"Hahaha! You guys better not be bragging to me. When the fighting starts, don't act like a bunch of little girls."
Allen threw his head back and laughed aloud, immediately waving his large hand as he shouted:
"Right now! We just bought half a month's worth of living supplies! I order you to finish it all within a week!"
"If you're too full, throw up in the sea! From now on, daily alcohol rations are doubled!!"
At these words, the pirates reached the peak of excitement, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Whoa—!!!"
"Long live the captain!!!"
Watching the fanatical scene below, Allen grinned in satisfaction.
They were still poor right now and couldn't pursue high quality, so he could only rely on a massive surge in quantity to stimulate them.
Allen didn't understand deep scheming or manipulation; he only knew one fact.
As long as someone was a pirate, they would definitely choose to follow a captain who could give them a good life!
To this group of pirates whose clothes were practically rags, grand dreams were total bullshit!
Nothing could bind their loyalty better than pure profit!
...
After making his face known among the pirates, Allen returned to his empty captain's quarters.
A few paintings hung on the wall. In the center sat a black sofa set and a thick black glass table. Aside from that, there was only a lonely empty shelf leaning in the corner.
Allen sat down on the sofa and leaned back, sinking his entire body into the soft cushions.
Now he had a ship and a crew, but his pirate crew wasn't truly established yet.
The figurehead was shaped like a black cat's head, and the flag flying on the mast belonged to the Black Cat Pirates. This was far from being "his" pirate crew.
Especially the flag, which was designed based on their name and symbolized the soul of a pirate crew.
But.
"Sigh..."
Allen looked up and let out a heavy sigh. He had thought about it for a long time but simply couldn't come up with a cool and catchy name for his pirate ship.
The easiest way was to just call it the Allen Pirates, but that didn't sound cool at all.
In this world where everyone had eccentric, vibrant hair colors, his appearance didn't have any distinguishing features that could be used to design a flag.
*Knock—knock—knock!*
"Captain."
Just as he was getting a headache over the naming issue, a knock came from outside the door.
Allen let out a breath and sat up.
"Come in."
*Creak...*
Two figures pushed the door open and walked in. It was Sham and Buchi, each holding a black gift box.
"Captain, we saw some good stuff while we were out shopping earlier. We figured you might like it, so we bought it."
Sham stepped forward with a cheeky grin, leading Buchi as they gently placed the two gift boxes on the table.
Allen looked at them with a curious expression.
"Open them up."
"Yes, sir."
Sham slowly lifted the lid of his box, revealing two bottles of liquor and a row of cigars neatly arranged inside.
Buchi opened his box as well, which contained a black pirate coat.
The gold-plated anchor-shaped cloak clasps gleamed brightly. On both sides were yellow epaulets painted with black skulls, with strands of gold thread hanging down.
Allen picked it up and felt it. It had the texture of thin cashmere and felt quite smooth to the touch. He couldn't help but glance at the Nyaban Brothers.
*'Oh, look at you guys, why did you go through all this trouble?'*
"Hehehe, do you want to try it on, Captain?"
Buchi grinned, showing his teeth.
"Honestly, what a waste of money. Think of how much food and booze this could have bought for the boys."
Allen set the captain's coat down and rolled his eyes at him in exasperation.
Saying this, he closed the box and silently pulled it toward himself.
"But then again, since you already bought it, I'll accept it this time."
"Heeheehee, yes, yes. It's already bought anyway, it'd be a waste not to use it."
Sham rubbed his hands together, chiming in with a playful smile.
Having delivered their gifts, the two quickly backed out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Only then did Allen reopen the lid, pick up the captain's coat, and stand up.
*Whoosh—!*
With a sharp rustle, he threw the cloak open and slipped it on, then walked over to the corner of the room to look in the mirror.
*'Damn, that looks too cool.'*
Allen couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face.
As a captain, not having a pirate coat really made it feel like something was missing.
Looking cool was a lifelong pursuit. Once he struck it rich, he definitely had to custom-order a few high-end coats.
