Chapter 30: Shells Town

While sailing on the way, Ian was looking at the system in his mind.

After a lapse of two years, Ian’s experience has finally grown again. When he was on the Buggy’s ship, he killed nine pirates. The nine pirates provided Ian with 150 experience points, and the experience gained by defeating Cabaji was, even more, 4300 points.

The stronger the opponent, the more experience Ian will have, which he has already confirmed. Now with this experience, Ian was about to rise to level six.

His level didn’t matter that much for him, he was thinking about a good way to get better cards to use. Ian couldn’t help but to look at the fellow Cabaji, he does not remember how much is Cabaji’s bounty, the only way to know was by taking him to the marines.

Thinking of this, Ian asked Cabaji curiously: “Right, what are you doing here in the East Blue, Buggy Pirates?”

If he remembers correctly, Buggy should have a map of the Grand Line in his hands. For other pirates, it may be challenging to go to the Grand Line, but for Buggy, it is very simple, because he had conquered the Grand Line Once with Roger, the Pirate King, he had a map in his hand, but he didn’t go. Instead, he stayed in the East Blue for such a long time, and Ian did not know what he was up to.

Ian was very curious about this, so he asked Cabaji, this person is a cadre of the Buggy Pirates. He should know something about it.

Cabaji has lost too much blood, and he was cold all over. It can be said that he was more eager to reach the land than Ian because even if Ian handed him to the marines, they would treat his injuries.

Hearing Ian’s question, he said weakly, “How can I even know that? We all listen to Captain Buggy’s words… Can’t your boat go any faster?”

“There is nothing to eat, I don’t have enough strength right now!” Ian gave him a white look. He didn’t want to paddle.

Originally, when he was hungry and exhausted, he went to the sea to catch a fish. But he didn’t think that his stuff would be stolen by pirates, and then he had to fight them with an empty stomach. When he thought about this, Ian didn’t Have a good mood for Cabaji.

Cabaji was about to cry. He felt that Ian was his worst nightmare. Now, even if he wanted to be captured by the marines, he had to look at Ian’s face first…

But maybe it was Cabaji’s fate. When the two kept talking, a sight of an island has started appearing in front of them.

………

Outside the dock of the island, a small, thin teenager was fishing on a boat. He had pink hair and round glasses. He was short-sighted, so he looked dazed.

His fishing rod has been in the water for a long time, but there has been no movement. He was mentally exhausted, so he couldn’t help but raise his head and yawn.

The tears from the yawn blurred his eyes, and at that moment, he seemed to see a small boat coming his way in the distance.

Considering that he was mistaken, he quickly wiped the water mist in his eyes, and then looked carefully again, and found that there really was a boat.

“Did the fishermen come back from the sea?” He thought so.

As the boat was getting closer and closer, the teenager saw a figure on the ship and said to him: “Young man! Is there a Marine base on the island?”

When the teenager first heard someone call him by this name, he felt as if he had grown up. He scratched his head and began to giggle.

The one who appeared in that boat, was naturally Ian. He saw someone on a ship in the opposite direction. So he asked the person, but he didn’t expect for the other person to act that way. He couldn’t help but think: “This boy is not stupid, is he?”

When the two boats approached, the teenager saw Cabaji lying on the floor of the ship, covered with blood. He was shocked and exclaimed incoherently, “He… what happened to him? How… How did he get such a heavy injury?”

Ian found that the pink-haired teenager looked familiar, so he said, “Oh, this guy is a pirate. I caught him, and I’m handing him to the marines! Do you know the way to the marine base?”

When the teenager listened, he felt relieved and said, “I know… I know, I’ll take you there!”

Ian was happy. “That’s great!”

So, under the guidance of the teenager, Ian anchored the boat on the wharf and tied it up with a rope. Then he picked up Cabaji and jumped ashore.

“You have great strength!” The teenager looked at Ian with envy and said, “Brother, are you a pirate hunter?”

“Yeah!” Ian nodded. “I just started in this business, this guy is the first pirate I caught!”

After that, Ian suddenly remembered and asked him, “By the way, what’s your name?”

