Chapter 130: If You Don't Agree, Go Find Teach

Chapter 130: If You Don't Agree, Go Find Teach

      Hawkins glanced at the straw-covered card. "My survival rate is still 100%. I'm not the type to willingly submit to others."

"Is that so?"

Sarge parted his lips. "Then I'll just have to beat you into submission. Good. Once you're on my ship, you'll have to prove your worth. Besides fortune-telling, I want to see what else you can do."

Hawkins narrowed his eyes slightly, standing still as his face became covered in a dense layer of straw.

"You seem very confident."

His body suddenly swelled, transforming into a massive scarecrow with straw-like hands clutching several coffin nails, revealing a terrifying form.

"Demon-Subduing Visage!"

"I've eaten the 'Strawberry Fruit' and am a 'Scarecrow'. Let me see the source of your confidence."

The giant scarecrow lunged forward, and the coffin nails in its straw hands descended directly towards Sarge.

Sarge glanced at the rapidly descending nails and shook his head. "Just pure ability?"

Ding!

The sharp nails struck Sarge, but they couldn't even pierce his skin. It seemed like something was blocking their attack.

The terrifying scarecrow face showed a hint of astonishment, not because the nails couldn't break through Sarge's defense, but because during the attack, he had also cast a curse that allowed him to plant substitute voodoo dolls through touch. This ability was usually infallible.

But now, Hawkins didn't feel like his ability had succeeded. Something was blocking it.

"Is it Haki?"

Hawkins murmured. He himself didn't possess Haki, but he knew the concept.

Ability users couldn't resist his abilities. Only those with a Haki cultivation that surpassed his own could resist their release.

Hawkins couldn't see it, but Lily, who was watching the battle from atop the Grim Reaper, understood it clearly.

At the spots where the coffin nails had fallen, Sarge had covered himself with an armoring color, repelling the attack.

Seeing that his first strike had no effect, Hawkins's giant scarecrow body sprouted several more straw-like arms from its back, each armed with coffin nails, attacking Sarge from all sides.

At the same time, the scarecrow's mouth opened wide, spewing out more nails that struck Sarge's body.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The nails that spewed out from its mouth hit Sarge and ricocheted away as if they had struck something hard. And the nails attacking from all sides only made contact with his skin, unable to penetrate further.

"Hmm."

Sarge seemed to be considering something. He nodded and said, "Not bad. The power and force are there. Come again."

Ability imposition?

He himself didn't feel anything, and his Haki cultivation was only meant to resist abilities. He didn't know how developed the ability user's own abilities were.

Especially for this kind of strange curse-like ability.

But if his Observation Haki didn't sense any danger, then there definitely wasn't a problem.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The scarecrow continued its offense, and the coffin nails on its straw-like arms didn't stop, frantically stabbing at Sarge.

Shoulders, neck, chest, arms, abdomen...even his eyes!

Ding! Sarge narrowed his eyes, and his eyelids blocked the attack of the nails.

"I'll make you show me your other skills."

He said impatiently, "Stop using those weak nails!"

The scarecrow didn't reply and continued its relentless attack.

This caused Sarge to pause slightly. He looked at the scarecrow and asked, "Is this your full strength? Don't you have any new tricks?"

"Of course not."

Hawkins took a few steps back. The scarecrow's face was clearly sweating, and he extended his arms, holding a deck of Tarot cards. The straw-like arms forked into two sections, and he began to shuffle the cards quickly.

The ability of the Strawberry Fruit wasn't meant for direct harm. Its greatest use was in fortune-telling and cursing, and its true core was the ability to influence the psychology, power, and situation of both itself and its opponent, allowing it to gain strength beyond its limits.

Of course, this came with great risk. If the draw was unfavorable, it could weaken itself instead.

But to surpass a certain situation, taking risks was necessary.

"Draw!"

The straw-like arm drew the top card. The way Hawkins held the card caused Sarge's eyes to twitch.

"I feel like you're going to say something like 'Blue Ace White Dragon' or 'Crushing Yamask Crush'..."

