Chapter 82: The Ocean is Quite Magical (7k words)

Chapter 82: The Ocean is Quite Magical (7k words)



"What is he doing?!"

Linetia hoisted the mechanical hammer onto her shoulder and glared at Paul, about to continue her tirade when a cannonball whizzed past her ear, the blast of wind tousling her pink hair.

A cannonball hurtled straight towards her, and on the side deck, a navy ensign took aim with a cannon, the muzzle still smoking.

"Lady Linetia!"

Ajrin cried out, wanting to act but knowing he wouldn't make it in time—the cannonball was almost upon Linetia's face.

If that tiny body of hers were to take a direct hit...

A small hand pressed against the speeding cannonball, and a spark of electricity arced from her palm, wrapping around the projectile.

"Power, cease."

The cannonball froze in Linetia's small hand, neither exploding nor falling.

Power, that force, could not only accelerate impact but also be used to counteractively brake against forces coming from other directions.

Firing and propelling a cannonball required force, and by counteracting that force, one could neutralize the momentum of the projectile. Even an armed cannonball, if not subjected to a violent collision, would not detonate.

It wouldn't even drop.

Of course, Linetia's strength was not enough to catch a cannonball single-handedly—the thing was quite heavy. But by counter-braking the downward force, she could achieve temporary levitation.

Without this control, she wouldn't be able to handle such a large vessel as the Deadstar.

"No underhanded attacks!"

Linetia released the hand that had stopped the cannonball and gripped the mechanical hammer with both hands, slamming it forward with a mighty swing. "Power home run!"

Boom!!

The hammer struck the cannonball, and the accelerated force sent it flying back faster than it had come, slamming into the navy ensign wrapped in his cloak and detonating in a cloud of smoke.

"Iron Block!"

A loud shout rang out from within the smoke, and as it cleared, the navy ensign stood firm. The cannonball explosion had only damaged his clothing and his cannon weapon, although it had also drawn blood from his body. Still, he stood.

"I am Navy Headquarters Colonel, known as 'Iron Cannon' Ongka. You, this evil little ghost—"

"Power Whac-A-Mole!"

Linetia twisted the hammer handle, and the electricity from her palm conducted along the handle, rapidly extending it. She raised the long hammer and brought it down from high above, slamming it onto the navy ensign's head with force. The hammerhead, driven by power, was fierce and fast, and it knocked him into the floor, penetrating straight through the ship and heavily impacting the seabed.

"What Iron Block? I've lost count of how many times I've beaten that!"

Linetia bared her tiny fangs and glared at Paul as he climbed to his feet. "Well, Paul?!"

"Yes, yes!" Paul stood at attention, responding instinctively.

The defensive power of Iron Block was indeed commendable; after all, it could withstand lead bullets. This navy ensign could even withstand the force of a cannonball, which suggested he had trained quite well.

But personal defensive power was one thing, and the strength of a vessel was another.

Whether she could knock someone down was uncertain, but Linetia could easily send someone flying.

At most, he'd be like a whack-a-mole, knocked down and then popping right back up.

When Paul had been practicing Iron Block, she had used this same move to send him flying, and her men had jumped into the sea to retrieve him. Against an Iron Block user, this move was the most effective.

"Oh, Linet has to be careful. If the ship breaks, it will take on water."

Marika, not far away, gave her a soft smile and then swung the iron rod in her hand toward the head of an approaching navy soldier. A dull thud sounded out, and the navy soldier's skull dented, sending him toppling down.

"Ah!"

Linetia cried out and swept a navy soldier in front of her away with a swing of her hammer. She scampered over and peered down at the hole, turning back with a woeful expression. "It's taking on water."

"Then we'd better finish this fight quickly." Marika chuckled and swung her iron rod again, breaking the swords of nearby navy soldiers and striking them in the chest, causing them to cave in.

However, the constant swinging had taken its toll on the iron rod in her hand, and it now bent and warped.

"Don't you have anything harder? I prefer to cook with my hands rather than fight with them." Marika tossed aside the iron rod and scanned her surroundings before walking over to pick up a sword that had fallen nearby.

Bang!

A sharp sound rang out from nearby, and Marika's ears twitched as she bent down. Her body straightened in an instant, and a hole appeared in the deck.

Marika turned to look, and on the railing at the edge of the warship, she spotted a skinny navy ensign squatting and aiming a long rifle—one that differed from the standard issue flintlock—at her.

"Oh, is this the warship's commander?" Marika smiled.

"Marika! A cadre of the Heavenly Disaster Pirate Group!"

The skinny navy ensign's voice sank. "I can't let you continue this rampage."

Bang!

