The huge golden slash fell like the first light of dawn.
It dropped silently onto the sea and split the ship flying the skull flag cleanly in two.
The few pirates lucky enough to survive screamed as they jumped overboard and swam desperately into the distance.
“Too bad we don’t have a sniper on board right now,” Hongo said, leaning against the rail.
His still-slightly-youthful face was flushed red from the wine.
“Burp~~” “Still….
our vice-captain is stronger than our captain!
You really need to work harder ‘CAPTAIN’ Kehahahaha.” “Hahahahahaha~~~” Shanks only laughed at his crewmate’s roundabout warning.
“I don’t misjudge people!
Gavin isn’t the ambitious type.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have accepted my invitation.” “Gavin, nice work!
I really liked that slash!” Gavin waved at Shanks in response, then tossed Zack’s corpse to Hongo with a faint smile in his eyes.
“Hongo, I’ll leave preserving the body to you.
Once we restock supplies later, we can find a Marine base and exchange it for the bounty.” “Counting the four-and-a-half-million-Berry guy from before, that should be over eight million now, right?” Hongo nodded, grabbed the corpse, and headed toward the cabin.
“That’s right.
It’s a decent little payday.
But when the time comes to cash in the bounty, we’ll need you to make the trip, Gavin.” “We’ve already been sailing with Shanks for a while.
I’m guessing we’re on the Marines’ watchlist by now.” Eight million?!
Shanks’s eyes instantly lit up.
He ran over to Gavin with a shamelessly flattering smile.
“Um~ dear Gavin-san~~ About that eight million… how about we use it to buy some good wine?” “I haven’t had proper high-grade alcohol in ages!
These past few days, it’s either been cheap ale or ordinary rum.
That doesn’t suit the style of our pirate crew at all!” Before Gavin could answer, Snake snapped from the side, “And whose fault is it that we’re this broke, Shanks?!” “You refuse to rob villages or towns and insist on surviving by raiding other pirates.
What kind of wealth do you think those sea thugs have?” “They spend every Berry they get on women!” The flattering smile on Shanks’s face vanished, replaced by a serious look as he turned toward Snake.
“That’s different, Snake.
I went out to sea for the freedom to adventure!
I’m not the same as those scumbag pirates.” “If every pirate used freedom as an excuse to go around robbing people, then this sea would be finished!” “Gavin, you see it the same way, right?” “Me?” Gavin had not expected the fire to suddenly spread to him.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Actually, I’m pretty close to Shanks on this, though there are some differences.” “I like making money off pirates!
For example, we can send them to the Marines and collect the bounty.
Berries are Berries.
If we don’t earn them, someone else will.” “I call that helping the Marines solve their problems.
Logically speaking, the Marines should be thanking me.” Shanks and Snake both froze.
Even if they cracked their heads open, neither of them could have come up with that kind of logic.
Pirates catching pirates, then exchanging pirates for bounty money, and then the Marines had to thank the pirates?
What kind of bizarre brain produced an idea like that?!
The corner of Shanks’s mouth twitched.
“By that logic, should the Marines also give you some kind of certificate?
Something like…” “Outstanding Pirate of East Blue qualification certificate?
Or maybe a Good Citizen Award?” Gavin nodded with complete seriousness.
“That’s not bad, Shanks!
We can consider it.
Maybe one day we should call the World Government and submit the suggestion under your name.” “Consider my ass, you sea demon!
Let’s go, Snake.
We’re going back to drink.
Gavin has already lost his mind.” “That’s right, Captain, the vice-captain’s gone mad.
Better not bother with him.
We should find a monk to exorcise him someday.” “Good idea,” Shanks agreed.
Gavin laughed and caught up with them, slinging his arms around both their shoulders.
“Hey, listen to me!
I’m serious!
Shanks has a special ability!
That’s how he got me back then!” …
Three days later, in the gray light before dawn, Gavin woke from sleep.
After glancing at the others, who were still sleeping soundly, he quietly left the rest room.
“Morning, Gavin.
Keep an eye on the ship for me.
I need to get some sleep.” Snake yawned as he walked toward the room.
“Damn it!
