger and Reno. Reno had barely managed to share a meal with Roger before being dragged off to sea in the afternoon.
They had been traveling at full speed like this for days, only stopping occasionally to rest. Most of the time, they were relentlessly covering distance.
The reason they ventured so far into the Grand Line to find the Marines was to ensure that Rouge's identity wouldn't be exposed. They had thus deliberately moved further and further away from the South Blue.
Reno lay lazily on the boat, gazing at the endless ocean around them. He asked Roger, "Uncle Roger, are we just going to keep wandering aimlessly in the sea looking for the Marines?"
Before setting out, Reno had already discussed with Roger that once they reached the Grand Line, they would bind Roger and hand him over to the Marines for the bounty.
However, after two days of searching in the Grand Line, they hadn't seen a single trace of a Marine living or otherwise likely due to the vastness of the sea.
Hearing Reno's question, Roger also realized this wasn't a viable plan and suggested, "Wandering aimlessly like this won't work. How about we find an island with Marines stationed on it?"
Reno thought this was a great idea. It was hard to locate a moving Marine ship, so why not look for an immobile Marine base on an island instead?
Excited by this thought, Reno jumped up as if he'd been injected with adrenaline and shouted, "Uncle Roger, hold on tight! I'm going full throttle to reach the next island before nightfall!"
With a loud whoosh, the small boat shot off like a rocket, streaking through the air like a green energy beam from a distance.
[A few hours later, near Alabasta]
After flying at full speed for several hours, Reno expanded his Observation Haki across several kilometers, using it like a radar to scan for islands.
Suddenly, Reno's eyes gleamed with red light as he excitedly said to Roger, "Uncle Roger, I've found an island!" Without waiting for a response, Reno directed the boat toward the island his Observation Haki had detected, moving even faster than before.
Roger glanced at Reno in surprise, internally marveling: Even I couldn't sense an island nearby, yet this little brat could. It seems his Observation Haki, like his other abilities, is far from ordinary.
While Roger was silently impressed by Reno's Observation Haki, a small black dot appeared in the distance. As they approached, the dot grew larger and larger.
Reno maneuvered the boat around the island until they found the port. Sure enough, there was a Marine warship docked there.
"Heh heh!"
Reno smirked at the sight of the warship. He thought to himself, Even if this island doesn't have a Marine branch, they can at least contact the Marines and have them deliver the bounty here.
With this in mind, Reno stopped the boat a few hundred meters away from the port. He couldn't afford to reveal his abilities before securing the bounty; otherwise, the Marines might recognize him as the one who had recently rescued the Roger Pirates.
Roger also noticed the warship at the port and immediately extended his hands, saying, "Put the prepared handcuffs on me!"
A wave of emotion surged in Reno's chest, but he quickly suppressed it and cuffed Roger, promising, "I'll make sure to take Sister-in-law to a safe place. You can rest easy!"
Seeing Reno's expression, Roger scolded him half-jokingly, "You little brat, where's all that gusto you had about collecting my bounty? What's with this attitude now?"
Reno chuckled, shrugged off his earlier sentimentality, and began rowing the boat toward the port with Roger in handcuffs.
[At the port of Alabasta]
The Marine warship docked at the port seemed to be restocking supplies. Boxes and sacks were being carried aboard in an orderly fashion.
On the deck of the warship stood a burly man with purple hair, overseeing the loading process.
This was none other than Admiral Zephyr. He wasn't here on a mission but had stopped by to resupply during his travels.
At this point in time, Alabasta was a prosperous and powerful nation, not yet the drought-stricken country it would become. Its large population and vast territory made it one of the strongest countries in the world.
As Zephyr supervised the Marines loading supplies, a flash of red light appeared in his eyes. He immediately turned to look out at the sea and spotted a small boat slowly approaching.
When Zephyr recognized the man on the boat, his expression turned serious, and his body tensed up. Internally, he was stunned: Why would a man of that caliber appear here?
Zephyr stared intently at the approaching boat—or more accurately, at Roger. The boy accompanying Roger was so unremarkable in appearance that Zephyr barely gave him a second glance.
Reno's small figure was rowing the boat diligently, stroke after stroke. Before long, he had reached about ten meters from the Marine warship.
Looking up at the man aboard the warship, Reno immediately recognized him. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey, Marine Uncle! I caught a pirate. Can you give me the bounty?"
Zephyr, who had been fixated on Roger, was stunned by Reno's words. Where did this little rascal come from, and how is he this bold?!
When Zephyr snapped out of his shock, he mentally cursed, Kid, you're lucky the pirates didn't catch you, let alone you catching one. And this isn't just any pirate—it's the Pirate King himself! A man the entire Marine force can't capture, yet you, a brat, somehow did?
