Bane put on an eyepatch, attached a fake beard, and studied himself in the mirror.
“Mm. Good enough.”
In this world, a simple disguise could go surprisingly far.
With his face partially covered and his appearance altered just enough, Bane doubted anyone would recognize him at a glance.
“Lord Bane!”
A pirate rushed over in a panic.
“A Marine warship has appeared off our port side!”
Another voice immediately followed.
“They’ve spotted us! They’re coming after us at full speed!”
The entire ship erupted into chaos.
Bane’s expression stiffened.
He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous.
Not long ago, his first Big Brother had died after running straight into Garp, and Bane himself had almost been captured along with him.
That experience had left an impression.
Now, every time he saw a Marine warship, the first thought that crossed his mind was—
Please don’t let Garp be on it.
Bane quickly forced himself to calm down.
Garp should still be somewhere around Foosha Village dealing with Luffy at this point.
Surely his luck couldn’t be bad enough to run into that monster twice in a row.
…Right?
Bane frowned.
“Can we outrun them?”
The bald vice captain looked toward the pursuing warship and swallowed.
“We can try, but they’ll probably catch us. Their ship is much faster than ours.”
“And—”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
He didn’t need to finish.
Cannonballs began crashing into the sea around them, sending towering columns of water into the air.
Bane’s face darkened.
The difference in firepower was obvious.
They had an ordinary pirate ship.
The Marines had a warship.
In a long-range fight, there was no comparison at all.
They could only take the bombardment and hope they weren’t blown apart before getting close.
Then the System appeared.
[Quest Triggered: Overlord of the East Blue]
[Description: Your Big Brother, Krieg, believes the Marines have failed to show him proper respect. He is looking for a way to increase his reputation and raise his bounty.]
[Objective: Capture a Marine warship and spread Krieg’s name across the East Blue.]
[Reward: 3 Attribute Points]
[Reward: Trust Value +5]
[Reward: Firearm Shooting Skill EXP Orb (Small)]
Bane stared at the quest.
Then he wiped a hand across his face.
“Damn it.”
He turned sharply.
“Change course!”
The pirates froze.
Bane pointed directly toward the Marine warship.
“We’re charging them. Get close enough for a boarding fight!”
The bald vice captain’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Wh-What? But—”
Bane looked at him.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
The man immediately straightened.
“Yes!”
He rushed toward the helm, kicked the current helmsman aside, and took control himself.
The rest of the crew scrambled to adjust the sails.
Their ship swung around in a wide arc.
Boom!
A cannonball struck the sea just behind them.
Another flew over the mast.
A third missed the bow by only a few meters.
The pirates desperately maneuvered through the bombardment.
Even so, they couldn’t avoid everything.
Boom!
A cannonball slammed into the deck.
Wood exploded.
Men screamed.
Boom!
A second shell struck moments later.
More pirates were thrown from their feet, several collapsing amid splintered boards and blood.
Bane didn’t even flinch.
He stood at the bow with a long saber in hand, staring straight ahead.
The Marine warship rapidly filled his vision.
“We’re going to hit them!”
CRASH!
The two vessels slammed together.
The deck shook violently beneath Bane’s feet.
He moved immediately.
Silent Step!
His body vanished from the bow and appeared aboard the Marine warship.
He didn’t attack right away.
Observation Haki spread outward.
Bane carefully searched for anything dangerous.
No Garp.
No overwhelming presence.
His shoulders loosened slightly.
Good.
This wasn’t another trap.
“Fire!”
“Take him down!”
Marine rifles came up.
Gunshots erupted across the deck.
Bane moved.
Silent Step!
He slipped into their formation before most of them could properly aim.
His arms lowered.
His posture loosened.
His body began to sway.
Shakushi!
Swish!
A Marine clutched his throat and collapsed.
Swish!
Another fell.
Swish!
Swish!
Bane seemed to flicker across the battlefield.
Every time his body briefly became visible, blood followed.
One Marine fell.
Then two more.
Then another.
His speed continued increasing with each successful strike.
“Where is he?!”
“I can’t see him!”
“Fire! Just fire!”
“Spread out!”
“Don’t run!”
“Get back here!”
“Aaaagh!”
Panic spread faster than any command.
The Marines could barely track Bane’s movements.
Some tried to retreat.
Others fired wildly whenever they caught the slightest glimpse of movement.
The formation collapsed.
Bullets tore through the chaos.
Several Marines were struck by shots fired by their own comrades.
By the time Bane finally stopped, the deck was already in complete disarray.
Then his pirates boarded.
They took one look at the broken Marine formation and charged.
There was nothing else to discuss.
The fight became a slaughter.
Bane stepped aside for a moment, breathing heavily.
He replayed the use of Shakushi in his head.
