Next Bonus, 100!!
<><><><><><>
Fans?
Knights?
"WOOO! LADY UTA IS THE GREATEST!"
Behind Cavendish, a mob of pirates brandished their weapons, their voices a chorus of feverish devotion.
"WE ARE THE UTA KNIGHTS!"
"UTA! UTA! UTA!"
Fanatics are terrifying.
Jin turned his gaze to the other pirates. "And what about you?"
The moment they saw him, the entire group dropped to their knees.
"Boss Jin! Please, let us join you!"
"Yeah, King Jin! We want to follow you!"
"Your presence is just... too dazzling!"
The sycophantic praise washed over him.
Jin felt a headache coming on.
This whole fan club culture was a menace.
Zealots were an absolute double-edged sword—especially when they were pirates with a bit of strength to their names. There was no telling what kind of trouble they'd stir up in his or Uta's name, leaving him to clean up the mess.
But he couldn't just ignore them.
An idea sparked in Jin's mind. "All of you Uta fans," he declared, "should go find Shanks. He's the president of her official fan club."
"EH??" Cavendish and the others stared, dumbfounded. "Really?"
"Tell him I sent you," Jin said with a straight face.
"Alright!"
"Thank you, King Jin!"
Cavendish, ever the prince, gave a formal bow before leading his knights off in search of Shanks.
"What about us?" the remaining pirates asked, their faces full of eager anticipation.
"If you truly admire me and wish to be my followers," Jin said, his voice firm, "then you will follow my arrangements without question. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"No problem!"
"We'll go through hell and high water for you!"
"Let's get one thing straight," Jin continued, his voice dropping. "I don't accept irredeemable scum. And if you're thinking of using my name to cause trouble..."
His eyes flashed. In the next instant, a dozen or so pirates were violently yanked from the crowd.
It wasn't just his mind-reading Observation Haki—Jin's perception was sharp enough to see the ill intent lurking in their hearts.
Some genuinely wanted to follow him.
But others were just looking to ride his coattails, to throw his name around for their own gain.
The world was full of men like Teach.
"Don't think I can't see what you're thinking," Jin said, his voice cold as ice. The pirates he had singled out were now groaning on the ground.
"I won't kill you."
"Now get lost."
Knowing they couldn't fool him, the rejected pirates scrambled to their feet and limped away, not daring to utter a single threat.
Only when they were a safe distance away did they start to grumble.
"Dammit! Who does that king think he is?"
"Whatever! If he doesn't want us, someone else will!"
"Still... we could probably make some use of his flag, hee hee hee..."
But they soon regretted it.
A group of figures descended on them from behind.
It was the pirates who had remained.
"Hey! Stop! The king said he wouldn't kill us!"
"He didn't say we wouldn't," one of them snarled.
"That's right. Letting scum like you go will only cause more trouble down the line."
The fight on the beach was over in an instant.
The pirates returned with the bodies and presented them to Jin.
"Introduce yourselves," Jin commanded.
"Me! Me! I'm Rick Deez, captain of the Nuts Pirates! My bounty is 260 million Berries!"
A dwarf with a squirrel-like face and a squirrel-themed hat stepped forward. He was a user of the Zoan-type Squirrel-Squirrel Fruit, and he could use both Armament and Observation Haki. He had an uncanny knack for finding treasure and sensing danger. His weapon of choice was a hand cannon named the "Nuts Cracker."
His crew of twenty-one were all seasoned fighters. For years, they had operated in the treacherous waters between Big Mom's and Whitebeard's territories, a band of adventurers with a love for treasure hunting. But recently, with the Yonko tightening their grip and more and more pirates pouring into the New World, things had become difficult. It was time to pledge allegiance to a stronger power.
Deez had been torn between Whitebeard and Shanks. But after witnessing Jin's power, he had made his choice.
"You like treasure hunting?" Jin asked, intrigued. "Does that include Devil Fruits?"
Deez scratched his head sheepishly. "Devil Fruits are the one exception. For some reason, I've never had any luck with them. But... I do have a clue to Captain John's treasure. And I know the location of an island with a silver mine."
"A silver mine?" Jin said. "Why didn't you mine it yourself?"
"For one, we don't have the technology—the mining, the refining, the sales channels... And if word got out, we wouldn't just lose the mine; we'd lose our lives. That's why we're willing to offer it to you."
A smart one.
"I won't take advantage of you," Jin said. "We'll split the profits from the mine, sixty-forty. I get sixty, you get forty. How does that sound? In the future, you can fly my flag and hunt for treasure anywhere in the world. Any treasure you find, we'll split the same way. I won't interfere with your crew's freedom. In fact, I'll even provide you with equipment and logistical support."
Deez and his crew were overjoyed. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Jin was taking the larger share, but for them, having the power to actually claim the treasure was what mattered. What good was knowing about a silver mine if you couldn't mine it?
What's more, Jin wasn't interfering with their crew's activities. They could continue to sail the seas, to seek adventure. For a tight-knit crew with a shared passion, that was an offer they couldn't refuse.
"Go to the Gran Tesoro," Jin instructed. "Find the man in charge, Katakuri. Tell him about the silver mine. He'll handle it."
"Yes, sir!" Deez said with a bow, and he and his crew departed.
"Next," Jin said, turning to the others.
"Suleiman the Beheader. Bounty: 67 million Berries," a man with long, golden hair and a short scar on the bridge of his nose said in a low voice. He wore a tall hat decorated with a skull and ornate wings, and a long black coat. A long-hilted sword was strapped to his waist.
"The Class-A war criminal from the Sea Battle of Dias?" Jin asked.
Suleiman didn't deny it.
"I hear you're an excellent fleet commander," Jin continued. "In the Sea Battle of Dias, you led a smaller force to a decisive victory, but you were branded a war criminal and exiled. Why?"
Suleiman was silent for a moment. "After the battle," he said, "I executed all the prisoners. For that, I was condemned."
So that's how he got the name "Beheader."
But Jin was more interested in his military background and his experience in naval combat. He was exactly the kind of talent the Winter Blossom Kingdom needed.
<><><><><><>
~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)