Hawkins flipped the Tarot card to show Sarge. That terrifying scarecrow face wore a confident smile. "It's the 'Magician'. If it were in the reverse position, it would only weaken willpower, slow actions, and lead one astray, resulting in an overall weakening.

"But in the upright position, it represents a change in action, skilled technique, strong will, and twice the result with half the effort. This influences my overall strength enhancement. Now, it's in the upright position, and I've won!"

At that moment, the scarecrow's body swelled again, reaching a height of eight meters. He drew the sword from his waist, and the once-gleaming blade transformed into a bundle of straw. As he raised it, the straw extended straight out, becoming a huge needle-like umbrella. It fiercely stabbed downwards.

Boom!

The needle-like umbrella of straw violently pierced the deck, shattering everything it touched. It even extended into the ship's cabin, boring a hole through the vessel and causing it to sink noticeably.

The ship was taking on water!

"I thought you wouldn't dodge." Hawkins looked at Sarge, who had moved to stand on the ship's prow, and said slowly, "Are you afraid of my ability?"

"Not really."

Sarge laughed. "I just didn't want to be knocked into the sea. This ship isn't that durable."

Hawkins's current strength was indeed powerful, but Sarge didn't put it in his eyes. The reason he had dodged was not because of Hawkins's strength, but because the ship couldn't withstand the attack. If he had blocked it, he would have shattered the ship, and falling into the sea would not have been a pleasant experience.

Even in the East Sea, the luck he gained from his connection with Baki would cause him to encounter sea beasts if he fell into the ocean. Now, in the Grand Line, with his bad luck, he might just summon a massive sea king class creature. That would truly be troublesome.

"Is that all?" Sarge asked.

"You try winning against me first!" Hawkins twisted the hilt of his sword, and the needle-like umbrella-sword transformed back into straw, twisting and extending like a snake as it rushed towards Sarge.

"Forget it."

Sarge shook his head and extended a hand, his fingers curled. "In terms of combat strength, you're barely qualified. That's it. By the way, the next time you encounter someone with a Haki cultivation higher than yours, don't reveal your gigantic body like that. You'd be as good as dead."

Black flames coiled around his fingers as he thrust forward, colliding with the straw sword and causing it to shatter entirely, striking Hawkins directly.

Bang!

Hawkins' straw body arched backwards, flying backwards and crashing into the building that served as the captain's quarters on the deck.

Boom!

The entire structure crumbled and collapsed, and Hawkins' giant body shrank, falling amidst the ruins.

"Captain! The ship!"

The pirates on the deck cried out in alarm.

Aside from the guy with three braids in his hair, the rest of these pirates were cloaked, their faces hidden as if they were some sort of cultists.

"Try calculating again!"

Sarge cackled, "What's your survival rate now?"

Within the ruins, Hawkins lay in human form, nine shattered straw dolls protruding from the cracks in his body, and he himself was covered in blood, completely immobile.

The ten substitute straw dolls he had planted earlier, in case of emergencies, had all been killed, aside from the one that directly took Sarge's punch.

Sarge's strike had inflicted nine fatal wounds on Hawkins, and his body had also been struck.

"Looks like you can't calculate anymore. Ability users are indeed miracles of the sea. I thought your internal organs would be shattered a bit more, but now you're just bleeding, and your bones are broken. Overall, not bad."

He flashed towards Hawkins, grabbed the back of his collar, and dragged him across the deck towards the Grim Reaper.

In addition to the internal destruction caused by the Sky-Shattering Live-Killing Strike, it was too easy against someone with such a frail body and no Haki.

If it had just been an external release of Haki, even a Haki blast would probably only be able to attack once, inflicting a serious injury on Hawkins.

But the Sky-Shattering Live-Killing Strike was different; it targeted vital points, and the technique exploded within the body, causing damage that surpassed death.

Otherwise, how could it blow someone up?

This wasn't an exaggeration; Sarge could truly blow a person up with a single punch.

If it weren't for those substitute straw dolls, even if he held back, it would've been difficult for this guy to survive.

"As for you guys."

