The top floor office gradually quieted down.
The corpse of the mouse was casually thrown aside by Shano, lying sprawled across the desk like a broken ragdoll, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to die in peace.
Perhaps he had never imagined it.
The safe that he treated like a precious treasure, polishing and caressing it every day, would end up becoming the weapon that killed him.
"..."
The Den Den Mushi remained silent, just puffing on its cigar.
"Good, good, good."
After a long while, a deep, magnetic voice finally sounded, "It seems the mouse's worry wasn't wrong after all. There really are deeply hidden pirates in East Blue, truly daring to the extreme, to break into a Marine base and murder the base commander!"
Was he admitting that he saw Shano as a pirate?
Or was he trying to lure information out?
Shano glanced at it and couldn't be bothered to respond much.
He simply gathered the money from the safe, getting ready to leave, and casually said:
"Can't be helped. Who told this guy to have so much money? Let's see, there must be at least four to five hundred million Berries in this safe. Tsk tsk tsk, I've really hit the jackpot."
In fact, there wasn't nearly that much — altogether just barely over a hundred million — pure nonsense to mess with the fool.
"Four to five hundred million Berries?!!"
The Den Den Mushi's eyes bulged, jumping up in rage, "Damn it, I knew this damn mouse couldn't be trusted! He even dared to embezzle my money!"
Then, gritting its teeth, it roared:
"Hey! Brat! If you have guts, tell me your true identity! You dare to barge in and kill a Marine officer, but you don't dare to announce your name?"
"Easy, easy."
Shano imitated the tone of a storyteller, chuckling, "Your grandpa, I, walk without changing my name, sit without changing my surname — I am Buggy the Clown! I used to serve as a crewmember on the Roger Pirates' ship, and I've traveled across the New World! I wonder if you have the guts to personally come and capture me!"
A former crewmember of the Roger Pirates?!
The person on the other end of the line gasped hard.
No wonder the mouse had been so fearful before, and so convinced that this guy was a deeply hidden expert...
Such a terrifying background?!
There was actually such a bigshot hidden in East Blue, and no news of him had spread all these years — it was simply terrifying how well he had hidden himself!
Just as he was about to say something, Shano had already slammed the Den Den Mushi shut with a loud snap.
The money was already all packed into the backpack, and Shano casually sacrificed the safe as well.
+200 points received.
Considering the mouse's character weight and strength, getting this much was already unexpected.
It seemed the mouse really loved his safe dearly.
Before leaving, Shano remembered something. He dug out a few red bean buns from his backpack, took big bites to eat the outer bread, then scooped out the red bean paste inside.
He rolled the paste into a small red ball and, with a pop, stuck it onto the mouse's nose.
"All done. A proper play needs a full set of props."
Only then did he nod in satisfaction, climbed onto the windowsill, flipped out, and stepped onto the rooftop. With a few leaps, he disappeared into the night.
Meanwhile, down at the building entrance, the two Marine guards remained clueless, even yawning from boredom…
…
—Swoosh!
Under the light of dawn, Shano stepped onto the deck with a Moonwalk.
The long-waiting Manba and the others hurriedly opened the bottom hatch of the Orange Grove, pulling the speedboat back into the ship.
"All done with things at Branch 77?" Shano tossed the backpack onto the ground.
"Yes, Boss! The bounty money has been fully paid to us," Manba nodded repeatedly, "Eighty-two million Berries, not a single coin missing. That Mouse guy really talked big, claiming the bounty would be mostly taken away... Oh right, about that guy now—"
Shano glanced at the two little sisters who had come close, raised an eyebrow, and said nothing.
Manba immediately caught the hint and stopped asking, secretly clicking his tongue — not even two days had passed and Boss was already back. His efficiency was just way too crazy…
"What the heck, it's money again?"
A dissatisfied voice came from behind.
Shano turned around.
It was Nami, who had sneakily opened his backpack without him noticing. Her face instantly fell as she grabbed a handful of banknotes and threw them back inside.
"So boring! I thought you brought some good food back. Money, money, money — I'm sick of seeing it!"
After all, the one thing their home wasn't lacking was money!
Shano couldn't help but laugh — this wasn't something a little Cat Burglar should be saying — and he couldn't resist flicking her on the nose.
"Don't worry. We're heading to Shimotsuki Village now — remember the amazing chef I mentioned last time? He's in that village. When we get there, whatever you want to eat, just say it. I'll have him cook it all for you, okay?"
"Really?!"
Nami's eyes lit up, quickly counting on her fingers, "Then I want seven dishes! No, make it five desserts too! And for the main dish, orange jam omelette rice!"
"I want squid tempura! And a deluxe version of tamagoyaki!" Nojiko also raised her hand excitedly.
"All good, all good!"
Shano laughed heartily, rubbing the two girls' heads, then waved his hand energetically:
"Let's go! Full right rudder — next stop, Shimotsuki Village!"
…
In the days when the Orange Grove was heading toward Shimotsuki Village...
Two pieces of news successively spread out, shaking the entire East Blue.
First, the Arlong Pirates — who had recently stormed in from the Grand Line and caused widespread panic — were wiped out completely by a lone swordsman.
Reporters had already confirmed at Marine Branch 77 that this swordsman was none other than Shano, the former champion of the Asakura Island Swordsmanship Tournament.
This immediately stirred memories among many East Blue residents, who vividly remembered the clean and handsome black-haired boy from the photos.
To think that in just a year's time, his sword skills had advanced so much — even pirates from the Grand Line were no match for him!
In no time, Shano's feats once again became a hot topic across East Blue.
And as public discussion continued to build...
Without even realizing it, the title he carried shifted — from "the strongest among the younger generation" to the universally acknowledged "Strongest Swordsman of East Blue."
The second piece of news was just as shocking.
The base commander of Branch 16, Captain Mouse, was found dead in his office in broad daylight, with his nose decorated like a circus clown's — an obvious act of mockery.
And the one who killed him was said to be Buggy the Clown, who carried a bounty of 15 million Berries.
Normally, this wouldn't have been such big news.
But Buggy himself had publicly revealed — he was once a crew member under the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!
When the news spread, East Blue was thrown into an uproar.
If Shano brought people reassurance and pride, then Buggy brought pure terror.
—What the hell were the Marines doing?! How could they allow such a bigshot pirate to stay active in East Blue?!
Several royal families, including that of the Goa Kingdom, jointly pressured Marine Headquarters.
Marine HQ was caught completely off guard — no one had expected that in the small pond of East Blue, such a giant shark had been hiding.
Thus, they immediately issued an emergency response:
Buggy the Clown's bounty was raised dramatically, from 15 million to 80 million Berries!
And they officially announced: A fleet led personally by a Marine Vice Admiral would be dispatched to East Blue to carry out a targeted sweep against Buggy's pirate crew!