Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 539 The Straw Hat Pirates' Encounter with the Immortal Duo

The tavern in Magic Valley Town.

When Hidan and the three members of the Straw Hat Pirates entered, the pirates in the tavern couldn't help but show a hint of fear on their faces when they saw Hidan.

"It's Hidan again..."

"They're not trying to proselytize us again, are they?"

"Where is Lord Kakuzu? Didn't he promise to keep Hidan in check? Why is he back again?!"

"It seems like they're going to proselytize to those three newcomers?"

A group of pirates, clutching their bottles of liquor, hurriedly hid to the side, afraid of attracting Hidan's attention. They cautiously observed Hidan and the Straw Hat crew as they entered.

These pirates weren't particularly strong; they were just pirates living in the safe town of Mock Town. Ever since they witnessed Kakuzu's power and Hidan's bizarre and terrifying methods, they had never thought of challenging Kakuzu and Hidan's authority again.

Nami glanced sideways at the numerous terrified pirates and couldn't help but frown. "Hey, Zoro, don't you feel like something's not right?"

"Is there?"

Zoro glanced around at the people, then shook his head dismissively, saying, "I don't feel anything's wrong..."

Zoro sensed that the pirates around him might be in awe of Hidan, but he didn't care about that.

No matter where you go.

It is only natural for the weak to respect the strong.

Nami slowly turned her head and glanced at Hidan, who was still greeting Luffy with great enthusiasm. Her wariness grew.

This guy seems to have a very unusual status here! At least in this pirate-infested town, it seems like no one dares to mess with him…

"My name is Hidan, and I am a loyal follower of Jashin."

Hidan took the juice the tavern owner handed him, smiling as he said, "Ha, you guys came to Mock Town not to pay protection money, but to become followers of the Jashin, right?"

"Huh? No..."

Luffy scratched his head, looking at Hidan with a puzzled expression, and said straightforwardly, "We just came here to ask about Skypiea. I'm not interested in any of this 'evil god' stuff..."

"No, no, no!"

Seeing Hidan's expression gradually turn sinister, Nami hurriedly covered Luffy's mouth with her hand, smiling and nodding to Hidan, saying, "Yes, yes, actually we wanted to find out about the protection fees for this town and about Lord Jashin..."

After speaking to Hidan, Nami suddenly turned and stared intently at Luffy: "Idiot, calm this guy down first!"

"I see..."

Hidan's smile returned. He slowly sipped his juice, opened his palm, and chuckled, "Lord Jashin is the most powerful god in the world. He will protect every believer in this world, ensuring they suffer no harm..."

Hidan leaned close to Luffy, clenched his fist tightly, and said, "Hey, if you're willing to worship the Jashin and offer your loyalty to him, you can gain true immortality!"

"..."

Nami and Zoro looked strange.

Is it really that easy to gain immortality?

It sounds like a joke!

This is truly an evil cult. No wonder this guy is trying to recruit others on the street. He's obviously lying!

It would be a miracle if anyone believed that!

"Really?"

Luffy looked extremely surprised. He twisted his head and asked curiously, "Like that Buggy guy, he's impossible to kill no matter what?"

Who is Bucky?

Hidan tilted his head, mimicking Luffy's gesture, his eyes clearly showing more curiosity: "There's someone else like me. Is that person also a follower of the Jashin-sama?"

"have no idea…"

Luffy turned his head and shook it, saying, "Never mind, you'll see when you meet him in the future..."

Luffy shook his head and got down to business, his face clearly filled with curiosity and longing: "Speaking of which, Hidan, do you know how to get to Skypiea?"

"Hmm...hmm? You guys want to go to Sky Island?"

Hidan had just memorized Buggy's name and was about to continue his missionary work when he heard Luffy's question, which reminded him of something.

Hidan held up one finger, pointing upwards: "All we have to do is fly up there. I remember the Sky Island is located at an altitude of about 10,000 meters..."

Hidan rubbed his forehead, pulled out a Den Den Mushi, and muttered, "Wait a minute, I'll make a Den Den Mushi and call Kakuzu over. I think he went to Skypiea once before and brought back a lot of gold from there..."

"Mmm...please!"

Luffy clasped his hands together in thanks.

Just as Hidan was talking to his companion about Den Den Mushi, Nami's lips twitched involuntarily: "Hey, this is obviously fake, right? How can a person fly? Why do I always feel like this guy is a bit unreliable..."

"No, it's true."

The tavern owner cautiously spoke up, "The master of this Magic Valley Town, Lord Kakuzu, once personally set foot on the Sky Island and brought down a great deal of gold. You've all heard the story of the great liar Roland, haven't you?"

"Rolando, the big liar?"

"That's right."

The tavern owner nodded and said in a deep voice, "The infamous fairy tale conman Rolando is a household name in North Sea. It is said that when he first came to Gaya Island, he found mountains of gold on the island, but when he came a second time, he did not find the land of gold and was executed by his king, thus earning the title of the great conman Rolando..."

