Let’s rewind time a little bit.
Yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho…
Bringing Binks’ sake to you…
On the deck of a nearby ship, a group of pirates were linked arm-in-arm, drinking and eating meat while loudly belting out that classic pirate anthem known across the four seas—”Binks’ Sake.”
In the center of the crowd, a bald, burly man with a scarred, bloated face held a massive wine glass.
He threw his head back and gulped down the liquor.
The orange liquid slid down his throat with a heavy glug-glug, spilling from the corners of his mouth and soaking the front of his shirt.
He slammed his glass down and cursed, “We only robbed one lousy village this time, and it was full of total paupers!
Next time, we’re definitely going to pull off a big job!”
“Yeah!
That’s right, Captain!” the lackeys echoed loudly, raising their mugs in agreement.
Just then, a minion standing at the bow with a telescope shouted, “Captain!
There’s a ship ahead!
It isn’t flying a flag, so I can’t tell who it belongs to.
Should we avoid it?”
“Hahaha!” The bald man burst into earth-shattering laughter.
“I just said we didn’t get enough loot, and now the prey comes knocking on our door!
Boys, prepare to rob them blind!”
A lackey wearing glasses hurried forward, looking worried.
“Captain, shouldn’t we observe them first?
If it turns out to be a ship belonging to the World Government or some nobles, we’ll be in big trouble!”
The burly man’s eyes widened in anger, and he barked, “Idiot!
Do you know who I am?
I am ‘Giant Axe’ Cass, a man with a bounty of 13.8 million Berries!
Even if it’s a World Government ship, I’ll rob it all the same!”
He waved his hand abruptly and ordered, “Get the cannons ready!
Bring the ship closer; I’m not afraid of anyone!”
“Whoo-hoo!”
The celebrating pirates immediately erupted into cheers and sprang into action.
Before long, cannonballs were rolled into position.
Cass licked the wine stains from his mouth, his face full of arrogance.
“Fire!
Sink them!”
A moment later, after seeing that all of their cannonballs were easily intercepted, Cass shouted in disbelief, “Boys, prepare to board!
Bring us alongside them, fast!”
Meanwhile, aboard the Voyager.
Moge watched the pirate ship draw closer.
Instead of immediately unleashing a Flying Slash to cut the vessel in two, he calmly let them approach.
If he sank the ship with a single strike, where would they find their spoils?
He didn’t plan on robbing innocent people after setting out to sea, so the supplies and Berries on these pirate ships were going to be their main source of income.
He couldn’t let them go to waste.
It wasn’t that Moge refused to steal—he was a pirate now, after all—but he refused to rob ordinary civilians.
Nobles and bad guys, however, were fair game.
Before long, the Giant Axe Pirates’ ship pulled right alongside them.
The bald captain, Cass, looked down over the railing and sneered, “Only two people?
Looks like a pair of fresh rookies who just set sail.
If you know what’s good for you, hand over all your treasure!” His greedy gaze quickly shifted to Carina, and a lecherous smile spread across his face.
“And you, girl…
you belong to me now!”
Carina’s face instantly flushed with anger.
She pointed a finger at him and snapped, “You bald baboon!
Are you tired of living?
Look in a mirror and stop daydreaming!”
Cass laughed loudly.
“In that case, boys, get ready to move in!”
But Moge had no intention of letting them step foot on his ship.
If a fight broke out on the Voyager and damaged the deck, he would be heartbroken.
He leaped high into the air, landing firmly in the center of the enemy deck.
Drawing his long sword, he stood across from the crowd of pirates, blocking their path.
Flash!
With a swift stroke of his blade, a brilliant light cut through the air.
Blood spurted from the chests of the front-row pirates.
Perfect sword wounds opened up, and their bodies went limp, crashing straight to the deck.
“What?!” Cass’s pupils shrank, and his arrogant expression instantly turned to shock.
He hadn’t expected this seemingly ordinary young man to be so incredibly fast.
He hadn’t even registered the movement before several of his men were taken down.
“Damn you!
Get him!
Hack him to death!”