“My name is Kobe! Kobe Bryant!” The boy said. (E.N: It’s Koby)

Koby? Ian looked at him in surprise. ‘No way! It’s so coincidental.’ Ian looked carefully at the boy again,’ yeah, indeed, this round face.’

Although he knew that this child would meet Luffy in the future, and become a marine, and follow the Vice-Admiral Garp, Ian didn’t feel anything. That would come after a long time. Now Koby is just a seemingly underdeveloped child.

“All right, Koby! I’m Ian. Can you take me to the marine base?” Ian asked him.

“Yeah, sure!” Koby glanced at Cabaji with some fear and subconsciously walked on the other side of Ian.

It looks like a small town, much more prosperous than Ian’s Frost Moon Village. The streets are very clean, and the shops are everywhere. It looks very lively. ‘I don’t know if uncle Sosuke came to this town when he bought medicine for Kuina.’

Because Ian was carrying Cabaji and he was covered with blood, the pedestrians on the road looked at the three of them in surprise and avoided them as much as possible.

But Ian observed that although these pedestrians avoided them, there was not much fear in their faces. Was it because there was a marine base on the island?

So he asked Koby, and he nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s right, Big Brother Ian. This is Shells Town. This island has the 153rd Branch. And a marine hero just came here a few days ago. So people here are not afraid of pirates!”

“Shells Town?” Ian was stunned. ‘Is this Shells Town?’

He quickly asked, “What marine hero? Don’t tell me that you are talking about Morgan?”

“Did you hear about him, Big Brother Ian?” Koby said in some surprise, “Yeah, that’s Captain Morgan, oh, no! He has now become a Lieutenant Commander, because he has made great contributions, some time ago, he caught the captain of the Black Cat Pirates Kuro! So he got a promotion. Now people all over the island are talking about it. They say he’s a hero!!”

Black Cat Pirates, Captain Kuro, and Morgan, a series of familiar names, once again evoked Ian’s memory and made him wrinkle his brows.

Instead of noticing the change in Ian’s expression, Koby kept talking with relish, “I heard that the battle was tragic. A ship full of marines’ soldiers died. Even Morgan’s chin was smashed by the ferocious Captain Kuro! Fortunately, Lieutenant Morgan finally caught the man and brought him back.”

“Now the whole Shells Town admires him! I’m just the same, because I want to join the marines in the future, and then I’ll be a marine hero like Morgan and catch all the evil pirates!”

As he said, Ian naturally noticed the festive atmosphere in the town. It seemed that what Koby said was true. People in this town are celebrating the fall of the Black Cat Pirates.

Ian looked at this dreaming Koby with some pity. He really wanted to say, don’t worship that Morgan, because soon, this axe-hand Morgan will be promoted to Colonel. And the people in your town will have a taste of his real deeds. This fellow is not a marine hero at all. Even capturing Captain Kuro was fake!

When he rose to the rank of Colonel, he took over Shells Town, that arrogant man would do whatever he wanted in the name of the marines, and the people who still worshipped him in the town became afraid of him in a few years.

Of course, Ian won’t say these things to Koby right now. Even if he says it, no one will believe him. He just said to Koby: “I saw you fishing before? Do you like fishing?”

“Yes!” Koby nodded.

“Watch out when you go fishing in the future!” Ian could only say this in an obscure way, and Koby was confused.

‘I don’t know if Koby would be foolishly caught by Alvida Pirates for boarding the wrong boat in the future.’

In the middle of the conversation, they start seeing the marine base, which is a tower-like structure with a narrow upper and a lower width. It looks like a cooling tower of nuclear power, but the tower is painted with a camouflage pattern, there are many windows, there is also M-shaped marine unique seagull logo. Above the top of the tower, there were also flags of the marines, and some cannons were arranged.

When Koby took Ian to the tower, he was noticed by the patrolling marine soldiers. When they saw the sword behind Ian and the seriously injured person in his hands, the soldiers immediately alerted themselves and pointed their guns at Ian. “Stop there! This is the marine base. What are you doing here?”