“LV2 Observation Haki still isn’t enough.”
He could use Shakushi, but not with perfect control.
If his Observation Haki improved to LV3, he should be able to identify targets more accurately while moving at that speed.
Otherwise, he risked eventually becoming like Kuro—cutting down whoever happened to be in the way.
Bane took another breath.
Then he returned to the fight.
Silent Step was devastating against opponents this weak.
The Marines simply couldn’t keep up.
Before long, resistance began collapsing altogether.
Bane raised his voice.
“Drop your weapons and surrender!”
Several Marines hesitated.
Then one rifle hit the deck.
Clatter.
Another followed.
Then another.
Once the first few surrendered, the rest quickly lost their nerve.
Survival won out.
“Strip them and tie them up.”
“Yes!”
Bane’s men immediately went to work.
Before long, the pirate crew had completely seized control of the warship.
The surviving Marines were left naked and bound, kneeling across the deck in humiliation.
Bane cleared his throat.
“Which Marine branch are you from?”
One of the prisoners answered reluctantly.
“Branch 153.”
Bane nodded.
“Good.”
He looked over the group.
“When you get back, tell your commanding officer this.”
His voice carried clearly across the deck.
“From now on, if anyone wants to challenge the Krieg Pirates in the East Blue, they’d better be ready to pay for it.”
He pointed toward the captured warship.
“And tell them Admiral Krieg isn’t afraid of Branch 153.”
“If they want a fight, they know where to find us.”
The surrounding pirates exchanged strange looks.
Bane was talking as though Krieg himself had personally ordered the whole thing.
The Marines, meanwhile, were furious.
Their faces had gone red with humiliation.
One of them finally snapped.
“The Krieg Pirates, huh?”
The Marine glared back.
“Fine. I’ll deliver every word.”
He lifted his chin.
“Just don’t regret it.”
Bane studied him.
“What’s your name?”
The Marine didn’t hesitate.
“Morgan!”
He glared at Bane defiantly.
“Do whatever you want. You don’t scare me!”
Bane froze.
Morgan?
So this was him.
Bane’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect.”
He stood.
“Someone bring me a knife.”
The pirates nearby looked at each other.
Bane pointed toward Morgan.
“I need a few words carved.”
…
On the return journey, Morgan and the surviving Marines were dumped on a nearby island.
Once they were gone, Bane turned his attention to another problem.
Curly’s corpse was still inside the barrel.
He ordered the crew to drag it out.
The body hit the deck heavily.
Bane looked around at the pirates.
“Captain Curly was shot several times while fighting the Marines and died bravely in battle.”
He paused.
“Correct?”
Nobody objected.
Bane gestured toward the captured Marine rifles.
“Good.”
He picked one up and tossed it toward the bald vice captain.
“One shot each.”
The bald man caught it awkwardly.
Bane continued.
“When you’re done, divide the loot.”
The vice captain stared at Curly’s corpse.
Then at Bane.
He understood immediately.
This wasn’t about the corpse.
Bane was making sure every single person aboard became part of the lie.
Once they all fired a shot, no one could later claim innocence without implicating themselves.
The bald vice captain tightened his jaw.
Then he raised the rifle.
Bang!
The bullet struck Curly’s corpse.
Bane waved a hand.
“Next.”
Another pirate stepped forward.
Bang!
Then another.
Bang!
One by one, they fired.
By the time everyone was finished, Curly’s body was riddled with bullet holes.
Whatever private doubts or plans anyone still had vanished with the final shot.
They were all involved now.
There was no easy way to betray Bane without putting themselves in danger too.
When the ship finally returned to the Krieg Pirates’ territory, the sight of the captured Marine warship caused immediate panic.
For a moment, Krieg himself thought the Marines had launched an attack.
Then the reports started arriving.
“What?”
Krieg stared at the messenger.
“They captured the warship?”
His expression became even stranger.
“And Bates led them into battle against the Marines… won… and died?”
Krieg looked genuinely stunned.
Bates?
That Bates?
When had the man become brave enough to fight Marines head-on?
More importantly, when had he become brave enough to die doing it?
Was one promotion really enough to transform someone that much?
Krieg suddenly began questioning his own understanding of people.
But the real problem was sitting in the harbor.
A Marine warship.
They had actually captured one.
Krieg’s expression gradually darkened.
That wasn’t a minor act of piracy.
Pirates who openly seized Marine warships rarely escaped retaliation.
The Marines weren’t going to ignore this.
“Damn it…”
Krieg clenched his teeth.
What was he supposed to do now?
The ship had already been captured.
His name had already been used.
Backing away now would only make him look weak.
Krieg realized, with growing irritation, that the situation had already gone too far for him to simply pretend it had nothing to do with him.