Raiden Ei sighed, "Sigh... what a truly horrible world. Since you're still unconscious, I'll wait until you wake up before letting you out! I'll go deal with those pirates first."
Raiden Ei turned to leave, a hint of a smile on her lips. To think someone actually withstood Conqueror's Haki; they're quite a talent! What she lacked most right now was talent.
Raiden Ei threw all the unconscious pirates into the sea, indifferent to whether they lived or died. If they could survive in this vast ocean, it would be a testament to their own ability. As for the two Pirate Executive Officers, they must have escaped, as she didn't find them on the ship.
Looking over the ship, which was still sailing, it wasn't bad... She finally had a place to sleep and didn't have to suffer through sailing on a raft anymore. This was a huge gain today. Plus, those pirate leaders all had bounties; once she exchanged them at a Marine Branch, she'd have a bit of a nest egg.
"It's time to stop the ship, otherwise I won't know where it's headed. Raising the sails should do it, and the anchor needs to be dropped into the sea too."
After Raiden Ei handled the sails and anchor by herself, the ship finally came to a halt on the boundless sea.
Raiden Ei felt a bit proud of herself, "It's not that hard, is it? I feel like I could even sail the ship away now. What should I do next? Let me think."
"I'll leave those people alone since they haven't woken up yet. I'll scour the ship for supplies; I'm sure I can find some good stuff. I'll start with the Captain's quarters."
Raiden Ei spoke to herself and walked toward the Captain's quarters. Passing the deck, she saw the bloodstains and thought for a moment. Once they woke up, she'd tell them to scrub the deck. This was a job only a Captain could do; she was really doing them a favor.
The ship wasn't very large, and Raiden Ei walked quickly. The room was quite different from the others—a large single room. The other pirates lived together, and the door was very large; otherwise, the over-three-meter-tall Kuriya wouldn't have been able to enter.
Entering the room, she smelled all sorts of odors, only slightly better than the Gorilla's cave she visited last time. Don't they ever bathe? Holding her breath, Raiden Ei resolutely began her looting.
Raiden Ei felt a bit troubled, "There are quite a few things on the table! I'll have to check them one by one!"
"No wine, no cups. Take the pens and sea charts. No knives..."
"No bed. A treasure chest under the bed? Wow, Berries! This is gold and jewelry. I'm rich! Loot it all."
She put everything useful into her system backpack. Raiden Ei was as happy as if she were raiding a house. It made sense, after all; this was a famous Pirate Crew in the East Blue.
After finishing with Kuriya's room, she went to Langqi's room next door. As expected, pirates divided money from the top down: the Captain took half, the First Mate took half, the Executive Officers took half, and the rest went to those 100-plus underlings.
After scouring another room, she saw that quite some time had passed. Those knocked out by Conqueror's Haki should be waking up by now.
Raiden Ei walked slowly toward the cabins. Passing the warehouse, it was empty; she had cleared it out early on. Good things must be secured immediately.
Entering the room where those people were held, she saw they were all awake. Just as she came in, they seemed a bit afraid of her, wanting to look up but not daring to, only peering at her with their eyes.
Raiden Ei called out, "Hey, hey... everyone stand up."
As soon as she spoke, they all stood up in unison, as if they had pre-arranged it. Though they didn't dare lift their heads too high, she could still see their faces clearly.
Raiden Ei could finally get a good look at them. What made them worth being kidnapped by pirates? Hmm... the women's looks were decent. Since she used her own appearance as the standard, these mortals were just so-so. She really couldn't see the reason they were caught.
The men's side was a bit more varied. There was one Strong as an Ox, one Fat as a Pig, one Skinny as a Stick, and some ordinary ones (meaning they were all similar, nothing that Raiden Ei could remember at a glance). She didn't believe they were kidnapped just for these peculiarities unless they were all just that unlucky.
Raiden Ei asked them indifferently, as if it didn't matter whether they answered or not, "Tell me! What did you all do before you were caught?"
Everyone looked at each other. What was going on? Didn't they say yesterday they were going to sell them?
Fat as a Pig: "I'm a chef."
Skinny as a Stick: "I'm a Navigator."
Strong as an Ox: "I'm a Shipwright."
Ordinary Four-man Group: "We're protection money collectors from the streets."
Raiden Ei •﹏• Was he planning to go to the Grand Line? Collecting so many talents—chefs, Navigators, Shipwrights, and sailors—it was almost enough to form another Pirate Crew.
Raiden Ei turned to the other side, "And what about you all?"
"We were caught while shopping yesterday. I'm a Clerk."
"I'm a servant."
"I don't have a job, but my father is a Merchant."
"I'm a Waitress."
Raiden Ei lowered her head in thought for a moment, and her clever brain came up with the answer. "The men were because they needed these talents, and the women were just caught along the way because they were pretty. What else could it be?"
"Alright, I have some good news for you. I've cleared out this bunch of pirates, so you're free now."
After Raiden Ei finished speaking, she used her hand covered in Armament Haki to break the iron lock. Without waiting for them to ask anything else, she left.
Everyone still couldn't quite believe it and didn't dare leave the cell. After a while, someone asked, "Do you believe it? That's one of the Pirate Crews with the highest bounties in the East Blue, with over a hundred pirates under them. Even the Marines have suffered at their hands."
"That lady wouldn't be tricking us into going out just to kill us, would she?"
"No! I'm only 17 years old, wahhh."
"Stop crying, you and your Young Miss temper."
"The cell door is open, should we go out?"
"You guys are so fussy. Go out or don't. At worst, we die here. What's there to be afraid of?"
Strong as an Ox was the first to step out of the cell and walk toward the cabins. Seeing this, the others followed one after another, afraid of being left behind.
The others quickly followed Strong as an Ox, their eyes darting around, but there was no one there. It was very empty, which made them even more afraid. Even the braver ones didn't dare stay and had to close the distance between themselves and Strong as an Ox.
Strong as an Ox was the first to leave the cabins. The dazzling sun made him, who hadn't seen sunlight for a long time, squint his eyes to ease the stinging of the first light.
The others followed behind Strong as an Ox in single file, receiving the same treatment as him.
"It's true! The pirates on this ship are all gone. What that lady said was true! We don't have to be sold, wahhh."
The others didn't want to pay attention to this Young Miss. The thugs wanted to show some pity for the fair sex but held back, only stealing glances at her.
Observing their surroundings carefully, several people saw that the lady from before was sitting at the bow of the ship, reading a newspaper.
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