Tap, tap.
Bai Hezi landed in her high heels, one hand resting on Ame-no-Habakiri as she slowly walked toward him.
"Did you just say swordsmen are all circus performers doing tricks?
"Then I'll show you that swordsmen are not so simple."
"Hoho. So this is Conqueror's Haki? Truly surprising."
Lafitte watched Bai Hezi below.
"Still, it seems that man angered our future captain's wife."
Lafitte tugged at his hat with an expression of amusement.
Akin did not wait around to watch the show like him. He flew straight toward Sara and looked down at her from above.
"If you don't want to die, don't do anything. You're on the captain's list too."
Sara trembled under Akin's stare.
The man with the dark circles was terrifying.
If she moved recklessly, she would die.
Bai Hezi drew Ame-no-Habakiri together with its sheath.
"Originally, this mission belonged to those two. But I heard there was someone here who looked down on swordsmen."
As she spoke, Bai Hezi narrowed her eyes.
"Let me see what strength you have that makes you dare look down on swordsmen."
Daz Bonez's arms turned into multiple blades and spun rapidly.
"I still don't know what happened just now, but my words remain the same."
Daz Bonez leaned forward, staring firmly at the smiling woman ahead.
"Swordsmen are nothing but circus performers."
"Spiral Hollow Slash!"
Whoosh!
Daz Bonez rushed toward Bai Hezi at high speed, his blade-formed hands spinning constantly as he spread his arms as if to embrace her, ready to shred this beautiful woman into chunks of meat.
Just as he was about to touch Bai Hezi—
Whoosh!
Daz Bonez's vision blurred.
"She disappeared?"
Just as he was about to check, footsteps sounded behind him, followed by the sound of a blade entering its sheath.
"One-Sword Style: Iai."
The moment Bai Hezi finished speaking, her sword returned to its sheath.
Pfft!
A long wound opened across Daz Bonez's chest, and he rolled his eyes back before collapsing to the ground.
"What?!"
Laden, who had just dazedly opened his eyes, stared at Daz Bonez being instantly defeated, his own eyes filled with disbelief.
That man had been impervious to blades and bullets. Even Laden couldn't cut him.
Yet now, a woman had defeated him in one strike?
How strong was that woman?
Was she a Great Swordsman?
"Hoho. Your resistance is quite good. You woke up this quickly after being hit by Conqueror's Haki."
Lafitte's voice sounded behind him.
Laden was startled.
Only then did he remember there had been three of them.
He could only see two in front of him.
Just as he was about to say something, the golden Desert Eagle in Lafitte's hand sounded.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Lafitte did not stop until the magazine was emptied.
"My apologies. We don't wish to be seen."
Bai Hezi looked at Lafitte's excited expression and said nothing.
After that incident, her heart had already changed a great deal.
Bai Hezi grabbed the unconscious and still-bleeding Daz Bonez, then walked over to Sara.
"Do you want me to give you one slash so you'll behave? Or…?"
"I surrender!"
Sara raised both hands without hesitation.
What kind of joke was this?
Her partner had been defeated in one strike. Was she supposed to resist?
Bai Hezi nodded and grabbed her shoulder. Black wings spread from her back.
"These people are Piecro's subordinates. There's no need to leave them alive. White Ghost doesn't like him."
After saying that, Bai Hezi carried the two away under the cover of night.
Akin nodded expressionlessly and took out the newest bomb they had developed.
"Hoho. What a ruthless captain. But I like him even more."
Lafitte smiled like a pervert.
Boom, boom, boom!
Before long, explosions erupted from the warehouse.
There were no people nearby. Everyone feared this group. Even those farther away who heard the noise did not dare come over to investigate.
No one knew how much time had passed before Daz Bonez groggily opened his eyes.
When he did, he saw his partner collapsed to one side, her face full of terror and her body trembling.
Daz Bonez didn't know what she had seen that scared her so badly. He patted his own head and discovered that the wound from earlier had already healed.
"You woke up right after I finished treating you. Not bad. If I had to wait too long, I might as well have thrown you into the sea to feed the sharks."
A magnetic male voice rang out.
Daz Bonez raised his head.
His eyes bulged, and his face turned pale.
"Dragon Emperor, the strongest creature… Why? Why is it you?"
"Looks like I'm pretty famous."
White Ghost smoked a cigarette, leaning back in his chair as he looked at the two frightened people.
"Heh. A great figure like you also makes jokes?"
Daz Bonez, having worked as an assassin for many years, forced himself to calm down quickly.
After all, panicking now was useless.
"Say it. Why did you bring us here?"
Lafitte poured himself a glass of red wine nearby. Hearing that, he smiled falsely.
"Our captain has taken a liking to you and wants to bring you aboard. It's that simple."
Daz Bonez froze.
Back at the warehouse, he seemed to remember that woman saying something like that.
"I believe you are a smart man and won't refuse," Kuro said with a smile as he clinked glasses with Lafitte.
Daz Bonez looked at White Ghost's outrageously young face.
On this sea, only this man was an exception—someone who stood at the peak at such a young age.
"I assume you already know I joined another organization?"
White Ghost's mouth curved.
"What benefit is there in that broken Baroque Works? Isn't it just something Crocodile, that broken-spined dog, set up?"
"What?!"
Both of them were shocked to hear that the boss behind the scenes was one of the Seven Warlords, Crocodile.
Disdain filled White Ghost's eyes.
"He had his spirit broken by Whitebeard. Now he plays desert hero in Alabasta on the surface while secretly searching for the Poneglyphs and trying to find Pluton so he can rule the world."
"Hoho. Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons? Interesting."
Lafitte wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
White Ghost sneered.
"If having an Ancient Weapon were enough to rule the world, what would be the point of all these strong people?
"That thing is just a deterrent. Trying to hit a peak powerhouse with it? Keep dreaming."
Sara trembled even harder.
Was this something she was allowed to hear?
She was just a small figure. After hearing such a huge secret, would she die?
White Ghost looked at Daz Bonez.
"So? Do you want to keep following Crocodile, that broken-spined dog, in his search for Pluton?
"Or do you want to follow me, a man who currently treats the Four Seas as his home?"
Beside him, Sara kept signaling her partner with her eyes, urging him to nod.
Crocodile really wasn't better than the man in front of them.
At the same time, Sara wondered whether after accepting her partner, White Ghost might also take her in.
She didn't dare hope to become his woman.
As long as she had a place on this ship, that would be enough.
Daz Bonez pondered between Crocodile and White Ghost for a while.
Then he raised his head and looked at White Ghost.
"I only know how to complete missions and kill."
White Ghost, Kuro, and Lafitte all smiled at him.
"That's enough."
Seeing the man turn his gaze back to her, Sara's body tensed.
She had never stopped trembling from the beginning until now, and the shaking only grew stronger.
White Ghost had no interest in her looks. Their tastes were different.
"My ship still lacks someone to handle coffee. Interested?"
"I am! I am, my lord!"
Sara hurriedly answered, and the heavy stone in her heart finally fell.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios