"Hahaha~~~"
"A great harvest—"
"Drink,"
"I'll drink first, you do as you please!"
"Eat,"
On the now calm sea, two ships sailed slowly, one behind the other.
On the "Riding the Waves," a banquet was being held: the victorious "Silver Light Pirates" were bringing food and drinks from the merchant ship onto the deck to feast!
Drinking large bowls of wine, eating large chunks of meat, and dividing the gold—
After a thrilling battle, feasting and drinking was the pirates' happiest time!
Of course, there were also the Berries and various gold and silver jewelry in their pockets...
Besides these "personal" spoils, this time they scored a big haul, as the merchant ship was loaded with weapons!
This kind of "hard currency" would sell easily in any country in this war-torn world. The captain promised a 3-2-4-1 split after selling the goods.
The captain would take 30%, the bald man would take 20%, the rest would get 40%, and Roman would take 10%.
In fact, it should have been a 3-2-3-2 split, but the young Roman insisted on taking only 10%, giving the remaining 10% to the crew. However:
No killing children, no raping women...
Because of that share and his great strength, all the pirates had to grudgingly follow the "crazy" Roman's rules. After all, with the captain's tacit approval, even the bald man had to comply.
In short, the young man named Roman seemed out of place among the ordinary pirates, with many "quirks" they couldn't understand.
For example: brushing his teeth and washing his face every day;
For example: constantly exercising whenever he had free time;
For example: spending all his savings on high-quality ingredients;
For example: only fighting back after being attacked...
So, while everyone else gathered in small groups to brag and drink, the young man named Roman sat alone by the ship's rail, sipping his drink.
Year 1520 of the Sea Circle Calendar—
Roman's eyes were a bit dazed. Unknowingly, he had been in this world for three years.
Yes, Roman was a transmigrator from Earth.
However, to his dismay, it seemed the Time-Space Administration had made a mistake. Not only was Roman a nobody in the world of One Piece, but he also didn't have the standard cheat abilities! Forget about any system, he hadn't even seen the Devil Fruit that every transmigrator supposedly gets.
As someone with a "criminal record," Roman had no choice but to continue the dead-end job of being a pirate. He didn't even have the chance to join the Marines to learn Rokushiki and Haki...
The future looked bleak.
Thinking of the Devil Fruit, Roman subconsciously glanced in the captain's direction, meeting the gaze of the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat.
In an instant:
A young man's calmness, a middle-aged man's sharpness, their gazes clashed in the air!
Then they both looked away nonchalantly.
The Devil Fruit, Roman sighed inwardly.
A rumored treasure worth 100 million Berries!
Moreover, it's a priceless treasure. For many forces, 100 million Berries is just a "small goal," but a Devil Fruit can greatly enhance the combat power of a core member...
Whether it's turned into combat power or sold for money, it's a huge temptation for the "Silver Light Pirates"!
So, after the middle-aged man casually closed the box, a strange and inexplicable atmosphere flowed between the three leaders of the pirate group.
Maybe, it would have been better if the captain had just eaten it right away—
?
Roman's well-toned arm suddenly lost its strength, and the cup fell helplessly onto the deck.
Clang—
The sound of the metal cup hitting the ground seemed like a signal. As Roman leaned back against the ship's rail, the pirates who had been celebrating moments ago began to collapse one by one!
Thud, thud, thud,
With a series of dense thuds, the previously lively "Riding the Waves" instantly fell silent, with everyone collapsing to the ground as if they had fallen into a deep sleep...
No, they were already dead!
Their wide-open eyes began to dilate, blood slowly trickled from the corners of their mouths, and their chests had stopped rising and falling...
All of this indicated that the end of the "Silver Light Pirates" had quietly arrived.
Except for:
The middle-aged man sitting on the captain's throne, playing with the cup in his hand!
"Hmph,"
The middle-aged man stood up with a cold snort, his hand on the rapier at his waist.
"Get up, stop pretending."
At the captain's words, two figures stood up from the "pile of corpses": Roman and the bald man!
"Why, Captain?"
Roman spoke softly,
"Wouldn't it be better if you just ate the Devil Fruit?"
"It would greatly enhance your combat power and lead the brothers to wealth—"
Roman looked at the middle-aged man's cold face, his eyes filled with regret and disappointment.
To be fair, his captain was already considered "good" among pirates. He had brains, strength, generosity, and wasn't erratic...
As a transmigrator without a cheat ability and no knowledge of navigation, Roman felt that staying with the "Silver Light Pirates" was a good choice, at least he could "peacefully" train and improve his strength...
"It seems I overestimated you, Captain."
Picking up the sword and shield from the deck, Roman took a stance facing the middle-aged man. The meaning was clear!
"Roman, let's take him down together!"
The bald strongman, holding an axe, moved cautiously towards Roman while keeping an eye on the middle-aged man.
In a three-way standoff, it's wise for the weaker two sides to team up against the stronger one, so—
"Alright,"
Roman answered without hesitation, and then:
Whoosh—
Just as the bald strongman entered Roman's two-meter alert zone, he suddenly turned and swung his massive axe at Roman with a fierce whooshing sound! It was a full-force attack!
"Captain, attack—"
Clang!
