Only when the warship had finally vanished from sight did Riddle and the others allow themselves to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Captain, are you familiar with that Marine?" Yurishtin asked Shirakawa. The rest of the crew pricked up their ears, eager to hear the answer.
"You could say that. I crossed paths with him a few times back in the Roger Pirates, but I was too weak back then. Never even got the chance to trade blows with him."
"I see."
"Still, I do know a bit about that guy. He's a terrifying Logia-type ability user—you just saw what his power can do. The Marines call him one of the Three Monsters."
"Three... so that means there are two more?"
"Of course." Shirakawa figured it was time to give them a proper education on the Marines and their top-tier fighting power.
"The next one is also a Logia Devil Fruit user, the Ice-Ice Fruit. Both Jora and Riddle have met this person."
"That guy?" Jora's mind flashed back to the opponent Shirakawa had fought when he'd just broken through to Great Swordsman—a man radiating bone-chilling cold from every pore. A formidable enemy.
"That's right, that's him. His name is Kuzan.
Then there's another one named Sakazuki, also a Logia Devil Fruit user, the Magma-Magma Fruit. Among the three Logia, his destructive power is the highest."
"The Marines actually have three Logia Devil Fruit users... you've got to admit, their luck is something else."
Logia-type Devil Fruits were already among the rarer varieties, and the Marines had acquired three of them in practically the same era. Their luck was, quite frankly, beyond words.
"And as for the other high-level fighters, I'm sure you already know them. Marine Hero, Garp. Marine Admiral, Buddha Sengoku. Black Arm Zephyr. And the Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone Kong."
At the mention of those names, the faces of the Silver Pirates all turned grim. These Marines were arguably the greatest enemies of every pirate alive.
"But there's no need to worry too much. With our current level of influence, we aren't worth them coming after us personally. As long as we don't run into them by chance, it shouldn't be a problem."
"And if we do run into them by chance, then our luck really would be rotten."
After finishing their discussion on Marine-related topics, the entire crew shifted into rest mode. Having just endured a brutal battle, every single one of them was exhausted.
All except for Mole, who had been holed up in the cabin the whole time. Now Mole proactively took on the task of tending to the others.
"Looks like we need to find a doctor," Shirakawa thought to himself.
He wasn't afraid of bleeding, getting injured, or falling ill, but the others were not like him. The crew's bandaging skills were half-baked at best—just being able to stop the bleeding was already considered good enough.
"But a good doctor isn't easy to find."
Finding any random doctor was simple. They were everywhere—on practically every island. But finding a genuinely good doctor? That was a whole different challenge.
"By the way, Captain, do you remember those people who were secretly watching us from behind while we were fighting the Marines?"
"I do. But didn't they take off the moment Borsalino showed up?"
"Yeah. Still, I've got a feeling they'll be back."
"Let them come. We're not afraid of them." Jora, who had been listening in on their conversation, cut in. He hadn't known about anyone spying on them during the Marine fight, but from the exchange he'd just heard, he'd pieced together the gist of it.
"What I'm getting at is, should we recruit them? Their strength isn't anything special, but they'd add to our numbers. Otherwise, next time we face Marines like that, the disadvantage will be way too lopsided."
Yurishtin put the proposal to Shirakawa.
Hearing this, Shirakawa mulled it over for a moment. It was true—in terms of sheer numbers, they were at a severe disadvantage.
"It's not out of the question. We'll talk about it when we see them again. See if they're suited to become our crew."
Of course, Shirakawa had no intention of actually recruiting them for real. Anyone stepping onto his ship had to be a companion he could trust, someone he could regard as family.
As for those people, Shirakawa would simply let them sail under his flag. If they ran into trouble, Shirakawa and his crew would lend a hand.
And if Shirakawa ran into trouble, then those people would be obligated to come to his rescue.
After a full afternoon of rest, the crew's wounds were more or less healed. After all, every one of them had a physical constitution far surpassing that of ordinary people.
Their bleeding stopped faster, their recovery speed was stronger. From this battle alone, Jora had gained two new scars, but he didn't mind. He called them "a man's medals."
Fitting, really. In this world, how many men didn't have a few scars? Even the seemingly refined and handsome Saral bore several on his hands—reportedly from knife cuts back when he first started training as a cook.
But trying to spot a scar on Shirakawa's body, that was truly a tall order. Unless one day Shirakawa lost his immortality, those so-called "man's medals" might very well never appear on him.
At dinnertime, the Silver Pirates did something they rarely did—they threw a banquet. Given their small numbers, a banquet usually lacked atmosphere, but to celebrate this resounding victory, atmosphere or not, they were determined to create one.
At the banquet, everyone drank themselves silly. Even underage Mole was force-fed alcohol by those unscrupulous adults.
"Hahaha, what a lightweight—out cold after a single sip!"
Seeing Mole already passed out, Jora burst into raucous laughter. But the flush on his own face made it clear he was drunk too, and likely wouldn't be far behind Mole. Soon enough he'd be sprawled on the deck himself, using the planks as his bed and the sky as his blanket.
Sure enough, after a few more cups, Jora went down. Riddle collapsed right alongside him. The others had drunkenness swimming in their eyes as well.
But they weren't quite as far gone as that trio. Each made it back to their own quarters, honestly lying down in their beds to sleep and wait for the dawn.
Even Shirakawa was no exception. He returned to his cabin, pulled the blanket over his head, and shut his ears to all worldly affairs.
And so, the entire ship sank into silence. The only sound to be heard was the rise and fall of snoring.
Just when everyone's guard was completely down, a shadowy figure stealthily boarded the ship. Carefully skirting around those sleeping on deck, it headed toward the cabin.
If its goal wasn't to take lives, then it had to be after their money.
/-\
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