Seeing everyone’s excitement, a smile played across Moge’s lips.
Their pirate crew was finally established.
He turned to look at Kuro.
“Since the name is settled, I’ll leave the pirate flag to you.
The three of us can’t draw at all, so we’re counting on you.”
Kuro shook his head helplessly but didn’t refuse.
“How do you want it drawn?
Any specific requirements?”
Moge thought for a moment.
“Hmm…
I don’t have any specific ideas.
How about this: just draw it according to our crew’s name and our style.
It needs to look cool and domineering!”
Kuro nodded, found a canvas and a pen, and spread them out on the table.
After a moment of contemplation, he began to draw.
Before long, he walked over to Moge with the completed sketch of the pirate flag and handed it over.
“Captain Moge, see if this works?”
Moge, Carina, and Toniel quickly crowded around.
On the canvas was a black flag with a white skull in the center and two crossbones on either side.
Behind the skull hung a tachi, inserted through the middle and pointing downwards, revealing part of the blade.
Circling the top of the skull was a ring of blue stars, shimmering with points of light.
“Wow!
It looks great!” Carina couldn’t help but praise.
“It’s much better than I imagined.
It looks really imposing and domineering!”
Toniel also nodded repeatedly.
“Yeah, it’s a fantastic pirate flag.
It’s even surrounded by stars!”
Moge looked at the pirate flag with a satisfied smile and patted Kuro’s shoulder.
“Not bad, not bad at all.
That’s the feeling!
It fits our style perfectly.
Thanks for the hard work, Kuro.”
Kuro pushed up his glasses and spoke in a flat tone.
“It’s my duty as a crew member, Captain.
As long as everyone is satisfied.”
“Good!
Then let’s hoist the pirate flag!
Wohahaha!” Moge laughed out loud as he watched Kuro raise the flag.
The pirate flag unfurled in the wind, snapping in the sea breeze, looking dazzling and domineering.
Moge gazed at the flag flying in the wind, his smile growing brighter.
“Everyone, let’s have a banquet!
To celebrate the formal establishment of our Stellar Pirates, and to celebrate Kuro joining us!”
Soon, the deck was piled with roast meat, fruit, and various drinks, the aroma filling the air.
Moge was the first to raise his glass, shouting loudly, “Come on, everyone, cheers!”
“Cheers!” Carina, Toniel, and Kuro responded in unison, raising their glasses and draining them in one go.
Moge put down his glass, walked over to Kuro in a few steps, threw an arm around his neck, and said heartily, “Come on, Kuro, stop acting so refined.
Let’s have a drink!”
“Hey, let go!
You bastard…
cough cough!” Kuro struggled, but he couldn’t break free from Moge’s strength.
He could only curse helplessly under his breath before being forced to take a big gulp of wine by Moge, choking and coughing repeatedly.
Carina laughed until she was doubled over, and Toniel laughed too.
The deck was filled with joy and laughter, and the previous distance and wariness gradually dissipated in the lively atmosphere.
After some time, everyone was dead drunk.
Carina and Toniel lay directly on the deck, snoring away with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Kuro sat leaning against the ship’s railing, slightly tipsy with his eyes half-closed.
A faint smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth as he murmured in his heart, Perhaps this kind of lively life isn’t so bad.
Only Moge wasn’t drunk.
What a joke—he knew Life Return, so no matter how much he drank, he could easily neutralize the alcohol.
He reclined by the stairs, glancing at Kuro.
Seeing him lying there quietly, the usual gloominess gone from his eyes and replaced by a touch of relaxation, Moge figured he really was slowly letting down his guard and starting to integrate into the crew.
He should be integrating into the pirate crew.
A smile flashed in Moge’s eyes, and then he closed them, quietly contemplating.
This was why pirates loved to have banquets.
Drinking and eating meat together, playing and joking around—only then could the distance between hearts slowly close, and the relationship between partners become increasingly harmonious and close.
The next day, the Voyager continued to sail across the vast ocean.
Moge lay leisurely on a lounge chair soaking up the sun, Carina was in the room studying sea charts, Toniel was exercising his body, and only Kuro was keeping watch on the distant sea surface.
Moge had told him long ago that there was no need to be on guard.
If there were real danger, his Observation Haki would detect it immediately.
Even if the range wasn’t that large, it didn’t matter.
This was the East Blue, after all; what danger could there be?
But Kuro was cautious and insisted on being responsible for the lookout, so Moge let him be and didn’t say anything more.
Just then, Kuro’s eyes narrowed as a familiar pirate ship appeared on the distant horizon.
He immediately turned and looked at Moge.
“Captain Moge, Buggy’s pirates spotted ahead!
The captain is Buggy the Clown—with a bounty of twelve million Berries!”
(Since it’s currently three years before Luffy starts his journey, Buggy’s bounty is set three million lower.)
“Buggy?” Moge sat up instantly, an amused look appearing on his face.
“Interesting, to actually run into him here.
Shouldn’t he be in Orange Town?
Why has he come to this sea area?
Whatever, since we’ve met, let’s go take a look.”
He walked directly to the bow of the ship and quietly gazed at the gradually approaching pirate ship.
The other side seemed to have discovered them as well.
With no intention of talking, they fired cannonballs directly at them.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The dense barrage of cannonballs hit the sea surface, exploding into pillars of water that shot into the sky.
Moge chuckled.
“Since they’ve taken the initiative to say hello, we’ll play with them for a bit.”
Before his voice had even faded, he drew the blade at his waist and gave his wrist a light flick, instantly sending out a sharp Flying Slash through the air.
Crack!
The massive mast of Buggy’s pirate ship snapped and fell, plunging into the sea along with the pirate flag above it.
“Play?
Is now the time to play…” Buggy was originally reprimanding his subordinates to be more serious and telling them that their cannon fire should be precise instead of hitting the sea all the time.
But seeing the mast cut through by a Flying Slash, he and the crew members of his pirate crew all stared with wide eyes, completely dumbfounded.
Snot even ran down from under his red nose.
He sniffled, blinked a couple of times to confirm he wasn’t seeing things, and indeed, the mast had been cut by a Flying Slash.
He roared, “Boys, run!
We’re in big trouble!”
He had grown up on the Roger Pirates’ ship and had seen the world; he was all too familiar with the Flying Slash.
Roger, Rayleigh, and others were all masters of it.
So encountering such an enemy in the East Blue, he knew he was in big trouble.
He couldn’t win a fight, so he could only think about escaping; he still had that much self-awareness.