Hearing the shout, the remaining pirates braced themselves, raising their weapons as they charged forward.
Moge didn’t even shift his footing.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he unleashed a fierce Flying Slash with a sharp backhand swing.
Boom!
The sharp shockwave swept through the crowd, sending the front line of pirates flying backward with agonizing screams.
The attack carried so much power that even the cabin wall behind them was sliced open with a deep, clean gash.
The remaining pirates were scared out of their wits, screaming in terror, “A monster!
He’s a monster!” Some were so terrified that they dropped their swords, slumping to the ground without daring to take another step forward.
Watching his crew flee in panic, Cass’s face twisted with rage.
He drew a massive, polished battle axe from his waist and roared as he charged at Moge, “You brat!
I’ll chop you to pieces myself!”
The giant axe swung down toward Moge’s head, whistling loudly through the air.
The sheer force of the swing made the deck tremble slightly.
Moge’s gaze sharpened.
He sidestepped effortlessly to avoid the heavy blow, then swung his sword in a swift counter-sweep, striking the handle of the axe perfectly.
Clang!
A deafening ring of clashing metal echoed across the sea.
Cass felt his arms go completely numb, and the giant axe nearly flew out of his grip.
He stared at Moge in sheer disbelief.
“You…
who the hell are you?!”
Moge slowly began to lower his blade, looking at the man calmly.
“I’m just a rookie who just set out to sea.
But with your pathetic level of skill, how do you have the nerve to be so arrogant?
You just haven’t seen how truly massive the world is.
In your next life, remember to keep a low profile.”
As the words left his mouth, his sword blurred again.
With a flash of silver light, the giant axe in Cass’s hands snapped cleanly into two pieces.
The tip of Moge’s blade brushed past the pirate’s neck, leaving a thin, shallow line of blood.
Cass froze, his previous confidence vanishing instantly.
His legs turned to jelly, and he fell to his knees.
His voice trembled uncontrollably as he begged, “Don’t…
please don’t kill me!
The Berries and supplies on this ship are all yours!
I promise I won’t do it again!”
Moge glanced down at him coldly.
“Now you know fear?
Where was all that talking you were doing earlier?”
Before Cass could answer, the long sword rose one final time.
A silver-white light flashed, and Cass’s head was severed from his body.
He collapsed forward, his blood staining the wooden deck.
Moge sheathed his blade and turned toward the Voyager, tilting his chin slightly.
“Carina, come move all the supplies and Berries from this ship.
Don’t miss a single thing.”
Carina smiled brightly and leaped over to the pirate vessel.
“Don’t worry, Moge.
I promise not to leave a single Berry behind!”
A short while later, Carina walked out of the captain’s quarters carrying heavy bags and bundles filled with treasure and food supplies.
She noticed Moge sitting leisurely on a crate, smoking a cigarette, while a dozen or so pirate lackeys were huddled together in front of him, trembling and trying not to breathe too loudly.
She tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh?
You didn’t finish these guys off?”
The moment she said those words, a pirate immediately fell to his knees with a loud thud and began kowtowing frantically.
“Have mercy, please!
We’re just small-timers who recently started following Cass to sea!
We’ve never done anything terrible, and we don’t even have bounties on our heads!
Please, spare our lives!”
The other pirates quickly knelt down alongside him, begging for mercy in a chaotic jumble of voices.
Moge scanned the terrified crew with interest before speaking slowly, “It’s not impossible to let you go.
Jump into the sea.
If you’re lucky, you might just survive.”
The pirates stared at him in shock, searching his face, but they couldn’t find even a hint of a joke in his eyes.
One pirate gritted his teeth, stood up abruptly, and dove over the railing into the water.
Splash!
Splash!
Seeing their comrade take the plunge, the other pirates realized it was their only choice.
They jumped into the sea one by one.
At least the ocean gave them a fighting chance; staying on deck meant certain death.
Moge stood up, stretching his arms, and called out, “Let’s go, Carina.”
He never intended to kill these low-level lackeys directly.
If they could survive the swim back to land, then that was simply their good fortune.