However, at the moment the bald strongman launched his sudden attack, Roman also turned and raised his shield at a thirty-degree angle to block! While deflecting the bald man's attack, he caused the axe to slide off to the side with a trail of sparks.
Then, with a flash of his other hand's blade.
Swoosh,
A large, shiny bald head flew into the air.
Thud,
Stepping aside to avoid the falling headless body, Roman turned to look at the middle-aged man standing still.
"Why didn't you take the opportunity to attack?"
Facing the silent middle-aged man, Roman shook his head to himself.
"It seems you didn't even want to keep him. Even though he was loyal to you until the end."
But the middle-aged man remained indifferent.
"Come on, Captain!"
No more words were needed. For pirates, the way to solve problems ultimately came down to who had the bigger fist.
With his shield in front and his sword hidden behind, Roman took a stance and advanced towards his superior! The opponent was incredibly fast and agile, so to win, he had to limit his movement space.
Whoosh—
Clang, clang, clang, clang—!!
Amidst the corpses on the "Riding the Waves," the last two members of the Silver Light Pirates were engaged in a life-and-death struggle! One moved swiftly, his rapier like a storm of rain; the other stood firm, his shield blocking and his knife waiting for an opportunity!
Although it seemed like Roman was being pressed, with several wounds appearing on his body, his eyes remained calm. After all, the middle-aged man's high-speed swordsmanship was very exhausting, usually requiring others to help him recover. As long as he could hold out until the captain showed signs of fatigue...
You want to wait for me to get tired?
Naive,
After another thrust was blocked by Roman's shield, the middle-aged man suddenly took a deep breath while moving at high speed, and then:
Slash—!
The rapier in his hand burst into a brilliant light and slashed down fiercely! Like a silver moon descending, like thunder in spring! Silently, it cut through Roman's heavy shield like a hot knife through butter.
Cutting iron!
With one strike, the middle-aged man broke through Roman's proud defense. He quickly retracted his rapier and then thrust it towards Roman's throat without hesitation! In his eyes, a shieldless Roman would be defeated in an instant by his swordsmanship—
Splat,
Blood splattered!
A drastic change in expression!
The blood was Roman's; but the look of shock and anger was on the middle-aged man's face.
At the moment the shield shattered, Roman raised his left hand to meet the middle-aged man's rapier! He certainly couldn't perform the high-difficulty move of "catching a blade with bare hands." But knowing the middle-aged captain well, Roman knew his next strike would aim for his throat, so:
There is no problem at all to pretending to catch the blade with bare hands!
The middle-aged man's rapier pierced through Roman's palm, then traveled up his arm, breaking through at his elbow, making it look like Roman had grown a silver "arm blade"!
Despite the severe injury, even the battle-hardened Roman winced, but in that split second, his left hand's fingers closed firmly around the rapier's guard! At the same time, his right hand slashed out.
Swoosh!
Blood splattered, mixed with the organs spilling from the abdomen.
Indeed, as the middle-aged man had imagined, the outcome was decided in an instant!
But it was the opposite of what he had imagined.
"You lost."
With his left hand pierced by the rapier, Roman walked slowly towards the middle-aged man, who was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach.
"Actually, when I saw the Devil Fruit, I was tempted too."
"But I still hoped you, Captain, could come up with a 'fair' distribution plan."
Things didn't go as hoped.
"Cough, cough,"
"That's 100 million Berries!"
The middle-aged man, half-kneeling on the ground, spoke painfully.
"With that money, you could easily set up a business in any country and become a noble! Who would still want to fight and die at sea?!"
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth as he finished, but he had to face reality.
"Roman, I lost."
"The fruit is yours, it's in the captain's cabin—"
He clutched the wound on his stomach with one hand, blood continuously seeping through his fingers, along with his "dignity."
"Spare me, I no longer pose a threat to you..."
"I didn't want this either, but I have a mother, a wife, and a five-year-old daughter back home..."
"I don't want them to lose a son, a husband, a father... I just wanted to fight for a happy life for them..."
Under the middle-aged man's confession, Roman walked up to him, put down his sword, and sighed.
Even after rolling around with pirates for several years, his previous life's values still influenced him.
"Thank you, thank you..."
The middle-aged man lowered his head as if in repentance, but a fierce glint flashed in his eyes!
With a flick of his wrist, a hidden blade silently popped out, and then:
"Die!!"
Swoosh,
The two figures suddenly overlapped, and as the blade pierced through flesh, the middle-aged man 's expression changed from ferocious to stunned.
"Captain—"
Roman, who had stabbed the man, whispered in his ear.
"Your hometown was razed to the ground by you ten years ago. What wife and children are there?"
Swoosh,
Roman withdrew the sword, taking the middle-aged man's life and soul with it. The captain fell backward into a pool of blood, and the tricorn hat symbolizing his authority rolled to the side.
All that was left was an ordinary middle-aged man.
"This is what it means to be a pirate,"
The sole victor looked around. Although the ground was littered with scum who burned, killed, and looted, they were also comrades who had fought and laughed together...
"Just pirates, after all."
The young man turned and walked towards the captain's cabin to claim the blood-soaked spoils of victory!