He pulled the trigger again, and a rapid shadow burst from the gun muzzle, streaking straight towards Marika.

Marika's pupils contracted, and she instinctively grabbed a sword from the ground, blocking it in front of her.

Clang!

Sparks flew, carrying with them Marika's waterfall-like black hair. The sidelocks of her hair were punctured, leaving a small hole, and the severed strands fell onto the deck. The shadow embedded itself into the warship's railing behind her, emitting a crisp sound.

The sword blade had been punctured, and a crack extended from the hole, splitting the blade.

Marika turned to look, and embedded in the railing was a bullet, still smoking.

Unlike most lead bullets, this was a spear-shaped bullet with an extremely sharp tip.

"That's no ordinary gun."

The rifle was also unusual. Compared to a standard flintlock, this rifle was longer, and the steel of the gun barrel was clearly of better quality. Even the gun stock differed from a normal rifle.

"I am Navy Headquarters Colonel, known as 'Flying Spear' Light. Remember my name; the person who will arrest you is me!"

Whoosh!

Light had barely finished speaking when Marika swung her arm, hurling the broken sword blade. The tremendous force created a gust of wind as the blade slashed towards the skinny navy soldier squatting on the railing.

And in that moment, Light leaped forward with incredible agility and speed, landing on the middle platform of the warship's second mast and taking aim at Marika with another shot.

Bang!

Marika had already been moving as he leaped, and even so, this shot nearly hit her, grazing her shoulder and tearing her clothes. A trail of blood appeared on her snow-white shoulder.

"Oh, no need to reload?" Sag at the front of the ship exclaimed in surprise.

In these vast seas, aside from those with a bit of combat ability, the vast majority of ordinary people are skilled with both blades and guns, rather than guns being the primary weapon of choice. It's not that guns lack offensive power, but close-quarters combat is simply more cost-effective.

The reason is speed, or the lack thereof.

With a normal flintlock, after firing a shot, one has to reload, which takes time. While the attack power is considerable, the slow reload speed means that if the first shot doesn't kill your opponent, by the time you've reloaded and fired a second shot, they would have had ample time to chop you down seven or eight times over.

No wonder there are those who, after firing a shot, use the gun barrel as a club and bash their opponents with the butt of the gun.

But there are also black tech exceptions.

For example, the six-bullet flintlock gun that Linetia made for Sag, and now this rifle, which far surpasses ordinary firearms in terms of power, range, and speed.

The ocean is quite magical, isn't it?

"It moves pretty fast too." Marika looked up, her smile unchanged.

"Because I'm skinny and light, my speed and agility are top-notch! I know you're strong, but if I'm too fast to catch, then it's useless!"

Light exuded a confident smile. "On the contrary, I can snipe you at will!"

"That's impressive."

Marika picked up a weapon and hurled it upward with a smile.

Strength also represents speed. As long as there is enough power, the thrown object will move swiftly. And speed, in turn, represents force.

Bang!

The weapon she threw struck the platform of the middle section of the mast, shattering it and continuing upward to create a large dent in the upper mast before finally coming to a stop.

But by then, Light had already jumped away.

"It's useless!"

Light leaped toward the top of the building on the warship. As long as he kept aiming at Marika, just as he was about to pull the trigger, a black shadow shot up from below, wrapping itself around his hands, feet, and neck.

It was...

"Hair?!" Light exclaimed in shock.

Marika's black hair writhed like snakes, a few strands extending like black ropes and coiling around Light's body, binding him in mid-air.

Life Return.

Hair Binding Technique!

"If you're bound, you can't move, can you?"

Marika smiled and extended her palm. "If you had just obediently let me defeat you from the start, perhaps you wouldn't be in so much pain now. Be careful."

Whoosh!

The extending hair suddenly retracted, pulling Light's body swiftly toward her.

Boom!!

A palm strike, powerful and heavy, landed on his throat, causing his neck to fold forward unnaturally. His entire body turned purple, his tongue lolled out, and he went limp.

The hair released his body, letting it fall to the ground. Those few strands of hair retracted, returning to their normal position and restoring their original form.

Marika glanced at the lifeless body on the ground and shook her head. "What a shame. He couldn't take it."

Sag smiled faintly. He knew this woman had been holding back.

Being able to use Life Return and controlling her hair with it were two completely different concepts.

The former might just be the ability to absorb energy rapidly, to the extent that the user might not even be aware of this power. The latter, however, indicated conscious control over one's body.

With these three troublesome Navy Headquarters colonels taken care of, Lily and the others rejoined the battle. Although the three Navy warships had a considerable number of soldiers, in the face of powerful opponents, numbers weren't much of an obstacle.

