https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-10-Youthful-Indulgence-Adult-Indiscretion/12608054/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-12-Admiral-of-the-Navy-Kaido-s-Son-Arkin-/12608056/
Chapter 11: We Are Pirates, Not Robbers!
Chapter 11: We Are Pirates, Not Robbers!
The island was a typical one, with a semicircle of beach surrounding its exterior and a dense forest within. At the heart of this island, in a clearing among the trees, a bonfire blazed brightly, casting an eerie human-shaped shadow.
Seated on a log before the fire was an exceptionally tall and muscular man, his upper body resembling that of a gorilla. He had short purple hair, with a white headband tied around his forehead, and his head was lowered, revealing only half of his stern face, illuminated by the dancing flames.
In front of him stood a group of people, three of whom were surrounded by the rest.
"Why?" The tall man asked in a deep voice. "Tell me, why didn't you capture any ships, and why didn't you raise the pirate flag?"
A difficult swallow was heard from the three men.
The man at the forefront of the trio, with messy hair, stubble, dark skin, and thick lips framed by heavy dark circles, replied, "Boss, the pirate flag is our symbol. We can't—"
Bang!
Before he could finish his sentence, the tall man stood up abruptly and threw a punch, his forearm sending the thick-lipped man crashing to the ground.
"With just a small boat! If you don't raise the pirate flag, you won't be able to capture any ships! And you're worried about symbols at a time like this? Without ships, how are we supposed to set sail!"
He stepped over the bonfire and planted his foot on the man's head, pushing his face deep into the soil.
"Why didn't you follow my orders? Answer me!"
"Boss! The pirate flag represents our honor! We can't lower it again; our numbers are dwindling. If we lower the flag, morale will—"
Bang!
Another heavy stomp, and the tall man's foot crushed the speaker's face, cutting off his words once more.
"Morale will return once we capture a ship! With a ship, we can set sail again, and we will attract more crew!"
The tall man's roar made everyone's hair stand on end. Still unsatisfied, he stomped on the man on the ground a few more times and shouted,
"Because you disobeyed my orders, I missed another opportunity! Are you going to keep disobeying until we starve to death on this island?"
"B-Boss..."
A tall and slender yet muscular man stepped forward from the onlookers, mustering his courage. "The captain didn't mean any harm; he just wanted to uphold the honor of the Krieg Pirates."
"What?!"
The tall man snapped his head up. "Are you defying my orders too, Paul?"
"N-No!" Paul shuddered, cold sweat dripping from his forehead and dampening the crescent-shaped lock of hair on his brow. "I obey the boss!"
"Good."
The tall man fixed his gaze on Paul. "Starting tomorrow, you will lead a team. When you return, I don't want to see that little wooden boat again."
He lifted his foot and glanced at the man whose head was half-buried in the ground. "As for you, if you can't change your ways, then get out of the Krieg Pirates!"
"Boss!"
As he lifted his foot, the man on the ground pushed himself up with his arms, his face dirty and bloodied at the corners of his eyes and mouth. Ignoring his wounds, he said, "Boss, the old you may have been unscrupulous, but you once had a heart that longed for the open sea. I admired you for that. But now, our crew is falling apart. It's a time when we need to boost morale, yet all you think about is capturing ships. You can capture ships anytime, but you must do it proudly, under the name of the Krieg Pirates, instead of resorting to despicable ambushes!"
"Captain, stop talking!"
Some of the crowd began to shout, "The boss is getting angry! Captain, apologize quickly!"
"Boss, the captain must be hungry and that's why he's talking nonsense. We'll go find food right now."
"Yes, Captain, hurry up and say that you'll listen to the boss!"
But the man didn't seem to hear a word, his head raised as he stared directly at the tall man. Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the blood that trickled down his face, as he shouted, "We are pirates, pirates with a pirate flag, not robbers!"
Crack!
The tall man's fist clenched tightly, the joints popping as the veins in his eyes began to thicken. He raised his fist high and bellowed, "Argin! Are you going against my orders?!"
Ever since he was defeated by the Straw Hat boy, the boss had been in low spirits, his mind fixated on stealing another ship, and he had become even more despicable than before.
Lowering the pirate flag and attacking merchant ships and warships was not unheard of, but they had failed. Instead of finding a way to boost morale, they were now relying on a small wooden boat to launch surprise attacks, which would only make them feel like robbers!
At least, that wasn't the kind of pirate Argin wanted to be!
In the past, he would have hidden behind the boss's powerful reputation and adopted his ambitions as his own.
But ever since he was defeated by Mr. Sanji, he had awakened.
He no longer wanted to live such a despicable life. Pirates could also be heroic!
He wanted to face them with integrity on the high seas and meet them again!
Boom!
The tall man threw a heavy punch, his fist even emitting a sound that split the air. Argin stared at the incoming fist, unafraid, and shouted, "Boss, wake up!"
"Well said."
Just as the massive fist was a hair's breadth from Argin's face, a voice suddenly rang out.
It was very close!
The tall man's body stiffened as he turned his head instinctively. By the campfire, two figures had appeared, seemingly out of thin air.
A young girl stood by his side, and on the broken log where the tall man had been sitting, a young man sat with his legs crossed, elbows on his knees, and his chin propped up by his hands, watching the scene with keen interest.
"Who are you?" Krieg asked coldly.
"Just like you, I'm a pirate."
"I wanted to before, but no matter what, I couldn't seem to run into you. Now that I don't want to, I run into several of you in a single day. Are you deliberately going against me?" Sag sighed.
He had seen the fire on the island and the pirate ship by the shore, so he had come over.
With such a small ship, he had thought it was just a few unknown small-time pirates. He had even considered that since his pirate crew had just started, it would be good to find some subordinates.
But when he arrived, he was surprised to recognize several faces, all of which he had seen on wanted posters.
There was a 170,000,000 berry bounty on Krieg, captain of the Krieg Pirates, known as the 'Boss'.
A 120,000,000 berry bounty on Argin, the combat captain of the Krieg Pirates, known as the 'Ghost'.
A 70,000,000 berry bounty on Paul, a member of the Krieg Pirates, known as the 'Iron Wall'.
And the man he had encountered earlier.
He had run into four of them in a single day! If he had met them two days ago, he wouldn't have bothered with being a pirate; he would have turned them in for the bounty and bought himself some land!
But now, it was rather underwhelming.
However, there was still a silver lining.
As a pirate, Sag wanted to recruit subordinates, but without a ship, no one would join him except Lily. Pirates weren't fools—without a ship, how could they plunder?
But now...
Here was an opportunity on a silver platter.
Seeing the internal strife within their crew, Sag knew he had to seize this chance.
Sag looked at Argin and said, "I admire you. Would you like to join me? The pirate flag of my crew will never be lowered."
(End of Chapter)
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