Raiden Ei and the others moved the seven injured men into the cabin they usually rested in. Unexpectedly, there really was a ship doctor among the pirates—it was Shan Xi. He truly was a multi-talented pirate.
Shan Xi finished setting everyone's bones around dawn. It was his first time dealing with so many injured people, and they all had nearly identical injuries. They had already heard the commotion from the stern while they were under the mast.
Shan Xi set the bones of the last person: "Alright, they should be able to get out of bed before long."
Haisier's injuries were the most severe. Hearing Shan Xi's words, even while lying in bed, he managed to say, "Thank you!"
Shan Xi looked unconcerned: "Don't thank me. I can't accept that praise. That was a great pirate with a bounty of ten million. You actually dared to try and kill him—are you tired of living?"
Haisier gave a wry smile. If the Raiden Ei hadn't been present, they would naturally have fled as far away as possible: "We didn't know before. Do you know how strong a pirate with a ten-million bounty is?"
Shan Xi said: "I don't know either. When I attended pirate gatherings before, I saw a few with bounties over ten million. When they fought, it was truly earth-shattering, like monsters.
The most terrifying was a man named Chekoruz, whom I saw at a gathering, with a bounty of twenty-nine million. He was a Devil Fruit User, claiming to be an Iron Man. With one move, he killed a pirate with a ten-million bounty. So, never provoke someone whose bounty is higher than yours.
There are plenty of pirates like me without bounties in the East Blue. There aren't even 20 pirates with ten-million bounties. Do you think they are strong? Usually, they run away the moment they see us from afar."
After listening to Shan Xi's introduction to pirates, Haisier felt a bit fortunate: "Then we are truly lucky!"
Shan Xi prepared to leave. This wasn't his place, and he still needed to report to Raiden Ei: "Alright, you rest. Sleeping will help you recover faster. I'm heading out now."
Haisier replied: "Okay, safe travels."
Shan Xi agreed and walked straight out of the cabin toward the hold. They were still captives, but since there was no one left to work on the ship, Raiden Ei had put them to forced labor.
After seeing Glock's corpse, they dared not harbor any sneaky thoughts and could only work diligently. Shan Xi left the cabin and headed straight for Raiden Ei's location.
After handling matters, Raiden Ei returned to the crow's nest to meditate, using her Observation Haki to sense the surroundings so she could know immediately if anything happened. The eight pirates naturally dared not openly defy her; they were only there as a precaution against dangers at sea.
Shan Xi walked to the base of the crow's nest and found Raiden Ei closing her eyes in rest. Just as he hesitated about disturbing her, she opened her eyes from her meditation and looked down at Shan Xi. At that moment, only the sound of the waves could be heard. She asked directly: "What is it?"
Hearing Raiden Ei's voice, Shan Xi stammered: "Uh... it's like this, I've already dealt with their injuries. Is there anything else you need us to do now?"
Raiden Ei answered without thinking: "You don't need to do anything tonight. Find a cabin and rest. We set sail for Dokabaka Island tomorrow."
Shan Xi was a bit uncertain: "Do you want me to take the helm?"
Raiden Ei could only rely on Shan Xi now: "Gatt is severely injured and cannot work yet. Since you are also a Navigator, you take over!"
Shan Xi wanted to negotiate terms with Raiden Ei. Although he was completely at a disadvantage, seeing how agreeable she was made him dare to press on: "Alright, I will do it. That... that..."
Raiden Ei disliked beating around the bush: "Just say what you have to say!"
Shan Xi said: "Very well, General, could you please return my ship to me? That ship isn't valuable; it's all we have left."
"I can. I'll return it to you when we reach Dokabaka Island." Raiden Ei agreed immediately. It wasn't a valuable ship anyway; she could just buy a new one later. It could serve as compensation for Shan Xi working for free.
Shan Xi was overjoyed: "Thank you so much! I'll go work now. I guarantee I will complete whatever you assign me." He turned and left.
Raiden Ei closed her eyes to meditate again. She now treated meditation as a way to restore her spirit; on this vast sea, she couldn't even sleep soundly.
The sun rose as usual the next day from beneath the horizon.
Raiden Ei was also up early. There were a few sea beasts foraging on the surface that day, which she caught a few of and gave to Gando to process as food. Those injured men also needed some meat to recuperate.
Sailing was always tedious, but accidents could happen. Half a day into the voyage, they encountered another pirate ship. Shan Xi discovered it and dared not linger, rushing to find Raiden Ei, as he couldn't handle such a situation.
Shan Xi said breathlessly: "General, there's a pirate ship."
Raiden Ei put away her sword, somewhat puzzled: "Are there this many pirates in the East Blue now? We've encountered three Pirate Crews in less than two days."
Shan Xi's first thought was that pirates lived by plunder, so he couldn't say otherwise: "Uh, yes. The closer we get to large islands, the more Pirate Crews there are."
Raiden Ei stopped asking. Pirates robbing pirates wasn't something hard to understand: "Then let's go meet them."
Walking to the ship's railing, Nicola and Sang stood by, watching the excitement as if nothing was wrong. The noisy shouting from the opposite pirate ship could be heard from afar. Dozens of pirates on the other ship were yelling frantically at them.
Raiden Ei sighed, once again lamenting what a terrible world this was: "Sigh, so ill-mannered."
Not wanting to waste too much time over a bunch of pirates, she used her Observation Haki to sense their numbers and condition. She found nothing noteworthy.
She took out the Kusanagi no Inabikari from her backpack, swung her sword in a Flying Slash attack, which rapidly expanded, cutting the entire pirate ship in half. They didn't even have time to react, nor did they have the ability to resist.
Nicola looked at Raiden Ei with envy: "Sang, the General is so cool! Why don't we ask her to be our master?"
Sang replied: "I advise you to let go of that inappropriate thought!"
Shan Xi still had some knowledge about the strong figures on the great sea. It was precisely because of this knowledge that he stammered: "Th-this is a Flying Slash! It's a Flying Slash!"
Nicola asked: "Hey... Uncle, what is this Flying Slash you're talking about?"
Shan Xi excitedly explained to them, as this was the first time he had witnessed a Flying Slash: "A Flying Slash is a technique that a swordsman can use upon reaching the realm of Sword Master. It is a realm that countless swordsmen can never attain in their entire lives."
Nicola's eyes brightened even more: "Wow! Is the General a Sword Master?"
Raiden Ei felt a bit awkward. She was standing right there, and it was the first time she had been discussed so openly. However, she still had to maintain an unruffled appearance; she needed to keep up her prestige.
After being split in two, the ship capsized sideways. The pirates who weren't killed by the slash fell into the sea, flailing on the surface.
Raiden Ei frowned as she watched the pirates who could still swim. Her Conqueror's Haki swept forward, knocking all the pirates unconscious. Although she couldn't control her Conqueror's Haki precisely yet, she could still manage to direct it in one direction.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.