He glanced at the shocked pirates, who hesitated to come forward, and laughed, "Your captain has joined my pirate crew. Those who want to come with me, get on board. Those who don't want to, run for your lives, hahaha!"

Without another word, he dragged Hawkins and jumped onto the Grim Reaper, casually tossing the unconscious Hawkins onto the deck. "Paul, take him to see the ship's doctor. Have him treated, and when he wakes up, bring him to me."

"Captain Sarge, are you going to recruit him?"

Paul walked towards Hawkins and scoffed, "This guy looks weak."

"Weak?"

Sarge laughed and scanned the crew on the deck, "What do you guys think?"

"Captain Sarge, he's indeed not strong. Although his aura is intimidating enough, you knocked him down with two punches." Bellamy called out.

Akin hesitated for a moment and said, "Aside from the final giant straw man, the others didn't seem strong either."

Renitia shook her head, "That Grim Reaper staff feels terrifying."

"You're right about that." Marika laughed beside her, "He's quite strong."

Lily, however, gripped the hilt of her sword and stared intently at Hawkins, "Fifty-fifty."

Sarge approved, glancing at the three women, "Your instincts are sharp. Good."

Hawkins wasn't weak; in fact, he was quite strong.

Renitia's instincts were correct; she felt terrified because her instincts told her that she was no match for Hawkins.

Ability users were indeed miracles of the sea, and while Haki could resist their abilities, it was far from a counter. Some abilities could still overpower those who were overwhelmingly stronger.

Her ability and Hawkins' ability were completely different. Once Hawkins' ability was imposed on her, she would become his substitute, so it was right for her to feel terrified.

Although Marika possessed tremendous strength and good combat awareness, she was still helpless against abilities. The most she could do was attack from a distance and use heavy objects to prevent Hawkins from approaching. Otherwise, once she entered the range of his ability, she would also become his substitute.

The only one with sharp instincts was Lily.

She possessed Armament Haki, and her speed was exceptional. As long as she slashed apart Hawkins' straw dolls, she could take him down with the next strike. Similarly, her Haki wasn't sufficient to resist Hawkins' ability, and once it was imposed on her, she would also be finished by Hawkins.

But that wasn't the key point.

The crucial aspect was intuition.

The fact that these three executives could have such instincts meant that they were beginning to touch upon Haki, and all they needed now was an opportunity.

Akin was also passable; he had at least sensed something, but he still needed to work harder.

"You all need to keep cultivating."

Sarge laughed and walked into the captain's quarters, "Marika, I'm hungry. Prepare some food!"

"Yes, I'll go prepare some now." Marika smiled in response.

...

Night fell.

Tonight's sky was filled with stars, and the moon shone like silver, like a brilliant galaxy stretching across the heavens.

It was also a rare night without any storms.

It seemed that the tropical climate made it too hot to sleep, so Lily and the others decided to enjoy the starry night instead. Marika had prepared some barley beer and grilled some meat skewers for a midnight snack.

She had originally intended to make something else, but Sarge specifically requested these, insisting that a night like this called for grilled skewers and beer.

"Sarge, how much longer are you going to fish? The skewers are going to get cold," Renitia said, as she grilled the meat, causing sparks to fly.

"Fishing requires patience. It's only been a few hours; how can I give up so easily? A true fishing master would sit here for days, especially at a time like this. You have to calm your mind," Sarge replied with a smile.

Suddenly, the fishing rod in his hand trembled slightly, and the fishing line went taut.

"Here it comes!"

Sarge's eyes lit up, and he lifted the rod, causing a pitch-black object to burst out of the sea.

"Oh! It looks pretty good. Is it a blackfish?"

Sarge laughed and lifted the rod higher, reeling in the line to bring the catch closer. However, what was hooked on the end was not a fish...

"A Black Shoe?!?"

Boom! Sarge twisted his fingers, releasing the Sky-Shattering Live-Killing Strike, causing the shoe and the fishing rod to be blown to smithereens.

"Who's the idiot that threw trash into the sea? Are they asking for death?!" Veins popped out on his forehead as he ground out the words through clenched teeth.

