"Captain's gone overboard!"
Don't get the wrong idea—Fang Yuan hasn't turned into a troubled youth; it's just his way of training.
The Jackdaw's crew crowded the rail, watching Fang Yuan pummel a shark in the water.
Eight years had passed since he arrived in this World, and Fang Yuan found his physique dramatically improved.
In the sea he was truly like a fish in water.
So whenever the mood struck he'd catch a shark for fun.
It served as both entertainment and a display of strength.
After all, the Black Emperor Pirates now boasted thirteen ships.
Fang Yuan's flagship alone, The Jackdaw, carried over a hundred pirates; if the entire Black Emperor Pirates set sail, he could field nearly a thousand men.
A lone pirate ship never amounts to much; building power is the surest path.
In the plot, the poker-faced Sao Feng was virtually the pirate emperor of Singapore.
Fang Yuan was no exception.
"Captain's back on deck!"
Fang Yuan stepped onto The Jackdaw; a lackey shouted his arrival, and the rest of the crew swarmed around.
Such is the presence of a Pirate King.
"Captain, these are the Royal Navy's patrol plans for Port Royal and other key harbors. This route is absolutely safe; seven merchantmen sail it, four with our shares."
First Mate Sakazuki presented a stack of documents as if Fang Yuan were not a pirate Captain but a Fortune 500 CEO.
In truth, the two roles weren't that different.
At least in Fang Yuan's case.
Over seven years, using the exclusive intel Lowry provided, Fang Yuan had precisely plundered countless merchant ships; the loot overflowed a small island.
Knowing idle treasure is wasted, he used it to buy influence along the Caribbean coast, planting eyes in every port and spawning countless "Lowrys."
Thus, once a merchant docked in the Caribbean, Fang Yuan knew its cargo, crew, schedule—and even its profits.
Before the raid began, he already knew what he'd gain.
With such intel, he funneled money into plantations, factories, and merchant fleets across the Americas; the more he spent, the richer he became.
And, naturally, his most coveted asset—fame—rose with the tide.
[Fame: 105 (World-Renowned)]
A mere hundred may sound low, but this is global fame; in an age without phones or internet, having most of the World know your name is astounding.
Even the King of England can't claim that.
So Fang Yuan now had his own title.
Emperor of the Seas!
It sprang from the Black Emperor moniker.
At first some called him the new Caribbean Pirate King; when his reach extended to the American coast, others dubbed him the Atlantic Pirate King.
But that title was already taken, so the name "Emperor of the Seas" gradually stuck and won universal acclaim.
Fang Yuan's brazenness did invite naval expeditions against him.
Yet the fleets were still en route when he received word, ambushing them or sidestepping their force; eventually no one bothered.
Who'd risk their life against a cheat?
Isn't lying back and taking the money better?
Seeing First Mate Sakazuki hog the spotlight, Third Mate White couldn't hold back.
He blurted his intel: "I heard Jack Sparrow turned up in Tortuga, stealing the pirate Anne Maria's ship, the Happy Monday."
"And he's heading for Port Royal!"
Hearing this, Fang Yuan perked up—pirates of the caribbean's plot officially begins when Captain Jack sails the Happy Monday into Port Royal.
Most viewers remember the Happy Monday for its mast.
By the time Jack reaches Port Royal, the ship has sunk, and he simply walks ashore along the spar.
Heartless Jack not only stole Anne Maria's vessel but sank it—no wonder Maria slaps him later.
"The time has come," Fang Yuan thought.
His fame had hit a ceiling; unless he bloodied the current King of England, George II, pushing it past 150 would be tough.
The plot was starting at just the right moment.
"Turn about!" Fang Yuan ordered. "Sakazuki, take the fleet back to Black Emperor Island; The Jackdaw sails with me to Port Royal!"
Black Emperor Island—Fang Yuan's hidden stronghold, far from regular shipping lanes and easily defended—was christened by himself.
No one in the pirate crew dared question Fang Yuan's decision. Although they couldn't understand why he'd give up raiding those ships, Sakazuki quickly led the fleet back.
