"But Roger was stronger."
I ended with little satisfaction as real fury ignited in the dark eyes of the seven-year-old.
"You know him?! How?! Who told you?! That stupid Dadan!"
He shouted, completely ignoring the blond boy who was trying to calm him down.
Hoho.
Perhaps he inherited his father's doubtful charm, but the temper was definitely mine.
"Calm down or I'll skin you. Nobody raises their voice at me. I'm a pirate, and I will not tolerate such tantrum." I patted him on the head.
That turned out to be deeply humiliating for the majesty of a seven-year-old, so he expressed his opinion on the matter with a whole series of curses, not all of them particularly insulting toward me.
There was nothing I could do about it except laugh.
So I did.
For nearly a minute.
The way he shouted "damn" and "what the hell" sounded so ridiculous in his mouth that I decided something had to be done about this ugly habit.
I could curse.
Only I.
"Ace! Ace, get a grip! Hey! Calm down!"
"Let go of me! Woman or not, I'm going to punch her!"
I fell silent instantly and stared at him without expression.
That alone stopped the entire performance. The boy instinctively stepped back, although he clearly hated doing it.
I leaned down toward him and grabbed his shirt.
"You can fight whoever you want, brat. You can challenge people stronger than you. But you will never—ever—raise your hand against a woman. Whoever she may be. Do you understand?"
"N… well…"
"What?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
He was smart for a seven-year-old. He knew how to judge the strength of his opponent.
But his manners… In fact, he had none.
I turned my gaze toward the blond boy in the cylinder hat.
Large eyes were watching me calmly, with something almost like sympathy, although perhaps I had judged him too quickly.
"I'm Sabo," the boy introduced himself politely, removing the cylinder from his head.
Then he pointed at the bear. "I've never seen anything like that. It was incredible! How did you—"
"I'm Pebble."
"That's your name?" He seemed delighted. "And you're going to watch over Ace? Yeah, he could use that. He's been getting into trouble a lot lately."
"Shut up, idiot! Want a beating?"
"Like I'm afraid of you, you moron!"
"Well, well. That's enough."
I grabbed both metal pipes before they had the chance to start swinging them.
"Now be kind enough to explain why that animal was chasing you."
"We won't be kind! Leave us alone! And don't you dare follow me!"
No. This was definitely not going to be easy.
Even if the boy possessed some sense of judgment, nature had blessed him with his father's reckless bravado.
The war had to begin.
"And where do you live?"
Sabo, on the other hand, had a completely different personality. I wondered where a child dressed like a noble even came from, but decided it would be wiser not to ask yet.
Patience had to become my second name.
"What do you care? Are you stupid or something?! Why are you asking that?! How did she—"
"Nowhere. I just arrived."
"What? On a ship?!"
Both boys immediately stared at me with wide eyes that shone with excitement.
When I nodded, they practically vibrated with curiosity.
The Banshee was going to save my skin.
"Well, what else do pirates travel on?"
"Pirates?! You're really a pirate?!"
"But you're a girl!" my nephew protested, revealing an unpleasant trait of character.
"At sea, girls are stronger than boys," I replied seriously.
They did not seem particularly convinced.
"Would you show us your ship?" Sabo asked carefully.
Ace stood there sulking, but it was obvious he was simply waiting for permission to run straight toward the shore.
I was delighted to see this fascination with ships, the sea, and pirates. Perhaps Garp had not managed to spoil the boy completely. If he had started dreaming about becoming a Marine, that would have been a serious thorn in my side.
As a cunning Emperor—an outlawed one, of course—I immediately saw an opportunity in Sabo's question.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Ray would have laughed himself to death watching me trick two seven-year-olds.
"Who knows?" I said thoughtfully. "I would first have to get to know you. One does not show ships to strange children without knowing them. And what about you, tiger cubs? Maybe you would come aboard and destroy my beautiful ship?"
They began protesting loudly that they would never dare do such a thing.
But when they realized I did not seem convinced, they switched tactics.
Very cunning tactics, in their opinion.
"Well… we'll let you watch over us for a week," Ace declared generously.
Apparently the desire to see a pirate ship was stronger than his pride.
"For one week of watching you, I'll bring you a piece of cloth from the sails," I replied calmly.
The boy squeaked with indignation.
"A month!"
"Two pieces."
"What? That's stupid! I want to see the whole ship!"
"And I'm supposed to watch over you. What can you do?" I asked, pulling a small barrel and my cigarette case from my pocket.
I sat down beside the corpse of the bear and calmly lit my tobacco.
"If I sit here with you for a year, keep an eye on you, and you behave yourselves… I'll take you on a voyage to the South."
The explosion of joy stunned me.
Both children rushed forward immediately, demanding promises and assurances with huge smiles that I was telling the truth and that I would definitely take them with me.
"Aye. Why would I say no? But only if you keep your part of the deal."
"And you're not bluffing?"
"May I be dragged to hell if I lie."
"Good. One year. Deal!"
And that was how I bribed two seven-year-old boys.
With a voyage to the South Blue.