I Will Become Hokage in One Piece - Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Heading to the Nine Snakes

“Where are you going?” Sanji asked.

Rodney raised the wanted poster in his hand and said, “The World Destroyer, Bounty D. Wald, has been causing quite a stir lately. Although I’m no longer one of the Seven Warlords, I’m still a pirate hunter, and I want that bounty.”

This bounty was worth five hundred million berries, and Rodney was curious to see if Bounty D. Wald, who couldn’t control Haki perfectly in the movie version, was really that weak. In theory, a pirate whose bounty exceeded one billion thirty years ago shouldn’t be so weak. However, the fact remained that he was defeated by Luffy, who had just learned Haki and Observation Haki.

So, was Movie Luffy the strongest version?

Bounty D. Wald was known as the “World Destroyer,” a pirate who roamed the seas thirty years ago alongside Roger, Whitebeard, and others, striking fear into the World Government and the Navy.

He was a user of the Momo Momo Fruit, which allowed him to multiply the speed, strength, volume, and weight of objects by up to a hundred times. In other words, a single bullet could be enlarged a hundredfold, becoming a weapon rivaling cannonballs.

With his increasing power, he began to destroy everything in his path, be it the World Government’s ships, Navy warships, or ordinary civilians, all were obliterated. His title of “World Destroyer” spread far and wide.

Later, the World Government planted spies around him. When he was besieged by then Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Fujitora, these spies successfully turned his crew against him, injuring him and finally capturing him, imprisoning him in Impel Down for thirty years. However, when Luffy wreaked havoc in Impel Down, Blackbeard freed many pirates, including Bounty D. Wald.

Due to his prolonged confinement in ice, he did not appear to have aged much, despite being seventy-eight years old. Nevertheless, when he was captured, he still looked the same as when he had been betrayed by his crew. His brother, Binjak, had ordered his crew to abandon him when he was lying on the ground, already disillusioned due to his crew’s betrayal. This action infuriated him, leading him to lose faith in his crew and view them as mere tools.

To vent his anger, after re-establishing contact with his brother, he began to lead a new pirate crew to attack the Navy’s fleets. Having been frozen for thirty years, the events of thirty years ago felt like they had occurred just yesterday. How could he possibly let go of these memories?

However, all of this was irrelevant to Rodney; all he wanted was Bounty D. Wald’s head.

With Wald’s recent activities, Sakaski had called upon the Seven Warlords to deal with him. Since the Marine Headquarters had moved to the New World, there was much to be done. Therefore, Sakaski delegated the task to the Seven Warlords and several Vice Admirals. Most of the work was to be done by the Seven Warlords, allowing them to fight among themselves.

However, Sakaski had no idea that this news had piqued Rodney’s interest. This guy, like a shark smelling blood, rushed over as soon as he heard there was money to be made.

Rodney vaguely remembered some of the plot. He headed directly to the Amazon Lily, where Empress Boa Hancock was located.

The Marines had urgently called upon the Seven Warlords to deal with Wald, and Wald, in turn, wanted to capture a Seven Warlord as a hostage to facilitate his journey to Marijoa, where he planned to choose a ripe fruit to squeeze. He intended to control a Sea King and enter the Calm Belt to reach Marijoa.

He was planning to capture a Seven Warlord, specifically one of the weaker ones, and he ended up here.

By directly controlling a Sea King to enter the Calm Belt with the aid of a Log Pose, he believed he could reach Marijoa. However, instead of finding Amazon Lily, he stumbled upon the island where Rayleigh and Luffy were training.

“Hey hey hey! Rodney!” Luffy excitedly rushed over, but Rodney quickly dodged, letting Luffy crash into a tree.

“Don’t do that. If it were Nami, I might consider it, but you, forget it!” Rodney shook his head, looking disdainful of Luffy’s sweaty appearance.

“Rodney, why are you here? Do you have any business?” Rayleigh asked with a smile.

“I’m here to catch someone. I thought that guy would come here, but I didn’t expect to arrive early,” Rodney said. That’s right, he arrived early, before the plot even began. However, staying here for a few days should be enough to find Wald, right?

Hearing that he was here to catch someone, Rayleigh became interested. “So, who are you going to catch?”

“Bounty D. Wald!”

Hearing this name, Rayleigh fell silent for a moment and asked, “Has that guy escaped?”

Compared to Rox’s crazy plan to overturn the world, Wald’s ambitions were also enormous. They had crossed paths back then, and Wald’s Momo Momo Fruit was quite troublesome. But thirty years ago, he was captured by Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Fujitora and sent to Impel Down. According to Rodney, some of the escapees from Impel Down included Wald, Baron Tamago, and even one of their former crewmates, Douglas Barrett.

“Yes, those who escaped from Impel Down, to my knowledge, include Wald, Red Count, and your old crew member, Douglas Barrett!”

Hearing Barrett’s name, Rayleigh fell silent for a moment. “That guy has also escaped, huh?”

He was a solitary man who didn’t fit in on their pirate ship. Apart from Roger’s orders, he wouldn’t listen to anyone else. His strength was on par with his younger self. At the moment, due to his old age, his strength had declined significantly, and he was no longer his match.

Rayleigh didn’t want to dwell on Barrett and simply asked, “So, are you here for Wald’s bounty?”

“Yes, I heard that the World Government has called upon the Seven Warlords to surround Wald. So, I came to the Nine Snakes to wait. Well, it turns out that I got here early. Unexpected, right? I even got a bit lost.”

“Haha, not really lost. The Nine Snakes are not far from here,” Rayleigh said with a smile. Luffy then asked, “Rodney, are you here to find Hancock?”

“I’m not here for her. I’m just waiting here for a pirate who escaped from Impel Down. Okay, how’s your training going? Have you mastered Haki?”

“Still not very skilled with Armament Haki, and I’m still learning Observation Haki,” Luffy replied with a smile.

“That’s good enough. Under my Devil’s Training, Sanji has started to practice the Navy’s Six Powers.”

“What, what, what? Sanji is with you?!” Luffy asked nervously. “Is he okay?”

“He’s more than okay. What could possibly go wrong with me around? Besides, he has his sister taking care of him. I won’t mess with him.”

Rodney shook his head. In fact, Reiju was a hidden brother-con.

When he was training Sanji, Reiju would secretly keep an eye on them. Sometimes, she would complain that she had been too harsh on Sanji.

Goodness, it was just making him run a bit. Was that considered harsh? Compared to the hardships he endured in the Okama Kingdom, it was like heaven!

Poor Sanji!

Thinking of this, Rodney couldn’t help but mourn for him. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to acquire his Raid Suit, or else it could have been quite dangerous.

“Sister? Sanji has a sister?” Luffy asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yes, he has two brothers, one sister, and an irresponsible father. But he only acknowledges his sister,” Rodney said. He sat down on the grass and asked Rayleigh, “So, how is he as a student? Can he be taught?”

Rayleigh, sipping his wine, replied, “Not as easy to teach as you are, but he has good talent. Will you be able to wait for Wald here?”

“I should be able to. Among the Seven Warlords, Hancock is probably the weakest. Wald will come here,” Rodney said with a mysterious smile. “He will come here!”

(End of this chapter)

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