In the East Blue, there is an island not far from Shimotsuki Village called Swites. It is a natural hot spring island where steam rises from time to time.
In the center of this island lies a hot spring town, which has developed related industries. Although these industries are small and not well-known, they are quite popular in the surrounding waters.
For the locals, things rarely go wrong here. Pirates who come here are always dealt with by the local leaders, and after each pirate is killed, they raise the skull and crossbones flag to mark their identity.
They are also pirates, but they don't have bounties. The people in the area like them and don't report them to the Navy. Instead, they provide information to these pirates.
For the residents of Swites, these pirates are their natural protectors.
At that moment, at the entrance of the hot spring town, a man dressed in a black suit looked up at the signboard above and the skull and crossbones flag symbol in the lower right corner of the signboard, and adjusted the brim of his hat.
"Oh, this guest!"
At the entrance, a waiter dressed in civilian clothes rubbed his hands together and smiled: "Want to soak in the hot springs here? Our Swites Hot Springs is very famous here. In addition to hot springs, we also have saunas and steam rooms. There are many other facilities as well. You can find whatever you want here, sir."
The waiter winked and made suggestive gestures.
"Oh? The small East China Sea has such a place?"
The man smiled and said, "It's all so well-equipped. I'd really like to know who the owner is."
"Boss...the boss is of course the great hero of our Sweets Island!"
When their boss was mentioned, the man's eyebrows danced with excitement. "Our boss is a celebrity here, Sam William, the great pirate who provides us with protection!"
"A great pirate?"
The man in the black suit glanced up at the plaque and said, "Pirate, is he a criminal? How much is his bounty?"
"No, that's not true. Lord William is different from those pirates. He never goes out to plunder. He only protects the safety of our island. Although he is a pirate, he is different from other pirates."
The waiter said, "Lord William hasn't put a bounty on his head yet. Although I think that's inappropriate—no bounty means no fame—Lord William doesn't seem to like bounties. Anyway, he's a great pirate in our hearts, and if he sets sail, I'll follow him!"
"I see..."
He nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
"Huh? Aren't you going to come in and have some fun?" The waiter stared blankly at the departing figure in the black suit.
Suddenly, a somewhat refined-looking man walked over and curiously looked in the direction the waiter was looking, asking, "What are you looking at?"
"Oh... Lady Elmira, there was a strange guest who came in to ask Lord William a few questions and then left. Tch, dressed so well, I thought he was a big spender, but he's so stingy."
"Inquiring about William?"
The woman named Elmira paused, then narrowed her eyes. "What did that person look like?"
When the waiter described the man's appearance, Elmira hesitated for a moment, then suddenly widened her eyes, broke out in a cold sweat, and ran outside without saying a word. Soon, she arrived at the largest house on the island.
"William, we've been exposed! The CP organization is investigating us!"
...
G-3 Fortress.
"Mr. Kuro, CP sent us information saying they've figured it out."
Back in the office, Crowe reported: "Based on Bucky's information about the 'hot springs,' CP visited many similar islands and found the skull and crossbones flag on a natural hot spring island called Sweetwater. Its owner is named Sam William, who is very influential on that island and in the surrounding area, but there is no bounty."
"No bounty?" Kuro paused for a moment. "What's the point of being a pirate if you don't have a bounty? Keep going."
CP has found a target; they need to investigate someone, so of course they won't leave out such limited information.
“Sam William is a special man, Mr. Kuro, he’s from your hometown.”
Kuro blinked at Kuro's words.
My fellow townsman?
“Sheltz Town?” Kuro asked.
"Yes, he is from Shells Town. He is 31 years old and set sail 12 years ago. It seems that he formed a pirate crew, but he did not make a name for himself. I don't know what he is doing. There is no news about him. Five years ago, he landed in Sweets and settled there to develop the hot spring industry. At the same time, he mainly sells alcohol and some other products. There is a type of alcohol on the market in the East Blue that belongs to them."
Kro adjusted his glasses and said, "The name of the liquor is Stim, I've had it before."
"Oh? That one, I think I've had it before... It's from their company." Kuro was a little surprised. He had drunk this sake before when he was in the East Blue. It was also sold in the Navy. It tasted pretty good, but it wasn't particularly good either; it was a commoner's sake.
"so..."
Kuro pondered for a moment, "This guy named Sam William is a pirate who runs a bathhouse and sells alcohol, and has no bounty?"
“That should be the case,” Kro nodded.
"What's the point..."
Kuro was a little stunned. To be honest, they were from the same town, but Kuro had never heard of this person before.
But that's normal. Ever since he started cultivating, he's been looking for cultivation locations every few days and hasn't been home much. He doesn't have any good relationships in Shells Town. He was so anxious back then that he didn't know how to greet people. It's normal that he didn't greet people.
But what's in this guy's eyes? He's just a businessman, why call himself a pirate?
"Tsk, yet another byproduct of the Great Pirate Era?" That was the only thing Kuro could think of.
In the era after Roger, everyone felt uncomfortable going to sea without the title of "pirate," and there was a strange sense of pride in it.
Perhaps that man was like that too?
"But the cigars are very well made..."
Kuro pulled out the cigar box, opened it, picked up a cigar with gold and white stripes, and said, "How about this, for the sake of being from the same hometown and the fact that there's no bounty, let's give him a way to make money. Kuro, call the navy near that hot spring town and tell them to go there..."
"Tell that guy named Sam William that I really like these cigars and I want him to make them for me. I'll pay a high price; they're worth it. And while you're at it, tell him to take off the pirate flag. He should be a proper businessman and stop playing these pirate games."
Aside from his 'pirate' title, this person is just a legitimate businessman. If CP couldn't find anything about him, it means he has no secrets.
Of course, Kuro wouldn't be so heartless as to exploit someone else's business by using the word "pirate." He would buy it with money if he could.
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