The moonlight was hazy.
In a certain part of the Grand Line, a seemingly unremarkable light sailing ship was silently docked next to a half-worn, ragged pirate ship.
At the railing of the pirate ship's deck, several pirates were peering at the light sailing ship.
"What do you think, did our boss manage to pull it off? Why haven't we heard anything yet?"
"Idiot, do you really need to ask? Of course, he did!"
"This ship is really unlucky, sailing out in the middle of the night. They're practically begging to get attacked. Hahaha, look at how new this ship looks. Its owner must be rich."
"Tch, we're going to hit the jackpot again! Hahaha."
Amid the pirates' gleeful chatter, a tall figure walked out of the sailing ship's cabin, grumbling.
"Damn it, always getting stuck with the dirty work..." Enel's voice was particularly jarring in the quiet night, only accompanied by the sound of waves.
"Uh? Who's that guy? Where's our boss? Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Someone among the pirates asked.
Enel, thoroughly annoyed, glanced at the pirate ship parked next to theirs. Without another word, he sent several bolts of lightning their way. In a matter of seconds, the screams filled the air, and those who had been peering over the rail were all charred.
With a flash, Enel appeared on the pirate ship and started rummaging through it.
Not long after, Enel returned with whatever treasure he had found.
Kaku roughly estimated their value and said disdainfully, "Is this all? At most, we can sell this for a few million Berries. These pirates were dirt poor."
Enel looked at the scarred man's corpse and said, "Wasn't that guy worth ten million? We could just take his head to claim the bounty."
"Easier said than done," Kaku shook his head. "Don't forget, we're currently wanted by the World Government. If we go to claim a bounty, we'd be walking straight into a trap. Besides, who knows how long it'll take us to reach the next island? If we keep the body on board, it'll start to stink. What are we going to do, put it in the fridge?"
"Such a hassle." Enel, feeling even more frustrated, asked impatiently, "What do we do now then? Throw them into the sea to feed the fish?"
"Just toss them." Kaku didn't care. "Anyway, we aren't exactly short on cash right now. I'll throw them overboard, and you can clean up the mess."
Suddenly, Enel thought of something and asked, "What about our bet? Does this wasted time count?"
"Of course not," Kaku grinned. "The bet was for three hours of sailing. Eating and other activities don't count. Hurry up, finish cleaning, and get back to the helm."
"Damn it! I think you're just pushing your luck!"
"Hahaha," Kaku laughed, "You know, if you put the effort you're using to complain into your work, you'd be done by now."
Watching Kaku kick the bodies overboard one by one, Enel grew increasingly bitter. Wasn't the plan to recruit someone below his status onto the ship? So why was it turning out like this?
Whatever, it was just cleaning. How hard could it be? He could get it done in no time!
With that thought, Enel felt a little better. He found a bucket and began scrubbing the deck...
However, half an hour later, he still hadn't managed to clean up all the bloodstains. In fact, some spots looked even worse, which made him so mad that he nearly smashed the deck.
"What a piece of crap!" Enel shouted angrily as he threw the cloth on the floor.
Kaku, who had been reading nearby, seemed to have anticipated this and laughed, "Hahaha, can't handle it already? You can't even manage such a small task, how useless can you be?"
"Damn you, long nose!"
"Keep it down. This ship isn't that big. If you wake up the captain, you're in for another beating."
"You..."
"If you need help, I could spare some time to lend a hand. But, of course, it won't be for free."
"I don't need it!" Enel yelled angrily. "Long nose, just you wait!"
Kaku shrugged indifferently. "Alright, I'm waiting. Oh, and don't forget, you promised to spend two hours training every day. If you hurry up, you might just finish everything by midnight and get some sleep."
"You bastard, don't think just because Takumi backs you up that you can do whatever you want!"
"Hahaha, sorry, but with the captain backing me up, I really can do whatever I want."
Enel: "..."
"Alright, less talk, more action. Get to work," Kaku said as he stood up and started fiddling with some cocktail-making equipment he had prepared earlier. "We're running low on drinks on board, not enough for my experiments. Once we reach the next island, we should stock up. For now, let me make you a mixed fruit juice."
"Don't try to butter me up, I don't fall for that!"
"Oh? Well, if you don't want it, I'll drink it myself."
Enel: "Who said I didn't want it? I may not fall for your tricks, but I'll still take the drink!"
"Hahaha, you really contradict yourself, you know that?"
Enel: "..."
"Alright, enough talk." Kaku started mixing the drink.
Enel, no longer in the mood to argue, spent another half an hour finally getting the bloodstains out of the cabin.
After drinking the not-too-bad juice Kaku handed him, Enel returned to the helm to resume steering the ship.
The helm was dead quiet. For Enel, the next two hours were agonizing, and he almost fell asleep several times.
Seeing that it was about time, Kaku headed to the helm and found Enel dozing off, slumped over the wheel.
"You idiot," Kaku slapped him awake. Seeing that the wheel wasn't properly aligned, he could already tell that they were off course.
Enel jerked awake, rubbing his eyes. "What? Is time up already?"
Kaku sighed, looked out at the pitch-black sea, and said, "Who knows where we are now. Stop messing around, the Grand Line is different from other seas. A slight mistake, and we'll drift off the route Captain Takumi wanted us to take. Just wait until morning—you'll get your beating."
"Uh?" Enel froze. "What are you talking about? There's no way we're off course... You must be mistaken!"
"We'll see tomorrow. Anyway, go practice Armament Haki; I'll handle things here."
"Uh... What about our bet?"
"You fell asleep, so of course, I win."
"What the hell! No way!"
"Quit whining. Go train and stop messing around." Kaku pushed Enel out of the helm.
After sailing for a while longer, Kaku spotted a small, deserted island barely a dozen meters across and decided to anchor there for the night.
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