However, the Golden Country is a real place.

The place, once filled with gold, was swept into the sky by an upwelling current, thus becoming a floating island. When ships sail near Gaya Island, their navigational compasses point to the sky as a result.

It was Lord Kakuzu who discovered the truth.

As the tavern owner finished speaking, his voice gradually lowered: "Last year, Lord Kakuzu flew up into the sky and found the Golden City, which had been swept up into the sky by the rising ocean current, on a sky island tens of thousands of meters above the ground. He was seriously injured when he returned from there, but he also brought back a lot of gold."

"Kakuzu..."

Nami frowned, pondering the name, then her expression suddenly changed: "Wait... is it that Shichibukai, Kakuzu?"

"Don't you know?"

The tavern owner's expression immediately turned incredibly strange. He shook his head and sighed, "Never mind, it doesn't really matter anyway. You little guys probably don't have any bounties or protection fees... This straw hat..."

"No, this straw hat was a gift from someone else; there's nothing special about it."

Nami waved her hand hastily, smiled at the tavern owner, and asked, "By the way, could you tell us... what's the deal with the protection money? Is someone collecting protection money here?"

"You...don't you know about protection money?"

The tavern owner's expression grew even stranger, as if he were looking at someone from another world: "How could pirates who sail the first half of the Grand Line not know about the protection fee in Mock Town... Well, probably just some small-time pirate from some backwater?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Nami nodded her head frantically.

The tavern owner shook his head and sighed, saying, "The protection fee for Magic Valley Town is a fee that all pirates with bounties on their hands in the first half of the Grand Line must pay to the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Cape Town."

"Everyone must come to Mock Town to pay protection money once a month. The amount paid each time is equal to their bounty. If anyone fails to pay, unless they escape into the New World in the latter half of the Grand Line, they will be targeted by Lord Kakuzu until they are captured and killed for the bounty..."

After saying this, the tavern owner slowly added, "However, paying the protection fee is still worthwhile. You can continue operating in the first half, or you can enjoy a peaceful life in Mogu Town. Lord Kakuzu won't want to capture you for a bounty anymore."

"That…"

Nami glanced at Luffy and continued, "What if a pirate's bounty is too high, and they don't have enough money to pay protection money?"

Even if you have money…

We can't waste things to this extent!

The tavern owner shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Then he will definitely be captured by Lord Kakuzu for his bounty. Many pirates have managed to sail the first half of the voyage because their bounties are getting higher and higher and they don't have enough money to pay tribute. In the end, they are all killed by Lord Kakuzu or sent to Impel Down, the great prison..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Nami pressed on, "Even if these pirates didn't stay in Mock Town, would Kakuzu still capture or kill them?"

"Yes."

The tavern owner nodded seriously and continued in a deep voice, "Never underestimate Lord Kakuzu's power. It is said that if he wanted to, he could travel from Jaya Island to any small island in the first half of the Grand Line in a single day. No one could escape his pursuit..."

The tavern owner, seemingly feeling this wasn't convincing enough, added, "The truth might be even more exaggerated than you imagine. Lord Kakuzu's whereabouts are unpredictable; he can appear anywhere on the Grand Line..."

"..."

Nami fell silent once again.

The next moment, Nami suddenly grabbed Luffy and Zoro's shoulders and whispered, "Luffy, Zoro, what are your bounties?"

If I remember correctly...

Only Luffy and Zoro in the Straw Hat Pirates have bounties, but both of their bounties seem to be quite high!

No, that's not right!

And Nicole Robin!

Robin's bounty is 290 million Berries!

This means they could face an attack from one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea at any time, especially since they are on Kakuzu's territory!

"130 million Berry."

Luffy scratched the back of his head.

"6 million peles."

Zoro casually closed his eyes.

"Let me calculate..."

Nami's face turned deathly pale, and she nearly collapsed in an instant: "If I don't want to face an enemy who is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I have to pay a tribute of 480 million Berries..."

That's way too much money!

You absolutely must not make offerings!

Instead of wasting this money, it would be better to let Luffy and his crew fight desperately to defeat Kakuzu, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Besides, the most important thing is that they can't even gather enough people!

If it were only fifty or one hundred Berries, Nami might consider it... But this is 480 million Berries! Even if the entire Straw Hat Pirates sold everything they owned, they still wouldn't be able to raise that amount!

Especially considering they were robbed by Uehara Naraku in Loguetown, to put it mildly, the Straw Hat Pirates have been relying almost entirely on their own to replenish their supplies lately…

However, to defeat a Shichibukai...

Just thinking about it made Nami's scalp tingle!

Just then, Hidan hung up the phone, muttering, "You said you'd be back right away, but I hate waiting for people..."

Squeak...

The tavern door was suddenly opened.

A man slowly walked in under the shadows, holding a stack of bounty posters in his hand. He looked up and sized up all the pirates present, his gaze slowly landing on the Straw Hat Pirates, instantly making Luffy and Zoro tense up!

Second update!

(End of this chapter)