[NEW FANFIC!: Starting As A Class 5 Mutant]
[This fanfic is the one of three that will make into the poll, and the winner will be kept on being translated]
The waves churned as about a dozen large pirate ships appeared faintly through the mist.
All ships passing through the area, whether they were legitimate merchant ships or pirate vessels, panicked and turned away to avoid this dangerous region.
The reason was simple: those pirate ships belonged to the fleet of Captain Krieg, known as the Overlord of the East Blue.
Leading them was a massive sailing ship with three decks and a panther figurehead, its pirate flag adorned with a skull flanked by hourglasses, symbolizing the impending doom of its prey.
This was Captain Krieg's flagship, the Dreadnought Sabre, a formidable pirate warship!
"Captain, we've pinpointed the location of that sea restaurant. They've just departed from an island, and judging by their course, their destination seems to be Loguetown."
In the dimly lit hall, a strategist of the Krieg Pirates reported.
"The town where it all begins and ends, huh? They've chosen quite the place."
Captain Krieg, clad in golden armor, sat majestically in his chair, casually handling a newly acquired massive war spear.
On the table beside him lay newspapers from a few days ago featuring the sea restaurant.
"I can hardly wait to see how much cash and treasure those who defeated Buggy and Kuro have on hand..." Krieg's eyes gleamed with greed.
In a corner of the hall, a man with crossed legs and a sinister look in his eyes spoke up slowly, "Those people seem quite strong. They even have a man who can destroy beaches with a single blow. Isn't it too risky to attack them directly?"
This lean man with a murderous gaze was Gin, the chief combat officer of the Krieg Pirates.
"Don't worry, I've already thought of a strategy to deal with them."
The strategist, holding an oil lamp overhead, let out a cold laugh, "A strategy that will allow us to kill them all without even needing to fight!"
...
Meanwhile, completely unaware of being targeted by the largest pirate fleet in the East Blue, the Endless Dream sailed along its set course after bidding farewell to Shimotsuki Village.
Nearly a week had passed since the sea restaurant's official appearance in the newspapers.
As other news circulated, business at the sea restaurant gradually returned to normal, no longer experiencing the overwhelming influx of customers.
Zyhark couldn't help but muse, "Even in a world of pirates, running a business really depends on 'hype', huh?" Enjoying a rare moment of peace, he leisurely sipped tea and read the newspaper at the front desk.
"King! Let's battle! I've mastered the secret to defeating you. Today, I'll make you beg for mercy using just two fingers!"
Aqua, who had just made tea for Zyhark and earned 50 Berries, turned to challenge King, who was playing a game.
Full of confidence, she gestured with two fingers, determined to avenge her previous humiliations.
As a revered goddess, she couldn't accept the shame of being thoroughly defeated, even in video games.
"Oh, then bring it on." King shifted aside, expressionless.
"Darn it! It's exactly your nonchalant attitude that infuriates me!"
Aqua angrily grabbed the game controller, her face a mix of annoyance, "Just wait! I hope you can remain so calm when I mercilessly beat you to a pulp!"
King silently started the two-player battle mode.
"Do you need me to give you a two-life head start?" Aqua taunted.
With a sly smile, she anticipated her imminent victory.
"It doesn't really matter," King remarked indifferently.
For him, Aqua having extra lives was just a matter of spending more or less time to win. He only needed a drop of blood to claim victory.
Soon, the game began, and their battle kicked off.
Ten minutes later.
As expected, Aqua was utterly defeated, her spirit crushed.
"How is this possible?! When you went to the bathroom, I had already tweaked the settings; my character was invincible, how could I lose?!"
Aqua held her head in her hands, her body shaking in defeat like a squirming maggot.
"You cheated, King, you must have cheated, right?!"
"My character was invincible, not supposed to lose any health!"
Unable to deliver her prepared victory speech, Aqua, tears in her eyes, angrily shook King's collar.
"Well, Aqua, I was just playing normally. Choosing the weakest character doesn't really count as cheating, does it?"
King spread his hands helplessly, letting Aqua shake him – with his strength, breaking free from her grip was surprisingly difficult.
"What weakest character, you're mocking me, aren't you?! You're definitely mocking me!"
Aqua completely lost her composure, furiously pushing King away before crying and running to Zyhark to complain.
"Zyhark, did you see? King used the weakest character to beat my invincible one, isn't that cheating?!"
The person who sneakily changed the settings had the audacity to accuse someone else of cheating...
Her bold-faced indignation refreshed Zyhark's perspective.
"Let me see what's going on."
Although he had an idea, Zyhark still put down his newspaper and approached the game console.
He picked up Aqua's controller, input a sequence, and executed a powerful move with her game character.
Whoosh!
After a dazzling effect, King's character's health bar remained unchanged.
"Aqua, did you set the invincibility for Player 1 or Player 2?" Zyhark asked, setting down the controller.
"Of course, Player 1!"
Aqua glanced at Zyhark disdainfully, "Do you think I'd be so stupid as to make both sides invincible? That would make it impossible to determine a winner!"
"...You were using Player 2's controller."
"Ah?!" Aqua's expression froze, her face twitching uncontrollably.
The air turned awkwardly silent, the entire restaurant enveloped in palpable embarrassment.
"Ah ha, so that's it."
Regaining her composure, Aqua patted King's shoulder with a laugh, "King, you should have told me I had the wrong controller sooner. After all, we're all in this together, right?"
"Is it possible that you didn't touch King at all, and he didn't know his character was invincible?"
Zyhark's simple question dealt a heavy blow to Aqua, who was trying to laugh it off.
The humiliated Goddess of Water crumbled on the spot, hugging her knees in the corner of the restaurant, drawing circles in self-isolation, swearing never to challenge King to a game again.
(End of Chapter)