"It might not be trash. Maybe someone died, and the shoe floated here," Lily analyzed seriously.

"Thanks for pointing that out! I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said anything!" Sarge rolled his eyes, jumped off the railing, and walked over to the barbecue grill. He picked up a skewer with a mix of vegetables and meat, popped it into his mouth, and devoured it in one go.

"0.01%. I've calculated it. Your goal will definitely fail, although I didn't expect it to be this one," a flat voice suddenly spoke up from the entrance of the ship's cabin, interrupting the peaceful night.

Under the moonlight, Hawkins, his body wrapped in bandages, stood at the cabin entrance, staring at the group on the deck.

Behind him was the man with three braids in his hair, looking timid and hesitant.

After Sarge had brought Hawkins on board, half of his crew had come aboard as well, including this man, the only one among them who didn't wear a cloak.

The rest of Hawkins's crew had sailed away in the ship, a typical reaction of pirates after a defeat.

Sarge didn't try to stop them; he only needed Hawkins, and his ship was already at full capacity, so he didn't need to forcefully recruit the rest.

Hawkins's ship only had about a hundred pirates, a relatively small number. With half of them coming aboard, there were only around fifty, and Sarge's ship already had a thousand crew members, so there was definitely room for a few more.

"You recover fast. Do you think you can move yet?" Sarge glanced at him and said, "Also, as long as there's a probability, it means it can be realized. Don't just look at 0.01%; even a probability of 0.0001% means there's a chance. A person's strength can turn a minuscule chance into a certainty."

As he spoke, he sat down on a small stool, picked up a cup of barley beer, and gulped down several mouthfuls before continuing, "So, have you calculated what you should do next?

Hawkins remained silent for a moment before slowly taking out his Tarot cards. After shuffling the deck, he began his fortune-telling once more.

"Probability of victory in battle: 0%. Probability of escape: 0%. Probability of survival..."

He paused for a moment, a confused expression on his face. "I have a question. No matter how I calculate it, whether I choose to refuse or agree to your offer, my survival rate remains at 100%. This means that I won't die on this ship. So, why should I agree to your request?"

According to his calculations, he wouldn't die on this ship no matter what.

He was very confident in his ability, and since his fortune-telling was accurate, he believed that this was how things would unfold.

"Hmmmm," Sarge let out a low chuckle. "Very accurate fortune-telling. Good, Hawkins. Perhaps you don't understand. My interest in you isn't as great as my interest in your ability. If you agree to my recruitment offer, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. But if you refuse, all I want is your ability!"

Lily seemed to realize something, and her eyes widened slightly before returning to normal as she quietly continued eating her skewer.

"It seems there will be danger in the future. I understand now. There's only one answer," Hawkins said hesitantly after a moment of silence. "I will join your pirate crew."

He wasn't a stubborn person. On the contrary, he was the type to follow the results of his fortune-telling.

Although the fortune-telling showed that he would survive, it also indicated that he couldn't escape, meaning that as long as he didn't agree, he would remain on this ship until Sarge revealed his true intentions.

In that case, it was better to just join the crew.

"A wise choice!" Sarge laughed heartily and poured a cup of barley beer, handing it to Hawkins. "Drink this cup of acceptance, and you will be my subordinate from now on. Congratulations, you're now an executive officer of the Celestial Disaster Pirate Crew!"

Unlike Lily's command talent, Hawkins was a typical strategist, able to provide advice and strategies to Sarge in addition to his fortune-telling.

He would be a very useful subordinate.

If Sarge couldn't enlist Him, he didn't intend to slay Hawkins nonetheless. Indeed, he truly appreciated that skill, and if necessary, he could always utilize the Big Dipper Fist to incapacitate him, detain him, and then locate Teacher.

He didn't particularly care about the Straw Fruit itself, but he knew a way to get it. He had a connection with Teach, so he could just ask him to extract the ability.

However, now that Hawkins had joined his crew, there was no need for that.

Hawkins was a pretty good guy, and as long as he pledged his loyalty, Sarge was happy to have him as an executive officer.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end