Starting with two Kamui, they raised the flag of rebellion in One Piece.

After a few hours.

Li Mingyuan, who had indulged in a feast at the banquet, was now picking his teeth with a toothpick and walking back home, reeking of alcohol.

Just as he was not far from the ranch.

Suddenly, he noticed a figure standing in front of his temporary residence.

With his exceptional eyesight, Li Mingyuan recognized the figure not far away as the village chief he had seen that morning.

"village head?"

"Why are you coming to find me instead of staying at a nice banquet?"

Li Mingyuan was puzzled.

However, after thinking about it, he figured it probably wasn't a big deal, so he still greeted the figure.

Upon hearing Li Mingyuan's voice, the figure at the door turned around.

"Why are you back so soon? The banquet shouldn't be over yet, right?"

Seeing Li Mingyuan walking towards him, the village chief looked somewhat reserved and asked cautiously, "Is there something you're not satisfied with...?"

"It's nothing, everything was fine. Everyone was so enthusiastic, they kept stuffing food into my bowl. I couldn't eat anymore after a short while. Plus, the people around me were a bit drunk, so after saying a few words to the people nearby, I left."

Li Mingyuan casually replied, "Compared to that, what are you doing here, Village Chief? Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the banquet either."

Upon hearing Li Mingyuan's explanation, the village chief immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Li Mingyuan, then suddenly turned around and started groping around at his feet. Soon after, he took out a rather heavy small bag and held it out to Li Mingyuan.

What are you doing?

Seeing Li Mingyuan's puzzled look, the village chief explained with a smile, "This is your reward. I don't really trust anyone else with this matter, so I wanted to deliver it to you personally."

"A bounty?"

Li Mingyuan took the bag, opened it, and took a look.

It really is.

Inside, there were stacks of large-denomination peggs, piled up in layers inside the bag, clearly indicating a considerable amount.

"The navy is pretty efficient. I thought it would take a few days."

Li Mingyuan said with some surprise.

"I've counted the exact bounty amount, and it should be correct. You can double-check it."

"Actually, I originally planned to deliver it to you tomorrow morning, but then I thought you might need the money, so I thought it would be better to deliver it earlier."

The village chief stopped talking at this point.

He was somewhat vague about where he might need money, but even though the other person didn't finish speaking, Li Mingyuan could understand the implication—there was definitely a reason why money would be needed.

After all, others might not know, but how could the village chief not know? Li Ming was found naked on the shore. Forget about money, he was completely penniless.

If the bandits had any cash on them besides the stolen goods, or if the villagers had been willing to "show some appreciation," they wouldn't have spent the whole afternoon staring blankly at the sun while two bounty hunters were out.

Hearing the village chief's veiled expression, Li Mingyuan didn't seem to react much, remaining quite calm.

He tied the money pouch to his waist and nodded to the village chief.

"Then thank you for your thoughtfulness, village chief."

Seeing that Li Mingyuan had accepted the money, the village chief relaxed.

"I heard there are still some bandits at the bandit stronghold. I've already reported that to the Navy. You don't need to worry about the follow-up. You're a benefactor to this village. If you have any other questions, just let us know, and we'll do our best to help."

He stroked his beard, looked at Li Mingyuan and chuckled, "I already spoke to the rancher about this room before I came. You can stay as long as you want. Tomorrow I'll have someone replace the windows. You can see if there's any furniture you need then."

After explaining what he wanted to say, the village chief turned around and prepared to leave.

But just then, as if he had expected it, Li Mingyuan suddenly called out to the village chief.

"Wait a minute, village chief."

Seeing the village chief turn around and look at him blankly, Li Mingyuan calmly said, "You don't need to fix the windows tomorrow. But more importantly, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"I should be leaving here in a few days. There's an island I want to go to, but I don't know its exact name, only the name of a place on it."

"If possible, village chief, could you help me find out if there are any merchant ships going to or near that island, or could you also help me find information about that island?"

"Huh? Are you leaving?"

The village chief's eyes widened in surprise. "So fast?"

"Actually, I also want to stay on this island a little longer, after all, I'm being treated like a benefactor here, but I can't help it, there are some things I have to do that I have to do quickly."

Li Mingyuan shook his head and replied.

