The rest of the Marine soldiers kept hacking away at the white threads, but they were tougher than steel and wouldn't break.
"Damn it, what is this stuff?" Smoker was both shocked and angry. The silk threads tightened, pulling their ship closer to Joz's six warships.
"Sir Smoker, look out!" a Marine shouted. Smoker turned and saw a figure with eight spider-like white legs moving at an astonishing speed along the threads toward them.
"Damn it, it's Joz, the Shiny White Spider! How did he know our route?" Smoker yelled in frustration.
Bastille's expression was grim. "This isn't the time to worry about that. We need to figure out how to stop him."
"It's over, hahaha!" Joz taunted as he sped across the threads, reaching them in a blink.
"Take this!" Smoker threw a punch, but Joz's diamond-coated body absorbed the impact effortlessly.
Joz flexed his fingers, sending ten threads toward Smoker's joints. Smoker quickly turned to smoke, evading the attack.
"Interesting," Joz smirked.
"Bastille, let's take him on together…" Smoker started to say, but then realized Bastille was already ensnared by Joz's String-String Fruit.
"Too easy," Joz laughed, shaking his head. He looked back at Smoker. "Now you're alone. Do you still think you stand a chance?"
Bastille struggled, furious. Before he could fully power up, countless tough white threads overwhelmed him, binding him tightly, making resistance impossible.
"This is heavenly tribute," Smoker said coldly. "Do you realize what kind of crime you're committing by stealing it?"
Joz grinned. "Oh, you mean my bounty will go up again? Good. It's about time they raised it—I was getting tired of my low ranking. I won't kill you today. Go back and give them a good description of my strength. Hopefully, my bounty will be higher than Ace's next time."
"I'd love to see Captain Ace's reaction when he finds out my bounty surpassed his!" Joz laughed, then turned to his crew climbing aboard. "Alright, boys, take those two ships with the goods! Marines, drop your weapons, or it's all over for you."
The Marines, seeing their leader defeated, put down their weapons one by one. They had all heard of Joz—he'd let other Marines live if they surrendered, so they chose not to fight back.
Joz nodded approvingly. "That's right. No need to risk your lives for the Celestial Dragons' tribute. I'll tell you now—next time I come for the heavenly tribute, surrender right away, and the Shiny White Spider Joz won't give you any trouble!"
Joz laughed as he seized two more warships, loaded with heavenly tribute, and sailed away.
Smoker and Bastille could do nothing. With a heavy sigh, Bastille contacted Sengoku and reported the incident.
Upon hearing the news, Sengoku's voice exploded with rage. "What are you all doing? Is your gun just a toy? You've been robbed four times now! Is the Marine really just a transport team for pirates? I'm ashamed for all of you!"
Sengoku's furious words stung, but Smoker and Bastille could only listen in silence, feeling the weight of their failure.
---
Ten days later.
This time, Ghost Spider and Onigumo decided to use merchant ships to transport the heavenly tribute, hoping to avoid another encounter with Joz. The two had become wary of using Marine warships, preferring to avoid the attention of high-profile pirates like Joz.
But they hadn't anticipated the constant harassment from small-time pirates. Fortunately, their skills allowed them to fend off these lesser threats.
Taking a swig of sake, Onigumo grumbled, "Pirates are getting bolder these days."
Ghost Spider sighed. "Ever since Chiba joined the pirates, we should have expected things to get this bad."
"True enough. At least things seem quieter this time. As long as we don't run into any big names, we should be able to make it to Mariejois without trouble."
"If we don't deliver this tribute, they'll suspect we're colluding with pirates. Who knows what punishment we'll face?"
"Right. And it won't just be us… it could affect our families…"
"Let's not think about it. No matter what, we can't let this tribute get taken again."
Just as they reassured themselves, eight warships appeared on the horizon, flying pirate flags. Onigumo's face twisted in despair.
"Are you kidding me? It's that bastard Joz again?!"
On the deck of the lead ship, Joz stood with his arms crossed, laughing. "Onigumo, Ghost Spider! We meet again—fate's funny that way, isn't it?"
His booming laughter echoed across the sea as Ghost Spider and Onigumo drew their swords, coating them in powerful Armament Haki, determined to stand their ground.
"Still want to fight, huh?" Joz chuckled. "Think you can take me on?"
With a flick of his fingers, Joz unleashed his awakened String-String Fruit powers, sending a tidal wave of threads crashing toward them.
In seconds, the two Marines were entangled once more. Joz grinned down at them. "You really thought you could stand against the Shiny White Spider?"
Ghost Spider muttered in frustration, "Why does it always have to be you?"
"Haha, I guess it's just fate bringing us together. How about becoming my deputy captains?" Joz laughed.
[•———•——•———•]
𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 11𝟬+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.