Chapter 167: Gathering Information
"What's going on?"
Kuro stood on the deck, then looked at the harbor in front of him while frowning slightly: "It looks like this place has just been attacked by pirates."
"If we can't get the necessary supplies here, we'll have to replan our route."
Gawain nodded, then looked indifferently at the harbor in the distance and said: "Now that we are here, let us make the best of it."
"Let's take a look at the specific situation inside the harbor first."
Except for Van Augur and Zoro, who stayed behind to guard the ship, the rest of the people had their own tasks. They followed Gawain down the gangway and headed towards the center of the harbor.
Fortunately, although this harbor looks a bit desolate, the facilities inside are still intact.
After everyone agreed on the time to return, they dispersed in the harbor according to their assigned tasks.
Gawain and Kuro went together to gather information about the harbor.
After a few minutes, in a bar.
The lights were flickering, and the music was soothing, but there were only a few guests sitting in the booths, which made the place seem extremely deserted.
Gawain and Kuro walked in, found a seat at the bar, and began to ask the female bartender nearby for information.
"What's been going on at the harbor lately?"
The female bartender smiled slightly but skipped the topic directly. Her eyes were glued to Gawain's face, then she licked her lips with her tongue and said softly: "I want some encounter between us, handsome…"
Gawain rolled his eyes: "I'm a pirate."
The female bartender was stunned and laughed: "Stop joking. There's no such a pirate… as handsome as you."
Seeing that it was useless to talk, Gawain reached out from his pocket, took out a few banknotes, stuffed them into the bartender's hand, and then explained his problem.
The female bartender then spoke with a hint of regret about why Red Rose Harbor was so desolate.
"Handsome, have you heard of CP9?"
Gawain became interested and nodded: "A secret service agency under the World Government, active as a spy around the world."
"Why?"
"The desolation of Red Rose Harbor has something to do with them?"
The female bartender nodded: "To be exact, it has something to do with two people from the CP9."
"Rob Lucci and Kalifa!"
"Who?"
Gawain was stunned, subconsciously thinking that the woman in front of him was fooling him.
After all, it's calculated based on time.
At this point in time, Rob Lucci and Kalifa should still be lurking in Water 7, one as a foreman and the other as an Iceburgs secretary, but in fact, they were secretly looking for the blueprint left behind by the shipwright Tom.
Therefore, it is impossible for CP9 to appear here.
But when the names of Rob Lucci and Kalifa appear at the same time, even from the mouth of a harbor bartender, the nature of the matter instantly changes.
Is it because of the butterfly effect caused by his arrival?
They completed the mission ahead of schedule but still became Spandam's scapegoats and were wanted by the World Government?
If this is true, then he can consider accepting Rob Lucci and his group.
Even without mentioning other people, Rob Lucci's own potential is a solid Gold level.
After his Devil Fruit ability awakened, he was even able to fight with Luffy in Gear 5 for a little bit.
Even though Luffy was playing around the whole time, Rob Lucci was able to do this, and the combat power he showed in Egghead was guaranteed to be at the Gold level, and he was not even weak among the Gold level.
He is also somewhat interested in the six styles of the Marines.
On the one hand, it was because the Six Styles itself was an extremely practical skill. Even if he could not use it himself, it would be a good choice to pass it on to his subordinates.
On the other hand, Gawain suspected that the Marines' Six Styles might be a skill that directly targets Haki.
The two most typical methods are Iron Body and Paper Drawing.
The former enhances the body's defense to the point of being nearly invulnerable to weapons, which is too similar to the characteristic of Armament Haki covering the body's surface to form invisible armor.
The latter is seemingly a skill used to dodge opponent attacks, but the premise of dodging is to predict where and how the opponent will attack, which coincides with the Observation Haki.
With a little thought, it is not difficult to judge that the Iron Body and Paper Drawing were most likely a technique to assist in the practice of Haki.
The Finger Gun, Storm Leg, Moon Step, and Shave were most likely used to complement the ability to attack and move, and together, they formed a complete combat skill.
Thinking of this, Gawain's heart was moved, but his face remained calm as he asked: "Why were they attacked by the Marines?"
Seeing this, the female bartender threw a wink at Gawain and leaned forward to reveal her deep cleavage: "Handsome, are you really not going to consider my suggestion?"
Gawain's mouth twitched, and then he glanced at Kuro beside him, only to find that the bastard's face was twitching due to suppressing his laughter!
It is impossible for him to sell his body for a piece of information.
But now that he needed help, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take out a few more banknotes from his pocket and stuff them into the bartender's hand.
Seeing this, the bartender continued: "Recently, there have been rumors in all ports of Paradise that these two people stole the treasure map of the great pirate Captain John and were discovered by the World Government. That's why they are wanted. The bounty on the leader, Rob Lucci, has even exceeded 100 million Belly!"
"It is said that Captain John possesses more than one-third of the world's gold. If you can find one-tenth of it, you will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life, and…"
The female bartender looked at Gawain in front of her, then looked at Kuro beside her, and couldn't help but think of the appearance of the two.
When she came to her senses, the two people were no longer in sight.
At this moment, the male bartender in the bar walked aside, tore off a bounty poster posted on the wall, and prepared to throw it into the trash can.
The female bartender was slightly stunned and said: "Which pirate was captured by the Marines? Or was he killed and exchanged for a bounty?"
"Neither. This bounty has been revoked by the World Government."
The male bartender placed the bounty order in front of the female bartender and asked in confusion: "Don't you know about the big event that happened in the East Blue some time ago?"
"The great pirate White Knight Gawain from the East Blue replaced Gecko Moria and became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea recognized by the World Government!"
The female bartender curled her lips and said: "What relationship does such a big shot have with us?"
"That's true."
The male bartender nodded, then turned his attention elsewhere and began to clean the stains on the table out of boredom.
The female bartender supported her chin with one hand and looked at the bounty with drooping eyelids, but all she saw was a familiar face and a bounty of over 200 million.
"This face… Why does it look a bit like the one just now…"
When she realized what she had done, her legs went weak.
"The person I just teased was… a Warlord?!"
"White Knight Gawain?!"