By the time Sag's cigar had burned to its end, the battle on the ships had concluded.

"Quick!"

Lily slashed her sword, taking down the last group of Navy soldiers who were still fighting. She immediately called out, "Rescue those who need it, and scavenge what you can! This ship is about to sink!"

Linetia had created a hole in the ship with her hammer, and the ship's bottom had been taking in seawater for a while. Although the hole wasn't huge, the battle had lasted a significant time, and by now, the ship had sunk halfway into the sea. If they didn't hurry, the ship would surely sink.

There was no point in scavenging this soon-to-be-sunken ship for supplies. The priority was to find the remaining living crew and that needle. As for the other two ships, there was more time to thoroughly search them.

Several dozen pirates rushed into the deck buildings and cabins, while the rest began rescuing their injured comrades.

One by one, the injured were helped up and supported. Ajrin found a gangplank on the Navy warship and placed it against the Deadstar, allowing the injured to return to their ship.

Lily was quickly taking a headcount, and the more she counted, the more her expression soured. Eventually, she boarded the Deadstar and made her way to the ship's bow, standing behind Sag.

"Sag."

"Get to the point."

Sag picked up a gem-studded wine glass and poured himself a drink.

Lily pursed her lips and said, "At least two hundred..."

She didn't need to finish her sentence. Sag knew what she meant.

In this world, the average person without any training was relatively normal. But those who had undergone even a bit of training and had some skill were frighteningly robust. The supposedly lethal injuries he knew from his previous world often didn't prove fatal here.

For instance, gunshot wounds, sword slashes, or knife cuts wouldn't easily kill them. And those who were even tougher might only suffer a severe injury from a shattered skull or a pierced chest. Given enough time to recuperate, they could recover.

The crew he had recruited were of this tougher variety.

However, being tough didn't mean they were invincible.

Severe enough injuries could still be fatal.

In this battle, he had lost over two hundred crew members, their lives forever ending within this warship.

"When I recruited them, I told them that following me could lead to their deaths."

Sag slowly stood up and gazed at the multitude of bodies lying on the deck below, his crew among the minority.

In his estimation, the Navy had suffered casualties exceeding half their number, and the rest were severely injured and unconscious. Without timely treatment, the death toll would likely be much higher.

Five hundred against over a thousand, and with the opposing colonel-led warship utterly defeated, these casualties were already impressive.

If the commander had been a higher-ranked Navy officer, they would have faced a Great Route Navy fleet with more ships and elite soldiers.

If a Navy vice admiral had been in command, they would have encountered a massive warship with at least fifty colonels under their lead. That would have been a far more challenging battle.

Sag could have used his Conqueror's Haki to knock out these Navy soldiers, but given their resilience, it was questionable if even one of them would have remained standing. However, he wasn't here to play a game of make-believe with his crew. What he could do now might not be possible in the New World.

"Are you ready to die?"

Sag turned to face his men, who were climbing onto the ship. "Any regrets?"

"How could we!"

A crew member pressed his hand against his chest as he slumped on the deck. Hearing this, he mustered his strength, letting more blood spill from the corners of his mouth, but he still grinned and said:

"The moment I set sail for freedom, I became a man of the sea. And the sea is where a man of the sea finds his resting place, Captain!"

The other pirates either smiled or looked excited, while those on the brink of death showed fear. Yet, not a single one of them expressed regret.

"Ahhhh!"

Mute Miot, who had just finished carrying two crew members, stood there with his fists raised, looking somewhat unsatisfied and eager for another round of fighting with the navy.

"Good."

Sag tilted his gem-studded wine glass, letting the liquid inside spill into the sea, and said, "This is just the entrance to the Grand Line. Our destination is the New World! My little ones, work hard to improve yourselves and keep up with my pace and my ambitions!"

"Ohhh!"

Whether they were severely injured or standing strong, everyone shouted in unison.

"Lily, it's all yours now."

Sag casually threw out a sentence as he turned and walked toward the captain's room.

"I understand."

Lily nodded, watching Sag's retreating back, her fists clenched tightly.

I must become stronger! Otherwise, forget about Sag's ambitions; even my own dreams may be hard to achieve!

It wasn't until Sag's figure disappeared into the second-floor captain's room that Lily snapped out of her thoughts and went below to search the remaining two naval ships.

And the warship that had taken on water gradually sank beneath the waves.

Before long, the remaining pirates finished scavenging and either tended to their injured comrades or rested. Even those who had been knocked out by Sag's Conqueror's Haki earlier gradually regained consciousness.

Upon learning about the battle that had taken place, some felt unsatisfied and wanted another round, while others were scared out of their wits. But to vent their emotions, they fired their cannons and sunk the warships.

