https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1371-Special-Chapter-That-Wedding-Under-the-Sunset-Is-My-Lost-Youth-Part-2-/13543136/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1373-Special-Chapter-Do-You-Know-What-You-re-Saying-/13543138/
Chapter 1372: Side Story - The Pirate Who Refuses to Lower His Flag
Chapter 1372: Side Story - The Pirate Who Refuses to Lower His Flag
East Bluesea area.
A small two-masted square-rigged sailboat drifted through the sea area.
Waves crashed against the hull as sea breeze howled, carrying thick thunderclouds in its wake.
On the Deck, Victoria, her golden curls cascading down her back, tilted her head toward the Sky. Raindrops trickled down her smooth, pale cheeks, sliding along her jawline before plunging into the churning sea below.
"This sky... it's about to unleash a storm."
She murmured, then turned to the bald-headed man steering the ship. "Head toward the nine o'clock direction! We need to reach Loguetown faster!"
The bald man rolled a White Eye, grumbling, "I'm the captain, not a helmsman, Reckless girl!"
"Right, right, Captain Officer", Victoria replied with Helplessness. "But among us, who else is suited to be the helmsman of the Noahpirate Crew?"
The ship had only two other crew members besides them.
One was a maiden with curly twin tails, around sixteen or seventeen, wearing two Katanas at her waist. But the white chef's tall hat on her head marked her role—chef.
The other was even younger, a boy of eleven or twelve, idly playing with his hair while a Pistol hung at his hip.
Noah sighed, reluctantly adjusting the ship's rudder with Resentment. "Ugh, why can't we recruit a proper helmsman?"
The boy shrugged. "We've passed countless towns, but you never picked any helmsmen we met. Honestly, they probably wouldn't join us anyway. We're genuine pirates, and Victoria has a Bounty—two billion."
"Don't say it so dramatically!" Victoria cried, clenching her eyes shut. "I didn't ask for this! How did I even get a Bounty?!"
"Pirates without Bounties? What kind of joke is that?" Noah shot back, half-envious, half-resentful. "I'm the captain, yet why does the Bounty fall on you?"
"Stop pretending!" Victoria Grit her Teeth. "Doesn't the Navy check properly? You're the captain, yet the Bounty's on me!"
"I want a Bounty too!" Noah yelled, puffing his neck. "Two billion? No! I'll start at thirty million! Not more, not less—exactly thirty million! That Monkey D. Luffy's debut Bounty was thirty million too!"
The boy thought. "Didn't he die thirty years ago? Killed by the former Fleet Admiral 'Golden Lion.' He was called the man closest to the One Piece. Isn't chasing the One Piece too ambitious now? Even the Seven Warlords of the Sea have Disappeared."
Boom!
A muffled thunderclap split the Sky, illuminating the ship.
"I don't care!" Noah roared over the thunder. "I'll become the One Piece!"
"Whatever you say", Victoria sighed Helplessly, turning to the others. "Sya, make some soup to warm us up. The storm's coming. Mimir, if you're idle, think about our plan for Loguetown."
The two nodded and retreated to the cabin.
They'd recruited Sya and Mimir during their East Blue travels.
Sya was a dual-wielding swordsman and chef, dreaming to become the World's Greatestgreatest Swordsman. Her strength was formidable, though she had a Hole in her Head (a metaphor for eccentricity). Literally, too.
Her goals? First, to find the All Blue. Second, to surpass the World's Greatestgreatest Swordsman—currently a Navy officer.
Only pirates dared challenge the Navy in the Grand Line, hiding like mice. Becoming a pirate meant she could fight countless strong men, especially the World's Greatestgreatest Swordsman himself.
Noah, determined to claim the One Piece, and Sya, chasing the title of World's Greatestgreatest Swordsman, became instant allies.
Mimir, the boy, was a sniper, gunman, and strategist. Heir to a small island's tycoon, he rebelled against his wealthy father. Brilliant beyond measure, Victoria admitted he might outthink her in the Grand Line. Yet he joined the crew effortlessly, even funding their ship.
The four crew members were all formidable fighters. Otherwise, Victoria would've fled long ago—especially with her Bounty.
Boom!
Another muffled thunderclap darkened the Sky. Torrential rain poured as waves thrashed the ship, rocking it violently.
"Tch!" Victoria raised her right hand, light shimmering from her fingers. As her five fingers clenched, the ship Stabilized amidst the howling storm.
"Such a pain!" Her Feminine Shout echoed through the rain.
...
Half a day later, the ship emerged from the dark clouds into clear skies.
"Finally out of that cursed storm!" Victoria slumped against the railing, drained.
"You're already tired?" Noah scratched his Bald Head. "You're so useless!"
"Shut up, Baldy! I was the one using my Ability to keep the ship steady! You just steered!" Victoria snapped.
"Don't call me Baldy!" Noah's forehead vein throbbed. "I'm just hairless, not bald! I'm not bald!"
"Enough bickering", Mimir and Sya emerged from the cabin. Sya served steaming soup onto the rain-damp table, while Mimir pointed at the island silhouette ahead. "Loguetown. We're here."
"Loguetown!" Noah's eyes lit up. "The Legendary start and end location!"
Victoria scoffed, sipping her soup. "Not anymore. The start and end changed long ago."
Mimir nodded. "Thirty years ago, the start and end became Marineford. Now, Loguetown is just the 'pirate end town.'"
"I don't care!" Noah grinned fiercely. "Loguetown is my start! I'll set sail like Roger and become the One Piece!"
"Whatever, Captain", Victoria rolled her White Eye. "Raise the flags. Otherwise, we'll be sunk before reaching Loguetown."
She gestured to the pirate flag on the sail—a stark skull, plain and unadorned. Unusual, as old pirates rarely used such standard designs.
Noah stiffened his neck. "Why lower the flag? I'm a pirate. I won't lower it!"
The others paused.
Pirates lowering flags when entering Navy-stationed towns was standard safety. But Noah's resolve was clear.
"The pirate flag is more important than life itself!" Noah declared. "I'll never lower the pirate flag!"
"Captain's Command", Mimir sighed. "We'll have to enter from the back."
"Only way", Sya rested her hands on her swords, eyes gleaming. "If they spot our pirate flag, we'll have to fight the Navy. Wonder if Loguetown has any Experts?"
"Can't you reason with the Baldy?" Victoria pleaded, knowing Noah's Immovable stubbornness.
Mimir gazed at Loguetown. "Loguetown has Experts. The World Government guards the Four Seas' Reverse Mountain entrance fiercely. After the thirty-year transformation, they fortified the Four Seas' entrances. Loguetown's guardian is Marine Headquarters Commander 'Cunning Fox' Klah."
"Klah?" Noah tilted his head, his bald scalp gleaming in the sunlight.
PS: My new book had some logic issues earlier, delaying the release by a few days. Apologies, Lords. Fish Head kowtows.
Also, promoting a friend's new book:
"Global Calamity: The Descent of Disasters"
Synopsis: I received a text from my childhood friend—who died long ago...
Spiritual energy pollution erupts again. People struggle in the world of ancient gods, trading everything to survive the calamity.
But I'm an anomaly—the ancient gods refuse to trade with me, blacklisting me instead.
(End of Chapter)
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