Despite his skepticism, Zephyr ignored Reno and asked Roger seriously, "Roger, what is your purpose here?"
The surrounding Marines, who had been unloading supplies, overheard this and were shocked.
"Wait… that's the Pirate King Roger?!"
"How could someone like him show up here?!"
"If the Pirate King is here, does that mean his crew is nearby?"
"I heard the Marines failed to capture his crew last time. Are they here to raid our ship?"
"If that's true, we're doomed!"
As the panic grew, Roger glanced at Zephyr with a look that screamed "Are you stupid?" and sarcastically shook his shackled hands. "Admiral Zephyr, didn't you hear the kid? Are you deaf or just dumb?"
Zephyr's mind buzzed as he finally noticed the handcuffs on Roger's wrists. A closer look revealed they were made of Seastone. Yet, even with Seastone handcuffs, he couldn't fathom how a child could have captured Roger. Zephyr's suspicions deepened, and he prepared for battle, believing Roger might be plotting something.
Meanwhile, Reno was growing increasingly annoyed at being ignored. He yelled angrily, "You Marines are the worst! I went through so much trouble to catch this pirate, and now you won't give me the bounty!"
As if to back up his frustration, Reno pulled out a key and said, "If you're not going to pay me, why bother catching pirates? I might as well just let him go!"
Zephyr panicked when he saw the key and shouted, "No! Don't unlock the handcuffs, kid! I'll give you the bounty, but I need to confirm it first!"
Reno smirked inwardly, knowing his plan was working. Outwardly, he feigned hesitation before saying, "Fine, but I heard from him that his bounty is insanely high. Are you sure you can pay me?"
Zephyr's face froze momentarily. His warship indeed didn't carry enough money for Roger's bounty, but he quickly reassured Reno, "I don't have that much Beli on this ship, but I'm a Marine Admiral. I have the authority to request funds from nearby Marine branches. You don't need to worry about the bounty!"
Pretending to think it over, Reno finally nodded reluctantly. "Alright, but this isn't a great place to do this. Let's move to the port. And I'll only give you half a day to get the money. If you don't pay up by then, I'll set him free!"
"Fine, fine, half a day it is!" Zephyr agreed dismissively, not taking Reno's threat seriously. He led Reno and Roger to the port without further argument.
At the Port
Upon reaching the port, Zephyr conducted a thorough inspection of Roger. He confirmed the handcuffs were genuine Seastone and that the man before him was indeed the infamous Pirate King.
Still uneasy, Zephyr ordered another set of handcuffs for Roger and contacted Marine Headquarters for reinforcements to escort Roger back. After securing these arrangements, he began making calls to nearby Marine branches to gather enough money for the bounty.
Reno watched Zephyr's frantic actions with amusement, content as long as the bounty wasn't forgotten.
Zephyr made over ten calls before finally arranging the funds. The bounty was so massive that no single branch could cover it, forcing Zephyr to pool resources from several branches.
Once everything was settled, Zephyr turned to Roger, his expression perplexed. "Roger, I can't wrap my head around it. How could someone of your caliber be caught by a kid?"
Roger and Reno had already coordinated their story on the way there. Without missing a beat, Roger feigned anger and said, "My body has been ravaged by illness. Even a slightly strong Marine soldier could take me down, let alone this brat, who's more of a monster than a kid!"
Zephyr frowned. He had noticed something was off during his inspection but hadn't realized it was this severe. Still, he pressed further, "Even if you're powerless now, you have your crew. With their strength, there's no way a kid like him could have captured you!"
When Zephyr pressed Roger about the whereabouts of his crew, Roger responded bluntly, "My pirate crew disbanded half a month ago. Otherwise, how could a little rascal like this capture me?"
Roger's statement wasn't entirely for show. It was also a deliberate distraction to keep the Marines from investigating where he had been during his months-long disappearance. Whether the Marines believed him or not was secondary. His main goal was to divert their attention.
Reno, standing nearby, watched Zephyr interrogating Roger without a shred of worry. He simply waited patiently to collect his bounty. After all, Roger wouldn't betray him, and no amount of Marine suspicion could harm him. If the Marines tried to use force, Reno wouldn't hesitate to retaliate in kind—even if it meant erasing Marine branches entirely.
As for being captured? Reno wasn't concerned. Not even Impel Down could hold him. In fact, if they ever dared to imprison him, he'd turn the infamous prison into a legend of the past within a single day.
A New System Task
Just as Zephyr was busy trying to extract information from Roger, Reno stood off to the side, bored. Suddenly, his system's notification chime rang in his mind.
Ding! The host has a new check-in task. Please open the task panel to view details.
Reno frowned, feeling an ominous premonition. "System, open the task panel. Let's see what ridiculous mission you've got for me this time!" he muttered. It better not be what I think it is; otherwise, it'll be impossible to complete in the short term.