"...Okay then."

The village chief initially looked somewhat embarrassed upon hearing Li Mingyuan's words, but eventually nodded.

"In that case, I'll help you look for it. Where do you want to go?"

"That is, Alon Paradise."

Li Mingyuan spoke first.

"A-Long Paradise... Ah? A-Long Paradise!?"

The village chief's eyes widened instantly, and he asked in shock, "What are you doing there?"

"Did you know that's the base of Arlong's pirate crew? They control several islands and dozens of villages, and the captain of Arlong's crew has a bounty of 2000 million Berries, making him the highest-bounty pirate in the East Blue right now!"

"Even the bandit Dick, whom you just defeated, is nothing compared to Arlong!"

"Village chief, you seem to know quite a lot."

Li Mingyuan laughed and said, "That's right, that's exactly where I'm going."

"Since you already know, then the situation is simple. You should know if there are any merchant ships going to those nearby islands, right?"

"You..."

The village chief was speechless for a moment, his chubby, wrinkled face almost scrunched up in a ball.

It's clear he's really torn.

However, after this situation continued for a while, the village chief carefully looked up at Li Mingyuan's expression again. When he saw that Li Mingyuan was still as calm as ever, he had to sigh and scratch his head in annoyance.

"Sigh, I understand. I'll go check it out first... But there are very few merchant ships traveling to and from those islands. I don't know if there are any ships still running that route on our island. I'll let you know in a couple of days."

"Thank you again, village chief."

After entrusting the task to the village chief, Li Mingyuan felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders and felt much more relaxed.

After agreeing to Li Mingyuan's request, the village chief confirmed once again that Li Mingyuan had no other requests.

This time, the village chief is truly gone.

Li Mingyuan watched the village chief's retreating figure with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, the village chief accepted the request without asking any questions. You see, even at the previous banquet, after the villagers got to know him a little, they would ask him all sorts of questions, such as his background, name, why he was so powerful, and how he defeated the bandits.

He simply didn't respond to the villagers' questions.

The main issue is that the origin story hasn't been finalized yet.

But now, the village chief is able to refrain from asking any questions after hearing that he is leaving the village to go to Ah Long Paradise, which shows he has some shrewdness.

After all, someone who can solve a 1000 million Berry bounty must be quite important to the village's safety. Judging from the village chief's previous busy work, it's clear that the other party probably wanted him to stay here. It's surprising that he was able to refrain from trying to keep him here.

No wonder he's the village chief.

Of course, even if the other party tries to persuade you to stay, it won't make a difference.

After watching the village chief return to the brightly lit streets where the banquet had taken place, Li Mingyuan turned around and went back into the house with his 1500 million Berries bounty in his pocket.

After entering the cabin, Li Mingyuan lay down on the bed.

My stomach still feels a bit full.

After drinking too much alcohol, my head felt a little dizzy, and my thinking wasn't very clear.

"That's really going to be tough."

Recalling the banquet just now, Li Mingyuan rubbed his temples and muttered to himself.

Based on the conversation at the banquet, he gained a lot of useful information. He not only figured out the situation before he woke up—that the villagers found him lying on the shore and picked him up—but also, since under normal circumstances, even if he were robbed by pirates, he wouldn't be left with nothing, the villagers regarded him as a strange person with a story.

In addition, he also figured out the current timeline, which was pretty much as expected. The current time is 1536 in the Sea Calendar, which is three years before Luffy officially sets sail. At this point in time, the protagonist, Straw Hat Luffy, is still training hard in Windmill Village to master his "Gum-Gum Fruit". No story has started yet, and therefore, any story could begin.

The reason he suddenly asked the village chief to go to Alon Paradise was actually due to the intelligence he gathered at the banquet.

Because he suddenly realized that he could defeat Ah Long ahead of time and then recruit someone into the team.

A very, very important person.

"15 million Berries sounds like a lot, but it doesn't feel that big when you actually hold it in your hand. No wonder in the Water Seven arc, 100 million Berries was only the size of a suitcase."

Li Mingyuan looked at the bag in his hand.

At this time, Nami had saved up an unknown amount of money, but she was still 7 million Berries short of what she thought was enough to redeem Cocoyasi Village, even after the main storyline of One Piece began. In the end, she only reached her goal by stealing the Straw Hat crew's treasure.

