The brothers weren't stupid, especially Sham; that guy was incredibly shrewd.
Some things were hard to see clearly when you were in the middle of them, but once you stepped back, the whole picture became crystal clear.
Faced with Allen's casual question, Sham fell into deep thought. Soon, his expression darkened.
*Yeah, if Captain Kuro really wanted to hide his identity, would he really let a bunch of pirates who knew his true identity roam the seas?*
Probably... no, Kuro definitely wouldn't.
Knowing Kuro's style and methods, the easiest way to ensure no loose ends was simply to silence them all.
*If that's really the case...*
As if realizing a certain possibility, Sham unconsciously clenched his fists. Beneath his disappointment lay a deep well of indignation and anger.
No wonder the day of the plan was approaching, yet he and his brother still had no idea what the next phase was.
This could only mean one thing...
They were also on Kuro's hit list!
Seeing his reaction, Allen didn't bring the topic up again.
A subtle hint was enough. He would let the Nyaban Brothers slowly brew their resentment toward Kuro in the dead of night.
"By the way, how much would it cost to stock the ship with half a month's worth of living supplies?"
Allen changed the subject, suddenly bringing up the matter of purchasing supplies tomorrow.
Sham took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. After calming his emotions, he answered Allen,
"We still have ship supplies in the warehouse. Since we haven't been in any battles recently, we don't need to restock weapons or medical supplies."
"We only need basic consumables like food, fresh water, and alcohol. Around two and a half million Berries should be enough to last us half a month."
Allen listened silently, calculating in his head. It was roughly what he expected. He then pulled out three stacks of Berries and tossed them to Sham.
"Here's three million Berries. Make a procurement list for me before we set off tomorrow morning. You can handle the rest yourself."
"Understood, Captain."
Sham caught the money and nodded in agreement.
Handling the rest himself was a tacit approval that he could skim a little off the top, as long as it didn't interfere with business.
Doing more work meant getting more money; there was nothing wrong with that.
...
Early the next morning, the first rays of sunlight broke through the distant horizon, shining across the vast ocean onto the deserted island.
Allen stepped out of the cabin and stood on the deck.
After taking a shower and changing his outfit last night, he was finally out of that Marine uniform.
He wore a tight black t-shirt that outlined his muscular physique, paired with loose white sweatpants.
If he held a broken sword and wrapped a worm around his neck, he could easily cosplay as Toji Fushiguro.
Standing by the ship's railing, Allen glanced at the shore, where pirates were lying haphazardly, snoring soundly.
The crew had partied late into the night. Fortunately, there wasn't much alcohol left on the ship, or else with that momentum, they probably wouldn't have finished even now.
A little while later, the Nyaban Brothers emerged from the cabin, and a few of the pirates on shore gradually began to wake up.
Sham handed Allen the procurement list he had drawn up last night, then went with Buchi to organize the men and prepare for departure.
Allen scanned the list, which detailed a large amount of food required for the voyage.
Staples included hardtack, flour, and beans; various smoked and cured meats for protein; easily preserved vegetables like potatoes and onions, along with cabbage, pumpkins, and oranges to prevent scurvy.
The planned purchase quantities were marked next to each item.
In addition, there was fresh water, alcohol, milk, juice, vinegar, and other supplies, which directly accounted for nearly half the budget.
Most of the sailing supplies were similar to what he used when he was a Marine, just lacking a more professional culinary team, making the pirates' meals slightly inferior in quality.
But the nutrition was relatively balanced, and ensuring survival was absolutely no problem. They were indeed an experienced pirate crew.
Putting away the procurement list, Allen headed up to the ship's superstructure.
There were still many different experiential details between being a Marine and being a pirate.
Fortunately, he had hijacked a ready-made pirate crew. If he had brought the soldiers from the 153rd Branch Base, many of them wouldn't even be able to put together this list without a logistics department.
...
Soon, the sobered-up pirates began bustling about, carrying things onto the ship.
"Hurry it up! Get everything on board! If you delay us and get punished, don't blame me for being harsh!"
Sham stood on the railing, directing the crew.
The pirates were divided into three squadrons, each with about 25 men.
Two squadrons were led by the Nyaban Brothers, responsible for checking weapons and ammunition, as well as maintaining the ship's cannons.
The third squadron was in charge of the helm, the rigging system, and cleaning the ship. Allen had Karl—the pirate with the white bandana—take command of them.
Each squadron was further divided into five squads, with a squad leader commanding four subordinates. One of the five squad leaders doubled as the squadron commander. This was the original organizational structure of the Black Cat Pirates.
Many pirate crews used a similar distribution method. Given the current number of people on board, Allen felt there was no need to change it.
