As the two ships drew close to each other, the battle reached a fever pitch.
Ordinarily, a ragtag group wouldn't stand a chance against the well-trained Navy.
But these pirates, having drifted across the seas for so long, were now fighting with a crazed desperation!
Since Marsh had requested it, many of the soldiers on this ship were fresh recruits who had only recently joined the Navy. They'd never seen such intense combat.
Seeing these grimy pirates, reeking of sweat, aiming straight for vital areas, the soldiers were embarrassed and thrown off their rhythm.
The battle became unexpectedly even.
Ain had just taken down one pirate when a pair of rough, hairy hands wrapped around her and slammed her hard onto the deck.
"Hey, hey, hey, beautiful girl."
It was a one-eyed pirate, scarred and shirtless, well into his forties.
Ain recognized him instantly.
It was him! The one who'd killed her father with a single stroke!
Her eyes filled with rage, and she swung her sword at the one-eyed pirate.
But his movements were surprisingly agile, dodging her strikes with slight shifts of his body.
Fortunately, after training alongside Marsh recently, Ain's stamina had greatly improved, preventing him from gaining the upper hand.
"Come on, beautiful girl, stop fighting. Why don't we have some fun instead?"
Seeing the way her body curved with each swing, the pirate gulped, a wicked grin on his face.
"Y-You-"
Just as Ain was about to shout, she was interrupted when the pirate was suddenly blasted away by a high-speed object.
He crashed onto the warship's deck with a heavy thud.
The pirates in the midst of the battle looked over in shock. The bloodied figure lying there, barely alive, was none other than their captain, Byrne!
"Boss... lost?!"
"Run for it! Even boss got taken down!"
"Every man for himself!"
"I surrender! I surrender! Stop fighting!"
...
As the first pirate dropped his weapon, the pirates on both ships exchanged glances and surrendered one after another.
"Disarm them." Marsh commanded, stepping down from the air as if descending a staircase.
"Yes, sir!"
The Navy soldiers cheered, knowing that their young commander had undoubtedly taken down the pirate captain amid the horde of enemies.
Half an hour later.
A junior officer came to report that all pirates, aside from those who had jumped overboard, had been captured and tied up.
"Tied up? Why?"
Marsh raised an eyebrow at this.
The junior officer was taken aback, if they weren't tied up, were they supposed to let them go?
"It's at least a three-day journey from here to Vice Admiral Tsuru's base. I don't have enough provisions to feed these scum," Marsh said, picking at his ear.
"Then… what are your orders, sir?" The officer felt a chill of foreboding.
"Take their heads."
"What? Kill the prisoners?!"
"What's that? Thinking of disobeying orders?" Marsh gave her a sidelong glance.
Wait, he'd been so focused on training Ain and the new recruits these past few days that he hadn't noticed this junior officer was quite the beauty herself!
No, he'd definitely take her tonight.
"...Understood." The junior officer sighed and withdrew, unaware she'd caught the eye of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Marsh rose and donned his cloak.
He made his way toward the brig.
Outside the cell, Ain was glaring intently at the figure inside, the monster who'd destroyed her family and led to her becoming someone else's plaything, Giant Shark Byrne.
"Can't wait any longer?" Marsh grinned as he entered.
"Open the door!"
Ain hissed through gritted teeth.
"Alright."
Knowing she was truly furious, Marsh used Shigan to break the cell's lock.
As the cell door swung open, Ain rushed in like a storm, stabbing Byrne repeatedly with her short dagger.
One stab, two stabs, three stabs...
The blood spraying from his wounds stained her pristine Navy uniform bright red.
[Treasure Hunter ability activated. Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the Shark-Shark Fruit. Reward will be distributed after the simulation ends. Please check accordingly.]
'Are you kidding me?'
Sure, he'd been hoping to use that ability to score a Devil Fruit, but the Shark-Shark Fruit? That's just disappointing.
It's just a Zoan-type fruit, and he definitely didn't want to turn into some half-human, half-shark freak!
Marsh felt a bit speechless.
As Byrne's breathing ceased entirely, Ain finally broke down into tears.
Marsh approached her, pulling her into his arms, ignoring the blood that soaked her.
As he held the sobbing girl, Marsh felt an unexpected urge he couldn't quite describe!
Just as he was contemplating acting on it, right here in the blood-scented brig, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his chest!
Looking down, he saw Ain's short dagger plunged deep into his heart...
[You have died. Simulation end.]
***
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