Port of Jaya Island.
Murphy had been standing there for some time, looking around, but unfortunately he still hadn't noticed any passing merchant ships.
After he killed Nelson, he cut off his head in front of everyone, cleaned out the tavern and slowly left. His intention was to find a merchant ship in the port to leave the island, and then on some island where there was a Marine, to collect a reward for his head.
Unfortunately, fate decreed otherwise - there was not a single merchant ship in the port, only pirate ships.
"What if I just board a pirate ship?" he thought.
The direction of the pirate ship didn't really matter. As long as they found an island with Marines where they could exchange their head for a reward and board a regular ship, then they could go anywhere.
It's decided!
He glanced at the ships moored to the shore, but did not choose at random. After examining them carefully, he headed for a medium-sized pirate ship.
Although his strength allowed him to successfully defeat Nelson, he was not overconfident. A pirate with a bounty of 25 million was considered low-tier by the standards of the entire Grand Line. Nelson himself probably knew this well, otherwise he would not have stayed at the beginning of the Grand Line for long. And Murphy, relying on his past life memories, also estimated his current strength level. If converted into a bounty, it would be around 40 million - far from impressive.
The sea is vast and full of hidden talent. If Murphy gets on the wrong ship, he may never get off.
If the ship is large or even huge, then a captain who does not have strength will hardly be able to control it.
Very small ships also required caution. The weather on the Grand Line changes instantly, and the ability to sail such a small vessel speaks volumes. Crew members on such ships follow their own path and are often more problematic than those on the larger pirate ships.
And the pirate ship in front of him, busy stowing cargo on deck and preparing to sail, was neither big nor small—just what Murphy needed.
At least, that's what it seemed like to him before he boarded...
Murphy took a short run, pushed off from the mooring bollard, and landed on the ship like a bird.
"Who's there?!" the pirates shouted.
Several pirates on the ship were preparing to sail, and the noise Murphy made immediately attracted their attention.
Great, no one present seemed dangerous!
"Don't be nervous, I just want to use a passing boat, and I'm willing to pay for the passage," Murphy said.
The corners of his lips curled up into a harmless smile. At heart, he was still a cultured man and did not like senseless violence. He would not create problems unless necessary.
"Get out of here! We don't take passengers!" one of the middle-aged pirates responded irritably, waving his hand at Murphy as if swatting away a fly.
"You really won't take it?" Murphy narrowed his eyes, still showing a smile.
His lips were still curved, but now with a noticeable hint of a certain wit.
Perhaps influenced by the aura of the man who had just killed Nelson, the pirate opposite seemed to sense something and instinctively cowered, without saying another word.
"What's going on?" a deep voice said.
Following this, two figures emerged from the cabin. The speaker was the tall man in front, wearing a captain's hat, and the other, walking behind, seemed thinner.
Obviously, the speaker was the captain, that is, the strongest on the ship.
Murphy instinctively looked in the direction of the voice, thinking that if he could convince the captain, there would be no problem with the passing ship. However, the next moment his face froze. It was not as he thought.
The speaker was indeed the captain, but the surprise was that it was she and not him.
Pirates were always appearing on this sea, there were also many female pirates, but those who became captains were really few. And such a fat physique and a face covered with freckles were even rarer. This image immediately reminded Murphy of Alvida before she ate the devil fruit.
"Nothing special, Captain Nydam. Some man wants to use a passing ship, we were just about to drive him away," the pirates explained.
Murphy noticed that the faces of the pirates he was talking to suddenly tightened into expressions of horror, and then they began to explain the situation in a halting manner.
"A passing ship? Wait," said the captain, whose name was Nydam.
The female captain looked at Murphy with confusion, and then her eyebrows rose and a spark of joy seemed to flash in her eyes. She waved her hand to stop her subordinates from doing their thing and asked Murphy, "Where are you going, kid? You don't look like a pirate. Why would you want to sail on a pirate ship?"
"I'll take any island as long as it's on a regular route, not like here, where there are only pirate ships. As for the pirate ship, I just don't have a choice," Murphy shrugged, explaining the situation.
- So young, but so brave! Aren't you afraid of danger? Ha-ha-ha, okay, we'll take you with us, - Nidam laughed loudly, clearly inspired, and, turning to the man behind her, said: - Mori, prepare a cabin for this young man.
"Okay, captain," the man replied and turned to Murphy: "Come with me, I'll show you your cabin."
The man looked much thinner than Nydam. Like Murphy, he wore glasses, but he seemed much older, about 25 or 26 years old.
"Thank you. There are many good people among the pirates, too," Murphy smiled with a polite compliment, but inwardly he became wary.
The captain had agreed too easily, without asking his name or any other information, which was suspicious. Besides, this man named Mori was strange too. He looked as if he had heard good news, as if he had sighed with obvious relief. Besides, there was something special in his gaze at Murphy, like... pity?
Murphy looked back at the pirates doing the grunt work and saw something similar in their eyes too.
Why did he feel like he was in a den of bandits? But wasn't that true?
Murphy followed Morey into the cabin, and for some reason, despite the warm corridor, he felt cold. After thinking about the situation, he casually asked: "Where is your ship heading?"
"To the Sabaody Archipelago. All the pirate ships are heading there," Mori smiled good-naturedly, turning to the young man.
Murphy could see that Mori really didn't seem to have any malicious intentions, and the information he provided was also reliable.
The Grand Line is generally divided into two parts: the first half is called Paradise, and the second is called the New World.
A pirate ship heading to the New World must pass through Fishman Island.
Fishman Island is located ten thousand meters underwater, and pirate ships can only withstand the pressure of the deep sea after using a special Ship Coating.
As the last stop in Paradise, Sabaody Archipelago is an unavoidable stop for pirates heading to the New World. All pirate ships must stop here to resupply and obtain Coating. What Mori said about the pirate ship heading to Sabaody Archipelago was absolutely true.
Maybe Murphy is just too suspicious?
Suddenly the ship began to shake, pitch and roll. Then it began to sail away. It seemed that, whether Murphy was suspicious or not, it was impossible to get off.
Murphy was also heading to Sabaody Archipelago, and if the ship's destination coincided with his own, he would save the effort of transferring.
- They've arrived. Here's your cabin. Get settled in, and when it's time for dinner, I'll come for you, - said Mori.
Maury opened the cabin door, led Murphy inside, gave a few instructions, and left.
However, before leaving, Mori looked strangely at the bundle in the young man's hands. He had had his suspicions before, but he was not sure. However, as he walked through the closed space of the corridor, he vaguely felt that the bundle smelled of blood.
When Mori left, Murphy threw the package on the table and sat down in a chair, thinking.
It's not just pirates heading to Sabaody Archipelago, and if you step outside of that thinking, other answers will emerge.
Out of habit, he placed the bent index finger of his right hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.
Maybe this ship is a slave ship?
He opened the Exchange interface, scrolled through a few pages, and looked at one item.
[Spend 200 points to purchase a remote-controlled Den-Den-Mushi for observation?]
- Yes.
He had long noticed this series of objects. The various types of Den-Den-Mushi filled an entire page. Listening, surveillance, protection against listening, video recording, photography - the functions were varied.
This sea was treacherous and dangerous. So how could a freelance writer navigate it without the ability to gather information?