When anchored, one squadron would stay behind to guard the ship. While sailing, the three squadrons would take turns assigning one or two squads for the night watch, which was perfect.
Once their scale expanded in the future and they had more specialized talents on board, he would consider reorganizing the squads according to the Marine system based on function.
Allen sat by the second-floor railing, studying a sea chart.
Below him, the busy pirates came and went, occasionally looking up to steal glances at him.
They couldn't help but feel that their new captain was a bit hard to figure out.
There were no rousing speeches, nor did he discuss any grand ambitions with them. He just let them cut loose and throw a banquet.
He hadn't even made an appearance at the banquet from start to finish, only eating a meal with the Nyaban Brothers.
It was as if he didn't plan on interacting with them much. This style of doing things felt somewhat similar to their former Captain Kuro.
But it had only been a day; who knew what the future held.
The pirates kept their thoughts to themselves.
While working, the pirates whispered among themselves and slowly learned that they were heading to Simey Town to resupply, and then setting off for the sea restaurant, Baratie.
Sham intentionally spread the news, and even the fact that Allen was paying for the supplies became widely known.
Soon, after packing everything up, the ship slowly left the coast under Allen's orders.
There was no impassioned mobilization meeting. Allen still had plenty of things to plan, so after giving his orders, he returned to the captain's cabin.
...
It wasn't until noon, with the sun high in the sky.
The ship arrived at the island where Simey Town was located. Under Allen's direction, they found an uninhabited stretch of coast to dock.
Sham led a small squad off the ship, heading into town as quickly as possible to contact a black market merchant. He handed over the procurement list and a deposit, arranged a trading location, and then returned.
About two hours later.
Standing in the captain's cabin on the second floor, Allen looked through the window and saw a merchant caravan arriving at the coast with several horse-drawn carts full of supplies.
Sham went down to handle the handover. After inventorying the supplies and confirming everything was in order, he paid the balance and had his men carry the goods onto the ship.
Seeing the dozen or so large wooden barrels filled with rum, the pirates' eyes burned with passion, and they worked with renewed vigor.
...
Back on the ship, Allen stepped out. Once the supplies were loaded, he ordered them to set sail once more. The dark red pirate ship parted the seawater and slowly left the shore.
"Listen up, everyone! I'm sure you all know where we're heading by now!"
Standing by the second-floor railing of the superstructure, Allen shouted to the pirates on the deck.
"That's right! We're going to the most famous sea restaurant in the East Blue, Baratie!"
"Captain, are we going to rob the sea restaurant?"
"I heard the food there is the best in the East Blue."
"I heard the chefs there are incredibly brutal."
"Yeah, the owner of the sea restaurant used to be a famous great pirate, or so they say. I wonder if it's true."
Hearing the name Baratie, the pirates below immediately started chattering.
Seeing this, Allen slowly curled his lips into a grin and said,
"We're going there to eat. I imagine last night's banquet wasn't enough for you all to fully enjoy yourselves."
"This time, I'm taking you to broaden your horizons. We're going to book the entire sea restaurant! We'll throw another massive banquet to our hearts' content!"
Hearing Allen's words, the pirates below couldn't help but get excited.
"Are you serious, Captain?! That's the sea restaurant!"
"I heard eating there is insanely expensive. You're not messing with us, are you, Captain?!"
"Yeah, Boss! We don't have a single Berry left in our pockets. Don't leave us there to wash dishes to pay off the debt!"
"Hahahaha!!"
The pirates below erupted into a chorus of laughter, genuinely looking the part of a bunch of scoundrels.
Allen flashed a wide, white-toothed grin and laughed mockingly, his tone full of disdain,
"Look at you worthless lot. You bunch of idiots, if you don't have money, can't you just rob it?!"
"The sea restaurant is full of rich people. They're all walking treasure chests!"
"After living a life of hunting and fishing for so long, don't tell me you've forgotten how to use the tools of your trade."
Allen mocked them loudly.
Hearing that they were going to rob the place, the pirates became completely fired up, their eyes instantly turning fanatical.
"Hahaha! Who are you looking down on, Captain?!"
"We've been waiting for a day like this!"
"That's right! In a couple of days, we'll show the Captain that we're no docile little kittens!"
"Ooh—! Ooh—!"
The passion on the ship was instantly ignited. The pirates raised their swords and cheered in unison, letting out loud whistles from time to time.
Allen looked at the scene on the deck with satisfaction.
He knew what pirates wanted, and he knew what these long-suppressed outlaws desired.
The easiest way to get these subordinates to accept him was to let them do what they wanted to do. After a few times, they would naturally acknowledge him.
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