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The 27th of February 1506.

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"Don't mention it." Responded Fred with a smile before continuing. "Now that we have a lead, we must think about how to catch the escaped inmate. Leaving a 17 million Berries bounty owner in the wild is not a good idea."

"That's true!" Spoke Laurent, his expression becoming serious as he continued. "What would an inmate try to do with stolen wood?" He asked, signaling Fred to hand him the folder he put the information in.

Looking back at the responses of the different owners, Laurent suddenly stood up, looking at Fred with a surprised expression. "Have you noticed it?" He asked with an excited expression emerging on his face.

While re-reading, Laurent noticed that the robber did not steal any finished product but un-processed wood.

Smiling back at him, Fred responded. "Yes! I noticed it earlier while organizing the folder. I came to three conclusions. However, I did not want to rush it and waited for you to find out." Answered Fred, showing a high level of EQ.

If a person finds something out by himself, he will always think more clearly and boldly than when he's told that thing, no matter how much explanation is given to him. That's why good teachers would lead their students to find the answer to a problem on their own instead of directly giving them the answer. That way, they will boldly and easier solve a similar problem on their own next time.

Understanding that fact, Laurent was again shocked by his friend's overwhelming awareness. Although he has witnessed it multiple times during the year they spent together, he's always amazed by that skill.

'Taking care of four kids on your own does help you develop skills.'  Thought Laurent, happy that he somehow became friends with someone as capable as Fred. Carrying deadweight around him is something Laurent is unwilling to do.

'He has all the skills I don't possess. If we still work with each other in the future, we will form an extremely complementary pair.' Mused Laurent, getting chills up his spine. 'Just thinking about it gives me chills.' They already started cooperating during fights as they always have to spar with Commodore Stone or Instructor Baibald two v one. However, their relationship seems to become more tacit as time goes by.

Stopping for a few seconds to regain his calm, Laurent promised himself never to be surprised by Fred again in this life before continuing his discussion with Fred.

"What were those conclusions?" Asked Laurent while sitting back on the tatami of the dojo. Hearing the question, Fred thought for a few seconds before answering.

"Well, I came up with three answers. However, I'm unsure if they are correct since I don't have enough intel to back them up." He started and fixed his sitting position before continuing after he saw Laurent nod his head as a signal for him to continue.

"The first one is dumb, but it's still possible. He might use the stolen wood to build a raft and escape the island. However, he might merely steal a ship from the island's shipwright. Why would he risk getting caught by stealing from the island's residents? That doesn't make any sense, at least in my mind." Hearing Fred's first answer, Laurent's face hardened as something came to his mind. However, Fred missed that and continued speaking.

"Second, the robber might use the stolen wood as a source of income once he leaves the island. However, that also seems dumb, as taking the finished product would bring more earnings. Those have more value than raw materials. In addition, if that were the case, he would've already left the island to avoid confronting the Commodore. So, this doesn't make sense either." He stopped, scratching the back of his head as he embarrassingly continued.

"Let me stop there. Although it made sense when I thought about it, the more I talk about it, the dumber I feel." He finished, feeling lost, as he noticed the wide, confident smile Laurent wore on his face.

'What's wrong with him?' He thought, feeling weird about Laurent's suddenly odd behavior. However, Laurent didn't make him wait too long before explaining himself.

"You're a genius, Fred!" Exclaimed Laurent as he got up, ready to leave the dojo. Hurriedly following him with a surprised expression, Fred asked. "What do you mean?"

Coming out of the dojo, Laurent stopped, explaining his sudden reaction.

"If we don't hurry up, the robber will leave the island. It would be too late to catch up to him if that happened." He started, resuming his walk toward the headquarter. Seeing the stunned and confused look on Fred's face, he spoke.

"There is no shipwright on this island." He continued and shocked Fred, who was following him. "While you were getting trained by Commodore Stone on the basics of swordsmanship, I discussed with instructor Baibald, asking for information about this island." He stopped, ensuring Fred was following him before continuing.

"From the culture of this island, its geography, its history, to the arrival of Commodore Stone and the changes he made. I also asked why the Commodore's attitude was more positive toward us than the other regular soldiers and stuff like that." Taking his breath while speeding up, Laurent continued talking.

"I don't think you knew this, but the Commodore is trying his hardest to get us into marineford to get more resources from them. Of course, I believe he grew attached to us after all this time, but his goal never changed to solve the lack of shipwrights on his island. However, this island lacks the resources needed to run normally." Stopped Laurent as they arrived in front of the marine headquarters. Looking back at Fred, he smiled and continued.

"In addition to that, you also noticed the lack of green on this island from the map the soldiers gave you earlier. So, the robber's only way out of the island was to steal materials and build a vehicle by himself since there was a lack of ships to steal. Only a lunatic would directly steal a marine ship and still escape. That's why he didn't do that. At least, we can see that he's sane."

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"Did you get a sword?" Asked Laurent in a quiet voice as he stealthily approached his destination. Behind him, Fred did the same as he responded.

"Yes! It's a standard marine sword. It's far less sharp than the one Commodore Stone uses." Nodding his head, Laurent sped up, trying his hardest to reach their destination before the inmate.

Following Laurent, Fred looked slightly worried as he asked. "Are you sure this is going to work?" However, he only earned Laurent's playful look as the latter teased.

"Where has the optimist Fred gone? Don't tell me you're scared?" Shaking his head with a smile, Fred countered.

"I'm only optimist about the decisions I take." He said, a smug expression on his face. "Whatever the great me hasn't thought about, it's not a great idea." He finished, the smugness still present on his face.

"Oh, God! You're a narcissist now?" Responded Laurent, the fakeness of his surprise evident for everybody to see. A few seconds later, they both burst out laughing, easing the atmosphere before the beginning of their operation.

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A couple of hours later, around midnight, a figure could be seen whizzing through the city as two equally fast figures followed closely behind him. Glancing at the man clearly, you can see several black marks around his face, showing the status of someone who took a beating in a fistfight. A large scar, made via a sword, could also be seen running down his left hand.

'What the f*ck are these kids.' He inwardly cursed, forcing himself to speed up as he felt the teenager holding the sword getting near him.

'Why didn't I just leave yesterday? Is this going to be my end?'