This period is three years earlier than the main storyline, and the gap must be at least 3000 million Berries or even more.

If Nami knew he had 1500 million Berries, her eyes would definitely light up.

Nami.

Nickname: Nami the Cat Thief.

As one of the main female characters in "One Piece" and the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates in their early days, she has a significant role in the series. Not only does she possess an exceptionally beautiful appearance, but despite being human, she also has a nautical talent that even fish-men covet. In the movie, she was even targeted by the legendary Flying Pirates captain, Shiki, because of this talent. In terms of talent alone, she is a rare presence in the entire series.

However, in contrast to her glamorous appearance, her past was filled with extreme misfortune and tragedy.

During her childhood, the kingdom where she was born was attacked by pirates when she was one year old, and she became an orphan. Bellemere, a Marine, found Nami and Nojiko, who were survivors, in the ruins and took them back to their hometown, Cocoyasi Village, and adopted them as daughters.

Originally, Nami's life as an adopted child was quite happy. Although there were occasional trivialities and frictions in her life, she gradually developed her dream of "drawing a world map" and had a warm family.

However, when Nami was 10 years old, Arlong and his gang of fishmen suddenly invaded and occupied Cocoyasi Village, demanding protection money from the villagers. It cost 100,000 Berries for an adult and 50,000 Berries for a child. Her foster mother, Bellemere, only had a little over 100,000 Berries in savings. Because she decided to pay the money to her two daughters, she was eventually brutally murdered by Arlong.

That alone was enough to turn Nami's life from heaven to hell overnight. But Arlong, the fishman, also keenly discovered Nami's talent for drawing nautical charts. This talent was enough for him to realize his dream of making the fishmen dominate the world. So, driven by greed, he offered Nami 100 million Berries to buy the village in exchange for her becoming their surveyor, wanting to keep her by his side forever.

Since then, in order to redeem her hometown village, Nami has had to endure hatred while drawing sea charts for Arlong, and also steal pirate treasures all over the sea, living such a life.

She lived this suffocating and painful life for a full eight years, from the age of ten until she met the Straw Hat Pirates at the age of eighteen.

His life only changed after he met the Straw Hat Pirates.

Because of Luffy the Straw Hat, she was saved. Not only was Arlong Paradise destroyed, but her village was also liberated. From then on, she joined the Straw Hat Pirates and rekindled her original dream: to draw a world map and embark on an adventure and journey across the sea with the pirate crew.

Li Mingyuan believed that anyone who had watched One Piece, whether they liked it or not, should have been left with a strong impression of Nami.

Li Mingyuan was not only deeply impressed, but he also really liked the shining points that Nami showed, including Nami's greed, her petty thief nature, and her somewhat unpleasant past.

"Arlong Park... I never thought I'd have this opportunity to intercept Nami before the Straw Hat Pirates. If I had really dealt with Arlong Park three years earlier, would Nami have refused if I invited her to join the crew?"

Li Mingyuan's lips curled up, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

Yes.

His next goal is to go to Arlong Park in order to recruit the original character, Nami, the "Little Cat Burglar".

It's not just out of love for the character; more importantly, just like the reasons given by the Fishmen and Shiki, it's a very realistic point that Nami's talent is also extremely crucial to him.

To some extent, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it will determine how he acts in the future.

Even if he really did steal Nami, without Nami, the Straw Hat Pirates might have a lot of trouble even entering the Grand Line, or they might not be able to sail at all, which would directly ruin the original plot.

Li Mingyuan had certainly thought of this.

As a time traveler, he should theoretically have some subconscious desire to maintain the inertia of the original plot, since the development of the original plot can give the time traveler the advantage of foresight.

But Li Mingyuan didn't really care about that.

His mission is to become the King of the World. Putting aside the fact that as long as he does the main quest, the future of One Piece will never be the same as the original story. The current timeline of One Piece is three years ahead of the original story. If he makes a big move within three years, the plot will still change no matter what. Does he have to wait three years in vain to protect the original story?

In any case, Li Mingyuan felt he couldn't do that.

Since the plot is going to change anyway, it's better to start now and let him take the initiative to change it.