"Pirates!"
Rocks exclaimed, his eyes widening as he spotted the pirate flag fluttering on the distant sailboat.
I can see that," Monger muttered, shooting Rocks a glance. As if I don't know a pirate when I see one. My own ship's flag is still flying.
Rocks, come with me!" Monger called. Having decided to take Rocks under his wing, he had no intention of treating him like an outsider.
Can you steer a ship?
.........
Can you read a permanent pointer?" Monger led Rocks to the helm and tossed him a spherical compass. "Steer toward the island it points to.
We'll deal with those enemies there."In this world's seas, navigation relied on a compass called a record pointer. A permanent pointer, like the one Monger gave Rocks, always pointed to a specific island.
"Why not take them out at sea?" Rocks asked, puzzled. "With your strength, it shouldn't be hard.""Are you an idiot?" Monger rolled his eyes.
"It's just the two of us. If I board their ship to fight, what if they have the same idea and come for ours? What'll you do then?"This wasn't the relatively tame East, West, North, or South Blue. This was the New World—the most chaotic sea in the pirate world. Any pirate surviving here had serious skills.
If Monger got held up in a fight, Rocks, a rookie despite his future potential as a sea overlord, wouldn't stand a chance.Besides, even if Monger could sink their ship with his Conqueror's Haki, the distance was too great. The farther the attack, the more stamina it drained. Unless the enemy closed in, it wasn't worth the effort.
[Good fortune never comes alone, nor does misfortune. You've just met the future overlord of the sea, and now you're facing a washed-up pirate crew eager to crush a newcomer's dreams.][Blood Skull Pirates, relics of an old era, long discarded by the new.][Fear not—their captain is just an old man. With your strength, you've nothing to worry about.][Defeat them! Crush them!]Monger scoffed at his system's melodramatic tone,
though he couldn't ignore the information on its panel. Blood Skull Farrell, with a bounty of 160 million Baileys—equivalent to 1.28 billion in the future—was a big name in today's pirate world.
Back then, a single Bailey held seven or eight times the purchasing power of the future, when bounties of 10 or 20 billion were common.Farrell, not yet 50, was in his prime by pirate standards.
Old guy? Monger thought. If he's old, what does that make me—a corpse?Farrell's presence here was no surprise. Betrayal was as common as salt water in the pirate world.
The Blood Skull Pirates had likely been sold out."A pity you picked the wrong time," Monger murmured.In the distance, aboard the Blood Skull Pirates' ship, Captain Farrell, draped in a bright red coat, laughed heartily. "Hahaha! White Wolf Monger, I've found you at last!"He turned to a young man beside him. "Good work. Once I kill your old captain and claim his hidden treasure, it's mine.
You can have his broken ship."White Wolf Monger was a legend, a pirate even the Navy couldn't touch. But time spares no one. After disbanding his crew, Monger had set out alone, supposedly to find his final resting place. Farrell wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip.His crew had received only 10 million Baileys each upon disbanding—a pittance for decades at sea. No wonder some had betrayed Monger, revealing his whereabouts.
Full speed ahead!" Farrell roared. "Gunners, ready! Fire two rounds!"The young man, alarmed, stepped forward. "Captain Farrell, that's not what we agreed! You get Monger's treasure, and I get his ship!"Monger's ship was old, barely holding together.
A few cannon rounds could sink it."You questioning my orders?" Farrell's eyes narrowed, exuding a pressure the young man had only felt from Monger himself. The young man paled, shaking his head.
"No, no, of course not.""Good," Farrell sneered. "You say the old man's lost his edge, but who knows? If I board and he's still got fight in him, my crew could get hurt. As captain, I protect my men."In truth, Farrell cared little for his crew. Monger's reputation loomed large—when Farrell was a rookie, Monger was already a legend.
Better to soften him up with cannon fire from a distance.As a Devil Fruit user, Monger was cursed by the sea. If his ship sank and he didn't resist, he'd drown. Farrell's plan was sound, but it played right into Monger's hands."They're not coming closer," Monger observed, effortlessly slicing through incoming cannonballs. The Blood Skull Pirates kept their distance, harassing but not engaging."We're almost there," he added, spotting a small island on the horizon.
Even if the enemy ship sped up, Monger's vessel would reach land first."Captain, you okay?" Rocks asked, noting Monger's heavy breathing.Though Rocks didn't want to be a crew member, he didn't dislike Monger, especially since the old pirate had promised to teach him a sea-splitting technique.
But seeing Monger pant, Rocks remembered he was dealing with an old man, whose stamina couldn't match his younger days."You care about me, kid?" Monger grinned, pleased.
If you're worried, how about a favor?""What favor?""Keep an eye on my old friend for me."Before Rocks could react, Monger leapt off the ship, using Moon Step to race toward the island at a speed far surpassing the ship's, leaving Rocks alone at the helm.
Rocks stood dumbfounded as another volley of cannon fire struck. Without Monger to deflect them, the old ship was riddled with holes. A blast knocked Rocks back, and from the distance, Monger could hear him cursing."Damn old man, you—!"
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(End of this chapter)