Two hours later.
The streets on the dock had been cleaned, leaving only indelible bloodstains to tell the story of the massacre that occurred here last night.
By the Chun Island riverbank, the Freedom, its sails lowered, was catching the wind.
Behind the Freedom, a small sailboat, similar to the Freedom, also lowered its sails. It was filled with Ba Da's subordinates.
On the riverbank, hundreds of old people and children stood quietly by the shore.
They watched the small sailboat and the people on it, as if they were watching soldiers about to embark on a long journey, filled with anticipation.
At the bow of the Freedom, Kong Tai patted Ba Da's shoulder, "Relax, with me here, no one can stop us from going to welcome back your people."
"Mm! I believe you, Boss."
"I told you," Kong Tai's hand paused on Ba Da's shoulder, then he lifted it and patted down forcefully, "Don't call me Boss!"
"You're almost forty, how can you call me, who just turned seventeen, 'Boss'!"
Ba Da turned to look at Kong Tai, his expression earnest, "Boss is a term of respect. What's there to be embarrassed about? It's you who's strange!"
"Me..."
Kong Tai withdrew his hand, pointed at himself, and a large question mark appeared above his head.
"Yes! It's you, Boss!"
"Even though you're young, you're powerful! Isn't it normal for people to call you 'Boss'? Why are you so resistant and impatient!"
Kong Tai covered his forehead with his hand.
This wasn't about him not wanting to be called 'Boss', was it?
It was that after Ba Da had reverted to his true form, he always had a majestic and serious demeanor, which made Kong Tai feel a bit awkward.
Besides, Ba Da was old enough to be his uncle.
Having such an uncle call him 'Boss' always felt strange.
That's why he had been emphasizing not to call him 'Boss'.
"I don't care, just don't call me Boss."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Just call me by my name."
"Oh! Boss Kong Tai."
"Mm..."
Kong Tai looked at Ba Da, his brow slightly furrowed.
Ba Da looked at Kong Tai, his eyes filled with hesitation. He could indeed feel Kong Tai's goodwill.
If he had been a little reluctant to call Kong Tai 'Boss' at first, Kong Tai had later agreed to help him and even removed the bullet from his chest.
This made him willing to call him that.
Now, asking him to change his address, he was truly a little unwilling!
But seeing Kong Tai's insistence, he had no choice but to change.
"Kong, Kong, Kong Tai."
After saying the name, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hahahaha!! That's more like it!"
Kong Tai burst into laughter, then turned to look at his ready companions and shouted,
"Brothers, let's set sail."
"Alright!"
A Tao, in the cockpit, forcefully turned the ship's wheel, and the Freedom began to move.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands on the riverbank, it slowly sailed out of the river channel and into the boundless sea.
*Click*!
After a flash of light, Huobird lowered his camera, forever capturing the expectant figures on the riverbank in a photograph.
These, along with the dozens of photos taken earlier, would be distributed to the entire world.
Kong Tai stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the rising sun in the distance, momentarily lost in thought, then turned to look at Ba Da.
"There should be a Marine branch nearby, right?"
"Mm!"
Ba Da, after hearing this, retracted his gaze from the Eternal Pose on his wrist and looked to the left.
"Bass Island, Marine G10 Branch, forms a triangle with the uninhabited island we're heading to next."
"So, how strong is the G10 Branch?"
Kong Tai's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"G10 Branch?" Ba Da's eyes held a trace of reminiscence, "The base commander of this branch is 'Melasden'. He's an old Vice Admiral from the same era as Vice Admiral Garp from Marine Headquarters. I haven't seen his strength, but I imagine he must be very powerful."
"Oh..."
"From the same era as Garp?"
Kong Tai stretched out his right hand, touched his chin, and then said, "I presume he's the one who assisted CP0 three years ago? You don't know his specific strength, does that mean he didn't make a move three years ago?"
"I didn't know before I returned."
Ba Da thought for a moment, "But I haven't seen him make a move since I returned."
"Mm!"
Kong Tai nodded.
The old-timers in the Marines generally had their own sense of justice. This Melasden might be a true justice Marine.
The World Government's naming conventions, and the fact that he didn't act, provided a lot of information.
"Huh!"
Kong Tai, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his head, his eyes swirling with starlight, and a red glow flashed.
"What's wrong?"
Ba Da looked into the distance, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Nothing. Do pirate crews often visit Bass Island?"
"This is the first island of the Grand Line. Basically, pirate ships come here every day, sometimes more than one ship a day."
He paused here, then continued, "Even yesterday, it wasn't just your ship. Yesterday afternoon, Bass Island welcomed another pirate ship."
"Welcomed?"
Kong Tai nodded, "I imagine your welcoming methods must have been quite satisfactory for them!"
"Haha!!"
Ba Da let out an embarrassed laugh.
Because yesterday, under the setting sun, he had welcomed Kong Tai and his crew in the same manner.
Just then, on the distant horizon, a mast with a blood-red pirate flag gradually emerged.
Before long, a dilapidated, three-masted large sailboat, with its back to the rising sun, surfaced.
Looking at the pirate ship in the distance, Ba Da was puzzled.
How many years.
How many years had it been since he'd seen a pirate ship sailing in the morning.
These guys were truly brave!
To dare to traverse the starting section of the Grand Line in the dark.
One must know that the starting section of the Grand Line has no islands at all, which leads to exceptionally violent weather during this initial voyage.
Every year, a large number of ships are buried in this section of the journey.
If anyone dared to salvage from below this starting sea area, they would surely get rich.
Beneath it lay countless novice pirate crews.
Of course, merchant ships were not to be excluded.
"Boss, there are two small sailboats ahead."
On the dilapidated sailboat, the lookout lowered his telescope and shouted to the people resting on deck below.
"Ship, there's a ship."
Hearing the shout, the pirates quickly stood up and rushed to the bow.
This night had been like being in a sea of demons for them. Of their original hundred companions, less than half remained.
And the battleship they were on, a ruler-class warship from the North Blue, had almost been buried with them last night.
Even now, it was on the verge of disintegrating at any moment.