Sakazuki wasn't worried about The Jackdaw sailing alone. With over a hundred crew aboard—including fifty black bruisers who'd slit their own throats the moment Fang Yuan told them to—its numbers alone outmatched any other pirate ship now operating in the Caribbean Sea.
Still, Fang Yuan wasn't about to brazenly sail The Jackdaw straight into Port Royal. A few years ago the ship had been unknown; nowadays every sailor in the Caribbean recognized it on sight.
As they neared Port Royal, Fang Yuan transferred to a merchant vessel and, in broad daylight, set foot on Royal Navy territory once again.
"Truly impressive."
The moment he stepped onto the wharf, White suddenly looked to one side and exclaimed.
Following his gaze, Fang Yuan instantly knew what had captivated him.
Dauntless.
"They say she carries a hundred guns on three decks—same first-rate ship of the line as Effort. Magnificent," White said enviously.
A ship is a pirate's lifeblood, and a leviathan like Dauntless is the stuff of their dreams.
To the well-travelled Fang Yuan, though, the sixty-nine-metre Dauntless was nothing special. Even ignoring future ironclads, Admiral Zheng He's treasure ships of three centuries earlier had been twice her length.
Yet within the pirates of the caribbean saga, first-rate ships like Dauntless and Effort were already the mightiest afloat.
"Imagine if Dauntless became a pirate vessel…" Fang Yuan's lips curved. "That would be amusing."
"Indeed."
White drifted into daydreams, then quickly shook his head.
"Dauntless is too slow; she'd never catch anyone."
Giants of the sea can't match small craft for speed, and piracy lives on mobility—one such behemoth would only drag the whole fleet down.
"But anchoring her at Black King Port would work," White mused aloud.
"Man overboard!"
A sudden shout from the shore snapped their attention away.
Fang Yuan, however, had already been watching the water.
And the three buffoons aboard the nearby Naval Interceptor not far away.
Two navy men and one pirate.
Before the splash, the sailors had been respectfully listening to the pirate's life story, with no intention of arresting him.
The pirate, of course, was the one and only Jack Sparrow.
Dishevelled, swaying as he walked, arms flailing, pinky fingers sky-high when he spoke—if Fang Yuan didn't know Jack kept a lover in every port, he'd swear the man was gay.
Well, perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive.
Jack possesses a peculiar charisma that can win over even his enemies.
"Someone's fallen in—aren't you going to help?" Jack asked the two sailors, eyes darting; if they left to rescue the victim, he could slip away with their ship.
But the fat-and-skinny duo shook their heads. "We can't swim."
"Sailors who can't swim?" Jack tossed his hat to them. "You're a disgrace."
Pirate he may be, Jack still has a kind heart—so long as it doesn't inconvenience him.
At least when his own hide isn't at risk.
Before he could act, Fang Yuan dove in first, swimming toward the woman who'd toppled from the pier. Jack halted, snatched his hat back from the sailor, and set it straight on his head.
Hair may be a mess, but the hat stays put.
Fang Yuan cut through the water fast, reaching the woman before she sank.
He already knew who she was.
Elizabeth.
So there was no way he'd let Jack play the hero.
Keira Knightley's looks are undeniably striking—exquisite, in fact—her only flaw being a certain flatness.
That very trait had caused her fall: the fashion of tight-lacing to force a cleavage left her breathless and she fainted.
In the water Fang Yuan once again produced the aztec gold coin.
At once a ripple pulsed outward from the coin.
"What's that?" the two sailors beside Jack gasped.
Jack's expression turned grave. "Jump in and see—it might be a gift from Neptune himself."
Yet the moment he spoke he scurried off the ship.
Years at sea had taught him: when anything strange appears, curiosity kills—keep your distance.
"Hey—he's gone!" The portly soldier turned to find Jack already tottering far along the dock.
"What did he say he was doing again?"
"Said he was going to steal our ship," the skinny sailor replied.
They exchanged sudden, gleeful looks and shouted in unison: "We just foiled a pirate raid!"
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