Chapter 61: Pirates Also Have Their Code of Honor
Chapter 61: Pirates Also Have Their Code of Honor
"Shut up!"
Sag stuck out his pinky finger and dug into his ear. "Even a downpour as heavy as this can't drown out your loud mouth? Are all Marines this energetic? Do they really need to shout to operate their warships?"
"Answer me, Norton Sag!" The lieutenant continued to roar.
"What can I, a pirate, do here?"
Sag rolled his eyes. "Of course, I'm here to rob. Do you think I'm here to do charity work or something?"
"After committing so many crimes, you still dare to show your face in the East Blue? Reinforcements will be here soon. Even you won't be able to handle so many Marines!"
"If I was afraid of that, why would I be a pirate?" Sag scoffed.
Afraid of reinforcements? Afraid of being surrounded and attacked?
If he was scared of things like that, he wouldn't have ventured out to sea to start his own business. He might as well have stayed in his poor hometown and starved to death.
With his bad luck, he could even run into Garp while trying to recruit subordinates. His misfortune knew no bounds, but he didn't find it unusual. Basically, he had given up on any lucky breaks, and he was prepared to face anything that might happen in Rogue Town.
But no matter how unlucky he was, there had to be some basic laws of probability at play.
Being unlucky didn't mean courting death, and Sag wasn't stupid. He knew how to differentiate between the two.
Running into Garp had been a pure accident. After they left, the old man hadn't chased after them. Instead, Sag had seen a newspaper article about 'The Navy Hero Conquers the Reversed Mountain.'
This indicated that the Navy wasn't taking him, a 'small-time pirate' with a bounty of less than a hundred million, seriously.
After all, there were so many pirates on the vast ocean. What was he right now?
If Garp wasn't coming to catch him, would a Navy Admiral take time out of his busy schedule to fly to the East Blue, know exactly that he would be in Rogue Town, and wait here to catch him?
That wouldn't be considered bad luck; it would mean the Navy Headquarters and the World Government had gone insane.
If they let so many other pirates go and only came after him, that wouldn't be insanity—what would it be?
Even the gold in the sky wouldn't get that kind of treatment!
If he was truly that unlucky, he wouldn't even have the chance to set out to sea. He might as well have been struck by lightning and died.
But since it hadn't come to that, what was there to be afraid of?
He was only afraid of not getting any money, and to get rich, he had to be fearless.
Sag had thought this through. He was best at making plans, and with enough meticulous planning and powerful strength, even bad luck could be overcome.
For example, the Death Harbinger, a ship sturdy enough to withstand the wind and waves and sail smoothly. Without this ship, he would have capsized at sea at least eight hundred times by now.
In a place like Rogue Town, he knew there was a Marine with a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability stationed here. He had forgotten the man's name, but later, when Akin reminded him, he remembered it was Smoker, the old smoker.
But the name didn't matter; what mattered was Sag himself.
If he hadn't learned Haki, he wouldn't have come here for supplies. He would have thought of another plan to enter the Grand Line.
Without Haki, he wouldn't know how to counter smoke attacks. Even if he could eventually complete the robbery, his men wouldn't be able to.
But now that he had mastered Haki, he didn't care anymore, and choosing the nearest Rogue Town was the most convenient option.
Moreover, Smoker had already left, so the last potential troublemaker was gone as far as he was concerned. Such a big chunk of fat was right in front of him; why wouldn't he take it?
"Hey! Norton Sag!"
Just as Sag was about to take action, a tall man blocked his way. The man held a huge axe and glared at him fiercely. "Even if you have a reputation, why did you have to sink my ship?!"
Sag raised his head and looked at the man, who was at least three meters tall. He thought for a moment and said, "Ax-Hand Morgan, bounty of 110 million berries?"
Sag remembered the bounties of pirates who had them, as he had been a bounty hunter for a while.
"That's right, I'm Morgan!"
Morgan gritted his teeth. "Why did you sink my ship? Don't think that just because you have a high bounty, I'll be afraid of you. You owe me an explanation!"
"An explanation?
"Sure thing!" Sag took the umbrella from Lily with a smile.
Swish!
A cold glint flashed from the tall man's chest, spraying blood into the air as his massive body fell to the ground, eyes rolling back.
Lily sheathed her thin sword and took back the umbrella, holding it over Sag.
Sag glanced at Parabala's fallen body and said, "Your ship was blocking my docking space, just like you were blocking my way. I had to remove the obstacle; it's that simple."
"I won't let you get through!"
The lieutenant's pupils constricted at the sight of Parabala collapsing, his sweat breaking through even the stormy rain. "Letting you through would bring disaster to the citizens!"
"Oh?"
Sag responded indifferently, his pupils flashing with a crimson light.
Buzz!
The already quiet battlefield fell into an even deeper silence as the howling wind and pouring rain seemed to freeze, losing their sound.
Thud.
A group of battling Marines and pirates fell to the ground, one after another, as if a chain reaction had been triggered. On the various streets leading from the port to the town, not a single Marine or pirate was left standing; they all lay on the ground, including the branch lieutenant who had tried to resist.
"This is the power of the ruler of the high seas!" Renetia exclaimed excitedly.
Sag shook his head. "I wouldn't mind a good fight, but it wouldn't be fair to my crew without weapons."
Behind him, his men grinned ferociously, eager to fight even with their bare hands.
These men from the Kingdom of the Bridge were resolute in their decision to follow Sag as pirates. They wouldn't be easily intimidated by the Marines.
They were prepared to fight alongside their captain.
"From here on, it's up to you to plunder!" Sag drew a finely crafted flintlock pistol from his waist. "I won't repeat the rules; I've told you many times on the ship. I don't need subordinates who don't follow my orders!"
His rules were simple. First, don't rob the poor.
Pirates were poor themselves, and there was nothing worth taking from other poor folks. They were all equally destitute, and squeezing them wouldn't yield much. It was better to target wealthy merchants.
Unless someone was foolish enough to resist or meddle.
Second, don't force yourselves on women.
They were pirates, not beasts that went wild at the sight of a woman.
If they wanted women, they could find them in Rogue Town. Money could buy those services.
As a pirate, Sag was one of the freest beings on the high seas. He did as he pleased, and likewise, he didn't do what he didn't want to do.
In fact, aside from the first rule being a matter of debate among pirates, the second rule was almost universally followed.
As a certain Pirate Emperor had said, even pirates needed to uphold righteousness on the high seas! Pirates were human, and they could act like humans. They weren't beasts that would forsake their humanity and do things that even beasts might not do.
After all, even beasts knew to seek mates.
Aside from these two rules, Sag didn't have many taboos. He took his profession as a pirate seriously.
Bang!
Sag pulled the trigger, the pistol emitting a puff of smoke. He strode over the fallen bodies, shouting, "Let's plunder, men!"
"Ohh!"
Over six hundred pirates charged into the streets, those without weapons picking up the discarded arms of the fallen Marines and pirates. They rushed through the port's alleyways toward the bustling town streets.
Wonderful spoils of war awaited them!
(End of Chapter)
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