Just as the figure was intently rummaging through the treasure hold of the Silver Pirates' ship, the door suddenly swung open, and a silhouette blocked the entrance.
That silhouette was Yuristine. Behind him, apart from Mor, the entire crew of the Silver Pirates had gathered here for one purpose—to corner a thief.
"Who are you? How dare you try to steal from the Silver Pirates."
Earlier, while they were drinking together, they had sensed someone's eyes fixed on them. They could feel it, yet within the range of their Observation Haki, there was absolutely no trace of this person's presence.
It was as if this person didn't exist. But the instincts of the top fighters on the ship were never wrong, so they pretended to sleep, aiming to draw out this mystery figure.
To be honest, if this person's gaze hadn't been constantly on them, Bai Chuan and the others would have struggled to notice her at all.
"How did you find me?" Seeing herself surrounded, the intruder cried out in shock. Yet even now, with the person standing right in front of them, Bai Chuan and the others still couldn't sense any trace of her presence.
It was like sensing a corpse. But they all knew that this person before them, face flushed and wearing a panicked expression, was definitely not dead.
Still, how she hid her presence was something Bai Chuan couldn't figure out. It felt like she had absolutely no sense of existence whatsoever.
"You don't need to worry about how we found you. All you need to know is that you've already fallen into our hands."
Judging by the figure, the intruder was a woman, clad in a black skintight suit that hugged every curve, with a black veil masking her face and obscuring her exact features.
A black skintight suit, in the pitch-black night, on a person with no presence—without careful attention, she would have been extremely difficult to detect.
As soon as Jora finished speaking, the woman pulled a dagger from behind her back, attempting to struggle. Peculiar as she was, Jora immediately locked her arm, twisted it behind her back, and restrained her completely.
Yuristine took the chance to pull off her veil. The thief's face was now fully revealed to them. A flawless complexion, an oval face—a classic beauty.
Her eyes were bright and dewy, brimming with spirit. But there was a birthmark on her forehead, a glaring blemish that shattered the perfect harmony of her face.
Seeing this birthmark, Bai Chuan gave a cryptic smile, stepped forward, rubbed a finger over the mark, and peeled off a piece of paper.
The birthmark vanished. That's right—she had simply stuck a piece of paper on her face to make herself look uglier.
She probably did it to protect herself. After all, she was a beauty, but she wasn't Bai Chuan's type. He didn't go for that sort.
"Tell us. Who exactly are you, and how did you board our ship without being detected?"
Bai Chuan questioned her.
"Hmph." She snorted and turned her head away, refusing to look at Bai Chuan, a picture of defiant resistance.
"That's not a very wise choice." Seeing her reaction, Bai Chuan grabbed her chin and forced her face back toward him.
"A beauty like you is a rare commodity on this ship. Right now, you could say you're one of a kind. If you keep resisting, there's no telling what we might do."
"You wouldn't dare! If you lay a hand on me, my father will never let you get away with it."
"Your father? Do you know who we are? We're pirates. We're not even afraid of the Marines, so why would we be afraid of your father?"
"My father is a famous pirate hunter. No prey he sets his sights on ever escapes."
"Is that so? Fine. I won't ask who you are. Just tell me what's the deal with your ability. Is it some Devil Fruit power?"
Bai Chuan was extremely interested in her ability to conceal her presence. Even though she had been captured, the ability was still in effect.
"What Devil Fruit power? This is innate. It runs in the family."
Just then, the woman's eyes flashed. Yuristine suddenly drew his spear and spun to block—bang!—and was forced backward several steps.
"Father!" The woman who had been restrained by Jora cried out excitedly.
"Father?" Bai Chuan hadn't believed the ability was hereditary at first, but now he realized the father also had no presence whatsoever. If not for the faint disturbance in the wind when the man swung his weapon, Yuristine might not have detected him at all. He could have been seriously injured.
"Let go of my daughter."
The man, sporting an immensely thick beard, shouted at Jora, hefting his giant axe for emphasis. The meaning was clear: if you don't release my daughter, I'll cut you down.
Bai Chuan signaled Jora with his eyes. The woman in Jora's grasp gave a slight struggle, broke free, and quickly ran to her father's side, launching into an indignant account of Bai Chuan's misdeeds.
"Father, thank goodness you came. If you'd been any later, they were going to... you know... do that to me."
The daughter spoke in a coy, halting manner, her gaze toward Bai Chuan's group brimming with fury.
"Do what?" The father was still a bit slow and didn't seem to grasp what his daughter meant by that.
"You know... that." The daughter knew her father was dense, but she hadn't expected him to drop the ball at such a critical moment.
"What's 'you know that' supposed to mean? Daughter, can't you just be clear? You know your old man's head doesn't work too well."
"It's what you and mother usually do."
"WHAT?! You bastards wanted to defile my daughter?! Damn you, I'll never forgive you!"
The father's nostrils flared and his eyes bulged as he roared at Bai Chuan and the others.
The daughter's face flushed crimson. She hadn't expected her father to just blurt out those words. How utterly mortifying.
"Your daughter came onto our ship to steal first. How we deal with that is our business."
"Things are different now. I've already rescued my daughter. You have no right to deal with her."
"Fine—if you can leave our ship, that is."
While they were talking, Riddle had already transformed into a lizard and destroyed the small boat the father and daughter had arrived on.
"Hmph. We'll see about that."
The father gave a cold snort and charged at them, axe raised. The one who met him was Kurokam, as he was the most suitable for handling a large brute like this.
His daughter tried to assist him, but Salar intercepted her. One wielded a kitchen knife, the other a dagger—both small weapons. They seemed like quite the match.
The moment the daughter laid eyes on Salar, she froze for a second, then asked, "Are you a pirate too?"
"What else would I be?" Salar shot back, flashing a charming smile, the kind lethally effective against women.
Seeing that smile, the girl visibly lost most of her fighting spirit.
"From now on, if we run into a woman, just leave her to Salar. He's got a real knack for this sort of thing."
Yuristine lit a cigarette and spoke through a cloud of smoke.
/-\
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