Little Oars Jr. leaned listlessly against his colossal ship, unwilling to even budge. His crewmen were frantic.
Meanwhile, Bege, accompanied by his own crew, had already arrived before the giant vessel.
The members of the Majin Pirates watched with trepidation as Bege and his men strode towards them, their presence overwhelmingly powerful.
"The great pirate with a bounty of 650 million, the Shadow Demon, Gecko Moria!"
"The great pirate with a bounty of 550 million, High-Pressure Demolition Cannon, Egerd Riki!"
"And the great pirate with a bounty of 450 million, Storm Swordmaster, Modi!"
"That's the Bone Demon, with a bounty of 500 million! How is he with the Fire Tank Pirates too?!"
The Majin Pirates' crew stammered out the names of Bege's top officers, their voices laced with panic and fear. Each of these officers had a bounty higher than Little Oars Jr.'s own.
"But the most important one is him… the captain of the Fire Tank Pirates, the great pirate 'Demon Dragon' Capone Bege, with a bounty of a staggering 950 million!" All eyes converged on Bege. It was as if everyone had stopped breathing; no one dared to speak.
Such was the infamy that came with such a high bounty.
Bege walked up to Little Oars Jr. and chuckled lightly. "Never thought I'd run into a descendant of the Ancient Giant Oars on a deserted island like this."
Little Oars Jr. lowered his head to look at Bege, his voice booming yet muffled, "Demon Dragon, are you here to fight me?"
"Of course not," Bege replied. "The storm outside is too fierce. We're just here to take shelter."
A collective sigh of relief could be heard as the Majin Pirates' crewmen visibly relaxed.
"I knew they were just here for shelter," Little Oars Jr. mumbled, hunching over further and tucking his head between his knees, remaining as listless as before.
Witnessing this, Bege was suddenly reminded of the scene from the original story where Ace befriended Little Oars Jr. Because Ace had personally woven a giant straw hat for Little Oars Jr. to shield him from the scorching sun, Oars Jr. had seen Ace as a kind person, accepted him, and they gradually became good friends.
A wider smile spread across Bege's face. This stormy weather… it was truly a gift from the heavens.
The castle gates within Bege's body opened, and his men emerged carrying various supplies. They quickly erected a rain shelter and then began to set up for cooking.
Bege, meanwhile, sat on a chair, a pile of fabric and ropes at his feet. He even had his men search the island for soft yet sturdy tree bark.
Under the puzzled gazes of Moria and the others, Bege began to diligently weave a giant straw hat.
Bege himself didn't know how to weave straw hats, but fortunately, one of his men was skilled in the craft and guided him from the side. Bege worked with intense concentration, and it took him a full hour to finally complete a massive straw hat.
Admittedly, the style of the hat wasn't particularly good-looking.
Bege carried the giant straw hat towards Little Oars Jr. The Majin Pirates' crewmen nudged their captain, urging him to look up.
Little Oars Jr. raised his head in confusion, looking down at Bege.
Bege grinned and tossed the huge straw hat in his hands. It landed perfectly atop Little Oars Jr.'s head.
"Not bad, a perfect fit," Bege nodded with satisfaction. He looked at Little Oars Jr. and added, "I saw you weren't wearing a hat, so I made one for you myself. The style might not be great, but it'll keep the rain off."
Little Oars Jr. touched the oversized straw hat on his head, then saw Bege's gentle smile. A warmth spread through his heart.
"This straw hat is really nice! I won't get wet anymore!" Little Oars Jr. watched the rainwater drip continuously from the brim of the hat, a smile appearing on his face.
"Captain Oars, how about I treat you to some drinks?" Bege laughed heartily.
Little Oars Jr. looked at Bege, a light shining in his eyes, but then he shook his head, his voice still muffled, "Better not. I can drink a lot. I'll finish all your booze."
Bege suddenly burst out laughing. "Don't you worry about that, Captain Oars! I brought plenty of good alcohol this time. Plus, I have a distillery in my territory, so there's a never-ending supply. You won't be able to drink it all!"
Little Oars Jr.'s eyes lit up again, and a broad smile spread across his face. "Great! I haven't had a drink in days!"
Bege had his men move the rain shelter closer to Little Oars Jr. He then brought out barrel after barrel of fine liquor. The mountain of booze made Little Oars Jr.'s eyes gleam with even more excitement.
Little Oars Jr. stood up, reached into his giant ship with one massive hand, and pulled out an enormous drinking bowl, three to four meters wide. This was his personal bowl.
Bege's men carried barrel after barrel of good alcohol, pouring it into the giant bowl. Even after more than twenty barrels were emptied into it, the bowl was only about half full.
Little Oars Jr. eagerly lifted the bowl, gulping down the contents. He finished it in a few swallows and even licked the bowl clean, a satisfied smile on his face. He set the bowl down and grinned happily at Bege. Bege laughed loudly, praising his drinking capacity, and ordered his men to pour more.
Just then, Bege tossed a large roasted beast leg to Little Oars Jr. The giant tossed it straight into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it whole.
