Chapter 8: You Underestimate Me!
Chapter 8: You Underestimate Me!
The small boat drifted with the wind across the vast ocean.
Sarge sat at the bow, drinking from his flask in intervals until the very last drop fell from the flask into his mouth. He then clicked his tongue in satisfaction.
Lilly, on the other hand, sat at the stern, using an oar as a fishing rod. She tied a thin rope that came with the boat to a fat worm she had found somewhere and used it as bait, lowering it into the water to fish.
"Rest assured, when it rained heavily over there, quite a few schools of fish rode the tide, so we'll definitely be able to catch some!" Lilly said confidently.
Sarge shared her confidence, and they began fishing—silence being the only catch of the day.
Who could catch any fish in his company? He had, after all, achieved the remarkable feat of having three thousand schools of fish swim by without a single one taking his bait!
Even if he asked for help, as long as it had something to do with him, not only would they fail to catch any fish, but they wouldn't even be able to smell the scent of a woman!
Sarge let out a cold laugh. Even if you found some bait, it wouldn't make a difference.
Bait?
Staring at the rope that hung into the water, Sarge's expression became increasingly strange, and he couldn't help but speak up. "Lilly," he said.
"Yes?"
"Where did you get that worm?"
"I found it in the crevices of the boat," Lilly replied nonchalantly. "Even though I'm a princess, now that I'm a pirate, I'll have the demeanor of one too. I'm not afraid of a mere worm; it's nothing to me."
To prove her point, she freed one hand and reached into the crevices of the boat, pulling out a few more worms. The fat worms, like white bread, squirmed and twisted on her slender, delicate fingers.
"Look," she said.
Crack!
"Moon Step!"
Sarge stepped on the air, using the momentum to grab the back of Lilly's neck by her shirt. He then continuously stomped on the air, carrying her with him as he soared into the sky.
At that moment, a strange creaking sound rang out, and the wooden boat completely fell apart, splitting into several pieces that drifted as wooden planks on the sea.
The boat had fallen apart!
"How could this be...?" Lilly was stunned.
"Where did you get this worm-eaten boat?" Sarge asked.
A worm-ridden boat that had also endured the impact of cannon fire and the turmoil of wind and rain—how could it not fall apart?
"This was the only boat; the others are gone," Lilly said. "I had managed to get my hands on a ship, and I originally planned to sail over and find you. But the navy arrived too quickly, and I couldn't risk having the people on the ship get caught, so I came to find you myself."
"Sorry," she said, lowering her head. "I didn't consider that you could step on air."
"It's fine; it's not a problem," Sarge said calmly.
"You're not mad at me?"
Lilly was astonished. "Even though there was an opportunity to get a bigger ship, I missed it."
Sarge tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile as he said meaningfully, "As long as you're not mad at me, it's fine."
It was just bad luck, after all.
He was already used to it.
When it came to bad luck, he was always quite confident.
However, he had thought that not being able to get his hands on any of the numerous ships at the port was already quite unfortunate, but he never expected there to be more to come.
"Could this little challenge be enough to stop me? Do you know how many storms I've weathered?" Sarge laughed confidently. His feet acted like springs, bouncing on the air to keep him airborne.
A regular Moon Step did not possess such powerful suspension force, but Sarge, due to his extraordinary comprehension of the human body, could accomplish prolonged suspension.
The Six Styles were indeed excellent body techniques. They seemed simple, but they encompassed the extreme utilization of the human body, with each style containing different categories. Especially this Moon Step technique, it had the highest technical content.
Unlike the legendary Northern Fist, which had a vast repository of techniques committed to memory, but in reality, only a handful of them could truly be considered 'techniques', while the rest were merely applications of the secret acupoints, which were then given names.
Furthermore, the Big Dipper God Fist concentrated more on the acupoint secret hole aspect. Even though Sarge had been intentionally strengthening himself, he was still lacking in this area. With the acquisition of the Six Styles, his weakness has been compensated for.
Regarding intimidating aura, the Big Dipper God Fist has the power of martial energy, and here, it will also transform into overwhelming aura.
Sarge had yet to master his Haoshoku, or more accurately, his Devil Fruit ability.
It was more like he had been given an exclusive textbook with all the answers inside. Now it was up to him to train and master the techniques.
To have reached the level of understanding the principles of body techniques, Sarge believed he was indeed a genius.
"Where should we go? Point me in a direction. I can't stay up here forever. It'd be best to find an island with a town and get some supplies."
No matter how strong Moon Step's hovering ability was, there was a limit, and it had nothing to do with Sarge's stamina. However, if he kept hovering in the air like this, even his considerable stamina wouldn't be enough.
But then, Lilly said something that left Sarge stunned.
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
"I don't know," Lilly reiterated.
She shook her head. "Without a nautical chart, I have no idea where to go."
A navigator was someone who understood wind patterns and climate, not a fortune-teller who could predict locations out of thin air.
"Aren't you a navigator? Don't you know the routes?" Sarge quipped, tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"I'm only good in theory," Lilly admitted weakly.
While she was theoretically knowledgeable, she lacked any practical experience and had never ventured out to sea before. As for Sarge, he was completely clueless.
Sarge sighed as he gazed upon the boundless, featureless sea horizon. "Let's pick a direction then. At least we're moving."
The small boat they had been rowing earlier had drifted far away, blown by the wind to the left and right, and they had long lost track of their original direction. Otherwise, he would have returned to Shells Town.
Lilly looked up at the sun's position and then out at the sea before pointing towards the north. "We can try going north, Sarge. Don't worry, there are always ships out at sea. As long as our luck isn't too terrible, we should encounter some."
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't want to get in the water. Also..."
Sarge let out a mocking laugh. "You underestimate me!"
"Underestimate?" Lilly was perplexed.
Sarge didn't explain further but grabbed Lilly by her ankles and started kicking in the air. They headed north.
Very soon, in just a day's time, Lilly understood what Sarge had meant by 'underestimate'.
There were always ships out at sea, even in the outer sea far from land.
Especially when looking down from high up in the air, as long as their luck wasn't too terrible, they should spot some ships.
If they found ships, then it would be great.
However, from sunrise to sunset and then to the next sunrise, aside from the sounds of Sarge's kicking in the air, there was not a single sound to be heard.
Ships?
What were those?
Were there such things out on the vast sea?
"Sarge, you..."
Not only was Lilly not foolish, but she was also quite intelligent. She not only understood what he had meant by 'underestimate', but also grasped the implication of his statement, 'I won't blame you afterward'.
She pursed her lips, hesitated for a while, then looked up at Sarge's expressionless face and suggested gently, "Are you... a little unlucky?"
"Why am I still struggling to get rich in this measly East Blue? You guess."
Sarge let out a cold laugh. "You've hit the nail! I'm a jinx!"
"It's... it's just a little accident. It's totally fine. It's quite normal to not encounter any ships for two or three days out at sea. Maybe we just missed them. If we had stayed, we might have met some ships," Lilly tried to comfort him.
"Then you're wrong."
Sarge was brimming with confidence at the moment. "I have experience in this regard. If we stay put, ships will appear from the direction we were heading. If we leave, ships will show up where we were. It's like a Schrodinger's ship."
Lilly had no idea who Schrodinger was, and she didn't want to know.
She had recognized the captain she had acknowledged, but he turned out to be a jinx through and through.
Whether she would become a pirate or not, she didn't know, but if things continued like this, she would become a sea bum.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