...
Two days later.
The sky was a hazy gray. Since morning, a few thin, dark clouds had been drifting overhead.
On top of the ship's cabin, Allen lay in a chair, enjoying the cool breeze while puffing on a cigar.
A small round table and two lounge chairs were set up here, brought up by his subordinates at his request. He liked the expansive view from up here and would come up to sit from time to time.
Gradually, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, leaving cool droplets on his face.
Allen kept his eyes closed, continuing to smoke his cigar, completely unbothered.
That was until a voice filled with pleasant surprise rang out from the crow's nest at the top of the mast.
"I see the fish-head ship! It's the sea restaurant, Baratie!"
Hearing this, the pirates below couldn't wait and rushed out onto the deck.
Allen also slowly opened his eyes, sat up, and looked into the distance. On the surface of the sea, a massive cyan, fish-shaped cruise ship with a three-story cabin bobbed with the waves.
Without a doubt, that was the floating sea restaurant, Baratie.
And surrounding the Baratie were about a dozen ships of various sizes, including a Marine warship.
On the bow deck, the pirates gripped the railing and leaned forward to get a better look.
When they spotted that conspicuous green warship, their newly ignited passion was instantly extinguished.
"It's a warship..."
"The plan is a failure..."
"My banquet..."
A row of pirates hung their heads in disappointment, their bodies slumping against the railing as if they had lost the will to live.
Allen was speechless.
Ever since Kuro left, they had been forced to tuck their tails between their legs whenever they encountered the Marines.
Especially when encountering a deployed warship, which basically always carried a fully organized Marine unit, not to mention the two rows of naval cannons that boasted far greater firepower than a pirate ship.
In a head-on clash, pirates wouldn't even get the chance to initiate a boarding battle.
Beyond a hundred meters, it relied on luck. Within a hundred meters, it depended on whether your life was tough enough. Within fifty meters, you had to pray the enemy gunners suddenly went blind.
With such a massive disparity in firepower, it was no wonder they didn't have the slightest will to fight.
Up on the cabin, Allen crouched down and leaped forcefully, flipping through the air before landing on the cat figurehead at the bow.
Seeing him appear, the pirates hurriedly turned their heads to look at him in unison.
"What do we do, Captain?!"
"We can't see the designation number, so we don't know which branch it belongs to."
"Should we just leave and come back another day?"
The pirates chimed in one after another.
"You're telling me to retreat?"
Allen's eyes flashed with disdain. With his hands in his pockets, he stood perfectly straight on the bow of the ship, curled his lips into a smirk, and said:
"Who do you think I am? Bring the ship alongside!"
"This...!"
"Captain...!"
The pirates' eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
His black cloak fluttered wildly in the wind. In this moment, Allen's back appeared incredibly towering and majestic in their eyes.
It moved them so much that they covered their faces, tears welling up in their eyes.
"This feeling...!"
"It's back! Everything is back, brothers!"
"We don't have to be chased around by the Marines anymore!"
"Waaah!! Captain—!!" x N
...
The ship rode the wind toward the Baratie. Arriving in front of the giant fish-shaped cruise ship, they furled the sails, dropped the anchor, and brought the ship alongside in one smooth motion.
"Let's go, brothers! Time to eat!"
Allen shouted, raising his right fist high, and took the lead with the Nyaban Brothers, jumping onto the Baratie's deck.
Behind him, every single one of the pirates...
Stayed completely still.
Allen and the Nyaban Brothers looked back, their three pairs of eyes practically popping out of their sockets as they bared their teeth and roared:
"What the hell are you guys doing?!"
"Well... um..."
"*Cough, cough*... The ship needs someone to guard it, right...?"
"Yeah, yeah, after all, there's a warship nearby..."
The crowd of pirates on the ship mumbled, guiltily turning their faces away one by one.
Want more chapters? 50+ extra chapters are available on my Patreon :
<< patreon.com/Aragai_Sama >>