"It's so noisy."
Sage stretched out his pinky finger to dig at his ear, "Can't your loud voice be drowned out by this heavy rain? Is the Navy really that energetic? Can't you operate a Warship if your voice is too low?"
"Answer me, Norton Sage!" Lieutenant Colonel continued to shout.
"I'm a Pirate, what do you think I'm here for?"
Sage rolled his eyes, "Of course I'm here to rob, do you think I'm here for charity?!"
"You've committed so many crimes, and you still dare to wander around the East Sea? Reinforcements will be here soon, and even you can't handle so many Navy, right?"
"If I were afraid of that kind of thing, I wouldn't be a Pirate," Sage scoffed.
Afraid of reinforcements? Afraid of being encircled? Afraid of this and that? He wouldn't even set sail if he was that scared; he might as well die poor back home.
With his bad luck, even recruiting a subordinate could lead him to Garp. He was so unlucky that he didn't find it surprising; he basically had no delusions of luck and could accept whatever happened in Log Town.
But no matter how unlucky he was, there should still be some basic rules, right? Being unlucky isn't the same as seeking death; Sage wasn't stupid and could distinguish the situation.
Garp was purely an accident. After they retreated, that old man didn't chase after them; instead, he read about the 'Navy Hero scaling Inverted Mountain' in the newspaper.
This meant that the Navy didn't take him, this 'small Pirate' with a bounty of less than a hundred million, seriously.
After all, there are so many Pirates at sea; what was he now? If Garp didn't come to catch him, would an admiral take the time to fly to the East Sea and accurately know he would arrive at Log Town to wait for him? That wouldn't be bad luck; that would be the Navy headquarters and the World Government going insane.
Letting so many Pirates go while coming to catch him? What else could that be but madness? Even robbing Heavenly Gold wouldn't get this kind of treatment!
If he were that unlucky, he wouldn't even have the chance to set sail; he might as well die from a lightning strike while farming with no harvest.
But since it hadn't come to that, what was there to be afraid of? Afraid of not being able to rob money? Not being afraid is the way to get rich.
Sage had thought this through; he was best at making plans. Bad luck could be overcome with a sufficiently detailed plan and strong enough strength.
For example, this Death Star Ship, which could withstand storms and sail steadily; without this ship, he would have capsized a hundred times at sea.
In a place like Log Town, he knew there was a natural-type Navy stationed here, but he had forgotten the name. It was only when Akin reminded him that he remembered it was that old smoker named Smoker.
But the name didn't matter; what mattered was Sage himself.
If he didn't know Haki, he wouldn't come here for supplies and would think of other plans to enter the Grand Line.
Without Haki, he wouldn't know how to deal with smoke; even if he could complete the robbery plan, his subordinates wouldn't be able to.
But since he learned Haki, he didn't care anymore; choosing the nearest Log Town was the most convenient thing.
Moreover, Smoker had already left, and the last potential troublemaker had disappeared. With such a big piece of meat in front of him, why not rob it?
"Hey! Norton Sage!"
Just as Sage was about to take action, a tall man blocked his path. This man wielded a giant axe and glared fiercely, shouting, "Even if you have a reputation, why did you sink my ship?!"
Sage looked up at the man, who was at least three meters tall, thought for a moment, and said, "'Great Axe Blade' Pabara, bounty of eleven million Belly?"
Sage still remembered Pirates with bounties, having been a bounty hunter for a while.
"That's right, I am Pabara!"
Pabara gritted his teeth, "Why did you sink my ship? Don't think I'll be afraid of you just because your bounty is high; you need to give me an explanation!"
"An explanation?"
Sage casually took the umbrella from Lily and smiled, "Sure."
Clang! A flash of cold light shot out from the tall man's chest, and with a hiss, blood sprayed into the air. That towering body collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling back.
Lily retracted her Fine Sword and took back the umbrella, holding it up for Sage behind him.
Sage glanced at Pabara's fallen body and said, "Your ship blocked my docking spot, just like you blocked my path, so I had to remove the obstacle. It's that simple."
"I won't let you in!"
Seeing Pabara fall, the Lieutenant Colonel's pupils constricted, and even the storm couldn't hide the sweat pouring from him. He gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Letting you in would be a disaster for the citizens!"
"Oh."
Sage replied lightly, and a crimson glint flashed in his eyes.
Buzz! Instantly, the battlefield, which had quieted down due to Sage's sudden appearance, became even more silent. Even the howling wind and pouring rain seemed to freeze at this moment, losing all sound.
Thud.
A group of Navy and Pirates engaged in battle rolled their eyes and fell down, as if a chain reaction had occurred. The Navy and Pirates along the streets leading from the port to the town all fell down without exception, including the branch Lieutenant Colonel who wanted to resist; not a single one was left standing, all lying on the ground.
Renetia exclaimed excitedly, "This is the power of the overlord of the sea!"
Sage shook his head, "I wouldn't mind having a fight with them, but without weapons, it wouldn't be fair to my subordinates."
Behind him, his subordinates wore fierce grins, even barehanded, they were eager to go.
These people from the Bridge Kingdom were all strong-willed; once they decided to follow Sage as Pirates, they wouldn't be easily intimidated by the Navy.
They were ready to fight alongside these Navy and Pirates.
"Boys, what you do next is up to you!"
Sage pulled out his exquisite Flintlock Gun from his waist and smiled, "I won't say much about the rules; I've mentioned them many times on the ship. I don't need subordinates who don't follow my orders!"
His rules were simple: first, don't rob the poor.
Pirates are also poor; there's nothing to rob between the poor, they all suffer the same, and squeezing them wouldn't yield anything. It's better to rob wealthy merchants for quicker gains.
Unless someone is foolish enough to resist and meddle.
Second, don't force women.
They are Pirates, not beasts that get aroused at the sight of women.
If they want women, Log Town has related industries; just get the money and go find those people.
As a Pirate, the freest creature on the sea, Sage could do whatever he wanted; similarly, if he didn't want to do something, he didn't have to.
In fact, aside from the first point being somewhat controversial at sea, the second point was something almost no Pirate would do.
Just like what a certain Pirate Emperor said, even among Pirates on this sea, righteousness must be upheld! Pirates are also human and can act like humans; they aren't beasts, so why engage in things that even beasts wouldn't do?
After all, even beasts know how to seek mates. And aside from these two points, Sage had no other aversions or taboos; as a Pirate, he was also quite dedicated.
Bang! The trigger was pulled, and the Flintlock Gun let out smoke. Sage stepped over the fallen bodies and shouted, "Robbery, boys!"
"Oh!!"
Over six hundred Pirates rushed into the streets, those without weapons quickly picked up the fallen weapons of the Navy and Pirates, charging into the port alleys, racing towards the bustling town streets.
Wonderful loot was beckoning to them!