The sky was clear and the weather was pleasant.
Tuck, however, felt anything but relaxed.
“Please spare us, Boss!”
More than twenty pirates knelt on the deck in several rows, their hands and feet bound.
At that moment, every one of them was cursing their dead captain and the idiots who had backed his decision.
They had pulled Bane out of the sea thinking they’d found an easy target.
Their original plan had been to sell him to some wealthy noble with unusual tastes and make a tidy profit.
Instead, their supposed victim had turned out to be far more dangerous than any of them expected.
Their captain was dead.
Several others had followed him.
The rest had surrendered so quickly that none of them had even gotten the chance to take part in the original plan.
Naturally, they preferred to focus on that last detail.
Bane hadn’t bothered killing everyone.
He sat nearby, recovering his stamina while questioning the survivors.
“What’s your crew called?”
Tuck swallowed.
“The… Flying Fish Pirates.”
“Anyone here have a bounty?”
“…No.”
Bane stared at him.
“So none of you have bounties, you’re this weak, and you still decided becoming pirates was a good idea?”
Several men lowered their heads awkwardly.
Tuck, acting as the first mate, cautiously raised his eyes.
“Then… Boss, if you don’t mind me asking, who exactly are you? And what’s your bounty?”
The other pirates immediately perked up.
They were ready.
Whatever number Bane gave them, they would praise it shamelessly.
Five million?
Amazing!
Ten million?
Terrifying!
Twenty million?
A legendary monster of the East Blue!
Even if the number turned out to be embarrassingly low, not one of them planned to let their expression slip.
Bane froze.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
He didn’t have a bounty.
A second later, his expression became unusually friendly.
Then he kicked Tuck.
Bang!
“Who said you could ask me questions?”
Tuck tumbled across the deck.
“W-Wait, Boss—!”
“That’s sensitive information!”
Bane strode after him.
“What, are you trying to learn everything about me so you can get revenge later?”
“No!”
“You sure sound suspicious!”
“I swear I’m not!”
“I think you’re asking for a beating.”
Tuck’s protests accomplished nothing.
A few minutes later, he returned to his original spot with a swollen face and several fresh bruises.
The surrounding pirates stared straight ahead and wisely kept their mouths shut.
Bane smoothly changed the subject.
“Your captain is dead now. What were you planning to do next?”
Tuck’s eyes shifted.
Surely this question had an obvious correct answer.
He immediately straightened his back.
“From now on, you’ll be our captain! We’re all willing to follow you, Boss!”
Bane’s entire body stiffened.
Absolutely not.
He shot to his feet and smacked Tuck across the face.
Slap!
Tuck’s head snapped sideways.
He looked completely bewildered.
“Who said I wanted to be your boss?”
Bane pointed at him.
“I don’t want to be captain. Understand?”
Tuck nodded frantically.
“Yes! Completely!”
Bane pointed toward another pirate.
“You. Talk.”
The man stiffened.
“Actually… before all this happened, we were planning to join the Krieg Pirates.”
Bane paused.
“The Krieg Pirates?”
His interest was immediately piqued.
“Tell me about them.”
Information about the Krieg Pirates wasn’t particularly secret.
And since everyone aboard was eager to stay alive, they told Bane everything they knew.
The others occasionally added rumors they’d heard in different ports.
By the time they finished, Bane had a decent understanding of the Krieg Pirates in their current state.
They hadn’t yet become the dominant pirate fleet they would be a few years later, but their power was already considerable.
Their captain, Don Krieg, carried a bounty of seventeen million Berries.
He possessed abnormal physical strength, far beyond that of an ordinary man, and was known for being ruthless.
Under his command were nearly thirty pirate ships and roughly three thousand men.
And the fleet was still growing.
Krieg continued absorbing smaller crews, determined to build the largest pirate armada in the East Blue.
That was why the Flying Fish Pirates had been seeking him out.
They’d hoped to place themselves under Krieg’s banner and secure a better future.
Unfortunately, their captain had died before they even reached the fleet.
Now, without anyone strong enough to lead them, the survivors were left with two likely futures.
Disband.
Or get absorbed by another crew.
Neither prospect looked especially promising.
Bane fell silent as he considered the information.
Krieg…
As a potential Big Brother, he was terrible.
Arrogant.
Cruel.
Ungrateful.
Treacherous.
If Kuro had been difficult to deal with, Krieg was worse in almost every respect.
Still…
A terrible person could still be useful.
Bane’s eyes narrowed.
Decision made.
He drew his blade and cut through Tuck’s ropes.
“You’re the captain now.”
Tuck blinked.
“…What?”
Bane pointed toward him.
“You heard me. You’re taking over the Flying Fish Pirates.”
Then he turned toward the sea.
“Stick to your original plan. We’re going to join the Krieg Pirates.”
Tuck stared at him, utterly confused.
“Eh?!”
During the voyage, Bane didn’t waste his time.
He continued training every day.
Unfortunately, after experiencing the absurd growth speed granted by Kuro’s high Trust Value, returning to normal training efficiency felt miserable.
Progress had slowed to a crawl. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Bane sighed.
“So this is what normal people have to deal with…”
He quickly lost patience.
There was still one reward he’d been saving.
[Silent Step Skill EXP Orb (Large)]
Bane used it.
A vast amount of experience flooded into his mind.
Footwork.
Breathing.
Timing.
Weight distribution.
Methods of concealing sound.
Ways to accelerate without ruining the technique’s silence.
The knowledge settled into his memory so naturally that it felt as though he’d practiced Silent Step for years.
A notification appeared.
[Silent Step has advanced to LV3!]
[Physique +1]
[Spirit +3]
Then another message followed.
[Derivative Ability Unlocked: Shakushi]
Bane’s eyes widened.
[Shakushi]
[Effect: Performs multiple consecutive attacks using Silent Step.]
[After each successful attack, movement speed and damage temporarily increase by 5%.]
[Maximum Number of Attacks: Silent Step Level ×2]
[Cooldown: 10 minutes]
Bane stared at the description.
Then a huge grin spread across his face.
Kuro really had left him one hell of a parting gift.
The EXP Orb hadn’t just pushed Silent Step all the way to LV3.
It had even unlocked Shakushi as a derivative ability.
And the effect was extremely practical.
Judging from what had happened with both Armament Haki and Silent Step, LV3 appeared to be an important threshold.
Reaching it unlocked a derivative ability.
If there was a consistent pattern, perhaps LV6 and LV9 would offer something similar.
For now, though, that was only speculation.
Several days later, the Flying Fish Pirates finally reached the waters controlled by the Krieg Pirates.
After stating their purpose, they were met by one of Krieg’s advance ships and escorted toward port.
Bane stood on deck and looked ahead.
Ships filled the waters in front of him.
Dozens of them.
Large and small vessels were packed across the harbor.
The claim that Krieg commanded around thirty ships didn’t seem exaggerated at all.
If anything, there might have been even more than that.
The quantity was impressive.
The quality was less so.
Most of the fleet consisted of small vessels.
A smaller number were medium-sized ships.
Only one vessel truly stood above the rest.
Krieg’s flagship.
A massive three-deck sailing ship with a panther-shaped figurehead at its bow.
The Dreadnaught Sabre.
Once the Flying Fish Pirates entered the port, a man with a mohawk quickly approached.
He appeared to be responsible for processing new arrivals.
The man began asking questions while writing down the answers.
Number of crew members.
Size of the ship.
Captain’s bounty.
Other relevant information.
Judging by how quickly and casually he handled everything, he’d clearly done this many times before.