The next morning.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window, gently falling upon the pretty faces of Nami and Nojiko, who were leaning on Qingyun's arm.
They slowly opened their eyes, and what met their gaze was Qingyun, still with his eyes closed, and their own awakened selves.
Memories of last night instantly flooded their minds, and both girls' faces flushed red.
They looked at Qingyun, with anger in their eyes, but more so, tenderness.
The reason was self-evident.
It was due to Qingyun's innate ability, the effect of Love Irrigation.
But even more so, it was because of Qingyun's marksmanship, honed over many years of practice.
Nojiko and Nami, understanding each other without words, quietly kissed Qingyun's cheek together, then carefully got out of bed to get dressed, thoughtfully covered Qingyun with the blanket, closed the curtains, and then walked out together.
However, what they didn't notice was that Qingyun's lips curved slightly upwards:
"What an invincible innate ability, I like it!"
Soon after, Qingyun got out of bed, got dressed, and went to the living area, where he found Nojiko and Nami making breakfast together in the kitchen.
"Nami, I'll take over now. You go wake Qingyun up for breakfast," Nojiko said to Nami while doing the final touches.
"Okay," Nami replied subconsciously.
"No!"
However, the next moment, she suddenly changed her mind and pouted:
"I'm not going to wake him up!"
"That scoundrel actually forced..."
"He's absolutely detestable!"
"Let him starve to death!"
"Then why did you make three bowls of noodles and fry three eggs?" Nojiko smiled sweetly, mercilessly exposing Nami.
"I..." Nami's face flushed, but she still stubbornly said, "Because I want to eat two bowls of noodles and two eggs. It's not for that scoundrel."
"You dare to scold me?"
"It seems you still don't know who's in charge on this ship."
Qingyun walked towards Nami and Nojiko with a mischievous smile.
"Qingyun!"
Seeing Qingyun approaching like a hungry wolf, Namiand Nojiko instantly felt like startled lambs, a little afraid.
However, they were also like flowers lacking water, yearning for irrigation, so they didn't resist.
They were both very surprised, not understanding why they seemed to have become stronger after personally experiencing Qingyun's marksmanship.
What they didn't know even more was that because they became stronger, Qingyun also became stronger.
Although for Qingyun, it was only a little bit.
"Don't be angry, Nami was just speaking in anger," Nojiko quickly explained for Nami.
Qingyun walked directly between Nami and Nojiko, picked up a fried egg, and started eating it.
"Phew!"
Nami and Nojiko saw that Qingyun had only come to eat the fried egg and hadn't laid a hand on them, and they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmm, delicious," Qingyun nodded, praising it affirmatively.
Nami couldn't help but smile slightly:
"Of course."
"But it's still not as good as you two."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingyun put down his chopsticks, directly wrapped his arms around Namiand Nojiko's slender waists, and pulled them into his embrace.
Nami and Nojiko were greatly alarmed:
"What are you going to do?"
"You know perfectly well."
...At the same time, after the East Blue MarineHeadquarters confirmed that Qingyun had not only killed most of the people in the Marine's 16th Branch but also annihilated the Arlong Pirates, they issued a bounty for Qingyun.
The bounty was fifty million Berries, dead or alive.
Qingyun's name and appearance were instantly known to everyone in the East Blue who saw the newspaper.
Because Qingyun had directly attacked the Marine's 16th Branch and killed most of its personnel, the nature of the act was extremely malicious, amounting to a direct provocation of the World Government. The Marine also dispatched powerful individuals to capture him.
Qingyun's ship also received the newspaper, and he soon learned the news.
He was not at all flustered; instead, he was very excited, hoping that the Marine would send more powerful individuals to capture him, which would save him the time of having to go find them.
One day later.
Syrup Village.
The village where Kaya and Usopp resided.
Kaya was leaning by the window, listening to Usoppbragging from his perch in a tree.
She had shoulder-length, straight, light golden hair, beautiful bright brown eyes, skin as fair as jade, and a delicate, charming face that looked very endearing.
She was wearing a light blue ankle-length dress, and her slender waist was so delicate it seemed one could grasp it with a hand.
"Kaya, you don't need to worry. I am a brave Sea Warrior."
"That Qingyun is merely a small pirate with a fifty million Berry bounty. If he dares to come and Rob our village, I, your great master, will surely make him flee in disarray."
Usopp's long nose pointed skyward as he spun tall tales.
"Hmm."
"I'll be counting on you then, Usopp."
Kaya smiled gently.
She naturally knew Usopp was bragging.
But she also knew that Usopp was doing this to cheer her up.
So, no matter how much Usopp rambled, Kaya would cooperate with him.
Usopp felt a bit guilty, but even more satisfied, his vanity greatly appeased, and he laughed confidently:
"Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Usopp, intruding on private property like this is quite troublesome."
Just then, a scolding voice suddenly rang out.
"Klahadore!"
Kaya and Usopp looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Kaya's butler, Klahadore, pushing up his glasses with his palm, staring at Usopp in the tree.
However, what neither of them noticed was that Klahadore's eyes held a hidden murderous intent towards Usopp.
What they knew even less was that Klahadore was not his real name.
His true name was Kuro, the former Captain of the Black Cat Pirates.
The reason he was lurking as a butler in Kaya's house was to obtain Kaya's fortune and a stable life.
Unfortunately, although Kaya trusted him, she preferred to be with Usopp, which prevented him from succeeding.
Therefore, Kuro wished he could just kill Usopp.
But that would render all his efforts of three years useless, so he had to endure.
"That... Klahadore, Usopp is just..."
"Miss Kaya, be quiet. I will listen to your reasons later."
Kaya had just begun to explain when she was directly interrupted by Kuro.
"Usopp, I often hear rumors about you. I hear you often go on adventures, right? So young, that's truly remarkable," Kuro looked at Usopp, pushing his glasses with his palm.
"Is that so?" Usopp was very proud: "If you also want to praise me, you can call me Captain Usopp, just like Kaya does."
"Captain, you say?"
Kuro sneered:
"I've also heard about your father."
"Nani!" Usopp was shocked.
"Klahadore, stop talking," Kaya guessed what Kurowanted to say and immediately reprimanded him.
However, Kuro directly ignored Kaya's command and said righteously:
"You are merely the son of a filthy pirate. No matter what you do, I won't be surprised."
"But could you please not get close to my young mistress?"
"Filthy!" Usopp was enraged.
"You and the young mistress are people from two completely different worlds."
"Your goal is money, isn't it?"
"How much do you actually want?" Kuro continued.
"Usopp isn't that kind of person."
"What you're saying is truly too much. Apologize to Usopp at once."
Kaya was furious, leaning out the window and shouting at Kuro.
Usopp was very happy, but also very worried:
"Kaya, it's dangerous."
"Young mistress, why should I apologize to such a filthy man?"
"I am merely stating facts."
However, Kuro was unconcerned, calmly pushing his glasses with his palm.
"As a butler, to dare to speak to your master like that, you're quite something, Captain Kuro."
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
Kuro was instantly shocked and quickly looked in the direction of the voice.
"Captain Kuro?"
Kaya and Usopp were very confused and also curiously looked in the direction of the voice.