The system displayed the task:
Check-in Task: The host must visit Marine Headquarters and stay there for one month to complete the task.
Seeing the task details, Reno cursed inwardly, Damn it! Of course, it's that blasted Marine Headquarters mission. I've got plans with Rouge, so there's no way I can handle this right now.
Reno had suspected as much. Aside from Roger, the only people he'd interacted with recently were the Marines. And since Roger had already triggered a task, the system targeting the Marines made sense. Unfortunately, this task required a location check-in, something he had never done before. The potential rewards intrigued him, but the timing was terrible. He'd have to deal with it after finishing his business in the East Blue.
The Marines Gather Reinforcements
Zephyr continued his questioning, but Roger skillfully avoided giving any meaningful answers. Eventually, Zephyr gave up. However, he didn't let Roger out of his sight, staying by his side to prevent any potential escape.
By dawn, the once sparsely populated Alabasta port was crowded with more than a dozen Marine warships, all of which had arrived overnight. Reno, who hadn't slept, noticed the bustle and asked Zephyr, "Have you gathered the bounty yet?"
Zephyr hesitated momentarily but admitted, "We've gathered most of it. But with so much Beli, how are you, a kid, planning to take it all?"
Reno's eyes lit up when he heard the money was ready. Ignoring Zephyr's question, he urged impatiently, "That's none of your business! Just take me to the money already!"
Reno's eagerness stemmed not only from his dire financial situation but also from his desire to leave as quickly as possible. The longer he stayed, the higher the risk of exposing himself. Cash in and vanish now that's the smart play, he thought.
Seeing Reno's urgency, Zephyr decided to comply for now. He figured they could sort out any lingering questions later.
The Bounty Is Delivered
Zephyr led Reno to a storage area stacked with over a dozen massive chests, each as big as Reno himself. Pointing to them, Zephyr said, "These chests contain 5,564,800,000 Beli Roger's bounty. But there's no way you can carry all this. You'd better think of another way to transport it."
Zephyr was confident that a child couldn't possibly move such a massive fortune, which is why he felt safe showing it to Reno directly.
Reno, however, was unbothered. He walked straight up to the chests, opened a few to inspect the contents, and confirmed they were filled with Beli. Without wasting any time, he placed his hands on the chests.
What happened next left Zephyr utterly speechless.
Each chest Reno touched vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
Zephyr's eyes widened in disbelief. He stood frozen, staring at Reno, completely stunned. In that moment, he even forgot to try stopping him.
Reno, on the other hand, continued methodically touching each chest. As the number of chests dwindled, his grin grew wider and more sinister.
By the time Zephyr snapped out of his stupor and tried to intervene, all the chests had disappeared without a trace.
And just like that, Reno's work was done.
Zephyr was utterly stunned as he watched the massive bounty-filled chests vanish into thin air. In disbelief, he grabbed Reno by the back of his shirt and hoisted him into the air, demanding, "Kid, where did you make all the boxes disappear to?"
Dangling midair, Reno turned his head and snapped back, "Those Beli are mine! What does it have to do with you how I handle them?"
Zephyr, realizing that Reno wasn't entirely wrong, let go and placed him back on the ground. He then scrutinized Reno more carefully before cautiously asking, "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
Reno, clearly uninterested, immediately retorted, "What's it to you whether I am or not?"
Zephyr was almost choked by Reno's curt response, his face turning red with frustration. After a long pause to compose himself, he muttered, "I was just curious. You don't have to answer if you don't want to…"
Before Zephyr could finish, Reno cut him off. "I don't want to talk, and I don't want to talk to you. Now stay away from me!"
Zephyr's face flushed red again, but he kept reminding himself: He's just a child. I can't stoop to a brat's level.
Satisfied that Zephyr had finally shut up, Reno turned on his heel and walked toward Roger. Zephyr, unable to let the boy out of his sight, trailed after him silently.
When Reno reached Roger, he flashed a cheeky grin and said, "Thanks for the bounty, pirate uncle! With this, I won't have to worry about food or clothes for the rest of my life!"
Reno's words carried a deeper meaning a promise to Roger that his family would be well taken care of.
Roger caught the hidden message, and while he was deeply grateful, he couldn't openly express it. Instead, he put on a furious expression and barked, "You little rascal! Are you here to mock me? Get lost!"
Understanding Roger's intent, Reno played along. "Alright, since you don't want me around, I'll take my leave. Bye-bye, pirate uncle!" he said with a wave and headed for his small boat.
As Reno passed Zephyr, he didn't even spare him a glance, striding confidently past. Zephyr wanted to stop Reno several times but couldn't find a legitimate excuse.
While other Marines might have resorted to force, Zephyr wasn't one to abuse his authority. In the end, he stood frozen, watching Reno disappear into the vast ocean.
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