Little Oars Jr.'s appetite was as massive as his frame. His men's cooking speed couldn't keep up with his voracious eating.
Bege stood up and leaped to the edge of the shore. Wooden barrels flew out from the castle within him. Bege tossed these barrels into the sea and then, with a casual slash of his sword, shattered them. A large quantity of dried meat scattered from the barrels and fell into the ocean.
"Bege, what are you doing?" Little Oars Jr. asked, puzzled by Bege's actions.
Shortly after the dried meat hit the water, countless fish leaped from the surface, swarming around the meat and devouring it. They were densely packed, hundreds, thousands of them, with even more schools of fish rushing over.
The barrels contained bait specifically designed to attract fish, injected with a substance highly alluring to them, capable of drawing schools from the surrounding sea.
Fish from a thousand-meter radius were converging, countless schools feasting on the dried meat. Larger fish, eight or nine meters long, also appeared, swallowing the smaller fish along with the bait.
Suddenly, a whirlpool formed in the crowded waters, sucking down countless fish.
"Here it comes!" Bege's gaze sharpened. A serpentine Sea King, dozens of meters long, burst from the ocean, devouring a huge swathe of fish in one bite.
Bege drew his sword in an instant. A thick slash of sword energy struck the Sea King, cleaving its neck in two. The serpentine Sea King didn't even have a chance to cry out before it crashed back into the sea with a tremendous splash.
Bege leaped into the air, grabbed the Sea King's severed head, and dragged it to the shore.
"Up you go!" Bege's muscles bulged, his body seemingly doubling in size as he hauled the enormous Sea King onto the land.
He then dragged the Sea King towards Little Oars Jr.
"He took down a Sea King with just one slash!" Seeing Bege kill a Sea King with a single stroke and then effortlessly drag the creature, which was dozens of times his size, made Little Oars Jr.'s crewmen stare with wide, astonished eyes. Their gazes towards Bege were now filled with awe.
"Looks like you're still hungry. This Sea King should fill you up," Bege said with a smile. He began to carve the Sea King into large chunks, instructing his men to quickly cook it.
Little Oars Jr. grinned foolishly.
"Bege, you're a really gentle person."
"Gentle?!" Moria and Riki exchanged a look, their expressions utterly bewildered.
Could the word 'gentle' truly be used to describe Bege?
Bege was a man who valued camaraderie, but he was definitely not a gentle person. Especially after awakening his Conqueror's Haki, he had become even more domineering and tyrannical.
More than half of the fine liquor stored aboard the Sky God within Bege's castle was drunk by Little Oars Jr. Now thoroughly intoxicated, he swayed his head and let out a loud belch, the smell of alcohol wafting for dozens of meters. Some with lower alcohol tolerance felt tipsy just from inhaling the fumes.
Finally, Little Oars Jr. collapsed to the ground and fell fast asleep, snoring loudly. Bege had his men construct a simple, large rain shelter for him.
The storm stopped around dawn. Bege himself remained drunk until noon the next day. The weather today was equally bad, but in a different way: the sun was unusually scorching, making it incredibly hot.
When Bege woke up, he didn't see Little Oars Jr.'s massive figure and asked those around him. They told him Oars Jr. had gone to the seaside to fish.
Cheers could be heard from the distance. Bege turned to look and saw a colossal figure in the sea swimming towards the island.
It was Little Oars Jr. He climbed out of the sea, dragging a giant fishtail in his hand. Standing on the shore, he hauled the rest of it up, revealing a huge fish over ten meters long.
Little Oars Jr. slung the giant fish onto his shoulder with one hand and swaggered over, his crewmen cheering and following behind him.
"Bege, I caught a big fish for you! I'll treat you to fish today!" Little Oars Jr. said with his characteristic naive honesty.
He tossed the giant fish onto the ground and had his crewmen quickly prepare it. Bege also sent his own men to help.
Bege then walked over to Little Oars Jr. The two sat on the shore. Oars Jr. put on the straw hat Bege had given him, looked at its brim, and smiled even more happily. "Bege," he said, "the straw hat you made is really great! It keeps off the rain and blocks the sun. I don't feel hot at all now."
Bege looked at the delighted Little Oars Jr. and suddenly said, "Oars, how about you join my pirate crew?"
Little Oars Jr. looked at Bege in confusion.
Bege spoke earnestly, "My pirate ship has plenty of booze and meat, enough for you to eat and drink your fill. Your strength is immense, but the New World is full of monsters, many of whom you can't handle alone. You're my friend, and I don't want to see you wandering the New World by yourself. Come aboard my ship. We can protect each other. What do you say?"
Little Oars Jr. looked at Bege seriously, his voice booming, "Are we friends?"
"Of course! I think we can become brothers," Bege replied with utmost sincerity.
"Brothers?" Little Oars Jr. mumbled the word, an honest and simple smile spreading across his face.
"Bege is a gentle person. We'll be brothers. I'll join your pirate crew."