Chapter 88: Hitching a Ride with Aokiji
"Captain, I didn't realize your eloquence was so good," Robin said with a slight smile.
Robin was happy that Kuzan could leave peacefully. After all, when she was a child, this Admiral had left a deep impression on her with his incredible freezing power.
Although she was grateful that Kuzan spared her, she would never forget that it was him and Admiral Sakazuki who destroyed Ohara.
What Robin didn't know was that Kuzan, this kind-hearted man, had been secretly keeping an eye on her since she left, fearing that she might stray from the right path.
He was a kind-hearted man, but after the Ohara incident, he became somewhat lax in his ways.
"Haha, I call it Talk No Jutsu. It's not perfected yet. If it were, I could speak someone to death. Remember how many people got with it? Nagato, Madara, and Sasuke..."
However, Kaguya was a simpleton and rarely spoke, so the Talk No Jutsu wouldn't work on her. Otherwise, after a few rounds, Kaguya would probably end up underground... cough, cough.
"Your ability is truly formidable, but your powers, Captain, are not very friendly to women, such as hypnotism..."
Robin's words trailed off as she noticed Rodney's Sharingan activated, and he spoke gently, "Robin-chan, what are you saying?"
Robin smiled, "It's nothing. But, Captain, aren't you afraid of being taken down by Admiral Kuzan this time?"
Rodney replied confidently, "I'm not afraid. I've said before that as long as you don't betray me, I will always protect you. Anyone who wants to take you away will have to step over me. Robin, remember, since I've chosen you, and you've chosen to join my crew, you are my person. Unless I retire, you won't be able to leave me for the rest of your life."
These heartfelt words left Robin silent, wiping away any traces of tears at the corner of her eyes. Her smile bloomed like winter sunshine, warming everyone's hearts. "Captain, you are now qualified to be a human being."
"What?! What did you think of me before?!"
...
The next morning.
Kuzan said he wanted to hitch a ride on their ship and stayed for breakfast again. After eating, he lay down on a deck chair, completely oblivious to being a guest.
"Get ready to set sail."
Rodney gave the order, and the Black Pearl started moving. He then began a day of training with Lester.
Leicester needed to train his skills since his strength still required improvement. He needed to be able to protect himself.
They sparred with clones and tied themselves to several sturdy points on the Black Pearl using ropes. They then jumped out and appeared in front of the ship. Rodney and Reiju lowered the sails. The Black Pearl was wind-powered, so lowering the sails significantly reduced its speed.
But that was precisely what Rodney wanted.
Tied to the ropes, he acted as a puller, using his body's strength alone to move the Black Pearl.
With his feet on the sea's surface, he ran, his face turning red as he became the human engine for the ship.
The buoyancy of the sea greatly reduced the ship's weight, but it still needed to be underestimated. Rodney didn't use his monstrous strength but instead pulled the ship using his physical power alone, and the speed wasn't slow. It wasn't as fast as with the wind, but it was almost as fast as a mini-motor.
"It's really hard work," Kuzan mumbled without any rhyme or reason, and then he turned over, wearing an eyepatch, and continued sleeping.
Days at sea were not particularly exciting. Rodney exercised every day, and Lester, apart from training, spent his time cooking. Reiju took on the role of the ship's doctor, although not a professional, she was adequate.
At least no one had to worry about being poisoned. Robin read books every day, taking notes and drawing sketches in her notebook. As for Perona, she used her Ghost Ghost Fruit ability to wander all over the ship.
Perona was well-behaved and managed by Robin. She didn't listen to Rodney much, but that was okay as long as she was obedient to Robin.
This was life on the Black Pearl. Added to the mix was Kuzan, who was always sleeping and eating on time. After two days of this routine, they encountered a group of pirates head-on.
A black pirate flag fluttered in the wind, and behind the white skull was a pair of crossed muskets.
"Robin, can you confirm the pirate crew's identity?" Rodney, for once, didn't exercise.
Robin was helpless. It seemed that her captain treated her as a pirate identification system. She sighed inwardly, "Captain, I don't know every pirate crew."
"In that case, Reiju?"
"Captain, if Robin doesn't know, do you think I will?" Reiju replied.
"Huh? I see," Rodney ignored Lester and Perona, as they would surely not know. The four on the ship turned their attention to Kuzan, who was eating the new dish Lester had prepared.
"Well, what about it? I don't know. I'm just guessing. I don't know if there's a bounty on them," Kuzan said. As an admiral, it was impossible for him to remember the bounties of every pirate. His subordinates usually kept track of that, and he just executed orders when necessary.
"So, Admiral Kuzan, you're just freeloading here on the ship?" Rodney teased.
"Well... I'm sleepy. That's it."
Rodney sighed and noticed something. He turned his head slightly and heard an explosion right next to his ear. Reiju reached out and easily caught the flying object.
Opening her hand, a bullet lay silently in her palm. As a modified human, catching ordinary bullets was a piece of cake.
"What a daredevil! How dare they attack us directly? They've got some nerve!" Rodney rubbed his ear. The pirate ship was still some distance away, and it seemed their sharpshooter had taken a shot at them.
In general, a sniper would first aim at the enemy's flag to provoke and send a message: "We've got you pegged."
"Arrogant! My ears are itchy. What did you think you'd accomplish by attacking us? Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
The seawater transformed into a shark with a wide-open mouth, revealing its ferocious teeth. It leaped out of the water and approached the pirates at high speed.
Amidst their shocked screams, several of them were swallowed by the shark and dragged into the sea.
"Aaah! Captain, Vice-Captain was eaten by the shark!"
A one-eyed pirate was frightened to the core, shivering, as he informed the tall man beside him, who wore a pirate hat. Two meters tall, with sideburns covering his face, and holding a gun, he sneered, "You idiots, what are you still standing there for? Fire at them from here! We are the Marksman Pirates, and this distance is enough to kill them all!"
The Marksman Pirates, Captain,
Sniper William, with a bounty of 24 million bellies.
An extraordinary marksman who loved to shoot his enemies from a great distance with his beloved gun. He had once killed a worthless ability user, which had made him proud. He was confident and did not fear devil fruit users, not realizing that he was completely ignorant of what it meant to face a devil fruit user.
Many of them were unreasonable, but he had killed a trash ability user once by attacking from afar. It was a surprise attack, and if it were a straightforward confrontation, that ability user would have taught him a lesson.
The Black Pearl was approaching from a distance, and William cocked his gun, aiming at Rodney. He thought he was the captain, but even if he wasn't, it didn't matter. Unfortunately, he had targeted the wrong person.
Through the scope, Rodney showed him a grin, his red eyes exuding a ferocious light. William subconsciously slowed down, his target, Rodney, raised his hand, and a shuriken flew toward him.
Bang!
The shuriken pierced the mast behind him.
"What?! Such poor accuracy! You're not even qualified to be my crew!" William mocked.
Boom!
The shuriken exploded, breaking the mast. Not every ship used high-quality materials.
The explosion from the detonation easily broke the mast, which now fell towards William!
"Aaah!"
The mast came crashing down!