Chapter 171: The Capture of Hina (1)
"Too slow!" Scáthach lifted Gin with the barrel of her gun, and his frail body flew upward, making intimate contact with the ceiling before falling heavily back onto the ground.
"Ugh..." Gin trembled as he climbed up, "Come again!"
"That's enough." Scáthach put her gun away, standing tall. "It's just training; too much of it is counterproductive."
Hearing her words, Gin plopped down on the ground, covering the area where the last blow hit him. "You're so strong... What kind of training can make someone so powerful?"
"Consistent training, the courage to challenge strong opponents, and..." Eric, standing behind Gin , answered his question instead of Scáthach, "Unparalleled talent."
Gin : "..."
It felt like a meaningless answer. Wasn't the most important thing the part about talent? What's the difference between this and the cliché about 99% sweat and 1% inspiration?
"Eric, it's your turn now!" Standing in the training area was the purple-haired old... female warrior, her battle spirit sharp as she looked at Eric.
"Let's go outside, Scáthach." Eric locked eyes with her. "I want to have a full-on fight with you."
"Oh?" Scáthach was surprised. Eric, usually a bit lazy, was the type to sneak off when things got tough, so for him to ask for a full-on fight was unexpected.
"Good eye!" Scáthach praised. "It's been a while since I've stretched my limbs fully. Follow me."
"Eh?" Gin was surprised. How did a simple training session turn into an all-out battle?
Mont Blanc Cricket, who had a sense of the strength of the other members of the pirate crew, could empathize with Gin 's feelings. He took care of the new guy, "Wait here, you'll get to see the battle between the captain and one of the monsters. Don't be too shocked."
"Gulp," Gin nervously swallowed, "The captain can win, right?"
"Well... he might get beaten badly."
"The captain will win, right? The captain will get beaten by Scáthach?!"
It was a well-known consensus among all the pirates that the strongest member of the crew was the captain. As for why, the strongest person had to be able to keep the unruly pirate crew in line.
"You don't get it, huh?" Mont Blanc Cricket puffed out smoke. "I don't know either. How did the captain manage to recruit women who are much stronger than him? And yet they are so loyal to him... It's incredible. Maybe it's because the captain is so handsome? Or maybe he has some sort of aura that attracts women to be his comrades?"
Gin : "..."
In the battle, both sides created countless craters on the island, with several deep pits over a hundred meters in diameter and dozens of meters deep. They also destroyed countless trees.
By the end of the fight, Eric was narrowly defeated by Scáthach's dual guns.
Gin finally witnessed the true power of the captain and Scáthach, shocked and in awe. At the same time, he silently made a vow to train harder so he wouldn't hold back the captain.
Even though Eric lost, Scáthach was still very happy. With a cheerful tone, she said, "Eric's strength has increased so fast, he's finally become a punching bag I can fight with full force!"
...
The latest issue of the World Economics News: "The 'Red-Haired' Pirate Crew clashed with the 'Beast' Pirate Crew, fighting for a whole day and night on a deserted island. The aftermath of the battle destroyed the entire island, and both sides had no choice but to stop, with no clear winner."
"Shanks has been very active lately, now desperately trying to challenge the positions of the three great sea emperors and attempting to become the fourth sea emperor."
"I wonder if I could become a sea emperor before Shanks."
After reading the newspaper, Eric was filled with excitement from the battle between the two factions. Feeling confident about his team's strength, he decided to go for "Capture Hina."
Far away in the Goa Kingdom, Hina suddenly felt a chill run through her body and shivered involuntarily.
The nearby soldiers, who had been sneaking glances at Hina, quickly took out her coat, preparing to act as a flower protector, hoping to earn her favor.
"Lieutenant Hina, there are too many ice blocks here, causing the temperature to drop. Please take care of your health..."
" Hina is fine." Before the soldier could finish Speaking, Hina rudely interrupted, "Get back to work and stop talking nonsense!"
"Yes!" The soldier saluted, tears in his eyes, and took back the coat, resuming his work on repairing the high town.
"Are you going to challenge the legendary Navy hero, Vice Admiral Garp ?!" Perona widened her eyes and shook her head rapidly. "No, no! I've heard that Garp chased Pirate King Gol D. Roger around the world. How can we possibly be his match?"
"Before fighting Akainu, did you think we could defeat a Navy Admiral?" Eric retorted.
Perona shook her head, remembering the huge magma fist Akainu had thrown at her, freezing her spirit body on the spot.
"Do you know why legends are legends?" Eric said with great ambition, "It's because so many people praise them, and so many believe in them, they become legends! Just because they're legends, I want to pull these legends off their pedestals and create our own legends!"
"Oh!" The crew clapped at Eric's passionate speech.
"Eric, you're getting more like a king every day," Esdeath said, her face flushed with admiration as she gazed at Eric. "Let's go for a night raid again tonight…"
"Hey! I heard that!" Kurumi said angrily, "With me here, you won't get away with it!"
"Unless you try your full strength, you'll never know how far you can go! To move forward, I'm willing to bleed and break my head!" Eric said passionately.
"Besides, just like the fight with Akainu last time, you don't need to face Garp directly, just hide underground and wait for the right moment to use Negative Ghost. You're a spirit, and Garp can't touch you, so what's there to fear?"
Perona, with her big teary eyes, looked up at Eric, but her pleading didn't move his heart. He remained determined to Dragon her into the battlefield.
The new guy, Gin , was also pumped up. To fight the legendary Navy hero? He wouldn't have dared to even think about it before!
"Captain Eric, I'll fight with all my strength and not disappoint your expectations!"
"Huh?" Eric replied confusedly, "You don't need to join the battle with Garp , it's safer to stay on the ship."
The excitement was immediately doused by Eric's cold water.
"B-but even this little girl is participating..."
"Do you want to compete with her and see who's stronger?" Eric didn't want to douse his enthusiasm any further. "If you win the match, you'll be allowed to join this operation."
Perona, who had been down, suddenly became more energetic. "If I lose the match, do I get to skip the battle with Garp ?" Her tone was clearly that of someone ready to stir up trouble.
"No, if you lose, not only will you be the main attacker in this battle, but you'll also have to face Esdeath and Scáthach's extra training..."
Esdeath and Scáthach knowingly glanced at Perona, their meaning clear—if you lose, try me.
Perona realized this was not just about the chance to join the battle, but a matter of life and death.
In the end, the resolute Gin was easily carried off by Perona's Negative Ghost.
(END CHAPTER)
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