"Sag, I've finished the headcount."

Lily pushed open the door to the captain's room, and Marika and Linetia followed her inside. They held a few objects that resembled hourglasses, each with a glass sphere containing a suspended needle.

"We have 421 people left on the ship. Those who didn't participate in the fight are fine, but over a hundred are severely injured, and the rest have minor wounds. We've used medicine for simple first aid, but the severely injured can only maintain their vital signs. We need a doctor."

"Find an island with a town, rest up, and find a doctor to treat them. Did you get the sea map?" Sag asked.

The record needles were crucial for navigating the Grand Line, but sea maps were also important. At the very least, they needed to know where they were going.

It was impossible to get a map of the entire world, and even if they had, it would only provide a rough outline. Expecting to find precise locations with such a map was a fool's errand.

Even with detailed sea maps, it was challenging to pinpoint the exact number of islands within a given area, but they could get a general idea.

"Got it."

As the navigator, Lily understood the importance of sea maps and had taken them from the naval ships.

"Also, we found the bounty notices."

She placed the record needles on the table and handed over several bounty posters. "They're probably from Rogue Town. We've all been put on the bounty list."

There were a total of eight bounty posters, including Akin and Palu. Akin's bounty had increased to 150 million berries, while Palu's had reached 100 million berries.

There was also a poster of Mute Miot brandishing a huge sword with a ferocious expression.

His name was also revealed, and his bounty was 60 million berries, not a small amount.

As for the rest...

There was a photo of Linetia taken during the robbery in Rogue Town. In the picture, she was carrying her mechanical hammer and had a broad smile on her face, looking rather proud.

Linetia, DEAD OR ALIVE, with a bounty of 230 million berries.

"Hehe, I'm a wanted criminal now, too!" Linetia proudly placed her hands on her waist.

"What did you do?" Sag asked curiously.

He had been fighting with Zefa at the time and wasn't clear on what exactly they had done to warrant bounties. But since they were on the list, it meant they had done something attention-grabbing in Rogue Town. It wasn't just about robbery; why were only a few of them on the bounty list?

"Hmm."

Linetia thought for a moment and replied, "I think it's because the gate opened too slowly, so I blew up the whole place!"

Now he remembered. This girl had a tendency to destroy half the town whenever she robbed a place under the Black-Sail Pirate name. She believed in sheer brutality.

It seemed Rogue Town had been left in ruins.

Sag looked at another poster, also taken in Rogue Town, featuring a smiling Marika. Only her upper body, up to her chest, was visible, but behind her was a pile of rubble.

Marika, DEAD OR ALIVE, with a bounty of 300 million berries.

"What did you do?" Sag asked, curious.

She was a cook who rarely fought, yet her bounty had increased so much, even surpassing Linetia's. She must have done something extraordinary.

"There weren't enough rare ingredients in the food market, but I found a large estate with plenty of good stuff. I wanted to buy them, but I didn't have any money at the time, and they wouldn't sell them to me."

"So?"

"So, since I'm a pirate, I figured taking them by force was an option. But their defense was robust, and they received a lot of support from people claiming to be nobles. To speed things up, I lifted the entire house, and that's how I managed to get what I wanted."

Marika crossed her arms, one hand supporting her cheek, and smiled gently. "As it turned out, there were many more excellent ingredients in places other than that estate, so I just took them all. It was quite a bit of work."

As she crossed her arms, her hands accentuated the impressive size of her chest.

Sag nodded, understanding now!

One had destroyed the commercial street, and the other had smashed the nobles' residential area. No wonder their bounties were so high.

"Are we lacking in public funds?" Lily interjected.

"Piracy should have a purpose; we can't just plunder blindly. Sometimes, we need to spend money, like when seeking medical attention or renting a venue for a banquet. Why risk danger over small sums?"

"We are pirates, not vandals." Sag agreed. "It's reasonable. How about this—are you three executives okay with reducing your shares?"

The three women unanimously shook their heads. They had no strong attachment to money. Lily only cared about following Sag, Marika was focused on cooking, and Linetia was interested in ship technology. If they tried to manage things on their own, Linetia's funds wouldn't be enough, and in the end, Sag would have to spend his money, but the results would still belong to him.

As for the others, there was no need to ask.

Akin would definitely have no objections.

Palu? No need to consider him.

Sag's distribution of shares was already distinct from other pirate groups, and a further reduction wouldn't affect them much.

"Alright, we'll uniformly reduce the shares by 2%. Executives will receive 3%, lower-ranking officers will get 1%, and the shares for me and the regular crew will remain unchanged. How does that sound?"