Next time, we have to make Shanks recruit a few apprentice pirates.
Staying up all night like this every day is going to make me go bald.
Haaah~~~” “Thanks for the hard work.” After giving a polite response, Gavin walked into the ship’s washroom, scooped up a little of the remaining fresh water, and rubbed it over his face.
The young man in the mirror had black hair, with his bangs falling loosely over his forehead.
At the back of his head, a slightly messy black braid hung down to his waist.
His blood-red eyes looked like rubies, with a faint glimmer occasionally flashing through them.
His brows were sharp and small like blades, though their tips lifted slightly, giving his face a naturally cold edge.
Paired with the black robe embroidered with floral patterns, he looked rather handsome and noble.
Once the cold water fully woke him up, Gavin left the washroom and dug out some weight plates and a steel rod from the storage room nearby.
He came to the area beside the helm, fixed several large weight plates onto one end of the steel rod, glanced at the turning ship’s wheel, and began his usual early-morning training.
Life at sea was always dull and boring.
Compared to playing cards and chatting with Shanks and the others, Gavin preferred training his body alone.
His right to use Nozarashi only lasted one month.
After that month, Nozarashi would be taken back.
If the next Zanpakutō came with captain-level attributes as well, then things would be fine.
But if he got stuck with some random nobody’s Zanpakutō… Forget whether his strength could still reach S-rank.
If he could even get a B-, Gavin would have to thank the heavens for their mercy.
Rather than gambling on an unseen future, it was better to take advantage of his current S-rank strength while he had it.
He could exploit the situation a little, let his body adapt early to high-intensity training, and use that chance to break past the limits of his original strength.
That way, even if he received some trash Zanpakutō next month, he would not have to worry too much.
His training plan for this month included more than just swinging weighted rods every morning.
He also had swordsmanship training in the late morning and practical sparring in the afternoon.
All of it was to help his body form muscle memory and absorb as many of Kenpachi Zaraki’s killing techniques as possible.
“I heard whooshing sounds outside first thing in the morning, and sure enough, it’s you, you training freak!” Shanks walked out with a yawn, rubbed the sleep from the corner of his eye, and also started digging around for weight plates and a steel pipe to string them on.
His strength training, however, was not nearly as ridiculous as Gavin’s.
“Hey, hey, Captain, Vice-Captain, can you two stop dragging the rest of us into this training race?” Bonk Punch walked out of the room with half-lidded eyes.
“We’re pirates, not Marines!” “Even Marines don’t start training at four in the morning, do they?!” “You two competitive bastards…” He cursed and complained, but his body was honest as he began searching for weights too.
“Thanks for the compliment.” Gavin gave him a pure, harmless smile.
“You guys can keep sleeping, actually.
I’m just doing some light training.
I’m still weak!
I almost lost to Shanks during our last sparring session.” Bang!!
The door was kicked open.
Hongo walked out of the rest room with a dark expression.
“Damn it, I’m the ship’s doctor!
Why does a ship’s doctor have to join you muscle-brained freaks in training?!” “I swear, I’m throwing all those stupid weights into the sea later!” …
Several more days passed, and the Red Force stopped at the docks of Rodriguez Island.
Under Gavin’s lead, the Red Hair Pirates were developing into a bright, positive, and hardworking pirate crew.
Their daily training race was now unavoidable.
Although Hongo complained every time he joined, his body always showed up honestly.
“Snake, Bonk, we’ll leave the ship to you two.
Hongo and I are going to take a look around town.
Gavin, we’ll leave exchanging the bounties at the Marine base to you.” Gavin waved to show he had no problem with it.
After wiping the sweat from his body with a towel, he put his clothes back on.
“Gavin, these two things are for you.” Hongo walked out of the cabin and handed him two glass jars covered with black cloth.
“Don’t peek.
They’re the two heads worth more than eight million in total.
I soaked them in formalin, Otherwise, after so many days at sea, they would’ve rotted.” After saying goodbye to everyone, Gavin carried the two jars and jumped off the ship.
“Shanks, I’ll go exchange the bounties at this island’s Marine base first.
I’ll meet you at the shopping street later.”