Sag nodded as he continued to scan the documents, moving on to Lily's bounty.

Beneatha Lily, DEAD OR ALIVE, with a bounty of 36 million berries.

The photo remained unchanged, and the increase in bounty wasn't significant, probably because she hadn't participated in many robberies, being busy with command duties.

Next was his own bounty.

Lily took out a newspaper obtained from the Navy warship and said, "I've read the news. It says we destroyed four kingdoms and plundered Rogue Town, but nothing else. Even considering Zefa's involvement, isn't this bounty a bit too high?"

Beneath that maniacal, laughing portrait was an extraordinarily large number.

Norton Sag, DEAD OR ALIVE, with a bounty of 270 million berries!

"Over two hundred million?" Even Sag was taken aback by the figure.

"Just for Rogue Town?" Sag raised an eyebrow.

The incident at the Bridge Kingdom, his escape from Garp, and the battle with Zefa might have contributed to the bounty, but it shouldn't have increased this much. It seemed a bit excessive.

"Hmm."

Just as Sag was pondering, he suddenly paused, his eyes falling on another bounty notice below his own. It was a wanted poster for someone who wasn't part of their pirate group.

It featured a young girl with black hair and blue eyes, seemingly on a ship, her gaze filled with wariness and vigilance.

"We found this on one of the Navy warships," Lily explained. "She's a little girl named Nico Robin, with a bounty of 79 million berries. She looks even younger than Linetia."

"What did she do to deserve such a high bounty? Did she rob a hundred towns?" Linetia asked curiously.

Moreover, Lily glanced at Sag, then at the wanted poster of the young girl, feeling that there was some resemblance between them.

Although the girl had black hair and blue eyes, while Sag had white hair and black eyes, and there was likely an age difference, their facial features seemed somewhat similar at first glance.

However, it was normal to find similarities among people in the vast ocean.

"Ah."

Sag raised the wine glass to his lips and took a sip, his eyes narrowing as he studied the wanted poster. "This isn't recent; it's a wanted poster from twenty years ago. But why did it resurface now?"

Lily was sixteen, Linetia was ten, and Marika was only twenty-four this year. Despite their youthful appearances and amicable dispositions, they weren't that young.

Twenty years ago, the oldest among them would have only been four years old.

Of course, they had no way of knowing about events from the past, especially in the Western Sea...

He hadn't done anything that would warrant such a high bounty, but now, the gap had widened significantly. Had his identity been discovered?

"Never mind, it's not important."

Sag pushed the wanted posters aside and said, "For the crew members who died, do you remember their names and hometowns? Let's make a list and store their belongings. If there's an opportunity, we'll send their possessions back to their hometowns."

He aspired to be a feudal lord, but he wasn't stingy. He certainly wouldn't stoop to taking the money of his deceased crew.

Everyone had family or friends, didn't they?

Orphans?

Even orphans had a hometown!

Sag thought of a certain destroyed island in the Western Sea and clicked his tongue. He picked up one of the recording needles and examined it.

"Hmm?"

Just one look, and he felt that something was amiss. He picked up another needle and frowned. Of the twelve recording needles, three pairs had different inscriptions, with identical words etched on the hourglasses of each pair.

And the remaining six were exactly the same!

"ARABASTA"

Sag read the word aloud, his eyebrow arching. "Arabasta?"

"Sag, can't you read?" Linetia pointed out the obvious flaw in his statement.

"I can't read, but I know how to pronounce words, don't I? I'm not illiterate to the point of not even knowing how to read my own name," Sag retorted.

Indeed, he was illiterate, but he couldn't decipher compound words; simple pronunciations were a different matter.

He tossed the needle onto the table. "These aren't recording needles; they're permanent needles. If I'm not mistaken, three pairs are pointing to the Navy base islands that those warships belong to, and these six are heading to Arabasta."

The Navy wouldn't dispatch ships without a purpose. They always had missions, and they wouldn't need recording needles for those missions—permanent needles would suffice.

One needle would be used to navigate to the destination, and another would be used to return to the base.

"What should we do?" Lily asked.

"Of course, we're heading to Arabasta. Why would we go to a Navy base? Each of those ships has a crew of about three hundred people. How many people do you think are at a base? Let's go to Arabasta to find a doctor, and we can look for recording needles there as well."

With a clear direction and a place to go, there was no problem.

Sag vaguely recalled the events that had transpired in Arabasta, but they had nothing to do with him. He was a pirate, not some sort of righteous hero.

Perhaps they could even raid the king while they were there.

He faintly remembered that place being rather poor, but even a poor king should have some treasures worth taking!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end